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Wednesday 3 September 2014
Creator of On-line Drug Bazaar Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug, Money Laundering Charges for Distributing Narcotics Around the WorldRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Dutch national has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges, admitting that he was one of the leaders of a conspiracy that developed and operated a secret, on-line narcotics marketplace known as the “The Farmer's Market” that sold controlled substances such as LSD, “ecstasy” and marijuana to thousands of customers around the world.
Marc Peter Willems, 45, of the Netherlands, pleaded guilty late yesterday to two federal charges – conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to launder money. When he is sentenced on December 10 by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee, Willems faces a potential sentence of life in federal prison.
Willems was one of eight defendants charged in relation to The Farmer’s Market in April 2012 as the result of an investigation called Operation “Adam Bomb.” Willems is the sixth defendant to plead guilty, one defendant died after being indicted in the case, and the final defendant has agreed to plead guilty on Monday.
“Adam Bomb” was a two-year investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration that uncovered The Farmer’s Market, which was an international drug ring that attempted to operate in secret by using the TOR network, IP anonymizers and covert currency transactions. The encrypted TOR network allows websites and electronic mail communications to completely mask IP address information by spreading communications over a series of computers, or relays, located throughout the world. The Farmer’s Market accepted payments for illegal drug sales through Western Union, Pecunix, PayPal and I-Golder.
The eight defendants were initially charged in a 12-count indictment that described how The Farmer’s Market allowed independent narcotics dealers to anonymously advertise illegal drugs for sale. The Farmer’s Market (which had previously been known as “Adamflowers”) provided a marketplace, order forms, on-line forums, customer service, and payment methods for the different sources of supply. The operators screened all sources of supply and guaranteed delivery of the illegal drugs in exchange for a commission based upon the value of the order. Investigators identified customers in every one of the states of the United States and the District of Columbia and in approximately 45 other countries. One of the “customers” was an undercover DEA special agent based in Los Angeles.
In his plea agreement, Willems acknowledged that The Farmer’s Market processed approximately $2.5 million in orders for illegal drugs over the course of several years.
“The Illegal sale of narcotics cannot be cloaked through the use of the Internet, even when sophisticated technology is used to conceal the drug trafficking,” said Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Yonekura. “Working with our law enforcement partners domestically and around the world, we have the ability to uncover and prosecute this hidden, illegal activity.”
Anthony D. Williams, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division, said: “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates DEA’s commitment to identify, apprehend, and bring to justice all drug traffickers, including those who attempt to cloak their illegal activities utilizing the perceived anonymity of the Internet. This conviction sends a clear message that law enforcement can and will use creative investigative techniques to uncover and dismantle online drug marketplaces such as the one operated by Mr. Willems.”
Another key player in The Farmer’s Market – Michael Evron, 44, a United States citizen who was living in Buenos Aires when he was arrested in 2012 – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to launder money and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Gee on November 19.
Four other defendants have previously pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
The final defendant – Ryan Rawls, 33, of Alpharetta, Georgia – has agreed to plead to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and is scheduled to formally enter his guilty plea on Monday.
Release No. 14-113
Convicted Ponzi Schemer Eliyahu Weinstein Admits New Fraud and Money Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
Defrauded Investors in Facebook IPO and Real Estate Deals
TRENTON, N.J. – Convicted Ponzi schemer Eliyahu Weinstein, 39, of Lakewood, N.J., who was previously sentenced to 22 years in prison for running a real estate investment fraud scheme that caused $200 million in losses, today admitted that he also defrauded investors in connection with the Facebook IPO and several additional real estate deals and then laundered the proceeds of the scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Weinstein pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton federal court to three counts of an indictment pending against him: one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of committing wire fraud while on pretrial release, and one count of money laundering.Two co-defendants, Alex Schleider, 48, of Lakewood, and Aaron Glucksman, 41, of Brooklyn, New York, have already pleaded guilty to charges related to their roles in the scheme. Judge Pisano sentenced Glucksman on May 5, 2014, to 52 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered him to forfeit $1.2 million. Judge Pisano ordered Glucksman’s sentence to run partially concurrently with a 36-month sentence recently imposed by U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the Eastern District of New York in an unrelated case. Glucksman remains on release pending his designation to a federal institution by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons. Schleider is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 18, 2014.
“Even while facing federal charges that eventually netted him decades in prison, Weinstein couldn’t resist the buzz around the Facebook IPO and the opportunity to fleece unsuspecting investors,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Shamelessly, he even used the money he stole to pay the legal fees he accumulated from the previous scam.”
“Eliyahu Weinstein spent the greater part of a decade creating and executing a series of elaborate fraudulent investment schemes, ultimately defrauding victims of over $200 million by taking advantage of trusted relationships and innocent investors,” Aaron T. Ford, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Newark, said. “This long-term, complex investigation required much in terms of investigative resources. The FBI, through its vast experience investigating investment schemes, was able to provide such resources, resulting in the arrest and today’s guilty plea of Eliyahu Weinstein.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In February 2012, Weinstein and his fellow conspirators offered a pair of investors (referred to in the indictment as the “Facebook victims”) the opportunity to purchase large blocks of Facebook shares prior to the company’s initial public offering, or IPO, in May 2012. The offer was particularly attractive because large blocks of the shares were extremely difficult to get and were expected to increase in value at the time of the IPO. Weinstein and his conspirators did not actually have access to the shares.
Based on misrepresentations by Weinstein and his conspirators, the Facebook victims wired millions of dollars between February and March of 2012 to an account Weinstein and a conspirator controlled. Weinstein and another conspirator provided investors with false documents showing companies owned by various conspirators held assets, which would secure the Facebook victims’ investment.
The conspirators did not use any of the Facebook victims’ money to purchase Facebook shares, instead misappropriating it for their own use. Weinstein used some of the money to pay lawyers and experts representing him in his earlier – and at that time, still pending – criminal case and in related civil matters. Weinstein and his conspirators also used the Facebook victims’ money to make investments in businesses unrelated to Facebook and to make loans for their own benefit.
Around the same time, Weinstein and his conspirators also persuaded the Facebook victims to invest in the purported purchase of an apartment complex, “Belle Glade Gardens,” in Florida. They told the Facebook victims that Weinstein had the opportunity to purchase Belle Glade Gardens at a discounted price and immediately flip it at a substantial profit. Weinstein and his conspirators further told the Facebook victims that Weinstein had already placed $2.5 million in the trust account of a Miami law firm for the transaction; that if the Facebook victims contributed another $2.5 million toward the transaction, those funds would remain in escrow at the Miami law firm until the deal closed; and that the Facebook victims would be repaid within 60 days. The Facebook victims wired $2.83 million to the Miami law firm in order to complete the Belle Glades Gardens transaction. Weinstein and his conspirators did not use the money to purchase Belle Glades Gardens. Instead, they redirected the money from the law firm to accounts that they controlled, returned $1.8 million to the Facebook victims as a purported return on their Facebook investment, and used the remaining money for their own purposes.
In July 2012, Weinstein approached another group of investor victims (referred to in the indictment as the “Florida condominium victims”) and told them he had the opportunity to purchase the notes on seven condominiums in Florida at a discounted price of $3 million. Weinstein and his conspirators falsely represented that they had already paid $1.5 million toward the deal, and that they needed only $1.5 million to complete the transaction. They claimed that the properties had an annual rental income of approximately $780,000 and provided to the Florida condominium victims fraudulent documentation purporting to verify this fact. The victims transferred $1.5 million to Weinstein and his conspirators between August 2012 and December 2012. Weinstein did not use this money to purchase the notes on the Florida condominiums – many of which he himself had previously owned and lost to foreclosure. Instead, Weinstein and his conspirators converted the money to their own use.
Throughout the scheme, Weinstein was already under indictment and on pretrial release, and was prohibited from engaging in any monetary transaction for more than $1,000 without the approval of court-appointed special counsel. Weinstein pleaded guilty on Jan. 3, 2013, before Judge Pisano to two counts of that indictment, admitting he ran a Ponzi-style real estate investment fraud scheme that caused $200 million in losses and then laundered the proceeds of the scheme. Judge Pisano sentenced Weinstein on Feb. 25, 2014, to 264 months in prison and ordered him to pay more than $200 million in restitution and forfeiture to the victims of his scheme.
The counts to which Weinstein pleaded guilty today carry the following maximum potential penalties: 20 years in prison on the conspiracy count; 30 years in prison on the wire fraud while on pretrial release count (20 years on the wire fraud plus 10 years for commission while on pretrial release); and 10 years on the money laundering count. All the counts are also punishable by a maximum fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of Weinstein’s gain from the scheme. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15, 2014.
Charges against a third conspirator, Aaron Muschel, 64, of Brooklyn, NY, who was charged in the criminal complaint filed against Weinstein and Schleider in May 2013, remain pending. The charges against him are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Aaron T. Ford in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, for their role in the investigation.
The government is represented by Counsel to the U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig; Gurbir S. Grewal, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zach Intrater of the Economic Crimes Unit; and Evan S. Weitz of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorney’s 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 more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
14-302
Defense counsel: Eric Creizman Esq., New York
Weinstein, Eliyahu Indictment
Colombian National Pleads Guilty to <br /> Kidnapping and Murder of DEA Agent Terry WatsonRead the Press Release
A Colombian man extradited to the Eastern District of Virginia pleaded guilty today for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent James Terry Watson in Bogotá, Colombia, on June 20, 2013.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart and Director Bill A. Miller of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) made the announcement.
“Special Agent Watson gave his life in the service of his country, and we will do everything in our power to honor his sacrifice,” said Attorney General Holder. “This conviction is a critical step forward. But while this action represents the first measure of justice for his kidnapping and murder, it will not be the last. The Department of Justice will not rest until all those involved in this senseless act of violence have been held to account for their crimes. Our nation will never yield in the protection and defense of its citizens. And we will continue to demonstrate that anyone who seeks to harm an American will be found, will be prosecuted, and will be brought to justice.”
Julio Estiven Gracia Ramirez, 31, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the Eastern District of Virginia to aiding and abetting the murder of an internationally protected person and conspiracy to kidnap an internationally protected person. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 5, 2014.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Gracia Ramirez admitted that he and his conspirators agreed to conduct a “paseo milionario” or “millionaire’s ride” in which victims who were perceived as wealthy were lured into taxi cabs, kidnapped and then robbed. Gracia Ramirez admitted that he targeted Special Agent Watson and picked him up outside a Bogotá restaurant in his taxi. Soon after, two conspirators entered Gracia Ramirez’s taxi, and one used a stun gun to shock Special Agent Watson and the other stabbed him. Special Agent Watson was able to escape from the taxi, but he later collapsed and died from his injuries.
Six other defendants have been charged in an indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia for their alleged involvement in the murder of Special Agent Watson. Gerardo Figueroa Sepulveda, 39; Omar Fabian Valdes Gualtero, 27; Edgar Javier Bello Murillo, 27; Hector Leonardo Lopez, 34; and Andrés Alvaro Oviedo-Garcia, 22, are each charged with second degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap. Oviedo-Garcia is also charged with assault. Wilson Daniel Peralta-Bocachica, 31, is charged for his alleged efforts to destroy evidence associated with the murder of Special Agent Watson. Trial is set for Jan. 12, 2015.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the FBI, DEA and DSS, in close cooperation with Colombian authorities and with assistance from INTERPOL and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. The case is being prosecuted by Special Counsel Stacey Luck of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The Department of Justice gratefully acknowledges the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, Colombian National Police, Colombian Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol (DIJIN), DIJIN Special Investigative Unit, Bogotá Metropolitan Police, Bogotá Police Intelligence Body (CIPOL) Unit and Colombian Technical Investigation Team for their extraordinary efforts, support and professionalism in responding to this incident.
Cleveland Company Pleads Guilty to Making Illegal Discharges into Sewer SystemRead the Press Release
Cleveland-based Kelly Plating Company pleaded guilty to making illegal discharges with high concentrations of metals such as chrome and zinc into the sewer system, which in turn, after treatment, discharges to Lake Erie, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The company pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act and one count of violating an approved pretreatment program.
An employee at Kelly Plating bypassed the pollution control equipment and discharged partially treated wastewater and sludge directly into the sewer system. These discharges contained high concentrations of chrome and zinc. This happened at least 14 times between March and May, 2012, according to court documents.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, both parties agree to recommend to the court that Kelly Plating pay a $50,000 fine as well as a $25,000 community service payment. The community service payment will be made to a charitable organization to be presented to the court prior to sentencing. The charitable organization will use the payment to improve water quality in Northeast Ohio, according to the plea agreement.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
Criminal charges remain pending against a Kelly Plating employee who was indicted earlier this year.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Beeson following an investigation by the Ohio EPA, U.S. EPA, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
Cincinnati, Ohio Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison on Drug and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
In Waco today, 31-year-old Rodney Davis of Cincinnati, OH, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release and fined $3,000 for his role in a drug distribution operation announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw.
On June 26, 2014, U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith convicted Davis of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Testimony during the bench trial revealed that on August 6, 2013, Davis was stopped by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper just outside of Centerville in Leon County. A search was conducted after a canine unit alerted on Davis’ vehicle. During the search, the trooper discovered approximately six kilograms of cocaine and a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semi-automatic firearm. Davis’ criminal history includes a 2001 robbery conviction in Hamilton County, Ohio.
This case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant United States Attorney Mary Kucera prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to More Than Three Years in Prison for Robbing Bank in ElyRead the Press Release
A man who robbed the Solon State Bank in Ely, Iowa, was sentenced on September 2, 2014 to more than three years in federal prison.
Robert Melton, 51, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 15, 2014, guilty plea to one count of bank robbery.
At the guilty plea, Melton admitted he entered the Solon State Bank in Ely on January 17, 2014, and gave a note to a teller demanding money and informing the teller not to do anything and nothing would happen. The teller gave Melton some cash and Melton left the bank, walked to his truck, and drove away. A witness to the robbery followed Melton as he drove away from the bank. The witness called 911 and reported Melton’s location. Law enforcement officers then stopped Melton and took him into custody.
Melton was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Melton was sentenced to forty-six months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Melton is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/. The case file number is 14-CR-00024.
Cambria County Man Sentenced to Probation with Home Detention for Conspiring to Launder Drug MoneyRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Northern Cambria, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to five years probation, the first 12 months of which must be served by conditions of home confinement, and 500 hours of community service on his conviction of conspiracy to commit money laundering, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Timothy S. Golby, 47.
According to information presented to the court, from March 2008 to May 9, 2011, Golby conspired to commit money laundering. In addition, evidence presented to the Court at the time of Golby's sentencing reflected that Golby conspired with George M. Lowmaster and others to conduct financial transactions involving proceeds generated through Lowmaster's drug distribution organization with the intent to conceal the source of the proceeds and with the intent to promote the carrying on of Lowmaster's drug distribution organization.
Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr., prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the joint task force, headed by the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Golby. Other agencies participating on the task force include the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, Cambria County District Attorney's Office, Carrolltown Police Department, Patton Police Department, Ebensburg Police Department, Portage Police Department and Paint Township Police Department.
Bookkeeper, Patricia Blanchard, Charged with Mail Fraud for Embezzling over $700,000 from A Charitable OrganizationRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite announced that PATRICIA BLANCHARD, age 67, formerly of New Orleans, Louisiana, was charged today in a one-count Bill of Information with mail fraud.
According to the Bill of Information, BLANCHARD’S husband was hired in 2000 to be the Executive Director and President of a not-for-profit charitable organization that raised, collected, and distributed funds to local charities through workplace giving campaigns (“Charity A”). In about 2005, he arranged for BLANCHARD to be hired as Charity A’s bookkeeper.
Between 2006 and November 2011, BLANCHARD embezzled approximately $715,000 from Charity A in three ways. First, she mailed checks drawn on Charity A’s accounts to pay her own credit card bills. To disguise her behavior and make the checks look legitimate, BLANCHARD added fictitious notes on the checks, such as “Cancer Research Institute,” “AIDS Research Foundation,” “MARCH OF DIMES,” “NO AIDS/TASK FORCE,” “American Heart Assoc.,” and “AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY.” Second, BLANCHARD obtained cash advances on her gas card without authorization and reimbursed herself from Charity A’s accounts, making it look like the reimbursements were for legitimate travel and gas expenses. Third, BLANCHARD paid for personal expenditures and items directly from Charity A’s bank accounts without authorization.
If convicted, BLANCHARD faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release after any term of imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being investigated by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg.
(Download Bill of Information )
Bastrop Tax Preparer Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
More than $92,000 in refunds illegally received
MONROE, La. – A Bastrop tax preparer was sentenced to 30 months in prison and one year of supervised release for filing income tax returns containing false information, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today.
Camille Cooper, 40, of Bastrop, La., was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James to pay $92,530 in restitution to the IRS for one count of aiding and assisting in making and subscribing a false return. According to evidence presented at the May 28, 2014 guilty plea, Cooper was a tax preparer at Faster Tax Refund Express in Bastrop from December 2010 to April 2011. She filed 17 fraudulent 1040 forms. Sixteen returns contained a falsified Schedule F (profit and loss from farming) and a falsified Form 4136 (federal tax credit for tax paid on fuels). Five contained a falsified Schedule C (profit and loss from business). Because of the fraudulent forms, the IRS issued $92,530 to customers to which they were not entitled. Also as part of the scheme, the defendant received approximately $2,275 in kickbacks from customers. These payments were in addition to the fees the company charged
The IRS conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg prosecuted the case.Auburn Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Contact: Daniel J. Perry
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that David
Goyette, 27, of Auburn, Maine, pleaded guilty last Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland to
conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of crack cocaine.According to court records, from 2011 through June 2013, Goyette obtained kilogram
quantities of cocaine from Massachusetts, cooked some of it into crack cocaine and distributed
both substances in the greater Lewiston/Auburn area. On June 3, 2013, Goyette telephonically
made plans to meet his supplier the next day in Boston. The next day, law enforcement agents
followed Goyette as he drove from Auburn to Boston. In Boston, law enforcement agents
watched as Goyette and his supplier met and then left in separate vehicles. Shortly thereafter,
both vehicles were stopped and agents recovered about $25,000 in the supplier’s vehicle. On
June 4, 2013, search warrants were executed at Goyette’s and his mother’s residences. In a
closet outside the mother’s apartment, agents recovered about 500 grams of cocaine and a digital
scale. Inside Goyette’s apartment, agents recovered expensive jewelry.The defendant faces between five and 40 years in prison and a $5,000,000 fine. He will
be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation
Office.The joint investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the
Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Auburn Police Department, and the ongoing effort of
the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership between federal,
state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to
identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money
laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.Attorney General Holder Statement on the Planned Departure of Associate Attorney General Tony WestRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Wednesday on the departure, effective September 15, of Associate Attorney General Tony West:
“Since returning to the Justice Department in 2009, Tony West has been an indispensable member of the Department’s senior leadership team, an exemplary and dedicated public servant, and a close advisor and good friend. His tenure as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division was defined by historic steps forward, including the Administration’s decision not to defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. His service as Associate Attorney General has been marked by significant achievement – from his leadership in securing the landmark reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act; to his passionate advocacy for the rights of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples; to his tireless work to combat financial fraud, hold corporations accountable, and fight for American consumers.
“Over the years, Tony’s efforts have made a tremendous and lasting difference in the lives of millions of people across the country. I have been honored to count him as a colleague – and privileged to work alongside him. I thank him for his service, and his friendship, over the past five years. And although I wish him the best as he opens an exciting new chapter in his career, I will miss his leadership, his many contributions, and his steadfast commitment to the cause of justice.”
Attorney General Holder Statement on Jenny Durkan Stepping Down as U.S. Attorney for Western District of WashingtonRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Wednesday on the resignation of U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan for the Western District of Washington:
"As United States Attorney for Western Washington, Jenny has served as a tireless advocate for the American people, for the citizens of Washington state, and for the cause of justice.
“Over the years, she has demonstrated remarkable skill in guiding complex litigation, fostering interagency coordination, and combating a wide range of criminal activities. Jenny has been an exceptional leader in the Justice Department’s fight against cyber-crime and our work to protect the civil rights of all Americans. And with a strong focus on education, prevention, treatment, and community outreach, she launched one of the first federal drug courts.
“Jenny Durkan exemplifies the highest standards of personal integrity and professional excellence. For the past five years, I have been grateful for Jenny’s dedicated service and her wise counsel. I am certain that the people of Western Washington will continue to benefit from her service for years to come. And although I wish her the very best as she takes the next step in her career, I will miss her leadership, her contributions, and her friendship.”
Attorney General Holder Statement on Jenny Durkan Stepping Down as U.S. Attorney for Western District of WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON—Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Wednesday on the resignation of U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan for the Western District of Washington:
"As United States Attorney for Western Washington, Jenny has served as a tireless advocate for the American people, for the citizens of Washington state, and for the cause of justice.
“Over the years, she has demonstrated remarkable skill in guiding complex litigation, fostering interagency coordination, and combating a wide range of criminal activities. Jenny has been an exceptional leader in the Justice Department’s fight against cyber-crime and our work to protect the civil rights of all Americans. And with a strong focus on education, prevention, treatment, and community outreach, she launched one of the first federal drug courts.
“Jenny Durkan exemplifies the highest standards of personal integrity and professional excellence. For the past five years, I have been grateful for Jenny’s dedicated service and her wise counsel. I am certain that the people of Western Washington will continue to benefit from her service for years to come. And although I wish her the very best as she takes the next step in her career, I will miss her leadership, her contributions, and her friendship.”
35 Year Prison Sentence for Nationwide Foreclosure Rescue ScamRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Charles Head, 40, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (formerly of Los Angeles and Orange County), was sentenced today by United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to 35 years in prison, United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced. A hearing to determine the amount of restitution has been set for November 22, 2014.
In sentencing, Judge Mueller noted that Charles Head had “created and implemented a very cynical scheme” and that Head’s life has “shown an inability to respect the law.”
In 2013, Head was convicted in two jury trials of two conspiracies to commit mail fraud in connection with nationwide “foreclosure rescue” scams. He was also convicted of seven counts of mail fraud. According to evidence presented at trial and at his sentencing hearing, Head was the CEO of a group of brokerage and financial companies in Orange County and Los Angeles County: Head Financial Services, Creative Loans, and others.
In 2008, a federal grand jury indicted Head and 16 other defendants in two cases, charging them with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and other charges related to the Head Financial Services equity skimming schemes. The evidence at trial established that the defendants solicited homeowners facing foreclosure, promising to help the homeowners avoid foreclosure and repair their credit. Instead, through misrepresentations, fraud, and forgery, the defendants led the victims to complete transactions that substituted straw buyers for the victim homeowners on the titles of properties without the homeowners’ knowledge. These straw buyers were often friends and family members of the defendants, or were solicited on the Internet. Once the straw buyers were on title to the homes, the defendants applied for mortgages to extract the maximum available equity from the homes. The defendants then shared the proceeds of the ill-gotten equity and the “rent” that the victim homeowners paid them. Ultimately, the victim homeowners were left with no home, no equity, and with damaged credit ratings.
Initially, Head focused his scam on distressed homeowners in California before expanding throughout the United States. In the course of the schemes, between January 2004 and June 2006, the defendants obtained over $90 million in fraudulent loans, caused estimated losses of over $50 million, and stole title to over 300 homes.
Head and his brother Jeremy Michael Head, 34, of Huntington Beach, were convicted in May 2013 following a nearly four-week trial. A second trial was held in December 2013 that lasted five weeks. Head and two other defendants were convicted.
U.S. Attorney Wagner said: "This defendant purposely targeted the financially vulnerable during their time of greatest distress with promises of help. Then he tricked them into handing over their most valuable asset, their home. When victims in one scheme grew scarce, he opened up a new scheme drawing in victims from across the country. Few economic crimes are more reprehensible. No sentence will undo the damage wrought by Charles Head and his fellow scammers, but today’s sentence brings a measure of justice for their victims.”
“In large fraud schemes like the one devised by Charles Head, we can’t forget about the individual homeowners who comprised the more than $50 million in losses,” said Monica Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the Sacramento division of the FBI. “Today’s sentencing ends an investigation that has been ongoing for more than 10 years and brings some closure to the innocent people who were victimized by Head’s callous scheme.”
“The defendant preyed on struggling and trusting homeowners, literally stealing the American Dream out from under them, with no remorse,” said José M. Martínez, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Today’s sentencing signifies the continued effort by the IRS, FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute those who commit mortgage fraud. IRS-CI is committed to pursuing those who line their pockets with profits from these schemes.”
This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service‑Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael D. Anderson and Matthew Morris are prosecuting the case.
Sixteen other defendants have also been convicted in the two related cases and are awaiting sentencing:
Elham Assadi, aka Elham Assadi Jouzani, aka Ely Assadi, 34, of Irvine, California;
Leonard Bernot, 54, of Laguna Hills, California;
Akemi Bottari, 32, of Los Angeles, California;
Keith Brotemarkle, 46, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania;
Benjamin Budoff, 47, Colorado Springs, Colorado;
Joshua Coffman, 34, of North Hollywood, California;
John Corcoran, aka Jack Corcoran, 56, of Anaheim, California;
Jeremy Michael Head, 34, Huntington Beach, California;
Sarah Mattson, 31, of Phoenix, Arizona;
Domonic McCarns, 40, of Irvine, California;
Omar Sandoval, 36, of Rancho Cucamonga, California;
Xochitl Sandoval, 33, of Rancho Cucamonga, California;
Lisa Vang, 28, of Westminster, California;
Andrew Vu, 43, of Santa Ana, California;
Justin Wiley, 32, of Irvine, California, and
Kou Yang, 36, of Corona, California.In addition, defendant Ahn Nguyen is pending trial and defendant Domonic McCarns is awaiting a second trial on additional charges related to these offenses. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was part of the President’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. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Tuesday 2 September 2014
Wilmington Man Pleads Guilty in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today TODD BALO, 48,pled guilty before Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, to receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2).
On November 23, 2013, a Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment charging BALO.
According to the investigation, in November, 2012, law enforcement received a tip regarding an IP address in the Wilmington area receiving child pornography via the peer-to-peer network, Gigatribe. As the investigation progressed, the address and user were identified as BALO. BALO was interviewed and admitted that over the past seven years, he had used Gigatribe to share files with others, to include child pornography that included “very young” children. Law enforcement located and seized 14 computer hard drives, a laptop computer, a thumbdrive, and several cell phones. Forensic analysis found in excess of 7,000 images and 260 videos of child pornography.
At sentencing, scheduled for December 1, 2014, BALO faces up to 20 years imprisonment. If BALO has prior convictions relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward, sex trafficking of children, or the production, possession, receipt, sale, distribution, shipment or transportation of child pornography, the penalty increases to up to 40 years imprisonment.
The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Ethan A. Ontjes is handling the prosecution on behalf of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Waste Disposer Gets Jail Term for Dumping Toxic Mix of Chemicals in Public LandfillRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Raul Antonio Gonzalez Lopez was sentenced to seven months in custody by United States District Court Judge Michael M. Anello, for illegally disposing of trash containing a potentially fatal brew of acids and potassium cyanide.
In pleading guilty, Gonzalez Lopez admitted that on March 12, 2011, he picked up trash at We Lend More, a business located in National City, California. As he was aware, this trash included containers of acid and potassium cyanide. The following day, Gonzalez Lopez dumped the chemicals (which included federally regulated hazardous wastes such as nitric acid and potassium cyanide) in the Miramar Landfill. Due to the dangerous nature of these chemicals, they are prohibited from being disposed at the Miramar Landfill.
According to Joe Lowry, Chief Scientist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, when potassium cyanide and acids are combined they produce a deadly hydrogen cyanide gas. One breath of pure hydrogen cyanide gas would be enough to kill a person, and 50 ppm of hydrogen cyanide is the level that has been determined to be immediately dangerous to life or health. Lowry viewed the evidence from the case and prepared a dispersion model showing the threat area where the concentration of hydrogen cyanide is greater than or equal to 50 ppm, assuming a wind of 3 mph. This zone extends approximately 71 yards from the initial point of combination, and anyone within 30 yards when the chemicals combined would have been killed instantly.
Emphasizing the government’s commitment to enforcing environmental statutes, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy stated that “we will continue to work with our federal law enforcement partners to take firm and decisive action when slipshod, cavalier practices pose a threat to human health.”
“Hazardous wastes pose a great risk to human health and the environment when intentionally mismanaged,” said Jay M. Green, Special Agent-in-Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in California. “The defendant’s illegal disposal of dangerous acids and cyanides could have easily resulted in a serious injury or death had it not been for the vigilance of the Miramar Landfill operators. Today’s sentence demonstrates the government’s commitment to hold accountable those individuals who would attempt to profit by illegally dumping hazardous wastes.” San Diego FBI Acting Special Agent-In-Charge W Robert Howe added that this case “demonstrates the dedication of the FBI to the apprehension of those persons who jeopardize the health and lives of innocents through the deliberate mishandling and improper disposal of deadly chemicals.”
In February of 2011, We Lend More and its owner, Marc Vogel, were convicted by a jury of aiding and abetting the illegal transportation and disposal of hazardous waste. The trial evidence indicated that the acid (in a breakable glass bottle) and cyanide (in aged plastic containers) were disposed of together in the same cardboard box, which was dumped at the landfill. Because the landfill operators use heavy equipment on a regular basis to compact the face of the landfill, such activity would be expected to cause the containers to break and the chemicals (in the same box) to combine, causing instant death to the landfill operator and anyone else within 30 yards (such as other landfill personnel or customers).
Gonzalez Lopez was arrested on January 14, 2014, in Mexico and extradited to the United States to face these charges.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 11cr3327-MMA Raul Antonio Gonzalez Lopez Age: 55 Tijuana, Mexico CHARGESUnlawful Disposal of Hazardous Waste– Title 42, U.S.C., Section 6928(d)
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Maximum penalty: 5 years’ imprisonment and $250,000 fineEnvironmental Protection Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation
*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.
Washington Man Pleads Guilty to Telemarketing Fraud Scam Targeting Elderly CitizensRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Joseph Nkunzi, 31, of Des Moines, Washington, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with a telemarketing scam that tricked people into sending him money in order to receive cash prizes, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, beginning in 2011, Nkunzi worked with others to defraud senior citizens of thousands of dollars in a telemarketing scheme. The FBI received a referral from the Woodland Police Department in April 2013, regarding a 78-year-old victim of the scam. She had been called by “North American Prize Pool” and told that she had won $8.8 million, but in order to receive the prize, she had to send $182,000 to various accounts to pay for taxes and fees.
During the course of the scheme, the victims would either mail checks to Nkunzi or would directly deposit checks into bank accounts that he established and controlled. Nkunzi subsequently withdrew the money or transferred it to other accounts. When federal agents searched Nkunzi’s home in Washington, they seized a Maserati and a Lexus. The scam targeted victims throughout California, including residents of Woodland, Stockton, Bakersfield, and Dinuba. In total, the victims lost approximately $850,000 to the scam.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Michele Beckwith is prosecuting the case.
Nkunzi is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on November 19, 2014. The plea agreement contemplates a sentence of four years and three months in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court at the sentencing hearing.
Vienna Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Heroin and A FirearmRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Vienna, West Virginia man who possessed heroin and a pistol in November of 2013 was sentenced today to five years in federal prison, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Robert Lamar Bates-Porter, 27, previously pleaded guilty in May of 2014 to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
In August, October, and November of 2013, drug task force officers made controlled purchases of heroin from Bates-Porter. On November 10, 2013 police executed a search warrant at Bates-Porter’s 29th Street residence in Vienna, where they recovered approximately 100 grams of heroin and a Kimber .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol.
Bates-Porter had been previously convicted of felonies in Detroit, Michigan, including possession with intent to distribute cocaine in 2006 and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in 2007. These convictions preclude him from possessing any firearm.
The Parkersburg Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks handled the prosecution. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District. This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime.
United States Attorney’s Office Announces Federal Violent Crime MeetingRead the Press Release
Attorney General’s Advisory Committee to discuss anti-crime strategies with state and local
law enforcement officials in IndianapolisINDIANAPOLIS– Acting United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler, today announced details of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC) meeting on violent and organized crime which is being held in Indianapolis, September 3-5, 2014. The AGAC gives United States Attorneys from around the country a voice in Department of Justice policies and provides advice to the Attorney General of the United States on new programs that improve the criminal justice system and the delivery of legal services at all levels.
Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Josh Minkler said, “We welcome the collective wisdom of United States Attorneys from around the country to share their knowledge and strategies on how better to make our communities safe."
On Friday, September 5, 2014, several presentations will be made to police executives from the entire state of Indiana in the Indianapolis Federal Courthouse. Topics include presentations by United States Attorney’s from Detroit, Philadelphia, Illinois, New York and New Jersey on gun and other violent crime initiatives. The first two days of presentations will be restricted to AGAC members.
At the conclusion of the training, Acting U.S. Attorney Minkler, and the Chairman of the AGAC Violent and Organized Crime Subcommittee, Stephen R. Wigginton, U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of Illinois, and ranking members of the committee will be available to the media for a follow-up discussion. That press conference will be held:
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 12 NOON, IN THE US ATTORNEY’S OFFICE,
10 W MARKET STREET SUITE, 2000United States Attorney Confirms Federal Investigation into the Death of Victor White IIIRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – Stephanie Finley, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, confirmed today that a federal investigation is ongoing into the death of 23-year-old Victor White III, who died in March while in the custody of the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office. The coroner subsequently determined that Mr. White’s death was a suicide, but Mr. White’s family has disputed that conclusion. The United States Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the Criminal Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division are responsible for investigating allegations of civil rights violations by officials acting under color of law, and for determining whether the evidence demonstrates that a civil rights violation occurred and that it was willful. U.S. Attorney Finley stated that a federal representative has reached out to the White family to assure them that the Department of Justice will follow where the evidence leads and will take appropriate action based on that evidence.
“This tragic incident deserves a full review of the evidence; our objective is to discover the truth,” Ms. Finley stated. “The FBI has been working parallel with the current investigation. Our review will take time to complete. FBI agents, along with attorneys from my office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, will carefully review the results of the current investigation by the Louisiana State Police, will determine what additional investigation, if any, is necessary to determine who fired the fatal shot, and whether the evidence demonstrates a willful civil rights violation. The federal investigation will supplement, rather than supplant, the investigation by state authorities. Once the investigation is complete, we will carefully review the results to decide if any prosecutable violations of federal criminal civil rights statutes occurred.”
Union Negotiator Indicted on Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an 80 count indictment charging Frank Aquila, 76, of Amherst, N.Y., with engaging in a scheme to defraud the Buffalo Educational Support Team (BEST), a union representing approximately 900 teacher’s aides and assistants in the City of Buffalo School District. The defendant was arraigned before Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott and was released on his own recognizance.
The defendant is charged with 80 counts of mail fraud. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, between March 2006 and December 2011, the defendant served as the chief negotiator for BEST during 2008 collective bargaining negotiations with the City of Buffalo School District. Aquila, as chief negotiator for BEST, refused to reach final agreement with the district on a collective bargaining agreement until and unless the district agreed to allow BEST to (1) select its own insurance broker; (2) make commission payments totaling $135,000 per year for four years to an insurance broker selected by BEST; and (3) agreed to make four payments to BEST of $65,000 each for costs and expenses associated with administering health insurance benefits for its members.
The defendant failed to disclose to the district or BEST that he would share in commissions paid to the insurance broker selected by BEST, and in payments made to BEST to administer health insurance benefits for its members. According to the indictment, Aquila unlawfully obtained $332,500.Aquila was arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott and was released on Bond.
The indictment is the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Cheryl Garcia of the New York Regional Office.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.Two More Laguna Pueblo Members Plead Guilty to Charges Arising out of Drive-By Shooting of Acoma Pueblo HomeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Two more members of Laguna Pueblo have entered guilty pleas to crimes arising out of the drive-by shooting of an Acoma Pueblo home in Dec. 2012.
Cameron Joseph Kasero, 21, pleaded guilty today to an assault with a dangerous weapon charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Kasero will be sentenced to 96 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. His sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Andrea Carrillo, 22, also entered a guilty plea today. Carrillo pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting an assault with a dangerous weapon. At sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled, she faces a statutory maximum sentence of ten years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Kasero and Carrillo were two of four Laguna Pueblo members charged with assault and firearms offenses arising out of a drive-by shooting at an Acoma Pueblo home. They and their two co-defendants, Preston Chino, 21, and Joseph Edward Lucero, 24, were indicted in July 2013, for assaulting two men and a woman on Dec. 9, 2012, by discharging firearms at a residence located in Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.
During his plea hearing, Kasero admitted assaulting the victims discharging a shotgun at a residence while it was occupied by the victims. During her plea hearing, Carrillo admitted aiding the assault on the victims by providing her co-defendants with directions to the residence with the understanding that her co-defendants intended to commit an assault at that location.
Co-defendant Chino entered a guilty plea on Aug. 27, 2014, to a federal assault charge, and admitted aiding Kasero and Lucero in assaulting the three victims by providing shotguns and ammunition to them. He also admitted driving his co-defendants to the victims’ Acoma Pueblo home where they discharged the shotguns multiple times in the direction of the residence. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Chino will be sentenced to 96 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Chino is in federal custody and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
Co-defendant Lucero has entered a not guilty plea to the charges in the indictment. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Laguna Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback is prosecuting the case.
Two More Laguna Pueblo Members Plead Guilty to Charges Arising out of Drive-By Shooting of Acoma Pueblo HomeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Two more members of Laguna Pueblo have entered guilty pleas to crimes arising out of the drive-by shooting of an Acoma Pueblo home in Dec. 2012.
Cameron Joseph Kasero, 21, pleaded guilty today to an assault with a dangerous weapon charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Kasero will be sentenced to 96 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. His sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Andrea Carrillo, 22, also entered a guilty plea today. Carrillo pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting an assault with a dangerous weapon. At sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled, she faces a statutory maximum sentence of ten years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Kasero and Carrillo were two of four Laguna Pueblo members charged with assault and firearms offenses arising out of a drive-by shooting at an Acoma Pueblo home. They and their two co-defendants, Preston Chino, 21, and Joseph Edward Lucero, 24, were indicted in July 2013, for assaulting two men and a woman on Dec. 9, 2012, by discharging firearms at a residence located in Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.
During his plea hearing, Kasero admitted assaulting the victims discharging a shotgun at a residence while it was occupied by the victims. During her plea hearing, Carrillo admitted aiding the assault on the victims by providing her co-defendants with directions to the residence with the understanding that her co-defendants intended to commit an assault at that location.
Co-defendant Chino entered a guilty plea on Aug. 27, 2014, to a federal assault charge, and admitted aiding Kasero and Lucero in assaulting the three victims by providing shotguns and ammunition to them. He also admitted driving his co-defendants to the victims’ Acoma Pueblo home where they discharged the shotguns multiple times in the direction of the residence. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Chino will be sentenced to 96 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Chino is in federal custody and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
Co-defendant Lucero has entered a not guilty plea to the charges in the indictment. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Laguna Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback is prosecuting the case.
Two Defendants Sentenced for Identity Theft and Conspiracy as part of Scheme to File False Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Jameane Bolton-Williams, 39, and Joe Murl Douglas, Jr., 54, both of California, have been sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess, as the result of their respective roles in a scheme to steal identities and file false tax returns. Bolton-Williams will serve 82 months in prison and pay restitution of at least $91,927.65, and Douglas will serve 57 months and pay restitution in the amount of $43,043.55.
Bolton-Williams and Douglas conspired with two others to obtain identity information, such as names, dates of birth, and social security numbers, which were then used to prepare false IRS Forms W-2 that contained fabricated wage and withholding amounts. The co-conspirators then took the identity information and falsified documents to tax return preparation services in Anchorage, Eagle River, and Palmer, Alaska, as well as in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California, to have tax returns prepared and electronically submitted to the IRS.
The false returns requested refunds totaling between $1,400 and $8,600 each. In many cases, the defendants applied for refund anticipation loans and had the fraudulently obtained tax refunds loaded onto reloadable stored value cards allowing them instant access to the money even if the IRS later rejected the falsely filed returns. The fraudulently obtained tax refunds were used to purchase personal items, including a 2002 Mercedes E320 Sedan.
Co-defendant Lucille Stansberry was previously sentenced by Judge Burgess to 36 months and one day in prison. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $48,619.95. The fourth co-defendant charged in the case, Demetrick Ruffin, remains a fugitive.
During both sentencing hearings, the victims of this conspiracy spoke at length about the devastating effects these crimes have had on their lives, recounting their difficulties securing loans, paying for their children’s education, and providing for themselves in retirement.
In sentencing Bolton-Williams, Judge Burgess referenced the victims’ statements and noted the profound and continuing impact that identity theft crimes have on innocent victims who often find it difficult, if not impossible, to correct the effects such crimes have on their daily lives. He also commented on the fact that these types of crimes have been expanding in recent years, which was one of several factors he considered in fashioning the sentences in this case. Regarding Bolton-Williams, whose criminal history included multiple previous convictions for identity theft and fraud-related crimes, Judge Burgess was particularly adamant that any sentence he handed down should be designed to protect the public from future crimes.
U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler noted, “Identity theft in any of its myriad manifestations is a pernicious crime that causes untold and lasting difficulties to its victims. In addition, tax fraud affects and damages the vast majority of hard-working American taxpayers. These significant sentences reflect the damage done and federal law enforcement’s commitment to prosecuting those who perpetuate these crimes.”
“Refund fraud is a top priority for the IRS,” said Special Agent in Charge Teri Alexander of the IRS Seattle Field Office. “The sentences handed down to these defendants show that IRS Criminal Investigation and the US Attorney’s Office are committed to fighting this growing epidemic. Justice has been served on those who conspired to steal from the government and every U.S. taxpayer, but more importantly, we hope these sentences provide some sense of closure for the victims whose lives were so affected by the nefarious deeds of these identity thieves.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Retta-Rae Randall and Stephanie C. Courter. IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Ms. Loeffler commends the IRS Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the convictions in this case.
Trans Energy Inc. to Restore Streams and Wetland Damaged by Natural Gas Extraction Activities in West VirginiaRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) today announced a settlement with Trans Energy Inc., requiring the oil and gas company to restore portions of streams and wetlands at 15 sites in West Virginia that were polluted by the company’s unauthorized discharge of dredge or fill material. Trans Energy will pay a penalty of $3 million to be divided equally between the federal government and the WVDEP. The Clean Water Act requires a company to obtain a permit from EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prior to discharging dredge or fill material into wetlands, rivers, streams and other waters of the United States.
“Today’s agreement requires that Trans Energy take important steps to comply with state and federal laws that are critical to protecting our nation’s waters, wetlands and streams,” said Sam Hirsch, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We will continue to ensure that the development of our nation’s domestic energy resources, including through the use of hydraulic fracturing techniques, complies with the Clean Water Act and other applicable federal laws.”
“As part of our commitment to safe development of domestic energy supplies, EPA is working to protect wetlands and local water supplies on which communities depend,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “By enforcing environmental laws, we’re helping to ensure a level playing field for responsible businesses."
In addition to the penalty, the company will reconstruct impacted aquatic resources or otherwise address impacts at each of the 15 sites, provide appropriate compensatory mitigation for impacts to streams and wetlands, and implement a comprehensive compliance program to ensure future compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and applicable state law. Among other requirements, the company will work to ensure that all aquatic resources are identified prior to starting work on any future projects in West Virginia, and that appropriate consideration is given at the design stage to avoid and minimize impacts to aquatic resources. It is estimated that Trans Energy will spend more than $13 million to complete the restoration and mitigation work required by the consent decree.
The federal government and the WVDEP allege that the company impounded streams and discharged sand, dirt, rocks and other materials into streams and wetlands without a federal permit in order to construct well pads, impoundments, road crossings and other facilities related to natural gas extraction. The government alleges that the violations impacted approximately 13,000 linear feet of stream and more than an acre of wetlands.
Filling wetlands illegally and damming streams can result in serious environmental consequences. Streams, rivers and wetlands benefit the environment by reducing flood risks, filtering pollutants, recharging groundwater and drinking water supplies, and providing food and habitat for aquatic species.
EPA discovered the violations in 2011 and 2012 through information provided by WVDEP and the public, and through routine field inspections. In summer 2014, the company conducted an internal audit and ultimately disclosed to EPA alleged violations at eight additional locations, which are also being resolved through this Consent Decree.
The settlement also resolves alleged violations of state law brought by the WVDEP.
The consent decree has been lodged in the Northern District of West Virginia and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court approval. The settlement can be viewed at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html .
Topeka Man Pleads Guilty to Robberies in Topeka, ManhattanRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A Topeka man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to committing robberies at businesses in Topeka and Manhattan, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Christopher James Wilhoite, 26, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to two counts of commercial robbery and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of a robbery. In his plea, Wilhoite admitted that on March 29, 2014, he robbed a clerk at Car Toyz, 5849 S.W. 21st in Topeka. The store sells mobile audio, video and vehicle security systems.
Wilhoite entered the store, browsed for a few minutes, and told the clerk: “I know what I want – the money.” He took money from the register and from the clerk’s wallet before loading some electronic items into a bag. When he noticed a surveillance camera, he forced the clerk to show him the recorder and threw that in the bag, too. Then he fled the store. Investigators later found his fingerprints in the store.
Wilhoite also admitted that on April 16, 2014, he robbed the Dollar General at 2321 Tuttle Creek Boulevard in Manhattan, Kan. He pointed a gun at a clerk and said: “Hey, I need money.” He put the clerk and another employee in a bathroom at gunpoint and told them to count to 200 while he fled the store.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 21. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 12 years in federal prison.
Grissom commended the Topeka Police Department, the Riley County Police Department, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag for their work on the case.
Three Alabama Men Plead Guilty to Stolen Identity Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Three residents of Montgomery, Alabama, each pleaded guilty during the past week to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama.
Cruz Castillo Burnett, Jacorey Giddens and Rodrickus Howard were indicted on May 1. According to court documents, the defendants conspired to acquire the means of identification of individuals, including names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth, of other persons without their knowledge or consent. From March 2011 to April 2013, the defendants used these stolen identities to file more than 500 false tax returns, and each return claimed fraudulent refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The defendants received the fraudulent refunds in various forms, including U.S. Treasury checks, direct deposits to bank accounts and direct deposits onto prepaid debit cards in the names of identity theft victims.
The three defendants each face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy count, followed by up to three years of supervised release. The defendants will each be required to serve a statutory mandatory sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft count.
The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Greg Bailey and Michael Boteler of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown for the Middle District of Alabama.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at the division website .
The United States Sues Nursing Home Owners and Operators and Their Manager Under the False Claims ActRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – The United States filed a civil False Claims Act complaint on Friday against the owners, operators, and manager of two nursing homes in Watsonville, Calif., United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
Defendants CF Watsonville East, LLC, and CF Watsonville West, LLC, are for-profit entities that own and operate the nursing homes named in the complaint. Defendant ARBA Group owns CF Watsonville East and West, and exercised close oversight and control over the finances and operations of the nursing homes, and defendant Country Villa Health Service Corporation, dba Country Villa Health Services, was also responsible for the management of the nursing homes under consulting agreements with the owners.
The United States alleges that Defendants submitted false claims for materially substandard or worthless services provided to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries residing in the two nursing homes, Country Villa Watsonville East Nursing Center (renamed Watsonville Nursing Center in April 2014), and Country Villa Watsonville West Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (renamed Watsonville Post-Acute Center in April 2014). Specifically, the complaint alleges that between 2007 and 2012, defendants persistently and severely overmedicated elderly and vulnerable residents of the nursing homes.
The False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, provides for treble damages and civil penalties against those who submit false claims to federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
Gioconda Molinari is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is litigating the case with the assistance of Lucille Yee and Tina Louie. The lawsuit is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.
If you know someone who is the victim of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation in a nursing home, you can report it to the California Long-term-Care Ombudsman, 1-800-231-4024, http://www.aging.ca.gov/Programs/LTCOP/, your local California Department of Public Health, Licensing and Certification Division, District office, http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/Pages/NursingHomePatient.aspx, your local adult protective services office, and/or the police.(Country Villa complaint )
Tallahassee Woman Indicted for Using Fraudulent IRS StampsRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA– United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh, Northern District of Florida, announced that Elisa Christina Avila Jackson, 30, of Tallahassee, Florida, was arraigned this afternoon in court after being charged by a federal grand jury with five counts of wire fraud and one count of possessing a counterfeit Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) stamp.
The indictment alleges that between June 7, 2011, and February 11, 2014, Jackson conducted a scheme to defraud owners of large tractor trailers around the State of Florida of monies that were to be paid to the IRS relating to the federal Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax. Jackson operated Bee’s Carrier Permitting and Licensing, Inc. (“BCPL”), which purportedly provided assistance to owners of large tractor trailers in preparing and filing their annual applications for registration with the State of Florida. As mandated by federal regulation, prior to issuing a vehicle registration, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles required BCPL and others applying for annual large tractor trailer registrations to provide a copy of a tax form stamped by the IRS as proof that the owner’s federal Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax had been paid.
The indictment further alleges that Jackson collected from BCPL customers the amount due and owing to the IRS for the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax and promised to pay that amount to the IRS. However, rather than paying the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax to the IRS, Jackson created fraudulent IRS forms bearing a counterfeit IRS numbered remittance stamp, which forms falsely reflected that these taxes had been remitted to the IRS. The indictment also charges that through this scheme, Jackson fraudulently obtained approximately $248,000.00.
Counts One through Five of the indictment charge Jackson with wire fraud. For each of these counts, if convicted, Jackson faces a term of imprisonment of not more than twenty (20) years, a period of supervised release of up to three (3) years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special monetary assessment. Count Six of the indictment charges Jackson with possession of an IRS stamp with intent to defraud. If convicted on this count, Jackson faces a term of imprisonment of not more than five (5) years, a period of supervised release of up to three (3) years, a fine of up to $10,000, and a $100 special monetary assessment.
The trial of this case is scheduled for November 3, 2014, before the Honorable Robert L. Hinkle.
The indictment results from an investigation by the IRS-Criminal Investigation, with the assistance of the Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Commercial Vehicle and Driver Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Beaton.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial in a court of law.
St. Croix Man Sentenced for Marijuana PossessionRead the Press Release
St. Croix, USVI – On Thursday August 28, 2014, Chief District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis sentenced Fernando Cabret III, 30, to three months of home confinement, a fine of $2,500.00, $25.00 special assessment and one year of federal supervised release for possession of marijuana. Chief Judge Lewis also sentenced Cabret, to 60 hours of community service to speak publicly about the crime he committed, the consequences suffered and how his life has changed.
Court records show that Cabret was arrested on August 14, 2013 after federal agents and Task Force officers searched his home pursuant to a warrant and seized 23 rooted and eight cut or up-rooted marijuana plants, small amounts of processed marijuana and marijuana cultivation equipment. He was initially charged with the possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and later pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rhonda Williams-Henry.
Robber Sentenced to over 19 Years in Prison for Armed Robbery of Seven Convenience Stores During an Eight Day SpreeRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Gary Cordell Howard, age 37, of Baltimore, today to 235 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for robbery and brandishing a gun in furtherance of robbery.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.
According to their plea agreements, Howard, and co-defendants Monte Glascoe, and Michael Emmanuel Smith robbed at least seven Baltimore 7-Eleven stores from July 18 to 26, 2013, located at: 6314 Eastern Avenue; 3436 Wilkens Avenue; 5512 Park Heights Avenue; 2500 Liberty Heights Avenue; 6700 Brentwood Avenue; 211 West 28th Street; and 3204 Hollins Ferry Road. As part of the conspiracy, Howard, Glascoe and Smith would generally decide which store to rob, steal a vehicle for use during the robbery; brandish a firearm during the robbery; and steal money and cigarettes during the robbery. In each robbery, Glascoe pointed a gun at victim employees. The conspirators stole money from the cash registers, cigarettes and other merchandise, and stole cash, a cell phone and folding knife from employees at the stores.
Monte Glascoe, age 24, and Michael Emmanuel Smith, age 28, both of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the robberies and are scheduled to be sentenced on September 25, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. and October 1, 2014, at 1:00 p.m., respectively.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew K. Hoff, a cross-designated Baltimore City Assistant State’s Attorney assigned as part of the Baltimore initiative to combat violent crime, who prosecuted the case.
Richard Joseph Salon Spa Owners Sentenced to Prison for Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- A federal judge today sentenced the owners and operators of Richard Joseph SalonSpas in the Birmingham area to three years in prison for conspiring to avoid paying more than $1 million in employment taxes to the IRS, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot.
U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon sentenced both RICHARD JOSEPH SMITH, 54, and TIMOTHY EUELL BROWN, 55, to prison for the tax fraud conspiracy in which they failed to pay employment taxes to the IRS that they withheld from employees' wages over eight years from 2006 to 2013. Smith and Brown pleaded guilty to the charge in May, and acknowledged that they also skimmed money from the salons for personal use. Their prison reporting dates have not been set.
The judge ordered the men to pay $1.4 million in restitution to the IRS, which they had agreed to as part of their plea agreements with the government. The $1.4 million represents only the payroll taxes withheld from employees, not the employer portion of payroll taxes, which also went unpaid.
The government is seeking an order restraining the defendants' assets and directing the proceeds from the sale of personal property be applied to the restitution.
The men's Hoover home was lavishly furnished with antiques, art, fine china and chandeliers. The house is now for sale and most of the furnishings have been moved into storage. The IRS has a tax lien on the house for unpaid employment taxes, predating the current prosecution. Any proceeds from the home sale would go, first, to satisfy the tax lien.
"These defendants lived a high-end lifestyle of luxury at the expense of their employees and the nation's tax-paying citizens," Vance said. "They deducted more than $1 million in payroll taxes from their workers' wages, but they kept the money for themselves instead of lawfully paying the money to the IRS, leaving more than 100 employees uncertain about their future benefits and security," she said. "Prosecutions like this protect hard-working Americans."
“Employment tax fraud has a huge impact on our nation’s tax system. It results in loss of revenue to the government and affects the livelihood of the victims," Hyman-Pillot said. “Richard Smith and Tim Brown abused the trust of many people and must be held accountable for their corrupt actions. IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to enforce our nation’s tax laws and investigate individuals who choose to disregard those laws for personal benefit,” she said.
Richard Joseph SalonSpa has been a prominent business for more than two decades in the Birmingham area, with Smith as master stylist and Brown as business manager handling finances, including payroll, according to government documents.
By neither paying over to the IRS the taxes they withheld from their employees, nor reporting and paying taxes on their individual incomes, Brown and Smith lived an extravagant lifestyle, according to the government's Aug. 27 sentencing memorandum.
Brown bought the couple's home in the Preserve neighborhood in Hoover in 2005 for $891,000, and they have maintained the $5,245 monthly mortgage payment, according to the memorandum. In 2008 and 2009, they paid more than $80,000 to add a swimming pool and outdoor fireplace. The two men also employed as many as four full-time staff to perform housework, lawn maintenance, elder care for a live-in relative, and pet care for their 12 dogs, according to the sentencing memorandum.
The defendants' tax fraud proceeded as follows, according to government documents:
Beginning in 1991, a company called Smith, Hobart & Brown operated Richard Joseph SalonSpa in Mountain Brook, and Brown was the sole owner and registered agent of SHB. SHB operated the spa from 1991 to July 2006. SHB owed more than $300,000 in employment taxes to the IRS by the third quarter of 2006. The IRS began notifying Brown of payroll tax deficits and requesting payment in 2004. When a revenue officer met with Brown and his accountant in 2007, Brown said he had closed his salon in July 2006 and no longer worked at Richard Joseph SalonSpa.
While the daily operation and management of Richard Joseph SalonSpa never changed, Smith incorporated a new company, RJSS Inc., in June 2006. RJSS took over operation of Richard Joseph SalonSpa in Mountain Brook, and Smith and Brown opened a business checking account together for RJSS, listing both men as its owners.
Brown misrepresented to the IRS that he closed his salon business in 2006 and no longer worked at Richard Joseph Salon, the government said in its sentencing memorandum. Rather than closing the salon, he transferred its ownership to Smith and "carried forward with business as usual."
In August 2008, Smith incorporated another business, Richard Joseph Redmont Group Inc., and he and Brown together opened a business checking account for it. In July 2009, Smith and Brown opened a Richard Joseph Salon on U.S. 280 in Inverness, and operated it through the Redmont Group.
Between 2006 and 2013, Smith and Brown withheld the $1.4 million from employees of RJSS and Redmont group and failed to pay it over to the IRS in employment taxes.
IRS Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark prosecuted.
Restaurant Robber Exiled to over Five Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Linwood Drake McKoy, age 45, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 66 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for robbing a restaurant.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.
According to his plea agreement, on November 5, 2013, McKoy entered the Prime Chicken and Fish restaurant on Edmondson Avenue in Baltimore and asked to buy a cup of ice. When the victim opened the register, McKoy placed a handgun to the victim’s head and demanded money. McKoy took $700 from the register and fled.
The victim identified McKoy from a photo array and McKoy was arrested on November 14, 2013. McKoy said he used a BB gun during the robbery, but the BB gun was not recovered.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew K. Hoff, a cross-designated Baltimore City Assistant State’s Attorney assigned as part of the Baltimore initiative to combat violent crime, who prosecuted the case.
Rapid City Man Charged with EscapeRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Escape from Custody.
Benjamin Kitteaux, age 28, was indicted on August 26, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on August 27, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 5 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge relates to Kitteaux escaping from the Community Alternatives of the Black Hills in August 2014,where he was serving the remainder of a federal sentence.
The charge is merely an accusation and Kitteaux is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Patterson is prosecuting the case. Kitteaux was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Prominent Businessman for Private Consulting Group Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Elderly victim bilked for $1.1 million in schemePORTLAND, ORE. – Robert L. Keys, 65, an Oregon resident, pled guilty today to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, and one count of bankruptcy fraud, based on an indictment returned by a grand jury on June 27,2012, against him and two co-defendants.
Keys was a prominent businessman who ran a company called Private Consulting Group, which at one time, had assets of $400 million and managed investments for high net worth individuals from around the country.The maximum sentence for the two counts of wire fraud is 20 years per count and a fine of $250,000. The money laundering charges carry a 10-year sentence per count, and the bankruptcy fraud charge has a five-year term of prison. Pursuant to a plea agreement entered into with the government, the government will be recommending a sentence of 70 months and a money judgment and order of restitution of $1.1 million. Sentencing is scheduled to take place on January 20, 2015.
At the change of plea hearing, the government contended that in 2008, as Keys’ business ventures were failing, he turned to one of his long-term clients, a widow in her mid-80s, and persuaded her to loan $1.1 million to co-defendant William Kearney, a Florida businessman who died recently. The indictment alleges, and the government stated at the September 2 hearing, that Keys lied to his client about the terms of the loan, such as the existence of treasury bonds as collateral for the loan and failed to disclose important facts to her in order to fraudulently obtain the money for his benefit and that of the late co-defendant, Kearney. This transaction resulted in the two wire fraud counts to which Keys pled guilty.
During the plea hearing, the government stated that Keys failed to disclose he was receiving over $100,000 in kickbacks as part of the scheme to defraud his long-time client. Those kickbacks were wired to him by co-defendant Kearney the day after he persuaded his client to loan Kearney the $1.1 million. The kickbacks form the basis of the two money laundering charges.
In 2010 Keys, along with his wife, filed for bankruptcy. The indictment charges Keys with fraudulently attempting to discharge $148 million in debt by lying to the Bankruptcy Court, concealing assets and income, and filing false documents the Court. Brenda Carper, 63, his long-time bookkeeper, was also charged with bankruptcy fraud. She previously pled guilty to one count of lying to the bankruptcy court and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 22, 2014.
Keys also pled guilty to one count of lying to the Bankruptcy Court regarding a company that he had transferred to Mrs. Carper but which he continued to control for his personal benefit.This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the United States Trustees’ Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney and Senior Litigation Counsel Allan M. Garten.
Pierre Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute A Controlled Substance Near A SchoolRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Pierre, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance Near a School was sentenced on August 28, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Juan Howell, age 29, was sentenced to 33 months in custody, 4 years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Howell was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance Near a School and Distribution of a Controlled Substance Near a School by a federal grand jury on December 10, 2013. He pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance Near a School on May 12, 2014.
The conviction arose from an incident that occurred on January 1, 2012, when Howell knowingly and intentionally combined, conspired, confederated and agreed with others known and unknown to distribute marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance, within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.
This case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
Howell was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to begin serving his sentence.
News Conference Regarding Criminal Charges in Death of Cross Lanes TeenagerRead the Press Release
2:30 p.m. today, W. Kent Carper Justice and Public Safety Complex
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin and other law enforcement officials, including officials with the FBI and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. on the first floor of the W. Kent Carper Justice and Public Safety Complex, located at 301 Virginia Street, East, in Charleston. The news conference will address criminal charges against Ernest Michael Roach in the death of a Cross Lanes teenager whose body was found in Meigs County, Ohio, on Saturday. Roach faces a murder charge in Ohio, as well as a federal charge of interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The federal charge is pending in federal court in Charleston. Roach will make an initial appearance in the federal case at 2:00 p.m. today, at the Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse, 300 Virginia Street, East, in Charleston. The 2:30 p.m. news conference will take place across the street at the Carper Complex.
Mission Man Sentenced for Burglary of Post OfficeRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of Burglary of a Post Office was sentenced on August 28, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Jesse Robinson, age 27, was sentenced to 6 months in custody, 2 years of supervised release to include 6 months of home confinement, $888.96 in restitution, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Robinson was indicted for Burglary of a Post Office and Theft of Mail by a federal grand jury on August 21, 2013. He pled guilty to Burglary of a Post Office on May 27, 2014.
The conviction arose from an incident that occurred in June 2013 when Robinson used a crowbar to pry open a window on the front of the U.S. Post Office in Mission. Once he was inside, Robinson took four first class COD envelopes addressed to other individuals that contained mail-ordered prescription medication.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Post Office and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
Robinson will report to the U.S. Marshals Service on September 2, 2014, to begin serving his sentence.
Michigan Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Heroin ChargeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Michigan woman who rented a Huntington apartment as part of a heroin conspiracy pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Lakeisha Sherell Williams, 31, entered a guilty plea to maintaining a residence for the purpose of distributing heroin. Williams pleaded guilty in a hearing conducted by Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
Beginning in early August 2013, Williams rented an upstairs apartment located at 2504 1/2 Adams Avenue in West Huntington. Williams subsequently allowed multiple individuals to stay at the apartment, where they would store, prepare, and distribute heroin that was transported from Detroit to Huntington. Williams also assisted in transporting heroin and United States currency to and from Detroit on multiple occasions.
Williams faces up to 20 years in federal prison when she is sentenced on December 1, 2014.
The FBI Huntington Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Mexican Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 21 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Carlos Edgar Sandoval-Uriel, 31, of Mexico, was sentenced today by Chief District Judge Frank D. Whitney to serve 252 months in prison, for his role as the leader of the Charlotte cell of an international drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Whitney also sentenced Sandoval-Uriel to five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Ryan L. Spradlin, Acting Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta and the Carolinas; Chief Rodney Monroe of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Chief Cleveland Spruill of the Huntersville Police Department; and Chief Bence Hoyle of the Cornelius Police Department.
According to filed documents and court proceedings, Sandoval-Uriel was the leader of the Charlotte cell of a transnational drug trafficking organization that shipped marijuana across the United States-Mexico border. Court records indicate that Sandoval-Uriel’s cell operated in and around Charlotte from 2008 to April 2012, and was responsible for trafficking over a ton of marijuana to the area. Court records show that on April 2, 2012, the drug organization transported into the United States 3,168 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of more than $2.5 million. The marijuana was hidden inside industrial-sized metal farming equipment.
According to court records, on April 9, 2012, law enforcement agents conducted a controlled delivery of the marijuana to the organization’s initial staging location in Charlotte. On April 17, 2012, law enforcement in Charlotte arrested members of the local drug cell and executed search warrants at homes suspected to be involved in the conspiracy. While executing a search warrant at a local stash house, law enforcement recovered two kilograms of cocaine and a handgun. At Sandoval-Uriel’s house, law enforcement found $192,730 in cash, an automatic money counter, a computer with ledgers of prior drug-related transactions, and bank slips for deposits of drug proceeds that conspirators made on Sandoval-Uriel’s behalf. Sandoval-Uriel pleaded guilty in November 2013 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) that has resulted in the conviction of 12 defendants on marijuana trafficking and money laundering charges. OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
In addition to Sandoval-Uriel, the following convictions stem from this investigation:
• Jose Luis Sandoval-Godoy - 168 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
• Victor Aurelio Guerra - 151 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
• Andres G. Herbas - 121 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
• Guillermo Garza-Sanchez - 121 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
• Paul Isaac Ayala, Jr. - 70 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
• Cesar Garcia: 57 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
• Jose Alejandro Segovia - 57 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
• Ricardo Munoz-Contreras - 57 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
• Jose Zenteno - 30 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release.
• Carla Georgina Moscoso Romay - two years of probation (including with 6 months home detention) and a $3,000 fine.
• Rigoberto Pacheco-Carrillo - time-served sentence, followed by one year of supervised release.Sandoval-Uriel has been in custody since April 17, 2012. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was led by HSI, CMPD, Huntersville PD, and Cornelius PD, with assistance from the Pineville Police Department, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, North Carolina Highway Patrol, Concord Police Department, Gastonia Police Department, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, and Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.
The prosecution for the government was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Kaufman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Mercer County Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – A 54-year old Mercer County man, David A. Punturi, was sentenced today to nine years in federal prison followed by 20 years of supervised release for possessing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Punturi must also pay $2,500 in restitution to victims. Today’s sentence was handed down by Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber in Bluefield.
Punturi previously admitted that on August 14, 2013, he possessed over 600 images of prepubescent minors engaged in sexual acts. The images were located on his personal computer at his Bluefield residence. The investigation revealed that Punturi was using two peer-to-peer file sharing programs to share child pornography via the Internet.
The West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston was in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being brought as part of U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s ongoing initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse in the Southern District of West Virginia.
Member of Hartford Drug Trafficking Ring Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NATIVIDAD MENDEZ, also known as “Coca,” 38, of New Britain, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for her role in a Hartford-based narcotics trafficking ring.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and the Hartford Police Department into gang-related narcotics trafficking in Hartford’s South End. The investigation specifically targeted a heroin and cocaine trafficking organization headed by Angel Rosa, also known as “Little” and “Daddy,” and his cousin, Angel Rosa, also known as “Mo Betta” and “Fab.” Little supervised the drug trafficking ring, which included several other family members, through fear and intimidation. Mo Betta managed the daily operations of the organization, facilitated the delivery and transportation of large quantities of heroin, and supervised numerous drug sellers who distributed heroin and other narcotics in the Zion Street area. At times, Little and Mo Betta used, or threatened to use, violence to ensure the success of the organization.
MENDEZ, who is Little’s long-time girlfriend, sold cocaine out of the Silver Dollar Restaurant on Zion Street, delivered cocaine and heroin to various locations, and stored drugs and drug proceeds at her and Little’s New Britain residence. She also acted as a go between with her brother, Luis Mendez, who supplied heroin to the drug trafficking organization. In addition, she was fully aware that her and Little’s teenage son, Angel Rosa, also known as “Bebo,” was selling drugs for the organization while still attending high school.
As a result of this investigation, 21 individuals were charged with various federal offenses, and law enforcement officers seized narcotics, one firearm, approximately $230,000 in cash, eight vehicles and jewelry.
On April 11, 2013, a search of MENDEZ’s and Rosa’s residence revealed more than 500 grams of cocaine packaged for distribution, approximately 24 grams of crack cocaine, and $205,240 in cash. The couple has forfeited the cash, as well as a 2006 Porsche Cayenne, a 2007 Lexus GS350 and a 2007 Acura RL.
On December 16, 2013, MENDEZ pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, heroin.
Angel Rosa aka “Little” and Angel Rosa aka “Mo Betta” each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 100 grams or more of heroin. On May 15, 2014, “Little” was sentenced to 235 months of imprisonment, and on April 29, 2014, “Mo Betta” was sentenced to 165 months of imprisonment. Luis Mendez and Angel Rosa, aka “Bebo,” also pleaded guilty and are serving prison terms of 96 months and 66 months, respectively.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes members of the Connecticut State Police, Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut Department of Correction and Connecticut National Guard. The Connecticut State Police’s Emergency Services Unit, Hartford Police Department’s Emergency Response Team, Capital Region Emergency Response Team, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and the New Britain, East Hartford, Wethersfield and Manchester Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Leaming and Patrick Caruso.PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
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[email protected]Medicaid Provider Pleads to Federal Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
GREENSBORO, N.C. – A Timberlake, North Carolina, woman pleaded guilty to health care fraud and money laundering, announced United States Attorney Ripley Rand of the Middle District of North Carolina.
Tracie Yvette Clay, 46, of Timberlake, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in federal court in Greensboro before Chief United States District Court Judge William L. Osteen, Jr., to felony charges of health care fraud and money laundering.
Clay operated a mental health business called NC Behavioral Health and Counseling Services, Inc., which allegedly provided mental health assessments and treatment to Medicaid clients. The business had offices in both Durham and Fayetteville, North Carolina. Documents filed at the time of the guilty plea indicated that Clay used the Medicaid identification numbers of individuals who did not know Clay or anything about her company and did not know how Clay obtained their Medicaid identification numbers. Court documents indicate that the loss to the Medicaid program as a result of Clay’s fraud is approximately $1,000,000 (one million dollars).
The defendant faces a maximum penalty of ten years confinement. The plea agreement requires Clay to make restitution to the Medicaid program. Sentencing will occur in Greensboro on December 11, 2014.
The case was investigated by the Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office and agents with IRS - Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert M. Hamilton and Special Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Heavner and Daniel Spillman of the Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Maryland MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty in<br /> Violent Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Maryland MS-13 gang member pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as the La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and acknowledged his involvement in attempted murder and extortion in furtherance of MS-13.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland, Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks, Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department, Chief Alan Goldberg of the Takoma Park Police Department, and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy made the announcement.
Roni Arriola-Palma, 24, of Greenbelt, Maryland, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus. Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2015.
According to the statement of facts filed with Arriola-Palma’s plea agreement, MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, Maryland. MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang and against rival gangs.
The statement of facts states that from 2009 until at least 2012, Arriola-Palma was a member and leader of the Peajes Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. Arriola Palma and other MS-13 members in the Peajes clique and other MS-13 cliques committed crimes to further the interests of the gang, including murder, assault, robbery, extortion by threat of violence, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and witness retaliation.
Arriola-Palma admitted that from January 2010 through at least May 2011, he attended MS-13 leadership meetings in Maryland as the representative and leader of the Peajes clique.
According to the plea agreement, on Jan. 13, 2011, Arriola-Palma attended a Peajes clique meeting with other MS-13 members near the Greenbelt Metro Station. Another MS-13 member spoke at the meeting, criticizing members of the clique for not committing enough violent crimes on behalf of MS-13 and encouraging clique members to find rival gang members and commit acts of violence against them.
Arriola-Palma admitted that after the meeting ended, he drove other MS-13 members in a minivan. Near the Fort Totten Metro Station, they saw a person who they believed was an associate of a rival gang. MS-13 members attacked the victim and dragged him back into the minivan, where they continued to assault him. After later stopping and departing the minivan, Arriola-Palma and other MS-13 members forcefully stripped the victim of all clothing and stabbed him. After the assault, two MS-13 members dragged the victim into the woods and one of the gang members strangled the victim with his belt. When they returned from the woods, they informed the other members that the victim was dead. Arriola-Palma then drove the group of MS-13 members away from the scene. The victim, however, survived the attack.
From March to November 2011, members of the Peajes clique threatened to place a “greenlight,” or order to kill, on a former MS-13 associate unless he paid them a weekly or bi-weekly “rent” or “tax,” which gang members collected from the victim. Arriola-Palma admitted that he accepted payments that he knew were proceeds from the extortion scheme from two other MS-13 members.
This case was investigated by HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County and Montgomery County Police Departments, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Takoma Park Police Department and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, with assistance from the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office, HSI Baltimore’s Operation Community Shield Task Force and the Maryland Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney William D. Moomau of the District of Maryland.Maryland MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty in Violent Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Admitted his Participation in an Attempted Murder and Extortion
Greenbelt, Maryland – Roni Arriola-Palma, age 24, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as the La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including an attempted murder and extortion.The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Alan Goldberg of the Takoma Park Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, Maryland. MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang and against rival gangs.
According to the statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, from 2009 until at least 2012, Arriola-Palma was a member and leader of the Peajes Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. Arriola Palma and MS-13 members in the Peajes clique and other MS-13 cliques committed crimes to further the interests of the gang, including murder, assault, robbery, extortion by threat of violence, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and witness retaliation.
Arriola-Palma admitted that from January 2010 through at least May 2011, he attended MS-13 leadership meetings in Maryland as the representative and leader of the Peajes clique.
According to the plea agreement, on January 13, 2011, Arriola-Palma attended a Peajes clique meeting with other MS-13 members near the Greenbelt Metro Station. Another MS-13 member spoke at the meeting, criticizing members of the clique for not committing enough violent crimes on behalf of MS-13, and encouraging clique members to find rival gang members and commit acts of violence against them.
Arriola-Palma admitted that after the meeting ended, he drove other MS-13 members in a mini-van. Near the Fort Totten Metro Station, they saw a person they believed was an associate of a rival gang. MS-13 members attacked the victim and dragged him back into the mini-van, where they continued to assault him. Arriola-Palma drove the mini-van around Hyattsville, eventually parking near a dead end in the vicinity of Chillum Manor Road. After Arriola-Palma stopped the mini-van, MS-13 members kicked, stabbed and choked the victim. Since the victim was wearing heavy winter clothing, Arriola-Palma and other MS-13 members forcefully stripped the victim of all clothing, in order to stab the victim. After the assault, two MS-13 members dragged the victim into the woods, where one of the gang members strangled the victim with his belt. When they returned from the woods, they informed the other members that the victim was dead. Arriola-Palma then drove the group of MS-13 members away from the scene. The victim survived the attack.
From March to November, 2011, members of the Peajes clique threatened to kill a fellow MS-13 gang member unless he paid them a weekly or bi-weekly “rent” or “tax,” which gang members collected from the victim. Arriola-Palma admitted that he accepted payments that he knew were proceeds from the extortion scheme from two other MS-13 members.
Arriola-Palma faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus has scheduled sentencing for March 9, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County and Montgomery County Police Departments, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Takoma Park Police Department and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein also recognized the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office, HSI Baltimore’s Operation Community Shield Task Force and the Maryland Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney William D. Moomau and Kevin L. Rosenberg, a Trial Attorney with the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who are prosecuting this case.
Man Sentenced for 1998 MurderRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Pablo Plaza, born in 1976, who was convicted of the murder of Francisco Santos on the Seneca Indian Reservation in Erie County, N.Y., in October 1998, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci. The defendant was also convicted of conspiring with others to traffic drugs in the Rochester area, including cocaine, cocaine base, heroin and marijuana during the period from approximately 1993 to March 2011.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Everardo Rodriguez, who is handling the case, stated that Francisco Santos was a member of the drug distribution conspiracy and was believed to have stolen drugs and money from other members of the conspiracy. In retaliation for the theft, Plaza and other members of the conspiracy assaulted Santos, while another member slashed Santos across the side of the head with a knife. Sometime after the beating, the co-conspirator who slashed Santos on the head was arrested for the assault.
To further retaliate for the original theft and to prevent Santos from testifying against the co-conspirator on the assault charge, Plaza and a group of other co-conspirators found Santos and drove him to the Seneca Indian Reservation. They took the back roads rather than the Thruway. Once at the reservation, they took Santos down a dirt path behind some trees and stabbed him to death and buried him in a shallow grave. Plaza admitted to having personally stabbed Santos and to having observed other co-conspirators also stabbing him.
The pending indictment charges four other codefendants with the murder of Francisco Santos (James Kendrick, Pablo Plaza, born in 1972 (Plaza’s older brother with the same name), Janine Plaza Pierce (the mother of Kendrick and the older Plaza) and Angelo Cruz). The pending indictment also charges Kendrick with another murder of Ryan Cooper. The trial of these remaining defendants is expected to take place early next year. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The sentencing is the result of a joint investigation on the part of Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James S. Higgins, the Rochester Police Department, Violent Crime Team/Firearms Suppression Unit, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli, Numerous federal, state and local law enforcement agencies also assisted in the investigation, including the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Scott Crosier; the Erie County Sheriff=s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy B. Howard; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division; and the Schenectady County District Attorney=s Office, under the Direction of District Attorney Robert M. Carney.Los Zetas, Efrain Grimaldo, Cartel Member Sentenced to over 33 Years in Prison on Federal Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite announced that EFRAIN GRIMALDO, a resident of Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Chief Judge Sarah S. Vance to serve 405 months in prison for his role in a large-scale drug conspiracy.
On February 26, 2014, GRIMALDO was convicted by a federal jury for conspiracy to possess and distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine. GRIMALDO’s organization was responsible for distributing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine throughout the United States, to include Jackson, Mississippi; Pensacola, Florida; New York City, New York; Detroit, Michigan; Baltimore, Maryland, Dover, Delaware; and Houma, Louisiana. During sentencing Judge Vance found that GRIMALDO was a member of the Los Zetas Cartel. Further, she held that GRIMALDO was responsible for the importation of 1,640 kilograms of cocaine during the conspiracy. The investigation revealed that the conspirators supplied cocaine to the “Up Da Bayou Boyz” (UBB), a violent street gang that operated in Houma, Louisiana.
Co-defendant SERGIO GRIMALDO has recently been extradited from Mexico on these same charges and is scheduled for trial on December 15, 2014. Co-defendant SABINO DUARTE has pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
“Efrain Grimaldo was responsible for importing massive quantities of cocaine into the United States, including communities here in Southeast Louisiana,” stated U.S. Attorney Polite. “As a member of the Los Zetas cartel, one of the most notorious criminal enterprises in Mexico or the United States, Grimaldo endangered the lives of innocent people on both sides of the border. As a result of today’s sentencing, he will spend over 33 years in federal prison as punishment for his crimes.”
“The Los Zetas Drug Cartel, of which Efrain Grimaldo is a member, is responsible for death and suffering from the cities and towns of Mexico, across the U.S. border, and into our communities in Louisiana,” stated Raymond Keith Brown, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “DEA and the law enforcement community are committed to ending the destruction brought on by these international drug cartels. The sentence handed down to Efrain Grimaldo is another step forward in our efforts to stop the flow of drugs into our country and city, and to halting the spread of drug abuse and violence.”
Assisting the DEA New Orleans in this investigation include the DEA Houston, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA); FBI New Orleans; FBI Houston, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office; the Houma Police Department; the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office; and the Louisiana State Police Troop “C” Narcotics.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John F. Murphy and Theodore R. Carter, III.
Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination Claim Against a Restaurant Management CompanyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Culinaire International, a catering and restaurant management company headquartered in Houston, Texas, resolving a claim that Culinaire engaged in citizenship discrimination during the employment eligibility reverification process in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The Justice Department’s investigation found that Culinaire required lawful permanent resident employees to produce a new Permanent Resident Card when their prior card expired, even though the Form I-9 and E-Verify rules prohibit this practice. Lawful permanent residents have permanent work authorization in the United States, even after their permanent resident cards expire. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from placing additional documentary burdens on work-authorized employees during the employment eligibility verification process based on their citizenship status.
“Employers cannot discriminate against workers by requiring them to produce more documents than necessary in the employment eligibility verification and reverification processes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division. “The department applauds Culinaire’s willingness to resolve this matter expeditiously and its commitment to changing its past documentary practices.”
Under the settlement agreement, Culinaire will pay $20,460 in civil penalties to the United States; undergo training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA; establish a $40,000 back pay fund to compensate potential economic victims; revise its employment eligibility reverification policies; and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for 20 months.
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) within the Justice Department is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee, unfair documentary practices, retaliation and intimidation.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php , email [email protected] ; or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc .
Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to different documentary requirements based on their citizenship status, immigration status, or national origin, or discrimination based on their citizenship status, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee should contact OSC’s worker hotline for assistance.
Identity Theft Ring Leader Sentenced to Long Prison TermRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Evens Claude, 38, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced on Friday, August 29, 2014, to 232 months in prison for aggravated identity theft, bank fraud, access device fraud, counterfeit currency fraud, and conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge Jan E. DuBois also ordered Claude to pay $609,210 in restitution. Claude represented himself at sentencing.
Between 2008 and October 3, 2011, Claude organized and ran two identity theft and counterfeit currency rings which looted the credit and bank accounts of 48 individual victims and caused losses of over $609,210 to 26 corporate victims. Claude fraudulently created and looted credit and bank accounts in victims’ names, adding the names of his criminal associates (“runners”) as authorized users on the credit accounts to buy construction materials and appliances which Claude would sell or use to fix up his properties and to withdraw money from victims’ bank accounts. Claude also used his runners to pass high-quality counterfeit currency to buy expensive goods from large stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s with fake $100 bills and to return the goods to another store branch for genuine currency. In 2011, while on supervised release in another counterfeit currency case, Claude partnered with his brother John “Mo” Claude to commit identity theft. Mo Claude was murdered in June 2011 by one of their runners in a payment dispute over the criminal proceeds. Claude used his criminal proceeds to purchase real estate, a Maserati, a BMW, a Ferrari, and to rent a luxury apartment from which he continued to engage in identity theft following his brother’s death. Claude’s long criminal history since 1993 included drug distribution, counterfeit currency fraud, and illegal re-entry after deportation.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrea Foulkes, Christopher Diviny and Mark Dubnoff.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Huntington Man Sentenced for Illegal Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
Huntington, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that John Clark Schlotter, 30, of Huntington, and originally from Weirton, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 36 months’ probation and six months of weekend confinement for unlawfully possessing a firearm while a drug addict. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed today’s sentence, which follows Schlotter’s May 2014 guilty plea.
In January of 2014, Schlotter possessed two stolen guns at his home on First Avenue Rear in Huntington. Schlotter was holding the guns for a known heroin dealer who had received them in payment of a heroin debt. Schlotter was holding the guns for the heroin dealer in exchange for heroin for Schlotter’s personal use.Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers set the sentencing for September 2, 2014.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.