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Friday 20 June 2014
Lexington Man Found Guilty of Receiving and Possessing Thousands of Child Pornography ImagesRead the Press Release
Defendant possessed 4,000 videos of child pornography
LEXINGTON, KY - A federal jury has found a Lexington man guilty of receiving and possessing thousands of child pornography images.
On Wednesday night, following three days of trial and four hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Erik A. Hentzen, 26, of the charges.
The evidence at trial established that, from May 2012 to March 2013, Hentzen downloaded thousands of videos, which depicted prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
On March 23, 2013, investigators with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office executed a search warrant and seized multiple computers belonging to Hentzen; the computers contained more than 4,000 videos depicting child pornography.
The investigation began when authorities discovered that numerous child pornography videos had been made available for download over the internet. Investigators then traced the location of the computer to Hentzen’s apartment in downtown Lexington.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jack Conway, Kentucky Attorney General; and Gary J. Hartwig, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), jointly announced the conviction.
The investigation was conducted by the Office of the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit and HSI. The Fort Mitchell Branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case on behalf of the federal government.
Hentzen is scheduled to be sentenced on September 15, 2014. Each of the charges he was convicted of carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. However, the Court must consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes before imposing the sentence.
Lawrence Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Marijuana Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty Friday to a federal marijuana trafficking charge, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Michael D. Landsness, 27, Lawrence, Kan., pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. In court papers, Landsness admitted he was one of the distributors for a marijuana trafficking organization in Lawrence. The organization was the target of a federal investigation that began in November 2012. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized about 44 pounds of marijuana and more than $193,000 in cash from the traffickers.
On April 3, 2013, investigators working undercover arranged to buy a pound of marijuana from Landsness for $3,000. The next day, officers stopped Landsness and found half a pound of marijuana in his car.
Sentencing is set for Sept. 12. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
Charged as co-conspirators are:
Benjamin Johnson, 33, Lawrence, who is set for trial Sept. 9.
Dominick A. Howard, 20, Lawrence, Kan., who is awaiting trial.
Senator J. Christopher Hood, 26, Lawrence, who is set for jury trial Aug. 19.Grissom commended the Lawrence Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Hough for their work on the case.
Lakeland Mail Carrier Arrested for Theft of Mail and Treasury ChecksRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the arrest of Franklin C. Barnes (48, Winter Haven) on a federal complaint charging him with theft of mail and government property in the form of U.S. Treasury checks. Barnes made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas G. Wilson today, in Tampa, and was released on a $25,000 personal surety bond.
According to the complaint, Barnes stole at least three U.S. Treasury checks from the mail that were addressed to an address on his postal route, and sold them to an undercover law enforcement agent.
A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was part of an ongoing joint investigative effort by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Lakeland Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen.
(Download Factual Basis )
Jury Convicts Irondequoit Man of Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Michael D. Schluter, 45, formerly of Irondequoit, N.Y., was convicted after a jury trial of production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and transporting a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years, and a $250,000 fine.
“Thanks to the jury’s verdict in this case, this defendant will now serve a lengthy sentence for his despicable actions,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “The defendant, who sought to take away the innocence of a child, instead succeeded only in losing his own freedom – if not forever, then certainly for a very long period of time.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiffany H. Lee and Craig R. Gestring, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that in January 2009, a minor reported that she had been sexually abused by the defendant. The Government’s trial evidence established that in July 2008 Schluter took photographs of the minor in sexually explicit poses. Further, the Government proved that in 2007, the defendant transported the minor to Massachusetts and Vermont in 2007 for the purpose of raping the minor.The conviction is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero and the Irondequoit Police Department, under the direction of Chief Richard V. Tantalo.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 17, 2014, at 3:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.Joint Statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Justice on the Declassification of Renewal of Collection Under Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance ActRead the Press Release
The Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the following joint statement Friday:
Earlier this year in a speech at the Department of Justice, President Obama announced a transition that would end the Section 215 bulk telephony metadata program as it previously existed, and that the government would establish a mechanism that preserves the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk data. As a first step in that transition, the President directed the Attorney General to work with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to ensure that, absent a true emergency, the telephony metadata can only be queried after a judicial finding that there is a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the selection term is associated with an approved international terrorist organization. The President also directed that the query results must be limited to metadata within two hops of the selection term instead of three. These two changes were put into effect in February 2014. In addition to directing those immediate changes to the program, the President also directed the Intelligence Community and the Attorney General to develop options for a new approach to match the capabilities and fill gaps that the Section 215 program was designed to address without the government holding this metadata. After carefully considering the available options, the President announced in March that the best path forward is that the government should not collect or hold this data in bulk, and that it remain at the telephone companies with a legal mechanism in place which would allow the government to obtain data pursuant to individual orders from the FISC approving the use of specific numbers for such queries. The President also noted that legislation would be required to implement this option and called on Congress to enact this important change to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Consistent with the President’s March proposal, in May, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3361, the USA FREEDOM Act, which would, if enacted, create a new mechanism for the government to obtain this telephony metadata pursuant to individual orders from the FISC, rather than in bulk. The bill also prohibits bulk collection through the use of Section 215, FISA pen registers and trap and trace devices, and National Security Letters. Overall, the bill’s significant reforms would provide the public greater confidence in our programs and the checks and balances in the system, while ensuring our intelligence and law enforcement professionals have the authorities they need to protect the Nation. The Administration strongly supports the USA FREEDOM Act. We urge the Senate to swiftly consider it, and remain ready to work with Congress to clarify that the bill prohibits bulk collection as noted above, as necessary.
Given that legislation has not yet been enacted, and given the importance of maintaining the capabilities of the Section 215 telephony metadata program, the government has sought a 90-day reauthorization of the existing program, as modified by the changes the President announced earlier this year. Consistent with prior declassification decisions, in light of the significant and continuing public interest in the telephony metadata collection program, the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, has declassified the fact that the government’s application to renew the program was approved yesterday by the FISC . The order issued yesterday expires on Sept. 12, 2014. The Administration is undertaking a declassification review of this most recent court order and an accompanying memorandum opinion for publication.Jewelry Store Owner Admits Role in International, $200 Million Credit Card Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A New Jersey jewelry store owner who used his business to further one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Justice Department today became the 18th conspirator to admit his role in the scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Vijay Verma, 46, of Iselin, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of access device fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:Verma was indicted in October 2013 as part of a scheme to fabricate more than 7,000 false identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards. Participants in the scheme doctored credit reports to pump up the spending and borrowing power associated with the cards. They then borrowed or spent as much as they could, based on the phony credit history, but did not repay the debts – causing more than $200 million in confirmed losses to businesses and financial institutions. These debts were incurred at Verma’s jewelry store, among many other locations, where Verma would allow fraudulently obtained credit cards to be swiped in phony transactions.
The scheme involved a three-step process in which the defendants would make up a false identity by creating fraudulent identification documents and a fraudulent credit profile with the major credit bureaus; pump up the credit of the false identity by providing false information about that identity’s creditworthiness to those credit bureaus; then run up large charges.
The scope of the criminal fraud enterprise required other scheme participants to construct an elaborate network of false identities. Across the country, they maintained more than 1,800 “drop addresses,” including houses, apartments and post office boxes, which they used as the mailing addresses for the false identities.
Verma admitted he allowed others who came to his Jersey City, N.J., store to swipe cards he knew did not legitimately belong to them. Verma would then split the proceeds of the phony transactions with these other conspirators.
The count to which Verma pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 25, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Cyber Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford; postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates; and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Mottola, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations in New Jersey for assisting in the investigation.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zach Intrater and Daniel V. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit and Barbara Ward of the office’s Asset Forfeiture Unit in Newark.
This case 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. attorney’s offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
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Defense counsel: Gerald Krovatin Esq., NewarkVerma, Vijay Information
Jemez Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Abuse ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Irving Shendo, 59, a member of the Jemez Pueblo, pleaded guilty this morning to a felony information charging him with aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Shendo will be sentenced to eight years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Shendo also will be required to register as a sex offender.
Shendo was arrested in July 2013, based on a criminal complaint alleging that he engaged in a sexual act with a Jemez Pueblo child under the age of 12 years. According to court filings, Shendo sexually abused the child victim in August 2008 in a residence located on Jemez Pueblo, N.M., but his criminal conduct was first reported to law enforcement authorities in April 2013.
During today’s change of plea hearing, Shendo admitted that on Aug. 1, 2008, he engaged in a sexual act with the child victim. He further acknowledged committing the crime in Jemez Pueblo.
Shendo has been in federal custody since his arrest. He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Jemez Pueblo Tribal Police Department and the Albuquerque Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano A. Torrez as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
James Allen Hicks Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison for Receiving and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- James Allen Hicks, 37, of Knoxville, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 97 months in prison by the Honorable Harry S. Mattice, Jr., U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The sentence was the result of a guilty plea entered by Hicks in February 2014 to a federal indictment charging him with distributing and possessing child pornography. A forensic examination of Hicks’s computer revealed that he possessed approximately 576 images of child pornography.
As part of the sentence imposed, upon his release from prison Hicks will be on supervised release for a period of five years and for the rest of his life will be required to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or attends school.
U.S. Attorney William C. Killian emphasized the importance of the prosecution of child pornographers. “People who trade child pornography fuel the further exploitation of children. This sentence sends a strong message to those who would prey upon the youngest and most vulnerable members of society that trafficking in images of the exploitation of children will not be tolerated,” said Killian.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
International Distributor Pleads Guilty and Is Sentenced for Illegal Sale and Distribution of Refrigeration Equipment Containing Ozone Depleting SubstancesRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Maureen O’Mara, Special Agent in Charge, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Criminal Investigation Division, Atlanta Area Office, and Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), announce that eAir, LLC (eAir), a Florida corporation with its headquarters in Miami, was convicted and sentenced in federal court in Miami in connection with the illegal sale and distribution of refrigeration equipment that contained restricted ozone depleting substances, in violation of the federal Clean Air Act, Title 42, United States Code, Sections 7413(c) and 7671.
eAir pled guilty to a one count information filed against it before U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga, for knowingly violating a requirement and rule relating to stratospheric ozone protection through the sale and distribution in interstate commerce of a product manufactured on or after January 1, 2010 containing the refrigerant gas, hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 (HCFC-22). HCFC-22 is a widely used refrigerant for residential heat pump and air-conditioning systems.
Immediately following the guilty plea, eAir was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $200,000.00 criminal fine. In addition, as a special condition of probation, eAir was ordered to implement and enforce a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan, to pay community service in the amount of $75,000.00, and to reimburse the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for costs incurred in storing illegal merchandise.
Federal law prohibits the sale and distribution of refrigeration components manufactured after January 1, 2010 that contain or are “pre-charged” with HCFC-22. The federal Clean Air Act regulates air pollutants including ozone depleting substances such as HCFC-22. The Clean Air Act and its implementing regulations established a schedule to phase out the production and importation, as well as establish limitations on the sale and distribution of equipment containing Class II ozone depleting substances not otherwise subject to the bulk importation allowance system.
According to court records, eAir is in the business of importing and distributing merchandise, including air conditioning equipment, condensers, and mini-split air conditioning units. CBP records revealed thirty-four consumption entries filed on behalf of eAir for equipment that contained prohibited HCFC-22. eAir, with knowledge of the January 1, 2010 ban against the sale and distribution of such equipment, had the merchandise manufactured by an affiliated company in China between approximately February and July 2010. eAir subsequently executed more than 100 separate invoices for the sale of approximately 5,033 units or components containing HCFC-22 in direct violation of the Clean Air Act.
This matter and others involving the smuggling and distribution of ozone-depleting substances are being investigated through a multi-agency initiative known as Operation Catch-22. Operation Catch-22 has, to date, included the successful conviction of nearly a dozen individuals and corporations at every level of the refrigerant gas smuggling and distribution chain.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the EPA, ICE-HSI, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Criminal Investigation Bureau, and the Miami-Dade Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi A. Mazer and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald.
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.
Illegal Backcountry Outfitter Sentenced for Operating Without A Special Use Permit on National Forest System LandsRead the Press Release
DENVER – Chris Burandt of Kremmling, Colorado, was fined $1,000, assessed $5,000 in restitution and sentenced to 10 hours of community service as well as two years’ probation for operating an illegal snowmobile outfitting guide service since 2007 on multiple national forests in Colorado. Burandt plead guilty yesterday to selling or offering for sale any merchandise or conducting any kind of work activity or service unless authorized by Federal law, regulation, or special use authorization.
In January 2010, Burandt was issued a violation notice by the U.S. Forest Service for guiding a snowmobile trip. In February 2011 while guiding another snowmobile trip with paying clients, Burandt was contacted by U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers. Subsequently, Burandt was charged by the U.S. Forest Service through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for conducting any kind of work activity or service unless authorized by Federal law, regulation, or special use authorization.
“The U.S. Forest Service works hard to protect our natural resources so that everyone is able to enjoy them,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “When someone makes a living using Forest Service land without the proper permit that person should know there are criminal consequences for that conduct.”
“Outfitter and guiding without a special use permit is a serious offense. Clients assume when they pay for a guiding service that outfitters are carrying insurance and operating legally. The U.S. Forest Service requires outfitters and guides to operate under a special permit so that the safety of visitors and the protection of national forest resources is ensured,” said Laura Mark, Special Agent in Charge for the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service.
The U.S. Forest Service requires special use permits to conduct work, or commercial activities on national forest system lands. Outfitting and guiding operations such as snowmobile outfitting on national forest system lands is a competitive and profitable so the U.S. Forest Service strictly regulates operations to provide safe conditions for the public and to conserve natural resources. Permitted outfitters are authorized to conduct business in specific areas on national forests, operate with an approved business plan, and show proof of liability insurance.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region and prosecuted Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Heldmyer.
Idaho Executive Involved in Advance Fee Scheme Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Idaho business executive pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a scheme to steal deposits from individuals seeking financing.
Lucas Ford, 37 of Post Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris. Ford is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov.10, 2014.
Ford was chief operating officer of an entity known as Quest Capital Finance which falsely represented to be a financing company that could provide hundreds of millions of dollars in loans. From 2008 through 2012, Ford and his co-conspirator, another Quest executive, told prospective borrowers that they needed to make up-front payments of several hundred thousand dollars into a refundable escrow account as deposits towards future loans. The escrow agreements falsely represented that the funds would not be moved out of escrow unless and until all contingencies for the loans had been met and the loans were being funded. In fact, shortly after the prospective borrowers deposited the money, the conspirators routinely took all or most of the escrowed money and transferred it to Quest. They then transferred the funds to other business and personal accounts, without ever arranging the promised financing for the borrowers. The conspirators, and others, continued to promise the prospective borrowers that Quest would soon be providing millions of dollars of financing; however, Quest did not provide the financing nor did it refund any of the deposits.
Ford faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross loss or gross gain from the scheme, whichever is greater.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Sara Miron Bloom of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
Guilty Plea in $2.9 Million Stolen Identity Tax ScamRead the Press Release
Grand Rapids businessman admits forging endorsements on $750,000 of US Treasury Checks
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – Mateo Velasquez-Garcia, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, pled guilty to one count of Forgery of U.S. Treasury Checks and one count of Illegal Re-entry by an Alien, U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. announced today. Velasquez-Garcia operated a grocery store located at 1814 S. Division Avenue, Grand Rapids, Michigan. An investigation revealed that $2.9 million dollars’ worth of fraudulently obtained federal tax refund checks were deposited into the bank account for the Tienda La Nueva Esperanza grocery store during the years 2011 to 2012. Velasquez-Garcia admitted to federal agents that he personally placed false endorsements on the back of 115 of the United States Treasury checks, which were payable to third parties. U.S. Attorney Miles was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Carolyn Weber, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and Special Agent in Charge Marlon V. Miller of Homeland Security.
Velasquez-Garcia is also an alien. He was previously removed from the U.S. and has been found to be in the U.S. without the proper consent of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The maximum penalty for forging U.S. Treasury checks is imprisonment of not more than ten years and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for illegal re-entry by an alien is not more than two years and a $250,000 fine.
The investigation of this case was conducted by Special Agents of the Homeland Security Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigation.
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Four Men Indicted on Bank Robbery ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging four men with conspiring to commit bank robberies. Two of the four men are also charged with actual bank robbery. Laquan Ealey, 23, Abraham Osorio, 21, Luis Osorio, 24, and Jefery Steadman-Loyd, 19, all of Rochester, N.Y., are charged with conspiring to commit bank robbery. Defendants Laquan Ealey and Abraham Osorio are also charged with bank robbery. Bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Each charge carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Everardo A. Rodriguez, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, on Saturday June 7, 2014, Laquan Ealey and Abraham Osorio, robbed the Chase Bank located at 2900 Dewey Avenue in Rochester. The defendants entered the bank and walked up to a teller station. Ealey was wearing a baseball cap, gloves, and black hair extensions, Abraham Osorio a red baseball cap and sunglasses. Ealey then passed a note to the teller that stated "Give me all the money or everyone dies in here." Ealey then told the teller "Give me all your money or everyone here will die, I have a gun." The teller then handed Ealey an amount of money. The defendants then exited the bank, driving away in a 2002 blue Ford Explorer that was parked on the street near the bank. The robbery was recorded on bank surveillance cameras.
On June 14, 2914, Ealey and Osorio attempted to rob the Citizens Bank at 230 Waring Road in Rochester. Luis Osorio, Abraham’s older brother, and Jefery Steadman-Loyd were observed by police in the blue Explorer with Abraham Osorio and Laquan Ealey. The four initially drove by the bank and then stopped the Explorer several block away, at which time Luis Osorio exited the Explorer with a screwdriver in hand and replaced the vehicle’s two license plates with fake plates. The four men then drove back to parked next to the bank. Fearing that the men were about to rob the bank, Rochester Police patrol cars approached the Explorer. When the patrol cars engaged their emergency lights, the defendants sped away, leading police on a car chase over approximately five city blocks. During the effort to flee, the Explorer struck a police vehicle. When the Explorer finally came to a stop, Abraham Osorio was the driver, Luis Osorio was the front passenger and Ealey and Steadman-Loyd were in the back seat.
Police searched the Explorer and found, among other items, black hair extensions, several hats and caps, several pairs of sunglasses, a screwdriver and the two license plates which Luis Osorio had earlier replaced with fake plates.
The defendants were arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson. They are due back in court for detention hearings scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday, June 23 and 24.
The arrests are a culmination of a joint investigation on the part of the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Patrick Phelan, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Scott Crosier, the United States Marshals Service, under the direction of Charles Salina, and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.Former Visa Consultant Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge for Embezzling over $245,000 from EmployerAlso Admits Collecting Fraudulent Unemployment BenefitsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Claudius Kai Kpakima, 34, of Silver Spring, Md., pled guilty today to a federal offense stemming from the embezzlement of more than $245,000 from his employer, a visa processing company, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Bryan Porter, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria, Va.
In a separate scheme, Kpakima admitted collecting more than $14,000 in fraudulent unemployment benefits.
Kpakima pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of interstate transportation of stolen property. The Honorable Senior Judge Royce C. Lamberth scheduled sentencing for Sept. 12, 2014. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Kpakima faces a likely range of 46 to 57 months in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. The plea agreement calls for him to pay restitution of $246,191 to his former employer and another $14,615 to the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services.
According to the government’s evidence, Kpakima worked from May 2011 until November 2012 as a visa consultant for a company identified in court documents as “Company A,” a visa processing company that focused on obtaining expedited visas for individuals and corporate clients across the United States.
Kpakima performed visa processing and expediting duties, and he was able to request money orders from his supervisors through the company’s money order machine. He was required to provide a reason to supervisors for the money orders. Between May 2011 and November 2012, Kpakima fraudulently requested more than 2,900 money orders, which he then cashed at various establishments. He gave the establishments various reasons why he had the money orders, including a false claim that he got them in return for delivering passports.
All told, Kpakima obtained and cashed $246,191 in money orders, even though he was not entitled to any of this money.
In the second scheme, between July 2011 and June 2012, while Kpakima was working for “Company A,” he received $14,615 in fraudulent unemployment benefits from the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. On at least 35 occasions, he recertified that he was eligible for these benefits when he was in fact working at “Company A.”
Kpakima has several previous convictions for theft and related activity. His plea agreement is part of a broader resolution that includes charges filed in the City of Alexandria, Va. A court appearance there is scheduled for October 2014.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Porter commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI and the Alexandria, Va. Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney David Lord of the Alexandria Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, who is prosecuting the case in Virginia. They acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Catherine K. Connelly, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, who assisted with forfeiture issues; Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo, and Intelligence Specialist Sharon Johnson. Finally, they thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Selden, who is prosecuting the case in the District of Columbia.
14-142Former School Teacher, Don Francis, Jr., Indicted on Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
A former school teacher was indicted by a federal grand jury today for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
According to court records, on February 5, 2014, Special Agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations assisted the Louisiana Department of Justice and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office with the execution of a search warrant in a child exploitation investigation at the residence of DON FRANCIS, JR., 43, a resident of Metairie, Louisiana. FRANCIS has been in state custody since his February 5, 2014 arrest. As a result of today’s federal indictment, FRANCIS will be transferred to federal custody.
If convicted, FRANCIS faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of twenty years, followed by up to a lifetime term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
U. S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.projectsafechildhood.gov. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov and click on the tab "resources."
This case was investigated by special agents from the U. S. Department of Homeland Security-HSI, the Louisiana Department of Justice, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Fraud Unit Chief, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.
(Download Indictment )
Former MPD Officer Pleads Guilty to Charges of Pandering of A Minor and Possession of Child Pornography-Admits to Offenses Involving Three Teenage Girls-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Linwood Barnhill, 48, a former officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), pled guilty today to two counts of pandering of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Barnhill, who was assigned to the Seventh Police District, entered the guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He has resigned from the department.
The Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer scheduled sentencing for Sept. 4, 2014. The plea agreement, which is subject to the Court’s approval, calls for a prison sentence of seven years. Barnhill also will be required to register as a sex offender for at least 25 years.
According to the government's evidence, on Dec. 3, 2013, officers with the MPD’s Youth Investigations Division located a missing 16-year-old girl at Barnhill’s residence in Washington, D.C. Over the course of the previous two weeks, the government’s evidence showed, Barnhill had begun the process of cultivating the juvenile to engage in prostitution, including taking clothed and unclothed photographs of her. During this time-frame, he stated that he was going to send the photos to a man who was interested in “an appointment” with her. Barnhill further explained that he was going to set up a “date” for her to engage in sexual acts with this man, who would pay her $80. The juvenile was to provide Barnhill with $20 after the completion of the “date.” Barnhill arranged to have the juvenile’s hair done in preparation for the date. The 16-year-old never actually engaged in prostitution for the defendant.
During the course of the ensuing investigation, MPD officers and members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force learned that the defendant was involved in prostitution-related activities with other adult and juvenile females, including a 15-year-old.
According to the government’s evidence, the 15-year-old met Barnhill in September 2013, when he pulled up to her at the bus stop and asked if she was interested in modeling for him. The 15-year-old agreed to model for the defendant and went back to his apartment to “take modeling pictures.” Barnhill, who asked her to escort for him, took a series of clothed and unclothed photographs of the girl. Later that night, he contacted her by cell phone and told her that he had somebody that wanted to meet her for a “date.” Barnhill collected the money and paid the 15-year-old a portion of that money once she was finished with the “date.”
In addition, during the course of their investigation, law enforcement identified a 17-year-old female who also met the defendant in October 2013 when he pulled up to her at a bus stop in Washington, D.C. and asked her if she wanted to model. Sometime later, the 17-year-old went to Barnhill’s residence. He brought her into his bedroom where he took multiple photographs of her, clothed and unclothed. After taking the photos, Barnhill asked the 17-year-old to perform oral sex on him. While she performed oral sex, Barnhill held his cellular phone and video-recorded the session. That video was recovered from a cell phone seized from the defendant’s residence pursuant to a search warrant.
Barnhill has been in custody since his arrest in December 2013.
“Linwood Barnhill betrayed his duty to protect the community by trying to exploit teenage girls," said U.S. Attorney Machen. “As a result of his deplorable conduct, he will now be headed to prison to join the criminals he spent his career locking up. We appreciate the tremendous work of the MPD detectives and FBI agents who worked so hard to bring Mr. Barnhill’s betrayal to light.”
“The FBI is committed to apprehending individuals who sexually exploit young girls, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring these predators to justice, no matter who they are or what their profession is,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave.“A person of this character has no business being a police officer,” said Chief Lanier. “This is a disgrace to the thousands of hard working men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department who have integrity and put their lives on the line each day.”
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave and
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Chief Lanier commended the work of the MPD detectives and Special Agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who is prosecuting the case.Former MPD Officer Pleads Guilty to Charges of Pandering of A Minor and Possession of Child Pornography-Admits to Offenses Involving Three Teenage Girls-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Linwood Barnhill, 48, a former officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), pled guilty today to two counts of pandering of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Barnhill, who was assigned to the Seventh Police District, entered the guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He has resigned from the department.
The Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer scheduled sentencing for Sept. 4, 2014. The plea agreement, which is subject to the Court’s approval, calls for a prison sentence of seven years. Barnhill also will be required to register as a sex offender for at least 25 years.
According to the government's evidence, on Dec. 3, 2013, officers with the MPD’s Youth Investigations Division located a missing 16-year-old girl at Barnhill’s residence in Washington, D.C. Over the course of the previous two weeks, the government’s evidence showed, Barnhill had begun the process of cultivating the juvenile to engage in prostitution, including taking clothed and unclothed photographs of her. During this time-frame, he stated that he was going to send the photos to a man who was interested in “an appointment” with her. Barnhill further explained that he was going to set up a “date” for her to engage in sexual acts with this man, who would pay her $80. The juvenile was to provide Barnhill with $20 after the completion of the “date.” Barnhill arranged to have the juvenile’s hair done in preparation for the date. The 16-year-old never actually engaged in prostitution for the defendant.
During the course of the ensuing investigation, MPD officers and members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force learned that the defendant was involved in prostitution-related activities with other adult and juvenile females, including a 15-year-old.
According to the government’s evidence, the 15-year-old met Barnhill in September 2013, when he pulled up to her at the bus stop and asked if she was interested in modeling for him. The 15-year-old agreed to model for the defendant and went back to his apartment to “take modeling pictures.” Barnhill, who asked her to escort for him, took a series of clothed and unclothed photographs of the girl. Later that night, he contacted her by cell phone and told her that he had somebody that wanted to meet her for a “date.” Barnhill collected the money and paid the 15-year-old a portion of that money once she was finished with the “date.”
In addition, during the course of their investigation, law enforcement identified a 17-year-old female who also met the defendant in October 2013 when he pulled up to her at a bus stop in Washington, D.C. and asked her if she wanted to model. Sometime later, the 17-year-old went to Barnhill’s residence. He brought her into his bedroom where he took multiple photographs of her, clothed and unclothed. After taking the photos, Barnhill asked the 17-year-old to perform oral sex on him. While she performed oral sex, Barnhill held his cellular phone and video-recorded the session. That video was recovered from a cell phone seized from the defendant’s residence pursuant to a search warrant.
Barnhill has been in custody since his arrest in December 2013.
“Linwood Barnhill betrayed his duty to protect the community by trying to exploit teenage girls," said U.S. Attorney Machen. “As a result of his deplorable conduct, he will now be headed to prison to join the criminals he spent his career locking up. We appreciate the tremendous work of the MPD detectives and FBI agents who worked so hard to bring Mr. Barnhill’s betrayal to light.”
“The FBI is committed to apprehending individuals who sexually exploit young girls, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring these predators to justice, no matter who they are or what their profession is,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave.“A person of this character has no business being a police officer,” said Chief Lanier. “This is a disgrace to the thousands of hard working men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department who have integrity and put their lives on the line each day.”
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave and
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Chief Lanier commended the work of the MPD detectives and Special Agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who is prosecuting the case.Former Federal Bureau of Prisons Employee Convicted of Fraudulently Obtaining Federal Workers' Compensation BenefitsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney James Santelle announced today that after a four-day trial, a federal jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin found Christopher A. Seifer (age 43) of Westfield, WI guilty yesterday of fraudulently obtaining reimbursement payments from the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers' Compensation Program for medically related travel.
On February 4, 2014, Mr. Seifer was charged in a five-count indictment alleging that he had submitted over 1,380 fraudulent claims seeking reimbursement from the federal government for mileage expenses that he falsely claimed to have incurred by driving to health clubs for rehabilitation. The indictment alleges that Mr. Seifer did not, in fact, travel to the health clubs on many of his claimed dates of travel between March 28, 2006, and October 2, 2012, for which Mr. Seifer sought and received reimbursement of travel expenses totaling in excess of $84,000.
The evidence produced at trial demonstrated that Mr. Seifer defrauded the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers' Compensation Program, which provides disability-related benefits to federal workers who suffer disabilities as a result of work-related injuries, by submitting false travel reimbursement claims and obtaining payments on those false claims. Mr. Seifer had formerly been employed by the United States Bureau of Prisons as an Electronics Technician at the Federal Correctional Institution in Oxford, Wisconsin, where he suffered work-related injuries and was then entitled to receive benefits, including medical benefits under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act.
In announcing the verdict, United States Attorney James L. Santelle stated: “This conviction and others like it reflect our continuing, focused work in investigating and prosecuting those individuals, including employees of the federal government, who wrongly use taxpayers’ monies for their own purposes. The partnership among the United States Department of Labor and the United States Department of Justice in identifying and cataloguing many instances of fraud, including those of the sort that Mr. Seifer committed, is not only critical to our effective response to behaviors involving false claims but also reflects the unified mission and strategy of all law enforcement entities here in Eastern Wisconsin.”"We are pleased to work together with our law enforcement partners to pursue such significant fraud by federal employees" stated John F. Oleskowicz, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Chicago Field Office. Oleskowicz continued "We hope that this verdict will serve to deter others from stealing federal funds."
This case was investigated by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering & Fraud Investigations and the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Chicago Field Office and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Campbell and Benjamin Proctor.
Former Executive Director of Chelsea Housing Authority Sentenced for Rigging Inspection ProcessRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former Executive Director of the Chelsea Housing Authority (CHA) was sentenced in federal court today for his role in rigging the inspection process for federally-funded housing units.
Michael E. McLaughlin, 68, of Dracut, who is already serving a three-year prison term for falsifying records to conceal his $360,000 salary as Executive Director, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to serve an additional 12 months in prison and pay a $3,000 fine for his conviction for conspiring to defraud the United States and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by impairing, impeding, and defeating the proper operation of HUD’s physical condition assessment.
Pursuant to federal regulations, to determine whether a public housing authority is meeting the standard for its residents of conditions that are “decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair,” HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) is required to “provide for an independent physical inspection of a public housing authority’s property or properties that includes, at a minimum, a statistically valid sample of the units in the CHA’s public housing portfolio to determine the extent of compliance with the standard.” REAC inspections are conducted by independent contractors who have received training from REAC on the inspection protocol and regulations, and have been certified. Once certified, an inspector is given an inspector number and with a password can access the secure REAC server which contains data on all public housing authorities and also later enables the inspector to generate a random sample of units at the scheduled date of the inspection.
From 2006 through November 2011, McLaughlin conspired with his Assistant Director, James Fitzpatrick, and Bernard Morosco, whom they hired as a consultant for the REAC inspection process in those years. Morosco, himself a certified REAC inspector who had access to the secure REAC database, identified in advance the units of the CHA that would be randomly selected to be inspected by the assigned HUD REAC inspector on the day of the inspection. Morosco then provided to McLaughlin and Fitzpatrick a list of those units to be inspected sufficiently in advance of the inspection so that they could organize and direct REAC “SWAT” Teams of CHA employees to concentrate on ensuring that any needed repairs would be made to those identified units. When the REAC inspectors conducted the inspections in 2007, 2009 and 2011, the units that were randomly selected were the same as the ones provided in advance by Morosco.The trial of Fitzpatrick and Morosco has yet to be scheduled.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement today.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Theodore Merritt of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit and Brian Perez-Daple of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
Former Cay Clubs Executives Charged with Obstruction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Wire Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announce that Fred Davis Clark, Jr., a/k/a Dave Clark, 56, and Cristal R. Clark, a/k/a Cristal R. Coleman, 41, were charged with obstruction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark, both United States citizens and former residents of Monroe County, were apprehended with the assistance of foreign law enforcement earlier this week. Fred Davis Clark was apprehended while transiting from Honduras to Panama, and Cristal Clark was apprehended in Honduras. Both were returned to the United States with the assistance of the U.S. Marshal’s Service (USMS). Fred Davis Clark made his initial appearance in Key West before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow.
According to the indictment, Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark were former executives of Cay Clubs Resorts and Marinas (Cay Clubs), which raised more than $300 million from approximately 1,400 investors through the sale of vacation rental units in Florida and elsewhere. Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark operated the company from an office in Key Largo. After the collapse of Cay Clubs, the SEC began an investigation into allegations of fraud at Cay Clubs. According to the indictment, Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark engaged in conduct aimed at concealing the location of assets under their control, and Fred Davis Clark gave false and misleading testimony to the SEC in connection with its investigation.
Furthermore, after the collapse of Cay Clubs, Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark initiated another venture to operate pawn shops in the Caribbean. According to the indictment, using the same bank accounts and shell companies based in Key Largo that they controlled during their Cay Clubs activities, Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark engaged in fraud and theft of funds from CMZ Group, LTD, a Cayman Islands company that operated pawn shops in the Caribbean. According to the indictment, Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark obtained money and property from CMZ Group, LTD, by siphoning off funds from the business operations of CMZ Group, so that the defendants could lead a lavish lifestyle.
Furthermore, in or around January 2013, shortly before an action was brought by the SEC alleging that they committed securities fraud, the indictment alleges, Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark caused the transfer of nearly $2 million to a bank account they controlled in Honduras for the purpose of preventing the SEC from learning the source, nature, location and control of these monies.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI and IRS-CI, and the assistance of the SEC Miami Regional Office and the USMS in this matter. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerrob Duffy.
An indictment is only an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Attachment:
Fred Davis Clark - Indictment (PDF)
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.
Former Background Investigator for Federal Government Pleads Guilty to Making A False StatementRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Todd D. Mitnick, 36, a former background investigator who did work under contract for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), pled guilty today to a charge stemming from his falsification of work on background investigations of federal employees and contractors, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management.
Mitnick, of Plainview, N.Y., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to making a false statement. The Honorable Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan scheduled sentencing for Sept. 19, 2014. The charge carries a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of the plea, Mitnick has agreed to pay $86,181 in restitution to the federal government.
According to a statement of offense submitted to the Court, Mitnick was employed by USIS, formerly known as U.S. Investigations Services, Inc., as an investigator under contract to conduct background investigations on behalf of OPM’s Federal Investigative Services.
Between September 2010 and August 2011, in numerous Reports of Investigations on background investigations, Mitnick represented that he had interviewed a source or reviewed a record regarding the subject of the background investigation. In fact, he had not conducted the interviews or obtained the records of interest. These reports were utilized and relied upon by the agencies requesting the background investigations to determine whether the subjects were suitable for positions having access to classified information, for positions impacting national security, or for receiving or retaining security clearances.
Mitnick’s false representations have required Federal Investigative Services to reopen and rework numerous background investigations that were assigned to him during the time period of his falsifications, at an estimated cost of at least $86,181 to the U.S. government.
Federal Investigative Services has a robust integrity assurance program which utilizes a variety of methods to ensure the accuracy of reported information. The falsification of investigative case work by the defendant was detected through the program.
This is one of numerous cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia since 2008 involving false representations by background investigators and record checkers working on federal background investigations. In addition to Mitnick, 18 other background investigators and two record checkers have been convicted of charges.
Federal Investigative Services, through its workforce of approximately 7,600, including 6,100 field investigators, is responsible for conducting background investigations for numerous federal agencies and their contractors, on individuals either employed by or seeking employment with those agencies or contractors. Federal Investigative Services conducted more than 2.3 million investigations during the 2013 fiscal year. More than 700,000 of these investigations involved applicants for access or continued access to classified information.
In performing background investigations, the investigators conduct interviews of individuals who have information about the person who is the subject of the review. In addition, the investigators seek out, obtain, and review documentary evidence, such as employment records, to verify and corroborate information provided by either the subject of the background investigation or by persons interviewed during the investigation. After conducting interviews and obtaining documentary evidence, the investigators prepare a Report of Investigation containing the results of the interviews and document reviews, and electronically submit the material to OPM in Washington, D.C. OPM then provides a copy of the investigative file to the requesting agency, which can use the information to determine an individual’s eligibility for employment or a security clearance.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen and Inspector General McFarland praised the efforts of Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nathaniel Smith, OPM, Office of the Inspector General, and Philip Kroop, David Newcomer, and Kevin Cassidy, OPM, Federal Investigative Services. They also acknowledged the work of Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo and former Paralegal Specialist Nicole Wattelet of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen Chubin Epstein and Philip A. Selden, who investigated and prosecuted this matter.
14-145Florence Man Pleads to Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Contac Persont: Bill Day (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ----- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Andrew Stephen Jackson, age 44, of Florence, South Carolina has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Florence, to possession of child pornography, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B) and (b)(2) . United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Jackson was trading child pornography with an individual in Australia in October 2010. A search warrant was executed at Jackson's residence and thousands of images of child pornography were found on Jackson's computers.
Mr. Nettles stated the maximum penalty for possession of child pornography is imprisonment for 10 years and/or a fine of $250,000.
The case was investigated by agents of the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney William E Day, II of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.# # #
Federal Jury Convicts Felon of Stealing and Selling over Thirty Firearms from A Port Allen Gun ClubRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA - United States Attorney Walt Green announced that a federal jury returned unanimous verdicts of guilty yesterday afternoon against JOSEPH D. MELANCON, age 45, of Lafayette, Louisiana, for conspiring to steal firearms, possess and sell stolen firearms, and possess firearms by a convicted felon; stealing from a licensed federal firearms dealer; and possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
As a result of his convictions, and his apparent status as an armed career criminal under federal law, MELANCON faces up to life in prison, a fine up to $750,000, restitution to victims, and forfeiture of the proceeds of his criminal activity. His sentencing date has not been set.
According to evidence presented during the four day trial before U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, MELANCON and Dustin Ray burglarized the Hunter’s Run Gun Club in Port Allen, Louisiana, on the night of April 13, 2012, and stole over thirty (30) firearms. MELANCON had previously worked at the Gun Club and used that knowledge to avoid security measures. Later, with the assistance of Jeremy Smothers, MELANCON sold firearms stolen from the Gun Club to others, including David Narcisse, Jr., a convicted felon.
Dustin Ray, age 31, of New Iberia, Louisiana, pled guilty to conspiring to steal firearms, possess stolen firearms, and possess firearms as a convicted felon; stealing from a licensed federal firearms dealer; and possessing firearms as a convicted felon. He awaits sentencing.
Jeremy J. Smothers, age 32, of New Iberia, Louisiana, pled guilty to conspiring to possess, sell, and dispose of stolen firearms. He awaits sentencing.
David J. Narcisse Jr., age 31, of Lafayette, Louisiana, pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He awaits sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Walt Green stated: “Stopping violent, career criminals from stealing, possessing, and selling guns to other criminals is critically important to the safety of our community. I am proud of the prosecutors and agents who worked diligently on this important matter and look forward to our office’s continued vigilance against armed felons.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reginald E. Jones and Robert W. Piedrahita who serves as Litigation Counsel.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Rahatul Khan and Michael Wolfe for Allegedly Attempting to Provide Material Support to TerroristsRead the Press Release
'A federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas returned separate indictments Wednesday charging
Rahatul Khan and Michael Wolfe with attempting to provide material support to terrorists announced Robert Pitman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Christopher Combs, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division, and John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.Khan (a.k.a. “Rahat Khan,” “AuthenticTauheed19,” and “AT19”), age 23 of Round Rock, TX, is charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists in violation of Title 18 USC Section 2339A. From March 2011 to January 2012, Khan allegedly conspired with others to recruit persons to travel overseas to support terrorist activities including committing violent jihad.
Wolfe (a.k.a. “Faruq”), age 23 of Austin, TX, is charged with attempting to provide material support to
terrorists. Wolfe allegedly planned to travel to the Middle East to provide his services to radical groups
engaged in armed conflict in Syria.A detention hearing for Defendant Khan, originally scheduled for today, has been reset to June 30 at 2:30 p.m., before U. S. Magistrate Judge Mark Lane in Austin. Defendant Wolfe waived hearing on the Government’s motion to detain him and will remain in custody. Both defendants have waived formal arraignment and have entered not guilty pleas to the charges against them. Khan and Wolfe face up to 15 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine upon conviction.
Both indictments resulted from a Central Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation together with the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, United States Army Intelligence, Austin Police Department, Round Rock Police Department, Killeen Police Department, University of Texas Police Department, Travis County Sheriff's Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Office of the Texas Attorney General and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
Assistant United States Attorneys Gregg N. Sofer and Michael Galdo, together with the Department of Justice’s National Security Division Counterterrorism section trial attorneys Josh Parecki and Michael Dittoe, are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Doctor and Wife Convicted of Decade-Long Tax FraudRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that a federal jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts against Dr. James Francis Murphy and his wife, Denine Christine Murphy, based on their years-long efforts at preventing the IRS from assessing and collecting the hundreds of thousands of dollars of income taxes they owed from the operation of their medical practice in Encinitas, California, and Omaha, Nebraska.
Evidence presented at trial showed that despite earning as much as $1 million a year from their osteopathic medical practice, Dr. and Mrs. Murphy paid almost no federal income taxes for a decade. Instead of accurately declaring their income and paying taxes lawfully owed to the United States, and despite repeated warnings from the IRS, the Murphys filed false income tax returns for the medical practice using a bogus “trust,” filed false personal income tax returns that concealed their true income, and in certain years simply refused to file required tax returns at all.
As presented at trial, when confronted by the IRS and notified that they owed substantial sums in taxes, the Murphys engaged in a variety of schemes to thwart the United States’ attempts to correctly assess and collect these taxes. These schemes included: (1) falsely claiming that they were not citizens of the United States; (2) frivolously claiming that the federal tax laws did not apply to them; (3) fraudulently presenting fictitious documents such as “Private Offset Discharge and Indemnity Bonds” and “Bonded Promissory Notes,” purportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as payment on their tax obligations; and (4) fraudulently claiming that the hundreds of thousands of dollars they paid to credit card companies, utilities and other vendors were actually withholdings of federal income taxes, thereby entitling them to over a million dollars in refunds from the IRS. The defendants even claimed that then-Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson was their “fiduciary” and was responsible for paying their taxes.
The defendants were found guilty by a jury after a two-week trial held before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia, and were ordered to appear again for sentencing on September 12, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Duffy said she is pleased with the jury’s verdict. “The Murphys have found out that the old adage is true: Nothing is certain but death, taxes and prosecution if you don’t pay your taxes.”
Erick Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office commented, “James and Christine Murphy’s use of a sham trust served no other purpose than to hide the income they earned from the medical practice. Their filing of false tax returns and false claims of payment to the IRS were tax elimination tactics, used to further promote their criminal activities. Today’s jury verdict emphasizes that those who use these elaborate tax schemes run the risk of criminal prosecution.”
DEFENDANT Dr. James Francis Murphy Age: 53 Encinitas, California Denine Christine Murphy Age: 51 Encinitas, California CHARGESCount 1: Corrupt interference with the administration of the internal revenue laws, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a). Both defendants. Maximum penalties – 3 years’ custody, $250,000 fine.
Counts 2-5: Presenting fictitious financial obligations, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 514. Defendant Dr. James Francis Murphy. Maximum penalties – 10 years’ custody and $250,000 fine (per count).
Counts 6-8: False claims to the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287. Both defendants. Maximum penalties – 5 years’ custody and $250,000 fine (per count),
INVESTIGATING AGENCYInternal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation
TIGTA (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration)
*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.
District Man Sentenced to 36 Years in Prison for 2011 Murder in Northeast Washington-Shooting Followed Carjacking and Robbery-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON -David E. Warren, 28, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 36 years in prison for the 2011 killing of a man in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Warren was found guilty by a jury in March 2014, following a three-week trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The jury convicted Warren of two counts of first-degree murder while armed during the commission of two separate felonies; second-degree murder while armed; kidnapping while armed; armed carjacking; armed robbery, and related weapons offenses. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston. Upon completion of his prison term, Warren will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, shortly before 11 p.m. on May 13, 2011, the victim, Ervin L. Griffin, 32, pulled his SUV into the 1200 block of 18th Street NE, soon after meeting several young women at a nearby bus stop. While Mr. Griffin was sitting in his SUV, which was parked in the middle of the street, Warren approached and told Mr. Griffin to leave.
Eventually, Mr. Griffin pulled into an alley off of the 1200 block of 18th Street NE, where Warren entered the passenger side of Mr. Griffin’s SUV and took his keys. Warren, armed with a semi-automatic firearm, then went to the driver’s side of the SUV, pulled Mr. Griffin out, and demanded money. Warren, along with others, then walked Mr. Griffin up an alley and into a yard behind 1218 18th Place NE, where Mr. Griffin was shot and killed.
Surveillance video from the Metropolitan Police Department’s closed circuit television cameras showed the events leading up to Mr. Griffin’s murder, and showed Warren and others exiting the alley where the murder took place within a minute after the murder.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives, officers, and crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Litigation Technology Specialists Thomas Royal, William Henderson, and Paul Howell; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; and Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Mia Beamon. Finally, he thanked former Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Michael Ortwein, who investigated and indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle D. Jackson and Holly R. Shick, who prosecuted the case.
14-143District Man Sentenced to 107 Years in Prison for Two Shootings, Including Murder of Unarmed TeenagerDefendant and Two Accomplices Fired at Least 28 Shots at Group Attending Fourth of July Cook-OutRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –Calvin Shaw, 24, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 107 years in prison for his role in two shootings, including one in which he opened fire on a group of unarmed teenagers and young men who were gathered for a Fourth of July neighborhood cook-out, killing one of them, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Shaw, also known as Sharkim Sharp, was found guilty by a jury in April 2014, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Jennifer Anderson.
The jury found Shaw guilty of one count of first-degree murder while armed, five counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, two counts of aggravated assault while armed, and related weapons offenses for the fatal shooting, which took place on July 4, 2012 in the 5000 block of First Street NW. Shaw also was found guilty of two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, one count of aggravated assault while armed, and related weapons offenses for an April 18, 2012 shooting that occurred in the same block.
According to the government’s evidence, the murder took place at about 7:55 p.m. on July 4, 2012, when Shaw and two accomplices walked into the 5000 block of First Street NW and opened fire on a group of unarmed teenagers and young men who were gathered to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday and enjoy a cookout.
As the teenagers and young men ran for cover, a gunshot pierced the back of 19-year-old Crevontai Key, severing his aortic arch and killing him. A second 17-year-old victim suffered serious injuries when he was shot in the abdomen. A 15-year-old victim was injured when a bullet grazed the top of the head. A fourth young man was shot in the back, with the bullet exiting his neck. Several other young men were shot at as they ran away. In total, Shaw and his two accomplices fired 28 times at the group of young men.
The jury also found Shaw guilty of the April 18, 2012 shooting of a young man in the same block, and of attempting to shoot another young man who rushed to that victim’s aid.
In a related matter, Shaw’s girlfriend, Tonika Hilliard, 24, was sentenced today to a three-year prison term for obstruction of justice. Hilliard, also of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to the charge, admitting she interfered with a grand jury investigation. The prison time was suspended on the condition that Hilliard successfully complete three years of supervised probation.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the efforts of those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the FBI. U.S. Attorney Machen also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Kwasi Fields; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Witness Security Specialist Debra Cannon; and Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling.
Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Kerkhoff and Michelle Parikh, who tried the case, as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Hegyi and Heather Carlton, who investigated the case.
14-144Department of Defense Contractor Pleads Guilty to Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Michael C. Vella (36, Riverview) today pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. He faces a minimum mandatory term of 15 years, up to a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, a 16 year-old female reported to law enforcement that Vella had been forcing her to have sex with him since the middle of 2012. The victim disclosed that Vella had, on at least one occasion, utilized his laptop computer to record their sexual intercourse. At the time the arrest warrant was issued, Vella was deployed to Afghanistan as a Department of Defense contractor.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacie B. Harris.
It is another case 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 (CEOS), 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Defendant Convicted in Identity Theft Tax Fraud and Social Security SchemesRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Thomas Caul, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of Inspector General, announce the conviction of Kevin Cimeus, 21, of Miami, after a four day jury trial in Fort Lauderdale for his roles in identity theft tax fraud and social security schemes.
Specifically, Cimeus was convicted of ten counts in the superseding indictment, including one count of conspiracy to steal government property or money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, three counts of theft of government money or property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641, one count of access device theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and five counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). Sentencing is scheduled for September 4, 2014, before U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch. At sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to five years in prison on the conspiracy count, ten years in prison on each of the theft of public money and access device theft counts, and a mandatory consecutive two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft counts.
On January 23, 2014, Cimeus pled guilty to one count of access device theft and one count of aggravated identity theft. At his sentencing hearing on April 22, 2014, the Court vacated this guilty plea based on statements made by the defendant during the hearing.
According to evidence presented at trial, during a search warrant of Cimeus’ residence, federal agents found over 2,400 social security numbers and names of real people stored on thumb drives, laptop computers, iPad, Cimeus’ email account and sheets of paper. The evidence at the trial also showed that Cimeus recruited Miami Dade College (MDC) students to allow the defendant to use their Higher One Bank accounts to receive fraudulently obtained tax refunds and that Cimeus used his own Higher One Bank and Chase accounts to receive fraudulently obtained tax refunds. Cimeus filed at least one thousand tax returns from two IP addresses. He also used the two IP addresses to access the Social Security Administration’s web site and create on line profiles for social security recipients in order to re-route the victims’ social security payments to other accounts.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gera R. Peoples.
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.
Davenport Man Sentenced on Felon in Possession of Firearm and Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – On June 20, 2014, Thuan Van Nguyen, age 28, was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Jarvey to 34 months’ imprisonment for Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Nguyen was also ordered to serve two years supervised release following the imprisonment, forfeit $2,010 in cash and the firearm he possessed, and pay $200 towards the Crime Victims Fund.
On April 12, 2013, Davenport police searched Nguyen’s vehicle and residence pursuant to search warrants. In the vehicle, police located approximately 2 pounds of marijuana. In Nguyen’s residence, police located a rifle under Nguyen’s bed, packaging materials consistent with marijuana distribution, and $950 in currency. Police also seized $1,060 in currency on Nguyen’s person. Prior to April 12, 2013, Nguyen had been convicted of two felony crimes.
This case was investigated by the Davenport Police Department and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Columbia Gang Member Sentenced to Maximum 10 Years on Federal Firearm and Ammunition ChargeRead the Press Release
Contact Person: Stacey Haynes (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ----- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that MICHAEL JUAN SMITH, a/k/a “Flame,” a/k/a “Junior,” age 21, of Columbia, South Carolina was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) imprisonment today in federal court. Following the term of imprisonment, SMITH will be on federal supervised release for three (3) years. SMITH pled guilty on February 19, 2014, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. imposed the sentence after a contested sentencing hearing. The sentence is the maximum sentence allowed under federal law for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. SMITH still faces pending charges in state court for the actual shooting that occurred on October 13, 2013.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing in federal court established that shortly after 2:00 am on October 13, 2013, SMITH, along with several friends, was in the Five Points area of Columbia. Surveillance videos show SMITH, a gang member, and his friends walk up Harden Street towards the Library nightclub. At one point, surveillance video shows SMITH adjusting a handgun in his jacket pocket as he walks up the street, transferring it from one pocket to another. SMITH and the group return down Harden Street a short time later and after passing by the fountain area where taxis pick up customers, SMITH and his group become involved in a confrontation with another group of individuals. At this point, SMITH fires his handgun striking an innocent bystander standing in line at the taxi stand. That bystander, an 18 year old college student, was paralyzed as a result. SMITH attempted to flee the scene on foot, but was immediately apprehended on Harden Street by a Columbia Police Department officer responding to the shooting. SMITH refused demands to take his hand from his jacket pocket and a search revealed a loaded Glock .40 caliber handgun in SMITH’s front jacket pocket. At the scene, SMITH voluntarily uttered, “I did not mean to shoot.” SMITH later told officers that people shot at him and he picked up the Glock from the ground as he ran away from them. Witnesses at the scene, however, identified SMITH as the shooter. An analysis of gunshot residue from SMITH’s hand was consistent with him having fired a gun and ballistics testing determined that a .40 caliber shell casing recovered at the scene of the shooting was consistent with being fired from SMITH’S .40 caliber handgun. A check of a law enforcement database revealed that the firearm had previously been reported as stolen during a burglary in Richland County.
The investigation revealed that SMITH, who was on state probation and also on state parole at the time of the incident, is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and/or ammunition based upon his prior state conviction for attempted burglary 2nd degree of a dwelling and a separate state conviction for burglary 2nd degree.
The case was investigated by the Columbia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the case.#####
Cases Involving Sex Trafficking and Exploitation of Children on the Rise; Four Sentenced in One Day in Separate CasesRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Four defendants from unrelated cases were sentenced in federal court today for crimes involving the sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of children, underscoring a continuing trend as prosecutions in this category continue to rise.
The number of defendants prosecuted for sex crimes that victimize and exploit children in the Southern District of California has increased 85 percent in the last five years, from 61 in 2009 to 113 in 2013. The increase is even more dramatic compared to 10 years ago, when only a few cases were logged.
The number of prosecutions involving sex crimes that victimize and exploit children in the Southern District of California has increased 65 percent in the last five years, from 49 in 2009 to 81 in 2013. And those numbers do not reflect that several recent sex trafficking cases have dozens of defendants each.
“The statistics show that one of our highest priorities is protecting children from predators who commit these heinous crimes against our community’s most vulnerable members,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy.
The prosecutions are part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse via the internet. The program’s primary goal is to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children through pornography and sex trafficking as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
DEFENDANT Tyson Lee Channell Age: 29 Case Number: 13cr1372-AJB Sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for acting as a pimp to a 14-year-old girl, at one point taking her to Las Vegas to work as a prostitute. Channel pleaded guilty in April of 2013 to transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution. Jamal Leland Landrum Age: 26 Case Number: 13cr1227-AJB Sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia for sex trafficking of a 15-year-old girl in El Cajon. Landrum pleaded guilty in June of 2013 to sex trafficking of a minor. James Michael DiSalvo Age: 55 Case Number: 13cr4165-GPC Sentenced to nine years by U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel. DiSalvo pleaded guilty in February 2014 to distribution of child pornography. Christopher Wissmath Age: 36 Case Number: 13cr3159-JM Sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller to 30 months in prison and seven years of supervised release. Wissmath pleaded guilty in October of 2013 to transmitting information about a minor with intent to entice the minor. A fifth sentencing, that of Martell Davis, was scheduled to take place today but was postponed. Davis, who was wearing a T-shirt that said, “I Make Pimpin’ Look Easy” when he was arrested, pleaded guilty in September of 2013 to transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution, admitting he drove a 17-year-old girl to Yuma, Arizona, to engage in commercial sex acts. Case No. 13cr3149-JLS. INVESTIGATING AGENCYU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
Federal Bureau of Investigation
San Diego Police Department
El Cajon Police Department*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.
Baltimore Woman Sentenced for Role in Credit Card Fraud Scheme Targeting Accountholders and Area RetailersRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, VA. – Rameesha Smith, 30, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced today to 38 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for her role in a wide-ranging credit card fraud conspiracy that victimized credit card holders nationwide, as well as various retailers in northern Virginia and elsewhere. Smith also was ordered to pay $143,832.51 in restitution.
United States Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
Smith pleaded guilty on March 10, 2014. According to court documents, from at least as early as September 2010 through at least October 2012, Smith conspired with others to purchase stolen credit card data on the Internet or through other means. This stolen data was then unlawfully loaded onto gift cards or unlawfully encoded onto other credit or debit cards through the use of device-making equipment, such as credit card encoders. The counterfeit credit cards often were embossed with aliases belonging to the members of the conspiracy.
Smith and her co-conspirators then took trips, sometimes together, to use the re-encoded gift, credit or debit cards to buy gift cards and other merchandise at legitimate merchant locations like Giant, Rite-Aid and Nordstrom. Smith often presented counterfeit driver’s licenses displaying various aliases when requested by store clerks. Smith and the conspirators then returned the merchandise they purchased in order to convert the stolen data to cash. The actions of Smith and her co-conspirators involved more than 250 victims, and resulted in at least $200,000 in actual and intended losses.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jasmine H. Yoon and Trial Attorney William A. Hall, Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) prosecuted the case.Austin Area Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing Millions from Pension PlansRead the Press Release
In Austin today, 64-year-old Lakeway resident Ricky Lynn Richardson was sentenced to five years in federal prison for stealing millions from pension plans announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Federal Bureau of Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Sam Sparks ordered that Richardson pay
approximately $ 4,362,813.59 restitution and be placed under supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.On March 18, 2014, Richardson pleaded guilty to a one-count Information charging him with theft and
embezzlement from an employee benefit plan. According to authorities, from 1998 to 2013, Richardson stole money from four separate pension plans for which he provided administrative services, namely approximately $941,234 from the Texas Dental Association in Austin, approximately $2,504,258 from D.W.D. Engineering in the Houston area, approximately $687,520 from Green Leaflet, Inc., in Austin and approximately $229,800 from Albert T. Gross, M.D. in Austin. During the scheme, Richardson, doing business as Benefit Consultants, Inc., in Spicewood, TX, secretly misdirected or misappropriated money that belonged to the plans and provided customers with false statements, leading them to believe they still had the retirement money.This investigation was conducted by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Employees
Benefits Security Administration of the Department of Labor. Assistant United States Attorney Alan M. Buie prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Antun Lewis Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Setting Cleveland's Deadliest House FireRead the Press Release
A Cleveland man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for setting the May 2005 fire that killed nine people, said United States Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach.
Antun Lewis, 30, of Cleveland, was convicted by a jury in December on one count of arson in U.S. District Court in Cleveland.
“This defendant is responsible for taking nine innocent lives. A coward in the night, he also stole the hopes and dreams of these families, who will never get to experience high school graduations, weddings, or the other things they had a right to enjoy. Nothing can ever erase the pain this defendant caused, and our hearts go to them all. Their grace and dignity in the face of this tragedy is humbling.”
“This sentence brings some closure to a horrific and senseless crime,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Michael Boxler. “It is my hope that this sentencing will bring some comfort to the families of the victims. I also want to compliment the United States Attorney’s Office for their leadership in the prosecution of this difficult case, and I want to thank the Cleveland Fire Department, the Cleveland Division of Police, the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the ATF personnel who worked jointly to perfect this investigation.”
The arson at 1220 East 87th Street on May 21, 2005, killed eight children and one adult, making it the deadliest intentionally set fire in Cleveland’s history. It occurred during a children’s sleepover birthday party, according to trial testimony.
Killed were: Fakih Jones, age 7; Malee’ya Williams, age 12; Shauntavia Mitchell, age 12; Earnest Tate, Jr., age 13; Miles Golden Cockfield, age 13; Antwon Jackson, Jr., age 14; Moses Williams Jr., age 14; Devonte Carter, age 15, and Medeia Carter, 33.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Sierleja, Robert F. Corts and Michael L. Collyer following an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Cleveland Police Department and Cleveland Fire Department.
"Dr. Death" Indicted for Illegally Manufacturing Firearms and Possession of Machine GunsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment last week against Daniel Crowninshield, 45, of Sacramento, charging him with unlawfully manufacturing and dealing in firearms, possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of a crime of domestic violence, and possessing machineguns and unregistered firearms, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Crowninshield was arrested today in Sacramento by ATF special agents.
According to court documents, Crowninshield, who was also known by his online moniker “Dr-Death,” operated an unlicensed firearms manufacturing business out of C&G Tool, a metal shop in North Sacramento. Crowninshield, himself a prohibited person who is not legally able to possess firearms due to a prior domestic violence conviction, did not conduct background checks, enforce waiting periods, or complete firearm transaction paperwork in connection with the sale of firearms.
Using sophisticated computer-controlled machines, Crowninshield allegedly manufactured lower receivers for AR-15s and other firearms. A lower receiver is the part of a firearm that holds the mechanical parts (e.g. the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism) that combine with a trigger, firing pin, and other parts to form a functioning firearm. The lower receiver was made from a metal casting called a “blank” that is not considered a firearm by ATF. Once the blank is converted into a lower receiver using a drill press or automated machine, it is considered a firearm by statute even if there is no barrel, handle, or trigger, and it is subject to federal regulation.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Firearms, with the assistance of the Sacramento Police Department, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lee is prosecuting the case.
“The production and sale of assault rifles without serial numbers, background checks or waiting periods poses a serious danger to public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Wagner. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who seek to profit from such conduct.”
“Individuals who manufacture and sell unregistered and unmarked machine guns and short barrel rifles pose a grave danger to our communities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Riehl. “These unmarked firearms used in violent crime make it difficult if not impossible to trace back to the perpetrator of the offense.”
Crowninshield will make his initial appearance today at 2:00 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman in Sacramento. If convicted, Crowninshield faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the seven possession-of-firearm counts and a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the manufacturing and dealing charge. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Thursday 19 June 2014
Westville Man, Woman Arraigned for Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
“The following named individuals have been charged with a federal crime or crimes by the return of an indictment by the Grand Jury. A grand jury Indictment does not constitute evidence of guilt. A grand jury Indictment is a method of bringing formal charges against the defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and may not be found guilty unless evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Statutory maximum punishments are in parentheses. United States Sentencing Guidelines may be considered, upon conviction, by the sentencing court. Federal prison sentences are non-parolable.”
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that MICHAEL ALLEN COOPER, age 39 and AMANDA JO JONES, age 24, both of Westville, Oklahoma were arraigned in federal court today on charges of Conspiracy To Possess With Intent To Distribute And Distribute Five Hundred (500) Or More Grams Of mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A).
The Indictment filed on June 11, 2014, alleges that beginning in or about June 19, 2013, through on or about April 9, 2014, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendants, did willfully and knowingly combine, conspire, confederate and agree together, and with others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
The charges arose from an investigation by the District 16 District Attorney’s Drug Task Force, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearings. Both defendants were remanded into the custody of the United States Marshal Service.
The statutory range of punishment for COOPER is not less than life imprisonment and/or up to $20,000,000.00 in fines. The statutory range of punishment for JONES is not less than 10 years imprisonment and/or up to $10,000,000.00 in fines.
First Assistant United States Attorney Doug Horn represented the United States.
Webb County Commissioner Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes in Exchange for Official ActionsRead the Press Release
Kristopher Michael Montemayor, a county commissioner for Precinct 1 of the Webb County Commissioners Court in Texas, pleaded guilty to bribery today.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for the Southern District of Texas, and Special Agent in Charge Christopher H. Combs of the FBI’s San Antonio Division made the announcement.
Montemayor admitted that, while serving as county commissioner, he solicited and accepted bribes in exchange for promising to perform official acts. Specifically, Montemayor admitted that he accepted three separate bribe payments totaling $11,000, as well as over $2,700 in electronics equipment, from a businessman who, unbeknownst to Montemayor, was an undercover law enforcement agent. Montemayor admitted that, in exchange for the money and the equipment, he promised to take official action to promote the business interests of the undercover agent.
Additionally, Montemayor admitted to accepting the use of a new 2012 Ford F-150 truck, which costs approximately $37,015, in exchange for promising to provide government jobs to both the vehicle owner and his spouse. As a result of these job appointments, the vehicle owner and his wife received salaries of $26,000 and $45,553 from Webb County.
Montemayor is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 7, 2014 before U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo in Laredo, Texas.
This case is being investigated by special agents from the Laredo Resident Agency of FBI’s San Antonio Division. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Emily Rae Woods and Mark J. Cipolletti of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.USP-Canaan Inmate Sentenced to 15-Years of Imprisonment for Stabbing A Correctional Officer in the FaceRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion has sentenced Jose Montalban, age 42, to 15 years’ imprisonment for assaulting a correctional officer and inflicting bodily injury. On February 12, 2014, following a three-day trial, a jury found Montalban guilty of the assault, and the illegal possession of a weapon by an inmate of the United States Penitentiary at Canaan, Pennsylvania.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the evidence at trial established that on December 28, 2012, inmate Jose Montalban, who was serving a federal prison sentence for bank robbery, walked into an office at the USP-Canaan and took a six-inch sharpened plastic knife and began stabbing a correctional officer who was seated alone in that office. The correctional officer was stabbed three times in the face before he, and other correctional officers who responded to the unprovoked attack, were able to subdue Montalban. The correctional officer sustained three puncture wounds to the face which required nine sutures at a local hospital.
The case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons. Assistant United States Attorney John Gurganus prosecuted the case.
U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach Addressed the Akron Roundtable About Heroin and OpioidsRead the Press Release
Remarks as prepared by U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach to the Akron Roundtable about our community's response to Ohio's heroin and opioid epidemic:
It happens every day in the United States, and every day right here in Akron.
You go in for a minor operation, or medical procedure, or to have a tooth pulled, and everything goes smoothly.
When you’re about to leave, the doctor pulls out his or her prescription pad to give you something for the pain.
Maybe you’re in a lot of pain. Maybe you’re in a little discomfort. Maybe you feel pretty close to fine, but the doctor gives you a script just in case.
Maybe it’s for 20 pills of Percocet. Maybe it’s 40. Maybe it’s 60.
When you get home, you take two pills on the first day. And the next day, you’re feeling better but still have some pain, and you take two more. And the next day, you take one pill, and then it’s time to go back to work and you are pretty much back to normal.
But you still have 55 Percocet sitting in your medicine cabinet. There they sit for a week, a month, a year, without you giving them much thought at all.
Even though you’re not thinking about them, they are sitting in your medicine cabinet like ticking time bombs. Because on July 4th, or at Thanksgiving, or on New Year’s Day, your nephew, or your kid or your kid’s friend is over visiting or home from college, and he goes into your medicine cabinet, grabs the bottle and puts it in his pocket.
Now that nephew or niece, son or daughter is on their way to opioid addiction. An addiction that, more and more frequently, morphs from pills to heroin. And with startling frequency, that battle with addiction ends on a slab at the coroner’s office, a life taken, another family destroyed.
I’m here today to talk about the heroin and opioid problem we all face here in Northern Ohio, and to provide some stark and startling facts about what we’re seeing in the law enforcement community, and to let you know about some of the efforts going on around the state, and in Akron, that provide us with the slightest glimmer of hope.
Some of those efforts involve law enforcement, but many of them involve a broad cross section of the community, including doctors and hospitals, treatment professionals, police officers, parents and PTAs.
The message for you: we can’t do this alone. We need your help, which is why I am happy that so many of you are here today. Thank you to the Akron Roundtable and your president, Jacqueline Silas-Butler, for focusing your attention on heroin and our community’s response.
When I joined the Justice Department in the early ‘90s, the vast majority of our federal drug trafficking cases dealt with cocaine – either powder or crack cocaine. Remember “Miami Vice” and “Scarface” with the piles of cocaine? Those were the cases we did.
But about five years ago, the drug trafficking cases in our office shifted from cocaine to heroin.
What had happened? Well, the drug traffickers saw a shift in demand and adjusted their product to fill that demand.
And why was there a shift in demand? There was an explosion in painkillers being prescribed.
In 1997, there were 7 pain pills prescribed for every man, woman and child in Ohio. Fast forward to 2010 and that figure jumped.
For every man, woman and child in Ohio, there were 67 pills per person. That’s an increase of more than 900 percent! And I don’t think the level of pain in Ohio increased 900 percent during that time.
Ohio has been flooded with pills. Some of these pills were coming from what we call “pill mills,” which hand out pills for anyone with a pulse, in exchange for a fee, of course.
But far more common are the good doctors who prescribe pills for a variety of reasons. Those reasons include patient satisfaction scores or large pharmaceutical companies that incentivize doctors to write with what I call a heavy pen.
Some people become hooked on the pills following surgery or an injury. Others take painkillers recreationally. Others divert the pills to third parties. Either way, the pills are expensive and eventually, people either run out of pills or run out of money.
So what do they do? They turn to heroin, which is also an opioid, which they can get for a fraction of the cost of Percocet or Vicodin.
And we’ve seen that here in Akron.
Chris Jacquemain was a star quarterback at Mentor High School, near Cleveland who came to the University of Akron on a football scholarship. The head of the criminal division in our office was one of his coaches in pee-wee football. Like all the kids who get a Division I football scholarship, Chris was stronger and faster than everyone. But the one opponent he couldn’t beat was heroin.
Chris got hooked on painkillers after a shoulder injury. The need to feed his addiction led to stealing from teammates and eventually Chris was kicked off that Akron football team. He turned to heroin and, after stints in and out of court, in and out of rehab, he on died on Thanksgiving weekend in 2011.
I’d like to tell you that story outlier, but it is not.
In Cuyahoga County, heroin deaths have increased 400 percent over the past five years. Last year alone, nearly 200 people died from heroin overdose in Cuyahoga County.
Summit County has its own problems. In the past two years, there have been 86 heroin deaths here. That’s 86 people, 86 families, 86 mothers and fathers, countless brothers and sisters.
Just this week, five people have died from heroin in Akron, Ohio.
These fatalities cut across all demographics. Black and white. Young and old. City, suburb and rural. Rich and poor, you name it.
Fatal overdoses are just one way to measure the crushing impact of the epidemic. A staggering amount of crime is related to heroin, whether it’s people actually dealing drugs, or stealing copper to get their fix, or worse. We saw that a couple weeks ago, when your county prosecutor Sherry Bevan Walsh procured a conviction in the quadruple murder that was related to heroin.
The problem is real. And it is – and has been – at crisis levels.
But it’s not just one kind of problem. We have a law enforcement problem, a health care problem and a treatment problem.
And we have to focus more effort on stopping this problem before it starts. Because when it comes to heroin, a gram of prevention is worth 10 kilos of cure, because the grip of this drug is so strong once it takes hold, it rarely lets go, even if people do get help and go into recovery.
I hear about it all the time.
This spring we were at a law enforcement office talking about an opioid arrest and afterward, the secretary there pulled aside someone from our office, and with tears in her eyes and a little bit of shame, she thanked them for our efforts to curb the problem.
This police department secretary explained how her own daughter – who was herself a mother – got hooked on painkillers, which led to heroin. The secretary confided that she didn’t know how it was going to end for her daughter, who had been through rehab. She worried that her daughter was just one mistake, one bad day, away from the morgue. The pain and the anguish that this mother felt were evident.
Because we can cite numbers all we want when you know somebody who deals with this issue, one is one too many.
So we have a multifaceted problem, a problem that affects real people. I submit to you that what we need is a multifaceted solution. And that’s something that we’ve been working on.
First, we turned to traditional partners, like the DEA, FBI and Ohio Attorney General, to try to come up with a plan.
Next, we turned to non-traditional partners, like the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth and the County Medical Examiner, to try to expand the plan.
And now, we’re gathering people who run recovery centers, outreach workers who handle needle exchanges, people in recovery and who lost children to heroin.
Our goal has been to invite as many committed people as we could to try to create an overall plan that would tie together the many efforts already underway to combat the problem and look to fill in any gaps.
We started by meeting in our office but we soon realized that if we wanted to make any progress on this issue, we needed to get out of the courthouse and into the community.
That’s why we put together a daylong summit at the Cleveland Clinic which attracted nearly 700 people, 700 experts, to share ideas.
Let me tell you, when you get 700 people to come to something in the middle of the week, you know you’re touching a chord in the community.
We talked about enforcement. We talked about treatment. We talked about education and we talked about policy.
The result of that summit was what we call the Heroin and Opioid Community Action Plan. You can find a copy on our web site and I have some copies here today.
That day wasn’t the end of our efforts. The group that put together the summit stayed together as the U.S. Attorney’s Task Force on Heroin and Opioids. Both the Task Force and the Action Plan are broken into four sections: (1) Education and Prevention; (2) Law Enforcement; (3) Treatment and (4) Healthcare Policy.
Each group developed a set of goals, both long- and short-term, to help move us forward on fighting heroin. Then have tried to make those goals happen.
So, for example, on prevention we continued and expanded a program started by a Cuyahoga County Judge who had been going out and giving talks at schools and community meetings. These talks were drawing hundreds of concerned parents and students but even a judge can’t do everything alone.
The group also worked to expand the number of prescription drop boxes where people could talk those old pills. Now there is one in nearly every community in Cuyahoga County.
Healthcare Policy was driven by the doctors in the group. They successfully pushed for was the passage of House Bill 170, which allowed first responders and family members to have access to Naloxone, which is basically an antidote for someone who is overdosing on heroin. It literally saves lives.
Lorain was a pilot site for giving Naloxone to first responders. Last November, when a deadly batch of fentanyl-laced heroin hit the streets of Lorain, two people died, but more than a dozen were saved by police officers using Naloxone. Compare that with Pittsburgh, where more than 20 people tragically died from fentanyl-laced heroin in a two weeks.
In Law Enforcement, we’ve also made strides. The first one relates to how police respond to a fatal overdose.
All too often, the old practice was that if there’s a call for a dead body and the police get there and see a needle sticking in the dead person’s arm, they often would just get back in the car and move on to the next call. After all, it wasn’t a murder, right?
Now, working with Cleveland Police, the County Sheriff and County Prosecutor, we have developed written investigative protocols for how to handle and investigate fatal overdoses. And they start the moment the police arrive.
Detectives now treat those sites as crime scenes, looking to gather DNA, check cell phones and texts, talk to people on the scene and try to determine who supplied the fatal dose of heroin. And a prosecutor responds to every heroin death in Cuyahoga County. That’s because, when it’s appropriate, we bring either manslaughter charges in the state system or federal charges with what we call a “death resulting enhancement” which carries a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.
We have brought a few of those cases already, including one here, in which an Akron man sold heroin that resulted in the death of a man on Christmas Day in a motel in Green. That case is pending.
We could not have done that case without the fine work of the Akron Police Department and the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office.
In fact, your chief -- Chief Nice -- created a dedicated heroin unit looking to track the source of the drugs and bring manslaughter charges when the facts allow it.
I’m proud to say that some of the costs of the project are being paid for by a Justice Department grant.
I hope you’re also seeing the billboards and hearing the public service announcements in Summit County. They are also conducting a public awareness campaign as part of the effort.
Akron is doing something they are not yet doing in Cleveland. Akron Police have partnered with the Summit County Alcohol, Mental Health and Drug Board, and the ADMs Board will now send intervention specialists to emergency rooms when there is a non-fatal overdose.
Such a simple idea, but so powerful. The research shows – and it makes sense – that when somebody overdoses and survives, there is a window then the addict will consider going into treatment. This immediate response simply seeks to capitalize on that window.
The goal will be to engage the user – and the user’s family – and get them to agree to go directly to rehab. It’s a great idea that came from here and I plan to tell everyone I can about it in the hope that they’ll copy it.
We will continue to enforce the law. My branch chief Bob Bulford and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Yanucci are here today, taking a quick break from the dozens of large-scale drug trafficking investigations they handle on a daily basis.
The efforts of these career Assistant U.S. Attorneys and the agents they work with has resulted in indicting nearly 200 people on heroin charges since just last year.
But as all of us will tell you, we cannot simply arrest our way out of this problem.
The solution cannot be justto arrest drug dealers – although that is part of the solution.
The solution cannot be justto make more treatment beds available – although that is part of the solution.
The solution cannot be just to require doctors to check to see if a patient has been doctor shopping – although that is part of the solution.
The solution cannot be justto get in front of every parent and teacher and child and warn them that making the mistake of trying heroin just might be the last mistake they ever make – although that is part of the solution.
We need is what I call an “all of the above” approach.
We need vigorous law enforcement.
We need more treatment options.
We need to get control of the stream of prescription pills being diverted to addicts.
And we need to come together as a community to stop people from experimenting with these drugs in the first place.
It is shocking to me to understand how heroin of all drugs could become the “popular” drug.
We all remember heroin was a dead-end drug for the hopeless. It was the last stop on a trail of misery. And it still is.
But as we have begun our work on this epidemic, I am struck but how often good people come up to me or someone in the U.S. Attorney’s office with a tragic story of their own.
We had a news conference last month and one of the TV cameramen approached afterward and confided that he was in recovery from heroin.
A nursing student who graduated from the same suburban school my children attend who fatally overdosed. People from all backgrounds, all races, all socioeconomic classes, will tell us about a niece, a son, a daughter.
These are our kids. They are our neighbors who are dying. And they are dying in record numbers. This is truly everyone’s problem.
The Action Plan we’ve come up with is just a model, a good start.
Words like “crisis” and “epidemic” get thrown around a lot. But in my five years as U.S. Attorney, I can’t think of a problem we’ve encountered that comes close to the death and destruction that has been visited upon us like heroin.
U.S. Attorney Announces Hiring of Beaumont Lead ProsecutorRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT – U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced the hiring of Matt Quinn as the Attorney in Charge of the Beaumont office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Matt Quinn joined the Beaumont office this week where he will oversee the daily operations of the office which includes a staff of 36 federal prosecutors, support, and administrative personnel.
Matt Quinn was born and raised in Southeast Texas graduating from Vidor High School in 1994. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University in 2000 and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law in 2003. Matt was a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Little Rock, Arkansas, for five years, where he was assigned to the gang unit and prosecuted numerous homicides and other violent crime. In 2008, Matt joined the Western District of Arkansas as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and was assigned to the Texarkana Branch Office, which happens to be located on the Texas/Arkansas state line and is a joint office with the Eastern District of Texas. As an AUSA in Texarkana, Matt worked side-by-side with Eastern District of Texas prosecutors handling major drug trafficking cases and violent crimes.
“Matt Quinn was raised in southeast Texas so it should be no surprise to anyone that he comes back to Beaumont with all the qualities that we admire – hard-working, smart, conscientious and caring,” said U.S. Attorney Bales. “He is a great addition to our Beaumont office and will do a wonderful job working with our law enforcement partners.”
The Eastern District of Texas includes 43 counties stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Oklahoma/Texas border. There are 6 staffed offices located in Beaumont, Lufkin, Tyler, Texarkana, Plano and Sherman with a total of 51 federal prosecutorsTwo ‘Pill Mill’ Owners SentencedRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Jason Cole Votrobek and Roland Rafael Castellanos, owners of the “Atlanta Medical Group,” have been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, respectively. Both Votrobek and Castellanos were convicted on March 26, 2014, after a month-long jury trial on federal drug and money laundering charges for owning and operating a ‘pill mill’ pain clinic which served as a front for the mass distribution of addictive pain killers.
"The abuse of pain medication has become epidemic and now accounts for six times more deaths than that of all of the traditional illegal drugs combined,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “The defendants in this case preyed upon those addicted to prescription drugs in order to line their own pockets. The abuse of prescription drugs and its related criminal activity has become a danger in many of our communities - one we have made a central focus of our office. Today justice has been served.”
“This is a great illustration of the positive impact law enforcement has when local, state, and federal agencies work together,” said Vernon Keenan, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “The increasing abuse of prescription drugs is a significant problem in Georgia that the GBI will continue to address with our local and federal partners.”
Harry S. Sommers, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division commented, “Pain clinics prey on so-called patients who are addicted to opiates. Some of the doctors who dispense these addictive analgesics often operate under the guise of a stethoscope and a white coat, when in actuality they are nothing more than drug traffickers. This successful investigation was a direct result of hard work put forth by all law enforcement agencies involved.”
“The sentences handed down today are a culmination of the hard work of numerous agencies and speak to the effort of the men and women with boots on the ground,” said Captain Mark Mayton, Commander of the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force. “This shows criminal prosecution was a success. To receive a conviction and sentencing is a testament to the job the men and women did making the case. This closure highlights the success interagency cooperation can produce. Nobody worked by the shape of their badge — they worked to solve a problem.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to contribute our financial expertise in an effort to halt the illegal sale and distribution of prescription drugs,” stated Special Agent in Charge, Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot. “We are committed to ‘following the money trail’ to ensure that those who engage in these illegal activities are vigorously investigated and brought to justice.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: In May 2010, using information from the Bartow/Cartersville Drug Task Force, multiple agencies joined in an expanded investigation of “Atlanta Medical Group,’ learning that the clinic, located in Cartersville, Ga., was prescribing pain pills outside the bounds of legitimate medical practice.
During trial, the government offered evidence that Jason Cole Votrobek, 30, of Vero Beach Fla., Roland Rafael Castellanos, 34, of Hollywood, Fla., and Jesse Violante, 35, of Vero Beach, Fla., financed and operated the clinic. Tara Atkins, 36, of Cartersville, Ga., served as the office manager. Dr. James Chapman, 64, of Macon, Ga., served as the primary doctor. U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Vining, Jr. sentenced Votrobek and Castellanos each to 15 years in federal prison.
In their respective capacities, Votrobek and Castellanos worked to procure and distribute Oxycodone pills to addicts and distributors and directed the clinic’s doctor to see as many patients as possible, and to prescribe as many Oxycodone pills as possible, in order to generate mass profits. Dr. Chapman allegedly did so, however, without conducting sufficient medical examinations and, indeed, was frequently incapacitated due to intoxication. Atkins herself filled out prescriptions for the doctor to sign, and the amounts of pills distributed to patients were excessive, and with unusual dosage patterns.
Evidence offered at trial established that the clinic was really a drug distribution operation with over 98 % of their patients traveling to the clinic from surrounding states, the majority from Kentucky and Tennessee. Many of those visiting had obvious signs of being addicts. The clinic engaged in unusual practices, like, permitting non-medical staff to assist with medical procedures, such as taking blood pressure, to maximize the number of patients seen. Indeed, in 2011, the clinic was one of the ‘Top 15’ purchasers of Oxycodone in the nation. Votrobek and Castellanos made millions of dollars during the clinic's approximately one year of operation. Votrobek and Castellanos established multiple bank accounts, many in third party names, to conceal the windfall profits.
Votrobek had previously been acquitted in Florida of similar charges stemming from his ownership of a Florida pain clinic. Jesse Violante and Tara Atkins, who both previously pleaded guilty to charges related to their conduct at the clinic, will be sentenced on a later date. Dr. James Chapman is presently awaiting trial.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Group, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Bartow/Cartersville Drug Task Force, Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; with special assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Kentucky State Police.
Assistant United States Attorneys G. Scott Hulsey, Cassandra J. Schansman, and Laurel R. Boatright prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Two San Jose Residents and A Miami Woman Indicted for Defrauding Blue Shield of CaliforniaRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – A federal grand jury indicted Skylar Ariel Phoenix a/k/a “Karin Marie West,” Lissa Michele Phoenix a/k/a “Lisa Beckwith,” and Dana Ann Wilkey yesterday with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aiding and abetting, and false statements to government agents, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David Johnson.
According to the Indictment, Skylar Phoenix, 50, of San Jose, was employed by Blue Shield of Calif. as the manager in the marketing department from approximately June 2003 through September 2011. Lissa Phoenix, 51, of San Jose, is Skylar Phoenix’s registered domestic partner. Dana Wilkey, 41, of Miami, Fla., was the president of Adwil Agency, Inc. with its principle place of business in Beverly Hills, Calif. Adwil Agency served as a vendor for Blue Shield.
In the first scheme alleged in the Indictment, defendants Skylar Phoenix and Lissa Phoenix are alleged to have engaged in an illegal scheme to defraud Blue Shield by creating false employee records and time cards for work allegedly performed by Lissa Phoenix, when in truth no such work was performed. In order to perpetrate this scheme, these defendants presented Lissa Phoenix as “Lisa Beckwith, d/b/a Adwil Communication,” with an address corresponding to the home address of one of Lissa Phoenix’s close family members. Furthermore, the defendants made false “production invoices” from Adwil Communications, to the attention of Skylar Phoenix at Blue Shield, which purported to document and describe actual work being done by Adwil Communications for the benefit of Blue Shield and requesting payment to “L.M. Beckwith.” Skylar Phoenix, in her capacity as manager of the Blue Shield Marketing Department authorized the payment to “L.M. Beckwith,” when in fact no legitimate work was provided to Blue Shield by Lissa Phoenix as described on these invoices. Between September 2004 and March 2011, Skylar Phoenix approved payments to Lissa Phoenix under this scheme of nearly $500,000 for work which was never provided to Blue Shield.
In the second scheme alleged in the Indictment, Dana Wilkey, with the participation and assistance of Skylar Phoenix, entered into a fraudulent marketing contract between Blue Shield and Adwil Agency, Inc., which included the regular payment of undisclosed kickbacks from Wilkey to Skylar Phoenix, Lissa Phoenix, and Rodeo Pink, a shell corporation held by and for the benefit of Skylar Phoenix. Between in or about February 2006 through at least February 2012, Dana Wilkey, through Adwil Agency accounts, paid directly to Lissa Phoenix, Skylar Phoenix, and Rodeo Pink, approximately 87 checks totaling approximately $360,000 in illegal and undisclosed kickbacks related to Adwil Agency’s business with Blue Shield.
Skylar Phoenix and Lissa Phoenix are also charged with lying to the FBI about these described activities in September 2013.
Skylar Phoenix and Lissa Phoenix were arrested this morning at their home in San Jose and made their initial appearance in federal court in San Jose this afternoon. Dana Wilkey was arrested by the FBI in Miami, Fla. and made her initial appearance in federal court in Miami earlier in the day. All three defendants were released on bond set in the amount of $250,000 each. Skylar Phoenix and Lissa Phoenix are next scheduled appearance on June 24, 2014, at 1:30 p.m. for a further bond hearing before the Honorable Howard R. Lloyd, United States Magistrate Court Judge in San Jose.
An Indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted of the wire fraud and conspiracy counts, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment on each count, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, plus restitution to the victim if appropriate, and supervised release of up to 5 years for each violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, and 18 U.S.C. 1343, Wire Fraud. In addition, Skylar Phoenix and Lissa Phoenix are also charged with making false statements to government agents. If convicted of those counts, each face a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment on each count, a fine of $250,000, and supervised release of up to 3 years for each violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, False Statement to a Government Agent. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Amie D. Rooney is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Tracey Andersen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.
(Phoenix indictment )
Two Dutchess County Men Charged in White Plains Federal Court with Distribution of ‘Breaking Bad’ Heroin Causing the Deaths of Three IndividualsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William V. Grady, the Dutchess County District Attorney, James J. Hunt, the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and Adrian H. Anderson, the Dutchess County Sheriff, announced the unsealing this morning of a federal criminal complaint charging DENNIS SICA, 36, and JOHN ROHLMAN, 25, both of Dutchess County, with distributing heroin, the use of which caused the overdose deaths of three individuals. SICA and ROHLMAN are expected to be presented later today in White Plains federal court before the Honorable Lisa Margaret Smith, United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “Three young people from our community are dead, the tragic victims of heroin peddled by the defendants under the label ‘Breaking Bad.’ Heroin and opioid abuse hurts all of our communities. It affects everyday people, people with jobs, people with families. Although the heroin and prescription painkiller epidemic may be breaking bad, we must aggressively make good on our collective obligation to stamp out this affliction. No more half-measures. The lives of our children and the vitality of our communities depend on it.”
Dutchess County District Attorney William V. Grady stated: “From the beginning stages of this investigation my office, along with the Dutchess County Drug Task Force and the DEA worked together with the ultimate goal of developing a case that could be prosecuted under Federal Law. This was done because presently, under New York Law an offender convicted of such a sale could be sentenced to a drug diversion program, the county jail or even probation. Such sentences, under these facts, are simply outrageous and unacceptable. We must send the strongest message possible to those individuals who engage in this conduct. A sentencing range of 20 years to life, from both a punitive as well as a deterrent perspective, is such a message. When similar circumstances are encountered in the future my office will not hesitate in involving Federal law enforcement. I sincerely appreciate U.S. Atty Bharara for undertaking this prosecution.”
DEA Acting Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt stated: “This year DEA New York has seized 110% more heroin than in 2009. The Mexican drug trafficking organizations are flooding the Northeast market with heroin, leaving tragic overdose deaths in the cartel’s wakes. Case in point - the tragic deaths of three victims who allegedly bought heroin from two local drug dealers; Dennis Sica and John Rohlman. I applaud the prosecutors and investigators who arrested the defendants. These arrests are a message to dealers alike that behind every overdose, law enforcement is looking for the drug dealer responsible.”
Dutchess County Sheriff Adrian H. Anderson stated: “Today’s arrests are the direct result of the hard work, dedication, and cooperation between law enforcement agencies, and it’s good to see that effort pay off in the form of some justice for the victims and their families. There’s more work to be done and the battle is far from over. Let this be a warning to all of those people who sell drugs in Dutchess County and elsewhere—we’re going to do everything in our power to put a stop to their business and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint:
From at least late 2013 to February 2014, SICA and ROHLMAN worked together in Dutchess County to sell a particularly potent form of heroin, bags of which were stamped with the brand name “Breaking Bad.” At least some of the heroin distributed by SICA and ROHLMAN was laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is significantly stronger than street heroin.
On the night of December 28, 2013, SICA sold “Breaking Bad” heroin to Anthony Delello, a 20-year-old resident of Beekman, New York. Delello snorted some of SICA’s heroin and was found dead by his girlfriend the following day. The Dutchess County Medical Examiner’s report concluded that he died from “acute heroin intoxication.”
Delello’s death did not stop SICA and ROHLMAN from selling “Breaking Bad” heroin. Four days after Delello was found dead, SICA and ROHLMAN exchanged a series of text messages in which SICA urged ROHLMAN to delete the text message history in the phone they used to sell heroin and, if asked, to deny knowing anything about Delello or the manner of his death. According to one witness, during the month that followed, SICA and ROHLMAN were responsible for distributing approximately 250 grams of “Breaking Bad” heroin per day.
Slightly more than a month after Delello’s death, two more individuals died after overdosing on “Breaking Bad” heroin. On February 1, 2014, Thomas Miller, 31, was found dead by his mother at his home in Pawling, New York. A hypodermic needle, as well as several glassine bags stamped with the words “Breaking Bad” were found near his body. Some of the glassine bags were full, others were empty. A chemical analysis of the contents of the full glassine bags showed that they contained a mixture of quinine, fentanyl, and heroin. The medical examiner’s report indicates that Miller died of “acute intoxication by the combined effects of heroin and fentanyl.” Text messages between Miller and ROHLMAN on the night before Miller was found dead show that ROHLMAN arranged for Miller to purchase “Breaking Bad” heroin from SICA that night.
The same day that Miller was found dead, Laura Brown, 35, was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose in New Milford, Connecticut. Brown was found with needles and glassine bags near her body. Several of the glassine bags were stamped with the words “Breaking Bad.” The autopsy performed on Brown’s body showed that she died of “acute heroin and fentanyl intoxication.” According to Brown’s brother, he and Brown together bought “Breaking Bad” heroin from SICA two days before Brown was found dead.
On February 2, 2014, SICA was arrested in East Fishkill, New York after a car in which he was riding was stopped by law enforcement. During the stop, an East Fishkill police officer noticed several glassine envelopes lying on the car’s floorboard. Upon further inspection, the officer observed that the glassine bags were stamped with a “Breaking Bad” stamp identical to the one that appears on the envelopes recovered from Thomas Miller’s bedroom.
If convicted of the offense charged in the Complaint, SICA and ROHLMAN each face a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a maximum fine of $1 million or twice the gain or loss resulting from the crime. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA Tactical Diversion Squad and the Dutchess County Drug Task Force. The DEA Tactical Diversion Squad is composed of agents and officers of the DEA, the NYPD, the Westchester County Police Department, and the Town of Orangetown Police Department. The Dutchess County Drug Task Force is composed of the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department, the East Fishkill Police Department, and the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office. Mr. Bharara also thanked the New York State Police Forensics Unit and the police department for the City of New Milford, Connecticut, for their assistance in the investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Hartman is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Click here to view chart(s)
U.S. v. Dennis Sica and John Rohlman Complaint
Three More Persons Indicted in $14.5 Million Telemarketing ScamRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that a federal grand jury returned three one-count Indictments for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud against the following individuals:
- Cheryl Ann Dorman, 55, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Karine Lee O’Loughlin, 39, of Boynton Beach, FL
Michael M. Zaric, 35, of Jupiter, FLEach is subject to a term of imprisonment of up to 25 years, a fine of $250,000 and five years of supervised release.
These individuals were employees of C&G Marketing Associates, LLC, a Florida corporation which, in 2009, defrauded consumers across the continent using the fictitious name, Premier Timeshare Solutions (“PTS”). PTS telemarketers worked in an office building in West Palm Beach, Florida. From there, they placed phone calls to timeshare owners, falsely representing or implying that the company had found someone who wanted to buy the person’s timeshare. In exchange for an advance fee that typically exceeded $1,000, the PTS telemarketers promised to handle all the details of the sale and send the victims the proceeds after closing. Once the victims had paid the advance fee, however (usually by giving the telemarketer their credit card information), the fraudulent company simply pocketed the money. There were no interested buyers, the closings did not occur, and the timeshares were not resold.
Victims who called PTS to check on the status of their transactions were directed to customer service representatives, managed by Jose Goyos, whose goal was to perpetuate the fraud by delaying and discouraging chargebacks and complaints. To accomplish that goal, representatives would lie to victims, assuring them that despite some phony, unexpected delay, their timeshare unit was still going to be sold. Repeat callers were given a series of bogus excuses, none of which had any basis in fact. By instilling a false sense of hope, PTS aimed to delay the chargeback process beyond the time that most credit card issuers allow for disputes. Goyos was indicted in September 2013 and sentencing to 96 months of imprisonment on May 2, 2014.
Several others have been charged in connection with PTS and two defendants have pled guilty. Last month, the grand jury returned ten one-count indictments in connection with this scheme. During a recent sentencing of Goyos, the Honorable David R. Herndon, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, called timeshare resale fraud an industry that recruits recovering drug addicts to steal from the financially vulnerable – “the most despicable scam in the world.”
United States Attorney Wigginton summarized the scam: “To discourage and defeat subsequent chargeback attempts, PTS sent victims written contracts to sign and return – contracts that made no mention of the promised sale and obligated the company merely to provide marketing and advertising services. Because the original sales calls were not recorded, PTS could later claim that marketing and advertising was all that had ever been promised, and that any contrary impression the victim may have formed – for instance, that there was a concrete offer for the customer’s unit or some genuine interest by a qualified buyer – was simply a misunderstanding. In fact, all of this was simply an act of thievery. I urge all consumers to follow this tried and true advice: if you get a call from someone you do not know and trust, promising something that sounds too good to be true, it is a scam. Hang up. Then, please report the call to the proper authorities.”
This prosecution is one of nearly 60 timeshare resale fraud prosecutions brought in the Southern District of Illinois over the past four years. The case is part of an ongoing investigation by the St. Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture. The prosecution of the cases is being handled by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hallock and Assistant United States Attorney Liam Coonan.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
SoCal Doctor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Distributing Addictive Painkiller and Laundering Proceeds of His Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – In a plea agreement filed late this afternoon, a Los Angeles-area doctor has agreed to plead guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge for illegally distributing the powerful painkiller best known by the brand names Vicodin and Norco.
Dr. Andrew Sun, 78, of La Mirada, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of distribution of hydrocodone and one count of money laundering.
While Sun has agreed to plead guilty to distributing hydrocodone, he admits in his plea agreement that he also illegally prescribed and distributed other drugs, including those best known by the brand names Xanax and Soma. Sun admits that he prescribed these drugs from the beginning on 2011 through June 2012 and that he did so “outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.”
Sun, who operated medical clinics in San Gabriel and East Los Angeles, was named in an indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury about three months ago. In his plea agreement, Sun acknowledges that he issued a dozen prescriptions to “patients” who were undercover law enforcement officers who made cash payments and who “did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs.”
Sun admitted that, between January 2011 and May 2012, he received approximately $554,070 in cash payments from patients, which he deposited into a personal account “for the purpose of disguising the source and nature of the funds, and which (as defendant knew) represented the proceeds from defendant’s issuance of prescriptions for controlled substances.”
As part of his agreement to plead guilty to the two felony charges, Sun agreed to forfeit to the government the proceeds that he earned from his illegal medical practice, including approximately $342,000 seized from his accounts in July 2012.
Sun’s case is pending before United States District Judge Manuel Real, who has not yet scheduled a hearing for Sun to enter his guilty pleas.
The drug trafficking count carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, and the money laundering count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in custody.
Sun also agreed to pay $86,975 in restitution to the California Medical Board, which participated in the investigation into the doctor’s illegal activities. Sun also agreed to cooperate in any action taken by the Medical Board to revoke his medical license.
The investigation into Sun was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS - Criminal Investigation, the California Medical Board, the California Department of Health Care Services and the Monterey Park Police Department.
Release No. 14-076
Shiprock Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Abuse ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Gilbert Yazzie, 45, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to a felony information charging him with aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Yazzie will be sentenced to eight years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Yazzie also will be required to register as a sex offender.
Yazzie was arrested in June 2013, based on a criminal complaint alleging that he engaged in a sexual act with a Navajo child under the age of 12 years. According to court filings, Yazzie sexually abused the child victim on June 15, 2013, in a residence in Shiprock, which is within the Navajo Indian Reservation. During today’s change of plea hearing, Yazzie admitted that on June 15, 2013, he engaged in a sexual act with the child victim.
Yazzie has been in federal custody since his arrest. He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Novaline D. Wilson and Glynette R. Carson McNabb as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Seven People Indicted in Overlapping Identity Theft and Illegal Gun-Buying Schemes Appear in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- Five of seven people indicted late last month in overlapping identity theft and illegal gun-purchasing conspiracies were arraigned today in federal court. The two other defendants, including Quantrey Kantrell Bryant, who is charged with both conspiracies, were arraigned on their charges earlier. All seven were arrested June 10.
U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Craig Caldwell, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Durham, and U.S. Postal Inspector Frank Dyer announced the court appearances.
Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Ott today arraigned CHRISTINA LATASHA PEAVY, 34, of Bessemer, and MARQUETTE JERRELL HARRIS, 29, of Birmingham, on a charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Harris also was arraigned on several counts of aggravated identity theft.
DAVID MICHAEL CHAVIS, 30, CURTIS GLENN ROBINSON, 27, and NORMAN STANTON, 33, all of Bessemer, were each arraigned on a charge of conspiracy to illegally purchase guns.
U.S. Magistrate Judge T. Michael Putnam on June 13 granted bond to LANCE DARRELL ALEXANDER, 32, of Midfield, and on Monday ordered Bryant, 27, of Birmingham, detained pending trial.
Bryant is charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in a scheme to defraud multiple credit card holders and issuers, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to illegally obtain firearms and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Alexander is charged with the conspiracy to illegally obtain firearms, along with Bryant, Chavis, Robinson and Stanton.
According to the indictment, the mail and wire fraud scheme was carried out as follows: Bryant had a friend who worked as a customer-service representative for a California company. The friend supplied Bryant with information about the company's customers, including credit and debit card information. Bryant used the information in a variety of fraudulent ways, including using fraudulent credit cards to buy guns and cars. The indictment charges that Harris and Peavy helped Bryant conduct the credit fraud.
The indictment further charges that, because Bryant was a convicted felon prohibited from possessing guns, he had Chavis, Robinson and Stanton, who were not convicted felons, complete required background-check paperwork to convince gun sellers they were buying the weapons. Alexander helped Bryant resell the guns, according to the indictment.
Conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud affecting federally insured financial institutions carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Aggravated identity theft carries a penalty of two years in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed for the crime. Conspiracy to obtain firearms illegally carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service and ATF investigated the case, with assistance from the Bessemer Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Atwood is prosecuting the case.
An indictment contains charges. Defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Quantrey Bryant, et al IndictmentSeven Individuals Charged in Bank Fraud and Identity Theft RingRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that a federal grand jury indicted a man on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft, bank fraud, wire fraud, and tax fraud conspiracy. Six additional co-conspirators were charged via Information for their roles in the conspiracy.
Christopher Lindsey, the individual who allegedly orchestrated the conspiracy, was arrested today and charged in a 23-count indictment. Specifically, Lindsey was charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, 12 counts of Bank Fraud, three counts of Wire Fraud, four counts of Aggravated Identity Theft, one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, and two counts of submitting False Claims for Refunds. Eric Childs was charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud. Nicole Shantelle Ashton, Monta Dormus Davis, Quentin Nathaniel Durr, Joanetta Joyce Robinson, and Tramaine Michael Smith each face one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud.
According to the 23-count indictment:
From October of 2002 until December of 2013, Lindsey allegedly coordinated an elaborate check fraud scheme as well as a fraudulent tax return scheme. As part of the alleged check fraud scheme, Lindsey obtained legitimate bank account information, including names and addresses of businesses and individuals, bank routing and account numbers, check numbers, and signatures, from a variety of sources, including approximately 20,000 stolen checks that had already been negotiated as part of legitimate transactions. Lindsey then used that information in the creation of counterfeit checks. Lindsey, and other members of the conspiracy, would then negotiate the counterfeit checks at various financial institutions and businesses throughout the Twin Cities area. The total intended and actual loss for the counterfeit check scheme that Lindsey and his conspirators carried out was more than $1 million.
Also during this time, Lindsey allegedly executed a conspiracy to submit false claims to the IRS. Lindsey and other conspirators recruited individuals to file false and fraudulent tax returns with the IRS. Lindsey would create false and fraudulent Form W-2s for those individuals, in which he combined the correct information of his conspirators, including names, dates of birth, and social security numbers, along with false information regarding employment, earnings, and withholdings. As a result of these actions, Lindsey and his conspirators caused the IRS to issue fraudulent income tax refunds.
These fraudulent refunds were then loaded onto debit cards issued to the conspirators who had filed the fraudulent returns. The conspirators, in turn, provided the debit cards to Lindsey, who then used the debit cards at ATMs to make cash withdrawals. The conspiracy involved the submission of more than 40 fraudulent claims seeking refunds totaling more than $270,000.
If convicted, Lindsey faces a potential maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud, bank fraud and wire fraud, and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years on each count of aggravated identity theft. Lindsey also faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison for false claims for refunds. All sentences are ultimately determined by a federal district court judge.
United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger stated that, “The crimes charged in this case have a real impact on our community and economy. Because of the nature of this organization and its crimes, the defendants were able to support their criminal network for more than ten years. Because of the great work of the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force, and the strong law enforcement partnerships that are central to its operation, these defendants are being held to account for their crimes.”
This case is the result of an investigation led by the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force, which was established pursuant to state law. The task force investigates financial crimes related to identity theft, with a special emphasis on organized criminal enterprises. It is comprised of local, state, and federal law enforcement investigators dedicated to combating the growing trend of cross-jurisdictional financial crimes.
“This investigation came together as a result of the partnerships between agencies and the extraordinary efforts of all involved working under the umbrella of the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force and is an example of successful collaboration of local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies,” said Patrick Henry, Commander of the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force.
The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force serves the entire District of Minnesota, presenting its cases to county or federal prosecutors, as appropriate. Its participants include the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations Division, the Minneapolis Police Department, the St. Paul Police Department, the Edina Police Department, the Duluth Police Department, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
“IRS-Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, remain vigilant in our duty to protect the honest taxpayers of this country by diligently investigating identity theft and refund fraud crimes and holding those accountable who defraud the government and hurt innocent taxpayers,” stated Rick Goss, St. Paul Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Louis Stephens, Special Agent in Charge of the local office of the United States Secret Service added, “These individuals are well versed in using identity theft to commit bank fraud and other types of financial crimes. This type of crime continues to increase in complexity and the impact on our economy and communities throughout Minnesota, especially the greater Twin Cities area, grows each year. Identity theft and related crimes are the crime wave of today and will continue to be in the future. Criminal conspiracies such as this are extremely difficult to investigate because they are hierarchical in nature and commit their crimes across jurisdictional lines in an effort to frustrate law enforcement’s ability to track them and associate their crimes. The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force is a force multiplier that enables the combined resources of federal, state, and local law enforcement to pool our resources and maximize each agency’s expertise to more effectively combat this type of crime.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lola A. Velazquez-Aguilu.The charges contained in an indictment are mere allegations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to 198 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Previously Dubbed "T Shirt Bandit," Defendant Committed Four Bank Robberies After Serving Federal Prison Sentence for 18 Bank Robberies Committed in 2006
DALLAS — A serial bank robber, who was on supervised release after serving a federal prison sentence for committing 18 bank robberies in Dallas in 2006, was sentenced today for committing four more bank robberies in 2013, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
William Clark Perschman, 51, most recently of Addison, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to a total of 198 months in federal prison. Perschman admitted committing these bank robberies:
July 17, 2013 Woodforest National Bank
3770 Belt Line Road, Addison
August 3, 2013 Capital One Bank
3790 Belt Line Road, Addison
August 14, 2013 Green Bank
16771 Dallas Parkway, Addison
August 31, 2013 Capital One Bank
17561 Dallas Parkway, DallasIn most of the bank robberies, Perschman wore a long-sleeved shirt and either a t-shirt or towel draped over his head to disguise his identity. In each robbery, he presented a demand note to a teller.
Perschman was released from federal custody in February 2011, after serving a 63-month federal prison sentence for robbing 18 banks in Dallas in 2006. He was serving a three-year term of supervised release that would have ended in February 2014.
The FBI, Addison Police Department and Dallas Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Robinson prosecuted.