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20 October 2014
Anchorage Woman Sentenced for Passport and PDF FraudRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Maualuga Leaana, 43, of Anchorage was sentenced to five years on probation for committing passport fraud. Leaana was indicted in April 2014 on federal charges that she committed identity theft and falsely claimed U.S. citizenship to obtain various federal and state benefits.
The Indictment charged Leaana with one count of passport fraud, nine counts of making false claims of U.S. citizenship, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Leaana is a citizen of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa. Citizens of Samoa are not U.S. citizens, in comparison to those born in American Samoa, who do hold U.S. nationality by birth.
Leaana pled guilty to the passport fraud charge on July 24, 2014, and admitted applying for and obtaining a U.S. passport in the name of her sister. She also admitted falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on various applications for benefits, including Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends, unemployment compensation, and subsidized housing, as well as obtaining identification from the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles.
In addition to five years’ probation, United States District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess ordered the defendant to spend four months on home confinement; make restitution to the Alaska Permanent Fund in the amount of $14,441 for Permanent Fund Dividends she illegally obtained between 2003 and 2013, and pay $17,392 to the State of Alaska Department of Labor for unemployment benefits that she unlawfully obtained.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations; the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Alaska Department of Revenue, Criminal Investigations Unit, and the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Faviano Lopez, 28, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty this morning to receipt of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Lopez was arrested on federal child pornography charges on July 11, 2014, based on a criminal complaint after he was transferred from state custody into federal custody. According to the criminal complaint, the investigation into Lopez was initiated by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New Mexico State Police in Nov. 2013, after the New Mexico State Police obtained information indicating that an IP Address subscribed to the residence in which Lopez was living was being used to share video and image files consistent with child pornography. In Feb. 2014, HSI and the Albuquerque Police Department executed a search warrant at Lopez’s residence where they seized computer and computer-related media containing video and image files consistent with child pornography from Lopez’s bedroom.
During today’s proceedings, Lopez entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with receipt of child pornography. In his plea agreement, Lopez admitted receiving child pornography from May 2013 to Feb. 2014, by downloading images and videos of child pornography using a peer to peer file sharing system.
Lopez has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Lopez faces imprisonment for a period not less than five years and not more than 20 years followed by a period of supervised release to be determined by the court. Lopez will have to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, the New Mexico State Police and the Albuquerque Police Department, all of which are members of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard.
The case was brought 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 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 74 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Akron Doctor Pleads Guilty to Illegally Prescribing PainkillersRead the Press Release
An Akron physician pleaded guilty to illegally prescribing hundreds of thousands of doses of painkillers and other pills to customers for no legitimate medical purpose, even after he learned some customers had died from overdose-related deaths, law enforcement officials said.
Adolph Harper, Jr., 64, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic drugs, four counts of health care fraud and 16 counts of drug trafficking. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 27.
Also today, Patricia Laughman, 52, of Barberton, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic drugs and 14 counts of drug trafficking, while Adria Harper, 35, of Akron, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic drugs and 25 counts of drug trafficking.
Tequilla Berry, 35, of Akron, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to traffic drugs and seven counts of drug trafficking.
Together, they distributed hundreds of thousands of doses of prescription medications—including Oxycontin, Percocet, Roxicet, Opana, and others—from Adolph Harper’s medical officers in Akron between 2009 and 2012, according to court documents.
“Doctor Harper is simply a drug dealer who happened to wear a white coat and worked from a medical office instead of a street corner,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “His actions destroyed lives and families.”
Steven D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland office, said: “Just because you have a prescription pad does not give you a license to deal drugs. Not only did this doctor violate the physician’s oath but he also allowed others in his office to abuse his medical privileges.”
All four defendants conspired to distribute addictive controlled substances, including prescription painkillers and anti-anxiety medication, outside the usual course of professional practice and without any legitimate medical purpose, according to court documents.
Adolph Harper’s customers, many of whom were drug addicts exhibiting clear signs of drug addiction during their visits to his office, came to his office and received “prescriptions” for addictive prescription medications without being examined by Harper and often without seeing him at all, according to the court documents.
Harper continued to distribute prescriptions for controlled substances after he learned that some of his customers had died from overdose-related deaths, according to the court documents.
Adria Harper, Laughman and Berry distributed prescriptions to these customers when Adolph Harper was out of the office and also used Adolph Harper’s prescription pad to distribute prescriptions for addictive painkillers to themselves, according to the court documents.
Additionally, Adolph Harper executed four separate schemes to defraud health insurance providers by (1) submitting insurance claims for services using a higher billing code than the service justified; (2) submitting insurance claims for unperformed services; (3) billing an insurance provider for a service after collecting a cash payment for the same service; and (4) causing the submission of insurance claims for prescriptions for controlled substances that were issued outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, according to court documents.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret A. Sweeney, Edward F. Feran, and Rebecca C. Lutzko following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services -- Office of the Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy and the Akron Police Department.
17 October 2014
Week in Review – South BendRead the Press Release
South Bend, Indiana — The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:
DISPOSITIONS
- Robert Alphonse Deschepper, III, 24, of Edwardsburg, Michigan was sentenced to 9 months imprisonment and 3 months home detention with 2 years supervised release and to pay $5,681.24 in restitution after pleading guilty to lying to a licensed firearms dealer during the acquisition of firearms. According to documents filed in this case, on April 28, 2014, Deschepper went to a licensed firearms dealer and purchased a Sig Sauer, model 1911, .45 caliber pistol and a Sig Sauer, model 1911, .22 caliber pistol. Deschepper completed an ATF Form 4473 for the purchase of these two firearms. Also on April 28, 2014, Deschepper made purchases from a gun exchange location in Mishawaka, Indiana. At that location, the defendant completed another ATF Form 4473 for the purchase of a Ruger, model 10/22 rifle, .22 caliber, a Sig Sauer, model 1911, .45 caliber pistol, and a Sig Sauer, model 1911, .22 caliber pistol. On April 29, 2014, the defendant completed another ATF Form 4473 at Midwest Gun Exchange for the purchase of a Smith & Wesson, model 637, .357 caliber revolver, a Bond Arms, model USA Defender, 410/.45 derringer and a Sig Sauer, model 938, 9mm pistol. In addition to the three firearms, Deschepper also purchased firearm accessories and ammunition. Again on April 29, 2014, the defendant came back to Midwest Gun Exchange in Mishawaka, Indiana and filled out another 4473 form. The defendant made the purchase of a Ruger, model M-14, 5.56 caliber rifle, with serial number 582-50880, a Ruger, model M-30, 7.62 x 39 caliber rifle, a Sig Sauer, model 1911, .45 caliber pistol, and a Sig Sauer, model 1911, .22 caliber pistol. Along with the firearm purchases, the defendant purchased ammunition and firearm accessories. In total, the defendant made the purchase of approximately $9,260.00 worth of firearms, ammunition and accessories from two gun store locations. Each of the total five purchases was made using a personal checking account in the name of Robert Deschepper III that had been closed in 2013 and on each of the ATF 4473 forms the defendant falsely identified his current home address. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Schmid.
- Brock Crowe, 39, of Delphi, Indiana was sentenced to 1 year Probation and to pay $1000 in fines after pleading guilty to knowingly possessing cocaine, a controlled substance. According to the documents filed in this case, between June 28th and July 15, 2012 Crowe knowingly possessed cocaine purchased from Jose Patlan. Crowe purchased cocaine before from Patlan and knew it was a controlled substance. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
- Kenny Lee, 29, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced to 35 months imprisonments with 2 of supervised release and a $100 special assessment after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearm. According to the documents filed in this case, on October 31, 2013, officers responded to a six year old boy being shot. The minor victim stated that his father Kenny Lee shot him while Lee was trying to shoot his uncle. Lee is a convicted felon (two Class D felony charges for possession of cocaine.) This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Schmid.
- Jose Luis Lopez, 24, of Logansport, Indiana was sentenced to time and to be deported after pleading guilty to knowingly distributing cocaine, a controlled substance. According to the documents filed in this case, on November 14, 2013, Lopez was involved with an individual in distributing cocaine in the Logansport area. On occasion, Lopez delivered cocaine to an individual he did not know was working for law enforcement. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
Week in Review – HammondRead the Press Release
Hammond, Indiana — The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:
PLEA
- Juan A Preciado Marquez, 34, of Mexico pled guilty to the felony offense of illegal reentry after prior deportation for an aggravated felony. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. Sentencing has not been set. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.
If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
DISPOSITIONS
- Darian Lyndon Brown, 36, of Merrillville, Indiana was sentenced to 2 years of probation after pleading guilty to the felony offense of mail fraud. According to documents filed in this case, Brown was caught when investigators from the insurance industry and the Federal Bureau of Investigation determined that the loss documentation he submitted in his claims utilized fraudulent entities. Brown submitted the paperwork through use of the United States mail. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randall Stewart.
Week in Review – Fort WayneRead the Press Release
Fort Wayne, Indiana — The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:
DISPOSITIONS
- Phillip Biddle, 37, of Kendallville, Indiana was sentenced to 54 months imprisonment with 5 years supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of materials depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. According to documents filed in this case, on December 2 and December 3, 2011, detectives from the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department identified an internet protocol address that appeared to be sharing files containing images of child pornography. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the holder of the suspect IP address was Biddle. On June 15, 2012, a search warrant was executed wherein several pieces of electronic media were recovered. During the forensic examination of the electronic media, images of child pornography were located on nearly all of the media recovered from Biddle’s residence. This case was the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, ICAC Task Force, Kendallville Police Department and the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley J. Miller Lowery.
- Deyante Stephens, 23, of Fort Wayne, Indiana was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment with 2 years supervised release and ordered to pay $96,534.37 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of aiding and abetting armed bank robbery. According to documents filed in this case, on or about February 14, 2013, a local bank was robbed. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that one of robbers had stolen a teller’s cell phone. Dispatch was able to determine the location of the cell phone, recovering it in a drainage ditch. A latent fingerprint was located on the telephone and identified as the fingerprint of Stephens. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Northeast Indiana Federal Bank Robbery Task Force, and the Fort Wayne Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony W. Geller.
Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu Speaks to U.S. Attorney’s OfficeRead the Press Release
In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu spoke to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington about her groundbreaking career in the law. Justice Yu is of Hispanic and Asian heritage and is the first openly gay member of the Washington State Supreme Court. Justice Yu’s father was an immigrant from China, her mother was from Mexico. She is also the first Latina Justice and Justice of Asian heritage.
Justice Yu talked about her childhood in Chicago, and described her decision to pursue a legal career as a way to bring positive change in the community, especially for those who are disadvantaged. Justice Yu described the sense of history she feels in the Supreme Court chambers and talked about the importance of remembering that the parties in the cases are real people, not just names on papers filed with the court.
Justice Yu was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee on May 1, 2014. Justice Yu joined the Supreme Court after more than 14 years as an accomplished trial court judge in King County Superior Court where she heard a wide variety of criminal and civil cases and presided over hundreds of adoptions and other family law matters.
Justice Yu has a deep record of service both on and off the bench, mentoring young attorneys, law clerks and students, co-chairing the statewide Minority and Justice Commission, lecturing at Seattle University, helping lead the bar association’s leadership institute for young attorneys, and serving on the board of FareStart and the advisory board for the University of Washington School of Law’s Gates Public Service Program. She has officiated hundreds of weddings and adoptions, including our state’s first same-sex weddings on the first day couples of the same-sex could legally marry in our state.
Before becoming a judge, Justice Yu served as Deputy Chief of Staff to King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng and as a deputy in the Criminal and Civil Divisions. Prior to attending law school, Justice Yu worked in the Peace and Justice Office for the Archdiocese of Chicago as staff and later appointed by Cardinal Bernardin as Director of that Office.
Justice Mary Yu was raised in Bridgeport (a south side neighborhood in Chicago). She is the first in her family to graduate from college.
Vice-President of Investment Company Sentenced in $21 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that Louis N. Gallo, III, 45, of Parkland, the Vice-President of Commodities Online LLC (COL), was sentenced yesterday for his participation in a $21 million investment fraud scheme.
U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard sentenced Gallo to 168 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Lenard also ordered Gallo to pay restitution of $19,919,994 to victims of the fraud scheme involving COL as well as a successor company. In addition, the sentence included a criminal forfeiture money judgment of $21,631,466, and forfeiture of Gallo’s interest in a car, two bank accounts and three properties.
Gallo pled guilty on August 8, 2014 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. According to court documents, Gallo conspired with co-defendants James C. Howard, III, Patricia S. Saa, Michael R. Casey and others to defraud individuals who invested in COL. From approximately January 2010 through April 2011, Howard and his co-conspirators used material false and fraudulent representations and material omissions to obtain over $21 million from over 700 investors. The COL investors lost $18,919,994.
According to court documents, Gallo and his co-conspirators offered investors the opportunity to participate in funding certain purported “pre-sold” commodities contracts. Gallo and his co-conspirators represented to investors that COL had a track record of profits. However, COL did not have profits. Any payments made to investors were made using funds received from newer investors.
Also according to court documents, Gallo and his co-conspirators also caused material misrepresentations to be made about the leaders of COL. Gallo and his co-conspirators represented to investors that the President of COL was an attorney, co-defendant Michael R. Casey. However, the founder, co-defendant James Howard was in charge. Also, Gallo and his co-conspirators did not disclose to investors that both Gallo and Howard had previously been convicted of federal felonies and that Gallo was still serving a term of supervised release.
According to court documents, Gallo and his co-conspirators also made material misrepresentations and omissions about the misuse of funds that COL received from investors. For example, Gallo caused at least $2.5 million to be diverted for himself and his family.
Also according to court documents, after COL was taken over by a court-appointed Receiver, Gallo participated in a similar scheme involving Global Solutions and Acquisitions LLC (GSA). Approximately 50 individuals invested about $1.1 million in GSA. The GSA investors lost about $900,000.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ana Maria Martinez and John P. Gonsoulin.
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.
Unlicensed Money Transmitters Charged with Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – San Diego-based business attorney Richard Medina Jr. and alleged co-conspirator Omar Trevino Caro Del Castillo appeared in federal court today to face allegations that they laundered almost $12 million via international financial transactions in an attempt to promote their unlicensed money transmitting business.
According to an indictment unsealed this afternoon, the defendants are charged with operating as a commercial enterprise, willing and able to transfer cash on behalf of third parties without registering with the Secretary of the Treasury, as required by Title 31, United States Code, Section 5330. In turn, the defendants’ customers availed themselves of the defendants’ ability to collect cash anywhere throughout the United States, and transmit it anywhere in the world. According to the indictment, the defendants obtained commissions for their services, extracting a fee from the millions of dollars transmitted abroad.
The indictment alleges that in an effort to mask the transmission of currency, Medina opened several “Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts,” known as IOLTA accounts, at national financial institutions. Other co-conspirators picked up cash at various locations throughout the United States and deposited the cash into one of Medina’s IOLTA Accounts.
By depositing the money into the IOLTA Accounts, the defendants, along with their clients abroad, intended to avoid financial institutions from filing accurate Department of Treasury FinCEN Form 104, Currency Transaction Reports. Financial Institutions must file Currency Transactions Reports for all currency transactions exceeding $10,000 during any one banking day. The defendants sent their clients’ funds internationally through an informal and unlicensed transfer network, in furtherance of the conspiracy to promote the operation of the unlicensed money transmitting business.
The criminal case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez.
During today’s hearing, the government asked that Caro Del Castillo be held without bond based on risk of flight, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernard G. Skomal agreed; Medina was ordered released on $200,000 bond.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 14cr2936 Richard Medina, Jr. Age: 38 Omar Trevino Caro Del Castillo Age: 37 CHARGESMoney Laundering Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(h)
Maximum penalty: 20 years’ imprisonment, $500,000 fine, and forfeitureOperating an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business – Title 18 U.S.C., Section 1960
Maximum penalty: 5 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, and forfeitureConspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371
Maximum penalty: 5 years’ imprisonmentMoney Laundering – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(a)(2)(A)
Maximum penalty: 20 years’ imprisonment, $500,000 fine, and forfeitureCause or Attempt to Cause Financial Institution to File CTR that Contains Material Omission or Misstatement of Fact – Title 31, U.S.C., Section 5324(a)(2)
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Maximum penalty: 10 years’ imprisonment, $500,000 fine, and forfeitureFederal Bureau of Investigation
Drug Enforcement Administration
Internal Revenue Service*Indictments and complaints are not evidence that the defendant committed the crime charged. All defendants are presumed innocent until the United States meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Un Jurado Condena a un Hombre Peruano por Defraudar y Extorsionar a Clientes de Habla Hispana por Medio de Centros de Llamadas FraudulentosRead the Press Release
Un jurado en Miami condenó a un hombre de Lima, Perú, por 26 cargos de delitos mayores de conspiración, fraude e intento de extorsión, cometidos a partir de sus centros de llamadas en Perú, que mintieron y amenazaron a víctimas de habla hispana para que pagaran arreglos fraudulentos, anunció hoy el Departamento de Justicia.
Juan Alejandro Rodríguez Cuya, 35, fue condenado por un jurado después de menos de dos horas de deliberación después de un juicio de dos semanas de duración ante la Jueza Federal de Distrito Patricia A. Seitz en el tribunal federal de Miami. A mitad del enjuiciamiento, su codemandada en el juicio, María Luzula, 52, de Miami, se declaró culpable de todos los cargos contra su persona. Luzula es la madre de Cuya.
Cuya y Luzula ambos enfrentan un máximo legal de 20 años en prisión por cada cargo. Ambos demandados deben permanecer detenidos hasta que se dicten sus sentencias el 22 de enero de 2015 y el 18 de diciembre, respectivamente.
"Los demandados se aprovecharon de la comunidad de habla hispana específicamente – y el daño causado a las víctimas individuales por el fraude cometido es desgarrador", señaló la Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Interina Joyce R. Branda de la División Civil del Departamento de Justicia. "El Departamento de Justicia se compromete a enjuiciar a quienes defrauden a los consumidores para su propio lucro personal".
De acuerdo con las pruebas presentadas en el juicio, los empleados de los demandados en Perú utilizaron llamadas telefónicas para amenazar a víctimas de habla hispana en los Estados Unidos. Los llamantes peruanos falsamente acusaron a las víctimas de haberse negado al envío de ciertos productos y alegaron que las víctimas debían miles de dólares en multas y que serían enjuiciadas. En realidad, las víctimas nunca habían pedido estos productos y no se les había enviado nada.
Pruebas adicionales en el juicio establecieron que los empleados de Luzula y Cuya alegaron que los consumidores podían resolver las multas si pagaban de inmediato un "cargo de resolución". Se les dijo a los clientes que disputaron estos cargos de resolución que, si no pagaban, podrían ser arrestados, deportados o su propiedad podría ser confiscada. Miles de víctimas sucumbieron ante estas amenazas y pagaron cargos que no debían. Una sala telefónica en Miami cobró los cargos.
Las víctimas que atestiguaron en el enjuiciamiento mencionaron el nivel de ansiedad que las llamadas les provocaron. Las víctimas tenían tanto miedo de las amenazas que pagaron cargos a los que ni siquiera podían hacer frente.
La Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Interina Branda elogió al Servicio de Inspección Postal de EE.UU. por su labor de investigación y agradeció a la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Sur de Florida por sus aportes al caso. El caso penal fue enjuiciado por el Abogado Litigante Phil Toomajian y el Director Auxiliar Richard Goldberg de la Oficina de Protección del Consumidor de la División Civil.
Two Florida Men Indicted in Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Guillermo Rincon (36, Miami) and Enrique Hernandez (34, Tampa) with one count of mortgage fraud conspiracy involving mail and bank fraud, and other related substantive charges. Each faces a maximum penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment for each count. The indictment also notifies the individuals that the United States is seeking a money judgment for the proceeds of the charged mortgage fraud conspiracy.
According to the indictment and court proceedings, Rincon and Hernandez participated in a mortgage fraud conspiracy in which some conspirators entered into agreements to purchase properties for amounts in excess of the original asking price. The conspirators then inserted false and fraudulent information about the various conspirator-purchasers on mortgage loan applications, or Fannie Mae Form 1003s, which were submitted in support of the loan requests. Upon the closing of each sale transaction, the conspirators used a portion of the inflated loan proceeds to pay the original asking price to the seller. The remaining excess funds—the gap amount between the original asking price and the inflated mortgage loan amount—were then shared amongst the conspirators, who allowed the purchased properties to fall into foreclosure.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Housing Finance Agency - Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay G. Trezevant and Special Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Poor.
Two Connecticut Men Plead Guilty to Bribery Scheme Involving FBI Agent in New YorkRead the Press Release
Two Connecticut men pleaded guilty today to bribery charges, admitting that they participated in a scheme to obtain confidential, internal law enforcement documents and information from a former FBI Special Agent in White Plains, New York.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York, and Justice Department Inspector General Michael D. Horowitz made the announcement.
Johannes Thaler, 51, of Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Rizve Ahmed, aka “Caesar,” 35, of Danbury, Connecticut, pleaded guilty today in White Plains, New York, federal court to bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services and wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti of the Southern District of New York. Both Thaler and Ahmed admitted to participating in a bribery scheme with Robert Lustyik, a former FBI Special Agent in White Plains who worked on the counterintelligence squad.
In pleading guilty, Thaler and Ahmed admitted that between September 2011 and March 2012, Thaler and Lustyik solicited bribes from Ahmed, in exchange for Lustyik’s agreement to provide internal, confidential documents and other confidential information to which Lustyik had access by virtue of his position as an FBI Special Agent. Thaler was Lustyik’s friend, and Ahmed, a native of Bangladesh, was an acquaintance of Thaler. Ahmed sought confidential law enforcement information, including a Suspicious Activity Report, pertaining to a Bangladeshi political figure who was affiliated with a political party opposing Ahmed’s views. Thaler and Ahmed admitted that Ahmed requested the confidential information to help Ahmed locate and harm his intended victim and others associated with the victim. Ahmed also sought assistance in having criminal charges against a different Bangladeshi political figure dismissed.
Thaler and Ahmed admitted that they exchanged various text messages in furtherance of the scheme, including text messages about a “contract” that would require Ahmed to pay a $40,000 “retainer” and $30,000 “monthly.” In return, Lustyik and Thaler agreed to “give [Ahmed] everything [they] ha[d] plus set up [the victim] and get the inside from the party.”
Thaler and Lustyik also exchanged text messages about how to pressure Ahmed to pay them additional money in exchange for confidential information. For example, in text messages, Lustyik told Thaler, “we need to push [Ahmed] for this meeting and get that 40 gs quick . . . . I will talk us into getting the cash . . . . I will work my magic . . . . We r sooooooo close.” Thaler responded, “I know. It’s all right there in front of us. Pretty soon we’ll be having lunch in our oceanfront restaurant . . . .”
Additionally, in late January 2012, Lustyik learned that Ahmed was considering using a different source to obtain confidential information. As a result, Lustyik sent a text message to Thaler stating, “I want to kill [Ahmed] . . . . I hung my ass out the window n we got nothing? . . . . Tell [Ahmed], I’ve got [the victim’s] number and I’m pissed. . . . I will put a wire on n get [Ahmed and his associates] to admit they want [a Bangladeshi political figure] offed n we sell it to the victim].” Lustyik further stated, “So bottom line. I need ten gs asap. We gotta squeeze C.”
Sentencing hearings for Thaler and Ahmed are scheduled for Jan. 23, 2015.
Lustyik is scheduled for trial on Nov. 17, 2014. The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Allee of the White Plains Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Twenty-three People Indicted for Canton Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A 47-count indictment was filed in federal court charging 23 people for their roles in a conspiracy that brought and sold cocaine and crack cocaine to Canton, law enforcement officials announced.
The indictment was announced by Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office and Canton Police Chief Bruce Lawver.
"This group brought pounds and pounds of cocaine into Stark County,” Dettelbach said. “Only through the good work of the FBI, the Canton police and all our partners was the pipeline shut down.”
“These individuals brought danger and illicit drugs to the streets of Canton and the surrounding territory,” Anthony said. “The FBI will continue collaborative law enforcement efforts to rid our streets of such poison and make our communities a safer place to live.”
“These cases make a significant impact on the community through the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the violence on our streets,” Lawver said. “By focusing on the gang members, drug traffickers and those who are responsible for the violence, we are able to form better relationships with our community as a whole.”
All those indicted are from Canton unless otherwise noted. Indicted are: James E. Walton, 39; Mario Munoz-Gonzales, 27, of Grove City; Eduardo Arredondo, 26; Jose Magueyal, 39; Raymond Jackson, 34; Marcus Houston, 39; Dardisi Alexander, 26; Darcell Anthony, 45; Dontez Lewis, 33; Abraham Joaquin, age unknown; Jack Pearson, 41; Brian Pinkney, 31; Dwight Martin, 55; Dante Harvey, 35; William Nicholson, 32; Terrance Wharton, 34, of Barberton; John Coburn, 27; Richard Taylor, 32; Clifford Cantwell III, 35; Justin Sybole, 26; Richard Crawford, 31, of Louisville, Ohio; Gregory Archer, 50, and Allen Woodson, 26.
The indictment details a two-year conspiracy in which Magueyal obtained kilogram-quantities of cocaine from Arredondo and Munoz-Gonzales. Magueyal, in turn, provided cocaine to Walton, Jackson, Houston, Alexander, Nicholson, Wharton, Joaquin, Taylor, Cantwell, Sybole, Woodson and others for distribution, according to the indictment.
Walton then provided cocaine and crack cocaine to Anthony, Lewis, Pearson, Harvey, Coburn, Pinkney, Martin, Archer, Crawford and others for distribution, according to the indictment.
Walton used stash houses and a storage locker to store drugs, drug proceeds and drug packaging materials, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors are seeking to forfeit several things used as part of or as a result of the criminal conspiracy, including three Canton homes, at 2914 Fairmount Blvd. NE (titled to Magueyal); 4707 Cleveland Ave. SW (titled to Cantwell) and 514 Webster Ave. NE (titled to Pinkney); four firearms, more than $85,000 in cash and four vehicles – a 1975 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale, a 2006 BMW 740i, a 2008 GMC Acadia and a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab LS, according to the indictment.
This indictment is the result of an investigation by the Stark County Safe Streets Task Force, which includes members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Canton Police Department, the Jackson Township Police Department, the Alliance Police Department and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority, with assistance from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Stark County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Teresa Riley and Henry F. DeBaggis.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
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.
Trust Administrator Sentenced for Embezzling over $1 Million from Trusts of Elderly ClientsRead the Press Release
San Diego, CA - United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that Brian Lee of San Diego County was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for embezzling over $1 million from trust accounts he had opened and managed on behalf of an elderly couple.
U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz also ordered Lee to pay over $750,000 in remaining restitution, and commented Lee’s behavior was like “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” as he was “little by little bleeding money away from persons who trusted him and were trying to do charitable things.”
Lee pleaded guilty to wire fraud on February 19, 2014. According to court documents and his admissions, an elderly San Diego couple hired Lee in approximately June 2004 to create trusts and corporations on their behalf in order to manage their assets. The couple also hired and paid Lee to maintain the bank accounts he opened for the couple’s entities.
Soon after opening these accounts, however, Lee began making unauthorized transfers of the couple’s funds and depositing the money into other bank accounts over which he had exclusive control. Lee continued to embezzle funds for almost a decade by systematically withdrawing funds from the couple’s accounts, including one account he opened as a trust account for the couple’s grandchildren. In total, Lee embezzled over $1 million from the couple, much of which he used to pay his own personal expenses.
United States Attorney Duffy said, “It is gratifying to achieve justice on behalf of these senior citizens, who unfortunately placed their trust in Mr. Lee. We hope that this case serves as a deterrent to other fiduciaries and trust administrators who might seek to take advantage of vulnerable victims.”
DEFENDANT Case Number: 14CR0385-BTM Brian P. Lee Age: 44 CHARGESTitle 18, United States Code, Section 1343 (Wire Fraud)
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Maximum penalty: 20 years of custody; $250,000 FineFederal Bureau of Investigation
- Triple Bank Robber Ordered to Federal Prison
Tobacco Wholesaler Charged in Scheme to Defraud Two New England StatesRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A Middletown, Conn. man appeared today in federal court on charges related to a scheme to defraud the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of Connecticut of millions of dollars in tobacco tax revenue.
Syed I. Bokhari, 50, was charged in a 32-count Indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, trafficking in contraband smokeless tobacco, money laundering, and violation of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act. Bokhari was the de facto owner of a warehouse in Springfield, Mass., that went by a variety of names, including A-Z Discount Merchandise and Discount Novelties and Merchandise, Inc. He was also the de facto owner of a warehouse in Danbury, Conn. which went by the name of Novelty and Merchandise, LLC.
It is alleged that Bokhari defrauded Massachusetts and Connecticut from at least 2008 through June 5, 2012 by failing to pay excise taxes on smokeless tobacco and cigars owed by businesses he owned and controlled. It is alleged that he furthered the scheme to defraud by transferring smokeless tobacco to those states without reporting such transfers to the appropriate state tax authorities, as required under the PACT Act. The Indictment also alleges that Bokhari accepted payments for tobacco products in cash amounts of more than $10,000, yet did not file the required federal financial reporting form in order to disguise the true volume of the tobacco products being sent to Massachusetts and Connecticut and the source of the cash payments. Bokhari also allegedly provided fake invoices and caused the filing of false excise tax returns to the Massachusetts and Connecticut tax authorities.
According to documents filed in connection with the charges, the government’s current estimate of the loss attributable to the defendant is $43 million.
U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said, “This indictment exposes a form of tax evasion that deprives states like Massachusetts and Connecticut of badly needed revenue that pays for essential government services like education, public safety, and infrastructure. When tobacco tax laws are evaded, as the defendant is alleged to have done in this indictment, honest tobacco distributors suffer, as does the honest taxpayer.”
“This indictment should send a clear message that the illegal diversion of tobacco products will not be tolerated. We will continue to work with our federal and state partners to identify and arrest those involved in this type of criminal activity which in this case resulted in the loss of tens of millions of dollars in state tax revenue. Because in the end while the criminals profit, it is our citizens that bear the cost,” said Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division.
Department of Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter, who served as Chair of the Massachusetts Illegal Tobacco Commission said, “Stopping the flow of illegal tobacco products is a priority for both our agency and the Commission and this indictment makes it clear that we are serious. Teaming up with federal, state and local law enforcement proved a successful model for combatting this criminal activity.”
“This indictment highlights the fact that tax evasion in any form is not a victimless crime, ” said SAC William P. Offord, IRS Criminal Investigation. “We will use all lawful means to identify and prosecute those who evade their taxes, whether it’s excise tax on tobacco products or income taxes.”
“Smuggling tobacco in order to evade state and local taxes is a multi-million dollar industry. It cheats the government as well by fueling an underground economy,” said Special Agent in Charge Bruce Foucart of HSI Boston. “Fortunately, Homeland Security Investigations’ unique customs law enforcement authorities were designed specifically to target and investigate these types of crimes. Our special agents will continue tracking down these criminals in conjunction with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.”
Bokhari faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss for each of the 11 counts of conspiracy and wire fraud; a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss for each of the five counts of contraband smokeless tobacco trafficking; a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction for each of the 11 counts of money laundering; a maximum sentence of three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 for each of the five counts of violation of the PACT Act; and forfeiture as alleged in the Indictment. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Ortiz, SAC Kumor, SAC Offord; Commissioner Pitter; SAC Foucart; and Commissioner Kevin B. Sullivan, of the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Office and Veronica M. Lei of Ortiz’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.
The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Struthers Woman Indicted for Theft of Government FundsRead the Press Release
A federal Grand Jury returned a one-count indictment charging Beverly Boyd, 57, a resident of Struthers, Ohio, with theft of government funds, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment alleges that Boyd, the Rrpresentative payee for her father, stole government funds from the date of her father’s death on November 25, 2007, until August 2013. Boyd accomplished this scheme by concealing her father’s death and then converting her father’s Social Security benefits for her own use in violation of her responsibilities as a Representative Payee and federal law.
Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Cronin is prosecuting the case following an investigation by the SSA Office of Inspector General.
If convicted, the court will determine the defendant’s sentence after a review of factors unique to this 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. In most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
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.
Spencerport Man Sentenced on Tax ChargeRead the Press Release
Buffalo, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jay Chapman, 47, of Spencerport, N.Y., who was convicted of filing a false income tax return, was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay restitution totaling $111,078 by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley E. Tyler, who handled the case, stated that in 2007, the defendant filed a personal income tax return but failed to report business income in the amount of $118,971.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office.Second Individual Charged in Armed Robbery of Greece JewelerRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jessica Moscicki, 24, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, obstructing commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting a federal offense. The robbery charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence charge carries a minimum sentence of seven years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Robert A. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that on October 7, 2014, Moscicki and co-defendant Clarence Lambert are accused of participating in a home invasion robbery of a jeweler in the Town of Greece. According to the complaint, during the robbery, the jeweler and his wife were pistol whipped and locked in a closet. The perpetrators are accused of stealing in excess of $200,000 in cash, diamonds, and luxury watches.On October 17, 2014, following police surveillance, Moscicki was pulled over while driving on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst, NY. According to the complaint, during the investigation the defendant was positively identified as going to the home of the victims five days before the robbery and asking for a person the jeweler never of. The complaint furthers states that Moscicki was with Clarence Lambert on October 14, 2014 when he attempted to sell a Rolex watch stolen during the home invasion at a pawn shop in Rochester. The defendant drove away from the pawn shop in the same vehicle that she was driving when pulled over by Amherst Police.
The defendant made an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. She is being detained and is due back in court on Wednesday October 22, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson.
The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Patrick Phelan, Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of James S. Higgins, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Scott Crosier, and the Rochester Police Department under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.Russellville Man Sentenced for 21 Firearms, MethRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Russellville, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing firearms and methamphetamine.
Emmanuel Guillen, 22, a citizen of Mexico residing in Russellville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 11 years and three months in federal prison without parole.
On June 3, 2014, Guillen pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and to being an illegal alien in possession of 21 firearms.
On March 20, 2014, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Guillen’s residence. Officers found a box in a bedroom closet that contained five plastic containers of methamphetamine, weighing a total of 625 grams. A small safe was also found inside the closet, which contained $13,168; when officers searched Guillen, he had $2,504 in his wallet.
During the search, there were three vehicles located outside – two parked in the driveway, and one in the detached garage underneath a tarp. The vehicle in the garage, a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, had been reported stolen from Waynesville, Mo. One of the vehicles in the driveway, a 2003 GMC Sierra pickup, had an illegally modified Savage combination gun (.410/.22 caliber) under the driver’s seat. The Savage firearm had been cut down to a barrel length of less than 12 inches, and the serial number had been ground off. In the other vehicle in the driveway, a 2004 GMC Sierra pickup, two bags containing a total of 60 grams of methamphetamine were located.
In the residence and in the two vehicles in the driveway officers also discovered six handguns, five shotguns, a sawed-off shotgun with the serial number ground off and eight rifles.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team and Narcotics Group), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Robert J. Shubert, Sr. Sentenced on Violation of the Arms Export Act and Possession of Pipe BombsRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that Robert J. Shubert Sr., age 49, from Warner Robins, Georgia was sentenced on October 14, 2014, by the Honorable Marc T. Treadwell, United States District Judge, in Macon, Georgia to a total of six and a half years in prison following his earlier plea of guilty to one count each of conspiracy to violate and violation of the Arms Export Control Act as well as one count of possession of an unregistered firearm.The investigation in this case revealed that Mr. Shubert conspired with a foreign national between June 2006 and December 2011 to export defense articles to a foreign nation without the proper authority or license. He purchased the defense articles from various legitimate distributors and shipped them to a foreign nation at a considerable profit to himself. To facilitate the scheme he also prepared false documents regarding the contents to be exported to his foreign co-conspirator. These acts formed the basis of the Arms Export Control Act violations.
Additionally, search warrants executed on homes owned by Mr. Shubert in Warner Robins, Georgia, and in Wisconsin revealed more than eighty (80) unregistered destructive devices, better known as pipe bombs. These resulted in the possession of an unregistered firearm count.
District Court Judge Marc T. Treadwell was not persuaded by Mr. Shubert’s statements of remorse, sentencing him to seventy-eight (78) months imprisonment, the top of the available range under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. The Court also imposed a fine of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) and ordered forfeiture of one hundred and forty seven thousand eight hundred and ninety two dollars ($147,892.00). The Court prohibited Shubert from leaving the United States and ordered his passport be surrendered to the State Department, as well.“Robert J. Shubert showed a total disregard for the laws of the United States of America and the potential harm the defense articles he exported could pose to others. He allowed his personal enrichment to guide his conscience. The possession of more than eighty (80) pipe bombs at the time of his arrest is equally disturbing to the Government, ” said United States Attorney Michael Moore.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations. Deputy Criminal Chief of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia, Tamara Jarrett, handled the prosecution for the United States. The case was also worked by prosecutors from the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterespionage Section.
Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey at the United States Attorney’s Office (478/621-2603).
Remarks by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez on the Occasion of his Investiture as the 45th U.S. Attorney for the District of New MexicoRead the Press Release
Chief Judge [M. Christina] Armijo, Judges of our United States District Court. May it please the Court. Good afternoon.
Chief Judge Armijo, on behalf of the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico and myself, thank you for permitting us to hold this ceremony in the U.S. Courthouse. Thank you also, Chief Judge Armijo, for presiding over this investiture ceremony.
Your Honors, being familiar with the Court’s crushing work load, I am very grateful to each of you for taking the time to be here.
Judge [James A.] Parker, thank you administering the Oath of Office to me. I asked Judge Parker to do me this honor because he was one of the first judges I appeared before as a young Assistant U.S. Attorney. Since then, I have viewed him as a person who is gracious, courteous and respectful to all who appear before him regardless of status or stature.
General Andrew Salas, thank you for being here and for the privilege of having the New Mexico National Guard’s Honor Guard present the colors. They are the citizen soldiers of New Mexico, and they represent the best of our proud military tradition.
Ross and Kristin Daugherty, thank you for performing here this afternoon. Ross and I, together with more than 400 other New Mexicans, were deployed with the New Mexico National Guard to Sinai, Egypt, in 2012. On Friday afternoons during that deployment, we had religious services and during those services I learned that Ross was the only one amongst us who could carry a tune. He had a voice I could only describe as “angelic,” and I began to look forward to Friday afternoons because hearing Ross sing made New Mexico seem a little closer to me. Today is the first time I have heard Ross sing since we left the Sinai. Thank you, Ross and Kristin.
Senator [Tom] Udall, you and Senator [Martin] Heinrich recommended me to the President of the United States, the leader of the free world, for this position. In essence, you vouched for me and I am eternally grateful for your confidence in me. I know that I have a great responsibility to uphold and I will do my best to live up to the trust you have placed in me.
Senator Udall, it is a great honor to have you here today. Thank you for your kind remarks today, and for also setting an example which I have never forgotten. When you were the Attorney General for New Mexico and I worked for you as an Assistant Attorney General, I wrote an advisory letter to a city here in the State that ended up on the front page of the local paper. Several days later, an editorial criticized you for my advisory letter. When I saw you the following week, I apologized to you for the criticism you had received. In response, you asked me if I had applied the appropriate case law and conducted the proper analysis. I said I did. You then asked me if I had run it by my supervisor and did he approve it. And I said I did. You then said, “You have nothing to worry about.” That incident made an impression on me that has guided my career and this is the tone I intend to set at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
I am now into my fifth month as U.S. Attorney. This ceremony was postponed until now because, at the beginning of my tenure, we had to focus our energies on important matters in our community rather than this ceremony. It has become apparent to me, however, that the community needs to know – to the extent that I can talk about them – the priorities of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The community also needs to know that, particularly in times of budget constraints, it is important that the U.S. Attorney’s Office maintain and strengthen partnerships with other members of the DOJ community in order to better serve our community.
Civil rights are a priority for the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office here in New Mexico. [Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division] Molly Moran’s presence here today is a testament to the Justice Department’s commitment to civil rights and the Department’s commitment to working with this community. Thank you, Molly, for not only being here today, but also for the great partnership our offices have enjoyed as they work together.
As most of you are aware, the Department of Justice is in the process of negotiating a court-enforceable agreement with the City of Albuquerque to reform the Albuquerque Police Department. From the day DOJ released the findings of its investigation into APD, I have continuously stated that the vast majority of our officers are honorable public servants who risk their safety and well-being for the public good every day. I have said this because it is true. Nevertheless, there exist real systemic problems within APD that urgently need to be addressed. I am confident that we soon will reach an agreement that will provide the blueprint for reforming APD and that will result in constitutional policing while giving our officers the support they need to fight crime effectively.
In addressing this matter, we know what the answer to the question is. The difficult part will be in finding the courage to reach that answer. The answer is “trust.” Our police officers have to trust that the community supports them. And our community has to trust that our police officers are properly trained and are acting in the interests of keeping us safe.
Here with us today are representatives from many sectors of our community who have important stakes in the reform process: Mayor Richard Berry, Council President Ken Sanchez, Chief Gorden Eden and Assistant Chief Robert Huntsman, Stephanie Lopez and Shaun Willoughby who are the President and Vice President of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, Jewel Hall of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Center, Peter Simonson of the ACLU of New Mexico and APD Forward, community advocates Maria Bautista, Nyira Gitana and John Cordova, Bro. Gerard and Bro. Charles, who work with the homeless, and all of you.
We also are joined by Steve and Renetta Torres, who lost their son Christopher Torres to an APD officer involved shooting in April 2011.Since we are altogether here today, let me tell you about a major step that has already been taken in establishing that trust. On May 9, 2014, about a month after DOJ released its findings on APD, I sat in on a meeting that included Mayor Berry and Steve Torres. During that meeting, Steve Torres offered his assistance to the Mayor and said he stood ready to help in reforming the APD. When I asked Steve Torres if I could share that story today, Steve said yes, he said, “My son would have wanted me to do this.”
In moving forward, I ask that we keep Steve Torres’ incredibly moving gesture as the beacon by which we navigate. If Steve Torres can do it, then we should all be willing to take that first step towards rebuilding the foundation of trust between our police officers and our community that is essential for effective, productive law enforcement.
As many of you know, this APD matter is civil in nature and so we have had no law enforcement agency assigned to assist us. When we have required assistance, the U.S. Marshals Service has readily stepped up. Thank you, Marshal [Conrad] Candelaria for the invaluable support you and your Deputies continue to provide.
Because of where our State is located, we have a had comprehensive border strategy which has traditionally focused on the investigation and prosecution of immigration and drug crimes.
When it comes to immigration-related crime, the heart of our prosecution strategy focuses on those who are illegally in this country after having been deported and who have committed violent crimes or other serious felonies, like a murder or rape. We do this with our Homeland Security partners, the U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
When it comes to our drug prosecution strategy, we regularly partner with DEA, represented here by Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy, HSI, represented by Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kevin Abar, and IRS, represented by Supervisory Special Agent Chris Wajda, as well as our many other federal, state and local partners as we target major drug trafficking organizations.
Our border strategy, however, cannot be limited to taking on immigration and drug crimes. When we act to secure our border, we also help secure our nation’s security. Over the last four months, we have complemented our border strategy by adding a third component and establishing a national security/anti-terrorism section to the office. We must never forget that on June 3, 1945, right here in Albuquerque and just a few blocks away, the plans the first atomic bomb were turned over to Russian agents in exchange for $500. This understanding of history will inform the new section as it focuses on issues important to our national labs, the businesses that support the labs, and our military installations, and looks for effective ways of better protecting our national security as well as our country’s sensitive technology and information.
I want to thank Special Agent in Charge Carol Lee of the FBI, Director Gil Guaderrama of Transportation Security Administration, and Resident Agent in Charge Richard Ferretti of the Secret Service for their important efforts on the national security front.
Unfortunately our drugs problems are not limited to the border. New Mexico has long grappled with an epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse. On a per capita basis, we lead the nation in both heroin and prescription drug overdose deaths. Fortunately, many in our community are committed to taking on this serious problem, including Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins who established the Bernalillo County Opioid Initiative. We will collaborate with that initiative and we have agreed in principle with Chancellor [Paul] Roth from the [University of New Mexico] Medical School to participate in a coordinated State wide effort to address this problem.
We will continue our “worst of the worst” anti-violence initiative. Under this initiative, we work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement officers to target those criminals in our communities who commit a disproportionate amount of the crime. ATF, represented here by Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mark Murray, is the bedrock for this initiative. A number of our local partners in this initiative, including New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas, are also here.
District Attorney Francesca Estevez from Deming and District Attorney Mark D’Antonio from Las Cruces, thank you both for being here today, and for partnering with us on the “worst of the worst” initiative. To strengthen our bonds with the District Attorneys around the State and to enhance this program, we have launched a new initiative that contemplates designating a limited number of Assistant District Attorneys as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys. These Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys will serve not only as a symbolic bridge between our offices but will also enable our District Attorneys to help us identify the “worst of the worst” in their communities for federal prosecution.
Cabinet Secretary Greg Myers of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management also joins us here today. Secretary Myers is in the process of re-building New Mexico’s “fusion center.” Secretary, it is important that you succeed in this mission. It is important for our state, county, local and tribal officers to have one place from which to receive important information and one place to send information so law enforcement efforts can be enhanced and properly coordinated. Your efforts will assist officers like San Juan County Sheriff Ken Christesen, Santa Fe Police Chief Eric Garcia, and Chief Kendall Vicenti of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. A viable “fusion center” will help make our law enforcement officers’ jobs easier and safer, and we are pleased to be assisting Secretary Myers in achieving that goal.
New Mexico is home to 22 Indian tribes and the U.S. Attorney’s Office is proud of the work at it does with each one of these tribes. When he was U.S. Attorney, [U.S. District] Judge [Kenneth] Gonzalez created and implemented an Indian Country Crimes Section and he left a proud legacy when it comes to bringing justice to New Mexico’s Indian Country. At a minimum, it is now my responsibility to continue that legacy and hopefully to build upon it. Because many of our tribes are small and because of jurisdictional limitations, our tribal governments often do not have the capability to prosecute cases arising from their communities. This means that the Indian Country Crimes Section must prosecute some very difficult cases from these communities. If we do not prosecute these difficult cases – cases ranging from murder to child sexual assaults to serious assaults – they will not be not be prosecuted at all. So we take on these tough cases, and we do so in partnership with the BIA, FBI and our tribal police departments and with the full support of our tribal leaders, including Governor Gil L. Vigil of the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council and President Ty Vicenti of the Jicarilla Apache Nation.
We will continue our pro-active outreach to our tribal communities. We have partnered with BIA to train tribal, local and state law enforcement officers so that they could be cross-commissioned by the BIA. This past year, almost 200 officers were cross-commissioned by the BIA. This is a force multiplier that enhances public safety in our tribal communities. We also will continue to have outreach with our Native American youth to emphasize the importance of education and the perils of getting involved with drugs, gangs, violence and firearms.
At the beginning of our ceremony, Lt. Governor [Antonio] Chewiwi from the Pueblo of Isleta delivered our invocation in Tewa, one of the languages of our Pueblo people. Lt. Governor Chewiwi, thank you for honoring us with your prayer and thank you for also being a leader in a new initiative being launched by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Pueblo of Isleta, and our Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force. We will be implementing a reentry pilot program by the end of the year that focuses on tribal members who are being released from jail and transitioning back to pueblo life. It will focus on providing cultural and spiritual support and substance abuse treatment. A major goal will be to ensure that the basics of housing, food, transportation, and employment are met so that those who are reentering the Pueblo can focus on a future free from the problems that have plagued them in their pasts.
There are a couple more priorities I want to highlight today and those involve the outstanding work of our civil attorneys. U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the country have at least one “Affirmative Civil Enforcement” attorney who is charged with filing civil lawsuits on behalf of the United States to recover government money lost to fraud, waste and abuse. We have increased the resources in this area with the goal of identifying more of the fraud that is occurring at the taxpayers’ expense and returning that money to the government’s coffers.
We also have ramped up our affirmative environmental work with partners like the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture because it is important that we preserve and protect our natural resources not only for our use and enjoyment now, but also for our future generations.
Before I close, I want to acknowledge a good friend of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, someone who represents an essential part of our criminal justice system, Steve McCue, the Federal Public Defender for the District of New Mexico. We all know that effective legal representation for all persons charged with crimes is critical to safeguarding justice and fairness in the criminal process. Thank you, Steve, for being here today.
In closing, I want to thank the women and men of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They are hardworking, dedicated public servants, and they are the reason why the Office is able to take on all that I have talked about today. Let me give you a couple of examples who they are.
On Wednesday, the Attorney General recognized Glynette Carson McNabb in Washington, D.C., for exceptional service in Indian Country. Glynette supervises the Indian Country Crimes Section for the Office. From across the country, the Attorney General recognized only one person in this category this year. This tells you about the caliber of Glynette’s work, and the attorneys and support staff who work with her.
As another example, last year when I supervised the Organized Crime Section, I called an attorney on a Sunday afternoon and asked him a question concerning a matter that had just come up and required immediate attention. That attorney responded by coming into the office on that Sunday afternoon, working through the night, working through the day on Monday, and then into the night and did not leave until 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, after he made sure that the matter was addressed. This is the type of teamwork and dedication the people I work with exhibit.
I have many friends here today. Some I have known since childhood, some I know from schools, and others from working together. Understanding that some of you have traveled great distances to be here today, I want to thank each one of you. Thank you for your friendship, your support, and your inspiration.
I also want to thank my mom Carmen, my wife Holly, my sons, and the rest of my family. Thank you for your support.
Your Honors, I know that the U.S. Attorney’s Office here in New Mexico has built up a reservoir of good will with the Court as the result of previous generations of U.S. Attorneys and Assistant U.S. Attorneys who have practiced before you. With this knowledge, I realize that it is now my responsibility to make sure that when we appear before you, as officers of the Court, we must always accurately represent the law, be fair to the facts, and speak candidly to the Court.
Thank you for the great honor of being able to appear before you.
Registered Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Destroying an iPad and Hard Drive that Contained Evidence of his Attempts to Collect Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – David Michael Fioramonti, 42, of Purcellville, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to obstruction of justice related to evidence of child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Joseph R. Price, Chief of the Town of Leesburg Police Department; and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.
According to documents filed with the Court, on December 31, 2013, several officers with the Leesburg Police Department observed Fioramonti in his car in the parking lot of a Sheetz gas station in Leesburg, Virginia. Fioramonti was using his iPad to access the Internet using Sheetz’s unsecured public WIFI. The officers determined that Fioramonti was a registered sex offender, and he was not allowed to access the Internet from an unapproved device. They approached Fioramonti and requested the iPad, but Fioramonti refused. He then began hitting the iPad on the gear shift of the vehicle, shattering the screen. He was arrested by the Leesburg Police Department and subsequently released. After failing to appear in court, an arrest warrant was issued for Fioramonti.
On February 11, 2014, Maryland State Police Officers encountered Fioramonti in a hotel room in Frederick, Maryland. Fioramonti barricaded himself in his hotel room and stated he had a weapon. While in the hotel room, Fioramonti removed the hard drive from his Toshiba laptop and destroyed it. The black hard drive had contained evidence of Fioramonti’s attempts to collect child pornography as well as information, such as screen names and IP addresses, of individuals who collect and share child pornography on the Internet.
Fioramonti was charged in a superseding information on October 17, 2014, with the obstruction of justice in violation. Pursuant to his guilty plea, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on February 6, 2015. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was investigated by the Town of Leesburg Police Department and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Gardner is prosecuting 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. 1:14-cr-309.
Pair Indicted in Contract Fraud and Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI — A federal grand jury has indicted Rudy Rampertab, 45, and Suraj Patel, 34, of Ocoee, Fla. for their alleged connection with a $3.5 million shipping and packaging contract fraud scheme.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS), and Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the charges today.
The indictment charges Rampertab and Patel with one count each of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud, 10 counts each of mail fraud and honest services fraud, 10 counts each of mail fraud, one count each of money laundering, and one count each of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the indictment between 1988 and January 2011 Rampertab was an employee of a business that had offices in Cincinnati, Ohio. This business processed requests for the payment of invoices and mailed checks to vendors to pay for services rendered. Beginning in approximately 2000, Rampertab managed this businesses distribution center located in Carson, Calif. Rampertab supervised the movement of the company’s merchandise to distribution centers throughout the country.
From approximately July 2010 through January 2011, Rampertab and Patel allegedly conspired to divert the shipping and packaging business to companies established by Patel, and part of the profits were paid to Rampertab in the form of kickbacks.
Patel established several companies by the names of SAP Retail Transportation, Cost Plus Packaging, and Keshav Logistics (“Patel’s companies”). Rampertab obtained approval for Patel’s companies to become third party vendors without disclosing his financial interest in or personal connection to Patel’s companies. Rampertab reassigned the transportation contracts from established vendors to Patel’s companies. Rampertab also established a different process for Patel’s companies so that he could personally approve the invoices, according to the indictment.
It has been alleged that Patel’s companies improperly billed the business for services that were not rendered or double-billed the business. In addition, Rampertab and Patel conspired to have Patel’s companies sell large amounts of unnecessary packaging to the business, for which Rampertab approved the invoices.
According to the indictment, between July 2010 and January 2011, Patel’s companies received more than $3.5 million in shipping and packaging contracts from the business. After paying expenses, Patel’s companies generated approximately $1.4 million in net income.
Patel’s companies allegedly paid kickbacks to Rampertab in the form of payments made in the amount of $126,000 to relatives of Rampertab; a $13,000 cashier's check paid to Rampertab; payments in the amount of over $466,000 to Rampertab’s personal American Express accounts; and Rampertab’s cell phone.
In addition, Patel and Rampertab allegedly used the profits from this scheme and Patel’s companies to purchase real estate and vehicles in their names. Patel used the proceeds of the scheme to purchase a 2010 Aston Martin for $199,000 and sold it $150,000. The $150,000 proceeds were then deposited into a bank account established in Patel’s name and Rampertab was listed as the account beneficiary. Patel and Rampertab used $53,071.13 from that account to purchase property in Orlando, Florida that was titled in both of their names. Also, Patel and Rampertab allegedly used one of Patel’s companies to trade-in Rampertab’s Lexus in order to purchase a BMW. The BMW was purchased with a $61,000 check that was written on one of Patel’s company’s bank accounts.
An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Conspiracy to commit money laundering, mail fraud, and honest services fraud are all punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Money laundering is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation realtive to the forfeiture of jewelry, art work, and six real properties.
"The IRS, along with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously pursue individuals that misuse their positions of trust and use kickback schemes to further their criminal activities," said Kathy A. Enstrom, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS, Criminal Investigation.
U.S. Attorney Stewart acknowledged the investigation by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Timothy S. Mangan who is representing the United States in this case.
Outlaw Motorcycle Gang member on the Run for 17 Years Arrested in MexicoRead the Press Release
United States Attorney James L. Santelle announced that United States Marshals have arrested Randy Mark Yager, aka “Mad” (age: 58), in Mexico. In 1997, Yager fled after he was indicted in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Yager was the ATF's Most Wanted Fugitive in 1997, and was placed on the United States Marshals 15 Most Wanted list in 2004.
Yager is one of seventeen members and officers of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club who were charged with racketeering offenses. The indictment identifies Yager as the regional president of the Chicago Region of the Outlaws and the president and a member of the Gary Chapter of the Outlaws. Yager is charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) with substantive racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering acts, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1962 (c) and (d). The charges carry penalties of up to life in prison.
The indictment alleges that the Outlaws were a criminal organization whose members and associates were engaged in acts of violence including murder, robbery, arson, narcotics trafficking, and other serious offenses. According to the indictment, many of those acts were committed with the intent to control Outlaw territory and keep rival motorcycle gangs, including the Hell’s Angels, from gaining a foothold in the Midwest. Yager is alleged to have participated in racketeering acts that included conspiracy to commit murder at the Lancaster Speedway in Erie County, New York, where a member of the Hell’s Angels and a member of the Outlaws were each killed during the planned assault. He is also alleged to have participated in a conspiracy to commit murder at the Illiana Speedway in Lake County, Indiana, and in an act of robbery at a tavern in Cook County, Illinois.
Yager’s co-defendants have all been convicted, and five of them, including Kevin O’Neill, David Kadlec, Randall Miller, Carl J. Warnecke and Harvey Powers, were given life sentences.
In announcing Yager’s arrest and return to the United States, United States Attorney James L. Santelle stated: “The charges against this defendant remain today just as serious, extensive, and violent as they were when the Grand Jury issued them some 17 years ago. Mr. Yager will now face the consequences of those criminal actions that, like those of his co-defendants, compromised the safety and the security of our communities.” United States Attorney Santelle specially commended the United States Marshals Service and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the other law enforcement units, for their “outstanding highly professional, and unrelenting work in identifying the defendant’s whereabouts and accomplishing his return to face justice here in Eastern Wisconsin”.
"While Randy Yager attempted to evade federal law enforcement for nearly two decades, today's arrest signifies ATF's relentless pursuit of violent criminals across the nation,” said Special Agent in Charge of the St. Paul Field Division James C. Modzelewski. “Be clear that ATF in partnership with the U.S Marshals Service, U.S. Attorney's Office and local law enforcement, we will bring violent criminals to justice without regard for how many decades they attempt to evade the law."Yager, was apprehended Wednesday near Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. The fugitive investigation for Yager gained momentum when U.S. Marshals were able to gather significant information on his possible location. The information was then forwarded to Mexican authorities, who responded to the location and encountered a man who fit Yager’s description. When Mexican authorities asked the man to identify himself, he initially said his name was “David” and produced several identification cards bearing the name David Michael Dorian. However, after additional questioning, the man later identified himself as Randy Yager.
Mexican authorities took Yager into custody and transported him to a facility in Tijuana where he was processed and positively identified. On Thursday, October 16, Yager was ordered expelled from Mexico to the U.S., where he was subsequently turned over to the U.S. Marshals. He is currently being held at the Western Regional Detention Facility in downtown San Diego, California.
“Yager was on the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted list since 2004,” stated Kevin Carr, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “His arrest is a testament to the outstanding investigative work and tireless efforts of our deputies and our federal, state, and local partners who worked this case for years to bring Yager to justice.”
This case has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Carol L. Kraft who initially prosecuted this case.
Operators of Houston Area Diagnostic Centers Agree to Pay $2.6 Million to Settle Alleged False Claims Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
Two groups of Houston-based diagnostic centers have agreed to pay the United States a total of more than $2.6 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for the Southern District of Texas. The settlements were finalized without an admission of liability and without commencement of litigation.
One group of centers, which operates under the name One Step Diagnostic and is owned and controlled by Fuad Rehman Cochinwala, has agreed to pay $1.2 million. The payment is being made to settle allegations that it violated the Stark Statute and the False Claims Act by entering into sham consulting and medical director agreements with physicians who referred patients to One Step Diagnostic Centers.
The other group of centers, which is owned and controlled by Rahul Dhawan, has agreed to pay $1,457,686. This group consists of Complete Imaging Solutions LLC doing business as Houston Diagnostics, Deerbrook Diagnostics & Imaging Center LLC, Elite Diagnostic Inc., Galleria MRI & Diagnostic LLC, Spring Imaging Center Inc. and West Houston MRI & Diagnostics LLC. The United States alleged that these centers engaged in improper financial relationships with referring physicians and improperly billed Medicare using the provider number of a physician who had not authorized them to do so and had not been involved in the provision of the services being billed.
“The Department of Justice has longstanding concerns about improper financial relationships between health care providers and their referral sources, because such relationships can alter a physician's judgment about the patient's true health care needs and drive up health care costs for everyone,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Branda. “In addition to yielding a recovery for taxpayers, this settlement should deter similar conduct in the future and help make health care more affordable.”
“These settlements totaling more than $2.6 million represent the continuing commitment of our office in combatting health care fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Magidson. “The U.S. takes these accusations seriously. Working within the whistleblower laws, we will continue to bring these cases to public view where tax payer money is being used improperly.”
The settlements announced today arose from a lawsuit filed by three whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Under that act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $22.5 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $14.3 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
The case, United States ex rel. Holderith, et al. v. One Step Diagnostic, Inc., et al., Case No. 12-CV-2988 (S.D. Tex.), was handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
- Operators of Houston Area Diagnostic Centers Agree to Pay $2.6 Million to Settle Alleged False Claim Act Violations
Omaha Woman Convicted of Theft of Government Property and Mail FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that LaTosha Bolton, age 48, of Omaha, Nebraska, was convicted on October 16, 2014, after a jury found her guilty of theft of government property and mail fraud. The Honorable Laurie Smith Camp presided over the trial that was held this week in Federal District Court. Sentencing has been set for January 12, 2015. Ms. Bolton faces 20 years of imprisonment on the mail fraud conviction and 10 years imprisonment for the theft.
From 1993 until 2013 Ms. Bolton was receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits on behalf of one of her children. While it was clear the child did have a disability, by finding her guilty, the jury found that Ms. Bolton did not use the money for the benefit of her child as required by law. Ms. Bolton received $124,960.00 of government SSI funds and most of that money was sent through the United States mails.
The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General, Social Security.
Ohio Man Charged with Defrauding Social SecurityRead the Press Release
Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Joyce L. Humes, age 62, of Dennison, Ohio, with one count of theft of government funds.
The indictment alleges that from on or about December 1, 2009, through October 31, 2013, Joyce L. Humes stole Social Security survivor benefits in the amount of $50,618 from the United States Social Security Administration to which she was not entitled.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this 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 Brian M. McDonough, following an investigation by agents of the Office of Inspector General of the United States Social Security Administration.
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.
November 2014 ElectionsRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La.– United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley advises the public today of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s role during the upcoming November 4, 2014 and December 6, 2014 primary and general elections.
The Department of Justice’s Election Day Program is centered on deterring election fraud, discrimination at the polls and combating election violations. The goal is to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting violations while the polls are open on Election Day.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.
Early voting is October 21st to October 28th (except Sunday) from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for the November 4th primary election, and November 22nd to November 29th (except Sunday) from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for the December 6th general election. On November 4, 2014, the polls will open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m., and on December 6, 2014, the polls will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. Residents should contact their local Registrar of Voters’ Office to determine their voting location. If you would like to download a sample ballot or obtain other election information, visit the Louisiana Secretary of State’s web page at www.sos.la.gov/ElectionsAndVoting.
For those seeking to register to vote, registration is open throughout the year. Registration to be eligible to vote in the November 4th election has ended, but registration to be eligible to vote in the December 6th election is open until November 5, 2014. In Louisiana, eligibility to register to vote in an election ends 30 days before that election. To find out more, call the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office at 225-922-0900.
Complaints of election fraud or voting rights violations should be directed to the FBI, who will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations. The local FBI field offices can be reached by the public at the following telephone numbers: Shreveport at 318-861-1890 or Lafayette at 337-233-2164. For a complete list of FBI field offices in Louisiana visit www.fbi.gov/neworleans/contact-us/territory-jurisdictionThe U.S. Attorney’s Office can be reached by the public at 318-676-3600 (Shreveport) or 337-262-6618 (Lafayette).
Complaints about ballot access problems or discrimination can also be made directly to the Civil Rights Divisions Voting Section in Washington, D.C., at 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767. The division’s email address is [email protected] and voter complaints also can be filed online at www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake.
The Civil Rights Division=s Voting Section enforces six federal statutes. They are the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. For more information on the acts that the division enforces, visit www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/overview.php.
New York City Men Charged with Drug Trafficking OffensesRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced the filing of criminal charges on October 14, 2014 against Adolphus Butts, age 35, Timothy Smart, age 31, Ladu Tariq Kitching, age 28, and Cedrick Johnson, age 27, all of New York, New York. The Grand Jury in Scranton returned a nine-count Indictment filed in the United States District Court alleging that the above individuals conspired to distribute cocaine hydrochloride, cocaine base, (crack), and heroin in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties between 2011 and 2013.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the charges are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police into the sale of illegal drugs at motels in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties.
Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney John Gurganus.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal drug trafficking conspiracy statute charged in this case is twenty years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Morris County, N.J., Plastic Surgeon Charged with Evading Taxes on More Than $10 Million in IncomeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A plastic surgeon with a practice in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, has surrendered to face charges that he fraudulently diverted millions in corporate earnings for his personal use, costing the United States nearly $3 million in tax revenue, U.S Attorney Paul Fishman announced today.
David Evdokimow, 54, of Harding Township, New Jersey, is charged by indictment with one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and four counts of personal income tax evasion and three counts of corporate tax evasion. He appeared in court Oct. 16, 2104, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court.
According to the indictment unsealed today:
Evdokimow conducted his medical practice through a corporate entity known as De’Omilia Plastic Surgery P.C. (De’Omilia). He allegedly paid his personal expenses directly from De’Omilia’s corporate bank accounts while falsely attributing these expenses to De’Omilia’s corporate operations. By falsely characterizing personal expenses as corporate expenses, Evdokimow allegedly received an additional $3,123,721 in personal income from the De’Omilia accounts, which he failed to report to the IRS on his federal income tax returns.
Evdokimow had other conspirators form shell corporations and list themselves as sole signatories in order to conceal any connection with Evdokimow. The conspirators made stamps with their signatures and gave them to Evdokimow so that he had full access to the shell corporations’ bank accounts. He allegedly funneled and diverted millions of dollars in De’Omilia income into the bank accounts of the shell corporations without reporting it to the IRS on his federal income tax returns. Evdokimow used the shell corporation bank accounts to pay for $2,407,165 in personal expenses including designer apparel, jewelry, vacations, artwork, and multiple residences.
Evdokimow also opened bank accounts at several banks and then used these accounts to cash checks received directly from patients for professional medical services. Evdokimow cashed out $339,465 in income from patients, which he failed to report on his federal income tax returns.
The seven substantive counts of tax evasion charge Evdokimow with attempting to avoid paying taxes on $7,305,994 in income, causing a loss to the government of $1,580,155. Three additional years of income – which are included in the conspiracy count, but could not be charged as substantive counts because the statute of limitations has expired – bring the total amount on which he allegedly attempted to avoid paying taxes to $10,800,174, costing the United States a total of $2,760,676 in tax revenue.
Each of the counts with which Evdokimow is charged carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to the indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lorraine S. Gerson of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
14-375
Defense counsel: James Kridel Esq., Clifton, New Jersey
Evdokimow, David Indictment
- Mission Man Ordered to Prison for Trafficking Marijuana
Milton Man Sentenced for Mortgage FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A Milton man was sentenced late yesterday in federal court on bank and wire fraud charges in connection with a property flipping program which involved sham purchasers buying multiple properties which were ultimately the subject of foreclosure.
Edward Johnson, 53, was sentenced by Judge Denise J. Casper to 28 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $430,110 to the victim lenders. From about May through July 2006, Johnson recruited two financially unqualified individuals to buy multiple properties in Dorchester and Mattapan. To secure their participation in the scheme, Johnson, or others acting with him, promised these individuals that they would have no responsibility for any expenses or payments on the property, would hold title in their name for a few months until the property was improved and then sold, and in exchange, they would receive a payment for each property purchased. Johnson, and others, submitted false mortgage applications on behalf of these individuals that misrepresented their income, employment, prior indebtedness, and intention to reside in the purchased properties. The mortgages were not paid as promised and all of the properties went into foreclosure.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Field Division; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General
Northeast Regional Office; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lori J. Holik and Sandra S. Bower of Ortiz’s Major Crimes and Economic Crimes Units.Mexican Man Charged with Illegally Reentering the United StatesRead the Press Release
Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Fidel Gaytan-Santillan a.k.a. Fidel Gayton-Santillan, age 34, of Mexico, with unlawful reentry into the United States on September 26, 2014.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this 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 Brian M. McDonough, following an investigation by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.
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.
Massachusetts Man Gets 30 Months in Prison for Role in Multimillion-Dollar International Cybercrime SchemeRead the Press Release
Worked as ‘Casher’ for Organization that Allegedly Capitalized on
Information Hacked From Customers of More Than a Dozen Global Financial InstitutionsTRENTON, N.J. – A member of an alleged international cybercrime, identity theft and credit card fraud conspiracy was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in a scheme to use information hacked from customer accounts at more than a dozen banks, brokerage firms, payroll processing companies and government agencies to attempt to steal $15 million from customers, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Lamar Taylor, 38, of Salem, Mass., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, access device fraud and identity theft. Judge Sheridan imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Taylor was asked by other members of the conspiracy to participate in a scheme to “cash out” bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards opened in the names of others. Oleksiy Sharapka, 34, of Kiev, Ukraine, allegedly directed the conspiracy with the help of Leonid Yanovitsky, 39, also of Kiev. Oleg Pidtergerya, 50, who previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy, managed a cash-out crew in New York for Sharapka and Yanovitsky, and Robert Dubuc, 41, who has also pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy, controlled a cash-out crew in Massachusetts. Taylor worked as a “casher” under Dubuc.
Hackers first gained unauthorized access to the bank accounts of customers of more than a dozen global financial institutions and businesses, including: Aon Hewitt; Automatic Data Processing Inc.; Citibank N.A.; E-Trade; Electronic Payments Inc.; Fundtech Holdings LLC, iPayment Inc.; JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.; Nordstrom Bank; PayPal; TD Ameritrade; U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Finance and Accounting Service; TIAA-CREF; USAA; and Veracity Payment Solutions Inc.
After obtaining unauthorized access to the bank accounts, Sharapka and Yanovitsky diverted money from them to bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards they controlled. They then implemented a sophisticated cash-out operation, employing crews of individuals, including Taylor, to withdraw the stolen funds by making ATM withdrawals and fraudulent purchases in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Georgia and elsewhere. Both Sharapka and Yanovitsky are under indictment in the United States and remain at large.
Taylor admitted he was aware fraudulent accounts and cards were created without the consent of the individuals in whose names they were opened. He admitted that they opened bank accounts in the names of identity theft victims and that those accounts were funded with money stolen by other conspirators. He also admitted conducting ATM and bank withdrawals of the stolen funds and providing the proceeds of the fraud, less their own fees, to immediate higher-ups in the organization – Pidtergerya and Dubuc, who, in turn, sent a portion of the proceeds to Sharapka and Yanovitsky in Ukraine.
The government’s ongoing investigation into the organization has so far identified attempts to defraud the victim companies and their customers of more than $15 million.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Taylor to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $338,649.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Mottola; U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees; Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jeffery D. Thorpe, Cyber Field Office; and IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Economic Crimes Unit Chief Gurbir S. Grewal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
The charges and allegations concerning the remaining conspirators are merely allegations and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.stopfraud.gov.
14-376
Defense counsel: Bruce Rosen Esq., Florham Park, N.J.
Mason City Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who distributed child pornography was sentenced October 16, 2014, to 35 years in federal prison.
Jamison Miller, age 41, of Mason City, Iowa, received the sentence after a July 3, 2014, guilty plea to one count of distribution of child pornography. At the plea hearing, Miller admitted that, between September 2012 and April 2013, he distributed child pornography. In 2000, Miller was convicted of possession of child pornography.
Miller was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Miller was sentenced to 420 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and Miller must also serve a 20-year term of supervised release. He must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 14-3010.
Maryland Man Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Stealing over $200,000 in Scam Targeting People Who Thought He Was A Taxicab Driver-Defendant Stole ATM Cards, PIN Numbers from Unsuspecting Passengers-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Nyerere Mitchell, 50, was sentenced today to 40 months in prison for a scheme in which he offered rides to people who had been drinking, talked them into letting him withdraw cash with their ATMS and pin numbers, and then secretly held onto their bank cards to generate more than $200,000 for himself, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
More than 60 people, mostly young adults, were conned in the scheme, which continued from at least April 2009 through November 2013. Many of them thought that Mitchell was a taxicab driver. Mitchell, who typically drove a silver-colored SUV Range Rover, often wore a woman’s wig and padded breasts so that many of his passengers believed he was a woman.
Mitchell, of Clinton, Md., pled guilty in August 2014 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to five counts of first-degree felony fraud. He was sentenced by the Honorable Milton C. Lee. Upon completion of his prison term, Mitchell will be placed on five years of probation. He also must pay $228,036 in restitution.
According to the government’s evidence, Mitchell frequented areas such as Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Foggy Bottom, Chinatown, and other busy neighborhoods in the District of Columbia and Arlington, Va., offering rides to individuals he believed had been drinking. The victims, in general, were intoxicated, and would give Mitchell their bank cards and pin numbers and allow him to obtain cash for the rides that they were getting. Mitchell generally took the passengers to drive-through ATMs on Wisconsin Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. He created situations in which the passengers would need to provide him with the pin numbers and cards because the ATM machines were located on the driver’s side of the vehicle.
Unbeknownst to the victims, Mitchell often withdrew hundreds of dollars from the ATMs -- as opposed to what they thought would be $10 to $40 fees. Often he would switch the victim’s ATM card with another one that he had earlier stolen from someone else. In fact, Mitchell maintained so many stolen cards that he could easily substitute a similar-looking card so that the victims didn’t notice the switch until much later.
Over the course of the next few days, Mitchell would use the stolen ATM card without authorization or permission to purchase money orders, many of which he deposited into his credit union account or used to make large purchases at various stores in the area.
An investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) led to a search in November 2013 of Mitchell’s home. Law enforcement recovered 205 stolen credit cards in plastic bags inside a shoe box. They also found a wig that Mitchell can be seen wearing in bank surveillance video. Mitchell was arrested Nov. 27, 2013.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Prince George’s County, Md., Police Department, Citibank, BB & T Bank, Sun Trust Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Corinne Kleinman, Legal Assistant Chris Samson, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie G. Miller, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
14-232Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Narcotics Charges Against New York City Department of Education EmployeeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), and James J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), New York Division, announced today that YINMI RODRIGUEZ, an employee of the New York City Department of Education, and ROBINSON PAULINO were arrested Wednesday on narcotics conspiracy charges. PAULINO and RODRIGUEZ were presented in Manhattan federal court yesterday afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, Yinmi Rodriguez and Robinson Paulino worked together to deal cocaine using the United States Postal Service. Based on the charges, each could face at least ten years in prison.”
USPIS Inspector in Charge Philip R. Bartlett said: “U.S. Postal Inspectors will vigorously pursue, arrest and bring to justice anyone who uses the US Mail to facilitate the transport of illegal drugs, ensuring the safety of the mail, our employees and customers.”
DEA Acting Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt said: “The arrests of Paulino and Rodriguez result in a lesson learned for drug traffickers everywhere - law enforcement's combined resources will track you down.”
According to the Complaint filed yesterday:
From at least February 2014 through October 15, 2014, ROBINSON PAULINO, YINMI RODRIGUEZ and others engaged in a conspiracy to transport multiple kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico to the Bronx for distribution in New York City. Packages containing cocaine were sent via the United States Postal Service from Puerto Rico to PAULINO in the Bronx, New York. RODRIGUEZ, an information technology consultant employed by the New York City Department of Education (“DOE”) since 2008, used an IP address (the “DOE IP Address”) associated with a New York City High School to track the shipment of several of these packages. Once PAULINO received delivery of the packages, he brought them to RODRIGUEZ’s apartment in the Bronx.
Between February and September 2014, numerous packages were sent from Puerto Rico to PAULINO or addresses associated with PAULINO in the Bronx. At least three of these packages were intercepted prior to delivery and found to contain in excess of five kilograms of cocaine.
On October 15, 2014, USPIS Postal Inspectors identified a package sent from Puerto Rico and addressed to “Ron Paul,” at an address in the Bronx associated with PAULINO. After a trained narcotics canine reacted to the package in a manner indicating the presence of narcotics, a USPIS Postal Inspector acting in an undercover capacity delivered the package to PAULINO while other law enforcement agents conducted surveillance. As with prior packages, RODRIGUEZ tracked the shipment of this package from Puerto Rico to the Bronx using the DOE IP Address.
After PAULINO accepted delivery of the package, he was observed delivering the package to RODRIGUEZ’s apartment in the Bronx. USPIS Postal Inspectors and DEA agents then conducted a search of RODRIGUEZ’s apartment, pursuant to a court authorized search warrant, recovering, among other things, two kilograms of cocaine from the delivered package and another kilogram of cocaine hidden in the apartment. PAULINO and RODRIGUEZ, who was present in his apartment at the time of the search, were subsequently arrested.
PAULINO, 31, and RODRIGUEZ, 27, both of the Bronx, are each charged with one count of conspiring to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum term of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration and United States Postal Inspection Service.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua A. Naftalis and Andrea M. Griswold are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. Rodriguez and Paulino Complaint
MS-13 Gang Members Indicted on Multiple Murder and Attempted Murder ChargesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Thirteen members of the street gang, La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, were recently indicted by a federal grand jury for their alleged roles in three murders and one attempted murder in Northern Virginia, among other charges. Court documents were unsealed today.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Colonel Edwin C. Roessler, Jr., Chief of Police of the Fairfax County Police Department; Earl L. Cook, Chief of Police of the Alexandria City Police Department; and Stephan M. Hudson, Chief of Police of the Prince William County Police Department made the announcement.
The 13 indicted defendants are currently in custody and awaiting further court proceedings. The defendants are: Pedro Anthony Romero Cruz, 28, residence unknown; Jose Lopez Torres, 25, of Falls Church, Virginia; Jaime Rosales Villegas, 30, of Richmond, Virginia; Juan Carlos Marquez Ayala, 21, of Falls Church; Omar DeJesus Castillo, 25, of Arlington, Virginia; Alvin Gaitan Benitez, 21, of Falls Church; Douglas Duran Cerritos, 18, of Falls Church; Christian Lemus Cerna, 18, of Falls Church; Araely Santiago Villanueva, 18, of Falls Church; Manuel Ernesto Paiz Guevara, 19, of Falls Church; Jose Del Cid, 18, of Alexandria; Jesus Alejandro Chavez, 24, of Alexandria; and Genaro Sen Garcia, 19, residence unknown.
According to the nine-count indictment, on or about October 7, 2013, in Fairfax County, Virginia, defendants Torres, Ayala, and Castillo, together with others known and unknown to the grand jury, knowingly and intentionally murdered Nelson Omar Quintanilla Trujillo. The three defendants, with the alleged assistance of Benitez, then buried the body of Trujillo.
The indictment also alleges on or about March 29, 2014, in Fairfax County, defendants Castillo, Benitez, Cerritos, Cerna, Villanueva, Guevara, and Del Cid, together with others known and unknown to the grand jury, knowingly and intentionally murdered Gerson Adoni Martinez Aguilar.
The indictment also alleges on or about June 19, 2014, in the City of Alexandria, defendants Del Cid, Chavez, and Garcia, together with others known and unknown to the grand jury, knowingly and intentionally murdered Julio Urrutia. The indictment alleges that Chavez killed Urrutia by shooting him with a firearm.
According to the indictment, from on or about September 29, 2013, through on or about October 1, 2013, in Woodbridge, Virginia, defendants Cruz, Torres, and Villegas, together with others known and unknown to the grand jury, knowingly and intentionally combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together and with each other and others to murder an unnamed person.
Eleven of the defendants face the maximum penalty of death, or a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The remaining two defendants, Villegas and Cruz, face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the attempted murder charge, in addition to a consecutive minimum sentence of 10 years in prison due to the possession of a firearm charge. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Fairfax County Police Department; Alexandria City Police Department; Prince William County Police Department; and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Immigrations Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen M. Campbell and Julia K. Martinez are prosecuting the case.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:14-CR-306.Tweet
Leaders of Large-Scale Drug Ring Sentenced to Life in PrisonRead the Press Release
Two individuals from metro-Detroit were sentenced today to life in prison after having been convicted of violating various federal drug laws in a massive drug ring that trafficked hundreds of kilograms of heroin and cocaine, and thousands of pounds of marijuana in metro-Detroit, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.
McQuade was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Durell Hope, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division.
Carlos Ellis Powell, age 39, of Washington Township, MI, and Eric Jerome Powell, age 36, of Franklin Farms, MI were sentenced today by United States District Judge Stephen J. Murphy.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s investigation of the drug ring uncovered a massive operation that began in 2006 and continued until late 2010. Carlos Powell, Eric Powell, and eleven others operated a drug organization which dealt in multi-kilogram quantities of marijuana, heroin and cocaine in the Detroit metropolitan area. The members of the organization would arrange for large amounts of money derived from the sale of drugs to be transported to Phoenix, Arizona, Mexico and elsewhere for the purpose of purchasing more controlled substances. As part of the conspiracy, the members of the organization would use semi-trucks and vehicles equipped with traps and hidden compartments to transport marijuana, cocaine and heroin, as well as cash generated from the sale of these drugs. The drug ring, which was one of the largest in metro-Detroit history, also laundered in excess of $21 million in U.S. currency.
Since 2006, law enforcement officers from across the country have seized over 12 kilograms of cocaine, 30 kilograms of heroin and 1000 pounds of marijuana destined for distribution by this organization. More than $21 million in cash was seized by law enforcement officers between June 2010 and November 2010 alone. Law enforcement also seized jewelry appraised at over $800,000, 8 pieces of real property in Michigan and Georgia valued in excess of $750,000, 10 vehicles, including a 2004 Rolls Royce, 2006 and 2008 Bentley, a 2006 Ferrari, 4 Mercedes, a Ranger Rover and two boats.
The members of this organization, using the illegal proceeds of their narcotic sales, purchased and leased numerous luxury vehicles, acquired and sold real property and purchased jewelry while concealing the true source and nature of the funds involved in the transaction through false names and nominee purchasers.
The members of the organization would deposit large amounts of cash derived from the sale of drugs into various bank accounts; purchase cashier's checks and money orders; and wire transfer these funds. These funds would then be used to purchase assets and pay personal expenses with the goal of concealing the true source, nature and ownership of the funds which had been derived from the organization's drug sales.
This case was investigated by special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of officers from Northville Township Police Department, Plymouth Township Police Department, Warren Police Department, Redford Police Department, Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, Detroit Police Department and the Michigan State Police.Kirtland Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Statutory Rape ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Justin Chee, 24, a member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Kirtland, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 30 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his statutory rape conviction. Chee will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
Chee was arrested in March 2014, on a criminal complaint alleging that he engaged in a sexual act with a Jicarilla Apache child between the age of 12 and 16 years. Chee subsequently was indicted and charged with statutory rape. According to the indictment, Chee committed the offense in Aug. 2012, in a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation.
Chee pled guilty to the indictment on June 16, 2014, and admitted that on Aug. 30, 2012, when he was 22 years of age, he knowingly engaged in a sexual act with the 14-year-old victim.
This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department and the San Juan Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.
The case was brought 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/.Justice Department Sues Wisconsin Mobile Home Park for Discriminating Against Families with ChildrenRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the owners and operators of the Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park, a 230-lot mobile home park, in Whitewater, Wisconsin, for refusing to allow families with children to live in certain areas of the park, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin, alleges that the owner of Twin Oaks, Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park, Inc. and its managers—Merrill Eugene Gutzmer and Dennis Hansen—violated the Fair Housing Act by maintaining and enforcing a policy of not allowing families with children to reside in an area that includes approximately 60 of the 230 lots within the park. The park does not limit residency to older persons. The complaint further alleges that, under the policy described above, the defendants refused to approve the application for residency of a single woman who planned to purchase the home of a former resident and live there with her then two-year-old child. The single woman and the mobile home owner who was trying to sell her mobile home subsequently filed a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). After conducting an investigation, HUD found that the defendants had violated the Fair Housing Act, and referred the matter to the Department of Justice.
“For over twenty-five years, the Fair Housing Act has prohibited housing providers from refusing to rent or sell housing to families with children,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division. “Many parents are already struggling to find affordable housing for their families, and they should not also have to face discrimination because they have children.”
“This office is committed to ensuring that all residents in this district, including families with children, are afforded equal opportunity to rent and live where they choose under the Fair Housing Act,” said U.S. Attorney John W. Vaudreuil for the Western District of Wisconsin. “Discrimination based on familial status will not be tolerated in this district.”
“HUD and the Department of Justice will continue to enforce the Fair Housing Act to ensure that the housing options of families are not illegally limited because they have children,” said HUD Assistant Secretary Gustavo Velasquez for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
The suit seeks a court order requiring the defendants to bring their policies and practices into compliance with the Fair Housing Act, as well as monetary damages for persons harmed and civil penalties to the United States. Anyone with information about potential discrimination against families with children at Twin Oaks should call the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743, mailbox #9997, or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, at (608) 264-5158.
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability. Among other things, the Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to refuse to rent housing and to discriminate in the terms or conditions of housing rentals because of familial status, except in specified categories of housing that are reserved for older persons. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt.
Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743, email the Justice Department at [email protected], or contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777 or through www.hud.gov.
The complaint is an allegation of unlawful conduct. The allegations in the complaint must still be proven in federal court.
Jury Convicts Peruvian Man of Defrauding and Extorting Spanish-Speaking Customers through Fraudulent Call CentersRead the Press Release
A jury in Miami convicted a Lima, Peru, man on 26 felony charges of conspiracy, fraud and attempted extortion arising from his operating call centers in Peru that lied to and threatened Spanish-speaking victims into paying fraudulent settlements, the Department of Justice announced today.
Juan Alejandro Rodriguez Cuya, 35, was convicted by a jury after less than two hours of deliberation following a two-week trial before U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz in Miami federal court. His co-defendant at trial, Maria Luzula, 52, of Miami, pleaded guilty to all of the charges against her midway through the trial. Luzula is Cuya’s mother.
Cuya and Luzula both face a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison on each count. Both defendants remain in custody pending their sentencing on Jan. 22, 2015, and Dec. 18, respectively.
“The defendants targeted and preyed upon the Spanish-speaking community – and the evidence of the harm that their fraud caused on individual victims is heart-wrenching,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting those who defraud consumers for their own personal gain.”
According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants’ employees in Peru used Internet-based telephone calls to threaten Spanish-speaking victims in the United States. The Peruvian callers falsely accused the victims of having refused delivery of certain products and claimed that the victims owed thousands of dollars in fines and that lawsuits would be brought against them. In reality, the victims had never ordered these products and nothing had been delivered.
Additional evidence at trial established that Luzula’s and Cuya’s employees claimed that the consumers could resolve the fines if they immediately paid a “settlement fee.” Consumers who contested these settlement fees were told that failure to pay could lead to arrest, deportation or forfeiture of property. Thousands of victims succumbed to these threats and paid fees that they did not owe. A phone room in Miami collected the fees.
Victims who testified at trial spoke of how anxious the calls made them. The victims were so afraid of the threats that they paid fees they simply could not afford.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Branda commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their investigative efforts and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida for their contributions to the case. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Assistant Director Richard Goldberg of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
Jennings Man Sentenced to 188 Months in Prison for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Unites States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Jennings man was sentenced Thursday to 188 months in prison for downloading hundreds of movies of child pornography to his computer and other electronic devices.
Seth Ryan Bivens, 30, of Jennings, La., was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi for one count of receiving child pornography. He was also sentenced to serve a lifetime of supervised release and is required to register as a sex offender. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea on November 1, 2013, law enforcement authorities discovered that Bivens was downloading child pornography using “peer-to-peer” software. Bivens’ home was searched on November 14, 2012. An examination of Bivens’ computer and other electronic devices uncovered 294 movies and 28 images of child pornography.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Abendroth prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be reported anonymously.
Jacksonville Man Arrested and Charged with Advertising for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that James Patrick Foreman (44, Jacksonville) has been charged by a federal criminal complaint with advertising for child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervision. Foreman was arrested on October 17, 2014, at his residence in Jacksonville. During his initial court appearance, he was ordered detained pending a detention hearing on October 23, 2014.
According to the criminal complaint, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation began an undercover investigation to identify individuals in the Jacksonville area that had access to and/or were trading images and videos depicting child pornography over the Internet. The agent determined that a computer in the area was hosting images of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing program. The agent was able to download several files depicting child pornography from this computer. Further investigation traced the computer to Foreman’s residence.
On October 1, 2014, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Foreman=s residence. During an interview, he admitted to downloading all ages of child pornography.
A search and subsequent analysis of Foreman’s computer revealed that it contained a video showing a toddler being sexually assaulted. Also discovered were logs of online conversations between Foreman and at least one other individual, during which Foreman offered to exchange and distribute the video depicting the toddler’s abuse.
A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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.
International Money Broker Sentenced to 92 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Luis Anibal Salazar Garcia, the primary money broker for a Colombian-based international money laundering organization, was sentenced today to 92 months in prison at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Ten co-defendants were sentenced last month to sentences ranging from 28 to 64 months’ imprisonment. Two other co-defendants remain to be sentenced. All 13 defendants, who were extradited from Colombia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder narcotics proceeds. Together, the defendants were responsible for laundering tens of millions of dollars of narcotics proceeds from the United States to Colombia between 2006 and 2013 on behalf of Colombian drug cartels.
The sentences were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York. The sentence was imposed by Chief United States District Court Judge Carol B. Amon.
“Salazar Garcia and his cohorts in crime operated a sophisticated network of shipments and transfers that went to the heart of the deadly narcotics trade – the money. The defendants’ money laundering activities allowed narcotics traffickers in Colombia to reap enormous profits from sending drugs to the United States,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “These sentences will send a message to narcotics traffickers that we are committed to shutting down their ability to profit from selling their illegal drugs in the United States.”
“The incarceration of this defendant and his cohorts disrupts a money laundering organization that contributed to the flow of millions of dollars in illicit drug proceeds,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Hayes. “The prosecution of these money launderers is a testament to the expertise of the members of the El Dorado Task Force and our international law enforcement partners, whose investigative prowess enables them to find international criminals and bring them to justice.”
Salazar Garcia and his twelve co-defendants were money brokers operating out of the El Diamante, Gran Centro Commercial, San Andresito, and Atlantis retail shopping malls in Cali, Colombia, and assisted drug trafficking organizations in Colombia by laundering the proceeds of sales of narcotics in the United States. The defendants also oversaw a network of confederates who operated in the United States taking the proceeds from narcotics sales here and passing the money to others, who ultimately repatriated millions of dollars in drug proceeds to suppliers in Colombia. The drug money was transported in amounts ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, often bundled and heat sealed, and concealed in vehicles, gasoline containers, duffel bags, and shoeboxes. Twenty-four of the U.S.-based confederates have also pleaded guilty to their participation in the money laundering conspiracy.
As part of this investigation, law enforcement officers have seized more than $6.5 million in United States currency as well as 52.5 kilograms of heroin, 32 kilograms of cocaine, 63 pounds of marijuana, eight vehicles, and three firearms.
The investigation was led by agents from the HSI New York Office’s El Dorado Task Force, comprising over 260 members from more than 55 law enforcement agencies in New York and New Jersey – including special agents, state and local police investigators, intelligence analysts, and federal prosecutors – with the assistance of the task force’s High Intensity Financial Crimes Area (HIFCA)/Intelligence Unit.
Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to HSI New York, the Colombian National Police, particularly the Investigative Directorate, and members of the HSI Transnational Criminal Investigations Unit, for their hard work and dedication throughout the investigation, and thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for its assistance in this investigation and prosecution.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Douglas M. Pravda and Tiana A. Demas.
The Defendants:
FABER ENRIQUE BERMUDEZ ARCINIEGAS
AGE: 35
HARBI CAICEDO
AGE: 51
ALEXANDER HENAO CHAMORRO
AGE: 37
EDWIN ARENAS CHAMORRO
AGE: 39
LUIS ANIBAL SALAZAR GARCIA
AGE: 51
JOSE LEONIDAS SALAZAR GARCIA
AGE: 55
JUAN CARLOS MEJIA GONZALEZ
AGE: 50
JAVIER ORLANDO ALVAREZ JARAMILLO
AGE: 51
JOSE LISANDRO ABADIA JIMENEZ
AGE: 60
JUAN FERNANDO MOLINA JIMENEZ
AGE: 56
MANUEL ANTONIO CAMPO JIMENEZ
AGE: 53
OSCAR GARCIA LONDONO
AGE: 39
NUBIA ABADIA SARRIA
AGE: 35
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 12 CR 623
Indictment Unsealed in Interstate Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced the recent unsealing of an indictment charging SHAWN JACCUZZO, age 43, of Houma, Louisiana, ANGELA WEAVER, a/k/a “Angela Adams,” a/k/a “Angela Constant,” age 43, and CHANCE WEAVER, age 30, both residing in Cypress, California. According to the indictment, the defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. The indictment was unsealed on Thursday, October 16, 2014, after the arrest of ANGELA WEAVER and CHANCE WEAVER in Orange County, California, by United States Postal Inspectors.If found guilty as charged, the defendants could each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years of imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release.
U. S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Payne is in charge of the prosecution.
(Download Indictment )
Identity Thief Sentenced to 61 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Follow @NDFLNewsTALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – McKenzie Deshommes Francois, 22, of Miami, was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 61 months in prison based upon his guilty plea to charges of conspiring to file false claims, conversion of government property, using unauthorized access devices, and aggravated identity theft. United States District Judge Robert L. Hinkle sentenced Francois to two years in prison for using stolen identities consecutive to 37 months on the other charges. Judge Hinkle also sentenced Francois to three years of supervised release and $269,358 in restitution. The sentence was announced today by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The government’s evidence showed that on May 8, 2013, Francois left a wallet containing thirteen debit cards at the Tallahassee Airport. When Francois asked about the wallet at his destination, Ft. Lauderdale, he was interviewed by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). During that interview, Francois admitted that the debit cards in the wallet contained income tax refunds that were issued on the basis of fraudulent income tax returns and that he had been paid to retrieve the cards from an apartment complex in Tallahassee. He also admitted that he had prepared fraudulent income tax returns himself, although not all of his efforts had been successful.
Evidence showed that Francois used fifty-six stolen identities and attempted to obtain $522,410 in fraudulent refunds. This included ten victims and attempted losses of $86,531 on the debit cards found in his wallet. In addition, nine victims linked to $77,756 in attempted losses were identified from a search of his cellular telephone. Thirty-seven more victims and $358,410 in attempted losses were linked to the defendant based upon common factors - - same IP address, same stolen tax preparer ID number, same entries for tax calculations, and same twenty-three day filing period - - used in other fraudulent tax filings. The last of these 37 fraudulent returns was filed on May 7, 2014 - - the day before Francois was interviewed by the IRS. A witness at sentencing testified that more than 800 fraudulent tax returns claiming more than seven million dollars in refunds were filed using the same “recipe” and the same stolen tax preparer ID number, but agreed that Francois could not be connected to the bulk of those returns.
U.S. Attorney Marsh credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael T. Simpson.
Graham Co. Man Pleads Guilty to Lacey Act Violation and Is Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Petty Offenses Involving Illegal Hunting ActivitiesRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – David Chadwick Crisp, 35, of Graham Co., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis L. Howell and pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor Lacey Act violation, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Martin K. Reidinger on that offense at a later date.
Today, Crisp also pleaded guilty to four offenses involving illegal hunting activities within the Nantahala National Forest, one illegal hunting activity on Fontana Lake, and one boating violation on Fontana Lake. For those six offenses, he was sentenced to serve a total of 20 months in prison. In addition to the prison term, Judge Howell ordered Crisp to serve one year of probation upon his release from prison, and ordered him to pay $3,000 in fines, and to surrender his North Carolina hunting and fishing licenses for a period of one year. Crisp also agreed that when he is later sentenced by Judge Reidinger he will pay $2,232 to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission as restitution for one of the black bears he killed.
According to court documents and court records, the misdemeanor Lacey Act violation Crisp pleaded guilty to earlier in the day involved the illegal transportation of an American black bear the defendant knew had been killed in the Nantahala National Forest in violation of state and federal laws.
The six offenses to which Crisp pleaded guilty and for which he was sentenced today were:
• Knowingly operating a vessel on the waters of the State of North Carolina between sunset and sunrise without the use of navigational lights.
• Knowingly and intentionally hunting bear at night and during closed season.
• Knowingly and intentionally hunting dear at night.
• Knowingly and intentionally hunting deer with the use and aid of artificial light.
• Knowingly and intentionally hunting without a license.
• Knowingly and intentionally hunting deer with a firearm during closed season.According to court records, Crisp’s illegal activities took place in the Nantahala National Forest and elsewhere in Graham Co., between November 2010 and October 2012. According to the filed factual basis presented in open court today, which Crisp agreed under oath was accurate, Crisp and his conspirators used illegal hunting techniques on a number of occasions to illegally hunt for bears, hogs, deer and other wildlife in the National Forest and within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Court records indicate that among the illegal techniques used were spotlights, bear baiting using chocolate, and equipping a bait barrel with a dog collar that could then be used to track the bear, as well as hunting at night and out of season.
According to court records, to conceal his illegal hunting activities from law enforcement, Crisp took further measures, for example, keeping a “throw away” rifle hidden in a hollow tree, to avoid detection going in an out the national park with a gun. Court records also indicate that when an undercover agent said to Crisp that there would probably be a lot of bears in the national park, but that bear hunting there is illegal, Crisp responded, “You can if you don’t get caught.” On another occasion, court records show, Crisp told an undercover agent that he had not tagged a bear yet, even though he had helped kill four bears and had killed one himself.
Following Crisp’s guilty plea and in announcing Crisp’s sentence, Judge Howell said that he had never seen this quantity or level of wildlife violations.
* * *The following defendants have also been prosecuted for illegal hunting activities and related violations:
On September 5, 2014, Walter Stancil and Jerry Parker were convicted of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and are awaiting sentencing.
On October 2, 2014, Walter Stancil was convicted of removing Forest Service property, a game camera that was set up on one of his bear bait sites. He received a sentence of 15 days in jail.
On October 9, 2014, David Crisp was convicted at trial of aiding and abetting the illegal placement of chocolate, for bear bait, in the Nantahala National Forest. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Jerry Parker pled guilty yesterday to illegally conducting a commercial enterprise, that is, a bear hunting guide service, in the Nantahala National Forest without a commercial special use permit. He was sentenced to a fine of $1,500 and was ordered to forfeit his North Carolina hunting and fishing license for two years and was ordered not to hunt or fish in North Carolina for two years.
The investigations were conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The prosecutions are being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Edwards of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.