Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Tuesday 9 September 2014
Pine Ridge Man Charged with Aggravated Sexual Abuse by ForceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Aggravated Sexual Abuse by Force and Sexual Abuse.
Ryan Bissonette, age 33, was indicted on June 17, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on September 5, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is life imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charges relate to Bissonette forcefully engaging in a sexual act with a female, who was physically incapable of declining participation, on August 8, 2013, near Pine Ridge.
The charges are merely accusations and Bissonette is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman is prosecuting the case.
Bissonette was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has been set for November 4, 2014.
Owners of Spice and Bath Salts Store Sentenced to Ten Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The owners of a Gloucester, Virginia store that sold synthetic marijuana and amphetamines were each sentenced yesterday to ten years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and were ordered to forfeit $425,000 as proceeds of their drug distribution activities.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the sentences were imposed by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
Daniel Bray, 34, and Rachel Webb-Harvey, 25, both of Gloucester, pleaded guilty in September 2013 to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, analogue drugs as the owners of the store “A Lil’ of This, a Lil’ of That” on George Washington Highway in Gloucester. According to court records, from January to July 2012, the defendants sold a variety of analogue drugs commonly referred to as “Spice,” the generic street name for synthetic cannabinoids that mimic the physical effects of marijuana, and “Bath Salts,” which contain substituted cathinones that have effects similar to amphetamines.
Five other defendants were sentenced previously for their roles in the conspiracy. Those defendants include Jose N. Alvarado, who was sentenced to seven years in prison; Sandra A. Webb, who received 56 months; Shawn R. Woodlen, who received 50 months; Jeromy L. Hawk, who received ten months; and Jeffery A. Fowlkes, who received five months in prison.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Virginia State Police Tri-Rivers and Peninsula Task Forces, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:13-cr-45.Tweet
Orange County Gang Members Convicted of Sex Trafficking of A MinorRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, announces that a federal jury has found Xavier Francisco Villanueva, a/k/a “X,” (25, Orlando) Jose Carmona, a/k/a “Hood,” (21, Orlando) and Ashley Nicole Barnett, a/k/a “Snow,” (25, Orlando) guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, for which they each face up to life in prison. Carmona and Barnett were also found guilty of aiding and abetting each other in the sex trafficking of a minor. This charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years, up to life in prison. The jury returned the verdict on September 5, 2014. The sentencing hearings are scheduled for December 4, 2014.
According to the evidence presented at trial, between January 17, 2013, and January 25, 2013, the above-named individuals conspired to engage a 14-year-old girl in a commercial sex act. The individuals were part of the “Nine Trey Billy Bad Ass” gang, which is affiliated with the “Bloods” street gang. They used drugs, physical restraint, and threats of force in order to engage the minor in prostitution activities for their own financial gain and benefit.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ilianys Rivera Miranda and Karen Gable.
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.projectsafechildhood.gov.
North Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Offices Co-sponsor Federal Domestic Violence Conference September 10-12, 2014, in GreensboroRead the Press Release
RALEIGH - United States Attorneys Thomas G. Walker, Ripley Rand, and Anne M. Tompkins announced that their three Offices are co-sponsoring a Federal Domestic Violence Conference September 10-12, 2014, at the Greensboro-High Point Marriott in Greensboro. Preventing and prosecuting Domestic Violence cases is a priority of the U.S. Department of Justice, and this training is designed to bring together law enforcement and service providers to educate them about this deplorable crime. Equally important is caring for and providing services to the victims of domestic violence, and discussions of issues related to victim services topics are also on the agenda.
Domestic violence continues to plague our communities, adversely affecting countless victims and their families. There is a great need to educate those involved in responding to domestic violence about the tools available to treat the victims and prosecute the perpetrators using federal laws when appropriate. There is also a need to educate service providers and law enforcement about the methods to reduce the barriers for victims seeking services, and to educate our state and local partners about the federal tools available to prosecute these crimes.
“One of the Department of Justice’s priorities is protecting vulnerable victims and holding offenders accountable, and the North Carolina United States Attorney’s Offices are committed to working together effectively with law enforcement and other groups to fight domestic violence,” said United States Attorney Rand.
“Domestic violence is a national epidemic and it is happening here, in our own communities, with many of the victims and perpetrators hiding in plain sight. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina has played an active role in raising public awareness, increasing law enforcement training and establishing partnerships with victim service providers in Western Carolina. This symposium is a continuation of our efforts to create and maintain these strong partnerships, which can be force multipliers in our fight against domestic violence,” said U.S. Attorney Tompkins.
“This event is an excellent example of the vital collaboration needed between the law enforcement and the service provider community. Efforts to confront domestic violence must include an increased awareness of the indicators of this crime by those who are most likely to encounter the victims,” said U.S. Attorney Walker.
The conference is also being co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission, the North Carolina Justice Academy, the Carolinas Institute for Community Policing, the North Carolina Victim Assistance Network, the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys.
Credentialed members of the media are invited to the conference. The agenda is attached with more details about the training.
Nine Sentenced to Prison for Distribution of OxycodoneRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell has sentenced nine individuals to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone. Ten individuals were charged by criminal complaint on April 9, 2013. Nine were arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty for their roles in this case. One individual remains a fugitive.
According to the court documents, Edwin Morales-Hernandez and Rafael Rivera managed a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) that fraudulently obtained prescriptions for various controlled substances, mostly Oxycodone. Members of the DTO traveled to Florida from Puerto Rico and Massachusetts, posing as patients at various pain management clinics. These “clinic patients” would obtain prescriptions for Oxycodone and provide them to Morales or Rivera, who filled the prescriptions at pharmacies in the Middle District of Florida, including Encore Pharmacy, where Francisca Maria Paez worked as a licensed pharmacy technician. On a number of occasions, Morales-Hernandez and Rivera mailed the Oxycodone to co-conspirators in Holyoke, Massachusetts. After the Oxycodone was sold in Massachusetts, the drug proceeds were deposited in local banks and later withdrawn from bank branches in the Palm Bay, Florida area.
Morales-Hernandez (52, Palm Bay, FL) was sentenced to seven years and six months in federal prison. Carlos Alberto Cotto-Lopez, a.k.a. “Papito”, (25, Holyoke, MA) was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Paez (28, Kissimmee, FL) was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Heriberto Morales-Hernandez (45, Holyoke, MA) was sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison. Jose Manuel Garcia-Santiago, a.k.a. “Cenizo”, (29, Holyoke, MA) was sentenced to three years and two months in federal prison. Isaac Matta-Robles (55, Miami, FL) was sentenced to two years and ten months in federal prison. Edwin Miguel Negron (27, Holyoke, MA) was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison. Jose Antonio Ortiz-Gonzalez, a.k.a. “Chelo”, (50, Puerto Rico) and Juan Luis Collazo-Pinto, a.k.a. “Pacho”, (29, Holyoke, MA) were each sentenced to two years in federal prison. Rafael Rivera, a.k.a. “Chapo,” (39, Palm Bay) remains a fugitive.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Palm Bay Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haas.
New York Man Sentenced to 10 Years on Cocaine ChargeRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs Specialist
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – A man from New York was sentenced to ten years in federal prison on a cocaine trafficking charge.
Melvin SANDERS, age 56, formerly of New York, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release for “Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine.” SANDERS was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal.
Nine others appeared in Elkins Federal court, including Chad Edward CUTRIGHT, age 29, of Montrose, West Virginia, who was sentenced to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release for “Possession of Pseudoephedrine to be used in the Manufacture of Methamphetamine.”
James Allen WARE, age 30, of Buckhannon, West Virginia, was sentenced to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release for “Possession of Materials used in the Manufacture of Methamphetamine.” WARE, who is free on bond, will self-report to prison.
Joshua David CASADA, age 29, of Buckhannon, West Virginia, was sentenced to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release for “Possession of Pseudoephedrine to be used in the Manufacture of Methamphetamine.” CASADA was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal.
Kristin Elaine DYE, age 21, of Buckhannon; Lindsey Parker ROY, age 40, of Elkins, West Virginia; and, Destry Seth POLING, age 27, of Parsons, West Virginia; were sentenced to five years of probation for “Possession of Pseudoephedrine to be used in the Manufacture of Methamphetamine.”Gary Rudolph LOY, age 41, of Belington, West Virginia, was sentenced to five years of probation for “Manufacture of Methamphetamine.”
Cinda Lou CHAPMAN, age 34, of Maysville, West Virginia, was sentenced to three years of probation for “Theft of Government Money.”
Robert Franklin DAVIS, II, age 35, of Buckhannon, entered a plea of guilty to Possession of Materials used in the Manufacture of Methamphetamine. DAVIS, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 10 years in prison.
These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew R. Cogar, Stephen D. Warner, David J. Perri, Stephen L. Vogrin and Jarod J. Douglas and investigated by the Greater Harrison County Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department, the West Virginia State Police, the U.S. Forest Service, the Elkins Police Department, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department and the Tucker County Sheriff’s Dept.
Chief U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.New Haven Man Admits Role in Check Fraud RingRead the Press Release
Follow @USAO_CT
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRANDON KEY BENTLEY, 31, of New Haven, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Smith in Hartford to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between July 2010 and May 2011, BENTLEY and two other individuals obtained stolen checks, recruited “runners” who cashed the checks, and altered the checks to list the runners as the lawful payees. The three individuals drove the runners to several Connecticut bank branches and directed them to enter the banks and cash the checks. The runners were paid a small part of the cash proceeds. Through this scheme, 39 checks totaling $114,102.34 were altered and presented to banks, and 37 of those checks totaling $104,070.94 were cashed by the banks.
BENTLEY is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on November 26, 2014, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years and a fine of up to $1 million.
This matter is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, along with the Connecticut Financial Fraud Task Force and the Branford Police Department, Madison Police Department, Middlebury Police Department, Milford Police Department, New Britain Police Department, New Haven Police Department, New Milford Police Department, North Branford Police Department, Waterbury Police Department, Woodbridge Police Department, and Southbury Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry K. KopelPUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Monroe County Man Pleads Guilty to Crack Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 34-year-old Stroudsburg area man pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to distributing crack cocaine.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, Jose Hernandez-Tirado, admitted to distributing and possessing with intent to distribute crack in Monroe County during 2013.
Hernandez-Tirado was charged in a Superseding Information filed in August 2014. The charge resulted from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Pennsylvania State Police, and Berks County Detectives.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Hernandez-Tirado faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing was scheduled for November 2014.
Maryland Men Convicted on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistMARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Eight people entered guilty pleas to Federal drug charges in Martinsburg.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that Alan BUTLER, age 57, and Delano Alan BUTLER, age 33, of Hagerstown, Maryland, entered pleas of guilty to “Distribution of Heroin.” Alan BUTLER and Delano BUTLER each face up to 20 years in prison.
Patrice Dominique STEPHENS, age 34, of Westernport, Maryland, entered a plea of guilty to “Distribution of Cocaine.” STEPHENS, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces up to 20 years in prison.
Walter EVANS, age 43, of Martinsburg, entered a plea of guilty to “Possession with Intent to Distribute Crack Cocaine.” EVANS, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 20 years in prison.
Bradley FRENCH, age 45 and Shawna PERRY, age 18, of Hedgesville, West Virginia, entered pleas of guilty to “Distribution of Heroin.” Co-defendant Theresa PERRY, age 45, of Hedgesville, entered a plea of guilty to “Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premise.” FRENCH and Shawna PERRY, and Theresa PERRY each face up to 20 years in prison.
Dennis Dwayne BUTTS, II, age 38, of Hedgesville, entered a plea of to “Distribution of Heroin.” BUTTS, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces up to 20 years in prison.
In other matters, Jeff CHANEY, age 36, of Burlington, West Virginia, entered a plea of guilty to “Sale of a Firearm to a Felon.” CHANEY, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 10 years in prison.
Brenda Kaye STAMPER, age 46, of Martinsburg, entered a plea of guilty to “Theft of Government Money” was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $15,312. STAMPER, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 10 years in prison.
Harold Quiceno RODRIGUEZ, age 36, a citizen of Colombia, entered a plea of guilty to “False Claim to U.S. Citizenship.” RODRIGUEZ, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces up to three years in prison and deportation.
These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul T. Camilletti and Jarod J. Douglas and were investigated by the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crime Task Force; the Potomac Highlands Drug & Violent Crime Task Force; the Martinsburg Police Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office; Social Security Administration; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HIS).
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.Marin Doctor Indicted for Distributing Controlled Substances Outside the Usual Course of Professional PracticeRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – On Sept. 4, 2014, a federal grand jury indicted Doctor Michael Roger Chiarottino, with fourteen counts of distributing Schedule II controlled substances, and one count of distributing a Schedule III controlled substance outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Jay Fitzpatrick.
The Indictment against Chiarottino was unsealed at his initial appearance this morning in United States District Court in Oakland.
According to the indictment, Chiarottino, 66, of Corte Madera, is alleged to have improperly prescribed controlled substances including oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, and methadone.
Chiarottino was arrested on Sept. 8, 2014, made his initial appearance in federal court today, and was released on $75,000 bail. Chiarottino's next scheduled appearance is at on Sept. 15, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. for a bail review hearing before the Honorable Donna M. Ryu, United States Magistrate Judge.
The maximum statutory penalty for each count of distributing a Schedule II controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), is 20 years imprisonment, a fine of $1,000,000, a lifetime of supervised release, a mandatory minimum three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The maximum statutory penalty for the count of distributing a Schedule III controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(E)(i), (iii), is 10 years imprisonment, a fine of $500,000, a lifetime of supervised release, a mandatory minimum two years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Garth Hire is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Melissa Dorton. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Livermore Police Department, Pleasanton Police Department, Marin County Narcotics Task Force, and the Medical Board of California. This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force a focused multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Please note, an indictment contains only allegations and, as with all defendants, Michael Roger Chiarottino must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
(Chiarottino indictment )
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Charges in Manhattan Federal Court Against Former Physician’s Assistant for Minor League Hockey Team and Former Player for Team Relating to the Distribution of OxycodoneRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James J. Hunt, the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and William J. Bratton, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment
charging JORDAN HART, a former player for a minor league hockey team (“Team-1”), and OSCAR JOHNSON, a physician’s assistant who formerly provided medical services to Team-1, with various offenses principally relating to the distribution of oxycodone. As alleged, JOHNSON wrote medically unnecessary Percocet prescriptions for HART on a monthly basis from June 2009 through July 2011, despite never once conducting any treatment or diagnosis of HART for any injuries or illnesses over that time period. From at least December 2010 through April 2011, HART sold at least some of the oxycodone he obtained from JOHNSON’s prescriptions to Derek Boogaard, who was a professional hockey player for an NHL team in New York, New York (“Team-2”), and who suffered from an addiction to prescription painkillers and Ambien. On May 13, 2011, two weeks after last purchasing oxycodone from HART in New York, Boogaard died of an overdose of oxycodone and alcohol in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
HART and JOHNSON were arrested this morning. HART will be presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger later this afternoon. JOHNSON will be presented in federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah, later this afternoon. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, for more than two years, Oscar Johnson casually provided Percocet prescriptions to a former minor league hockey player without once treating or examining that player during that period. The minor league player, Jordan Hart, then filled those prescriptions and sold the corresponding drugs to Derek Boogaard, an NHL player, feeding Boogaard’s growing, debilitating addiction. Ultimately, that addiction, fueled at least in part by the drugs that Johnson illegally prescribed, and Hart peddled for cash, culminated in Boogaard’s tragic overdose death. We have seen far too many tragedies from prescription drug overdoses. This Office will continue to warn people of the dangers of prescription drug abuse and investigate and prosecute those who illegally deal in pain medications wherever we find them. And finally, the sports world is not exempt from federal narcotics law and should not expect to be.”
DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said: “Like a sad story of lost potential, Derek Boogaard fell victim to prescription drug addiction ending in the most tragic consequence – a fatal overdose. His death in Minneapolis led law enforcement on a trail to Long Island and Utah that identified two people who allegedly supplied him diverted oxycodone, Jordan Hart and Oscar Johnson. Let this be another warning to the athletes across America about the fatal dangers of prescription drug abuse and a warning to those who distribute diverted prescription medication throughout our communities – law enforcement will track you down.” Acting SAC Hunt would like to extend his condolences to the Boogaard family for their loss.
NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton said: “The NYPD will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to stop the illegal drug trade in any form of distribution. Thanks to the investigators and prosecutors involved in this case, this illegal supply of prescription narcotics was shut down before it could destroy another life.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
Oxycodone is a prescription narcotic-strength opioid used to treat severe and chronic pain conditions. Oxycodone is typically dispensed in five to 30 milligram tablets to patients suffering from conditions such as post-operative pain, severe back and orthopedic injuries, as well as pain associated with certain forms of cancer treatments and terminal illnesses. Oxycodone is a highly addictive opioid which, along with other controlled substance prescription medications, is abused by almost seven million Americans, resulting in more deaths from prescription drug overdoses than auto accidents. Because of its extremely addictive properties, oxycodone is heavily regulated, and should be prescribed with care. Indeed, the standard of care for properly prescribing oxycodone and other opioids requires monthly to quarterly in-person evaluation of a patient, including a full discussion of the degree of pain relief the patient is obtaining, the degree of improvement from the medication, an assessment of side effects, scrutiny for aberrant behavior, physical examination, compliance monitoring, and the development and implementation of a treatment plan utilizing all possible alternatives.
JOHNSON was a physician’s assistant for a medical services group in Utah (the “Medical Group”) that provided contract medical services to Team-1, which played in the East Coast Hockey League (“ECHL”). JOHNSON worked for the Medical Group between 2007 and July 2011, and was the primary medical liaison to Team-1 during that time. As a physician’s assistant, JOHNSON, under the supervision of a physician or surgeon, was able to diagnose and treat illnesses, and prescribe medications including oxycodone.
HART played for Team-1 during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 ECHL seasons. During those two seasons, JOHNSON did not regularly prescribe oxycodone for HART. Indeed, JOHNSON wrote HART a total of four prescriptions for medications containing oxycodone during HART’s entire tenure with Team-1. However, after the 2008-2009 ECHL season ended in April 2009, and after HART had stopped playing for Team-1 and retired from the ECHL, JOHNSON began a practice of writing oxycodone prescriptions for HART approximately every month. The prescriptions began in June 2009 and continued until July 2011 – the last month JOHNSON worked for the Medical Group. In total, between June 2009 and July 2011 JOHNSON wrote HART 26 prescriptions for Percocet, which contains oxycodone, for a total of 2,920 pills.
JOHNSON did not conduct any in-person treatment or examination of HART prior to writing any of the 26 prescriptions issued between June 2009 and July 2011. Instead, JOHNSON simply signed the prescriptions and provided them to a medical assistant to mail to HART in New York, where all 26 of the prescriptions were filled. When questioned, JOHNSON told the medical assistant that HART had shoulder pain and was looking for a doctor in New York. JOHNSON continued to write prescriptions for HART without any treatment or examination for 26 months.
HART, in turn, began selling the Percocet he obtained from prescriptions written by JOHNSON beginning in at least December 2010. HART sold some or all of the painkillers to Derek Boogaard, a professional hockey player for Team-2, an NHL team in New York, New York. Boogaard, who had previously played for a professional hockey team in Minneapolis, Minnesota, had a documented history of addiction to prescription painkillers and Ambien. In December 2010, Boogaard suffered a severe concussion after an on-ice fight during a game, and never played again. Boogaard subsequently suffered severe migraines and began spending most of his time in his New York apartment with the lights off, abusing oxycodone and Ambien. At least some of the oxycodone was purchased from HART, to whom Boogaard had been introduced by a teammate. Boogaard regularly traveled to Huntington, New York, where HART lived, to purchase the pills.
In April 2011, Boogaard was sent to a rehabilitation facility in California to deal with his addiction to painkillers. Boogaard was given permission to leave the facility in late April 2011 to travel to New York and then Minneapolis. When Boogaard arrived in New York on April 29, 2011, he met with HART and wrote HART a $4,000 check to buy prescription drugs. Boogaard then traveled to Minneapolis and met his brother. While unpacking his belongings from the trip to New York, Boogaard provided a bag of prescription drugs to his brother for safekeeping, before ultimately returning to the rehabilitation facility in California.
On May 12, 2011, during another reprieve from the rehabilitation facility, Boogaard consumed one of the painkillers he had brought from New York to Minneapolis two weeks earlier. After a late night of drinking with friends at bars in downtown Minneapolis, Boogaard went to sleep during the early morning hours of May 13, 2011. He was found dead later that day. Boogaard’s cause of death was determined to be a mixed oxycodone and alcohol toxicity.
HART, 31, of Huntington, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. JOHNSON, 59, of Salt Lake City, Utah, is charged with 26 counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute oxycodone, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of making a false statement, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara thanked the DEA Tactical Diversion Squad New York (TDS-NY) comprising agents and officers from the DEA, the New York City Police Department, the Town of Orangetown Police Department, and the Westchester County Police Department, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration Field Offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Minneapolis Police Department for their work in the investigation, which he noted is ongoing.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Russell Capone and Jessica Lonergan are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. Jordan Hart and Oscar Johnson Indictment
Man Who Managed Chinese Restaurant Pleads Guilty to Harboring Foreign WorkersRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A man who managed a Chinese restaurant in Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to harbor workers who were in the United States illegally, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Quan Liu, 26, Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to harbor aliens who were unlawfully in the United States. In his plea, he admitted the crime occurred while he was the manager of Wei’s Super Buffet #2 at 7531 Wornall Road in Kansas City, Mo. The restaurant was owned by a company based in Olathe, Kan., which was headed by co-defendant Wei Liu.
When investigators served a search warrant at a three-bedroom apartment that Quan Liu leased near the restaurant they found six illegal aliens residing there. One had overstayed a B-2 visa, one previously had been deported, one previously had been found unlawfully in the United States and had returned to his country voluntarily, and three others were illegally present in the United States.
Co-defendants include:
Wei Liu, who is awaiting trial.
Xiang Liu, who is awaiting trial
Jin Hui Liu, who is set for a change of plea hearing Sept. 12.
Huiming Liu, who is awaiting sentencing.
Bin Liu, who is awaiting trial.
Huiqing Liu, who is awaiting trial.Quan Liu will be set for a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Grissom commended the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask for their work on the case.
Macomb Township Woman Pleads Guilty to Aiding the Filing of A False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
A Macomb Township woman pleaded guilty today to one count of willfully aiding the preparation and filing of a false and fraudulent tax return, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced.
McQuade was joined in the announcement by Jarod Koopman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Entering the guilty plea before United States District Judge Paul D. Borman was Jennifer Lee Moriarty, 44. According to court records, Moriarty owned and operated Gold Party’s 101, LLC. Gold Party’s 101 purchased gold and other metals from individuals attending gold parties and then resold the purchased metals to a refinery. The information presented to the court at the time of the plea showed that Moriarty failed to provide her return preparer with a truthful accounting of the income earned by Gold Party’s 101 in 2008, some $425,000, causing her business income to be substantially understated.
Under her plea agreement, Moriarty is being held responsible for failing to report $1.8 million in income received by her business in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The tax loss to the federal government was $122,000
“Moriarty’s attempt to reduce her tax liability by intentionally hiding income from her return preparer and causing the filing of false returns is a criminal act and is unfair to honest taxpayers who file correct returns each year. Filing a false tax return is a felony offense that carries severe consequences,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jarod Koopman.
Aiding in the filing of false tax returns carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment, a fine of $100,000, and an order of restitution. Sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2014 before Judge Borman.
The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen HiyamaLong Island Resident Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Using Stolen Social Security Numbers to File Thousands of False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Earlier today, Michael Figat was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein in District Court in Central Islip, New York, for participating in a scheme to defraud the United States. As part of that sentence, the court also sentenced Figat to 3 years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $250,000. Restitution remains to be determined.
The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS), New York; Farrell Dolan, Resident Agent-in-Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Long Island Resident Office; Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), New York Division; and Rafael Medina, Special Agent-in-Charge, USPIS, Office of Inspector General (USPIS OIG), Northeast Area Field Office.
“Figat and his coconspirators stole the personal information of thousands of unsuspecting Puerto Rican citizens to enrich themselves at the expense of the United States and the tax-paying public,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We are committed to prosecuting those who take advantage of the federal tax system for personal profit. I want to commend my law enforcement partners for their outstanding efforts in leading this investigation.”
Natural born residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are, upon birth, automatically granted United States citizenship and are issued United States Social Security numbers upon application. Figat exploited tax laws that exempt Puerto Rican citizens from filing federal income tax returns provided they derive their incomes solely from sources within Puerto Rico. The defendant and his coconspirators illegally obtained identification information for Puerto Rican citizens, including names, dates of birth, and social security numbers. Then, between January 2011 and April 2012, they used that information to file thousands of fraudulent tax returns and obtained more than $16,000,000 in United States Treasury refund checks. As part of the scheme, Figat and his coconspirators bribed Postal Service employees to intercept tax refund checks from the mail. They also removed tax refund checks from the addressees’ mail boxes. Many of the checks in this scheme were sent to addresses in Shirley, Patchogue, Lindenhurst, and West Babylon, New York. The schemes were uncovered, in part, by a law enforcement officer working in an undercover capacity.
Today’s announcement is part of an on-going effort by the Identity Theft Task Force (ITTF), which the IRS created in mid-2012, to address the growing issue of identity theft in New York. The ITTF combines the resources of several agencies to investigate identity theft,including investigating the use of stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns. The agencies currently participating in the ITTF include the IRS; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; USSS; USPIS; New York City Police Department; Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Department of State; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General; Federal Reserve Board, Office of Inspector General; USPIS OIG; Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Department of Treasury, Office of Inspector General; and Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney
Christopher Caffarone.
The Defendant:
MICHAEL FIGAT
Age: 36
Shirley, New York
Long Island Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Join Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
Earlier today at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York, Marcos Alonso Zea, also known as “Ali Zea,” an American citizen and resident of Brentwood, New York, pled guilty to attempting to provide material support to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as Ansar al-Sharia (collectively “AQAP”), and obstruction of justice.
The guilty plea was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division; George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).
As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, beginning in the fall of 2011, Zea planned to travel overseas in order to wage violent jihad against the perceived enemies of Islam, which included the government of Yemen and its allies. In furtherance of his plot, on January 4, 2012, Zea boarded a flight at John F. Kennedy Airport (“JFK”) in Queens, New York to London, England, en route to Yemen. Zea was not permitted to transit onward from London, however, and was returned to the United States by British authorities. Zea was interviewed and closely surveilled by investigators following his return. Despite being prevented from traveling to Yemen, Zea continued to plot, including by encouraging and supporting his co-conspirator, Justin Kaliebe, who also was planning to travel to fight jihad. In January 2013, Kaliebe was arrested at JFK while attempting to travel to Yemen to join AQAP. Months later, after learning that he too was under investigation, Zea caused electronic media on his computer to be destroyed in an effort to obstruct the investigation. Despite his efforts, a forensic examination of Zea’s electronic media subsequently conducted by investigators revealed an assortment of violent Islamic extremist materials, including issues of Inspire magazine, part of AQAP’s English-language media operations.
“American citizens who offer support to terrorist organizations pose a grave threat to our national security and the security of our allies around the world,” stated U.S. Attorney Lynch. “In this case, the defendant not only attempted to join al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but also tried to thwart an investigation by destroying evidence. We will continue our relentless efforts against terrorists, whether they hail from overseas or from our own homeland.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the New York City Police Department, the Nassau County Police Department, the Suffolk County Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police Department for their work on the investigation.
“One of our highest priorities is to protect our nation by identifying, disrupting, and holding accountable those who provide or attempt to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Carlin. “This case serves unambiguous notice that attempting to travel abroad to engage in such conduct has significant consequences.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos stated, “As we are far too familiar, Zea attempted to travel to Yemen in support of a radical terrorist agenda. When he couldn’t get there to join al-Qaeda, he went to work recruiting others to go in his stead. And when Zea learned he was under investigation he made every attempt to destroy the incriminating evidence.”
“The Marcos Zea investigation is another clear example of those who are willing to travel overseas to follow al-Qaeda's narrative of violence," said Police Commissioner William J. Bratton. “This case is another example of the close cooperation between the NYPD's Intelligence Bureau and the FBI's JTTF to uncover these individuals and stop them before they pose a threat to US interests overseas, or at home when they return.”
Zea is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein on January 14, 2015. He faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth D. DuCharme, John J. Durham, and Michael P. Canty, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Kelli Andrews of the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice.
The Defendant:
MARCOS ALONSO ZEA (a/k/a “Ali Zea”)
Age: 26
Brentwood, New York
Lincoln Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
On September 9, 2014, Stacy Lynn Henry, age 40 of Lincoln, was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months (130 months) in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine between January of 2012 and October of 2013. Information provided to law enforcement indicated that Henry was responsible for the distribution of at more than 500 grams (approximately 18 ounces) of methamphetamine in the Lincoln area during that time-frame.
Following the prison term, Henry will serve five years on supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force.
KC Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Child PornRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing and attempting to distribute child pornography.
David Wayne Scott, Jr., 28, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to 15 years in federal prison without parole.
On Feb. 7, 2014, Scott pleaded guilty to attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet and to possessing child pornography. Scott admitted that he possessed child pornography on his computers, which he shared over the Internet through a peer-to-peer file-sharing program.
Scott was identified by three separate investigations, two originating in Florida and another in New York, as sharing child pornography over the Internet. Those investigators, working independently, identified movies and images of child pornography that Scott made available to others to download over the Internet.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Scott’s residence and seized four computers and four loose hard drives. A forensic examination found approximately 208 video files and 1,547 images of child pornography.
According to court documents, Scott admitted that he had been viewing child pornography for four to five years and had been sharing child pornography online for three years. Some of the child pornography images depicted victims who were younger than four years old, including infants. Scott shared as many as 290 child pornography files and averaged 20 to 30 file-sharing friends when he shared child pornography online. Some of those friends told him that they were actively engaged in sexual abuse of children. Scott watched minors engage in sexually explicit conduct via a webcam.
Scott must also pay restitution to four identified victims who have petitioned the court for restitution from every person who received or possesses images of their sexual abuse. He must also forfeit his computers and hard drives to the government.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the FBI, the Boynton Beach, Fla., Police Department and the Brevard County, Fla., Sheriff’s Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Jose Padilla Re-Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Murder Individuals Overseas, Providing Material Support to TerroristsRead the Press Release
John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security and Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, announced today that U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke re-sentenced Jose Padilla to serve 21 years in prison for his 2007 conviction for conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim individuals in a foreign country; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; and providing material support to terrorists.
The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals had remanded the case after upholding the convictions but vacating the original sentence of 17 and-a-half years as too lenient. Padilla faced a sentence under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines of 360 months to life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations section. The re-sentencing of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Frazier and Ricardo Del Toro of the Southern District of Florida and Department of Justice National Security Division Trial Attorney Bridget Behling.”
Jose Padilla Re-Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Murder Individuals Overseas, Providing Material Support to TerroristsRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announce today that U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke re-sentenced Jose Padilla to serve 21 years in prison for his 2007 conviction for conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim individuals in a foreign country; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; and providing material support to terrorists.
The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals had remanded the case after upholding the convictions but vacating the original sentence of 17 and one-half years as too lenient. Padilla faced a sentence under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines of 360 months to life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations section. The re-sentencing of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Frazier and Ricardo Del Toro of the Southern District of Florida and Department of Justice National Security Division Trial Attorney Bridget Behling.
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.
Johnstown Women Charged with Possessing Counterfeit Checks, CardsRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - Two residents of Johnstown, Pa., have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Johnstown on charges of possessing counterfeit or unauthorized access devices and possession of device-making equipment, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The two-count indictment named Terretha Lynn Haga, 43, and Kristina Joanna Barney, 32.
According to the indictment presented to the court, on Oct. 22, 2010, Haga and Barney possessed counterfeit or unauthorized access devices, which included approximately 132 counterfeited identification cards, 73 counterfeited checks, 55 unauthorized gift cards, and 18 counterfeited credit cards. In addition to possessing these counterfeit or unauthorized access devises, Haga and Barney also possessed device-making equipment, specifically Check Designer, Print Shop 2.0, check stock paper, and tools to modify checks and credit cards. Their possession of this equipment was designed primarily to produce counterfeit checks and credit cards.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 25 years in prison, a fine of 500,000, or both, for each defendant. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Secret Service and the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Hartford Man Sentenced to More Than 8 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking HeroinRead the Press Release
Follow @USAO_CT
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANTONIO SANCHEZ, also known as “Cano,” 41, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 100 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in a Hartford-based narcotics trafficking ring.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and the Hartford Police Department into gang-related narcotics trafficking in Hartford’s South End. The investigation specifically targeted a heroin and cocaine trafficking organization headed by Angel Rosa, also known as “Little” and “Daddy,” and his cousin, Angel Rosa, also known as “Mo Betta” and “Fab.” Little supervised the drug trafficking ring, which included several other family members, through fear and intimidation. Mo Betta managed the daily operations of the organization, facilitated the delivery and transportation of large quantities of heroin, and supervised numerous drug sellers who distributed heroin and other narcotics in the Zion Street area. At times, Little and Mo Betta used, or threatened to use, violence to ensure the success of the organization.
SANCHEZ, who is Little’s stepbrother, sold heroin on a daily basis from 584 Zion Street.
As a result of this investigation, 21 individuals were charged with various federal offenses, and law enforcement officers seized narcotics, one firearm, approximately $230,000 in cash, eight vehicles and jewelry.
SANCHEZ has been detained since his arrest on April 11, 2013. On April 25, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 100 grams or more of heroin.
SANCHEZ’s criminal history includes numerous drug-related convictions.
Angel Rosa aka “Little” and Angel Rosa aka “Mo Betta” each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 100 grams or more of heroin. On May 15, 2014, “Little” was sentenced to 235 months of imprisonment, and on April 29, 2014, “Mo Betta” was sentenced to 165 months of imprisonment.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes members of the Connecticut State Police, Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut Department of Correction and Connecticut National Guard. The Connecticut State Police’s Emergency Services Unit, Hartford Police Department’s Emergency Response Team, Capital Region Emergency Response Team, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and the New Britain, East Hartford, Wethersfield and Manchester Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Leaming and Patrick Caruso.PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Greek National Sentenced to Eight Years on Money Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Greek man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Boston today for his role in perpetrating a multi-million dollar scheme which defrauded developers of $7.9 million.
Evripides Georgiadis, 49, of Larisa, Greece, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to eight years and six months in prison and ordered to pay $8.4 million in restitution. In May 2014, following a three-week trial, Georgiadis was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Between 2007 and 2011, Georgiadis participated in a conspiracy to defraud developers who were seeking financing for large-scale alternative energy and commercial projects by pretending to be a representative of a multi-billion dollar fund located in Luxembourg. Georgiadis and his co-conspirators convinced developers to give deposits between $300,000 and $1 million to this fraudulent fund with the promise that the deposit would be fully refundable. Georgiadis and his co-conspirators spent and transferred the developers' deposit money out of the country, and the fraudulent fund never financed any projects. In perpetrating this scheme, Georgiadis helped create fake letters of credit and a phantom New Zealand bank, all to reassure developers about the safety of their deposits.
Over $7 million was stolen from victims, including $600,000 which had originally been provided by the West Springfield financial adviser Sean Mansfield. Mansfield, in turn, had stolen the funds from his clients. In 2011, Mansfield was sentenced to 60 months in prison for defrauding his clients.
Georgiadis’s co-defendants, John Condo, Frank Barecich, and Michael Zanetti, have all been convicted. In July 2014, Condo and Barecich were sentenced to 90 months and 12 months in prison, respectively. Zanetti was sentenced to 37 months in prison.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Susan Hensley, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Alex J. Grant and Karen L. Goodwin of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.
Granite City Woman Peads Guilty to Controlled Substances by FraudRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that Abbe L. Terry, 49, of Granite City, Illinois, pled guilty to a three-count indictment charging that she obtained controlled substances by fraud and forgery. Sentencing has been set for January 12, 2015, at 2:00 p.m., in United States District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois. Terry will face up to 4 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to 3 years of supervised release as to each count.
At her plea, Terry admitted that on May 10, 2013, October 13, 2013, and October 23, 2013, she had, through the use of fraud and forgery, obtained Duragesic Patches, referred to as Fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance. Terry admitted that she used forged prescriptions that she had made on a home computer to obtain the controlled substances that had not been lawfully prescribed to her. Terry obtained the substances from pharmacies in Alton, Illinois.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Diversion Control. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranley R. Killian
Fourth Defendant Pleads Guilty to Assault Charge Arising out of Drive-By-Shooting of Acoma Pueblo HomeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Joseph Edward Lucero, 24, entered a guilty plea this morning to an assault charge arising out of the drive-by shooting of an Acoma Pueblo home in Dec. 2012. Lucero’s three co-defendants previously entered guilty pleas to crimes arising out of that drive-by-shooting.
Lucero, Preston Chino, 21, Cameron Joseph Kasero, 21, and Andrea Carrillo, 22, all members and residents of Laguna Pueblo, were indicted in July 2013 on assault and firearms charges. The indictment charged the four defendants with assaulting two men and a woman on Dec. 9, 2012, by discharging firearms at a residence located in Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.
During today’s hearing, Lucero pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon. Lucero admitted obtaining a firearm from Chino and discharging the firearm multiple times at the residence while it was occupied by the victims. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Lucero will be sentenced to a prison term within the range of 72 to 96 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Chino entered a guilty plea on Aug. 27, 2014, to an assault charge and admitted aiding Kasero and Lucero in assaulting the three victims by providing shotguns and ammunition to them. He also admitted driving his co-defendants to the victims’ Acoma Pueblo home where they discharged the shotguns multiple times in the direction of the residence. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Chino will be sentenced to 96 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Kasero and Carrillo entered guilty pleas on Sept. 2, 2014. Kasero admitted assaulting the victims discharging a shotgun at a residence while it was occupied by the victims. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Kasero will be sentenced to 96 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
In entering her guilty plea, Carrillo admitted aiding the assault on the victims by providing her cohorts with directions to the residence with the understanding that they intended to commit an assault at that location. Carrillo faces a statutory maximum sentence of ten years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
The sentencing hearings in this case have yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Laguna Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback is prosecuting the case.
Four Indicted for Fraud Against Government Contracting ProgramsRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – A federal grand jury in Greeneville returned an indictment on Aug. 12, 2013, against Ricky Anthony Lanier, 47, and Katrina Reshina Lanier, 40, of LaGrange, N.C.; Latoya Montrevette Speight, 37, of Snow Hill, N.C.; and Emanuel Louis Hill, 47, of Louisville, Ky., for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and major fraud against the United States.
These individuals appeared in court on Sept. 9, 2014 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Inman and pleaded not guilty. All were released on bond pending trial, which has been set for Nov. 18, 2014 in U.S. District Court, in Greeneville, Tennessee.
If convicted, they all face a term of 20 years in prison as to each wire fraud charge and up to 10 years in prison for the charges of major fraud against the United States. Additionally, they face fines of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release as to each count. The indictment also seeks forfeitures of approximately $15 million as to the Laniers and Speight and approximately $5 million as to Hill.
Details of this conspiracy are included in the indictment on file with the U.S. District Court, which alleges that the Laniers, Speight, and Hill conspired from November 2005 to April 2013 to defraud the United States government through a scheme to fraudulently obtain federal contracts intended to be awarded to businesses lawfully participating in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development program and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern program.
This indictment is the result of an investigation by Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Department of Interior Office of Inspector General, Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and United States Secret Service, with assistance from the National Park Service and General Services Administration Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neil Smith and David Gunn will represent the United States.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Four Indicted for Fraud Against Government Contracting ProgramsRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – A federal grand jury in Greeneville returned an indictment on Aug. 12, 2013, against Ricky Anthony Lanier, 47, and Katrina Reshina Lanier, 40, of LaGrange, N.C.; Latoya Montrevette Speight, 37, of Snow Hill, N.C.; and Emanuel Louis Hill, 47, of Louisville, Ky., for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and major fraud against the United States.
These individuals appeared in court on Sept. 9, 2014 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Inman and pleaded not guilty. All were released on bond pending trial, which has been set for Nov. 18, 2014 in U.S. District Court, in Greeneville, Tennessee.
If convicted, they all face a term of 20 years in prison as to each wire fraud charge and up to 10 years in prison for the charges of major fraud against the United States. Additionally, they face fines of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release as to each count. The indictment also seeks forfeitures of approximately $15 million as to the Laniers and Speight and approximately $5 million as to Hill.
Details of this conspiracy are included in the indictment on file with the U.S. District Court, which alleges that the Laniers, Speight, and Hill conspired from November 2005 to April 2013 to defraud the United States government through a scheme to fraudulently obtain federal contracts intended to be awarded to businesses lawfully participating in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development program and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern program.
This indictment is the result of an investigation by Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Department of Interior Office of Inspector General, Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and United States Secret Service, with assistance from the National Park Service and General Services Administration Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neil Smith and David Gunn will represent the United States.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Four Indicted for Fraud Against Government Contracting ProgramsRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – A federal grand jury in Greeneville returned an indictment on Aug. 12, 2013, against Ricky Anthony Lanier, 47, and Katrina Reshina Lanier, 40, of LaGrange, N.C.; Latoya Montrevette Speight, 37, of Snow Hill, N.C.; and Emanuel Louis Hill, 47, of Louisville, Ky., for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and major fraud against the United States.
These individuals appeared in court on Sept. 9, 2014 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Inman and pleaded not guilty. All were released on bond pending trial, which has been set for Nov. 18, 2014 in U.S. District Court, in Greeneville, Tennessee.
If convicted, they all face a term of 20 years in prison as to each wire fraud charge and up to 10 years in prison for the charges of major fraud against the United States. Additionally, they face fines of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release as to each count. The indictment also seeks forfeitures of approximately $15 million as to the Laniers and Speight and approximately $5 million as to Hill.
Details of this conspiracy are included in the indictment on file with the U.S. District Court, which alleges that the Laniers, Speight, and Hill conspired from November 2005 to April 2013 to defraud the United States government through a scheme to fraudulently obtain federal contracts intended to be awarded to businesses lawfully participating in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development program and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern program.
This indictment is the result of an investigation by Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Department of Interior Office of Inspector General, Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and United States Secret Service, with assistance from the National Park Service and General Services Administration Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neil Smith and David Gunn will represent the United States.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former TierOne Bank Executive Pleads Guilty for His Role <br /> in Scheme to Defraud Bank’s Shareholders and RegulatorsRead the Press Release
A former senior vice president and chief credit officer of TierOne Bank, a publicly traded commercial bank formerly headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud TierOne’s shareholders and regulators.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg of the District of Nebraska, Special Agent in Charge Thomas R. Metz of the FBI’s Omaha Division and Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) Christy Romero made the announcement.
“When the real estate market crashed, Don Langford, the chief credit officer and a senior vice president of TierOne Bank, worked with others to cook the bank’s books and cover up mounting losses,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “This conviction is another example of the Criminal Division’s pursuit of corporate executives who commit fraud, no matter what their title or stature.”
“The vast investigation led by the Omaha FBI Division, in conjunction with SIGTARP, ascertained and exposed a criminal enterprise maneuvering complex fraudulent transactions,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Metz. “This case reflects the FBI’s nonstop commitment to protect our communities by aggressively investigating and bringing to justice individuals exploiting their influence or position for personal gain.”
“Langford, former TierOne senior executive and chief credit officer, conspired with others to hide losses at the bank by cooking the bank’s books and reporting falsified information to stakeholders, regulators, external auditors, and the investing public,” said SIGTARP Romero. “Langford and others engaged in fraud in order to keep regulators at bay and from closing the bank, to maintain and increase the bank’s stock price, and to enrich themselves. The bank even made an unsuccessful attempt to get taxpayer TARP funds in November 2008. SIGTARP and our law enforcement officers will bring to justice perpetrators of fraud related to TARP and hold them accountable for their crimes.”
According to a criminal information filed with his plea agreement, from at least 2009 to April 2010, Don A. Langford, 63, of Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, and others falsely inflated the value of TierOne’s loan and real estate portfolio in its required reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). In January 2009, TierOne had executed a supervisory agreement with OTS that required TierOne to report information about its performance and financial condition and to maintain a minimum capital position in relation to its loan portfolio and other assets. Langford and others intentionally used outdated appraisals on properties, and rejected new appraisals that would have adversely impacted TierOne’s reportable assets, revenue and earnings. In addition, Langford and others delayed seeking new appraisals to conceal the current value of collateral and restructured loan terms to disguise the borrower’s inability to make timely interest and principal payments. As a result, Langford and others were able to hide millions of dollars in losses from regulators and investors.
In 2008, TierOne submitted an application to the OTS seeking Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding. Ultimately, TierOne withdrew its application and did not receive TARP funds. TierOne filed for bankruptcy shortly after the bank was shut down by OTS in June 2010.
Langford pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart of the District of Nebraska to conspiring to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and making false entries in a bank’s books and records, as well as one count of making false statements. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 5, 2014.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Omaha Division and by SIGTARP. The department recognizes the substantial assistance of the SEC.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Henry P. Van Dyck and L. Rush Atkinson and Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Bybee of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.Former Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office Vendor and Mississippi Businessman, Kendall O. Marquar, Sentenced for Failing to File TaxesRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite announced today that KENDALL O. MARQUAR, 36, a resident of Waveland, Mississippi, was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan to 12 months of home detention with electronic monitoring after pleading guilty to the one-count Bill of Information charging him with willfully failing to file taxes. In additional to the term of home incarceration, MARQUAR was ordered to pay $156,941 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and a fine of $3,162.
According to court documents, from in or around 2000 through in or around 2012, MARQUAR, a Mississippi businessman, owned a company called K&D Earthworks that was a maintenance and construction vendor at the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (“OPSO”). During the years 2007, 2008, and 2009, MARQUAR and K&D Earthworks earned approximately $580,379 in taxable income, mainly from work performed at the OPSO. As set forth in the factual basis, MARQUAR failed to file taxes during the years 2007 through 2009.
Special Agent in Charge Gabriel L. Grchan stated, "Kendall Marquar knew that failing to file his income tax returns was a violation of the law and would bring about severe consequences. Now he must accept the punishment for his actions and will be required to pay his fair share. IRS-CI also thanks the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their partnership in the investigation and prosecution of this case."
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigative Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Matt Chester.
Former Officer of Cranbury, N.J., Furniture Importer Admits False Statements to Customs AuthoritiesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - A Pennsylvania man today admitted lying to customs authorities in order to avoid $7 million in anti-dumping duties on children’s bedroom furniture imported from China, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
John Sandiford, 66, of East Earl, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of importing merchandise from China by means of false statements.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Sandiford was the managing director of a Cranbury, New Jersey, company that imported children’s wooden bedroom furniture from China. Importers must pay “anti-dumping” duties of 216 percent on some types of wooden bedroom furniture made in certain Chinese factories because those factories sell the furniture at less than fair value and materially injure U.S. industry. However, importers pay an anti-dumping duty of only 7.24 percent on the same types of furniture if it is made in Chinese factories that are not state-owned or controlled.
Between 2008 and 2011, Sandiford and others at his company imported furniture from factories with the 216 percent anti-dumping duty rate, but filed false customs documents and bills of lading stating that the furniture was made at factories with the 7.24 percent anti-dumping duty rate. These fraudulent documents enabled Sandiford’s company to avoid paying $7 million in anti-dumping duties.
The count with which Sandiford is charged carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense. Sentencing is currently scheduled for Jan. 14, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees, for the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. David Walk Jr. and Melissa L. Jampol of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Health Care and Government Fraud Unit.
14-315
Defense counsel: Barry Gross Esq., Philadelphia
Sandiford, John Information
Former Haverhill Resident Sentenced for Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – David Keith, 31, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. to 78 months in prison, and 10 years of supervised release with specific conditions, including that he register as a sex offender. In May 2014, Keith pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and accessing child pornography.
In September 2010, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Keith’s Haverhill residence. Keith, who was at home at the time, consented to an interview. Among other things, Keith admitted to having child pornography on his computer as well as to sexually assaulting a small child several years earlier. A forensic examination of the two computers seized revealed a total of 1,751 images of child pornography.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Ortiz's Major Crimes Unit.
Former Burnham Village Clerk Sentenced to 1½ Years in Prison for Stealing from Revenue Payments and Cheating on TaxesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — The former longtime elected clerk for the Village of Burnham was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for stealing more than $650,000 from her office at the south suburb’s village hall and using most of the cash to gamble at casinos. The defendant, NANCY DOBROWSKI, pleaded guilty in May to one count each of wire fraud and filing a false federal income tax return, admitting that she stole at least $650,862, and failed to pay more than $200,000 in federal income taxes.
Dobrowski, 70, of Burnham, served as Burnham’s elected clerk from 1980 until she resigned on May 29, 2013, when FBI agents executed a federal search warrant at the clerk’s village hall office. As clerk, Dobrowski was responsible for managing Burnham’s finances and depositing cash and checks collected by the clerk’s office into the village’s bank accounts.
Dobrowski committed “nine years of pillage,” U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras said, and ordered her to begin serving her sentence on Oct. 21. He also ordered Dobrowski to pay a total of $913,704 in restitution ― $709,501 to Burnham and $204,203 to the Internal Revenue Service ― but noted Dobrowski’s inability to pay such an amount. Before imposing the sentence in U.S. District Court, the judge heard statements from Burnham Mayor Robert Polk and a Burnham police sergeant, as well as a letter from the chief of the village’s volunteer fire department, about the debilitating financial effect that Dobrowksi’s theft had on public safety and village services. The amount she stole was enough to fund the police department for six months and leaves the small, working class village in debt, the mayor said.
Between at least 2004 and May 2013, Dobrowski took cash the village received as payment for fees and fines from the public. She then used most of the cash to gamble at casinos in Indiana and elsewhere either by taking cash to casinos or by depositing the money into her personal bank account and then withdrawing it from automated teller machines at casinos. She falsely represented the village’s finances to auditors and covered up her fraud scheme by causing false entries in village books.
As part of the fraud scheme, Dobrowski took cash from both the village cash register and the collection of money received as tow bonds. She recorded false amounts of tow bond money that had been received to make it appear that the village collected less cash than it had actually received, and sometimes she used tow bond money to balance the cash register.
To conceal her misappropriation of cash from the village cash register, Dobrowski waited a week to deposit cash into the village’s bank accounts instead of making daily deposits. By delaying deposits, Dobrowski could use funds received by the village in the later week to make up for funds she had taken during the prior week, making the deposit appear to match the revenues despite having taken cash from the register.
Dobrowski further concealed the scheme by failing to record checks received from the public as payment for village fees and services. She would place the unrecorded checks into the register to compensate for an equal amount of cash she had taken, making the register appear balanced. She provided false information to the village’s outside audit firm regarding the village’s revenues and regularly disposed of the cash register tape to conceal that the village’s revenues often did not match the deposits into village bank accounts.
Dobrowski also admitted filing a false federal income tax return for the years 2007-12, knowing that her total income was substantially greater than what she reported because she failed to report the cash she misappropriated from the village as income. Dobrowski agreed that she caused a total tax loss of $204,203 during those years.
The sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and James C. Lee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Block.
Former Alabama Sheriff’s Investigator Sentenced to 36 Months for Assaulting Handcuffed Man at Macon County JailRead the Press Release
J. Keith McCray, previously a criminal investigator with the Macon County, Alabama, Sheriff’s Office, was sentenced today by Judge Myron H. Thompson to serve 36 months in prison and two years of supervised release for assaulting a handcuffed man at the county jail, announced the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.
On April 4, 2014, McCray pleaded guilty to one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law. At the plea hearing, McCray admitted that he arrested a salesman who was selling alarm systems in McCray’s neighborhood and transported him to the Macon County Jail. There, McCray struck the victim four times in the face and head while the victim was handcuffed and posed no threat.
“In attacking a defenseless innocent civilian, this officer chose to abuse his power rather than uphold his oath to protect the public,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division. “ The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who cross the line to engage in acts of criminal misconduct.”
“While we look to law enforcement to maintain the safety and security of our citizens, their position of authority does not give them the right to act outside the bounds of the law,” said U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama. “Most members of law enforcement serve honorably and professionally. McCray breached his pledge to protect and serve and he must be held responsible for his actions. Failure to do so would discredit the noble service of every other officer, and weaken the public’s trust in those who are sworn to protect them.”
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. The case was being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerusha T. Adams and Jonathan Ross of the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the Civil Rights Division.
Former Alabama Sheriff’s Investigator Sentenced to 36 Months for Assaulting Handcuffed Man at Macon County JailRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - J. Keith McCray, previously a criminal investigator with the Macon County, Alabama, Sheriff’s Office, was sentenced today by Judge Myron H. Thompson to 36 months in prison and two years of supervised release for assaulting a handcuffed man at the county jail, announced the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama.
An indictment against McCray, 42, charged that on July 4, 2013, he violated the civil rights of a door-to-door salesman who was selling alarm systems in McCray’s Tuskegee, Alabama, neighborhood. On April 4, 2014, McCray pleaded guilty to one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law. At the plea hearing, McCray admitted that he arrested the salesman and transported him to the Macon County Jail. There, McCray struck the victim four times in the face and head while the victim was handcuffed and posed no threat.
“In attacking a defenseless innocent civilian, this officer chose to abuse his power rather than uphold his oath to protect the public,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who cross the line to engage in acts of criminal misconduct.”
“While we look to law enforcement to maintain the safety and security of our citizens, their position of authority does not give them the right to act outside the bounds of the law,” stated George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. “Most members of law enforcement serve honorably and professionally. McCray breached his pledge to protect and serve and he must be held responsible for his actions. Failure to do so would discredit the noble service of every other officer, and weaken the public’s trust in those who are sworn to protect them.”
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. The case was being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerusha T. Adams and Jonathan Ross of the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the Civil Rights Division.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Former Advertising Department Employee for Las Vegas Casino Company Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Anthony M. Cirulli, a former employee of a Las Vegas casino company, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro to one count of tax evasion, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
“Individuals are required to pay federal taxes on income, even if acquired unethically,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “If you do not pay the taxes, you risk an investigation by the IRS and criminal prosecution.”
According to the plea agreement, from about 2005 to 2008, Cirulli was employed as a production manager in the corporate advertising department of the casino company. Part of his job involved reviewing bids for printing contracts and deciding which printing companies would be awarded the contracts. For the 2007 tax year, Cirulli willfully filed a false individual income tax return, which omitted and failed to report income that he received during his employment at the company. Cirulli hid the unreported income in two different nominee bank accounts which conducted no actual business activity. The potential tax loss to the U.S.Treasury as a result of Cirulli’s conduct is approximately $350,000.
Cirulli is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18, and faces up to five years prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christopher Maietta of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Dickinson.
Former APD Officer Sentenced to Ninety Months in Federal Prison for Child Pornography convictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Nelson Begay, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon to 90 months in federal prison for his child pornography conviction. Begay will be on supervised release for 15 years after completing his prison sentence and will be required to register as a sex offender.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, and New Mexico Attorney General Gary K. King.
Begay was arrested on Nov. 13, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with receiving and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Shortly before his arrest, Begay resigned from his position as an officer of the Albuquerque Police Department.
On Dec. 4, 2013, Begay was indicted and charged with two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. The indictment alleged that Begay received child pornography in Nov. 2012 and April 2013, and that he possessed child pornography in Nov. 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
According to court filings, in Sept. 2013, a special agent with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office (NMAGO) identified an IP address that was being used to share files containing child pornography while conducting an investigation targeting those who share child pornography on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Subsequent investigation revealed that the IP address was subscribed to Begay at a residential address in northeast Albuquerque.
Court records reflect that on Nov. 7, 2013, HSI and other agencies participating in the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force executed a federal search warrant at Begay’s residence and seized computers and computer-related media. A forensic examination of a laptop computer taken from a bedroom used by Begay recovered images consistent with child pornography.
On March 26, 2014, Begay entered a guilty plea to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with receipt of child pornography. In his plea agreement, Begay admitted that on Nov. 1, 2012, he used file-sharing software to download and share child pornography, including a video that was almost 30 minutes in duration that was a compilation of many video clips of minors performing various sexual acts. During today’s sentencing hearing, Begay was ordered to pay $1000.00 in restitution to the victim whose image appears in the aforementioned video.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, the NMAGO, and other members of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 74 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Fleming Island Man Sentenced to More Than 7 Years for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced Jimmy Laverne Holmes (58, Fleming Island) to seven years and eight months in federal prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. Holmes was also ordered to serve a five-year term of supervision following his release from prison, and to register as a sex offender. Holmes pleaded guilty on January 28, 2014, and has been in custody since his arrest on September 24, 2013. At the time of his arrest, Holmes told agents that he worked at the Barco-Newton YMCA in Fleming Island, where he taught sports to children.
According to court documents, an FBI agent in Jacksonville began an investigation to identify individuals that had access to and/or were trading images and videos depicting child pornography over the Internet. Using specialized software, the agent determined that a host computer in the Jacksonville area was hosting images of child pornography using a particular peer-to-peer file sharing program. The agent made successful connections to the host computer through the Internet and downloaded several video files directly from the host computer that depicted child pornography. Further investigation traced the subscriber information to Holmes’s residence in Fleming Island.
On September 24, 2013, FBI agents and other officers executed a search warrant at Holmes's residence and seized, among other things, several computers and other items of electronic media. Holmes was at the residence and told the agents, among other things, that he knew that child pornography was illegally and that recently he was downloading and watching child pornography two or three times per week.
Subsequent analysis of Holmes's computer media revealed that it contained a total of 203 videos and 247 images depicting young children being sexually abused.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another 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.
Final Defendant Sentenced in Large Drug and Gun CaseRead the Press Release
Man Sentenced to 46 Months in Federal Prison for His Role in Drug Conspiracy and for Assaulting a Law Enforcement Officer
BOISE – Scott Vicente Hernandez, 43, of Oakland California, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and for assaulting an officer, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Hernandez to serve four years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on December 17, 2013, and pleaded guilty to assault on an officer on June 15, 2014.
Hernandez and ten other individuals were indicted on July 9, 2013. The indictment included allegations of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine, unlawful possession of firearms, and the unlawful use of a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime. Hernandez was arrested on July 24, 2013, and held at the Ada County Jail until his trial. On October 16, 2013, Hernandez assaulted a jail deputy while awaiting his trial.
Hernandez and the other ten co-defendants all pleaded guilty. Hernandez was the eleventh and final defendant to be sentenced in the case. Co-defendant Jeramie Mahler was previously sentenced to 247 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy and for shooting another person in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy. The shooting was the result of a dispute about the quality and quantity of the methamphetamine. Co-defendant Hernan Gomez-Gutierrez was sentenced to 180 months in prison; Darrell Zirschky was sentenced to 168 months in prison; Michelle Ritch was sentenced to 120 months in prison; Carlos Tovar was sentenced to 87 months in prison; Wendy Harrison and Bobbi Woolsey were both sentenced to 84 months in prison; Daniel Vaughan was sentenced to 80 months in prison; Juan Mojica-Barragan was sentenced to 57 months in prison; and Nearia Pinnell was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole. Other agencies that contributed to this investigation include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Nampa Police Department, Caldwell Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Ada County Sheriff’s Office. During the investigation, law enforcement agents seized twelve firearms, including a stolen firearm, and an illegal fully-automatic machine gun.
The case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.
Fenton Man Accused of Filing False ReturnsRead the Press Release
Kleppe Houston, of Fenton, Michigan, was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with five counts of filing false tax returns, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today.
United States Attorney McQuade was joined in the announcement by Jarod Koopman Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.
According to the indictment, Houston owner of Co-HR, LLC, a human resource management firm that was based in Pontiac, Michigan, prepared and filed false tax returns for businesses. Co-HR, LLC provided payroll services to Health Management Systems of America, Binson’s Hearing Aid Services and Northwood Provider Network Services. Houston prepared and filed five Employers’ Quarterly Federal Tax Returns, for these employers, falsely reporting that more than $393,381 in payroll taxes had been remitted with the returns. Houston knew, but his clients did not, that the amount remitted with each return was substantially less than reported.
“Our tax system depends on the honest cooperation and integrity of every citizen and business owner, said Koopman. “Employers that engage payroll service companies, and their employees whose wages have amounts withheld for payroll tax purposes, have every right to expect that those funds will be used for the payment of their taxes. The government has the same expectation.”
The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation.
Federal Inmates Appear in CourtRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistCLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Four Federal prisoners received additional jail time as a result of crimes they committed while behind bars.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that Roberto SOTO, age 51, Gregory PARDO, age 58, Antonio MARTINEZ-PORTA, age 38, and Ahmed JOHNSON, age 42, all inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution at Gilmer, entered pleas of guilty to “Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm.” U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley sentenced PARDO, MARTINEZ-PORTA and JOHNSON to 24 months in prison and SOTO to 30 months in prison to run consecutively to their current Federal sentences. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Perri for the government.
In a separate matter, Ricardo PIZANA, age 29, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution at Morgantown, entered a plea of guilty to “Possession of a Prohibited Object” and was sentenced to three months in prison. The sentence will run consecutively to his current Federal sentence. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn A. Morgan.
These cases were investigated by the Special Investigative Services Unit at FCI Gilmer and FCI Morgantown.
Fairmont Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA - A Fairmont, West Virginia, man has been sentenced to twenty years in Federal prison on drug charges.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that Lennox BUCKLEY was sentenced to 240 months in prison for “Distribution of Cocaine and more than 50 Kilograms of Marijuana.” BUCKLEY, who was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal, also was ordered to forfeit a 2002 Lexus ES 300 and $7,011 in U.S. Currency.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Cogar and investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Chief U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.Elmira Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing and Illegally Selling GunsRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Douglas Church, 23, OF Elmira, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiring to deal firearms without a license and possession of stolen firearms. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Zachary Smith, and Brianna Lowe, all of Elmira, N.Y., have been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to deal firearms without a license and possession of stolen firearms. In addition, defendants Church and Smith are charged with dealing firearms without a license. The conspiracy charge carries a penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Possession of stolen firearms and dealing firearms without a license carry a penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa M. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that on October 16, 2013 at approximately 3:05 a.m., the owner of “Scott’s Guns” on Watkins Drive in Horseheads, NY received a telephone call from his security alarm company. The owner alerted police and then went to the store. Upon entering the store, the owner realized he had been burglarized. The owner determined that 49 handguns of various makes and models had been stolen.
As part of their investigation, law enforcement officers reviewed footage from a security camera inside the store which revealed two individuals inside the store during regular business hours the day before, October 15, 2013. Officers recognized the two individuals to be Douglas Church and Zachary Smith. Additional investigation revealed that Church and Smith burglarized the store by having Church climb through a hole in the wall of the building, with Church handing the weapons to Smith. The two men left the guns in backpacks in a swamp behind the building the night of the burglary, with Smith and his girlfriend, Brianna Lowe, retrieving the guns the following day. Investigation also revealed that many of the guns were sold within a week and a half of the burglary in exchange for money.
Charges are also pending against Zachary Smith and Brianna Lowe, both of Elmira. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the result of an investigation on the part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James S. Higgins, New York Field Office, the Horseheads Police Department, under the direction of Acting Chief Scott Zelko, The New York State Police, under the direction of Major Scott Crosier, the Chemung County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Christopher Moss, the Elmira Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Robertson, the Elmira Heights Police Department, under the direction of Chief A. Rich Churches, and the West Elmira Police Department, under the direction of Chief Peter Michalko.Electronics Engineer Admits Lying on U.S. Army Contract Bid to Make Battery for Artillery Weapon Guidance SystemRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An electronics engineer for the U.S. Army pleaded guilty today to making false statements in an attempt to obtain a government military contract to manufacture a portable power supply for U.S. Army use, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Modesto Torres, 49, of Dover, New Jersey, surrendered today to federal law enforcement and pleaded guilty to an information charging him with making false statements to the U.S. Department of Defense. He entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court and was released on $25,000 unsecured bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In June 2012, Torres, an electronics engineer for the U.S. Army at Picatinny Arsenal, sought to bid – through a company referred to in court documents as “Company A” – on a contract with the U.S. Army. The winner of the contract would manufacture the Artillery Portable Universal Battery Supply, or “APUBS,” a battery that powered the guidance system on the 105 mm Howitzer, a type of artillery weapon used by the U.S. military.
Torres prepared the majority of the content of the proposal submitted to a U.S. Army bidding officer. During his guilty plea, Torres admitted that he included fabricated biographies of personnel not employed by the company, as well as false representations regarding the company’s supplier relationships with manufacturers based in Puerto Rico and China when no such relationships existed.
The charge of false statements carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for Jan. 14, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents with the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Craig Rupert; and the U.S. Army, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Criminal Investigation Command, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Larry Scott Moreland, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce M. Malliet of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark.
14-312
Defense counsel: Joel M. Bacher Esq., Wayne, N.J.
Torres, Modesto Information
Dentist Sentenced for Obstruction and Interfering with IRS LawsRead the Press Release
DENVER – Jerold R. Sorensen, age 75, of Fresno, CA, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore to serve 18 months in federal prison for obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service, United States Attorney John F. Walsh and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Stephen Boyd announced. Following his prison sentence, Sorensen was ordered to serve one year on supervised release. Sorensen was also ordered by Judge Moore to pay a fine of $100,000.00. The defendant was convicted by a jury on June 16, 2014, following a 6-day trial. The jury deliberated for nearly two hours before returning a verdict of guilty. Sorensen appeared at the sentencing hearing free on bond. He was ordered to report to a Bureau of Prisons facility within 15 days of designation.
Sorensen was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on November 20, 2013. According to the indictment and evidence presented at trial, Sorensen was a resident of California and practiced dentistry and oral surgery through a California professional corporation, Jerold R. Sorensen, DDS, PC. Beginning in September of 2000 and continuing through May of 2008, in Colorado and elsewhere, the jury found that Sorensen obstructed and impeded the administration of the Internal Revenue laws.
Specifically, Sorensen worked with an entity known as Financial Fortress Associates, (“FFA”), an organization that promoted and advised its clients on schemes to avoid the payment of income and other federal taxes. Working through FFA, Sorensen established a number of Pure Trust Organizations (“PTOs”) used as vehicles to help disguise Sorensen’s and his son’s receipt of business and personal income and asset ownership. Sorensen worked with Eva Melissa Sugar, an attorney in Denver, Colorado, who was associated with FFA, and he paid her to use an Unincorporated Business Organization (“UBO”) called Northside Management (“Northside”).
Sorensen acted as if the PTOs owned assets that he actually controlled, including his personal residence, his cars, the building where he conducted his dental practice, and the equipment used by that practice. He funneled income from his practice into the PTOs in an effort to reduce his taxable income. Furthermore, Sorensen took additional steps to substantially under-report his income to the IRS for calendar years 2002 through 2007. These steps included filing individual federal income tax returns which failed to report as income any of the millions of dollars deposited into the bank accounts he controlled and which he used for personal expenses. Personal expenses he paid using this unreported income included purchases of automobiles, property taxes, upkeep of his California residence, and over $2 million used to purchase land for and construct two additional homes and a commercial building in Utah. The defendant’s conduct caused approximately $2.3 million in tax loss.
Eva Melissa Sugar, the Denver attorney who helped facilitate the FFA scheme, pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with the collection for taxes on August 5, 2014 and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 29, 2014. Gregory Nathan Laurence of Germantown, Tennessee was sentenced on September 5, 2014 based on his plea of guilty to attempting to obstruct the administration of internal revenue laws.
“Sorensen participated in a scheme in an attempt to hid his income from the IRS to avoid paying taxes,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “The defendant has been held accountable for his illegal actions. Not only did he have to pay over $2 million in back taxes to the IRS, he also has to pay a $100,000 fine and spend a year and a half in federal prison.”
“For those thinking about promoting or participating in abusive tax schemes should think twice; there is no secret formula that can eliminate a person's tax obligations.” said Stephen Boyd, Special Agent in Charge for IRS Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office. “We owe it to every American taxpayer to identify and prosecute both those who evade their taxes and those who promote and assist them in evading their tax obligations through fraudulent tax schemes.”
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Special Enforcement Program of the Internal Revenue Service.
The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Kirsch, Pegeen Rhyne and Anna Edgar.
Cumberland Resident Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Robbing 3 Banks in 3 Weeks in Rhode Island and VermontRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Joseph G. Petrarca, 50, of Cumberland, R.I., was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Providence today to 12 years in federal prison for robbing three banks, two in Rhode Island and one in Vermont, within a span of twenty-two days, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Cranston Acting Police Chief - Rhode Island State Police Captain Kevin M. Barry; Cumberland Police Chief John R. Desmarais; and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston field office of the FBI.
In March 2014, Petrarca admitted to the court that he robbed a Citizens Bank branch office in Cumberland, R.I., on December 26, 2012, of $1,764, and that twenty days later he robbed a Washington Trust Company branch office in Cranston, R.I, of $9,595. Petrarca admitted to the court that in both instances he handed bank tellers a threatening note claiming that he was armed with a gun.
According to information presented to the court, the note handed to a teller at the Washington Trust Company by Petrarca read in part, “I have a gun and I will shoot you.” It further warned, “Watch my hand it has a gun in it.” The teller told police that the robber displayed the handle of a gun which he pulled out from a satchel or briefcase he was holding. Petrarca also handed a note to a teller during the robbery of the Citizens Bank branch office claiming that he was armed. However, no gun was displayed.
Appearing today before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith today for sentencing for robbing the banks in Cumberland and Cranston, Petrarca pleaded guilty to robbing the People’s United Bank in Hartford, Vermont, on January, 17, 2013, of $6,216. According to information presented to the court, Petrarca passed a note to a teller announcing the robbery. Petrarca also made a motion under his jacket as if he were reaching for a gun. No weapon was displayed.
Petrarca was arrested by Cranston Police on January 19, 2013.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith also ordered Petrarca to serve 5 years supervised release upon completion of his prison term and to pay restitution to the banks in the amount of $17,575.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan.
The bank robberies were investigated by the Cranston, R.I., Cumberland, R.I., and Hartford, VT., Police Departments and the FBI.###
To assist the media and the public, a glossary of federal judicial terms and procedures is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice101/
Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]- Corporation Owner/CEO Pleads Guilty to Federal Income Tax Fraud
Cleveland Man Charged with Robbing Bank on Brookpark RoadRead the Press Release
A grand jury returned a one-count indictments charging Jeremy D. Carpenter, 33, of Cleveland, with one count of bank robbery, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment alleges that Carpenter robbed the U.S. Bank, 2132 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio, on August 5, 2014
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to his case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Kall, and was investigated by the Cleveland Police Department and the Cleveland Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bay Village Man Indicted for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
A grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Robert T. Gauna, 31, of Bay Village, with one count of bank robbery, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment alleges that Gauna robbed the Lorain National Bank, 42935 North Ridge Road, Elyria Township, Ohio, a federally insured financial institution, on July 14, 2014.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to his case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Kall, and was investigated by the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office and the Elyria Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Banker Convicted of Taking More Than One Million Dollars in BribesRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO - Robert Moreno, a banker who sold mortgages on behalf of GMAC, admitted receiving more than one million dollars in bribe payments while working on behalf of GMAC. As detailed during his guilty plea, in return, Moreno used his position and influence to ensure that his customers won their bids to purchase mortgage notes. Moreno took the bulk of these bribe payments from San Diego businessman Israel Hechter, who pled guilty in September and admitted paying $1,000,000 in bribes to Moreno and others. Moreno also accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from another customer based in Woodland Hills, California.
Moreno initially accepted the bribes in cash and personal checks, so that he could conceal the payments from the IRS and avoid paying taxes on the illegal income. Several times in 2012, Hechter’s father, Zeev Hechter, met Moreno in New York City at the car wash he owned, where he delivered “laundered” cash payments totaling $330,000. Moreno travelled around the country, including Las Vegas, New York City, and Scottsdale, Arizona, arranging hand-to-hand cash deliveries of the bribes from Zeev Hechter and others. He also accepted personal checks from Israel’s brother Amir Hechter and their business associate Jack Prober.
Moreno and Israel Hechter later set up a sham “Consulting Agreement” and a phony consulting business, Phoenix Asset & Acquisition, Inc., to disguise the bribe payments and make them look like legitimate consulting fees unrelated to Moreno’s work with GMAC. Moreno then copied this sham contract and used it with other customers who paid him bribes, all to cover up the payments. Moreno took in over $500,000 in bribe payments under these bogus contracts.
Israel Hechter, the owner of San Diego-based mortgage investment firms Ocean 18, LLC, and Note Tracker Corporation, admitted as part of his guilty plea that he paid a million dollars in bribes to Moreno and other bank insiders at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank and National City Bank. In order to make sure that Israel Hechter’s bids were accepted, the bankers, including Moreno, corrupted the process by altering bids, rejecting other bids, and erasing or ignoring bids from qualified competitors. The bankers also rigged the bidding by supplying Israel Hechter with confidential information about prices and competing bids.
The mortgages Moreno sold on behalf of GMAC were mostly non-performing or distressed second mortgages. After purchase, Israel Hechter pooled the loans and sold shares of the pools to investors, usually friends and family members including Zeev Hechter, Amir Hechter, and Prober, each of whom invested in the pools. After purchase, Ocean 18, LLC would service the loans and collect monthly payments from the borrowers, or would initiate foreclosure proceedings when the borrowers defaulted. The investors made money when borrowers made payments, sold the properties, or after foreclosure and re-sale.
Moreno was arrested on July 15, 2014, for his role in the conspiracy. He entered his guilty plea today before United States Magistrate Judge Mitchell D. Dembin. Moreno is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Roger T. Benitez on January 19, 2015, at 9:00 a.m.
Israel Hechter, Zeev Hechter, Amir Hechter, and Prober each pled guilty in September to participating in the conspiracy and making hidden payments to Moreno. They are all scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Benitez on January 5, 2014, at 9:00 am.
The swift resolution of these bribery and tax charges was the result of coordinated investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
DEFENDANT PLEADING GUILTY Case Number: 14CR2277-BEN Robert Moreno
DEFENDANTS PREVIOUSLY CHARGED Amir Hechter Case Number: 14CR2701-BEN Jack Prober Case Number: 14CR2704-BEN Zeev Hechter Case Number: 14CR2702-BEN CHARGESConspiracy to commit bank bribery and tax evasion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Maximum Penalties: 5 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine or twice the pecuniary gain or loss resulting from the offense, $100 special assessment, restitution.Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal InvestigationBank Teller Charged with Stealing from Customers’ AccountsRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Ebensburg, Pa., was indicted by a federal grand jury in Johnstown on a charge of misapplication of funds by a bank employee, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The one-count indictment named Tonya Wade, 40.
According to the indictment presented to the court, from Sept. 17, 2012, to Aug. 29, 2013, Wade, while employed as a teller at C & G Savings Bank in Gallitzin, Pa, removed $20,950 from customers’ accounts and thereafter converted those funds to her personal use.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Haines is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Laurel Highlands Resident Agency, conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment or information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.