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Tuesday 8 April 2014
District Man Sentenced to 8 ½ Years in Prison for Pair of Bank Robberies in Downtown Washington-Defendant Held up Two Banks on the Same Day-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Clyde Lacy Rattler, 56, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to an 8 ½-year prison term on two counts of bank robbery stemming from a pair of hold-ups committed in downtown Washington on the same day, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Rattler was found guilty by a jury in January 2014, following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson. Upon completion of his prison term, Rattler will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also will be required to pay $2,791 in restitution to the banks.
In 2005, Rattler was convicted of three bank robberies and one attempted bank robbery.
According to the government’s evidence, on Friday, Aug. 2, 2013, at about 10 a.m., Rattler approached the teller station at United Bank, in the 1600 block of K Street NW, and told the teller that he had a gun and wanted money in large denominations. The teller gave Rattler multiple clips of $100 and $50 bills, and he exited the bank. The loss to the bank was later determined to be $1,650.
Later the same day, at about 5 p.m., Rattler approached the teller station at the TD Bank, in the 1000 block of 15th Street NW. He told the teller he had a gun and a bomb, and he wanted money in large denominations. The teller gave him money, and he exited the bank. The loss to the bank was later determined to be $1,141.
A news report describing the robberies aired on a local television station, including bank surveillance footage. After seeing a news report, several persons, including two law enforcement officers, called the FBI, and Rattler was identified as the perpetrator of the robberies.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Chief Lanier commended the actions of those who investigated the robberies for the FBI and MPD. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Candace Battle and Legal Assistant Tammy Scott. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
14-082District Man Sentenced to 8 ½ Years in Prison for Pair of Bank Robberies in Downtown Washington-Defendant Held up Two Banks on the Same Day-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Clyde Lacy Rattler, 56, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to an 8 ½-year prison term on two counts of bank robbery stemming from a pair of hold-ups committed in downtown Washington on the same day, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Rattler was found guilty by a jury in January 2014, following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson. Upon completion of his prison term, Rattler will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also will be required to pay $2,791 in restitution to the banks.
In 2005, Rattler was convicted of three bank robberies and one attempted bank robbery.
According to the government’s evidence, on Friday, Aug. 2, 2013, at about 10 a.m., Rattler approached the teller station at United Bank, in the 1600 block of K Street NW, and told the teller that he had a gun and wanted money in large denominations. The teller gave Rattler multiple clips of $100 and $50 bills, and he exited the bank. The loss to the bank was later determined to be $1,650.
Later the same day, at about 5 p.m., Rattler approached the teller station at the TD Bank, in the 1000 block of 15th Street NW. He told the teller he had a gun and a bomb, and he wanted money in large denominations. The teller gave him money, and he exited the bank. The loss to the bank was later determined to be $1,141.
A news report describing the robberies aired on a local television station, including bank surveillance footage. After seeing a news report, several persons, including two law enforcement officers, called the FBI, and Rattler was identified as the perpetrator of the robberies.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Chief Lanier commended the actions of those who investigated the robberies for the FBI and MPD. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Candace Battle and Legal Assistant Tammy Scott. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
14-082Detroit Home Health Agency Office Manager Sentencedfor Her Role in $5.8 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The office manager of a Detroit-area home health agency was sentenced today to serve 46 months in prison for her role in a $5.8 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the Detroit Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Office of Investigations made the announcement.
Nabila Mahbub, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood in the Eastern District of Michigan. In addition to her prison term, Mahbub was sentenced to serve two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay more than $3 million in restitution, jointly and severally with her co-defendants.
A jury convicted Mahbub of one count of health care fraud conspiracy in April 2013. According to evidence presented at trial, the defendant and her co-conspirators caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare through All American Home Care Inc., a home health care company located in Oak Park, Mich., that purported to provide skilled nursing and physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries in the greater Detroit area.
The evidence at trial showed that Mahbub and her co-conspirators used patient recruiters, who paid Medicare beneficiaries to sign blank documents for physical therapy services that were never provided and/or medically unnecessary. The owners of All American paid physicians to sign referrals and other therapy documents necessary to bill Medicare. Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants then created fake medical records using blank, pre-signed forms obtained by the patient recruiters to make it appear as if physical therapy services were actually rendered, when, in fact, they were not.
According to evidence presented at trial, Mahbub doctored and directed the doctoring of fake patient files to facilitate the commencement and billing of home health services purportedly provided by physical therapists and physical therapist assistants working for All American. Mahbub also directed the physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who created fake therapy visit notes using blank, pre-signed forms, to make it appear that physical therapy services billed to Medicare were actually provided.
All American was paid more than $5.8 million from Medicare between September 2008 and November 2009.
The investigation was led by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. This case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Gejaa T. Gobena and Trial Attorney Matthew C. Thuesen of the Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,700 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5.5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .Department of Justice Reaches Landmark Americans with Disabilities Act Settlement Agreement with Rhode IslandRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a statewide settlement agreement that will resolve violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for approximately 3,250 Rhode Islanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The landmark ten year agreement is the nation’s first statewide settlement to address the rights of people with disabilities to receive state funded employment and daytime services in the broader community, rather than in segregated sheltered workshops and facility-based day programs. Approximately 450,000 people with I/DD across the country spend their days in segregated sheltered workshops or in segregated day programs. The agreement significantly advances the department's work to enforce the Supreme Court's decision in Olmstead v. L.C, which requires persons with I/DD be served in the most integrated setting appropriate .
As a result of the settlement, 2,000 Rhode Islanders with I/DD who are currently being served by segregated programs will have opportunities to work in real jobs at competitive wages. Additionally, over the next ten years, 1,250 students with I/DD will receive services to help transition into the workforce.
“Today’s agreement will make Rhode Island a national leader in the movement to bring people with disabilities out of segregated work settings and into typical jobs in the community at competitive pay,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “As Rhode Island implements the agreement over the next ten years, it will make a dramatic difference in the lives of people with disabilities, businesses and communities across the state. We congratulate Governor Chafee and state officials for signing this agreement, as we believe that Rhode Island will be a model for the nation with respect to integrated employment for people with disabilities.”
“The filing of today’s consent decree is a critically important event in Rhode Island history,” said U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha for the District of Rhode Island. “It ushers in a new day of opportunity – opportunity for Rhode Island residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities to live, work and spend their recreational time alongside their fellow Rhode Islanders. It is an opportunity for this State to move forward; to recognize, finally, that we are better, stronger, when all of us – all of us –are interwoven in the fabric that is Rhode Island.”
Under the agreement, Rhode Island has agreed to provide:
· Supported employment placements that are individual, typical jobs in the community, that pay at least minimum wage, and that offer employment for the maximum number of hours consistent with the person’s abilities and preferences, amounting to an average of at least 20 hours per week across the target population;
· Supports for integrated non-work activities for times when people are not at work including mainstream educational, leisure or volunteer activities that use the same community centers, libraries, recreational, sports and educational facilities that are available to everyone;
· Transition services for students with I/DD, to start at age 14, and to include internships, job site visits and mentoring, enabling students to leave school prepared for jobs in the community at competitive wages;
· Significant funding sustained over a ten year period that redirects funds currently used to support services in segregated settings to those that incentivize services in integrated settings.
The ten year agreement will allow the state to ensure that the services necessary to support individuals with I/DD in competitive, integrated jobs will not disappear with a change in administration or legislative leadership. As a result of this commitment, the business community has already stepped up to partner with the state. The U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN), a network of Fortune 500 companies, and Walgreens will co-host a regional business summit in Rhode Island in June 2014 to explore how to improve those partnerships.
The agreement is the result of an ADA investigation that began in January 2013 into Rhode Island’s day activity service system for people with I/DD. The department, the state, and the City of Providence entered into an interim settlement agreement in June 2013. The interim settlement agreement focused on a single provider, which was one of the largest facility-based employment service providers in the state’s system, and a school-based sheltered workshop at a Providence, R.I., high school, which was a point of origin for many people entering the provider’s workshop.
The department continued its investigation of the statewide system, and in January 2014 issued findings determining that the statewide system over-relied on segregated services, to the exclusion of integrated alternatives, in violation of the ADA. The department found workers with I/DD in settings where they had little or no contact with persons without disabilities, and where they earned an average wage of $2.21 per hour. The investigation found that workers typically remain in such settings for many years, and sometimes decades. The department also found that students in Rhode Island schools were often not presented with meaningful choices to participate in integrated alternatives, such as integrated transition work placements and work-based learning experiences, which put students at serious risk of unnecessary postsecondary placement in segregated sheltered workshops and facility-based day programs.
Since June 2013, the state and city have provided supported employment services to people with I/DD transitioning from the original two facilities covered by the interim settlement agreement. Many of these individuals have now accessed jobs in typical work settings where they can interact with non-disabled coworkers and customers, and enjoy the same employment benefits as their non-disabled peers. Individuals have secured jobs at both locally owned and national companies. Because of the interim settlement agreement, Pedro , an individual who transitioned from the in-school sheltered workshop to the adult workshop, where he earned just 48 cents an hour, is now making minimum wage working at a restaurant. Peter , another former sheltered workshop employee who was earning approximately $1.50 per hour, now has a job earning more than minimum wage working for the state as a custodian at a hospital. Louis has gone from earning sub-minimum wages performing rote tasks at the sheltered workshop to a full-time position at a state hospital, where he uses his strong computer skills and passion for mathematics to generate Excel reports, record time sheets, and complete other office tasks. For more information on these individuals and others, please visit the Department’s Faces of Olmstead website .
Please visit www.ada.gov/olmstead to learn more about the Division’s ADA Olmstead enforcement efforts, and www.justice.gov/crt to learn more about the laws enforced by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division
Department of Justice Reaches Landmark Americans with Disabilities Act Settlement Agreement with Rhode IslandRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRT
TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014 (202) 514-2007
WWW.JUSTICE.GOV TTY (866) 544-5309WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a statewide settlement agreement that will resolve violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for approximately 3,250 Rhode Islanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The landmark ten year agreement is the nation’s first statewide settlement to address the rights of people with disabilities to receive state funded employment and daytime services in the broader community, rather than in segregated sheltered workshops and facility-based day programs. Approximately 450,000 people with I/DD across the country spend their days in segregated sheltered workshops or in segregated day programs. The agreement significantly advances the department's work to enforce the Supreme Court's decision in Olmstead v. L.C, which requires persons with I/DD be served in the most integrated setting appropriate.
As a result of the settlement, 2,000 Rhode Islanders with I/DD who are currently being served by segregated programs will have opportunities to work in real jobs at competitive wages. Additionally, over the next ten years, 1,250 students with I/DD will receive services to help transition into the workforce.
“Today’s agreement will make Rhode Island a national leader in the movement to bring people with disabilities out of segregated work settings and into typical jobs in the community at competitive pay,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “As Rhode Island implements the agreement over the next ten years, it will make a dramatic difference in the lives of people with disabilities, businesses and communities across the state. We congratulate Governor Chafee and state officials for signing this agreement, as we believe that Rhode Island will be a model for the nation with respect to integrated employment for people with disabilities.”
“The filing of today’s consent decree is a critically important event in Rhode Island history,” said U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha for the District of Rhode Island. “It ushers in a new day of opportunity – opportunity for Rhode Island residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities to live, work and spend their recreational time alongside their fellow Rhode Islanders. It is an opportunity for this State to move forward; to recognize, finally, that we are better, stronger, when all of us – all of us –are interwoven in the fabric that is Rhode Island.”
Under the agreement, Rhode Island has agreed to provide:
- Supported employment placements that are individual, typical jobs in the community, that pay at least minimum wage, and that offer employment for the maximum number of hours consistent with the person’s abilities and preferences, amounting to an average of at least 20 hours per week across the target population;
- Supports for integrated non-work activities for times when people are not at work including mainstream educational, leisure or volunteer activities that use the same community centers, libraries, recreational, sports and educational facilities that are available to everyone;
- Transition services for students with I/DD, to start at age 14, and to include internships, job site visits and mentoring, enabling students to leave school prepared for jobs in the community at competitive wages;
- Significant funding sustained over a ten year period that redirects funds currently used to support services in segregated settings to those that incentivize services in integrated settings.
The ten year agreement will allow the state to ensure that the services necessary to support individuals with I/DD in competitive, integrated jobs will not disappear with a change in administration or legislative leadership. As a result of this commitment, the business community has already stepped up to partner with the state. The U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN), a network of Fortune 500 companies, and Walgreens will co-host a regional business summit in Rhode Island in June 2014 to explore how to improve those partnerships.
The agreement is the result of an ADA investigation that began in January 2013 into Rhode Island’s day activity service system for people with I/DD. The department, the state, and the City of Providence entered into an interim settlement agreement in June 2013. The interim settlement agreement focused on a single provider, which was one of the largest facility-based employment service providers in the state’s system, and a school-based sheltered workshop at a Providence, R.I., high school, which was a point of origin for many people entering the provider’s workshop.
The department continued its investigation of the statewide system, and in January 2014 issued findings determining that the statewide system over-relied on segregated services, to the exclusion of integrated alternatives, in violation of the ADA. The department found workers with I/DD in settings where they had little or no contact with persons without disabilities, and where they earned an average wage of $2.21 per hour. The investigation found that workers typically remain in such settings for many years, and sometimes decades. The department also found that students in Rhode Island schools were often not presented with meaningful choices to participate in integrated alternatives, such as integrated transition work placements and work-based learning experiences, which put students at serious risk of unnecessary postsecondary placement in segregated sheltered workshops and facility-based day programs.
Since June 2013, the state and city have provided supported employment services to people with I/DD transitioning from the original two facilities covered by the interim settlement agreement. Many of these individuals have now accessed jobs in typical work settings where they can interact with non-disabled coworkers and customers, and enjoy the same employment benefits as their non-disabled peers. Individuals have secured jobs at both locally owned and national companies. Because of the interim settlement agreement, Pedro, an individual who transitioned from the in-school sheltered workshop to the adult workshop, where he earned just 48 cents an hour, is now making minimum wage working at a restaurant. Peter, another former sheltered workshop employee who was earning approximately $1.50 per hour, now has a job earning more than minimum wage working for the state as a custodian at a hospital. Louis has gone from earning sub-minimum wages performing rote tasks at the sheltered workshop to a full-time position at a state hospital, where he uses his strong computer skills and passion for mathematics to generate Excel reports, record time sheets, and complete other office tasks.
For more information on these individuals and others, please visit the Department’s Faces of Olmstead website.
Please visit www.ada.gov/olmstead to learn more about the Division’s ADA Olmstead enforcement efforts, and www.justice.gov/crt to learn more about the laws enforced by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Debt Relief Company and Its Owner Plead Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Multimillion-Dollar Scheme That Victimized over 1,200 Financially Struggling ConsumersRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MISSION SETTLEMENT AGENCY (“MISSION”) and its owner, MICHAEL LEVITIS, pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to fraud charges in connection with a multimillion-dollar scheme that victimized more than 1,200 financially struggling people across the country. LEVITIS and MISSION were charged in May 2013, and both pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe. Four other defendants previously pled guilty for their roles in the scheme.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Michael Levitis and his company, Mission Settlement Agency, preyed on the desperation of financially struggling people across the country. Today’s guilty pleas ensure that the defendants who falsely offer debt relief, telling their victims a pack of lies in order to line their own pockets, will be held to account.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and Superseding Information, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at today’s plea proceeding:
Beginning in 2009, MISSION offered “debt settlement” services to financially disadvantaged people who were struggling or unable to pay their credit card debts. Like other purported debt settlement providers, MISSION held itself out as a company that could successfully negotiate to lower the overall debt its customers owed to credit card companies and banks. MISSION solicited prospective customers through telemarketing and mail solicitations. Thereafter, MISSION’s sales representatives typically spoke to the prospective customers on the phone, describing MISSION’s work and its supposed ability to renegotiate debt.
LEVITIS was MISSION’s beneficial owner, and was responsible for managing MISSION’s day-to-day operations, its finances, its hiring and termination of employees, and its advertising and solicitation of customers.
From 2009 through May 2013, at LEVITIS’s direction, the defendants systematically exploited and defrauded over 1,200 customers, who were financially disadvantaged people across the country struggling to pay their credit card debts. They tricked people into paying MISSION for purported debt settlement services by lying to prospective customers about MISSION’s ability to help settle their debts, the fees that MISSION charged, and MISSION’s purported affiliation with the federal government. Among other things, the defendants: (1) lied about and/or concealed MISSION’s fees, falsely assuring customers that MISSION would charge a mere $49 per month when, in truth, MISSION took thousands of dollars in fees from funds that its customers believed would be used to pay creditors, (2) deceived customers by fraudulently and falsely promising that MISSION could slash their debts – typically, by 45% -- when, in fact, for the majority of its customers, MISSION did little or no work and failed to achieve any reduction in debt, and (3) sent prospective customers solicitation letters that falsely suggested that the agency was acting on behalf of or in connection with a federal governmental program, which letters included an image of the Great Seal of the United States and indicated that they were coming from the “Reduction Plan Administrator” of the purported “Office of Disbursement.” As a result of the defendants’ scheme, in addition to losing money, most of MISSION’s customers failed to achieve the reduction in debt that the defendants had promised them, and some of them suffered further declines in their credit ratings, were sued by their creditors, and/or fell into bankruptcy.
In connection with the scheme, MISSION received over $6.6 million in fees. For more than 1,200 of its customers, MISSION took fees totaling nearly $2.2 million but never paid a penny to the customers’ creditors. LEVITIS used the money that MISSION took from its customers to pay for, among other things, the operating expenses of a restaurant/nightclub he controlled, lease payments for two different luxury Mercedes cars, and credit card bills for his mother.
LEVITIS, 37, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. MISSION pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and faces a fine of up to twice the gross pecuniary gain derived from the offense, and up to five years' probation. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Gardephe on August 21, 2014. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
In addition to entering their guilty pleas, LEVITIS and MISSION entered into a stipulation of settlement of the civil forfeiture action filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York entitled United States v. All Right, Title, and Interest in Rasputin Restaurant, 13 Civ. 3069 (GHW). As part of that stipulation of settlement, LEVITIS and MISSION consented to the entry of a permanent injunction barring them from providing, directly or indirectly, any debt relief or mortgage relief services in the future.
Four other defendants, Denis Kurlyand, Boris Shulman, Felix Lemberskiy, and Zakhir Shirinov, previously pled guilty for their roles in the fraudulent scheme. The charges against Manuel Cruz remain pending and he is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the United State Postal Inspection Service. He also thanked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for referring this case to this Office and for their assistance in this matter.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole W. Friedlander and Edward A. Imperatore are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Carolina A. Fornos of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.
U.S. v. Michael Levitis Superseding Information
Crime Victims’ Rights Week “30 Years: Restoring the Balance of Justice”Read the Press Release
ATLANTA – April 6, 2014, marks the beginning of “National Crime Victim’s Rights Week,” a time to honor crime victims, celebrate our nation’s progress in advancing their rights, and work toward future goals. This year the Northern District of Georgia celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the Victims of Crime Act.
“It is appropriate for us to pause every year to remember the suffering of crime victims and their loved ones and to recommit ourselves to support them and to facilitate their healing and restoration,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “This year’s theme for Crime Victims’ Rights Week, ‘30 Years: Restoring the Balance of Justice,’ not only marks the tremendous growth and advancement of victims’ rights and services, but looks forward to continuing to expand the reach of victim service programs. Crime impacts not only the victim but also the victim’s family and community, and we must be mindful of this in every case we investigate and prosecute.”
Crime Victims’ Rights Week is marked nationwide not only by the Department of Justice and all of its United States Attorney's Offices, but by other federal, state and local participating agencies. Many of the agencies and community programs receive financial, volunteer, and other support to maintain their services for crime victims.
Every year, the United States Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) awards millions of dollars to supplement Georgia’s crime victim compensation program, which allows crime victims to receive financial help with their medical bills and other crime-associated expenses.
Here in the Northern District of Georgia, the number of federal cases alone demands an extraordinary effort to support and notify victims. Last year, our office, through our Victim-Witness Unit, notified 17,425 federal crime victims about matters including their rights as crime victims, the times of court hearings, and outcomes of court proceedings.
In addition, fines and penalties collected each year by U.S. Attorneys, the U.S. Courts and the Bureau of Prisons are deposited into the Crime Victims Fund and are available for grant awards the following year. This fund was established by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) and is administered by OVC. In 2013, approximately $730 million was allocated into this fund for crime victim assistance and compensation.
This year, as we celebrate three decades of defending victims’ rights, we are reminded of how far we have come—and how much work is yet to be done. Only 30 years ago, crime victims had virtually no rights and no assistance. The criminal justice system often seemed indifferent to their needs. Victims were commonly excluded from courtrooms and denied the chance to speak at sentencing. They had no access to victim compensation or services to help rebuild their lives. There were few avenues to deal with their emotional and physical wounds. Victims were on their own to recover their health, security, and dignity.
Our nation has made dramatic progress in securing rights, protections, and services for victims. Every state has enacted victims’ rights laws and all have victim compensation programs. More than 10,000 victim service agencies now help people throughout the country. In 1984, Congress passed the bipartisan Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), which created a national fund to ease victims’ suffering. Financed not by taxpayers but by fines and penalties paid by offenders, the Crime Victims Fund supports victim services, such as rape crisis and domestic violence programs and victim compensation programs that pay many of victims’ out of-pocket expenses from the crime, such as counseling, funeral expenses, and lost wages.
Victims’ rights advocates have scored remarkable victories over the last 30 years. But there is still a lot of work to be done. As we move forward, we are increasingly expanding our reach to previously underserved victim populations, including victims of color, American Indians and Alaska Natives, adults molested as children, victims of elder abuse, and LGBTQ victims. Over three decades, VOCA pioneered support efforts for victims of once-hidden crimes, like domestic and sexual violence. Today, we are shining a spotlight on other abuses that have long been unreported and often not prosecuted—hate and bias crimes, bullying, and sex and labor trafficking, among others.
“Our commitment to reaching every victim of crime is stronger than ever,” said Joye E. Frost, Director, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), U.S. Department of Justice. “For 30 years, VOCA has represented hope, healing, and justice. Our message to all victims of crime is this: You are not alone.”
Information about Georgia's victim assistance and crime victim compensation programs can be found through the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Barbara Lynn Howell, the Agency's Executive Director, can be reached at 104 Marietta Street, Suite 440, Atlanta, Georgia, 30303, or by telephone at 404-657-1956
For more ideas on how to volunteer to help crime victims, visit the Office for Victims of Crime website, www.ovc.gov , or by calling the Office for Victims of Crime at 202-307-5983.
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 Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Coral Gables Physician Sentenced for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announce that Lourdes Margarita Garcia, 62, of Pinecrest, a Medical Doctor, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Garcia was previously convicted by a federal jury in Miami in January 2014, of conspiracy to defraud and to file false returns with the IRS, and of three counts of filing false returns with IRS.
According to documents filed in court, Garcia was the owner and operator of Global Medical Group, LLC, a Sub-S Corporation, or “flow-through” entity for income tax purposes, which operated a clinic in Coral Gables, and previously in Miami. The evidence presented at trial showed that Garcia, a physician assistant at the time the false returns were filed in 2007 and 2008, had originally been the subject of an IRS collection action for multiple years of back-taxes owed. During the collection case, the IRS learned that Garcia and her now deceased spouse were delinquent in filing income tax returns for the years 1997-2005. When those returns were filed in 2007, under penalties of perjury, the 1997 and 2001 through 2005 returns reported $0.00 adjusted gross income, and a 2006 amended return also filed in August 2007, reported less than $20,000 of adjusted gross income.
According to the evidence presented at trial, during a 1997 Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, Garcia filed sworn monthly reports with the Bankruptcy Court reporting $81,000 of salaries and commissions for the months of May 1997 through October 1997. Additionally, during 2001 through 2007, the clinic, Global, had steadily increased its revenues from insurance payments and patient fees, from approximately $81,000 in 2001, to approximately $1.9 million in 2006 and $1.7 in 2007, but no flow-through income from Global was reported on the 2001 through 2005 individual returns of Garcia and her spouse. Their 2006 and 2007 returns omitted approximately $400,000 of insurance payments and patient fees from Global. The evidence at trial also showed that in 2007, Garcia and her spouse purchased an approximately $2 million residence in Pinecrest, despite the $0.00 adjusted gross income reported in the 1997, and 2001 through 2005 returns, and the less than $20,000 and $30,000 of adjusted gross income reported in the 2006 and 2007 returns, respectively. Further, the evidence presented at trial showed that Garcia and her spouse conspired to defraud the IRS, by impairing, obstructing and defeating its lawful functions in the ascertainment, computation and collection of federal income taxes, including by withdrawing approximately $900,000 from bank accounts, only days before an IRS Notice of Levy attached to the accounts.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jose A. Bonau and Andy R. Camacho.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Colombian Associate of “El Chapo” Guzman Pleads Guilty to International Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
Defendant engaged in decade-long scheme to export hundreds of kilos of cocaine into U.S.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jairo Cardona, 55, of Medellín, Colombia, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for unlawful importation into the United States.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Derek S. Maltz, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Cardona was indicted on Dec. 8, 2011 by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for unlawful importation into the United States. Cardona faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on June 20, 2014.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Cardona admitted to being involved in a decade-long scheme to export multi-hundred kilogram shipments of cocaine from Colombia to the United States, by way of Central America and Mexico. Cardona and his conspirators used aircraft, speedboats and maritime shipments to export the cocaine from Colombia. Among Cardona’s conspirators was Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as “Chapo Guzman.”
This case was investigated by the DEA’s Special Operations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Colchester Man, Derek Thomas, Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Prison for Producing Child Pornography Using A Real Vermont ChildRead the Press Release
Tristram J. Coffin, the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, stated that Derek Thomas, 46, of 77 Granite Creek Road, Colchester, Vermont, was sentenced on March 31, 2014 by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss to 15 years in prison for producing child pornography with a real Vermont child. The Court also sentenced Thomas to 8 years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.
According to Court records, in December of 2011, a South Burlington Police Department (“SBPD”) detective assigned to the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (“ICAC”) discovered that an individual using Internet Protocol (“IP”) address 71.192.148.4 was offering to share child pornography on the Internet using peer-to-peer file sharing software. After the location of the IP address was traced to 77 Granite Creek Road in Colchester, Vermont, Special Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) obtained a search warrant for that residence. During the search, two computer forensic examiners assigned to the search team conducted an on-site forensic preview of Derek Thomas’s laptop computer and, on that device, located hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. Thomas was arrested that day, March 2, 2012.
Subsequently, a forensic examiner with the Vermont ICAC discovered thousands of images and videos of child pornography on Thomas’s iPod, iPhone, laptop computer and computer hard drive. The forensic examination of these devices also revealed that Thomas, posing as a teenage boy, had coerced a twelve-year old victim to take sexually explicit videos using a cell phone and to send them to Thomas. Thomas offered the victim gifts in exchange for the videos. He also threatened the victim when the victim failed to comply. The forensic examination of these devices also revealed that Thomas had placed a hidden video camera in the victim’s bathroom. Unwittingly, he videoed himself while he was setting up the camera. The video was located on Thomas’s computer where it had been downloaded by Thomas.
As mentioned above, Thomas was arrested on March 2, 2012. A federal grand jury initially indicted Thomas on March 8, 2013 for possession of child pornography. After the ICAC forensic examiner confirmed that Thomas was producing child pornography, a federal grand jury handed down a superseding indictment on October 25, 2012 which charged two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. Thomas pled guilty to producing child pornography on December 16, 2013. He has been detained in jail throughout all phases of this prosecution.
Bruce Foucart, Special Agent In Charge of HSI Boston, states, “Sadly, no community is immune to this scourge. HSI remains dedicated to being a leader in the pursuit of these criminals wherever they reside. We will continue to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, such as the Vermont ICAC, in order to maximize our collective efforts, and to target these individuals.”This case was ably investigated by the SBPD, the Vermont ICAC, and HSI. The United States Attorney, Tristram J. Coffin, commends those agencies for their work. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nancy J. Creswell. Thomas was represented by Attorney Elizabeth Mann.
Chinatown Civic Leader Pleads Guilty to Theft from Charity and Filing A False Federal Income Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
CHICAGO ― A leader of two Chinatown charitable organizations, GENE LEE, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of theft and filing a false federal income tax return for misappropriating as much as $92,800 from one of the charities, which received federal funds as well as donations, and failing to report and pay taxes on the stolen funds.
Lee, 65, of Chicago, served as chairman of the Chicago Chinatown Summer Fair, which was sponsored and overseen by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, a charity that received federal funds. He was also president of the Chicago Dragons Athletic Association, which sponsored youth and adult basketball teams, traditional dancing and music, and in 2009 began overseeing the Summer Fair, a single-day event held in July in Chinatown. Between 2007 and 2010, Lee was responsible for soliciting and obtaining donations to the Summer Fair and the Chicago Dragons.
Lee, also a former deputy chief of staff to former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley during that time, pleaded guilty to one count each of theft of federal funds and filing a false federal income tax return. He remains free on his own recognizance pending sentencing on Aug. 28 by U.S. District Judge John W. Darrah. Lee faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the theft count and three years in prison on the tax count, and a maximum fine of $250,000 on each count. His plea agreement provides for an advisory sentencing guidelines range of 18 to 24 months in prison, according to the government’s calculation.
In pleading guilty, Lee admitted that between 2007 and 2010 he took a portion of the donations he solicited for the Summer Fair and used the money for personal expenses. He did so by creating and sending two invoices to donors and sponsors of the Summer Fair, with the second version requesting that all donation checks be made payable to the Chicago Dragons, which facilitated his ability to misappropriate donations to the Summer Fair to his personal use.
Lee admitted that he cashed approximately 161 donation checks, totaling approximately $132,000, at a restaurant and used a portion of these checks for his own use instead of for the benefit of the Summer Fair or the Chicago Dragons. He also used a portion of the cashed checks for legitimate expenses, according to the plea agreement.
In order to hide his theft, Lee admitted that he provided the charity’s accountant with a false expense summary about donations made to the 2008 Summer Fair, including false information that Home Depot and Western Union had donated 3,000 when each company had actually donated $5,000. The false summary also omitted additional donations, including $10,000 from McDonald’s, $5,000 from ComEd, and $3,000 from Nielsen Media. At the same time, Lee maintained a separate spreadsheet of donations that included these contributions to the 2008 Summer Fair.
By the government’s calculations, Lee misappropriated approximately $92,841 and failed to report that amount as income on his federal income tax returns for 2007 through 2010, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $21,177. Lee disagrees with the government’s figures, the plea agreement states.
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and James C. Lee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General assisted in the investigation.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret J. Schneider.
Plea Agreement
Chief of Bull Shoals, Ark., Police Department Arrested for Use of Excessive ForceRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arkansas and the FBI announced today that Daniel Sutterfield, 35, Chief of the Bull Shoals Police Department, was arrested yesterday on charges related to his use of excessive force in the arrest of a Bull Shoals resident and a related false report. The complaint and complaint affidavit were unsealed today after Sutterfield’s initial appearance in court this morning before Magistrate Judge James R. Marshewski at the U.S. District Court in Harrison, Ark.
In the two-count complaint, Sutterfield was charged with one count of deprivation of rights and one count of falsifying a report. The complaint charges that on July 9, 2013, Sutterfield used excessive force in the arrest of a Bull Shoals resident and then directed an officer to write a false and misleading report regarding the incident in order to cover up and justify the use of excessive force.
If convicted, Sutterfield faces a statutory maximum punishment of 10 years in prison for the civil rights charge involving excessive force and a statutory maximum punishment of 20 years in prison for the falsification charge. If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defedant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. The sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases will be less than the maximum.
This case is being investigated by the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Cindy Chung from the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyra Jenner from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas.
A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. The charges set forth in a complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Charles County Oncologist Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Owes Over $750,000 in Additional Taxes to the IRS
Greenbelt, Maryland –Krishan M. Mathur, M.D., age 64, of LaPlata, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to filing false tax returns.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Kelly of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.
According to Dr. Mathur’s plea agreement, he is an oncologist and has been the owner and operator of the Cambridge Cancer and Infusion Center in Maryland since 1984. Dr. Mathur also served as the Medical Director for Hospice of Charles County and was paid for his services.Dr. Mathur admitted that he filed false tax returns for tax years 2006, 2007 and 2008, falsely overstating his expenses and underreporting his income. For example, Dr. Mathur received rebate payments from certain companies from which he had purchased pharmaceuticals. Those rebates were deposited directly to his personal bank account. Dr. Mathur failed to disclose the payments or provide his bank records to his accountant. As a result, the accountant claimed the pharmaceutical purchases as expenses, but the failed to properly report the income received from the rebate payments. In addition, Dr. Mathur wrote checks and withdrew funds for personal use from his medical practice’s bank account, which he then falsely indicated on business records were payments made to medical suppliers. Finally, Dr. Mathur failed to report income he received from the Hospice of Charles County for serving as its Medical Director. The income was deposited into his personal bank account and not disclosed to his accountant.
As a result of the scheme, Dr. Mathur owed additional taxes for those years totaling $750,249. As part of his plea agreement, Dr. Mathur will be required to pay restitution to the IRS in that amount.
Krishan Mathur faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled his sentencing for July 17, 2014.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the IRS – Criminal Investigation for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicolas Mitchell and Bryan E. Foreman, who prosecuted the case.
Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges Involving Perry Housing ProjectsRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Eric Ross, 24, of Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base within the Perry Housing Projects before Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life and a $10,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch, who is handling the Perry Projects case, stated that the investigation focused on the drug trafficking activities of Tyshawn Bradley, Darnell Brown, Dallas McLamore and their associates. According to the indictment, Bradley, Brown, McLamore and Eric Ross operated a cocaine base and cocaine distribution organization on a daily basis out of several apartments within the Perry Housing Projects, including apartments within the high-rise towers located at 124 Fulton Street and 305 Perry Street. Law enforcement utilized court ordered wire interceptions, undercover drug purchases, covert cameras and traditional police investigative techniques to infiltrate and dismantle this organization.On April 3, 2013, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at 124 Fulton Street and 305 Perry Street during which they recovered over 300 grams of cocaine base and 700 grams of powered cocaine as well as a firearm.
“A year ago, we stated that we would not permit anyone to threaten the safety and security of people living in public housing,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Thanks to this prosecution, children are now safe to play both inside and outside the Perry apartments, while residents can live in peace knowing that Eric Ross and others who sold drugs in these units have been convicted.”
Ross was arrested in April 2013 along with 12 others including Tyshawn Bradley, 28, and Nannette Brown, 45, both of Cheektowaga, N.Y., Darnell Brown, a/k/a D, 29, Dallas McLamore, a/k/a Ice, a/k/a Dal, 29, Brandon Atkins, a/k/a YB, 27, Tashawn Gay, 23, Melvin Tucker, a/k/a Hoff, 24, David Varner, 55, Latifah Donaldson, a/k/a LaLa, 22, Tara Robinson, a/k/a Coek, 24, and Phayon Redmond, a/k/a Booper, 28, all of Buffalo. Ross is the second defendant to be convicted. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Matthew Renneman, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 13, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.Berlin Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Robbing Guardian Angel Credit Union in Berlin, New HampshireRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. –Daniel Hufstetler, 34, formerly of 36 High Street in Berlin, New Hampshire was sentenced to 15 years in prison for robbing the Guardian Angel Credit Union, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
Hufstetler was convicted of robbing the Credit Union following a three-day trial in December of 2013. Evidence presented at trial showed that on November 14, 2011, Hufstetler robbed the Guardian Angel Credit Union, which is located at 200 Coos Street in Berlin, New Hampshire.
Upon his release from custody, Hufstetler will be on supervised release for three years. He was also ordered to pay restitution.
This investigation involved the cooperative efforts of federal and local law enforcement entities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Berlin Police Department, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Hampshire Drug Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.Arizona Doctor Sued for Prescribing Controlled Substances without DEA Registration in Washington StateRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington filed a civil Complaint today against an Arizona physician who violated the Controlled Substances Act by prescribing narcotic painkillers in Washington State without having a DEA registration number in Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. Dr. Barton Butterbaugh was the Chief Medical Officer for EClinicMD LLC. EClinicMD is an internet-based company based in Florida. The Complaint alleges that between 2009 and 2012 Dr. Barton Butterbaugh traveled to Washington State an average of once a month and authorized thousands of prescriptions for controlled substances for Washington residents. Dr. Butterbaugh did not have a DEA registration number in Washington and, therefore, it was illegal for him to prescribe medications in Washington.
According to the allegations in the Complaint, EClinicMD states on its website that it is a “third party administrator” for a network of physicians. It operates by partnering with doctors whom it then pairs with patients seeking appointments. The doctors purportedly obtain patient medical records and forms from EClinicMD before seeing the patients for an initial in-person examination. The company did not accept insurance, instead charging $285 for an initial appointment and $165 for the “telemedicine consultations” through which patients got their prescriptions refilled. On the one day a month he was in town, Dr. Butterbaugh rented space from local businesses and met with dozens of patients (many of whom traveled considerable distances from other parts of the state for the appointment). Through these visits, and subsequent follow-up phone calls for refills, Dr. Butterbaugh authorized thousands of prescriptions for controlled substances for Washington residents.
Under the Controlled Substances Act, the penalties for violating the Act are as much as $25,000 per violation. The government alleges that Dr. Butterbaugh’s business practices in Washington are unlawful, have served to allow him to evade DEA monitoring, and have harmed the citizens of this State, while enriching himself.
The filing of the civil Complaint is just the beginning of the litigation process. The charges must be proven in court by a preponderance of the evidence. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Christina Dimock. The investigation of Dr. Butterbaugh’s prescribing practices was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration –Drug Diversion Unit.
Monday 7 April 2014
Zeta Leader “Talivan” Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas - Ivan Velasquez-Caballero, aka Talivan or 50, has entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Velasquez-Caballero, 44, of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, has been in custody in the United States since he was extradited to Laredo on Nov. 21, 2013.
The charges stem from a Feb. 17, 2010, indictment charging Velasquez-Caballero and 33 others with 47 counts alleging drug conspiracy, kidnapping conspiracy, firearms conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to kidnap and murder U. S. citizens in a foreign country, use of juveniles to commit a violent crime, accessory after the fact, solicitation, as well as substantive money laundering, drug trafficking and interstate travel in aid of racketeering charges. To date, 15 others have been convicted by plea or trial.
Velasquez-Caballero was a plaza boss for Nuevo Laredo in 2004 under the Gulf Cartel and one of the leaders of the Zetas drug cartel from 2005 until his arrest by Mexican authorities in August 2012. The drug conspiracy involved the importation and distribution of 150 kilograms or more of cocaine and 1000 kilograms or more of marijuana from Mexico into the United States. Millions of dollars in drug proceeds were also exported from the United States to Velasquez-Caballero and others in Mexico.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez, accepted the pleas today and set sentencing for July 18, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. At that time, he faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life as well as a $4 million fine for the drug conspiracy charge plus a maximum sentence of 20 years and a $500,000 fine for the money laundering conspiracy.
The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Laredo Police Department with the assistance of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s BEST task force, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Marshals Service and the Webb County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno is prosecuting.
York Woman Charged with Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General announced today that a criminal information was filed April 4, 2014 in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg charging 38 year-old Julie Smith of York with Social Security Fraud.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Smith allegedly concealed and failed to disclose income earned from May 2009 through June 2011 from employers and failed to disclose that full custody of her children was granted to the children’s father in August 2003. This resulted in Smith allegedly receiving benefit payments of approximately $69,243 to which she knew she was not entitled.
The government also filed a plea agreement in the case which is subject to approval by the Court.
If convicted, Smith faces a term of imprisonment of up to five years and fines up to $250,000.
This investigation was conducted by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian G. McDonnell.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is five years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Yakima Couple Sentenced for Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
Spokane – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Jose Trevino Gallegos, aka Joe T. Gallegos, age 48, and Erin Kathleen Honeycutt, aka Erin Kathleen Scott, age 34, both of Yakima, Washington, were sentenced for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Senior United States District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle sentenced Gallegos to a 210 month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 60 month term of court supervision upon release from Federal prison. Honeycutt was sentenced to a 90 month term of imprisonment and a 48 month term of court supervision following release from Federal prison.
According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, in March and April of 2013, Yakima DEA Drug Task Force officers made multiple purchases of methamphetamine from Gallegos. On April 12, 2013, officers executed search warrants for Gallegos' vehicles and his residence in Yakima. Gallegos was arrested in one of the vehicle with a loaded pistol and Honeycutt was arrested at the residence, where officers discovered illegal narcotics and multiple firearms. Both Gallegos and Honeycutt have multiple prior felony convictions and admitted to possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute it.
Michael C. Ormsby said, "This prosecution was made possible by the hard work of members of the Yakima DEA Drug Task Force, the Yakima Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The citizens of Yakima are fortunate not only to have the support of their local law enforcement agencies for the continued operation of the Task Force, but also for those agencies' support of the cross-designation of the Task Force detectives to work within the Drug Enforcement Administration. Having state officers that are also commissioned to enforce Federal narcotics laws enhances the prosecution of methamphetamine dealers. It makes Yakima a safer place."
This case was investigated by the cooperative efforts of the Yakima DEA Drug Task Force, the Yakima Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Ian L. Garriques, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
13-CR-2068-FVS
Windsor, Vermont Man Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Tristram J. Coffin, United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, stated that Gerard Mascola, 26, of Windsor, Vermont, was sentenced on April 1, 2014, by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss, to 20 months in prison for possession of child pornography. He was also sentenced to serve 5 years of supervised release at the conclusion of his prison term.
According to Court records, Mascola was detected sharing child pornography over the Internet by special agents from the Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”). HSI special agents were able to identify and locate Mascola using his internet protocol address.
Mascola was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 18, 2013. On December 16, 2013, Mascola pled guilty to possession of child pornography. He was released on his own recognizance pending his sentencing.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. The United States Attorney, Tristram J. Coffin, commends that agency for its work. He was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney, Nancy J. Creswell. Mascola was represented by Douglas G. Kallen of Bergeron, Paradis & Fitzpatrick, LLP.Williamson Woman Sentenced for Obtaining Prescription Drugs by FraudRead the Press Release
Huntington, W.Va. – A Williamson woman was sentenced today to three years and six months of federal probation for obtaining prescription drugs by fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Amy Shantel Hatfield, 37, pleaded guilty in April of 2013 before Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers in Huntington federal court. Hatfield admitted that between June of 2012 and August of 2012, she obtained lisdexamfetamine and amphetamine, dangerous and addictive prescription drugs, by filling fraudulent prescriptions written for someone else.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.
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 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.
Wilkes-Barre Woman Charged with Cocaine and Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today the filing of a criminal information against Amy Rogen, age 39, of Wilkes-Barre, charging her with conspiring to distribute cocaine base (crack), cocaine hydrochloride, and heroin.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith stated the Criminal Information filed today in U.S. District Court in Scranton alleges that the defendant and unnamed coconspirators obtained the controlled substances in New York City for distribution in rooms rented at motels in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties between 2011 and 2013.
The government also filed a plea agreement which is subject to approval by the Court.
Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney John Gurganus.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is twenty years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Weirton Sex Offender Charged with Failure to RegisterRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistWHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA — A sex offender who moved from Pennsylvania to West Virginia has been indicted in federal court for failing to register.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that Charles R. LUNDIS, age 64, of Weirton, West Virginia, was charged with “Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.” LUNDIS faces up to 10 years in prison. LUNDIS has a prior conviction for “Rape” in Pennsylvania and is alleged to have failed to register as a sex offender after he moved to West Virginia in 2013.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the West Virginia State Police. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen L. Vogrin.
An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom to SpeakTo Students at Arkansas City High SchoolRead the Press Release
ARKANSAS CITY, KAN. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom will speak to students at Arkansas City High School on Thursday.
Grissom will be speaking to instructor Scott Snavely’s Law, Public Safety and Security CTE classes at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 10, in the school auditorium. He will talk about his career as a lawyer and his work as U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas.
Grissom was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2010. The U.S. Attorney has three offices in Kansas – Kansas City, Kan., Topeka and Wichita – and a staff of approximately 100 employees, including about 50 Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
Two Charged in $6 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Brian Newton (56, Port Orange) and Victoria Snow (54, Clearwater) with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud. Newton and Snow were arrested today and will make their initial appearances in federal court, in Orlando, this afternoon. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, Newton and Snow worked on behalf of Dataforce International, Inc. Dataforce had a contract to “factor” its invoices at Amerifactors Financial Group. “Factoring” is a financial transaction by which a business sells its accounts receivables, such as invoices, to a third party (called a factor) at a discount. The accounts receivable is created when a business performs services or sells goods to a client. The factor provides financing to the seller of the invoice in the form of an advance. Once an invoice has been factored by a business, the business will typically arrange to have the client pay the third party factor directly.
From 2003 until August 2009, Newton and Snow allegedly submitted a series of invoices for factoring, to Amerifactors, that were inflated and that did not reflect work that had been performed by Dataforce. In addition, Newton and Snow engaged in “double factoring,” which involved submitting the same Dataforce invoice for factoring to both Amerifactors and Prestige Funding. To deceive Amerifactors and Prestige Funding into funding those invoices, Newton and Snow allegedly submitted altered work orders to Amerifactors and falsely represented that Dataforce had an arrangement to factor its invoices with Prestige Funding. By executing this scheme, Newton and Snow were able to defraud Amerifactors, Prestige Funding, and the investors of Prestige Funding out of more than $6 million.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
Two Area Businessmen Plead Guilty to Federal Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Two area businessmen admitted to committing bank fraud against Excel Bank, which failed in 2012, after receiving $4,000,000 in capital from the Treasury Department through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
According to the plea agreements, James Crews and Michael Hilbert admitted to making false statements to Excel Bank with respect to escrow funds or "fix funds" set aside for repairs to rental homes financed through the bank. In reliance on Crews and Hilberts’ claims that work had purportedly been done on the rental properties, the bank disbursed the "fix funds" which Crews and Hilbert used for other purposes. Soon after the funds were disbursed in 2010, the loan went into default.
JAMES CREWS, Wentzville; and MICHAEL HILBERT, St. Charles; appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Carol E. Jackson today and were released on their bonds until sentencing, which is scheduled for July 10, 2014.
Bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Twin Falls Man Sentenced to Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BOISE – Robert Lyman Kundert, 33, of Twin Falls, Idaho, was sentenced today to serve 160 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. United States District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Kundert to serve five years of supervised release following his release from prison. Kundert pleaded guilty to the charge on January 14, 2014.
According to court documents, on October 4, 2012, Kundert fled the scene of an automobile accident. He was located by police at a residence in Twin Falls, Idaho. During the search of the house, law enforcement located approximately 863 grams of pure methamphetamine hidden in the attic. Kundert admitted to possessing the methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it to others.
Kundert has previously been convicted three times for possession of methamphetamine.
The case was investigated by Twin Falls Police Department, the Twin Falls Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Three Lincoln County Men Plead Guilty to Oxycodone TraffickingRead the Press Release
Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Richard A. Mullins, John Freddie Joe Johnson, and Joseph James Salmons entered guilty pleas today in federal court to charges relating to the distribution of oxycodone in Lincoln County.
Beginning in January of 2013, the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force made a series of controlled oxycodone buys from Richard Mullins and his associates. Today, Richard Mullins, 49, of West Hamlin, admitted that on January 13, 2013, he sold 5 oxycodone 30 mg pills to a confidential informant working with the law enforcement. Mullins met the informant on the parking lot of the Blossom Junction flower shop in West Hamlin and conducted the drug deal from his car. Mullins also admitted to other drug sales in Lincoln County.
John Freddie Joe Johnson, 37, also of West Hamlin admitted that on February 8, 2013, he assisted Mullins and Joseph James Salmons with the sale of oxycodone to a confidential informant outside of Johnson’s residence in West Hamlin, Lincoln County.
Joseph James Salmons, 24, of Hamlin admitted that on February 13, 2013, he and Mullins sold a confidential information five oxycodone 30 mg pills. The informant entered Mullins’ home in West Hamlin, Lincoln County and met with Mullins. The informant handed Mullins $200.00 for the oxycodone. Mullins handed the $200.00 to Salmons and Salmons handed the informant the oxycodone pills. Salmons also admitted to other drug sales in Lincoln County.
All three men face up to 20 years imprisonment when they are sentenced on July 8, 2014 by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
The Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman 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.
Three Individuals Convicted on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Three individuals entered pleas of guilty before Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull on drug-related charges.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that:
Chad PRESTON, age 34, of Elkins, entered a plea of guilty to “Possession with Intent to Distribute Oxycodone.” Preston, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 20 years in prison.
Jonathan HEALEY, age 30, of Elkins, entered a plea of guilty to “Use of a Communication Device to Facilitate a Drug Felony.” HEALEY, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 4 years in prison.
Charles Jacob FREEMAN, age 26, of Beverly, West Virginia, entered a plea of guilty to “Distribution of Alprazolam within 1,000 feet of the Beverly Manor.” FREEMAN, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 20 years in prison.
These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn A. Morgan and Stephen D. Warner and were the result of the work of the Mountain Region Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers from the West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Forest Service, Randolph County Sheriff’s Department, Tucker County Sheriff’s Department and the DEA, assisted by the DEA Tactical Diversion Squad.
Thomas Jefferson University to Pay $77,486 to Resolve Overbilling AllegationsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson University Physicians, Department of Emergency Medicine have agreed to a $77,486 settlement to resolve allegations arising from overbilling for services, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The settlement arose as a result of a voluntary self-disclosure after Thomas Jefferson University’s Counsel for Compliance identified certain Medicare Part B professional fee billing anomalies during a routine internal compliance review. Based upon this review, it appeared that certain professional fee services in the emergency room were billed under a physician’s National Provider Identification number when those services should have been billed under either the National Provider Identification number of the Physicians Assistants or Certified Registered Nurse Practitioners.
Prior to the settlement, Thomas Jefferson University engaged a third-party firm to conduct a comprehensive billing audit and provided the results to the United States. Thomas Jefferson University agreed that the billing was not accurate and thus, that the government paid more than it should have for the services provided. Under the parties’ settlement agreement, signed today, Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson University Physicians, Department of Emergency Medicine will pay $77,486.00 to the United States. Thomas Jefferson University also conducted education in an effort to prevent any subsequent billing anomalies.
This resolution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Crutchlow and Veronica J. Finkelstein.
Click here to view the indictment
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525St. Louis Man Sentenced for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
Was Wearing Polka Dot Dress and Wig During Robbery
Follow @SDILNewsArnell L. Edwards, 50, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced in federal district court, in East St. Louis today, for bank robbery, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Edwards was sentenced to 52 months in prison, three years supervised release, ordered to pay $1,547 restitution, and a $100 special assessment. Edwards pled guilty on November 19, 2013, to charges stemming from a September 6, 2013, bank robbery at US Bank in New Athens, Illinois. Edwards entered the bank wearing a polka dot dress, wig and sunglasses. He then placed a rag over his mouth and approached a bank teller, showing her hand written instructions on a small piece of red paper, reading “STICK UP ALL MONEY” and stated, “Give me all the money.” Edwards grabbed the cash, exited the bank and discarded the clothing before returning to a nearby apartment. A search of the apartment resulted in the discovery of a pad of red Post-It-Notes matching the size, shape and color of the note given to the bank teller.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.
St. Charles County Man Sentenced on Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO - MICHAEL KITCHEN, St. Peters, MO, was sentenced to 24 months on federal fraud charges for conducting an investment fraud scheme during 2008 and 2009.
According to court documents, Kitchen marketed a "verification of funds" financial opportunity to a number of investors and took in approximately $500,000. Kitchen told investors' their money was safe and, if placed in a verification of funds transaction, would earn more than 1000% annualized return. However, Kitchen failed to protect or place investors' funds. To the contrary, Kitchen simply spent investors' money on business and personal expenses over several years.
Kitchen pled guilty in October to one felony count of wire fraud for devising this fraud scheme and two counts of money laundering for using its proceeds to purchase two automobiles. He appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Carol E. Jackson.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI in cooperation for the Office of Securities Enforcement - Missouri Secretary of State's Office which is currently prosecuting a civil enforcement action against Kitchen. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
St. Albans Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Marijuana ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Richard Hughes, 54, of St. Albans, W. Va. was sentenced today to 46 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Hughes previously pleaded guilty in January of 2014 to conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Hughes admitted that from at least August of 2010 through February of 2012, he received marijuana from Robin Slater, a large-scale marijuana trafficker, and sold the marijuana throughout the Southern District of West Virginia.
Hughes made significant profits from the sale of marijuana and previously forfeited approximately $77,000 in cash and several thousand dollars’ worth of vehicles and equipment that he admitted were proceeds of drug distribution.
Slater previously pleaded guilty to several federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
The West Virginia State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn handled the prosecution. The sentenced was imposed by Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers in Huntington.
Soldotna Resident Indicted on Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that James R. Back, 59, of Soldotna, Alaska, was indicted for filing false tax returns for 2006, 2007 and 2008, and willfully failing to file tax returns from 2009 through 2012. Back was arrested at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Monday, April 7, 2014. On Tuesday, April 8, Back was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge John D. Roberts. Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline has been assigned to the case for trial.
Back did not enter a plea, and did not decide whether or not to represent himself or retain legal counsel. Back was released pending trial under the supervision of the United States Probation and Pretrial Services Office on a $10,000 unsecured bond, and ordered to return to court on Friday, April 11, for the entry of pleas and the decision on representation.
According to the indictment, Back was employed as a pipeline technician for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. However, in 2007 Back sent the IRS a false “Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, Form 4852,” claiming that his wages were not income. The indictment alleges that Back filed tax returns for 2006, 2007, and 2008 that falsely reported to the IRS that he earned no income during those years, when in fact he had earnings that totaled nearly $400,000. Moreover, Back claimed on these false returns that he was owed refunds totaling $110,111.
The indictment further alleges that in 2008 Back provided a fictitious document entitled “Form
W-0” to his employer, asserting that his wages from the company were not “federally privileged.” In 2011, Back sent his employer a document purporting to “revoke” his Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. Back willfully did not file tax returns for the years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, even though his total earnings during these years exceeded $500,000.“Our tax system is predicated on the truthfulness of the individual taxpayer but some use fraud and trickery to cheat all of us,” said Kenneth Hines, Seattle Field Office Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS special agents are doing their job to ensure the honest taxpayers do not have to pick up the tab for those who chose not to comply with our laws by filing false or frivolous tax returns.”
Back faces up to three years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine on each of the three false return charges, and up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine for each of the four failure-to-file charges. In addition, costs of prosecution are mandated by law in criminal tax cases.
The case is being investigated by special agents with IRS Criminal Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Bradley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage, Alaska.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison for Failing to RegisterRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh man has been sentenced in federal court to 10 months imprisonment to be followed by 15 years supervised release on his conviction of failure to register as a sex offender, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Eugene David, 32.
According to information presented to the court, between in and around July 2010, through on or about Aug. 8, 2013, David traveled in interstate commerce and knowingly failed to register and/or update a registration, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Assistant United States Attorney Amy L. Johnston prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the United States Marshals Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Eugene David.
Seventh Former Officer Sentenced in Connection with Series of Assaults on Roxbury Correctional Institution InmateRead the Press Release
U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Tyson Hinckle, formerly an officer at Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Md., to serve 30 months in prison for conspiring with other correctional officers to assault Kenneth Davis, an inmate. Hinckle and RCI officers from three different shifts assaulted Davis in March 2008, in retaliation for a prior incident in which Davis struck an officer.
Hinckle pleaded guilty on Jan. 9, 2014, to conspiring to violate Davis’ civil rights. According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Hinckle acknowledged that, after he and other day shift officers conspired to assault Davis, they beat the inmate in order to punish him. Hinckle also admitted that this assault on March 9, 2008, was consistent with practices at RCI, where officers from three consecutive shifts would beat an inmate who had previously assaulted an officer. Finally, Hinckle admitted that he and other officers tried to cover up their involvement in the assault of Davis.
“Every person in America has the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to protect this right by prosecuting correctional officers who violate the rights of inmates.”
To date, 16 current or former officers at RCI have been convicted in connection with the series of assaults that inmate Davis suffered on March 8-9, 2008. Six former officers – Lanny Harris, Philip Mayo, Robert Harvey, Keith Morris, Dustin Norris and Ryan Lohr –have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Bredar.
The case was investigated by the Frederick Resident Agency of the FBI and prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Cunningham of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Savannah Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
AUGUSTA, GA – An indictment was returned yesterday by a federal Grand Jury sitting in Savannah, Georgia against William Arnold Debow, 53, a federally licensed firearms dealer who was doing business as The Ponderosa Trading Company. Debow was charged with 28 counts of knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon and with 10 counts of illegally transferring a handgun to out of state residents.
Knowingly transferring a firearm to a felon carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000 for each count. Illegally transferring a handgun to an out of state resident carries a maximum 5 year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine for each count. United States Attorney Edward Tarver emphasized that the indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the Government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by the ATF. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Richmond Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin Conspiracy and Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Philip Michael Morris (also known as “Trill Phil”), 27, of Richmond, Va., pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Morris faces a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment when he is sentenced on June 19, 2014.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Morris admitted to working with several co-conspirators to obtain and redistribute heroin in Richmond, Va. Morris also possessed two firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy, both of which were seized by law enforcement during the investigation.
Several of the defendant’s co-conspirators previously have pleaded guilty. One co-conspirator, Deonte Lamone Kennedy (also known as “Chop Cold Train”), admitted that the group of heroin dealers discussed the significant risk of their customers dying of heroin overdose. Kennedy admitted that he told one of his co-conspirators to distance himself from the heroin that the group was selling because it already had caused one overdose death. Kennedy pleaded guilty on March 14, 2014 to conspiracy to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum term of life imprisonment when he is sentenced on May 29, 2014.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Fairfax County Police Department, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Richmond City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa L. Owings is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Portland Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 204 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. — Keith Lawrence McMurray, 32, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced to 204 months in prison today by United States District Judge Marco A. Hernandez for sex trafficking a 17-year old Beaverton girl. On September 4, 2013, McMurray pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking a minor. Upon release from custody, McMurray will serve a 10-year period of supervised release. During his supervised release, he must abide by a number of conditions, including registration as a sex offender.
“Sex trafficking a minor continues to be a huge concern for this community,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “Young girls and boys in our community are preyed upon for commercial sex, and are used by traffickers as simply a way to gain money. We will continue to prosecute aggressively anyone who exploits, aids or recruits our children into this dark world.”
In imposing the 204-month sentence, Judge Hernandez noted that defendant’s objectification of the victim was extremely concerning.
The government alleged that McMurray recruited the victim into prostitution when she was 17 years old. He used various prostitution web sites to advertise the minor and even posed as a customer in order to promote her on one of the web sites. In addition, McMurray filmed sex acts with her during the time she was a minor. All of this was done while the defendant was on post-prison supervision.
This case stemmed from a coordinated investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Child Exploitation Task Force and Multnomah County Parole and Probation. The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children through sex trafficking, as well as to identify and rescue victims. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney JR Ujifusa.
Perry County Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsOn April 3, 2014, Ty W. Dusch, 50, of DuQuoin, was sentenced in United States District Court in Benton on a one-count indictment charging conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.
Dusch, who had previously pled guilty to the methamphetamine offense, was sentenced to 96 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and fined $200. The offense occurred between 2011 and June 2013 in Jackson and Perry Counties. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that Dusch and others were obtaining pseudoephedrine for use in the manufacture of methamphetamine. When officers executed a search warrant at a Murphysboro residence where Dusch was staying, they located methamphetamine and methamphetamine-making materials. At sentencing, the district court found that Dusch was responsible for 371.26 grams of pseudoephedrine. The district court increased Dusch’s sentence because Dusch violated the terms of his pre-trial bond.
The investigation was conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Murphysboro Police Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration. The DuQuoin Police Department also assisted in the investigation.
The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Amanda A. Robertson for prosecution.
New Jersey Man Convicted of ExtortionRead the Press Release
Contact: Gail Fisk Malone
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Patrick
M. Curley, 50, of Passaic, New Jersey, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to
extortion. Curley was indicted on March 21, 2013.According to court documents, in March 2010, Curley applied on-line for a job with
Vescom, a Hampden, Maine-based security firm. On April 21, 2010, Curley met Vescom’s
Senior Vice President for a job interview in New York. In e-mails and a voice message left after
the interview, he expressed ongoing interest in the job. On April 27, however, he e-mailed
Vescom’s Senior Vice President and falsely accused her of sexual harassment and discrimination
and threatened to sue. In the months that followed, both he and an attorney representing him
contacted Vescom employees and staff counsel threatening to sue and take his claims to the
media if they could not reach a financial settlement. Curley’s claims of sexual harassment and
discrimination were false and were intended to extort money from Vescom.Curley faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both. He will be sentenced
after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Multimillion Dollar Cocaine Conspiracy Results in Significant SentenceRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – Jose Gomez-Ramirez, 32, of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, has been ordered to prison for his role in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Gomez-Ramirez pleaded guilty in May 2013.
Today, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Gomez-Ramirez a sentence of 108 months in federal prison to be followed by a five-year-term of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $5,303,660.
At the hearing, additional testimony was presented regarding his role in the organization. He had transported and delivered 123 kilograms of cocaine to a truck driver who was then to transport the cocaine to Dallas on Feb. 11, 2011. According to court documents, the drug trafficking organization for which Gomez-Ramirez worked transported more than 200 kilograms of cocaine from 2010 to 2011, much of which was intercepted by authorities en route to Dallas from Nuevo Laredo. The organization also attempted to transport more than $1.4 million in cash from Atlanta, Ga., to Nuevo Laredo.
Gomez-Ramirez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The case is the result of a four-year Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation dubbed Operation Roadblock led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the United States Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Hepburn and Elizabeth Rabe are prosecuting.
Michigan Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison in Pill ConspiracyRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistWHEELING, WV – A Michigan man was sentenced to ten years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute prescription painkillers.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced that Malcolm TYLER, age 36, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release for “Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone” in the Wheeling area from late 2011 to Spring of 2012. TYLER admitted to being a source of supply of painkillers for a Wheeling-area drug dealer, who then redistributed the pills locally. U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr., presided.
TYLER was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution. As a result of this conviction TYLER violated the terms of his state parole and will face additional prison time in Michigan once he has completed his federal sentence.
In a separate matter before Judge Stamp, Charles WILKES, age 28, of Wheeling, was sentenced to 70 months in prison and six years of supervised release for "Distribution of Crack Cocaine within 1,000 feet of the Heritage Port Playground." WILKES was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal.
The TYLER and WILKES cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard and were investigated by the Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers and agents from the Wheeling Police Department, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department, West Virginia State Police-BCI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.Meth Cook Sentenced in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
MOBILE, Ala. – Miles Courtney Alexander, 31, of Grand Bay, Alabama, was sentenced today in federal court to 96 months in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine manufacturing conspiracy. Alexander was arrested in September of 2012 as the result of a DHR welfare investigation at a residence on Judge Ervin Drive in Grand Bay. Court documents reflect that Alexander, along with his co-defendants Clarence Lee and Cecily Colvin, were arrested in a vehicle which arrived at the residence after DHR workers contacted the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office about a possible meth lab at the premises there. In testimony at the sentencing hearing today, Investigator Andrew O’Shea testified that sheriff’s deputies found elements of a meth lab in the trunk of the vehicle, driven by Alexander, along with propane tanks and gasoline cans. Investigator O’Shea also testified that one of Colvin’s minor children was in the vehicle with the defendants when the meth lab was discovered in the trunk, and that a firearm was discovered by the investigators on the scene under the front seat of the vehicle.
United States District Court Judge William H. Steele imposed the sentence after hearing the testimony. The judge also ordered that Alexander receive drug treatment while in prison, and when Alexander is released from custody, he will serve three years of supervised release. The judge ordered that Alexander also under testing and treatment for drug abuse while under supervision. The judge ordered that Alexander pay $100 in special mandatory assessments.
The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney=s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.
Media AdvisoryRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - n commemoration of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (April 6-12, 2014), U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr. will hold a press conference/reception to recognize organizations that have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to supporting victims and providing victim services. The following organizations will be recognized:
- Alabama Crime Victims’ Compensation Commission, Montgomery, AL
- Family Sunshine Center, Montgomery, Alabama
- One Place Family Justice Center, Montgomery, Alabama
- Wiregrass Angel House, Dothan, Alabama
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Massachusetts Leader of Sophisticated, Violent Fraudulent Document Ring Pleads Guilty to Racketeering and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Jose Rafael Murcia-Garcia, 34, a Mexican National who resided in Boston, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty today to Conspiracy to Engage in Racketeering and Conspiracy to Launder Money. Murcia-Garcia faces a maximum of 40 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $750,000, and three years of supervised release. Further, he is illegally within the United States and faces deportation following the service of his prison sentence.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Katrina W. Berger, Acting Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement after the guilty plea was accepted by Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck.
According to court papers, this defendant is connected to a Fraudulent Document Enterprise (FDE) previously prosecuted in the Eastern District of Virginia in United States v. Israel Cruz Millan, Case No. 3:10CR308. The FDE originally operated in the United States beginning prior to 2008 and continuing through November 18, 2010, and had cells in Richmond, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Manassas, Virginia; Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas; New Haven, Connecticut; Mishawaka, Indiana; Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky; Chelsea, Massachusetts; St. Louis, Missouri; Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Wilmington, North Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio; Providence, Rhode Island; and Nashville, Tennessee. The criminal enterprise was dismantled within the United States on November 18, 2010. In the prior case and connected prosecutions, a total of 30 defendants were convicted. On February 16, 2012, United States District Judge James R. Spencer sentenced the overall leader, Israel Cruz Millan to 300 months’ imprisonment. On March 2, 2012, United States District Judge Henry E. Hudson sentenced Oliverez-Jiminez to two consecutive life terms in prison, after having been convicted by a jury of racketeering, murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to produce and transfer false identification documents.
According to court filings, the FDE restarted its operations while the Israel Cruz Millan, et al. case was still pending. Beginning at some point prior to February 2012, Manuel Hidalgo Flores, also known as “Chino,” “Chimuelo” and “Julio,” began managing the organization’s operations in the United States, supervising operations in Richmond, Virginia; Springdale, Arkansas; Boston, Massachusetts; Raleigh, North Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Pawtucket, Rhode Island. As in the previous case, the FDE produced high-quality false identification cards for distribution to illegal aliens. In most cities where the organization operated, Hidalgo Flores placed a cell manager to supervise a number of “runners,” the lower level members of the organization who distributed business cards advertising the organization’s services and helped facilitate transactions with customers. In his sworn Statement of Facts, Jose Rafael Murcia-Garcia, also known as “Juan,” admitted that, while working under Hidalgo Flores, he supervised runners operating in the Boston, Massachusetts cell.
The cost of fraudulent documents varied depending on the location, with counterfeit Resident Alien and Social Security cards typically selling for approximately $150. Each cell maintained detailed sales records and divided the proceeds between the runner, the cell manager, and the upper level managers in Mexico. In addition, the FDE used Western Union and MoneyGram to funnel criminal proceeds to Mexico.
The evidence during the Oliverez-Jiminez trial detailed how members of the organization sought to drive competitors from their territory by posing as customers in search of fraudulent documents and then attacking the competitors when they arrived to make a sale. According to court filings, the FDE continued those tactics in 2013. The First Superseding Indictment charges four FDE members, including Manuel Hidalgo Flores, with targeting a competitor in the Richmond, Virginia area on October 6, 2013. That planned attack was thwarted, however, by law enforcement intervention.
Counting this guilty plea, 34 members of this organization charged in the Richmond, Virginia federal cases have been convicted. Currently, Murcia-Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2014, before United States District Court Judge James R. Spencer. Out of the 12 defendants arrested in the current case on October 30, 2013, 8 are scheduled to proceed to a jury trial on June 2, 2014.
The case was investigated by the Richmond and Norfolk offices of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which falls under the Washington, D.C., office. ICE HSI received assistance from the Virginia State Police, Chesterfield County Police Department, and Henrico County Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Gill and Trial Attorney Maria Gonzalez Calvet, of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Marion Man Sentenced to over 9 Years for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who possessed child pornography was sentenced April 4, 2014, to over nine years in federal prison.
James Sullivan, age 32, of Marion, Iowa, received the sentence after a January 7, 2014, guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography. At the guilty plea hearing, Sullivan admitted that, in 2011, he knowingly possessed child pornography.
Sullivan was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Sullivan was sentenced to 110 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and Sullivan must also serve an eight-year term of supervised release. He must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion Police Department.
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 13-76.
Leader of Counterfeit Currency Ring Pleads Guilty in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Tarshema Brice, 34, of Richmond, Va., pled guilty today to manufacturing counterfeit currency. She faces up to 20 years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release when she is sentenced on August 15, 2014.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and William Frantzen, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted today by United States District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
Brice was initially charged, along with four others, in a Criminal Complaint filed on September 6, 2013. She was arrested in September and pled guilty today to a Criminal Information that was filed on March 24, 2014.
According to court documents, Brice obtained genuine Federal Reserve Notes in either one dollar or five dollar denominations, bleached them, and then printed the image from a genuine fifty or one hundred dollar note onto them. She began the counterfeiting operation in approximately March 2012 and remained involved in counterfeiting currency until her arrest in September 2013. In the Statement of Facts filed in support of her plea, Brice admitted she manufactured, or passed, between $10,000.00 and $20,000.00 worth of counterfeit currency.
Last month, Brice’s co-defendant, Norris Heath, who pled guilty to conspiring to manufacture counterfeit currency, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison. In February 2014, co-defendant Abraham Emanuel Brotherson was sentenced to 1.5 years in federal prison for his role in aiding and abetting the conspiracy; and Warren Kelly Isaacs, who was charged with passing counterfeit notes, was sentenced to one year. La’Keesha Kee, who was also charged with passing counterfeit notes, was found guilty at a trial in February 2014. She is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted the cases on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Last Major Defendant in 20-Defendant Meth Distribution Ring SentencedRead the Press Release
Two Defendants Still Await Sentencing, and One Remains at Large
BOISE – Andrew Polney, 52, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge to 130 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Polney was also sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for Interstate Transportation in Aid of Racketeering Enterprise. The sentences will run concurrently.
Judge Lodge also ordered Polney to pay a $2,000 fine and a special assessment of $100 on each count.
According to court documents, the conspiracy involved two distribution cells in the Treasure Valley: one led by Jason Holmberg, the other by Andrew Polney. Kenneth Jones supplied multi-pound shipments of methamphetamine for transport to the Treasure Valley for distribution. The group operated from about June 2012, through the time of the various arrests on April 18, 2013, and May 23, 2013.
Nine co-defendants have been sentenced. Jason Holmberg, 38, of Middleton, Idaho, was sentenced to 180 months in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, and Interstate Transportation in Aid of Racketeering Enterprise. Kenneth Jones, 47, of Rio Linda, California, was sentenced to 130 months in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Interstate Transport in Aid of Racketeering. Jerry Holmberg, 65, of Marsing, Idaho, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Randy Beal, 59, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced to 57 months in prison also for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Cynthia Prado, 32, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for Interstate Transport in Aid of Racketeering. Randi Seferos, 25, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced to 110 months in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Patrick Siemsen, 56, of Meridian, Idaho, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for Interstate Transportation in Aid of Racketeering Enterprise. Doreen Obrien, 44, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced to 66 months in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Robbie Gallegos, 43, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for use of a communication device in committing a drug trafficking offense.
Of the other 10 defendants charged: five, who had lesser roles, have been sentenced to lesser penalties; one has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced tomorrow; one has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in July; and sentencing for another has not yet been set. Charges against one defendant were dismissed, subject to being re-filed. One defendant remains at large.
The indictment is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with the Nampa Police Department and Boise Police Department. Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Bureau of Land Management, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Marshals Service.
The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.
Kuna Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
BOISE - Ian Quincy Winn, 48, of Kuna, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to Receipt and Attempted Receipt of Sexually Explicit Images of Minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, Winn engaged in online chats with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent between October 2012 and July 2013. During these chats, Winn spoke extensively about his interest in the torture, rape and murder of a (fictitious) six-year-old child whom the undercover agent claimed was his niece. Winn did not know the child was fictitious. In June, Winn asked the undercover agent to send him a photo of the fictitious six-year-old performing a sexual act.
HSI special agents obtained a search warrant and served it at Winn’s home in Kuna on August 12, 2013. They seized several computers and electronic storage devices containing child pornography, including sexually explicit images of prepubescent females. Agents sent the images to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which maintains a database of previously identified victims of abuse. The NCMEC reported that the images found on Winn’s computer included known victims from California, Texas, Belgium, Missouri, Indiana, Washington, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Winn confessed that he had been conducting online searches for erotic and sexually explicit images of young girls for about three to four years.
The charge of Receipt and Attempted Receipt of Sexually Explicit Images of Minors is punishable by from 5 years, up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and from 5 years to lifetime supervised release.
Sentencing is set for June 30, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The case was investigated by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in Boise and North Platte, Nebraska, assisted by investigators from the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Kuna Police Department.
Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service are members of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a statewide coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of all the participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.
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.”