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14 August 2014
Florida Businessman Sentenced to Prison, Ordered to Pay $3.8M in Restitution for Defrauding InvestorsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Tampa, Florida, has been sentenced in federal court to 60 months imprisonment and ordered to forfeit $1,728,021 and pay $3,832,701 in restitution on his conviction of wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Fotios Geivelis, Jr., a/k/a Frank Geivelis, a/k/a Frank Anastasio, 34.
According to information presented to the court, Geivelis, through operation of his Florida company, Worldwide Funding III, Ltd. (WWF), obtained approximately $3.9 million in increments of $60,000 or $90,000 from nearly four dozen investors, to each of whom he promised to obtain a $10 million “non-recourse” overseas loan for a “humanitarian” or “job-creating” project. The funds were wired into the escrow accounts of a Florida attorney Geivelis designated as the “Paymaster,” and thereafter paid out to that attorney, brokers who had referred the investors to WWF and to Geivelis, who spent his share on personal expenses such as hotels, casinos, restaurants, strip clubs, automobiles, clothing and jewelry. No loans were ever obtained for the investors, who Geivelis attempted to lull by repeated assurances that their deals would close within a short period of time.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Fischer stated that this very serious offense involving Internet marketing was a product of defendant’s greed; and while he had a difficult upbringing, each of his three siblings had managed to overcome it.
Assistant United States Attorney Leo M. Dillon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the United States Secret Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Geivelis.
Five Charged in Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy, One Defendant Also Charged with Distribution Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Five Pittsburgh-area residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh for heroin trafficking, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today. One of the counts in the indictment charges a defendant with distributing heroin that resulted in the death of a user of the heroin.
The five-count indictment charges Javon Jackson, 27; Hayley Bober, 25; Carrie Robinson, 45; Kevin Schultz, 31; and William Schultz, 33, with conspiring to distribute heroin during time periods between 2012 and 2014. The indictment also charges Jackson with possessing heroin with intent to distribute in 2013 and 2014 as well as with distributing heroin that resulted in the death of a user of the heroin on April 22, 2013.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence for Jackson of at least 20 years and up to life in prison and a fine of up to $9,000,000. The law provides for a maximum total sentence for Kevin Schultz and William Schultz of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000,000. The law provides for a maximum total sentence for Bober and Robinson of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentences imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal histories, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Allegheny County Police Department, the Baldwin Police Department, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Father and Son Indicted for Theft of Military EquipmentRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return by a grand jury of a three-count indictment charging Pedro Luis Infantes (47) and his son, Luis Rafael Infantes (21), both of Ocala, with the theft of government property, interstate transportation of stolen property and making a false statement to a federal agency. If convicted on all counts, Pedro Luis Infantes faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. His son faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment was returned on August 13, 2014.
According to the indictment and other court documents, on July 11, 2014, Pedro Luis Infantes unwittingly met with a confidential source who was working in cooperation with law enforcement. Pedro Luis Infantes believed that the source had connections to potential buyers affiliated with Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Ultimately, Pedro Luis Infantes negotiated a sale price of $153,500 for 17 military-grade, thermal-imaging monoculars, rifle cleaning kits, and other assorted military equipment that had been stolen from the government. When arrested and interviewed by the FBI agents, Pedro Luis Infantes provided false statements to the agents about how he had acquired the military items and how the serial numbers on the items had been removed.
Luis Rafael Infantes is an active-duty supply sergeant for the United States Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He admitted to military investigators that he had illegally taken the thermal imaging equipment and other items from his base’s inventory and then given them to his father to sell. Luis Rafael Infantes said that he had stolen the items because he had fallen into financial trouble and needed the money.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case is investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.
Executive Assistant in Investment Scheme Sentenced to Six YearsRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron yesterday sentenced Kim Rivers (47, Windermere) to six years in federal prison for three counts of aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered Rivers to pay restitution to the victims in the amount of $1,160,284.
According to court documents, Michael and Kim Rivers created an international bank software company called Global Business Genesis, LLC (“GBG”). The company was headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Michael Rivers was the Chief Executive Officer and Kim Rivers was the Executive Assistant of GBG. During the course of the conspiracy, Michael and Kim Rivers created and provided forged and false documents to potential investors. They also made false statements to investors. For example, on December 11, 2012, Michael Rivers sent an e-mail to Kim Rivers, giving her instructions on how to portray herself as an employee of a law firm. The e-mail detailed how Kim Rivers would pretend to be an administrative assistant at the firm. The e-mail further detailed how another co-conspirator would pretend to be an associate at the law firm.
In January 2013, Michael Rivers was in London trying to solicit investors. After receiving some resistance from investors, Michael Rivers suggested calling the law firm to speak with an attorney who could vouch for the authenticity of GBG and its license agreements. Michael Rivers called Kim Rivers, who pretended to work at the law firm. A co-conspirator then pretended to be an associate at the firm and stated that due diligence had been conducted.
In addition to the forged attorney documents, Michael and Kim Rivers told state and federal courts, the government, creditors, and opposing litigants, that Michael Rivers had debilitating cancer and was receiving treatment in Argentina. Michael and Kim Rivers often claimed that Michael Rivers was medically incapacitated in Argentina. They stated that because of his illness, Michael and Kim Rivers were unable to appear in court, at depositions, and at meetings in the United States. Those false representations were made in letters, e-mails, filings in state and federal court, hearings in court, and in depositions. The statements were also made by agents representing the couple.
During the execution of the search warrants in this case, law enforcement officers found items including correspondence, templates, letterhead, altered documents, and computer images of signatures and seals, which were used during the course of the offenses. These items included the elements used to create the forged documents, including attorney letters, letters from doctors concerning cancer treatment in Argentina and in Florida, insurance documents concerning cancer treatment, and forged documents from financial institutions and government entities.
Michael Rivers (56, Windermere) pleaded guilty on March 20, 2014 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, eight counts of money laundering, and three counts of aggravated identity theft. He is currently awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by U.S. Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher LaForgia, Daniel Irick, and Nicole Andrejko.
Ex-detroit Man Gets 9 Years for Selling HeroinRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Darrell Shawton Collins, 36, formerly of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced today to nine years in federal prison for selling heroin in Charleston’s East End, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
In December 2013, a confidential police informant, under the supervision of detectives from the Charleston Police Department’s Special Enforcement Unit, purchased heroin from Collins. The drug deal took place at the corner of Washington Street East and Thompson Street in Charleston. At the time of the transaction, Collins was on federal supervised release for a prior drug-trafficking offense. At today’s sentencing, Collins received eight years’ imprisonment for the distribution conviction, plus another year for violating the terms of his supervised release.
The Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald was in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Discovery Bay Resident Receives Twenty Six-Month Sentence for Committing Bank FraudRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Brittany Lebon was sentenced today to 26 months in prison, and ordered to pay $364,698.86 in restitution for embezzling from her employer and committing bank fraud, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Andrew Adelmann.
Lebon pleaded guilty on June 18, 2014, to five counts of bank fraud. According to the plea agreement, Lebon admitted that, while employed as a bookkeeper at a paving business owned by her family, she embezzled funds and defrauded financial institutions into crediting the stolen funds to her personal accounts. Specifically, beginning in March 2009, and continuing through August 2011, Lebon created and printed one-hundred and two unauthorized checks, totaling $364,698.86. On seventy-three of those checks, Lebon forged the signature of her supervisor (who was her uncle); on the remaining twenty-nine checks she fraudulently obtained her uncle’s signature by representing to him that she would direct the payments to a union trust fund. Lebon caused ninety-six checks to be deposited into her personal accounts at three different financial institutions. Lebon made the remaining six checks, totaling $3,449.13, payable to a utility company, to pay for her personal utility bills.
Lebon, 30, of Discovery Bay, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 25, 2012. She was charged with ten counts of bank fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Upon her sentencing, the government moved to dismiss the seven counts to which Lebon did not enter a plea.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, United States District Court Judge, following Lebon’s guilty plea on five counts of bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. Judge Gonzalez Rogers also sentenced the defendant to a 5-year period of supervised release, and ordered her to pay $500.00 in special assessment. The defendant will begin serving the sentence on Oct. 1, 2014.
Thomas E. Stevens is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Patti Lau. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Secret Service.
(Lebon indictment )
Deputy to Liberty Reserve Founder Pleads Guilty to Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Azzeddine El Amine, 47, of San José, Costa Rica, pleaded guilty today to money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in connection with his role in running Liberty Reserve, a company that operated one of the world’s most widely used digital currency services.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York made the announcement. The guilty plea was entered by U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote of the Southern District of New York.
According to allegations contained in the indictment and statements made in related court proceedings, Liberty Reserve was incorporated in Costa Rica in 2006 and billed itself as the Internet’s “largest payment processor and money transfer system.” Liberty Reserve was created, structured and operated to help users conduct illegal transactions anonymously and launder the proceeds of their crimes, and it emerged as one of the principal money transfer agents used by cybercriminals around the world to distribute, store, and launder the proceeds of their illegal activity. Liberty Reserve was used extensively for illegal purposes, functioning as the bank of choice for the criminal underworld because it provided an infrastructure that enabled cybercriminals around the world to conduct anonymous and untraceable financial transactions.
El Amine served as a principal deputy to Liberty Reserve founder Arthur Budovsky and operated a prominent Liberty Reserve “exchanger” service, through which he shared in Liberty Reserve’s profits with Budovsky. Before being shut down by the government in May 2013, Liberty Reserve had more than one million users worldwide, including more than 200,000 users in the United States, who conducted approximately 55 million transactions through its system and laundered more than $6 billion in suspected proceeds of crimes, including credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography and narcotics trafficking.
El Amine was arrested in Madrid, Spain, in May 2013, and pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, one count of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled .
This case is being investigated by the Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, which worked together as part of the Global Illicit Financial Team. The Justice Department expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided by various enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad, including the Secret Service’s New York Electronic Crimes Task Force, the Judicial Investigation Organization in Costa Rica, the National High Tech Crime Unit in the Netherlands, the Spanish National Police, Financial and Economic Crime Unit, the Cyber Crime Unit at the Swedish National Bureau of Investigation and the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kevin Mosley of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Serrin Turner, Andrew Goldstein and Christine Magdo of the Southern District of New York. Support was also provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
The charges contained in the indictment against El Amine’s co-defendants remain pending and are merely accusations. Those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.Deputy to Liberty Reserve Founder Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in Manhattan Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, announced that AZZEDDINE EL AMINE pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business for his role in running Liberty Reserve, a company that operated one of the world’s most widely used digital currency services and allegedly laundered more than $6 billion in suspected proceeds of crimes. EL AMINE was arrested in Madrid, Spain, in May 2013 and pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote.
According to allegations contained in the Indictment filed against Liberty Reserve, EL AMINE, and six other individual defendants, and statements made in related court proceedings:
Liberty Reserve was incorporated in Costa Rica in 2006 and billed itself as the Internet’s “largest payment processor and money transfer system.” Liberty Reserve was created, structured and operated to help users conduct illegal transactions anonymously and launder the proceeds of their crimes, and it emerged as one of the principal money transfer agents used by cybercriminals around the world to distribute, store, and launder the proceeds of their illegal activity. Liberty Reserve was used extensively for illegal purposes, functioning as the bank of choice for the criminal underworld because it provided an infrastructure that enabled cybercriminals around the world to conduct anonymous and untraceable financial transactions.
Before being shut down by the Government in May 2013, Liberty Reserve had more than one million users worldwide, including more than 200,000 users in the United States, who conducted approximately 55 million transactions through its system and laundered more than $6 billion in suspected proceeds of crimes, including credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography, and narcotics trafficking. EL AMINE served as a principal deputy to Liberty Reserve founder Arthur Budovsky and operated a prominent Liberty Reserve “exchanger” service, from which he shared the profits with Budovsky.
EL AMINE, 47, of San José, Costa Rica, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the United States Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, which worked together in this case as part of the Global Illicit Financial Team. Mr. Bharara also thanked the United States Secret Service’s New York Electronic Crimes Task Force for their extraordinary assistance with the investigation. Additionally, Mr. Bharara specially thanked all the international law enforcement agencies that assisted in the investigation, in particular, the Judicial Investigation Organization in Costa Rica, the National High Tech Crime Unit in the Netherlands, the Spanish National Police, Financial and Economic Crime Unit, the Cyber Crime Unit at the Swedish National Bureau of Investigation, and the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office.
This case is being prosecuted jointly with the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (“AFMLS”), which is overseen by Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell. Mr. Bharara thanked AFMLS for its partnership and also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section for their support.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit and Asset Forfeiture Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Serrin Turner and Andrew Goldstein of the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Kevin Mosley of AFMLS are in charge of the prosecution, and Assistant United States Attorney Christine Magdo is in charge of the forfeiture aspects of the case.
The charges contained in the Indictment against certain of EL AMINE’s co-defendants remain pending and are merely accusations. Those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Delaware Woman Sentenced to 51 Months in PrisonFor $1.7 Million Tax Fraud and Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Dawn Chamberlain, age 36, of Claymont, Delaware, was sentenced today by the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, to 51 months imprisonment and full restitution. The sentence follows Chamberlain’s plea of guilty to violations of 18 USC § 286 (False Claims Conspiracy) and 18 USC § 1341 (Mail Fraud).
From 2009 through 2012, Chamberlain prepared nearly 450 false and fraudulent U.S. Individual Federal Income Tax Returns for clients she solicited in Delaware and elsewhere. In the returns, the defendant claimed an average of approximately $3,500 in fraudulent credits. She often claimed the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit for clients who were not eligible for those credits. The defendant’s actions are estimated to have caused at least $1.5 million in losses to the United States Department of Treasury.
The defendant also stole from her own clients. She kept a portion of their refunds without their consent, and she used her clients’ names, dates of birth, and social security numbers to file more than $210,000 in false and fraudulent New York State Resident income tax returns. Her clients did not live or work in New York. The defendant did not share any of the New York tax refunds with her clients.
U.S. Attorney Oberly stated: “This case should send a clear signal that individuals who file false claims against the United States Treasury will be prosecuted. I am committed to working with the Internal Revenue Service to pursue these cases and seek incarceration wherever possible.”
“The American tax system is designed to provide vital government services to our people. It is not a slush fund for thieves and fraudsters,” said Akeia Conner, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “This sentence today declares that those who illegally target our nation’s tax dollars for personal financial gain, along with others who assist them, are themselves potential targets for criminal prosecution."
“Taxpayers put their trust in paid tax preparers – and the defendant willfully violated that trust,” said New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Thomas H. Mattox. “In doing so, she not only stole tax refunds from the State of New York, she victimized innocent people who called on her to help them meet their tax obligations.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, with the investigative assistance and cooperation of the State of New York. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Paxton, District of Delaware.Colorado Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison in Interstate Sex Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Colorado man was sentenced today to 51 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to transport women across state lines for prostitution in New Jersey and other states, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
James Roy Smith, 36, a/k/a “Mister Smith,” of Lakewood, Colorado, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to a superseding information charging him with conspiracy to transport women across state lines to work as prostitutes and transportation of a victim across state lines with the intent that the victim work as a prostitute. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From February 2009 through June 27, 2010, Smith conspired to operate a prostitution business in numerous locations around the United States, including New Jersey, New Mexico, Nebraska and Pennsylvania. The women would be transported between states by air as well as in a Cadillac Escalade registered to Smith’s uncle. In order to attract and locate local customers, the conspirators would place advertisements for escort services on Craigslist as well as Backpage.com.
Smith admitted that in late June 2010, he conspired to transport six women from New Jersey to Philadelphia to work as prostitutes. During that time, while checked in at the Econolodge in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he also caused a victim to be transported between these two states with the intent that the victim work as a prostitute.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Smith to 15 years of supervised release, fined him $5,000 and ordered him to forfeit the Cadillac.U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked FBI offices in Omaha, Nebraska and Salt Lake City, Utah; the Union County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Office; the Elizabeth, New Jersey, Police Department; and the Clay County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office for their roles in the investigation.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Leslie F. Schwartz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Brooke M. Barnett Esq., NewarkCo-Founder of Government Contracting Company Pleads Guilty to Illegal Gratuity ChargeRead the Press Release
Timothy S. Miller, 58, a co-founder of a Chesapeake, Virginia, government contracting company, pleaded guilty today to providing illegal gratuities to two public officials working for the United States Navy Military Sealift Command.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after Miller’s guilty plea was accepted by United States Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in February 2009, Miller, along with his business partner, Dwayne A. Hardman, co-founded a government contracting company that provided telecommunications support to the Military Sealift Command, which is the leading provider of transportation for the U.S. Navy.
At the plea hearing, Miller admitted that he provided illegal gratuities to two officials at the Military Sealift Command for favorable official acts. In particular, he admitted that on May 12, 2009, he gave $30,000 in cash to Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the Military Sealift Command’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, and Scott B. Miserendino Sr., a government contractor who worked with Toy at the Military Sealift Command Headquarters. He also admitted that just two days after giving Toy and Miserendino the $30,000, he agreed that Hardman should give Toy and Miserendino an additional $20,000.
According to Miller’s statement of facts, Toy exercised substantial influence over the Military Sealift Command contracting process by creating and executing multi-million dollar budgets, obtaining funding for projects, developing and having access to sensitive information, and requesting that subcontract work be awarded to particular companies. As a result of the $50,000 payment, Miserendino and Toy performed various official acts to assist Miller’s company. Indeed, in 2009, Miller’s company received approximately $2.5 million in business from the Military Sealift Command.
As a condition of his plea agreement, Miller has agreed to forfeit $167,000. Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2014.
Earlier this year, five other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On February 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 29, 2014, to serve 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $100,000. On February 18, 2014, Hardman pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 9, 2014, to serve 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $144,000. On February 19, 2014, Michael P. McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on August 5, 2014, to serve 36 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000. On March 5, 2014, Roderic J. Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on June 23, 2014, to serve 48 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $175,000. On April 4, 2014, Adam C. White pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on July 11, 2014, to serve 24 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000.
The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS and DCIS. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Co-Founder of Government Contracting Company Pleads Guilty to Illegal Gratuity ChargeRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Timothy S. Miller, 58, a co-founder of a Chesapeake, Virginia, government contracting company, pleaded guilty today to providing illegal gratuities to two public officials working for the United States Navy Military Sealift Command.
United States Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after Miller’s guilty plea was accepted by United States Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in February 2009, Miller, along with his business partner, Dwayne A. Hardman, co-founded a government contracting company that was designed to provide telecommunications support to the Military Sealift Command, which is the leading provider of transportation for the U.S. Navy.
At his plea hearing, Miller admitted that he provided illegal gratuities to two public officials for, or because of, favorable official acts. On May 12, 2009, Miller provided $30,000 in cash to Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the Military Sealift Command’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, and Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., a government contractor who worked with Toy at the Military Sealift Command Headquarters. On May 14, 2009, Miller agreed that another $20,000 cash payment be delivered to Toy and Miserendino by Hardman.
According to Miller’s statement of facts, Toy exercised substantial influence over the Military Sealift Command contracting process, by creating and executing multi-million dollar budgets, obtaining funding for projects, developing and having access to sensitive information, and requesting that subcontract work be awarded to particular companies. As a result of the $50,000 payment, Miserendino and Toy performed various official acts to assist Miller’s company. Indeed, in 2009, Miller’s company received approximately $2.5 million in business from the Military Sealift Command.
As a condition of his plea agreement, Miller has agreed to forfeit $167,000.
Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2014. He faces a maximum penalty of 2 years in prison.
Earlier this year, six other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On February 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 29, 2014, to 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $100,000. On February 18, 2014, Hardman pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 9, 2014 to 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $144,000. On February 19, 2014, Michael P. McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on August 5, 2014, to 36 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000. On March 5, 2014, Roderic J. Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on June 23, 2014, to 48 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $175,000. On April 4, 2014, Adam C. White pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on July 11, 2014, to 24 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000. On August 12, 2014, Scott B. Miserendino, Sr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and accepting bribes and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2014.
The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS, and DCIS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Citrus Heights Resident Sentenced to Prison for Credit Card Fraud and Manufacturing MarijuanaRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — — Oganes Serobyan, 41, a resident of Citrus Heights, California, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley to over four years in prison for wire fraud and manufacturing marijuana, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Serobyan established a sham business, Link & Work Holdings LLC, which purported to sell “e-books” online, but which, in fact, provided no goods or services. Between November 2010 and May 2011, the company unlawfully made tens of thousands of unauthorized charges on American Express credit cards, which were ultimately credited to Link & Work Holdings’ bank account. Bank surveillance footage showed the defendant making cash withdrawals from this account. Over 26,000 American Express account numbers were unlawfully charged during the scheme, with approximately $392,000 in fraudulent charges. When officers searched Serobyan’s home, they discovered an active marijuana grow on his property with plants in various stages of growth, in addition to dozens of one-gram vials of hashish oil.
Judge Nunley sentenced Serobyan to a total term of imprisonment of 51 months, and also ordered him to pay restitution to American Express in the amount of $392,519.21.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Sacramento Valley Financial Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Michele Beckwith prosecuted the case.
The court ordered the defendant to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on September 25, 2014.
Charlotte Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison on Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. sentenced Timothy Massey, 32, of Charlotte to serve to 144 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release for federal gun, drug and supervision violations, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Wayne L. Dixie, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division; Greg Forest, Chief Probation Officer of the U.S. Probation Office (USPO); and Chief Rodney D. Monroe of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
According to filed court documents and statements made in court, in May 2012, CMPD police officers conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle Massey was driving. Over the course of the traffic stop, law enforcement found a gun and marijuana in a backpack stored in the vehicle’s trunk. Massey’s prior convictions prohibit him from carrying a weapon. Massey pleaded guilty in November 2013 to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
Massey has been in federal custody since August 2013. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was handled by ATF, USPO and CMPD. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Gleason of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Burkburnett, Texas Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Extorting Money Through Telephone ThreatsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Steven Manuel White, 37, of Burkburnett, Texas, was sentenced in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., this morning for violating the Hobbs Act by extorting money from another man by making threats of violence. White was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $2000.00 in restitution to the victim of his criminal conduct.
White and co-defendant Stacy Renee Campbell, 30, of Roswell, N.M., were charged in Aug. 2013, in a criminal complaint alleging that they extorted $2000.00 from the victim by sending text messages threatening to disclose the victim’s affair with Campbell. As directed by the threatening text messages, the victim wire-transferred $2000.00 from Roswell to the defendants in Wichita Falls, Texas. White then attempted to extort another $2000.00 from the victim. When the victim’s wife called White to say that his extortion threats would not work because she knew of the affair, White allegedly threatened to kill her and the victim. White and Campbell subsequently were arrested in the Northern District of Texas (Lubbock) and transferred to the District of New Mexico to face the charges in this case.
White pleaded guilty on Feb. 11, 2014, to violating the Hobbs Act by extorting money by making threats of violence. In entering his guilty plea, White admitted extorting $2000.00 from the victim in exchange for not disclosing the victim’s affair with Campbell. White acknowledged sending his demands and directions on how to facilitate the payment using text messaging and that the victim was traveling in interstate commerce from Lubbock to Roswell during this time.
Campbell entered a guilty plea on Feb. 11, 2014, to being an accessory after the fact. In her plea agreement, Campbell admitted making false statements to a detective of the Roswell Police Department. Specifically, Campbell admitted lying to the detective in order to prevent him from learning White’s identify in order to assist White in avoiding arrest and prosecution for his extortion of the victim.
At sentencing, Campbell faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Her sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI and the Roswell Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna R. Wright of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Buffalo Man Sentenced on Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Demerius Rivera, 33, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who handled the case, stated that on June 6, 2012, officers with the Buffalo Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Lancaster Police Department SWAT Team executed a search warrant at 77 Landon Street in Buffalo. During the search, the SWAT Team encountered the defendant in a rear bedroom. Officers found 25 ounces of marijuana packaged for sale in a dresser. Upon questioning, Rivera admitted that the marijuana was his and that there were two guns “under the bed” in the bedroom. Officers recovered two shotguns under the bed, and a third shotgun in the basement.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James S. Higgins, New York Field Division, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Gill.Browning Man Sentenced for Murder on the Blackfeet Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
After beating a man to death at an elementary school, Victor Michael Vielle was sentenced in federal court to 170 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Vielle was sentenced on August 14, 2014 in Great Falls, before U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris. As part of the sentence, VIELLE is also required to pay restitution to the family for the victim's funeral expenses.
In April of this year, Vielle entered a guilty plea to Second Degree Murder.
In an Offer of Proof, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Weldon stated that if the case had proceeded to trial, the government would have proven that on October 6, 2012, Vielle and a friend walked to the Browning Elementary School. While at the school, VIELLE beat his friend to death for no apparent reason. The following morning, Vielle was covered in blood and bragged to others about the beating.
At sentencing, the government stated, "Vielle is a dangerous man. He fights, and now the Court is aware that he is capable of killing." The government explained that Vielle's actions are not those of a "friend." Instead, "they are the actions of a man who committed Second Degree Murder."
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the truth in sentencing guidelines mandate that VIELLE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, VIELLE does have the opportunity to shorten the term of custody by earning credit for good behavior. However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Baltimore Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to over 12 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Travis Gaines, age 34, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 151 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Judge Quarles also found that Gaines is a career offender based on previous narcotics convictions.The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.
According their plea agreements, Gaines and Bolden conspired with Shawn Malone, Karl McDonald and others to obtain cocaine from sources of supply in Arizona and Texas and to distribute those drugs in Baltimore. Once the cocaine arrived in Baltimore, it would be distributed to Gaines and other wholesale customers who would redistribute it to their customers. McDonald converted the powder cocaine to crack cocaine for street level distribution and operated a distribution shop in Baltimore where the crack cocaine was sold. During the course of the investigation DEA intercepted the telephone and electronic communications of several members of the conspiracy. In addition, as a result of several search warrants executed on June 6, 2013, the DEA recovered approximately 250 grams of cocaine, as well as packaged cocaine, from the main stash house of the organization.
Gaines and Bolden admitted that as part of the conspiracy they were responsible for the distribution of between five and 15 kilograms of cocaine.
Karl McDonald, age 30, and Antoine Bolden, age 37, both of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and were sentenced to 151 months and 84 months in prison, respectively. Shawn Malone, age 31, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to his role in the drug distribution conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney James T. Wallner, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Area Investment Advisor Indicted on Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – BRYAN BINKHOLDER was indicted on multiple fraud charges involving his financial planning and investment strategy businesses.
According to the indictment, Binkholder labeled himself "The Financial Coach" and provided investment and financial planning advice to the general public through his affiliated websites, YouTube channel, published books and articles and an investment related talk-radio show that aired on local radio stations. In 2008, he developed a real estate investment he termed "hard money lending." Using his platform as an investment advisor and financial talk show host, Binkholder solicited his clients and others to invest in the hard money lending program. As part of his sales pitch he represented that he had relationships with developers in the real estate community who wanted to purchase, renovate and sell residential real estate in the St. Louis area, but were not able to secure financing from traditional banks. As part of the hard money lending program, Binkholder told investors that they would invest money with him, and he would act as a bank and provide short-term loans to these developers at a high rate of interest, which would be shared with the investor. Instead of exclusively making hard money loans as promised, he commingled the vast majority of investor money across a number of different accounts. Binkholder then allegedly used the commingled funds to pay interest to subsequent investors and pay personal expenses. The indictment states that Binkholder took in millions of dollars of investor money, made only a small number of hard money loans and caused investors to lose more than $3,000,000.
Binkholder, Wentzville, MO, was indicted by a federal grand jury on four felony counts of wire fraud and one felony count of bank fraud. He is expected to appear in federal court today.
Additionally, upon a finding of guilt, the defendant will be subject to a forfeiture allegation, which will require the forfeiture to the government all monies and property derived from the illegal activity.
If convicted, each of these charges carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Casey is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.Antlers Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that TROY LYNN HUGHES, age 54, of Antlers, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(l).
The charge is a result of an investigation by the District 17 District Attorney’s Drug Task Force, Pushmataha County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The defendant was indicted in November, 2013 and pled guilty in April 2014.
The Indictment alleged that on or about September 13, 2012, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, did knowingly possess in and affecting commerce, firearms which had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending transportation to the designated federal prison at which he will serve his nonparolable sentence.
Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Waters represented the United States.
Antlers Man Pleads Guilty to Failure to Register as Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that PETER GLENN BAKER, age 42, of Antlers, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Failure to Register as Sex Offender, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2250(a)(1), 2250(a)(2)(B) and 2250(a)(3).
Charges arose from an investigation by the United States Marshal Service. The defendant was indicted in July, 2014.
The Indictment alleged that from in or about October 2013 until in or about December 2013, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and elsewhere, the defendant, an individual required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, after having received a felony conviction from the State of Washington on or about December 2, 2004, for the felony offense of Rape of a Child in the Third Degree, traveled in interstate commerce and knowingly failed to register and update his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, 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. Sentencing will be scheduled following its completion. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing.
The statutory range of punishment is not more than 10 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wilson represented the United States.
Airline Pilot Convicted of Traveling to Have Sex with MinorRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistWHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – A commercial airline pilot has been convicted of traveling across state lines in order to have sex with a minor female.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced today that MUSTAFA MOMOUN BAZBAZ, 28 years of age, of Oakdale, Pennsylvania entered a guilty plea to the felony offense of “Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct.” BAZBAZ communicated with a 15-year old female from Jefferson County, Ohio, in December of 2013 via the website known as MeetMe.com. He misrepresented his age and name to the victim, claiming to be 17 years old and to be named “Mike B.” BAZBAZ also sent sexually explicit images of himself to the victim before arranging to pick up the victim near her home in Jefferson County in December of 2013. BAZBAZ then took the victim to a hotel room in Hancock County where they engaged in sexual intercourse.
At the time of the incident BAZBAZ was employed as a pilot with Republic Airways and was stationed in Pittsburgh.
The matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hancock County (WV) Sheriff’s Department. This prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Robert H. McWilliams, Jr.
BAZBAZ faces up to thirty years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervision for life. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
13 August 2014
West Michigan Businessman Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Prison for Defrauding His Friends and Business AssociatesRead the Press Release
Roger Andrews Defrauded Victims of $1.4 Million Pitching a Bogus Land Deal in Indiana and Committed Perjury at Trial in an Attempt to Evade Justice
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – Roger Lee Andrews, 54, of Coopersville, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for committing a fraud scheme involving real estate he claimed to own in Indiana. Additionally, Andrews was ordered to pay $1,493,870.77 in restitution to the victims of the scheme and was ordered to forfeit an additional $1,408,061.33 to the United States in the form of a money judgment. The Honorable Robert J. Jonker, U.S. District Judge, imposed the sentence.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles, Jr. said, “The fraud perpetrated by Roger Andrews represents a deplorable abuse of trust. Sadly, Andrews exploited his decades-long relationships with his victims to swindle them out of substantial amounts of money for his own benefit and enjoyment. This sentence holds Andrews accountable for his reprehensible conduct.”
Andrews was convicted of wire fraud following a jury trial in April 2014. At trial, the jury heard evidence that Andrews solicited money from friends, business acquaintances, and a bank for use in connection with investment property in Indiana. Andrews told his victims he had non-public “inside information” concerning the value of certain real estate in Indiana and needed funds to make capital improvements to the land to sell it at a substantial profit to the State of Indiana. In reality, Andrews never owned any property in Indiana, was never involved in any land deals in Indiana, and admitted forging documents that made it appear as though he had a contract to sell the property for more than $900,000.
“Mr. Andrews engaged in a longstanding financial fraud scheme, stealing money from friends and business acquaintances,” stated Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “When confronted at trial by his victims and evidence of his crimes, Mr. Andrews showed no remorse. The prison sentence and restitution ordered in this case holds Mr. Andrews accountable for his actions and brings justice to his victims. The FBI remains dedicated to aggressively pursuing perpetrators who commit these crimes.”
In sentencing Andrews to prison, the Court remarked that Andrews engaged in a “brazen” fraud scheme to take money from his friends over several years to gamble it away in the stock market. The Court rejected Andrews’ request for leniency and found that Andrews committed perjury while testifying at trial under oath. The Court noted that Andrews has shown “no remorse whatsoever” for perpetrating the fraud and found it “mind boggling” that Andrews has failed to apologize or explain to the victims how he actually spent their money.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher O’Connor and Clay Stiffler.
END
United States Attorney’s Office Announces Sentence in Gun Possession CaseRead the Press Release
Armed career criminal receives enhanced sentence for lengthy criminal history
INDIANAPOLIS– Acting United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler, today announced the sentencing of an Indianapolis man for illegally possessing a firearm. O. C. Todd, 54, Indianapolis, was sentenced to 215 months (nearly 18 years) in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. He was found guilty in July of this year.
“Prosecuting violent felons who possess firearms will remain a top priority for our office,” said Acting United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler. “Those who think we are not serious will have time to think about it in federal prison. The evidence demonstrates that Mr. Todd was stalking two women with a bag containing a loaded gun, a roll of duct tape, zip ties, and baby oil. The combined efforts of law enforcement to get Mr. Todd off the streets of Indianapolis should make citizens feel safer.”
Court documents state on April 18, 2013, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officers (IMPD) received a call to the 1600 block of East Orange Street on a man stalking two women with binoculars. When officers arrived, they saw Todd standing near a pickup truck and watched him drop a blue nylon bag. Todd got into the truck and sped away.
Officers pursued Todd and stopped him a short while later. When officers returned to the original scene, they located the blue bag and inside found a loaded .38 caliber pistol, a roll of duct tape, two large nylon zip ties and a container of baby oil. Todd told officers he was on the Southside of Indianapolis looking for work and because gasoline was cheaper there.
Todd has a lengthy criminal history that made him eligible for enhanced sentencing as an armed career criminal. His history includes:
Five counts of Criminal Confinement, Marion County, 1980
Resisting Law Enforcement, Marion County, January 2000
Resisting Law Enforcement, Marion County, May 2000This investigation was conducted by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
“ATF is committed to combating gun violence in our communities,” said Michael Boxler, ATF Special Agent in Charge for the Columbus Field Division. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to make our communities safer and remove violent offenders from our streets.”
“Persons who prey upon our community, in particular women and children, should receive the maximum sentence allotted by law. It’s obvious that this case warrants attention due to the continuous violent history this individual has shown”, said Chief Rick Hite, “I want to thank our officers and our federal partners for bringing this suspect to justice.”
According to Gayle Helart who prosecuted the case for the government, Todd must pay a $5000 fine and faces five years of supervised release after serving his sentence.
Undocumented Aliens Sentenced for Tax Refund Fraud Conspiracy and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino of the Justice Department's Tax Division announced that four undocumented aliens were sentenced today to jail terms ranging from 24 to 42 months for their roles in a large conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing false income tax returns that fraudulently claimed large tax refunds. Three defendants were also sentenced for aggravated identity theft. All defendants have been detained since their arrest in June 2013. To date, sixteen defendants have entered guilty pleas to various charges in the case, including JACQUELINE J. ARIAS, a tax return preparer in Spruce Pine, Alabama, who has yet to be sentenced.
ELSIDES EDGARDO ALVARADO-CANALES, 36, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and aggravated identity theft. CESAR ALEJANDRO SORIANO, 30, was sentenced to serve 42 months in prison on his guilty pleas to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges. OCTAVIO JOSUE PERDOMO, 25, was sentenced to serve 34 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy and for aggravated identity theft. AURELIO MONTIEL-MARTINEZ, 35, was sentenced to 24 months incarceration, after pleading guilty to conspiracy. ALVARADO-CANALES, PERDOMO, and SORIANO are natives of Honduras, while MONTIEL-MARTINEZ is a Mexican citizen. All of the defendants were present in the United States illegally and face possible deportation following the completion of their sentences. The defendants were further ordered to pay restitution and to terms of supervised release.
According to the indictments in this case, the conspirators filed false returns listing Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). An ITIN is a tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to individuals who do not have, and are not eligible to obtain, a social security number. As alleged in the indictments, JACQUELINE J. ARIAS was a Certified Acceptance Agent, meaning that she was entrusted by the IRS with the responsibility of reviewing the documentation of an ITIN applicant’s identity and alien status for authenticity, completeness and accuracy before submitting their application to the IRS. The indictments charged that ARIAS and her coconspirators filed false applications for ITINs, in addition to false income tax returns, and that ARIAS collected preparation fees from the fraudulently-obtained tax refunds. According to the second superseding indictment, the conspirators purchased identification documents from overseas and Forms W-2 from other aliens illegally present in the United States for use in filing false income tax returns with ARIAS.
"Today's announcement exemplifies IRS Special Agents' intense focus on the rigorous pursuit of identity theft and refund fraud," said Gabriel L. Grchan, Chief IRS Criminal Investigation. “These individuals demonstrated a blatant disregard of the integrity of the United States tax system and caused immeasurable hardship to innocent victims. IRS Criminal Investigation remains committed to the pursuit of identity theft and, together with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we will hold those who engage in similar conduct accountable.”
“Defrauding the government in the fashion these defendants pleaded guilty to has a direct, negative impact on law-abiding taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr., ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans. “The money stolen from the government in this case might have been used to feed hungry children, pay our soldiers or make needed repairs on a local highway. HSI stands ready with our partners at the IRS and other agencies to hold those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of others through tax fraud and other criminal schemes accountable for their actions.”
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees Homeland Security Investigations; IRS-Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Secret Service; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, in partnership with the St. Tammany Parish and Jefferson Parish Sheriffs’ Departments. The case was prosecuted by Department of Justice, Tax Division Trial Attorneys Hayden Brockett and Kevin Lombardi and Assistant United States Attorney David Haller.
(Download Superseding Indictment )
U.S. Department of Justice Awards City of Stockton A $414,923 Grant to Continue Funding A County-Wide Firearms Reduction ConsortiumRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Bureau of Justice Assistance, an agency of the United States Department of Justice, awarded an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) to the City of Stockton to prevent and control crime, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today.
The 2014 JAG grant award of $414,923 will fund the fourth year of the Firearms Reduction Consortium. The Consortium is a collaborative effort between San Joaquin County and the City of Stockton to reduce firearm violence.
The prevalence of illegal firearms within the City of Stockton, as well as throughout San Joaquin County, is a significant contributor to the increase in violent crime in the region. Efforts to combat violent crime will be coordinated between the Stockton Police Department, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office and the San Joaquin County Probation Department, and will include: • Special enforcement missions to be conducted four times each year; • Retention of an expert in firearms to provide ballistics identification services for guns and bullet casings recovered from crime scenes and during the enforcement missions; • The assignment by the District Attorney's Office of a prosecutor knowledgeable of the laws related to gun crimes; and
• Funding of additional computer software enhancements and staff training.
For more information about this grant, contact the Office of Justice Program's Office of Communications at (202) 307-0703.
The assistance provided by this grant complements an ongoing effort by the U.S. Department of Justice, including the U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI, ATF, DEA, and the U.S. Marshals Service, to work closely with the Stockton Police Department, San Joaquin County Sheriff, the District Attorney, and other agencies to reduce violent crime in the Stockton area.U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch for the Eastern District of New York Delivers Remarks at the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ~ Geneva, Switzerland ~ Wednesday, August 13, 2014Read the Press Release
Mr. Chairperson, distinguished members of the committee, and representatives of civil society, it is an honor to be a part of the U.S. delegation and share some of the highlights of the Department of Justice’s efforts to eliminate racial discrimination and uphold human rights in the area of criminal justice.
Attorney General Eric Holder – and all of us at the Department of Justice who work on criminal justice issues – take seriously our obligation to protect the safety of all Americans and the security of our nation; to safeguard civil and human rights; to prevent and combat violent crime, financial fraud, and threats to the most vulnerable members of society; and to strengthen collaboration among government, law enforcement and our community partners.
As part of this mission, the department has made great progress in reforming America’s criminal justice system. Our focus is not just on the prosecution of crime, but on eradicating its root causes as well as providing support for those re-entering society after having paid their debt to it.
There is, of course, much work still to be done. Currently our country imprisons approximately 2.2 million people, disproportionately people of color. This situation is a drain on both precious resources and human capital. The Attorney General is committed to reform of this aspect of our criminal justice system.
Last August the Attorney General announced the “Smart on Crime” initiative. Under this initiative, we’re ensuring that stringent mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal drug crimes will now be reserved for the most serious criminals. This is not an abandonment of prison as a means to reduce crime, but rather a recognition that, quite often, less prison can also work to reduce crime. We’re advancing alternative programs in place of incarceration in appropriate cases. And we’re committed to providing formerly incarcerated people with fair opportunities to rejoin their communities and become productive, law-abiding citizens.
As part of this effort, the Attorney General has directed every component of the Justice Department to review proposed rules, regulations or guidance with an eye to whether they may impose collateral consequences that may prevent reintegration into society. He has called upon state leaders to do the same, with a particular focus on enacting reforms to restore voting rights to those who have served their debt to society, thus ending the chain of permanent disenfranchisement that visits many of them.
To further ensure that the elimination of discrimination is an ongoing priority, the Attorney General has created a Racial Disparities Working Group, led by the U.S. Attorney community, to identify policies that result in unwarranted disparities within criminal justice and to eliminate those disparities as quickly as possible
From the reduction of the use of solitary confinement, to the expansion of the federal clemency program, to our support for the retroactive reduction of penalties for non-violent drug offenders to the reduction in the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, we have worked to improve our criminal justice system in furtherance of our human rights treaty obligations. We look forward to the future and the opportunity to do even more.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss these issues with you. Our next speaker is my friend and colleague, Mark Kappelhoff, of the department’s Civil Rights Division.
See more photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/us-mission/
USA Lynch- Senior U.S. Gov't Delegation
USA Lynch speaking w/ civil society reps at UN Office at Geneva
USA Lynch Consultation with US Civil Society
Two Foreign Nationals Indicted for Growing 5,287 Marijuana Plants in the Lassen National ForestRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Eric Gilberto Perez, 23, of Guatemala, and Daniel Gomez-Gonzalez, 32, of Mexico, charging them with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and manufacture of marijuana, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, on July 11, 2014, United States Forest Service agents and Tehama County Sheriff’s deputies raided a marijuana cultivation site near the North Fork Antelope Creek in Tehama County in the Lassen National Forest. Both defendants were arrested after attempting to flee from the cultivation site. Law enforcement counted and eradicated a total of 5,287 marijuana plants from the cultivation site. The defendants are in custody.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Forest Service and the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Christiaan Highsmith is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, both Perez and Gomez-Gonzalez face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 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.
Three Individuals Indicted in August Federal Grand JuryRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today the results of the August 2014 Federal Grand Jury.
“The following named individuals have been charged with a federal crime or crimes by the return of an indictment by the Grand Jury. A grand jury Indictment does not constitute evidence of guilt. A grand jury Indictment is a method of bringing formal charges against the defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and may not be found guilty unless evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Statutory maximum punishments are in parentheses. United States Sentencing Guidelines may be considered, upon conviction, by the sentencing court. Federal prison sentences are non-parolable.”
SEAN DEVAL WARRIOR, age 33, of Eufaula, OK a/k/a SEAN G.
Distribution of Methamphetamine
Drug ForfeitureThe Indictment alleges that on or about January 16, 2014, January 24, 2014 and May 23, 2014, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant did knowingly and intentionally distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance.
The charges arose from an investigation by the District 18, District Attorney’s Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The charges are in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C), punishable by not more than 20 years imprisonment and/or up to a $1,000,000.00 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace
JAMES DEWAYNE MARSHALL, age 23, of Ardmore, OK
Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking OffenseThe Indictment alleges that In or about February 5, 2014, June 6, 2014 and August 8, 2014, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, did knowingly and intentionally possess with the intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of Marijuana, a Schedule I Controlled Substance and did knowingly possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime for which he may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, that is, Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Carter County Sheriff’s Department, the Ardmore Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Explosives. The charges are in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(D), punishable by not more than 5 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000 fine and Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A), punishable by not less than 5 years imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000.00 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Waters
RICHARD PAUL GEURIN, age 66, of Ardmore, OK
Bank Theft
Embezzlement and Misapplication
False Entry in the Books of a Federally Insured Bank
Bank Fraud
ForfeitureThe Indictment alleges that from on or about February 3, 2011, until on or about February 24, 2014, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, being an officer, director, agent, or employee of, or connected in a capacity with, First Bank & Trust of Duncan, Oklahoma, a bank whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, with intent to injure and defraud the said First Bank & Trust of Duncan, Oklahoma, willfully misapplied, embezzled, abstracted, and purloined more than $1,000.00 of the moneys, funds, assets or securities entrusted to the custody or care of First Bank & Trust of Duncan, Oklahoma, in that the defendant withdrew cash from the accounts of certain bank customers and misapplied, embezzled, abstracted and purloined the funds for his own use or benefit with the intent to deceive an officer of First Bank & Trust of Duncan, Oklahoma. The Indictment further alleges that the defendant knowingly made false entries in the books, reports, or statements of First Bank & Trust of Duncan, Oklahoma in that defendant created false transaction documents showing customers withdrawing cash from customer accounts, when in truth and in fact, as the defendant well knew, the withdrawals from customer accounts were by, and for the benefit of the defendant.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The charges are in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 656; Title 18, United States Code, Section 1005 and Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, all punishable by not more than 30 years imprisonment and/or up to $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace
Tax Preparer Sentenced for Filing False ReturnsRead the Press Release
A Detroit tax preparer was sentenced yesterday to 30 days in prison for filing a false federal income tax return, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today.
McQuade was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Jarod Koopman, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman also ordered that Monique Gray pay restitution of $102,899.
According to court records, Gray owned and operated MO Tax Services, a tax return preparation business and U&M X Spress Inc. a trucking company. In 2008 Gray’s businesses earned combined gross receipts of approximately $167,232 which Gray knew she had a duty to report. Instead, Gray chose to underreport her gross business income by more than $155,774, in a deliberate attempt to reduce her tax liability. Grays actions caused a tax loss to the government of approximately $14,833 for the 2008 tax year. Overall, Gray caused a tax loss of $102,899 for the years 2006 through 2009.“Gray’s deliberate attempt to file a false tax return undermines the tax system and is an affront to other business owners and taxpayers that remain honest. We will continue to pursue and investigate those individuals that believe they can get away with committing these types of crimes,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Koopman.
The investigation of this case was conducted by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross MacKenzie.Stotts City Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Produce Child Porn, Faces at Least 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Stotts City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to attempting to manufacture child pornography by secretly videotaping a child victim in the shower.
Christopher L. Modglin, 45, of Stotts City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to one count of attempting to manufacture child pornography.
By pleading guilty today, Modglin admitted that he secretly recorded video of a child victim between the ages of 11 and 13 years old taking a shower. Modglin also admitted that he owned several computers that contained images and movies of child pornography.
According to today’s plea agreement, the victim’s father notified the Lawrence County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department that his daughter told him about Modglin trying to put a camera in her bedroom on multiple occasions. Based on this information, the child victim was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center. During the interview, the child victim stated that she had seen a video on Modglin’s cell phone of herself taking off a swim suit and getting into a shower.
Sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at Modglin’s residence and seized three desktop computers and a laptop computer, all of which contained images and movie files of child pornography involving victims between the ages of 8 to 13 years old. One of the desktop computers contained seven video files that Modglin had made of the child victim in various stages of undress. Officers also seized a thumb drive that contained one of the videos of the child victim, which had been erased. The same thumb drive also contained an erased child pornography movie file. Three additional computers did not contain any child pornography.
In total, the officers seized material that contained seven video files of child pornography manufactured by Modglin, 51 movie files that contained child pornography and 17 images of child pornography.
When Modglin was arrested, officers also discovered a USB flash drive in his wallet that contained the seven video files he manufactured of the child victim.
Under Department of Justice guidelines, the attempted production of child pornography is ordinarily charged in cases that involve surreptitious recordings. The statutory penalties for producing child pornography are the same as the penalties for attempting to produce child pornography.
Under federal statutes, Modglin is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force and the Lawrence County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Spring Hill Man Pleads Guilty to Cross-State Robbery SpreeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Christopher Michael Nelson (43, Spring Hill) yesterday pleaded guilty to six counts of bank robbery. Nelson faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreements, in the five-day span between February 14 and February 18, 2014, Nelson robbed banks in Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, Jacksonville and Tallahassee, Florida. On February 20, 2014, Nelson was arrested at the Hard Rock Casino Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.
Shreveport Man Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – A Shreveport man was sentenced to 87 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for receiving child pornography on his home computer, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today.
Kelvin McCallister, 45, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. for one count of receiving child pornography. According to evidence presented at the April 14, 2014 guilty plea, law enforcement detected a computer accessing child pornography online. The signal was traced to a computer in Shreveport. McCallister’s home was searched on May 23, 2013 and various types of child pornography were found on a computer.
Homeland Security Investigations-ICE and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be submitted anonymously.
Santa Fe Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Participating in Crack Cocaine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Robert Romero, 24, of Santa Fe, N.M., was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release for his role in a cocaine base trafficking conspiracy. Romero previously had entered a guilty plea on May 13, 2014, to two drug trafficking charges and a firearms charge.
Romero was one of five men who were indicted in April 2013, on federal narcotics and firearms charges as the result of “Operation Rio Grande Stucco,” a DEA led investigation into an organization that allegedly manufactured and distributed cocaine base, more commonly known as “crack” or “crack cocaine,” in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties, N.M.
The five-count indictment charged Romero and Michael Jaramillo, 24, also of Santa Fe, and Albuquerque residents, Gabriel Mirabal, 33, Sam Eylicio, Jr., 37, and Dominic Anaya, 33, with conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties between May 2012 and April 2013. Romero was charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute in Santa Fe in July 2012, and with using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Jaramillo also was charged with distributing crack cocaine in Santa Fe in March 2012. Mirabal was charged with possessing cocaine with intent to distribute in Albuquerque in Feb. 2013.
Jaramillo entered a guilty plea on March 21, 2014, to the conspiracy count and admitted purchasing crack cocaine from two of his co-defendants and then reselling it to others. On July 30, 2014, Jaramillo was sentenced today to 78 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release.
Eylicio pled guilty on June 23, 2014, to participating in a cocaine base trafficking conspiracy. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Eylicio will be sentenced to 125 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release. Eylicio remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing which is scheduled for Sept. 22, 2014.
Anaya entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine on Aug. 5, 2014, and faces a prison term of not less than five years and not more than 40 years when he is sentenced. Anaya remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing which is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2014.
Mirabal has entered a not guilty plea to the indictment. If convicted, Mirabal faces a maximum penalty of not less than five years or more than 40 years in prison. He remains in custody pending trial. An indictment is merely an accusation, and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the HIDTA Region III Drug Task Force, with assistance from the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The Region III Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the New Mexico State Police, Santa Fe Police Department and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and receives support from the HIDTA – High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area – program. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy that provides assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.
The investigation leading to the indictment, has been designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) program, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.
San Miguel County Man Charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Earl Thomas Romo, 27, of Las Vegas, N.M., made his initial appearance in federal court this morning on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession. The federal prosecution against Romo was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 4th Judicial District Attorney Richard Flores, and 8th Judicial District Attorney Donald Gallegos announced
The federal indictment, which was filed on July 10, 2014, alleges that Romo violated the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition in San Miguel County, N.M., on Aug. 19, 2013. At the time, Romo was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of first degree murder in the 8th Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico (Taos County).
According to court filings, Romo was arrested on state charges by officers of the Las Vegas Police Department on Aug. 19, 2013. At the time, Romo was under the supervision of probation officers of the Probation and Parole Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department following his release from custody on his prior conviction. As a condition of his probation, Romo was required to permit the probation officers to search him, his vehicle, his residence and his property if the officers believed that such searches would reveal evidence that Romo was in violation of the conditions of his probation.
Court filings allege that on Aug. 19, 2013, state probation officers conducted searches of Romo’s vehicle and residence after obtaining information that Romo had violated the conditions of his probation. The probation officers allegedly found ammunition in Romo’s vehicle and a firearm and 8.65 grams of cocaine in a safe they allegedly seized from Romo’s residence. Romo subsequently was charged with state firearms and drug charges by the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The state charges were subsequently dismissed in favor of federal prosecution, and Romo remained in state custody based on a probation violation until he was transferred to federal custody based on the federal indictment.
If convicted, Romo faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Las Vegas Police Department and the Las Vegas Office of the Probation and Patrol Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department, with assistance from the 4th and 8th 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.
Registered Convicted Sex Offender Found Guilty of Attempted Production of Child Pornography and Traveling to Engage in Sex with a MinorRead the Press Release
A 65-year-old registered sex offender, with two prior convictions relating to possession of child pornography and attempted sexual conduct with minors, was found guilty today of attempting to produce child pornography, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, transporting child pornography, possessing child pornography and offense by a registered sex offender.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler for the Southern District of Indiana made the announcement. The verdict was rendered by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
According to the evidence introduced at trial, the defendant, John Alan Lewis, met an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old online in November 2011. From November 2011 until May of 2012, Lewis sent and received numerous images depicting a minor under the age of twelve engaging in sexually explicit conduct via emails with this individual, who actually was an adult male registered sex offender living in Queens, New York. Following the arrest of the individual in the Eastern District of New York, in August of 2012, law enforcement assumed this individual’s online identity and engaged in a series of online chats where the defendant expressed his desire to travel from Ohio to Indiana, pick the 14-year-old up, and take her to a motel to engage in sexual acts with her.
On Sept. 19, 2012, the defendant rented a car in Lima, Ohio, and drove to Plainfield, Indiana. He was arrested when he arrived at the agreed-upon meeting location. The defendant had in his possession three electronic devices, each of which contained images depicting a minor, between the ages of 10 and 12, fully nude and engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Lewis has been in federal custody since he was arrested in September of 2012. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
The investigation was conducted by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Cyber Crime Unit, the Indiana State Police Cyber Crime Unit, the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section and the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is made up of federal and state law enforcement agencies. The case is being prosecuted by Criminal Division Trial Attorney Amy E. Larson of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Senior Litigation Counsel Steven D. DeBrota of the Southern District of Indiana.
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. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and 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.Registered Convicted Sex Offender Found Guilty of Attempted Production of Child Pornography and Traveling to Engage in Sex with A MinorRead the Press Release
Defendants believed he was driving to Plainfield to meet a 14 year old for sex
INDIANAPOLIS– A sixty-five-year-old registered sex offender, with two prior convictions relating to possession of child pornography and attempted sexual conduct with minors, was found guilty today by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson of attempting to produce child pornography, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, transporting child pornography, possessing child pornography, and offense by a registered sex offender, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell and Josh Minkler, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.
According to the evidence introduced at trial, the defendant, John Alan Lewis, met an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old online in November 2011. From November 2011 until May of 2012, Lewis sent and received numerous images depicting a minor under the age of twelve engaging in sexually explicit conduct via emails with this individual, who actually was an adult male registered sex offender living in Queens, New York. Following the arrest of the individual in the Eastern District of New York, in August of 2012, law enforcement assumed this individual’s online identity and engaged in a series of online chats where the defendant expressed his desire to travel from Ohio to Indiana, pick the 14-year-old up, and take her to a motel to engage in sexual acts with her.
On September 19, 2012, the defendant rented a car in Lima, Ohio and drove to Plainfield, Indiana. He was arrested when he arrived at the agreed upon meeting location. The defendant had in his possession three electronic devices, each of which contained images depicting a minor, between the ages of 10 and 12, fully nude and engaging in sexually explicit conduct
Lewis has been in federal custody since he was arrested in September of 2012. Given the defendant’s criminal history, Attempted Sexual Exploitation of Children carries a mandatory minimum of 35 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date for Lewis has not been set.
“The most vulnerable citizens in our communities deserve the best protection we can provide,” said Acting United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler. “Fighting against sexual predators remains a top priority in our office.”
The case is being prosecuted by Criminal Division Trial Attorney Amy E. Larson of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Senior Litigation Counsel Steven D. DeBrota of the Southern District of Indiana. The investigation was conducted by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Cyber Crime Unit, the Indiana State Police Cyber Crime Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Violent Crimes Against Children Section and the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is made up of federal and state law enforcement agencies.
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. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and 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.
Raytheon to Resolve Allegation That It Improperly Charged Department of Defense for ReimbursementRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Raytheon Company, a Waltham-based defense contractor, has agreed to pay $350,000 to resolve allegations that it charged the Department of Defense for meal expenses that were ineligible for reimbursement. Specifically, the government alleged that, from 2007 to 2009, Raytheon submitted overhead expenses for group meals, business group meals, and group meals at conference events that were ineligible for reimbursement under the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
This matter was investigated by Leo Lamont, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office, and Michael Conner, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Hartford Fraud Resident Agency, with the assistance of the Defense Contract Audit Agency’s Investigative Support Division and the Defense Contract Management Agency. The matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Cardello or Ortiz’s Civil Division.
Quebec Resident Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing SchemeRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO - A federal Indictment charging Nicolaos Menis with mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering was unsealed yesterday in federal court, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Rafael E. Nunez, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez.
Menis, 42, of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, Canada, was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco on August 7, 2014. According to the Indictment, Menis executed a scheme to defraud in which he sent, or caused others to send, invoices to small businesses, churches, cities, and others indicating that they owed payment for a service variously described as “business listing optimization,” “business profile optimization,” and “online business listing optimization,” when such services were never ordered. The invoices instructed the small businesses to send payment – usually around $500 – to a street address that, according to the Indictment, was a UPS or similar mailbox rented by one of the companies involved in the scheme. The Indictment alleges that Menis caused others to call, or receive calls from, small businesses regarding the fraudulent invoices and falsely state that the small businesses had ordered “business listing optimization” or similar services and owed the amount on the invoice. According to the Indictment, between in or about May 2009 and in or about June 2014, Menis and others collected approximately $3.6 million from more than 4,000 victims and transferred the money from bank accounts in the United States held by entities involved in the scheme to bank accounts in Canada.
Menis was arrested after entering the United States on August 11, 2014. He made his initial appearance in federal court in Orlando, Florida, on August 12, 2014, and was ordered detained and removed to the Northern District of California. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in San Francisco, Calif., at a date and time to be determined.
The Indictment alleges four counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 1349, is 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, plus restitution. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h), is 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the funds involved in the transaction. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Robert S. Leach is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Bridget Kilkenny and Mary Mallory. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service in San Francisco and Albany, New York; IRS – Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations in Rouses Point, New York.
(Menis indictment)
Pittsburgh Woman Pleads Guilty to Criminal Contempt of Court ChargeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of criminal contempt of court, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Marquetta Lavelle Mitchell, 41, pleaded guilty to one count before Senior United States District Judge Alan N. Bloch.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Mitchell disobeyed and resisted the lawful process, order and command of a Court of the United States, that is, she refused to testify at the October 16-22, 2012, trial of her boyfriend, Andre Williams, for charges that included conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, at Case Number 11-116, despite: the subpoena that required her to do so; an instruction from Senior United States District Court Judge Alan N. Bloch that her Fifth Amendment rights had been extinguished; and a written order compelling her to testify pursuant to a grant of immunity from Senior United States District Court Judge Alan N. Bloch.
Judge Bloch scheduled sentencing for Jan. 8, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. The law provides for an unlimited period of incarceration and/or a fine, at the discretion of the Court. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Ross E. Lenhardt is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and the 21st Judicial District Drug Task Force in Tennessee conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Marquetta Lavelle Mitchell.
Pasco Woman Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Stolen Identity Refund FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced Selathiel Frazier (29, Pasco County) to 8 years in federal prison for wire fraud. As part of her sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $4,039,238.00, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. Frazier pleaded guilty on March 26, 2014.
According to court documents, Frazier engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States government by participating in the filing of fraudulent tax returns and spending fraudulently-obtained tax refunds. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers searched Frazier’s residence, where they recovered thousands of names and social security numbers in ledgers and on various other records. They also recovered more than $60,000 in cash, multiple cars, and other proceeds of the scheme.
This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda L. Riedel and Sara C. Sweeney.
Pair Indicted for Sex Trafficking of Five MinorsRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that WELLINGTON BROWN, also known as “Jamal,” 25, a Jamaican citizen formerly residing in Hartford, and SHEENA DUME, 21, formerly of Stratford and Greenwich, were charged by indictment with Sex Trafficking of a Minor and Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking of a Minor. The Indictment was returned on July 22, 2014. BROWN was arraigned on the indictment yesterday, and DUME was arraigned on August 7, 2014.
According to the criminal indictment, between June 2013 and February 2014, BROWN and DUME conspired with each other and with other individuals to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, and maintain five different minor victims, knowing that the minors would be caused to engage in a commercial sex act.
BROWN and DUME were both arrested in Glen Burnie, Maryland, on July 30, 2014. They were presented before a United States Magistrate Judge in Baltimore and ordered removed to Connecticut. DUME was arraigned on August 7, 2014 and was ordered detained. BROWN was arraigned yesterday, and was also ordered detained pending trial.
If convicted, each defendantfaces a maximum term of imprisonment of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment.
The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, aided by the Milford Police Department and the Stratford Police Department. US Attorney Daly recognized the significant assistance provided by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, particularly its Human Anti-Trafficking Response Team (“HART”). The case is being prosecuted by AUSA’s David Novick and Marc SilvermanPUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
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Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Owner of Security Training Companies Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Prison for FraudRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - August 13, 2014- Ricky Lee Coleman, Jr., 41, of Antioch, Tennessee was sentenced on August 11, 2014, to 92 months in prison in connection with a scheme that defrauded more than 2,500 individuals, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. Coleman’s sentence also includes 3 years of supervised release following his prison sentence and he was ordered to pay more than $900,000 in restitution to his victims.
On May 7, 2014, Coleman pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and credit card fraud in connection with his ownership and operation of International Executive Services LLC, Advancement Solutions LLC, and RLC Enterprises, companies based in Hermitage and Antioch, Tennessee, that defrauded thousands of military veterans and others seeking job training and job placement services.
Coleman previously admitted directing his employees to make false representations to customers and potential customers, including that they would be placed into a training class, that they would be paid during training, and that they would be guaranteed employment after training. Coleman also admitted instructing his employees to make misrepresentations to customers who had paid for training in order to delay their attempts to seek refunds and to postpone their complaints, including by sending letters falsely informing customers that they were enrolled in certain training academies. Coleman spent the majority of funds paid by customers on personal expenses or on efforts to recruit new customers.The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Metro Nashville Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Abely.
Orofino Man Sentenced in Theft ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Coeur d’Alene – Joseph G. Walker, 21, of Orofino, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court to nine months incarceration, three years supervised release and $100 special assessment, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns also ordered Walker to pay $9,904.25 in restitution. Walker pleaded guilty to the charge on January 21, 2014.
According to the plea agreement, Walker admitted that between October 2011 and January 15, 2012, in and near Orofino, Idaho, and within the exterior boundaries of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, that he and others agreed to steal items of value from various businesses and individuals in the area. The total value for the items taken by members of the conspiracy was approximately $9,900.
The case was investigated by Orofino Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Orlando Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening to Kill the President of the United StatesRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Jason Lynn Gay (40, Orlando) pleaded guilty today to making threats against the President of the United States. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Gay was indicted on February 12, 2014.
According to court documents, on May 29, 2013, Gay mailed a letter to the United States Courthouse in Orlando. In this letter, he threatened to assault and murder an FBI agent. He also threatened to take the life of and inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States of America. Gay further threatened to “blow up” the federal courthouse. On May 31, 2013, a clerk at the courthouse in Orlando received, opened, and read the letter. On June 3, 2013, and again on January 16, 2014, federal agents interviewed Gay regarding the threats he made in the letter. In these interviews, Gay acknowledged writing the letter and reaffirmed his desire to kill the President.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.
Ohio Man Sentenced for Defrauding InvestorsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – An Ohio man has been sentenced in federal court to five years probation, including four months in a community confinement center followed by four months home confinement, on his conviction of wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
On Aug. 12, 2014, Chief United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on Daniel P. Lucas, 50, of East Liverpool, Ohio.
According to information presented to the court, Lucas defrauded three investors by representing that he was a successful currency trader and obtaining $78,000 from them for this purpose, and thereafter retaining and spending more than $49,000 for his own purposes, while earning no profits for investors and incurring more than $28,000 in currency trading loses.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Conti stated that Lucas’ stated plan - to repay the victims by turning his $1,500 into hundreds of thousands of dollars via currency trading - would be “just short of a miracle.”
Assistant United States Attorney Leo M. Dillon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Lucas.
Non-Indian Man Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Abusing an Indian Child on Laguna Pueblo LandRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Ray Looney, 39, a non-Indian man who resides in the Pueblo of Laguna, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 15 years in federal prison for his child sexual abuse conviction. Looney will be on supervised release for 20 years after completing his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, DuWayne W. Honahni, Sr., Special Agent in Charge of District IV of BIA’s Office of Justice Services, and Acting Chief Brian Carr of the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department.
Looney, who is originally from Portales, N.M., was arrested on June 28, 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging that he forced an Indian child between the age of 12 and 16 years to engage in sexual acts. According to the complaint, Looney committed these criminal acts within the Pueblo of Laguna in Cibola County, N.M.
On March 26, 2014, Looney entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with sexual abuse of a minor. In his plea agreement, Looney admitted to engaging in sexual acts with the child victim from March 2013 to June 2013. Looney also admitted knowing that the child victim was under 16 years of age when he violated the child.
Looney has been in federal custody since his arrest. He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Laguna Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department, and was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
New Braunfels Ammo Smuggler Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
In Del Rio today, 23-year-old Jesus Cardenas of New Braunfels, TX, was sentenced to six years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine for smuggling ammunition from the United States announced U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Janice Ayala.
In February, a federal jury convicted the defendant and his 34-year-old brother, Luis Cardenas, of two counts of smuggling ammunition from the United States. The jury also convicted Jesus Cardenas of two counts of smuggling ammunition and magazines from the United States.
Evidence presented during the three-day-trial showed that on two separate occasions between November 2011 and January 2012, Jesus Cardenas purchased, on behalf of an individual in Piedras Negras, Mexico, a total of more than 15,000 rounds of ammunition and 400 assault rifle magazines intended for export to Mexico. Furthermore, Luis Cardenas was paid to transfer the ammunition to 31-year-old San Antonio Jason Vega who then transported it to Del Rio.
On December 1, 2011, United States Border Patrol agents seized part of the ammunition along with 23 assault rifles within yards of the Rio Grande River outside Del Rio. Special Agents with Homeland Security Investigations seized additional ammunition and magazines in January 2012.
Luis Cardenas is scheduled to be sentenced on February 9, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Alia Moses in Del Rio. On May 27, 2014, Judge Moses sentenced Vega to 54 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay a $1,500 fine. Prior to trial, Vega pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of approximately 4,300 rounds ammunition on November 17, 2011.
“HSI is committed to preventing weapons and ammunition from reaching the hands of transnational criminal enterprises that pose a threat to public safety in the United States and abroad,” said Special Agent in Charge Janice Ayala, HSI San Antonio. “HSI special agents will continue working jointly with our law enforcement partners and utilize our expertise in export enforcement to keep our citizens safe and secure.”
This case resulted from an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) together with United States Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Lewis Thomas and Patrick Burke prosecuted this case for the Government.Middle Georgia Tax Preparer SentencedRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that Jackie Elvine, a/k/a Jackie Young, 39, of Jeffersonville, Georgia, was sentenced on August 13, 2014 to serve 5 years (63 months) in prison for health care fraud, aiding in the preparation of a false tax return and false claims against the Government. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Marc T. Treadwell, United States District Court Judge, in Macon, Georgia. The Court also ordered Ms. Elvine to pay restitution in the amount of $372,008.88.Ms. Elvine entered her plea of guilty to the charges on January 17, 2014. As a part of her plea, Ms. Elvine admitted that she established Young’s Financial Billing Service in Jeffersonville, Georgia in 2008 as a tax return preparation service. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Elvine prepared and submitted hundreds of false tax returns. At least 61 of the returns included fraudulent tax credits for first time home buyers. The total amount of those claims was $283,683.00. Also claimed were numerous tax credits for higher education costs that Ms. Elvine knew were not legitimate.
Ms. Elvine also defrauded AFLAC by filing false health care claims. The amount of loss sustained by AFLAC was $147,483.56. In addition, Ms. Elvine diverted healthcare refunds from her employer, National Reimbursement Group, into her own personal account. The loss to National Reimbursement Group was $118,446.84.
“For years, Ms. Elvine made up and filed phony figures to steal from the Government and these insurance companies. At least for the next five years, the only numbers she will be dealing with will be the ones in her federal inmate identification number. The message in the prison sentence today is simple. These schemes will not keep you out of the poorhouse; they’ll put you in the jailhouse,” stated U.S. Attorney Michael Moore.
"The prison time received by Ms. Elvine should serve as a strong warning that tough punishment awaits those who embark on a similar criminal path," stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation. "As the defendant in this case has learned, stealing from the American people will not be tolerated and you will be held accountable."
“Elvine, not content with cheating on hundreds of tax returns, started stealing critically needed healthcare dollars,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta. “OIG along with our law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue thieves who believe government programs exist to fatten their pockets.”
Staci Guest, Director of the Georgia Department of Revenue - Office of Special Investigations, stated: “Jackie Elvine’s sentence shows how serious the State of Georgia is at finding individuals who erode public trust and confidence. The Georgia Department of Revenue will continue to work with our federal and local law enforcement officials to combat individuals who commit fraud. “
The case originated from an investigation initiated by the Twiggs County Sheriff's Office.
Other agencies responsible for the investigation were the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Georgia Department of Revenue – Office of Special Investigations Assistant United States Attorney Graham Thorpe is handling the prosecution for the Government.Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.
McAlester Man Sentenced to 10 Months, $30,000 for Video VoyeurismRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that KENNETH WAYDE ELKINS, age 56, of McAlester, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, followed by 1 year of supervised release, a fine of $10,000.00 per count, $393.23 in restitution and is required to register as a sex offender for three counts of Video Voyeurism, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1801.
The charges arose from an investigation by the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The defendant pled guilty in February 2014.
The Information alleged that between July 1, 2013 and August 14, 2013, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, the defendant, knowingly and intentionally captured images of the private areas of females without their consent while they were in an area in which they had a reasonable expectation of privacy, a restroom.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. The defendant was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending transportation to the designated federal prison at which he will serve his nonparolable sentence.
Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.