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Wednesday 28 May 2014
Buffalo Man Sentenced on Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
Buffalo, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Alfredo Alvarez-Martinez, 26, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, was sentenced to 123 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, who handled the case, stated that during the execution of a search warrant at the defendant’s residence on April 17, 2012, law enforcement officers recovered three firearms including a .45 caliber pistol, a .22 caliber pistol, and a .25 caliber pistol. Officers also seized a quantity of heroin, drug packaging materials, and $10,900 in U.S. currency.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division.Belleville Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering and Wire FraudRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on May 28, 2014, Brian J. Fields, 52, of Belleville, Illinois, pled guilty to a two-count information charging in count one that he engaged in a scheme to commit wire fraud and in count two that he had committed money laundering. At his sentencing, Fields will face up to 20 years in federal prison as to each count, a fine of up to $750,000 and up to 3 years of supervised release. Sentencing has been set for September 12, at 1:30 p.m. in United States District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois.
During his plea hearing, Fields admitted that he assisted a person from oversees (Nigeria) in defrauding United States Citizens by sending counterfeit checks and money orders to individuals in several schemes (such as a “Secret Shopper” scam). The schemes resulted in victims receiving the counterfeit check or money order, depositing it into their own bank account, and then at the direction of Fields, the victim would wire transfer legitimate funds to Fields. By the time the person learned the check or money order was worthless, they had already sent the money to Fields. When Fields received the victims’ money, he would keep a portion for himself and then to further the scheme, Fields would send the remaining funds to a person located in Nigeria. Agents were able to identify over 70 victims that had lost over $100,000.
The investigation was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Secret Service, and the Swansea, Illinois, Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranley R. Killian.
Beckley Man Pleads Guilty to Selling HeroinRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Timothy Peck, 41, of Beckley, West Virginia, plead guilty in federal court in Beckley to distributing heroin. Peck admitted that in January of 2014, he sold heroin to a person who was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Pardee Lane in Stanaford, West Virginia.
Peck faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger scheduled the sentencing for September 10l 2014.
The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit conducted the investigation.This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The United States Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Ashland Hospital to Pay Nearly $41 Million to U.S. Government as Part of Landmark SettlementRead the Press Release
This Represents the Largest Federal Health Care Fraud Settlement involving a Hospital in the History of the Eastern District of Kentucky
ASHLAND King’s Daughters Medical Center (KDMC) in Ashland, Ky., has agreed to pay the U.S. Government $40.9 million to resolve civil allegations that it made millions of dollars by falsely billing federal health care programs for heart procedures that were performed on patients who didn’t medically need them.
“The conduct alleged in this matter is unacceptable, victimizing both taxpayers and patients,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky Kerry B. Harvey. “Treatment decisions motivated by financial gain undermine public confidence in our health care system and threaten vital federal programs upon which so many of our citizens rely. We will not relent in our efforts to protect the public from the sort of systematic misconduct alleged in this case.”
The government alleged that, between 2006 and 2011, KDMC maximized reimbursements from Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid by billing for numerous unnecessary coronary stents and diagnostic catheterizations performed by KDMC physicians. The government also alleged that the physicians falsified medical records in order to justify these unnecessary procedures, which allegedly generated millions of dollars in fraudulent reimbursements for KDMC. This alleged conduct violated the False Claims Act because under federal law, federal health care programs like Medicare only reimburse providers for procedures that are deemed medically necessary.
To the knowledge of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, this case marks the largest settlement involving a hospital in the history of the Eastern District of Kentucky (District consists of 67 counties). The settlement amount roughly doubles the amount of money KDMC received as a result of the alleged fraudulent billing for the unnecessary services.
“Hospitals that place their financial interests above the well-being of their patients will be held accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate those who abuse federal health care programs and put the beneficiaries of these programs at risk by providing medically unnecessary care.”
The settlement also resolves allegations that KDMC violated the Stark Law by engaging in improper financial relationships with certain physicians. The government contended that KDMC paid some cardiologists salaries that were unreasonably high and in excess of fair market value. The government further contended that the cardiologists receiving these unreasonably high salaries referred their patients to KDMC for various health services. The Stark Law is designed to limit the influence of money on physicians’ medical decisions by prohibiting financial relationships between hospitals and referring physicians, unless these relationships meet certain designated exceptions.
In connection with this settlement, KDMC has agreed to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), which obligates the hospital to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms and to commit to a third-party review of its claims to federal health care programs for the next five years.
“Medically unnecessary procedures can cause very serious health issues, wastes millions in tax payer dollars each year and undercuts the public’s trust in the medical professionalism the Medicare Trust Fund,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in the region covering Kentucky. “The OIG will continue to protect beneficiaries and hold health care providers accountable for improper claims.”
“This type of alleged conduct deceives individuals when they are seeking medical treatment and are vulnerable,” said Perrye K. Turner, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Division. “The level of funds involved in this matter is staggering. This money has been stolen from the patients and the taxpayers.”The Commonwealth of Kentucky will receive $1,018,380, which represents the state’s share of the recovered Medicaid funds. The Medicaid program is funded jointly by the federal and state governments.
“We take very seriously our obligation to ensure the safety of patients in Kentucky and to hold accountable those who put profits ahead of patient care,” said Jack Conway, Kentucky Attorney General. “I appreciate the hard work of my Medicaid Fraud Unit and all of the agencies involved in this case, and I am pleased that we are able to recover this money on behalf of Kentucky taxpayers and a vital state program.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI; the HHS-OIG; the Kentucky Office of Attorney General-Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Unit; the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Settlement Agreement
Aplington Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who possessed child pornography pled guilty on May 27, 2014, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Jeremiah Romo, age 20, from Aplington, Iowa, was convicted of one count of possession of child pornography.
At the plea hearing, Romo admitted that, in July 2013, he possessed child pornography, including one or more depictions of prepubescent children. He also admitted that, in 2008, he was adjudicated delinquent for sexual abuse in the second degree.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Romo remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Romo faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release for 5 years to life following his imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
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.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 14-3011.
Alleged Texas Alien Smuggler Indicted by White Plains Federal Grand Jury on Hostage Taking and Alien Smuggling ChargesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the indictment of JUVENCIO MARTINEZ-MARTINEZ on hostage taking and alien smuggling charges. MARTINEZ-MARTINEZ was previously arrested in the Southern District of Texas and ordered removed to White Plains, New York.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “As alleged, Juvencio Martinez-Martinez preyed on and held hostage an individual desperate to enter the United States from Mexico to join her family, threatening dire consequences if ransom was not paid. The woman he smuggled and held is safe, and Martinez-Martinez is now in federal custody facing federal charges.”
Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos stated: “As alleged, Martinez-Martinez valued currency over human life when he abducted the victim who was attempting to enter the United States from Mexico. While he may have viewed this as an opportunity to make easy money, Martinez-Martinez did not anticipate the swift, coordinated law enforcement response committed to seeing the victim safely rescued. The FBI, along with its law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who seek to turn a profit by victimizing the innocent.”
According to allegations made in the Indictment and other publicly filed documents:
Martinez-Martinez and others held an individual hostage in Weslaco, Texas, after they smuggled her across the border. While waiting for the victim’s mother, who lives in Fallsburg, Sullivan County, New York, to send them money in order to secure her release, they threatened to continue to hold the victim hostage and harm her. During one conversation with the victim’s mother, the hostage takers threatened to cut the victim into pieces and send the pieces to the victim’s mother in Fallsburg, New York. Martinez-Martinez was apprehended at a business in Weslaco, Texas, shortly after he obtained an additional $1,500 from the victim’s mother. Law enforcement officers then discovered additional individuals at a building Martinez-Martinez controlled.
MARTINEZ-MARTINEZ, 20, of Weslaco, Texas, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI, Fallsburg (N.Y.) Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Customs and Border Protection.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Collins, Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.
The allegations contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Tuesday 27 May 2014
Wood County Man Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Jon Seth Davisson, a 22-year-old Wood County man convicted of receipt of child pornography, was sentenced today to 98 months in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. In August of 2013, Davisson exchanged text messages with a 13-year-old Cabell County minor and persuaded the minor to take and send sexually explicit photographs to Davisson. At the time he received these images, Davisson was serving in the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. Davisson had been acquainted with the minor for several years and was aware of the age of the minor at the time he requested that she take and send the photos. At the sentencing, it was also alleged that Davisson had engaged in sexually explicit text and Facebook conversations with several other Wood County minors during which sexually explicit images were exchanged. At the times of those alleged conversations, the minors were between the ages of 12 and 16. In imposing the sentence, Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers noted Davisson’s “significant level of perversion.”
United States Attorney Booth Goodwin said, “Individuals like Mr. Davisson who entice minors to produce sexually explicit images contribute to the serious problem of child exploitation. I will continue to protect the children of West Virginia by bringing those who harm and exploit children to justice.”
The Cabell County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being brought as part of U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s ongoing initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse in the Southern District of West Virginia.
Winona Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS — Last week in federal court, a 37-year-old Winona man was sentenced for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle sentenced Gabriel Orion Lowther to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Lowther, who was indicted on July 8, 2013, pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.
In his plea agreement, Lowther admitted that from at least August 2012 through June 2013, he conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine from Texas to areas within southeastern Minnesota. Lowther admitted that his actions were part of a larger drug distribution enterprise which was operated by multiple conspirators between Minnesota and other areas of the United States.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the South Central Drug Investigation Unit, and the Southeast Minnesota Narcotics and Gang Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Allen A. Slaughter.U.S. Attorney’s Office Resolves Complaint Against Taxi Driver for Refusing Service to Visually Impaired Teen with Service AnimalRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe today announced an agreement with taxi driver Altagracia Roumou that resolves allegations that she violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing taxi service to an individual on the basis of his disability. The Settlement Agreement concludes an investigation which began in March 2013 when Zane Birnie filed a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The complaint alleged that Mr. Birnie, a young man who is visually impaired, attempted to board a “safari” taxi, but was refused by the driver because he was accompanied by his service animal.
Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Ms. Roumou paid a $1,000 damage award to Mr. Birnie, and will pay a $1,000 civil penalty to the United States. She also agreed not to discriminate against any individual on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of taxicab services, and to provide service to all persons with disabilities, including those accompanied by a service animal. Ms. Roumou also agreed to adopt a Department of Justice-approved service animal policy, and undergo training on providing service to persons with disabilities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will be offering ADA training to workers in the taxi industry, in conjunction with the Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission.
The Settlement Agreement is part of a broader effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to enforce the ADA and to educate the public about the ADA’s requirements. “This settlement exemplifies the U.S. Attorney’s Office commitment to protecting the civil rights of all Virgin Islanders, including those with disabilities,” United States Attorney Sharpe said.
The ADA prohibits public and private entities from discriminating against persons with disabilities. Under the ADA, state and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally allowed, including restaurants, movie theaters, stores, hospitals, doctor’s offices, and fairs. The ADA also requires that transportation providers, including private taxis and public transportation, allow persons with disabilities who use service animals to travel with their service animals, even if the transportation provider has a “no pets” policy.
The Department of Justice has a number of publications available to assist entities to comply with the ADA, including guidance on service animals. Please visit www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm. For more information about the Americans with Disabilities Act, go to www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office or by email to [email protected].
This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Noah Sacks.
Two Dubuque Men Charged in Meth Lab That Caused FireRead the Press Release
John Starks Sr., age 46, and Casey Duhme, age 24, both from Dubuque, Iowa, have been charged with multiple methamphetamine-related offenses connected to a building fire that occurred on February 20, 2014 in Dubuque. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed in the United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, on or about February 20, 2014, Starks and Duhme attempted to manufacture methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of Prescott Elementary School in Dubuque. The Indictment also alleges that Starks and Duhme conspired to manufacture methamphetamine, and that Starks possessed pseudoephedrine knowing it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.According to information disclosed in court, the attempted manufacture resulted in a fire at a multi-family apartment building. The fire caused significant damage, causing the roof to collapse and rendering the building unlivable. The building was located across the street from the elementary school.
If convicted on all charges, Starks faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 1 year imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 120 years’ imprisonment, a $4,500,000 fine, $400 in special assessments, and at least 6 years and up to a life term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Duhme faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 1 year imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 80 years’ imprisonment, a $4,000,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and at least 6 years and up to a life term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Duhme and Starks have both appeared in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Duhme appeared in court on May 13, 2014 and Starks appeared on May 22, 2014. Both are being held in the custody of the United States Marshal pending their July 14, 2014 trial. Duhme and Starks are scheduled to next appear for a status hearing at noon on June 18, 2014.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lightfoot and was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force, the Dubuque Police Department, and the Dubuque Fire Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/ cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-cr-1009.
Two Connecticut Men Face Additional Charges Related to Stranger-originated Life Insurance SchemeRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Cheryl Garcia, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Susan A. Hensley, Regional Director, U.S. Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Boston Office, and Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), todayannounced that DANIEL CARPENTER, 60, of Simsbury, and WAYNE BURSEY, 63, of Bloomfield, have been charged in a 57-count superseding indictment with various conspiracy, fraud and illegal monetary offenses stemming from a scheme to defraud insurance companies into issuing insurance policies on the lives of elderly people for the benefit of the defendants and other investors, also known as a stranger-originated life insurance scheme.
In December 2013, CARPENTER and BURSEY were charged in a 33-count indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and multiple wire fraud and mail fraud offenses. The superseding indictment, which was returned by a grand jury in Hartford on May 14, 2014, adds one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, 10 counts of money laundering, and 13 counts of making illegal monetary transactions.
CARPENTER appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. BURSEY’s arraignment is not yet scheduled.
According to the superseding indictment, CARPENTER and BURSEY ran a series of companies, based in Simsbury and Stamford, that developed an employee welfare benefit plan and trust (the “Trust”) whose primary objective was to secure insurance policies on the lives of elderly individuals that could be held by the defendants and others as investments, or resold on the life settlement market, which is a third-party market for life insurance policies. Typically, insurance agents working with, for, or on behalf of the defendants approached individuals who were over the age of 70 (the “Straw Insureds”). The agents promised to provide the Straw Insureds with free life insurance for two years, and, at the end of the two years, would attempt to sell the policies on the life settlement market. In most cases, the agents promised the Straw Insureds that they would receive a portion of any sale proceeds. In other cases, the Straw Insureds were offered a cash inducement up front to participate.
The indictment alleges that CARPENTER and BURSEY, working with insurance agents, caused to be submitted to several insurance providers numerous insurance applications that contained several material misrepresentations, including falsely denying that third-parties were paying the premiums for the insurance, falsely denying discussions about the resale of the policies, falsely inflating the net worth and/or income of the insured, and falsely claiming that the insurance was being purchased for legitimate estate planning-related needs. All applications were signed by BURSEY, who acted as trustee of the Trust, which was to be the “owner” of all policies in the Trust. Moreover, the applications purported that the Trust was a bona fide welfare benefit trust under Internal Revenue Code Section 419(e), wherein employers would be making contributions to the Trust in order to fund the life insurance policies for the benefit of certain select employees.
The indictment further alleges that, in truth, no “employer” or Straw Insured ever paid a premium into the Trust, and the premiums were funded by loans, which typically came to the Trust from another company headquartered in Simsbury and controlled by CARPENTER. In many cases, those loans were, in turn, financed by another third-party financing company based in Stamford. The loan arrangements were withheld from the insurance providers, who would likely not have issued policies had they known the true nature of the Trust, and had the insurance applications been filled out truthfully.
The indictment further alleges that one Straw Insured died within the first two years of the issuance of the two insurance policies on his life. Those policies had been issued in late 2006 and early 2007 based on misrepresentations similar to those described above, specifically that his policies were not being funded by a third party and were not intended for resale. The two insurance policies had a combined death benefit of $30 million, which the insurer paid to the Trust in May 2009, in part based upon further misrepresentations made by CARPENTER, BURSEY and others. According to the indictment, the Trust, directed by CARPENTER and BURSEY and others, failed to pay the $30 million to the Straw Insured’s beneficiary, and instead used the funds to pay for various expenses, including other insurance premiums that were related to the underlying fraud, as well as to purchase a home in Rhode Island.
If convicted, CARPENTER and BURSEYface a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count of wire fraud and mail fraud, a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years of each count of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count of making illegal monetary transactions.
This case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford.
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Boston Office, and the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David E. Novick and Neeraj N. Patel.
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Tom Carson
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[email protected]Three St. Thomas Men Sentenced to Prison in Airport Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI - District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez today sentenced Leayle Morton Benjamin, Jr., Aben A. Marrero, Jr., and Michael Samuels, each to 121 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.
On October 5, 2013, Benjamin, 50, Marrero, 34, and Samuels, 39, were convicted after a threeday jury trial. Evidence at trial established that from a time unknown but continuing to October 2011, Benjamin, Marrero and Samuels conspired to smuggle cocaine through the Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas to Atlanta, Georgia. Benjamin and Marrero were employees of the Virgin Islands Port Authority assigned to the maintenance division. The cocaine was passed under the partitions to a coconspirator in the bathroom of the Cyril E. King Airport. On October 22, 2011, a co-conspirator was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia after arriving on board a flight from St. Thomas in possession of seven kilos of cocaine in his carry-on suitcase. The co-conspirator agreed to cooperate with the government and made consensually monitored telephone calls that resulted in the apprehension of another coconspirator, Jace Edwards, who was found guilty in a separate trial and is awaiting sentencing. The cooperator pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Georgia to importation of cocaine. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to cooperate with the government and testified in the trial of Benjamin, Marrero and Samuels.
In addition to the 121 months incarceration, each of the three defendants was placed on five years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment and forfeit $113,400, jointly and severally, to the United States. Each defendant was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Virgin Islands Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nelson L. Jones prosecuted the case.
Suburban Business Owner and Bookkeeper Charged with $1.2 Million Credit Card Fraud Scheme and $1.5 Million Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
CHICAGO ― A suburban businessman and his bookkeeper are facing federal fraud charges for allegedly cheating credit card companies of approximately $1.2 million and evading their personal federal income tax obligations of more than $1.5 million, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The defendants, VIET NGUYEN and ADELINA MIGUEL, are scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday on one count each of wire fraud and tax evasion that were brought in a criminal information filed last Thursday in U.S. District Court.
Because the defendants allegedly intentionally failed to keep records concerning which credit card charges were fraudulent, authorities are appealing for anyone who thinks they might be a victim to contact an Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation agent at 630-493-5224.
Nguyen, 41, of St. Charles, owned and operated various companies, including Expedite Media Group, Inc., VB Management Holding Company, Inc., and Pure Small Business, Inc., which provided internet marketing and internet technology services such as website development and mass marketing through emails. Miguel, 37, of Joliet, was the office manager and bookkeeper for those companies and she managed payroll, handled credit card charges, and issued tax forms to employees.
According to the indictment, between 2008 and March 2012, Nguyen and Miguel allegedly swindled customers, credit card companies and banks by fraudulently charging customers’ credit and debit cards and bank accounts for services that were not provided. Nguyen directed Miguel and other staff to make fraudulent charges to meet daily sales quotas that he set and he and Miguel knew could not be met without fraudulently charging for services that were not provided, it adds.
As part of the scheme, Nguyen allegedly opened new companies so that he could fraudulently obtain new merchant accounts. There were so many customer complaints about fraudulent charges that Nguyen’s merchant accounts were frequently cancelled, and Nguyen incorporated new companies to get around that problem, the indictment alleges.
Because the companies’ federal income tax obligations flowed through Nguyen’s personal income tax returns, he was charged with tax evasion for allegedly filing false returns for 2009 that underreported his income. Miguel was charged with tax evasion or allegedly filing a false return for 2009 that underreported her income. In all, both defendants allegedly caused a tax loss of more than $1.57 million for 2008-10.
Among other things, Nguyen and Miguel allegedly caused the companies to pay their personal expenses, including Nguyen’s payments for a Rolls Royce, Bentley, Hummer, Ferrari, Land Rover, two Audis and other autos, as well as mortgage payments, cash withdrawals, credit card charges, skating lessons, dental bills, utilities, and property taxes. Nguyen directed Miguel to enter payments for personal expenses as business expenses in the companies’ ledgers to avoid reporting the payments as personal income on their tax returns, the indictment alleges.
The charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James C. Lee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, whose office assisted in the investigation. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Stern.
Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or an alternate fine of twice the loss or twice the gain, whichever is greater. Tax evasion carries a maximum of five years and a $250,000 fine. In addition to criminal penalties, including the costs of prosecution, defendants convicted of tax offenses remain responsible for any taxes and interest due, as well as civil penalties of up to 75 percent of the tax owed. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that criminal charges are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment
Stanislaus County Man Sentenced, San Joaquin County Man Pleads Guilty in Separate Child Exploitation CasesRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — One man was sentenced and another pleaded guilty to child pornography offenses in separate cases in federal court today, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
Sentencing in Case # 1:12-cr-435-LJO-SKO
United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Kevin Munoz, 24, of Modesto, today to six years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for his conviction of one count of receipt of child pornography. According to the plea agreement, between December 25, 2011, and April 20, 2012, Munoz knowingly received or distributed more than 600 images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some of the images were of prepubescent minors and some images depicted violence. The case is the result of an investigation by the Ceres Police Department with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Guilty Plea in Case # 1:14-cr-055-LJO-SKO
Allen Kendrick, 47, of Escalon, pleaded guilty today to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography from June 2013 though December 2013. According to a criminal complaint, Google reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) that on December 10, 2013, six images of suspected child pornography were associated with a Google account. NCMEC referred the matter to law enforcement, and a detective with the Ceres Police Department discovered that the Google account had been accessed from residences in Modesto and Escalon. Kendrick was a registered sex offender on GPS location monitoring, and GPS records confirmed that he was at the residences when the accounts had been accessed. Kendrick was ordered detained as a danger to the community and a flight risk on March 11, 2014, at his initial court appearance.Kendrick faces a sentence of 15 to 40 years in prison, a potential lifetime term of supervised release and $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on August 11, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. The actual sentence imposed, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. This case is the result of an investigation by the Ceres Police Department and the Modesto FBI Office with assistance from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Adult Parole Operations.
Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting both cases. They have been brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.
Several Laredoans Head to Prison in Conspiracy to Transport CocaineRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A total of seven people are headed to prison for their roles in a conspiracy to transport five kilograms or more of cocaine and international money laundering, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Juan Ramon Ibarra Jr., 31, Salvador Rodriguez-Fajardo, 39, Ricardo Garza, 40, Moises Andrade, 22, and Laura Rodriguez, 43, all of Laredo, Rene Cardenas, 38, of Miami, Fla., and Salvador Ibarra De-Alba, 49, of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, each previously pleaded guilty at varying times in 2013.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo, who accepted the guilty pleas, handed Ibarra Jr. a total sentence of 188 months in prison. Salvador Ibarra De-Alba received a sentence of 135 months, while Cardenas, Rodriguez-Fajardo, Garza, Andrade and Rodriguez received respective sentences of 78, 120, 84, 37 and 24 months in prison. The court further entered a money judgment in the amount of $2,408,204 against all seven. Not U.S. citizens, De-Alba, Rodriguez-Fajardo and Rodriguez are expected to face deportation proceedings following their release from prison, while the remaining defendants will serve between three and five years of supervised release following completion of their prison terms.
De-Alba admitted he supplied cocaine to relatives living in Laredo and ensured its transportation further north into the United States. After the arrest of De-Alba’s brother, Juan Ramon Ibarra Sr., in 2010, De-Alba worked with his nephew, Juan Ramon Ibarra Jr., to continue the transportation of cocaine.
In 2010, Ibarra Sr. pleaded guilty to his role in the drug conspiracy and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez to 130 months in federal prison. Following Ibarra Sr.’s arrest, Ibarra Jr. assumed the role of his father and continued the transportation of cocaine for the drug trafficking organization.
In his plea, Ibarra Jr. admitted he participated in the transportation of cocaine to Miami since 2004. He and his father coordinated with Cardenas and the other co-conspirators to transport the drugs in aftermarket compartments installed in the rear wheel axles of tractor-trailers. In May 2010, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) came upon several co-conspirators loading over 12 kilograms of cocaine into this secret compartment. Once the cocaine was delivered to Miami, the compartment was loaded with large amounts of United States currency destined for Nuevo Laredo. One such load was intercepted in March 2010 when agents recovered approximately $422,000 in the compartment with a drug ledger.
On three separate occasions in July and August 2011, Garza delivered cocaine to Rodriguez-Fajardo at a Home Depot parking lot. Rodriguez-Fajardo stored the cocaine in a secret compartment located behind a stove in the house he shared with his wife, Laura Rodriguez.
Rodriguez assisted Rodriguez-Fajardo in carrying out the conspiracy. On one occasion, she traveled to St. Augustine Square in downtown Laredo to collect money for him and another person as payment for their services.
Andrade admitted to his role in the transportation of one cocaine load on Aug. 7, 2011, for which he received $500.
The case is the result of a two-year Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Investigation dubbed Silver Fox Hunt led by the DEA with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys James Hepburn and Elizabeth Rabe are handling the case.
Ringleader of International Rhino Smuggling Conspiracy Sentenced in New Jersey to 70 Months in Prison for Wildlife Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Zhifei Li, the owner of an antique business in China, was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for heading an illegal wildlife smuggling conspiracy in which 30 rhinoceros horns and numerous objects made from rhino horn and elephant ivory worth more than $4.5 million were smuggled from the United States to China.
The sentence – one of the longest ever imposed in the United States for a wildlife smuggling offense – was announced by Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey; Sam Hirsch, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice; Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
“The multibillion-dollar illegal wildlife market is supplied by animal poaching of unthinkable brutality and fed by those willing to profit from such cruelty,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “Zhifei Li appropriately faces 70 months in prison for orchestrating schemes worth millions of dollars and for violating laws meant to protect the most vulnerable species.”
“Li was the ringleader of a criminal enterprise that spanned the globe and profited from an illegal trade that is pushing endangered animals toward extinction,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Hirsch. “As this case clearly demonstrates, rhino trafficking is increasingly organized, well financed and a threat to the rule of law. The United States is resolved to bring wildlife traffickers to justice.”
Li, 30, of Shandong, China, the owner of Overseas Treasure Finding in Shandong, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to a total of 11 counts: one count of conspiracy to smuggle and violate the Lacey Act; seven counts of smuggling; one count of illegal wildlife trafficking in violation of the Lacey Act; and two counts of making false wildlife documents. Judge Salas also imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Li was arrested in Florida in January 2013 on federal charges brought under seal in New Jersey and shortly after arriving in the country. Before he was arrested, he purchased two endangered black rhinoceros horns from an undercover USFWS agent in a Miami Beach hotel room for $59,000 while attending an antique show. Li was arrested as part of “Operation Crash” – a nationwide effort led by the USFWS and the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those involved in the black market trade of rhinoceros horns and other protected species.
In papers filed in Newark federal court, Li admitted that he was the “boss” of three antique dealers in the United States whom he paid to help obtain wildlife items and smuggle them to him via Hong Kong. One of those individuals was Qiang Wang, aka “Jeffrey Wang,” who was sentenced to 37 months in prison on Dec. 5, 2013, in the Southern District of New York. Li played a leadership and organizational role in the smuggling conspiracy by arranging for financing to pay for the wildlife, purchasing and negotiating prices, directing how to smuggle the items out of the United States, and getting the assistance of additional collaborators in Hong Kong to receive the goods and smuggle them to him in mainland China.
Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin and one of the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth. They have no known predators other than humans. All species of rhinoceros are protected under United States and international law. Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (known as CITES), a treaty signed by over 170 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets.
In pleading guilty, Li admitted that he sold 30 smuggled, raw rhinoceros horns worth approximately $3 million – approximately $17,500 per pound – to factories in China where raw rhinoceros horns are carved into fake antiques known as Zuo Jiu, which means “to make it as old” in Mandarin. In China, there is a centuries-old tradition of drinking from an intricately carved “libation cup” made from a rhinoceros horn. Owning or drinking from such a cup is believed by some to bring good health, and true antiques are highly prized by collectors. The escalating value of such items has resulted in an increased demand for rhinoceros horn that has helped fuel a thriving black market, including for recently carved fake antiques.
“Wild populations of rhinos are being slaughtered at appalling rates due to the greed and indifference of criminals like Li and his accomplices. The sentence handed down today serves notice to other organized trafficking and poaching rings that their crimes will not go unpunished,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Ashe. “We will relentlessly work across the U.S. government and with the international law enforcement community to destroy these networks, while strengthening protections for rhinos in the wild and reducing demand for horn in consumer countries.”
In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas ordered Li to serve two years of supervised release and to forfeit $3.5 million in proceeds of his criminal activity as well as several Asian artifacts. Various ivory objects seized by the USFWS as part of the investigation have also been surrendered.
The investigation is continuing and is being handled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen P. O’Leary and Barbara Ward of the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Senior Counsel Richard A. Udell of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Additional information, including a detailed joint factual statement and photo exhibits, can be found here: http://go.usa.gov/8nYY.
Defense counsel: Gary Cutler Esq., New York
14-191Queens, N.Y., Men Plead Guilty to Large-Scale Atm Skimming Scheme Targeting New Jersey Bank CustomersRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Three Romanian natives living in Queens, N.Y., today admitted their involvement in a long-running and lucrative scheme to steal account information from bank customers throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut by installing secret card-reading devices on ATMs, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Emil Revesz, a/k/a “Daniel Laptes,” 31, Constantin Pendus, a/k/a “Florin Bodgan Hristea,” 30, and Florin Apetrei, 19, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court. Revesz pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Pendus and Apetrei each pleaded guilty to informations charging them with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Revesz and Pendus have been held without bail since their arrests on June 27, 2013, and Apetrei has been held without bail since his arrest on July 12, 2013.
According to documents filed in this case and other cases and statements made in court:
Revesz, Pendus, Apetrei, and others participated in a large-scale ATM skimming scheme that involved the installation of skimmers and pinhole cameras on ATMs. Each skimmer, an electronic device, would read and record identity and account information contained in the magnetic strip of a customer’s ATM card. Each pinhole camera would secretly record bank customers’ keystrokes as they entered their personal identification numbers. The customer account information that was captured by the skimming devices and pinhole cameras was used to create counterfeit ATM cards that were then used to withdraw millions of dollars in cash from bank ATMs. From June 2012 through July 2013, the conspirators stole more than $5 million from Wells Fargo, Citibank, and TD Bank.
Revesz admitted he was one of the conspirators who installed skimmers and pinhole cameras at bank ATMs and who subsequently used counterfeit ATM cards to withdraw cash from Wells Fargo, Citibank, and TD throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Pendus admitted his participation in the scheme as it related to TD Bank, and Apetrei admitted to his participation in defrauding Wells Fargo Bank. Apetrei admitted he picked up pinhole camera parts and attempted, upon his arrest, to destroy debit cards containing the picture and name of another individual.The charges to which Revesz, Pendus and Apetrei pleaded guilty arose from a large investigation into a skimming scheme that targeted customers in the tri-state area in 2012 and early 2013. Of the 13 others charged in relation to the wider scheme, 12 are in custody.
The leader of the scheme, Marius Vintila, 31, was apprehended in Sweden and extradited to the United States on Feb. 7, 2014. Vintila was charged in a six-count indictment on Feb.18, 2014, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to possess 15 or more counterfeit access devices, possession of 15 or more counterfeit access devices, conspiracy to possess access device-making equipment, and possession of access device-making equipment. Vintila and a conspirator, Bogdan Radu, 31, designed and created the actual skimming devices and pinhole cameras and Vintila recruited individuals, including Revesz, Pendus, and Apetrei, to install them on bank ATMs. Vintila also used an alias to rent multiple self-storage units, in which he stored the contents of an entire skimming operation, including skimming devices, pinhole cameras, super glue, tape, Secure Digital (SD) memory storage cards, batteries, computers, molds, fraudulent ATM cards, and cash proceeds. Vintila’s multimillion-dollar ATM skimming operation is one of the largest ever uncovered by law enforcement.
Other charged conspirators, including Radu, Constantin Ginga, 53, Marius Cotiga, 36, Dezso Gyapias, 29, Ioan Leusca, 30, Enes Causevic, 23, Luis Franco, 23, Mirel Hadzalic, 24, and another individual charged as “first name unknown, last name unknown,” a/k/a “Chioru,” installed the devices designed by Vintila and Radu onto bank ATMs and used fraudulent ATM cards to steal millions of dollars. They used hats, jackets, scarves and sunglasses to disguise themselves while installing the devices and while using the cards to withdraw money.Cotiga, Pendus, Revesz, Apetrei, Vintila, Franco, and Hadzalic are in custody in New Jersey and being held without bail. Causevic has been released on bail. Cotiga and Hadzalic previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and await sentencing, on June 5, 2014, for Cotiga and June 18, 2014, for Hadzalic. Radu previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and awaits sentencing on June 5, 2014. Gyapias and Leusca were each sentenced on Feb. 20, 2014, to 57-month terms of imprisonment, and Ginga was sentenced on Feb. 26, 2014, to 57 months in prison. The individual known as “Chioru” remains at large.
The bank fraud conspiracy charge to which Revesz, Pendus, and Apetrei each pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The aggravated identity theft charge to which Revesz pleaded guilty carries a mandatory, consecutive penalty of two years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing for all three defendants is currently scheduled for Sept. 17, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Mottola, along with special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas.As for the defendants charged in pending complaints, the charges and allegations are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Agarwal and David Eskew of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
14-190
Defense Counsel:
Revesz: Joshua Reinitz Esq., Nutley, N.J.
Pendus: Kenneth W. Kayser Esq., East Hanover, N.J.
Apetrei: Paul D. Petrus Jr. Esq., New YorkRevesz, Emil Information
Pendus, Constantin Information
Apetrei, Florin InformationPrinceton Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing Hydromorphone PillsRead the Press Release
BLUEFIED, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Kristi Ball, 39, of Princeton, West Virginia was sentenced in federal court in Bluefield today to 13 months in prison for distributing hydromorphone, an addictive prescription medicine. Ball previously pled guilty in February of 2014, admitting that on January 16, 2013, she sold hydromorphone pills in Princeton to an informant working with law enforcement. The judge also took into consideration Ball’s admission that over a period of time she distributed 170 hydromorphone pills.
The case was investigated by the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, and the prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney John File. This case was prosecuted under the Bluefield Pill Initiative, and was part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U. S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Princeton Man Sentenced for Marijuana CrimeRead the Press Release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Alphonso Washington, age 31 of Princeton, West Virginia was sentenced today in federal court in Bluefield to three years and ten months imprisonment announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Washington previously pled guilty in January of 2014, to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. A routine parole inspection led to the arrest and prosecution. In August of 2013, officers with the West Virginia Department of Correction’s Parole Services arrived unannounced at Washington’s Princeton home. Washington, who at that time was serving a term of parole for a state drug felony, was in possession of marijuana, baggies, digital scales, a handgun, and over $18,000 in cash. Washington admitted that the seized cash was drug proceeds and it was forfeited as part of his plea agreement. The West Virginia Department of Correction’s Parole Services was assisted by the Princeton Police Department and the United States Marshal Service during the pendency of this case.
Poplar Man Sentenced for Killing One and Injuring Two in Car CrashRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that TYRONE DEAN WELCH, 27, of Poplar, was sentenced to a term of 46 months imprisonment and three years supervised release during a federal court session in Great Falls, Montana, on May 23, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris, after his conviction for involuntary manslaughter and assault.
WELCH admitted to crashing a car while under the influence of drugs, which resulted in the death of one of his passengers and serious bodily injury to the two others. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss told the Court that Welch had been using methamphetamine and had not slept in several days at the time of the wreck. Welch admitted to falling asleep at the wheel because he was coming down off methamphetamine. The car drifted across the road, struck a reflector pole, rolled several times, and landed in a ditch. One victim was found dead at the scene. The other two were severely injured as a result of the crash. Welch pleaded guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter and two counts of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The Court sentenced Welch to 46 months of imprisonment on each count to run concurrently, with three years of supervised release to follow. Because there is no parole in the federal system, the truth in sentencing guidelines mandate that Welch will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, Welch does have the opportunity to shorten the term of custody by earning credit for good behavior. However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice Criminal Investigation.
Polk County Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington sentenced Eleftherios Zachariadis (47, Lake Alfred) on Friday, May 23, 2014, to 14 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. Zachariadis pleaded guilty on January 9, 2014.
According to court documents, this investigation began when an undercover agent downloaded multiple images of child pornography from Zachariadis’s Internet Protocol (IP) address. On September 9, 2013, pursuant to a federal search warrant, law enforcement officers seized Zachariadis’s computer, thumb drive, and a DVD. The investigation revealed that Zachariadis had possessed child pornography for at least seven years. The forensic examination further revealed that his computer, thumb drive, and the DVD contained more than 1,000 images and 200 videos of child pornography. Multiple files depicted prepubescent minors, bondage, and sadomasochistic conduct.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Central Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.
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, 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.
Overton County Man Pleads Guilty to Making Fake Driver Licenses to Facilitate Meth ProductionRead the Press Release
Richard Earl Graybeal, 41, of Cookeville, Tenn., pleaded guilty on May 20, 2014, in U.S. District Court, to producing false identification documents, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. Graybeal admitted that he had unlawfully manufactured Tennessee driver licenses and identification documents to facilitate the purchase of cold medications, which are commonly used in the production of methamphetamine.
“The illicit production of Meth is a continuing problem in Middle Tennessee and we recognize the value of using all available resources to combat it, said U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “That includes bringing federal criminal charges, when appropriate, including offenses that aid in the purchase of precursors necessary to produce it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to direct the necessary resources to our communities where the manufacture of meth is epidemic.”
Testimony at the plea hearing established that Graybeal was placed on state probation in 2009 for promoting the manufacture of methamphetamine. Graybeal’s probation officer, Overton County law enforcement officers and the Tennessee Highway Patrol received information that Graybeal was making identification documents in false names to use in purchasing cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient necessary for manufacturing methamphetamine and which requires identification to purchase. Officers conducted a search of Graybeal’s residence on August 17, 2012, and discovered more than 70 fake Tennessee driver licenses and state identification cards. Also found, was computer equipment and materials used in manufacturing the false documents and paraphernalia used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Several of the false licenses bore different names, but contained a photo of the same person. Other documents bore Graybeal’s photo, but contained aliases.
Subsequent investigation by the U.S. Secret Service confirmed that Graybeal had used one or more of these false licenses and identities to make purchases of cold medicine.
“The Secret Service believes in a partnership approach to law enforcement, especially when the resources of its participants can be combined to effectively and efficiently make a significant impact on crime in the communities where we live,” said Todd Hudson, the Special Agent in Charge of the Nashville Secret Service office. “In this case, the Secret Service partnered with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Overton County Sheriff’s Office to suppress the use of false identification documents intended for use in drug-related activities. It is evident that identity theft and other criminal activities are inter-connected with the potential to adversely affect our communities. The Secret Service is committed to combating identity theft and will continue to work with our state and local partners to reduce this type of criminal activity.”
Graybeal’s state probation was subsequently revoked and he is currently serving a state prison sentence for the previous methamphetamine charge. He will be sentenced in U.S. District court on August 21, 2014 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.This case was investigated by the Overton County Sheriff’s Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the U.S. Secret Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hilliard Hester.
Old Town Man Sentenced to 4¾ Years for Bath Salt Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that
Matthew Tardiff, 27, formerly of Old Town, Maine was sentenced today in U.S. District Court
in Bangor to 4¾ years in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess
with the intent to distribute and to distribute MDPV, a chemical compound commonly referred to
as “bath salts” or “monkey dust.” The defendant pled guilty on January 27, 2014.According to court records, Tardiff and 13 other members of the conspiracy illegally
distributed MDPV in Penobscot County and elsewhere between April and December 2011. He
obtained MDPV from other members of the conspiracy and traded, sold or otherwise distributed
it from his Old Town residence using cellular telephones and other means of communication.
The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency with assistance from
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Old Town Police Department.Ohio Heroin Dealer Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – An Ohio man who distributed heroin in Parkersburg in 2013 pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Marion Alonvo Felder, 30, of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. in Charleston.
On three occasions between September and October of 2013 Felder sold heroin to a confidential informant working with police in Parkersburg. Felder admitted coming to Parkersburg from Marion, Ohio in early 2013 to distribute heroin in the area. Felder faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on September 8, 2014.
The Parkersburg Police Department and the Washington County, Ohio Major Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Nineteen Individuals Indicted for Drug Trafficking and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Nineteen individuals have been arrested and charged in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to import heroin from Colombia and Venezuela into Puerto Rico, announced U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez Vélez for the District of Puerto Rico. The federal and local agencies in charge of the investigation are the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), US Postal Inspection Service (USPS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Police of Puerto Rico.
The indictment unsealed in federal court today charges the following individuals: Hernando Marin-Echeverri, aka “Nando;” Ricardo Torres-Rivera, aka “Ricky;” Armando Rivera-Ortiz; Yarimar Rodríguez-Mercado, aka “La Tia”; Rodolfo Reyes-Santana, aka “Papote;” Carlos Fernando Saavedra-Potes, aka “Fernando;” Manuel Reinel Martínez-Salas, aka “Chino;” Christian Luis Martínez-Robles; Eduardo Rafael Campo-Carvajalino, aka “Tocayo;” Lucy Stella Gómez-Lopera, aka “La Flaca;” Jaime Ernesto Montoya-Gómez, aka “Risitas;” Jorge Aquiles Berríos-Vega, aka “Maracucho;” Paula Andrea Gavazno-Ruiz; Luis Medina-Chavez; Sariann Ramos-Maldonado, aka “Sara;” Nilson Aristizabal-Tezna; Jannette Saavedra-Echaevarría; José Luis Castro-Delgado; and Erika Casillas-Bonet.
From in or about August 2012 through in or about April 2013: Defendant Hernando Marin-Echeverri, based in Colombia, would communicate with defendants in Puerto Rico in order to coordinate the importation, transportation and distribution of heroin into Puerto Rico. Some defendants, acting as couriers, would travel into Venezuela to meet with other defendants who would provide suitcases with heroin hidden inside. Other defendants, based in Colombia, were responsible for preparing and hiding the heroin inside suitcases; transporting the suitcases from Colombia into Venezuela and delivering the suitcases to couriers.
Some defendants would transport and deliver drug proceeds, from Puerto Rico, to defendants in Venezuela. Drug proceeds from Puerto Rico to Colombia, were sent through electronic wire transfers. The defendants concealed and disguised the nature, location, source, ownership and control of the illegal proceeds obtained from drug trafficking, through money laundering. Another means used to send heroin laden parcels into Puerto Rico was through the United States Postal Service.
“These accusations demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment to hold drug traffickers responsible for importing narcotics into the United States – no matter where they conduct their illegal business. Along with our domestic and international law enforcement partners, we will continue with our efforts to ensure that cartel members and associates are brought to justice for the damage they inflict on both sides of the border,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
“DEA will continue to investigate, disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating from Colombian and Venezuela using Puerto Rico as a transshipment point to smuggle narcotics into the United States,” said Vito Guarino, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Caribbean Division.
Eliezer Julian, Domicile Coordinator, US Postal Inspection Service stated: “The US Postal Inspection Services seeks to identify, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations that attempt to utilize the US Mails. We have strengthened our relationship with our federal and state law enforcement partners. This inter-agency cooperation has had an impact on DTO's operating in Puerto Rico.”
IRS-CI SAC José A. Gonzàlez stated, “The laundering of illegal drug profits is as important and essential to drug traffickers as the very distribution of their illegal drugs. By following the money trail, IRS-CI Special Agents were able to identify multiple wire transactions, between various cities in Puerto Rico and South America. These transactions were allegedly conducted by the defendants in furtherance of their drug smuggling operation from Colombia to Puerto Rico. IRS-CI will continue to work alongside its law enforcement partners in order to financially disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elba Gorbea is in charge of the prosecution of this case. If convicted the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years up to life in prison. Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The defendants were the targets of a long-term Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDEFT) investigation. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
New York City Police Department Officer Arrested on Fraud and Identity Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Robert T. Johnson, the District Attorney for Bronx County, George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and William J. Bratton, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the arrest of JOHN L. MONTANEZ, a police officer with the NYPD, on charges of access device fraud, mail fraud, and identity theft. MONTANEZ was arrested this morning at his residence in the Bronx, New York, and presented this afternoon in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, Police Officer John Montanez not only violated his oath to uphold the law, but actively broke it when he himself engaged in fraud and identity theft. Corruption undermines the public’s confidence in law enforcement, particularly so when a police officer, out of greed, allegedly uses his position of authority not to stop crime, but to help commit more crime. I want to thank our partners at the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the NYPD for their work in this important case.”
Bronx County District Attorney Robert T. Johnson said: “Police officers are sworn to uphold the laws, and it is most disturbing when those whose purpose is to combat crime instead engage in identity theft that not only victimizes the public, but also their fellow officers. This office will continue to work to prosecute these crimes with all due diligence.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos said: “As a police officer Mr. Montanez was charged with enforcing the law. He was also rightfully expected to abide by the very laws he enforced. Today’s complaint tells a different story. We’ll continue to work with the New York City Police Department to investigate corruption wherever we find it.”
NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton said: “These charges evidence not only a significant breach of trust and abuse of authority but also serious criminal conduct on the part of a public servant. I commend the well-coordinated efforts of the federal and state prosecutors, the FBI and our Internal Affairs Bureau in developing this case.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
In 2011, an individual, who subsequently agreed to cooperate with law enforcement, and who is referred to in the Complaint as the “CW,” informed MONTANEZ that the CW had a suspended and/or revoked driver’s license. In response, MONTANEZ offered to provide the CW with the name and driver’s license number of a real person – so that if the CW were stopped by law enforcement, the CW could pretend to be someone else – in return for electronic items that the CW would purchase for MONTANEZ with fraudulently obtained or stolen credit cards. After that, in return for the CW purchasing merchandise for MONTANEZ, and providing to MONTANEZ credit card/debit card numbers that MONTANEZ understood were stolen or fraudulently obtained, MONTANEZ provided to the CW multiple names, dates of birth, and driver’s license identification numbers of other people. One such person, referred to in the Complaint as “Victim-1,” was a fellow police officer with the NYPD, serving in the same precinct as MONTANEZ.
The CW was arrested in June of 2013 and later began recording meetings with MONTANEZ in connection with the CW’s cooperation with law enforcement. During these meetings, MONTANEZ offered to provide additional identities to the CW in return for merchandise purchased with credit cards that MONTANEZ believed that the CW had stolen or fraudulently obtained. In one recorded meeting between the CW and MONTANEZ, MONTANEZ explained to the CW that the CW should feel comfortable pretending to be Victim-1, stating, “It’s the best, cleanest, guaranteed name you can ever have.” In another consensually-recorded meeting between the CW and MONTANEZ, in connection with discussing the CW looking to obtain from MONTANEZ additional names and/or personal identification information of other persons, MONTANEZ stated, “I can go into the precinct in plain clothes. It’s going to take me a couple of minutes. I can go inside, and do whatever.” During one consensually-recorded meeting, MONTANEZ also stated: “I’m not the cop you think I am. I am a piece of s***.”
MONTANEZ, 28, is charged with one count of access device fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. He faces a maximum sentence of 32 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau. Mr. Bharara noted that the investigation is ongoing.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel C. Richenthal is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. John L. Montanez Complaint 14 Mag 1140
New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Hiding over $1 Million in Secret Swiss Bank AccountRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Shantelle P. Kitchen, the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced that VIKTOR KORDASH pled guilty today to willfully failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBARs”) with the IRS regarding a secret Swiss bank account that he maintained and controlled at Wegelin & Co. (“Wegelin”), a Swiss bank formerly headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland, which separately pled guilty in January 2013 to assisting U.S. taxpayers in maintaining undeclared accounts. During the time that KORDASH maintained his undeclared account at Wegelin, KORDASH received tens of thousands of dollars in cash distributions from his undeclared account. KORDASH entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “For over a decade Viktor Kordash lived in this country, shirking his legal obligation to pay his fair share of taxes from over a million dollars he kept in a Swiss bank account. With his guilty plea today, Kordash has been held to account for his crime, as was Wegelin, the Swiss bank where he kept his money, which in January 2013, became the first Swiss financial institution to plead guilty to its role in assisting U.S. taxpayers cheat on their taxes.”
IRS Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen said: “Individuals who chose to hide income outside of the United States are again warned that they expose themselves to a variety of criminal charges and severe penalties when they fail to notify the government about their foreign bank accounts or report the income from them. Offshore tax enforcement remains a top priority for the Internal Revenue Service and we continue to gain access to more and more information about individuals involved in offshore tax evasion.”
According to the Information filed today in Manhattan federal court:
In the early 1980s, KORDASH opened an account at Wegelin. At that time, KORDASH was living in Russia and was a Russian citizen. In 1984, however, KORDASH emigrated to the United States, and in 1986, KORDASH applied for and was granted citizenship in the United States. After emigrating to the United States, and after becoming a United States citizen, KORDASH continued to maintain his account at Wegelin, and failed to declare it to the IRS, up until approximately November 2010. KORDASH used the undeclared account as an operating and investment account for his antique reproductions business, which he operated out of New York, New York.
During the time period that KORDASH maintained his undeclared account at Wegelin, capital gains and losses were generated in the account from KORDASH’s investments in foreign securities. Between 2007 and 2010, the high value of KORDASH’s undeclared account was over $1.5 million. Further, between at least April 2008 and June 2010, KORDASH received a series of cash distributions from the undeclared account from Wegelin’s correspondent account in Stamford, Connecticut, which totaled over $168,000. In November 2010, KORDASH closed the undeclared account and transferred the balance to his wife. The balance of the undeclared account at the time of its closure and transfer was nearly $1 million.
For each of the calendar years from at least 1986 through 2010, Kordash was required to, but failed to, file an FBAR with the IRS disclosing his signatory or other authority over his undeclared account at Wegelin. He was required to identify the financial institution with which his account was held, the type of account, the account number, and the maximum value of the account during the calendar year for which the FBAR was being filed. He willfully failed to do so.
KORDASH, 64, of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. As part of his plea, KORDASH has agreed to pay back taxes of over $268,000, and to pay a civil penalty of over $750,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams on September 12, 2014, at 12:30 p.m. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of IRS-CI in the investigation. Mr. Bharara also thanked U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division for their assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Paul and Jason H. Cowley are in charge of the prosecution.
U.S. v. Viktor Kordash Information
Nevada Man Pleads Guilty to Assault on A PersonRead the Press Release
BOISE - Winters War Eagle, 22, of Owyhee, Nevada, pleaded guilty today to simple assault on a person who has not attained the age of 16 years, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, War Eagle admitted that on October 13, 2013, on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, he willfully touched a 15 year-old girl in a patently offensive manner without her consent.
The charge of simple assault on a person who has not attained the age of 16 years is punishable by up to 1 year in prison, a maximum fine of $100,000.00, and up to 5 years of probation.
Sentencing is set for August 11, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Department in Owyhee, Nevada.
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.”
May Grand JuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned 34 indictments charging 38 defendants. Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
* Maria Alfaro, age 21, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about July 18, 2012. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges that on or about July 18, 2012, Alfaro misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Nondriver License No. X206043001, knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment alleges on or about July 18, 2012, the defendant made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.* Ayala-Estrada, Silverio, age 36, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about April 25, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Elmer Baker, Jr., age 33, of Winnebago, Nebraska, is charged with resisting and interfering with a federal officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services on or about March 22, 2014. If convicted, he faces a maximum imprisonment of 8 years, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Donald Baker, age 54, of Nicholasville, Kentucky; William Graham, age 36, of Lexington, Kentucky; and Jonathan Turner, age 47, of Lexington, Kentucky, are charged with conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone beginning on or about an unknown date and continuing to on or about April 24, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Luis Alonzo Carbajal-Rodriguez, age 20, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about June 2, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about June 2, 2011, Carbajal-Rodriguez made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about June 2, 2011, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Emmanuel Castro-Molino, age 21, of Scottsbluff, Nebraska , is charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine on or about May 16, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Rodrigo Delacruz, age 27, of Fremont, Nebraska , is charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about May 2, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jacob W. Deng, age 32, of Dakota City, Nebraska , is charged in a four-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine beginning on or about February 1, 2014 and continuing to on or about April 17, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Deng with distribution of 5 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about April 17, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges the defendant with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana on or about April 17, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV of the Indictment charges the defendant with felon in possession of a firearm on or about April 17, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The indictment also alleges any and all property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of the violation alleged in the indictment, including but not limited to $7,400.00 in United States currency seized from the defendant on April 17, 2014, should be forfeited to the United States.
* Jose Fernandez-Landeros, age 30, of Aurora, Colorado, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about April 19, 2014, following deportation as an aggravated felon. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Christopher Garcia, age 29, of Gering, Nebraska, is charged with possession with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine on or about May 9, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Sergio Garcia-Estrada, age 35, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about May 5, 2014, following deportation as a felon. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year team of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Juan Garcia-Lopez, age 27, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about November 3, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges that on or about November 3, 2011, Garcia-Lopez misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Nondriver License No. S133115014, knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment alleges on or about November 3, 2011, the defendant made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Michelle Renee Harris , age 44, of Gordon, Nebraska, is charged with conversion of Social Security funds beginning in at least June, 2009 through June, 2012. Harris made application to the Social Security Administration which allowed her to receive survivor benefit payments for the use and benefit of her daughter. Harris received the payments but converted the payments for her own use, rather than for the benefit of her child. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.* Cirilo Hernandez-Hernandez, age 30, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about October 7, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about October 7, 2011, Hernandez-Hernandez made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about October 7, 2011, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Christina Hingorani, age 28, and Tremaine Windham, age 38, of Omaha, are charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute Oxycodone beginning on or about January 2014 and continuing to on or about February, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Lucio Jeronimo-Martin, age 32, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about May 6, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Trudie Diane Lemon, also known as Trudie Diane Bruce and Trudie Diane Miller, age 51, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana on or about May 3, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Rolando Lopez-Lopez, age 29, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about October 25, 2013, following deportation as a felon. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year team of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Maria Lucas-Jacinto, age 28, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about April 28, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges that on or about April 28, 2014, Lucas-Jacinto misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Non-driver License, knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment alleges on or about April 28, 2011, the defendant made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Hector Gustavo Montoya Irias, age 46, of Hastings, Nebraska, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about May 1, 2014, following deportation as a felon. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year team of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Courtney Neitzel, age 39, of Omaha, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about March 31, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The indictment also alleges any and all property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of the violation alleged in the indictment, including but not limited to United States currency seized from the defendant on March 31, 2014, should be forfeited to the United States.
* Jose Ortiz-Flores, age 35, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about May 1, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Domingo Palz-Bernabe, age 26, is charged in a four-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about June 3, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about June 3, 2011, Palz-Bernabe made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about June 3, 2011, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV of the Indictment charges that on or about May 15, 2014 the defendant is charged with illegal reentry into the United States following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Oswaldo Pavon-Garcia, age 26, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about April 15, 2010. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges that on or about April 15, 2010, Pavon-Garcia misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Non-driver License, knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment alleges on or about April 15, 2010, the defendant made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Miguel Pedro-Gregorio, age 36, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about February 18, 2010. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about February 18, 2010, Pedro-Gregorio made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about February 18, 2010, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Gerardo Rafael-Antonio, age 31, of McCook, Nebraska, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about April 3, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Benito Rodriguez-Leon, age 39, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about April 21, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Pablo Rodriguez, age 39, of Omaha, is charged with distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine on or about May 2, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Count II alleges that on or about May 2, 2014, the defendant possessed a DPMS AR-15 rifle during, in relation to, and in furtherance of the drug trafficking offense alleged in Count I. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment consecutive to any other sentence, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The indictment also alleges any and all property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of the violation alleged in the indictment, including but not limited to United States currency seized from the defendant on May 2, 2014, should be forfeited to the United States.
* Martin Silva-Bravo, age 24, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about February 27, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Carlos Tercero-Jacinto is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about April 28, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about April 28, 2011, Tercero-Jacinto made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Maria Torres, age 43, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about July 28, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about July 28, 2011, Torres made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about July 28, 2011, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jose Luis Ulloa, age 42, and Diane Renee Holbrook, also known as Diane Renee Grandel, Diane Renee Sheltraw and Diane Renee Perdue, age 42, of York, Nebraska, are charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between on or about January 1, 2012, and on or about February 28, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Cecilio Hector Vicente-Vicente, age 30, of Omaha, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about January 7, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about January 7, 2011, Vicente-Vicente made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Alberto Victorino-Juarez is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about August 26, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about August 26, 2011, Victorino-Juarez made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.Marijuana Grower who Shot and Wounded Fleeing Robber and Unknowing Witness Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
A marijuana grower and dealer who used firearms to confront fleeing robbers, firing a dozen times in a residential neighborhood, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 32 months in prison and three years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. JASON LOKEN, 38, of Maple Valley, Washington, thought he had lined up a 6 pound drug deal with a call girl he met via Backpage.com when he was confronted by two robbers who bound him and stole his marijuana, hash oil and guns. Following the robbery LOKEN was able to free himself, grabbed another gun and started shooting, wounding two people. At sentencing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said, “This was a shootout… The sentences for the robbers are much longer, but you bear some responsibility for the decision to sell drugs and have guns.” Judge Robart noted that even after the robbery, LOKEN continued to grow marijuana and purchased an additional handgun. “This is not someone who has gained wisdom from the experience,” Judge Robart said.
“This defendant brought gunfire and danger to a quiet neighborhood. He is not alone. We are seeing an alarming increase in violence related to the marijuana trade,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “Guns and drugs are a dangerous and illegal mix. Those that bring that danger to our neighborhoods will face a dear price.”
Last month the lead robber, repeat offender Melvin Charles Slaughter, 41, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the August 13, 2014 robbery. Slaughter’s associate, Ferdinand Clay, will be sentenced next month. Clay forced LOKEN to the floor and zip-tied his hands. However, LOKEN was able free himself and grab a gun from under his mattress. LOKEN raced out the front door and started firing – hitting one robber and wounding a woman who was driving a car associated with the robbers. The woman had no idea she was involved in a drug rip-off. Both people survived their wounds.
After shots were fired the robbery team sped away tossing bloodied items from the car, including some of the stolen firearms. They were recovered by police along the highway. The two who were injured went to different hospitals for treatment. Slaughter and the other female member of the robbery crew later turned themselves in to police. LOKEN claimed to be a grower for medical marijuana dispensaries, but later admitted that his marijuana manufacturing was in violation of state as well as federal law.
LOKEN pleaded guilty in December 2013 to manufacturing marijuana and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
The case was investigated by the King County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vince Lombardi.MHIT “Blitz” Leads to ResultsRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistMHIT leaders announce anti-drug enforcement efforts
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger, Ohio County Sheriff Pat Butler and Captain James Merrill of the West Virginia State Police today announced the results of an enhanced operation by the Mountaineer Highway Interdiction Team (MHIT) that occurred over the past week in Ohio County.
Leaders of the MHIT agencies explained that a “Blitz”, or saturation patrol, took place between May 19 and May 23 with increased patrols on highways and secondary roads throughout the area. Neighborhoods in Ohio County received extra attention as part of the project, as did parcels and packages that were being shipped to and from Northern West Virginia. In addition to the regular members of the MHIT team, additional officers participated in the saturation patrols last week.
Captain Merrill of the State Police explained that as a result of the effort last week, forty- nine felony and misdemeanor arrests were made and eighty-two citations were issued. Substances recovered included prescription painkillers, psilocybin, and marijuana. Officers also conducted warrant service throughout the area.
“The MHIT team paid extra attention to certain areas of the City last week based upon what we’ve been hearing from members of the community,” said Chief Schwertfeger. “I look forward to organizing enhanced patrols like this one again in the future so that we can continue to identify hot spots and keep Wheeling safe.”
The leaders of MHIT explained that the resources now available to the team on a regular basis include four officers – two of which are K-9 handlers – along with regular support from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The agencies involved have been very pleased with the team approach to interdiction.
“MHIT allows us to increase the presence of law enforcement on our roadways and it also serves as a partner to the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force,” said Sheriff Butler. “The MHIT officers coordinate with the Task Force officers to combat drug traffickers who attempt to operate in the region.”
The MHIT leaders also discussed results for the first four months of this year. Between January and April of 2014, MHIT officers made fifty-three felony arrests, sixty-seven misdemeanor arrests, and issued fifty-four misdemeanor citations. A total of seventy-nine searches were conducted during that time period, including forty-five by K-9 units. Drugs valued at $62,493 were seized, and cash connected to criminal activity in the amount of
$113,431 has been seized and either will be forfeited or has already been returned to crime victims.MHIT’s primary purpose is to enhance regional interdiction operations in order to slow the flow of illegal drugs into and through the State of West Virginia. The major focus of MHIT is on highways and state routes but it also concentrates on airports, bus terminals, hotels, motels and parcel and package interdiction. Besides enhancing regional highway interdiction operations, MHIT has the added benefit of preserving citizen safety on West Virginia highways through effective traffic and commercial vehicle enforcement. MHIT also assists in investigating kidnapings, bank robberies, carjackings, Amber Alerts and interstate theft; the detection and enforcement of firearms and explosives; human trafficking and immigration violations; and with fugitive apprehension.
MHIT receives federal funding from the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Area (AHIDTA) initiative.Regular updates on the work of MHIT will be made via press releases from its member agencies as well as via the official Twitter feed of the United States Attorney’s Office,
@NDWVnews.Lincoln County Grandfather and Grandson Plead Guilty to Oxycodone ChargesRead the Press Release
Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Wallace Lee Adkins, 81, and Timothy J. Harvey, 30, both of West Hamlin, West Virginia, entered guilty pleas today to aiding and abetting the distribution of oxycodone. Adkins and Harvey admitted that on March 26, 2013, they sold oxycodone to an individual inside Adkins’ West Hamlin home. Unbeknownst to Adkins and Harvey, the individual was a confidential informant working with law enforcement. The confidential informant went to Adkins’ residence that day and asked Adkins for 5 oxycodone 30 mg pills. Adkins told Harvey to take care of the order. Harvey took a pill bottle from Adkins’ shirt, removed five oxycodone pills and sold them to the confidential informant for $200.00.
Adkins and Harvey face up to 20 years’ imprisonment when they are sentenced on September 9, 2014 by United States District Court Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
The case was investigated by the Huntington Drug Task Force and the West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is handling the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Leading Member of the International Cybercriminal Group “Lulzsec” Sentenced in Manhattan Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that HECTOR MONSEGUR, a/k/a “Sabu,” formerly a leading member of a group of sophisticated computer hackers known as “LulzSec,” was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to time served and one year of supervised release for his participation in computer hacking activity that victimized media outlets, government agencies and contractors, and private corporations around the world by hacking into, disabling, and at times exfiltrating data from the victims’ computer systems. MONSEGUR pled guilty in August 2011 to computer hacking conspiracy, computer hacking, computer hacking in furtherance of fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft pursuant to a cooperation agreement with the Government. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska imposed today’s sentence.
According to the criminal Information and related filings in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at MONSEGUR’s guilty plea:
Hacks by Anonymous, Internet Feds, and LulzSec
Since at least 2008, Anonymous has been a loose confederation of computer hackers and others. MONSEGUR and other members of Anonymous, including Jeremy Hammond, took responsibility for a number of cyber attacks between December 2010 and June 2011, including distributed denial of service (“DDoS”) attacks against the websites of Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal, as retaliation for the refusal of these companies to process donations to Wikileaks, as well as hacks or DDoS attacks on foreign government computer systems.
Between December 2010 and May 2011, members of the Internet Feds computer hacking collective similarly waged a deliberate campaign of online destruction, intimidation, and criminality. Members of Internet Feds engaged in a series of cyber attacks that included breaking into computer systems, stealing confidential information, publicly disclosing stolen confidential information, hijacking victims’ email and Twitter accounts, and defacing victims’ Internet websites. Specifically, MONSEGUR and other members of Internet Feds, including Ryan Ackroyd, a/k/a “kayla,” a/k/a “lol,” a/k/a “lolspoon,” Jake Davis, a/k/a “topiary,” a/k/a “atopiary,” Darren Martyn, a/k/a “pwnsauce,” a/k/a “raepsauce,” a/k/a “networkkitten,” and Donncha O’Cearrbhail, a/k/a “palladium,” conspired to commit computer hacks including the hack of the website of Fine Gael, a political party in Ireland; the hack of computer systems used by security firms HBGary, Inc., and its affiliate HBGary Federal, LLC, from which Internet Feds stole confidential data pertaining to 80,000 user accounts; and the hack of computer systems used by Fox Broadcasting Company, from which Internet Feds stole confidential data relating to more than 70,000 potential contestants on “X-Factor,” a Fox television show.
In May 2011, following the publicity that they had generated as a result of their hacks, including those of Fine Gael and HBGary, MONSEGUR, along with Ackroyd, Davis, and Martyn, formed and became the principal members of a new hacking group called “Lulz Security” or “LulzSec.” Like Internet Feds, LulzSec undertook a campaign of malicious cyber assaults on the websites and computer systems of business and governmental entities in the United States and throughout the world. Specifically, MONSEGUR and his co-conspirators, as members of LulzSec, conspired to commit computer hacks including the hacks of computer systems used by the Public Broadcasting System, in retaliation for what LulzSec perceived to be unfavorable news coverage in an episode of the news program “Frontline”; Sony Pictures Entertainment (“Sony”), in which LulzSec stole confidential data concerning approximately 100,000 users of Sony’s website; and Bethesda Softworks (“Bethesda”), a video game company based in Maryland, in which LulzSec stole confidential information for approximately 200,000 users of Bethesda’s website.
Among other things, at law enforcement direction, Monsegur engaged in proactive cooperation that enabled the Government to identify, locate, and arrest eight of his co-conspirators, including Hammond. In addition, as a direct result of Monsegur's cooperation, the Government was able to prevent or mitigate over 300 cyberattacks that were being planned or carried out by others, including on the computer servers of U.S. and foreign governments, international intergovernmental organizations, and private corporations. Monsegur also provided information on vulnerabilities in certain critical infrastructure, including at a U.S. water utility, that enabled law enforcement to secure that infrastructure.
In pronouncing the sentence, Judge Preska said Monsegur’s cooperation was “truly extraordinary.” She also said, “The fact that Monsegur immediately chose to cooperate and went back online . . . allowed the extraordinary cooperation.”
In addition, at today’s proceeding, Judge Preska ordered MONSEGUR, 30, of New York, New York, to pay a $1,200 special assessment fee. MONSEGUR previously served seven months in prison in connection with the crimes to which he pled guilty.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The investigation was initiated and led by the FBI, and its New York Cyber Crime Task Force, which is a federal, state, and local law enforcement task force combating cybercrime; with assistance from the PCeU, a unit of New Scotland Yard's Specialist Crime Directorate, SCD6; the Garda; and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern District of California, the Central District of California, the Northern District of Georgia, and the Eastern District of Virginia; as well as the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and its Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Pastore is in charge of the prosecution.
Kansas Woman, Man Charged with Armed Robbery at Excelsior Springs BankRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Kan., woman and man were charged in federal court today with the armed robbery of an Excelsior Springs, Mo., bank.
Virginia Lynn Spencer, 28, and Steven Dale Robinson, 22, both of Kansas City, Kan., were charged in a two-count criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. Spencer and Robinson remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing.
Spencer and Robinson are each charged in one count of aiding and abetting others to steal $11,883 at gunpoint from Bank Midwest, 201 N. Jesse James Rd., Excelsior Springs, on Friday, May 23, 2014. Spencer is also charged with one count of aiding and abetting another person to use a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Spencer entered the bank at about 5:30 p.m. with another person, who has not been charged. That person stood in the lobby and pointed a .32-caliber revolver in the air with his finger on the trigger. They ordered bank employees to sit on the floor, the affidavit says, then Spencer dove on top of the middle lobby teller counter and began opening the tellers drawers in search of money. Spencer pulled herself over the counter and went behind the teller counter, the affidavit says, before jumping back over the counter while holding a bag.
Both robbers ran from the bank, according to the affidavit, with Spencer saying, “Have a nice day” on her way out.
A bank customer, who had just conducted a transaction at the ATM with her three children in the vehicle, drove around toward the front of the bank to leave the parking lot. She saw Robinson sitting in the driver’s seat of a Grand Marquis that was backed in near the bank’s front doors at an angle, the affidavit says. The two robbers ran out of the bank’s front doors and got into the vehicle. The vehicle quickly left the Bank Midwest parking lot, narrowly missing the customer’s vehicle. She immediately called 911 on her cell phone and reported the vehicle’s direction of travel.
Clay County Sheriff’s deputies saw the vehicle near 69 Highway and Lightburn Road. A pursuit followed, and the robbers’ vehicle crashed near Kings Highway and Dam Road in Liberty, Mo. Spencer and Robinson were arrested. A third person remains hospitalized as a result of the crash.
Law enforcement officers found a bag containing $11,883 on the front floorboard of the vehicle.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this complaint are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Davids. It was investigated by the FBI, the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Excelsior Springs, Mo., Police Department.Jury Finds New Jersey Man Conspired to Distribute 1,500+ Bricks of Heroin in Pittsburgh AreaRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - After deliberating for three hours on May 23, a federal jury of six men and six women found Rafael A. Cabrera, a/k/a Rubio, guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Rafael Cabrera, 35, of Passaic, New Jersey was tried before United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak in Pittsburgh, Pa.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Eric S. Rosen, who prosecuted the case along with Special Assistant United States Attorney Jake Pugh, the evidence presented at trial established that from August 2012 to Jan. 10, 2013, Cabrera, who lives in New Jersey, brought large shipments of heroin to a co-conspirator at highway rest stops in Carlisle, Pa. Upon receipt of the heroin, the co-conspirator brought the heroin back to Pittsburgh, where it was sold to local drug dealers. The proceeds from these drug sales were then funneled back to Cabrera in New Jersey after the heroin was distributed. In total, the Government presented evidence that Cabrera delivered more than 1,500 bricks of heroin to his co- conspirator in Carlisle. These heroin bricks, each containing between one and two grams of heroin, have a street value of more than $300,000.
Judge Hornak has not yet set a date for sentencing. As Cabrera has a prior felony drug distribution conviction, the law provides for a total sentence of up to life in prison, a fine of $8,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued Cabrera’s detention.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, as assisted by the City of Pittsburgh Police and the Pennsylvania State Police, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Rafael Cabrera.
Jamaican DJ Arrested in Florida in Connection with North Dakota Telemarketing Lottery Scam; 26 Individuals Currently IndictedRead the Press Release
BISMARCK- A prominent Jamaican disc jockey has been arrested entering the United States in Hollywood, Florida, following his indictment by a federal grand jury in North Dakota for telemarketing fraud conspiracy. The Indictment charges Deon-ville Antonio O’Hara, aka ZJ Wah Wa, of Kingston, Jamaica, with participating in an international fraudulent lottery/sweepstakes scheme. The United States Attorney’s Office today announced the unsealing of the amended Indictment, which names 26 individuals who are alleged to have participated in the scam.
In Bismarck, U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon said, “Law enforcement has done an outstanding job unravelling the complex allegations in this case. We unsealed the Indictment in order to be able to again warn North Dakotans that, if someone contacts you over the telephone telling you that you have won a lottery that you did not enter, hang up the telephone because it’s a scam.” Purdon continued, “It is a long way from Jamaica to North Dakota; however, as long as there are allegations that fraudsters are targeting our citizens, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service will continue to pursue the wrongdoers, wherever they may be.”
O’Hara was arrested on allegations that he and his co-conspirators ran a lottery scam in Jamaica that fraudulently induced elderly victims throughout the United States to send millions of dollars to them to cover “fees” for lottery winnings that victims had not in fact won. O’Hara is alleged to have acted as a money courier who would travel to the United States to pick up victim monies and transport it to Jamaica. According to the Indictment, upon his return to Jamaica from the United States in November 2013, O’Hara was stopped by Jamaican Custom officials at Sangster International Airport with $105,000 in U.S. Currency in his possession; the cash is alleged to be proceeds of the lottery scam.
O’Hara has been charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years per count, a possible fine, mandatory restitution, and possible forfeiture of property.
As of this arrest, the Department of Justice has now charged the following individuals in connection with the scheme:
Lavrick Willocks, 25, of Jamaica
Mario Hines, aka Buju Ramos, 20, of Jamaica
Gregory Gooden, 32, of Jamaica
Gareth Billings, 25, of Jamaica
Akil Gray, 23, of Jamaica
Dario Palmer, aka Innocent Palmer, 22, of Jamaica
Mikael Omarr Gillette, 24, of Miramar, Florida
Shannon O’Connor, 30, of Deerfield Beach, Florida
Christina Renee Hogarth, 25, of Pembroke Pines, Florida
Kimberly Carlo-Jean Hudson, 23, of Jamaica
Xanu Ann Morgan, 21, of Jamaica
Sherlet Anetta Love, 39, of Jamaica
Jason Joseph Jahalal, 24, of Jamaica
Kazrae Gray, age unknown, of Jamaica
Dahlia Elaine Hunter, 49, of Jamaica
Sanjay Williams, 25, of Jamaica
Samantha Brown, 28, of Palm Desert, California
James Hayes Simpson, 72, of Owensboro, Kentucky
Tristan Fisher, 27, of Jamaica
Ricardo Augustus Bryan, 32, of North Lauderdale, Florida
O’Neil Brown, 30, of Jamaica
AlrickMcLeod, aka Birdman, aka Z-Bird, 28, of Jamaica
Natalie Dougherty, 33, of Florence, South Carolina
Lindsay Mattig, 20, of Los Angeles, California
Charles Calvin Bauder, 54, of Jefferson, Texas
Deon-Ville Antonio O’Hara, 24, of JamaicaPurdon singled out the North Dakota office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) in Florida, and the North Dakota Attorney General’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division (CPAT) for special recognition of their tireless efforts in this ongoing investigation and also thanked a number of other participating law enforcement offices in North Dakota and throughout the world, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); United States Marshals Service (USMS); North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NDBCI); Harvey, North Dakota, Police Department; Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff; Placer County, California, Sheriff; Charleston County, South Carolina, Sheriff; Pembroke Pines, Florida, Police Department; Jamaican Operations Linked to Telemarketing (JOLT) Task Force; Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF); and, JCF Lottery Scam Task Force (LSTF).
Purdon stressed that an Indictment or Complaint is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt.
An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Illinois Hospice Executive, Three Former Employees and Company Indicted for Allegedly Falsely Elevating Level of Patients’ CareRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — An owner and three former employees of an Illinois hospice company, as well as the company itself, were indicted on federal health care fraud charges for allegedly engaging in an extensive scheme to obtain higher Medicare and Medicaid payments by fraudulently elevating the level of hospice care for patients. In many instances, the level of hospice care allegedly exceeded what was medically necessary or actually provided, including for some patients who did not have terminal illnesses or who were enrolled far longer than the required life expectancy of six months or less.
One defendant, SETH GILLMAN, 45, of Lincolnwood, an attorney and the coadministrator and co-owner of Passages Hospice, LLC, which was based in Lisle and has suspended operations, was initially charged in a criminal complaint when he was arrested in January.
Gillman, together with three new individual defendants and Passages Hospice, were charged in an 18-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday.
Gillman, Passages, and GWEN HILSABECK, 47, of Pontiac, Ill., who served as coadministrator of Passages, were each charged with 16 counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to obstruct a federal audit. Hilsabeck was also charged with one count of making false statements regarding a health care benefit program in a patient’s initial plan of care.
Also indicted were CARMEN VELEZ, 35, of Palatine, who served as Passages’ director of nurses for the Chicago region and director of clinical services, and ANGELA ARMENTA, 34, of Wheeling, who served as Passages’ director of certified nursing assistants for the Chicago region. They were charged with four counts each of health care fraud.
All four individual defendants and Passages are scheduled to be arraigned on June 2 in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
According to court documents, Passages did not have its own inpatient facility, but instead deployed nurses to visit hospice patients in nursing homes and private residences. Between August 2008 and January 2012, Passages received more than $90 million in Medicare payments for hospice services, including more than $20 million billed as general inpatient services.
The indictment alleges that between August 2008 and January 2012, Gillman and the other defendants caused Passages to submit false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary hospice care for patients who were not terminally ill and did not qualify for general inpatient care.
Gillman, Hilsabeck, and Passages allegedly paid bonuses to nursing directors and certified nursing assistant directors, including Velez and Armenta, to increase the number of patients on general inpatient care. In addition, they offered incentives, such as payments to nursing homes based on the number of patients on general inpatient care to increase Passages’ patient census, the indictment alleges.
In August and September 2009, Gillman, Hilsabeck, Passages, and Velez, allegedly conspired to obstruct a federal audit by agreeing to alter patient files that had been requested by TrustSolutions, which contracted with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to audit providers for fraud and abuse.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Regional Office of the HHS-OIG; and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office is also participating in the investigation.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen C. Lee.
Each count of health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while conspiracy to obstruct a federal audit and making false statements regarding a health care benefit program each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and restitution is mandatory. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Medicare Fraud Strike Force began operating in Chicago in February 2011, and consists of agents from the FBI and HHS-OIG, working together with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Fraud Section. The strike force is are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Scores of defendants have been charged locally in health care fraud cases since the strike force began operating in Chicago.
To report health care fraud to learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: StopMedicareFraud.gov.
Indictment
Hospice Owner Sentenced to More Than 14 Years for Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Matthew Kolodesh, a/k/a “Matvei Kolodech,” 52, of Churchville, PA, was sentenced May 23, 2014 to 176 months in prison and ordered to pay $16.2 million in restitution to Medicare and $16.2 million in a forfeiture money judgment for orchestrating a scheme to defraud Medicare through his home hospice business, among other crimes, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
In October 2013, following a four week jury trial, a federal jury found Kolodesh guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, 21 counts of health care fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, and two counts of mail fraud. From 2003 to 2008, Kolodesh’s business, Home Care Hospice, Inc. (“HCH”), located on Grant Avenue in NE Philadelphia, submitted false claims to Medicare totaling approximately $16.2 million for patients that were not eligible for hospice services, and for patients that never received the level of hospice services billed by HCH. Ineligible patients were patients who were not terminally ill and patients who were on service for more than six months.The scheme was successful because nurses and other staff participated in a massive fraud that involved altering patient records to make patients appear eligible for hospice services, when in reality they were not. HCH even tricked Medicare auditors. At the direction of Kolodesh, and co-owner and co-conspirator Alex Pugman, who was the Director of HCH, HCH nurses and supervisory staff routinely “fixed” patient files and re-wrote nursing documentation to make patients appear sicker “on paper,” by showing decline in medical condition through false entries for infections, fever, and weight loss, among other things. Old records were destroyed. The staff was also paid to falsely document 24 hour periods of high cost, intensive hospice care than was actually provided to the patient.
In order to buildup patient enrollment, Kolodesh and Pugman also paid health care professionals, including doctors, for referring patients to HCH, even when those patients were not eligible or appropriate for hospice services. In an effort to mask the kickback scheme, HCH fraudulently represented that some of those health care professionals were paid for servicesas medical directors, advisors, or hospice physicians.
“This massive fraud on a critical federal program costs taxpayers dearly,” said United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. “This sentence makes clear that the justice system will punish severely those criminals who engage in this type of fraud and abuse. We will continue to work diligently with our federal partners to bring to justice those who defraud the government and deprive federal programs of valuable tax dollars.”
“Medicare is a crucial component of our nation's healthcare system,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Edward J. Hanko. “This sentence sends a clear message to anyone looking to game that system and steal taxpayers’ money: we will catch you, and we will put you away.”
“Kolodesh’s 14 year prison sentence is a clear message to those stealing from Medicare,” said Nick DiGiulio, Special Agent in Charge for the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Philadelphia. “We will keep working with our partners to protect our health care system from fraud, waste, and abuse and to send thieves to prison.”
Kolodesh siphoned $7.77 million dollars from HCH’s bank account for his own personal enrichment. His spouse was set up as a sham CEO of the company and received millions of dollars in salary draws and bonuses. Kolodesh also used funds for extensive renovations to his mansion, travel expenses for his family and friends, college tuition for his son, and a luxury automobile. He siphoned substantial sums of cash from the HCH operating account through cash kickback arrangements with various HCH vendors using a system of phony and inflated invoicing, and through a charitable donation scam arranged with a local synagogue in which he was a member.
The mail fraud convictions stemmed from another scam orchestrated by Kolodesh which involved the Philadelphia Development Corporation (PIDC). In 2005, Kolodesh and Pugman applied for a low-interest loan worth $2.5 million with PIDC, a program designed to stimulate business investment and create jobs in the city of Philadelphia. The loan money was to be used to acquire and renovate a property for the business and to create 50 bona fide jobs in Philadelphia at 2801 Grant Avenue, the site of HCH. However, between August 2005 and July 2009, the job quota was not being met. To prevent default on the loan, Kolodesh set up a sham office at the Grant Avenue location purportedly for Community Home Health (“CHH”), his Bucks County health care business. Kolodesh falsely identified 73 CHH employees as working at that office location on Grant Avenue who, in fact, did not work there.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne B. Ercole and Trial Attorney Margaret Vierbuchen of the Organized Crime and Gang Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Heroin Addict Pleads Guilty to Illegal Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
Huntington, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that John Clark Schlotter, 30, originally from Weirton, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Huntington to unlawful possession of a firearm by a drug addict.
In January of 2014, Schlotter was in possession of two stolen guns at his home on First Avenue Rear in Huntington. Schlotter was holding the guns for a known heroin dealer who had received them in payment of a heroin debt. Schlotter was holding the guns for the heroin dealer in exchange for heroin for his personal use.Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers set the sentencing for September 2, 2014.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Head of Newman Drug Ring Pleads Guilty in HuntingtonRead the Press Release
Huntington, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Kenneth Dewitt Newman, also known as “K-Kutta,” 32, of Huntington pleaded guilty today in federal court in Huntington to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, oxycodone, heroin, MDMA (commonly known as Ecstasy) and marijuana. Newman, his brother, George Antonio Newman, their mother, Darlene Newman, and 12 others were indicted for their various roles in the drug distribution conspiracy. Newman and the others sold various types of controlled substances from his home at 1814 Artisan Avenue in Huntington and in the surrounding area from at least 2010 through January of 2014. In January of 2014, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted a search of Newman’s home and seized cocaine, oxycodone, heroin, MDMA and marijuana.
The charges against Newman and his associates arose out of a long term investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, and the Huntington Police Department. George Newman, Ariell Varney, William Isiah Petties, Kamel Burris, and Brandon Appleton have all pleaded guilty to various charges arising from the Newman investigation. Other defendants are awaiting trial currently set for the end of July. Newman faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on August 25, 2014.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Head of Annandale Settlement Company Pleads Guilty to over $2 Million Short Sale Mortgage FraudRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jose Marinay, 52, of Annandale, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his involvement in a short sale mortgage fraud conspiracy.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Washington D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Marinay was indicted on April 15, 2014 by a federal grand jury on multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Marinay faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Sept.26, 2014.
According to court documents, Marinay operated a settlement company in Annandale named Virginia Smart Choice Settlements (which is now SCS Title & Escrow). Marinay helped prepare settlement statements that contained false information relating to liens, realtor commissions, title search fees, attorneys’ fees, title insurance, recording fees and taxes. Marinay caused the settlement statements to be sent to mortgage lenders, and in some instances, he shredded the statements to conceal evidence of the fraudulent transactions.
According to the statement of facts filed with Marinay’s plea agreement, a co-conspirator used the settlement statements to fraudulently induce mortgage lenders to execute short sales—real estate transactions in which the mortgage lender agrees to accept a price less than the amount owed on the property—on at least seven occasions. Immediately after the short sale, the co-conspirator sold the property to a new buyer in violation of representations and agreements made with the short sale mortgage lender. As a result of this scheme, the affected financial institutions suffered losses of over $2 million.
This case was investigated by theFBI’s Washington Field Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye and Trial Attorney Todd Ellinwood of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Hartford Couple Sentenced to Prison for Operating Identity Theft and Credit Card Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that two Hartford residents were sentenced today in Hartford federal court for operating an identity theft and credit card fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea sentenced JONATHAN PRESTON, 23, to 46 months of imprisonment, and his wife, LUMI NUNEZ, 34, to 30 months of imprisonment. Both defendants were ordered to serve three years of supervised release after they are released from prison.
According to court documents and statements made in court, PRESTON and NUNEZ used the Internet and other sources to obtain personal identifying information of several prominent individuals, including entertainers and professional athletes, and used that information to pose as their victims to gain access to the victims’ credit card accounts. Since approximately 2010, PRESTON and NUNEZ used the credit card accounts to make more than $500,000 in unauthorized purchases and cash withdrawals. The defendants used much of the stolen money to purchase vehicles and jewelry, and to gamble at casinos.
PRESTON and NUNEZ have been detained since their arrests on November 7, 2013. In February 2014, they each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Judge Shea scheduled a restitution hearing for August 25, 2014.
This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service, Hartford Police Department and Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force. The Task Force includes members of the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police, and the Greenwich, Hartford, Monroe, Stamford, Shelton, Stratford and Waterford Police Departments.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward Chang and Paul McConnell.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
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Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Gower Man Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Gower, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for possessing child pornography and attempting to receive child pornography over the Internet.
William D. Everett, 43, of Gower, was charged in a three-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. That indictment was unsealed and made public upon Everett’s arrest and initial court appearance on Friday, May 23, 2014.
Everett is charged with two counts of attempting to receive child pornography over the Internet and one count of possessing child pornography.
The federal indictment contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Everett to forfeit to the government two desktop computers and two computer hard drives that were allegedly used to commit the offenses.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the Gower, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Gambino Family Adminstration Member Bartolomeo Vernace Sentenced to Life ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
Earlier today at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Bartolomeo Vernace, a member of the administration of the Gambino organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Gambino family”), was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole plus ten years. On April 17, 2013, following a five-week jury trial before the Hon. Sandra L. Townes, Vernace was found guilty of a racketeering conspiracy spanning 1978 through 2011. The jury found that Vernace participated in all nine racketeering acts alleged as part of the conspiracy, including the 1981 double homicide of Richard Godkin and John D’Agnese, heroin trafficking, robbery, loansharking, and illegal gambling.
The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
“For more than four decades, the defendant dedicated his life to committing crimes for the mafia. He rose through the ranks to become a powerful Gambino family leader by making money from crime and committing brutal acts of violence, including the 1981 murders of two innocent bar owners over a spilled drink. Though they were taken from their families long ago, Richard Godkin and John D’Agnese – two businessmen who also ran the local Boys’ Club – have not been forgotten,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We hope the victims’ families are able to take some measure of comfort from the fact that, with this life sentence, one of the killers has now been brought to justice.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the FBI, the agency that led the government’s investigation.
“After more than 33 years evading justice, Bartolomeo “Bobby Glasses” Vernace can hide no more. Vernace made a life of being a key player in the Gambino crime family where his activities led to his convictions for heroin trafficking, robbery, loansharking, gambling, firearms, as well the vicious double murder. Today’s life sentence ensures the rest of Bobby Glasses’s life will only be seen inside of a federal facility,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos.
The evidence at trial established that Vernace, known by various aliases including “Bobby Glasses,” had a long career in the mafia that began in the early 1970s and culminated in his rise to the rank of a captain who served on the three-member ruling panel overseeing the Gambino family. Vernace was arrested on January 20, 2011, as part of a national sweep of almost 100 members and associates of organized crime led by the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Among the crimes he committed for the mafia, Vernace, together with two Gambino family associates, murdered Richard Godkin and John D’Agnese in the Shamrock Bar in the Woodhaven neighborhood of Queens on April 11, 1981, after a dispute arose between a Gambino family associate and others in the bar over a spilled drink. The associate left the bar and picked up Vernace and a third accomplice at a nearby social club. A short time later, the three men entered the bar and gunned down Godkin and D’Agnese – the owners of the bar – as the bar’s patrons fled for cover.
In the weeks after the murders, Vernace went into hiding. He did not reemerge until years later when, having successfully avoided state charges for the murders, Vernace returned to Queens and to an active role in the Gambino family. Over the next two decades, his power within the mafia grew, as he operated a large and profitable crew from a café on Cooper Avenue in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens.
In 1998, Vernace was charged in Queens County Supreme Court with the Godkin and D’Agnese murders, but was acquitted after trial in 2002. During testimony in the federal trial in 2013, an eyewitness to the murders testified that he had lied during the state trial about Vernace’s role in the murders out of fear of retribution. The eyewitness testified in the federal case that he recognized all three assailants but that he had been afraid to testify against them because, in his words, “two men were dead over a spilled drink. I think that was reason enough to be afraid.”
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Evan M. Norris, Amir H. Toossi, M. Kristin Mace, and Claire S. Kedeshian.
The Defendant:
BARTOLOMEO VERNACE
Age: 65
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 11-CR-005 (SLT)
Former CFO of Emporia Company Sentenced for Embezzling $265,927Read the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. - The former chief financial officer for a manufacturing firm in Emporia was sentenced Tuesday to four months home confinement for embezzling more than $265,927 from the company, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. She also was ordered to pay full restitution.
Sandra Moore, 58, Emporia, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement. In her plea, she admitted the crime occurred beginning in 2008 while she was CFO of Sauder Custom Fabrication, Inc., in Emporia, Kan.
She devised a variety of schemes to divert money from her employer’s accounts to her own including:- Making unauthorized transfers from the company’s disbursement account to her personal account at ESB Financial in Emporia.
- Issuing unauthorized checks and depositing them into her personal account.
- Issuing unauthorized checks to repay loans she obtained from her 401K account.
Using those methods, she embezzled a total of $265,927 from the company.
Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich Hathaway for their work on the case.Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Filing False Claim with Internal Revenue Service for Tax RefundRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Bradley Bowman, a resident of Lighthouse Point, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false claim for a tax refund with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida announced today. Bowman was indicted on March 25, 2014.
According to court documents, in 2009, Bowman submitted to the IRS a false individual income false tax return for tax year 2005 that fraudulently claimed a refund of $299,024. Bowman engaged Penny Jones, who is currently serving a 12 year sentence in a related case, to create this false return. Bowman attached false Forms 1099-OID to the return which fraudulently claimed that he had income of $447,036, and he also falsely claimed that all of this income was withheld to satisfy his income tax liabilities. Sentencing is set for Aug. 7, 2014, where Bowman faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Greg Bailey of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani for the Southern District of Florida.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at the division website.
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Filing False Claim with Internal Revenue Service for Tax RefundRead the Press Release
Bradley Bowman, a resident of Lighthouse Point, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false claim for a tax refund with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida and Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced today. Bowman was indicted on March 25, 2014.
According to court documents, in 2009, Bowman submitted to the IRS a false individual income false tax return for tax year 2005 that fraudulently claimed a refund of $299,024. Bowman engaged Penny Jones, who is currently serving a 12 year sentence in a related case, to create this false return. Bowman attached false Forms 1099-OID to the return which fraudulently claimed that he had income of $447,036, and he also falsely claimed that all of this income was withheld to satisfy his income tax liabilities. Sentencing is set for Aug. 7, 2014, where Bowman faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Greg Bailey of the Tax Division.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at the division website.
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.
Final Defendant in Snohomish County Gun Trafficking Ring Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
The final defendant in a Snohomish County gun trafficking ring was sentenced today to six years in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to unlawfully traffic in firearms and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. CURTIS VAN PUTTEN, 44, of Marysville, Washington, pleaded guilty in February 2014 on the eve of trial. VAN PUTTEN has prior convictions for drug possession and possession of stolen property. As a felon, he was barred from possessing the three stolen assault rifles that he sold to an undercover officer on December 11, 2012. The firearms had been stolen from a home in Oak Harbor, Washington just the day before the sale. At sentencing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said stolen assault weapons “show up in the hands of people who do very bad things.”
“This defendant believed he was selling guns to the leader of a criminal gang, and expressed no concern about putting powerful firearms in the wrong hands. He has earned his six year prison term,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “Our country has experienced all too well the terrible destruction that occurs when firearms are put in the hands of the wrong people. As a result of gun violence, lives are ended, families are destroyed, and dreams are shattered.”
The leader of the gun trafficking ring, Heather Chancey a/k/a/ Heather Lee Slater, 34, of Marysville, Washington, was sentenced in February 2014 to nine years in prison. According to records in the case, on multiple occasions between October 2012 and January 2013, Heather Chancey and her co-conspirators sold guns to an undercover law enforcement agent. Most of the sales occurred in the parking lot of the Tulalip Resort Casino in Marysville, Washington. Some of the sales occurred in other parking lots of businesses in Marysville or Arlington, Washington or at a Marysville residence. The ring trafficked 49 firearms. VAN PUTTEN sold three of the firearms to the undercover officer in a transaction brokered by Chancey at an Interstate 5 rest stop near Arlington, Washington. VAN PUTTEN sold the undercover officer a Ruger Ranch .223 caliber rifle, a DPMS Panther Arms, model AR-15, .223 caliber rifle and a DPMS Panther Arms, model LR-308, .308 caliber rifle for $1050.
In addition to Chancey, conspirators James Michaels was sentenced to 10 months in prison and Mark Jenkins was sentenced to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to unlawfully sell firearms.
This investigation was conducted by the Snohomish Regional Gang and Drug Task Force, the Seattle Police Department’s Major Crimes Task Force, and the FBI. During the investigation, those agencies were assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force and the United States Marshal’s Violent Offender Task Force.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Crisham and Justin Arnold.
Federal Grand Jury Returns Superseding Indictment Charging Lake County Man with Advertising, Transporting, and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Aaron Michael Murray (21, Clermont) has been charged by a federal grand jury in a superseding indictment with five counts of advertising for child pornography over the Internet, four counts of transporting child pornography over the Internet, and two counts of possessing child pornography. On each of the advertising counts, Murray faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years in federal prison. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty 5 years, up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each transportation count, and up to 10 years in prison on each possession count. Each count in the superseding indictment also carries a potential life term of supervision.
Murray was arrested on June 28, 2013, in Lake County, pursuant to a criminal complaint. He was originally indicted in this case on July 25, 2013. His trial is scheduled to begin on July 1, 2014 before Chief United States District Judge Anne C. Conway, at the United States Courthouse in Orlando.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dallas (Texas) Police Department, and the Carrollton (Texas) Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another 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.
Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Distribution in HuntingtonRead the Press Release
Huntington, W.Va. – Emanuel Louis Harris, also known as “Forty,” age 44, of Detroit, Michigan, plead guilty in federal court in Huntington to possession with intent to distribute cocaine announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. In January of 2014, police found Harris at a residence on Division Street in Huntington with approximately 17.3 grams of cocaine powder. Harris was attempting to flush about an ounce of heroin down the toilet when police entered the house. Police also used a confidential informant to buy prescription pills from Harris on three separate occasions in 2012. Harris faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on September 2, 2014. United States District Court Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.