Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Thursday 7 August 2014
Brodheadsville Man Charged with Trafficking Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a criminal Information was filed in U.S. District in Scranton yesterday charging a Monroe County resident with distributing crack cocaine during 2013.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the Information alleges that Jose Hernandez-Tirado, age 34, of Brodheadsville, distributed and possessed with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”).
The charge stems from an investigation by special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Pennsylvania State Police, the Bureau of Narcotics Investigations, and Berks County Detectives.
Hernandez-Tirado faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine if he is convicted of the charge.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Beaver County Man Admits Selling Party Drugs at Pittsburgh-area Music EventsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Phillip Lacher, a resident of Beaver County, was convicted of conspiring to distribute a mixture of methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, sometimes referred to as “molly”, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Lacher, 26, pled guilty before United States District Judge David S. Cercone. Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing to occur on Dec. 18, 2014, at 10:30 a.m.
In support of the guilty plea, the Court was informed that Lacher agreed with his supplier to distribute the mixture of methamphetamine and molly at various concerts or music festivals in the Pittsburgh area.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office led the multi-agency investigation of this case that also included the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Moon Township Police Department, the North Fayette Police Department, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Department, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the Pennsylvania State Police, the McKees Rocks Police Department, the Cranberry Township Police Department, the McKeesport Police Department, and the Wilkinsburg Police Department.
Baltimore Area Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to over 28 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Defendant Shipped Hundreds of Kilograms of Cocaine in Hollow Computer Shells
from California to Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Richard Anthony Wilford, age 41, of Baltimore and Elkton, today to 340 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Judge Hollander enhanced Wilford’s sentence upon determining that he is a career offender based on two prior federal drug trafficking convictions.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore City Police Department; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore City State=s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.
"The Drug Enforcement Administration working in partnership with our law enforcement partners dismantled a drug trafficking organization that distributed very large amounts of cocaine throughout the Maryland metropolitan area,” stated Gary Tuggle, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Baltimore District Office. “Wilford ran from law enforcement, but was apprehended. Wilford will not be walking the streets of Maryland for a very long time,” added Tuggle.
According to evidence presented at the five day trial, from 2010 to September 2011, Wilford was a member of a cocaine-trafficking organization in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Wilford and his co-conspirators, including Lawrence Hayes, conspired to obtain large quantities of cocaine from sources of supply in California and ship the cocaine to Maryland. Once in Maryland, Wilford sold the cocaine to his co-conspirators who processed and packaged the cocaine for distribution in the Baltimore metropolitan area.
During the week of May 16, 2011, Hayes and others were arrested. Wilford’s residence was searched and a hollowed-out computer shell, a large cardboard box, and a mold for forming a kilogram of narcotics were seized. A shipment of cocaine destined to Wilford’s address was also intercepted and seized on May 20, 2011. Approximately eight kilograms of cocaine were concealed inside of a hollow computer shell. Moreover, UPS shipping records revealed that in 2010 to 2011, 18 shipments of cocaine were made to Wilford’s residence, including the shipment intercepted by DEA agents on May 20, 2011. Testimony at trial revealed that between November 2010 and May 2011, approximately nine hollowed-out computer shells and their respective shipping boxes were removed from Wilford’s residence by a co-conspirator.
In addition, approximately $1.6 million dollars was seized from a residence in Reisterstown, Maryland. Testimony at trial indicated that Wilford had a key to and stored the cash in the residence.
Wilford’s residence in Elkton, Maryland was searched and agents seized a small amount of currency, receipts for six UPS shipments to California, and materials for wrapping and shipping currency. Testimony at trial indicated that this residence was sometimes used as a location to prepare large sums of U.S. currency for shipment to California. UPS shipping records indicated that Wilford shipped no less than 28 packages to California from Maryland, using fake names.
In May, 2011, Wilford fled to Los Angeles, California. In August 2011, a federal law enforcement agent attempted to arrest Wilford, but Wilford was able to escape when he attempted to run-down the agent with the vehicle that Wilford was operating. The investigation revealed that Wilford had rented an apartment in Los Angeles under a fake name. A search of Wilford’s Los Angeles apartment and vehicle revealed approximately $68,000 and fake IDs.
Wilford was arrested on September 16, 2011, at a secret apartment located on Laurel
Avenue in Baltimore City. Approximately $189,000, 14 cell phones and a fake ID were seized from either the apartment or his vehicle.Trial evidence was presented that Wilford was responsible for the distribution of at least 200 kilograms of cocaine in furtherance of the conspiracy, and the entire conspiracy invovled no less than 336 kilograms of cocaine.
Co-defendants Lawrence Lee Hayes and Bryan Eammon Williams, both age 41, and both of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy and were sentenced to 15 years in prison, and 135 months in prison, respectively.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, Baltimore City Police Department, Baltimore County Police Department and the Baltimore City State=s Attorney=s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys John W. Sippel, Jr. and Benjamin M. Block, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Ashley Hall Defendant Committed to Federal Psychiatric Institution in TexasRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Beth Drake (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina -----United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Alice Boland, age 30, of Beaufort, South Carolina, was recently ordered to be civilly committed to the custody of the Attorney General pending further court order as explained below.
After the incident at Ashley Hall on February 4, 2013, and her subsequent arrest on state charges, a federal grand jury charged Boland in a four (4) count Indictment with- making a false statement in order to purchase a firearm,
- illegally possessing a firearm given her status as a person who had been previously committed to a mental institution or who had been adjudicated as mentally incompetent,
- possession of a firearm in a school zone, and
- attempted discharge of a firearm in a school zone.
“By order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Alice Boland was civilly committed to the custody of the Attorney General pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4246(d), after the court found by clear and convincing evidence that she is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect as a result of which her release would create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or serious damage to property of another.”
As a result of this Order, Boland continues to be housed in the Bureau of Prisons at FMC Carswell, a federal medical center which also houses females in a psychiatric unit. Because of the operation of the statute by which she was committed, Boland will remain there, in custody and detained, and for an indefinite duration.
The charges are still pending and will remain pending unless and until a court finds that she is no longer suffering from a mental disease or defect as a result of which her release would create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or serious damage to property of another.
The United States Attorney further stated that all charges in the Indictment are merely accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The case was investigated by agents of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the City of Charleston Police Department and is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Sean Kittrell of the Charleston office for prosecution.Albany Cocaine Dealer SentencedRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that Montravis Luke, age 30, of Albany, Georgia, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge W. Louis Sands to serve 12 years (144 months) in federal prison for conspiracy with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. The sentence was pronounced on August 7, 2014, in Albany, Georgia.Mr. Luke entered a guilty plea on May 24, 2014. As a part of his plea agreement, Mr. Luke admitted that from September 2012 to September 2013, he, Timothy Lemonica Johnson, a/k/a as “Big Timmy”; Joseph Lewis Guest, III, a/k/a “Big Joe”; and Darion Jay Gillison purchased cocaine from Toney Ricardo Mosely, a/k/a “Toney Montana” and then resold it. Mr. Luke was arrested after selling cocaine to a confidential informant in the parking lot of the Village Green Shopping Center, in Albany, Georgia, on May 9, 2013.
Mr. Johnson, Mr. Guest and Mr. Gillison have all pled guilty and been sentenced. Mr. Mosley entered a guilty plea on May 29, 2014 and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 28, 2014.
“Every time we shut down a group of drug suppliers, it is a victory for the local community. We were able to do that in this case thanks to the cooperation of our state and local partners,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Moore.“This sentence is a direct message to criminals that ATF agents and our law enforcement partners will not allow flagrant violations of our laws to go unpunished,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Brown. “ATF remains on the frontline of preventing violent crime and will work to ensure criminals are prosecuted and removed from our streets.”
“The Albany Police Department is pleased to have partnered with other law enforcement agencies in working on this case. These individuals have long been involved in criminal activity in the Albany-Dougherty area and we are satisfied with the results of this lengthy and deeply involved investigation. We hope these arrests and lengthy sentences will send a strong message to those who may be considering making gang and drug activity a career choice here in Southwest Georgia, we will not tolerate it,” stated Albany Police Chief John Proctor.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Albany Police Department Gang Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Leah E. McEwen is representing the Government in the prosecution of the case.
Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.
13 Members of International Counterfeit Currency Ring Indicted for Racketeering and Related OffensesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Thirteen members of an international counterfeit currency ring were indicted today on racketeering and related charges for allegedly printing and distributing millions of dollars in counterfeit U.S. $100 bills.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Julia A. Pierson, Director of the U.S. Secret Service, made the announcement.
“This alleged counterfeiting ring used sophisticated techniques to mimic the security and design features of the redesigned U.S. $100 bill,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “I want to commend the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners for aggressively investigating this conspiracy and supporting the prosecution of these 13 defendants.”
“This case is a perfect example of the Secret Service combining traditional investigative methods with cutting-edge technology to resolve a long-term and complex counterfeit currency investigation,” said Secret Service Director Pierson. “These arrests further demonstrate the remarkable level of success our Special Agents have had combatting counterfeit U.S. currency and other financial crimes over our 149 year history.”
According to court records, beginning around 1999, the Secret Service first detected a high-quality counterfeit $100 Federal Reserve Note in New York City. The counterfeit bills, which are believed to have been manufactured in Israel through off-set printing, have been circulated predominately along the I-95 corridor and eastern United States. More recently, beginning in January 2014, the organization allegedly established a domestic printing plant in New Jersey. Since the detection of this counterfeit note, over $77.4 million has been passed or seized by law enforcement globally. The Secret Service estimates that in 2013 alone, approximately $10.8 million worth of this counterfeit note was passed or seized.
As detailed in the affidavit in support of a criminal complaint in this case, the Secret Service recently developed critical investigative leads that ultimately contributed to the dismantling of this criminal distribution network. From May 28 to June 13, 2014, agents executed federal arrest and search warrants across five states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida), culminating in the suppression of a sophisticated counterfeit printing plant in New Jersey that is suspected of producing one of the most prolific counterfeit notes in history. As part of these searches, law enforcement recovered one Heidelberg and one Ryobi off-set printing press, three Heidelberg printing machines, an etching machine used to develop plates, multiple off-set plates, computer equipment, counting machines, approximately $240,700 in genuine U.S. currency, approximately $2.5 million in counterfeit U.S. currency and a stolen .45 caliber Colt 1911 gun.
As outlined in the table below, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returned a superseding indictment on Aug. 7, 2014 charging ten members of the criminal enterprise with one count of participating in a racketeering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to commit multiple offenses relating to the counterfeiting of U.S. currency. Three additional defendants (Barrett, Epps and Guerra) were charged with participating in the counterfeiting conspiracy.
All 13 defendants were initially charged by criminal complaint and arrested from May 28 to June 13, 2014. The ten defendants charged with the racketeering conspiracy face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted, and the three defendants charged solely with the counterfeiting conspiracy face a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted.
The defendants are listed in the superseding indictment in the following order:
Defendant Name & AgeResidence
Arrest Location & Date
Custody/Bond Status
Rison Lezion, Israel
Jamaica, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Ronin Fakiro, 45
Rison Lezion, Israel
Jamaica, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Boaz Borohov, 43
Tel Aviv, Israel
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
May 28, 2014In custody
Ofra Borohov, 45
Tel Aviv, Israel
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
May 28, 2014In custody
Arkadiy Bangiyev, 37
Rego Park, New York
Rego Park, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Eduard Bangiyev, 39
Forest Hills, New York
Scranton, Pennsylvania
May 28, 2014In custody
Johnny Elegante Lee, 44
Glen Oaks, New York
Miami, Florida
June 1, 2014In custody
Tarell Lavon Johnson, 26
Lynbrook, New York
Lynbrook, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Craig Johnson, 48
Douglasville, Georgia
Douglasville, Georgia
June 13, 2014In custody
Shannon Lamont Smith, 38
Woodstock, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
May 28, 2014Released on bond
Fredrick Barrett, 32
Hempstead, New York
Hempstead, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Ramel Epps, 23
Freeport, New York
Freeport, New York
May 28, 2014Released on bond
Brattie Guerra, 22
Freeport, New York
Freeport, New York
May 28, 2014Released on bond
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from multiple field and resident offices of the Secret Service in Philadelphia, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Long Island and Scranton, Pennsylvania; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Prince William County Police Department; Stafford County Sheriff’s Office; and the police departments of Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Mt. Laurel, New Jersey; Nassau County, New York; Rockville Centre, New York; and Woodstock, Georgia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly R. Pedersen and Gordon D. Kromberg are prosecuting the case.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:14-cr-206.
Wednesday 6 August 2014
Woman Indicted for Scheme to Defraud CharitiesRead the Press Release
Scheme Defrauded the United States Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund and BackStoppers
Follow @SDILNewsA federal grand jury returned an indictment against Pamela Denise Robtoy, 53, of Belleville, Illinois. The indictment contains three-counts, charging mail fraud, wire fraud, and making a false statement to federal agents conducting a criminal investigation, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Robtoy faces possible prison sentences totaling up to 45 years, a fine of up to $250,000, up to 3 years of supervised release after serving her sentence, and a mandatory order of restitution.
“All theft from charities is intolerable. Theft by any person from charities striving to honor a first responder who lost his life protecting the public is simply disgusting and abhorrent!” said United States Attorney Wigginton.
The indictment alleges that Pamela Denise Robtoy embezzled funds from the 3rd Annual John Perry Golf Benefit held in October of 2013. The proceeds from the charitable event were to benefit the U.S. Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund and BackStoppers, Inc. The Annual John Perry Golf Benefit Tournament was a charitable benefit held annually to remember Deputy U.S. Marshal John Brookman Perry, who was killed in the line of duty on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. The wire fraud count alleges that Pamela Denise Robtoy sent an email to a Deputy United States Marshal falsely indicating that the checks to the U.S. Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund and The BackStoppers, Inc. had been reissued in an effort to avoid detection of her scheme. The false statement count alleges that Pamela Denise Robtoy lied to federal agents when she said she started taking money from the benefit fund in November of 2013, when in fact, she started embezzling funds from the account as soon as the account was created.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge and is entitled to a fair trial at which the Government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation was conducted by the Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of other federal agencies. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith.
Wilcox County Deputy Sheriff Sentenced to Federal Prison for Transporting DrugsRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - Former Wilcox County Deputy Greg Barge, 45, from Camden, Alabama, was sentenced yesterday for attempting to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine powder, and using a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced George L. Beck, Jr., United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. After pleading guilty to these charges, District Court Judge Mark E. Fuller sentenced Barge to 90 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to court records, on April 10, 2013, May 7, 2013 and June 26, 2013, Barge transported packages that contained what he believed to be multiple kilograms of cocaine powder from Montgomery, Alabama to Camden, Alabama. The packages actually contained a substance that appeared to be cocaine, but was not cocaine. On each of those dates, Barge obtained the supposed cocaine in Montgomery and transported them to Camden using his law enforcement vehicle, dressed in his deputy uniform, and carrying his police issued firearm. Barge was paid $700 on April 10, 2013 for transporting 2 kilograms of what he believed to be cocaine, and $1200 on May 7, 2013 for transporting 3 kilograms. On June 26, 2013, Barge was arrested in Camden after transporting another 3 kilograms of the fake cocaine from Montgomery to Camden.
“Wearing a badge and uniform does not provide immunity from breaking the law,” stated U.S. Attorney George Beck. “Whether a county deputy, city police officer, or federal agent, wrongdoers will be punished. While the majority of law enforcement officers protect and serve our communities honorably, those who violate the public’s trust will be prosecuted.”
“The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to utilize all resources to investigate those who have taken an oath to serve and protect our communities and use their position as a public servant to shield their criminal activities and violate the trust of those they serve,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert F. Lasky.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and the Alabama Department of Public Safety. First Assistant United States Attorney Clark Morris prosecuted the case.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617U.S. Attorney Sharpe Encourages Use of Policy to Help Children of Arrested ParentsRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe is encouraging law enforcement and child welfare agencies to take advantage of a new model policy that addresses what actions should be taken to help children deal with the trauma associated with the arrest of a parent. The policy was released Thursday by the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and is available at: www.bja.gov/Publications/IACP-SafeguardingChildren.pdf.
“I hope that this policy and the information it provides will assist law enforcement in the Virgin Islands better understand how the arrest of a parent can adversely affect a child, and provide strategies for minimizing a child’s trauma in a positive way,” U.S. Attorney Sharpe said. The full text of the Department of Justice press release announcing the model policy is set forth below:
Department of Justice and the International Association of Chiefs of Police Release Groundbreaking Model Policy
Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), today released a seminal model policy regarding police interaction with children who are impacted when a parent is arrested and law enforcement carries out its investigative and arrest responsibilities. Reflecting the collective input of a wide range of subject-matter experts and stakeholders, and understanding that interactions between children and law enforcement create lasting impressions, the resulting model policy, Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents, provides strategies for law enforcement to improve their procedures and positively impact the communities they serve.
“Limiting a child’s exposure to potentially traumatic events is an operationally sound and necessary law enforcement strategy,” said Deputy Attorney General James Cole. “It is also consistent with law enforcement’s duty to serve the community as a whole. It is an important part of the principles of community policing, problem solving, and conflict resolution.”
Funded through OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents is an important resource for law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies will find the information contained in this document highly instructive as they seek to enhance their policies and procedures and gain understanding about the trauma children experience when law enforcement carries out its investigative and arrest responsibilities.
“Trauma associated with the arrest of a parent can have devastating and long term effects on the life of a child,” said Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. “This administration is committed to advancing policies and programs that support the children of incarcerated parents and ensure that their futures remain bright with possibility. Implementation of this new protocol, first announced in 2013 during a White House Champions of Change event, will help limit these children's exposure to trauma and encourage positive interactions between members of law enforcement and the communities that they serve.”
In addition to the development of the model policy, IACP is developing a training curriculum that will be delivered through webinars and a number of training sessions at conferences around the country.
“Police officers are confronted with significant challenges and responsibilities when children are present or in need of care and supervision following the arrest of a parent,” said BJA Director Denise E. O’Donnell. “We are pleased to partner with IACP on a new model policy that provides sound, practical, and child-focused guidance on how police can join with their community partners to best meet the needs of children in these difficult circumstances.”
U.S. Attorney Joins Police Chief for Lafayette's Annual National Night OutRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley and Law Enforcement Community Coordinator (LECC) Mike Campbell, joined City of Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft, the Lafayette Fire Department, and community leaders on Tuesday, August 5th, for the 31st Annual National Night Out crime and drug prevention event.
The Annual National Night Out events hosted throughout Lafayette were between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The evening began at the Lafayette Consolidated Government building at 5:30 p.m. with the reading of a proclamation commemorating National Night Out. From there, events were held at the Girard Park Pavilion and Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-purpose Center. These events included music, entertainment, fun jumps, food, games and displays by the Lafayette Fire Department, the Lafayette Sheriff’s Office, and the Lafayette Police Department SWAT Team, horse patrol, motorcycle unit, bicycle patrol and the police command bus. National Night Out corporate sponsor representatives from ADT Security Systems attended the events along with members of the Lafayette Advisory Commission on Crime Prevention, neighborhood watch organizations and other groups.
National Night Out is an annual event that takes place on the first Tuesday in August. It is the nation’s largest annual crime prevention event with more than 37 million people in more than 15,000 communities from all 50 states participating with their local law enforcement agencies. It is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for participation in local anti-crime efforts, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships throughout the city, and send a strong message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.
“National Night Out is a perfect opportunity for the community to join with law enforcement and other community partners to demonstrate that crime does not rule the night and that criminals have no safe haven here,” Finley stated. “It is great to see all of these residents come together in support of their neighborhoods. The ‘Night Out’ is also a wonderful way to acknowledge the accomplishments of neighborhood organizations that keep communities safe and spread the important message that we are all in this together. I want to thank Chief Craft and Sheriff Mike Neustrom for spearheading this event and inviting me.”
“National Night Out gives the citizens of our community the opportunity to get out and meet their neighbors and local police officers,” Craft said. “This effort is to remind citizens of the importance of being vigilant and alert in their everyday lives.”
As the district’s Law Enforcement Community Coordinator, Campbell acts as a liaison between the U.S. Attorney's Office and local, state, and federal law enforcement. He assists with grants, coordinates and provides law enforcement training, and assists law enforcement agencies with special and community needs. The mission of the Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee is to develop coordination, communication, and cooperation between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the Western District of Louisiana by providing education, training, and technical assistance to all federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the district.
Thousands of communities across the United States took part in National Night Out starting in August. To find out more about National Night Out visit the National Association for Town Watch at http://www.natw.org.
From left to right are: U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley, Lafayette Advisory Commission on Crime member Rhonda Lorio, Lafayette Police Chief James Craft, Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government President Joey Durel, and ADT representative Jason Clark. Durel is presenting a proclamation at a consolidated government meeting commemorating August 5, 2014 as National Night Out.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden and Other Federal Law Enforcement Agency Reps Tour Northern Nevada Indian LandsRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden and other federal law enforcement representatives last week held meetings with leaders and representatives of 21 northern Nevada Indian tribes, and conducted tours of their reservations, announced United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden.
“We strive each year to improve communication and coordination with our tribal partners,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “There is no quick fix to the public safety problems the tribes face, but my office, as well as the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, DEA and other federal agencies, are committed to fighting crime and promoting justice on Nevada Indian lands.”
The four-day trip, which U.S. Attorney Bogden has been conducting on an annual basis for the last several years, is part of a national effort to establish regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials. U.S. Attorney Bogden was joined on this year’s trip by his Criminal Chief, Eric Johnson, and Reno Branch Chief, Sue Fahami, as well as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for District III, Selanhongva McDonald, BIA Special Agent Molly Hernandez, BIA Supervisory Special Agent Clifford C. Serawop, DEA Resident Agent in Charge Jerry Miller, and FBI Special Agents Brian Keeney, Michael Spitzer, and David Elkington.
The tribal consultation meetings were conducted from Monday, July 28 through Thursday, July 31, 2014, and included discussions about tribal issues, investigations, victim advocacy, training, outreach, public safety, and violence against women.
The group visited the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California; the Carson Colony, Dresslerville, and Stewart Community Councils; Yerington, Walker River and Summit Lake Paiute Tribes; Reno-Sparks Indian Colony; Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe; Fallon Paiute Tribe; Duckwater Sho-Pai Tribe; Ely Shoshone Tribe; Wells Band Council; Duck Valley Sho-Pai Tribe; South Fork Band Council; Elko Band Council; Elko Te-Moak Tribe; Battle Mountain Band Council; Winnemucca Colony Council; Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe; and Lovelock Paiute Tribe. The group plans to visit the remaining Nevada tribes and reservations later this year.
In addition to the tribal lands consultation tour each year, the Nevada U.S. Attorney’s Office holds a state-wide Native American Conference. This year’s conference, entitled “Working Together for Hope, Healing and Justice” is the 18th State-Wide Native American Conference and will be held Aug. 25 through Aug. 27, 2014, at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev. The conference is open to tribal chairs, administrators and tribal members, social and health care workers, law enforcement, court personnel, and others who might benefit learning from a number of topics and issues impacting the tribes.
Nevada is home to 26 federally recognized Native American Tribes located on 31 reservations and colonies. For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s work with Nevada Indian tribes, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/nv/programs_tribal.html.U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden and Other Federal Law Enforcement Agency Reps Tour Northern Nevada Indian LandsRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden and other federal law enforcement representatives last week held meetings with leaders and representatives of 21 northern Nevada Indian tribes, and conducted tours of their reservations, announced United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden.
“We strive each year to improve communication and coordination with our tribal partners,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “There is no quick fix to the public safety problems the tribes face, but my office, as well as the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, DEA and other federal agencies, are committed to fighting crime and promoting justice on Nevada Indian lands.”
The four-day trip, which U.S. Attorney Bogden has been conducting on an annual basis for the last several years, is part of a national effort to establish regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials. U.S. Attorney Bogden was joined on this year’s trip by his Criminal Chief, Eric Johnson, and Reno Branch Chief, Sue Fahami, as well as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for District III, Selanhongva McDonald, BIA Special Agent Molly Hernandez, BIA Supervisory Special Agent Clifford C. Serawop, DEA Resident Agent in Charge Jerry Miller, and FBI Special Agents Brian Keeney, Michael Spitzer, and David Elkington.
The tribal consultation meetings were conducted from Monday, July 28 through Thursday, July 31, 2014, and included discussions about tribal issues, investigations, victim advocacy, training, outreach, public safety, and violence against women.
The group visited the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California; the Carson Colony, Dresslerville, and Stewart Community Councils; Yerington, Walker River and Summit Lake Paiute Tribes; Reno-Sparks Indian Colony; Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe; Fallon Paiute Tribe; Duckwater Sho-Pai Tribe; Ely Shoshone Tribe; Wells Band Council; Duck Valley Sho-Pai Tribe; South Fork Band Council; Elko Band Council; Elko Te-Moak Tribe; Battle Mountain Band Council; Winnemucca Colony Council; Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe; and Lovelock Paiute Tribe. The group plans to visit the remaining Nevada tribes and reservations later this year.
In addition to the tribal lands consultation tour each year, the Nevada U.S. Attorney’s Office holds a state-wide Native American Conference. This year’s conference, entitled “Working Together for Hope, Healing and Justice” is the 18th State-Wide Native American Conference and will be held Aug. 25 through Aug. 27, 2014, at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev. The conference is open to tribal chairs, administrators and tribal members, social and health care workers, law enforcement, court personnel, and others who might benefit learning from a number of topics and issues impacting the tribes.
Nevada is home to 26 federally recognized Native American Tribes located on 31 reservations and colonies. For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s work with Nevada Indian tribes, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/nv/programs_tribal.html.Two Milwaukee Men Indicted in Sex Trafficking Conspiracy and Related Trafficking OffensesRead the Press Release
Today, a federal grand jury in Milwaukee returned a 15-count superseding indictment charging two Milwaukee men, Paul Carter aka “Pimpin’ Paul” and David Moore aka “King David” with conspiracy, sex trafficking and related offenses spanning from the years 2007 to 2013.
Carter, 44, and Moore, 46, both of Milwaukee, were each previously indicted, Carter for two counts of sex trafficking and Moore for sex trafficking, conspiracy and solicitation of a crime of violence. The 15-count indictment returned today charges the two defendants jointly in four additional counts of conspiracy, sex trafficking, and labor trafficking, and charges each defendant with additional sex trafficking offenses, for a total of six additional counts against defendant Carter and eight additional counts against defendant Moore. Both defendants are charged with sex trafficking of both adults and minors.
If convicted, Carter and Moore each face a sentence of up to life imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Human Trafficking Task Force for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, which includes law enforcement officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation and the Milwaukee Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karine Moreno-Taxman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Trial Attorney Daniel H. Weiss of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Two Men Sentenced to Prison for Herion related CrimesRead the Press Release
United States AttorneyJames L. Santelle, of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on August 5, 2014, Brian King (age: 55) of Chicago, Illinois, and Donald Myers, Jr. (age: 41) of Menominee, Michigan, were sentenced to 30 months and 21 months in prison respectively by Chief United States District Judge William C. Griesbach. Each had previously entered a guilty plea; King to a charge of Distribution of Heroin, 100 grams or more, and Myers to a charge of using a communication facility (i.e., a telephone) to facilitate the distribution of heroin.
According to their plea agreements and other documents filed with the court, Myers worked in concert with seven other co-defendants to facilitate the movement and delivery of heroin to the Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee, Michigan areas after obtaining the drug from King, their primary supplier in Chicago. The court noted the “serious and dangerous nature” of the defendants’ crimes, as well as the “devastating effect” that heroin addiction has had in the Marinette/Menominee region.
The case was investigated by Special Agents from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, - Department of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Marinette Police Department, Marinette Sheriff’s Office, Menominee (Michigan) Police Department, Menominee (Michigan) Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin HIDTA Task Force, Chicago HIDTA Task Force, Chicago Police Department, Northeast Wisconsin Tri-County Drug Enforcement Group, and the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
Three Former Beaumont ISD Employees Indicted for FraudRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT, Texas — Three former Beaumont Independent School District employees have been indicted for embezzling money from a program receiving federal funds in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Daryl Glenn Johnson, 44, Erin Gipson Johnson, 38, and Kailyn DeShondra Pete, 25, all of Beaumont, were indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of conspiracy and fraud upon programs receiving federal funds.
According to the indictment, from July 2009 through June, 2012, Daryl Johnson, who was employed as the warehouse supervisor for the school district, is alleged to have had first his wife, Erin Johnson, and then a friend, Kailyn Pete, placed on the BISD payroll as temporary employees. However, neither Erin Johnson nor Kailyn Pete ever actually worked as a BISD warehouse employee. Daryl Johnson had the autonomy to hire temporary warehouse employees on his own, and the authority to determine how many hours they would be paid, and could do so unilaterally and without the authorization or direct knowledge of anyone else. Daryl Johnson is alleged to have used this authority to fraudulently verify that both Erin Johnson and Kailyn Pete worked the hours indicated on their respective timesheets, which included extensive amounts of overtime when he knew that they in fact had not worked any of the hours. Pete is alleged to have paid Daryl Johnson $500.00 from each of the BISD payroll checks she received. From July 2009 through May 2011, Erin Johnson was paid $193,998.37. During the timeframe of June 2010 through May 2012, Kailyn Pete was paid $90,041.05.
If convicted, the defendants each face up to 10 years in federal prison.
This case is being investigated by the joint task force with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, the Beaumont Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joe Batte and Christopher T. Tortorice.
It is important to note that an indictment should not be considered as evidence of guilt and that all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Roswell Man Facing Federal Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jim Walter Qualls, Jr., 27, of Roswell, N.M., appeared in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., this morning on a criminal complaint charging him production and distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Qualls entered a not guilty plea to the criminal complaint and remains in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled on Aug. 13, 2014.
According to court filings, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation revealed that the administrator for a website banned a specific account from the website for allegedly posting sexually explicit images of a minor female approximately three to five years in age. Investigation revealed that the account was connected to an IP Address subscribed to Qualls at a Roswell residence.
On July 31, 2014, law enforcement officers from HSI, the Roswell Police Department and the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office executed a federal search warrant at Qualls’ residence and seized cellphones, computers, computer-related media, a camera and other items. Qualls was arrested after he was interviewed by law enforcement officers.
If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Qualls faces a federal prison term of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years. Qualls also would be required to register as a sex offender. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office HSI, the Roswell Police Department and the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Artesia Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 74 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Philadelphia Resident Charged with Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
Allegedly lied about previous connection to extremist group
PHILADELPHIA - An indictment was unsealed today charging Hayatullah Dawari, 62, of Philadelphia, PA, with immigration fraud. Dawari is an Afghanistan citizen with alleged ties to Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (“HIG”), an anti-western insurgent group active in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Its stated mission includes forcing the west out of Afghanistan, overthrowing the Afghan government, and establishing a fundamentalist Islamic state. It has long-established ties with al-Qaida, and it has served as an associated force of al-Qaida in hostilities against the United States and its coalition partners. Dawari has permanent, legal residence in the United States.
In his November 2013 application for U.S. citizenship, Dawari responded “No” to question 8a “Have you ever been a member of or associated with any organization, association, fund, foundation, party, club, society, or similar group in the United States or in any other place?” failing to disclose his membership in, and association with, HIG.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000, a $200 special assessment and three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force that included U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams.
Click here to view the indictment
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Owner of Sandusky Winery Indicted for Actions Related to Government-Backed Farm LoansRead the Press Release
A five-count indictment was filed in federal court charging the owner of a Sandusky winery with crimes related to the securing and repayment of loans for the winery, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Anthony Mohatt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General.
David J. Kraus, 52, of New York, New York, was charged with conversion of property pledged as collateral with a farm credit agency, making numerous false statements, including on a loan application to a federally-insured bank.
“This defendant is charged with defrauding a program designed to help struggling or family farmers by, among other things, unlawfully pocketing millions of dollars from the sale of wine and grapes,” Dettelbach said. “Those who seek federal assistance must follow the rules, whether they are food stamp recipients or want to own a winery. These programs are for the public good, not personal enrichment.”
Kraus was the owner and operator of Kraus Winery, Inc., also known as Kraus Vineyard, Hermes Winery, and Sand Hill Winery, located near Sandusky.
Count 1 of the indictment charges that between January 2006 and November 2012, the defendant knowingly, and with the intent to defraud, disposed of and converted to his own use, or the use of another, property pledged as collateral for loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Farm Service Agency.
Kraus sold and directed the sale of grapes and wine valued at approximately $2 million which had been pledged as collateral for loans totaling $594,870, and failed to remit the proceeds from such sales to the USDA-FSA as required by the terms of the loans, according to the indictment.
Counts 2 through 4 of the indictment charge that Kraus made various materially false statements and representations to officials at the USDA-FSA in connection with the same loans between December 2009 and September 2010.
For example, Kraus falsely reported to a USDA-FSA farm loan officer that the winery had only received a few small checks for grape sales and had no wine sales in 2009, when, in fact, the winery had grape sales totaling approximately $60,000 and wine sales totaling approximately $271,380 in 2009, according to the indictment.
Count 5 also charges Kraus with making false statements on a loan application submitted to Citizens Bank on or about July 22, 2010, for purposes of influencing the bank’s action in connection with said application.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Kern and Angelita C. Bridges following an investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
North Dartmouth Man Charged with EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
Boston – A North Dartmouth man was arrested today and charged with conspiring to commit an offense against the United States and embezzlement from an organization that received federal funds.
John George, Jr., 68, owned Union Street Bus Company (USBC), a New Bedford-based company that operated public buses. During the same period, George operated John George Farms (JG Farm), a large produce farm based in Dartmouth. From approximately 1994 to 2011, USBC was awarded the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) contract to operate the SRTA public bus system that served a region that included New Bedford, Fall River, and several other neighboring towns.
The indictment alleges that, while USBC had the SRTA contract, George conspired with certain individuals to have various USBC employees work at JG Farm during their assigned USBC work hours. Such farm work included plowing, loading produce, and operating a produce stand at JG Farm, all during USBC business hours. As part of the conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, George allegedly deployed USBC workers to JG Farm to repair George’s farm equipment, used USBC equipment and labor to provide personal out-of-state roadside assistance, and inflated his final yearly salary from $75,000 to $275,000 in an attempt to fraudulently boost his SRTA pension.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 on the charge of embezzlement from an organization that received federal funds, and on the charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States, a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Theodore L. Doherty, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General in Boston made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Dustin Chao of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.
Nine Law Enforcement Officers Sentenced for Protecting Drug DealersRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Thirteen defendants, including nine former police officers, have been sentenced to federal prison this week for accepting thousands of dollars in cash payments to provide protection during staged drug deals that were part of a federal undercover operation.
“This case sent shock waves through Georgia law enforcement offices, both local and federal,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Certainly, these departments are filled with dedicated officers who literally risk their lives every day to make our communities safe. But this case revealed a troubling number of officers from a variety of law enforcement agencies who betrayed their oaths to protect and serve, taking cash from the very criminals they should have been arresting.”
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “While the sentences in this extensive law enforcement corruption matter ends the careers of those law enforcement and correctional officers involved, it can serve as an opportunity to those many other law enforcement officers and personnel to re-dedicate themselves to the oaths of office that they took when they accepted the badge. It also serves as a reminder to the public that the FBI remains responsive to such allegations of police misconduct and corruption and will investigate and present for prosecution those involved.”
“The vast majority of law enforcement officers serve the public with honor and distinction,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Brown of the Atlanta ATF Field Office. “Officers like these unfortunately tarnish the badge of the committed men and women of law enforcement. These individuals will now have to face the consequences for their deplorable actions. ATF will remain on the frontline of preventing violent crime through the dynamic level of law enforcement cooperation with our partners.”
Seven defendants who have been sentenced were active law enforcement officers during the time when they protected drug deals. Once the officers were arrested in February 2013, they were fired and are no longer police officers. All pleaded guilty before a federal judge. Those sentenced were:
- Kelvin Allen, 42, of Atlanta, Ga., an officer with the Atlanta Police Department, was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Dennis Duren, 32, of Atlanta, Ga., an officer with the DeKalb County Police Department, was sentenced to seven years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Dorian Williams, 25, of Stone Mountain, Ga., an officer with the DeKalb County Police Department, was sentenced to seven years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Victor Middlebrook, 44, of Jonesboro, Ga., a Forest Park Police Department Sergeant, was sentenced to seven years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Marquez Holmes, 45, of Jonesboro, Ga., a MARTA Police Department Officer, was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Denoris Carter, 42, of Lithonia, Ga., a Stone Mountain Police Department Officer, was sentenced to three years, one month in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release; and
- Federal Protective Services Officer Sharon Peters, 43, of Lithonia, Ga., was sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.
Also sentenced this week were two defendants who were former DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office jail officers at the time they protected the purported drug deals:
- Monyette McLaurin, 37, of Atlanta, Ga., was sentenced to six years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release; and
- Chase Valentine, 44, of Covington, Ga., was sentenced to two years, nine months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.
Also sentenced were four defendants who were not law enforcement officers, but who participated in the drug transactions:
- Elizabeth Coss, 35, of Atlanta, Ga., was sentenced to six months in custody to be followed by six months of home confinement, and five years of supervised release;
- Gregory Lee Harvey, 26, of Stone Mountain, Ga., was sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Alexander B. Hill, 22, of Ellenwood, Ga., was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release; and
- Jerry B. Mannery, Jr., 38, of Tucker, Ga., was sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: The undercover operation arose out of an ATF investigation of an Atlanta, Ga., area street gang in August 2011. ATF agents learned from an individual associated with the gang that police officers were involved in protecting the gang’s criminal operations, including drug trafficking crimes. According to this cooperating individual, the officers—while wearing uniforms, driving police vehicles, or otherwise displaying badges—provided security to the gang members during drug deals.Three individuals, while not law enforcement officers themselves, provided the cooperator with the names of police officers who wanted to provide security for drug deals. Once these officers were identified, FBI and ATF agents arranged with the cooperator for the officers to provide security for drug transactions that were described in advance to involve the sale of multiple kilograms of cocaine. The police officers, almost always wearing their uniform and displaying a weapon and occasionally in their police vehicles, patrolled the parking lots where the deals took place and monitored the transactions. These transactions were audio and video recorded.
Specifically, the undercover investigation included the following transactions:
DeKalb County Police Department
Dennis Duren. Between October 2011 and November 2011, then DeKalb County Police Officer Dennis Duren provided protection for what he believed were four separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. Duren and a co-defendant accepted cash payments totaling $8,800 for these services. During the transactions, Duren was dressed in his DeKalb County Police uniform and carried a gun in a holster on his belt, as he patrolled on foot in the parking lots in which the undercover sales took place. Duren pleaded guilty to one of those deals, which occurred on November 1, 2011.
Dorian Williams. Between January and February 2013, then DeKalb County Police Officer Dorian Williams provided protection for what he believed were three separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. Williams and his co-defendant accepted cash payments totaling $18,000 for these services. During the transactions, Williams was dressed in his DeKalb County Police uniform and carried a gun in a holster on his belt, and he patrolled the parking lots in which the undercover sales took place in his DeKalb Police vehicle. Williams pleaded guilty to one of those deals that occurred on January 28, 2013.
Stone Mountain Police Department
Denoris Carter. Between April and September 2012, then Stone Mountain Police Officer Denoris Carter provided protection for what he believed were five separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. For these services, Carter and his co-defendant accepted cash payments totaling $23,500. For all five transactions, Carter wore his Stone Mountain Police uniform. In four of the deals, he arrived in his police cruiser and either patrolled or parked in the parking lots in which the undercover sales took place and watched the transactions. During the final transaction in September 2012, Carter was on foot, displaying a firearm in a holster on his belt, and walked through the parking lot in which the transaction took place while watching the participants. Carter pleaded guilty to one of those deals that occurred on September 20, 2012.
Atlanta Police Department
Kelvin D. Allen. Between June and August 2012, then Atlanta Police officer Kelvin D. Allen provided protection for what he believed were three separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. Allen and his co-defendant accepted cash payments totaling $10,500 for their services. For two transactions, Allen dressed in his Atlanta Police uniform and carried a gun in a holster on his belt. Allen patrolled on foot in parking lots in which the undercover sales took place and appeared to be monitoring the transactions. Allen pleaded guilty to one of those deals that occurred on July 6, 2012.
MARTA Police Department
Marquez Holmes. Between August and November 2012, then MARTA Police Department Officer Marquez Holmes provided protection for what he believed were four separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. For these services, Holmes and a co-defendant accepted cash payments totaling $9,000. During the transactions, Holmes was dressed in his MARTA Police uniform and carried a gun in a holster on his belt. In two of the transactions, Holmes patrolled on foot in the parking lots in which the undercover sales took place and monitored the transactions. During the other two deals, Holmes drove to the site in his MARTA police cruiser and parked next to the vehicles in which the undercover drug sale took place. Holmes pleaded guilty to one of those deals that occurred on November 8, 2012.
Forest Park Police Department
Victor Middlebrook. Between October to December 2012, then Forest Park Police Sergeant Victor Middlebrook provided protection for what he believed were six separate drug deals in the Atlanta area, each involving multiple kilograms of cocaine. For his services in the first four transactions, Middlebook accepted cash payments totaling $13,800. During these transactions, Middlebrook wore plain clothes, but displayed his badge and a firearm in a holster on his belt. He patrolled on foot in the parking lots nearby the vehicles in which the undercover sales took place and appeared to be monitoring the transactions. Middlebrook pleaded guilty to one of those deals that occurred on December 7, 2012.
DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office
Monyette McLaurin. In January 2013, former DeKalb County Sheriff Jail Officer Monyette McLaurin provided protection for what he believed were two separate drug transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. For his services, McLaurin and a co-defendant were paid $12,000 in cash. During a meeting to discuss future drug transactions, McLaurin falsely represented that he was a deputy employed by the DeKalb Sheriff’s office, even though his position as a jail officer ended in 2011. During the two transactions McLaurin was dressed in a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office uniform with a badge, and he carried a gun in a holster on his belt. McLaurin pleaded guilty to one of those deals that occurred on January 3, 2013.
Chase Valentine. In January 2013, former DeKalb County Sheriff’s Jail Officer, Chase Valentine, helped McLaurin and another co-defendant, Gregory Lee Harvey, provide security for what he believed were drug deals. Like McLaurin, Valentine falsely represented himself to be a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy, even though his position as a jail officer ended in 2010. Valentine provided security for one undercover drug transaction on January 17, 2013, during which he wore a DeKalb Sheriff’s Office uniform and a pistol in a holster on his belt. Valentine pleaded guilty to that one deal, which occurred on January 17, 2013.
Gregory Lee Harvey. In December 2012, Harvey falsely represented that he was a DeKalb County detention officer and protected what he believed were two multiple kilogram deals of cocaine while wearing a black shirt with the letters “SHERIFF” printed across the back. After this, Harvey stated that he knew other police officers who wanted to protect drug deals, and in January 2013 he introduced McLaurin as one of these officers. Harvey protected a total of seven separate transactions and pleaded guilty to one transaction, which occurred on December 17, 2012.
Federal Protective Services
Sharon Peters. In November 2012, Sharon Peters, who was then a contract officer for the Federal Protective Services provided protection for what she believed were two separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. For these services, Peters and a co-defendant accepted cash payments totaling $14,000. For both transactions, Peters parked her vehicle nearby the cars where the sham drugs and money were exchanged, and watched the transactions. Peters pleaded guilty to one of those deals that occurred on November 19, 2012.
Imposter Clayton County Police Officer
Alexander B. Hill. Between December 2012 and January 2013, Alexander B. Hill falsely represented himself to be an officer with the Clayton County Police Department while providing security for what he believed were three separate drug transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. During an initial meeting, Hill wore a uniform that appeared to be from Clayton Police, but during the transactions he wore plain clothes and, for at least the first deal, a badge displayed on his belt. For these services, Hill received payments totaling $9,000 in cash. Hill pleaded guilty to one of those deals that occurred on December 20, 2012.
The Recruiters
Jerry B. Mannery, Jr. Mannery never presented himself as a law enforcement officer, but he introduced corrupt officers Carter and Peters to the informant, and coordinated the drug deals that those officers’ protected. Mannery, along with one or more corrupt law enforcement officer, provided security for what he believed were ten separate drug transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. For these services, Mannery and his co-defendants received payments totaling over $30,000 in cash. Mannery pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy for deals occurring between April 9, 2012 and February 1, 2013.
Elizabeth Coss. Like Mannery, Coss never presented herself as a law enforcement officer, but instead introduced corrupt officers Holmes and Williams to the informant. Coss, along with one of the two corrupt law enforcement officers, provided security for what she believed were five separate drug transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine. For these services, Coss and her co-defendants received payments totaling over $17,000 in cash. Coss pleaded guilty to one drug deal that occurred on August 15, 2012.
These cases were investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kim Dammers and Brent Alan Gray prosecuted these cases.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney's Public Information Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.Nigerian Man Sentenced for Wire Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Olusegun Abayomi Martins, 36, a Nigerian citizen residing in Houston, has been ordered to federal prison for his convictions of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. He pleaded guilty May 13, 2014.
Today, U.S. District David Hittner, who accepted the plea, handed Martins a sentence of 18 months for the wire fraud conspiracy. He was further ordered to serve a mandatory and consecutive two years for aggravated identity theft resulting in a total sentence of 42 months in federal prison. He is expected to face deportation proceedings following completion of the prison term. He was also ordered to pay $64,565 in restitution to the victims.
Beginning in January 2011 and continuing through September 2013, Martins obtained fraudulent credit cards that utilized stolen identities and ran them through his storefront, First Choice Automotive on Empanada Drive in Houston. Martins knew the credit cards had been fraudulently obtained and ran the cards for money when no transaction had actually occurred. Furthermore, Martins knew the credit cards were run for amounts that greatly exceeded amounts of typical legitimate transactions.
Martins also opened multiple merchant processing accounts in order to extend the life of the fraudulent scheme.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Searle is prosecuting.
New York Man Sentenced to One Year for Threatening Former Business PartnerRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Roger Eichenholtz, 70, of Westchester County, New York, was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for making threats over the Internet. He pleaded guilty April 28, 2014 to sending threatening communications through interstate commerce. After losing civil litigation over a business, Eichenholtz sent a numbering of harassing emails to his opponents, located in Chester County, PA, threatening further litigation. On September 24, 2013, Eichenholtz sent another email threatening civil and criminal litigation. He concluded the email with the following:
PLAN B- if for some unforeseen miracle, you escape justice, I have access to a “Side Bolt 45.cal with 6 silver bullets that have your name on them.”
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond ordered three years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and ordered the defendant be taken into immediate custody.
The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael L. Levy.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525New Orleans Man, Robert Taylor, Sentenced for Armed Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. announced today that ROBERT TAYLOR, 35, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance to a term of 170 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. In addition to the term of imprisonment, TAYLOR was ordered to pay $65,505.00 in restitution to Capital One Bank.
On May 1, 2014, TAYLOR pled guilty to armed bank robbery and to violating the Federal Gun Control Law by illegally brandishing a firearm during a robbery. According to court documents, on July 6, 2011, TAYLOR and his accomplices entered and robbed the Capital One Bank located at 6357 Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleans stealing $65,505.00. During the robbery, the robbers drew, displayed and brandished their weapons, pointing them at customers and tellers, all while demanding all of their money.
This case was investigated by the Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tony Gordon Sanders, of the Violent Crimes Unit.
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Second Chief Charged with Embezzlement from TribeRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. — Muscogee (Creek) Nation Second Chief Roger Dana Barnett, 53, of Bristow, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier today in relation to Federal charges alleging embezzlement of approximately $150,000 from the Tribe, announced Danny C. Williams, Sr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
The Indictment, unsealed today, alleged Barnett embezzled, misapplied, and converted to his personal use more than $1,000 of moneys and funds belonging to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation from April 2013 through April 2014. Barnett appeared today in Federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Frank H. McCarthy.
The FBI investigation was initiated after Muscogee (Creek) Nation officials contacted Federal authorities to report the possible misuse of tribal funds. If convicted, the maximum penalty is five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Parole has been abolished in the Federal system.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the investigating agency. Assistant United States Attorneys Trent Shores and Shannon Cozzoni are prosecuting this matter on behalf of the United States.
A Grand Jury Indictment is one method of charging a defendant with alleged violations of Federal Law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendants’ presumption of innocence.
###
Murder for Hire Co-Defendants Sentenced to 15 and 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Nathan Williams (843) 727-4381
Columbia, South Carolina -----United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Wendy Annette Moore, age 38, and Christopher Austin Latham, age 51, both of Sullivan’s Island, were sentenced for their roles in a Murder for Hire plot that took place in April 2013.
Following a February 2014 jury trial Moore was convicted of Conspiracy and Use of Interstate Facilities in the Commission of Murder for Hire under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1958(a), 1958(b); Solicitation of Murder for Hire under 18 U.S.C. § 373; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence under 18 U.S.C. §924(c). Latham was convicted of a single count of Use of Interstate Facilities in the Commission of Murder for Hire under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1958(a). Both were sentenced this week by United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel. Moore was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, followed by 3 years supervised release. Latham was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
The convictions and sentences are the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Federal Bureau of Investigations; and the City of Charleston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Nathan Williams and Rhett DeHart of the Charleston office prosecuted the case.Mount Airy Man Admits to Robbing Four Gas Stations and Stealing A CarRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Joshua Payne, age 21, of Mount Airy, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to four counts of robbery and one count of using a firearm during a robbery.The guilty plea 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; Carroll County Sherriff Ken Tregoning; Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. "Chuck" Jenkins; Major Gary Gardner, Chief of the Howard County Police Department; Carroll County State’s Attorney Jerry Barnes; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith; and Howard County State’s Attorney Dario Broccolino.
According to his plea agreement, from November 27 to December 1, 2013, Payne pointed a handgun - which he stole from his brother - at the cashiers of the following gas stations in Maryland: Shell gas station, 649 Lakeview Drive, Mount Airy; High’s gas station, 6700 Sykesville Road, Eldersburg; and BP gas station, 15882 Frederick Road, Lisbon. He stole hundreds of dollars from the cash registers.
On December 6, Payne returned to the Shell gas station on Lakeview Drive in Mount Airy, and threatened the cashier with a long kitchen knife, taking approximately $690 from the register.
Payne also admits that on November 29, 2013, he pointed a gun at a driver of a car and stole the car, along with the owner’s two cell phones.
Payne and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Payne will be sentenced to 13 and half years in prison. U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. scheduled his sentencing for October 22 , 2014 at 1:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, the Carroll and Frederick County Sheriff’s Offices, Howard County Police Department, and the Carroll, Frederick and Howard County State’s Attorney=s Offices for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Scott A. Lemmon and Bonnie S. Greenberg, who are prosecuting the case.
Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Falsely Claiming American CitizenshipRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. –A man from Mexico pleaded guilty to charges that he falsely claimed to be an American citizen, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today.
Luis Alberto Hernandez, 32, of Mexico, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik to one count of false claim of U.S. citizenship. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, law enforcement agents learned that illegal aliens were returning to the Abbeville area from working on an offshore oil rig located 85 miles off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Upon being questioned on March 15, 2014, Hernandez said he was originally from Texas. He gave agents a false name, Social Security number, and Louisiana identification card. He later admitted his true name as well as being a citizen of Mexico.
Hernandez faces three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date was not set.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly P. Uebinger is prosecuting the case.
Manteca Woman Pleads Guilty to Filing False Claims for RefundsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Esther Lynne Robertson, 57, of Manteca pleaded guilty today to filing false claims for federal tax refunds, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to the plea agreement, in 2008, Robertson’s tax preparer suggested a way to get money from the government by claiming large refunds based on fictitious Form 1099-OID withholdings. Because of that suggestion, Robertson filed two false federal income tax returns: one for tax year 2005 claiming a $90,538 refund, and one for 2007 claiming a $313,248 refund. Based on the false statements, the IRS sent Robertson a check for $313,248. In February 2009, the IRS discovered the error and issued a levy to Robertson’s bank for the balance in the bank account. In September 2011, Robertson filed a false lien against the property of the IRS commissioner.
“Filing of false claims to the IRS to inflate your tax refund is a crime taken very seriously by IRS-CI,” said José M. Martínez, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation. “This is not your typical false claims case against the government; it exceeded most salaries of hard-working, tax-abiding citizens. IRS-CI will partner with the other divisions within IRS to collect the funds stolen by Robertson.”
This case is the product of an investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ignacio Perez de la Cruz of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Segal in the Eastern District of California.
Robertson is scheduled to be sentenced over a year from now on September 23, 2015, by United States District Judge Kimberley J. Mueller. Robertson faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Manager of Adoption Agency Pleads Guilty to Ethiopian Adoption Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A former foreign program director of International Adoption Guides Inc. (IAG), an adoption agency, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to defraud the United States by paying bribes to foreign officials and submitting fraudulent documents to the State Department for adoptions from Ethiopia.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney William N. Nettles for the District of South Carolina made the announcement. The guilty plea was entered by U.S. District Court Judge Sol Blatt Jr. of the District of South Carolina.
Alisa Bivens, 42, admitted as part of her plea that she and her co-conspirators submitted fraudulent documents to the State Department to facilitate adoptions of Ethiopian children by U.S. parents from 2006 until 2009. In support of U.S. visa applications for the Ethiopian children, Bivens and others submitted false documentation, including contracts of adoption signed by orphanages that could not properly give the children up for adoption because, for example, the child in question was never cared for or never resided at the orphanage.
In entering her guilty plea, Bivens also admitted that she and others paid bribes to two Ethiopian officials so that those officials would help with the fraudulent adoptions. The first of these two foreign officials, an audiologist and teacher at a government school, accepted money and other valuables in exchange for providing non-public medical information and social history information for potential adoptees to the conspirators. The second foreign official, the head of a regional ministry for women’s and children’s affairs, received money and all-expenses-paid travel in exchange for approving IAG’s applications for intercountry adoptions and for ignoring IAG’s failure to maintain a properly licensed adoption facility. Sentencing for Bivens will be scheduled at a later date.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John W. Borchert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Lea Schoen for the District of South Carolina.Laurel Woman Sentenced for Stealing Social Security Benefit ChecksRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Yolando Guerrero, age 59, of Laurel, Maryland today to a year and a day in prison followed by three years of supervised release for theft of government property. Judge Messitte also entered an order that Guerrero pay restitution of $335,197.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration (SSA) - Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division; and Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to her plea agreement, Guerrero lived with an individual, who she considered to be her adopted mother, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The individual received social security retirement benefits. A few months before the individual’s death on October 17, 1994, Guerrero became the individual’s representative payee, and was required to spend the individual’s social security benefits on the individual’s behalf, and to report the individual’s death.Instead, Guerrero failed to report the individual’s death in numerous forms that she filed with the SSA subsequent to the individual’s death. Law enforcement interviewed Guerrero on October 22, 2013. Guerrero initially claimed that the individual was still alive, but later in the interview admitted that the individual had died many years prior. From October 1994 to October 2013, Guerrero admitted that she cashed a total of $335,197 in SSA checks that had been mailed to the individual, and used the money for her own benefit, including payment of her rent, taxes, car insurance, and to raise her children and grandchildren.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Social Security Administration - OIG and HSI Baltimore for their work in the investigation, and thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul K. Nitze, who prosecuted the case.Las Vegas Man Receives Federal Prison Sentence for Falsifying Vehicle Emissions Test RecordsRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man was sentenced today to six months in prison, three years of supervised release, and six months of home confinement for falsifying vehicle emission test results for over 1,000 vehicles, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Henry Alberto Batista, 30, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George, and he was permitted to self-surrender to prison by Oct. 3, 2014. Batista pleaded guilty in March to one count of making a false statement to a government agency. Batista’s brother, Luis Batista, also pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a government agency, and was sentenced in May to time served and three years of supervised release. Luis Batista served approximately seven months in prison and is now on home confinement.
“The Batista cases are a continuation of the District of Nevada’s efforts to prevent emissions fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Ten individuals were convicted of this type of offense in Nevada between 2010 and 2012. We will continue to work with the EPA and our other law enforcement partners to protect the public and the environment.”
"Complete and accurate tests of vehicle emissions are necessary to reduce harmful air pollutants," said Jay M. Green, Special Agent in Charge of EPA's criminal enforcement program in Nevada. "The violations in this case took place in Clark County, Nev., which has been designated a 'serious' nonattainment area for carbon monoxide from vehicle emissions. Violators who submit false reports or incorrect data undermine EPA's commitment to protecting clean air for all Americans.”
According to the plea agreement, Batista was a licensed Nevada emissions inspector. Between July 2009 and Dec. 19, 2012, while he was working for a company in Las Vegas that was licensed by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to conduct emissions testing, he knowingly made false material statements, representations, or certifications in approximately 1600 records. Batista falsified emissions certificates for vehicles that could not pass the emissions tests by using substitute vehicles that would pass the test or by using a computer programmed emulator to deceive the emissions analyzer into accepting data for the vehicle that could not pass the test.
The cases became a priority in 2008 when the DMV hired a contractor to build a vehicle identification database to find possible emissions testing fraud. DMV discovered that in 2008 alone, there were over 4,000 false vehicle emissions certificates issued in Las Vegas. The Database allows investigators to check the vehicle identification number that the emissions tester enters against the vehicle actually tested. The Clean Air Act requires Las Vegas and the surrounding Clark County, as part of their State Implementation Plan, to have emissions testing because the area is in serious non-attainment for carbon monoxide and ozone. The Batista case presented new challenges to Nevada DMV because of the sophisticated technology used by the Batistas which allowed them to use computer software to simulate the presence of a real vehicle and transmit false information to the emissions analyzer equipment.
The case was investigated by the EPA, Nevada DMV, and FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger Yang and Senior Trial Attorney J. Ronald Sutcliffe of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.
Lakeside Park Man Sentenced to 78 Months for Possession of A Firearm in Furtherance of Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, KY - A Lakeside Park man has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, for selling crack cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar sentenced 56 year-old Michael Robinson to 78 months in prison and placed him on supervised release for 10 years after he completes his prison term.
Robinson admitted to distributing crack cocaine in Kenton and Campbell Counties in 2012 and 2013. He also possessed crack cocaine and a loaded firearm at the time of his arrest, on November 12, 2013. Robinson acknowledged that he intended to sell the crack cocaine and that he possessed the firearm to assist him in his drug trafficking.
Robinson was previously convicted of selling cocaine in Kenton County in 2004 and had received a prison term of five years for that offense.
.Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Stuart L. Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (Louisville Field Division), jointly announced the sentence.
Robinson entered his guilty plea on April 9, 2014. Under federal law, Robinson must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, the Covington Police Department, and the Campbell County Drug Task Force. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented in the case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke.
KC Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to steal taxpayers’ identity information in order to receive fraudulent tax refunds.
Michael J. Moore, 27, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to the charge contained in a March 18, 2014, federal indictment.
Moore’s girlfriend and co-defendant, Taylor S. Knight, 32, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty on July 25, 2014, to leading the fraud conspiracy. Knight worked as employee of the Internal Revenue Service at the office at 333 W. Pershing Rd., Kansas City. Knight admitted that she abused her position of trust when she inappropriately accessed the information of three taxpayers as part of a conspiracy to defraud the United States by using the stolen identity information to fraudulently induce the IRS into issuing tax refund payments.
On Sept. 30, 2011, Knight used the information from two of the victim taxpayers (who were married) to submit a bogus online application for three prepaid debit cards. These debit cards were issued and mailed to the residence of Moore’s grandmother. Moore monitored the mail sent to his grandmother’s address and retrieved the three prepaid debit cards. They agreed to use the grandmother’s address rather than use an address associated with Knight in an effort to conceal her role in this conspiracy to defraud the United States.
On Oct. 17, 2011, Knight submitted a 2010 tax return for the same two married victim taxpayers. The IRS approved a $46,572 refund, of which $5,000 was deposited on a debit card that had been obtained by Knight; this amount was spent by Moore and Knight. The IRS attempted to deposit the remaining $41,572 refund on the other debit cards obtained by Knight, but the receiving banks rejected the deposits.
Moore telephoned the IRS and falsely claimed to be the victim taxpayer. He provided the IRS representative with pertinent personal identification information for both victims and requested the IRS to send the remaining tax refund to a new address located in Independence, Mo. He identified this address because it was his former residence and he knew it was unoccupied.
In August 2011, the victim taxpayers filed legitimate amended tax returns. A $46,734 refund check was sent to the Independence address and was obtained by Moore and Knight. Knight admitted that she paid a third co-conspirator $500 to help her cash the refund check. Knight obtained false identification documents – including Social Security cards, credit cards and driver’s licenses – so that they could assume the identity of the victim taxpayers. They attempted to cash the stolen Treasury check at a local convenience store. The clerk was concerned about cashing such a large check and he went to his immediate supervisor for guidance. They told the clerk and his supervisor that, if they would cash the check, they could keep $6,000 of the proceeds. The supervisor decided not to cash the check, but he told them to come back later. When Knight and her co-conspirator returned, the owner reported the incident to law enforcement. Police officers arrived about 10 minutes later and they were arrested.
Knight also admitted that she submitted a bogus online application for a prepaid debit card in the name of another victim taxpayer. The debit card was approved and mailed to an address in Oak Grove, Mo.; this debit card was never used. Knight admitted that she submitted this false online application to test whether her scheme to defraud the IRS was viable.
Under federal statutes, Moore and Knight are each subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. It was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.Judge Gives Bank Robber 10 YearsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Mark Labenz, 33, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for robbing four Philadelphia banks between December 2009 and January 2014. Labenz pleaded guilty on March 19, 2014 to the following robberies: December 31, 2009, Citizens Bank at 2102 Cottman Avenue; December 19, 2013, the Republic Bank located at 833 Chestnut Street; December 23, 2013, the Prudential Savings Bank, located at 28 North 3rd Street; and January 3, 2014, the Wells Fargo Bank located at 340-350 South 2nd Street. In the last bank robbery, Labenz physically restrained a bank customer while demanding the money from the bank. He also stole the customer’s $400.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Juan Sanchez ordered three years of supervised release, $5,889 in restitution, and a $400 special assessment.The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ewald Zittlau.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Illegal Alien Sentenced for Conspiring to Produce False IDRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An illegal alien was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Worcester in connection with a conspiracy to produce false identification documents.
Leonardo Burgos Espinal, 42, most recently residing in Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman to time served of 14 months. Burgos Espinal was remanded into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. In March 2013, Burgos Espinal was charged with bribing an employee of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.
From January 2011 through June 2012, Burgos would direct his “clients” to present fraudulently obtained, but valid, Puerto Rican identification documents to his co-conspirator at the RMV, who would then issue a valid Massachusetts driver’s license or ID knowing that the Puerto Rican documents belonged to other real people. This sentencing is the most recent development in investigations involving identity theft and public corruption relating to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts States Police; David W. Hall, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; and Cheryl Garcia, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, New York Regional Office, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Eugenia M. Carris of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.
Idaho Residents Sentenced for Theft of Wood from U.S. Forest ServiceRead the Press Release
BOISE - Terry K. Burton, 46, and his son, Brent L. Burton, 23, both of Wilder, Idaho, were sentenced yesterday to three years of probation for stealing lodgepole pine posts and poles from the Malheur National Forest and selling the wood commercially in Idaho, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered the Burtons to pay $3,880 in restitution to the Malheur National Forest. Both defendants pled guilty to the misdemeanor charge of theft of government property on April 30, 2014.
The Burtons were also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000, which is suspended, so long as they are in compliance with special conditions of their probation. These conditions prohibit the defendants from using a personal use permit to cut, load, remove or haul timber or other forest product from any National Forest Service lands for the full three year term of their probation, and also require the Burtons to obtain appropriate commercial permits or enter into timber sales contracts with the Forest Service before cutting, loading, removing or hauling any timber or other forest product from any United States Forest Service lands.
According to the plea agreement, the Burtons created an illegal trail in the Malheur National Forest which they used to get into the forest for the purpose of illegally cutting lodgepole pine posts and poles without a proper permit. The Burtons then sold this timber commercially to Parma Post and Pole, in Parma, Idaho. While doing this, the Burtons caused approximately $1,380 in environmental damage to the National Forest, by leaving 425 visible stumps, extensive damage to small trees that had been run over and damaged, and ruts in the areas where they had illegally driven the ATV and trailer used to bring the lodgepole pine post and poles out of the forest.
The case was investigated by a U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer and Special Agent assigned to the Malheur National Forest.
Hartford Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Role in Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
Follow @USAO_CT
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ELLIS THOMAS, also known as “L” and “Big Homey,” 30, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in an armed robbery scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 18, 2008, two individuals were lured to a house on Case Street in Hartford for the purpose of buying stolen jewelry. When one of the individuals entered the residence, he immediately had a gun pointed in his face, was thrown to the floor, had his head covered and his hands bound. The second individual, who had been waiting in the car, subsequently entered the residence and was also thrown to the floor, blindfolded, and had his hands bound. The second victim was instructed not to move because the kidnappers had guns and they would kill him. Shortly thereafter, the second victim was removed from the house and placed in a vehicle parked at the residence by his kidnappers. While in the vehicle, the kidnappers stole the victim’s cell phone, earrings and a ring.
The kidnappers stated to the first victim that they wanted him to set up his friend, a known cocaine trafficker, so that they could rob him. The victim complied with the kidnappers demand and arranged to meet the intended third victim at a location in East Hartford. The first victim was then ordered by his kidnappers to drive his rented vehicle to the location in East Hartford, and was instructed to enter his friend’s vehicle and remove the keys from the ignition so that the kidnappers could kidnap the third victim. One or two kidnappers exited the car shortly before meeting the intended victim, and a third kidnapper remained in the car. After meeting the third victim and entering his vehicle, the first victim told the third victim to drive off as they were about to be robbed. The third victim drove away to a safe location where the first victim called police.
The kidnappers stole from the first victim jewelry, money, his rental vehicle and several televisions that were in the back of the car. The car was later recovered by police.
The second victim also escaped from the vehicle in which he was being held.
The Case Street residence was owned by THOMAS’ mother and THOMAS was identified as one of the kidnappers.
THOMAS has been detained since his arrest on November 7, 2012. On May 29, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of attempt to interfere with commerce by robbery.
THOMAS’ criminal history includes convictions relating to felony assault, unlawful possession and discharge of firearms, burglary, larceny, escape, and fleeing from police.
This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hartford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Four Indicted for Newton County Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT, Texas — Four East Texans have been charged in connection with a violent bank robbery in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Keith Collins, Jr., 24, of Jasper, Texas, Michael Dwayne Byerly, 20, of Newton, Texas, Xavier Odarius Clark, 21, of Jasper, Texas, and Khadijah Joy De’Inn Adams, 20, of Bon Weir, Texas, were indicted by a grand jury today and charged with federal violations.
According to the indictment, on June 25, 2014, law enforcement authorities were alerted to a robbery at the Sabine State Bank & Trust Company on Highway 63 in Burkeville, Texas. During the robbery, a bank employee was stabbed multiple times sustaining serious injuries. Video surveillance revealed a man wearing a black hooded top confronting the bank employee with a knife and a handgun. The bank employee struggled with the assailant and was stabbed approximately five times resulting in a punctured lung. The assailant fled the scene without taking any money from the bank. Law enforcement officers reviewed security surveillance from nearby businesses and were able to identify Collins as a person of interest. Further investigation revealed the alleged involvement of Byerly, Clark and Adams.
A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Collins, Byerly and Clark with bank robbery, conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and accessory after the fact. Adams was also charged with accessory after the fact.
If convicted, Byerly, Clark and Adams each face up to 20 years in federal prison for the bank robbery charge, up to 5 years for the conspiracy charge, and a minimum of 5 years for the firearms charge. All four defendants face up to 10 years in federal prison for the accessory charge.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newton County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher T. Tortorice.
It is important to note that an indictment should not be considered as evidence of guilt and that all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former Rancho Cordova Executive Pleads Guilty to Securities FraudRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Matthew Sarad, 40, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to securities fraud, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Sarad lived in Folsom and was the founder and chief executive officer of Rancho Cordova-based Telomolecular Corporation. It purported to be a biotechnology startup company and claimed to have developed nanoparticle technology that could eradicate cancer and treat other age-related diseases. Between November 2005 and July 2008, Sarad solicited investors nationwide, offering them stock in Telomolecular. In selling the Telomolecular stock, Sarad made untrue statements, such as telling investors that the company believed its cancer curing products would complete clinical trials, obtain requisite government approval, make it to the market in less than three years, and had a deep management team that had experience taking companies public. Sarad collected about $6.5 million from more than 300 investors.
In addition, according to court documents, between January 2009 and December 2009, Sarad owned Folsom-based Sun Nanosystems. It purported to install solar energy systems for residential and commercial customers. It claimed to have developed nanoparticle technology that vastly increased the efficiency of solar panels. In selling the solar panels, Sarad falsely told customers and prospective customers that Sun Nanosystems worked with state-of-the-art proprietary technology that could increase the efficiency of conventional solar panels by as much as 50 percent. He claimed that Sun Nanosystems had a great deal of experience installing solar panels and had satisfied past customers. Sarad collected approximately $300,000 from customers but failed to complete installation of any solar panels.
This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Lee Bickley and Chris Hales and Special Assistant United States Attorney David Ward are prosecuting the case.
Sarad is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on November 19, 2014. Sarad faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Former Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Sentenced to 30 Months for Scheme That Defrauded Pennsylvania of Grant FundsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Former Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Robert Mulgrew, 56, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for defrauding the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (“DCED”). Mulgrew pleaded guilty on September 19, 2013 to mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud and filing a false tax return.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Darnell C. Jones ordered restitution to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development in the amount of $199,274, Mulgrew also paid restitution, penalties and interest to the IRS in the amount of $123,314, three years of supervised release, and $200 special assessment.
Mulgrew and co-defendant Lorraine Dispaldo, who previously pleaded guilty, engaged in a scheme to fraudulently receive and misuse Pennsylvania state grant funds awarded to non-profit groups. Between 1996 and 2008, the DCED awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to two community groups with which Mulgrew and Dispaldo were associated. DCED awarded more than $450,000 in grants to the Friends of Dickinson Square (“FDS”) with the understanding that the grants were to be used to purchase equipment and materials for the maintenance of Dickinson Square Park at 4th & Tasker Streets, Philadelphia, and surrounding neighborhood revitalization. Mulgrew, the Vice-President of FDS, signed the FDS grant contracts with DCED. DCED also awarded approximately $397,000 in grants to the Community to Police Communications (“CPC”) with the understanding that the grants were to be used to purchase communications equipment for the police and to purchase materials to secure vacant lots and buildings for the protection of the police. Dispaldo signed the CPC grant contracts with DCED.The defendants misrepresented their intentions to DCED, and that - contrary to their agreement to spend grant funds solely to purchase equipment and materials for neighborhood revitalization and improved communications with the police - the defendants used thousands of grant dollars to pay Mulgrew’s relatives and associates. They represented that they were paying for work done on behalf of FDS and CPC. After distributing grant funds to relatives and associates, the defendants supplied false and misleading information to DCED to conceal the actual amount of grant funds which they paid to the relatives and associates contrary to the express purposes of the grant.
Mulgrew conceded that he received almost $70,000 in grant funds for his own personal uses. Mulgrew improperly reimbursed himself from FDS funds for thousands of dollars of expenditures which he claimed were incurred by FDS when they were not and for his expenditures for items not authorized under the terms of the FDS grants. Mulgrew and Dispaldo supplied DCED with false documents to conceal their own use of grant funds and other improper uses of the funds.
Mulgrew did not report the additional income from the fraud scheme on his tax return and claimed false business deductions which improperly reduced his tax liability.
Dispaldo was sentenced in November 2013 to 18 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul L.Gray.UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Former Hedge Fund Manager Sentenced to Fourteen Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday afternoon former hedge fund manager Lawrence R. (Larry) Goldfarb was sentenced to 14 months in prison for wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.
Goldfarb, 55, previously of San Anselmo, Calif., was the managing partner of Baystar Capital II, L.P., a private investment fund. The fund primarily made short-term investments, but it also invested in various illiquid, more difficult-to-value investments referred to as “side pockets.” In approximately 2003, Baystar II made an $8.4 million side pocket investment in Island Fund LLC. Over the next several years, that investment returned more than $16 million. Without consulting or informing the investors in Baystar II, however, Goldfarb used a substantial amount of those funds to invest in other entities, including some in which he had an economic interest. When investors asked whether Island Fund had made distributions, Goldfarb intentionally failed to disclose that distributions had been made and that Goldfarb had used and reinvested the distributions, and he falsely told investors that they were not yet eligible for distributions. According to court documents, Goldfarb’s scheme to defraud investors caused losses of approximately $6 million.
In March 2011, Goldfarb entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the United States Attorney’s Office and a Consent Judgment with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In those documents, Goldfarb promised to pay restitution and disgorgement of approximately $12 million pursuant to a payment schedule. After making some of the payments, Goldfarb failed to make the agreed payments. The Court determined that instead of paying the agreed upon restitution and disgorgement, Goldfarb spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on various personal indulgences, including Golden State Warriors season tickets, private air travel, and vacations. The Court concluded that Goldfarb had breached the DPA, denied defendant’s motion to dismiss the criminal charge against him, and allowed this prosecution to proceed. On April 16, 2014, Goldfarb pleaded guilty to the one count of wire fraud in the Information that had been filed against him in March 2011 in connection with the DPA.
The sentence was handed down by The Honorable William Alsup, United States District Court Judge, following a Goldfarb’s guilty plea to wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. Judge Alsup also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release to follow his prison sentence. Judge Alsup ordered the defendant to begin serving his prison sentence on Nov. 5, 2014.
Robert Leach and Doug Sprague are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rawaty Yim. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, with substantial assistance from the San Francisco Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(Goldfarb information )
Federal Jury Convicts Mexican National on Heroin Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury returned a verdict earlier today finding Miguel Bustamante-Conchas, 39, a Mexican national with legal permanent resident status in the United States, guilty on heroin trafficking charges after a six-day trial, announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the DEA’s El Paso Field Division.
Bustamante-Conchas was one of seven men arrested in June 2013 on federal narcotics trafficking charges as a result of a 15-month multi-agency investigation targeting heroin traffickers operating out of Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights, an area that has experienced a growing, wide-spread heroin abuse problem among teens and young adults in recent years. More than 25 pounds of heroin were seized during the course of the investigation.
Two indictments were filed as a result of the investigation. Bustamante-Conchas and four other men were charged in one indictment while two others were charged in a second indictment. The other six defendants entered guilty pleas to heroin trafficking charges while Bustamante-Conchas elected to proceed to trial.
Trial against Bustamante-Conchas began on July 30, 2014, on a three-count superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute large quantities of heroin in Bernalillo County, N.M., from Oct. 2012 to June 2013; aiding and abetting the possession of heroin with intent to distribute; and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. On Aug. 4, 2014, the court dismissed the firearms charge at the conclusion of the United States’ case and submitted the two heroin trafficking charges to the jury yesterday afternoon. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on both heroin trafficking charges late this morning.
The evidence at trial established that Bustamante-Conchas played a leadership role in a major heroin trafficking organization by managing the acquisition, storage and distribution of kilograms of heroin and overseeing the collection of cash proceeds from the sale of heroin. Evidence of Bustamante-Conchas role in the drug trafficking organization was secured from wiretaps on telephones used by his subordinates, evidence seized during a law enforcement operation on June 14, 2013, and evidence seized on June 19, 2013. Evidence obtained on June 14, 2013, included three pounds of heroin, drug ledgers, numerous cellphones and narcotics paraphernalia, which were seized at the residences maintained as stash houses by Bustamante-Conchas and his co-conspirators. An additional 22 pounds of heroin were seized on June 19, 2013 from another of the organization’s stash houses.
Bustamante-Conchas was remanded into federal custody after the jury delivered its verdict and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Bustamante-Conchas faces a prison term of not less than ten years and not more than life followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Three of Bustamante-Conchas’ four co-defendants have resolved the charges against them by pleading guilty to participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy. Angel Miramontes-Cruz, 22, pled guilty on May 29, 2014, and is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 28, 2014. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he faces a prison sentence within the range of 27 to 33 months. Baltazar Granados, 37, pled guilty on June 17, 2014, and is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 18, 2014. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he faces a prison sentence within the range of 70 to 84 months. Ramon Cabrales-Guerra, 23, pled guilty on June 23, 2014, and is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 25, 2014. He faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Miramontes-Cruz, Granados and Cabrales-Guerra are Mexican nationals illegally present in the United States and will be deported after completing their prison sentences.
The fourth co-defendant, Ruben Garcia Miranda, 48, an Albuquerque resident, pled guilty on June 12, 2014, to using a communications device to facilitate a drug trafficking crime. He is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 11, 2014, and faces a statutory maximum penalty of four years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the Court.
Joel Nunez-Haros, 42, and Pablo Arturo Felix-Sicairos, 20, also were arrested in June 2013, and charged in a separate indictment with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Both men pled guilty to the indictment in late June 2014 and are scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 25, 2014. Nunez-Haros faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and Felix-Sicairos faces a prison sentence within the range of 37 to 46 months. Both men are Mexican nationals illegally present in the United States and will be deported after completing their prison sentences.
These cases were investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA, the Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean J. Sullivan and Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The investigation resulting in these cases, which was code-named “Balloon Fiesta” in reference to the multi-colored balloons that heroin often is packaged in for retail distribution, was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) program. OCDETF is a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.
Federal Grand Jury IndictmentsRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Beth Drake (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina -----United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that a Federal Grand Jury in Columbia, South Carolina, returned Indictment(s) against the following:
3 Men Indicted for Kidnapping/Firearms Charges
Juan Manuel Fuentes-Morales, age 26, of Monteray, Mexico; Ruben Ceja-Rangel, age 57, of Mexico; and Luis Castro-Villeda, of Garland, North Carolina were charged in a 5-count indictment. All three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, a violation of Title 18, U. S. C. §1201(c); substantive kidnapping, a violation of Title 18, U. S. C. §1201(a); hostage taking for ransom, a violation of Title 18, U. S. C. §1203; and two counts each for brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crimes of violence, violations of Title 18, U. S. C. §924(c)(1)(A)(ii). The defendants face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment on each of the 5 charges in the indictment and a maximum fine of $250,000.00 on each charge of the indictment.
The case was investigated by numerous law enforcement agencies including the Columbia FBI Field Office; FBI Field Offices in Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston, Jacksonville, Newark, New Haven, Norfolk, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond and Washington D.C.; LEGAT Mexico City; the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED); the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office; the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office; the South Carolina Department of Public Safety; the City of Columbia Police Department; the Richland County Sheriff’s Office; the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office; the University of South Carolina Police Department; Bladen County, North Carolina Emergency Services; the Bladen County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Office; the Cumberland County, North Carolina Sheriff's Office; the Sampson County, North Carolina Sheriff's Office; the Durham County, North Carolina Sheriff's Office; the Durham Police Department; the North Carolina Department of Public Safety; the Raleigh Police Department; the Fayetteville, North Carolina Police Department; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina; and the U.S. Office for the District of South Carolina. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney JD Rowell of the Columbia, South Carolina office for prosecution.
The United States Attorney stated that all charges in these Indictments are merely accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.Elma Man Sentenced on Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Bernard T. Grucza, 38, of Elma, N.Y., who was convicted of possession of a firearm by a person subject to as domestic violence order of protection, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Court Judge William M. Skretny. The defendant was also ordered to pay $223,000 in restitution to his former employer Toys R Us.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch, who handled the case, stated that the defendant made false written statements to Big Daddy Guns in order to obtain a Ruger .380 caliber pistol. Between July 13, 2013 and October 16, 2013, the defendant possessed the pistol despite being the subject of a restraining order issued by Elma Town Court. In addition, Grucza made false statements to Special Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he had destroyed the pistol and thrown out the parts when in fact he had not.
The defendant stole over $200,000 worth of merchandise and cash from Toys R Us and sold the merchandise on eBay.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James S. Higgins, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard, and the Hamburg Police Department, under the direction of Michael Williams..
Elkton Drug Dealer Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Member of Heroin Organization that Operated in Cecil County, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York; Also a Member of a Cocaine Organization That Operated in Delaware and Elsewhere
Baltimore, Maryland – District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Rachine Huron Garnett, a/k/a “Sheen,” “Red,” “Ray,” and “Blockhead,” age 38, of Elkton, Maryland today to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin, and cocaine, in connection with two drug distribution rings.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Special Agent in Charge David G. Dongilli, Philadelphia Division of the DEA; Cecil County Sheriff Barry A. Janney, Sr.; Chief Matthew Donnelly of the Elkton Police Department; Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Cecil County State’s Attorney Ellis Rollins; and Colonel Nathaniel McQueen, Jr. of the Delaware State Police.
According to his plea agreement, since at least December 2012, Garnett obtained bulk quantities of heroin from co-defendant Luis Lugo-Santiago and his associates for re-distribution to associates and customers in Maryland. Garnett would meet with a courier in Philadelphia where he would obtain a new supply of heroin. Garnett and associates had vehicles with hidden compartments where they could store either heroin or money. Often to exchange drugs, money or both, they would simply switch vehicles when they met. Over the course of a seven month wiretap, investigators identified 59 money deliveries from Garnett totaling $1,668,510, for the purchase of approximately 8.98 kilograms of heroin.On August 15, 2013, investigators arrested Garnett and executed search warrants at his residence, and on a Honda Odyssey that Garnett had been using to transport narcotics and proceeds. Officers recovered $31,700 from the residence, $18,430 from a hidden compartment in the vehicle and $5,649 from Garnett.
Garnett also admitted that from at least February 6, 2013 until March 14, 2013, he obtained at least 924 grams of cocaine from other supply sources, which he re-distributed to customers in Delaware and elsewhere.
Seven defendants, including Garnett and Lugo-Santiago, have pleaded guilty to their participation in the heroin conspiracy. Judge Blake sentenced Abel Nunez-Reyes, age 30, of Philadelphia yesterday to two years in prison. Barry Jenkins, Jr., age 24, of Elkton, is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow. Luis Lugo-Santiago, a/k/a “Papi,” and “Andres Galvez,” age 39, of New York, New York is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24, 2014.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the DEA, Cecil County Drug Task Force, and Delaware State Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein also recognized the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the District of Delaware, Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York and the New York Police Department for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark and James G. Warwick, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.Electric Company Owner Pleads Guilty in Navy Exchange Procurement Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Noe Rodriguez, age 34, of Boyds, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to making false statements, and illegal possession of a firearm by an alien, arising from a scheme in which he failed to comply with federal wage, hour and records regulations under the Davis-Bacon Act.The plea agreement was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Bill Jones, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, Washington Regional Office; Special Agent in Charge Rocco Pierri of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Washington Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division.
According to his plea agreement, Rodriguez was a citizen of Mexico who entered the United States illegally in the late 1990s. He moved to Maryland in 2003, and began operating an electrical contracting business in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area under various corporate guises, including RDZ Electric, RCM Services, Rodriguez Electric and O&G Electric. Rodriguez provided electrical work on numerous construction projects in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area as an electrical subcontractor.
Rodriguez, on behalf of RDZ, provided electrical work during the construction of the Navy Exchange (NEX) at the National Military Medical Center located in Bethesda, Maryland. The NEX was owned by the Department of the Navy. Rodriguez was required to comply with federal wage, hour and records regulations under the Davis-Bacon Act. The Act required subcontractors to pay workers employed at the project site wages determined by the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor determined that the electrician’s prevailing wage rate at the NEX project was $49.88 an hour.
Between August 2011 and June 2012, Rodriguez provided no fewer than 30 electrical workers at the NEX project. Rodriguez, however, listed no more than eight workers on RDZ=s certified payrolls and falsely stated that he paid the workers the prevailing wage. Rodriguez in fact paid his electrical workers between $12 and $20 per hour, and failed to pay them overtime, despite the fact that many worked more than 40 hours a week. Rodriguez did not pay benefits to any of the workers. The certified payrolls, of which he submitted at least 17, also contained other material misstatements regarding the names, wages and hours of RDZ employees performing work. Over the lifespan of the NEX project, the difference between the wages actually paid to RDZ employees and the wages due under the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rate, exceeded $1 million.
Rodriguez used the social security numbers assigned to another person and to his minor son to open bank accounts for his business and obtain his Maryland driver’s license.
On November 20, 2013, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Rodriguez’s residence and seized numerous fraudulent identification documents, some of which contained his picture and fraudulent identifiers. Law enforcement also seized a revolver and ammunition.
Rodriguez faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for making a false statement, and 10 years for the illegal possession of a firearm by an alien. Rodriguez has agreed to forfeit funds in two bank accounts, a pick-up truck, $989,969 and a revolver. U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus scheduled sentencing for October 30, 2014 at 2:30 p.m.
The National Procurement Fraud Task Force was formed in October 2006 to promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in government contracting activity for national security and other government programs. The Procurement Fraud Task Force includes the United States Attorney’s Offices, the FBI, the U.S. Inspectors General community and a number of other federal law enforcement agencies. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrate the Department of Justice's commitment to helping ensure the integrity of the government procurement process.United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Department of Labor - OIG, Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Social Security Administration - OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Paul Nitze and Assistant United States Attorney Bryan E. Foreman, who are prosecuting the case.
Douglas Dey, Owner of Former Major Supplier of Aeropostale, Inc., Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison for $25 Million Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
Douglas Dey, the owner of South Bay Apparel, Inc. (“South Bay”), a former major supplier of t-shirts and fleece merchandise for national teenage clothing retailer Aéropostale, Inc., was sentenced today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to 42 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release. Dey and was also ordered to forfeit $7.5 million to the government, and pay $13,690,822.94 in restitution to Aéropostale, a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
On September 27, 2012, Dey pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the Travel Act through commercial bribery for paying more than $25 million in kickbacks to Christopher Finazzo, Aéropostale’s former Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer, to obtain over $350 million in business. Finazzo was convicted on all 16 counts of fraud and commercial bribery for his role in the scheme following a three-week jury trial in April 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 20, 2014.
Dey’s sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
“For over a decade, Dey used bribes and kickbacks to gain an unfair and illegal advantage for his t-shirt and fleece business. By doing so, he fleeced Aéropostale and its investors out of tens of millions of dollars and damaged the financial well-being of a publicly-traded retail company. Today’s sentence sends a strong message to those who commit corporate fraud that they will be held accountable for their crimes,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch thanked the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission for their assistance.
Shortly after Finazzo was hired by Aéropostale in July 1996, he and Dey entered into a fraudulent scheme whereby Finazzo directed Aéropostale’s graphic t-shirt business to South Bay in exchange for splitting South Bay’s profits with Dey. From 1996 to 2006, Finazzo caused Aéropostale to buy more than $350 million in t-shirt and fleece merchandise from South Bay, often for significantly higher prices and lower quality than was available from other suppliers. In exchange, Dey paid Finazzo more than $25 million in bribes and kickbacks, equaling approximately 50% of South Bay’s profits. In 2005 alone, at the peak of the business between Aéropostale and South Bay, Dey paid Finazzo more than $13 million in kickbacks. The kickbacks from Dey to Finazzo were paid through C&D Retail Consultants, a shell consulting corporation set up by Finazzo, and through companies jointly-owned by Finazzo and Dey.
The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Winston M. Paes and Claire Kedeshian.
This prosecution was the result of efforts by President 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. Attorneys’ Offices, and state and local partners, it is 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. For more information on the task force, visit http://www.StopFraud.gov.
The Defendant:
DOUGLAS DEY
Age: 57
New York, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 10-CR-457
Doctor Who Illegally Prescribed Narcotics Is SentencedRead the Press Release
Follow @USAO_CT
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that Dr. JAMES W. MARSHALL, JR., 59, of Orange, who pleaded guilty in 2011 to conspiring to illegally distribute prescription narcotics, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport.
According to court documents and statements made in court, MARSHALL, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, operates Immediate Medical Care, a walk-in clinic in Monroe. MARSHALL’s associate, Francisco Carbone, had been licensed to practice medicine until March 2005 when his license was revoked by the State of Connecticut. After his license was revoked, Carbone continued to act as a treating physician for patients. Between November 2006 and January 2012, at Carbone’s request, MARSHALL wrote prescriptions for pain medication, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, for Carbone’s patients without personally meeting, examining, or consulting with the patients. MARSHALL wrote 144 prescriptions for more than 4400 pills for Carbone’s patients.
On March 1, 2011, MARSHALL pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute controlled substances outside the scope of the usual course of professional practice. Yesterday, MARSHALL was ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $5,000. Although the government argued for a term of incarceration, Judge Underhill indicated that leniency was appropriate in light of significant collateral consequences suffered by MARSHALL as a result of his conviction, and that he had been under court supervision for more than three years without incident.
MARSHALL has surrendered his license to prescribe narcotics.
Carbone pleaded guilty to his role in this scheme and a related insurance fraud scheme and, on July 18, 2014, he was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance’s Special Investigation Unit and the Travelers Insurance Company.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher W. Schmeisser and David J. Sheldon.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Denver Attorney Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the IRSRead the Press Release
DENVER – Eva Melissa Sugar, age 61, of Aurora, Colorado, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States in connection with the collection of taxes, United States Attorney John Walsh and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Stephen Boyd announced. Judge Kane is scheduled to sentence Sugar on October 29, 2014. Sugar and two co-defendants, Jerry L. Roberts and Gregory N. Laurence, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on May 8, 2013. Roberts pled guilty to failure to file tax returns on July 15, 2014 and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kane on November 18, 2014. Laurence pled guilty to attempting to obstruct the administration of internal revenue laws on February 6, 2014 and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kane on September 4, 2014.
According to information contained in the indictment and plea agreements, Sugar was a practicing attorney in Denver, Colorado and obtained an L.L.M. in Taxation from the University of Denver. Around 1999, Sugar began receiving referrals from a group called Financial Fortress Associates (FFA). FFA promoted the use of so-called Constitutional Pure Trust Organizations (PTOs) as a part of various schemes to avoid tax reporting requirements, including transferring ownership of most or all assets belonging to a taxpayer or a taxpayer’s business to trusts and treating payments to the same trusts as business deductions. FFA further advised clients not to file tax returns or any other documents with the IRS on behalf of the trusts. FFA recruited clients through the internet and in seminars or “meetings” conducted in hotel conferences rooms around the country, including locations in Colorado, Georgia, Texas, and elsewhere. At some of these meetings, Sugar explained how the FFA’s banking program worked, and others associated with FFA explained other aspects of FFA’s program.
Sugar charged her clients fees for her services, including an initial fee to set up bank accounts and associated unincorporated business organizations (UBOs), as well as annual maintenance fees. For additional fees, Ms. Sugar allowed her clients to control funds in the UBO bank accounts through the use of blank checks that she would sign, for a fee, as the account signer or trustee. The clients would then fill in the checks, spending the money from the accounts in whatever manner they desired. Sugar provided these services for more than 150 clients, and in so doing, performed various overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy. The tax loss resulting from Sugar’s activities as part of the conspiracy is between $2.5 million and $7 million.
Roberts and Laurence were clients of Sugar. Roberts was a resident of Polk County, Florida and worked for Roberts Enterprises, a family business which assisted charitable organizations, primarily religious ones, with fundraising. Beginning in 2001 through at least May of 2007, Roberts used the services of Sugar, to take steps to prevent the IRS from learning his true income and assessing taxes on that income. Roberts then failed to file tax returns reporting his income.
Laurence was a resident of Germantown, Tennessee and practiced medicine through two entities in which he was the sole physician, Germantown Family Care and Obstetrics, LP and Germantown Aesthetics, LP. Beginning in 2002 through the end of 2007, Dr. Laurence used the services of Melissa Sugar to disguise his true income from the IRS and to support the false business and personal tax returns he filed during the relevant period.
Another client of Sugar’s, Jerold Sorensen, was charged in a separate indictment with attempted obstruction of the administration of the internal revenue laws and was found guilty by a jury in Denver in June of 2014. Sorensen is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore on September 8, 2014.
The charge to which Sugar pled guilty, conspiracy to defraud the United States, carries a penalty of not more than 5 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Failing to file income tax returns, the charges to which Roberts pled guilty, carry a penalty of not more than 1 year in federal prison and a fine of up to $100,000 per count. Attempted obstruction of the administration of the internal revenue laws, the charged to which Laurence pled guilty and of which Sorensen was convicted at trial, carries a penalty of not more than 3 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 per count.
This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Special Enforcement Program of the Internal Revenue Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew T. Kirsch, Anna Edgar, Pegeen Rhyne, and J. Chris Larson.
Colombian Narcotics Kingpin Sentenced to 360 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz sentenced Diego Perez Henao, a/k/a “Diego Rastrojo,” 43, a Colombian national, to 360 months in prison. Perez Henao was also ordered to forfeit $1,000,000.00 to the United States.
Perez Henao had been indicted by a federal grand jury on February 8, 2011, and previously pled guilty on January 24, 2014, to a single count of conspiring with others to manufacture and distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine from 1993 until February 2011, knowing that the cocaine would be imported into the United States.
Perez Henao acknowledged that he was involved in the manufacture, investment or shipment of in excess of 81,100 kilograms of cocaine during the timeframe of his conspiracy. He further acknowledged that he controlled numerous armed workers in his organization and used both airplanes and semi-submersibles to ship the cocaine north from South America to points in Central America and Mexico – en route to its eventual destination of the United States.
Following Perez Henao’s indictment, the U.S. Department of State offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture. Perez Henao was ultimately captured by Venezuelan authorities in Venezuela on June 3, 2012. The Venezuelan authorities sent Perez Henao to Colombia, which in turn extradited Perez Henao on August 28, 2013, to the United States to face the current charges.
“For over a decade, Perez Henao – one of the most powerful and prolific drug lords in recent history – controlled dozens of heavily-armed workers in his drug trafficking organization and oversaw the manufacture and distribution of over 80 tons of cocaine into the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Ferrer. “Perez Henao will now spend the next three decades of his life in prison. With this sentence, one of the largest cartel heads in Colombian history was brought to justice.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Mark R. Trouville stated, “Diego Perez-Henao, one of the last leaders of the North Valley Cartel, was responsible for smuggling more than 80 tons of cocaine into the United States. He used violence and intimidation to line his greedy pockets at the expense of his own people and had no regard for those who would consume this addictive poison. Today’s sentencing is a reminder that there is no place to hide, the DEA along with our domestic and international law enforcement partners will continue to pursue and prosecute those who engage in drug trafficking into our borders.”
“Diego Perez-Henao was a notorious, international drug kingpin who for years profited from the shipment and sale of illegal drugs,” said Ken Sena, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “His illicit career was brought to an end through close cooperation with our law enforcement partners.”
The indictment of Perez Henao is the result of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) led by DEA and FBI. 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.
Mr. Ferrer commends the outstanding investigative efforts of DEA, FBI, the DEA Andean Region and their Colombian law enforcement partners. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Fels and Daren Grove.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.