Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
4 November 2014
Federal Inmate Charged with MurderRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced today that charges have been filed against Jose Caldera, who is currently confined at United States Penitentiary, Florence ADMAX, Colorado.
According to United States Attorney, Peter Smith, Caldera, age 44, is charged in a one-count felony Information with murder. The offense is alleged to have occurred in May 2010, while Caldera was confined at the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Caldera is charged with strangling another inmate.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Service. Assistant United States Attorney Wayne P. Samuelson is assigned to prosecute the case.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statues and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statutes is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Eagle Grove, Iowa Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced November 3, 2014, to more than 10 years in federal prison.
Robert Asche, 48, from Eagle Grove, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 10, 2014, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Asche was previously convicted of attempted sale of dangerous drugs, and sale of less than one pound of marijuana.At the guilty plea, Asche admitted his involvement from 2011 through March 2012 in a conspiracy that distributed more than 50 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine. On March 15, 2012, Department of Homeland Security (HSI) agents intercepted a package at Federal Express in Memphis, Tennessee being shipped from Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, to Eagle Grove, Iowa. Pursuant to x-ray inspection and a later physical search of the package, agents found one pound of methamphetamine hidden inside the horn of a horse saddle being shipped to Asche. Asche admitted that in March of 2012, he arranged for the delivery of methamphetamine by mail.
Asche was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Asche was sentenced to 138 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Asche is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 13-3040.
Dr. Craig A. Morgenstern Charged with Child Pornography Related CrimesRead the Press Release
Spokane – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that the Grand Jury returned an eight-count indictment today charging Dr. Craig A. Morgenstern, age 45, with: three counts of Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Contact with a Child, with each charge carrying a maximum possible penalty of not more than 30 years of imprisonment; four counts of Production of Child Pornography, with each charge carrying a maximum possible penalty of not less than 15 years nor more than 30 years of imprisonment; one count of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child, which charge carries a maximum possible penalty of not less than 30 years nor more than a life term of imprisonment; and one count of Attempted Production of Child Pornography, which charge carries a maximum possible penalty of not less than 15 years nor more than 30 years of imprisonment. A conviction of any of these eight counts mandates registration as a sex offender.
The investigation of this matter is being conducted by the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Anyone with information about this case or any potential victim is urged to call the Detective Division with the Steven County Sheriff’s Office at (509) 684-5296 or the FBI at (206) 622-0460.
The case is being prosecuted by Stephanie J. Lister and James A. Goeke, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington, as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States 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. The Project Safe Childhood Initiative (“PSC”) has five major components:
- Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue children;
- Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;
- Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;
- Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and
- Community awareness and educational programs.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. An individual charged with a criminal offense is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
14-CR-00161-WFN
Des Moines Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Kossuth County Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A woman who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced October 30, 2014, to 10 years in federal prison.
Jeana Jo Johnson, 35, from Des Moines, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 22, 2014, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Johnson was previously convicted of two counts of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine in 2003.
At the guilty plea, Johnson admitted her involvement from 2012 through February 2014 in a conspiracy that distributed more than 150 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine. Johnson was caught delivering one ounce of methamphetamine to a customer in Kossuth County. Johnson admitted she would obtain methamphetamine from her source in Des Moines, Iowa, and distribute it to persons in Kossuth County.
Johnson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Johnson was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Johnson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, and Iowa Division of Criminalistics Investigation.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-3013.
Deming Oncologist Pleads Guilty to Introducing “Misbranded” Drugs into Interstate CommerceRead the Press Release
Plea Agreement Requires Dr. Aswad to Serve Three Years of Probation, Pay $1,298,543.00 in Restitution, and Forfeit $750,000
ALBUQUERQUE – Mohamed Basel Aswad, M.D., entered a guilty plea this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a misdemeanor information charging him with the unlawful introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Catherine Hermsen of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Dr. Aswad will be sentenced to three years of probation, and will be required to pay $1,298,543.00 in restitution to Medicare and Tricare, the victims of his criminal conduct. Dr. Aswad also will be required to forfeit $750,000.00, an amount representing part of his net criminal proceeds, to the United States.Pursuant to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the FDA regulates the manufacture, labeling and distribution of prescription drugs shipped or received in interstate and foreign commerce as part of its mission to protect the health and safety of the American public. The FDCA requires businesses, whether domestic or foreign, who manufacture prescription drugs for sale and use in the United States to register with the FDA and to cooperate with the FDA. Under the FDCA, a prescription drug is “misbranded” if it is manufactured in an establishment not registered with the FDA for commercial distribution within the United States. A drug also is “misbranded” if the labeling bears inadequate directions for use.
According to court filings, Dr. Aswad is a board certified oncologist who has maintained a medical practice in Deming, N.M., since 2007, where he treats cancer patients. As part of his medical practice, Dr. Aswad purchased all prescription drugs, including chemotherapy drugs, administered to his patients. Between July 2010 and April 2012, Dr. Aswad ordered prescription cancer drugs from a Canadian company that shipped “misbranded” unapproved prescription drugs to Dr. Aswad, and Dr. Aswad administered the misbranded drugs to his patients. Altuzan, a chemotherapy prescription drug, is one of the “misbranded” drugs Dr. Aswad ordered from the Canadian company.
In entering his guilty plea, Dr. Aswad admitted that on March 7, 2012, he ordered Altuzan from a Canadian company and the drug was shipped to his medical practice in Deming. Dr. Aswad acknowledged that the Altuzan did not bear adequate directions for us because the packaging inserts were in Turkish. Dr. Aswad acknowledged that the Altuzan was “misbranded” and came from a foreign company not registered by the FDA. Dr. Aswad also acknowledged that, when the FDA executed a search warrant at his clinic on April 10, 2012, they seized the Altuzan as well as other similarly “misbranded” chemotherapy drugs that he possessed at his medical practice. Dr. Aswad admitted that his sale of “misbranded” prescription drugs amounted to approximately $1,298,543 in proceeds.
“Serious consequences can result when those entrusted with caring for cancer patients put personal gain ahead of all other considerations,” said Special Agent in Charge Catherine Hermsen, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. “Our office will continue to work to bring to justice all those who violate federal laws that promote public health.”
U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez commended the investigative work of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office, who is prosecuting the case.Darby Man Charged in Several RobberiesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Ishmael Shah, 20, of Darby, PA, was charged today by indictment with seven robberies which interfered with interstate commerce and related firearm charges, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the indictment, Shah committed the following armed robberies: on June 15, 2013, the Metro Self Storage at 2240 Island Avenue, Philadelphia; on June 17, 2013, Gulla’s Auto Tag & Insurance located at 6301 Buist Avenue, Philadelphia; on June 21, 2013, the Sunoco gas station located at 2500 Island Avenue, Philadelphia; on June 22, 2013, the Kerrs Building Materials, Inc. located at 1528 Washington Avenue, Philadelphia; the attempted armed robbery, on June 26, 2013, of the 7-Eleven located at 501 Church Lane, Yeadon, PA; the armed robbery, on June 28, 2013, of the 7-Eleven located at 1028 Garrett Road, Upper Darby, PA; and the attempted armed robbery, on July 11, 2013, of Kicks USA located at 1575 N. 52nd Street, Philadelphia.
If convicted of the charges,thedefendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of 107 years imprisonment. He also faces a maximum period of supervised release of five years, a substantial fine, a special assessment, and restitution.This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Philadelphia Police Department, Colwyn Police Department, Yeadon Police Department, Upper Darby Police Department, the Philadelphia District Attorney=s Office, and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ewald Zittlau.
An Indictment or an Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Click here to read the indictment.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Dallas Man Sentenced to 40 Months in Federal Prison for Possessing Prepubescent Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Donald Record, 52, of Dallas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 40 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in May 2014 to an Information charging one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Judge Kinkeade ordered that Record surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on January 7, 2015.
According to documents filed in the case, law enforcement received information from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Center identifying an offender in the Dallas area. The investigation led law enforcement to secure and execute a search warrant at Record’s residence on March 6, 2014. Record admitted that he used his laptop computer to trade images of child pornography on the Internet, and that he looked at child pornography when he was at his home in Dallas and at work at SMU. He admitted his age preference was 8 – 10 year olds. He further admitted that he had approximately 100 images and one video of child pornography in his email account that he had received from others.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s 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 sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
ICE HSI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.
Creal Springs Man Sentenced on Federal Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Charges Included Possession / Transfer of Short-barreled Rifles, Shotgun and Silencer
Follow @SDILNewsThe United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced that Robert Ira Longworth, 28, of Creal Springs, Williamson County, Illinois, was sentenced today in the United States District Court in Benton. The district court ordered Longworth to serve 57 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The court also ordered Longworth to pay $500 in fines and $400 in special assessments.
Longworth had previously plead guilty to three counts of illegal transfers of a firearm, being, a silencer, a short barreled rifle, and a short barreled shotgun, respectively, and one count of illegal possession of a short barreled rifle. Longworth had been held without bail since his arrest in April of this year. He was ordered to remain in jail pending his transfer to the federal Bureau of Prisons.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with the assistance of the Illinois State Police, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department, the Creal Springs Police Department, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the Vienna Police Department, the Williamson County State’s Attorney, and the Johnson County State’s Attorney. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Liam Coonan.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
William Robert Humphrey, 31, of Nashville, Tenn., pleaded guilty and was sentenced yesterday by United States District Court Judge William J. Haynes, Jr., to 15 years in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
“This prosecution and sentence reflect a collaborative effort between local, state and federal law-enforcement to identify and remove the most dangerous offenders from our communities who habitually break the law,” said U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “Mr. Humphrey’s reign as a violent criminal has come to an abrupt end as there is no parole in the federal system.”
Humphrey has a lengthy criminal history including multiple prior felony convictions for drug trafficking offenses and violent crimes throughout Middle Tennessee. As a result of those convictions, Humphrey is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.
On May 17, 2013, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department officers arrested Humphrey on multiple outstanding felony warrants in a residence in East Nashville, where he was found sleeping with a shotgun underneath his mattress.
On September 7, 2013, while out on bond in the previous case, Humphrey was arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, in Shelbyville, Tennessee, following a traffic stop. At the time of his arrest, Humphrey was carrying over $4,500 in cash and approximately an ounce of cocaine for resale.
This matter was investigated by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Lee.Clinton Man Arrested on Federal Charge of Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA - On October 31, 2014, Dirk Hayo Notman, age 76, of Clinton, Iowa, made an initial appearance in federal court after being arrested on a federal complaint that alleged he possessed child pornography, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Notman was ordered detained pending a detention and preliminary hearing on November 6, 2014. As part of an ongoing investigation, law enforcement officers conducted a search of Notman’s residence on April 24, 2014. During this search, officers seized numerous DVDs containing sexually explicit images of minors.
This case is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Clinton, Iowa, Police Department, and the case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney=s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
The public is reminded that a criminal complaint is only an accusation, and that Notman is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
(Download Press Release)
Cicero Chiropractor Settles Civil Health Care Fraud ClaimsRead the Press Release
Joseph Borio Admits that he Caused the Submission of Unsubstantiated Claims for
Payment to Medicare and Agrees to Pay Nearly $400,000 to the United StatesALBANY, NEW YORK: Joseph Borio – the owner of Borio Chiropractic Health Center (BCHC), in Cicero, New York – has agreed to pay the United States $376,436.76 to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare using higher billing codes than appropriate and falsely certifying that the services billed were medically necessary, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. As part of the settlement, Borio admitted that he and others submitted claims to Medicare that are unsupported by his records. He also agreed to implement additional compliance measures as a condition of his continued participation in Medicare and other federal health care programs.
In 2009, federal authorities received information suggesting that Borio had engaged in questionable billing practices. A subsequent investigation revealed that, from May 4, 2006 through April 9, 2008, Borio submitted 10,534 claims for payment to Medicare, which is far more than any other chiropractor in 45 upstate and central New York counties. He also billed for treating as many as 69 Medicare beneficiaries in a given day. Taking into account both Medicare and non-Medicare patients, Borio sometimes billed for personally treating hundreds of individuals in a single day. Of the claims Borio submitted to Medicare during this period, more than 99.9% were billed using the highest-reimbursing billing code (other chiropractors in the region billed that code, on average, just over 13% of the time). During this period, Borio billed that code nearly three times more than the region’s next highest biller. He also treated his Medicare beneficiaries, on average, almost three times more frequently than his peers.
United States Attorney Hartunian said: “The provision of Medicare benefits must be dictated by patient need, not provider greed. Pursuant to federal guidelines, chiropractors are required to submit bills based on the level of treatment required, not the highest rate of payment possible. Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to safeguarding the Medicare Trust Fund by holding accountable those providers who inflate their bills to maximize profits.”
“Individuals who defraud health care programs place additional burdens and costs on the health care system, which affects every American citizen. The FBI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify individuals who defraud the system for personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Albany Division.
As part of today’s settlement, Borio entered into an integrity agreement with the United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) requiring him and BCHC to engage in strict compliance efforts over the next three years. Under the agreement, Borio is required to retain an independent review organization to review the accuracy of his claims for services furnished to federal health care program beneficiaries.
“When chiropractors try to enrich themselves by misrepresenting the services they bill to taxpayer-funded health care programs, we will work hard to make sure they are held accountable for their deceptive schemes,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas O’Donnell of HHS-OIG’s New York region.
This investigation and settlement were the result of a coordinated effort between the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, the FBI, HHS-OIG, and SafeGuard Services LLC (a Program Safeguard Contractor responsible for investigating fraud, waste, and abuse to the Medicare Program). The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Katz.
Chesnee, S.C. Man Sentenced to Prison for Aiming Laser at AircraftRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Max Cauthen (864) 282-2100
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Damien Wade Conley, age 33, of Chesnee, South Carolina was sentenced today in federal court in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for AIMING A LASER POINTER AT AN AIRCRAFT, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 39A. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis of Spartanburg sentenced Conley to thirty-seven months in federal prison.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on November 20, 2013, Conley recklessly aimed the beam of a laser pointer at two news helicopters as they were flying to cover an accident on the interstate. The beam from the laser pointer struck each helicopter and invaded the cockpit.
The inherent danger in pointing a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft is that the pilot can be temporarily blinded by the laser light and can become disoriented while trying to continue operating the aircraft. Such an act can interfere with the safe operation of an aircraft and poses significant risk of accident and injury.
The case was investigated by agents of the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Max Cauthen of the Greenville office prosecuted the case.Carriere Man Sentenced to Thirty Years in Prison on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss – James Allen Myers, 67, of Carriere, Mississippi, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. to serve a total of 360 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for one count of transportation of child pornography and six counts of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans. Myers was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.
Myers lived in North Port, Florida, until 2013 when he moved to Carriere, Mississippi. He was found to be in possession of numerous computer hard drives, CDs, and other computer devices which contained over 20,000 images and videos of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct with adults. HSI agents examined the images and videos found on the electronic devices seized from Myers and were able to identify and locate three victims living in Florida who were depicted in the images found on Myers’ computers.
Myers was found guilty following a three day trial in August, 2014 in Gulfport. This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigation agents in both Mississippi and Florida. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Glenda Haynes and Andrea Jones.If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at:
(866) 720-5721
You can also fax information to:
(225) 334-4707
or e-mail it to:
Making sure that victims of federal crimes are treated with compassion, fairness and respect.
Training and seminars for Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Help us combat the proliferation of sexual exploitation crimes against children.
Cannonball, ND Man Sentenced for Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
Bismarck - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on October 31, 2014, Dustin Lester, age 41, was sentenced to serve 60 months imprisonment for assault with a dangerous weapon.
Dustin Lester was charged by Indictment with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Domestic Assault by a Habitual Offender on February 19, 2014, while at the Prairie Knights Casino. Security video footage obtained from the Prairie Knights Casino showed Lester physically assaulting a female by punching and kicking her multiple times in the hallway of the casino. The female Lester assaulted is a person with whom he had a dating relationship with.
Lester changed his plea on July 31, 2014 to guilty on one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. Judge Hovland also sentenced Lester to three (3) years supervised release and ordered to pay $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims Fund.
Case was investigated by Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Delorme prosecuted the case.
Buffalo Woman Sentenced in Check Kiting SchemeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Carlique Deberry, 35, who was convicted of bank fraud, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to six months in a halfway house and three years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who handled the case, stated that the defendant was part of a conspiracy to defraud local area banks by participating in a “check kiting” scheme. Deberry opened bank accounts and deposited large checks into the accounts. The deposited checks were written on accounts that had insufficient funds or on accounts that had been closed. Before the banks could determine that the checks were not supported by any funds, the defendant withdrew smaller amounts from the accounts. Although Deberry made away with only $130 from Key Bank, the intended loss amount was more than $20,000.
Co-conspirators, Sade Heath, Sayonara Heath, Nichole Dean and Antwan Green have all been convicted. Sade Heath and Sayonara Heath have been sentenced. Dean and Green are awaiting sentencing.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the United States Secret Service.Broward Resident Sentenced for Role in Bank Fraud Involving Stolen Identity Tax RefundsRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, announce that Willy Toussaint, 43, of Lauderhill, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom to 46 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release stemming from his convictions to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and two counts of Bank Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344. Toussaint was also ordered to pay $208,261.90, in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, which represents the actual loss suffered by the IRS in this case.
According to court documents, Toussaint obtained counterfeit means of identification, including counterfeit State of Florida driver’s licenses, and caused multiple unauthorized personal and business bank accounts to be created at JP Morgan Chase Bank in the names of unsuspecting identity theft victims utilizing their personal identification information (PII). Toussaint paid the bank employees between $2,000 and $10,000, for opening the bank accounts.
Court documents also state that co-conspirators utilized stolen PII to submit false, fictitious, and fraudulent federal income tax returns to the IRS claiming tax refunds to which they were not entitled. The fraudulently claimed tax refunds were then deposited into the bank accounts established with the assistance of Toussaint. After the tax refunds were received at the bank, co-conspirators would either obtain the funds by wire transfer or would utilize multiple automated teller machines (ATMs) to withdraw the money in cash.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and USSS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc S. Anton.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Broward Real Estate Broker Charged with Wire Fraud by Taking Client DepositsRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce the charges filed against Christopher Wayne White, 43, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for three counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. If convicted, White faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison, five years supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.
According to the criminal complaint, White was a licensed real estate broker and owner and operator of the Christopher White Group in Fort Lauderdale. White obtained three real estate deposits totaling approximately $595,000 – in the amounts of $300,000, $150,000 and $145,000 – via wire transfers involving properties in Broward County from three individuals and White refused to return the escrow deposits. The Secretary of Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation ordered an emergency suspension of his real estate broker’s license. Any victims or individuals with additional information should contact the FBI Field Office in Miami at 305-944-9101.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and thanked Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation for their assistance. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy Katz and Thomas P. Lanigan.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Baltimore Man, Three Others, Convicted of Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistMARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Baltimore man and three West Virginia residents were convicted of drug trafficking, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced today.
Tavon Darrell Moore, 30, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty to one count of “Drug Conspiracy – Heroin.”
Armistead William Craig, 35, of Ranson, West Virginia, pled guilty today to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base.”
Pamela Jean Bailey, 30, of Petersburg, West Virginia, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Methamphetamine.”
Tony Calvin Collins, 20, also of Petersburg, West Virginia, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroine.”
Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison and 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 defendants.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, is leading the investigation.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Baltimore Man Exiled to over 15 Years “Hard Time for Gun Crime” after Three Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
GPS Monitoring Catches Crook Who Robbed Three Stores in Two Weeks
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Lydell Pittman, age 24, of Baltimore, today to 181 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for robbery and using a firearm during the robbery.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.
“Lydell Pittman will serve more than 15 years in federal prison for using a gun to commit robberies,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “We are reducing violent crime by making sure criminals spend hard time for gun crime.”
According to his plea agreement, on October 27, 2012, Pittman and another individual entered a cell phone store on Security Boulevard in Baltimore, pointed a handgun at a clerk’s face and demanded money. One of the robbers ordered the clerk to lie on the floor while the other took approximately $400 from the store. Pittman’s fingerprint was recovered from behind the counter of the store.
That same day Pittman and the other individual robbed an employee at a dry clean store on Reisterstown Road in Baltimore. One of the robbers pointed a gun at the clerk while the other stole $835 from the cash registers. Several witnesses identified Pittman and the other robber from video footage of the robbery, as well as the robbers’ getaway vehicle.
On November 16, 2012, Pittman and the other individual robbed a check cashing store on Windsor Mill Road in Baltimore. They pointed a gun at an employee, and told him to get down or he would die. They took $14,000 from two lock boxes and a cash register. A court-ordered GPS placed Pittman’s car at the store at the time of the robbery.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore County and City Police Departments and Baltimore County and City State’s Attorney=s Offices for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who prosecuted the case.
Baltimore Felon Sentenced to over 8 Years in Prison for Distributing Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
Also Admitted to Illegally Possessing a Gun Purchased on the Street
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Michael Anthony McLeod age 31, of Baltimore, Maryland today to 100 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.According to McLeod’s plea agreement, on September 13, 2013, Baltimore City police officers executed a search warrant at McLeod’s home. McLeod was in the home when officers arrived. Officers recovered: a baggie containing 12 red top vials of crack cocaine packaged for distribution; a loaded .357 revolver; two clear baggies, each containing 20 red top vials of crack cocaine; drug paraphernalia, including digital scales; and $756 in cash, organized in several stacks. McLeod told officers that the firearm, drugs and drug paraphernalia were all his and that he had recently purchased the gun on the street.
McLeod had previously been convicted of a felony and was prohibited from possessing a gun or ammunition.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the ATF, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Purcell, Jr., who prosecuted the case.Arizona Resident Sentenced for Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Alvaro Rivera-Pedrego of Douglas, Arizona and Agua Pietra, Mexico was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 60 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
The United States alleged that Rivera-Pedrego conspired with members of the Sinaloa Cartel, led by Joaquin Guzman-Loera, a/k/a “Chapo”, to establish a cocaine distribution route that would ship cocaine to European ports to be distributed in Europe, the United States, Canada and other countries. In 2009, the defendant met with a confidential human source in Mexico to discuss the creation of the distribution network. Over a period of months in 2009 and 2010, the defendant facilitated meetings between his coconspirators and the confidential human source. Those meetings led to meetings between the defendant’s coconspirators and undercover agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that began in early 2010 and continued through August 2012, including meetings in Miami in August 2010 and November 2010, in Madrid, Spain, in March 2011, in Portsmouth and New Castle, New Hampshire in April 2011, and in Boston in August 2011. The coconspirators offered to deliver thousands of kilograms of cocaine secreted in cargo containers that would be shipped to various ports on the eastern seaboard of the United States and to ports in Europe. The conspirators ultimately delivered 346 kilograms of cocaine to the FBI at a port in Algeciras, Spain on July 27, 2012 hidden in a cargo container in boxes that purportedly held glassware.
The cartel’s leader, by Joaquin Guzman-Loera, a/k/a “Chapo”, was arrested by Mexican authorities in February 2014. The District of New Hampshire, several other districts and the Department of Justice are working to have him extradited to the United States.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Don Feith.
Arizona Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Federal Child Sexual Exploitation Conviction in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Noah John Carney, 20, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to ten years imprisonment for attempting to induce a minor to produce child pornography. Carney will be on supervised release for ten years after he completes his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.
Carney was arrested in Oct. 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with inducing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and attempting to have a minor produce child pornography. In March 2014, Carney was indicted and charged with (1) attempting to produce child pornography, (2) attempting to receive child pornography, and (3) attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.
On May 2, 2014, Carney entered a guilty plea to Count 3 of the indictment charging him with attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. In entering his guilty plea, Carney admitted contacting the victim through an Internet game in Aug. 2013, and learning that the victim was 13-years-old. During that “chat” and subsequent telephone, email and text communications, Carney engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the victim. Carney asked the victim to send him nude photographs of her and sent her a nude photograph of him. He also discussed plans to travel to New Mexico to have sex with the victim.
The FBI performed a search of the victim’s cellular telephone and Kindle device, and found Carney’s nude photo and some of the “chats” between Carney and the child victim. In mid-Sept. 2013, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) joined the FBI’s investigation and an APD officer assumed the victim’s on-line identity and began communicating with Carney. During an Oct. 3, 2013 “chat,” Carney asked the officer who was posing as the child victim for a sexually explicit photo, and on the following day, Carney sent the officer a video of an adult engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Carney was arrested in Phoenix by the FBI on Oct. 24, 2013, and thereafter was transferred to New Mexico to face the charges in this case.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and APD, with assistance from the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory, and was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Wright of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Amite Woman, Angela Lemoine, Charged with Theft of Bank FundsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ANGELA LEMOINE, 43, of Amite, Louisiana, was charged in a Bill of Information today with one count of theft of funds.
According to the Bill of Information, from approximately November 2005 until approximately March 1, 2013, LEMOINE worked as a manager at the Kentwood branch of First NBC Bank. LEMOINE admitted to stealing $14,000 by forging a customer’s signature on a maturing Certificate of Deposit (CD). Specifically, on or about August 6, 2012, LEMOINE withdrew $14,000 from a customer’s CD and forged the customer’s signature. LEMOINE then had a teller advance her the $14,000 in cash which she kept in her possession. On March 1, 2013, LEMOINE signed a hand written confession acknowledging that she stole $14,000. LEMOINE has made full restitution to the bank.
If convicted, LEMOINE faces a possible maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment, and/or a fine of $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.
The U. S. Attorney’s Office reiterated that a Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Carter K. D. Guice, Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.
(Download Bill of Information )
Airplane Repair Business Owner Sentenced for Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Jay Stout, 55, of Harrisburg, PA, was sentenced today to five years in prison for a fraud scheme that involved falsifying the inspection records of aircraft at his company, Flying Tigers, Inc. In April 2014, a jury found Stout guilty of conspiracy, fraud involving aircraft parts, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice. He was president of Flying Tigers, located in Marietta, PA. U.S. District Court Judge Harvey R. Bartle, III, also ordered Stout to pay restitution in the amount of $503,340, a special assessment of $800, and serve three years of supervised release. Stout must report to prison by December 29, 2014. The company was sentenced to one year of probation and a $5,600 special assessment.
Between October 2003 and January 2010, Stout conspired with others to commit fraud in aircraft parts, mail fraud, and wire fraud, by charging customers for the annual inspections of their aircraft, despite the absence of a certified mechanic with inspection authority, a certification given by the FAA. In order to conceal the absence of an authorized certification, Stout and Flying Tigers prepared fraudulent certifications of annual inspections for the airplane and engine log books or, on other occasions, failed to create the necessary certification at all. Some customers who brought their airplanes into Flying Tigers for annual inspections were charged for the inspection, but Flying Tigers never provided a signed certification in the airplane or engine log books recording the annual inspection. By this method, the absence of the valid signature of a certified mechanic was not evident to the Flying Tigers customers. Other annual inspections were certified in the log books by Stout, even though Stout was no longer authorized to certify annual inspections. In other annual inspections, the signatures of certified mechanics with inspection authority were forged in the log books. Such was the case with one former Flying Tigers employee who left Flying Tigers in late 2006/early 2007, but whose forged or fraudulent signatures appear on certified annual inspections, both before the period that the former employee had his certification, and through October 2007, long after he stopped working for Flying Tigers. In addition, the fraudulent signature of Gilbert Stout, Jay Stout’s father, appeared on annual inspections many years after Gilbert Stout stopped working on aircraft, and the forged and fraudulent signature of Joel Stout, a Flying Tiger, Inc. employee and Jay Stout’s son, appeared on annual inspections that Joel Stout did not perform. Many airframe and engine log books, containing these and other entries, were shown to the jury during the trial.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arlene Fisk.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Aggravated Felon Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
A man who re-entered the United States illegally was sentenced on October 28, 2014, to 15 months in prison.
Lazaro Martin-Bartolon, age 28, from Guatemala, received the prison term after a June 5, 2014, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry following a conviction for an aggravated felony.
At the guilty plea, Martin-Bartolon admitted he had re-entered the United States without permission after being removed from the country on November 19, 2009, following a conviction for forgery in Sioux County. Martin-Bartolon came to the attention of Homeland Security Investigations’ (HIS) on March 14, 2014, after he was arrested for OWI in Sioux County, Iowa.
Martin-Bartolon was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Martin-Bartolon was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and investigated by HSI and the Enforcement and Removal Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.
Court file information is available at https//ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-CR-4043.
3 November 2014
Woman with More Than 160 Pounds of Marijuana in Rental Car Faces up to 20 Years in Federal Prison on Federal Drug Distribution ConvictionRead the Press Release
LUBBOCK, Texas — A woman who was found driving east on Interstate 20 in the Abilene, Texas, vicinity, at approximately five miles per hour on Christmas Day 2013, appeared in federal court on Friday and pleaded guilty to a federal felony drug offense, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Christini Lynn Brashear, 45, of Rocklin, California, pleaded guilty, before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, to an indictment charging one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Brashear remains on bond.
According to documents filed in the case, on December 25, 2013, the Abilene Police Department received multiple calls regarding a small sport utility vehicle that was on Interstate 20 traveling east at approximately five miles per hour. Officers located the vehicle and found it parked on the shoulder of the highway with Brashear asleep at the wheel. Officers called for emergency medical assistance for Brashear and advised her she was being taken to the hospital. She consented to an officer driving her car to the hospital to avoid having it towed, and she admitted using and possessing methamphetamine, which she turned over to the officers.
The officer driving Brashear’s vehicle noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and later confirmed that the smell was coming from several duffle bags in the back that contained approximately 166 pounds of marijuana, individually bagged in one-pound clear plastic bags. The vehicle also contained multiple cell phones, two road atlases, and a note pad with hand-written directions to Houston, Texas. Rental papers for the vehicle show that it was rented to Brashear in Sacramento, California, on December 22, 2013, and it was due back to that location on December 26, 2013.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Abilene Police Department investigated. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams is prosecuting.
Wisconsin Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
A man who transported a minor across a state line to engage in sex acts pled guilty on November 3, 2014, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Christopher Heath-Lowther, age 30, from Platteville, Wisconsin, was convicted of one count of transporting a minor across a state line with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and one count of traveling across a state line for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct.
At the plea hearing, Heath-Lowther admitted that, between December 2013 and February 2014, he traveled from Wisconsin to Iowa for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and transported a minor from Iowa to Wisconsin with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Heath-Lowther was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Heath-Lowther faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, a $200 special assessment, and at least five years and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Platteville, Wisconsin, Police Department, and the Maquoketa Police Department.
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.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 14-1014.
Wichita Chiropractor Sentenced in Health Care Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A Wichita chiropractor was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison for defrauding health care insurers, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. He also was ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.8 million.
Jeffrey D. Fenn, 33, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of tax evasion. In his plea, he admitted that from March 2011 to October 2013 he executed a health care fraud scheme through his businesses, including Wichita Health and Wellness, Fenn Chiropractic, P.A. and Wichita Pain Associates, P.A. Fenn submitted false claims to Medicare, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas and Coventry Health Care of Kansas, Inc., and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Chiropractors have a limited scope of practice. They are not allowed to perform injections, dispense drugs or supervise ARNPs and physicians. Fenn developed what he called an “integrated practice,” hiring physicians, advanced registered nurse practitioners and physical therapists and ostensibly having them perform procedures he was not qualified to perform. He misrepresented to the Kansas Board of Healing Arts that medical doctors had an ownership in his clinic. He used the names of physicians he employed to submit false claims for services.
Fenn fraudulently billed for nerve conduction tests, nerve block injections, subcutaneous infiltrate proceedings, fine needle aspirations and ultrasound procedures.
He also made fraudulent claims for business and personal income taxes. For example, he claimed a $9,400 business expense for purchasing a server. In fact, he spent the money to make a down payment on a residential lot in Wichita. He claimed a $15,100 expense for advertising. In fact he used the money to make a down payment on a ski boat.
Grissom commended Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, the FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Food and Drug Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway for their work on the case.
Walthill Man Sentenced for Shooting a Bald Eagle and Rough Legged HawkRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced today that Lamar Bertucci, Sr., age 45 of Walthill, Nebraska, was sentenced for his violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Senior United States District Court Judge Lyle E. Strom sentenced Bertucci to eight months of imprisonment to be followed by one year of supervised release. Bertucci was further ordered to pay restitution of $6,500.
On February 10, 2014, residents of Macy, Nebraska, heard gunshots and observed a car in a field where two bald eagles were located. Fearing that the eagles were being shot, the residents called law enforcement. A tribal game warden was in the area and responded to the scene as the car was exiting the field. A brief chase ensued and Bertucci was arrested after his vehicle developed mechanical problems. A search of the vehicle yielded a dead bald eagle. A trace of the route the car had traveled yielded a rifle and a rough legged hawk which had been recently shot. Bertucci admitted to shooting both the eagle and the hawk.
At the time of sentencing, Bertucci objected to the method used by the government to value the bald eagle and the hawk in determining the applicable sentencing guideline range. Judge Strom denied Bertucci’s objections and announced his sentencing guideline calculations were the same as the Probation Office’s calculations. In this respect, the Presentence Investigation Report placed a value of $10,000 per bald eagle and $1,750 per hawk. However, for the separate purposes of restitution, after considering Bertucci’s financial circumstances, Judge Strom announced that he was imposing an order of restitution in the amount of $6,500 which consisted of $5,000 for the bald eagle count and $1,500 for the rough legged hawk count.
Bertucci had been charged in March of 2009 with similar violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of bald eagle feathers and was sentenced on October 14, 2009.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
United States Reaches Settlement with Hyundai and Kia in a Historic Greenhouse Gas Enforcement CaseRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a historic settlement with the automakers Hyundai and Kia that will resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations based on their sale of close to 1.2 million vehicles that will emit approximately 4.75 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in excess of what the automakers certified to EPA.
The automakers will pay a $100 million civil penalty, the largest in Clean Air Act history, to resolve violations concerning the testing and certification of vehicles sold in America and spend approximately $50 million on measures to prevent any future violations. Hyundai and Kia will also forfeit 4.75 million greenhouse gas emission credits that the companies previously claimed, which are estimated to be worth over $200 million. Automakers earn greenhouse gas emissions credits for building vehicles with lower emissions than required by law. These credits can be used to offset emissions from less fuel efficient vehicle models or sold or traded to other automakers for the same purpose. The greenhouse gas emissions that the forfeited credits would have allowed are equal to the emissions from powering more than 433,000 homes for a year.
“This unprecedented resolution with Hyundai and Kia underscores the Justice Department’s firm commitment to safeguarding American consumers, ensuring fairness in every marketplace, protecting the environment, and relentlessly pursuing companies that make misrepresentations and violate the law,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “This type of conduct quite simply will not be tolerated. And the Justice Department will never rest or waver in our determination to take action against any company that engages in such activities – whenever and wherever they are uncovered.”
“Greenhouse gas emission laws protect the public from the dangers of climate change, and today’s action reinforces EPA’s commitment to see those laws through,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Businesses that play by the rules shouldn’t have to compete with those breaking the law. This settlement upholds the integrity of the nation’s fuel economy and greenhouse gas programs and supports all Americans who want to save fuel costs and reduce their environmental impact.”
The complaint was filed today jointly by the United States and the California Air Resources Board in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It alleges that the car companies sold close to 1.2 million cars and SUVs from model years 2012 and 2013 whose design specifications did not conform to the specifications the companies certified to EPA, which led to the misstatements of greenhouse gas emissions. These allegations concern the Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Veloster and Santa Fe vehicles and the Kia Rio and Soul vehicles.
Additionally Hyundai and Kia gave consumers inaccurate information about the real-world fuel economy performance of many of these vehicles. Hyundai and Kia overstated the fuel economy by one to six miles per gallon, depending on the vehicle. Similarly, they understated the emissions of greenhouse gases by their fleets by approximately 4.75 million metric tons over the estimated lifetime of the vehicles.
In order to reduce the likelihood of future vehicle greenhouse gas emission miscalculations, Hyundai and Kia have agreed to reorganize their emissions certification group, revise test protocols, improve management of test data and enhance employee training before they conduct emissions testing to certify their model year 2017 vehicles. In the meantime, Hyundai and Kia must audit their fleets for model years 2015 and 2016 to ensure that vehicles sold to the public conform to the description and data provided to EPA.
EPA discovered these violations in 2012 during audit testing. Subsequent investigation revealed that Hyundai’s and Kia’s testing protocol included numerous elements that led to inaccurately higher fuel economy ratings. In processing test data, Hyundai and Kia allegedly chose favorable results rather than average results from a large number of tests.
In November 2012, Hyundai and Kia responded to the EPA’s findings by correcting the fuel economy ratings for many of their 2011, 2012 and 2013 model year vehicles and establishing a reimbursement program to compensate owners for increased fuel costs due to overstated fuel economy.
This case involves five different entities: Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai Motor America, Kia Motors Corporation, Kia Motors America and Hyundai America Technical Center Inc.
The California Air Resources Board joined the United States as a co-plaintiff in this settlement, and will receive $6,343,400 of the $100 million civil penalty.
The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court review and approval. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice website at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
For more information http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/hyundai-and-kia-clean-air-act-settlement
United States Attorneys Offices AvailableTo Receive Election ComplaintsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara and Loretta Lynch, the United States Attorneys for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, respectively, announced today that special telephone numbers have been set up to receive complaints of possible violations of federal election laws relating to the upcoming general elections in New York City and other counties in their districts.
The United States Attorneys said that their Offices will be available to receive complaints at the following numbers on Tuesday, November 4, 2014:
(212) 637-0840 (for Manhattan, Bronx, and Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan and Westchester counties) and
(718) 254-7000 (for Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Nassau and Suffolk counties)
In addition, complaints of possible violations of federal election laws may be made directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (212) 384-1000.
A spokesperson for the United States Attorneys said that the enforcement of federal laws protecting the rights of all eligible persons to vote for the candidates of their choice is a high priority of the Department of Justice.
It is unlawful under federal law to deny or abridge anyone's right to vote because of race, color or national origin. Federal laws also require local election authorities to make voting accessible to disabled and elderly voters. Voters who require assistance because of blindness, disability or inability to read and write have the right to receive such assistance from a person of their own choosing. In counties with substantial numbers of non-English speaking voters, federal laws prohibit the denial or abridgement of a voter’s ability to participate in the election process in certain languages other than English (i.e., Spanish, Chinese, Korean).
In addition, certain activities designed to subvert the integrity of the election process are federal crimes. It is a federal crime, for example, to deprive citizens of their right to fair elections or to conspire to do so. Specific election laws also make it a crime to bribe or intimidate voters, to cause ballots to be cast fraudulently in the names of individuals who did not vote (“ballot stuffing”), to vote more than once, or to alter or falsely report the vote count. It can also be a federal offense to challenge qualified voters without cause and in bad faith, or to harass persons seeking to vote for the purpose of discouraging their vote.
The spokesperson said that the ability of federal law enforcement authorities to detect and eliminate improper restrictions on voting rights and to prosecute election fraud depends to a large extent on the watchfulness and cooperation of the voters. It is therefore imperative that those who have been asked to participate in illegal election practices, who have been the subject of such practices, who have observed such practices, or who have information bearing on such practices, make that information known promptly to the FBI or the United States Attorneys Offices at the telephone numbers listed above.
The United States Attorneys also noted that the following additional telephone numbers are available on Election Day for citizens to call for routine inquiries, such as where to vote or how late the polls are open, or to register complaints that may concern violations of New York State election laws:
IN NEW YORK CITY
City Board of Elections
Main Office (212) 487-5300
(212) 868-3692
Bronx (718) 299-9017
Brooklyn (718) 797-8800
Manhattan (212) 886-2100
Queens (718) 730-6730
Staten Island (718) 876-0079
IN COUNTIES OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY
County Boards of Elections
Dutchess (845) 486-2473
Nassau (516) 571-2411
Orange (845) 291-2444
Putnam (845) 808-1300
Rockland (845) 638-5172
Suffolk (631) 852-4500
Sullivan (845) 794-3000
Westchester (914) 995-5700
Assistant United States Attorney DAVID J. KENNEDY is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of voting rights abuses and election fraud for the Southern District of New York.
Assistant United States Attorney MARISA SEIFAN is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of voting rights abuses and election fraud for the Eastern District of New York.
U.s. Attorney Designates District Officer to Handle Voting Rights Complaints for November 4th ElectionsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney Irene Gonzàlez will lead the efforts of her Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming general elections on November 4, 2014. AUSA Gonzàlez has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Eastern District of Louisiana. In that capacity she is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
U.S. Attorney Polite said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud. The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on Election Day.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice.
The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 4, 2014, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities United States Attorney Polite stated that AUSA Irene Gonzàlez will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. She can be reached by the public at the following telephone numbers: (504) 680-3000 and (504) 680-3077.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (504) 816-3000.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington by phone at (800) 253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to [email protected] or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
U.S. Attorney Polite said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate. It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”
U.S. Attorney's Office Reminds New Jersey Voters to Use Election Day Hotline for Complaints of Voting Irregularities or AbusesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, is New Jersey’s general election, and U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman is reminding voters to use the Election Day Hotline if they suspect voter fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will receive and respond to reports of election irregularities, voter intimidation or any other activities that would interfere with a citizen’s right to vote. The Election Day Hotline – (888) 636-6596 – is active now through Nov. 5, 2014, and will be staffed live on Election Day in English and in Spanish.
The Department of Justice and federal law enforcement partners will work with county boards of election and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office to respond to complaints and direct them to the appropriate authority.
The Justice Department seeks to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted, without discrimination, intimidation or fraud.
Established in 2010, this yearly initiative is intended to foster public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Justice Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on Election Day.
The Justice Department and federal investigative agencies, led by the FBI, work cooperatively with the state Attorney General’s Office, under the direction of Acting Attorney General John Jay Hoffman, to enforce voters’ rights at the polls.
The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division staff in Washington also will be available by phone to receive complaints related to voting rights (1-800-253-3931 toll free or 202-307-2767) or by TTY (202-305-0082). In addition, individuals may also report complaints, problems, or concerns related to voting by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected], and, by complaint forms that may be submitted through a link on the Department’s website, at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.14-390
U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado to Have Election Officer in Place to Field Voter ComplaintsRead the Press Release
DENVER – United States Attorney John Walsh announced that Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Rourke will lead the efforts of the office as District Election Officer in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for tomorrow’s pending election. Assistant U.S. Attorney O’Rourke will be responsible for overseeing the District of Colorado’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington. Mr. O’Rourke has held this position for well over 15 years.
United States Attorney Walsh said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud. The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department of Justice for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while ballots are being accepted on election day.
In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 4, 2014, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, United States Attorney Walsh stated that Assistant U.S. Attorney O’Rourke will be on duty in Colorado while the polls are open. He can be reached by members of the public by calling 303-454-0209.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The Denver FBI field office can be reached by calling 303-629-7171.
Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington by calling 800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767, by fax at 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected] or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
U.S. Attorney Machen Announces Appointment of Election Day OfficerRead the Press Release
Part of Department of Justice Efforts
To Protect the Right to Vote and Prosecute Ballot FraudWASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. today announced the appointment of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P. Hooks to lead the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day program for the Nov. 4, 2014 general election.
Mr. Hooks will serve as the District Election Officer for the District of Columbia. In that capacity, he is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in the District of Columbia, in consultation with Justice Department headquarters.
“Over the past several years, we have been aggressive in our efforts to protect the integrity of elections in the District of Columbia,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Ensuring free and fair elections depends on citizens coming forward with information about discrimination or election fraud. We ask that citizens remain vigilant about protecting the democratic process and immediately make any specific information available to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur.
The Justice Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are being done to uncover illegal voting, may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballots or to be assisted by a person of their choice.
In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Mr. Hooks will be on duty in the District of Columbia while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at 202-252-6801.
Nationally, the FBI has Special Agents in each Field Office and Resident Agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses. In the District of Columbia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office can be reached at 202-278-2000.
Complaints about ballot access problems or discrimination can be made directly to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington. Civil Rights Division staff will be available by phone to receive complaints related to voting rights (1-800-253-3931 toll free or 202-307-2767) or by TTY (202-305-0082). In addition, individuals may also report complaints, problems, or concerns related to voting by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected], and, by complaint forms that may be submitted through a link on the Department’s website, at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot.
14-246
U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart Appoints District Election OfficersRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS -- United States Attorney Carter M. Stewart announced today that he has designated Election Officers in each of the district’s three offices who will lead the efforts in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 4, 2014, elections.
Stewart appointed: Columbus Branch Chief Gary Spartis, Cincinnati Branch Chief Anthony Springer, (513) 684-3711
Dayton Branch Chief Laura Clemmens, (937) 225-2910As District Election Officers, they are responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
“It’s our duty to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted free of discrimination, intimidation, or fraud in the election process,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said.The U.S. Attorney’s Office, in coordination with the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section, is responsible for enforcing the federal criminal laws that prohibit various forms of election fraud, such as vote buying, multiple voting, submission of fraudulent ballots or registrations, destruction of ballots or registrations, alteration of votes, and malfeasance by election officials.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice.In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. Residents can contact the Columbus FBI resident office at (614) 224-1183, the Cincinnati field office at (513) 421-4310 and the Dayton resident office at (937) 222-7485.
Civil Rights Division staff at the Department of Justice will be available by phone to receive complaints related to voting rights (1-800-253-3931 toll free or 202-307-2767) or by TTY (202-305-0082). In addition, individuals may also report complaints, problems, or concerns related to voting by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected], and, by complaint forms that may be submitted through a link on the Department’s website, at www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/.
“Both protecting the right to vote and combating election fraud are essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our democratic system of government,” Stewart said. “We encourage anyone who has information suggesting voting discrimination or ballot fraud to contact the appropriate authorities.”U.S. Attorney Announces November 4 Efforts to Protect Voting Rights, Prosecute Ballot FraudRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, LAFAYETTE, LAKE CHARLES, ALEXANDRIA, MONROE, La.– United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley advises that federal staff will be available to respond to complaints of possible election fraud and other violations of voting rights during the November 4 general election.
Election-crime complaints should be directed to the local U.S. Attorney’s Office or the local FBI office. The U.S. Attorney’s Office can be reached by the public at 318-676-3600 (Shreveport) or 337-262-6618 (Lafayette). The local FBI field offices can be reached by the public at the following telephone numbers: Shreveport at 318-861-1890 or Lafayette at 337-233-2164. For a complete list of FBI field offices in Louisiana visit www.fbi.gov/neworleans/contact-us/territory-jurisdiction
Finley is joining other federal prosecutors nationwide to participate in the Department of Justice’s election-day program. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is responsible for overseeing and handling election fraud complaints and voting rights abuses in conjunction with the Justice Department.
On Nov. 4, 2014, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will work with specially trained FBI personnel in each district to ensure that complaints from the public involving possible voter fraud are handled appropriately. Specifically:
- In consultation with federal prosecutors at the Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C., the District Election Officers in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, FBI officials at headquarters in Washington, D.C., and FBI Special Agents serving as Election Crime Coordinators in the FBI’s 56 field offices will be on duty while polls are open, to receive complaints from the public.
- Public Integrity Section prosecutors are available to consult and coordinate with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the FBI regarding the handling of election-crime allegations.
- Complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should be reported first to local police authorities by calling 911.
Both protecting the right to vote and combating election fraud are essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our democratic system of government. We encourage anyone who has information suggesting voting discrimination or ballot fraud to contact the appropriate authorities.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of a wide range of federal statutes that protect the right to vote including: the Voting Rights Act; the National Voter Registration Act; the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; and the Help America Vote Act. Among other things, collectively, these laws:
- prohibit election practices that have either a discriminatory purpose based on race or membership in a minority language group or a discriminatory result of members of racial or language minority groups having less opportunity than other citizens to participate in the political process;
- prohibit intimidation of voters;
- provide that voters who need assistance in voting because of disability or illiteracy can obtain assistance from a person of their choice;
- require minority language election materials and assistance in certain jurisdictions;
- provide for accessible election machines for voters with disabilities;
- require provisional ballots for voters who assert they are eligible but whose names do not appear on poll books;
- provide for absentee ballots for service members, their family members and U.S. citizens living abroad;
- require states to ensure that citizens can register at drivers’ license offices, public assistance offices, other state agencies and through the mail; and
- include requirements regarding maintaining voter registration lists.
For more information on the acts that the division enforces, visit www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/overview.php.
Civil Rights Division staff will be available by phone to receive complaints related to voting rights (1-800-253-3931 toll free or 202-307-2767) or by TTY (202-305-0082). In addition, individuals may also report complaints, problems, or concerns related to voting by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected], and, by complaint forms that may be submitted through a link on the Department’s website, at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot.
U.S. Attorney and FBI to Combat Fraud, Abuses on Election DayRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs Specialist
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner will lead the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 4, 2014, general elections, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced today.
Warner has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO), and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington. Warner will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached 304-636-1739 (office) or 304-644-1546 (mobile).
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on Election Day.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice.
The FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The local FBI field office can be reached at 304-624-6200.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to [email protected] or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.Two Sacramento Men Receive Prison Sentences of over 17 Years & 18 Years Respectively for Roles in Attempted Robbery of Armored Vehicle GuardRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States District Court Judge William B. Shubb today sentenced Sacramento residents Raymell Lamar Eason, 44, to 18 years and eight months in prison; and Keith Lamont Smith, 38, to 17 years and eight months in prison for conspiring to rob an armored car and attempted robbery of an armored car, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Sacramento Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sacramento Police Department, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys William S. Wong and Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.
According to court documents, on April 17, 2012, Eason and Smith planned to rob an armored car in the Wal-Mart parking lot on Florin Road in Sacramento. Having conducted surveillance on prior occasions, the two men planned to use a Taser gun on an armored car guard. They waited for the guard to leave the Wal-Mart with its currency deposits, and then Eason shot the guard with the Taser. Smith waited nearby in the getaway vehicle. However, the guard recovered faster than anticipated and was able to shoot Eason. Eason was arrested after the botched robbery, and Smith was arrested later the same day.
Both defendants were on federal supervision for prior criminal felony offenses at the time of the attempted robbery.Two Convicted Felons Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistMARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Two West Virginia men with prior felony convictions were sentenced for unlawful possession of firearms, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced today.
Shaye Christopher Cole, 27, of Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He pled guilty in August 2014 to one count of “Felon in Possession of Firearm” after he was discovered with a .22 caliber rifle. He was convicted in 2008 of the felony offense of “Possession of Burglary Tools” in the Circuit Court of Frederick County, Virginia.
Jason Tyler Bland, 35, of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, was sentenced to 37 months in prison. He pled guilty in June 2014 to one count of “Felon in Possession of Firearm” after he was discovered with a 9mm pistol. He was convicted in 2006 of the felony offenses of “Manufacture of a Controlled Substance: Marijuana” and “Delivery of a Controlled Substance: Heroin” in the Circuit Court of Morgan County, West Virginia.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas prosecuted Cole on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Camilletti prosecuted Bland on behalf of the government. The Mountain State Fugitive Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the West Virginia Division of Probation and Parole investigated.
U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Edward J. Rorie, 50, of Philadelphia, PA, a tax return preparer, pleaded guilty today to multiple counts of criminal tax fraud. For tax years 2009 through 2011, Rorie prepared 968 federal income tax returns which sought refunds of $3.85 million. The bogus refund claims were based on various tax credits which were part of the 2009 American Reinvestment Act, in addition to inflated and fictitious medical, dental and miscellaneous expenses. Rorie faces a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison, a $2,500 special assessment, and a fine of up to $6.25 million dollars. U.S. District Court Judge Anita B. Brody scheduled a sentencing hearing for February 11, 2015.
In preparing the fraudulent returns, Rorie variously claimed expense deductions and tax credits to which the filers not entitled to receive. The tax credits included the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, The Hope Tax Credit, The Earned Income Tax Credit, Education Credits, The Child Care Tax Credits and The Recovery Act’s Additional Child care Credit. The alleged loss to the Internal Revenue Service was at least $100,000.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Floyd J. Miller.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Shiprock Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
Defendant Prosecuted as Part of Federal Initiative to Address the Epidemic Incidence of Violence Against Native Women
ALBUQUERQUE – Algar Horsechief, 27, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to two federal assault charges. During today’s hearing, Horsechief admitted assaulting his intimate partner by strangulation. He also admitted assaulting another woman and causing her serious bodily injury.
Horsechief was arrested on Aug. 1, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting his intimate partner, a Navajo woman, by strangulation, and also with assaulting her with a dangerous weapon, a wooden stick, with intent to cause bodily harm. Horsechief also was charged with assaulting a second victim, another Navajo woman, and causing her serious bodily injury. According to the indictment, Horsechief committed the crimes on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M., on July 24, 2014.
On Aug. 26, 2014, Horsechief was indicted and charged with (1) assault of an intimate partner by strangulation; (2) assault with a dangerous weapon; and (3) assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Today, Horsechief entered guilty pleas to Counts 1 and 3 of the indictment. In his plea agreement, Horsechief admitted assaulting his intimate partner by biting her left hand, dragging her on the ground by her hair, and strangling her and impeding her breathing. Horsechief also admitted assaulting a second victim by placing his hands around her neck and strangling her until she lost consciousness.
Horsechief has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Horsechief will be sentenced to a federal prison term within the range of 36 to 50 months, and a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety with assistance from the Farmington office of the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams.
The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Rochester Woman Charged with Obtaining Passport Through FraudRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jennifer Gilbert, 47, of Rochester, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with making false statements in a passport application. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the matter, stated that Gilbert applied for a passport in 2007 using the name and identification of another individual, Lena B.W. In May 2014, Lena B.W. applied for a passport for herself which triggered a review of the 2007 application Gilbert submitted and resulted in defendant’s fraud being discovered.
The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation by Special Agents the United States Department of State, under the direction of William Ferrari.
The defendant made an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson. Gilbert is due back in court on December 3, 2014, at 9:00 am.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.Rochester Man Sentenced for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Freddy Quintana, 27, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to 108 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. Quintana was also ordered to forfeit $7,900.00 in United States currency and a 9mm pistol and rounds of ammunition.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who handled the case, stated that Quintana and other members of the conspiracy were responsible for the distribution of significant quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine throughout the Rochester area. The cocaine was transported by vehicle from Pennsylvania. The investigation involved court-authorized wire taps and resulted in the arrest of 10 defendants between May and October 2012. To date, all defendants have been convicted. The money and gun being forfeited by the defendant were seized by law enforcement at 44 Hebard Street in Rochester on May 30, 2012.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of 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 Office, Investigators of the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli and the Monroe County District Attorney's Office, under the direction of Sandra Doorley.Rochester Man Sentenced on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that James Hardaway, Jr., a/k/a Jabber, 31, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, was sentenced to 125 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who handled the case, stated that Hardaway, his cousin Sekou Howard, and others purchased large quantities of powder cocaine which was then processed into crack cocaine, packaged, and resold in various quantities in Rochester. The defendant and Howard were arrested on January 16, 2014 at 80 Ambrose Street in Rochester after attempting to flee law enforcement officers executing a search warrant at the address. Inside 80 Ambrose Street, officers seized crack cocaine packaged for street sale, paraphernalia for weighing, processing and packaging narcotics, and several rounds of .38 caliber handgun ammunition.
Howard was convicted and sentenced to 168 months in prison.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that James Hardaway, Jr., a/k/a Jabber, 30, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, a fine of $8,000,000 or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that Hardaway and others purchased large quantities of powder cocaine which was then processed into crack cocaine, packaged, and resold in various quantities in Rochester. The defendant was arrested on January 16, 2014 at 80 Ambrose Street in Rochester after attempting to flee law enforcement officers executing a search warrant at the address. Inside 80 Ambrose Street, officers seized crack cocaine packaged for street sale, paraphernalia for weighing, processing and packaging narcotics, and several rounds of .38 caliber handgun ammunition.
The conviction is the culmination of an investigation by Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 2, 2015 at 3:00 pm before Judge Geraci.Property Manager Who Defrauded Owner of Bridgeport Apartment Complex Is SentencedRead the Press Release
Follow @USAO_CT
The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced that ANTHONY TESTO, 67, of Monroe, and his company, ACT Builders, Inc., were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford for defrauding a Bridgeport-based residential property owner. TESTO was ordered to serve five months in community confinement (halfway house), followed by three years of supervised release, the first six months of which must be served in home confinement. He was also ordered to a pay a fine of $18,000. ACT Builders was sentenced to five years of probation.
According to court documents and statements made in court, TESTO and ACT Builders were contracted to serve as a property manager for an entity in Bridgeport that owned an apartment complex and several single and multi-family residences. TESTO’s role as property manager included filling vacant rental units, setting rental amounts, collecting security deposits, collecting rent from tenants and depositing rental payments in the property owner’s bank account. TESTO also was required to submit to the property owner a monthly “rent roll,” which was a spreadsheet showing the occupancy of the rental units, the rental amounts due and the rental payments collected from tenants. Thomas Ragonese provided accounting services to TESTO and ACT Builders. At TESTO’s instruction, Ragonese prepared the rent rolls.
From approximately January 2007 to August 2010, TESTO and ACT Builders, with Ragonese’s assistance, defrauded the property owner by submitting fraudulent rent rolls that misrepresented that certain rental units were vacant with no rent due when, in fact, the apartments were occupied and rent had been collected. The rent rolls also misrepresented that the rent due and collected for certain rental units was lower than the amount that was actually collected. TESTO deposited rental income that was due to the property owner into both his personal bank account and the ACT Builders bank account.
Through this scheme, and also by submitting fraudulent subcontractor invoices to the property owner, TESTO defrauded the property owner of at least $275,000.
In addition, for the 2007 through 2010 tax years, Ragonese prepared Testo’s federal tax returns, which failed to report the rental income that TESTO kept for his own use and benefit. This resulted in a tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service of $71,795.
As part of his sentence, TESTO was ordered to pay $275,000 in restitution to the victim, and $71,795, plus applicable penalties and interest, to the IRS.
On June 20, 2014, TESTO pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of assisting in the preparation and filing of a false tax return, and ACT Builders pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
On July 18, 2014, Ragonese, of Trumbull, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting the preparation and filing of a false tax return. He awaits sentencing.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Felice Duffy.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Portales Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Failing to Update Sex Offender RegistrationRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Rodger Ernest Andrew Taylor, 67, was sentenced on Friday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 24 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for failing to comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Taylor, a resident of Portales, N.M., also was ordered to pay a $10,000.00 fine. He will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
SORNA, also known as the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act, requires that a convicted sex offender register in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, where the offender is employed, or where the offender is a student, and that the sex offender maintain current registrations.Taylor was arrested in Nov. 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration. On Feb. 19, 2014, Taylor was indicted and charged with failing to update his sex offender registration in Roosevelt County, N.M., between Oct. 2011 and Aug. 2012. Taylor pled guilty to the indictment on June 19, 2014.
According to court filings, Taylor was convicted of a sex offense in Sept. 2000, in Washington state and was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment. As part of his sentence, Taylor was required to register as a sex offender and update his registration with the sheriff of the county where he maintained his residence. Within three days if he established a new residence, Taylor was required to notify the sheriff of the county of his prior residence and the sheriff of the county of his new residence.
In entering his guilty plea, Taylor admitted that between Oct. 2011 and Aug. 2012, he lived in Roosevelt County, N.M., but failed to notify the sheriff of that county that he was residing in the county. Taylor also admitted failing to notify the authorities in Washington state that he had relocated to New Mexico.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney Amanda L. Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.Point Pleasant Man Admits Defrauding Elderly CoupleRead the Press Release
Defendant swindled victims out of more than $210,000 in bogus investment scheme
Huntington, W.Va. – A Point Pleasant man today admitted defrauding two elderly victims of more than $210,000 in a bogus investment scheme, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Mark Anthony, 40, of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in a hearing before Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
Anthony admitted that over a span of nearly 10 years, he deceived an elderly Point Pleasant couple into believing that he was a licensed investment representative who would invest their money in high-yielding annuities and money-market accounts. The couple gave him more than $210,000 of their savings to invest, with the wife continuing to give Anthony money for supposed investments after her husband passed away. Instead of investing the money, Anthony stole it, spending the couple’s nest egg to buy things for himself and pay personal expenses. Occasionally, Anthony mailed the couple a small check that he pretended was a return on their investments, but which actually was Anthony’s own money that he sent to keep them on the hook. Anthony also mailed the couple fake tax forms that pretended to show their income from investments Anthony had made for them.
“Protecting West Virginia’s senior citizens from scams like this has been a priority for me from day one,” said U.S. Attorney Goodwin. “This case is a reminder to stay vigilant. There are plenty more scammers out there like this defendant, who may seem trustworthy but are really out to separate people from their hard-earned savings. Always be wary of any deal that seems too good to be true.”
U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s website provides information for seniors to avoid becoming victims of fraud and other crimes: http://www.justice.gov/usao/wvs/Safe-senior-brochure.pdf.
Anthony faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on February 17, 2015.
The West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated the case. Counsel to the United States Attorney Steve Ruby and Assistant United States Attorney Gabriele Wohl are handling the prosecution.
Ohio Woman and Three WV Natives Sentenced for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Tara Tighe, Public Affairs SpecialistWHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – A Shadyside, Ohio woman and three West Virginia residents were sentenced for drug trafficking offenses, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced today.
Katherine Hungerman, 45, of Shadyside, Ohio, was sentenced to 46 months in prison after she conspired to distribute oxycodone, cocaine, and buprenorphine, a pain medication used to treat opioid dependence. She pled guilty in June 2014 to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Schedule II and Schedule III Controlled Substances.”
Megan Brak, 28, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced to 33 months in prison. Brak pled guilty in September 2013 to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Base and Heroin”
Richard W. Hercules, 50, of McMechon, West Virginia, was sentenced to 10 months in prison. He pled guilty in June 2014 to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Oxycodone.”
Michael Coppa, 48, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced to five months in prison. He pled guilty in June 2014 to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Cocaine.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parr prosecuted Hercules, Hungerman, and Coppa on behalf of the government. An investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, revealed their involvement in a prescription painkiller and cocaine distribution organization.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Bernard prosecuted Brak on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police and the Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigated.
Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp presided.