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28 May 2014
Former Denver Woman Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to Identity TheftRead the Press Release
DENVER - Libia Hernandez-Garcia, age 60, of Miami, Florida, formerly of Denver, Colorado, pled guilty recently before U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello tax fraud, visa fraud and social security fraud, federal authorities announced. Hernandez-Garcia, who is free on a bond, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Arguello on September 18, 2014. She was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 21, 2013 followed by a superseding indictment on February 25, 2014. She was arrested on February 26, 2014 in Miami, Florida.
According to the charging documents as well as the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, from 2009 through 2011, Hernandez-Garcia made false claims against the Internal Revenue Service which she knew to be false by preparing and filing federal income tax returns for several individuals where the claims for income tax refunds were fraudulent. Particularly, Hernandez-Garcia provided false information to a tax preparer, so refunds not belonging to her would be deposited into her own bank account.
From 2009 through 2012, Hernandez-Garcia misused the Social Security Number (SSN) of several individuals by causing the filing of individual income tax returns which falsely included the name and SSN, as a dependent, for the person identified as the filer of the tax return.
From 2008 through 2011, Hernandez-Garcia assisted in the preparation and filing with the IRS the U.S. Individual Income Tax Return of her husband for tax years 2007 through 2010 which were materially false and fraudulent. Particularly, dependents were claimed on her husband’s tax returns when in fact the dependents were not a person who could lawfully be claimed as a dependent of his. On her own personal tax returns for tax years 2006 through 2011, Hernandez-Garcia followed a similar pattern claiming dependents that could not be claimed as her dependents all in an effort to receive higher refunds.
Furthermore, on two separate occasions, one in 2008 and the second in 2011, Hernandez-Garcia made false statements under penalty of perjury in Petitions for a Nonimmigrant Worker packages. Such statements included: the beneficiary of the H-1B visa petition, Diana Aleph Aguilar Hernandez, would be employed by a local hotel operating under a national brand name as Operations Manager; Libia Hernandez was an authorized official to make such a petition on behalf of that hotel; that Libia Hernandez was authorized by that hotel to act on behalf of the company in labor certification matters.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bureau of Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), and Office of the Inspector General – Social Security Administration (SSA OIG).
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Brown.
Former Correction Officer Convicted in Manhattan Federal Court for Smuggling Marijuana into Riker’s Island in Connection with Inmate Distribution RingRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the conviction of KHALIF PHILLIPS, a former New York City Correction Officer, in connection with his smuggling of marijuana into Riker’s Island for inmates to redistribute. Following a one-week trial, the jury convicted PHILLIPS on the second day of deliberations of each of the three counts that he faced. PHILLIPS is scheduled to be sentenced on September 25, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who presided over the trial.
As alleged in the Indictment against PHILLIPS and established by the evidence admitted at trial:
PHILLIPS worked as a Correction Officer from February 2006 until his arrest in June 2013. He was assigned to the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC) on Riker’s Island. On multiple occasions in 2012, PHILLIPS smuggled marijuana into the GRVC and provided it to inmates housed in that facility, who in turn sold it to other inmates. PHILLIPS coordinated with the wives and girlfriends of his inmate co-conspirators, who met with him to supply him with marijuana and to pay him for his smuggling activities. Among the occasions where PHILLIPS brought packages of marijuana into Riker’s Island were October 8, 2012, and December 23, 2012. Typically, Phillips charged $1,000 per package that he smuggled into the GRVC.
PHILLIPS, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, was convicted of one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, and two counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute marijuana. Each of the three counts carries a maximum term of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the New York City Department of Investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Russell Capone, Rahul Mukhi, and Carrie Cohen are in charge of the prosecution.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Providence Landlord in Alleged Arson-for-Hire SchemeRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A federal grand jury returned a nine-count superseding indictment on Tuesday charging a Providence landlord with allegedly masterminding an arson-for-hire conspiracy which resulted in an occupied multi-family dwelling in Providence that he owned being damaged by fire and the collection of $8,000 in insurance payments, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Divisionof the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Paré.
Kormahyah Karmue, 39, of, Providence, was ordered detained in federal custody following his arraignment before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan late Tuesday afternoon on charges of conspiracy to commit arson, arson, wire fraud, mail fraud and theft of U.S. government funds. A not guilty plea was entered on Karmue’s behalf.
According to the indictment, it is alleged that Karmue conspired with three others to maliciously damage and destroy by means of fire and explosion a multi-family residence he owned at 31-33 Ida Street in Providence, and that he allegedly devised a scheme in which he defrauded the Allstate Insurance Company of $8,000 in insurance payments.
Additionally, according to the indictment, it is alleged that between July 2009 and August 2011, Karmue fraudulently obtained $61,250 in federally funded unemployment insurance payments from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. It is alleged that Karmue falsely represented that he was unemployed when in fact he was self-employed, engaging in the business of transporting cargo for a fee. Information pertaining to Karmue’s self-employment and alleged unemployment compensation were discovered during the investigation into the alleged arson-for-hire conspiracy.
Three co-defendants charged in this matter remain detained in federal custody. Abraham Kerkula, 20, and Nakele Freeman, 19, both of Providence, were arrested in November 2013 and have since pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit arson and arson affecting interstate commerce. They are awaiting sentencing.
Gbabia Kollie, 27, of Johnston City, Tenn., who was removed from an outbound international flight leaving Atlanta for Liberia and arrested by ATF agents on December 5, 2013, and ordered detained by the court on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit arson and arson affecting interstate commerce, is scheduled to be arraigned on charges contained in the superseding indictment on May 29.
An indictment and a criminal complaint are merely allegations and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland.
The investigation was conducted by ATF, the Providence Fire Department Arson Squad and the Providence Police Department Detective Bureau.
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To assist the media and the public, a glossary of federal judicial terms and procedures is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice101/
Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Ex-Casino Owner, Nevada Businessman and Former National Football League Player Found Guilty in Massive Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Las Vegas jury returned guilty verdicts yesterday against Alan Rodrigues, a former casino owner from Henderson, Nevada, Weston Coolidge, a former businessman from Las Vegas, and Joseph Prokop, a former National Football League punter from Upland, California, for conspiracy and fraud related to their promotion of a fraudulent tax product through the now-defunct National Audit Defense Network (NADN), the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The guilty verdicts came after a six week trial before U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du in the District of Nevada.
All defendants were convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and four counts of mail fraud. Rodrigues and Coolidge were additionally convicted of 15 counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, while Prokop was convicted of 13 counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns. During the conspiracy, Rodrigues was NADN’s general manager, Coolidge was NADN’s owner and president and Prokop was the national marketing director of Oryan Management and Financial Services. Oryan, which was operated out of Upland, created the fraudulent tax product, called Tax Break 2000, and paid NADN a commission to sell Tax Break 2000.
“This jury verdict sends a message to those who promote fraudulent tax products like Tax Break 2000 – you do so at the risk of prosecution, prison time and substantial penalties,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Prosecuting individuals who market fraudulent tax schemes has been and always will be our priority.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, NADN began selling Tax Break 2000 in early 2001. Tax Break 2000 purported to be a shopping website that the defendants fraudulently said would allow customers to claim legitimate income tax credits and deductions by making the website accessible to the disabled. The defendants chose the sale price for the modifications, $10,475, solely to maximize the fraudulent income tax credits and deductions. To further the scheme, the defendants produced false IRS forms creating the appearance of fictitious commission income and prepared false tax returns on their customers’ behalf that improperly claimed the tax credits and deductions. According to evidence presented at trial, the intended tax loss based on the purported tax benefits was approximately $100 million due to the scheme.
On April 13, 2004, the department’s Tax Division filed a complaint seeking to enjoin, among others, NADN, Rodrigues, Coolidge and Prokop from selling fraudulent tax schemes, including Tax Break 2000. NADN ceased operations in May 2004, and in June 2004, a federal bankruptcy court in Las Vegas entered a permanent injunction against NADN. Prokop was also enjoined in June 2004, after consenting to entry of a permanent injunction. In April 2005, Rodrigues and Coolidge both consented to permanent injunctions.
The case was investigated by IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Timothy J. Stockwell and Katherine L. Wong of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case, with litigation assistance from Larry Garland and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
Employee of Dunbar Armored, Inc. Sentenced for Role in Armored Truck RobberiesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Veronica Bullard has been sentenced to three years and nine months in federal prison for her role in the commission of a series of armored truck robberies in the Atlanta area between October 2010 and March 2011.
“Bullard chose to endanger many of her co-workers’ lives as well as guards from other armored car companies,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “The inside information she gained in her position at Dunbar Armored, Inc., a local armored truck service, fueled a crime spree that left one man dead and another seriously injured. She thought nothing of the escalating violence in each attack. Instead, she continued to abuse her position and access to information all motivated by pure greed. Bullard deserves time in prison, and will now get it.”
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “This defendant’s actions were despicable and her betrayal to her employer and the courier industry as a whole led to the injury of one courier and the fatal shooting of Garda courier Gary Castillo. Today’s sentencing will not only hold Ms. Bullard accountable for those actions but will give her much opportunity to reflect on the great harm to others that those actions caused.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: The defendant, Veronica Bullard, was an employee of Dunbar Armored in 2010. Bullard provided information to co-defendants Quentin Booker and Stacey Dooley about the location and amount of cash handled during Dunbar Armored cash pick-ups. This information was used them to plan and to execute multiple robberies of Dunbar Armored couriers. During the robberies, one or two gunmen would approach a courier after the courier made a cash pick-up from a location, or as the courier was about to restock an ATM machine with cash. Other members of the robbery crew would act as lookouts during the robberies, with one acting as the designated getaway driver.
The information Bullard provided to the robbers was also used to target couriers from other armored car companies. As the number of robberies escalated, so did the level of violence. In fact, during the robbery of a Loomis Armored courier who was restocking cash in an ATM machine on January 21, 2011, at a Wells Fargo Bank located in Stone Mountain, Ga., co-defendant Ashley Henderson shot and seriously injured the courier. During the robbery of a Garda Cash Logistics courier outside the Kroger Grocery Store located on LaVista Road in DeKalb County, Ga., Ashley Henderson fatally shot the courier, Gary Castillo, after Castillo made a cash pick-up of $11,000 from the store. Altogether, members of this robbing crew were responsible for six robberies involving thefts of over $470,000.
The evidence established that Bullard and her co-conspirators were specifically involved in the commission of the following robbery:
- The robbery of a Dunbar Armored courier just after he made a cash pick-up on October 7, 2010, at the Mex America Latino Services located in Marietta, Ga.
- The evidence further established that Bullard’s co-conspirators were involved in the commission of the following additional robberies:
- The robbery of a Dunbar Armored courier who was restocking cash in an ATM machine on November 11, 2010, at a Bank of America located in Buford, Ga.;
- The robbery of a Loomis Armored courier who was restocking cash in an ATM machine on November 29, 2010, at a Wells Fargo Bank located in Snellville, Ga.;
- The robbery of a Dunbar Armored courier who was heading to an ATM machine to restock it with cash inside the Mall of Georgia on December 7, 2010;
- The robbery of a Loomis Armored courier who was restocking cash in an ATM machine on January 21, 2011, at a Wells Fargo Bank located in Stone Mountain, Ga.; and
- The robbery of a Garda Cash Logistics courier on March 15, 2011, outside the Kroger Grocery Store located on LaVista Road in DeKalb County, Ga.
Bullard was sentenced to three years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $104,694 in restitution. Bullard pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery (armed robbery of a Dunbar courier).
In addition to Bullard, the following defendants have also entered guilty pleas as a result of their role in the robberies:
- Ashley Henderson, 30 of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to five counts of Hobbs Act robbery (armed robbery of the couriers) and three counts of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison.
- Stacey Dooley, 37, originally from Charlotte, NC, pleaded guilty to six counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
- Quentin Booker, 36, of Douglasville, Ga., pleaded guilty to five counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
- Edwin Thornton, 31, of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to three counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of carrying and using of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 15 years and 10 months in prison.
- Michael Johnson, 31, of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
- Ronnie Little, 22, of Stone Mountain, Ga., pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison.
- Desiree Jones, 29, of Snellville, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawfully transferring a firearm knowing it would be used in a crime of violence and received a sentence of five years in federal prison.
- Derrick Powell, 26, of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18, 2014.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with significant assistance and resources provided by the Gwinnett Police Department. Other departments providing invaluable assistance were the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office, the DeKalb County Police Department, the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, the Marietta Police Department, and the Cobb County District Attorney's Office.
Assistant United States Attorneys Tracia M. King and Jill E. Steinberg are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.
Eagle Butte Man Charged with Assault with Intent to Commit Murder and Assault by StrangulationRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assault with Intent to Commit Murder and Assault by Strangulation.
Harold Picotte, III, age 40, was indicted on May 13, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on May 23, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that in February 2014, Picotte assaulted his dating partner/girlfriend with the intent to commit murder by strangulation and choking.
The charges are merely an accusation and Picotte is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikal Hanson is prosecuting the case.
Picotte was released on bond pending trial, which is set for July 15, 2014.
Dustin C. Watson Sentenced to 115 Months for CarjackingRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Dustin C. Watson, 31, of Knoxville, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 115 months in prison by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge, on May 28, 2014. Upon his release from prison Watson will be subject to supervised release under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years. There is no parole in the federal system.
In February 2014 Watson pleaded guilty to carjacking an individual in Greeneville, Tenn. Watson had requested a ride from an individual at a business on Fairgrounds Road in Greeneville on Aug. 31, 2013. While riding in the passenger seat of the vehicle, Watson threatened the driver with a knife, and ordered the driver out of the car. He then took the driver’s cell phone and vehicle, leaving the victim stranded on Highway 93 in Greene County. Watson was later arrested in Knoxville, still driving the stolen vehicle, and in possession of illegal narcotics which he had been using.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation included the Greeneville Police Department, Knoxville Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Bowman represented the United States.
Dr. John Yacoub Pleads Guilty to Drug DistributionRead the Press Release
Provided Prescriptions to His Girlfriend and Others
Baltimore, Maryland – Dr. John K. Yacoub, age 58, of Baltimore, Maryland pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine and methadone.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Special Agent in Charge Nicholas DiGiulio, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Howard County Police Chief William McMahon; and Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department.“Dr. Yacoub a long standing medical doctor, not only broke the law by drug trafficking, he betrayed the trust bestowed upon him by the public,” stated Gary Tuggle, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office. “Members of the medical community are not untouchable when they prescribe controlled substances for no legitimate reason. The abuse of diverted prescription pain medication is the fastest growing drug problem in our country and our DEA Tactical Diversion Program is ready to tackle this problem,” added Tuggle.
According to Dr. Yacoub’s plea agreement, between 2012 and 2013 he provided prescriptions and pills to his Nevada-based girlfriend, who was a drug addict. He initially provided her with Vicodin, and later with oxycodone and morphine. By 2013, Dr. Yacoub was regularly writing prescriptions for morphine and fentanyl patches, for his girlfriend’s personal use. Dr. Yacoub asked two other people (person A and person B) to help him get additional prescription medication for his girlfriend in exchange for providing them with prescriptions for methadone. Specifically, Dr. Yacoub provided person A with prescriptions for methadone in her name and the name of person B. In addition, he provided a prescription for morphine in the name of person B, who had Medicaid. Person B filled the prescription, using Medicaid to pay for the prescription, then provided the morphine to person A, who gave it either to Dr. Yacoub or to his girlfriend. Investigators have determined that Medicaid paid $2,375.92 for morphine prescriptions obtained by person B for Dr. Yacoub.During a search warrant executed on September 23, 2013, investigators obtained patient files for Dr. Yacoub’s girlfriend, person A and person B. None of their files reflected any medical treatment or medical reason for the medications prescribed to them by Dr. Yacoub. Dr. Yacoub admitted that providing the prescriptions to his girlfriend, person A and person B was not within the scope of accepted medical practice.
Dr. Yacoub faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake scheduled sentencing for September 23, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the DEA, HHS – Office of Inspector General, Baltimore County and Howard County Police Departments and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein also recognized the Maryland Board of Physicians for its assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth S. Clark, who is prosecuting the case.District of South Dakota Issues 2013 Annual ReportRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced the release of the 2013 Annual Report for the District of South Dakota. Despite federal budget cuts and staff reductions due to sequestration, significant accomplishments were achieved in 2013.
Human trafficking continues to be an area of high priority, and the report highlights several successful prosecutions. In 2013, many of the office’s most heinous sex trafficking cases were closed, with one defendant being sentenced to three life sentences. Three more defendants received sentences of 33½ years, 30 years, and 10 years. Also in 2013, 11 more people were indicted on sex trafficking and related charges, and others were convicted and scheduled for sentencing. The success recognized in 2013 is due in large part to the tremendous collaboration and support of federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners who investigate the leads and help build the cases against these perpetrators.
In addition, the report highlights the achievements in other high priority areas, such as ongoing initiatives to make tribal communities safer, enhanced community outreach efforts, progress in the areas of victim’s rights and advocacy, and an overview of the work performed by the Civil and Appellate Divisions.
The complete report is available on-line at the Department of Justice website: http://www.justice.gov/usao/sd/docs/Annual_Report_2013.pdf
Department of Justice Announces 48 States and Territories Have Committed to Ending Prison RapeRead the Press Release
Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary announced today that the vast majority of U.S. states and territories have informed the Department of Justice that they intend to take steps to reduce sexual assaults in prisons, in accordance with federal law.
Under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which was passed in 2003 with unanimous support from both parties of Congress, Fiscal Year 2014 is the first year that states and territories may have certain federal grant funds withheld unless they demonstrate an intention to comply with the law. Of the 56 jurisdictions that are subject to PREA – the 50 states, the 5 territories and the District of Columbia – 48 are in compliance or have submitted assurances to the department committing to spending five percent of certain federal grant funds to come into compliance. This translates to a compliance rate of 85 percent.
“No one should be subjected to sexual abuse while in the custody of our justice system,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole. “It serves as a violation of fundamental rights, an attack on human dignity and runs contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Based on these certifications and assurances, and other correspondence submitted by the governors, it is clear that addressing the issue of sexual abuse in confinement facilities is a high nationwide priority.”
“We are witnessing a major change in the culture of our nation's criminal justice systems. The discussion is no longer whether sexual victimization in correctional facilities is a problem, or even where the problem might be most serious,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Leary. “An overwhelming majority of states and territories has committed to preventing, identifying and addressing this serious travesty against human dignity anywhere it occurs.”
An estimated four percent of state and federal prison inmates and just over three percent of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or a facility staff member within the previous 12 months. Among youth in state juvenile facilities and state contract facilities that rate increases to an estimated nine and a half percent in the previous 12 months. The National PREA Standards create policies and practices to ensure a zero tolerance for sexual assault in prisons and corrections facilities by preventing, detecting and responding to sexual abuse.
Two states, New Hampshire and New Jersey, have certified that they are in full compliance with PREA. Understanding that the standards could take a number of years to fully implement, the statute allows a governor whose state or territory is not yet in full compliance to submit an assurance to the department that not less than five percent of certain department grant funds will be used solely for the purpose of enabling the state or territory to achieve and certify full compliance with the standards in future years. This year 46 jurisdictions submitted an assurance. The eight states or territories that are unwilling to commit the five percent of federal grant funds to implementation of the National PREA Standards are subject to the loss of five percent of certain department grant funds that they would otherwise receive.
The submitted assurances by governors or heads of territories is required by the PREA statute. The PREA standards took effect on Aug. 20, 2012. The standards apply to Justice Department, state, and local confinement facilities, including adult prisons and jails, juvenile facilities, police lockups, and community corrections facilities. The standards reflect careful consideration of all public input, including over 2,000 public comments, as well as detailed analysis of anticipated benefits and costs, in light of PREA’s requirement that the standards not “impose substantial additional costs compared to the costs presently expended by federal, state and local prison authorities.”
To assist states and localities with the implementation of the National PREA Standards, the department, through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, funded the National PREA Resource Center which provides training and technical assistance, as well as serving as a single-stop resource for leading research and tools for all those in the field working to implement the National PREA Standards. The department has also funded over $23 million in grants to support state and local jurisdictions in creating zero-tolerance cultures for sexual abuse in confinement facilities. For more information on the National PREA Standards as well and what assistance is available to states visit www.prearesourcecenter.org.
Denton County Man and Woman Sentenced for Federal Income Tax ViolationsRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsSHERMAN, Texas - A Denton County, Texas man and woman have been sentenced to federal prison for income tax violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Michael Jerome Edwards, 40, and Cheri Joann Edwards, 38, both of Lewisville, Texas, pleaded guilty on Oct. 28, 2013 to conspiracy to defraud the government. Cheri Edwards was sentenced to eight months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $67,574.83 today by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield.
Michael Edwards was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of $419,739.00 on Apr. 22, 2014 by Judge Heartfield.
According to information presented in court, beginning in November 2008, Michael and Cheri Edwards devised a scheme to defraud the government by submitting fraudulent federal income tax returns claiming $3,860,722.00 in refunds for tax years 2006 through 2008, which far exceeded that to which they were entitled. To facilitate the scheme, the defendant’s submitted Form 1099-Original Issue Discount (OID) to falsely identify federal income tax withholdings. As a result of this fraudulent activity, Michael Edwards received a federal tax refund in February 2009 in the amount of $324,536.84 for the 2007 tax year. In April 2009, Cheri Edwards received a federal tax refund in the amount of $77,451.00 for tax year 2008. The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 12, 2012.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher A. Eason.
#######Deirdre M. Daly Sworn in as United States AttorneyRead the Press Release
Follow @USAO_CT
Deirdre M. Daly, 54, of Fairfield, was sworn in today as the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut by the Honorable Janet C. Hall, Chief Judge for the District, in New Haven. President Barack Obama nominated Ms. Daly to serve as U.S. Attorney on March 13, 2014, and the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination on May 21, 2014. This marks the first time a woman has been nominated by a President and confirmed by the Senate to be the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut.
“I am grateful to those who supported my nomination and deeply appreciate the opportunity to serve in this position,” stated Ms. Daly. “I very much look forward to continuing to work with the dedicated and talented people in our Office as well as our many law enforcement partners throughout the State.”
Ms. Daly served as the United States Attorney in an acting or interim capacity since May 14, 2013, following the resignation of her predecessor, David B. Fein. Between July 2010 and May 2013, she was the First Assistant U.S. Attorney during which time she assisted in the oversight of both the Criminal and Civil Divisions. In March 2013, Ms. Daly led the prosecution of Hector Natal, who was convicted after trial of setting fire to a house in New Haven that resulted in the death of two women and a young boy.
From 1985 to 1997, Ms. Daly was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where she prosecuted a wide range of cases from racketeering and murder to corruption and fraud, and later served as the Assistant-In-Charge of White Plains Office for three years. After leaving the Department of Justice, Ms. Daly was a partner at Daly & Pavlis LLC, a Connecticut law firm with a practice focused on corporate and commercial litigation, white-collar criminal investigations, SEC enforcement actions and corporate internal investigations and monitoring.
A graduate of Dartmouth College and Georgetown University Law Center, earlier in her career, Ms. Daly served as a law clerk for the Honorable Lloyd F. MacMahon, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charged with enforcing federal criminal laws in Connecticut, and with representing the federal government in civil litigation in the District. As U.S. Attorney, Ms. Daly supervises a staff of approximately 64 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 60 staff members at offices in New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport.
Ms. Daly is the 51st United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, an office that was established in 1789.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Corrections Officers, Lawyer, Among Nine Charged in Schemes to Smuggle Contraband into Federal Pretrial Detention FacilityRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two corrections officers, a lawyer, and six others were charged today in three separate complaints with smuggling contraband, including cell phones and marijuana, into a federal pretrial detention facility at the Essex County Correctional Facility, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Corrections officer Stephon Solomon, 26, of Irvington, N.J.; Darsell Davis, 28, Dwayne Harper, 30, and Deidra Harrison, 49, all of Newark; attorney Brian Kapalin, 66, of Maplewood, N.J.; and Vladimir Sauzereseteo, 40, of East Orange, N.J., were arrested this morning by special agents of the FBI. Corrections officer Channel Lespinasse, 25, of Florham Park, N.J., was issued a summons. Quasim Nichols, 29, and Muhammad Subpunallah, 32, already are incarcerated on unrelated federal charges.
“According to the complaints, the defendants operated contraband marketplace within the walls of the Essex County Correctional Facility,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “Jails are no place for drugs and illicit phones, and it is disappointing that two corrections officers and an attorney allegedly used their authority and access to make them available.”
“The allegations in today’s complaints underscore the commitment of the FBI and the Department of Justice to continue to pursue those employed by the government who undermine the public’s trust and engage in unethical and corrupt practices,” said Special Agent in Charge Ford. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are determined to address public corruption at all levels of government.”
Solomon, Davis, Harper, Harrison, Kapalin, Sauzereseteo, Nichols and Subpunallah are scheduled to make their initial appearances this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court. Lespinasse will appear for her initial appearance on June 2, 2014, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark.
According to the complaints unsealed today:
On at least five occasions between October 2013 and April 2014, Solomon, a corrections officer at the Essex County Correctional Facility, smuggled contraband – including cell phones, tobacco, and marijuana – to Nichols, an inmate there, in exchange for cash bribes. Nichols’ friends, Davis and Harper, helped by collecting the items that were to be smuggled into the jail. Davis then handed off the contraband and cash payments to Solomon. Nichols ultimately sold some of the marijuana and cell phones he received from Solomon to other inmates. The inmates purchasing marijuana and cell phones from Nichols had their friends and family pay for the items by sending Western Union money transfers to Nichols, who then enlisted Davis and others to retrieve the payments. Nichols also used the cell phones he received through this smuggling scheme to communicate with his conspirators.
Lespinasse, another corrections officer at the Essex County Correctional Facility, also smuggled in contraband in exchange for a cash bribe. In November 2013, Lespinasse and an associate, Harrison, agreed to smuggle a cell phone to an inmate in the jail in exchange for a cash bribe. On behalf of Lespinasse, Harrison accepted a $1,000 cash bribe and a cell phone from an undercover agent in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant in Newark. Harrison promised the undercover federal agent that the cell phone would be delivered to its recipient – an inmate in the jail. Three days later, Lespinasse delivered the cell phone to the inmate.
Kapalin, a lawyer who practiced in New Jersey, used his access to inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility to smuggle in contraband – including marijuana and tobacco – to inmates, including Subpunallah, in exchange for cash payments. Sauzereseteo, an associate of Subpunallah, delivered the contraband and the cash payments to Kapalin, who then smuggled the contraband into the jail. In January 2014, Kapalin spoke with Subpunallah – at that point an inmate at the Hudson County Correctional Facility – over a recorded jail phone. Subpunallah asked Kapalin to deliver contraband to an inmate at the Essex County Correctional Facility. Sauzereseteo was paid $1,650, via Western Union money transfers, which he used to purchase marijuana he delivered to Kapalin, along with a cash payment. A few days later, Kapalin met an inmate from the Essex County Correctional Facility in the attorney conference room at the jail, during which time he delivered the marijuana to the inmate.
A search of the federal pods at the Essex County Correctional Facility on May 26, 2014, produced nine hidden cellular phones, including one in the light fixture in the ceiling of Nichols’ cell.
The criminal complaints charge Solomon, Nichols, Davis, Harper, Lespinasse and Harrison each with one count of conspiring to violate the Hobbs Act, punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of the greatest of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense. The criminal complaints charge all nine defendants with one count of conspiring to provide contraband to inmates at the jail, a count that carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for smuggling marijuana or one year in prison and $100,000 maximum fine for smuggling a cell phone.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, and the Internal Affairs Division of Essex County Correctional Facility, under the leadership of Warden Roy Hendricks, with the ongoing investigation leading to today’s arrests.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division and Rob Frazer of the Criminal Division, Organized Crime/Gangs Unit, in Newark.
14-192Solomon, Stephon et al. Complaint
Lespinasse, Channel et al. Complaint
Kapalin, Brian et al. ComplaintConnecticut Man Who Used Offshore Accounts Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
John Cote, formerly of Danielson, Connecticut, was sentenced today to serve 46 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Cote was convicted in January 2014 of four counts of tax evasion along with conspiracy to defraud the IRS following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut sitting in Hartford. Cote was also ordered to pay restitution of $222,691 and to serve three years of supervised release following his release from prison.
According to court documents and evidence produced at trial, Cote did not file a timely or valid tax return for the years 1995 through 2009, despite earning income from his work as a consultant in the high-technology welding industry. The evidence introduced at trial showed that Cote and his wife responded to IRS efforts to assess and collect taxes by concealing income and assets from the government, and by submitting obstructive letters and other documents, including false criminal complaints against IRS employees. Starting in 1998, Cote caused the companies for which he worked to pay his compensation to nominee entities, sometimes through accounts in Costa Rica and Sweden. Cote also used a nominee entity in his wife’s name to conceal income and assets from the IRS and in 2003, Cote's wife conveyed their personal residence to this entity.
The case was investigated by special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Jennifer Laraia, Melissa Siskind and Jeffrey McLellan of the Tax Division prosecuted the case. Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Tax Division commended the special agents and the prosecutors, and thanked U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly for the District of Connecticut and her office for their assistance.
Coal City Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing OxycodoneRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Harry D. Rhodes, Jr., 49, of Coal City, West Virginia, plead guilty in federal court in Beckley to distributing oxycodone, a powerful and addictive prescription pain medication. Rhodes admitted that in December of 2013, he sold oxycodone pills to a person who was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place in Coal City, near Beckley, West Virginia.
Rhodes faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger scheduled the sentencing for September 10, 2014.
The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit conducted the investigation.This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The United States Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Chicago Man Indicted on Federal Charges for Allegedly Illegally Trafficking and Possessing Dozens of FirearmsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO ― A Chicago man is facing federal gun charges for allegedly illegally trafficking nearly 40 firearms and illegally possessing at least 11 firearms between 2010 and 2012. The defendant, EARL GARDNER, was arrested last night by Chicago Police officers on a federal warrant issued after he was indicted last Wednesday by a federal grand jury.
Gardner, 25, of the 5900 block of South Bishop Street, was charged with one count of dealing firearms without a federal license and four counts of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.
He pleaded not guilty today at his arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Rowland and was ordered to remain in custody pending a detention hearing at 1:30 p.m. Friday in U.S. District Court.
According to the indictment and a prosecutor’s statements in court today, Gardner engaged in the business of dealing 39 firearms without a federal license between Dec. 29, 2010, and June 7, 2012, when he sold the guns to a cooperating individual. Those 39 firearms included more than a dozen semi-automatic pistols, 10 revolvers, 10 rifles, three shotguns, and two TEC-9 9 mm pistols. On Sept. 19 and 22, 2011, and Jan. 21 and Feb. 9, 2012, Gardner allegedly illegally possessed two or more firearms on each date after having been convicted of a felony, which disqualified him from possessing a gun. Among the 11 firearms that Gardner allegedly possessed were various 9 mm and .22, .38, and .45 caliber pistols, as well as several rifles, including two Norinco Model SKS 7.62 x 39 mm rifles.
Dealing firearms without a federal license carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while each count of being a felon-in-possession of firearms carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, and all five counts carry a $250,000 maximum fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The arrest and charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Carl Vasilko, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Chapman.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment
Chataignier Man Sentenced to 135 Months in Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Ricky Johnson, 53, of Chataignier, La., was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik, to 135 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for possession of child pornography. He was also ordered to forfeit the devices used in the crime.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea on February 5, 2014, the investigation revealed that Johnson was downloading child pornography from a file sharing network online in early 2010. In September of 2010, Johnson’s computer and other electronic devices were searched, and images and videos of child pornography were found. Johnson has a prior conviction for molestation of a juvenile.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Those concerned may also leave tips with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously. The Lafayette FBI office number is (337) 233-2164.
California Woman Sentenced on Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Myra Hight, 52, of Lake Tahoe, CA, who was convicted of marijuana conspiracy, was sentenced to time served and three years supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Alsup, who handling the case, stated that the defendant was arrested on February 20, 2012 by Hamburg Police in the parking lot of a store in the Town of Hamburg. During a search of the car Hight was driving, officers recovered $77,000 in U.S. currency, money the defendant admitted was proceeds of her marijuana trafficking conspiracy.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Hamburg Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Williams and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division.Buffalo Man Sentenced on Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
Buffalo, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Alfredo Alvarez-Martinez, 26, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, was sentenced to 123 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, who handled the case, stated that during the execution of a search warrant at the defendant’s residence on April 17, 2012, law enforcement officers recovered three firearms including a .45 caliber pistol, a .22 caliber pistol, and a .25 caliber pistol. Officers also seized a quantity of heroin, drug packaging materials, and $10,900 in U.S. currency.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division.Belleville Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering and Wire FraudRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsStephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on May 28, 2014, Brian J. Fields, 52, of Belleville, Illinois, pled guilty to a two-count information charging in count one that he engaged in a scheme to commit wire fraud and in count two that he had committed money laundering. At his sentencing, Fields will face up to 20 years in federal prison as to each count, a fine of up to $750,000 and up to 3 years of supervised release. Sentencing has been set for September 12, at 1:30 p.m. in United States District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois.
During his plea hearing, Fields admitted that he assisted a person from oversees (Nigeria) in defrauding United States Citizens by sending counterfeit checks and money orders to individuals in several schemes (such as a “Secret Shopper” scam). The schemes resulted in victims receiving the counterfeit check or money order, depositing it into their own bank account, and then at the direction of Fields, the victim would wire transfer legitimate funds to Fields. By the time the person learned the check or money order was worthless, they had already sent the money to Fields. When Fields received the victims’ money, he would keep a portion for himself and then to further the scheme, Fields would send the remaining funds to a person located in Nigeria. Agents were able to identify over 70 victims that had lost over $100,000.
The investigation was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Secret Service, and the Swansea, Illinois, Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranley R. Killian.
Beckley Man Pleads Guilty to Selling HeroinRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Timothy Peck, 41, of Beckley, West Virginia, plead guilty in federal court in Beckley to distributing heroin. Peck admitted that in January of 2014, he sold heroin to a person who was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Pardee Lane in Stanaford, West Virginia.
Peck faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger scheduled the sentencing for September 10l 2014.
The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit conducted the investigation.This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The United States Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Ashland Hospital to Pay Nearly $41 Million to U.S. Government as Part of Landmark SettlementRead the Press Release
This Represents the Largest Federal Health Care Fraud Settlement involving a Hospital in the History of the Eastern District of Kentucky
ASHLAND King’s Daughters Medical Center (KDMC) in Ashland, Ky., has agreed to pay the U.S. Government $40.9 million to resolve civil allegations that it made millions of dollars by falsely billing federal health care programs for heart procedures that were performed on patients who didn’t medically need them.
“The conduct alleged in this matter is unacceptable, victimizing both taxpayers and patients,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky Kerry B. Harvey. “Treatment decisions motivated by financial gain undermine public confidence in our health care system and threaten vital federal programs upon which so many of our citizens rely. We will not relent in our efforts to protect the public from the sort of systematic misconduct alleged in this case.”
The government alleged that, between 2006 and 2011, KDMC maximized reimbursements from Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid by billing for numerous unnecessary coronary stents and diagnostic catheterizations performed by KDMC physicians. The government also alleged that the physicians falsified medical records in order to justify these unnecessary procedures, which allegedly generated millions of dollars in fraudulent reimbursements for KDMC. This alleged conduct violated the False Claims Act because under federal law, federal health care programs like Medicare only reimburse providers for procedures that are deemed medically necessary.
To the knowledge of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, this case marks the largest settlement involving a hospital in the history of the Eastern District of Kentucky (District consists of 67 counties). The settlement amount roughly doubles the amount of money KDMC received as a result of the alleged fraudulent billing for the unnecessary services.
“Hospitals that place their financial interests above the well-being of their patients will be held accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate those who abuse federal health care programs and put the beneficiaries of these programs at risk by providing medically unnecessary care.”
The settlement also resolves allegations that KDMC violated the Stark Law by engaging in improper financial relationships with certain physicians. The government contended that KDMC paid some cardiologists salaries that were unreasonably high and in excess of fair market value. The government further contended that the cardiologists receiving these unreasonably high salaries referred their patients to KDMC for various health services. The Stark Law is designed to limit the influence of money on physicians’ medical decisions by prohibiting financial relationships between hospitals and referring physicians, unless these relationships meet certain designated exceptions.
In connection with this settlement, KDMC has agreed to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), which obligates the hospital to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms and to commit to a third-party review of its claims to federal health care programs for the next five years.
“Medically unnecessary procedures can cause very serious health issues, wastes millions in tax payer dollars each year and undercuts the public’s trust in the medical professionalism the Medicare Trust Fund,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in the region covering Kentucky. “The OIG will continue to protect beneficiaries and hold health care providers accountable for improper claims.”
“This type of alleged conduct deceives individuals when they are seeking medical treatment and are vulnerable,” said Perrye K. Turner, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Division. “The level of funds involved in this matter is staggering. This money has been stolen from the patients and the taxpayers.”The Commonwealth of Kentucky will receive $1,018,380, which represents the state’s share of the recovered Medicaid funds. The Medicaid program is funded jointly by the federal and state governments.
“We take very seriously our obligation to ensure the safety of patients in Kentucky and to hold accountable those who put profits ahead of patient care,” said Jack Conway, Kentucky Attorney General. “I appreciate the hard work of my Medicaid Fraud Unit and all of the agencies involved in this case, and I am pleased that we are able to recover this money on behalf of Kentucky taxpayers and a vital state program.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI; the HHS-OIG; the Kentucky Office of Attorney General-Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Unit; the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Settlement Agreement
Aplington Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who possessed child pornography pled guilty on May 27, 2014, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Jeremiah Romo, age 20, from Aplington, Iowa, was convicted of one count of possession of child pornography.
At the plea hearing, Romo admitted that, in July 2013, he possessed child pornography, including one or more depictions of prepubescent children. He also admitted that, in 2008, he was adjudicated delinquent for sexual abuse in the second degree.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Romo remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Romo faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release for 5 years to life following his imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 14-3011.
Alleged Texas Alien Smuggler Indicted by White Plains Federal Grand Jury on Hostage Taking and Alien Smuggling ChargesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the indictment of JUVENCIO MARTINEZ-MARTINEZ on hostage taking and alien smuggling charges. MARTINEZ-MARTINEZ was previously arrested in the Southern District of Texas and ordered removed to White Plains, New York.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “As alleged, Juvencio Martinez-Martinez preyed on and held hostage an individual desperate to enter the United States from Mexico to join her family, threatening dire consequences if ransom was not paid. The woman he smuggled and held is safe, and Martinez-Martinez is now in federal custody facing federal charges.”
Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos stated: “As alleged, Martinez-Martinez valued currency over human life when he abducted the victim who was attempting to enter the United States from Mexico. While he may have viewed this as an opportunity to make easy money, Martinez-Martinez did not anticipate the swift, coordinated law enforcement response committed to seeing the victim safely rescued. The FBI, along with its law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who seek to turn a profit by victimizing the innocent.”
According to allegations made in the Indictment and other publicly filed documents:
Martinez-Martinez and others held an individual hostage in Weslaco, Texas, after they smuggled her across the border. While waiting for the victim’s mother, who lives in Fallsburg, Sullivan County, New York, to send them money in order to secure her release, they threatened to continue to hold the victim hostage and harm her. During one conversation with the victim’s mother, the hostage takers threatened to cut the victim into pieces and send the pieces to the victim’s mother in Fallsburg, New York. Martinez-Martinez was apprehended at a business in Weslaco, Texas, shortly after he obtained an additional $1,500 from the victim’s mother. Law enforcement officers then discovered additional individuals at a building Martinez-Martinez controlled.
MARTINEZ-MARTINEZ, 20, of Weslaco, Texas, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI, Fallsburg (N.Y.) Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Customs and Border Protection.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Collins, Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.
The allegations contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Wood County Man Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Jon Seth Davisson, a 22-year-old Wood County man convicted of receipt of child pornography, was sentenced today to 98 months in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. In August of 2013, Davisson exchanged text messages with a 13-year-old Cabell County minor and persuaded the minor to take and send sexually explicit photographs to Davisson. At the time he received these images, Davisson was serving in the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. Davisson had been acquainted with the minor for several years and was aware of the age of the minor at the time he requested that she take and send the photos. At the sentencing, it was also alleged that Davisson had engaged in sexually explicit text and Facebook conversations with several other Wood County minors during which sexually explicit images were exchanged. At the times of those alleged conversations, the minors were between the ages of 12 and 16. In imposing the sentence, Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers noted Davisson’s “significant level of perversion.”
United States Attorney Booth Goodwin said, “Individuals like Mr. Davisson who entice minors to produce sexually explicit images contribute to the serious problem of child exploitation. I will continue to protect the children of West Virginia by bringing those who harm and exploit children to justice.”
The Cabell County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being brought as part of U.S. Attorney Goodwin’s ongoing initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse in the Southern District of West Virginia.
Winona Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS — Last week in federal court, a 37-year-old Winona man was sentenced for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle sentenced Gabriel Orion Lowther to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Lowther, who was indicted on July 8, 2013, pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.
In his plea agreement, Lowther admitted that from at least August 2012 through June 2013, he conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine from Texas to areas within southeastern Minnesota. Lowther admitted that his actions were part of a larger drug distribution enterprise which was operated by multiple conspirators between Minnesota and other areas of the United States.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the South Central Drug Investigation Unit, and the Southeast Minnesota Narcotics and Gang Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Allen A. Slaughter.U.S. Attorney’s Office Resolves Complaint Against Taxi Driver for Refusing Service to Visually Impaired Teen with Service AnimalRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI – United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe today announced an agreement with taxi driver Altagracia Roumou that resolves allegations that she violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing taxi service to an individual on the basis of his disability. The Settlement Agreement concludes an investigation which began in March 2013 when Zane Birnie filed a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The complaint alleged that Mr. Birnie, a young man who is visually impaired, attempted to board a “safari” taxi, but was refused by the driver because he was accompanied by his service animal.
Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Ms. Roumou paid a $1,000 damage award to Mr. Birnie, and will pay a $1,000 civil penalty to the United States. She also agreed not to discriminate against any individual on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of taxicab services, and to provide service to all persons with disabilities, including those accompanied by a service animal. Ms. Roumou also agreed to adopt a Department of Justice-approved service animal policy, and undergo training on providing service to persons with disabilities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will be offering ADA training to workers in the taxi industry, in conjunction with the Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission.
The Settlement Agreement is part of a broader effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to enforce the ADA and to educate the public about the ADA’s requirements. “This settlement exemplifies the U.S. Attorney’s Office commitment to protecting the civil rights of all Virgin Islanders, including those with disabilities,” United States Attorney Sharpe said.
The ADA prohibits public and private entities from discriminating against persons with disabilities. Under the ADA, state and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally allowed, including restaurants, movie theaters, stores, hospitals, doctor’s offices, and fairs. The ADA also requires that transportation providers, including private taxis and public transportation, allow persons with disabilities who use service animals to travel with their service animals, even if the transportation provider has a “no pets” policy.
The Department of Justice has a number of publications available to assist entities to comply with the ADA, including guidance on service animals. Please visit www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm. For more information about the Americans with Disabilities Act, go to www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office or by email to [email protected].
This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Noah Sacks.
Two Dubuque Men Charged in Meth Lab That Caused FireRead the Press Release
John Starks Sr., age 46, and Casey Duhme, age 24, both from Dubuque, Iowa, have been charged with multiple methamphetamine-related offenses connected to a building fire that occurred on February 20, 2014 in Dubuque. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed in the United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, on or about February 20, 2014, Starks and Duhme attempted to manufacture methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of Prescott Elementary School in Dubuque. The Indictment also alleges that Starks and Duhme conspired to manufacture methamphetamine, and that Starks possessed pseudoephedrine knowing it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.According to information disclosed in court, the attempted manufacture resulted in a fire at a multi-family apartment building. The fire caused significant damage, causing the roof to collapse and rendering the building unlivable. The building was located across the street from the elementary school.
If convicted on all charges, Starks faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 1 year imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 120 years’ imprisonment, a $4,500,000 fine, $400 in special assessments, and at least 6 years and up to a life term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Duhme faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 1 year imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 80 years’ imprisonment, a $4,000,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and at least 6 years and up to a life term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Duhme and Starks have both appeared in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Duhme appeared in court on May 13, 2014 and Starks appeared on May 22, 2014. Both are being held in the custody of the United States Marshal pending their July 14, 2014 trial. Duhme and Starks are scheduled to next appear for a status hearing at noon on June 18, 2014.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lightfoot and was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force, the Dubuque Police Department, and the Dubuque Fire Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/ cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-cr-1009.
Two Connecticut Men Face Additional Charges Related to Stranger-originated Life Insurance SchemeRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Cheryl Garcia, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Susan A. Hensley, Regional Director, U.S. Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Boston Office, and Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), todayannounced that DANIEL CARPENTER, 60, of Simsbury, and WAYNE BURSEY, 63, of Bloomfield, have been charged in a 57-count superseding indictment with various conspiracy, fraud and illegal monetary offenses stemming from a scheme to defraud insurance companies into issuing insurance policies on the lives of elderly people for the benefit of the defendants and other investors, also known as a stranger-originated life insurance scheme.
In December 2013, CARPENTER and BURSEY were charged in a 33-count indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and multiple wire fraud and mail fraud offenses. The superseding indictment, which was returned by a grand jury in Hartford on May 14, 2014, adds one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, 10 counts of money laundering, and 13 counts of making illegal monetary transactions.
CARPENTER appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. BURSEY’s arraignment is not yet scheduled.
According to the superseding indictment, CARPENTER and BURSEY ran a series of companies, based in Simsbury and Stamford, that developed an employee welfare benefit plan and trust (the “Trust”) whose primary objective was to secure insurance policies on the lives of elderly individuals that could be held by the defendants and others as investments, or resold on the life settlement market, which is a third-party market for life insurance policies. Typically, insurance agents working with, for, or on behalf of the defendants approached individuals who were over the age of 70 (the “Straw Insureds”). The agents promised to provide the Straw Insureds with free life insurance for two years, and, at the end of the two years, would attempt to sell the policies on the life settlement market. In most cases, the agents promised the Straw Insureds that they would receive a portion of any sale proceeds. In other cases, the Straw Insureds were offered a cash inducement up front to participate.
The indictment alleges that CARPENTER and BURSEY, working with insurance agents, caused to be submitted to several insurance providers numerous insurance applications that contained several material misrepresentations, including falsely denying that third-parties were paying the premiums for the insurance, falsely denying discussions about the resale of the policies, falsely inflating the net worth and/or income of the insured, and falsely claiming that the insurance was being purchased for legitimate estate planning-related needs. All applications were signed by BURSEY, who acted as trustee of the Trust, which was to be the “owner” of all policies in the Trust. Moreover, the applications purported that the Trust was a bona fide welfare benefit trust under Internal Revenue Code Section 419(e), wherein employers would be making contributions to the Trust in order to fund the life insurance policies for the benefit of certain select employees.
The indictment further alleges that, in truth, no “employer” or Straw Insured ever paid a premium into the Trust, and the premiums were funded by loans, which typically came to the Trust from another company headquartered in Simsbury and controlled by CARPENTER. In many cases, those loans were, in turn, financed by another third-party financing company based in Stamford. The loan arrangements were withheld from the insurance providers, who would likely not have issued policies had they known the true nature of the Trust, and had the insurance applications been filled out truthfully.
The indictment further alleges that one Straw Insured died within the first two years of the issuance of the two insurance policies on his life. Those policies had been issued in late 2006 and early 2007 based on misrepresentations similar to those described above, specifically that his policies were not being funded by a third party and were not intended for resale. The two insurance policies had a combined death benefit of $30 million, which the insurer paid to the Trust in May 2009, in part based upon further misrepresentations made by CARPENTER, BURSEY and others. According to the indictment, the Trust, directed by CARPENTER and BURSEY and others, failed to pay the $30 million to the Straw Insured’s beneficiary, and instead used the funds to pay for various expenses, including other insurance premiums that were related to the underlying fraud, as well as to purchase a home in Rhode Island.
If convicted, CARPENTER and BURSEYface a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count of wire fraud and mail fraud, a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years of each count of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count of making illegal monetary transactions.
This case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford.
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Boston Office, and the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David E. Novick and Neeraj N. Patel.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Three St. Thomas Men Sentenced to Prison in Airport Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI - District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez today sentenced Leayle Morton Benjamin, Jr., Aben A. Marrero, Jr., and Michael Samuels, each to 121 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.
On October 5, 2013, Benjamin, 50, Marrero, 34, and Samuels, 39, were convicted after a threeday jury trial. Evidence at trial established that from a time unknown but continuing to October 2011, Benjamin, Marrero and Samuels conspired to smuggle cocaine through the Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas to Atlanta, Georgia. Benjamin and Marrero were employees of the Virgin Islands Port Authority assigned to the maintenance division. The cocaine was passed under the partitions to a coconspirator in the bathroom of the Cyril E. King Airport. On October 22, 2011, a co-conspirator was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia after arriving on board a flight from St. Thomas in possession of seven kilos of cocaine in his carry-on suitcase. The co-conspirator agreed to cooperate with the government and made consensually monitored telephone calls that resulted in the apprehension of another coconspirator, Jace Edwards, who was found guilty in a separate trial and is awaiting sentencing. The cooperator pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Georgia to importation of cocaine. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to cooperate with the government and testified in the trial of Benjamin, Marrero and Samuels.
In addition to the 121 months incarceration, each of the three defendants was placed on five years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment and forfeit $113,400, jointly and severally, to the United States. Each defendant was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Virgin Islands Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nelson L. Jones prosecuted the case.
Suburban Business Owner and Bookkeeper Charged with $1.2 Million Credit Card Fraud Scheme and $1.5 Million Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
CHICAGO ― A suburban businessman and his bookkeeper are facing federal fraud charges for allegedly cheating credit card companies of approximately $1.2 million and evading their personal federal income tax obligations of more than $1.5 million, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The defendants, VIET NGUYEN and ADELINA MIGUEL, are scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday on one count each of wire fraud and tax evasion that were brought in a criminal information filed last Thursday in U.S. District Court.
Because the defendants allegedly intentionally failed to keep records concerning which credit card charges were fraudulent, authorities are appealing for anyone who thinks they might be a victim to contact an Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation agent at 630-493-5224.
Nguyen, 41, of St. Charles, owned and operated various companies, including Expedite Media Group, Inc., VB Management Holding Company, Inc., and Pure Small Business, Inc., which provided internet marketing and internet technology services such as website development and mass marketing through emails. Miguel, 37, of Joliet, was the office manager and bookkeeper for those companies and she managed payroll, handled credit card charges, and issued tax forms to employees.
According to the indictment, between 2008 and March 2012, Nguyen and Miguel allegedly swindled customers, credit card companies and banks by fraudulently charging customers’ credit and debit cards and bank accounts for services that were not provided. Nguyen directed Miguel and other staff to make fraudulent charges to meet daily sales quotas that he set and he and Miguel knew could not be met without fraudulently charging for services that were not provided, it adds.
As part of the scheme, Nguyen allegedly opened new companies so that he could fraudulently obtain new merchant accounts. There were so many customer complaints about fraudulent charges that Nguyen’s merchant accounts were frequently cancelled, and Nguyen incorporated new companies to get around that problem, the indictment alleges.
Because the companies’ federal income tax obligations flowed through Nguyen’s personal income tax returns, he was charged with tax evasion for allegedly filing false returns for 2009 that underreported his income. Miguel was charged with tax evasion or allegedly filing a false return for 2009 that underreported her income. In all, both defendants allegedly caused a tax loss of more than $1.57 million for 2008-10.
Among other things, Nguyen and Miguel allegedly caused the companies to pay their personal expenses, including Nguyen’s payments for a Rolls Royce, Bentley, Hummer, Ferrari, Land Rover, two Audis and other autos, as well as mortgage payments, cash withdrawals, credit card charges, skating lessons, dental bills, utilities, and property taxes. Nguyen directed Miguel to enter payments for personal expenses as business expenses in the companies’ ledgers to avoid reporting the payments as personal income on their tax returns, the indictment alleges.
The charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James C. Lee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, whose office assisted in the investigation. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Stern.
Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or an alternate fine of twice the loss or twice the gain, whichever is greater. Tax evasion carries a maximum of five years and a $250,000 fine. In addition to criminal penalties, including the costs of prosecution, defendants convicted of tax offenses remain responsible for any taxes and interest due, as well as civil penalties of up to 75 percent of the tax owed. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that criminal charges are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment
Stanislaus County Man Sentenced, San Joaquin County Man Pleads Guilty in Separate Child Exploitation CasesRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — One man was sentenced and another pleaded guilty to child pornography offenses in separate cases in federal court today, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
Sentencing in Case # 1:12-cr-435-LJO-SKO
United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Kevin Munoz, 24, of Modesto, today to six years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for his conviction of one count of receipt of child pornography. According to the plea agreement, between December 25, 2011, and April 20, 2012, Munoz knowingly received or distributed more than 600 images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some of the images were of prepubescent minors and some images depicted violence. The case is the result of an investigation by the Ceres Police Department with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Guilty Plea in Case # 1:14-cr-055-LJO-SKO
Allen Kendrick, 47, of Escalon, pleaded guilty today to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography from June 2013 though December 2013. According to a criminal complaint, Google reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) that on December 10, 2013, six images of suspected child pornography were associated with a Google account. NCMEC referred the matter to law enforcement, and a detective with the Ceres Police Department discovered that the Google account had been accessed from residences in Modesto and Escalon. Kendrick was a registered sex offender on GPS location monitoring, and GPS records confirmed that he was at the residences when the accounts had been accessed. Kendrick was ordered detained as a danger to the community and a flight risk on March 11, 2014, at his initial court appearance.Kendrick faces a sentence of 15 to 40 years in prison, a potential lifetime term of supervised release and $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on August 11, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. The actual sentence imposed, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. This case is the result of an investigation by the Ceres Police Department and the Modesto FBI Office with assistance from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Adult Parole Operations.
Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting both cases. They have been brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.
Several Laredoans Head to Prison in Conspiracy to Transport CocaineRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A total of seven people are headed to prison for their roles in a conspiracy to transport five kilograms or more of cocaine and international money laundering, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Juan Ramon Ibarra Jr., 31, Salvador Rodriguez-Fajardo, 39, Ricardo Garza, 40, Moises Andrade, 22, and Laura Rodriguez, 43, all of Laredo, Rene Cardenas, 38, of Miami, Fla., and Salvador Ibarra De-Alba, 49, of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, each previously pleaded guilty at varying times in 2013.
Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo, who accepted the guilty pleas, handed Ibarra Jr. a total sentence of 188 months in prison. Salvador Ibarra De-Alba received a sentence of 135 months, while Cardenas, Rodriguez-Fajardo, Garza, Andrade and Rodriguez received respective sentences of 78, 120, 84, 37 and 24 months in prison. The court further entered a money judgment in the amount of $2,408,204 against all seven. Not U.S. citizens, De-Alba, Rodriguez-Fajardo and Rodriguez are expected to face deportation proceedings following their release from prison, while the remaining defendants will serve between three and five years of supervised release following completion of their prison terms.
De-Alba admitted he supplied cocaine to relatives living in Laredo and ensured its transportation further north into the United States. After the arrest of De-Alba’s brother, Juan Ramon Ibarra Sr., in 2010, De-Alba worked with his nephew, Juan Ramon Ibarra Jr., to continue the transportation of cocaine.
In 2010, Ibarra Sr. pleaded guilty to his role in the drug conspiracy and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez to 130 months in federal prison. Following Ibarra Sr.’s arrest, Ibarra Jr. assumed the role of his father and continued the transportation of cocaine for the drug trafficking organization.
In his plea, Ibarra Jr. admitted he participated in the transportation of cocaine to Miami since 2004. He and his father coordinated with Cardenas and the other co-conspirators to transport the drugs in aftermarket compartments installed in the rear wheel axles of tractor-trailers. In May 2010, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) came upon several co-conspirators loading over 12 kilograms of cocaine into this secret compartment. Once the cocaine was delivered to Miami, the compartment was loaded with large amounts of United States currency destined for Nuevo Laredo. One such load was intercepted in March 2010 when agents recovered approximately $422,000 in the compartment with a drug ledger.
On three separate occasions in July and August 2011, Garza delivered cocaine to Rodriguez-Fajardo at a Home Depot parking lot. Rodriguez-Fajardo stored the cocaine in a secret compartment located behind a stove in the house he shared with his wife, Laura Rodriguez.
Rodriguez assisted Rodriguez-Fajardo in carrying out the conspiracy. On one occasion, she traveled to St. Augustine Square in downtown Laredo to collect money for him and another person as payment for their services.
Andrade admitted to his role in the transportation of one cocaine load on Aug. 7, 2011, for which he received $500.
The case is the result of a two-year Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Investigation dubbed Silver Fox Hunt led by the DEA with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys James Hepburn and Elizabeth Rabe are handling the case.
Ringleader of International Rhino Smuggling Conspiracy Sentenced in New Jersey to 70 Months in Prison for Wildlife Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Zhifei Li, the owner of an antique business in China, was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for heading an illegal wildlife smuggling conspiracy in which 30 rhinoceros horns and numerous objects made from rhino horn and elephant ivory worth more than $4.5 million were smuggled from the United States to China.
The sentence – one of the longest ever imposed in the United States for a wildlife smuggling offense – was announced by Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey; Sam Hirsch, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice; Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
“The multibillion-dollar illegal wildlife market is supplied by animal poaching of unthinkable brutality and fed by those willing to profit from such cruelty,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “Zhifei Li appropriately faces 70 months in prison for orchestrating schemes worth millions of dollars and for violating laws meant to protect the most vulnerable species.”
“Li was the ringleader of a criminal enterprise that spanned the globe and profited from an illegal trade that is pushing endangered animals toward extinction,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Hirsch. “As this case clearly demonstrates, rhino trafficking is increasingly organized, well financed and a threat to the rule of law. The United States is resolved to bring wildlife traffickers to justice.”
Li, 30, of Shandong, China, the owner of Overseas Treasure Finding in Shandong, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to a total of 11 counts: one count of conspiracy to smuggle and violate the Lacey Act; seven counts of smuggling; one count of illegal wildlife trafficking in violation of the Lacey Act; and two counts of making false wildlife documents. Judge Salas also imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Li was arrested in Florida in January 2013 on federal charges brought under seal in New Jersey and shortly after arriving in the country. Before he was arrested, he purchased two endangered black rhinoceros horns from an undercover USFWS agent in a Miami Beach hotel room for $59,000 while attending an antique show. Li was arrested as part of “Operation Crash” – a nationwide effort led by the USFWS and the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those involved in the black market trade of rhinoceros horns and other protected species.
In papers filed in Newark federal court, Li admitted that he was the “boss” of three antique dealers in the United States whom he paid to help obtain wildlife items and smuggle them to him via Hong Kong. One of those individuals was Qiang Wang, aka “Jeffrey Wang,” who was sentenced to 37 months in prison on Dec. 5, 2013, in the Southern District of New York. Li played a leadership and organizational role in the smuggling conspiracy by arranging for financing to pay for the wildlife, purchasing and negotiating prices, directing how to smuggle the items out of the United States, and getting the assistance of additional collaborators in Hong Kong to receive the goods and smuggle them to him in mainland China.
Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin and one of the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth. They have no known predators other than humans. All species of rhinoceros are protected under United States and international law. Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (known as CITES), a treaty signed by over 170 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets.
In pleading guilty, Li admitted that he sold 30 smuggled, raw rhinoceros horns worth approximately $3 million – approximately $17,500 per pound – to factories in China where raw rhinoceros horns are carved into fake antiques known as Zuo Jiu, which means “to make it as old” in Mandarin. In China, there is a centuries-old tradition of drinking from an intricately carved “libation cup” made from a rhinoceros horn. Owning or drinking from such a cup is believed by some to bring good health, and true antiques are highly prized by collectors. The escalating value of such items has resulted in an increased demand for rhinoceros horn that has helped fuel a thriving black market, including for recently carved fake antiques.
“Wild populations of rhinos are being slaughtered at appalling rates due to the greed and indifference of criminals like Li and his accomplices. The sentence handed down today serves notice to other organized trafficking and poaching rings that their crimes will not go unpunished,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Ashe. “We will relentlessly work across the U.S. government and with the international law enforcement community to destroy these networks, while strengthening protections for rhinos in the wild and reducing demand for horn in consumer countries.”
In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas ordered Li to serve two years of supervised release and to forfeit $3.5 million in proceeds of his criminal activity as well as several Asian artifacts. Various ivory objects seized by the USFWS as part of the investigation have also been surrendered.
The investigation is continuing and is being handled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen P. O’Leary and Barbara Ward of the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Senior Counsel Richard A. Udell of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Additional information, including a detailed joint factual statement and photo exhibits, can be found here: http://go.usa.gov/8nYY.
Defense counsel: Gary Cutler Esq., New York
14-191Queens, N.Y., Men Plead Guilty to Large-Scale Atm Skimming Scheme Targeting New Jersey Bank CustomersRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Three Romanian natives living in Queens, N.Y., today admitted their involvement in a long-running and lucrative scheme to steal account information from bank customers throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut by installing secret card-reading devices on ATMs, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Emil Revesz, a/k/a “Daniel Laptes,” 31, Constantin Pendus, a/k/a “Florin Bodgan Hristea,” 30, and Florin Apetrei, 19, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court. Revesz pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Pendus and Apetrei each pleaded guilty to informations charging them with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Revesz and Pendus have been held without bail since their arrests on June 27, 2013, and Apetrei has been held without bail since his arrest on July 12, 2013.
According to documents filed in this case and other cases and statements made in court:
Revesz, Pendus, Apetrei, and others participated in a large-scale ATM skimming scheme that involved the installation of skimmers and pinhole cameras on ATMs. Each skimmer, an electronic device, would read and record identity and account information contained in the magnetic strip of a customer’s ATM card. Each pinhole camera would secretly record bank customers’ keystrokes as they entered their personal identification numbers. The customer account information that was captured by the skimming devices and pinhole cameras was used to create counterfeit ATM cards that were then used to withdraw millions of dollars in cash from bank ATMs. From June 2012 through July 2013, the conspirators stole more than $5 million from Wells Fargo, Citibank, and TD Bank.
Revesz admitted he was one of the conspirators who installed skimmers and pinhole cameras at bank ATMs and who subsequently used counterfeit ATM cards to withdraw cash from Wells Fargo, Citibank, and TD throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Pendus admitted his participation in the scheme as it related to TD Bank, and Apetrei admitted to his participation in defrauding Wells Fargo Bank. Apetrei admitted he picked up pinhole camera parts and attempted, upon his arrest, to destroy debit cards containing the picture and name of another individual.The charges to which Revesz, Pendus and Apetrei pleaded guilty arose from a large investigation into a skimming scheme that targeted customers in the tri-state area in 2012 and early 2013. Of the 13 others charged in relation to the wider scheme, 12 are in custody.
The leader of the scheme, Marius Vintila, 31, was apprehended in Sweden and extradited to the United States on Feb. 7, 2014. Vintila was charged in a six-count indictment on Feb.18, 2014, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to possess 15 or more counterfeit access devices, possession of 15 or more counterfeit access devices, conspiracy to possess access device-making equipment, and possession of access device-making equipment. Vintila and a conspirator, Bogdan Radu, 31, designed and created the actual skimming devices and pinhole cameras and Vintila recruited individuals, including Revesz, Pendus, and Apetrei, to install them on bank ATMs. Vintila also used an alias to rent multiple self-storage units, in which he stored the contents of an entire skimming operation, including skimming devices, pinhole cameras, super glue, tape, Secure Digital (SD) memory storage cards, batteries, computers, molds, fraudulent ATM cards, and cash proceeds. Vintila’s multimillion-dollar ATM skimming operation is one of the largest ever uncovered by law enforcement.
Other charged conspirators, including Radu, Constantin Ginga, 53, Marius Cotiga, 36, Dezso Gyapias, 29, Ioan Leusca, 30, Enes Causevic, 23, Luis Franco, 23, Mirel Hadzalic, 24, and another individual charged as “first name unknown, last name unknown,” a/k/a “Chioru,” installed the devices designed by Vintila and Radu onto bank ATMs and used fraudulent ATM cards to steal millions of dollars. They used hats, jackets, scarves and sunglasses to disguise themselves while installing the devices and while using the cards to withdraw money.Cotiga, Pendus, Revesz, Apetrei, Vintila, Franco, and Hadzalic are in custody in New Jersey and being held without bail. Causevic has been released on bail. Cotiga and Hadzalic previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and await sentencing, on June 5, 2014, for Cotiga and June 18, 2014, for Hadzalic. Radu previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and awaits sentencing on June 5, 2014. Gyapias and Leusca were each sentenced on Feb. 20, 2014, to 57-month terms of imprisonment, and Ginga was sentenced on Feb. 26, 2014, to 57 months in prison. The individual known as “Chioru” remains at large.
The bank fraud conspiracy charge to which Revesz, Pendus, and Apetrei each pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The aggravated identity theft charge to which Revesz pleaded guilty carries a mandatory, consecutive penalty of two years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing for all three defendants is currently scheduled for Sept. 17, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Mottola, along with special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas.As for the defendants charged in pending complaints, the charges and allegations are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Agarwal and David Eskew of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
14-190
Defense Counsel: Revesz: Joshua Reinitz Esq., Nutley, N.J.
Pendus: Kenneth W. Kayser Esq., East Hanover, N.J.
Apetrei: Paul D. Petrus Jr. Esq., New YorkRevesz, Emil Information
Pendus, Constantin Information
Apetrei, Florin InformationPrinceton Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing Hydromorphone PillsRead the Press Release
BLUEFIED, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Kristi Ball, 39, of Princeton, West Virginia was sentenced in federal court in Bluefield today to 13 months in prison for distributing hydromorphone, an addictive prescription medicine. Ball previously pled guilty in February of 2014, admitting that on January 16, 2013, she sold hydromorphone pills in Princeton to an informant working with law enforcement. The judge also took into consideration Ball’s admission that over a period of time she distributed 170 hydromorphone pills.
The case was investigated by the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, and the prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney John File. This case was prosecuted under the Bluefield Pill Initiative, and was part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U. S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Princeton Man Sentenced for Marijuana CrimeRead the Press Release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Alphonso Washington, age 31 of Princeton, West Virginia was sentenced today in federal court in Bluefield to three years and ten months imprisonment announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Washington previously pled guilty in January of 2014, to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. A routine parole inspection led to the arrest and prosecution. In August of 2013, officers with the West Virginia Department of Correction’s Parole Services arrived unannounced at Washington’s Princeton home. Washington, who at that time was serving a term of parole for a state drug felony, was in possession of marijuana, baggies, digital scales, a handgun, and over $18,000 in cash. Washington admitted that the seized cash was drug proceeds and it was forfeited as part of his plea agreement. The West Virginia Department of Correction’s Parole Services was assisted by the Princeton Police Department and the United States Marshal Service during the pendency of this case.
Poplar Man Sentenced for Killing One and Injuring Two in Car CrashRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that TYRONE DEAN WELCH, 27, of Poplar, was sentenced to a term of 46 months imprisonment and three years supervised release during a federal court session in Great Falls, Montana, on May 23, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris, after his conviction for involuntary manslaughter and assault.
WELCH admitted to crashing a car while under the influence of drugs, which resulted in the death of one of his passengers and serious bodily injury to the two others. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss told the Court that Welch had been using methamphetamine and had not slept in several days at the time of the wreck. Welch admitted to falling asleep at the wheel because he was coming down off methamphetamine. The car drifted across the road, struck a reflector pole, rolled several times, and landed in a ditch. One victim was found dead at the scene. The other two were severely injured as a result of the crash. Welch pleaded guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter and two counts of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The Court sentenced Welch to 46 months of imprisonment on each count to run concurrently, with three years of supervised release to follow. Because there is no parole in the federal system, the truth in sentencing guidelines mandate that Welch will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, Welch does have the opportunity to shorten the term of custody by earning credit for good behavior. However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice Criminal Investigation.
Polk County Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington sentenced Eleftherios Zachariadis (47, Lake Alfred) on Friday, May 23, 2014, to 14 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. Zachariadis pleaded guilty on January 9, 2014.
According to court documents, this investigation began when an undercover agent downloaded multiple images of child pornography from Zachariadis’s Internet Protocol (IP) address. On September 9, 2013, pursuant to a federal search warrant, law enforcement officers seized Zachariadis’s computer, thumb drive, and a DVD. The investigation revealed that Zachariadis had possessed child pornography for at least seven years. The forensic examination further revealed that his computer, thumb drive, and the DVD contained more than 1,000 images and 200 videos of child pornography. Multiple files depicted prepubescent minors, bondage, and sadomasochistic conduct.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Central Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
Overton County Man Pleads Guilty to Making Fake Driver Licenses to Facilitate Meth ProductionRead the Press Release
Richard Earl Graybeal, 41, of Cookeville, Tenn., pleaded guilty on May 20, 2014, in U.S. District Court, to producing false identification documents, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. Graybeal admitted that he had unlawfully manufactured Tennessee driver licenses and identification documents to facilitate the purchase of cold medications, which are commonly used in the production of methamphetamine.
“The illicit production of Meth is a continuing problem in Middle Tennessee and we recognize the value of using all available resources to combat it, said U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “That includes bringing federal criminal charges, when appropriate, including offenses that aid in the purchase of precursors necessary to produce it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to direct the necessary resources to our communities where the manufacture of meth is epidemic.”
Testimony at the plea hearing established that Graybeal was placed on state probation in 2009 for promoting the manufacture of methamphetamine. Graybeal’s probation officer, Overton County law enforcement officers and the Tennessee Highway Patrol received information that Graybeal was making identification documents in false names to use in purchasing cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient necessary for manufacturing methamphetamine and which requires identification to purchase. Officers conducted a search of Graybeal’s residence on August 17, 2012, and discovered more than 70 fake Tennessee driver licenses and state identification cards. Also found, was computer equipment and materials used in manufacturing the false documents and paraphernalia used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Several of the false licenses bore different names, but contained a photo of the same person. Other documents bore Graybeal’s photo, but contained aliases.
Subsequent investigation by the U.S. Secret Service confirmed that Graybeal had used one or more of these false licenses and identities to make purchases of cold medicine.
“The Secret Service believes in a partnership approach to law enforcement, especially when the resources of its participants can be combined to effectively and efficiently make a significant impact on crime in the communities where we live,” said Todd Hudson, the Special Agent in Charge of the Nashville Secret Service office. “In this case, the Secret Service partnered with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Overton County Sheriff’s Office to suppress the use of false identification documents intended for use in drug-related activities. It is evident that identity theft and other criminal activities are inter-connected with the potential to adversely affect our communities. The Secret Service is committed to combating identity theft and will continue to work with our state and local partners to reduce this type of criminal activity.”
Graybeal’s state probation was subsequently revoked and he is currently serving a state prison sentence for the previous methamphetamine charge. He will be sentenced in U.S. District court on August 21, 2014 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.This case was investigated by the Overton County Sheriff’s Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the U.S. Secret Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hilliard Hester.
Old Town Man Sentenced to 4¾ Years for Bath Salt Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that
Matthew Tardiff, 27, formerly of Old Town, Maine was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to 4¾ years in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute MDPV, a chemical compound commonly referred to as “bath salts” or “monkey dust.” The defendant pled guilty on January 27, 2014.According to court records, Tardiff and 13 other members of the conspiracy illegally distributed MDPV in Penobscot County and elsewhere between April and December 2011. He obtained MDPV from other members of the conspiracy and traded, sold or otherwise distributed it from his Old Town residence using cellular telephones and other means of communication.
The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency with assistance from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Old Town Police Department.Ohio Heroin Dealer Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – An Ohio man who distributed heroin in Parkersburg in 2013 pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Marion Alonvo Felder, 30, of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. in Charleston.
On three occasions between September and October of 2013 Felder sold heroin to a confidential informant working with police in Parkersburg. Felder admitted coming to Parkersburg from Marion, Ohio in early 2013 to distribute heroin in the area. Felder faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on September 8, 2014.
The Parkersburg Police Department and the Washington County, Ohio Major Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Nineteen Individuals Indicted for Drug Trafficking and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Nineteen individuals have been arrested and charged in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to import heroin from Colombia and Venezuela into Puerto Rico, announced U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez Vélez for the District of Puerto Rico. The federal and local agencies in charge of the investigation are the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), US Postal Inspection Service (USPS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Police of Puerto Rico.
The indictment unsealed in federal court today charges the following individuals: Hernando Marin-Echeverri, aka “Nando;” Ricardo Torres-Rivera, aka “Ricky;” Armando Rivera-Ortiz; Yarimar Rodríguez-Mercado, aka “La Tia”; Rodolfo Reyes-Santana, aka “Papote;” Carlos Fernando Saavedra-Potes, aka “Fernando;” Manuel Reinel Martínez-Salas, aka “Chino;” Christian Luis Martínez-Robles; Eduardo Rafael Campo-Carvajalino, aka “Tocayo;” Lucy Stella Gómez-Lopera, aka “La Flaca;” Jaime Ernesto Montoya-Gómez, aka “Risitas;” Jorge Aquiles Berríos-Vega, aka “Maracucho;” Paula Andrea Gavazno-Ruiz; Luis Medina-Chavez; Sariann Ramos-Maldonado, aka “Sara;” Nilson Aristizabal-Tezna; Jannette Saavedra-Echaevarría; José Luis Castro-Delgado; and Erika Casillas-Bonet.
From in or about August 2012 through in or about April 2013: Defendant Hernando Marin-Echeverri, based in Colombia, would communicate with defendants in Puerto Rico in order to coordinate the importation, transportation and distribution of heroin into Puerto Rico. Some defendants, acting as couriers, would travel into Venezuela to meet with other defendants who would provide suitcases with heroin hidden inside. Other defendants, based in Colombia, were responsible for preparing and hiding the heroin inside suitcases; transporting the suitcases from Colombia into Venezuela and delivering the suitcases to couriers.
Some defendants would transport and deliver drug proceeds, from Puerto Rico, to defendants in Venezuela. Drug proceeds from Puerto Rico to Colombia, were sent through electronic wire transfers. The defendants concealed and disguised the nature, location, source, ownership and control of the illegal proceeds obtained from drug trafficking, through money laundering. Another means used to send heroin laden parcels into Puerto Rico was through the United States Postal Service.
“These accusations demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment to hold drug traffickers responsible for importing narcotics into the United States – no matter where they conduct their illegal business. Along with our domestic and international law enforcement partners, we will continue with our efforts to ensure that cartel members and associates are brought to justice for the damage they inflict on both sides of the border,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
“DEA will continue to investigate, disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating from Colombian and Venezuela using Puerto Rico as a transshipment point to smuggle narcotics into the United States,” said Vito Guarino, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Caribbean Division.
Eliezer Julian, Domicile Coordinator, US Postal Inspection Service stated: “The US Postal Inspection Services seeks to identify, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations that attempt to utilize the US Mails. We have strengthened our relationship with our federal and state law enforcement partners. This inter-agency cooperation has had an impact on DTO's operating in Puerto Rico.”
IRS-CI SAC José A. Gonzàlez stated, “The laundering of illegal drug profits is as important and essential to drug traffickers as the very distribution of their illegal drugs. By following the money trail, IRS-CI Special Agents were able to identify multiple wire transactions, between various cities in Puerto Rico and South America. These transactions were allegedly conducted by the defendants in furtherance of their drug smuggling operation from Colombia to Puerto Rico. IRS-CI will continue to work alongside its law enforcement partners in order to financially disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elba Gorbea is in charge of the prosecution of this case. If convicted the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years up to life in prison. Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The defendants were the targets of a long-term Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDEFT) investigation. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
New York City Police Department Officer Arrested on Fraud and Identity Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Robert T. Johnson, the District Attorney for Bronx County, George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and William J. Bratton, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the arrest of JOHN L. MONTANEZ, a police officer with the NYPD, on charges of access device fraud, mail fraud, and identity theft. MONTANEZ was arrested this morning at his residence in the Bronx, New York, and presented this afternoon in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, Police Officer John Montanez not only violated his oath to uphold the law, but actively broke it when he himself engaged in fraud and identity theft. Corruption undermines the public’s confidence in law enforcement, particularly so when a police officer, out of greed, allegedly uses his position of authority not to stop crime, but to help commit more crime. I want to thank our partners at the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the NYPD for their work in this important case.”
Bronx County District Attorney Robert T. Johnson said: “Police officers are sworn to uphold the laws, and it is most disturbing when those whose purpose is to combat crime instead engage in identity theft that not only victimizes the public, but also their fellow officers. This office will continue to work to prosecute these crimes with all due diligence.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos said: “As a police officer Mr. Montanez was charged with enforcing the law. He was also rightfully expected to abide by the very laws he enforced. Today’s complaint tells a different story. We’ll continue to work with the New York City Police Department to investigate corruption wherever we find it.”
NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton said: “These charges evidence not only a significant breach of trust and abuse of authority but also serious criminal conduct on the part of a public servant. I commend the well-coordinated efforts of the federal and state prosecutors, the FBI and our Internal Affairs Bureau in developing this case.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
In 2011, an individual, who subsequently agreed to cooperate with law enforcement, and who is referred to in the Complaint as the “CW,” informed MONTANEZ that the CW had a suspended and/or revoked driver’s license. In response, MONTANEZ offered to provide the CW with the name and driver’s license number of a real person – so that if the CW were stopped by law enforcement, the CW could pretend to be someone else – in return for electronic items that the CW would purchase for MONTANEZ with fraudulently obtained or stolen credit cards. After that, in return for the CW purchasing merchandise for MONTANEZ, and providing to MONTANEZ credit card/debit card numbers that MONTANEZ understood were stolen or fraudulently obtained, MONTANEZ provided to the CW multiple names, dates of birth, and driver’s license identification numbers of other people. One such person, referred to in the Complaint as “Victim-1,” was a fellow police officer with the NYPD, serving in the same precinct as MONTANEZ.
The CW was arrested in June of 2013 and later began recording meetings with MONTANEZ in connection with the CW’s cooperation with law enforcement. During these meetings, MONTANEZ offered to provide additional identities to the CW in return for merchandise purchased with credit cards that MONTANEZ believed that the CW had stolen or fraudulently obtained. In one recorded meeting between the CW and MONTANEZ, MONTANEZ explained to the CW that the CW should feel comfortable pretending to be Victim-1, stating, “It’s the best, cleanest, guaranteed name you can ever have.” In another consensually-recorded meeting between the CW and MONTANEZ, in connection with discussing the CW looking to obtain from MONTANEZ additional names and/or personal identification information of other persons, MONTANEZ stated, “I can go into the precinct in plain clothes. It’s going to take me a couple of minutes. I can go inside, and do whatever.” During one consensually-recorded meeting, MONTANEZ also stated: “I’m not the cop you think I am. I am a piece of s***.”
MONTANEZ, 28, is charged with one count of access device fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. He faces a maximum sentence of 32 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau. Mr. Bharara noted that the investigation is ongoing.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel C. Richenthal is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. John L. Montanez Complaint 14 Mag 1140
New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Hiding over $1 Million in Secret Swiss Bank AccountRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Shantelle P. Kitchen, the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced that VIKTOR KORDASH pled guilty today to willfully failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBARs”) with the IRS regarding a secret Swiss bank account that he maintained and controlled at Wegelin & Co. (“Wegelin”), a Swiss bank formerly headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland, which separately pled guilty in January 2013 to assisting U.S. taxpayers in maintaining undeclared accounts. During the time that KORDASH maintained his undeclared account at Wegelin, KORDASH received tens of thousands of dollars in cash distributions from his undeclared account. KORDASH entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “For over a decade Viktor Kordash lived in this country, shirking his legal obligation to pay his fair share of taxes from over a million dollars he kept in a Swiss bank account. With his guilty plea today, Kordash has been held to account for his crime, as was Wegelin, the Swiss bank where he kept his money, which in January 2013, became the first Swiss financial institution to plead guilty to its role in assisting U.S. taxpayers cheat on their taxes.”
IRS Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen said: “Individuals who chose to hide income outside of the United States are again warned that they expose themselves to a variety of criminal charges and severe penalties when they fail to notify the government about their foreign bank accounts or report the income from them. Offshore tax enforcement remains a top priority for the Internal Revenue Service and we continue to gain access to more and more information about individuals involved in offshore tax evasion.”
According to the Information filed today in Manhattan federal court:
In the early 1980s, KORDASH opened an account at Wegelin. At that time, KORDASH was living in Russia and was a Russian citizen. In 1984, however, KORDASH emigrated to the United States, and in 1986, KORDASH applied for and was granted citizenship in the United States. After emigrating to the United States, and after becoming a United States citizen, KORDASH continued to maintain his account at Wegelin, and failed to declare it to the IRS, up until approximately November 2010. KORDASH used the undeclared account as an operating and investment account for his antique reproductions business, which he operated out of New York, New York.
During the time period that KORDASH maintained his undeclared account at Wegelin, capital gains and losses were generated in the account from KORDASH’s investments in foreign securities. Between 2007 and 2010, the high value of KORDASH’s undeclared account was over $1.5 million. Further, between at least April 2008 and June 2010, KORDASH received a series of cash distributions from the undeclared account from Wegelin’s correspondent account in Stamford, Connecticut, which totaled over $168,000. In November 2010, KORDASH closed the undeclared account and transferred the balance to his wife. The balance of the undeclared account at the time of its closure and transfer was nearly $1 million.
For each of the calendar years from at least 1986 through 2010, Kordash was required to, but failed to, file an FBAR with the IRS disclosing his signatory or other authority over his undeclared account at Wegelin. He was required to identify the financial institution with which his account was held, the type of account, the account number, and the maximum value of the account during the calendar year for which the FBAR was being filed. He willfully failed to do so.
KORDASH, 64, of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. As part of his plea, KORDASH has agreed to pay back taxes of over $268,000, and to pay a civil penalty of over $750,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams on September 12, 2014, at 12:30 p.m. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of IRS-CI in the investigation. Mr. Bharara also thanked U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division for their assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Paul and Jason H. Cowley are in charge of the prosecution.
U.S. v. Viktor Kordash Information
Nevada Man Pleads Guilty to Assault on A PersonRead the Press Release
BOISE - Winters War Eagle, 22, of Owyhee, Nevada, pleaded guilty today to simple assault on a person who has not attained the age of 16 years, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, War Eagle admitted that on October 13, 2013, on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, he willfully touched a 15 year-old girl in a patently offensive manner without her consent.
The charge of simple assault on a person who has not attained the age of 16 years is punishable by up to 1 year in prison, a maximum fine of $100,000.00, and up to 5 years of probation.
Sentencing is set for August 11, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Department in Owyhee, Nevada.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
May Grand JuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned 34 indictments charging 38 defendants. Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
* Maria Alfaro, age 21, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about July 18, 2012. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges that on or about July 18, 2012, Alfaro misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Nondriver License No. X206043001, knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment alleges on or about July 18, 2012, the defendant made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.* Ayala-Estrada, Silverio, age 36, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about April 25, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Elmer Baker, Jr., age 33, of Winnebago, Nebraska, is charged with resisting and interfering with a federal officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services on or about March 22, 2014. If convicted, he faces a maximum imprisonment of 8 years, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Donald Baker, age 54, of Nicholasville, Kentucky; William Graham, age 36, of Lexington, Kentucky; and Jonathan Turner, age 47, of Lexington, Kentucky, are charged with conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone beginning on or about an unknown date and continuing to on or about April 24, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Luis Alonzo Carbajal-Rodriguez, age 20, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about June 2, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about June 2, 2011, Carbajal-Rodriguez made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about June 2, 2011, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Emmanuel Castro-Molino, age 21, of Scottsbluff, Nebraska , is charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine on or about May 16, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Rodrigo Delacruz, age 27, of Fremont, Nebraska , is charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about May 2, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jacob W. Deng, age 32, of Dakota City, Nebraska , is charged in a four-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine beginning on or about February 1, 2014 and continuing to on or about April 17, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges Deng with distribution of 5 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about April 17, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges the defendant with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana on or about April 17, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV of the Indictment charges the defendant with felon in possession of a firearm on or about April 17, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The indictment also alleges any and all property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of the violation alleged in the indictment, including but not limited to $7,400.00 in United States currency seized from the defendant on April 17, 2014, should be forfeited to the United States.
* Jose Fernandez-Landeros, age 30, of Aurora, Colorado, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about April 19, 2014, following deportation as an aggravated felon. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Christopher Garcia, age 29, of Gering, Nebraska, is charged with possession with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine on or about May 9, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Sergio Garcia-Estrada, age 35, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about May 5, 2014, following deportation as a felon. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year team of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Juan Garcia-Lopez, age 27, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about November 3, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges that on or about November 3, 2011, Garcia-Lopez misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Nondriver License No. S133115014, knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment alleges on or about November 3, 2011, the defendant made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Michelle Renee Harris , age 44, of Gordon, Nebraska, is charged with conversion of Social Security funds beginning in at least June, 2009 through June, 2012. Harris made application to the Social Security Administration which allowed her to receive survivor benefit payments for the use and benefit of her daughter. Harris received the payments but converted the payments for her own use, rather than for the benefit of her child. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.* Cirilo Hernandez-Hernandez, age 30, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about October 7, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about October 7, 2011, Hernandez-Hernandez made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about October 7, 2011, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Christina Hingorani, age 28, and Tremaine Windham, age 38, of Omaha, are charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute Oxycodone beginning on or about January 2014 and continuing to on or about February, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Lucio Jeronimo-Martin, age 32, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about May 6, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Trudie Diane Lemon, also known as Trudie Diane Bruce and Trudie Diane Miller, age 51, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana on or about May 3, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Rolando Lopez-Lopez, age 29, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about October 25, 2013, following deportation as a felon. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year team of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Maria Lucas-Jacinto, age 28, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about April 28, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges that on or about April 28, 2014, Lucas-Jacinto misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Non-driver License, knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment alleges on or about April 28, 2011, the defendant made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Hector Gustavo Montoya Irias, age 46, of Hastings, Nebraska, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about May 1, 2014, following deportation as a felon. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year team of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Courtney Neitzel, age 39, of Omaha, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about March 31, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The indictment also alleges any and all property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of the violation alleged in the indictment, including but not limited to United States currency seized from the defendant on March 31, 2014, should be forfeited to the United States.
* Jose Ortiz-Flores, age 35, of Omaha, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about May 1, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Domingo Palz-Bernabe, age 26, is charged in a four-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about June 3, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about June 3, 2011, Palz-Bernabe made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about June 3, 2011, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count IV of the Indictment charges that on or about May 15, 2014 the defendant is charged with illegal reentry into the United States following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Oswaldo Pavon-Garcia, age 26, of Omaha, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about April 15, 2010. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment charges that on or about April 15, 2010, Pavon-Garcia misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Non-driver License, knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment alleges on or about April 15, 2010, the defendant made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Miguel Pedro-Gregorio, age 36, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about February 18, 2010. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about February 18, 2010, Pedro-Gregorio made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about February 18, 2010, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Gerardo Rafael-Antonio, age 31, of McCook, Nebraska, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about April 3, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Benito Rodriguez-Leon, age 39, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about April 21, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Pablo Rodriguez, age 39, of Omaha, is charged with distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine on or about May 2, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 40 years imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a 4 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Count II alleges that on or about May 2, 2014, the defendant possessed a DPMS AR-15 rifle during, in relation to, and in furtherance of the drug trafficking offense alleged in Count I. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment consecutive to any other sentence, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The indictment also alleges any and all property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of the violation alleged in the indictment, including but not limited to United States currency seized from the defendant on May 2, 2014, should be forfeited to the United States.
* Martin Silva-Bravo, age 24, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States on or about February 27, 2014, following deportation. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 1 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Carlos Tercero-Jacinto is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about April 28, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about April 28, 2011, Tercero-Jacinto made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Maria Torres, age 43, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about July 28, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about July 28, 2011, Torres made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count III of the Indictment charges that on or about July 28, 2011, the defendant misused a Social Security Card and a State of Missouri Identification Card knowing that said documents were not issued lawfully for his use. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Jose Luis Ulloa, age 42, and Diane Renee Holbrook, also known as Diane Renee Grandel, Diane Renee Sheltraw and Diane Renee Perdue, age 42, of York, Nebraska, are charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine between on or about January 1, 2012, and on or about February 28, 2014. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is Life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a 5 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Cecilio Hector Vicente-Vicente, age 30, of Omaha, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about January 7, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about January 7, 2011, Vicente-Vicente made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
* Alberto Victorino-Juarez is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I of the Indictment charges the defendant with misuse of a Social Security Number on or about August 26, 2011. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II of the Indictment alleges on or about August 26, 2011, Victorino-Juarez made a false statement and claimed to be a United States citizen with the intent to receive Federal and State benefits and to be employed in the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.Marijuana Grower who Shot and Wounded Fleeing Robber and Unknowing Witness Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
A marijuana grower and dealer who used firearms to confront fleeing robbers, firing a dozen times in a residential neighborhood, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 32 months in prison and three years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. JASON LOKEN, 38, of Maple Valley, Washington, thought he had lined up a 6 pound drug deal with a call girl he met via Backpage.com when he was confronted by two robbers who bound him and stole his marijuana, hash oil and guns. Following the robbery LOKEN was able to free himself, grabbed another gun and started shooting, wounding two people. At sentencing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said, “This was a shootout… The sentences for the robbers are much longer, but you bear some responsibility for the decision to sell drugs and have guns.” Judge Robart noted that even after the robbery, LOKEN continued to grow marijuana and purchased an additional handgun. “This is not someone who has gained wisdom from the experience,” Judge Robart said.
“This defendant brought gunfire and danger to a quiet neighborhood. He is not alone. We are seeing an alarming increase in violence related to the marijuana trade,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “Guns and drugs are a dangerous and illegal mix. Those that bring that danger to our neighborhoods will face a dear price.”
Last month the lead robber, repeat offender Melvin Charles Slaughter, 41, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the August 13, 2014 robbery. Slaughter’s associate, Ferdinand Clay, will be sentenced next month. Clay forced LOKEN to the floor and zip-tied his hands. However, LOKEN was able free himself and grab a gun from under his mattress. LOKEN raced out the front door and started firing – hitting one robber and wounding a woman who was driving a car associated with the robbers. The woman had no idea she was involved in a drug rip-off. Both people survived their wounds.
After shots were fired the robbery team sped away tossing bloodied items from the car, including some of the stolen firearms. They were recovered by police along the highway. The two who were injured went to different hospitals for treatment. Slaughter and the other female member of the robbery crew later turned themselves in to police. LOKEN claimed to be a grower for medical marijuana dispensaries, but later admitted that his marijuana manufacturing was in violation of state as well as federal law.
LOKEN pleaded guilty in December 2013 to manufacturing marijuana and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
The case was investigated by the King County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vince Lombardi.MHIT “Blitz” Leads to ResultsRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistMHIT leaders announce anti-drug enforcement efforts
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger, Ohio County Sheriff Pat Butler and Captain James Merrill of the West Virginia State Police today announced the results of an enhanced operation by the Mountaineer Highway Interdiction Team (MHIT) that occurred over the past week in Ohio County.
Leaders of the MHIT agencies explained that a “Blitz”, or saturation patrol, took place between May 19 and May 23 with increased patrols on highways and secondary roads throughout the area. Neighborhoods in Ohio County received extra attention as part of the project, as did parcels and packages that were being shipped to and from Northern West Virginia. In addition to the regular members of the MHIT team, additional officers participated in the saturation patrols last week.
Captain Merrill of the State Police explained that as a result of the effort last week, forty- nine felony and misdemeanor arrests were made and eighty-two citations were issued. Substances recovered included prescription painkillers, psilocybin, and marijuana. Officers also conducted warrant service throughout the area.
“The MHIT team paid extra attention to certain areas of the City last week based upon what we’ve been hearing from members of the community,” said Chief Schwertfeger. “I look forward to organizing enhanced patrols like this one again in the future so that we can continue to identify hot spots and keep Wheeling safe.”
The leaders of MHIT explained that the resources now available to the team on a regular basis include four officers – two of which are K-9 handlers – along with regular support from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The agencies involved have been very pleased with the team approach to interdiction.
“MHIT allows us to increase the presence of law enforcement on our roadways and it also serves as a partner to the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force,” said Sheriff Butler. “The MHIT officers coordinate with the Task Force officers to combat drug traffickers who attempt to operate in the region.”
The MHIT leaders also discussed results for the first four months of this year. Between January and April of 2014, MHIT officers made fifty-three felony arrests, sixty-seven misdemeanor arrests, and issued fifty-four misdemeanor citations. A total of seventy-nine searches were conducted during that time period, including forty-five by K-9 units. Drugs valued at $62,493 were seized, and cash connected to criminal activity in the amount of
$113,431 has been seized and either will be forfeited or has already been returned to crime victims.MHIT’s primary purpose is to enhance regional interdiction operations in order to slow the flow of illegal drugs into and through the State of West Virginia. The major focus of MHIT is on highways and state routes but it also concentrates on airports, bus terminals, hotels, motels and parcel and package interdiction. Besides enhancing regional highway interdiction operations, MHIT has the added benefit of preserving citizen safety on West Virginia highways through effective traffic and commercial vehicle enforcement. MHIT also assists in investigating kidnapings, bank robberies, carjackings, Amber Alerts and interstate theft; the detection and enforcement of firearms and explosives; human trafficking and immigration violations; and with fugitive apprehension.
MHIT receives federal funding from the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Area (AHIDTA) initiative.Regular updates on the work of MHIT will be made via press releases from its member agencies as well as via the official Twitter feed of the United States Attorney’s Office, @NDWVnews.
Lincoln County Grandfather and Grandson Plead Guilty to Oxycodone ChargesRead the Press Release
Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Wallace Lee Adkins, 81, and Timothy J. Harvey, 30, both of West Hamlin, West Virginia, entered guilty pleas today to aiding and abetting the distribution of oxycodone. Adkins and Harvey admitted that on March 26, 2013, they sold oxycodone to an individual inside Adkins’ West Hamlin home. Unbeknownst to Adkins and Harvey, the individual was a confidential informant working with law enforcement. The confidential informant went to Adkins’ residence that day and asked Adkins for 5 oxycodone 30 mg pills. Adkins told Harvey to take care of the order. Harvey took a pill bottle from Adkins’ shirt, removed five oxycodone pills and sold them to the confidential informant for $200.00.
Adkins and Harvey face up to 20 years’ imprisonment when they are sentenced on September 9, 2014 by United States District Court Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
The case was investigated by the Huntington Drug Task Force and the West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is handling the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.