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11 July 2014
Two Former Chesapeake, Virginia, Subcontractors Sentenced for Bribery, ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Dwayne A. Hardman, 44, co-founder of two government contracting companies that sought business from the United States Navy Military Sealift Command (MSC), and Adam C. White, 40, former vice president and co-owner of one of Hardman’s government contracting companies, were sentenced for bribery and conspiracy. On July 9, 2014, Hardman was sentenced to 96 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. White was sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Hardman was ordered to forfeit $144,000, and White was ordered to forfeit $57,000.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Office, Acting Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May Jr. of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office made the announcement today after sentencing by United States Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to court documents, Hardman and White participated in a five-year bribery scheme in which they and several co-conspirators provided more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things, to two public officials working for MSC, in an illegal effort to influence those public officials to provide favorable treatment to Hardman and White’s companies in connection with United States government contracting work.
On Feb. 18, 2014, Hardman pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with bribery. According to the plea documents, Hardman was the co-founder of two government contracting companies, referred to as Company A and Company B, located in Chesapeake, Virginia that sought contracting business from MSC, which is the leading provider of transportation for the United States Navy. At his plea hearing, Hardman admitted that beginning in March 2005, he and other Company A employees, provided approximately $3,000 in cash bribes per month to two MSC public officials, Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the MSC’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, and Scott B. Miserendino Sr., a former government contractor who performed work for the MSC. Those Company A employees included Roderic J. Smith, the former president, co-owner and co-founder of Company A; Adam C. White, a former vice president and co-owner of Company A; and Michael P. McPhail a former project manager and co-owner of Company A. Hardman also admitted that in May 2009, he and Timothy S. Miller, co-founder of Company B, provided $50,000 in cash bribes to Toy and Miserendino. In addition to the cash bribes, Hardman stated that he and his co-conspirators provided Toy and Miserendino flat screen televisions, a paid vacation to Nags Head in North Carolina, a personal loan and installation of hardwood floors in Toy’s residence.
In exchange for these bribes, Toy and Miserendino provided favorable treatment in connection with MSC-related business to both Company A and Company B. During the bribery scheme, Company A received approximately $3 million in MSC-related business, and Company B received approximately $2.4 million in MSC-related business.
As part of his guilty plea, Hardman also admitted that, in approximately November or December 2010, Hardman threatened to report the bribery activities to law enforcement authorities if his co-conspirators did not provide him money. In total, Hardman admitted that he received approximately $85,000 from his co-conspirators, including Smith, Toy and Miserendino, in exchange for not reporting the bribery scheme to law enforcement authorities.
On April 4, 2014, White pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery. At his plea hearing, White admitted that from approximately April 2005 until approximately March 2006, he personally contributed approximately $26,000 in cash bribe payments for Toy and Miserendino, and White was aware that other co-conspirators, including Hardman, Smith and McPhail, were also contributing cash and other things of value to be provided to Toy and Miserendino in exchange for their official assistance in providing MSC-related business.
Earlier this year, three other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On Feb. 12, 2014, Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Hardman, White, and others. On Feb. 19, 2014, McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. On March 5, 2014, Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials.
On June 23, 2014, United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan of the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced Smith to 48 months in prison followed by 1 year of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $175,000.
On May 23, 2014, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Miserendino and Miller. The indictment charges Miserendino with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of criminal investigations and to commit tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of criminal investigations. The indictment charges Miller with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery. Trial is set for Sept. 30, 2014, before Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI, NCIS, and DCIS. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia.Two Former Chesapeake, Virginia, Subcontractors Sentenced for Bribery, ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Dwayne A. Hardman, 44, co-founder of two government contracting companies that sought business from the United States Navy Military Sealift Command (MSC), and Adam C. White, 40, former vice president and co-owner of one of Hardman’s government contracting companies, were sentenced for bribery and conspiracy. On July 9, 2014, Hardman was sentenced to 96 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. White was sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Hardman was ordered to forfeit $144,000, and White was ordered to forfeit $57,000.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Office, Acting Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May Jr. of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office made the announcement today after sentencing by United States Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to court documents, Hardman and White participated in a five-year bribery scheme in which they and several co-conspirators provided more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things, to two public officials working for MSC, in an illegal effort to influence those public officials to provide favorable treatment to Hardman and White’s companies in connection with United States government contracting work.
On Feb. 18, 2014, Hardman pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with bribery. According to the plea documents, Hardman was the co-founder of two government contracting companies, referred to as Company A and Company B, located in Chesapeake, Virginia that sought contracting business from MSC, which is the leading provider of transportation for the United States Navy. At his plea hearing, Hardman admitted that beginning in March 2005, he and other Company A employees, provided approximately $3,000 in cash bribes per month to two MSC public officials, Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the MSC’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, and Scott B. Miserendino Sr., a former government contractor who performed work for the MSC. Those Company A employees included Roderic J. Smith, the former president, co-owner and co-founder of Company A; Adam C. White, a former vice president and co-owner of Company A; and Michael P. McPhail a former project manager and co-owner of Company A. Hardman also admitted that in May 2009, he and Timothy S. Miller, co-founder of Company B, provided $50,000 in cash bribes to Toy and Miserendino. In addition to the cash bribes, Hardman stated that he and his co-conspirators provided Toy and Miserendino flat screen televisions, a paid vacation to Nags Head in North Carolina, a personal loan and installation of hardwood floors in Toy’s residence.
In exchange for these bribes, Toy and Miserendino provided favorable treatment in connection with MSC-related business to both Company A and Company B. During the bribery scheme, Company A received approximately $3 million in MSC-related business, and Company B received approximately $2.4 million in MSC-related business.
As part of his guilty plea, Hardman also admitted that, in approximately November or December 2010, Hardman threatened to report the bribery activities to law enforcement authorities if his co-conspirators did not provide him money. In total, Hardman admitted that he received approximately $85,000 from his co-conspirators, including Smith, Toy and Miserendino, in exchange for not reporting the bribery scheme to law enforcement authorities.
On April 4, 2014, White pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery. At his plea hearing, White admitted that from approximately April 2005 until approximately March 2006, he personally contributed approximately $26,000 in cash bribe payments for Toy and Miserendino, and White was aware that other co-conspirators, including Hardman, Smith and McPhail, were also contributing cash and other things of value to be provided to Toy and Miserendino in exchange for their official assistance in providing MSC-related business.
Earlier this year, three other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On Feb. 12, 2014, Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Hardman, White, and others. On Feb. 19, 2014, McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. On March 5, 2014, Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials.
On June 23, 2014, United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan of the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced Smith to 48 months in prison followed by 1 year of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $175,000.
On May 23, 2014, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Miserendino and Miller. The indictment charges Miserendino with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of criminal investigations and to commit tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of criminal investigations. The indictment charges Miller with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery. Trial is set for Sept. 30, 2014, before Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI, NCIS, and DCIS. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia.Tweet
Two California Men Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Engage in Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and CoercionRead the Press Release
Two Long Beach, California, men pleaded guilty today to conspiracy charges arising from a sex trafficking scheme that exploited adult women for prostitution. Roshaun Nakia Porter, 39, and Marquis Monte Horn, 35, both pleaded guilty before Judge Josephine L. Staton in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to conspiring to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion. Sentencing has been set for Oct. 24, 2014, and each defendant faces a sentence of up to life imprisonment.
According to documents filed in court, from October 2009 through April 2012, Porter and Horn conspired together and with others to recruit, entice, harbor, transport and provide women to engage in commercial sex acts, using various coercive means to compel the women to engage in prostitution for the defendants’ financial benefit. Porter and Horn’s scheme of force, fraud and coercion included false and deceptive internet advertisements they used to lure the victims into romantic relationships with the defendants, and psychological manipulation and control to cause the victims to engage in commercial sex acts for the defendants’ financial benefit.
“The Department of Justice is committed to the vigorous prosecution of defendants who prey upon and exploit vulnerable individuals for their own financial gain,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will continue to pursue justice on behalf of victims of human trafficking to restore their rights and dignity and to hold their traffickers accountable.”
“Human trafficking is a horrific crime that causes significant damage to victims who are often forced to commit unspeakable acts,” said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. for the Central District of California. “This scheme to control and manipulate victims forced to work in the sex trade has come to an end. With today’s guilty pleas, I hope that healing for the victims can begin.”
“Sex trafficking is not something that only happens outside of the United States, but victimizes Americans in our own backyards,” said Assistant Director of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office Bill Lewis. “In this case, the defendants defrauded victims and forced them to work as sex slaves under threat to themselves and their families. I hope this conviction reminds vigilant members of the public to report the signs of human and sex trafficking to law enforcement when they encounter it.”
This matter was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandy Leal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Daniel H. Weiss of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
Texas Man Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison for Attempting to Entice A Minor to Have SexRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. –A Texas man was sentenced to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release for contacting a 14-year-old girl in order to start a sexual relationship, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today.
Elton Ray Jones, 67, of Zavalla, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote for one of count attempting to entice a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. He was found guilty after a two-day jury trial that ended on March 12, 2014. Based on witness testimony and documents admitted into evidence, it was shown that from September 11, 2012 to October 17, 2012, Jones made contact and conducted online chats with a law enforcement officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. Jones engaged in explicit conversations and planned a sexual encounter. Law enforcement officers arrested Jones on October 17, 2012 in Lafayette where Jones had planned to meet the girl.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice launched nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be submitted anonymously.The Louisiana State Police and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Myers P. Namie and John Luke Walker prosecuted the case.
South Florida Man Sentenced to Prison for $10.5 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A south Florida man was sentenced today in federal court in Tampa, Florida, to serve 48 months in prison in connection with a $10.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving physical and occupational therapy services.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III for the Middle District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan Lynch of the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) region including all of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office made the announcement.
Luis Alberto Garcia Perojo (Garcia), 43, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition to his prison term, he was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $6,248,056 in restitution, jointly and severally with his co-conspirators.
According to documents filed in the case, Garcia conspired with others to execute a health care fraud scheme through Renew Therapy Center of Port St. Lucie LLC (Renew Therapy), a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility that he helped operate. From November 2007 through August 2009, Renew Therapy submitted approximately $10,549,361 in fraudulent claims for reimbursement to Medicare for therapy services that were not legitimately prescribed and not legitimately provided to Medicare beneficiaries. As a result of those fraudulent claims, Medicare deposited approximately $6,248,056 into a Renew Therapy bank account. The fraud proceeds in that account were subsequently disbursed to various entities, including $1,847,222 to Ariguanabo Investment Group Inc. and IRE Diagnostic Center Inc. Garcia was President of Ariguanabo Investment Group and had authority over bank accounts for Ariguanabo Investment Group and IRE Diagnostic Center, both of which were shell companies. Garcia and others used this money from Renew Therapy for, among other purposes, paying kickbacks to obtain Medicare beneficiary identifying information that was used in Renew Therapy’s fraudulent reimbursement claims.
This case is being investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .South Florida Couple Plead Guilty to Money Laundering Involving Third-Party Payments to MexicoRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), announce that Natalie Ladin, 62, and Jed Ladin, 66, both of Lauderdale by the Sea, and their company Natalie Jewelry, doing business as Golden Opportunities, located in Hallandale Beach, each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h). Sentencing is scheduled for October 31, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom. At sentencing, the defendants each face up to 20 years in prison.
According to court documents, the defendants committed money laundering by conducting wire transfers from Natalie Jewelry to third parties in Mexico. Operating an unlicensed money transmitter business is a specified unlawful activity for money laundering, and neither Natalie Jewelry nor any of its owners or employees had such a license from the State of Florida or the Department of the Treasury. From October 2013 through January 2014, the defendants exchanged coded text messages with two co-conspirators who would drop off bags of cash at different South Florida locations and provide the defendants with a list of people who should receive wire transfers from that money. In exchange for a commission, the defendants sent money via wire transfer to approximately 21 individuals in Mexico for a total of $2,023,950.00.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Thakur.
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.
Rosebud Man Charged and Sentenced for AssaultRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, man charged with Assault by Striking, Beating, and Wounding and Simple Assault pled guilty to and was sentenced on July 7, 2014, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno.
Anthony Hero, age 29, was sentenced to 231 days in custody with credit for time served and $20 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction stems from an incident that took place between February 1, 2013, and February 2, 2013, when Hero and the victims were at a house party in Rosebud. After leaving the party, Hero was in a vehicle when he had a disagreement with the two victims. He assaulted both victims by striking and beating them.
The investigation was conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher.
Hero was released from custody.
Rio Rancho Man Faces Federal Charges for Unlawful Firearms Possession and Drunk Driving in Santa Fe National ForestRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Paul Henry Ortega, 45, of Rio Rancho, N.M., made his initial appearance in federal court this morning on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and driving while intoxicated. Ortega remains in federal custody pending arraignment and a detention hearing which have yet to be scheduled.
The indictment, which was filed on March 26, 2014, alleges that Ortega unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on Aug. 5, 2012, in Rio Arriba County, N.M. At the time, Ortega was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of a felony offense. It also charges Ortega with the misdemeanor offense of driving while intoxicated. According to the indictment, Ortega allegedly drove a vehicle in the Santa Fe National Forest on Aug. 5, 2012, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor.
Ortega was arrested yesterday on an arrest warrant that issued when he failed to comply with a summons to appear in court on arraignment on the indictment.
If convicted, Ortega faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison on the firearms charge and up to a year in prison on the driving while intoxicated charges. The charges against Ortega are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Special Agent in Charge Robin L. Poague of the Southwestern Region of the U.S. Forest Service said, “Federal regulations authorize Forest Service officials to enter orders permitting Forest Service officers to issue federal violation notices for violations of the state motor vehicle code on National Forest System lands and roads. This ensures consistent enforcement of the motor vehicle code throughout the state and across agencies. The prosecution of Ortega on DUI charges was initiated pursuant to this authority.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Mexico State Police and the New Mexico Game & Fish and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Pierce County Woman Sentenced to Three Years for Identity Theft and Tax Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Pierce County woman was sentenced to three years in prison today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a scheme that netted her more than $95,000, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. BARBARA HOLLY STAHLMAN, 42, was indicted in February 2013, for a scheme in which she fraudulently claimed tax refunds using other people’s personal information. STAHLMAN has been in custody since August 2013. The Honorable Ronald B. Leighton sentenced her to three years in prison for her role in the scheme.
STAHLMAN filed 108 false electronic tax returns between 2010 and 2013, 44 of which were actually accepted and processed by the IRS. Overall, STAHLMAN claimed false refunds totaling more than $500,000. All but one of the false returns she filed was in the name of another person (one was in her own name). In the returns actually accepted and processed by the IRS, she claimed false refunds totaling $223,383. She directed that the refunds be paid into prepaid debit cards, which she directed be sent to her address and to the addresses of family members. The IRS paid $87,000 in refunds to STAHLMAN before it detected her criminal pattern, after which the IRS cut off all refunds on the remaining false returns.
In its sentencing recommendation, the United States Attorney noted not only the damage STAHLMAN did to the integrity of the IRS, but also underscored “the damage she inflicted on those whose identities she commandeered. STAHLMAN committed multiple acts of identity fraud, which has caused innocent victims to become entangled with the IRS, over returns they did not file, and refunds they never received. It will take years for them to cleanse their names of the stain of Stahlman’s fraud.”
The Justice Department’s Tax Division, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, has prioritized the investigation and prosecution of individuals who engage in stolen identity refund fraud. In the last year alone, the Department charged more than 880 defendants involved in stolen identity refund fraud, and the IRS reports that it resolved or closed approximately 963,000 cases involving identity theft victims.
Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Tessa Gorman, at 206-553-7970, or [email protected].
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Reese Jennings.Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 60 Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Steven Mazer, 27, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 60 years in prison, the statutory maximum, for production of child pornography. Mazer pleaded guilty on June 24, 2013 to two counts of production of child pornography.
In December 2011, Mazer agreed to babysit a friend’s two minor children, a two year-old and a three year-old. While he was babysitting, Mazer enticed and coerced the children to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct. Mazer video recorded the sexually violent acts.
In addition to the 60-year prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Jan E. DuBois ordered a fine of $2,500, five years of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vineet Gauri.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Pediatric Oncologist Sentenced to Prison, Fined for Accessing Child PornRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Christopher Edward Pelloski, MD, 40, of Upper Arlington, Ohio, was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison followed by five years of supervised release for accessing peer-to-peer file sharing networks to view digital images of child pornography involving pubescent and pre-pubescent children. He was also fined $10,000.
Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott, Upper Arlington Police Chief Brian Quinn and members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham.
According to court documents, investigators patrolling the internet in October 2012 and between March and July 2013 identified a computer at Pelloski’s residence on a peer to peer network with numerous child pornography files. The investigators executed a search warrant at Pelloski’s home on July 16, 2013 and seized numerous computers and digital media. A forensic examination of one of the computers revealed evidence of approximately 85 images of child pornography, as well as evidence that various peer-to-peer programs had been installed on the computer.
Pelloski surrendered to federal officials on July 24, 2013 after a criminal complaint was filed against him. He has been on electronic monitoring since his arrest. Pelloski pleaded guilty on November 15, 2014 to one count of accessing child pornography.
“While the defendant may not have committed acts of sexual abuse or molestation himself, the hundreds of images and videos that he downloaded and viewed involved real children suffering real abuse,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill told the court. “The government believes that the position of trust and responsibility that the defendant was given in regards to young and vulnerable children heightens his culpability in this case.”
The Bureau of Prisons will determine a date for Pelloski to report and begin serving his sentence. He will remain on electronic monitoring until then. While he is on supervised release after serving his prison sentence, Pelloski will be required to register as a sex offender anywhere that he lives, works or goes to school.
Pelloski was a radiation oncologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, where he also held the title of Director of the Pediatric Radiation Oncology Program.
The Franklin County ICAC Task Force is a multi-agency effort dedicated to the fight against computer facilitated crimes against children. The following agencies are members:
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Upper Arlington Police Department
Grove City Police Department Columbus Police Department
Grandview Heights Police Department Whitehall Police Department
Hilliard Police Department Westerville Police Department
Homeland Security Investigations U.S. Secret Service
Ohio ICAC Franklin County Prosecutor's Office
Circleville Police DepartmentThis case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the HSI agents and other members of the ICAC Task Force for the cooperative investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill, who prosecuted the case. Stewart also acknowledged the assistance of the Ohio State University Police Department in the investigation.
Oshkosh Heroin Dealer Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney James L. Santelle, of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on July 9, 2014, Dustin J. Burdick (age: 24) of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison by Chief United States District Judge William C. Griesbach. Burdick had previously entered a guilty plea to a single count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.
According to the plea agreement and other documents filed with the court, Burdick was recruited by his friend Sherman M. Threets, to act as a dealer in Threets’ heroin distribution business. In this role, Burdick sold heroin on numerous occasions to a confidential informant working on behalf of law enforcement.
In pronouncing sentence, Chief Judge Griesbach chastised Burdick for his role distributing “poison” in the Lake Winnebago area, noted the devastating effect that heroin has had throughout northeast Wisconsin, and pointed to numerous recent overdose deaths as evidence of the scourge that heroin presents in our society. In addition to the prison sentence, Burdick was ordered to spend an additional 5 years on supervised release.The case was investigated by the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group and the Oshkosh Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
Omaha Man Sentenced to 144 Months Imprisonment on Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Jarez Wilson of Omaha, also known as “Turk,” was sentenced on July 11, 2014, to a total of 144 months in prison by United States District Judge Joseph Bataillon. Wilson had previously pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
In October 2013, Wilson was arrested in a HIDTA, (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program), sponsored law enforcement initiative that targeted gang violence in Omaha. During the joint investigation between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Omaha Police Department, Wilson sold three firearms and over a quarter pound of marijuana to two different felons who were working with law enforcement as cooperating witnesses.This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Omaha Police Department.
Olympia Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing False ClaimsRead the Press Release
An Olympia, Washington tax preparer pled guilty this morning, following his arraignment for a tax fraud scheme in which he falsely claimed tax refunds while victimizing his clients, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. KYLE BAXTER, 31, appeared in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, charged with one count of filing a false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim, and admitting to his role in orchestrating the entire three-year scheme.
In his plea agreement, BAXTER admitted that from 2010 through 2013, he represented himself to be a provider of tax preparation services operating under the name “Baxtax.” BAXTER maintained a website for “Baxtax,” and promoted his services through advertisement in local media, although BAXTER never obtained a Preparer Tax Identification Number, ordinarily required of any person or entity that prepares tax returns for a fee. During that three-year period, BAXTER, a firefighter, filed tax returns for at least 280 people, many of whom were fellow firefighters, as well as emergency medical technicians and paramedics. In many filings, BAXTER claimed deductions and credits for which his clients were plainly ineligible, such as child tax credits for clients without children, which had the effect of increasing the refunds paid by the IRS to the clients. BAXTER provided clients paper copies of tax returns purportedly reflecting their filings. Unbeknownst to the clients, however, BAXTER actually filed returns with distorted numbers that yielded even larger refunds, and BAXTER secretly diverted significant portions of these refunds to himself. Over the course of the scheme, BAXTER stole at least $250,000 in taxpayer funds by partially diverting refund payments in this manner.
BAXTER will be sentenced by United States District Judge Robert. J. Bryan on October 3, 2014, at 10:00 a.m.
Making false and fictitious claims is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ehren Reynolds.
Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Tessa Gorman at (206) 553-7970 or [email protected].Odenton Man Sentenced to Prison for Laundering More Than $1.5 Million in Scheme to Steal Waste Vegetable OilRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Anthony Jean-Claude, age 40, of Odenton, Maryland today to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for laundering over $1.5 million, in connecting with a scheme to steal waste vegetable oil. Judge Motz also entered an order requiring Jean-Claude to pay restitution and forfeiture of $1,586,747.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Kelly of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.“Jean-Claude’s actions were motivated by pure greed as evidenced by the more than $1.5 million in laundered fraud proceeds he received while perpetuating a waste vegetable oil scheme,” said Thomas J Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to unraveling money laundering schemes such as this, where individuals attempt to conceal the true source of their money. Today’s sentencing shows IRS-CI, in conjunction with our law enforcement partners, will continue to bring cases like these to justice.”
Waste collection businesses contract with local restaurants to collect waste vegetable oil which is used to make bio-diesel fuel or processed as an additive for animal feed. Waste collection businesses place recycling containers behind the restaurants with which they have contracts. When the containers are full, the businesses collect the oil using a vacuum truck.According to his plea agreement, from May through October 2010, Jean-Claude and a friend stole waste vegetable oil from restaurants in Maryland and Virginia using a tow truck owned by his friend. Jean-Claude and his friend stored the stolen oil at a warehouse near Waterview Avenue in Baltimore County, then sold the oil to out-of-state oil companies.
At the end of October, Jean-Claude’s friend developed a legitimate waste vegetable oil collection company named Waste Not Inc. The friend purchased a vacuum truck, hired salesmen to assist him, and eventually obtained 650 contracts to collect waste vegetable oil from restaurants. From June through October, 2011, Jean-Claude’s friend collected the oil pursuant to the contracts and sold the oil to Jean-Claude.
In May 2011, Jean-Claude used a straw purchaser to buy a truck which was titled in the name of Waste Not. The truck was used to steal waste vegetable oil from restaurants that did not have a collection contract with Waste Not. The driver of that truck was caught stealing waste vegetable oil in July 2011.
In late 2011, Jean-Claude met R.F. during a renovation project at Jean-Claude’s home. Jean-Claude requested that R.F. lease a large warehouse facility to collect, process and sell waste vegetable oil. The owner of Waste Not took both his legitimate waste vegetable oil and the stolen oil to the facility, located at 1701 Leland Avenue in Middle River. Jean-Claude then sold the waste vegetable oil to fuel companies in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The proceeds of these transactions were directed back to Jean-Claude through a bank account in the name of Rafxcel Services, which account was held by both R.F. and Jean-Claude.
Jean-Claude subsequently used the straw purchaser to buy another truck in October 2011. A conspirator used the truck to steal waste vegetable oil from 20 locations in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The conspirator then took the stolen oil to the Leland Avenue facility. From January 5, 2012 through October 1, 2012, approximately $1,586,747 was deposited in the Rafxcel account for the sale of waste vegetable oil to companies in Maryland, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
The operations manager at the Leland Avenue facility received checks from Jean-Claude in the name of the manager’s wife, which were drawn on the Rafxcel business account. Jean-Claude directed the manager to cash the checks, use a portion of the cash for the operations of the Leland Avenue facility, and give the remainder of the cash back to Jean-Claude.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Baltimore County Police Department and IRS – Criminal Investigation for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Bockin, who prosecuted the case.
Multi-agency Investigation into Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy Leads to Prison Sentence for McKees Rocks ManRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Marcus Battles, a resident of McKees Rocks, Pa., was sentenced to 20 months in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Battles, 27, was sentenced by United States District Judge David S. Cercone. Judge Cercone also imposed a six-year term of supervised release to follow the prison sentence.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office led the multi-agency investigation of this case that also included the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Moon Township Police Department, the North Fayette Police Department, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the Pennsylvania State Police, the McKees Rocks Police Department, the Cranberry Township Police Department, the McKeesport Police Department, and the Wilkinsburg Police Department.
Middleboro Man Pleads Guilty in Enticement ChargeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Middleboro man pleaded guilty today two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor.
Keith Gage, 43, pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. Gage admitted that he persuaded a 14-year-old girl he met on the Internet to meet with him in person and engage in sexual intercourse. On more than one occasion, Gage traveled to the girl’s town in Massachusetts, and engaged in sexual intercourse with her. Thereafter, Gage attempted to arrange another meeting with the minor for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse with her. However, at this point Gage was communicating with an undercover federal agent.
Under the plea agreement, should the Court accept the plea, Gage will be sentenced to 13 to 15 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a fine and restitution to be determined by the Court, forfeiture, and an order that Gage have no contact directly or indirectly with the victim during the period of the incarceration and supervised release. With this conviction, Gage would also be required to register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Ortiz's Major Crimes Unit.
Michigan Man Sentenced to Prison for the Valentine’s Day Robbery of Bradford National Bank in HighlandRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Ramsey Z. Fakhouri, 22, of Troy, Michigan, was sentenced today in federal district court in East St. Louis for Bank Robbery.
Chief Judge David R. Herndon sentenced Fakhouri to 78 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The charges relate to the robbery of the Bradford National Bank in Highland, Illinois, on Valentine’s Day this year.
During Court hearings, the following facts about the case were revealed. Fakhouri and a co-defendant lived in Michigan. But Fakhouri had a girlfriend who worked at the bank in Highland. Fakhouri had met his girlfriend a couple of years earlier at the Indiana Bible College. While talking with the girlfriend long-distance one day, Fakhouri put the call on speaker phone so that the co-defendant could hear the girlfriend unwittingly give details about bank’s procedures in stocking its ATM, which was located outside and away from the bank building.
Fakhouri and the co-defendant decided to rob the bank employee who filled the ATM. One of Fakhouri’s motives for the bank robbery was to buy a $13,000 engagement ring for his girlfriend.
Fakhouri and his co-defendant brought with them two Airsoft pistols that looked like real semi-automatic handguns. They drove all night from Michigan to Illinois. They then waited for the bank to open and for an employee to re-stock the ATM. While they waited, Fakhouri’s girlfriend called him to wish him good morning. Fakhouri watched as his girlfriend pulled onto the bank lot.
When an employee came out to fill the ATM, the co-defendant, masked and armed with what looked like a gun, forced the employee to give him the cash from the ATM. “This is the look of terror,” said the prosecutor, as he showed the Court a bank security photo of the employee’s face as she cowered before the armed co-defendant.
The co-defendant returned to the car and Fakhouri drove the car away from the bank. Later, the co-defendant drove as Fakhouri counted the cash – about $16,000 for him but only about $10,000 for the co-defendant.
The unsuspecting girlfriend soon texted Fakhouri about the bank robbery and about her own fears – she had watched helplessly from inside the bank while her fellow employee had been robbed.
Fakhouri decided to return by bus to comfort his girlfriend. She and her father met him at midnight at the St. Louis bus station. The co-defendant drove Fakhouri’s car back to Michigan. Fakhouri stayed with the girlfriend’s family, keeping his portion of the money in his gym bag at their house.
The girlfriend received an email on her cell phone that contained photos of the alleged bank robbers. Fakhouri tried to explain that although one of the images was of him, he had nothing to do with the bank robbery. He rode with his girlfriend to the Highland Police Department to let the police know that he had nothing to do with the robbery. The police did not believe his story, so they put him under arrest. As they emptied his pockets, they found $766.91.
The co-defendant was arrested in Michigan; the Airsoft gun was in his backpack.
Further investigation indicated that both Fakhouri and the co-defendant had Airsoft pistols that the co-defendant had provided for purposes of the bank robbery.
Portions of a victim statement from the bank employee who was robbed were read at sentencing. This led the judge to remark that the statement was “One of the most descriptive I’ve ever read and one of the most effective. The victim-impact statement does a wonderful job of describing the treachery of bank robbery. Bank robbery is a devastation almost beyond description.”
The case was investigated by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Highland Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen B. Clark.
Miami Resident Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced that Ashley Assgill Glover, 29, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of theft of government property, one count of possession of unauthorized devices, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker sentenced Glover on July 10, 2014, to a five year prison term followed by three years of supervised release. Glover was also ordered to pay the Internal Revenue Service restitution in the amount of $216,031.
On March 12, 2012, the Tallahassee Police Department stopped Glover, and found her in possession a list of more than 800 victims’ personal identifying information (PII). There were also debit cards loaded with tax refunds linked to fraudulent tax returns. Sixty fraudulent tax returns were filed during the 2012 tax season in the names of victims on the list. These returns claimed approximately $369,848 in fraudulent refunds.
In June 2012, Glover was stopped by Coral Springs Police Department and found in possession of a list including over 160 victims’ PII. In November 2012, Glover was stopped by the Florida Department of Agriculture and found in possession of yet another list containing over 600 victims’ PII.
During the 2012 tax season, there were 206 fraudulent tax returns filed using information from the three recovered lists seeking approximately $1,246,417 in fraudulent refunds. Fortunately, the Internal Revenue Service detected most of the fraudulent tax returns and stopped the issuance of more than a million dollars in fraudulent refunds.
U.S. Attorney Marsh praised the work of the Tallahassee Police Department, the United States Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Florida Department of Agriculture, whose joint investigation led to the convictions in the case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Winifred L. Acosta Nesmith.
Mexican Citizen Charged with Attempting to Transport A Minor from Las Vegas to Jacksonville for the Purpose of Engaging in Illegal Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Javier Guerrero Molina (33, citizen of Mexico) has been charged by a federal criminal complaint with transporting and attempting to transport a minor child from Las Vegas to Jacksonville with intent that the child engage in illegal sexual activity. If convicted, Molina faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life in federal prison. Molina was arrested on May 30, 2014 at the Jacksonville International Airport. He has been in custody on related state charges since that time. A detention hearing is scheduled for July 14, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson.
According to the criminal complaint, during the afternoon of May 29, 2014, officers with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority Police Department (JAAPD) received a telephone call from an individual who advised that a particular female minor child had disappeared from her home in Las Vegas and was believed to be traveling by air to Jacksonville, Florida. JAAPD officers queried the National Crime Information Center and learned that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) had made a “missing persons” entry regarding a 14-year old female child with the same name. A check of airline manifests confirmed that this minor child was listed as a passenger on board a flight from Las Vegas to Jacksonville, with a connection in Charlotte, North Carolina. JAAPD coordinated with officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department (CMPD), who intercepted the child at the Charlotte International Airport and took her into protective custody. The child had been scheduled to board a flight from Charlotte to Jacksonville, due to arrive shortly after midnight on May 30, 2014.
The criminal complaint alleges that, as the expected arrival time for the Jacksonville flight approached, a JAAPD officer observed Javier Guerrero Molina in a waiting area in the Jacksonville International Airport lobby. When asked by the officer, Molina advised that he was there to meet a particular passenger. Molina was subsequently detained.
During an interview, Molina admitted that he entered the United States in 1999 or 2000 by paying a smuggler $700 to help him cross the border on foot near Laredo, Texas. Record checks confirmed that there is no record of Molina legally entering the United States or ever having legal status in this country. Molina also stated that he had previously engaged in sexual activity with the child in Jacksonville, before the child and her family moved to Las Vegas. He also stated that he sent the child money to pay for a one-way airline ticket from Las Vegas to Jacksonville, and that he expected their sexual relationship to continue when the child returned to Jacksonville.
A criminal complaint 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 Jacksonville Aviation Authority Police Department, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Jacksonville and Charlotte, North Carolina), the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Jacksonville State Attorney’s Office. 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 visitwww.usdoj.gov/psc.
Meriden Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Social Security Disability Benefits, Tax FraudRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSEPH LUCA, 68, of Meriden, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to federal theft and tax offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in April 1993, LUCA applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) claiming that he was disabled and unable to work. From January 2002 through April 2011, LUCA regularly reported to the Social Security Administration, under the penalty of perjury, that he remained unable to work and he reported no earned income. In fact, during this time, LUCA earned more than $1,000 per month from his work as a hairdresser at a beauty salon he owned and operated. LUCA was not entitled to SSDI payments during this entire period because his earnings exceeded the SSA monthly substantial gainful activity limit.
An undercover investigation revealed that LUCA typically opened his beauty salon in the morning from Tuesday to Saturday each week, cut and styled his clients’ hair throughout the day in exchange for payment, and then locked up the salon at night. Throughout the day, he stood while he worked without the assistance of a cane or similar device, and also carried and lifted items using his body and arms. During the investigation, LUCA told an undercover agent who was posing as a client that he had been styling hair for 45 years.
Based on LUCA’s false representations that he was disabled, unable to work, and reported no income, the Social Security Administration paid him, as well as his children as auxiliary beneficiaries, a total of $122,332 that he and his children were not entitled to receive.
In May 2011, the Social Security Administration terminated LUCA’s SSDI benefit payments.
LUCA also willfully signed and filed federal tax returns for the 2006 through 2009 tax years that failed to report a total of more $675,000 in additional taxable income. On each of these four tax returns, LUCA reported a loss and no tax due. The investigation determined that LUCA did not report his receipt of income from various sources, including rental real estate, work as a private investigator, interest on bank accounts, SSDI payments he was not entitled to receive, and capital gains on rental properties.
On his 2006 federal tax return alone, LUCA failed to report approximately $299,674 in additional income, with a tax due in the amount of $36,687.
LUCA pleaded guilty to one count of stealing government money and one count of filing a false federal tax return. Judge Shea scheduled sentencing for October 3, 2014, at which time LUCA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 13 years and a fine of up to $500,000.
In addition, LUCA also has agreed to pay $122,332 in restitution to the Social Security Administration, and $64,093 in back taxes, plus penalties and interest.
LUCA was released pending sentencing.
This matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General – Office of Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter S. Jongbloed with the assistance of Law Student Intern Owen Firestone.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Memphis Woman Sentenced in Tax Fraud Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, and Christopher A. Henry, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, announced today that Nakita Brooks, 31, of Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr. to serve 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $690,767.84 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
On April 11, 2014, Brooks pled guilty to one count of a three-count indictment charging her and co-conspirator, Cheryl Wright, 30, with conspiracy to file false tax returns, theft of public money and identity theft. According to the facts presented in the indictment and revealed during sentencing hearings, beginning as early as February 2010 through at least November 2011, Brooks and Wright filed hundreds of false tax returns using the personal identifying information of deceased individuals, including social security numbers.
In addition to filing false returns, Wright and Brooks also set up tax return services using stolen identities as the preparers of the returns. In 2010, the name of the company used to prepare the returns was Rattler’s Tax Pals. In 2011, the name of the company used to prepare the returns was Taxes Express. Three individuals, including a nine-year old girl from Indiana, had their tax information fraudulently listed as the preparers for these companies.
Wright is scheduled to be sentenced July 24, 2014, before U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr.
This investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Pritchard represented the government.Massachusetts Fugitive Sentenced to 81 Months on Firearms and Identity Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
Contact: Darcie N. McElwee
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Gary
Irving, a/k/a “Gregory Irving” and “Gregg Irving,” 54, of Gorham, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to 81 months in prison and three years of supervised release for being a fugitive in possession of firearms and aggravated identity theft. Irving pleaded guilty to the charges on March 27, 2014, a year after his apprehension for being a fugitive for 34 years.Court records reveal that Irving was arrested in Maine on March 27, 2013 on a fugitive warrant from Massachusetts for a 1979 conviction for rape and other crimes. At the time of his arrest, he had nine firearms in his residence, including two illegal short-barreled firearms. He had been living in Maine under a false identity since 1979. He fraudulently used his brother’s name and social security number and an incorrect date of birth to renew his driver’s license. For more than 16 of his years in Maine, he illegally used firearms to hunt.
The aggravated identity theft charge required imposition of a consecutive mandatory minimum two year term in prison because Irving knew the social security number he illegally used belonged to an actual person. In imposing sentence, Judge Singal said: “This isn't a victimless crime, even on his own family. In my view, that's a serious set of events and deserves a serious sentence."
Norfolk (Mass) District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey, whose office secured a 36 to 40 year state prison sentence in May 2013 for Irving’s rape and kidnapping convictions said “the
Maine State Police and all of the law enforcement partners who have been part of this investigation and prosecution have done exemplary work.” He added “This is a man with a proven capacity for extreme brutality. Law enforcement works best with cooperation across the local, state and federal levels. That partnership here has made the public safer.”
The investigation was conducted by the Massachusetts and Maine State Police, the
Gorham Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector
General.Maryland Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Series of Burglaries at University Dormitory-Took Laptops, Other Items in January 2013 at George Washington University-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - James Dunmore, 40, of Hyattsville, Md., was sentenced today to 10 years in prison on charges stemming from a series of burglaries he committed last year at George Washington University, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Dunmore pled guilty in July 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a total of 12 charges, including first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, and unlawful entry. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert I. Richter. Upon completion of his prison term, Dunmore will be placed on a period of supervised release.
According to a proffer of evidence, signed by the defendant as well as the government, Dunmore entered a total of five apartments in January 2013 in the Ivory Tower Dormitory at George Washington University in Northwest Washington. Over two separate days, he took various electronic items, including laptops, and other property belonging to nine students.
The series of crimes began on Jan. 25, 2013. That day, Dunmore entered the residence hall and went into a student’s apartment while the student was in the shower. He took a laptop and the student’s wallet, which contained the student’s G-World card, a student ID card that can be used to electronically gain entry to the university’s buildings.
Then, on Jan. 28, 2013, Dunmore entered four more apartments in the same building. He got into the residence hall at about 1:30 p.m. by following another student into the building. First, he went to the sixth floor, where he entered three separate apartments. He took a pillowcase, three laptops, a camera, and an iPod from one apartment. In another, a student was asleep in bed when Dunmore entered the room and pretended to be looking for someone he knew; he took an iPod from that apartment. He went into a third apartment on the sixth floor, but left without taking anything after he saw someone there. Dunmore then went to the building’s third floor and entered yet another apartment, taking two laptops, a video game system, and a student’s suitcase, which he used to carry the items away.
One student became suspicious of Dunmore’s activities and alerted campus police, who stopped Dunmore on his way out of the building with the stolen items in his possession.
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In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his appreciation to the Metropolitan Police Department and the George Washington University Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of Paralegal Specialists Allison Gregory Daniels and Victim/Witness Advocates Kristina Rose and Katina Adams-Washington, as well as former Intern Julie Herward. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Sroka, who investigated and indicted the case.Man Who Received over $3 Million Selling Unregistered Diamond Mine Stock Sentenced to Four Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A former Las Vegas resident who made over $3 million from selling unregistered penny stock in a purported diamond mine company known as CMKM, has been sentenced to four years in prison, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Marco Glisson, 59, formerly of Las Vegas, but most recently of Miami, Fla., was sentenced on July 10, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks. Glisson pleaded guilty on Jan. 15, 2014, to conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities and tax evasion. Judge Hicks denied Glisson’s request for a self-surrender to prison, and ordered him into federal custody at the end of the sentencing hearing.
According to Glisson’s plea agreement, Glisson, who was not a registered broker or dealer of securities, conspired with others to purchase and sell CMKM, Inc. penny stock after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permanently revoked CMKM’s trading privileges. Beginning in about December 2005, Glisson, and his conspirators used a transfer agent/company known as Global Stock Transfer LLC to cancel CMKM’s stock certificates that were held in the names of other co-conspirators and reissue them to Glisson. Glisson marketed the stock in internet chat rooms under the name “Deli dog” or Deli,” and also used the mail and other resources to offer and sell it. As Glisson sold the shares of CMKM stock, the stock transfer company would cancel them and reissue them to the purchasers. From December 2005 to May 2006, Glisson sold billions of shares of CMKM stock to at least 65 different persons in the United States and Canada. In June 2006, the SEC contacted Glisson and told him that it was illegal to publicly offer and sell unregistered securities. Glisson stopped selling the CMKM stock for a few months, but in September 2006, he resumed offering and selling the CMKM stock and continued selling it until April 2007. Glisson’s sales of billions of unregistered shares of CMKM stock from 2006 to 2007 yielded him more than $1.7 million.
Glisson failed to pay the federal income taxes he owed for 2006 and 2007, and instead took affirmative acts to hide the income, such as placing money in bank accounts under the name of his wife and others and using cash. As a result, Glisson owes over $400,000 in back taxes to the IRS for 2006 and 2007.
Ten co-conspirators were also charged in a separate case pending in the District Court for the District of Nevada. Five are pending trial, one pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, one is a fugitive, one is awaiting extradition, one is deceased, and the charges against another were dismissed.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Newman and Andrew Duncan.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorney’s offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.Lynnwood Company and Owner Sentenced for Trafficking in Counterfeit GoodsRead the Press Release
CONNECTZONE.COM, LLC, a Lynnwood, Washington electronics company, and its owner, DANIEL OBERHOLTZER, were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle for conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. Company owner DANIEL OBERHOLTZER was sentenced to 37 months in prison, and three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $716,778.55 in proceeds from the sales of counterfeit goods. The company was sentenced to five years organizational probation and also ordered to forfeit $716,778.55 in proceeds from the crime.
According to the evidence introduced as part of the case, CONNECTZONE.COM, LLC operated websites that advertised and sold computer networking products. These included products bearing trademarks owned by U.S. company Cisco; but the investigation revealed that CONNECTZONE.COM, LLC instead obtained its products from multiple foreign suppliers of counterfeit goods including a Chinese firm, SHENZHEN XIEWEI ELECTRONIC, LTD, headquartered in Shanghai, and its representative, MAO MANG, aka “BOB MAO.”
At sentencing, the Honorable Richard A. Jones commented that OBERHOLTZER’s crimes were aggravated by the fact that because of the quality problems with the counterfeit goods, OBERHOLTZER “had no idea what might happen when the counterfeit Cisco products he sold failed.” Judge Jones also noted that the sentence of 37 months should “send a message to anyone else thinking about being involved in counterfeit goods.”
“Innovation and our economy demand that the intellectual property of businesses be protected,” said U. S. Attorney Durkan. “Here, the defendants used the hard earned brands of others and slapped it on inferior products.”
“Counterfeiting high dollar goods can be very lucrative for enterprising criminals,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. “Their illicit activities ultimately come at the expense of trademark owners and consumers. They don’t contribute to research and development and the knockoffs they sell generally don’t match the quality and safety of genuine items.”
In total, four individuals and two companies were charged in the Indictment returned in January 2013, including SHENZHEN XIEWEI ELECTRONIC, LTD, and BOB MAO .
Defendant EDWARD VALES was sentenced on June 13, 2014, to two years of probation and five months of home confinement for one count of Mail Fraud. Defendant LANCE WILDER was convicted of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, two counts of mail fraud and four counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods following a jury trial on April 7, 2014. Mr. WILDER is scheduled to be sentenced before The Honorable Richard A. Jones on July 25, 2014.
The evidence admitted at trial established that as early as 1997, while the company was operating under a different name, Electro Products, Incorporated, it was distributing counterfeit equipment manufactured in China. DANIEL OBERHOLTZER, LANCE WILDER and EDWARD VALES would advise BOB MAO and XIEWEI ELECTRONICS and other Chinese companies regarding how to manufacture products that would look like genuine Cisco trademarked goods. Some of the goods would be labeled “samples” when shipped to the U.S. to try to deceive U.S. Customs officials. The U.S.-based conspirators falsely advertised the counterfeit goods as genuine and offered it for sale at a much lower price than genuine Cisco equipment. The evidence included numerous emails sent between the conspirators as they ran their scheme including e-mails describing a plan for “Operation Cisco” in which the defendants laid out their plan to obtain counterfeit Cisco products.
This case was investigated by the Seattle-Tacoma Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and comprised of officers and investigators from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations; the U.S. Secret Service; the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; the FBI; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Seattle Police Department and the Port of Seattle Police Department. BEST Seattle investigates smuggling and related crimes and combats criminal organizations seeking to exploit vulnerabilities at the Seattle and Tacoma seaports and adjacent waterways.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Norman Barbosa and Justin Arnold.
Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Tessa Gorman, at 206-553-7970, or [email protected].
Lutherville Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Possession and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Brian Shaw, age 23, of Lutherville, Maryland, today to 7 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for distribution and possession of child pornography. Judge Blake ordered that upon his release from prison, Shaw must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to court documents and testimony at today’s sentencing hearing, from December 18, 2012 through January 12, 2013, Shaw distributed images and videos documenting the sexual abuse of children, including prepubescent minors, to an undercover agent with HSI New Orleans. A search warrant was obtained for Shaw’s email account. From November 26, 2011 through January 29, 2013, Shaw’s email contained approximately 2140 emails, most of which referenced the trade of child pornography over the internet and the sexual exploitation of children. Upon the creation of the account, Shaw immediately began emailing others to trade child pornography files. In addition to attaching hundreds of videos and images of child pornography, Shaw also sent links for file sharing services in his email, which gave access to child pornography files.
Based on the evidence in Shaw’s emails, HSI obtained a search warrant for his residence. Law enforcement seized and subsequently forensically examined Shaw’s computer and other digital media. Approximately 5860 images and 562 videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, as well as stories describing sex acts with children in graphic detail, were located during the forensic analysis. Some of the images included sadistic or masochistic conduct, or other depictions of violence, and depicted children under the age of 12.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI Baltimore for its work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who prosecuted the case.
Jury Finds Red Valley Man Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter and Use of A Firearm in A Crime of ViolenceRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – On July 9, 2014, Joe Arviso Benally, 51, of Red Valley, Ariz., was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and use (discharge) of a firearm in a crime of violence by a federal jury following a trial before U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow. The defendant was remanded into custody after trial pending sentencing before Judge Snow on Sept. 29, 2014.
The evidence at trial showed that the defendant, after an argument with the victim, retrieved his .270 caliber hunting rifle, loaded it, and shot the victim in the chest, killing him.
A conviction for involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 8 years, a $250,000 fine, or both. A conviction for use (discharge) of a firearm in a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, consecutive to the punishment for the crime of violence.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety. The prosecution was handled by Melissa Karlen and Christina Covault, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-13-8095-PCT-GMS (DKD)
RELEASE NUMBER: 2014-038_BenallyFor more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Jury Convicts Rochester Woman of Drug Trafficking and Rochester Man of Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal jury has found Ashley Travis, 29, of Rochester, N.Y., guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine and to maintain a drug involved premises, distribution of crack cocaine, possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute, and maintaining a drug involved premises. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000 or both.
In addition, the jury found Fawndell Henderson, 39, also of Rochester, guilty of being a felon in possession of a Smith and Wesson revolver and ammunition, as well as possessing a short-barreled Remington 20 gauge shotgun which was made in violation of the National Firearms Act and which was not registered to Henderson in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or both. The jury was unable to reach a verdict relating to various drug trafficking offenses and whether Henderson possessed the firearms in furtherance of the drug trafficking offenses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that on September 12, 2012, Henderson and Travis were arrested at 104 Weeger Street in Rochester, after police officers executed a search warrant at the location. Immediately prior to executing the search warrant, Travis sold four bags of crack cocaine to an undercover police officer. Once inside of the location, law enforcement officers found three additional bags containing crack cocaine, as well digital scales commonly used to measure drugs for distribution and small ziplock bags used to package drugs for distribution. Officers also located $201.00 in United States currency in Henderson’s pocket, as well as $40.00 in United States currency on a table in the residence.
Law enforcement officers also located and seized a loaded Smith and Wesson revolver and an unloaded Remington 20 gauge shotgun, which had the barrel shortened to a length of 14 and ¼ inches, testimony presented by the Government showed. The wooden stock of the shotgun was also removed. Furthermore, the testimony showed that the firearms were secreted in a compartment near the doorway to the residence in a location which would have been easily reachable by the children of Henderson and Travis, who were also found in the residence. Henderson confessed to police in a written statement after his arrest, admitting that he had been selling crack cocaine for several months from his house and the he possessed the firearms. The defendant said that he bought the shotgun from an addict in exchange for two bags of crack and that he had the shotgun for protection. Henderson also admitted to pointing it at rival drug dealers in the neighborhood. He also said that he took possession of the revolver from a friend because his friend had announced intention to use it against rival drug dealers.
The jury did not reach a verdict on firearms charges against Travis or drug trafficking charges against Henderson.
The convictions are the culmination of an investigation on the part of on the part of Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives under the direction of Thomas J. Cannon, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.
Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for September 30, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. before the U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer who presided over the trial of the case.Jury Convicts Mission Man in Marijuana ConspiracyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A federal jury in McAllen has convicted Rogelio Guerrero, 50, a U.S. citizen residing in Mission, on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute large amounts of marijuana, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. The jury returned its verdict late this morning following a three-day trial and less than four hours of deliberation.
During the trial, the government presented testimony that Guerrero and his associates utilized tractor-trailers to transport large quantities of marijuana from Mission to Houston. The jury heard that Guerrero’s drivers transported between 3,000-5,000 pounds of marijuana to Houston every few weeks. The government also presented evidence that Guerrero owned nearly 10,000 pounds of marijuana that was seized in 2011.
He was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez, who presided over the trial, has set sentencing for Sept. 25, 2014. At that time, Guerrero faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life imprisonment as well as a possible $10 million fine. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.
Guerrero’s conviction is a culmination of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Operation dubbed “White Line.” The six-year investigation, targeting Guerrero and other significant drug traffickers based in Mission, was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, Mission Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the FBI.
To date, there have been approximately 20 other convictions in relation to the investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jesse Salazar and Robert Wells are prosecuting.
Jesup Brother and Sister Charged in Stolen Identity and Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA -- GREGORY ALLEN, 31, and LEISHA ALLEN, 33, brother and sister from Jesup, Georgia, were arraigned last week on a federal indictment for their alleged roles in a stolen identity and tax fraud scheme operating in Wayne County, Georgia. The federal indictment alleges that Leisha and Gregory Allen filed fraudulent tax returns in order to illegally obtain tax refund checks for their personal benefit. The indictment further alleges that the Allens filed hundreds of fraudulent tax returns using the stolen names and social security numbers of others, including deceased individuals, in order to claim over a million dollars in fraudulent tax refunds.
United States Attorney Edward J. Tarver said, “The burgeoning crime of stealing the identities of innocent people for the purpose of filing false tax returns places all Americans at risk. The damage to unsuspecting victims is severe and long-lasting. Identity thieves beware: this is a real crime, against real people, with real consequences. Know that you will be investigated, prosecuted, and sent to federal prison for your crimes. This case is one of many examples of the continuing efforts of federal law enforcement and the United States Attorney’s Office to combat identity-theft schemes designed to steal tax dollars.”
“This is a case of greed, deceit, manipulation and theft directed at the United States Department of Treasury and the American taxpayer,” stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation. “We will continue to aggressively pursue identity theft in order to protect our nation’s tax system and millions of Americans who could fall prey to this crime.”
Mr. Tarver emphasized that an indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation of this case was led by the IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Tania D. Groover is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Japanese Citizen Sentenced to More Than Four Years Imprisonment for Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Yasuhiro Watanabe was sentenced today to fifty-one months in prison, and ordered to pay $556,744.40 in restitution for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.
Watanabe pleaded guilty on March 21, 2014, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. According to the plea agreement, Watanabe admitted that, between 2009 and early September 2013, he engaged in a scheme to defraud Compass Bank and Bank of America. The scheme involved multiple participants, and victimized bank branches in the Northern District of California, Nevada, and Arizona, among other places. Approximately once a month, Watanabe recruited individuals in Japan to travel with him to the United States for the purpose of opening bank accounts at Compass Bank and Bank of America. Once the accounts were opened, Watanabe funded the accounts by causing a $1,000 - $2,000 wire transfer to be made from bank accounts in Japan, to the newly-opened accounts held in the names of Watanabe’s coconspirators. Watanabe typically paid his coconspirators’ travel costs, and a fee of approximately $1,000, for their role in the scheme. Watanabe directed his coconspirators to obtain debit cards for the accounts and give them to Watanabe. He then used the cards in Japan to purchase goods valued in amounts in excess of the funds on deposit. Watanabe then sold those goods for cash. Watanabe’s fraud scheme caused combined losses to Compass Bank and Bank of America of $556,744.40.
Watanabe, 39, of Japan, was initially charged by complaint on Oct. 25, 2013. On Feb. 11, 2014, he was charged by Information with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in violation of 18 United States Code, Section 1349. Under the plea agreement, Watanabe pleaded guilty to that sole count.
Watanabe has been in federal custody since his arrest at Seattle – Tacoma International Airport on Oct. 27, 2013.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Jon S. Tigar, United States District Court Judge, following the defendant’s guilty plea on one count in violation of 18 United States Code Section 1349. Judge Tigar also sentenced the defendant to a three year period of supervised release, in the event that Watanabe is not deported following his release from incarceration. The defendant will begin serving the sentence immediately.
Thomas E. Stevens is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kathleen Turner. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(Watanabe information )
International Hacker Pleads Guilty to 2011 Global CyberattackRead the Press Release
Earlier today at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Qendrim Dobruna, a member of an international cybercrime organization that was responsible for a cyberattack that inflicted millions of dollars in losses on the global financial system over the course of two days in 2011, pleaded guilty to bank fraud. The defendant, who was extradited from Germany, and his co-conspirators hacked into the systems of a U.S.-based credit and debit card payment processor that processed debit card transactions for the American Red Cross in connection with disaster relief victims. The stolen card data was then disseminated worldwide and used in an “unlimited operation” that made $14 million in fraudulent withdrawals from ATMs across the globe.
The guilty plea was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Robert J. Sica, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, New York Field Office.
“The defendant and his associates hacked into the global financial system and helped themselves to funds using prepaid debit cards meant for the needy and vulnerable,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We will continue to work with our private sector partners to solve these 21st century heists and bring the perpetrators, no matter where in the world they may hide, to justice.”
“Our success in this case and other similar investigations is a result of our close work with our law enforcement partners,” said Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Sica. “The Secret Service worked closely with the Department of Justice and INTERPOL to share information and resources that ultimately brought Qendrim Dobruna to justice. This case demonstrates there is no such thing as anonymity for those engaging in data theft and fraudulent schemes.”
As described in the indictment, court filings in related cases, and public court proceedings, the cyberattack employed by the defendant and his co-conspirators is known in the cyber underworld as an “Unlimited Operation” – through its hacking “operation,” the cybercrime organization can access virtually “unlimited” criminal proceeds.
The “Unlimited Operation” begins when the cybercrime organization hacks into the computer systems of a payment card processor, compromises prepaid debit card accounts, essentially eliminates the withdrawal limits of those accounts, and manipulates the security protocols that would alert the victim to the attack. The compromised card data is then distributed to cells worldwide that use the data to encode magnetic stripe cards to use at ATMs. These sophisticated techniques enable the participants to withdraw literally unlimited amounts of cash until the operation is finally detected and shut down. “Unlimited Operations” are marked by three key characteristics: (1) the surgical precision of the hackers carrying out the cyberattack, (2) the global nature of the cybercrime organization, and (3) the speed and coordination with which the organization executes its operations on the ground. These attacks rely upon both highly sophisticated hackers and organized criminal cells whose role is to withdraw the cash as quickly as possible.
In February 2011 the defendant and his co-conspirators targeted a publicly traded credit and debit card processing company based in the United States that processed transactions for prepaid debit cards issued by the American Red Cross for disaster relief victims. After the hackers penetrated the payment card processor’s computer network, compromised the American Red Cross prepaid card accounts, and manipulated the balances and withdrawal limits, casher cells across the globe operated a coordinated ATM withdrawal campaign. In total, more than 15,000 ATM transactions were conducted in approximately 18 countries using the compromised disaster relief prepaid cards, resulting in $14 million in financial loss worldwide.
The defendant, also known by the aliases “cl0sEd” and “cL0z,” participated in the cyber-attack from overseas by obtaining account information from co-conspirators who directly hacked into the payment card processor’s database and selling that account information to other co-conspirators over the Internet, including to an individual in Brooklyn, New York. The defendant was arrested in an apartment in Stuttgart, Germany in March 2012 by the German federal criminal police and subsequently extradited to the United States.
In announcing the guilty plea, United States Attorney Lynch praised the extraordinary efforts of the Secret Service in investigating this complex network intrusion. Ms. Lynch also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, INTERPOL, and the authorities in Germany for their assistance in effecting the defendant’s extradition.
Today’s plea took place before Senior United States District Judge I. Leo Glasser. When sentenced on October 24, 2014, the defendant faces up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, and forfeiture of the proceeds of his crimes.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amir H. Toossi.
The Defendant:
QENDRIM DOBRUNA
Age: 27
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 12 CR 300 (ILG)
Hedge Fund Manager Convicted in Multi-million Dollar Investment FraudRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that JAMES R. HOLDMAN, age 59, of Zachary, Louisiana, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady to multiple counts of mail fraud based on his engaging in a scheme which defrauded investors out of millions of dollars. HOLDMAN had been scheduled for trial next week. As a result of his convictions, HOLDMAN faces a maximum term of imprisonment of forty (40) years and millions in fines and restitution to his victims.
HOLDMAN operated a hedge fund called Greenwing Capital Management, LLC. As the owner and operator of the fund, HOLDMAN solicited and received millions of dollars in investment funds from the victim investors, many of whom were retirees, including former military veterans as well as survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The victim investors hailed primarily from South Louisiana and Mississippi. Throughout 2008, HOLDMAN’s investments suffered substantial losses. However, HOLDMAN concealed his failed investments by falsely representing to the victim investors that their accounts were earning positive rates of return when, in fact, HOLDMAN had lost nearly all of their funds.
By making these false representations, HOLDMAN was able to defraud the victim investors into keeping their remaining money with Greenwing Capital and, in some cases, investing more money, thereby allowing HOLDMAN to continue receiving money in the form of fees for his own personal use and benefit. In order to continue to conceal his fraud, HOLDMAN continued to put the victim investors’ money at risk in an attempt to recoup his losses.
Ultimately, in October 2008, HOLDMAN sent out a form letter to victim investors falsely informing them that a sharp downturn in the stock market related to the financial crisis had caused a 98.67% loss in their investment in a one-month period and had forced him to close the fund. In fact, HOLDMAN had steadily been losing millions of the victim investors’ money throughout 2008.
U.S. Attorney Green stated: “Investment fraud is a devastating crime that goes on far too often. We will continue to pursue such matters aggressively, particularly when the victims include some of our community’s most vulnerable. My appreciation goes to our federal and state law enforcement partners, both here in Louisiana and in Texas and Mississippi, for helping us uncover and address this scheme.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shubhra Shivpuri and Chris Dippel. The joint investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions, the Texas State Securities Board, and the Securities and Charities Division of the Mississippi Office of the Secretary of State.
Getaway Driver Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery of Belleville Liquor StoreRead the Press Release
Case is one of many brought as a result of the United States Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton’s Metro-East Armed Robbery Initiative
Follow @SDILNewsCharmonequette Reynolds, 22, plead guilty in United States District Court to a three-count indictment charging her with Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery, Interference with Commerce by Robbery, and Use of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today. The Armed Robbery counts arise from the federal Hobbs Act, which makes it a crime to obstruct, delay or affect interstate commerce by robbery, and is used by United States Attorney Wigginton as a way to combat armed robbery in the Southern District of Illinois.
Documents filed in Court establish that on July 12, 2013 Reynolds drove her two co-defendants, Timothy Collier and Roderick Taylor, to Arena Liquor located at 105 S. Belt E, Belleville, Illinois, to commit a robbery. While Reynolds waited in her vehicle, Collier and Taylor entered Arena Liquor, each armed with a firearm. Collier and Taylor pointed the two firearms at an employee of Arena Liquor and another individual in the store and demanded all of the money from the cash registers as well as personal belongings from the two individuals. Collier and Taylor left the liquor store with approximately $15,000 of United States Currency, entered Reynolds’ vehicle, and the three fled from the scene. Reynolds was identified and apprehended a short time after the robbery and interviewed by law enforcement. During the interview, Reynolds admitted to her involvement in the planning and participation in the armed robbery.
Reynolds faces a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years on the Hobbs Act violations. On the count of Use of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, Reynolds faces a term of imprisonment of not less than 7 years up to a maximum term of Life, consecutive to, meaning in addition to, any term of imprisonment imposed on the Hobbs Act violations. Sentencing is scheduled for October 17, 2014, in East St. Louis, Illinois.
This case was investigated by the Belleville Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ali Summers.
Former MPD Officer Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing 11-Year-Old Girl-Victim Came Forward Years Later-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Wendel Palmer, 46, a former officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing a child on numerous occasions between 2004 and 2006, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
A jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia found Palmer guilty in November 2013 of three counts of first-degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, two counts of second-degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, and two counts of enticing a child with aggravating circumstances. He was sentenced by the Honorable J. Herbert B. Dixon, Jr. Upon completion of his prison term, Palmer will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. During that 10-year period, he must register as a sex offender.
According to the government’s evidence, at the time of the offenses, Palmer was an MPD officer who was also the youth choir director at the Bethuel Temple Church of Christ Apostolic, Inc., in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King Avenue SE. The defendant’s family founded and operated the church. The victim’s family belonged to the church, and the victim was a member of the choir. The abuse began when the victim was 10 or 11 years old, and occurred at the defendant’s home in Maryland, at the church during breaks in choir rehearsals, and at other locations in the District of Columbia and in Maryland. The victim was afraid to report the abuse while it was occurring, in part because the defendant was a police officer. The victim reported the abuse in 2012, after she turned 18.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Division and Mobile Crime Division. He also expressed appreciation for the work of Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins, Paralegal Specialists Jason Manuel and Kristy Penny, and the Litigation Support Staff. Lastly, he acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Zubrensky, who investigated, indicted and tried the case, and Sarah McClellan, who also investigated the case.
14-165Former Government Employee Pleads Guilty to Accessing Government Website Servers Without AuthorizationRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Sathish Kumar Chandhun Rajendran, 36, of Sterling, Virginia, pleaded guilty yesterday to engaging in unauthorized access to government servers that hosted a Fannie Mae website used to support federal mortgage loan modification programs.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Michael P. Stephens, Acting Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA-OIG); and Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III.Rajendran pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging him with unauthorized access to a protected computer causing damage. Rajendran faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on October 3, 2014. In the plea agreement, Rajendran also agreed, for a period of three years following his conviction, to refrain from participating as an employee, contractor or subcontractor in any government contract requiring clearance.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Rajendran worked at Fannie Mae as an Information Technology term employee and was assigned to the development of the CheckMyNPV.com website. This website was established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development in conjunction with the government’s Making Home Affordable (MHA) Program. The online tool on this website, operated by Fannie Mae under the auspices of the MHA, allowed citizens to determine the net present value of their homes and check their eligibility to participate in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), a federal program designed to avoid mass foreclosures.
After being terminated from employment in August 2013, Rajendran repeatedly used administrator credentials to log into government servers and make unauthorized changes to the CheckMyNPV website, including disabling the website’s online tool for checking HAMP eligibility. As a result of these actions, Rajendran caused damage and loss to the website in the amount of $30,000 to $70,000.
This case was investigated by the FHFA-OIG and SIGTARP. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander T.H. Nguyen is 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. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:14-cr-233.Tweet
Former CalPERS CEO Pleads Guilty to Corruption ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Fred Buenrostro pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit corruption and fraud charges stemming from a conspiracy to trade official acts for cash and benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Inspector in Charge Rafael E. Nunez, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson, and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Andrew Adelmann.
Buenrostro is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS). In pleading guilty, Buenrostro admitted to conspiring with Alfred J. Villalobos, founder and operator of ARVCO Capital Research LLC (ARVCO). Buenrostro acknowledged in court today that he understood that Villalobos operated ARVCO as a placement agent that solicited investments by public pension funds into private equity funds. Buenrostro also admitted that he understood that ARVCO was typically paid an agreed-upon fee based on the percentage of the total dollar amount invested by the public pension fund.
In pleading guilty, Buenrostro admitted that he began receiving secret benefits from Villalobos no later than 2005 for the purpose of influencing him in the exercise of his powers and duties as CalPERS CEO. Buenrostro admitted Villalobos provided him approximately $250,000, as well as gifts, domestic and international travel, meals, entertainment, payment for Buenrostro’s wedding, and his subsequent employment at ARVCO after he left CalPERS in May of 2008. In exchange, Buenrostro admitted that he attempted to influence the CalPERS investment staff and Board to the benefit of Villalobos and his current and prospective clients, and provided Villalobos with access to CalPERS’ confidential information relating to investments, internal deliberations, and other proprietary matters.
As part of the conspiracy, Buenrostro admitted that he and Villalobos created fraudulent documents in order to secure fees for ARVCO from Apollo Global Management (Apollo), a private equity firm based in New York City. Villalobos, through ARVCO, was the placement agent through which Apollo secured $3 billion in investments by CalPERS. In 2007, Apollo informed ARVCO that it required signed Investor Disclosure letters from CalPERS prior to paying ARVCO any fees for its efforts in securing CalPERS' investments into Apollo-managed funds, citing, among other reasons, Apollo's obligations under the securities laws.
Buenrostro admitted that after CalPERS' legal and investment offices declined to sign the first Investor Disclosure letter documenting ARVCO's relationship with Apollo, Villalobos and Buenrostro conspired to create a series of fraudulent Investor Disclosure letters that were transmitted to Apollo. Apollo paid ARVCO a total of approximately $14 million dollars in fees after receiving the fraudulent letters.
When civil and later criminal investigations were opened into the operations of ARVCO and its role as a placement agent in connection with CalPERS' investments in Apollo-managed funds, Buenrostro admitted that he and Villalobos agreed on a false version of facts and subsequently made misrepresentations to, and concealed information from, the SEC, the USPIS, and the FBI, about their financial relationship and the authenticity of the Investor Disclosure letters in order to defeat and obstruct the lawful functions of those federal agencies.
Buenrostro was charged by superseding information with a single count of conspiracy, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and pleaded guilty before the Honorable Charles Breyer, United States District Court Judge, to that charge in an agreement with the government that included his promise to cooperate in future investigations. Villalobos is charged in a related Indictment, also before Judge Breyer, and previously entered a plea of not guilty to all charges. Both defendants are currently released on bond.
Buenrostro is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 7, 2015, at 10:00 a.m., before Judge Breyer. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States is five years of imprisonment, $250,000 fine or twice the amount of gain or loss, whichever is greater, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Restitution may also be ordered. However, any sentence following conviction will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
The court set a status hearing for Villalobos to take place on Friday, Aug. 8, 2014 at 9:00 a.m., before Judge Breyer in San Francisco.
Timothy J. Lucey and Philip A. Guentert are the Assistant United States Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Laurie Worthen and Beth Margen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the USPIS and the FBI, with substantial assistance from the Los Angeles Regional Office of the SEC as well as the U.S. Secret Service.
Please note, an Indictment contains only allegations and, as with all defendants, Alfred J. Villalobos must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
(Buenrostro superseding indictment )
(Buenrostro plea agreement )
Former Army Private and South Carolina Resident Pleads Guilty to Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
Case is one of many brought as a result of United States Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton’s Metro-East Armed Robbery Initiative
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on July 11, 2014, Denzell D. Grant, 19, a resident of South Carolina who was an Army Private stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, at the time of the commission of the offense, pled guilty to a two-count Indictment charging him, in Count 1, with Interference with Commerce by Robbery (Armed Robbery), and, in Count 2, with Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. The Armed Robbery count is a federal “Hobbs Act Robbery.” The Hobbs Act makes it a crime to obstruct, delay, or affect interstate commerce by robbery, and is used by United States Attorney Wigginton as a way to combat armed robbery in the Southern District of Illinois.
Grant faces a term of imprisonment of not more than twenty (20) years, a fine up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of not more than three (3) years on Count 1. On Count 2, Grant faces a term of imprisonment of not less than ten (10) years in prison, and that term must run consecutively (in addition) to any sentence imposed on Count 1, a fine up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not more than five (5) years. Sentencing is scheduled for October 24, 2014, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Grant has been held without bond since his initial appearance on February 27, 2014.
The offense occurred on October 13, 2013, when Grant, an Army private visiting Swansea with a friend, decided, with others, to rob Max’s One Stop in Swansea. Grant, wearing a mask and armed with a loaded gun, entered Max’s One Stop, and jumped over the counter which led to the area where the lone clerk, R.B., was sitting. Grant put the gun to R.B.’s head and told R.B. to give Grant all of the money. Grant held the gun on R.B. as Grant followed R.B. to the cash register. As R.B. was giving Grant the cash from the register, R.B. grabbed the gun and the two began struggling over the gun. During the struggle, the firearm discharged, injuring R.B.’s left hand and striking Grant in the right arm.
After being shot, Grant tried to escape by jumping over the counter into the customer area. At the same time, a customer who knew R.B. walked into the convenience store and heard R.B. call for help. The customer helped prevent Grant from escaping until the police arrived.
The victim, R.B., spoke at Grant’s change of plea hearing, stating that Grant told him that he (Grant) was going to kill R.B. R.B. said that he thought of his newborn child and began to wrestle with Grant over the gun. R.B. also informed the Court of the emotional consequences of the robbery, stating that, after a while, he could no longer work at Max’s because he (R.B.) would be scared every time the door to the store opened. Finally, R.B., looking directly at Grant, told Grant, “You’re in the Army. Your job is to protect us, not to kill us.”
The case was investigated by the Swansea Police Department, the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
Emerson Man Sentenced for Manufacturing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Matthew C. Steging, age 42 of Emerson, Nebraska, was sentenced in United States District Court in Omaha, Nebraska, for producing child pornography. The Honorable Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Steging to a fifteen year term of imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal prison system. After his release from prison Steging will begin a fifteen year term of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
On August 26, 2013, a search warrant was executed at Steging’s residence in Emerson. Agents were seeking evidence related to the manufacture and possession of child pornography. Forensic analysis located 10 movie clips. The movies were filmed at the residence. The movies depicted a sleeping ten year old girl being sexually abused. The abuse continued at various points throughout the evening and into the next morning. No faces were depicted in the videos. Steging was identified by a distinctive tattoo on his hand.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
East St. Louis Man Sentenced for Making A False Statement During the Purchase of A FirearmRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on July 11, 2014, Mack Davis, Jr., 23, was sentenced in federal district court, in East St. Louis, Illinois. The Honorable Judge David R. Herndon sentenced Davis to a term of 30 months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Davis was also fined $250 and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.
On February 19, 2013, Davis pled guilty to a felony, residential burglary, in state court, in St. Clair County, Illinois. After receiving probation for his crime, he immediately went to a firearms store and attempted to purchase two firearms. Davis filled out a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Form 4473, which firearms purchasers are required to complete by law. The ATF Form 4473 is necessary in order to keep firearms out of the hands of prohibited individuals. Davis lied on the ATF Form 4473 stating that he was not a felon, when in fact he was.
This case was investigated by the ATF and prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Neal C. Hong.
Duval County Man Pleads Guilty to Aiding and Abetting Counterfeit Check FraudRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Terrance Smith (39, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting the passing or attempted passing of counterfeit checks. He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison on each count. Smith is also on federal supervised release for conspiracy to pass fictitious financial instruments. He faces up to 2 years in federal prison for the supervised release violation.
According to the plea agreement, in or about October 2013, Terrance Smith and others began distributing counterfeit business checks that used the business checking account number of a church located in Jacksonville. After locating various individuals to pass the counterfeit business checks, Smith would then provide transportation to the individuals for the purpose of passing the counterfeit checks. Upon arriving at a business that cashed checks, Smith or his co-defendant, Shameka Robinson, would give the counterfeit check to the passer. Smith would come back to the business, or a predetermined location near the business, and pick up the passer. The passer would hand the money directly to Smith or to Robinson. Smith would pay each passer whom successfully cashed a counterfeit check.
On November 13, 2013, law enforcement officers set up surveillance in a trailer park based on credible information that an individual, ultimately identified as Smith, would be coming there to pick up individuals for the purpose of passing counterfeit checks. Smith and Robinson subsequently drove into the trailer park in order to pick up individuals. Upon entering the park, Smith observed law enforcement and began turning in order to exit. As he left the area, Smith began tearing up counterfeit checks. Law enforcement conducted a lawful investigative stop on Smith's vehicle and observed an open plastic grocery bag containing counterfeit check stubs purportedly from payroll checks. Officers also located counterfeit check stubs and torn up counterfeit checks inside the vehicle. Inside of Robinson’s purse, officers located additional counterfeit business checks.
In total, law enforcement officials connected Smith and Robinson to twenty-five counterfeit business checks passed or attempted to be passed in Jacksonville. Robinson pleaded guilty on July 1, 2014 to aiding and abetting the passing or attempted passing of counterfeit checks. She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30, 2014. Robinson faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the North Florida Financial Crimes Task Force, the United States Secret Service, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.
District Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Beating and Robbing A Man in Early Evening Attack-Defendant Stole Victim’s IPhone, Wallet and Keys-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Marvin Jefferson, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to an eight-year prison term on charges of aggravated assault while armed, armed robbery, and related firearms offenses for attacking a man in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Jefferson was found guilty by a jury in April 2014, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Michael Ryan. Upon completion of his prison term, Jefferson will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early evening hours of Oct. 28, 2013, Jefferson attacked a man he had just encountered at a liquor store in the 1300 block of North Capitol Street NE. The victim, a 24-year-old engineering graduate of Howard University, had stopped at the store to get a beer. Jefferson, also inside the store, tried to take the victim’s iPhone. The victim put his iPhone in his jacket pocket, paid for his beer, and left the store.
Jefferson, however, followed the victim to the street. He tried to reach into the victim’s jacket to get the iPhone, and when the victim turned around, Jefferson began striking him. Jefferson hit the victim in the forehead with what appeared to be a gun, causing lacerations. Then, while the victim was in a disoriented and semi-conscious state, Jefferson robbed him of his phone, wallet and keys. The victim lost consciousness and dropped to the ground, chipping his tooth. Once he regained consciousness, he flagged down two police officers. A few days after the attack, he was able to identify Jefferson as his attacker.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Services Coordinator La June Thames; Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark; Paralegal Specialist Donville Drummond, and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Mannarino. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clayton O’Connor, who secured the indictment, and John P. Fucetola, who prosecuted the case.
14-164District Man Sentenced to 21-Year Prison Term for Series of Attacks Against Young WomenIncidents Took Place over Four-Week Period in Northeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Gerald Canty, 21, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 21 years in prison for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman and attempting to kidnap three additional young women in a series of incidents that took place earlier this year in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Canty pled guilty on May 16, 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of attempted kidnapping while armed, and two counts of attempted kidnapping. He was sentenced by the Honorable Jennifer Anderson. Upon completion of his prison term, Canty will be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life. He also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and stay away from minors.
According to the government’s evidence, on March 1, 2014, at about 10:40 a.m., the 18-year-old woman was walking on the footbridge from the Minnesota Avenue Metro station when Canty approached her from behind. Canty told her that he had a gun and forced her to walk several blocks with him to an isolated field. When they got there, he sexually assaulted her. After the assault, she immediately went home and told her mother what happened. She reported the assault to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and was taken to a local hospital, where she received a sexual assault exam.
On March 5, 2014, at about 11:30 a.m., another victim - a 25-year-old woman - was walking in the area of 44th and Hayes Streets NE, about half a mile from the Metro station, when Canty approached her. He had his hand in his pocket to simulate that he had a gun. He bumped into her, grabbed her arm, and stated, “Where’s the money at?” He then forced her to walk with him while demanding money. The victim saw what she believed to be the handle of a handgun in the defendant’s pocket. Canty forcibly led her towards an alley behind a residence in the next block. She managed to break away and yell for help. An unidentified bystander came to her aid, and Canty fled on foot. The victim reported the assault to MPD immediately.
On March 7, 2014, at about 7:05 a.m., a third victim – a 17-year-old - was walking on the footbridge from the Minnesota Avenue Metro station, toward her school. Canty walked up beside her with his hand in his pocket to simulate that he had a gun, and stated, “I real life have a gun in my pocket and I’ll shoot you. Just keep walking straight. Don’t draw any attention to yourself. Don’t do anything crazy.” He forced her to walk with him a short distance. She saw an acquaintance and then stopped walking with Canty, who fled on foot. She then reported the assault to her school principal, and later to MPD.
All three victims provided MPD detectives with descriptions of the assailant. On March 13, 2014, the Minnesota Avenue Metro station manager contacted Metro Transit Police to report that an individual matching the descriptions had been seen on the footbridge of the Minnesota Avenue Metro station. Metro Transit and MPD officers stopped the defendant. Detectives with MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit responded and spoke to Canty. He subsequently admitted to sexually assaulting the 18-year-old and attempting to kidnap the 25-year-old and 17-year-old victims. The sexual assault kit from the 18-year-old’s examination was later tested, and showed that a single male DNA profile was found that matched Canty’s DNA profile.
After Canty was charged in the above crimes, MPD detectives linked an additional case to him. In that offense, on Feb. 17, 2014, at approximately 5:45 p.m., a 19-year-old woman was walking through a cut near 51st Street NE when Canty approached her from behind. He stated that he had a gun in his pocket, and threatened to shoot her if she yelled or screamed. Canty told her to keep walking, which she did. She saw an acquaintance walk into a house, and ran to follow that person inside. She told the occupants what had just occurred. Several occupants went outside, but Canty was gone. This victim later identified the defendant as her attacker.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department=s Sexual Assault Unit, Youth Investigations Division, Sixth District, and Mobile Crime Division. He also acknowledged the work of the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, Metro Transit Police, and Washington Metro Area Transit Authority. He also praised those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins, Paralegal Specialist Jason Manuel, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Zubrensky, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
14-162District Man Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder While Armed in 2012 Shooting in Southeast Washington-Defendant Shot Victim After Arguing with Him Earlier on Street-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – David Shepherd, 50, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of first-degree murder while armed in the June 2012 killing of a man in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The jury also found Shepherd guilty of charges of fleeing police, destruction of property, and related firearms offenses. The Honorable Russell F. Canan scheduled sentencing for Oct. 3, 2014.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning hours of June 3, 2012, Shepherd and the victim, Henry Miller, 32, encountered one another while at a house in the 1100 block of Chicago Street SE. Shepherd was outside and in a conversation with mutual friends of the two men when Mr. Miller approached and said “Excuse me,” to Shepherd and tried to reach for a cigarette inside the friends’ vehicle. Shepherd responded aggressively and began swearing and raising his voice. A verbal argument ensued, in which Shepherd threatened Mr. Miller. Others stepped in to defuse the situation, and the argument ended when Shepherd indicated he was leaving and walked toward his nearby truck.
Shepherd, however, then returned to the scene, walked up to Mr. Miller, within arm’s reach, and shot him in the face with a revolver. He then got into his truck and fled the scene.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) quickly responded to the shooting and got a description of Shepherd and his truck. Officers in the area observed him driving and attempted to make a traffic stop, but Shepherd then engaged the police in a high-speed chase throughout the city, plowing through a gate a Gallaudet University, and then crashed his truck on Brentwood Parkway NE. MPD officers then apprehended Shepherd and recovered the murder weapon in his vehicle.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Kwasi Fields and Kendra Johnson; former Paralegal Specialist Marian Russell; Information Technology Specialist Jeanie Latimore Brown; and Interns Megan Benevento and Kimberly Knipe. Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Worm, who prosecuted the case.
14-166Department of Justice Provides Update on Gameover Zeus and Cryptolocker DisruptionRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a status report with the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania updating the court on the progress in disrupting the Gameover Zeus botnet and the malicious software known as Cryptolocker. The disruption began in late May, when the Justice Department implemented a series of Court-authorized measures to neutralize Gameover Zeus and Cryptolocker - two of the most sophisticated and destructive forms of malicious software in existence.
In the status report, the Justice Department informed the Court that the technical and legal measures undertaken to disrupt Gameover Zeus and Cryptolocker have proven successful, and that significant progress has been made in remediating computers infected with Gameover Zeus.
The Justice Department reported that all or nearly all of the active computers infected with Gameover Zeus have been liberated from the criminals’ control and are now communicating exclusively with the substitute server established pursuant to court order. The Justice Department also reported that traffic data from the substitute server shows that remediation efforts by internet service providers and victims have reduced the number of computers infected with Gameover Zeus by 31 percent since the disruption commenced.
The Justice Department also reported that Cryptolocker has been neutralized by the disruption and cannot communicate with the infrastructure used to control the malicious software. As a result, Cryptolocker is effectively non-functional and unable to encrypt newly infected computers.
Computer users who believe they may be infected with Gameover Zeus are encouraged to visit the Department of Homeland Security’s dedicated Gameover Zeus webpage, which is located at www.us-cert.gov/gameoverzeus . Among other resources, the webpage includes links to tools from trusted vendors that can detect and remove the Gameover Zeus infection.Related Materials:
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Declaration in Support of MotionDefendant Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Al-Qa’ida, Al-Qa’ida in Iraq/Al-Nusrah Front, and Al-ShabaabRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and the members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), announce that Gufran Ahmed Kauser Mohammed, 31, a naturalized United States citizen and resident of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations al-Qa’ida, al-Qa’ida in Iraq/al-Nusrah Front (“AQI/al-Nusrah Front”), and al-Shabaab. Sentencing for Mohammed is scheduled for October 24, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro.
Mohammed was charged along with Mohamed Hussein Said in a fifteen-count indictment with conspiring to provide, and attempting to provide, material support to three separately designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, al-Qa’ida, AQI/al-Nusrah Front, and al-Shabaab. Mohammed faces a possible statutory maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
The indictment alleges that Mohammed and Said conspired to provide money and recruits to al-Qa’ida, AQI/al-Nusrah Front in Syria, and al-Shabaab in Somalia. The charges allege that Mohammed sent a series of wire transfers to Said for the purpose of supporting al-Shabaab, and to an individual whom he believed was a fundraiser, recruiter, and supplier for al-Qa’ida and AQI/al-Nusrah Front for the purpose of supporting al-Qa’ida and AQI/al-Nusrah Front. In addition, Mohammed and Said agreed to support al-Qa’ida and AQI/al-Nusrah Front by recruiting and moving experienced al-Shabaab fighters to the conflict in Syria.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Frazier and Ricardo Del Toro and Trial Attorney Jolie Zimmerman from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
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.
Danbury Man Involved in Home Invasion Drug Robberies Is SentencedRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JORDANO PERDOMO, 20, of Danbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in two Danbury-area violent home invasion robberies of illegal drugs and drug trafficking proceeds.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in January 2013 the Danbury Police Department began investigating a narcotics trafficking network that maintained a series of drug distribution locations, known as trap houses, in Danbury, out of which members of the organization sold crack and heroin. The organization also rented hotel rooms where they packaged and distributed narcotics. During the investigation, law enforcement learned that the individuals who headed the drug trafficking ring had organized and committed armed home invasion robberies of marijuana dealers.
PERDOMO participated in home invasion robberies on January 30 and February 14, 2013. During both of these robberies, and a third in which PERDOMO did not participate, several men wearing masks and armed with firearms forced entry into the residence of a known marijuana dealer. Once inside, the perpetrators attempted to or did steal marijuana and cash. In each instance, the perpetrators pistol whipped a victim and threatened to kill others within the home.
PERDOMO brandished a BB gun during both of the robberies in which he participated. During the robbery on February 14, PERDOMO held a woman at gunpoint in her bedroom and threatened to harm her if she called the police.
PERDOMO has been detained since his arrest on October 23, 2013. On March 20, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of attempted interference with commerce by robbery.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office advocated for a sentence within the federal sentencing guidelines range of 70 to 87 months of imprisonment.
This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force and the Danbury Police Department. The DEA Task Force includes personnel from the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia and Meriden Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Dayton and Vanessa Richards.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Court Prohibits South Carolina Tax Return Preparer from Preparing Returns for OthersRead the Press Release
Contact Person: George Conits (864) 282-2100
Tax Preparer Filed Returns for Others that Overstated Tax Refunds by Claiming Fabricated IRA Deductions and Bogus Education Credits
Columbia, South Carolina -----United States District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, permanently barred Sandra Burton from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles announced today.
According to the complaint, from 2006 through 2008, Burton operated her own tax preparation business, Burton Tax Service, and then worked as a tax preparer at J. Moss Financial Services through 2012. While operating Burton Tax Service in 2007 and 2008, Burton allegedly prepared returns for others that improperly claimed fabricated IRA deductions and bogus education credits to reduce her customers’ tax liabilities and/or increase the size of their refunds. The complaint further alleges that Burton closed her tax preparation business after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) executed a search warrant on her business in 2008.
According to the complaint, even after closing Burton Tax Service, Burton continued to prepare returns for others. As alleged, Burton prepared over 1500 returns in 2011 and 2012 as a tax preparer at J. Moss Financial Services. The complaint further alleges that Burton continued to claim unsubstantiated education credits on returns she prepared while employed at J. Moss Financial Services.
In December 2012, Burton pleaded guilty to ten counts of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of materially false income tax returns for returns she prepared while operating Burton Tax Service. Burton was sentenced to serve 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $355,529 in restitution to the IRS.
Burton consented to entry of the injunction.
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS' Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2014. The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer. In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.Congressional Candidate Sentenced for Violating the Federal Election Campaign ActRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that Justin Lamar Sternad, 35, of Miami, was sentenced to seven months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga for violating the Federal Election Campaign Act (Election Act) in connection with the 2012 Democratic Party primary election for Florida’s 26th Congressional District.
Sternad previously pled guilty to all counts of a criminal information that charged him with one count of conspiracy to make false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), one count of making false statements to the FEC and one count of accepting illegal campaign contributions.
Sternad was a candidate in the 2012 Democratic Party primary election for Florida’s 26th Congressional District. According to court documents, Sternad engaged in a conspiracy to accept illegal, direct and coordinated campaign contributions and file false statements with the FEC in order to conceal the true source, amount and nature of the funds used by his campaign.
Sternad admitted that his campaign accepted cash and checks in excess of Federal Election Campaign Act limits, and that he filed statements that intentionally misled the FEC about his campaign’s activities. During the campaign, illegal cash contributions from co-conspirators were used to pay for a rental car and the design, printing and distribution of campaign flyers.
According to court documents, Sternad reported to the FEC that he made loans to his campaign in the amount of $63,801, when he knew that he had actually loaned fewer than $300. In total, Sternad accepted over $70,000 in misreported campaign contributions.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Thomas J. Mulvihill and Richard C. Pilger, Director of the Election Crimes Branch of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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.