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28 August 2014
Solon Doctor Indicted for Health Care Fraud and Illegally Distributing Prescription PainkillersRead the Press Release
A 46-count indictment was filed charging a Solon doctor with illegally distributing thousands of doses of prescription painkillers such as Percocet, Oxycontin and Opana to people with no legitimate medical need for the drugs, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Syed Jawad Akhtar-Zaidi, age 59, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, one count of health care fraud, 36 counts of distribution of controlled substances, and eight counts of money laundering.
Zaidi operated Pain Management of Northern Ohio (PMNO) at 34055 Solon Road in Solon, where he issued drug orders purporting to be “prescriptions” for controlled substances, primarily oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone and morphine, to customers they characterized as “patients,” according to the indictment.
Zaidi knowingly and intentionally distributed and dispensed controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the court of professional practice through several actions, such as: without adequately verifying the patient’s identity and medical complaint; without adequate and reliable patient medical history; without establishing a true diagnosis; without performing a complete examination; without establishing a treatment plan and without maintaining adequate medical records, according to the indictment.
Zaidi used pre-signed blank prescription forms upon which PMNO staff would fill in the controlled substance and dosage to be prescribed. He also instructed staff not to report customers who staff suspected of being “drug seeking” and/or “doctor shopping to law enforcement, according to the indictment.
The indictment details dozens of transactions in 2012 and 2013 in which customers received thousands of doses of Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, morphine and other prescription painkillers.
Zaidi enriched himself by submitting claims to Medicaid, Medicare and various private insurers, and receiving payments, for office visits which served no legitimate medical purpose. Zaidi selected the billing code, which his staff then submitted on the doctor’s behalf, according to the indictment.
The charges also seek to forfeit more than $4.8 million in accounts controlled by Zaidi as well as 139 pieces of jewelry valued at more than $90,000. Prosecutors contend the property is derived from gross proceeds traceable to the violations laid out in the indictment.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry DeBaggis and Matthew Kall following an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General.
Six Sacramento-Area Residents Indicted for Trafficking in Methamphetamine and HeroinRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a 17-count indictment today against Kenneth Tam, 53; Gerald Osborne, 56; Sherlynn Charles, 52; Marco Antonio Borja, 38; Adalberto Valenzuela-Ruiz, 30; and Nelson Gutierrez, 26, charging them with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, and possession and distribution of methamphetamine and heroin, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, in January 2014, a seven-month investigation began after law enforcement received reports that Tam was trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin throughout Sacramento, Yolo, and El Dorado Counties. Tam acquired large amounts of methamphetamine from Borja, Valenzuela-Ruiz, and Gutierrez, as well as heroin from other sources, and used sub-dealers, including Osborne and Charles, to distribute those drugs on his behalf. Through controlled purchases, searches, and other law enforcement activity, investigators seized over nine pounds of methamphetamine and nearly two pounds of heroin.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. McCoy is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Kenneth Tam and Gerald Osborne face sentences of 20 years to life in prison and a $20 million fine. The four remaining defendants each face 10 years to life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sentencings for August 21-26, 2014Read the Press Release
Ryan M. Bennett, 23, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on August 26, 2014, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distributing 793.8 grams of methamphetamine. Bennett was arrested in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He received 60 months imprisonment, to be followed by four years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment. This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Brian M. White, 39, of Jackson, Wyoming, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on August 25, 2014, for possession of child pornography. White was arrested in Jackson, Wyoming. He received 36 months imprisonment, to be followed by ten years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and restitution in the amount of $1,000.00. This case was investigated by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Charles Daniel Shamblen, 62, of Fremont County, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on August 21, 2014, for abusive sexual contact of a minor. Shamblen received 360 months imprisonment; to be served consecutively to his undischarged term of imprisonment of 15-20 years, imposed by the Fremont County District Court, Wyoming. Docket No 6335. Additionally, Shamblen was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and a $2,000.00 fine. Upon release from custody, Shamblen will be placed on a life-time term of supervised release. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Timothy Holmstrom, 45, of Reliance, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on August 21, 2014, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He received 37 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment. This case was investigated by the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Seevers Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison for Attempted Murder and Aggravated Sexual Abuse by Force in Great Smoky Mountains National ParkRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Aug. 28, 2014, William E. Seevers, 48, with a last known address in Atmore, Ala., was sentenced to serve 27 years in prison by the Honorable Thomas Varlan, U.S. District Judge. Seevers pleaded guilty in April 2014 to attempted murder and one count of aggravated sexual abuse by force.
His convictions arose out of his attack on a woman in June 2012 on the Gatlinburg Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Seevers used a knife during the attack, stabbed the victim several times and raped her. The victim ultimately was able to crawl to a road where she hailed people for assistance. She was flown by helicopter to a hospital for treatment of her injuries. A DNA sample was obtained from the victim at the hospital, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was able to analyze and determine that Seevers had committed these crimes. He was later found in an Alabama prison serving time for other crimes, and was returned to this district to stand trial.
The victim appeared in court, provided a victim impact statement to the court, and told Judge Varlan about the trauma she suffered and the impact the crime was still having on her life. She also indicated that she was satisfied with the resulting sentence and that she was grateful that Seevers can never hurt anyone again.
This investigation was conducted by the National Park Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States.
Scranton Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Murder-For-Hire Conspiracy and Related CrimesRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 46-year-old Scranton man, who was convicted last August of participating in a murder-for-hire conspiracy and related crimes, was sentenced yesterday to 35 years in federal prison by Senior U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, Gary Williams, was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial in August 2013. Williams was convicted of conspiracy to commit a murder-for-hire, carrying and possessing a firearm in relation to and in furtherance of a crime of violence, receiving a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with the intent to commit a felony offense, unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and attempting to tamper with a witness.
In imposing sentence, Judge Caputo remarked that Williams’ crime was one of the most serious offenses he has encountered in his courtroom, and noted that the 35-year sentence was necessary to protect the public and to deter others from committing similar crimes.
Williams was originally indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2012, as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Scranton Police Department. Williams was charged in a superseding indictment in April 2013. The indictment alleged that Williams agreed to kill the ex-wife of a co-conspirator, and that the co-conspirator shipped a rifle and bullets from Cape Coral, Florida to Scranton for Williams to use to commit the murder. The indictment further alleged that the co-conspirator promised Williams money and a job for committing the murder.
Williams’ co-defendant, Edward McLaughlin, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a murder-for-hire, shipping a firearm in interstate commerce as a convicted felon, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He is awaiting sentencing.
Judge Caputo also ordered Williams to serve three years on supervised release following his prison sentence, and to pay a special assessment of $500.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.
San Miguel County Man Pleads Guilty to Two-Day Crime Spree in two Counties and two PueblosRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Daniel Lujan, 24, of Las Vegas, N.M., pleaded guilty today to a four-count superseding indictment, charging him with a bank robbery, the robbery of two convenience stores located in tribal communities, and the robbery of a business involved in interstate commerce occurring in two days in Aug. 2011. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Lujan will be sentenced to 144 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Lujan was arrested on Aug. 11, 2011, on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Community 1st Bank located at 701 Legion Drive, in Las Vegas, N.M., on Aug. 1, 2011. In Dec. 2012, Lujan was charged in a four-count superseding indictment with committing the following four robberies: (1) the Community 1st Bank in San Miguel County, N.M., on Aug. 1, 2011; (2) the Santo Domingo Travel Center in Kewa Pueblo on Aug. 2, 2011; (3) the San Felipe Travel Center in San Felipe Pueblo on Aug. 2, 2011; and (4) the Giant Gas Station, a business engaged in interstate commerce, in Bernalillo, N.M., on Aug. 2011. The businesses robbed on Aug. 2, 2011, were located in Sandoval County, N.M.
During today’s hearing, Lujan entered a guilty plea to all four counts of the superseding indictment and admitted robbing the bank and the three businesses identified in the indictment. Lujan has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Santa Fe office of the FBI with assistance from the Las Vegas Police Department, the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, the Parole and Probation Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department, the New Mexico State Police, and the 4th and 13th Judicial District Attorneys’ Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis E. Valencia is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
President of Boggs Paving, Inc. Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the U.S. Government and Money Laundering Conspiracy in Connection with Disadvantaged Business Enterprise FraudRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The president and part-owner of Boggs Paving, Inc. (Boggs Paving) pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to federal charges stemming from a criminal investigation into the illegal use of a disadvantaged business enterprise to obtain government-funded construction contracts, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Carl Andrew Boggs, III, 50, of Waxhaw, N.C. pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
Marlies T. Gonzalez, Regional Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Region IV; John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division; and Thomas J. Holloman III, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), join U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement.
The purpose of USDOT’s disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program is to increase the participation of disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs), such as minority and women-owned businesses and small business enterprises (SBEs) in federally-funded public construction and transportation-related projects.
“Cheating to obtain publicly-funded construction contracts enriched Boggs Paving and its owners and undermined the goal of the DBE program, which helps small and minority-owned businesses thrive by ensuring their ability to work on federal construction and transportation projects. This illegal conduct prevented contractors who played by the rules and legitimate DBEs from getting a fair chance to obtain work and undermines public trust. Prime contractors and subcontractors who engage in this type of illegal activity will be prosecuted and will have to face the consequences of their fraudulent acts,” said U.S. Attorney Tompkins.
“It is disheartening to think anyone would defraud government programs designed to help hard-working Americans, essentially robbing worthy business men and women of the chance to achieve their dreams. The FBI will continue to work with our state and federal law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate, expose, and dismantle criminal enterprises that engage in this type of fraud,” said John Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina.
“DBE fraud harms the integrity of the DBE program and law-abiding contractors, including many small businesses, by defeating efforts to ensure a level playing field in which all firms can compete fairly for contracts,” said Marlies Gonzalez, Regional Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General. “Our agents will continue to work with the Secretary of Transportation, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial colleagues to expose and shut down DBE fraud schemes that adversely affect public trust and DOT-assisted transportation programs throughout North Carolina and elsewhere.”
“When individuals and businesses attempt to conceal their criminal profits, complex financial transactions and money laundering schemes will exist. IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners will be present as well, unraveling such schemes in order to bring those responsible to justice” stated Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation.
Drew Boggs is the latest defendant to plead guilty in this case. According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, from 2003 through 2013, Drew Boggs, Boggs Paving and the other defendants fraudulently obtained federally and state funded construction contracts by falsely certifying that a DBE or an SBE would perform and be paid for portion of the work on those contracts. As described in court documents, the conspirators used Monroe-based Styx Cuthbertson Trucking Company, Inc. (“Styx”), a road construction hauler and a certified DBE and SBE, to obtain the lucrative government-funded construction contracts. Court documents indicate that the conspirators took steps to conceal their fraud, including running payments for the work performed through a nominee bank account in Styx’s name and using magnetic decals bearing the “Styx” company logo to cover the “Boggs” logo on company trucks, among others. According to court records, the money was funneled back to Boggs Paving and its affiliates, and John Cuthbertson, owner of Styx, received kickbacks for allowing his company’s name and DBE status to be used by Boggs Paving.
Court records show that from June 2004 to July 2013, Boggs Paving was the prime contractor on 35 federally-funded contracts, and was a subcontractor for two additional contracts, worth over $87.6 million. Boggs Paving claimed DBE credits of approximately $3.7 million on these contracts for payments purportedly made to Styx. Styx only received payments of approximately $375,432 for actual work on these contracts, court records show.
To date, six defendants have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from this investigation. Greg Miller, 60, of Matthews, N.C., Arnold Mann, 55, of Fort Mill, S.C., Greg Tucker, 41, of Oakboro, N.C., and John Cuthbertson, 69, of Monroe have each plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud USDOT. Kevin Hicks, 43, of Monroe has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud USDOT and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Charges against Boggs Paving, Inc. remain pending.
Drew Boggs has been released on bond and will be sentenced by the Court at a later date. The conspiracy to defraud USDOT charge carries a maximum of five years in prison and $250,000 fine. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction.
The investigation of the case was handled by USDOT-OIG, FBI and IRS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jenny G. Sugar and Michael E. Savage of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Petersburg Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced to over 17 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Shawn Rives, 33, of Petersburg, Virginia, was sentenced yesterday to 210 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and John I. Dixon III, Petersburg Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer.
Rives was indicted on Oct. 16, 2013 on two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, commonly known as “crack,” and three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride. When Rives failed to appear at his arraignment on the charges on Nov. 7, 2013, the court issued a warrant for his arrest. Rives remained a fugitive until Feb. 25, 2014, when the U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force, in conjunction with the FBI, arrested Rives at an apartment complex in Richmond, Virginia. According to an affidavit filed in the case, as the Fugitive Task Force agents made entry into the apartment, Rives kicked through the drywall of a closet in the residence, squeezed through the wall, and entered the adjacent apartment through the bedroom closet, where he attempted to hide.
Rives pleaded guilty on May 22, 2014 to distributing crack cocaine. According to court documents, law enforcement officers executed search warrants in March and October 2012 at residences in Petersburg where Rives was staying, or that were associated with him. At both locations, authorities recovered cocaine, chemicals used to prepare cocaine for sale, digital scales, baggies for distribution, and U.S. currency from the sale of cocaine. In addition, in June 2012, during a search incident to the arrest of Rives, officers recovered cocaine and $2,472 from Rives, along with additional cocaine and a digital scale from a vehicle.
In a statement of facts filed with his guilty plea, Rives admitted that he distributed at least five kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and between one kilogram and 2.8 kilograms of cocaine base during 2013.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office and the Petersburg Bureau of Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted the case.A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:13-cr-175.
Passenger Arrested for Disrupting Transatlantic FlightRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A passenger on American Airlines (AA) Flight 62 from Miami to Paris last evening, was charged today in federal court with interfering with flight crew members. The flight was diverted to Boston’s Logan International Airport where the passenger was arrested.
Edmund Alexandre, 60, of Paris, France, was a passenger on AA Flight 62 from Miami to Paris which departed at 7:00 p.m. At approximately 9:10 p.m., Alexandre allegedly began arguing with another passenger and became disruptive. A flight crew member intervened, and asked Alexandre to calm down. Alexandre continued to raise his voice, left his seat and became disruptive to other passengers. As the crew member turned and walked away, Alexandre allegedly began raising his voice again, followed the crew member towards the back of the plane, and grabbed the crew member’s arm. It was at that time that federal air marshals identified themselves and subdued and handcuffed Alexandre. Alexandre was taken into custody, and the captain of the flight diverted the flight to Boston’s Logan Airport.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. 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; Bob Allison, Federal Security Director for the Transportation Security Administration for the District of Massachusetts; Vincent Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston; and Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
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Owner and Seven Employees of Mortgage Company and Two Real Estate Developers Indicted for $50 Million Scam Involving Federally Insured MortgagesRead the Press Release
The owner of a Florida mortgage company, seven employees of the company and two real estate developers were indicted in the Southern District of Florida in connection with an alleged $50 million mortgage fraud scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida and David A. Montoya, Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made the announcement.
Hector Hernandez, 56, of Miami, Florida, the owner and operator of Great Country Mortgage Bankers (Great Country), a mortgage lender in Miami, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and 25 counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Great Country loan officers Durand Deeb, 43, of Miami, Frank Carino, 48, of Apollo Beach, Florida, and Fabian Perez, 39, of Miami; Great Country loan processors Juliette Del Rio, 37, of Miami, and Julissa Saavedra, 43, of Miami,; Great Country underwriters Olga Hernandez, 58, of Lake Mary, Florida, and Olga Rodriguez, 53, of Miami; and real estate developers Armando Bravo, 42, of Coral Gables, Florida, and Aleida Fontao, 61, of Miami, were also indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and varying counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution.
According to the indictment, beginning in January 2006 and continuing through September 2008, Hernandez and others allegedly obtained mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a division of HUD, for unqualified borrowers by exaggerating the borrowers’ income and otherwise misrepresenting their financial condition.
Specifically, Hernandez and others allegedly created false documents on behalf of borrowers who could not otherwise qualify for FHA-insured loans due to insufficient income, high levels of debt, and outstanding collections. These documents included bogus earnings statements that inflated the borrowers’ income and false verification of employment forms that overstated their work histories.
In addition to creating these false documents, Hernandez and others allegedly offered the unqualified borrowers cash back after closing as an incentive to purchase condominiums. These secret payments were not disclosed in the loan applications and were omitted from loan closing documents so that HUD and the financial institutions that subsequently purchased the loans would not know of their existence.
By later selling the fraudulent loans to financial institutions, Great Country transferred the risk of loss to those institutions The vast majority of the unqualified borrowers failed to meet their monthly mortgage obligations and defaulted on their loans. When the loans went into foreclosure, HUD, which insured the loans, was required to pay the outstanding balances to the financial institutions, resulting in losses in excess of $50 million to the agency.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by HUD’s Office of Inspector General with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Miami-Dade Police Department Warrants Bureau and Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office – Public Corruption Task Force. This is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Bybee and Trial Attorney Michael T. O’Neill of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.Owner and Seven Employees of Mortgage Company and Two Real Estate Developers Indicted for $50 Million Scam Involving Federally Insured MortgagesRead the Press Release
The owner of a Florida mortgage company, seven employees of the company and two real estate developers were indicted in the Southern District of Florida in connection with an alleged $50 million mortgage fraud scheme.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and David A. Montoya, Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made the announcement.
Hector Hernandez, 56, of Miami, Florida, the owner and operator of Great Country Mortgage Bankers (Great Country), a mortgage lender in Miami, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and 25 counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Great Country loan officers Durand Deeb, 43, of Miami, Frank Carino, 48, of Apollo Beach, Florida, and Fabian Perez, 39, of Miami; Great Country loan processors Juliette Del Rio, 37, of Miami, and Julissa Saavedra, 43, of Miami,; Great Country underwriters Olga Hernandez, 58, of Lake Mary, Florida, and Olga Rodriguez, 53, of Miami; and real estate developers Armando Bravo, 42, of Coral Gables, Florida, and Aleida Fontao, 61, of Miami, were also indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and varying counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution.
According to the indictment, beginning in January 2006 and continuing through September 2008, Hernandez and others allegedly obtained mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a division of HUD, for unqualified borrowers by exaggerating the borrowers’ income and otherwise misrepresenting their financial condition.
Specifically, Hernandez and others allegedly created false documents on behalf of borrowers who could not otherwise qualify for FHA-insured loans due to insufficient income, high levels of debt, and outstanding collections. These documents included bogus earnings statements that inflated the borrowers’ income and false verification of employment forms that overstated their work histories.
In addition to creating these false documents, Hernandez and others allegedly offered the unqualified borrowers cash back after closing as an incentive to purchase condominiums. These secret payments were not disclosed in the loan applications and were omitted from loan closing documents so that HUD and the financial institutions that subsequently purchased the loans would not know of their existence.
By later selling the fraudulent loans to financial institutions, Great Country transferred the risk of loss to those institutions . The vast majority of the unqualified borrowers failed to meet their monthly mortgage obligations and defaulted on their loans. When the loans went into foreclosure, HUD, which insured the loans, was required to pay the outstanding balances to the financial institutions, resulting in losses in excess of $50 million to the agency.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by HUD’s Office of Inspector General with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Miami-Dade Police Department Warrants Bureau and Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office – Public Corruption Task Force. This is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Bybee and Trial Attorney Michael T. O’Neill of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
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.
New York Man Imprisoned 39 Months for Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that today Charles Hercules, 23, of New York, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to thirty-nine months imprisonment on his guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. Chief Judge Reiss also ordered that Hercules serve three years on supervised release after his incarceration ends.
According to court documents, Hercules, along with Joshua Rose, 21, and Devon Cruz, 29, both of New York, trafficked approximately one kilogram of heroin from New York to Rutland from early 2012 to February 2013. The three New York men sold the heroin in Rutland primarily through several heroin-addicted local residents, including Alan H. Willis, II, 42, of Tinmouth, and Evan Murphy, 23, of Rutland. During a joint investigation by the Vermont Drug Task Force (VDTF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), investigators used confidential informants to make controlled buys of the heroin from Willis and Murphy in the Rutland area.
On July 24, 2013, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Hercules, Rose, Cruz, Willis, Murphy, and Jean Marie Phillips, 47, of Rutland, with conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. All of the defendants have entered guilty pleas to the conspiracy charge, except Phillips, who pled guilty to aiding and abetting Rose=s possession with intent to distribute heroin. On April 28, 2014, Willis was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment. On May 9, 2014, Phillips was sentenced to 13 months imprisonment. On August 26, 2014, Murphy was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment. Rose and Cruz are scheduled for sentencing this fall.
United States Attorney Tristram J. Coffin commended the joint investigation by the VDTF, DEA and FBI, and thanked the Vermont Attorney General=s Office for its cooperation. Burlington attorney David Williams represented Hercules. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig S. Nolan.
Multiple Defendants Charged with Federal Offenses Related to Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Federal Complaint Alleges 35 year old Gresham Man, His Father and His Girlfriend Involved in Production and Possession of Child PornographyPORTLAND, Ore. – James Lee Hickerson, 35, of Gresham, Oregon, was arrested Tuesday after Magistrate Judge Stewart approved a criminal complaint charging him with receipt and possession of child pornography. According to information presented at the detention hearing, following his arrest, James Hickerson admitted sexually abusing his girlfriend’s child, in both Washington and Oregon, and taking screen shots of his girlfriend abusing her child while they were Skyping. Hickerson made his initial appearance in federal court on Wednesday. If convicted of the pending charges, Hickerson faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, and up to 30 years. He would also be required to serve a minimum of five years on supervision upon release from prison, and be required to register as a sex offender. A release decision regarding defendant Hickerson’s custody status is pending further review by the court.
Neil Lee Hickerson, 56, of Gresham, Oregon, is charged in a separate complaint with possession of child pornography. Neil Hickerson is James Hickerson’s father. Because Neil Hickerson has previously been convicted of an offense relating to abusive sexual conduct relating to a minor, he is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, and up to 20 years, in prison, to be followed by a minimum of five years, and up to life, on supervised release. Neil Hickerson also made an initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Stewart on Wednesday, and was temporarily detained pending a detention hearing set for Friday, August 29 at 1:30.
Carolyn M. Knudsen, 28, of Camas, Washington, is charged in a separate criminal complaint with production of child pornography and aiding and abetting. If convicted of the charges, Knudsen is facing a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, and up to 30 years. She would also be required to serve a minimum of five years on supervised release after completion of her prison sentence, and would be required to register as a sex offender. Knudsen was also arrested Tuesday and made her initial appearance in federal court Wednesday afternoon. Her detention hearing is also set for Friday. Magistrate Judge Stewart ordered Knudsen detained pending the hearing.
The cases arose after law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the Hickersons’ residence, believing they had one suspect, and discovered evidence leading to the charges against all three defendants. As a result, law enforcement also identified and rescued a young child in Camas, Washington, who, evidence revealed, had been sexually abused. The matter was referred to Child Protective Services in Vancouver, Washington.
All three cases will be presented to a federal grand jury, and additional charges may be filed.
“This is a heartbreaking case, but thanks to the great investigators who executed the search warrant, a very young child was rescued from further sexual abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “These offenses are insidious, and when exposed, are often met with shock, and even disbelief. Sadly, these cases are all too common. My office will continue to charge these crimes and pursue sentences that ensure all of those who abuse or exploit children are punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant should be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Interagency Child Exploitation Prevention Team (INTERCEPT); and the Camas and Vancouver, Washington, police departments, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Shoemaker, Chief of the Violent Crimes Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon.
Missouri Couple Plead Guilty to Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on August 28, 2014, Darren E. Everett, 43, and his companion, Mackenzie A. Leonard, 28, both of St. Louis, MO, pled guilty to an Indictment charging them with Bank Robbery. For this offense, each faces a term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years, a fine up to $250,000, or both, and not more than 5 years of supervised release. Sentencing for both of them is scheduled for December 19, 2014, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Both are currently detained in St. Louis, Missouri, on unrelated charges.
The bank robbery occurred on February 4, 2013, when Everett and his girlfriend, Leonard, robbed the Commerce Bank in Columbia, Illinois, of approximately $1,782. $250 of this amount was bait money. Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing showed that Leonard went inside the bank disguised as an elderly woman. As she approached the teller, she handed the teller a note indicating that she had a gun and demanded money. Once she was given the money, she exited the bank.
Officers arrested Everett and Leonard at their residence in Chesterfield, Missouri, on February 8, 2013. Both were taken to the Town and Country Police Department in Missouri. Two of the $50 bait bills from the Commerce Bank were found in Everett’s wallet at the time of his arrest. Both Everett and Leonard admitted their role in the robbery of the Commerce Bank in Columbia. Both also indicated that some items from the robbery would be found in a pink suitcase in the master bedroom of their residence. Everett consented to law enforcement officers searching their residence. During the search, officers found a pink suitcase in the master bedroom. Inside the suitcase, officers recovered items worn by Leonard during the Commerce Bank robbery, as well as the purse she used with the note still inside.
The case was investigated by the Columbia, Illinois, Police Department, the Illinois State Police, the Town and Country, Missouri, Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
McLaughlin Man Charged with Abusive Sexual Contact of A MinorRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Abusive Sexual Contact of a Minor.
Patrick Red Legs, age 20, was indicted on August 19, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William D. Gerdes on August 21, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 2 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, a mandatory minimum of 5 years, up to life, of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that between April 1, 2014, and June 12, 2014, Red Legs did knowingly engage in, and attempt to engage in, sexual contact with a juvenile female who was at least four years younger than him.
The charge is merely an accusation and Red Legs is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley is prosecuting the case.
Red Legs was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Massillon Man Faces Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that Gregory Allen Mays, 53, of Massillon, Ohio, was charged with producing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The indictment charges that from in or about June 14, 2013, through on or about July 23, 2013, Mays did use, persuade, induce, entice and coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct, for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct and such visual depiction was produced or transmitted using materials that had been mailed, shipped, and transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer.
If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the Court after consideration of the federal sentencing guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique 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.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carol M. Skutnik. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Canton Office.
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.
Martin Man Sentenced to 21 Years in Federal Prison on Weapons ConvictionsRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Anthony Taylor, age 46, of Martin, Tenn., received a federal prison sentence of over 21 years, or 262 months, following his conviction on January 28, 2014, by a jury on two counts related to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a stolen firearm, announced United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee Edward L. Stanton III, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Glenn Anderson.
“Federal and local law enforcement did an outstanding job in bringing the defendant to justice,” said United States Attorney Stanton. “The Court’s sentence of 262 months sends a strong message that we will aggressively prosecute individuals who illegally possess and sell weapons.”
“The result of this investigation is more evidence of ATF’s commitment to combating violent crime in Tennessee,” stated Special Agent in Charge Anderson. “ATF’s Frontline strategy utilizes every available resource to make our communities a safer place to live.”
According to the facts alleged in the criminal complaint and revealed in open court, on January 17, 2013, detectives of the Martin Police Department in Martin, Tenn., conducted an undercover operation utilizing a confidential informant. The confidential informant purchased what was later determined to be a stolen 12 gauge shotgun from Taylor. Taylor is a previously multi-convicted felon.
In addition to the prison sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge J. Daniel Breen ordered Taylor to serve two years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal prison system.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the City of Martin, Tenn. Police Department. U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Victor L. Ivy and James Powell represented the government.Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Agreement by Former New York City Council Member to Forfeiture of Pension Benefits and Motion Seeking Forfeiture of Former New York State Assemblyman’S Pension ContributionsRead the Press Release
Filing Seeks Order Forfeiting Pension Contributions Made by Former New York State Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, Convicted of Corruption Offenses
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the agreement of MIGUEL MARTINEZ, a former New York City Council member convicted of corruption offenses, to forfeit pension benefits to satisfy the forfeiture order against him, and the filing of an application for an order forfeiting pension contributions made by ERIC STEVENSON, a former New York State assemblyman convicted of corruption offenses.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Today’s actions represent a substantial step towards preventing corrupt elected officials from benefiting from pensions paid for by the people they betrayed in office. As I announced last year, this Office is committed to using every available legal means to prevent taxpayers’ money from being used to pay for the comfortable retirement of officials who betray those taxpayers while in office.”
As alleged in the applications seeking forfeiture, the agreement to forfeit MARTINEZ’s pension benefits, and other court documents:
Former New York City Council member MIGUEL MARTINEZ was convicted of corruption offenses on July 16, 2009. On December 15, 2009, MARTINEZ was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to forfeit $106,000. MARTINEZ is currently a vested member of the New York City Employee Retirement System and will be eligible to receive benefits when he reaches the age of 57. On December 17, 2013, the Office filed an application for an order forfeiting MARTINEZ’s right to pension benefits until his forfeiture judgment is fully paid. In an agreement submitted to Judge Paul A. Crotty today, MARTINEZ agreed to forfeit his right to pension benefits until his forfeiture judgment is fully paid. In satisfying this forfeiture judgment, MARTINEZ will receive credit for payments he makes towards restitution. This agreement is subject to approval by the Court.
Former New York State Assemblyman ERIC STEVENSON was convicted of corruption offenses in January 2014 after a six-day trial. On May 21, 2014, STEVENSON was sentenced and ordered to forfeit $22,000. This forfeiture judgment remains unpaid. STEVENSON is not a vested member in the New York State & Local Employee Retirement System but is entitled to a refund of the contributions he made into the system. Today, the Office filed an application to Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska seeking to forfeit these pension contributions.
Additionally, on December 17, 2013, the Office sought the forfeiture of pension benefits by Larry Seabrook, a former New York City Council member who was convicted of corruption offenses, and filed discovery requests seeking to locate benefits paid to convicted former New York City Council member Hiram Monserrate and convicted former Yonkers City Council member Sandy Annabi to satisfy the outstanding forfeiture judgments against them. These matters remain pending.
The prosecutions of these officials were handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit and its White Plains Division. The forfeiture of the defendants’ pensions is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Paul Monteleoni is in charge of the forfeitures.
U.S. v. Miguel Martinez - Govt's Letter to Judge Crotty, Forfeiture Stipulation
U.S. v. Eric Stevenson - Govt's Motion for Forfeiture of Substitute AssetsMan from Mexico Charged with AssaultRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mexican man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, and Assaulting, Resisting and Impeding a Federal Officer.
Jorge Trujillo, age 21, was indicted on August 19, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Simko on August 25, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is a 10 year mandatory minimum, up to life, in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and up to $400 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about August 5, 2014, Trujillo unlawfully assaulted a juvenile male and two women with a dangerous weapon, that is, a knife and also assaulted an officer while that officer was engaged in the performance of his official duties.
The charges are merely accusations and Trujillo is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley is prosecuting the case.
Trujillo was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Man and Woman Plead Guilty to Possession of A Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Gustavo Alfaro-Garcia, 36, of Salt lake City, Utah, and Mirella Ileana Garcia, 27, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday to possession of a stolen firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Co-defendant, Maria Garcia, 26, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty to the same charge on August 13, 2014.
According to the plea agreements, on June 18, 2013, the individuals were stopped by the Idaho State Police while traveling southbound on Interstate 15, in Oneida County, Idaho. Inside the vehicle officers found numerous stolen firearms including a Smith and Wesson .357 caliber revolver, which had been stolen from a residence in Arimo, Idaho. Earlier that day, a witness had seen the individuals enter the residence where the gun was stolen.
The crime is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for November 19, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello. Maria Garcia’s sentencing is set for October 22, 2014, also before Judge Winmill.
The case was the result of an investigation by the Idaho State Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
MS-13 Gang Member from Jamaica, Queens Indicted for Murder of 19-Year-Old Man in Long IslandRead the Press Release
Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed charging the defendant, Byron Lopez, with conspiracy to commit murder in-aid-of racketeering, murder in-aid-of racketeering, obstruction-of-justice murder and firearms offenses.1 If convicted, Lopez will face mandatory life imprisonment. Lopez, who was arrested this morning, was presented for arraignment earlier today at the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.
The charges and arrest were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York Field Office; James Higgins, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Explosives and Firearms, New York Field Division (ATF); and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department.
“This Office has a long history of prosecuting and convicting members of the MS-13 gang, which for years has pursued its particularly brutal brand of violence and lawlessness in neighborhoods throughout Queens and Long Island,” stated U.S. Attorney Lynch. “This prosecution, which brings another member of the gang to justice for a murder that disrupted one of our communities earlier this year, is part of our ongoing mission to dismantle MS-13 wherever and whenever it rears its head in this district.” Ms. Lynch thanked the Suffolk County Police Department for its assistance with the investigation.
"Today’s arrest of Byron Lopez, a member of the violent MS-13 street gang who is alleged to have coordinated the murder of a fellow gang member and other violent crimes, is yet another step in the efforts of law enforcement to attack the leadership of MS-13 and put an end to their menacing criminal conduct," said James T. Hayes Jr., special agent in charge of HSI. “HSI is proud of its partnerships with law enforcement agencies in Suffolk County, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York that further investigations against violent criminal street gangs that present significant threats to public safety."
As alleged in court documents, Lopez is a member of the Jamaica, Queens chapter of the violent street gang La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as “MS-13.” On February 25, 2014, Lopez and other members of the gang directed the victim, fellow gang member Sidney Valverde, to travel to Long Island under the false pretense that they needed him to assist in gang business there. In fact, Lopez and his co-conspirators planned to kill Valverde because they believed that he was providing information about the gang’s activities to federal law enforcement. After Valverde traveled to Long Island, the conspirators shot him in the back of the head and left his body on Miller Place Beach in Suffolk County, where it was discovered by a beachcomber approximately two weeks later.
The indictment of Lopez is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13, a violent international street gang comprised primarily of immigrants from El Salvador and Honduras. With numerous chapters, or “cliques,” through the United States, MS-13 has a significant presence in Queens and is the largest street gang in Long Island. Since 2003, more than 250 MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. More than 150 of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges. Since 2010 alone, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 20 murders in the Eastern District of New York, and has convicted more than 35 MS-13 members in connection with those murders.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Darren A. LaVerne and Alixandra E. Smith.
The Defendant:
BYRON LOPEZ, also known as “Viruz”
Age: 23
___________________________________________________________________________
1 The charges contained in the indictments are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Las Vegas Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Failing to File Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A local lawyer who served as U.S. Attorney for Nevada from 1975 to 1977, pleaded guilty today to failing to file federal individual and corporate income tax returns from 2006 to 2010, and agreed to pay restitution to the IRS of approximately $290,000, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
“Regardless of one’s occupation, job title or position, everyone is responsible for filing and paying taxes on all of their income,” said United States Attorney Bogden. “It is important that American taxpayers understand and feel confident that everyone is playing by the same rules in filing and paying their taxes.”
Lawrence J. Semenza, II, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file a tax return. According to the guilty plea agreement, Semenza operated his law practice in Las Vegas as a subchapter C personal service corporation. For the years 2006 through 2010, Semenza individually had taxable income of approximately $655,000, and the corporation had taxable income of approximately $345,000, but Semenza failed to file individual or corporate income tax returns for those years, and failed to pay the tax due and owing to the IRS, totaling about $290,000.Semenza is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 3, 2014. The maximum penalty for each count is one year in prison and a fine of not more than $100,000.
The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Johnson and Nicholas D. Dickinson.Las Vegas Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Failing to File Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A local lawyer who served as U.S. Attorney for Nevada from 1975 to 1977, pleaded guilty today to failing to file federal individual and corporate income tax returns from 2006 to 2010, and agreed to pay restitution to the IRS of approximately $290,000, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
“Regardless of one’s occupation, job title or position, everyone is responsible for filing and paying taxes on all of their income,” said United States Attorney Bogden. “It is important that American taxpayers understand and feel confident that everyone is playing by the same rules in filing and paying their taxes.”
Lawrence J. Semenza, II, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file a tax return. According to the guilty plea agreement, Semenza operated his law practice in Las Vegas as a subchapter C personal service corporation. For the years 2006 through 2010, Semenza individually had taxable income of approximately $655,000, and the corporation had taxable income of approximately $345,000, but Semenza failed to file individual or corporate income tax returns for those years, and failed to pay the tax due and owing to the IRS, totaling about $290,000.Semenza is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 3, 2014. The maximum penalty for each count is one year in prison and a fine of not more than $100,000.
The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Johnson and Nicholas D. Dickinson.Lakemoor Man Who Teaches in Buffalo Grove Middle School Arrested on Federal Child Sexual Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO ― A middle school teacher in northwest suburban Buffalo Grove was arrested this morning on federal charges for allegedly receiving child pornography and persuading a minor to produce pornographic images of himself. The defendant, JOHN C. VASTIS, also known as “Pete,” 51, of Lakemoor, which straddles Lake and McHenry counties, was arrested at his home early this morning by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations at the same time they executed a federal search warrant.
Vastis is a teacher at the Meridian Middle School in Aptakisic-Tripp District 102 in Buffalo Grove. There are no allegations of any sexual exploitation of any students. School district officials are cooperating with the investigation.
Vastis was charged with two counts of producing child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography. He appeared before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole and was ordered to remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing, which was scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Anyone with information about this matter is encouraged to call HSI’s toll-free tip line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE (1-866-347-2423) or go to http://www.ice.gov/predator/# for further information. Callers may remain anonymous.. Callers may remain anonymous.
According to the complaint, on Aug. 15, HSI agents and local police executed a state search warrant at the residence of a 17-year-old youth who was suspected of possessing and distributing child pornography. The youth, identified as “Minor A,” told agents that he began communicating via Skype and text messages with an adult he identified as “Pete” when he was 16-years-old in September 2013. Agents later identified “Pete” as Vastis, the charges allege. Agents then analyzed data from Minor A’s computer and cell phone and recovered more than 3,200 lines of chat messages between Minor A and “Pete.” Excerpts of those chats are detailed in the complaint affidavit.
The sexual exploitation of a minor charges allege that on Jan. 18 and March 3, 2014, Vastis persuaded, induced, and enticed Minor A to produce pornographic images of himself and send them to Vastis. He was also charged with receiving a video containing child pornography on July 13.
Each count of producing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison, while receiving child pornography carries a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years, and each count carries a $250,000 maximum fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The arrest and charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Gary Hartwig, Special Agent-in-Charge of HSI in Chicago. The Lakemoor Police Department, together with state and local HSI task force officers and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, are assisting in the investigation. The Buffalo Grove Police Department is also cooperating with the investigation. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kness.
The investigation is being conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since its launch in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.
A complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Complaint
Justice Department Asks Court to Dismiss Saint Elizabeths Hospital Case After Conditions Improved Under Consent DecreeRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department asked a federal court to dismiss the injunction to address civil rights violations at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., because the District of Columbia and the Department of Behavioral Health have significantly improved the care and treatment of persons confined to Saint Elizabeths Hospital. Saint Elizabeths is the district’s facility for treating individuals with mental health conditions. The reforms, which were implemented following requirements under a court order, have ensured that persons at Saint Elizabeths Hospital are discharged to the community with adequate supports to live in integrated settings. Further, the reforms resulted in important improvements in integrated treatment planning, psychological and psychiatric services, nursing care and protection from assault.
In 2006, the department notified the district that conditions at Saint Elizabeths Hospital violated the constitutional and federal statutory rights of individuals at the hospital. In 2007, the department and the district entered into a court enforceable settlement agreement to implement the necessary reforms. Since entering the settlement agreement, the department, with the help of a team of experts, has monitored the implementation of the reforms and provided technical assistance to facility officials.
Under the settlement agreement, district officials have made steady progress toward improving the care and treatment at Saint Elizabeths Hospital. By June 2014, the district had achieved and maintained substantial compliance with all required remedial measures by replacing a dangerous facility through the construction of a new hospital and increased clinical staff as well as reforming the discharge planning and community placement process. Further, the district lowered the population at Saint Elizabeths Hospital by nearly 50 percent. The district will continue its partnership with the local protection and advocacy group, University Legal Services, after dismissal of the lawsuit. The parties have filed a notice with the court detailing the ongoing monitoring that will be conducted by University Legal Services.
“We commend the district and the Department of Behavioral Health for their commitment to reform the clinical practices at Saint Elizabeths Hospital,” said Molly Moran, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “The leadership of the Department of Behavioral Health and of Saint Elizabeths Hospital have made significant and often difficult decisions to change the clinical culture at Saint Elizabeths Hospital and ensure that persons confined to hospital were appropriately discharged and integrated into the community with adequate supports. They strongly supported the required changes and provided the time, energy and resources necessary to achieve reform.”
The department initiated the investigation of Saint Elizabeths Hospital under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. These statutes give the Department of Justice authority to protect the constitutional and federal statutory rights of individuals with mental health conditions confined to mental health hospitals. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt
Related Materials:
Joint Motion for Final Dismissal with Notice Letter
Jury Convicts Ville Platte Man of Robbing St. Landry Parish Truck Stop CasinoRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. –After a three-day trial, a federal jury found a Ville Platte man guilty of taking part in an armed robbery in which more than $11,000 was taken from a truck stop store and casino in St. Landry Parish, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced.
The trial started on Monday and ended Wednesday for Arinskie Tryvon Orlandeze Jones, 24, of Ville Platte, La. United States District Judge Richard T. Haik presided over the trial. The jury deliberated for more than four hours before finding Jones guilty of one count of interference with commerce by robbery. Jones faces up to 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
Jones, and two other Ville Platte men, Ronald James Doomes, 26, and Steven Dudley Nelson, 25, were indicted on October 24, 2012, on charges that they took part in an armed robbery on April 8, 2011, at the Tiger Trax Truckstop #7 and Video Joker II Casino located in St. Landry Parish.
Previously, Doomes was found guilty of one count of armed robbery and one count of use and carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence after a federal trial ending on August 1, 2014. Doomes’ sentencing date is November 15, 2014. Nelson pleaded guilty to those same charges on October 28, 2013. His sentencing is set for September 19, 2014. Doomes and Nelson face prison terms of seven years to life. All three defendants also face up to $250,000 in fines.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a Department of Justice initiative designed to reduce firearm crimes by removing dangerous and persistent felons from the community and promote firearm safety. The PSN attorneys prosecute a variety of federal firearms violations listed in Titles 18 and 26 of the U.S. Code, including illegal possession of firearms and commission of crimes with firearms.
The FBI, ATF and the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph T. Mickel and David C. Joseph prosecuted the case.
John Acosta-bermudez Imprisoned for Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that John Acosta-Bermudez, 52, a Colombian citizen who has landed immigrant status in Canada, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court in Burlington to 13 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge that he reentered the United States after having been deported. Mr. Acosta-Bermudez has been detained without bail since his arrest last March.
According to court papers, immigration officials at the Route 5 Port-of-Entry in Derby Line observed a black vehicle enter the United States in mid-morning on March 29, 2014. The car did not stop at the Port for inspection, but instead headed south on Interstate 91. A Border Patrol agent followed and stopped the car on the highway. Acosta-Bermudez was driving and an undocumented alien was the passenger. Acosta-Bermudez has twice been deported from the United States following a New York robbery conviction and a federal passport fraud conviction. As a deportee, Acosta-Bermudez cannot return to the United States without the advance permission of the Attorney General.
Acosta-Bermudez is represented by Mark Kaplan. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
James Moorcroft Pleads Not Guilty in Stolen Truck/tractor CaperRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that James Moorcroft, 49, of Brookfield, Vermont, pleaded not guilty yesterday in United States District Court in Burlington to charges that he possessed a number of vehicles and tractors which had crossed state lines after being stolen. U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy released Moorcroft on conditions pending trial, which has not been scheduled.
On August 13, 2014, a federal grand jury in Rutland returned a seven count indictment accusing Moorcroft of possessing six trucks and two farm tractors which had been transported across state lines after being stolen. According to the indictment, between 2000 and 2012, Moorcroft orchestrated the thefts of eight trucks and tractors from locations in Vermont, New York, Massachusetts and Maine. The indictment charges that Moorcroft then transported the stolen equipment to a farm he lives on in Brookfield, where he used the vehicles. Moorcroft allegedly stripped the vehicle identification numbers off the stolen equipment, affixed replacement VINs and registered the vehicles in Vermont.
In February 2014, police in Connecticut examined one of the stolen vehicles at the home a relative of Moorcroft's and discovered that the public VIN did not match a confidential VIN hidden within the vehicle. At that point, authorities theorize, Moorcroft panicked and decided to dispose of the stolen equipment he had on his farm. In February and March 2014, authorities recovered all eight stolen trucks and tractors after they had been abandoned or moved to locations in Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Investment Company Owner Sentenced to 188 Months in Prison for Wire Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – Glen Galemmo, 49, who owned Queen City Investments and other investment companies in the Cincinnati area, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 188 months in prison for soliciting millions of dollars from his company’s investors between 2005 and July 2013 and spending the money rather than investing it.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS) announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Herman Weber.
Galemmo, who now lives in South Carolina, pleaded guilty on January 15, 2014 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. According to court documents, Galemmo lured investors with promotional materials falsely claiming returns of more than 30 percent over seven years.
“What makes Galemmo’s conduct so egregious – and separates him from a defendant who embezzles money from his employer or commits mortgage fraud – is that he lied to investors on a daily basis, over and over again, over the course of many years, and in so doing, he destroyed the financial future of countless individuals,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Glatfelter told the court prior to sentencing.
For eight years, Galemmo operated a “Ponzi scheme” using money from new investors to pay off earlier investors. Galemmo received approximately $87 million cumulatively from individual investors, trusts, charitable organizations, and retirement accounts. During this time, Galemmo also received approximately $29 million from some of these investors in the form of short-term loans. The vast majority of these funds were never invested in anything. Galemmo used the investor accounts as his personal bank, paying country club fees, taking luxurious vacations and buying real estate, clothing and jewelry.
Galemmo sent fraudulent monthly statements to investors. To create the monthly statements, each client's principal investment balance was merely multiplied by a fictitious percentage of return, consistent with the returns that Galemmo had promised to his clients. The statements showed positive account balances and fictitious earnings, when in fact, the money had not been invested as promised. Investigators identified approximately 140 victims of Galemmo’s scheme.
Galemmo agreed to forfeit three pieces of real estate, including a condo in Marco Island, Florida, the contents of bank and investment accounts and five vehicles. The government also is asking the court to order that Galemmo forfeit more than $5 million in cash and investments, including some cash and investments that Galemmo transferred to his wife in an attempt to avoid the government seizing the assets. If the court orders the forfeiture, the forfeited property will go toward victim restitution.
“A person who creates a web of financial lies will soon be caught up in it. Mr Galemmo offered rates of return of over 30% to his clients and unfortunately these were false promises,” said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, IRS, Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by IRS special agents as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Glatfelter and Tim Mangan, who are prosecuting the case.
Indictment for Growing over 22,000 Marijuana Plants in Lassen National ForestRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Mexican national Christian Rubio with conspiracy to cultivate marijuana, cultivation of marijuana, and depredation of public lands and resources, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, on August 14, 2014, law enforcement agents entered a marijuana cultivation site in the Lassen National Forest and located more than 22,000 marijuana plants and over one ton of processed marijuana. Rubio was arrested after at the site. The marijuana cultivation caused significant damage to the land and natural resources of the Lassen National Forest.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service and the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Olusere Olowoyeye is prosecuting the case.
The sentence for the conspiracy charge is five to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The sentence for the manufacture of marijuana charges is up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The sentence for depredation of public lands and resources charge is up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Houlka MS Woman Pleads Guilty to Misprison of a Felony (Concealment of Methamphetamine)Read the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that DEJA MONET PHILLIPS, age 18, of Houlka, Mississippi, pled guilty to Misprison of a Felony, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 6.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Information alleged that on or about March 6, 2014, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant assisted another individual in concealing a large quantity of methamphetamine and failed to report it to law enforcement when the opportunity arose.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty plea and ordered the completion of a presentence report.
The statutory range of punishment is up 3 years and $250,000.00 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Waters represented the United States.
Hartford Man Sentenced to 15 Years for His Role in A Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DEMENTRIUS NAVE, also known as Cunny, age 35, of Hartford, was sentenced on August 21, 2014, to 15 years of imprisonment by United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson for his role in a narcotics conspiracy. Upon completion of his prison term, NAVE will be placed on supervised release for five years. Federal agents arrested NAVE on February 12, 2012, following a wiretap investigation that targeted NAVE and his co-conspirators in the unlawful distribution of narcotics. The co-conspirators charged with NAVE included Rakent BUNKLEY, also known as “Kent Street,” Tyrone CRUMP, also known as KT, Justin POWELL, also known as “Jus,” and KEVIN ALLEN, all of whom have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. NAVE was held in custody since his arrest.
NAVE pleaded guilty in November 2013 to conspiring to distribute crack cocaine. According to court filings and statements made in court, NAVE was indicted in 2012 as part of Operation Vinefield, an investigation conducted by the FBI-sponsored Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes and Gang Task Force into gang and narcotics activity on Vine and Enfield Streets in Hartford’s North End. A total of 38 individuals were charged in multiple indictments as part of Operation Vinefield. Federal, state and local investigators began investigating NAVE immediately after he was released from the Connecticut Department of Correction on November 4, 2011.NAVE has an extensive criminal history that includes a prior federal conviction for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. NAVE also gained local notoriety in 2006 when two women were murdered on separate occasions while being with NAVE. On January 30, 2006, Wendy Williams was shot and killed while she sat in a car in the Nelton Court housing project. According to the Hartford Police Department, NAVE was in the car and the apparent target when Williams was murdered. On February 23, 2006, Sara Palenza was killed when she was shot in the head while a passenger in a car driven by NAVE on Albany Avenue.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hartford Police Department, and Connecticut State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian P. Leaming.PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Grove City Woman Pleads Guilty in Illegal Alien Case and to Failing to File an Income Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS – Jennifer A. Quintana, 38, of Grove City, Ohio, owner and operator of Quintana Construction, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count inducing one or more illegal aliens to enter the U.S. and to one count of willfully failing to file a federal income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge James Vanderberg, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and Special Agent in Charge Marlon Miller, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.
According to court documents, Quintana Construction, which is operated out of Jennifer Quintana’s residence, is a construction labor contracting business that provided labor for framing assembly and apartment/condominium construction in the greater Columbus, Ohio area. Jennifer Quintana is married to Felix Quintana. Felix Quintana is a citizen of the country of Mexico and is documented to work in the U.S. Felix Quintana organized and supervised the workforce for Quintana Construction and was considered the on-site supervisor.
From January 2005 through November 2009, Quintana Construction knowingly used the labor of undocumented illegal aliens to do construction work on various job sites. The investigation revealed that in 2007, 15 undocumented illegal aliens were utilized by Quintana Construction and in 2008, 14 undocumented illegal aliens were used. For each year, the illegal aliens were the primary work force used by Quintana Construction. The undocumented illegal alien employees had no authorization to seek or maintain gainful employment in the U.S.
Jennifer Quintana submitted false forms to the IRS stating that workers were sub-contractors of Quintana Construction with valid taxpayer identification numbers, when in fact she knew they were undocumented illegal alien workers.
In 2007, Jennifer Quintana filed 18 Forms 1099-MISC with the IRS on behalf of Quintana Construction which reported nonemployee compensation paid to sub-contractors. Of these 18 Forms 1099-MISC, 15 were rejected by the IRS for not having matching names and taxpayer identification numbers. In addition, of the 18 Forms 1099-MISC, 10 of them had also been rejected by the IRS in a prior year. Upon acknowledgement of these rejected Forms 1099-MISC and receipt of the IRS Form CP2100, which reports such rejections, Quintana Construction was obligated to begin backup employment tax withholdings for those individuals, reporting such backup withholdings on a Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax, and was obligated to pay to the IRS any applicable collected backup withholdings, which Jennifer Quintana failed to do.
For tax year 2008, Quintana Construction, by and through Jennifer Quintana, paid wages in the form of non-employee compensation to her employees totaling $220,669.00, which was subject to backup withholding of federal income taxes totaling $61,787.32.
Inducing one or more illegal aliens to enter the U.S is punishable by a fine of up to $500,000 and three years of organizational supervision. Willfully failing to file a federal income tax return with the IRS is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of not more than $10,000, and one year of supervised release
In addition, Jennifer Quintana agreed to cease doing business as a labor contracting firm for the construction industry.
Judge Sargus will schedule a sentencing hearing following a pre-sentence investigation by the court.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by IRS, the Department of Labor, and ICE, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas W. Squires, who is representing the United States in this case.
Grand Jury Indicts Shoshone Man for Producing, Viewing and Transporting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOISE - William Roger Wilkinson, 53, of Shoshone, Idaho, was indicted August 12, 2014, by a federal grand jury for two counts of sexual exploitation of children, one count of access with intent to view child pornography, and one count of transportation of child pornography in interstate commerce, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. He made his initial appearance on the charges today, where he entered a not guilty plea. Trial is set for November 4, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The indictment alleges that on November 3, 2012, and again on December 9, 2012, Wilkinson knowingly used, persuaded, induced, enticed or coerced an eight-year-old child to take part in sexually explicit conduct and produced visual depictions of that conduct. The indictment also alleges that between June and October 2013, Wilkinson knowingly accessed with intent to view one or more visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Last, the indictment alleges that between November 1 and November 12, 2013, Wilkinson transported child pornography images depicting sexually explicit conduct involving eleven separate minors in interstate commerce. The indictment also calls for the forfeiture of real and personal property associated with the offenses.
The combined charges of sexual exploitation of children, accessing with intent to view child pornography and transportation of child pornography are punishable by up to 90 years in prison, a maximum fine of $750,000, and at least 5 years up to lifetime of supervised release. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Idaho and Utah, and the Lincoln County, Idaho, Sheriff’s Department.
An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Ginseng Root Poacher Sentenced to Jail TimeRead the Press Release
Another Poacher Sentenced To Jail For The Illegal Harvesting Of 298 Ginseng Roots
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis L. Howell sentenced Billy Joe Hurley, 46, of Bryson City, N.C. to serve five months and fifteen days in jail for the illegal possession or harvesting of American ginseng from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Steve Kloster, Acting Chief Ranger of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cindy MacLeod, Acting Superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park join U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement.
“Illegally harvesting American ginseng from federally protected land areas poses a serious danger to a plant that is part of our national heritage. It is also a crime, and my office will continue to work closely with National Park Service Rangers to prosecute poachers who profit from the illegal harvesting and sale of this endangered national resource,” said U.S. Attorney Tompkins.
“Our rangers remain committed to protecting ginseng which is now locally threatened by poaching and recently placed on the North Carolina watch list for plants in peril due to exploitation,” said Acting Chief Ranger Steve Kloster. “We are hopeful that this conviction will serve as a deterrent to others considering illegally taking this special resource.”
“I am proud of the rangers who work to protect ginseng from poachers,” said Acting Superintendent Cindy MacLeod. “Ginseng is a precious resource, a difficult plant to grow, and one that we have been using losing to illegal and unsustainable harvests as the forests are being robbed of younger and younger plants.”
According to today’s sentencing hearing and filed documents, on June 28, 2014, Hurley admitted to illegally possessing 83 American ginseng roots he had illegally dug from areas in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Hurley pleaded guilty to the poaching charge, which marked his fourth such conviction. Staff of the National Park Service replanted the recovered viable roots but estimate that at best, 50% of the replanted roots are likely to survive.
At today’s sentencing hearing, a National Park Service botanist testified that the American ginseng species is under severe pressure from poachers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and may not be sustainable if it continues to be harvested illegally. During the hearing, a special agent with of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also testified that financial gain is likely to continue to drive poachers and that fresh ginseng can bring up to $200 per pound on the black market.
In a separate case, on August 6, 2014, Christopher Ian Jacobson, 31, of Cosby, Tenn. was sentenced to 80 days in prison and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Jacobson pleaded guilty to the illegal possession of 298 roots of ginseng.
American ginseng is a native plant in the Smoky Mountains. These wild roots are also a highly prized tonic, particularly in Asian markets. Dried ginseng roots are used in medicines, teas, and other health products. American ginseng was recently placed in North Carolina’s Watch Category 5B, which includes generally widespread species that are in commercial demand and are often collected and sold in high volume. This category was created to bring attention to the issue, since such high volume collection is unsustainable in the long run.
Ginseng harvest in the park has always been illegal. It is legal to harvest ginseng outside the park on private lands or with a permit in certain Forest Service areas during the harvesting season. Park scientists have realized these slow-growing native plants could disappear because harvesting means taking the entire ginseng root. Each year law enforcement rangers seize between 500 and 1000 illegally poached ginseng roots. Over the years, park biologists have marked and replanted over 15,000 roots seized by law enforcement. Monitoring indicates that many of these roots have survived and are again thriving in these mountains.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the National Park Service remind the public that gathering ginseng on federal lands, such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is a federal crime. The Smokies are the largest fully protected reserve known for wild ginseng. This plant was formerly abundant throughout the eastern mountains, but due to overharvesting, populations have been significantly reduced to isolated patches. The roots poached in this park are usually young, between the ages of 5 and 10 years, and have not yet reached their full reproductive capacity. In time, the park’s populations might recover if poaching ceased.
The investigation of the case was handled by Park Rangers of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park assisted by special agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville handled the prosecution.
To report illegal harvesting activities of American ginseng within the Smokies, please call the Law Enforcement Desk of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at 1-865-436-1230.
Four Indicted for Cultivation in Shasta-Trinity National ForestRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today, charging four defendants with conspiracy to cultivate marijuana, cultivation of marijuana, and depredation of public lands and resources, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Arturo Alcazar-Tapia, 30; Isidro Alcazar-Tapia, 25; Victor Manuel Alvarez-Contreras, 19; and Ricky Martin Huerta, 20, all of Eureka, conspired together to grow marijuana at two sites in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Trinity County. The marijuana was then packaged for distribution at a house in Eureka.
According to court documents, on August 4, 2014, agents executed a search warrant at the defendants’ home in Eureka. They found 33 pounds of processed marijuana divided into one‑pound packages and more than $6,000 in cash. The next two days the agents searched two marijuana cultivation sites in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest: one near Big French Creek and one near Hobo Gulch Road. Approximately 7,980 marijuana plants were eradicated from the first site and 13,642 marijuana plants at the next. The marijuana cultivation caused significant damage to the land and natural resources of the National Forest, an area that provides habitat for several threatened and endangered animal species.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force, North State Marijuana Team, and the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christiaan Highsmith is prosecuting the case.
The sentence for the conspiracy charge is five to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The sentence for the manufacture of marijuana charges is up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The sentence for depredation of public lands and resources charge is up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Four Family Members Plead Guilty to Defrauding IRS of over $5 MillionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Four family members who operated a temporary employment agency pleaded guilty yesterday to charges relating to a scheme to hide $25 million in employees’ wages from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Margaret Mathes,67, Boseba Prum, 47, Sam Pich, 63, and Thaworn Promket, 52, all of Lowell, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, mail fraud, and to violating laws against structuring monetary transactions to avoid reporting requirements. Prum also pleaded guilty to 10 counts of filing false employment tax returns, six counts of mail fraud, and two counts of structuring monetary transactions. Pich also pleaded guilty to 17 counts of assisting the filing of false employment tax return, six counts of mail fraud and two counts of structuring monetary transactions. Promket also pleaded guilty to seven counts of filing false employment tax returns, six counts of mail fraud and two counts of structuring monetary transactions. The defendants were indicted in September 2013, and on Nov. 24, 2014 they are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge Mark L. Wolf.
The defendants ran a temporary employment agency providing both short-term and long-term unskilled labor to companies in and around Lowell, including those in the packaging and food services industries. Between 2004 and 2009, the agency operated under the name International Temp Agency (INT) and JP Company.
Between 2004 and 2009, the defendants reported to the IRS that their temporary employees made about $2.2 million in wages, when the real figure was nearly $30 million. The defendants also defrauded the agency’s workers compensation insurer, Granite State Insurance Co., by hiding the true number of temporary workers the defendants employed, thus avoiding about $880,000 in insurance premiums. As part of the conspiracy to help cover up the unreported worker wages, the defendants withdrew cash from about 20 bank accounts and paid their temporary workers “off the books.” To further ensure that they would not be caught, the defendants structured these bank transactions – over 4300 in all – so they could withdraw the cash needed to pay the workers without triggering federal reporting requirements.
Each of the statutes provide a maximum penalty of between five and 20 years in prison. The statutes also provide for substantial fines and up to three years of supervised release. Note that actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Anthony DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations of the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau, made the announcement today. The investigation was undertaken jointly by the IRS, the FBI, and the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau. The case is being prosecuted by Andrew E. Lelling of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
Four Cleveland Men Indicted for Trafficking in Counterfeit TrademarksRead the Press Release
A federal indictment was filed today charging four individuals with trafficking in counterfeit trademarks, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Osama Iwais, age 36, Samer Iwais, age 31, Tarek Iwais, age 35, and Kalid Iwais, age 36, all of Cleveland, Ohio, are named in the one-count indictment.
The indictment alleges that between December 13, 2011, and March 7, 2012, the defendants did intentionally traffic, attempt to traffic and aid and abet the trafficking and attempted trafficking in goods, specifically, Ralph Lauren Polo shirts, boots and shorts, Ugg boots, Nike footwear, Timberland boots, Gucci footwear, New Era hats, True Religion jeans, North Face jackets and Lacoste boots, while knowingly using on or in connection with said merchandise counterfeit trademarks which were identical to and substantially indistinguishable from marks that were in use for such goods, and which were registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The indictment alleges that the merchandise in question, if genuine, had an aggregate value of approximately $95,000.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert W. Kern following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cleveland Police Department.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ 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.
Fort Hall Man Pleads Guilty to Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Dulton Earl Johnson, 23, of Fort Hall, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday to assault resulting in serious bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 10, 2013.
According to court documents, from July 30, 2013, to September 2, 2013, Johnson lived with a woman and several of her minor children in Fort Hall. During that time period, Johnson physically assaulted the woman’s nineteen-month-old daughter on multiple occasions. The assaults resulted in eleven different bone fractures or other serious injuries. The injuries were ultimately discovered when the infant was taken to Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah for surgery on the most recent fracture. In an interview with law enforcement officers, Johnson admitted to causing the injuries.
Johnson’s charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for November 19, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
Former VA Employee Sentenced for Stealing Government FundsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Zerry Feaster has been sentenced for stealing over $80,000 from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), where she worked as a secretary, and making false statements.
“Rather than supporting the men and women who have served our country honorably, Ms. Feaster stole from the VA to gamble and buy herself luxury goods at Coach and Tiffany,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.
“Feaster’s betrayal of the public trust for personal gain is reprehensible” said Special Agent in Charge Monty Stokes, Office of Inspector General, U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “The VA OIG will vigorously investigate allegations of the misuse of public funds whether for the funds whenever the funds are related to VA programs and operations.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: Feaster was employed as a secretary in the Police Services Division at the Atlanta VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Decatur, Ga. From February 2010 through February 2012, Feaster stole over $80,000 from the VA by misusing her government-issued credit card. The credit card was supposed to be used to purchase office supplies and other equipment for the Police Services Division at the Atlanta VAMC. Feaster instead misused her government-issued credit card to purchase pre-paid gift cards, which she then used to buy personal items, such as luxury accessories and jewelry, as well as to gamble. Feaster attempted to hide the gift cards purchases by creating and submitting fake purchase orders to the VA, falsely claiming that she was using the government credit card to buy office supplies and equipment.
Feaster, 46, of Ellenwood, Ga., has been sentenced to one year, one month in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $88,264.47. Feaster was convicted of these charges on June 27, 2017, after she pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft of government funds, and five counts of making false statements.
This case was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorney Mary L. Webb prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs 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 Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Former Turnpike Employee Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Production ChargeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Jeannette, Pa., pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
John S. Longo, 57, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Longo, a retired employee of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, from June 2009 through November 2010, requested another adult produce and send him digital images depicting the sexual exploitation of a child victim who was 12 years of age. The images included those produced on January 30, 2010, of the minor victim by the other adult.
Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing for January 22, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court ordered Longo be detained.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Longo.
Former Secretary-Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Theft of Union Treasury FundsRead the Press Release
The former Secretary-Treasurer of Security Police Fire Professionals of America Local 287 pleaded guilty today to theft from a labor organization in violation of his fiduciary responsibilities as a union officer.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and District Director Mark Wheeler of the Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, Washington District Office made the announcement.
Milton Hilliard, 47, of Fort Washington, Maryland, was the Secretary-Treasurer of Local 287, which represents security guards employed by Coastal International Security at various locations in Washington, D.C. At the plea hearing, he acknowledged that, between September 2008 and December 2010, he made dozens of unauthorized personal purchases using union funds. Specifically, he used the Local 287 debit card to purchase $11,303.92 in personal items at places such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Maryland Speedy Tag & Title, DARCARS Toyota, H&R Block, Golden Corral, Five Below and others. During the same period, Hilliard made 29 unauthorized cash withdrawals, totaling $23,308.50, from the Local 287 treasury.
Hillard pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in the District of Columbia. Sentencing is set for Nov. 18, 2014.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, Washington District Office. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Vincent J. Falvo Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.Former Lee Police Chief Charged with Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former Chief of the Lee Police Department (LPD) was charged today in U.S. District Court in Springfield with wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.
Joseph Buffis, 56, of Pittsfield, Mass., was charged today in a superseding indictment with three counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, and four counts of money laundering. On Aug. 8, 2013, Buffis was charged in an initial indictment with extortion and three counts of money laundering.According to the superseding indictment, as the Lee Police Chief, Buffis solicited public donations on behalf of the Edward J. Laliberte Toy Fund (Toy Fund), ostensibly to use for toy purchases, primarily by sending notices on LPD letterhead to a local newspaper, The Berskshire Eagle, for publications in its print and online editions. The Eagle regularly published Buffis’ Toy Fund notices. Buffis’ notices were materially fraudulent and false in that they failed to disclose that Buffis was using a substantial part of the donations for his personal use. Based upon Buffis’s solicitations, individuals provided both cash and check donations to the Toy Fund for distribution to needy families. In addition, others donated toys to the Toy Fund, thus providing Buffis with a reserve of toys that he could provide to applicants without having to use Toy Fund monies.
As alleged in the superseding indictment, from January 2007 through December 2011, Buffis deposited 706 checks into the Toy Fund account from 343 different donors totaling $52,105. During this same period, Buffis deposited cash into the Toy Fund account only once: a deposit of $145 on Nov. 23, 2010. Buffis wrote only one Toy Fund check of $250 to a needy family in December 2009. From Jan. 1, 2007 through Jan. 31, 2012, Buffis wrote approximately 53 checks totaling approximately $51,044, a substantial portion of which he used for the benefit of himself and his family. These checks included checks written to Buffis and/or “Cash” and deposited into accounts which he owned with family members.
Also, in February 2012, Buffis extorted a $4,000 check Adonation,@ payable to the Toy Fund from two individuals who were facing prostitution-related charges. Buffis then deposited the check into the Toy Fund’s bank account and quickly withdrew $3,990 of these funds in three checks that he wrote to “Cash” but deposited into a joint bank account that he operated with his wife. Buffis used the diverted funds to pay various personal expenses. When law enforcement commenced an investigation into this activity, Buffis repeatedly lied about the disposition of these funds.
In addition, soon after Buffis became Chief in 2011, he arranged for the Town of Lee to provide the LPD with four iPhones – one for himself and three for other LPD officers. Rather than distribute the three iPhones to his LPD officers, Buffis gave them to his wife and their two children for their own personal use. From October 2011 to August 2013, Buffis caused the Town of Lee to mail Verizon Wireless a series of checks totaling approximately $5,091 for the phones he gave to his wife and children.
The charging statutes provide a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 on each count. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. 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; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Timothy P. Alben, Commissioner of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of Ortiz's Springfield Branch Office.
The details contained in the superseding indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Council Candidate Sentenced to 60 Days in Jail for Filing A False Statement on Campaign Finance Report-Campaign Secretly Received More Than $140,000 from D.C. Businessman-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jeff Smith, 40, of Washington, D.C., a former candidate for the Council of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 60 days in jail, in addition to a year of probation and a $10,000 fine, for filing a false and misleading report with the District of Columbia’s Office of Campaign Finance that concealed campaign contributions in excess of those permitted under D.C. campaign finance laws.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Timothy A. Gallagher, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
Smith pled guilty to the felony charge in June 2014 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Anita Josey-Herring. Judge Josey-Herring’s sentence imposes six months of incarceration, but suspends all but 60 days of the time; requires Smith to serve one year of probation, during which time he is to perform 400 hours of community service; and imposes a fine of $10,000, the statutory maximum for his offense.
The charge involved contributions to Smith’s 2010 campaign for the Ward 1 seat on the Council of the District of Columbia. Smith admitted that more than $140,000 was secretly channeled to his campaign from businessman Jeffrey E. Thompson. Smith lost the election.
Smith is one of two Council candidates to plead guilty to charges in recent months. Kelvin Robinson, 53, pled guilty on June 3, 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiring to violate District of Columbia campaign finance laws by defrauding the District of Columbia’s Office of Campaign Finance. He is awaiting sentencing.
Thompson is the former chairman, chief executive officer, and majority owner of Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio and Associates (TCBA), a corporation that provided accounting, management, consulting, and tax services. He also is the former chairman, chief executive officer, and owner of D.C. Healthcare Systems, Inc. (DCHSI), an investment holding and for-profit corporation. Both companies generated millions of dollars in government contracts.
Thompson and six others earlier pled guilty to charges involving Thompson’s illegal contributions to numerous federal and District of Columbia campaigns. In addition to Robinson, who also admitted receiving excess contributions from Thompson, the others who have pled guilty include Eugenia C. Harris, a business owner in the District of Columbia; Lee A. Calhoun, an executive for TCBA; Stanley Straughter, the owner of a business based in Philadelphia; Vernon Hawkins, who was a volunteer advisor in 2010 for a 2010 mayoral campaign; and Troy White, the owner of a marketing company based in New York.
Another person, former District of Columbia Council member Michael A. Brown, pled guilty to charges in an unrelated bribery investigation. In those proceedings, he publicly admitted that his campaign committees had secretly received money from Thompson.
As part of Thompson’s guilty plea, on March 10, 2014, he agreed to cooperate fully in an ongoing investigation. No date has been set for his sentencing.
“Jeff Smith now faces incarceration because he secretly financed his campaign for the District of Columbia Council with more than $140,000 from one of the District’s biggest contractors,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “He kept the true source of this money – businessman Jeffrey Thompson – from the public by filing false campaign reports. Despite all his illegal spending, Jeff Smith lost the election, and now his criminal activity has been exposed. He is among three candidates so far to admit receiving dirty money from Jeff Thompson, who has pled guilty to his crimes and is continuing to cooperate in our investigation. We remain determined to hold accountable all those who benefited from Jeff Thompson’s illegal campaign spending.”
“Accepting and concealing illegal contributions for a political campaign will not be overlooked or downplayed,” said Acting Assistant Director in Charge Gallagher. “Today, Mr. Smith accepted his penalty for undermining campaign finance laws in the District of Columbia. Together with our law enforcement partners, the FBI will continue to investigate corruption, no matter at what level, in the District of Columbia.”
According to a statement of offense submitted as part of Smith’s guilty plea, from at least December 2009 through December 2010, Smith, Thompson and others acted to make and to receive – and to conceal – campaign contributions in excess of those permitted under the District of Columbia Campaign Act.
Smith admitted that Thompson, with his knowledge, provided more than $140,000 of in-kind contributions, contributions which were concealed from the Office of Campaign Finance. Smith provided a budget to Thompson in March 2010, seeking $140,975 for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts for his campaign. Then, from March 2010 until September 2010, Thompson used funds, via TCBA and DCHSI, to provide more than $140,000 in coordination with and in support of Smith’s campaign committee. At least part of this money was spent on campaign services and materials.
The District of Columbia Campaign Act imposes limits on the amount of money that can be contributed to a District of Columbia candidate and that candidate’s principal campaign committee. It also prohibits any person or corporation from making a contribution in the name of another, including by reimbursement. Finally, it requires principal campaign committees to file periodic reports of receipts and disbursements.
The law limits the amount that an individual or entity can contribute in the aggregate in the primary and general elections of a candidate seeking election to a Ward seat to $500.
In his plea, Smith admitted that, acting on behalf of his campaign committee, he filed, that is, authorized to be filed, a false and misleading report to the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance in December 2010. The report concealed the excessive and unreported in-kind contributions provided directly and indirectly by Thompson.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Acting Assistant Director in Charge Gallagher, and Special Agent in Charge Kelly commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and IRS-CI.
They also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael K. Atkinson, Jonathan P. Hooks, Ellen Chubin Epstein, Lionel André, and Ephraim “Fry” Wernick, of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, who are prosecuting cases in the investigation.
Finally, they acknowledged the efforts of others who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Deborah Connor, Chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section, as well as Criminal Investigators Matthew J. Kutz, Mark Crawford, Melissa Matthews, and Durand Odom; Forensic Accountants Crystal Boodoo and Maria Boodoo; Paralegal Specialists Krishawn Graham, Tasha Harris, and Corrine Kleinman; Former Paralegal Specialists Shanna Hays and Nicole Wattelet; and Legal Assistant Angela Lawrence.
14-186Former Cook County Employee Arrested for Allegedly Swindling $330,000 from $10.3 Million U.S. Flood Relief GrantRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former Cook County employee who managed a $10.3 million federal grant to assist county residents who were impacted by floods in 2008 was arrested today on federal charges for allegedly engaging in a fraud scheme with several contractors and swindling at least $330,000 from the program. A vendor who allegedly kicked-back more than $100,000 was indicted together with the former county official.
BARRY CROALL, 45, of Montgomery, Ill., was a county program manager who oversaw disbursement of the grant funds for Cook County’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. He was charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of federal program theft in a five-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury yesterday and unsealed today following his arrest.
Croall was scheduled to be arraigned at 3:30 p.m. today before U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood in Courtroom 1725 in the Dirksen United States Courthouse.
RONALD FORD, 57, of Country Club Hills, who operated Strategic Management Services S.M.S. LLC, was charged with one count each of conspiracy and federal program theft. He was not arrested and is scheduled to be arraigned at 11 a.m. tomorrow before Judge Wood.
According to the indictment, between April 2010 and January 2011, Croall arranged for Strategic Management Services, a nonprofit corporation, and three other companies to perform services that were eligible to be paid for with grant funds. Croall allegedly arranged for the businesses to submit false documents inflating the amount of compensation they were entitled to and then obtained portions of the grant payments they received as kick-backs.
Croall allegedly used the funds for his own personal use, including mortgage payments for rental properties he owned in Yorkville through his company, Dove US; the purchase of a condominium unit in Yorkville; credit card payments; homeowner association fees; and an automobile. The indictment seeks forfeiture of at least $330,000 and the Yorkville condo.
The indictment alleges that Croall arranged for Strategic Management Services and Companies A and B to perform certain work on homes eligible for payment under the grant, including damage assessments, inspections, coordination of contractor visits, and related work. Strategic Management and Company A submitted invoices indicating that they had performed work at specified rates on approximately 900 and 500 homes, respectively, but the invoices allegedly overstated the number of homes and the amount of work that was performed.
As part of the scheme, Croall allegedly directed Strategic Management and other companies to submit their invoices to a nonprofit corporation, rather than to Cook County, for payment. Strategic Management and Companies A and B submitted a series of invoices in 2010, totaling approximately $741,000, to the nonprofit corporation, and the county then paid funds from the grant to the nonprofit corporation, based in part on Croall’s approval. Croall also allegedly arranged for Company C to install 1,000 appliances in eligible homes and to pay a commission to Company A as part of the scheme.
Croall then allegedly devised ways to obtain funds from the various vendors, including being employed by Company B as an independent contractor for a two-year term at $72,000 a year. Ford allegedly kicked-back at least $108,000 in cash to Croall.
The arrest and indictment were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Patrick Blanchard, Cook County Inspector General.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Jenkins.
Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or an alternate fine of twice the loss or twice the gain, whichever is greater, and restitution is mandatory. Each count of federal program theft carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment
Former Assistant Manager at Yosemite Area Hotel Indicted for Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft, and TheftRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment today against Jason Wilson, 34, formerly of Yosemite, charging him with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and taking property from Yosemite Lodge, in Yosemite National Park, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, between October 2011 and December 2012, Wilson manipulated approximately 50 reservations, and took approximately $87,800 in funds to which he was not entitled while assistant manager at Yosemite Lodge, a privately owned hotel located in Yosemite National Park.
According to the indictment, when guests of the lodge checked out after paying for their stay, Wilson would cause the lodge to refund the charges sometimes fabricating reasons for the refund, such as there were mice or bed bugs in the room. Rather than credit the guest’s credit card, however, Wilson directed the credit to his own personal debit card or his wife’s. In other transactions, Wilson reversed a “did not appear” charge if a guest did not cancel the reservation and did not appear for the reservation. After the guest’s credit card was charged for the non-appearance, Wilson reversed the charge, but had the credit deposited into his own account and not the guest’s.
This case is the product of an investigation by National Park Service’s Investigative Services Branch. Assistant United States Attorney Mia A. Giacomazzi is prosecuting the case.
If convicted of aggravated identity theft, Wilson faces a mandatory sentence of two years in prison. If convicted of wire fraud or theft in a special territory, Wilson faces five to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
First Guilty Plea in International Conspiracy on Federal Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss – The first defendant of eighteen indicted in a nine-count federal indictment filed in the Southern District of Mississippi against defendants in South Africa, Canada, Indiana, California, New York and Wisconsin, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Raymond R Parmer, Jr.
Dennis Brian Ladden, 73 years old, formerly of Wisconsin, entered the guilty plea before United States District Judge Sul Ozerden on Wednesday, August 27, 2014. Ladden faces a maximum of five years in prison, $250,000 fine and three years of post-release supervision. Ladden admitted an on-line relationship led to receiving and attempting to cash a credit card cash advance check fraudulently obtained by co-conspirators using the victim’s personal identifying information and credit card information. He also admitted notifying co-conspirators that he had been contacted by federal agents regarding an investigation.
Sentencing for Dennis Brian Ladden is set for November 19, 2014 before United States District Judge Sul Ozerden.
The indictment alleges a West African transnational organized crime enterprise involved in numerous complex financial fraud schemes over the internet. This mass marketing fraud includes romance scams, re-shipping scams, fraudulent check scams and work-at-home scams, along with bank, financial and credit card account take-overs.
The case in Mississippi is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annette Williams and Scott Gilbert.If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at:
(866) 720-5721
You can also fax information to:
(225) 334-4707
or e-mail it to:
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Final Defendant Sentenced to Federal Prison in San Antonio's Duffle Bag Mafia Drug Distribution/Firearms Smuggling OperationRead the Press Release
In San Antonio, 37-year-old Jesus Carmona of San Antonio received 101 months in federal prison for his role in a drug distribution and firearms smuggling operation announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Robert Elder, Houston Division, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Janice Ayala, San Antonio Division and San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
During yesterday’s sentencing hearing, United States District Judge Xavier Rodriguez sentenced Carmona to 41 months incarceration for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and 60 months incarceration for possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
Charges against Carmona and nine other individuals stem from parallel investigations by ATF, HSI and SAPD which focused on firearms straw purchasing, violent gang activity and drug trafficking by members and associates of the Duffle Bag Mafia in San Antonio.
On September 26, 2013, Carmona pleaded guilty to the charges, admitting that he supplied co-defendants marijuana and cocaine in exchange for firearms. According to court records, one of those firearms, an AK-47 assault rifle, was previously used by 25-year-old Arnoldo Lopez (a.k.a. “Looney”), a member of the Duffle Bag Mafia, in a drive-by shooting on April 1, 2012, that resulted in the death of Joshua Arturo Pagan and Anthony Guevarro. That firearm was subsequently smuggled to the Los Zetas cartel in Mexico.
Last month, Lopez was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for various drug and firearms offenses. On September 5, 2013, Lopez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute “crack” cocaine, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and six counts of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. According to court records, on October 4, 2012, Lopez and others were apprehended by the San Antonio Police Department Gang Unit while in possession of distributable quantities of “crack” cocaine as well as four firearms including one assault rifle, two shotguns and a semi-automatic pistol. Prior to his arrest, HSI agents were investigating a firearms straw purchasing operation wherein Lopez directed other individuals to purchase dozens of firearms under false pretenses. The weapons purchased included AK-47 and AR-15 type assault rifles which were destined for the Los Zetas cartel.
On August 7, 2014, 33-year-old Yolanda Hernandez was sentenced to 75 months incarceration after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute “crack” cocaine and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
On February 26, 2014, 31-year-old Michael Gutierrez was sentenced to 248 months in federal prison for his role in the drug distribution scheme. Six co-defendants in the firearms straw purchasing scheme have been sentenced to terms ranging from three years probation to 57 months in federal prison.
“This investigation is an outstanding example of where cooperative efforts of ATF, HSI, and the San Antonio Police Department can lead. Anytime we get criminals of this magnitude off the streets is a good day for our citizens,” stated ATF SAC Robert Elder.
“Those who engage in and/or facilitate the straw purchasing and smuggling of weaponry, and related items, will face serious consequences. HSI, ATF, and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to making communities safer by bringing violent criminals to justice and preventing or seizing firearms before they fall into the hands of transnational criminal organizations who pose a threat to public safety both here and abroad,” stated HSI SAC Janice Ayala.
“The best police work in the world is all for naught without a successful prosecution. We thank all of our law enforcement partners for the teamwork, and we thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their guidance and hard work. This criminal organization repeatedly demonstrated their total disregard for the law and we are proud to be part of the effort to dismantle them and bring them to justice,” stated San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
Assistant United States Attorneys Russell Leachman and Bettina Richardson prosecuted these cases on behalf of the Government.
Federal Indictment: Jewelry Store Owner Knowingly Purchased Stolen JewelryRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. - The owner of a Topeka jewelry store appeared in federal court Thursday on charges of knowingly buying stolen jewelry that he melted and sold for more than $430,500 as scrap gold, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
John O. Dasher, 53, Silver Lake, Kan., is charged with one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and 32 counts of money laundering. The indictment alleges that while he owned and operated The Diamond House at 1801 S.W. Gage Boulevard in Topeka he knowingly purchased stolen jewelry from individuals who committed home invasions in and around Topeka.
He purchased the jewelry at a fraction of its actual value and melted it down to sell as gold scrap. He sent the gold through the U.S. Postal Service to precious metal wholesalers including Pop Gems International, Gold Empire and Coinex, Inc. From November 2008 to April 2013, the companies paid Dasher a total of more than $430,500 for scrap gold.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of interstate transportation of stolen goods, and a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $500,000 on each money laundering count.
The Topeka Police Department and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Eldon Business Owner Indicted for MarijuanaRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that an Eldon, Mo., business owner has been indicted by a federal grand jury for possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute.
Earl Dewayne Witt, 52, of Eldon, was charged in an indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014. The indictment was unsealed and made public today at Witt’s initial court appearance.
Witt is the owner of U Wrench It, located at 3035 Hwy. 52, in Eldon. The federal indictment alleges that he was in possession of marijuana, which he intended to distribute, on July 26, 2014.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart J. Zander. It was investigated by Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force.