Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
21 May 2014
West Palm Beach Resident Sentenced in Treasure Coast Bank Robbery SpreeRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, John A. Bolduc, Chief, Port St. Lucie Police Department, Ken J. Mascara, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Sean Baldwin Chief, Ft. Pierce Police Department, J. Michelle Morris, Chief, Sebastian Police Department, and Deryl Loar, Sheriff, Indian River Sheriff’s Office, announce that Herbert Lenorris Smith, Jr., 37, of West Palm Beach, was sentenced May 20, 2014 by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez to 17 years in prison.
Smith previously pled guilty on January 29, 2014, to two counts of interfering with commerce by robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a) and 2; and using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(ii)and 2.
According to court documents, between June 8, 2013 and July 8, 2013, employees of five PNC bank branches located in the counties of Indian River, Volusia, Hillsborough and St. Lucie Counties, were robbed at gunpoint by three males, whose faces were covered and were wearing gloves. In all of the robberies, one male would brandish a handgun, and two males would jump the tellers’ counters demanding money.
On June 20, 2013, at approximately 9:50 a.m., three males entered the PNC Bank in Port Orange, Volusia County, with faces covered and wearing gloves. One male brandished a firearm at bank employees, two jumped the teller counters, and demanded and took United States currency. The three males were picked up by a fourth male driving a stolen Jeep, which was found abandoned nearby. Anthony Isaac Johnson, Paul Edward Moore and Alan Demetrius Bradford remained in cellular phone contact with one another before and after the robbery.
On July 1, 2013, at approximately 9:50 a.m., three males entered the PNC Bank in Tampa, Hillsborough County, with faces covered and wearing gloves. One male brandished a firearm at the bank employees and two males jumped the teller counters, with another remaining in the lobby area. They demanded and took United States currency. The three males fled the bank in a stolen Dodge Intrepid. While in the area of the PNC bank and the site the vehicle was stolen, Raven Simone Sayers and Bradford remained in cellular phone contact with each other. The stolen vehicle was abandoned in a housing development near the PNC bank. On this date, Sayers was in possession of a leased vehicle.
According to court documents, during the night of July 7, 2013, into the early morning hours of July 8, 2013, Sayers, Ivory Lee Robinson, Tomaleesha Jeffie Laqua McKeliver, Moore, Desilien, Herbert Lenorris Smith, Jr., Johnson, and Bradford, planned and agreed to rob two St. Lucie County PNC banks at gun point. In order to carry out the two robberies, the group separated into two teams. The plan was for each team to have a female as a getaway driver and three males. Sayers and McKeliver agreed to be the robbery getaway drivers. Each team would steal a van, rob each of the banks at gunpoint, with their faces covered, leave the bank in the van, and transfer into the getaway vehicles, in order to flee the area. Sayers and McKeliver drove rental cars. The two teams travelled from Palm Beach County to St. Lucie County in the two rented cars. While en route, the two teams remained in cellular phone contact with one another. Once in St. Lucie County, the teams scouted PNC Banks and escape routes and stole two vans in Ft. Pierce for use in the two bank robberies.
Later on July 8, 2013, between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m., St Lucie County PNC Banks located in Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce were robbed at gunpoint, almost simultaneously. After the Ft. Pierce and Port St. Lucie PNC bank robberies, McKeliver, Johnson, Robinson and Bradford were arrested after a police pursuit, and Moore was arrested near the bank. Law enforcement eventually identified, located, arrested and charged Sayers, Smith and Desilien, who escaped back to Palm Beach County.
Previously sentenced in this case were Ivory Lee Robinson, 22, and Laqua McKeliver, 22, both of West Palm Beach, by U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham. Robinson, a career offender, was sentenced to 262 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on February 27, 2014; McKeliver was sentenced to 102 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on December 16, 2013. Sayers, 23, of Hallandale, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez to 162 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on March 11, 2014.
Bradford pled guilty on February 4, 2014, to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a); two counts of interfering with commerce by robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1951(a) and 2; two counts of using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(ii)and 2; and, felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 2.
Desilien pled guilty on March 27, 2014, to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a); interfering with commerce by robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1951(a) and 2; and, using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(ii)and 2.
The sentencing for Bradford and Desilien has been set for July 14, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez.
Earlier this month, the last two of the eight defendants arrested, Anthony Isaac Johnson, 24, of West Palm Beach, and Paul Edward Moore, 25, of Green Acres, pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch to two counts of using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(ii)and 2.
The sentencing for Johnson and Moore has been set for August 26, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez in Ft. Pierce.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, Port St. Lucie Police Department, Ft. Pierce Police Department, Sebastian Police Department, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Indian River Sheriff’s Office, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Port Orange Police Department, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and FDLE for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.
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.
Washington, DC Man Convicted of the Armed Robbery of an Armored Car EmployeeRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal jury convicted Steven Vondell Williams, age 47, of Washington, D.C., today on conspiracy, robbery and gun charges related to the robbery of an armored car employee.
The guilty verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Chief Cathy L. Lanier of the Metropolitan Police Department.
According to evidence presented at Williams’ six day trial, on May 3, 2011, Williams and his co-conspirator, Alton May, both armed with handguns, robbed an armored car employee at a convenience store in Glenarden, Maryland. The employee was at the convenience store to refill the ATM machine located in the store. Williams and May robbed the employee at gun point, taking a money bag and the employee’s handgun. Williams and May then fled on foot to an apartment complex next to the store where they got into May’s car and proceeded to his residence. On the way, they took the money out of the bag and threw the bag in a dumpster. Once they arrived at May’s residence they located and destroyed a GPS tracking device which was in the money. Williams and May threw the cash, three handguns and two baseball caps used in the robbery onto the roof of the building, then jumped out of the window. The GPS device allowed law enforcement to track the money from the convenience store to the dumpster and to May’s residence, where they recovered the cash, guns and hats from the roof. One of the guns recovered was the one stolen from the armored car employee. Officers recovered pieces of the broken GPS tracker inside and just outside the window of May’s apartment. Williams and May were subsequently identified through DNA recovered from the two baseball caps.
Williams faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the robbery conspiracy and for the robbery; a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, and up to life in prison for brandishing a firearm during the commission of the armed robbery; and 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of the firearm. U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus has scheduled Williams’ sentencing for September 4, 2014 at 11:00 a.m.
Alton May, age 49, of Washington, D.C., initially fled to New York, but was arrested in Montgomery County on November 7, 2011, when he fled from officers who were attempting to perform a traffic stop on the car May was driving. He pleaded guilty to his role in the robbery and was sentenced on October 17, 2013, to 25 years in prison.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI Washington and Baltimore Field Offices, ATF, Prince George’s County Police Department and Metropolitan Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Deborah A. Johnson and Leah J. Bressack, who are prosecuting the case.
Vienna Man with Heroin and Firearms Enters Federal Guilty PleaRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Vienna man who had heroin and two handguns in his residence pleaded guilty today to a federal firearms charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Robert Lamar Bates Porter, 26, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Porter entered his guilty plea before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., in Charleston.
On November 10, 2013, police executed a search warrant at Porter’s 29th Street residence in Vienna and seized approximately 100 grams of heroin and two handguns. Porter told police that the drugs and weapons were his and that he intended to distribute the heroin.
Porter faces at least 5 years and up to life imprisonment when he is sentenced on September 2, 2014.
The Parkersburg Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.
Vero Beach Resident Pleads Guilty in Armed Robbery of Vero Beach GameStop StoreRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Hugo J. Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, and Deryl Loar, Sheriff, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, announce the guilty plea of Glenn Thomas Carvajal, 34, of Vero Beach. Carvajal pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez, in Ft. Pierce. Sentencing for Carvajal is scheduled for July 23, 2014 before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks in West Palm Beach.
Carvajal pled guilty to interfering with commerce by threats or violence (robbery), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a), and possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A). The defendant faces a possible statutory maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. For the charge of possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, the defendant faces a consecutive seven year term up to life in prison.
A stipulated factual basis filed in Court indicates that Carvajal, a former GameStop manager, robbed a GameStop store on October 10, 2013, located in Vero Beach. Carvajal approached a Game Stop employee, handed the employee a hand written note, which read “I have a gun, please empty the register as soon as possible,” while showing what appeared to be the grip of a black semi-automatic firearm. Before exiting the store, Carvajal warned the employee that he had someone monitoring the phones that knew who he was, where he lived, and would kill or hurt him or one of his family members. After images from the store surveillance video were released to the media, several witnesses came forward and identified Carvajal.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ATF and the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.
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.
U.S. Marshals, INTERPOL Nab Fugitive from Hungary in FloridaRead the Press Release
USDOJ: INTERPOL Washington: Updates
Department of Justice
INTERPOL Washington FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, May 21, 2014U.S. Marshals, INTERPOL Nab Fugitive from Hungary in Florida
WASHINGTON - An intensive investigation spearheaded by the U.S. Marshals Service International Investigations Branch and the Fugitive Division of INTERPOL Washington, U.S. National Central Bureau, resulted in the arrest of Maria Luca Zavoczki, one of Hungary's most sought after criminals, in Miami Tuesday afternoon.
In February 2014, Hungary issued an INTERPOL Red Notice indicating that Zavoczki had fled her native Hungary to avoid criminal prosecution related to narcotics distribution. Additionally, authorities there wanted Zavoczki for her role and participation in a European criminal enterprise that specialized in the manufacturing of bogus credit cards and committing bank fraud in Hungary, Austria, and Italy.
A former Hungarian competitive bodybuilder, Zavoczki travelled frequently to the United States for internationally-sanctioned bodybuilding competitions in Florida and California. Between 2003 and 2012, Zavoczki formulated and set in motion an elaborate scheme to change her identity and citizenship to avoid prosecution in Hungary and remain in the United States illegally.
At the request of Hungarian law enforcement, investigators from the Marshals Service and INTERPOL moved to locate Zavoczki as she attempted to evade arrest by moving through California, Colorado, Maryland, Florida and Mexico. She assumed multiple identities and aliases along the way.
The fugitive investigation gained significant momentum when a criminal investigator from the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service assigned to INTERPOL Washington determined that Zavoczki had more than likely obtained a U.S. passport by fraudulent means, while using a stolen identity. Zavoczki allegedly used the passport for international travel and as an official identity document.
Investigators sent information confirming Zavoczki's location to the Marshals Service office in the Southern District of Florida. Tuesday, members of the Marshals Service South Florida Warrant Squad, Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations, and the Boynton Beach, Florida Police Department took Zavoczki into custody without incident. She is being detained pending removal from the United States on immigration violations, and document and identity fraud. Zavoczki faces a 10-year prison term in Hungary.
“The capture of fugitive Maria Zavoczki, one of Hungary's most wanted, is an excellent example of what can be accomplished when law enforcement officials work together,” said Amos Rojas Jr., U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida.
“Criminals who steal identities and use false passports are a genuine threat to national security,” said Shawn A. Bray, Director of INTERPOL Washington. “Thanks to the outstanding cooperation of multiple law enforcement agencies, Maria Zavoczki poses a threat no more.”
The efforts of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs contributed to Zavoczki's arrest.
U.S. Files Complaint Against Philadelphia Hospice Provider and Its Owners and Operators Alleging False Claims on MedicareRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – The United States filed a complaint in U.S. District Court today in a whistleblower suit against a now-defunct, for-profit Philadelphia provider of hospice services, Home Care Hospice, Inc. (HCH), and its owners and operators, announced First Assistant United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen. In its complaint, the government alleges that HCH, its Executive Director and owner Alex Pugman, its Development Executive Svetlana Ganetsky, and its de facto owner Matthew Kolodesh violated the False Claims Act when they falsely claimed and received millions of taxpayer dollars intended for dying Medicare recipients in need of hospice care. The government further alleges that Pugman, Ganetsky, Kolodesh, and HCH Chief Executive Officer Malvina Yakobashvili thereby unjustly enriched themselves at the expense of the United States. Pugman and Ganetsky, who have pleaded guilty to related criminal charges, are husband and wife, as are Kolodesh and Yakobashvili. In October 2013, a federal jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found Kolodesh guilty of related criminal charges. See http://www.justice.gov/usao/pae/News/2013/October/kolodesh_release.htm
The Medicare hospice benefit is available for a patient who elects palliative treatment (medical care focused on providing relief from pain, stress, and symptoms of terminal illness) and has a life expectancy of only six or fewer months, if the patient’s disease runs its normal course. A Medicare patient receiving hospice services no longer receives services designed to cure the patient’s terminal illness. Medicare reimburses for different levels of hospice care, including continuous home care (also called crisis care), which is available only for a patient who is experiencing acute medical symptoms resulting in a brief period of crisis and who requires the immediate, short-term provision of skilled-nursing services in order to remain at home. The reimbursement rate for crisis care services is the highest daily rate a hospice can bill Medicare, and hospices are paid hundreds of dollars more on a daily basis for each patient they certify as having received crisis care services rather than routine home hospice services.The government’s complaint alleges that HCH, Pugman, Ganetsky, and Kolodesh knowingly submitted false claims and records (including fabricated records) to Medicare for purported hospice care for patients who were not terminally ill and thus not eligible for the Medicare hospice benefit. The government further alleges that these defendants knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims and records (including fabricated records) to Medicare for crisis care services that were not necessary or not actually provided. The government contends that, as a result of the conduct alleged in the complaint, these defendants violated the False Claims Act and cost the Medicare Program millions of dollars.
Under qui tam (whistleblower) provisions of the False Claims Act, certain private citizens may bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and may share in any recovery. If the United States intervenes in an action and proves that a defendant has knowingly submitted false claims, it is entitled to recover three times the damage that resulted and a penalty of $5,500 to $11,000 per claim. This suit was originally filed on behalf of the United States by Maureen Fox and Cathy Gonzales, former HCH employees who discovered the alleged fraud. After they internally reported the alleged fraud, HCH fired Ms. Fox, and Ms. Gonzales quit her position. The qui tam action remained in civil suspense for seven years while the United States criminally investigated and prosecuted the perpetrators. In 2012, while the case was still in suspense, and without filing its own complaint at that time, the United States intervened in Ms. Fox’s and Ms. Gonzales’ False Claims Act claims against HCH, Pugman, Ganetsky, and Kolodesh. In a related action in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, filed in 2008, the United States obtained injunctive relief restraining financial accounts of HCH, Pugman, Ganetsky, Kolodesh, and Yakobashvili that the United States contends resulted from the alleged fraud.
The case is being investigated by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Organized Crime Section of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorneys Gerald B. Sullivan and Eric D. Gill. The civil claims asserted against HCH, Pugman, Ganetsky, Kolodesh, and Yakobashvili are allegations only, and there has been no determination of civil liability.
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, 215-861-8525U.S. Attorney Goodwin Announces Record-breaking Health Care Fraud SettlementRead the Press Release
Massachusetts Lab to Pay More than $4.675 Million
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin today announced a $4.675 million settlement with Massachusetts-based Calloway Laboratories, Inc. (Calloway Labs) related to false billings submitted to West Virginia Medicaid and nationwide to Medicare. Calloway Labs, headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts, provides clinical laboratory services, including urine drug testing, for Medicare and West Virginia Medicaid. From March of 2009 through April of 2013, Calloway Labs routinely billed Medicare and West Virginia Medicaid using a code designated for pathology services in addition to the code for urine drug testing.
The investigation, conducted by the West Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (WV MFCU) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), established that treating health care providers did not deem pathology services necessary and did not knowingly order such services. The investigation further established that Calloway Labs did not provide pathology services as billed. Rather, Calloway Labs performed a type of medical review with every urine drug screen. Medical review is not covered by Medicare or West Virginia Medicaid. Medicare and West Virginia Medicaid paid claims for the medical review because Calloway submitted them under the code for covered pathology services.
The settlement represents the largest-ever recovery in a health care fraud case by a United States Attorney’s Office in West Virginia.
“Drug treatment programs are a vital component of our ongoing battle against prescription drug abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Goodwin. “Treating providers rely largely on urine drug testing to determine whether patients are using illegal substances, and if so what substances, and whether patients are properly taking prescription medications as opposed to selling them on the street. The cost for such testing often falls upon federal health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid. The additional expense of unnecessary review, like that routinely performed by Calloway Labs, increases the burden on an already stressed system.”
“Medicare is the largest payer for clinical laboratory services and, therefore, is vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse,” said Gloria Jarmon, Deputy Inspector General for Audit Services. “In addressing that vulnerability, HHS-OIG uses a multidisciplinary approach, including data-mining, audits, and, as appropriate, enforcement actions, to protect the integrity of HHS programs and recover taxpayer dollars.”
“My office, HHS-OIG, and WV MFCU have worked aggressively and collaboratively with Calloway Labs to bring this matter to a successful resolution,” Goodwin said. “This settlement ensures that the federal tax dollars that fund Medicare and Medicaid are restored in full to the programs and the people they were intended to serve.”
Goodwin also reported that this single settlement is nearly enough to fund the work of his office for an entire year. “The settlement amount represents more than 80 percent of my office’s annual budget allocation. In other words, the recovery in this case nearly pays for the operation of my office for a year.”
In 2010, Calloway Labs and two of its top executives were indicted in Massachusetts on charges involving kickbacks and bribes to managers of group homes for recovering drug addicts. In 2012, Calloway Labs agreed to pay a $20 million penalty to resolve the charges against the corporation. Two of the company’s executives later pleaded guilty.
In the fall of 2012, Calloway Labs was acquired by new owners and new management was installed. The practices giving rise to the false claims in this matter were initiated under the former management. Upon learning of this investigation, Calloway Labs voluntarily suspended the problematic billing practices nationwide.
Goodwin remarked, “We have recovered the losses to the affected federal health care programs, covered the expense of investigation and the cost of future program compliance monitoring, and prompted the elimination of systematic problems leading to the depletion of federal health care dollars. I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome, and I applaud the joint efforts of the agencies that brought us to this resolution.”
Two Sentenced for Meth DistributionRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Co-defendants Anthony Juarez, 31, of Nampa, Idaho, and Jose Juarez, 33, of Rupert, Idaho, were sentenced this week in United States District Court for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Anthony Juarez to 76 months, followed by three years of supervised release and a $300 fine. Jose Juarez was sentenced to 72 months, followed by three years of supervised release and a $300 fine. The defendants pleaded guilty to the charges on March 10, 2014.
According to the plea agreements, on July 24, 2013, Anthony Juarez agreed to meet with an undercover officer in Burley, Idaho, where it was agreed methamphetamine would be sold to the undercover officer. Later that day, Jose Juarez drove Anthony Juarez and a codefendant to the meeting with the undercover officer at a restaurant in Burley, Idaho. At the meeting, the undercover officer was sold six ounces of methamphetamine.
The case was 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, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Canyon County Narcotics Unit, Meridian Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho State Police, and the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force.
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.
Two Men Arraigned on Federal Charge for Aiming Laser Pointer at AircraftRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Michael James Saavedra, 22, of Albuquerque, N.M., and Dylan James Demone, 23, of Rio Rancho, N.M., were arraigned today on an indictment charging them with unlawfully aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft. Both men entered not guilty pleas and were released on conditions of release pending trial.
The indictment, which was filed on May 7, 2014, alleges that on Aug. 21, 2013, Saavedra and Demone unlawfully and knowingly aimed the beam of a laser pointer at an Albuquerque Police Department helicopter that was in flight.
If convicted, Saavedra and Demone each face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison. The charge in the indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed to be innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Barth.
This case was brought pursuant to a Laser Threat Awareness Pilot Program established by the FBI in collaboration with the Air Line Pilots Association International and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to raise awareness of aircraft laser illumination threats. The pilot program was initiated on Feb. 11, 2014, in a dozen U.S. cities, including Albuquerque, that have reported numerous laser strikes, in order to educate the public about the risks posed to aviation safety when laser devises with beams of concentrated energy are pointed at aircraft. It also seeks to raise awareness about the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which was signed into law on Feb. 12, 2012, and established a new criminal law that prohibits the aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft that is in flight.
Two Kanawha County Men Plead Guilty to Federal Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that David Burgess, 27, and his brother, Jesse Burgess, 26, both of Hernshaw, West Virginia, pled guilty to federal gun charges. Both men were charged in connection with the theft of firearms from two local businesses.
David Burgess pled guilty to illegally possessing a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol on September 17, 2012, the day he stole the firearm from Pawn for Cash, a federally licensed firearms dealer in Charleston. David Burgess had previously been convicted of the felony offense of credit card forgery in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, and his rights to possess a firearm had not been restored. Jesse Burgess pled guilty to aiding and abetting his brother in stealing the pistol from Pawn for Cash. Jesse Burgess was also prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had previously been convicted of breaking and entering in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, and his rights to possess a firearm had not been restored.
Both men face up to 10 years’ imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine when they are sentenced on September 4, 2014. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., is presiding over the cases.
The investigation was conducted by the Charleston Police Department and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is handling the prosecution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.
Twenty Million Dollar Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Ring IndictedRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - Tracy Mitchell, of Phenix City, Alabama; Dameisha Mitchell, of Phenix City, Alabama; Latasha Mitchell, of Phenix City, Alabama; Keisha Lanier, of Seale, Alabama; Sharondra Johnson, of Phenix City, Alabama; Cynthia Johnson, of Phenix City, Alabama; Mequetta Snell-Quick, of Phenix City, Alabama; Talarious Paige, of Phenix City, Alabama; and Patrice Taylor, of Midland, Georgia were indicted for their roles in a $20 million dollar Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (“SIRF”) conspiracy, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama following the unsealing of the superseding indictment.
According to the Superseding Indictment, between January 2011 and December 2013, the Defendants ran a large-scale identity theft ring in which they filed over 7,000 false tax returns that claimed in excess of $20 million in fraudulent claims. The Defendants obtained stolen identities from various sources to be used in filing false returns. Tracy Mitchell worked at the hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia. As a hospital employee, Mitchell had access to the identification data of military personnel, including soldiers who were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Tracy Mitchell and her daughter, Latasha Mitchell, also obtained stolen identities from an Alabama state agency. Keisha Lanier obtained stolen identities from the Alabama Department of Corrections. Talarious Paige and Patrice Taylor worked in a call center for a Columbus, Georgia company and stole identities. Paige, in turn, sold those identities and they were used by Tracy Mitchell, Keisha Lanier, and others to file false tax returns.
In order to file tax returns, according to the Superseding Indictment, the Defendants obtained several Electronic Filing Numbers (“EFIN”) in the names of sham tax businesses. On behalf of those sham tax businesses, the Defendants applied for bank products from various financial institutions, which mailed blank check stock to the Defendants’ homes. Tracy Mitchell, Latasha Mitchell, Keisha Lanier, Mequetta Snell-Quick, and others used the sham tax businesses and stolen identities to file false tax returns.
Furthermore, according to the Superseding Indictment, the Defendants directed anticipated tax refunds to prepaid debit cards, to U.S. Treasury Checks, and to financial institutions which in turn issued the refunds via checks or prepaid debit cards. As to the refunds sent through the financial institutions, the Defendants simply printed out the refund checks from the check stock sent to them. Regarding the U.S. Treasury Checks, the Defendants directed those checks to be mailed to several addresses in Alabama and then obtained them from the mail. To coordinate the cashing of the refund checks, the Defendants sent various text messages between themselves. The Defendants cashed the fraudulent checks at several businesses located in Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky. In addition to the conspiracy charge, the defendants are also charged with mail and wire fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
“To steal the identity of a soldier serving his/her country is the lowest form of thievery,” stated U.S. Attorney Beck. “If a soldier serving his country is not safe from identity theft, then none of us are safe from this crime. We will continue our efforts to stamp out this crime. Identity theft affects too many people in our communities and we must use all available resources under the law to destroy it. I want to commend the IRS Criminal Investigations Unit and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command for their dedication to destroying this criminal organization.”
Daniel Andrews, the director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Computer Crime Investigative Unit stated, “Today's indictments are not only a strong testament to our unwavering commitment to aggressively pursue cases of identity theft and protect the men and women serving this nation, but also our equal commitment to work shoulder-to-shoulder with other law enforcement agencies and the DOJ in helping to bring those to justice who commit cyber-crime and identity theft while stealing from the American taxpayer.”
“Identifying, investigating and vigorously prosecuting those individuals involved in tax related identity theft schemes, remains a top priority for IRS Criminal Investigation,” stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge with IRS Criminal Investigation. “These indictments and arrests are just a sample of what is to come as we join forces with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney’s office to put an end to identity theft.”
“The problem with identity theft is that the victims don’t know they have been subjected to the crime until well after the fact,” said U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael Moore. “The prosecution of this case resulted from the great work of the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery and the Tax Division. I hope it sends a message to both our soldiers and to those who try to take advantage of them – while you are protecting us from bad guys abroad, we will be protecting you from the bad guys at home.”
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge, a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison for each wire and mail fraud count, a maximum potential sentence of 15 years in prison for each access device fraud count, and a mandatory two-year sentence for each aggravated identity theft count. The defendants are also subject to fines, forfeiture, and mandatory restitution if convicted.
The case was investigated by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Computer Crimes Investigative Unit of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. Trial Attorney Michael Boteler of the Department's Tax Division and Assistant United States Attorney Todd Brown of Alabama are prosecuting the case. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia provided assistance in this matter.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Trenton, N.J., Men Charged in Series of Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - Two Trenton, N.J. men have been charged with a series of armed robberies committed in Burlington and Mercer counties, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.
Samuel Matias Cruz, 33, of Trenton, was arrested today by special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and Arturo Delacruz, 35, of Trenton, was arrested May 20, 2014. Both are charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. Cruz made his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson today. Delacruz appeared before Judge Dickson yesterday. Both defendants were remanded without bail.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Between December 2012 and March 2013, Delacruz and Cruz allegedly planned and executed a number of violent armed robberies of various commercial establishments in the Trenton, N.J., area, including gas stations, restaurants, travel agencies and money-remitting businesses. On Dec.10, 2012, Delacruz and Cruz entered the Sabor Latino Bar in Trenton. While brandishing handguns, they physically restrained five people by tying their hands with plastic zip ties. They allegedly stole approximately $12,000 from the bar’s cash register, and approximately $2,000 in cash and jewelry from the bar’s patrons. Delacruz and Cruz fled the location in a getaway vehicle driven by another conspirator.
On Dec. 29, 2012, Delacruz allegedly planned the robbery of the Woodrow Wilson Service Plaza Sunoco Gas Station on the N.J. Turnpike, located in Hamilton Township, N.J. Delacruz allegedly provided weapons and clothing to Cruz and an unnamed conspirator, which were utilized in the robbery. A Sunoco station employee was restrained with plastic zip ties while Cruz and the conspirator stole approximately $26,000 from the station’s cash drawers and register.
The Hobbs Act conspiracy charges with which the defendants are charged carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, as well as a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss arising out of the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stephanie R. Shoemaker; the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr.; the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi with the investigation leading to the arrests. He also thanked officers from the N.J. State Police, under the direction of superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes; the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr., and the Westampton Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Ricky W. Smith for their roles in the case.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis C. Carletta of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark.
14-185Defense counsel:
Delacruz: E. Alexander Jardines Esq., Union City, N.J.
Cruz: Adalgiza A. Nunez Esq., NewarkCruz, Samuel Matias Complaint
Delacruz, Arturo ComplaintStrasburg Man Faces Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
Ricky Merritt, 46, of Strasburg, Ohio, was charged with receiving, distributing and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment charges that from on or about August 19, 2013, through on or about February 3, 2014, Merritt knowingly received and distributed, by computer, numerous computer files, which contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. On April 17, 2014, images of child pornography were also found on his HP Compaq desktop computer.
If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the Court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carol M. Skutnik. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Canton Office.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
South Florida Man Sentenced to Jail for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Paul F. Wrubleski, a resident of Weston, Florida, was sentenced to serve 55 months in prison on tax fraud charges, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Wrubleski was convicted earlier this year of one count of corruptly impeding the due administration of the internal revenue laws and four counts of filing false claims for tax refunds following a jury trial in in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida.
According to court documents and the evidence presented at trial, Wrubleski had a decade-long pattern of filing false documents with the IRS. Wrubleski impeded the IRS by filing false IRS forms that claimed he was exempt from income tax withholding and by filing false tax returns, including four tax returns that requested over $1.5 million in federal refunds. Wrubleski also sent obstructive letters, tax returns and other false documents to the IRS between 1999 and 2010. In addition, the indictment alleged and the evidence proved that Wrubleski filed for bankruptcy in 2006 in order to impede IRS collection actions.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, Wrubleski was ordered to pay $79,963 in restitution and to serve three years of supervise release following his release from jail.
The case was investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorney Charles M. Edgar Jr. of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha R. Mitrani for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at the division website.
South Florida Man Sentenced to Jail for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Paul F. Wrubleski, a resident of Weston, Florida, was sentenced to serve 55 months in prison on tax fraud charges, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Wrubleski was convicted earlier this year of one count of corruptly impeding the due administration of the internal revenue laws and four counts of filing false claims for tax refunds following a jury trial in in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida.
According to court documents and the evidence presented at trial, Wrubleski had a decade-long pattern of filing false documents with the IRS. Wrubleski impeded the IRS by filing false IRS forms that claimed he was exempt from income tax withholding and by filing false tax returns, including four tax returns that requested over $1.5 million in federal refunds. Wrubleski also sent obstructive letters, tax returns and other false documents to the IRS between 1999 and 2010. In addition, the indictment alleged and the evidence proved that Wrubleski filed for bankruptcy in 2006 in order to impede IRS collection actions.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, Wrubleski was ordered to pay $79,963 in restitution and to serve three years of supervise release following his release from jail.
The case was investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorney Charles M. Edgar Jr. of the Justice Department's Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha R. Mitrani for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at the division website.
Six Doctors Also Face Sentences in CaseRead the Press Release
PAIN CLINIC OWNER SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS IN PRISON AND ORDERED TO FORFEIT $6.3 MILLION IN PROFITS
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
CINCINNATI – The owner of three southern Ohio pain clinics, Tracy Bias, 49, of West Portsmouth, Ohio, was sentenced to spend 168 months in prison, serve another ten years under court supervision, and ordered to forfeit $6,348,000, an amount representing the proceeds of the pain clinics he operated for two years in Portsmouth, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio. Six doctors involved with the clinic have either been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine; James V. Allen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit Field Division; Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Lamont Pugh, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; Kyle W. Parker, Executive Director of the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy; and Jonathan Blanton, Interim Director, State Medical Board of Ohio announced the sentences imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.
Between January 2009 and June 2011, Bias owned and operated Southern Ohio Complete Pain Management and Portsmouth Medical Solutions in Portsmouth, Ohio and Trinity Medical Care in Columbus, Ohio.“Bias was a huge part of a greater pill tsunami into the Southern Ohio area,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy D. Oakley told the court prior to sentencing. The “clinics were just a portion of the pill operations being run by felons and failed doctors in Southern Ohio.”
Bias was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 19, 2012 and pleaded guilty on June 7, 2013 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and dispense a controlled substance.
Customers traveled hundreds of miles to the clinics in central and southern Ohio where, for cash payment of approximately $200 per office visit and with little or no physical examination, clinic customers would receive excessive amounts of “cocktails” of controlled substances including diazepam, hydrocodone, oxycodone and alprazalam.
“The drug creates multiple classes of victims; being those who are addicted, those who suffered from the theft and violence associated with the obtaining of that drug and the ones left to mourn for the dead,” Oakley told the court.
As a result of the investigation, six doctors pleaded guilty to conspiracy for indiscriminately providing the highly addictive medication without conducting proper examinations to determine need or adequate treatment. One of the doctors was sentenced today. John Dahlsten, 57, Cincinnati, was sentenced to four months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Joon H. Chong, 71, Coldwater, Michigan, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, 2014. Mark R. Fantauzzi, 51, Circleville, Ohio, James E. Lassiter, 59, Findlay, Ohio and Stephen L. Pierce, 65, Cincinnati, are scheduled for sentencing on June 24, 2014. Marcellus Jajuan Gilreath, 51, Cleveland, Ohio, is scheduled for sentencing on June 27, 2014.
An attorney representing the clinics, Steve Hillman, pleaded guilty on March 10, 2014 to filing false income tax returns. He faces up to one year in prison and payment of back taxes. No sentencing date is scheduled for him.
Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by agents and officers of the agencies named above, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Oakley and Emily Glatfelter, who prosecuted the case.
Siblings Get Significant Sentences in Hostage Taking CaseRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas ‐ Rafael Cruz, 25, and Roberto Cruz, 27, both of Mission, have been ordered to federal prison to serve lengthy sentences as a result of their convictions for conspiracy to commit hostage taking, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Both defendants, who are brothers, pleaded guilty Feb. 4, 2014.
Late this afternoon, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez sentenced Rafael Cruz to a sentence of 480 months imprisonment. The sentence was enhanced as the court took into consideration the fact he had sexually assaulted a female undocumented alien on a number of occasions. Judge Alvarez then sentenced Roberto Cruz to a sentence of 360 months for his role in the hostage taking conspiracy. After their sentences, they will each have to serve a five-year-term of supervised release. Also sentenced today was the sister of the Cruz brothers, Jisel Emery Cruz, 30, of Penitas, who was ordered to serve 46 months for harboring aliens.
On Sept. 9, 2013, law enforcement received a 911 call from an illegal alien claiming he and a group of other undocumented aliens were being held against their will at a stash house in Edinburg. Upon their rescue, these individuals told law enforcement they were kidnapped at gunpoint from a stash house by the Cruz brothers and a third individual who is a fugitive and taken to the stash house in Edinburg. There, they were made to call their families and request money to be paid for their release. They were also threatened with death if the money was not paid.
The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Border Patrol, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office and Edinburg Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Kimberly Ann Leo and Kristen Rees prosecuted the case.Sheffield Lake Woman Faces Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
Megan A. Boyer, 22, of Sheffield Lake, Ohio, was charged with producing and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment charges that from in or about February 27, 2013, through on or about February 13, 2014, Boyer did use, persuade, induce, entice and coerce a two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct, for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct and such visual depiction was produced or transmitted using materials that had been mailed, shipped, and transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer.
Boyer is further charged with possessing a Verizon HTC cell phone, a removable secure digital card (SD card), and several Polaroid photographs that contained child pornography on February 13, 2014, according to the indictment.
If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the Court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carol M. Skutnik. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Elyria Office.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Second of Four Spice Conspirators SentencedRead the Press Release
BOISE – William B. Mabry, 46, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge to 24 months in prison for conspiring to commit money laundering, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Judge Lodge also ordered Mabry to pay $80,000 in restitution.
The Indictment alleged that Mabry and three co-conspirators, Mark Ciccarello, Troy Palmer, and Robert Eoff, conspired to purchase and import from China chemicals known as AM2201, UR-144, and XLR11, which they used to treat innocuous plant matter to make spice—a synthetic cannabinoid similar to substances—including JWH018—listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The Indictment alleged that they conspired to launder money illegally obtained through spice manufacturing and distribution.
According to court documents, Mabry admitted that he knowingly entered into a conspiracy with co-conspirators to conduct financial transactions in connection with a “spice” manufacturing and distribution business beginning in March 2011. Mabry also admitted to knowingly participating and assisting in the financial activity of the business by engaging in bank and other financial transactions, through both domestic and foreign financial institutions. The transactions consisted of the proceeds of prior illegal spice sales and other specified unlawful activity and, in many cases, the transactions conducted through financial institutions separately consisted of criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000; most of the transactions occurred in Idaho, Washington and California.
The three remaining co-conspirators are scheduled to be sentenced in June, August, and September.
The case is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which included the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Boise Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Nampa Police Department. Other federal agencies participating in the OCEDTF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 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.
Sarasota Man Indicted for Investment FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging Gaeton Della Penna (61, Sarasota) with eight counts of wire fraud and ten counts of mail fraud in connection with an investment fraud scheme. If convicted, Penna faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each count. The indictment also notifies Penna that the United States intends to seek a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of more than $3 million and intends to forfeit any assets that are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense, including funds in bank accounts in the name of Penna’s business entities and his Sarasota residence.
Penna self-surrendered to authorities today. His initial appearance is scheduled for 2 p.m. today before United States Magistrate Judge Thomas B. McCoun.
According to the indictment, Penna enticed investors to invest in Penna’s “investment funds” by guaranteeing them at least 5% yearly interest on their investment, with the principal to be returned at the end of an 18-month period, minus a nominal management/organizational fee paid to Penna, plus any trading profits. These representations were false. Instead of making profitable trades and protecting investors’ principal, Penna used less than half of the investors’ money for trading, lost money in his trades, and misappropriated the rest of the investors’ money by using it to repay other investors’ principal. He also used the monies for personal expenditures, including mortgage payments on his waterfront residence. Penna directed investors to write checks and wire their investment proceeds to him in the name of these funds and to Gaeton Capital Advisors. Penna also directed that false statements and “quarterly” interest checks be sent to the investors via the U.S. Mail to perpetuate the fraud.
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 United States Secret Service and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen.
Salem Man Charged with Passing Counterfeit $100 BillsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment charging Chad M. Collins, age 28, of Salem, Ohio, with counterfeiting, forging and passing U.S. obligations and securities, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment charges that beginning on or about January 26, 2014, Collins passed several counterfeit securities in the Columbiana and Mahoning County areas. Specifically, he passed at least $1,800 in counterfeit $100 bills, according to the indictment.
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 defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the United States Secret Service, the Perry Township Police Department in Salem, Ohio and the Boardman Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Teresa L. Dirksen.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon on Violence in Chicago Before the City Club of ChicagoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO ― Today is important to me. I am honored to be here, and I am going to take this opportunity to talk candidly with you about a topic that is deeply important to me.
My office focusses on some significant areas: terrorism, public corruption, financial crimes, cybercrime. But today I am going to focus on one topic: violence in the city of Chicago.
[Slide presentation.]
I wanted to start with those slides because I think we need to starkly define the problem ― to look at it, to understand what is happening, and where, and why.
This is a gang problem, and a gang faction problem.
This is a disparate impact on certain neighborhoods problem.
It’s a fairness problem. A right-and-wrong problem.
This is an economic problem. It’s a reputational problem.
This is a community problem.
A church problem. A parenting problem.
This is a local, state and federal government problem.
This is a law enforcement problem.
And most of all, it a social justice problem.
It is my problem. It is your problem. It is our problem.
In this room we have business leaders, law leaders, and civic leaders. We have thoughtful people, and powerful people. I appreciate you being here today. I want us to talk about this problem: today, tomorrow, every day, every week, until we come to a better place than where we are now.
Changing what you just saw is going to take sustained investment, involvement and commitment from the government and from you -- the business, legal and civic communities. It will take all of us, doing everything we can, and with a long view; this is a marathon not a sprint. We’re talking about a generational change. But we can do it. And we must do it. So we will.
Let me tell you now about what we’re doing at the United States Attorney’s Office.
Our office here has about 150 Assistant U.S. Attorneys. Of those, 20 work in our Civil Division, and the rest are criminal litigators — federal prosecutors. Among our 130 federal prosecutors, for years, we have had the largest group work on issues related to violent crime. Historically, those prosecutors have worked under the auspices of our Narcotics & Gangs section. And over the past couple of decades, we’ve had major, successful prosecutions out of that section ― racketeering cases, narcotics cases, gun cases, criminal conspiracy cases ― against senior leadership within each of those major gangs: the Gangster Disciples, the Latin Kings, the Black P Stones, and the Black Disciples, and others.
As successful as those cases were in dismantling gang leadership, they of course did not represent an end to the violence. At their time, in their place, they helped. But the violence did not stop.
And unfortunately, over the past decade, the gang problem has grown more complex, rather than less. The factioning that I described makes these issues more challenging for law enforcement to grab hold of and tackle. With many gangs, we no longer have the old-school, clearly delineated gang leadership, with corporate hierarchical structure, where we can readily identify the CEO and top brass of the gang, investigate, indict and lock them up — as we did with Larry Hoover, Jeff Fort, Augustin Zambrano and others.
Instead, more and more often, many gangs are factioned, with little central leadership, and the violence is often between factions within the gangs and no longer about protecting the gang enterprise ― narcotics or otherwise ― but instead, more and more, these shootings and killings are for base, indiscriminate and petty reasons ― revenge, disrespect, perceived disrespect sometimes through social media ― kids pulling the trigger over nothing.
And so as our problems change, so must we.
After I started in October, I put my head down and did my due diligence. I spoke with the lawyers in my office, with judges, with defense lawyers, with law enforcement; I read everything I could read on violence in Chicago; I went to court to observe what we were doing, and I ingrained myself in our major investigations and programmatic efforts.
Through that process, I came to a conclusion that was shared by my senior leadership in the office. We decided that while we are very proud of what we have accomplished in the past, now was and is the right time for us to write the words Violent Crime on a piece of paper, draw a circle around them, assign a cadre of talented federal prosecutors, and say to them: your job, your sole mission, is to help the city and the district tamp down on violent crime. And you are empowered to work together, to think strategically, and to use whatever tools you think best suited to accomplish that mission ― the federal narcotics statutes, the gun statutes, racketeering, fraud, money laundering, the federal robbery and extortion statutes, and prevention and reentry tools ― ways of trying on the front end to prevent these kids from shooting at each other.
So that is exactly what we did. In March, I announced internally a restructuring of our Criminal Division and among the changes that went into effect on March 31 was the creation of a new Violent Crimes section. That section has one mission: to help the city and district tamp down on violent crime.
I believe that the standing up of our Violent Crimes section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office comes at an opportune time. The nature, extent and quality of cooperation and collaboration across local, state and federal law enforcement is at an all-time high.
As someone who served as a prosecutor here in the late 1990s and early 20-oughts, and who has served in another city and district, I believe we have a uniquely strong and committed law enforcement community here in Chicago.
Let me give you a few concrete examples:
We have monthly collaborative law enforcement meetings ― attended by the Chicago Police Department, the FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS, HSI and others ― to talk about investigations and prosecutions of the most violent criminals in Chicago. I often attend these meetings myself, and there are senior prosecutors from my office and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office there. We gather in a large room, sit around a table, and talk about specific individuals and investigations. Information flows freely between the city, the state and the feds. We leave that room and work collaboratively to make cases on those violent offenders, and then we get back in that room every month to talk about what more we can do. And my office works with Anita Alvarez’s office to make sure we bring the best cases, against the worst offenders, in the right forums.
Another example: Separate and apart from those meetings, for over two years now, we have had in this district a joint Strike Force, called the OCDEFT Strike Force, comprised of topnotch agents and officers from DEA, CPD, FBI, ATF, HSI, USMS, and various Sheriffs’ offices. And officers and agents assigned to this OCDEFT Strike Force all work together, full time, in integrated units, under one roof, with the focused mission of attacking major drug trafficking organizations and gangs at the “choke point” between cartels and street drug distribution, which usually means gangs. My office has a prosecutor embedded in the Strike Force, and CCSAO has a prosecutor embedded in the Strike Force, and many other state and federal prosecutors work cases stemming from the Strike Force. That is remarkable cross pollination and collaboration by law enforcement. And that is what it’s going to take to help move the needle on violence in this city.
A third example: Project Safe Neighborhoods. About a decade ago, law enforcement in Chicago recognized that a disproportionate number of shootings and homicides were concentrating in these six CPD districts I showed in the slide presentation. So we initiated a program, called Project Safe Neighborhoods or “PSN” and created a joint federal, state and local PSN Task Force (different than the OCDEFT Strike Force), the purpose of which is use federal gun statutes to investigate the most violent criminals in those six afflicted districts.
That task force is more than a decade old and going strong. There are committed officers from CPD and ATF, who work with my office and the CCSAO, to investigate and bring those cases. The task force meets monthly. And separate from those meetings every month or so, a senior prosecutor from my office gets together with a senior prosecutor from the CCSAO to go through pending gun cases and make strategic decisions about which office should charge which defendants with gun crimes.
Those are three concrete examples of my overarching point: this truly is a progressed, progressive and committed law enforcement community we have in the city of Chicago. I believe that the new Violent Crimes section in my office will help us continue and build upon those important programs.
Apropos of that, I want to take a few minutes to tell you about another aspect of who we are and what we do to fight violent crime. This area is something that, in my view, not enough people realize or understand that we do at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. When people think of us, they think we carry a stick, we are prosecutors/enforcers. But we also offer a carrot. We try to help and incentivize people not to commit violent crimes.
Thousands of offenders, people convicted of committing acts of violence, are released from state and federal prisons in Illinois every year. When we started Project Safe Neighborhoods over a decade ago, we had data showing that a large number of those returning offenders were coming home to ― reentering ― the same afflicted neighborhoods you just saw in those six Chicago districts. And we had statistics showing that a significant percentage of exoffenders reentering those neighborhoods would commit another violent offense within three years of getting out of prison.
The PSN Task Force wanted to find a path to stop that pattern of violence.
And so we designed monthly “Parolee Forums” or “offender notification meetings,” and we have been holding those meetings for over a decade. In fact, our meetings ― parolee forums in Chicago ― have become the model for similar forums now held in major cities across the country.
What do these forums look like? They occur monthly and rotate among the neighborhoods I showed you. Typically, 20-30 recently released parolees moving back into the host neighborhood attend each meeting. The goal of the forums is offer those attendees the chance to make an informed choice.
At the outset, they hear from the local CPD commander, a senior federal prosecutor, a senior Cook County prosecutor, and an ATF agent about what will happen to them if they reoffend. The emphasis is on guns. Often, these are young men coming out of their initial stint in prison and they don’t fully appreciate that because they are now a convicted felon, just by picking up a gun, they would be committing a felony that carries a substantial sanction. We explain that to them, not in a heavy-handed way, but in an honest way. We tell them the truth about the tragic stories we see every day when it comes to felons in possession of firearms.
That’s the heavy part. There’s also a more uplifting part. At the forums, we have social services providers, who are terrific and talk to the attendees about how they can help. For example, City Colleges of Chicago often participates and talks about GED classes and even college course opportunities. Other social services organizations offer help and expertise with things that range from getting a haircut, to how to prepare a resume and find a job. And at some point during the forums, a successful ex-offender addresses the attendees, encouraging them that, while difficult, it is possible to make the right choices and put their lives back on track.
I’ve attended these meetings. They are compelling. They are emotional. And they work.
Early on in the PSN program, we recognized the importance of seeking an impartial, arms-length academic examination. And so we partnered with top academic researchers at the University of Chicago, Andrew Papachristos and Tracy Meares, who are now at Yale but still part of our PSN team here. The analytical work done by Professors Papachristos and Meares has fortified the success of this program. They have found that ex-offenders who participate in the forums are 30 percent less like to commit a new offense than those who don’t. Thirty percent: that is moving the needle.
So our reentry and violence prevention efforts are a real success story and one that we are continuing. In fact, right now, we are expanding those efforts into the juvenile offender arena.
It may not surprise you, given what you’ve seen today, to hear me say that research shows when it comes to predicting violent behavior and social problems later in life, an important inflection point is around 13- or 14-years of age. Kids carrying guns or committing acts of violence at that age are much more likely to later repeat those acts of violence and to end up incarcerated.
So last year, the PSN Task Force applied for federal grant money to launch a new initiative, which we have called our “Youth Outreach Forum.” DOJ awarded us that grant, and this month we launched in Chicago. In partnership with the Chicago Police Department, Chicago Public Schools, the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department and other agencies and social service providers, we are taking the success of our parolee forums and applying that model to at-risk youth.
The specific target audience is juvenile probation or parolees who committed gun or violent offenses. And the goal is to provide those kids with long-term intensive mentoring and wraparound services to address their needs and prevent recidivism.
We are initially focused on two CPD districts ― the 7th and 11th, which is Englewood, Garfield Park, and lower Humboldt Park. The forums are designed to educate the kids about law enforcement, to humanize law enforcement, and to give the kids options and incentives to reassimilate into school and connect with community organizations and activities. Alternatives to the gang route. We are working also with a not-for-profit organization, Youth Guidance, who will selectively provide intensive mentoring through their program, Becoming a Man (BAM).
I am proud that we in Chicago are once again at the cutting edge, leading these efforts related to violence prevention. I believe these initiatives are deeply important to our long-term success in fighting violent crime, and I am committed to continuing them as long as it takes to help those unfairly afflicted neighborhoods.
I hope that gives you some sense as to who we are and what we are doing at the U.S. Attorney’s Office when it comes to violent crime in Chicago. We are and will be vigorous in investigating and prosecuting the most violent criminals in Chicago. But we cannot arrest our way out of the gang problem. From a law-enforcement perspective, that’s why I think it’s so important that we continue our violence prevention and parolee reentry efforts. We have to attack this problem at its roots. I don’t want to prosecute violent offenders if instead we can stop them from taking that act of violence in the first instance.
I am deeply honored to get to work with the state, CPD leadership, and leadership from the federal agencies. I believe we have a passionate and like-minded group, committed to taking a comprehensive approach to tamp down on violence. We are working hard, we are working thoughtfully, and we are working together. And we are all in this for the long haul.
That said, law enforcement is a piece of the puzzle but only a piece. And so now I’m at the point in my remarks when I turn to you, and I make an ask. I ask each of you to think about this problem, and how you can own it. You, your company, your law firm, your community organization, your church, your neighborhood.
[Resume slide presentation.]
These are not war zones. They are not separate and discrete from our city. They are our city. They are our neighborhoods with wonderful, law-abiding, decent Chicagoans; citizens, colleagues, neighbors who, like you and me, deserve to feel safe and to be safe at in the neighborhood they call home.
That’s my problem, and it’s your problem. It belongs to all of us, as any social justice issue does. The challenges before us are daunting but they are finite. We can work together to make change real. We have to. Kids are dying. Let’s get to work.
I appreciate you being here with me today. I’m happy to take any questions.
Raleigh Real Estate Broker Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison for His Role in Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today before Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, MARK HENRY TKAC, 49, of Raleigh, was sentenced to a 42 month term of imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release, on a charge of Conspiracy to Commit Mail, Wire, and Bank Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. TKAC was also ordered to pay $1,612,612.94 in restitution.
Assistant United States Attorney William M. Gilmore stated, “This case reaffirms the commitment of this office to hold accountable those who knowingly used their expertise in the real estate industry for their own fraudulent gain in the midst of the mortgage bubble of the 2000’s. I commend the IRS Criminal Investigation for its perseverance to see these offenders brought to justice, despite the passage of time since the height of the mortgage crisis.”
Daniel D. Burget, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation stated, "Every year, fraudulent schemes victimize individuals and businesses from many walks of life, including struggling low income families lured into loans they cannot afford and legitimate lenders are saddled with over inflated mortgage loans. This investigation shows IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to not allowing those responsible to gain financially from their fraud."
Count One of the Criminal Information charged that between August of 2006 and May of 2008, TKAC was a licensed real estate broker who worked in the Wake County area. TKAC had knowledge of the rules and regulations of the mortgage industry. Nevertheless, TKAC participated with others, including developer David Lewis Johnson, developer Arthur Lee Barnes, mortgage broker Mark Thomas Bowe, and attorney Jeffrey Scott Taggart, in a real estate flipping scheme which defrauded various banks and lenders. Johnson, Barnes, Taggart, and Bowe were previously sentenced to prison for their roles in the scheme.
The mortgage fraud conspiracy in which TKAC became a member involved convincing individuals, referred to as “straw buyers,” to allow their name and credit to be used to secure mortgage loans in return for a kickback from the loan proceeds. The straw buyers lacked the financial means to service the debt on the loans acquired in their names. The straw buyers also did not have a long-term interest in the properties that TKAC and others purchased in their names. TKAC and other coconspirators recruited straw buyers under the guise that they were participating in an investment plan.
TKAC participated in the conspiracy first by acting as a straw buyer, and later recruiting others to serve as straw buyers for Johnson and Barnes. TKAC, Johnson, and Barnes arranged for straw buyers to execute a contract to purchase a home for an inflated price. TKAC, Johnson, and Barnes then directed the straw buyers to attorney Taggart to close the transactions. Taggart prepared false HUD-1 settlement statements for execution by the straw buyers as a part of the real estate closing and loan funding process. Taggart then caused the false HUD-1 settlement statements to be transmitted via mail and wire to banks and mortgage lenders, including FDIC regulated financial institutions, under the pretense that they reflected the economic truth of the underlying transaction.
In fact, however, the HUD-1 settlement statements prepared by Taggart as a part of the scheme routinely contained false statements that were material to the lenders' funding decisions including the existence and degree of the buyer's down payment, as well as kickbacks to the buyers and other conspirators. TKAC and other conspirators generally received several thousand dollars in kickbacks from each fraudulent transaction closed by Taggart.
The various banks and mortgage lenders who issued loans related to the mortgage fraud scheme were deceived by the use of straw buyers, in addition to the foregoing false and fraudulent statements made by TKAC, and other co-conspirators in connection with the loan closings.
Ultimately, borrowers defaulted on many of the transactions brokered by TKAC, resulting in substantial losses to various banks and lenders.
On May 24, 2012, TKAC was named in a one-count Criminal Information charging TKAC with Conspiracy to Commit Mail, Wire, and Bank Fraud. TKAC pleaded guilty to the charge on the same date.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney William M. Gilmore represented the United States.
Philadelphia Man Charged in Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Jermaine Hairston, 38, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment, filed yesterday, with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
According to the indictment, the defendant obtained the identifying information of a practicing physician, and used it to call in prescriptions to pharmacies in Philadelphia, in the names of various Medical Assistance recipients. Hairston would pick up the prescription medication, generating a claim to the patient’s health insurance, and then sell the medication for cash.
If convicted, Hairston faces a maximum possible sentence of 132 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of two years, three years of supervised release, a $3.5 million fine and a $1,400 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigation, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Abrams.
Click here to view the indictment
An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Panama City Man Indicted on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced that a federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Robert Leesean Williams (29) with possession and receipt of child pornography. Counts one and two of the indictment allege that between June 15, 2013, and June 16, 2013, Williams knowingly and intentionally distributed and received images and videos of child pornography. Count three alleges that between June 15, 2013, and September 12, 2013, Williams knowingly possessed child pornography that involved a prepubescent minor and a minor that had not attained the age of twelve (12).
If convicted of counts one and two of his indictment, Williams faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five (5) years and up to twenty (20) years in prison. If convicted on count three of this indictment, Williams faces a term of imprisonment of not more than twenty (20) years. Additionally, as to each count, Williams faces the imposition of a fine of up to $250,000, not less than five (5) years and up to a lifetime term of supervised release, and a $100 special monetary assessment.
The indictment results from an investigation by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Pensacola Police Department, and the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Risinger.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
New London Heroin Dealer Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Follow @USAO_CT
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RAMON GARCIA, 41, of New London, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin.
In early 2012, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the U.S. Secret Service and the New London Police Department initiated an investigation to combat the large-scale trafficking of heroin and cocaine from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico into and around southeastern Connecticut. More than 100 individuals were charged with federal and state offenses as a result of this investigation.According to court documents and statements made in court, GARCIA and Xavier Cluff regularly purchased 100 to 150 grams of raw heroin from Luis Ariel Capellan Maldonado and distributed the drug to their own customer base in and around New London. The investigation identified Cluff and Garcia as Capellan Maldonado’s largest and most frequent purchasers of heroin.
GARCIA was arrested on April 3, 2013. On December 17, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.
Cluff pleaded guilty to the same charge and, on April 1, 2014, he was sentenced to 70 months of imprisonment.
Capellan Maldonado has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine; Connecticut State Police; New London Police Department, Norwich Police Department, Waterford Police Department, Groton Town Police Department, East Lyme Police Department and Putnam Police Department. The United States Marshals Service; ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations; Drug Enforcement Administration; HSI Assistant Attaché, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; HSI Arecibo, Puerto Rico Resident Office; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; Connecticut Department of Correction, Parole and Community Services; and the Groton City, Willimantic, New Haven and Bristol Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
The federal cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alina P. Reynolds, Sarah P. Karwan and Henry K. Kopel. The state cases are being prosecuted by the State’s Attorney for the New London Judicial District and Senior Assistant State’s Attorneys Paul Narducci and Stephen Carney.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Nevada Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Charges in IdahoRead the Press Release
BOISE – Sadith Chavez-Perez, 23, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chavez-Perez was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise, Idaho, on February 11, 2014.
According to the plea agreement, on March 27, 2013, Chavez-Perez, along with a co-defendant met with an undercover officer at a parking lot in Meridian, Idaho. At the meeting Chavez-Perez discussed future drug transactions with the undercover officer. On April 11, 2013, Chavez-Perez made arrangements with the undercover officer to deliver five ounces of methamphetamine to the undercover officer. The methamphetamine was delivered to the undercover officer by a co-defendant later that day. Chavez-Perez subsequently arranged for another delivery of two pounds of methamphetamine to the undercover officer on or about May 15, 2013. While en route to this meeting, the defendant was stopped by law enforcement in Ely, Nevada. In the vehicle officers found 1321 grams of actual methamphetamine.
The charge is punishable by up to10 years to life in prison, a maximum fine of $10 million, and at least five years of supervised release.
Chavez-Perez is set for sentencing on August 5, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The case was the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in conjunction with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Meridian Police Department, and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 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.
Moses Lake Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Distribution of Eleven Child Pornography ImagesRead the Press Release
Spokane – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Benjamin James Brekke, age 23, of Moses Lake, Washington, was sentenced today after having previously pleaded guilty in February of 2014 to Distribution of Child Pornography. United States District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Brekke to a five year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a life term of court supervision after he is released from Federal prison. In addition, Brekke will be required to register as a sex offender.
According to court records, on October 17, 2013, Brekke distributed approximately eleven graphic child pornography images of an infant in a car seat being forced to perform oral sex of an adult male to an undercover employee working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On October 18, 2013, Brekke was arrested and federal search warrants were obtained for Brekke's cellular telephones. Over 1,500 images of child pornography were located on one of his cell phones.
Michael C. Ormsby said, "Prosecuting offenders who are not only collecting child pornography, but also distributing child pornography images is a priority of the United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Washington. This Office, together with its Federal and state law enforcement partners, is and will continue to be committed to prosecuting aggressively and seeking appropriate punishment for child pornography crimes."
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States 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. The Project Safe Childhood Initiative ("PSC") has five major components:
- Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue child victims;
- Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;
- Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;
- Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and
- Community awareness and educational programs.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources".
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Stephanie J. Lister, an Assistant United States Attorney and PSC Coordinator for the Eastern District of Washington.
13-CR-00164-TOR
Modesto Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Juan Figueroa Garcia was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Jay Fitzpatrick.
Garcia pleaded guilty on Feb. 12, 2014. According to the plea agreement, Garcia admitted that, between May of 2012, and Nov. 30, 2012, he conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in the Northern District of California. Garcia also admitted that he stored drugs and drug proceeds at his residence in Modesto, Calif. When law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Garcia’s residence on Nov. 30, 2012, agents found approximately 8.7 kilograms of methamphetamine in his home, and a methamphetamine conversion laboratory in his garage. Laboratory tests of the methamphetamine seized from Garcia’s home revealed that it was 99.8% pure.
Garcia, 36, of Modesto, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 28, 2013.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Lucy H. Koh, United States District Court Judge, following Garcia’s guilty plea to Count One of the Second Superseding Indictment, charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Judge Koh also sentenced the defendant to a 5 year period of supervised release. The defendant has been in federal custody since Jan. 8, 2013.
Richard Cheng and Chinhayi Cadet are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Yanira Osorio. This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a focused multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
(Figueroa Garcia second superseding indictment )
Mexican National Sentenced to Ten Years for Conviction on Federal Drug Trafficking, Firearms and Immigration Charges and for Violating Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Yuren Aranda-Diaz, 38, a Mexican national illegally in the United States, was sentenced this morning to 111 months in federal prison for his conviction on drug trafficking, firearms charges and immigration charges. Aranda-Diaz also was sentenced to 18 months in prison, including 12 to be served consecutive to the 111-month prison term, for violating his supervised release on a prior federal conviction, for an aggregate prison sentence of 123 months. Aranda-Diaz will be deported after completing his prison sentence.
Aranda-Diaz was arrested in Oct. 2012, on a criminal complaint charging him with drug trafficking, firearms and immigration offenses after he sold heroin to an informant of the Albuquerque Police Department. Thereafter, Aranda-Diaz was indicted and charged with (1) being an alien in possession of a firearm; (2) being a felon in possession of a firearm; (3) possession of heroin with intent to distribute; (4) distribution of heroin; (5) using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime; and (6) unlawful re-entry into the United States after previously having been deported.
According to court filings, in Oct. 2012, Aranda-Diaz was prohibited from possessing firearms because he was an alien illegally in the United States. He also was prohibited from possessing firearms because he previously had been convicted of the felony offenses of re-entry by a deported alien on two occasions, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and being an alien in possession of a firearm in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. He also previously had been convicted for possession of cocaine in the 2nd Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico.
On the morning of July 24, 2013, Aranda-Diaz entered guilty pleas to Counts 1, 2 and 6 of the indictment, charging him with being an alien in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and unlawfully entering the United States. Immediately after entering his guilty pleas, Aranda-Diaz proceeded to trial on Counts 3, 4 and 5 of the indictment, charging him with possession of heroin with intent to distribute, distribution of heroin, and using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. On July 26, 2013, the jury returned a verdict finding Aranda-Diaz guilty on all three counts.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Albuquerque Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Novaline D. Wilson.
Aranda-Diaz was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
Mexican National Charged in Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Jorge Bautista-Banda, a/k/a “Cochito,” a/k/a Jorge Batista-Banda, 32, of Mexico, is charged in a two-count indictment with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and money laundering, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
According to the indictment, from July 2013 to April 23, 2014, Bautista-Banda was a member of a conspiracy that distributed more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, supplied by a Mexican-based cocaine distribution organization, which was sold and distributed in the Philadelphia area. Bautista-Banda was arrested on April 23, 2014, in connection with an alleged attempt to make a structured cash deposit of $8,000 to a corporate bank account at a bank in Philadelphia. The indictment further alleges that on April 23, 2014, following his arrival in Philadelphia from Texas, Bautista-Banda received $100,000 cash which he was directed to launder through the use of structured cash deposits to “pass through” accounts designated by Mexican sources. The indictment charges that after receiving the cash, Bautista-Banda proceeded to the Bank of America branch at 932 Walnut Street where he attempted to make a cash deposit of $8,000. The indictment further alleges that Bautista-Banda was in possession of an additional $68,000 in United States currency that he had in his hotel room in Philadelphia.
On September 24, 2013, Bautista-Banda received a sum of $145,000 in cash representing proceeds of the operations of a Philadelphia-based cocaine trafficking conspiracy. After receiving the cash, Bautista-Banda allegedly made multiple deposits, at various bank branches, in amounts less than $10,000, the purpose of which was to avoid the filing of currency transaction reports.
If convicted, Jorge Bautista-Banda faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 10 years, at least five years supervised release, and a fine of $10.5 million.This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph T. Labrum, III.
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, 215-861-8525Mescalero Apache Woman Sentenced to Twenty-Four Months in Federal Prison for Assault ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Tenya Lester-Gonzalez, 38, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 24 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for her assault conviction.
Lester-Gonzalez was charged with federal assault offenses in a criminal complaint filed on Sept. 18, 2012, and was arrested on Jan. 30, 2013, after she was transferred from tribal custody to federal custody. The criminal complaint alleged that Lester-Gonzalez assaulted her husband by striking him in the head with a hatchet on March 30, 2012, at their home in Mescalero, N.M., following an argument that escalated into a physical confrontation. The victim sustained a large cut about four inches long and a quarter inch wide on his face as a result of the assault.
On June 6, 2013, Lester-Gonzalez entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging her with assault with a dangerous weapon. In her plea agreement, Lester-Gonzalez admitted assaulting the victim with a hatchet on March 30, 2012, with the intention of causing him bodily harm.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan, of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Mescalero Apache Man Sentenced to Thirty-Three Months for Federal Child Sexual Abuse ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Snyder Geronimo III, 23, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation, was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 33 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his child sexual abuse conviction. Geronimo will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
Geronimo was arrested in early April 2013, based on a criminal complaint alleging that he knowingly engaged in a sexual act with a child between 12 and 16 years of age. Geronimo subsequently was indicted and charged with sexually abusing of a minor from July 2012 through Oct. 22, 2012, in locations within the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
The BIA’s Office of Justice Services initiated an investigation into Geronimo on Oct. 23, 2012, after a motorist reported seeing an intoxicated 13-year old female (victim) in the company of an adult man. During questioning by officers, the victim admitted having engaged in sexual activity with Geronimo on multiple occasions. On Jan. 30, 2012, Geronimo was arrested on tribal charges arising out of his relationship with the victim. During questioning, Geronimo acknowledged having had a sexual relationship with the victim since July 2012. Geronimo also stated that he had been told that the victim was 13 or 14 years old.
On Jan. 27, 2014, Geronimo pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that he knowingly engaged in sexual acts with the victim, who was 13 years of age, from July 2012 through Oct. 2012. Geronimo also admitted that his criminal conduct occurred on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U .S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Mescalero Apache Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Assault ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony John Shanta, 20, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his assault conviction.
Shanta was arrested in Sept. 2012, on a criminal complaint alleging that he stabbed another Mescalero Apache man in the neck during an altercation on July 21, 2012, in a location within the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Shanta was indicted on March 5, 2013, and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.
On Aug. 7, 2013, Shanta entered a guilty plea to the indictment. In his plea agreement, Shanta admitted assaulting the victim by stabbing him in the neck with a small pocket knife. Shanta stated that he assaulted the victim in anger because the victim was verbally taunting him.
Before his arrest on federal charges in this case, Shanta entered a guilty plea to tribal charges of assault and battery of the victim and to public intoxication in the Mescalero Tribal Court.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan, of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.Media AdvisoryRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - The United States Attorney’s Office and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (CI) Unit will hold a press conference to announce indictments and arrests connected with what could potentially be the largest tax fraud/identity theft case in the Middle District of Alabama.
The press conference will be held on Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 10:00 a.m., at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 131 Clayton Street, Montgomery, Alabama, and the media is invited. A press release will be provided at the conference.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Maryland Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Traveling to Engage in Illicit Sexual ConductWith A Minor and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Matthew Scanlon, 31, of Pasadena, Md., was sentenced today to 51 months in prison on charges of traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Scanlon pled guilty to the charges in February 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rudolph Contreras. Upon completion of his prison term, Scanlon will be placed on 10 years of supervised release.
According to the government's evidence, on July 10, 2013, Scanlon contacted an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, who had posted an ad on a social network site. Over the next few days, Scanlon engaged in e-mail and text message conversations with the undercover officer, whom the defendant believed was the father of an under-aged girl. During this period of time, Scanlon arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the child.
During the course of their communications, Scanlon also sent the undercover officer one still image and two videos of child pornography. On July 16, 2013, Scanlon traveled from Maryland to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C. When he arrived at the meeting place, he was arrested. Pursuant to a search of an external hard drive seized from the defendant’s residence, law enforcement recovered approximately 225 additional images of child pornography.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute those who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave and
14-117
Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who is prosecuting the case.Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Transporting Teenage Girls from California to Nevada to Work as ProstitutesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A California man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for inducing and enticing two minor girls to travel from Oakland, Calif., to Las Vegas, Nev., to work as prostitutes during April and May 2013, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Seagram Joshua Miller, 21, of Hayward, Calif., who pleaded guilty in January to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor, was sentenced on Tuesday, May 20, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson. Miller was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release following his release from prison, and he will have to register as a sex offender. Miller’s co-defendant, Ray Darnell Webb, 20, also pleaded guilty to one count of coercion and enticement, and was sentenced in April to eight years in prison.
“These sentences send a strong message that coercing a minor to work as a prostitute is a deplorable and shameful crime that will land you in prison for a long time,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “It is simply unacceptable for adults to take advantage of minors in such a way that forever will impact their lives. We are working with our community and law enforcement partners to arrest and prosecute the persons who commit these crimes.”
According to the court records plea agreements, in early 2013, Webb and Miller met one of the victims, a 12-year-old female, in Oakland, Calif. where she was working as a prostitute. Shortly thereafter, the 12-year-old began working as a prostitute for Webb and Miller, and provided the money she made working as a prostitute to them. In about April 2013, Miller met a 16-year-old female on Facebook, and she also began working as a prostitute for Miller and Webb. In April 2013, Miller, Webb, and the two minor girls, decided to travel to Las Vegas to make money. Before leaving, Webb and the 16-year-old girl posted an advertisement on MyRedbook.com so that they would have dates lined up when they arrived in Las Vegas. The advertisement contained photographs of the 16-year-old. On April 29, 2013, Webb, Miller, and the two minor girls, drove from Oakland to Las Vegas and stayed in a rented hotel room on Las Vegas Boulevard. Both girls worked as prostitutes on April 30 and in early May.
The cases were investigated the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as part of the Innocence Lost Task Force. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith, Jr.The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.Man Charged with Fraudulent Use of Credit Cards and DocumentsRead the Press Release
A federal Grand Jury returned a two-count indictment charging Sergei Davidoff, aka Sergiu Davidov, aka Sammy Davidoff, aka Sergio Da Vido, 53, with fraudulent use of credit cards and identification documents, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment alleges that Davidoff fraudulently used credit cards to purchase merchandise and services valued over $1,000. It further alleges that the defendant acquired and produced counterfeit identification cards as part of his scheme.
Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Cronin is prosecuting the case following an investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Medina Police Department.
If convicted, the Court will determine the defendant’s sentence after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum. In most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Long Island Doctor Arrested for Illegal Distribution of Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in the Eastern District of New York charging Dr. Michael Randall with illegal distribution of thousands of prescription pain pills, including oxycodone, oxymorphone, methadone, and carisoprodol. Randall surrendered earlier today, and his initial appearance is scheduled for this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson at the United States Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, New York.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York (DEA), and Tom F. O’Donnell, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Human Services, Office of Inspector General, New York Region (HHS-OIG).
This morning, as part of a continuing federal and state prescription drug abuse initiative within the Eastern District of New York, Randall was arrested upon his surrender to members of a DEA Tactical Diversion Squad1 on charges of illegally distributing prescription pain pills between January 2009 and September 2013. According to the complaint, Randall, whose family medical practice, Middle Country Family Medical, P.C., is located in Centereach, New York, wrote hundreds of prescriptions for oxycodone, oxymorphone, methadone, and carisoprodol to patients on a continuing basis outside the usual course of professional practice and not for any legitimate medical purpose.
“By prescribing thousands of highly addictive pain pills without a legitimate medical purpose, Dr. Randall ignored the law and his own patients’ well-being,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We are committed to vigorous prosecution of doctors who abdicate their Hippocratic Oath, participate in the illegal distribution of prescription drugs, and contribute to the rise of drug abuse and addiction in our communities.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to each of the agencies that participated in the government’s investigation.
DEA Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Hunt stated, “The adverse consequences of prescription drug abuse like theft, threats of violence, opiate addiction, and overdose deaths throughout America are growing in numbers. And today’s arrest of Dr. Randall shows law enforcement’s commitment to fighting the spread of opiate use and abuse by identifying and arresting those who, as alleged in the complaint, are responsible for supplying and distributing illegally prescribed medication.”
“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, will continue to investigate physicians that illegally distribute narcotics like common drug dealers,” said HHS-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge O’Donnell. “Along with our law enforcement partners, today’s arrest reaffirms our commitment to protecting public safety, as well as the federally funded health care programs intended for the nation’s most vulnerable Americans.”
The charges in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a $1 million fine.
In January 2012, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the DEA, in conjunction with the five District Attorneys in this jurisdiction, the Nassau and Suffolk County Police Departments, the New York City Police Department and New York State Police, along with other key federal, state, and local government partners, launched the Prescription Drug Initiative to mount a comprehensive response to what the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention has called an epidemic increase in the abuse of so-called opioid analgesics. So far, the Prescription Drug Initiative has brought over 160 federal and local criminal prosecutions, including the prosecution of 15 health care professionals, taken civil enforcement actions against a hospital, a pharmacy and a pharmacy chain, removed prescription authority from numerous rogue doctors, and expanded information-sharing among enforcement agencies to better target and pursue drug traffickers. The Initiative also is involved in an extensive community outreach program to address the abuse of pharmaceuticals.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles N. Rose.
The Defendant:
MICHAEL RANDALL
Age: 47
South Setauket, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-MJ-464
_____________________________________________________________________________
1 The Tactical Diversion Squad comprises DEA agents and law enforcement officers with the Nassau County Police Department, the New York State Police, the Port Washington Police Department, and the Rockville Centre Police Department
Lee's Summit Soccer Coach Indicted on Eight Additional Charges of Producing Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lee’s Summit, Mo., youth soccer coach was indicted by a federal grand jury today on eight additional charges related to producing child pornography by secretly videotaping members of his soccer team.
Joel D. White, 41, of Lee’s Summit, was charged in an 11-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a three-count indictment that was returned on April 30, 2013, and adds the counts regarding eight additional victims. White has remained in federal custody since his arrest on the original indictment.
White formerly coached a girls under-12 soccer team and a girls under-15 soccer team through the Lee’s Summit Soccer Association. He has been in federal custody since his arrest in April 2013. The Lee’s Summit Soccer Association has cooperated fully with law enforcement officers during this investigation.
Today’s indictment charges White with 11 separate counts of attempting to produce child pornography. White allegedly attempted to use 11 child victims – identified in the indictment as Jane Doe #1 through Jane Doe #11 – to produce child pornography between May 1, 2012 and March 20, 2013.
Under Department of Justice guidelines, the attempted production of child pornography is ordinarily charged in cases that involve surreptitious recordings. The statutory penalties for producing child pornography are the same as the penalties for attempting to produce child pornography. Each of the 11 counts contained in the indictment carries a mandatory minimum sentence upon conviction of 15 years in federal prison without parole.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, law enforcement officers in Commerce City, Colo., discovered videos of nude minors on White’s camera. White was at a soccer stadium in Colorado for a World Cup qualifying game when his cameras were seized by law enforcement officers as part of a criminal investigation.
Several videos allegedly depict White positioning a video camera in a bedroom of his residence in such a way that the camera is hidden. Shortly after White leaves the room, the affidavit says, the videos depict several minors, approximately 11 or 12 years old, entering the room and changing their clothes. Minors are fully nude in the videos and do not appear to know they are being videotaped.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore. It was investigated by the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department and the Commerce City, Colo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Kanawha Residents Charged with Illegal Firearms Possession, Conspiracy to Conceal EvidenceRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W. Va. – A federal grand jury has charged a six-time felon from Cedar Grove with illegally possessing firearms, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today. Reginald Bennett, 40, of Cedar Grove, was indicted for possessing firearms as a convicted felon. According to an indictment returned yesterday, Bennett has been convicted of six robbery and firearms felonies in Baltimore, Maryland.
The grand jury also charged Bennett and an associate, Jennifer Allen, 52, of South Charleston, with conspiring to conceal a BMW 328i with firearms inside, with the intent to impair the availability of that evidence for use in an official proceeding.
Note: An indictment is only an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
KC Man Pleads Guilty to $2.6 Million Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to submitting more than $2.6 million in health care claims, although he was excluded from participating in any federal health care programs after being convicted of a felony drug charge.
Paul Schleicher, 40, of Kansas City, Mo., waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert E. Larsen to a federal information that charges him with nine counts of making false statements relating to health care matters.
Schleicher formed Health Care at Home to provide health care services and submitted 14,807 claims to Medicare, Missouri Medicaid, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and TRICARE (the health care program serving uniformed service members, retirees and their families) from June 19, 2008, to Oct. 5, 2012. All claims were for health care services that were provided after Schleicher was excluded from participating in any federal health care programs.
On May 30, 2008, Schleicher was excluded for a period of five years from all federal health care programs due to his felony conviction for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a controlled substance (gamma hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB). Because of his interest and involvement in Health Care at Home and his failure to disclose this interest, Schleicher made false and fraudulent statements.
The total billed amount was $2,643,693 and the total amount actually paid was $974,762. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Schleicher must pay $974,762 in restitution.
Under federal statutes, Schleicher is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 on each of the nine counts. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services; the U.S. Department of Defense – Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General.KC Man Indicted for Illegally Transporting, Dumping Hazardous WasteRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for illegally transporting and dumping hazardous waste.
John Schaller, 50, of Kansas City, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Schaller owned and operated R.E.I.T., a computer recycling company at 1534 Burlington St., North Kansas City, Mo.
According to the federal indictment, Schaller was hired by an employee and agent of Z-International, which used large quantities of ink and ink-related products in its business of making labels, to liquidate the property in its building at 110 E. 16th Ave., Kansas City, Mo, when the business was closed in July 2010. As part of the liquidation job, Schaller was required to dispose of several barrels of ink or other liquids.
Schaller allegedly dumped approximately 23 containers of hazardous materials at Studer Container Service, 520 Madison Ave., Kansas City, Mo., in December 2011 without knowing if Studer had sufficient authorization to accept hazardous waste. Schaller did not hold a permit authorizing the transportation, storage or disposal of hazardous waste, the indictment says, and Studer did not have a permit to receive hazardous waste.
Studer is located in a high traffic area frequented by passers-by, including pedestrians, vehicles and bicycles. Schaller made no attempt or inquiry to determine whether Studer had sufficient authorization to accept the containers, the indictment says. Schaller allegedly did not employ the transportation of hazardous waste via manifest as required by law.
EPA began a sampling and clean-up operation at Studer on June 28, 2012. The EPA Superfund Program cleaned up the hazardous waste at Studer to eliminate possible adverse effects on human health and environment. The total EPA Superfund cost was $36,871. Of the 38 samples collected from the containers dumped at Studer, five tested positive for ignitability and two tested positive for toxicity.
Today’s indictment charges Schaller with one count of unlawfully transporting hazardous waste and one count of unlawfully disposing of hazardous waste.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division.Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against State of Ohio to End Unlawful Seclusion of Youth in Juvenile Correctional FacilitiesRead the Press Release
The United States and private plaintiffs announced today that it has reached an agreement with the state of Ohio, under which the State Department of Youth Services (DYS) will dramatically reduce, and eventually eliminate, its use of seclusion on young people in its custody. DYS will also ensure that young people in its juvenile facilities receive individualized mental health treatment to prevent and address the conditions and behaviors that led to seclusion. The order resolves allegations that the state subjects young people with mental health needs in its custody to harmful seclusion and withholds treatment and programming, in violation of their constitutional rights.
“Overreliance on solitary confinement for young people, particularly those with disabilities, is unsafe and counterproductive,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “This agreement will help ensure that incarceration in Ohio's state facilities is humane and that appropriate treatment is provided for young people with mental illness. The Justice Department will continue to evaluate the use of solitary confinement so that it does not become a new normal for incarcerated juveniles.”
The department first investigated conditions at Ohio juvenile correctional facilities in 2007 and found constitutional deficiencies in the state’s use of physical force, mental health care, grievance investigation and processing and use of seclusion. The department entered into a consent decree with the state in June 2008 to remedy these violations at the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility and the since-closed Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility. Simultaneously, private plaintiffs in the case S.H. v. Reed entered into a consent decree with the state regarding similar deficiencies at all of the state’s juvenile correctional facilities. However, between November 2013 and January 2014, data from the monitoring of both consent decrees revealed that Ohio had continued to use unlawful seclusion on youth at Scioto and in the other facilities.
On March 12, 2014, the department moved to supplement its original complaint by including the state’s use of unlawful seclusion at all of its juvenile correctional facilities. The court granted the motion on March 28, 2014, and the department filed the supplemental complaint on March 31, 2014. The department also sought a temporary restraining order requiring immediate measures to curb the state’s excessive seclusion of youth with mental health disorders. The agreed order resolves the United States’ claims in its motion for a temporary restraining order, as well as a motion for specific performance filed by the S.H. plaintiffs.
As an interim measure prior to the elimination of disciplinary seclusion for youth, the state will dramatically reduce the conditions under which seclusion is allowed and the duration of seclusion. The state will also reduce the potential harms caused by seclusion by increasing access to therapeutic, educational and recreational services while a young person is in seclusion.
The order requires the state to implement quality assurance measures to verify mental health treatment integrity, develop comprehensive assessments of youth, eliminate the use of disciplinary seclusion on youth with mental health needs, except for the most serious offenses, limit the amount and duration of disciplinary seclusion in the limited circumstances when it is permissible, conduct regular checks on youth who are secluded for safety concerns in order to release youth as soon as possible and perform individualized treatment plan reviews and modifications to address violent behaviors. The order includes performance standards to measure compliance with these requirements, which will be jointly overseen by the monitors in the existing United States and S.H. consent decrees.
Because the order also reflects the state’s commitment to eliminate all disciplinary seclusion, the department agreed to withdraw its remaining claims regarding the state’s seclusion of youth who do not have an identified mental health disorder. The department can renew those claims later if the state makes insufficient progress in eliminating all forms of disciplinary seclusion.
“The state of Ohio, the administrators of the Department of Youth Services and their counsel are to be commended for their commitment to reforming Ohio’s juvenile correctional facilities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “Ohio’s commitments in this agreement will go a long way toward reducing the harm young people are experiencing in the state’s juvenile correctional facilities, especially young people with mental health needs.”
“This agreement will provide significant relief to youth in DYS custody by ensuring they receive appropriate mental health treatment and are not subject to excessive seclusion,” said U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart for the Southern District of Ohio. “Today, the state has taken an important step in rectifying the unconstitutional conditions in its juvenile correctional facilities.”
“We applaud the state for its commitment to rectifying the overuse of seclusion on youth in its custody,” stated U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach for the Northern District of Ohio. “The agreement we are announcing today – which is the result of the collective efforts of the Justice Department, the private plaintiffs and the state of Ohio – will put in place reforms that will drastically improve outcomes for these youth.”
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 authorizes the department to seek a remedy for a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the constitutional or federal statutory rights of youth in juvenile justice institutions. Please visit the division website to learn more about this act and other laws enforced by the Civil Rights Division.
This agreement is due to the efforts of the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. This agreement is also due to the work of plaintiffs’ counsel in S.H., Alphonse Gerhardstein of Gerhardstein & Branch Co. LPA, and Kim Tandy of the Children’s Law Center Inc., and to the leadership of the Ohio DYS.
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against State of Ohio to End Unlawful Seclusion of Youth in Juvenile Correctional FacilitiesRead the Press Release
The United States and private plaintiffs announced today that it has reached an agreement with the state of Ohio, under which the State Department of Youth Services (DYS) will dramatically reduce, and eventually eliminate, its use of seclusion on young people in its custody. DYS will also ensure that young people in its juvenile facilities receive individualized mental health treatment to prevent and address the conditions and behaviors that led to seclusion. The order resolves allegations that the state subjects young people with mental health needs in its custody to harmful seclusion and withholds treatment and programming, in violation of their constitutional rights.
“Overreliance on solitary confinement for young people, particularly those with disabilities, is unsafe and counterproductive,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “This agreement will help ensure that incarceration in Ohio's state facilities is humane and that appropriate treatment is provided for young people with mental illness. The Justice Department will continue to evaluate the use of solitary confinement so that it does not become a new normal for incarcerated juveniles.”
The department first investigated conditions at Ohio juvenile correctional facilities in 2007 and found constitutional deficiencies in the state’s use of physical force, mental health care, grievance investigation and processing and use of seclusion. The department entered into a consent decree with the state in June 2008 to remedy these violations at the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility and the since-closed Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility. Simultaneously, private plaintiffs in the case S.H. v. Reed entered into a consent decree with the state regarding similar deficiencies at all of the state’s juvenile correctional facilities. However, between November 2013 and January 2014, data from the monitoring of both consent decrees revealed that Ohio had continued to use unlawful seclusion on youth at Scioto and in the other facilities.On March 12, 2014, the department moved to supplement its original complaint by including the state’s use of unlawful seclusion at all of its juvenile correctional facilities. The court granted the motion on March 28, 2014, and the department filed the supplemental complaint on March 31, 2014. The department also sought a temporary restraining order requiring immediate measures to curb the state’s excessive seclusion of youth with mental health disorders. The agreed order resolves the United States’ claims in its motion for a temporary restraining order, as well as a motion for specific performance filed by the S.H. plaintiffs.
As an interim measure prior to the elimination of disciplinary seclusion for youth, the state will dramatically reduce the conditions under which seclusion is allowed and the duration of seclusion. The state will also reduce the potential harms caused by seclusion by increasing access to therapeutic, educational and recreational services while a young person is in seclusion.
The order requires the state to implement quality assurance measures to verify mental health treatment integrity, develop comprehensive assessments of youth, eliminate the use of disciplinary seclusion on youth with mental health needs, except for the most serious offenses, limit the amount and duration of disciplinary seclusion in the limited circumstances when it is permissible, conduct regular checks on youth who are secluded for safety concerns in order to release youth as soon as possible and perform individualized treatment plan reviews and modifications to address violent behaviors. The order includes performance standards to measure compliance with these requirements, which will be jointly overseen by the monitors in the existing United States and S.H. consent decrees.
Because the order also reflects the state’s commitment to eliminate all disciplinary seclusion, the department agreed to withdraw its remaining claims regarding the state’s seclusion of youth who do not have an identified mental health disorder. The department can renew those claims later if the state makes insufficient progress in eliminating all forms of disciplinary seclusion.
“The state of Ohio, the administrators of the Department of Youth Services and their counsel are to be commended for their commitment to reforming Ohio’s juvenile correctional facilities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “Ohio’s commitments in this agreement will go a long way toward reducing the harm young people are experiencing in the state’s juvenile correctional facilities, especially young people with mental health needs.”
“This agreement will provide significant relief to youth in DYS custody by ensuring they receive appropriate mental health treatment and are not subject to excessive seclusion,” said U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart for the Southern District of Ohio. “Today, the state has taken an important step in rectifying the unconstitutional conditions in its juvenile correctional facilities.”
“We applaud the state for its commitment to rectifying the overuse of seclusion on youth in its custody,” stated U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach for the Northern District of Ohio. “The agreement we are announcing today – which is the result of the collective efforts of the Justice Department, the private plaintiffs and the state of Ohio – will put in place reforms that will drastically improve outcomes for these youth.”
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 authorizes the department to seek a remedy for a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the constitutional or federal statutory rights of youth in juvenile justice institutions. Please visit the division website to learn more about this act and other laws enforced by the Civil Rights Division.
This agreement is due to the efforts of the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. This agreement is also due to the work of plaintiffs’ counsel in S.H., Alphonse Gerhardstein of Gerhardstein & Branch Co. LPA, and Kim Tandy of the Children’s Law Center Inc., and to the leadership of the Ohio DYS.
Jefferson City Man Indicted for Distributing HeroinRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for distributing heroin.
Brian Boykin, also known as “Denormus Okain” and “B,” 36, of Jefferson City, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City.
Today's indictment alleges that Boykin distributed heroin on two separate occasions in Cole County, Mo., on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21, 2013. Boykin is also charged with one count of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute on Feb. 13, 2014.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department.
James Nathaniel Watts Denied Bond on Federal Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsJames Nathaniel Watts, 29, of Cairo, Illinois, appeared in United States District Court in Benton and was ordered held without bond on charges that he illegally possessed a firearm, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced.
Watts was charged in federal court on Friday, May 16th in a Criminal Complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The complaint alleged that Watts illegally possessed a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol on May 15th and that the firearm was found in his possession following a high-speed chase in Cairo during which Watts was driving the stolen car of an employee of the First National Bank in Cairo, which had been the scene of an attempted robbery earlier that day. During the attempted robbery, two employees were killed and one was critically wounded. Those events remain under investigation.
At the proceeding, Watts waived his preliminary and detention hearings and was again remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal where he will be held without bond or the possibility of release. Under federal law, prosecutors have 30 days from the filing of the complaint within which to seek an indictment from a Federal Grand Jury. Watts will remain in the Marshal’s custody pending action by a Grand Jury. No court proceedings are scheduled until that time.
Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
If convicted of the firearm offense, Watts faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release to follow any term of incarceration imposed.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.
Hector Alcenio Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute CocaineRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, USVI - District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez today sentenced Hector Alcenio, 43, to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.
On December 19, 2013, Alcenio pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine after he was arrested on July 11, 2013, and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Alcenio was arrested as part of the investigation of Roberto Tapia, Director of the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) Division of Environmental Enforcement. On November 7, 2013, he was charged in a 69-count third superseding indictment, along with seven other defendants, including Angelo Hill, Raymond Brown, Edwin Monsanto, Stephen Torres, and Eddie Lopez-Lopez, Walter Hill, and Angel Negron-Beltran.
The case was investigated by the Public Corruption Task Force, which comprises the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Virgin Islands Police Department; U.S. Marshals Service; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI); U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); United States Coast Guard; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly B. Lake and Kim Lindquist prosecuted the case.
Hampton Woman Sentenced on Bank Robbery ChargesRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Danielle Reader, 31, of Hampton, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 46 months in prison for two counts of aiding and abetting bank robbery, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
On April 3, and April 20, 2013, an individual walked into the victim banks in Hampton, New Hampshire, where he presented a handwritten note demanding money. After departing with the stolen funds, the individual escaped the scene in a getaway vehicle driven by Reader. In total, Reader and her accomplice stole more than $9,000. The Court also imposed three years of supervised release and full restitution to the victims.
Special Agents Laura Hanlon and John Ennis led the investigation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in collaboration with the Police Departments of Hampton and Seabrook, New Hampshire. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.
Fort Hall Man Sentenced to 27 Months for Involuntary ManslaughterRead the Press Release
POCATELLO - Ian Jack Crooked Arm, a/k/a Ian Sittre, 27, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 27 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Sittre to serve three years of supervised release, following his release from prison. Sittre pleaded guilty to the charge on February 26, 2014. In imposing sentence, Judge Winmill noted that Sittre already had served nine months in tribal jail in connection with the offense. Thus, Sittre will serve a total of 36 months.
According to the plea agreement, a 10-month-old girl was left in Sittre’s care when the child’s mother went to work on February 20, 2013. Sittre was living with the infant’s mother and other family members at a residence on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. Less than ten minutes after leaving, Sittre called the child’s mother and told her something was wrong with the baby. Upon arriving at the residence, Sittre told the mother that the baby was “breathing funny.” She called 911 and attempted CPR. Sittre left the residence before paramedics or police arrived. Paramedics transported the child by ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center, unconscious and non-responsive. She was then airlifted to Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, in critical condition. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, the infant died on February 22, 2013.
Also according to the plea agreement, an autopsy conducted on February 23 concluded that the immediate cause of death was abusive head trauma inflicted by a caregiver. A review of the child’s medical history found nothing to indicate any pre-existing conditions that may have contributed to the child’s death. While in jail on April 4, 2013, Sittre told his mother during a recorded telephone call that he shook the baby “too hard.”
The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.