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Monday 23 June 2014
St. Leonard’s Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting A Minor to Produce PornographyRead the Press Release
Took 24 Sexually Explicit Pictures of a Prepubescent Girl
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced David Wayne Sweet, Jr., age 24, of St. Leonard, Maryland today to 20 years in prison followed by supervised release for life for sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography. Judge Titus ordered that upon his release from prison, Sweet must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans; Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Calvert County State’s Attorney Laura Martin.
According to his plea agreement, on September 19, 2013, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Drug Enforcement Unit executed a search warrant at Sweet’s residence based on alleged drug violations. Sweet’s cell phone was seized which contained 24 sexually explicit images of a prepubescent girl taken between June and September 2013. Sweet had deleted the pictures, but law enforcement officials recovered all of the images.
Sweet was arrested on September 27, 2013. Sweet admitted that he inappropriately touched the victim while she was sleeping and took the photos.
On April 16, 2014, Sweet pleaded guilty to a second degree sex offense in Calvert County Circuit Court. His sentencing in the state case is scheduled for July 11, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.
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.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the HSI Baltimore, Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristi O’Malley, who prosecuted the case.
Spencerport Man Pleads Guilty to Tax ChargeRead the Press Release
Buffalo, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jay Chapman, 47, of Spencerport, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer, to filing a false income tax return. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, a $100,000 fine or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley E. Tyler, who is handling the case, stated that in 2007, the defendant filed a personal income tax return but failed to report business income in the amount of $118,971.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 17, 2014 before Judge Larimer.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office.Repeat Offender Sentenced to 180 Months for Abusive Sexual ContactRead the Press Release
Spokane – Today, Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Senior United States District Court Judge William Fremming Nielsen sentenced Steven Ray St. Peter, age 22, to 180 months imprisonment for abusive sexual contact occurring on June 12, 2012. St. Peter will be under court supervision for 60 months after he is released from federal prison.
St. Peter's charge stems from his abuse of a minor child on the Colville Indian Reservation in 2012. On June 12, 2012, the family of the 9 year-old victim reported the sexual contact to the Colville Tribal Police who began a search for St. Peter. Witnesses told police they saw St. Peter running away from the scene of the crime. St. Peter was arrested shortly thereafter in a near-by residence in Omak by Colville Tribal Police Officers. S t. Peter pled guilty on March 19, 2014.
Michael Ormsby stated, "Sexual abuse will not be tolerated within any of the four Indian Reservations in the Eastern District of Washington. This District's Federal and Tribal law enforcement partners are ever-vigilant when investigating sexual abuse crimes. Their tireless efforts resulted in the successful prosecution of St. Peter and prevented other minor victims from being victimized by him. Today's sentence plainly reflects the seriousness of this type of crime."
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colville Tribal Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Matthew F. Duggan, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
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Randolph County Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsOn June 19, 2014, Samuel S. Jacobs, a/k/a “Simple Sam,” 40, of Steeleville, Illinois, was sentenced in United States District Court in Benton on a one-count indictment charging conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.
Jacobs, who had previously pled guilty to the methamphetamine offense, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release, and fined $200. The offense occurred between 2010 and November 2012, in Jackson and Randolph Counties. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that Jacobs supplied pseudoephedrine to others for use in the manufacture of methamphetamine. At sentencing, the district court found that Jacobs was responsible for unlawfully possessing more than 100 grams of pseudoephedrine. Co-defendants Patsy Pelate and Julie Keller were previously sentenced to prison terms of 84 months and 97 months, respectively, for their roles in the methamphetamine conspiracy.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Perry County Sheriff’s Office, Murphysboro Police Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration.
The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.
Perry County Man Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsOn June 19, 2014, a Perry County, Illinois, man pled guilty to an indictment, charging conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Brandon K. Loftis, 38, of Pinckneyville, pled guilty to the one-count indictment charging conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. The offense occurred between 2012 and June 2013 in Perry, Jackson, Randolph, Franklin, and Williamson Counties. Evidence at the plea hearing established that Loftis was involved with others in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Other persons supplied Loftis with pseudoephedrine pills for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine. During an April 10, 2012, search warrant at Loftis’ Mulkeytown residence, agents located meth-making materials. Co-defendants Samantha J. Plumlee, 28, of Buckner, and April Rollinson, 35, of Centralia, have previously pled guilty to their roles in the methamphetamine conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing. Loftis, Plumlee, and Rollinson each face a term in federal prison of up to 20 years, to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Perry County Sheriff’s Office, Perry County Drug Task Force, Illinois State Police/Southern Illinois Drug Task Force, Murphysboro Police Department, DuQuoin Police Department, Pinckneyville Police Department, Illinois State Police Methamphetamine Response Team, and Drug Enforcement Administration.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.
Owner of Home Health Company Pleads Guilty to Role in $6.5 Million Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner and operator of Nestor’s Health Services, Inc. (Nestor HH), a now-defunct Miami home health care agency, pleaded guilty today in connection with a $6.5 million health care fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Martens of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office made the announcement.
Cruz Sonia Collado64, of Homestead, Florida, pleaded guiltybefore U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to offer and pay health care kickbacks and to defraud the United States, and to one count of offering and paying health care kickbacks.
Collado was an owner and operator of Nestor HH, a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries.
According to court documents, Collado and her co-conspirators operated Nestor HH for the purpose of billing Medicare for, among other things, expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary and/or were not provided. As the owner and operator of Nestor HH, Collado paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters, in return for those recruiters providing patients to Nestor HH for home health care and therapy services that were not medically necessary, and in many instances, were not provided. Collado would then fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services on behalf of these recruited patients, which Collado knew was in violation of federal criminal laws.
From approximately March 2009 through at least January 2014, Nestor HH submitted more than $6.5 million in claims for home health services, and fraudulently obtained more than $6.1 million before the fraud was exposed.
The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Anne P. McNamara and A. Brendan Stewart of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, has removed over 17,000 providers from the Medicare program since 2011.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .
Owner of Home Health Company Pleads Guilty to Role in $6.5 Million Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner and operator of Nestor’s Health Services, Inc. (Nestor HH), a now-defunct Miami home health care agency, pleaded guilty today in connection with a $6.5 million health care fraud scheme.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Martens of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office made the announcement.
Cruz Sonia Collado, 64, of Homestead, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to offer and pay health care kickbacks and to defraud the United States, and to one count of offering and paying health care kickbacks.
Collado was an owner and operator of Nestor HH, a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries.
According to court documents, Collado and her co-conspirators operated Nestor HH for the purpose of billing Medicare for, among other things, expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary and/or were not provided. As the owner and operator of Nestor HH, Collado paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters, in return for those recruiters providing patients to Nestor HH for home health care and therapy services that were not medically necessary, and in many instances, were not provided. Collado would then fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services on behalf of these recruited patients, which Collado knew was in violation of federal criminal laws.
From approximately March 2009 through at least January 2014, Nestor HH submitted more than $6.5 million in claims for home health services, and fraudulently obtained more than $6.1 million before the fraud was exposed.
The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Anne P. McNamara and A. Brendan Stewart of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, has removed over 17,000 providers from the Medicare program since 2011.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Owner of Florida Stock Lending Firm Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for His Part in $100 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Jeffrey R. Spanier, former owner of Amerifund Capital Finance, LLC located in Boca Raton, Florida, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez to serve 10 years in federal prison and pay almost $20.7 million in restitution for his role in a $100 million stock loan fraud scheme that bilked victims all over the world.
Spanier was also ordered to forfeit several million dollars in assets that were the proceeds of the fraud, including cash and securities held in brokerage accounts, and a luxury home in Florida. The case was investigated by the FBI.
Spanier was indicted on April 13, 2012, along with Douglas McClain Jr. and James Miceli. All were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. On May 31, 2013, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts in the indictment against McClain. Miceli committed suicide shortly before that trial. On December 20, 2013, a separate jury found Spanier guilty on multiple counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and securities fraud.
According to trial testimony, Spanier, through his entity Amerifund Capital Finance, partnered with McClain, Miceli, and Argyll Equities, and together with his partners fraudulently induced corporate executives to pledge millions of dollars’ worth of stock the executives held in publicly traded companies as collateral for loans by falsely representing that the borrowers' stock would not be sold unless there was a default on the loan.
The evidence presented at trial showed that Argyll, the purported lender, had no cash to lend and instead survived for years by immediately selling borrowers stock on the day after the stock was pledged as collateral. The proceeds from the sale of the stock were used to fund the loans creating the appearance that Argyll had plenty of cash to lend.
The evidence also showed that Spanier, McClain, and others fraudulently induced the borrowers to make monthly interest payments on their loans by falsely representing that their collateral was safe and would be returned as long as they did not default. At the end of the loan terms, the borrowers paid off their loans. Instead of returning the stock to the borrowers, Spanier and McClain kept the money and provided false excuses about why they could not return their stock.
The evidence further showed that the unauthorized sales of stock held by insiders of publicly traded companies caused the stock price to plummet which defrauded purchasers of these publicly traded securities who purchased stock through public stock exchanges.
During the trial, the government offered testimony from several executives, many of whom had faithfully paid off their loans over a period of years, completely unaware that their stocks had been sold. All testified about the frustration, emotional stress and grief they experienced when they unsuccessfully attempted to recover their stock once the loan balance was paid, and ultimately realized they were the victims of a massive fraud. Victims were located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, China, England, and Belgium.
The jury rejected defense claims that Spanier was merely a broker who was unaware of the fraud scheme.
U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy praised the efforts of the FBI for its investigation of the case and described today’s sentence as a fitting end to a brazen deception. “Jeffrey Spanier not only stole tens of millions of dollars from his own clients, but he victimized the public market when his actions caused stock prices to plummet. This significant sentence means Spanier’s days driving a Bentley and living in a gated country club community at the expense of others will soon be a distant memory.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge, Daphne Hearn, commented, “Today's sentencing ensures that Mr. Spanier is being held accountable for his illegal and unscrupulous actions. The FBI is committed to pursuing those who illegally line their pockets at the expense of the public.”
DEFENDANT Case Number: 12CR0918BEN Jeffrey R. Spanier Age: 49 City: Delray Beach, Florida CHARGESCount 1: Conspiracy (Title 18, United States Code, Section 371):
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Counts 2-7 Mail Fraud (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341
Counts 8-18 Wire Fraud (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343)
Count 19 Securities Fraud (Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78j(b) and 78ff)Federal Bureau of Investigation
*Indictments and complaints are not evidence that the defendant committed the crime charged. All defendants are presumed innocent until the United States meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
One Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison and Three Others Plead Guilty in Child Exploitation CasesRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — One defendant was sentenced and three others pleaded guilty to child exploitation offenses in separate cases in federal court today, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
“As these cases make clear, identifying, arresting and prosecuting those who go online to download and distribute sexually explicit images of children is a top priority for HSI and its federal and local enforcement partners,” said Tatum King, acting special agent in charge for HSI San Francisco. “Many child predators mistakenly believe the anonymity of the Internet shields them from detection, but as these defendant learned firsthand, cyberspace is not a refuge from justice.”
Bakersfield Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison (1:13-cr-241 LJO)
Bradley James Ghilarducci, 67, was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison for receiving child pornography. According to court documents, between February and August 2012, Ghilarducci received images through the Internet of minors engaged in sexual activity. This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Tierney prosecuted the case.Tuolumne County Man Pleads Guilty (1:13-cr-00396 AWI)
Curtis Benjamin Hults, 63, of Twain Harte pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of receipt of child pornography. According to the plea agreement, between May 1, 2008, and October 8, 2012, Hults created images of four different minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, stored them on a digital camera, and then transferred them to a computer. Hults also downloaded from the Internet more than 600 images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, some of whom were prepubescent and some of the images depicted violence.Hults is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2, 2014. He faces 15 to 30 years in prison for each of the four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and five to 20 years in prison for the receipt of child pornography charge. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI, the Visalia Police Office, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, and the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office.
Turlock Man Pleads Guilty (1:14-cr-012-LJO)
Jeffrey Randall Metcalfe, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. According to court documents, between January 2012 and December 1, 2013, Metcalfe used a website to communicate with persons interested in exchanging images of child pornography. He knowingly received and distributed more than 600 images of child pornography, some of which were images of violence and prepubescent minors.Metcalfe is scheduled to be sentenced on September 15, 2014. He faces 15 to 40 years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Turlock Police Department.
Former Bakersfield Resident Pleads Guilty to Sharing Child Pornography (1:13-cr-146 AWI)
Robert Aron Sprenkle, 36, of Baltimore, Md., pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography in Kern County, between September 29, 2012, and November 4, 2012. An indictment was returned on April 18, 2013, and Sprenkle was arrested in Clearwater, Fla. where he had relocated. He was released on bond and relocated again to Baltimore. Sprenkles was taken into custody after his guilty plea today and is set for sentencing on September 15, 2014. He faces a sentence of five to 20 years in prison, a potential lifetime term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).These cases were 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.
Northern Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Crack Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsOn June 19, 2014, Albert Wesley, a/k/a “Boogie,” a/k/a “Boog,” 29, of South Holland, Illinois, pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. The offense occurred between 2012 and April 2013, in Williamson and Jackson Counties. Evidence at the plea hearing established that Wesley was involved with others in the distribution of crack cocaine and that he sometimes fronted crack cocaine to others for re-distribution. During the investigation, Wesley sold crack cocaine to a confidential source working for law enforcement. Wesley faces a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years, to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release, and a $1,000,000 fine. Wesley is currently being held without bond pending an October 23, 2014, sentencing hearing.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Murphysboro Police Department, Carbondale Police Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration. The Williamson County State’s Attorney’s Office and Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.
Niagara Falls Contractor Sentenced for Conspiring to Defraud HUDRead the Press Release
Buffalo, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Walter Heinrich Weiss, 61, of Niagara Falls, N.Y., who was convicted of conspiring to make a false statement in a HUD transaction, was sentenced to one year of probation by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr., who handled the case, stated that the defendant was an employee of John Gross at David Gross Contracting, Inc. (Gross Contracting). Weiss conspired with John Gross and other employees of Gross Contracting to prepare and submit false and fraudulent bids and estimates which purported to be from competitors of Gross Contracting. Specifically, the employees would maintain, within their offices, and on their computers, blank letterhead for various competing companies. The letterhead was used to prepare false and fraudulent estimates and/or job bids which were higher than bids submitted by Gross Contracting.
In one instance, following significant flooding which resulted from a water main break during the spring of 2009, a Niagara Falls resident contacted Gross Contracting for an estimate for repair work on the resident’s home. Unbeknownst to the homeowner, Gross Contracting, in addition to its own bid, also submitted a false and fraudulent bid which appeared to be from a competitor. The fake bid was submitted with the intention of manipulating and defrauding the HUD grant program that was ultimately used to pay Gross Contracting’s $2,545.00 bill for the repairs.
In January 2012, John Gross was sentenced to 33 months in prison. The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office.
New London Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
Follow @USAO_CT
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MAURICE L. MILLIGAN, 35, of New London, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Smith in Hartford to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, at approximately 11:30 p.m. on April 22, 2013, New London Police received reports of shots fired in the vicinity of a convenience store located on Ocean Avenue near the intersection of Evergreen and Sherman Streets. Responding officers did not find any victim of the shooting, but did locate and seize four spent 9mm Winchester shell casings in the immediate area. The investigation determined that two males had had a verbal altercation inside the convenience store and, shortly thereafter, a number of shots had been fired outside the business. Review of video from inside and outside the store led to the identification of MILLIGAN as the probable shooter.
On April 25, 2013, New London Police observed MILLIGAN sitting in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle. Officers ordered MILLIGAN to exit the car and saw that he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. Officers then searched the vehicle and recovered from under the driver’s seat a Glock, Model 17, 9mm semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number. The handgun was loaded with 19 rounds of Winchester 9mm ammunition. Further examination of the gun revealed that the serial number on the frame of the weapon had been removed.
A ballistics comparison made of the shell casings recovered on the night of April 22 with the Glock seized from under the driver’s seat of the car MILLIGAN was driving on April 25 established that the Glock was the weapon that fired the shots.
Prior to April 2013, MILLIGAN had been convicted in the Queens County (N.Y.) Supreme Court of third degree criminal possession of a loaded firearm and second degree robbery.
It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce. It is also a violation of federal law for a convicted felon to wear protective body armor, and for an individual who has been convicted of a violent felony offense to possess body armor.
MILLIGAN is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on September 10, 2014, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. He has been detained since his arrest on April 25, 2013.
This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New London Police Department and the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New London. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John H. Durham.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]New Jersey U.S. Attorney Files Civil Suit Seeking Forfeiture of $1.7 Million Seized from New York-Based ExporterRead the Press Release
Cellular Next LLC Allegedly Participated in Drug Money Laundering
Through Black Market Peso ExchangeNEWARK, N.J. - The United States filed a civil forfeiture complaint today seeking to forfeit $1,742,289, previously seized from cellular phone wholesale company Cellular Next LLC, which allegedly represents narcotics proceeds laundered through the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE), U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
According to the complaint filed today in Newark federal court:
Cellular Next, which operates out of New York and Miami and is registered as a business entity in New Jersey, has a history of receiving narcotics proceeds. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) undercover agents have sent wire transfers of such proceeds to the company at the direction of BMPE brokers based in Colombia.
The BMPE is a currency exchange system which uses illegal drug proceeds in the United States to pay for goods that then are shipped to Colombia. It is the primary method used by Colombian narcotics traffickers to launder their illicit funds. The recipients in Colombia pay for those goods in pesos, which are then forwarded to the narcotics traffickers. The system allows narcotics traffickers to launder and transport their narcotics dollars through the United States financial system by using domestic accounts held by businesses or individuals doing business in the United States. Seizure and forfeiture actions are aimed at disrupting and destroying the flow of these narcotics dollars by targeting the domestic accounts and the entities that receive these illicit funds.
Representatives of Cellular Next have, on numerous occasions, received narcotics proceeds without asking for the appropriate identification or filing the appropriate paperwork to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, which was designed to combat money laundering. Cellular Next has a history of having its bank accounts closed by financial institutions for misuse, for having allowed large numbers of structured cash deposits from at least 2010 through 2013.
One money laundering customer sent the $1.7 million the government seeks to forfeit to Cellular Next LLC using BMPE.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, comprising agents and officers from DEA New York, New York City Police Department and New York State Police; and agents and officers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees in Newark, with the ongoing investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan S. Weitz of the U.S. Attorney's Office Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
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Cellular Next Complaint
New Jersey Man Sentenced to Two-Year Prison TermRead the Press Release
For Prostituting Girlfriend, Who He Physically Abused
Second Man Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for Aiding in the ProstitutionWASHINGTON – Leschon Gonzales, 25, of Atlantic City, N.J., was sentenced today to a two-year prison term for prostituting and abusing his girlfriend multiple times last year, and Cornell Ford, 42, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to a six-month prison term for aiding in the prostitution activities, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
The men pled guilty in April 2014 in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Gonzales pled guilty to two counts each of pandering, procuring, and simple assault. Ford pled guilty to one count of pandering. Both were sentenced by the Honorable Michael Ryan. Upon completion of their respective prison terms, each will be placed on probation for 12 months.
According to the government’s evidence, Gonzales, also known as “Smoov,” began dating the 22-year-old victim in the summer of 2013. On June 30, 2013, he and the victim met Ford at Union Station. From there, Ford advised Gonzales where to take the victim to prostitute herself. Gonzales took the victim to the location Ford advised, an area in the District of Columbia known for prostitution, and instructed the victim how to behave with customers. The victim complied, and after she sold her body for sex, Gonzales took the money. When the victim stated that she did not want to sell herself, Gonzales struck her multiple times. Over the next several days, Gonzales arranged, via online advertisements, for the victim to engage in sexual acts for money throughout the District of Columbia. Gonzales received all of the proceeds.
On Oct. 25, 2013, the victim and Gonzales were again in the District of Columbia with Ford. Gonzales chose the victim’s clothing and Ford drove Gonzales and the victim to the same area they had gone in June. Ford instructed Gonzales exactly where the victim should walk to pick up customers. As a result, the victim engaged two customers in transactions for oral sex. Gonzales received all of the money from those transactions. The next evening, they went to another area of the District of Columbia, and the victim had several customers. When the victim did not return with as much money as expected, Gonzales grabbed her and put her in the car.
A few days later, on Oct. 30, 2013, Gonzales and the victim were in Union Station when the victim told Gonzales that she was not going back on the street to sell her body. Gonzales grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of Union Station. Gonzales let go of her, and she ran back into Union Station to hide in a restroom. From inside the restroom, she called her mother, who notified police. Gonzales was arrested as he approached the women’s restroom, where the victim had been hiding. Ford was identified through additional investigation.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also praised the work those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan and Paralegal Specialist Jason Manuel. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff T. Cook, who investigated the matter.
14-148New Jersey Man Sentenced to Two-Year Prison TermRead the Press Release
For Prostituting Girlfriend, Who He Physically Abused
Second Man Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for Aiding in the ProstitutionWASHINGTON – Leschon Gonzales, 25, of Atlantic City, N.J., was sentenced today to a two-year prison term for prostituting and abusing his girlfriend multiple times last year, and Cornell Ford, 42, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to a six-month prison term for aiding in the prostitution activities, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
The men pled guilty in April 2014 in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Gonzales pled guilty to two counts each of pandering, procuring, and simple assault. Ford pled guilty to one count of pandering. Both were sentenced by the Honorable Michael Ryan. Upon completion of their respective prison terms, each will be placed on probation for 12 months.
According to the government’s evidence, Gonzales, also known as “Smoov,” began dating the 22-year-old victim in the summer of 2013. On June 30, 2013, he and the victim met Ford at Union Station. From there, Ford advised Gonzales where to take the victim to prostitute herself. Gonzales took the victim to the location Ford advised, an area in the District of Columbia known for prostitution, and instructed the victim how to behave with customers. The victim complied, and after she sold her body for sex, Gonzales took the money. When the victim stated that she did not want to sell herself, Gonzales struck her multiple times. Over the next several days, Gonzales arranged, via online advertisements, for the victim to engage in sexual acts for money throughout the District of Columbia. Gonzales received all of the proceeds.
On Oct. 25, 2013, the victim and Gonzales were again in the District of Columbia with Ford. Gonzales chose the victim’s clothing and Ford drove Gonzales and the victim to the same area they had gone in June. Ford instructed Gonzales exactly where the victim should walk to pick up customers. As a result, the victim engaged two customers in transactions for oral sex. Gonzales received all of the money from those transactions. The next evening, they went to another area of the District of Columbia, and the victim had several customers. When the victim did not return with as much money as expected, Gonzales grabbed her and put her in the car.
A few days later, on Oct. 30, 2013, Gonzales and the victim were in Union Station when the victim told Gonzales that she was not going back on the street to sell her body. Gonzales grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of Union Station. Gonzales let go of her, and she ran back into Union Station to hide in a restroom. From inside the restroom, she called her mother, who notified police. Gonzales was arrested as he approached the women’s restroom, where the victim had been hiding. Ford was identified through additional investigation.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also praised the work those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan and Paralegal Specialist Jason Manuel. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff T. Cook, who investigated the matter.
14-148Moldovan Man Sentenced for Internet FraudRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Dumitru Doban, 27, of Moldova, who was convicted of wire fraud conspiracy, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $257,489 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who handled the case, stated that Doban, a citizen of Moldova, a country in Eastern Europe between Romania and Ukraine, participated in a conspiracy to defraud purchasers of motor vehicles over the Internet. As part of the scheme, vehicle advertisements were placed online via websites such as eBay, autotrader.com, and autotraderclassics.com. Potential buyers responded by e-mail to the advertisements and were be contacted by individuals identifying themselves as the listed sellers of the vehicles. E-mail correspondence occurred between the two parties with descriptions of the vehicles, negotiations of the purchase price, shipping information, and purchase information. Once an agreement was reached for the purchase of the vehicles, the buyers were instructed to utilize a third party, such as eBay Motors and Google Wallet, to conduct the transaction. These third-party websites (bogus and unrelated to legitimate third party websites) were made to look legitimate.
After signing up for the third-party websites, the buyers were sent e-mails directing them to send wire transfers for the purchase price, plus shipping costs, to bank accounts that were opened by Doban in Rochester, Columbus, Ohio, Alexandria, Virginia, and Birmingham, Alabama, using fake names and false Czech Republic passports. After the buyers sent the wire transfers to the bank accounts, Doban sent the money overseas, primarily to the Ukraine and Moldova, through bank-to-bank wire transfers and money transfer services, or withdrew the money from the accounts. The prospective online buyers never received any of the vehicles supposedly offered for sale as part of the scheme.
A total of 18 people, who hailed from various states (including California, Nevada, North Carolina, and Arizona) and Canada, were victims of the Internet fraud scheme. Those victims transferred a total of $257,489 to the bank accounts opened by the defendant. As part of the plea agreement, the defendant admitted that the overall conspiracy – which included similar fraudulent conduct by a co-conspirator, Alexandru Turcan, in the Northern District of New York -- involved losses of more than $400,000 but less than $1,000,000.
The United States Attorney’s Office is prosecuting another individual, Vasile Leu, also a citizen of Moldova, for allegedly participating in the same Internet fraud scheme. A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Leu with wire fraud conspiracy on September 24, 2013. The case is still pending.
The conviction was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Mercer County, N.J., Man Admits Robbery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. - A Mercer County, N.J., man today admitted his role in the March 2013 robbery of a commercial establishment, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Felix M. Lugo, 39, formerly of Trenton, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Lugo conspired with Arturo Delacruz, 35, and Samuel Matias Cruz, 33, both of Trenton, to rob the Rapido Flores Multiservices Agency in Trenton. Lugo and Cruz committed the robbery, during which at least one victim was physically assaulted and restrained. Lugo and Cruz stole more than $6,000 and fled the scene in a vehicle driven by Delacruz.
Delacruz and Cruz were previously arrested by special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) on criminal complaints charging each with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. Those charges remain pending.
The Hobbs Act conspiracy to which Lugo pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, as well as a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss arising out of the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stephanie R. Shoemaker; the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr.; the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi; troopers from N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Rick Fuentes; the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Ralph Rivera Jr.; and the Westampton Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Ricky W. Smith, for their investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis C. Carletta of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark.
14-228Defense counsel: Henry E. Klingeman Esq., Newark
Lugo, Felix Information
Mercer County Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Bluefield, W.Va. – A 50-year old Mercer County man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty today to possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Charles Edward Lawrence of Princeton, West Virginia, entered a guilty plea before Senior United States District Court Judge David A. Faber in Bluefield.
Following an undercover operation, law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant on Lawrence’s home on October 10, 2013. Authorities seized videos from the home that depicted prepubescent minors having sex or performing sexual acts. Lawrence maintained the child pornography on a USB flash drive. Lawrence is scheduled to be sentenced on October 27, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. in Bluefield.
The West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being brought as part of U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s ongoing initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse in the Southern District of West Virginia.
Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Computer Hacking and Credit Card TheftRead the Press Release
A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today to hacking into computer networks around the country – including networks belonging to law enforcement agencies, a local police department and a local college – to obtain highly sensitive law enforcement data and alter academic records. He also pleaded guilty to obtaining stolen credit, debit and payment card numbers.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts, Special Agent in Charge Vincent Lisi of the FBI’s Boston Division and Colonel Timothy P. Alben of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement.
On June 2, 2014, Cameron Lacroix, 25, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was charged by a criminal information with two counts of computer intrusion and one count of access device fraud. Lacroix entered his guilty plea today before U.S. District Court Judge Mark Wolf of the District of Massachusetts. He pleaded guilty to both counts in the information and agreed to serve a four-year prison sentence.
According to the plea agreement, b etween May 2011 and May 2013, Lacroix obtained and possessed payment card data for more than 14,000 unique account holders. For some of these account holders, Lacroix also obtained other personally identifiable information, including the account holders’ full names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, email addresses, bank account and routing numbers and lists of merchandise the account holders had ordered.
Lacroix also admitted to hacking into a computer server operated by a local Massachusetts police department in September 2012, and then accessing an e-mail account belonging to its chief of police. Additionally, Lacroix admitted to repeatedly hacking into law enforcement computer servers containing sensitive information including police reports, arrest warrants, and sex offender information, between August 2012 and November 2012. Lacroix also admitted to using stolen credentials to access and change information in the servers of Bristol Community College on multiple occasions between September 2012 and December 2013.
Judge Wolf set Lacroix’s sentencing for Oct. 27, 2014.
The case was investigated by the FBI Boston Division Cyber Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky from the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bookbinder of the District of Massachusetts. The Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to thank Bristol Community College for its cooperation during this investigation.Marijuana Cultivators SentencedRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Three men were sentenced today for their involvement in two separate marijuana cultivation operations based in Kern and Inyo Counties, according to U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.
1,387 Pounds of Processed Marijuana/338 Marijuana Plants Seized from Arvin Grow (1:13CR28 AWI)
Bernabe Hernandez, aka Juan Hernandez Marin, aka Raul Hernandez, aka Bernabe Villa-Lobos, 54, of Arvin, was sentenced following his guilty plea on March 31, 2014, to one and a half years in prison and ordered to forfeit $178,179 to the United States. According to court documents, Hernandez is the owner and resident of a 29 acre parcel on Wheeler Ridge Road in Arvin where Kern County Sheriff deputies found and seized 1,387 pounds of processed marijuana and 338 marijuana plants during the execution of a search warrant there. They also found scales, packaging material, and ammunition.The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar handled the criminal case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Mardel Jones handled the forfeiture of assets.
3,855 Marijuana Plants/350 Pounds of Processed Marijuana/Illegal Pesticides/Six Firearms Seized in Connection with Inyo National Forest Grow (1:13-cr-340 LJO)
Jose Santoyo-Aguilar (Santoyo), 26, of Michoacàn, Mexico, and Jose Salvador Garcia Rodriguez (Garcia), aka Christopher Lee Headspeth, 23, of Guanajuato, Mexico, were sentenced following their guilty pleas earlier this year. Santoyo was sentenced to five years and 10 months for his role in supplying equipment and supplies to a marijuana cultivation site in the Inyo National Forest. Garcia was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for working at the grow site. Both were also ordered to pay $6,572 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for damage caused to the public land as a result of their cultivation operation. Upon completion of their prison sentences, Santoyo and Garcia face deportation to Mexico.
According to court documents, U.S. Forest Service agents found a marijuana cultivation operation in the Hogback Creek area of the Inyo National Forest. The load vehicles were tracked to several stash houses in Riverside County. Ultimately, agents executed four search warrants at the grow site and three residences in Riverside County.
On April 14, 2014, a third defendant in this case, Javier Rios Morales, of Jalisco, Mexico, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
Agents seized 3,405 marijuana plants, 350 pounds of processed marijuana, three air rifles, two digital scales, 2,200 pounds of trash, and illegal pesticides, at the Hogback Creek grow site. Photos of a dead bear and fox were also found in the cameras of one of the growers who was arrested and prosecuted in Inyo County. According to U.S. Forest Service biologists, the photos do not depict natural deaths and the foaming on the mouth of the dead bear is consistent with poisoning caused by the illegal pesticides.
Agents in Riverside County seized two pounds of methamphetamine, a methamphetamine laboratory, five firearms, $10,000 in cash, and two pounds of marijuana from a stash house in Moreno Valley. Agents seized another 450 marijuana plants at a stash house in Homeland. At another stash house in Romoland, agents seized a firearm, marijuana shake and residue, and shipping labels consistent with the shipment of marijuana to Chicago.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, and Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Karen A. Escobar handled the federal prosecution.Leader of Largest Counterfeit Goods Conspiracy Ever Charged Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – One of the leaders of a massive, international counterfeit goods conspiracy was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for his role in the scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Hai Dong Jiang, a/k/a “Jimmy,” a/k/a “Dong,” 37, of Staten Island, N.Y., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in Court:
From November 2009 through February 2012, Dong Jiang and his co-defendants ran one of the largest counterfeit goods smuggling and distribution conspiracies ever charged by the Department of Justice. The defendants and others conspired to import hundreds of containers of counterfeit goods – primarily handbags, and footwear, and perfume – from China into the United States in furtherance of the conspiracy. These goods, if legitimate, would have had a retail value of more than $300 million.
The counterfeit goods were manufactured in China and smuggled into the United States through containers fraudulently associated with legitimate importers, with false and fraudulent shipping paperwork playing a critical role in the smuggling scheme. Some of the conspirators created and managed the flow of false shipping paperwork between China and the United States, and supervised the importation of counterfeit goods, and others controlled the importation of the counterfeit goods into the United States.
Other conspirators managed the distribution of counterfeit goods once those goods arrived in the United States. After importation, the counterfeit goods were delivered to warehouses, and distributed throughout New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. Certain conspirators paid large amounts of cash to undercover law enforcement officers to assist in the removal of counterfeit goods from the port.Some conspirators acted as wholesalers for the counterfeit goods, supplying retailers who sold counterfeit goods to customers in the United States. Other conspirators were money structurers, who arranged for cash to be wired to China in amounts small enough to avoid applicable financial reporting requirements, to evade detection of the smuggling scheme and related proceeds.
Law enforcement introduced several undercover special agents (collectively, the UCs) to the conspirators. The UCs purported to have unspecified “connections” at the port, which allowed the UCs to release containers that were on hold and pass them through to the conspirators. The conspirators paid the UCs for these “services.” In total, during the course of this investigation, the conspirators provided the UCs more than $2 million.UCs recorded dozens of phone calls and in-person meetings with various conspirators. The investigation also utilized several court-authorized wiretaps of telephones and electronic communications.
Dong Jiang served as one of the directors of the smuggling scheme. Dong Jiang ordered counterfeit merchandise from China; negotiated shipments of counterfeit goods from China; arranged for payment for that merchandise and supervised the distribution of that merchandise in and around the New York/New Jersey area.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas sentenced Dong Jiang to two years of supervised release ordered forfeiture of cash and property as described in the plea agreement (attached).
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Pak and Zach Intrater of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property section of the Economic Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark and Nicholas Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: Joseph Conway Esq., Mineola, N.Y.Dong Jiang, Hai Plea Agreement
Lawyer Sentenced for Stealing Client FundsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Gomer Thomas Williams, 54, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution for a scheme to defraud clients of the legal firm where he worked. Williams was an attorney and associate with the Philadelphia law firm, Spector Gadon & Rosen (“Spector”). Between 2007 and 2012, Williams defrauded four of his trust and estate clients of approximately $503,361 by diverting funds from his clients’ accounts to his personal accounts, and by overbilling his clients for legal work that was not performed. He pleaded guilty in March to one count of wire fraud.
For the trusts, Williams was the trustee, and, for the estates, Williams was the administrator and/or executor. Williams exercised complete control over the victim-clients’ funds, including controlling their checking accounts. Williams abused his fiduciary position in transferring funds from their accounts to pay his own personal expenses, including his mortgage.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Legrome Davis ordered restitution in the amount of $503,361, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Lake Orion Man Sentenced for Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Edward Weglarz of Lake Orion, Michigan has been sentenced for willfully 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 Carolyn Weber, of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations.
Weglarz pleaded guilty on Tuesday, December 17, 2013. On June 23, 2014, U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen, sentenced Weglarz to six months confinement at a community corrections center. Weglarz will also be required to serve a term of three years of supervised release following completion of the prison term and perform 120 hours of community service as a volunteer at Focus Hope.
Weglarz stipulated that the tax loss to the government is $ 86,581, and has agreed to pay that amount in restitution to the United States.
According to court documents, Weglarz operated Eastern Market Tanker Leasing (EMT) of Dearborn, Michigan. EMT was engaged in interstate trucking and Weglarz, as the president, controlled its operations and finances. For the tax years 2006, 2007 and 2008, Weglarz caused EMT to pay more than $600,000 in personal expenses for himself and disguised the payments in EMT’s books and records as legitimate business expenses. Weglarz also diverted EMT’s funds to Multivest Properties, another company that he controlled and falsely classified these payments as legitimate EMT business expenses. These deliberate actions by Weglarz caused EMT’s corporate net income and tax liability to be understated. Because Weglarz and EMT did not report the payments on the behalf of Weglarz, his personal income was also understated, falsely reducing his gross income and individual tax liability.
“The prosecution and sentencing of Mr. Weglarz, who diverted corporate funds for his benefit and then intentionally filed false corporate and individual income tax returns, is a fundamental element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Carolyn Weber.
Weglarz was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
This case was investigated by special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Varner.
Lackawanna Man Pleads Guilty to Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Kenneth Sweat, 26, of Lackawanna, N.Y., pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute and distribute crack cocaine before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Alsup, who is handling the case, stated that on February 18, 2013 and February 25, 2013, the defendant sold 36 grams of crack cocaine to a confidential source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Lackawanna Police.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Lackawanna Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Michel, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 6, 2014, before Judge Arcara.Hedge Fund Portfolio Manager Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to Four Years in Prison for Fraudulent Scheme to Inflate Value of Hedge FundRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MICHAEL BALBOA, formerly a portfolio manager for Millennium Global Emerging Credit Fund (“MGEC” or the “Hedge Fund”), was sentenced to four years in prison today in Manhattan federal court for carrying out a fraudulent scheme to undermine the independent valuation process relating to the Hedge Fund, and to overvalue the assets of the Hedge Fund. BALBOA was previously found guilty by a jury on December 18, 2013, following a two-and-a-half-week trial, of conspiring to commit securities fraud, conspiring to commit wire fraud, and with committing securities fraud, wire fraud, and investor adviser fraud. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “Michael Balboa has been held to account for his blatant fraud, inflating the valuation of securities in the hedge fund and falsely representing them as independent valuations. When his employer and regulators became suspicious and began to inquire, Balboa told more lies to cover his tracks.”
According to the Superseding Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court, other court documents, and the evidence presented at trial:
From December 2006 to October 2008, BALBOA served as the portfolio manager for the Hedge Fund. The Hedge Fund’s strategy was to invest in a portfolio of corporate and sovereign debt instruments in emerging countries. The Hedge Fund utilized an independent valuation agent (the “IVA”) to determine the Hedge Fund’s “net asset value” (“NAV”), which is the value of the Hedge Fund’s assets, less liabilities and estimated costs of sale/liquidation. The Hedge Fund’s manager, the entity that employed Balboa, represented to investors that sources independent from Balboa would provide prices to the IVA for each security held in the Hedge Fund for purposes of determining the NAV on a monthly basis. For example, in one due diligence questionnaire sent on March 7, 2008, to a potential investor, the Hedge Fund noted that “[t]here are no assets valued in house” and that the “fund has appointed an independent valuation agent” to calculate the NAV of the Hedge Fund.
The proof at trial demonstrated that, contrary to representations made to investors about the independent valuation process, BALBOA provided inflated prices for a security referred to as the Nigerian Oil Warrant. These prices were used for the Hedge Fund’s monthly valuation. BALBOA accomplished this by instructing Gilles DeCharsonville (“DeCharsonville”) and Samuel Pratt (“Pratt”), two co-conspirators with whom BALBOA worked, to provide the IVA with those values while falsely representing that the values were generated independently by DeCharsonville and Pratt. For example, in 2008, although the Nigerian Oil Warrant traded at a price no higher than $239, BALBOA directed DeCharsonville and Pratt to provide the IVA with marks ranging from approximately $525 to $3,500. The IVA then used these falsely inflated marks to compute the Hedge Fund’s monthly NAV, which, in turn, as of August 2008, caused the NAV to be overstated by approximately $80 million. These false values were then sent to investors by means of monthly newsletters, among other types of communications.
The evidence at trial also showed that after Balboa’s employer, the Hedge Fund’s Bermudian court-appointed liquidator, and U.S. and foreign securities regulators all began to investigate the scheme, BALBOA took steps to conceal his involvement in this scheme. For example, BALBOA sent DeCharsonville false justifications to support the inflated valuations so that they would be conveyed to BALBOA’s employer, and later, to U.S. and foreign securities regulators.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Crotty sentenced BALBOA, 45, who currently resides in Melville, New York, and formerly resided in the United Kingdom, to three years of supervised release. BALBOA was also ordered to forfeit $2.23 million and to pay a $500 special assessment fee and restitution in excess of $390 million.
Mr. Bharara praised the work of USPIS, which investigated this case. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance in the investigation.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason H. Cowley and David I. Miller, and Special Assistant United States Attorney William T. Conway are in charge of the prosecution.
Guatemalan Man Sentenced to 16 Months for FraudRead the Press Release
Contact: Halsey B. Frank
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Sergio
Suhum, also known as Sergio Suhum-Nacho, 26, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in
the United States, who most recently resided in Brunswick, Maine, was sentenced in U.S.
District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby to 16 months in prison for social security fraud,
immigration document fraud, false personation of an American citizen, and theft of government
benefits. He was also ordered to pay $1,354 in restitution. He pled guilty in February 2014.According to court records, from at least March 2008, the defendant lived and worked in
Maine using the identity of an actual United States citizen who resided in Texas. The defendant
bought a fraudulent Texas birth certificate and Social Security card in the victim’s name. He
used the victim’s identity to obtain a Maine identification card and to apply for a Maine driver’s
license; to obtain employment at DeCoster Egg Farm, Moark Farms, and Days Inn; to apply for
Mainecare and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; and to obtain about
$1,500 in SNAP benefits before his crimes were discovered.
At sentencing, the victim said that the defendant’s use of his identity caused him
numerous problems. He was denied credit cards and had difficulty getting a car loan. Maine
Revenue Services sent him dunning letters for failing to file returns and pay taxes in Maine. The
Texas Department of Public Safety repeatedly threatened to revoke his commercial driver’s
license because of OUI convictions that the defendant accumulated in Maine which also
jeopardized the victim’s job driving vehicles in Texas oil fields. He was detained for hours at the
border after visiting relatives in Mexico because of a warrant issued on the basis of the
defendant’s activities in Maine. In imposing sentence, Judge Hornby noted that the problems that
the defendant caused the victim were people’s worst nightmare and caused a great deal of
anxiety and stress.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland
Security Investigations; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the
Inspector General; the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General; and the
Maine Department of Health and Human Services.Galveston Resident Pleads Guilty to Stealing Deceased Benefits for More Than A DecadeRead the Press Release
GALVESTON, Texas – John Stephen Davis, 64, of Galveston, has pleaded guilty to embezzlement and theft of federal government benefits, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Davis admitted during his plea that he obtained a power of attorney over the bank account of an individual on March 4, 2003, just weeks before her death on April 18, 2003. He further admitted he did not notify the government about the death so funds would continue to be deposited into that account. He also did not notify the bank about the woman's death in order to retain his access to the account. Davis admitted he used the benefit payments for his own personal needs and expenses.
“Davis took advantage of the trust placed in him by the deceased in order to defraud the Government," said Inspector General Patrick E. McFarland, U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Office of the Inspector General (OPM - OIG). "Davis stole from hardworking American taxpayers when he committed theft against these two federal programs, and he is now paying the price.”
As part of his plea agreement, Davis was ordered to forfeit $385,632.15, the amount he illegally received as part of the scheme.
Davis entered his guilty plea today before U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Froeschner. If the plea is accepted by U.S. Circuit Judge Greg Costa, sitting in designation, he will be sentenced Sept. 9, 2014. At that time, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
The investigation leading to the charges in this case was conducted by the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General (OIG ) and Office of Personnel Management – OIG. Assistant United States Attorney Julie Redlinger is prosecuting the case.
Former Union Official Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $190,000 in FundsRead the Press Release
JC Stamps, a former union official, pleaded guilty today to embezzling more than $190,000 from two labor organizations he founded and an employee benefit plan.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. for the District of Columbia andSpecial Agent in Charge Bill Jones of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General - Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations Washington Region made the announcement.
Stamps, 67, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of theft from an employee benefit plan. The Honorable Chief Judge Richard W. Roberts of the District Court for the District of Columbia scheduled sentencing for Sept. 17, 2014. Stamps has also agreed to pay $194,611 in restitution and is subject to a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $84,745.
Stamps, a retired detective from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), founded two labor organizations based in Washington, D.C.: the National Union of Protective Services Associations, which represented private security guards, and the National Union of Law Enforcement Associations, which represented police officers. In addition, he founded a security guard firm, Stamps Associates, which also was based in Washington, D.C.
According to court documents, between 2004 and 2008, Stamps devised a scheme to defraud and embezzle money in several ways from the unions and the National Union of Protective Services and Employers Health and Welfare Fund (Health and Welfare Fund), an employee benefit plan for which Stamps was a trustee.
In 2007 and 2008, for example, Stamps used money from the Health and Welfare Fund’s bank account to pay American Express for a total of $48,541 in credit card charges for personal purchases and union expenses. None of these charges were related to the administration and operation of the Health and Welfare Fund. Instead, they paid for personal expenses, such as hotel stays, furniture, men’s fragrances, clothing, other retail purchases and online services, and for union expenses, including hotel rental charges (for a holiday party) and automobile rentals.
Also, according to court documents, from 2006 to 2008, Stamps caused the withdrawal of $36,203 from the Health and Welfare Fund’s bank account to pay an attorney for legal expenses incurred by the unions – and not for the fund’s intended purpose.
In addition to the theft and embezzlement from the Health and Welfare Fund, Stamps stole and embezzled at least $109,866 from the unions from 2004 to 2008. According to court documents, more than half of this money was used to cover debts of Stamps Associates, Stamps’ security guard company. Other money was used for personal expenses and fraudulent salary payments for Stamps’ close personal friend, who is identified as “Person A” in court documents. “Person A” was nominally the sole owner of Stamps Associates, although Stamps controlled the company.
The case was investigated by the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and Office of Labor Management Standards and Employee Benefits Security Administration. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kelly Pearson of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Chubin Epstein of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.Former Union Official Pleads Guilty to EmbezzlingRead the Press Release
More Than $190,000 in Funds
Defendant Spent Thousands on Hotel Stays, Clothing, Other Personal ExpensesWASHINGTON – JC Stamps, a former union official, pled guilty today to embezzling more than $190,000 from two labor organizations he founded and an employee benefits fund.
The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Bill Jones,Special Agent in Charge for the Washington Region of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General - Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations.
Stamps, 67, of Upper Marlboro, Md., pled guilty to one count of theft from an employee benefit plan. The Honorable Chief Judge Richard W. Roberts scheduled sentencing for Sept. 17, 2014. The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Stamps faces a likely range of 18 to 24 months in prison and a fine of up to $40,000. He also has agreed to pay $194,611 in restitution and is subject to a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $84,745.
Stamps, a retired detective from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), founded two labor organizations based in Washington, D.C.: the National Union of Protective Services Associations, which represented private security guards, and the National Union of Law Enforcement Associations, which represented police officers. In addition, he founded a security guard firm, Stamps Associates, which also was based in Washington, D.C.
According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, between 2004 and 2008, Stamps devised a scheme to defraud and embezzle money in several ways from the unions and the National Union of Protective Services Health and Welfare Fund.
In 2007 and 2008, for example, Stamps used money from the health and welfare fund’s bank account to pay American Express for a total of $48,541 in credit card charges for personal purchases and union expenses. None of these charges were related to the administration and operation of the health and welfare fund. Instead they paid for personal expenses, such as hotel stays, furniture, men’s fragrances, clothing, other retail purchases, and online services, as well as for union expenses, including hotel rental (for a holiday party) and automobile rentals.Also, according to the statement of offense, from 2006 to 2008, Stamps caused the withdrawal of $36,203 from the health and welfare fund bank account to pay an attorney for legal expenses incurred by the unions – and not for the fund’s intended purpose.
In addition to the theft and embezzlement from the health and welfare fund, Stamps stole and embezzled at least $109,866 from the unions from 2004 to 2008. According to the statement of offense, more than half of this money was used to cover debts of Stamps Associates, the security guard company. Other money was used for personal expenses and fraudulent salary payments to an individual identified only as “Person A” in the court documents. “Person A,” who is described in the statement of offense as a close personal friend of Stamps, was nominally the sole owner of Stamps Associates, although Stamps controlled the company.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, as well as the Labor Department’s Office of Labor Management Standards and Employee Benefits Security Administration. Assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler, who is handling forfeiture issues; Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo; former Paralegal Specialists Shanna Hays, Lenisse Edloe, and Nicole Wattelet, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Chubin Epstein of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Kelly Pearson of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.
14-149Former Union Official Pleads Guilty to EmbezzlingRead the Press Release
More Than $190,000 in Funds
Defendant Spent Thousands on Hotel Stays, Clothing, Other Personal ExpensesWASHINGTON – JC Stamps, a former union official, pled guilty today to embezzling more than $190,000 from two labor organizations he founded and an employee benefits fund.
The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Bill Jones,Special Agent in Charge for the Washington Region of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General - Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations.
Stamps, 67, of Upper Marlboro, Md., pled guilty to one count of theft from an employee benefit plan. The Honorable Chief Judge Richard W. Roberts scheduled sentencing for Sept. 17, 2014. The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Stamps faces a likely range of 18 to 24 months in prison and a fine of up to $40,000. He also has agreed to pay $194,611 in restitution and is subject to a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $84,745.
Stamps, a retired detective from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), founded two labor organizations based in Washington, D.C.: the National Union of Protective Services Associations, which represented private security guards, and the National Union of Law Enforcement Associations, which represented police officers. In addition, he founded a security guard firm, Stamps Associates, which also was based in Washington, D.C.
According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, between 2004 and 2008, Stamps devised a scheme to defraud and embezzle money in several ways from the unions and the National Union of Protective Services Health and Welfare Fund.
In 2007 and 2008, for example, Stamps used money from the health and welfare fund’s bank account to pay American Express for a total of $48,541 in credit card charges for personal purchases and union expenses. None of these charges were related to the administration and operation of the health and welfare fund. Instead they paid for personal expenses, such as hotel stays, furniture, men’s fragrances, clothing, other retail purchases, and online services, as well as for union expenses, including hotel rental (for a holiday party) and automobile rentals.Also, according to the statement of offense, from 2006 to 2008, Stamps caused the withdrawal of $36,203 from the health and welfare fund bank account to pay an attorney for legal expenses incurred by the unions – and not for the fund’s intended purpose.
In addition to the theft and embezzlement from the health and welfare fund, Stamps stole and embezzled at least $109,866 from the unions from 2004 to 2008. According to the statement of offense, more than half of this money was used to cover debts of Stamps Associates, the security guard company. Other money was used for personal expenses and fraudulent salary payments to an individual identified only as “Person A” in the court documents. “Person A,” who is described in the statement of offense as a close personal friend of Stamps, was nominally the sole owner of Stamps Associates, although Stamps controlled the company.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, as well as the Labor Department’s Office of Labor Management Standards and Employee Benefits Security Administration. Assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler, who is handling forfeiture issues; Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo; former Paralegal Specialists Shanna Hays, Lenisse Edloe, and Nicole Wattelet, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Chubin Epstein of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Kelly Pearson of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.
14-149Former Teamsters Official Sentenced on Bribery ChargeRead the Press Release
Michael Townsend, age 69, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, a former business agent and trustee of Teamsters Local 337, was ordered to pay a fine of $18,000 as a result of his felony conviction on union bribery charges, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.
McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge James Vanderberg, Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and L. Joe Rivers, Regional Director, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Townsend was also ordered to serve two years supervised release during his sentencing hearing today before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow in Detroit.
According to court records, from 2005 through 2008, Townsend took quarterly cash bribes totaling $18,000 from an officer of LaGrasso Brothers Produce, Inc. in Detroit in exchange for protecting the company from unionizing efforts by Teamsters Local 337.
In February 2014, Judge Tarnow sentenced Sam LaGrasso Produce, Inc. to a fine of $500,000. The court also required the company to make quarterly donations of $1,500 to a local non-profit food bank for five years – an amount equivalent to the bribe payments made by the company. Sam LaGrosso Produce operates in the Eastern Market area of Detroit.
The case was investigated by agents and officers of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations and the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David Morris and Mark Chutkow.
Former Lohn I.S.D. Business Manager Admits to Stealing More Than $500,000 from the School DistrictRead the Press Release
Patty E. Smith, age 58, of Lohn, TX, faces up to 15 years in federal prison and full restitution for embezzling more than $500,000 from the Lohn Independent School District (LISD) announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge R. Damon Rowe, Dallas Division.
Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge Mark Lane in Austin on Friday, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of theft from an organization receiving federal funds. By pleading guilty, Smith admitted that between September 2006 and September 2012, she stole LISD funds totaling $507,528.82 and used it for her personal benefit. She also admitted to evading paying taxes on the embezzled funds, which constituted taxable income, by not disclosing it to the IRS on her yearly Income Tax returns.
According to the factual basis filed in this case, Smith did not have signature authority over any LISD financial accounts, however, she had sufficiently gained the trust of the person with signature authority to the point that that person signed blank checks for funds that Smith would subsequently complete and make payable to either “cash” or fictitious payees. Smith concealed her activities by recording false check amounts in the check register. For years 2007 through 2011, Smith’s willful evasion of taxes on the funds she stole from LISD resulted in the underpayment of income tax in the amount of approximately $129,400.
Smith is on bond pending sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for August 11, 2014, before United States District Judge Lee Yeakel.
This case was investigated by special agents with the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation with the assistance of the Texas Rangers. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Devlin is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.Former District of Columbia Council Candidate Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
To Filing a False Statement on Campaign Finance Report
-Campaign Secretly Received More Than $140,000 From D.C. Businessman-WASHINGTON – Jeff Smith, 40, of Washington, D.C., a former candidate for the Council of the District of Columbia, pled guilty today to a felony charge for filing a false and misleading report with the District of Columbia’s Office of Campaign Finance that concealed campaign contributions in excess of those permitted under D.C. campaign finance laws.
The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
Smith is the second candidate to plead guilty to charges in recent weeks. Kelvin Robinson, 53, pled guilty on June 3, 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiring to violate District of Columbia campaign finance laws by defrauding the District of Columbia’s Office of Campaign Finance. He is awaiting sentencing.
Smith also entered his plea in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Anita Josey-Herring scheduled sentencing for Aug. 28, 2014. The charge of making a false statement or report carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under the Court’s voluntary sentencing guidelines, the parties have agreed that Smith faces a range of six to 24 months in prison, or, possibly, probation.
The charge involves contributions to Smith’s 2010 campaign for the Ward 1 seat on the Council of the District of Columbia. Smith admitted that more than $140,000 was secretly channeled to his campaign from businessman Jeffrey E. Thompson. Smith lost the election.
Thompson is the former chairman, chief executive officer, and majority owner of Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio and Associates (TCBA), a corporation that provided accounting, management, consulting, and tax services. He also is the former chairman, chief executive officer, and owner of D.C. Healthcare Systems, Inc. (DCHSI), an investment holding and for-profit corporation. Both companies generated millions of dollars in government contracts.
Thompson and six others earlier pled guilty to charges involving Thompson’s illegal contributions to numerous federal and District of Columbia campaigns. In addition to Robinson, who also admitted receiving excess contributions from Thompson, the others who have pled guilty include Eugenia C. Harris, a business owner in the District of Columbia; Lee A. Calhoun, an executive for TCBA; Stanley Straughter, the owner of a business based in Philadelphia; Vernon Hawkins, who was a volunteer advisor in 2010 for a 2010 mayoral campaign; and Troy White, the owner of a marketing company based in New York.
Another person, former District of Columbia Council member Michael A. Brown, pled guilty to charges in an unrelated bribery investigation. In those proceedings, he publicly admitted that his campaign committees had secretly received money from Thompson.
As part of Thompson’s guilty plea, on March 10, 2014, he agreed to cooperate fully in an ongoing investigation. No date has been set for his sentencing.
**“Three months ago, Jeff Thompson’s guilty plea pulled back the curtain on widespread corruption that tainted election after election, year after year in D.C. politics,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Today Jeff Smith became the third candidate to stand before a judge and confess to taking Thompson’s secret campaign cash. We commend Jeff Smith for acknowledging his misconduct and will press forward with our efforts to hold accountable all those who participated in under-the-table deals with Jeff Thompson.”
“Today, Mr. Smith admitted to accepting illegal contributions to his campaign for D.C. Council and to filing a report which concealed these illegal in-kind contributions to the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “Along with our law enforcement partners, the FBI remains vigilant to abuses of campaign finance laws to protect the citizens of the District of Columbia from schemes within the electoral process.”
According to a statement of offense submitted as part of today’s guilty plea, from at least December 2009 through December 2010, Smith, Thompson and others acted to make and to receive – and to conceal – campaign contributions in excess of those permitted under the District of Columbia Campaign Act.
Smith admitted that Thompson, with his knowledge, provided more than $140,000 of in-kind contributions, contributions which were concealed from the Office of Campaign Finance. Smith provided a budget to Thompson in March 2010, seeking $140,975 for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts for his campaign. Then, from March 2010 until September 2010, Thompson used funds, via TCBA and DCHSI, to provide more than $140,000 in coordination with and in support of Smith’s campaign committee. At least part of this money was spent on campaign services and materials.
The District of Columbia Campaign Act imposes limits on the amount of money that can be contributed to a District of Columbia candidate and that candidate’s principal campaign committee. It also prohibits any person or corporation from making a contribution in the name of another, including by reimbursement. Finally, it requires principal campaign committees to file periodic reports of receipts and disbursements.
The law limits the amount that an individual or entity can contribute in the aggregate in the primary and general elections of a candidate seeking election to a Ward seat to $500.
In his plea, Smith admitted that, acting on behalf of his campaign committee, he filed, that is, authorized to be filed, a false and misleading report to the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance in December 2010. The report concealed the excessive and unreported in-kind contributions provided directly and indirectly by Thompson.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Special Agent in Charge Kelly commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and IRS-CI.They also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael K. Atkinson, Jonathan P. Hooks, Ellen Chubin Epstein, Lionel André, and Ephraim “Fry” Wernick, of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, who are prosecuting cases in the investigation.
Finally, they acknowledged the efforts of others who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Deborah Connor, Chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section, as well as Criminal Investigators Matthew J. Kutz, Mark Crawford, Melissa Matthews, and Durand Odom; Forensic Accountants Crystal Boodoo and Maria Boodoo; Paralegal Specialists Krishawn Graham, Tasha Harris, and Corrine Kleinman; Former Paralegal Specialists Shanna Hays and Nicole Wattelet; and Legal Assistant Angela Lawrence.
14-147Former District of Columbia Council Candidate Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
To Filing a False Statement on Campaign Finance Report
-Campaign Secretly Received More Than $140,000 From D.C. Businessman-WASHINGTON – Jeff Smith, 40, of Washington, D.C., a former candidate for the Council of the District of Columbia, pled guilty today to a felony charge for filing a false and misleading report with the District of Columbia’s Office of Campaign Finance that concealed campaign contributions in excess of those permitted under D.C. campaign finance laws.
The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
Smith is the second candidate to plead guilty to charges in recent weeks. Kelvin Robinson, 53, pled guilty on June 3, 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiring to violate District of Columbia campaign finance laws by defrauding the District of Columbia’s Office of Campaign Finance. He is awaiting sentencing.
Smith also entered his plea in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Anita Josey-Herring scheduled sentencing for Aug. 28, 2014. The charge of making a false statement or report carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under the Court’s voluntary sentencing guidelines, the parties have agreed that Smith faces a range of six to 24 months in prison, or, possibly, probation.
The charge involves contributions to Smith’s 2010 campaign for the Ward 1 seat on the Council of the District of Columbia. Smith admitted that more than $140,000 was secretly channeled to his campaign from businessman Jeffrey E. Thompson. Smith lost the election.
Thompson is the former chairman, chief executive officer, and majority owner of Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio and Associates (TCBA), a corporation that provided accounting, management, consulting, and tax services. He also is the former chairman, chief executive officer, and owner of D.C. Healthcare Systems, Inc. (DCHSI), an investment holding and for-profit corporation. Both companies generated millions of dollars in government contracts.
Thompson and six others earlier pled guilty to charges involving Thompson’s illegal contributions to numerous federal and District of Columbia campaigns. In addition to Robinson, who also admitted receiving excess contributions from Thompson, the others who have pled guilty include Eugenia C. Harris, a business owner in the District of Columbia; Lee A. Calhoun, an executive for TCBA; Stanley Straughter, the owner of a business based in Philadelphia; Vernon Hawkins, who was a volunteer advisor in 2010 for a 2010 mayoral campaign; and Troy White, the owner of a marketing company based in New York.
Another person, former District of Columbia Council member Michael A. Brown, pled guilty to charges in an unrelated bribery investigation. In those proceedings, he publicly admitted that his campaign committees had secretly received money from Thompson.
As part of Thompson’s guilty plea, on March 10, 2014, he agreed to cooperate fully in an ongoing investigation. No date has been set for his sentencing.
**“Three months ago, Jeff Thompson’s guilty plea pulled back the curtain on widespread corruption that tainted election after election, year after year in D.C. politics,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Today Jeff Smith became the third candidate to stand before a judge and confess to taking Thompson’s secret campaign cash. We commend Jeff Smith for acknowledging his misconduct and will press forward with our efforts to hold accountable all those who participated in under-the-table deals with Jeff Thompson.”
“Today, Mr. Smith admitted to accepting illegal contributions to his campaign for D.C. Council and to filing a report which concealed these illegal in-kind contributions to the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “Along with our law enforcement partners, the FBI remains vigilant to abuses of campaign finance laws to protect the citizens of the District of Columbia from schemes within the electoral process.”
According to a statement of offense submitted as part of today’s guilty plea, from at least December 2009 through December 2010, Smith, Thompson and others acted to make and to receive – and to conceal – campaign contributions in excess of those permitted under the District of Columbia Campaign Act.
Smith admitted that Thompson, with his knowledge, provided more than $140,000 of in-kind contributions, contributions which were concealed from the Office of Campaign Finance. Smith provided a budget to Thompson in March 2010, seeking $140,975 for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts for his campaign. Then, from March 2010 until September 2010, Thompson used funds, via TCBA and DCHSI, to provide more than $140,000 in coordination with and in support of Smith’s campaign committee. At least part of this money was spent on campaign services and materials.
The District of Columbia Campaign Act imposes limits on the amount of money that can be contributed to a District of Columbia candidate and that candidate’s principal campaign committee. It also prohibits any person or corporation from making a contribution in the name of another, including by reimbursement. Finally, it requires principal campaign committees to file periodic reports of receipts and disbursements.
The law limits the amount that an individual or entity can contribute in the aggregate in the primary and general elections of a candidate seeking election to a Ward seat to $500.
In his plea, Smith admitted that, acting on behalf of his campaign committee, he filed, that is, authorized to be filed, a false and misleading report to the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance in December 2010. The report concealed the excessive and unreported in-kind contributions provided directly and indirectly by Thompson.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Special Agent in Charge Kelly commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and IRS-CI.They also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael K. Atkinson, Jonathan P. Hooks, Ellen Chubin Epstein, Lionel André, and Ephraim “Fry” Wernick, of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, who are prosecuting cases in the investigation.
Finally, they acknowledged the efforts of others who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Deborah Connor, Chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section, as well as Criminal Investigators Matthew J. Kutz, Mark Crawford, Melissa Matthews, and Durand Odom; Forensic Accountants Crystal Boodoo and Maria Boodoo; Paralegal Specialists Krishawn Graham, Tasha Harris, and Corrine Kleinman; Former Paralegal Specialists Shanna Hays and Nicole Wattelet; and Legal Assistant Angela Lawrence.
14-147Former Columbia Resident Sentenced for Receipt and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsA former Columbia, Illinois, resident was sentenced on June 20, 2014, on a two-count Indictment, charging him, in Count 1, with Receipt of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct, and, in Count 2, with Possession of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Neil E. Purdy, 30, a member of the Navy Reserves and formerly of Columbia, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison on both counts, to run concurrently, to be followed by a 10 year term of supervised release on each count, also to run concurrently, ordered to pay a $2,500 fine on each count, for a total fine of $5,000, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment. In addition, when released from prison, Purdy must register as a sex offender as a condition of his supervised release.
The investigation began on February 7, 2012, when an individual contacted the Columbia, Illinois, Police Department to report that the defendant molested his/her fourteen year old child. He/she also told the Columbia police that he/she saw the defendant “google” the phrase, “where can I find really young porn.” He/she said that, when he/she asked Purdy, “How long have you had this little problem?” Purdy responded “about three years.” Evidence at sentencing revealed that, as a direct result of Purdy’s molestation, the child no longer stayed with the parent because he/she felt that the parent could not protect him/her.
On February 16, 2012, Purdy, a member of the Navy Reserve with Top Secret clearance, provided a voluntary, videotaped statement to Columbia Police Officers in which he admitted the molestation of the fourteen year old (Purdy also served a prison term of 180 days in Monroe County Jail for criminal sexual abuse relating to the molestation of the fourteen year old), stating that he “had a problem.” There was also evidence introduced at sentencing that Purdy, while awaiting sentencing on the state charge, stated that he was trying to get administrative leave from the Navy Reserves before “they f[ou]nd out” about his criminal charges so that he could avoid a dishonorable discharge.
When questioned about searching for or possessing child pornography, Purdy admitted that he possessed videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his laptop computer. Purdy told the officers that the videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct were under his username, and that his username was password protected. Purdy also admitted using a file sharing program and terms commonly associated with child pornography to search for videos and/or images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Purdy estimated that he had approximately fifteen (15) videos and less than twenty (20) images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on the laptop computer. The videos were mostly of girls, between the ages of 4 and 13, engaged in sexual activity with themselves, another child or an adult, or lasciviously displaying their genitals.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 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.”
The case was investigated by the Columbia, Illinois, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Springfield Child Exploitation Task Force (SCETF). The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
Former Bakersfield Resident Sentenced to Prison for Theft of Mail in Bakersfield and WascoRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Mayra Alejandra Soria, 30, of Los Angeles, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to four years and nine months in prison and $13,735 in restitution for conspiracy to steal mail and one count of possession of stolen access devices, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Soria was indicted with four co-defendants in May 2013 as part of Operation Broken Mailbox, the United States Postal Inspection Service’s ongoing effort to work with local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute stolen mail offenses. She is the last to be sentenced in the case.
According to court documents, from March 17, 2013 until May 21, 2013, Soria and others conspired to steal mail in Wasco and elsewhere in the Bakersfield area, in order to steal checks and commit identity theft. As part of the conspiracy, they used homemade devices to “fish” mail out of U.S. mail collection boxes at post offices. After stealing the mail, they looked for third party information and financial instruments, including checks and money orders that they could cash. The defendants then altered and negotiated the stolen checks – sometimes by depositing them into accounts they had opened in the names of the identity theft victims. In total, Soria and her co-defendants stole checks and other items valued at more than $120,000.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Megan A. S. Richards prosecuted the case.
San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Rafael Nunez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service stated “we are working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners in law enforcement to arrest and prosecute those responsible for mail theft to protect postal customer’s mail from theft.”
The other defendants received the following sentences: Eric Alberto Herrera, 27, of Los Angeles: two years in prison; Elisee Torres-Pacheco, 36, of Los Angeles: three years of probation; Brisa Castillo, 33, of Los Angeles: five months in prison; Mateo Manuel Santiago, 25, of Bakersfield: one year in prison.
Federal Len Bias Indictment Shows Heroin's Grip Expanding to Smaller CommunitiesRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – Rockie Morse, 40, of Sweet Home, Oregon, was indicted today for distribution of heroin that resulted in death, announced Amanda Marshall, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Prosecutors also indicted Tammy Tongate, alleged to be the Portland-area source of supply, who made her initial appearance last week. The federal charges were brought after an investigation led by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) uncovered a major influx of heroin into Sweet Home, Oregon. Investigators worked closely with the Portland Police Bureau Drugs and Vice Division, the Sweet Home Police Department, Lebanon Police Department, and the Linn County District Attorney’s Office.
Ashley Marie Ames, 25, a resident of Lebanon, Oregon, was found dead on October 2, 2013. Investigators found drug paraphernalia and residue quantities of black tar heroin. Prior to her death, Ames was scheduled to enter drug treatment. “Heroin dealers are the grim reapers of the drug trafficking world,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “We are seeing a rise in heroin use in rural communities outside the main distribution hubs of Portland, Salem, and Eugene. I applaud the efforts of the Linn County Sherriff’s Office and the DEA in attempting to get in front of this deadly epidemic.” A total of 15 individuals have been arrested and are facing federal and state charges stemming from this investigation.
The United States Attorney’s Office has made the investigation and prosecution of drug overdose cases a high priority due to the devastating impact drug distribution has in Oregon. Several significant drug dealers who would have otherwise gone undetected, have been arrested, successfully prosecuted, and sentenced to prison in both state and federal court as a result of this combined state and local effort to investigate and prosecute drug overdose deaths.
The federal indictment in this case includes three other defendants in a heroin distribution conspiracy and includes several substantive counts of heroin distribution, including distribution within 1,000 feet of Sweet Home High School. Count 1 charges Morse and Tongate with distribution of heroin resulting in death and was brought under the federal “Len Bias” statute. This count carries a statutory mandatory minimum prison term of twenty (20) years, a maximum of life in prison, and a fine of up to $2 million.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant should be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. Trial is set for August 12, 2014, before U.S. District Court Judge Marco Hernandez. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah K. Bolstad.
Federal Inmate Pleads Guilty to Possession of A WeaponRead the Press Release
Bluefield, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Antonio Quintero, 36, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution at McDowell, pled guilty in federal court in Bluefield to possession of a weapon. On March 7, staff members at the prison were escorting Quintero when they saw him throw something into a trash can. When they searched the trash can, they recovered a homemade knife commonly referred to as a “shank.”
Quintero faces up to 33 months’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber has scheduled the sentencing for October 27, 2014.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons conducted the investigation, and the prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney John File.
Dominican National Admits Role in $65 Million Stolen Identity Income Tax Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Dominican national who was extradited from Canada earlier this year today admitted his role in one of the nation’s largest and longest-running stolen identity refund fraud schemes ever identified, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Alejandro Javier, 51, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to steal government funds and one count of theft of government funds.
Javier and others participated in a scheme that caused more than 8,000 fraudulent U.S. income tax returns to be filed, which sought more than $65 million in tax refunds, and which resulted in the losses to the United States of more than $12 million. A Dominican national, Javier evaded capture until July 2, 2013, when Canadian law enforcement authorities arrested him as he tried to illegally enter Canada. He had been incarcerated there until he was extradited to New Jersey on Jan. 10, 2014.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Stolen Identity Refund Fraud
Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) is a common type of fraud committed against the United States government that results in more than $2 billion in losses annually to the United States Treasury. SIRF schemes generally share a number of hallmarks:
• SIRF perpetrators obtain personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, from unwitting individuals, who often reside in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
• SIRF perpetrators complete Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040s (Form 1040) using the fraudulently-obtained information, and falsifying wages earned, taxes withheld and other data. Perpetrators use data to make it appear that the “taxpayers” listed on the fraudulent 1040 forms are entitled to tax refunds – when in fact, the various tax withholdings indicated on the fraudulent 1040s have not been paid by the listed “taxpayers,” and no refunds are due.
• Perpetrators direct the U.S. Treasury Department to issue the refunds through checks generated by the fraudulent 1040 forms to locations they control or can access, in various ways.
• Certain SIRF perpetrators sell the tax refund checks at a discount to face value. In turn, the buyers then cash the checks, either themselves or using straw account holders, by cashing checks at banks or check cashing businesses, or by depositing checks into bank accounts. When cashing or depositing refund checks, SIRF perpetrators often present false or fraudulent identification documents in the names of the “taxpayers” to whom the checks are payable.
The Investigation
Federal law enforcement agencies created a multi-agency task force in New Jersey composed of investigators from the IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with the U.S. Secret Service, and with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The New Jersey Task Force, with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, revealed that from at least 2007, dozens of individuals in the New Jersey and New York area engaged in a large-scale, long running SIRF scheme.
Javier and others obtained personal identifiers, such as dates of birth and Social Security numbers, belonging to Puerto Rican citizens. Javier and others used those identifiers to create fraudulent 1040 forms, which falsely reported wages purportedly earned by the “taxpayers” and taxes purportedly withheld, to create the appearance that the “taxpayers” were entitled to tax refunds.
The fraudulent 1040 forms were created and filed electronically. By tracing the specific IP addresses that submitted the electronically-filed 1040s, law enforcement officers learned that just a handful of IP addresses created many of the fraudulent 1040 forms, which, in turn, led to the issuance of tax refund checks that the conspirators obtained, sold, cashed, and spent.
Conspirators purchased mail routes, that is, lists of addresses covered by a single mail carrier. Conspirators applied for tax refunds, inserted addresses along the mail route as the purported home addresses of the “taxpayers,” and obtained the checks sent to the addresses. In other instances, the conspirators applied for checks using addresses otherwise controlled by, or accessible by, certain conspirators, and collected the checks after they were delivered to those addresses. Hundreds of refund checks were mailed to just a few different addresses in a few towns, including Nutley, Somerset and Newark in New Jersey and Shirley, N.Y. After receiving the checks, Javier and others cashed the checks and divided the proceeds.
Members of the New Jersey Task Force identified certain “hot spots” of activity related to the scheme, where conspirators were directing millions of dollars of refunds just a few towns and cities. New Jersey Task Force members then interacted with U.S. Postal Service employees in these hot spots, and identified the characteristics of refund checks connected to the scheme. More than $22 million in fraudulently applied for refund checks were interdicted by law enforcement and never delivered.
The conspiracy count to which Javier pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. The substantive count of theft of government property carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Sentencing for Javier is scheduled for Oct. 8, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the DEA, under the direction of special agent in charge Carl J. Kotowski; IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Mottola; and HSI-ICE, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees, for their roles.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lakshmi Srinivasan Herman, Zach Intrater, and Danielle Walsman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark, and Mala Harker of the Special Prosecutions Division.
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Defense Counsel: David Oakley Esq., Princeton, N.J.Javier, Alejandro Information
Doctor Indicted for Controlled Substance DeliveryRead the Press Release
COEUR D’ALENE - Dr. Rafael Beier, 60, of Kingston, Idaho, pleaded not guilty on June 20, 2014, to a grand jury indictment charging him with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. Beier was arrested on Thursday, June 19, at his place of business. A trial is set for August 29, 2014. Beier remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for June 25, 2014.
The charge of distributing a controlled substance is punishable by up to twenty years in prison, a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00 and at least three years of supervised release.
An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Anyone with information regarding Dr. Beier is asked to call the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at 208-664-5128.
District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against California-Based Firm and Individuals to Prevent Distribution of Adulterated Dietary SupplementsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Otis D. Wright II of the Central District of California entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against GM Manufacturing Inc. (GMM) and Mao L. Yang, Mary Chen and David Yang on Friday, June 20, 2014, to prevent the distribution of adulterated dietary supplements.
“Adulterated dietary supplements may pose a significant risk to the public health,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the public from dietary supplements that are not manufactured in conformity with current good manufacturing practices as required by law.”
According to the complaint filed by the United States on June 2, 2014, GMM manufactured, labeled, prepared, packed, held and distributed dietary supplements from its facility in Gardena, California. As alleged in the complaint, in spections by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established that the dietary supplements manufactured and distributed by the defendants were adulterated, in that they were prepared, packed and held under conditions that do not comply with the current good manufacturing practice regulations for dietary supplements. For example, during an inspection in 2013, FDA observed that defendants failed to maintain, clean and sanitize, as necessary, equipment, utensils and other contact surfaces used to manufacture, package, label or hold components or dietary supplements.
As part of the permanent injunction, the defendants agreed to stop manufacturing, preparing and distributing dietary supplements. The defendants agreed to provide 90 days’ notice to FDA before seeking to resume operations. If the defendants seek to resume dietary supplement operations, they are required to comply with a series of remedial measures, including retaining an expert to inspect the company’s facility and provide a certification that all manufacturing deficiencies have been corrected. Also, the defendants must report to FDA all actions they have taken to correct the deviations. The defendants are not allowed to resume operations until FDA has re-inspected their facility and operations, and provided written notice to them.
According to the complaint, the defendants’ facility was inspected by FDA in 2012 and 2013. During the 2013 inspection, the FDA observed significant violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act and implementing regulations, including violations that were the same or similar to those observed during the 2012 inspection. Following the 2012 inspection, FDA issued a warning letter to Mao Yang informing him that the significant deviations documented by FDA during the 2012 inspection rendered defendants’ dietary supplements adulterated under the law. The warning letter from FDA cautioned that failure to promptly correct the deviations, and prevent future ones, could lead to additional regulatory action, including an injunction.
Despite the inspections and warning letter from FDA, the defendants continued to manufacture and distribute adulterated dietary supplements in violation of the law.
The permanent injunction entered by the district court requires the defendants to recall all dietary supplements that the defendants manufactured, prepared, processed, packed, labeled, held, and/or distributed at any time since Feb. 13, 2012. Defendants are then required to destroy all dietary supplements in their possession, custody and/or control.
Assistant Attorney General Delery thanked the FDA for referring this matter to the Department of Justice. Trial Attorney Lauren Fascett of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, in conjunction with Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Villarreal in the Central District of California and Associate Chief Counsel Leslie Cohen of the Office of General Counsel, Enforcement of the Food and Drug Division, Department of Health and Human Services, brought this case on behalf of the United States.Del Rio Jury Convicts Two Los Zetas Cartel Members on Federal Drug and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
Two senior members of the Los Zetas Cartel operating in Piedras Negras, Mexico, face up to life in federal prison after a jury convicted them of smuggling thousands of kilograms of marijuana and hundreds of assault rifles announced Robert Pitman, United States Attorney; Janice Ayala, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division; Robert Elder, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division; and, Christopher Combs, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division.
On Friday afternoon, jurors convicted 29–year-old Emilio Villalobos-Alcala (aka “La Tripa”), and 27–year-old Jose Eluid Lugo-Lopez (aka “Cochi Loco”) of one count of conspiracy to import marijuana; one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana; one count of conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and, two counts of smuggling goods from the United States.
According to courtroom testimony, Villalobos-Alcala, a purported leader of the Los Zetas Cartel activities in Piedras Negras and fellow senior level member Lugo-Lopez were involved in a large-scale marijuana and firearms smuggling scheme from July 2011 until February 2013. Assault weapons, other firearms, magazines and ammunition purchased in San Antonio were transported inside hidden compartments in cars and trucks and smuggled through Eagle Pass, Texas, to Piedras Negras. Bundles of marijuana, smuggled across the river into Quemado, Texas, were transported to stash houses in Eagle Pass. From there, the marijuana was transported to stash houses in San Antonio and ultimately to distributors in Dallas and Houston.
Evidence presented during the trial included multiple threats made by Villalobos-Alcala and Lugo-Lopez that they would kill people involved in the smuggling conspiracy or their family members if they did not pay money for drugs or weapons seized by law enforcement or agree to move drugs or weapons on behalf of the cartel.
In February 2013, Villalobos was arrested at the Port of Entry in Eagle Pass. Lugo-Lopez was arrested in Eagle Pass in November 2012 after crossing into the country illegally. Villalobos-Alcala and Lugo-Lopez remain in federal custody pending sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for December 15, 2014, in Del Rio.
This case was investigated by special agents with HSI, ATF, FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration together with the U.S. Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety and the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office.
Defendant Sentenced on Federal Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen Brown announces that Kipp Luster was sentenced on June 19th in Federal Court after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Luster received a sentence of 70 months imprisonment, with 3 years of supervised release to follow.
The DEA conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Daryl Atchison handled the prosecution of the case on behalf of the United States.
Covington Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Heroin Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, KY -A Covington, Ky., man admitted in federal court today that he sold heroin that resulted in the death of one of his customers.
Timothy Tingle-Brown, 29, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning to distributing heroin that resulted in death.
“This case exemplifies the commitment of our office and our law enforcement partners to the fight against heroin trafficking,” said Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Tingle-Brown faces at least twenty years in prison because he chose to sell heroin, a decision with deadly consequences in this case. Others who are tempted to engage in this destructive behavior should take heed of the price to be paid.”
Tingle-Brown admitted to selling heroin to a man at an apartment in Taylor Mill, Ky., on April 20, 2013. The man subsequently died from an overdose from the heroin that Tingle-Brown had sold to him.
A federal grand jury in Covington returned an indictment on September 12, 2013 charging Tingle-Brown with distribution of heroin resulting in death. The trial started on June 20, 2014 and a jury was selected, but Tingle-Brown entered a guilty plea this morning before the trial was scheduled to continue.
Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and James V. Allen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Division, Drug Enforcement Administration, jointly announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by the Cincinnati Resident Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Taylor Mill Police Department, and the office of the Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke represents the federal government in this matter.
Tingle-Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30, 2014. He faces a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life. He also faces a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00 and at least three years of supervised release. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.
Corinna Business Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Counterfeit GoodsRead the Press Release
Contact: Joel B. Casey
F. Todd Lowell
Assistant United States Attorneys
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Robert
Berg Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a “Berg Sportswear” of Corinna, Maine pleaded guilty today in
U.S. District Court in Bangor to trafficking in counterfeit goods.The defendant operates a screen printing business that prints, markets and sells apparel
items bearing trademarks and other logos and images. A trademark is a symbol, word, or words
legally registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office or established by use as
representing a company or product. According to court records, between January 2006 and
January 2011, the defendant counterfeited apparel bearing the trademarks of the Boston Red Sox,
Boston Celtics, New England Patriots, New York Yankees, Harley Davidson, John Deere, Jack
Daniels, Orange County Choppers and Playboy. Employees designed counterfeit trademarks,
created screens from which the trademarks could be printed on apparel items and printed the
counterfeit trademarks on those items.
The defendant faces a fine of up to $5,000,000. It will be sentenced after the completion
of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.On January 7, 2014, defendant’s owner, Robert Berg, pleaded guilty to being an
accessory after the fact to the manufacture of 1,000 or more marijuana plants arising from his
involvement in assisting individuals involved in the operation of the Township 37 marijuana
grow evade apprehension.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland
Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the
Internal Revenue Service -- Criminal Investigation Division.Connecticut Man Sentenced for False Tax ClaimsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a New Fairfield, Conn., man was sentenced in federal court today for making false claims for tax refunds.
Nkosi Gray, 41, of New Fairfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to five years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Gray to pay $278,874 in restitution. Gray was taken into federal custody at the conclusion of today’s hearing.
On Jan. 13, 2014, Gray was found guilty at trial of one count of filing false claims for a tax refund.
Gray filed fraudulent tax returns that falsely claimed refunds due to over-withholding of taxes. Gray was convicted of filing a false tax return for which he received a $278,874 refund. According to court documents, Gray filed 11 fraudulent tax returns, seeking over $1.5 million in fraudulent refunds, even after receiving multiple notices by the IRS that the claims were fraudulent.
These claims utilized fictitious 1099-OID tax forms (which are legitimately used to pay taxes on income received from the interest on bond investments). In actuality, Gray had not received interest income from the banks and lenders listed on their Forms 1099, nor had any money been over-withheld.
Co-defendant Gerald A. Poynter, also known as “Brother Jerry Love,” 48, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty on Nov. 7, 2013, to being the leader of a conspiracy to defraud the government that utilized this fraudulent practice. He was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison without parole. Conspirators filed 284 fraudulent returns that claimed a total of $96 million dollars in refunds. The IRS mistakenly paid out $3.5 million on these fraudulent claims. Conspirators from eight states were involved in filing fraudulent tax returns in the largest federal false claims case that has ever been prosecuted in Missouri.
After he received a refund of $278,874 on Oct. 17, 2008, Gray paid a $15,000 fee to Poynter a few days later. After the refund was deposited into his account, Gray made 56 withdrawals over the next two months. By withdrawing the cash in increments of less than $10,000, Gray (a former bank employee) avoided the requirement for his bank to report those transactions to the government.
According to court documents, Gray refused to pay the IRS back despite aggressive collection efforts. He continued to live well and used trusts and multiple accounts to hide the money. He sent frivolous correspondence to IRS in an attempt to confuse and frustrate the collection as he continued filing fraudulent tax returns.
Poynter is among 13 defendants who have pleaded guilty. Co-defendant Kimberly Johnson, 43, of Chickamauga, Ga., was also convicted at trial and sentenced to four years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Johnson to pay $306,496 in restitution.
1099-OID Tax Fraud Scheme
Conspirators utilized 1099-Original Issue Discount forms as part of their scheme.
These forms are legitimately used by tax filers who must pay taxes on income they receive from the interest on their bond investments. Tax on certain bonds must be paid as income accrues. Bond holders receive annual forms, called 1099-Original Issue Discount (OID), from the debt issuers.
However, the scheme described in the indictments utilized the 1099-OID forms in a nonsensical manner. Clients of the conspirators assembled financial documents such as mortgage and loan statements, car payments, foreclosure records, bank statements, credit card statements, and other records of debt and spending. Poynter and his staff used this debt information – rather than any actual bond income – to prepare and/or finalize false tax returns and improperly calculated Forms 1099-OID.
These tax returns falsely claimed that the filers had received interest and dividend income and that federal income tax had been withheld. The fraudulent returns claimed the government had over-withheld taxes from the clients’ purported interest and dividend income, making the clients appear entitled to more than $96 million in tax refunds.
In reality, Poynter’s clients had not earned – or paid tax on – such income. No financial institution had issued any 1099-OID forms. Instead, the income that was listed was calculated by what the indictment describes as an “arbitrary and capricious formula.” Conspirators simply added up the taxpayers’ debts and spending and listed those creditors as “payers” of interest and dividends.
OID Fraud Web Site
A Web site has been established to provide information about the status of this investigation. Updates about this investigation and related cases will be posted at www.justice.gov/usao/mow/divisions/OIDfraud.html
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel M. Nelson. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).Brother of Former Country Club Hills Police Chief sentenced for Money Laundering, Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –Ricky McCoy, brother of Regina R. Evans, former police chief for Country Club Hills., Ill., was sentenced this afternoon for money laundering and obstructing justice in the federal investigation of a grant fraud scheme involving his sister and her husband. U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough ordered that McCoy serve six months in federal prison, followed by six months of home confinement. McCoy was allowed to remain on bond and self-report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on a date to be determined by BOP. McCoy was also ordered to remain on supervised release for three years following his release from the six-month prison term. McCoy was ordered to pay restitution, joint and severally, with his sister and her husband, Ronald Evans, in the amount of $44,338, to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
McCoy entered pleas of guilty on Aug. 29, 2013, to money laundering and obstruction of justice. Regina Evans previously entered pleas of guilty to charges filed in two cases. On Aug. 19, 2013, Evans pled guilty to obstruction of justice, witness tampering and conspiracy to obstruct justice and witness tampering. Evans pled guilty on June 17, 2013, to charges of fraud related to a $1.25 million state grant awarded in 2009 to We Are Our Brother’s Keeper, a not-for-profit program that Evans owned with her husband, Ronald W. Evans, Jr. Ronald Evans has pled guilty to the fraud scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2014.
On May 1, 2014, Regina Evans was sentenced in the two cases. U.S. District Judge Myerscough ordered Evans to serve five years in federal prison and to pay restitution, jointly and severally with her husband, Ronald Evans, in the amount of $917,194, to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
McCoy assisted the Evanses in the management of We Are Our Brother’s Keeper. McCoy pled guilty to money laundering related to the grant funds when he issued a check payable to himself, in the amount of $16,249, on behalf of We Are Our Brother’s Keeper, with the proceeds of the check deposited to an account controlled by the Evanses. Further, McCoy issued two additional checks, totaling $19,888, on behalf of We Are Our Brother’s Keeper, made payable to an associate of the Evanses; $17,888 of the check proceeds were deposited to a bank account controlled by the Evanses.
McCoy pled guilty to participating with his sister and others to have an unidentified person create a false story for law enforcement, the grand jury, and as a witness in a court proceeding, to falsely represent that the individual performed actual work under the grant awarded to We Are Our Brother’s Keeper. In fact, the individual performed no such work and the checks issued to the individual were merely a means to conceal grant funds converted to cash and returned to the benefit of the Evanses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Bass is prosecuting the case on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois. The ongoing investigation is being conducted by participating agencies of the Central District of Illinois’ U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Public Corruption Task Force including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Chicago Division; the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations; and, the Illinois Secretary of State Office of Inspector General. Individuals who wish to provide information to law enforcement regarding matters of public corruption are urged to call the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 217-492-4450.
Bronx Man Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 25 Years in Prison for the Sexual Exploitation of A Child and Child Pornography-Related ChargesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that NARENDRA TULSIRAM was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 25 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child, as well as transporting and possessing images of child pornography. TULSIRAM pled guilty in April 2013. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “For five years, Narendra Tulsiram preyed on his minor victim – sexually abusing and extorting her. Today’s sentence ensures Tulsiram will pay for the innocence he stole and be prevented from harming others.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2006 through September 2011, TULSIRAM sexually abused a minor (the “Victim”). The abuse began when the Victim was 13 years old. From 2008 through September 2011, TULSIRAM took sexually explicit photographs of his abuse of the Victim. In November 2011, after the Victim resisted TULSIRAM’s requests for additional sexual encounters, he used his e-mail account to send sexually explicit photographs of the Victim to the Victim’s e-mail account. In those e-mails, TULSIRAM threatened to send the sexually explicit photographs of the Victim to others, including her family, in an effort to get her to accede to his demands.
Following TULSIRAM=s arrest, search warrants were executed for TULSIRAM’s cell phone and e-mail account. Forensic analysis of TULSIRAM’s cell phone recovered photographs depicting the Victim, and in some instances, the Victim and TULSIRAM, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Forensic analysis also recovered from TULSIRAM’s cell phone the threatening e-mails sent from TULSIRAM=s e-mail account to the Victim attaching the sexually explicit photographs of the Victim.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Oetken sentenced TULSIRAM, 50, to a lifetime of supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the New York City Police Department.
This case is being handled by the Office=s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Kristy J. Greenberg, Rahul Mukhi, and Adam Fee are in charge of the prosecution.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
Berwick Resident Sentenced to 22 Years on Armed Bank Robbery and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Contact: Donald E. Clark
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Phillip
G. Gage, 47, of Berwick, Maine, was sentenced to 22 years in prison and five years of
supervised release for armed bank robbery, being a felon in possession of a firearm and using a
firearm during the commission of a bank robbery. He was also ordered to pay $20,054 in
restitution. The charges arise from the August 21, 2013 armed bank robbery of Citizen’s Bank,
in Somersworth, New Hampshire; the October 7, 2013 armed bank robbery of Peoples United
Bank, in Exeter, New Hampshire; the October 19, 2013 armed bank robbery of Kennebunk
Savings in Eliot, Maine; and the October 26, 2013 armed bank robbery of the Ocean
Communities Federal Credit Union in Sanford, Maine. Gage pled guilty to the charges on March
4, 2014.According to court records, during the Citizen’s Bank robbery, Gage displayed a demand
note that read in part: “I have a bomb and a gun if you say a word you will die” and absconded
with $3,132.80. In the People’s United robbery, Gage’s demand note read in part: "There's a
bomb in the trash can, keep it quiet" and absconded with $1,451. During the Kennebunk Savings
robbery, Gage pointed a Ruger Red Hawk .44 Magnum revolver at tellers while, an associate,
Daniel Barry, vaulted over the teller counter and took $7,896 from teller drawers. During the
Ocean Communities Federal Credit Union robbery, Gage pointed a Dan Wesson .22 caliber
revolver at tellers and absconded with $8,574.
Gage was convicted of the following felonies: robbery in Florida in 1986, assault in
Maine in 1999, possession of a firearm by a felon in Maine in 1999 and attempting to commit a
Class B crime in Maine in 2002. As a result, Gage received an enhanced sentence as an armed
career criminal.This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Maine State
Police, and the Eliot, Kittery, Sanford, Berwick, York, Maine and Exeter, Somersworth, Alton
and Pembroke, New Hampshire police departments. U.S. Attorney Delahanty praised the
cooperation among these law enforcement agencies noting that “these armed bank robberies
were quickly solved because local, state, county and federal law enforcement agencies across
two states worked closely together.”Bakersfield Man Pleads Guilty to Using an Interstate Facility to Aid RacketeeringRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. —Martin Barragan, 38, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to use of an interstate facility to aid racketeering, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, from June 1, 2012, to November 30, 2012, Barragan conspired with others to manufacture and distribute more than 900 marijuana plants. Barragan used a cellphone to manage his marijuana grow operation and business.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Brian K. Delaney is prosecuting the case.
Barragan is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on September 15, 2014. Barragan faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.