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16 May 2014
Tampa Felon Sentenced to More Than 15 Years for Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington yesterday sentenced Antouin L. Barker (43) to 15 years and eight months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A federal jury found Barker guilty on February 11, 2014.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on February 12, 2013, after sunset, Barker was riding his bicycle against traffic and without lighting equipment on 127th Avenue East, in Tampa. When stopped by deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for the traffic infractions, Barker repeatedly put his hands in his pockets, despite repeated warnings not to do so. Barker verbally consented to a search, but ultimately put his hands back in his pockets and turned away from the deputies. Fearing for their safety, deputies removed Barker’s hands from his pockets and patted him down. During the search, a small .22 caliber revolver was found in the right front pocket of Barker’s shorts. The gun was loaded with one live round, and four spent casings.
At the time of the incident, Barker was a previously convicted felon. His prior felonies include drug charges, aggravated battery, grand theft, and burglary. As a previously convicted felon, Barker is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law. This case was investigated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark E. Bini.
It is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Julie Leon, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline Strategy to reduce violent crime and improve the quality of life in communities where law enforcement efforts are focused.
Statesville Jury Finds Armed Bank Robbers GuiltyRead the Press Release
Defendant Used Vehicle He Carjacked That Morning To Commit Bank Robbery
STATESVILLE, N.C. – A federal jury sitting in Statesville returned a guilty verdict on Thursday, May 15, 2014, against Darius Donneal Freeman, 32, and Wincy Joseph, 29, both of Charlotte, for armed bank robbery and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence charges, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The jury also found Freeman guilty of carjacking and a second possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, Chief Matthew A. Selves of the Troutman Police Department and Chief Rodney D. Monroe of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
According to filed court documents and trial proceedings:
In or about May 20, 2013, at approximately 5:15 a.m. Freeman carjacked a victim at gunpoint at a Circle K gas station located on South Boulevard in Charlotte. Later that morning, Freeman and Joseph used the carjacked vehicle to rob a Bank of America branch in Troutman, N.C. Soon after the bank opened, Freeman entered the bank wearing a black cap, sunglasses, gloves and brandishing a silver handgun. Freeman jumped on the tellers’ counter and demanded cash. Joseph entered the bank behind Freeman, dressed in a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head, sunglasses and gloves, and demanded cash from another bank employee. The defendants then fled the scene with approximately $5,100 in cash, driving off in the car Freeman had jacked earlier that day. Law enforcement later found the car abandoned on Interstate-77 in Iredell County. The defendants were identified five days later, following a tip from a concerned citizen. Freeman was arrested on June 6, 2013. Joseph was arrested on June 13, 2013.The armed bank robbery charge carries a maximum prison term of 25 years and a $250,000 fine. The possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence offense carries a minimum of 7 consecutive years and a maximum of life in prison. Freeman also faces a maximum prison term of 15 years and a $250,000 for the carjacking charge. He also faces a minimum of 32 years and a maximum of life in prison for the possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (carjacking). Both defendants remain in custody. Sentencing dates for the defendants have not yet been set.
The investigation was led by the FBI, the Troutman Police Department and CMPD. U.S. Attorney Tompkins also thanked the Mooresville Police Department, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office and the Statesville Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Greene and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca McNerney. Ms. McNerney is a state prosecutor with the Iredell County District Attorney’s Office, and was assigned by District Attorney Sarah M. Kirkman to serve as a Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Statement of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Regarding Meeting with Otero County OfficialsRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office participated in a meeting today with Otero County officials and representatives of the U.S. Forest Service for the purpose of discussing jurisdictional disputes involving use of the Lincoln National Forest. No resolution was reached during the meeting and the U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to monitor the situation in Otero County primarily to ensure that public safety is preserved. To that end, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will make every effort to facilitate a dialogue between county officials and the Forest Service.
Sinaloa Cartel Bodyguard Pleads Guilty to Federal Murder Charge in El PasoRead the Press Release
In El Paso, 32-year-old Rigoberto Ruiz-Alatorre, a Mexican citizen living in Denver, CO, faces a maximum of 28 years in federal prison after pleading guilty this afternoon to murdering a member of his drug trafficking organization announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott, El Paso Division, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Douglas E. Lindquist, El Paso Division.
On the third day of his trial on federal drug and firearms charges, Ruiz-Alatorre, an admitted drug trafficker and former bodyguard for Sinaloa narcotrafficker Gabino Salas-Valenciano (aka “El Ingeniero”), pleaded guilty to one count of murder resulting from the use or carrying of firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. By pleading guilty, Ruiz admitted to trafficking over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in both the Western District of Texas and the District of New Mexico from 2002 to 2006; and, while in Albuquerque, NM, in July 2006, he shot and killed Roswell, NM, resident Fermin Rodriguez-Gonzalez to facilitate his narcotics trafficking operation and to prevent Rodriguez-Gonzalez from providing law enforcement with details of Ruiz’ narcotics trafficking activities.
Ruiz remains in federal custody pending sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for September 3, 2014, before United States District Judge Frank Montalvo.
This joint investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation together with the United States Border Patrol and the Bernalillo County (NM) Sheriff’s Office.
Scott Man Sentenced for Making False Statements to Social Security Administration in Oder to Steal BenefitsRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that William Joseph Folse, Jr., 51, of Scott, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Foote, to 12 months in prison and three years of supervised release for making false statements to the Social Security Administration (SSA) concerning his disability status in order to fraudulently receive nearly $200,000 in benefits. He was also ordered to pay $199,007.80 in restitution to the SSA.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea on January 22, 2014, Folse applied for and was granted benefits for total disability in the 1990s for a slip and fall accident. He also signed paperwork acknowledging that he would report his change in job status should he return to work. Investigators later determined that Folse worked at a restaurant in Lafayette since 1998 and earned more than $12,000 per year plus tips. It is estimated that he improperly received $199,007.80 from the SSA.
The SSA conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard C. Parker prosecuted the case.San Jose Couple Indicted in Connection with Seizure of over 90 Pounds of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – A federal grand jury indicted Maria Anay Castaneda-Aleman, and Emmanuel Navarro Gallegos, a/k/a “Armando Roberto Espino,” on May 14, 2014, and charged both defendants with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag. Castaneda-Aleman was also charged with making available for use a house in San Jose for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, and distributing methamphetamine.
An affidavit filed by a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in support of a criminal complaint filed in the same matter alleges that on May 3, 2014, HSI Special Agents responded to a house on Plateau Drive, San Jose, Calif., based on a report that drugs had been discovered on the premises. The agents found methamphetamine hidden beneath the stairwells. An HSI special agent weighted the bags and determined they had a total gross weight of 42.2 Kilograms (over 90 pounds).
According to the affidavit, the house was rented by Castaneda-Aleman who lived there with her boyfriend Emmanuel Navarro Gallegos. Castaneda-Aleman was arrested on May 3, 2014. According to the affidavit, the agents attempted to detain Emmanuel Navarro Gallegos on May 4, 2014, but he remains at large.
Castaneda-Aleman had her initial appearance before the Honorable Paul S. Grewal, United States Magistrate Court Judge, in San Jose, on May 5, 2014. She then had a detention hearing on May 9, 2014, and was ordered detained pending trial.
The following are the maximum statutory penalties for each charge in the indictment:
Counts 1 and 2 (against both defendants): Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846):
- Maximum prison sentence life
- Mandatory minimum prison sentence 10 years
- Maximum fine $10,000,000
- Minimum supervised release term 5 years
- Mandatory special assessment $100
Count 3 (against Castaneda-Aleman only): Maintaining Drug-involved Premises (21 U.S.C. § 856):
- Maximum prison sentence 20 years
- Maximum fine $500,000
- Maximum supervised release term 3 years
- Mandatory special assessment $100
However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
This case is in part the product of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), 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.
Please note, an indictment contains only allegations against a person and, as with all defendants, Maria Anay Castaneda-Aleman and Emmanuel Navarro Gallegos, must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
(Castaneda-Aleman and Navarro Gallegos complaint )
(Castaneda-Aleman and Navarro Gallegos indictment )
San Angelo Man Sentenced to 57 Months in Federal Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LUBBOCK, Texas — Brandon Cory Boshears, 30, of San Angelo, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 57 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in February 2014 to one count of possession of child pornography. Boshears will surrender to federal custody on a date to be designated. U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement today.
According to documents filed in the case, Boshears admitted that in the course of using a file sharing program on his computer to search the Internet for depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, he downloaded and viewed numerous images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from San Angelo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy prosecuted.
SAC Capital Portfolio Manager Michael Steinberg Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court To42 Months in Prison for Insider TradingRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MICHAEL STEINBERG, a portfolio manager of Sigma Capital Management, LLC (“Sigma”), a division of the Connecticut based hedge fund S.A.C. Capital, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 42 months in prison for crimes stemming from his involvement in an insider trading scheme. STEINBERG was convicted of various securities fraud charges on December 18, 2013. He was sentenced today by United States District Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who presided over the trial.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Michael Steinberg traded on information from company insiders at Dell and NVIDIA to reap nearly $2 million in illegal profits. Today he has learned the steep cost of those transactions.”
According to the Superseding Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court, other court documents, and the evidence presented at trial:
STEINBERG traded in the securities of two publicly traded technology companies, Dell, Inc. (“Dell”), and NVIDIA Corporation (“NVIDIA”), based on inside information that his research analyst Jon Horvath obtained from a circle of analyst friends at different investment firms. Horvath previously pled guilty to insider trading, as did analysts Jesse Tortora, formerly of Diamondback Capital, Spyridon “Sam” Adondakis, formerly of Level Global, Danny Kuo, formerly of Whittier Trust, and Sandeep Goyal, formerly of Neuberger Berman. STEINBERG’s trading in Dell and NVIDIA resulted in approximately $1.8 million in illegal profits for his hedge fund.
In particular, Tortora provided Horvath and others with Inside Information related to Dell’s quarterly earnings (the “Dell Inside Information”), which Tortora obtained from Goyal who, in turn, had obtained the information from an employee at Dell (the “Dell Insider”). For example, for Dell’s quarter which was announced by Dell on August 28, 2008 (the “Dell Announcement”), the Dell Inside Information indicated that Dell would report gross margins that were materially lower than market expectations. In advance of the Dell Announcement, Horvath reported this negative inside information to STEINBERG.
On August 18, 2008, after a series of calls from the Dell Insider to Goyal and from Goyal to Tortora and Horvath, Horvath then called STEINBERG. Within a minute of the telephone call between STEINBERG and Horvath, STEINBERG’s portfolio began shorting shares of Dell. One minute later, Horvath wrote an email to STEINBERG stating: “Pls keep the DELL stuff especially on the down low . . . just mentioning that because JT [Jesse Tortora] asked me specifically to be extra sensitive with the info.” By the end of the day on August 18, 2008, STEINBERG had accumulated a net short position of over 167,000 shares of Dell. On August 26, 2008, Horvath confirmed in an email to STEINBERG and another portfolio manager at Sigma that Horvath’s Dell information had been based on a “2nd hand read from someone at the company.” STEINBERG responded: “Yes normally we would never divulge data like this, so please be discreet.” And on August 27, 2008, STEINBERG sent an email to Horvath with the subject line, “Dell action,” in which he asked, “Have u double checked [with] JT this week?” Horvath responded, “Yes he [Tortora] checked in [a] couple days ago, same read no change.” The following day, STEINBERG executed additional short trades based on the Dell Inside Information.
On August 28, 2008, before Dell’s Announcement, STEINBERG executed or caused to be executed additional short trades. STEINBERG also executed or caused to be executed options trades in Dell in advance of the Dell Announcement.
After the close of the market on August 28, 2008, Dell publicly announced gross margins that were substantially below market expectations. At the end of the next trading day following Dell’s Announcement, its stock price dropped by nearly 14%. Shortly thereafter, STEINBERG covered his short position, and closed out his position in Dell option contracts, resulting in an illegal profit for Sigma of approximately $1 million.
In addition, in 2009, Kuo obtained inside information regarding NVIDIA’s financial results (the “NVIDIA Inside Information”) in advance of NVIDIA’s quarterly earnings announcements. The NVIDIA Inside Information indicated, among other things, that NVIDIA’s gross margins would be lower than market expectations. Kuo obtained the NVIDIA Inside Information from a friend, Hyung Lim, who received it from an employee at NVIDIA (the “NVIDIA Insider”). In advance of NVIDIA’s May 7, 2009, quarterly earnings announcement (the “NVIDIA Announcement”), Kuo provided the NVIDIA Inside Information, which he had obtained from Lim, to Tortora, Horvath, and others. Horvath, in turn, provided the NVIDIA Inside Information to STEINBERG, who executed or caused to be executed transactions in NVIDIA in advance of the NVIDIA Announcement.
On May 7, 2009, NVIDIA publicly announced gross margins that were substantially lower than the market expected. At the end of the trading day following the NVIDIA Announcement, NVIDIA’s stock price dropped by more than 13%. Shortly thereafter, STEINBERG caused Sigma to liquidate its position in NVIDIA, resulting in an illegal profit for Sigma of approximately $350,000.
At trial, STEINBERG, 42, of New York, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and four counts of securities fraud.
In addition to the prison term, STEINBERG was sentenced to three years of supervised release. STEINBERG was also ordered to pay $365,142.30 in forfeiture and a $2 million fine.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Antonia M. Apps and Harry A. Chernoff are in charge of the prosecution.
Reunion Mortgage, Inc. to Pay $1.04 Million to Resolve Allegations of Defrauding the Federal Housing Administration ProgramRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced today that Reunion Mortgage, Inc. and its former co-owners have agreed to pay $1.04 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims to the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) in violation of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-33.
The United States alleged that Reunion Mortgage falsely certified that certain loans met the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s (“HUD”) requirements and were eligible for FHA insurance. The complaint further alleged that Reunion Mortgage knew that the company’s underwriters routinely failed to perform basic due diligence, failed to verify information in the loan file that bore directly on the borrower’s ability to make payments on the mortgage, and repeatedly certified mortgage loans that contained serious defects and departures from HUD’s underwriting standards. Reunion Mortgage, now out of business, was formerly located in Milpitas. The United States also alleged that Reunion Mortgage improperly issued a dividend to co-owners David Thayer and R. Kent Harvey that rendered the company insolvent and unable to pay its debts to the United States, in violation of the Federal Debt Collections Procedures Act.
“This Office is committed to holding lenders accountable for fraudulent and reckless underwriting of federally insured FHA home loans. The systematic abuse of the system will not be tolerated,” said United States Attorney Melinda Haag.
Ila C. Deiss is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who handled the case with the assistance of Michael Zehr, Tina Louie, and Sarah Oldridge. The case is the result of an investigation by HUD’s Office of the Inspector General’s Civil Fraud Division, and is part of HUD's High Default Lender Initiative.
Repeat Offender found Guilty of Illegally Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
A known Seattle gang member who was sentenced in 2009 for drug dealing and possessing a stolen firearm, was found guilty late yesterday for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. JIMMY GENE MILLER, 29, was arrested on June 13, 2013 after Seattle Police responded to reports of a beating behind a nightclub in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. MILLER was convicted following a three day jury trial. Jurors deliberated about five hours before returning the guilty verdict. Sentencing is scheduled for September 19, 2014 before U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones.
According to records in the case and testimony at trial, MILLER encountered a rival gang member at ‘The Garage,’ a bar/pool hall/bowling alley on Capitol Hill in Seattle. MILLER flashed a firearm in the waistband of his pants as he took the victim out the alley door of the nightclub. In the alley MILLER assaulted the victim. Portions of the assault were captured on surveillance video. The victim was found stripped naked and beaten. The surveillance cameras photographed MILLER jumping into the passenger seat of a distinctive black Camaro. Seattle Police moved quickly after getting reports on the assault, locating the car a few miles from the club. MILLER and his associates were found nearby. The victim’s wallet was found in the front passenger seat. A court authorized search of the car revealed a .40 caliber Glock pistol in the glove compartment in front of where MILLER had been sitting. Text messages introduced at trial reveal MILLER discussing an extended magazine for the semi-automatic weapon with an associate in the weeks before the assault.
MILLER faces up to ten years in prison on this conviction and an additional two years in prison for violating the conditions of his supervised release on the prior conviction. MILLER was out of prison for about six months before reoffending.
MILLER was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. Unveiled in May 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), is a comprehensive and strategic approach to gun law enforcement. PSN is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America by networking both new and existing local programs that target gun crime and then providing them with the resources and tools they need to succeed. Implementation at the local level -- in this case, in King County-- has fostered close partnerships between federal, state and local prosecutors and law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Vince Lombardi and Jerrod Patterson.
Relatives who Conspired to Traffick Oxycodone from California to Tacoma Sentenced to Long Prison TermsRead the Press Release
A Tacoma man and his nephew were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to lengthy prison terms for the scheme to smuggle and distribute thousands of pills of oxycodone, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. DION K. MARTIN, 54, of Tacoma was sentenced to six and a half years in prison and three years of supervised release. MOROCCO T. MARTIN, 39, of Los Angeles, California was sentenced to eight years in prison and three years of supervised release. The men were arrested in September 2013 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone in January 2014. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton noted that he hoped the sentences would deter others from this criminal conduct.
“These defendants exploited a horrible addiction that destroys lives and families,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “I congratulate the South Sound Gang Task Force for terminating this pipeline of illegal prescription narcotics to our communities.”
According to records filed in the case, DION MARTIN distributed thousands of oxycodone pills in the Tacoma area, and transferred the drug proceeds to the suppliers in California by depositing payments in accounts in Tacoma, which were later withdrawn in Southern California. The conspirators were careful to keep the cash deposits below limits that would trigger further scrutiny. MOROCCO MARTIN shipped pills from California to his uncle in Tacoma, often hidden in stereo speakers. The shipments were sent to various relatives of DION MARTIN to try to conceal them from investigators. The men stopped using the mails after some of the shipments were seized. On September 8, 2013, the two men were stopped in a rental car headed from Los Angeles to Tacoma. In the trunk was a stereo speaker packed with 7500 oxycodone pills. A search of DION MARTIN’s Tacoma residence uncovered another 1,000 pills and more than $57,000 in cash.
MOROCCO MARTIN supplied the pills to his uncle and arranged for the cash deposits and withdrawals to pay co-conspirators. DION MARTIN supplied the pills to others in Western Washington.
This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved. The case was investigated by the South Sound Gang Task Force with agents and officers from the FBI, Tacoma Police Department and the Washington State Department of Corrections. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Werner and Gregory Gruber.
Pottawattamie County Resident Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Felon in Possession of A FirearmRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - On May 15, 2014, Newberry Winfield Wright, a 22 year-old resident of Oakland, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge James Gritzner to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release after the term of imprisonment, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt.
On February 6, 2014, Wright pled guilty to the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm which was the result of an investigation by law enforcement into a report of shots being fired at the Farm Creek Wildlife Area near Carson, Iowa. Wright was located a short distance from the Farm Creek Wildlife Area by deputies with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department. Wright was found to have in his possession a Smith and Wesson .50 caliber handgun and .50 caliber ammunition. Wright was prohibited from possessing a firearm after he pled guilty in 2012 to a felony controlled substance violation.
The investigation was conducted by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
(Download Press Release )
Organized Crime Associate Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court for Role in Commercial Carting SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that WILLIAM CALI was sentenced in Manhattan federal court in connection with his role in a scheme to exert control over the commercial waste-hauling industry in the greater New York City metropolitan area and in parts of New Jersey. CALI previously pled guilty to one count of participating in a conspiracy to commit extortion. CALI was sentenced today to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel.
According to the Indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:
CALI was a participant in a scheme, along with other members and associates of three different Organized Crime Families of La Cosa Nostra (“LCN”) – the Genovese, Gambino, and Luchese Crime Families – to control various waste disposal businesses in the New York City metropolitan area and multiple counties in New Jersey. Members of the scheme engaged in various crimes including extortion, loansharking, mail and wire fraud, and stolen property offenses. CALI, a Genovese Crime Family associate, provided protection and “backing” to a witness cooperating with the Government who operated a waste disposal company in exchange for regular payments made under the threat of harm.
In addition to the prison term, CALI, 61, of Queens, New York, was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $7,900.
CALI was charged as part of a large investigation led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and the Westchester County Police Department. To date, 32 defendants have been charged with participating in the scheme to exert control over the commercial waste-hauling industry. Twenty-one of these defendants have been convicted for their roles in this scheme.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and the Westchester County Police Department.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Brian R. Blais and Patrick Egan are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Micah Smith of the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.
Nifty Fifty's Accountant Indicted on Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
William J. Frio, 58, of Folsom, PA, is charged by indictment, unsealed today, in a tax evasion scheme involving the Nifty Fifty’s restaurant chain, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Frio is charged with conspiracy to commit tax evasion by operating the Nifty Fifty’s long-running scheme to avoid paying millions of dollars in personal and employment taxes. The scheme defrauded the Internal Revenue Service by failing to properly account for more than $15 million in gross receipts. Frio is also charged with filing his own false tax returns, aggravated structuring of financial transactions, and loan fraud.
Frio is an accountant and income tax preparer who has provided services to the Nifty Fifty’s organization since 1986. According to the indictment, Frio conspired and agreed with the owners and principals of Nifty Fifty’s, all of whom have been charged separately, in a scheme to use skimmed cash to pay themselves and people and businesses who supplied goods and services to the Nifty Fifty’s restaurants, providing those persons and businesses with the opportunity to evade the payment of their own taxes.
It is further alleged that, in 2008, Frio submitted a false loan application to Sovereign Bank, for a $417,000 mortgage for his personal residence. Frio allegedly submitted to the bank bogus federal income tax returns for 2006 and 2007, and bogus Forms W-2, falsely representing he had earned substantial income from Tanfasia, Inc., when, as the defendant knew, the 2006 and 2007 tax returns that he had actually submitted to the Internal Revenue Service showed far less income than the false returns supplied to Sovereign Bank, and that the defendant had not been employed by Tanfasia, Inc. in 2006 or 2007. It is further alleged that between January 2009 and November 2009, Frio knowingly structured transactions with Sovereign Bank, totaling more than $2.6 million, as part of a pattern of illegal activity involving transactions of more than $100,000 in a 12-month period. As explained in the indictment Frio used his position as the Nifty Fifty’s accountant to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars of funds that belonged to the organization.
If convicted, Frio faces a maximum possible sentence of 57 years in prison, full restitution to the IRS and a fine of up to $2.75 million.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul G. Shapiro and Nancy E. Potts.
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, 215-861-8525Newark Man Sentenced to over 7 Years in Prison for Sexual Coercion of A Minor over the InternetRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – A Newark man pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and was sentenced yesterday to 92 months in prison, announced San Francisco Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Clark Settles and United States Attorney Melinda Haag.
Jesse Yang, 25, was sentenced by the Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, United States District Court Judge. Judge Gonzalez Rogers also sentenced Yang to ten years of supervised release.
According to court documents and information presented at court, on Nov. 16, 2011, the Royal Canadian Mountain Police received a telephone call from a man who reported that he found his 14 year old daughter partially dressed in front of a computer and webcam at their home. During the investigation, the victim’s father provided the laptop computer to officers. The computer was open to a Skype chat window between the victim and Yang, identifying himself online as “J”. The chat window contained text messages back and forth with Yang instructing the victim to remove her clothing and open her legs in front of the computer. Yang continued on to suggest to the victim that she engage in sexual acts in front of the webcam.
Yang met the victim through momegl .com, a website designed to allow users to anonymously chat with strangers. In order to entice his minor victim to undress and perform sexual acts, Yang, posing as a 15 year old boy, told the victim how beautiful he thought she was and encouraged her to play sexual explicit games while in front of the webcam, during which she would receive points for following instructions suggested by Yang while on line. Yang provided the victim instructions on how to set up her webcam.
Through Yang’s email address, which he provided to the victim, law enforcement officers were able to ascertain his computer’s IP address and thereafter identify him as Jessy Yang.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy Luskey and Rodney Villazor of the Northern District of California and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.(Yang superseding information )
New Orleans Men Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
THOMAS HILLIARD, 24, CHRISTIAN JOHNSON, 25, WILLIE HILLIARD, 23, and JAMES BROWN, 24, residents of New Orleans, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk, after pleading guilty to crack cocaine and gun charges, announced U. S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. THOMAS HILLIARD was sentenced to 121 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. JOHNSON was sentenced to 228 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. WILLIE HILLIARD and BROWN were sentenced to 12 months and 42 months imprisonment, respectively, followed by three years of supervised release.
THOMAS HILLIARD and JOHNSON pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute two hundred eighty grams or more of crack cocaine. JOHNSON also pled guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and felon in possession of a firearm. WILLIE HILLIARD pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute a quantity of crack. BROWN pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of crack cocaine.
The investigation of THOMAS HILLIARD, JOHNSON, WILLIE HILLIARD and BROWN was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) and the New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) as part of the Multi-Agency Gang Unit. These defendants, along with other individuals who have also pled guilty to drug charges, were identified as a gang known as “MMG” that distributed cocaine and possessed firearms to further their drug trafficking activities in the Seventh Ward area of New Orleans.
The Multi-Agency Gang Unit is an NOPD led division which includes federal agents from A.T.F., the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as participants from the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana State Police, State Probation and Parole, and the New Orleans District Attorney’s Office.
“These lengthy prison sentences are the result of the MAG Unit’s continued commitment to fighting violent crime, stated U.S. Attorney Polite. “Our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners will not rest until our streets are safe for all residents of Southeast Louisiana.”
“The Multi-Agency Gang Unit continues to prove its effectiveness in getting violent criminals off the streets and out of our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Since the fall of 2012, the MAG Unit has led to the indictments of 83 individuals associated with 8 groups. Through NOLA FOR LIFE, we will continue to focus on keeping our residents safe, reclaiming our neighborhoods, and offering opportunities to those who want to make better choices.”
The investigation was conducted by Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the New Orleans Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andre Jones.
Navajo, N.M., Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child Sex Abuse ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Cornallsen Cortez, 32, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Navajo, N.M., was sentenced today to 63 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his abusive sexual contact conviction. Cortez will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.
Cortez was arrested in March 2013, based on a criminal complaint alleging that he sexually abused a 12-year-old child in Nov. 2012, in a residence located on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Cortez pled guilty on Jan. 16, 2014, to a felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact with a minor. In entering his guilty plea, Cortez admitted that on Nov. 28, 2012, he sexually abused a 12-year-old child by touching the child inappropriately.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque and Gallup offices of the FBI and the Window Rock, Ariz., office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer M. Rozzoni.
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/.
Multi-Convicted Felon Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara today sentenced Tory Lenard James (32, Sarasota) to ten years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. James was found guilty by a federal jury on February 25, 2014.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on July 25, 2013, members of the Sarasota Police Department executed a search warrant at James’s residence. Inside the home, law enforcement officers found a loaded .22 caliber pistol.
At the time of the incident, James was a convicted felon. His prior felonies include robbery and multiple drug convictions. As a convicted felon, James is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Sarasota Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carlton C. Gammons and Shauna S. Hale.
This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Julie Leon, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline Strategy to reduce violent crime in communities where law enforcement efforts are focused.
Mountain City and Shades Valley Residents Sentenced for Conspiring to Manufacture MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Two defendants involved in a methamphetamine conspiracy were sentenced on May 14, 2014, by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U. S. District Judge. Daniel W. Johnson, 33, of Mountain City, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 130 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Gerald Dean Campbell, 45, of Shady Valley, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 116 months in federal prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
A total of 20 defendants were indicted in May 2013 for conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine and possessing equipment, chemicals, materials, and products to be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Seven other defendants named in the indictment were also charged with distributing methamphetamine. All other defendants in this case have been adjudicated guilty and will be sentenced later this year.
The charges against these defendants stemmed from a lengthy investigation, from August 2006 to May 2013. The investigation revealed that the defendants conspired to obtain pseudoephedrine and other products needed to manufacture methamphetamine, from various sources in the Eastern District of Tennessee, the Western District of North Carolina and the Western District of Virginia. The pseudoephedrine and other products were then used to manufacture methamphetamine utilizing the “shake and bake” method. The methamphetamine was used and distributed in the Eastern District of Tennessee.
This investigation was a result of the collaborative efforts of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, 1st Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, and the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Kerney-Quillen and Caryn Hebets represented the United States.
Morris County, N.J., Doctor Sentenced to Prison, Fined for Taking Cash Kickbacks for Patient ReferralsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A doctor practicing internal medicine in Orange, N.J., was sentenced today to five months in prison and five months of home confinement for taking cash kickbacks for making referrals to a diagnostic testing lab in Orange, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Mahesh Patel, 64, of Florham Park, N.J., a board-certified physician, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to an information charging him with soliciting and receiving more than $6,000 in illegal cash kickbacks for patient referrals in violation of the federal health care anti-kickback statute.
Including Patel, 17 defendants – including 15 doctors – have been convicted in connection with the government’s ongoing investigation of illegal payments made by Orange Community MRI LLC (Orange MRI), a diagnostic testing facility.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Patel operated his own medical practice in Orange. From 2010 through November 2011, Patel agreed to take cash payments from Orange MRI in exchange for MRI scans he referred to the diagnostic testing facility. Patel admitted to receiving cash on a per-patient basis for nearly two years, and that on one of the occasions on which he received cash, Oct. 13, 2011, he received $375 in exchange for his prior referral of Medicare and Medicaid patients.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Patel to serve two years of supervised release, forfeit $6,600 and pay a $30,000 fine.Ashokkumar Babaria, 64, of Moorestown, N.J., Orange MRI’s former medical director, has been ordered to forfeit more than $2 million in revenue from corrupt referrals. Chirag Patel, 38, of Warren, N.J., Orange MRI’s former executive director, awaits sentencing and has agreed to forfeit $89,180 in corrupt gains. In addition, 13 health care providers, including Mahesh Patel, have agreed to forfeit a total of $460,140 in illegal cash kickbacks. Two health care providers were convicted at trial and forfeiture has yet to be determined.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tom O’Donnell, who investigated the case with criminal investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.The government is represented by Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit and Acting Chief of the office’s General Crimes Unit, Joseph Mack; and Deputy Chief Scott B. McBride of the office’s Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered approximately $535 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
Defense counsel: Robert J. Cleary Esq. and William C. Komaroff Esq., New York
14-178Mississippi Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of ChildrenRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. - Gary Tubby, 53, a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Carleton W. Reeves today to sexual exploitation of children, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen. The offense occurred on the Tribal lands of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
Tubby will be sentenced on August 5, 2014, and faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years, a maximum prison sentence of 30 years, and a maximum fine of $250,000.00.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Lemon.
If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at:
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You can also fax information to:
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Mescalero Apache Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault Charges Arising out of Drive-By ShootingRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Rufus Juan Lester, 22, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation, pleaded guilty this afternoon to federal assault charges arising out of a drive-by shooting of a home located on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
Lester was arrested on Aug. 6, 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging that he fired multiple shots at a residence located on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in the early hours of Nov. 24, 2012. Lester subsequently was indicted and charged with eight counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of discharging firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence.
During today’s proceedings, Lester pled guilty to Counts 1 through 8 of the indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon. In his plea agreement, Lester admitted riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle while another person drove past a residence in Mescalero, N.M. As the vehicle went past the residence, Lester used two rifles to shoot at the residence. Lester acknowledged that the residence was occupied by two adults and six children at the time of the shooting, and that he assaulted each of the occupants when he shot at the residence.
Lester has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Lester faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison on each of the eight assault charges.
This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan, of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Luzerne County Man Charged with Illegally Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 38-year-old Mountaintop resident, who was indicted in January 2014 by a federal grand jury in Scranton for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, was arrested yesterday by federal agents.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the grand jury alleges that Joseph White unlawful possessed a Hi Point .45 caliber firearm in June 2013 in Kingston, Pennsylvania. The indictment alleges that, at the time he possessed the firearm, White was a convicted felon.
White appeared before Magistrate Judge Thomas M. Blewitt for his initial appearance. Magistrate Judge Blewitt ordered White detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for next week.
The charge stems from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Kingston Police. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Deputy United States Marshals assisted in the apprehension of White.
If the defendant is convicted of the charge he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 10 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
****Ludlow Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A Ludlow man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Springfield today to child exploitation charges.
James Pease, 35, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. In March 2013, Pease was indicted. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 5, 2014.
During 2010 and 2012, Pease surreptitiously recorded minor females while they showered. From 2006 to 2012, Pease also received and possessed child pornography which he obtained from the Internet.
Pease faces a statutory mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison on the charge of sexual exploitation of a child; a statutory mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison on the charge of receipt of child pornography; and a statutory maximum of 10 years on the charge of possession of child pornography. Additionally, Pease faces a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Leigh Alistair Barzey, Resident Agent in Charge of the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, made the announcement. The case is being prosecuted by Alex Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Unit.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’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, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Leader of Hartford Drug Trafficking Ring Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ANGEL ROSA, also known as “Little” and “Daddy,” 37, of New Britain, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 235 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for operating a Hartford-based narcotics trafficking ring. Two other members of the ring were also sentenced to prison terms earlier this week.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and the Hartford Police Department into gang-related narcotics trafficking in Hartford’s South End. The investigation specifically targeted a heroin and cocaine trafficking organization headed by Rosa, who is a member of the Los Solidos street gang, and his cousin, Angel Rosa, also known as “Mo Betta” and “Fab.” Rosa, aka “Little,” supervised the drug trafficking ring, which included several other family members, through fear and intimidation. “Mo Betta” managed the daily operations of the organization, facilitated the delivery and transportation of large quantities of heroin, and supervised numerous drug sellers who distributed heroin and other narcotics in the Zion Street area. At times, “Little” and “Mo Betta” used, or threatened to use, violence to ensure the success of the organization.
As a result of the investigation, 21 individuals were charged with various federal offenses, and law enforcement officers seized narcotics, one firearm, approximately $230,000 in cash, eight vehicles and jewelry.
“Little” has been detained since his arrest on April 11, 2013. A search of his residence on that date revealed more than 500 grams of cocaine packaged for distribution, approximately 24 grams of crack cocaine, and $205,240 in cash. He was ordered to forfeit the cash, as well as a 2006 Porsche Cayenne, a 2007 Lexus GS350 and a 2007 Acura RL.
“Little’s” criminal history includes multiple felony convictions and he was on state probation after a conviction for distributing narcotics at this time of this offense.
On January 8, 2014, “Little” pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 100 grams or more of heroin.
“Mo Betta” pleaded guilty to the same charge and, on April 29, 2014, he was sentenced to 165 months of imprisonment. He was also ordered to forfeit $8,767 in cash that was seized from his residence at the time of his arrest, a 2007 Mercedes E550 and a 2006 Harley Davidson XLH1200.
On May 14, 2014, “Little’s” son, ANGEL ROSA, a.k.a. “Bebo,” 19, of New Britain, was sentenced to 66 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. “Bebo,” a central figure in the drug trafficking organization, sold heroin and cocaine in the Zion Street area nearly every day during the course of the investigation. “Bebo” also was ordered to forfeit a 2005 Infinity G35 and approximately $811 is cash that was seized from his person on April 11, 2013, when he was arrested.
Also on May 14, 2014, JARED PENNELL, 31, of Uncasville, was sentenced to 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Pennell purchased significant quantities of heroin from other members of the conspiracy and then sold the drug to his own customers in southeastern Connecticut. Pennell’s criminal history includes convictions for robbery and assault.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes members of the Connecticut State Police, Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut Department of Correction and Connecticut National Guard. The Connecticut State Police’s Emergency Services Unit, Hartford Police Department’s Emergency Response Team, Capital Region Emergency Response Team, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and the New Britain, East Hartford, Wethersfield and Manchester Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Leaming and Patrick Caruso.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Law Enforcement Officials Announce Results of Sex-offender Sweep in Wood and Wirt CountiesRead the Press Release
Charleston, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, U.S. Marshal John D. Foster and West Virginia State Police First Lieutenant Michael Baylous announced today that during a three-day law enforcement blitz aimed at verifying compliance of more than 252 registered sex offenders currently residing in Wirt and Wood counties, 57 offenders were found to be out of compliance.
The initiative, known as Operation Black Diamond, is a multi-agency law enforcement effort targeting registered sex offenders to determine individual compliance with the Sex Offender Registration Notification Act, also known as SORNA. Led by the U.S. Marshal’s Cops United Felony Fugitive Enforcement Division (CUFFED), Operation Black Diamond targeted 252 registered sex offenders and found 195 to be in compliance. A total of 57 individuals were determined to be out of compliance within the Southern District of West Virginia during checks conducted on May 13-15. The operation revealed that eight sex offenders had absconded. Deputy U.S. Marshals, along with West Virginia State Troopers, will continue their investigation until those violators are found.
“We will continue to conduct these compliance sweeps, because the prosecution of sex offenders who violate federal registration requirements is one of my office’s top priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Goodwin. “And we will continue to bring to justice those offenders who are not in compliance.”
Operation Black Diamond was initiated by members of the West Virginia State Police, in cooperation with the U.S. Marshals Service CUFFED Division. The three-day law enforcement sweep covered Wirt and Wood counties.
“The U.S. Marshals Service remains committed to tracking down sex offenders who attempt to evade the law,” U.S. Marshal John Foster said.
In December 2013, Operation Lump of Coal found 54 sex offenders out of compliance when a compliance check was conducted in Mercer, McDowell, Monroe, Summers and Wyoming counties. In August 2013, a similar law enforcement sweep, dubbed Operation Coal Dust, was conducted of 209 registered offenders residing in Boone, Lincoln and Logan counties, which found 10 individuals out of compliance. Operation River Cities, in December 2012, netted 18 arrests of sex offenders found to be out of compliance in Cabell, Mingo and Wayne counties after nearly 300 checks were conducted.
As a result of the four regional operations, a combined total of more than 1,250 offender compliance checks have been conducted.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. SORNA provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States.
King County Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Prodcution of Child Pornography and Illegal Firearms PossessionRead the Press Release
A felon, who photographed his repeated sexual molestation of a 10-year-old girl, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 20 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. STEVEN MAURICE WILLIAMS, 43, of Seattle, will serve the sentence for production of child pornography and illegal possession of a firearm, concurrently with a state court sentence for three counts ofchild rape. WILLIAMS will be sentenced in King County Superior Court on the rape charges in about three months. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said the “crimes are horrible and deserving of severe punishment.”
“This defendant violated a young child, shattering her trust and that of her family,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “This long prison sentence is needed to protect the public from someone who has repeatedly shown no respect for the law or the safety and well-being of others.”
According to records filed in the case, the horrific three year molestation of the young girl began when she was just 7-years-old. The abuse first came to light when WILLIAMS was moving out of the house he shared with the mother of his two sons. One of the boys grabbed a SD card to record a video game and discovered images of his father molesting the young girl. The boy and his mother recognized the child and alerted her mother. WILLIAMS had shared a home with the girl and her mother and had been the caretaker for the child while the mother was at work.
The police investigation revealed that WILLIAMS had 76 images of the girl being molested and possessed additional child pornography in a storage locker that was searched by law enforcement. WILLIAMS also illegally possessed two firearms. As a convicted felon with convictions for burglary, theft, possession of stolen property and domestic violence, WILLIAMS is prohibited from possessing firearms.
WILLIAMS will be on 15 years of supervised release following his release from prison. He will be required to register as a sex offender and will undergo sex offender treatment.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Way Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roscoe Jones.
Kankakee Man to Serve 20 Years in Federal Prison for Crack Cocaine OffenseRead the Press Release
Urbana, Ill. -- U.S. District Judge Michael P. McCuskey yesterday sentenced David L. Crisp, Jr., of Kankakee, Ill., to 240 months in the federal Bureau of Prisons for possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine. Crisp was also ordered to serve eight years of supervised release upon his release from prison.
Crisp, 35, faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison based on two prior felony drug convictions. In 1999, Crisp was convicted in Kankakee County Circuit Court for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a church and was sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. In 2003, Crisp was sentenced to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after being convicted of manufacture/delivery of 1-15 grams of cocaine.
Crisp was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2013, and pled guilty on Jan. 9, 2014, to knowingly possessing 28 grams or more of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute it.
Crisp was arrested by agents of the Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (KAMEG) on Aug. 23, 2013, after a search warrant was executed at Crisp’s residence in the 1100 block of S. East Avenue in Kankakee. KAMEG agents recovered 41.1 grams of crack cocaine which was packed and intended for further distribution.
The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (KAMEG) and the Illinois State Police, with assistance from the Kankakee County State’s Attorney's Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronda H. Coleman.
Kankakee Area Father, Son Sentenced for $1.7 Million Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Urbana, Ill. – A Bourbonnais, Ill., businessman Gregory Yates, 54, and his son, Terrance Yates, 33, were sentenced this morning for defrauding a federal business loan program of $1.7 million. U.S. District Judge Michael P. McCuskey ordered Gregory Yates to serve 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release; Terrance Yates was sentenced to one day in prison, followed by three years supervised release, with the first 12 months of supervised release to be served as home detention. Both were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,387,816. Gregory Yates is to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on Jul. 23, 2014. The government recommended to the court that each defendant serve 33 months in prison
On Feb. 10, 2014, Gregory and Terrance Yates each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. In addition, Terrance Yates pled guilty to one count of money laundering.
At the time of the fraud, from April 2009 to July 2011, Gregory Yates was the president and chief executive officer of Quality Concepts, LLC; his son, Terrance, was the chief financial officer. Gregory Yates also owned and operated QC Manufacturing, LLC, and Champion Development, LLC, a construction company. Terrance was the chief financial officer and vice-president of operations for Champion Development, LLC. For each company, the principal office location was 1475 Harvard Drive, Kankakee, Ill.
In court proceedings and according to court documents, in May 2009, Gregory Yates, doing business as QC Manufacturing, LLC, purchased a manufacturing facility, tools and equipment, owned by Casey Tool and Machine, at 400 West Delaware Ave., Casey, Ill. At the time of the purchase, Casey Tool and Machine was in bankruptcy. Prior to its bankruptcy, Casey Tool and Machine was owned by Gregory Yates’ brother, Jim Yates.
In November 2009, QC Manufacturing, LLC, applied for and was subsequently awarded a Business and Industry Loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Rural Development. Although the $5.95 million loan was processed through Country Bank of Aledo, the loan guarantee was funded by the USDA using money allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Gregory Yates admitted that, as part of the loan application, he submitted a letter stating that he intended to use the $5.95 million USDA loan to purchase a vacant manufacturing facility in Casey, Ill., tools and equipment to operate within the facility, and start up working capital for initial cash and inventory.
The letter represented that the facility would be used to produce and distribute precision lighting equipment and he estimated that more than 200 new jobs would be created. The loan application included a budget of $1.7 million to perform construction and improvements on the Casey facility.
Although the bank approved the loan, including the renovation budget, QC Manufacturing, LLC was required to complete the work for which it was requesting payment before Country Bank would fund any portion of the $1.7 million allocation. Gregory and Terrance Yates admitted that they agreed with each other to use only their own construction company, Champion Development, and no subcontractors, to perform the construction and improvements. By listing only their own construction company, the Yateses admitted they were able to falsely and substantially inflate the value of the labor or materials furnished by Champion Development, thereby drawing money from the USDA loan for work that was either never performed or was of lesser value than claimed on the contractor’s sworn statements provided to the bank. For example, Gregory Yates admitted he told employees of Champion Development to ‘simply spruce up’ the Casey facility to lower the cost of improvements.
Terrance, in agreement with Gregory Yates, admitted that fraudulent sworn statements and affidavits, signed by Terrance, were submitted to the bank claiming that Champion Development had performed work and supplied materials. Based on these fraudulent statements, the bank disbursed $1.7 million to QC Manufacturing. Of the $1.7 million disbursed, more than $1.3 million was transferred from QC Manufacturing to Champion Development and then transferred to other accounts.
The charges were investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General; and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller.
Grosse Ile BusinessmanSentenced in Mortgage Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
A Grosse Ile businessman was sentenced today after being convicted at trial of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Wire Fraud, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.
U.S. Attorney McQuade was joined in the announcement by Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Sentenced was Richard Dean Woolsey, 42, of Grosse Ile Township, Michigan. Woolsey was sentenced to 90 months by U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn. Judge Cohn also ordered Woolsey to serve 3 years supervised release after his custodial sentence. A separate hearing on restitution will be held within 90 days. Sentencing for co-defendant Ryan Vinco is scheduled for June 5, 2014
The evidence at trial showed that from 2006 to 2008, Richard Dean Woolsey conspired to defraud and defrauded mortgage lenders in numerous mortgage loan transactions in the States of Michigan and Tennessee. In executing the conspiracy and scheme to defraud Woolsey used ReMax Experts a real estate company and The Valuation Group, an appraisal company both owned by him. Woolsey orchestrated and helped to orchestrate millions of dollars of fraudulent mortgage transactions by coordinating and directing the activities of bank employees, buyers, appraisers and closing agents. In doing so he disguised the source of down payments, provided false and inflated appraisals for properties and provided false income information for buyers in order to bolster their creditworthiness and apparent ability to qualify for mortgage loans. Judge Cohn found that losses caused by Woolsey’s fraud were greater than $2.5 million and less than $7 million.
"Mortgage fraud harms real estate markets and property values and also undermines the ability of lending institutions to protect themselves from debilitating losses," McQuade said.
Special Agent in Charge Abbate stated, “As reflected in the investigation of Mr. Woolsey’s criminal activity and his sentence today, the FBI takes mortgage fraud very seriously. These crimes, particularly those as egregious as Mr. Woolsey’s, not only negatively impact real estate markets, banks, and the financial industry, but hurt our entire community. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate these crimes.”
Genovese Crime Family Associate Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court for Role in Commercial Carting SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CARMINE FRANCO was sentenced yesterday in Manhattan federal court in connection with his role in a scheme to exert control over the commercial waste-hauling industry in the greater New York City metropolitan area and in parts of New Jersey. FRANCO previously pled guilty in November 2013 to participation in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to transport stolen cardboard across state lines. FRANCO was sentenced to one year and one day in prison by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel.
According to the Indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:
FRANCO, who is an associate of the Genovese Crime Family, participated in a criminal enterprise, along with other members and associates of three different Organized Crime Families of La Cosa Nostra (“LCN”) – the Genovese, Gambino, and Luchese Crime Families – to control various waste disposal businesses in the New York City metropolitan area and multiple counties in New Jersey. Members of the enterprise engaged in various crimes in furtherance of the enterprise’s aims, including extortion, loansharking, mail and wire fraud, and stolen property offenses. As part of his guilty plea, FRANCO, who had been barred by the State of New Jersey from participating in the waste hauling industry, acknowledged his membership in the criminal enterprise and his agreement with others to undertake at least two racketeering acts in furtherance of the enterprise. Specifically, FRANCO acknowledged that he committed mail and wire fraud by overbilling customers of a waste transfer station that he controlled in West Nyack, New York. He also acknowledged that he and his associates transported large volumes of stolen cardboard across state lines.
In addition to the prison term, FRANCO, 78, of Ramsey, New Jersey, was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and restitution in the amount of $5,600, and to forfeit $2.5 million to the United States.
FRANCO was charged as part of a large investigation led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and the Westchester County Police Department. To date, 32 defendants have been charged with participating in the scheme to exert control over the commercial waste-hauling industry. Twenty-one of these defendants have been convicted for their roles in this scheme.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and the Westchester County Police Department.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Brian R. Blais and Patrick Egan are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Micah Smith of the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.
Former President of University of Tennessee Foundation Sentenced to Serve 121 Months in Prison for Receiving and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Bruce Owen Downsbrough, 61, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced to serve 121 months in federal prison by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U. S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Downsbrough pleaded guilty in October 2013 to a federal indictment charging him with receiving and possessing child pornography.
In addition to the prison sentence, Downsbrough was ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to victims and a $75,000 fine. He was also placed on supervised release for a period of ten years and for the rest of his life will be required to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or attends school.
Downsbrough ordered child pornography to be sent to him via United States mail. A federal search warrant was obtained for Downsbrough’s home and his computer was seized and searched for child pornography. Examination of the seized computer revealed that, in addition to ordering child pornography through the mail, he had been accessing and downloading child pornography via the internet.
U. S. Attorney William C. Killian emphasized the importance of the prosecution of child pornographers. “Those who seek out and collect child pornography fuel the further exploitation of children. This sentence sends a strong message to those who would prey upon the youngest and most vulnerable members of society that trafficking in images of the exploitation of children will not be tolerated,” said Killian.
Agencies involved in this investigation included Knoxville Police Department - Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and U. S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Morris represented the United States.
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."
Former Church Youth Director Sentenced to 30 Years for Child Exploitation and PornographyRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Blue Springs, Mo., man who sexually abused several minor victims was sentenced in federal court today for transporting a minor across state lines for illegal sexual activity and for receiving child pornography over the Internet.
Dennis W. Myers, 53, of Blue Springs, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to 30 years in federal prison without parole, which is the statutory maximum sentence.
Myers formerly served as a youth director at Christ United Methodist Church in Independence, Mo., and at First United Methodist Church in Springdale, Ark. On Aug. 5, 2013, Myers pleaded guilty to engaging in illicit sexual activity with a 16-year-old victim, identified as Jane Doe #1, after transporting her across state lines, and to receiving child pornography over the Internet.
Myers met Jane Doe #1 when he was youth director at the First United Methodist Church in Springdale. According to court documents, Myers began engaging in sexual activity with the victim when she was 14-15 years old and in the eighth grade. Myers left his employment with the church and started a DJ business in approximately 1993-94, when Jane Doe #1 was 15 years old. He was training Jane Doe #1 to assist him in that business. From November 1994 to November 1995, when Jane Doe #1 was approximately 16 years old, Myers transported her from Arkansas to the Kansas City, Mo., area, where they engaged in sexual intercourse. Court documents report that towards the end of their relationship, as Jane Doe #1 attempted to break away from him, Myers provided her with an excessive amount of wine and raped her as she cried and tried to fight him off.
Years later Myers moved to Blue Springs. Following complaints by two adolescents of inappropriate sexual activity, law enforcement officers searched his home on Sept. 15, 2011, and seized his computer. Forensic examiners found a video of child pornography that had been downloaded from the Internet and viewed on the computer.
Myers was sentenced today as a serial abuser for engaging in a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of six additional minors, including the victims of a case filed in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mo. In relation to the Jackson County case, Myers digitally penetrated a 12-year-old girl and fondled another 12-year-old girl, both of which occurred in his home. According to court documents, Myers has perpetrated other instances of sexual abuse or exploitation of minors, including:
- His fondling of a fourth victim, 13 years of age, on an overnight church lock-in;
- His fondling of a fifth victim, 16-17 years of age, on a church camping trip;
- His fondling of a sixth victim, 15-16 years of age, at his apartment;
- His production in his Blue Springs home of a pornographic image of a prepubescent girl, a seventh victim.
In 1994 a victim in Independence wrote to the church in Arkansas to disclose Myers’ activities while he had been the youth director in Independence. Myers, who was working at the Arkansas church at the time, intercepted the mail. According to court documents, Myers then wrote to the victim and tried to persuade her not to disclose, telling her, among other things, that it would bring scandal to the church.
The government also offered evidence at today’s sentencing hearing of other instances of inappropriate and suspicious, although not criminal, interactions between Myers and neighbor girls.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Myers must also plead guilty to the charges of statutory sodomy in the first degree and attempted enticement of a child in a pending case in the Circuit Court of Jackson County. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office will recommend a sentence of 10 years on each of the two state counts to run concurrently with each other and with the federal sentence.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the Blue Springs, Mo., 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."Five New England Residents Charged with Sex TraffickingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Five individuals were charged in an indictment unsealed today for operating a multistate sex trafficking ring centered in Massachusetts and Maine involving minors and adult women.
Raymond Jeffries, a/k/a Skame Dollarz, Skame, Frenchy, 26, of Boston and Portland, Maine; Corey Norris, a/k/a Case, 23, of Boston; Jacqueline Lungelow, a/k/a Baby J., 26, of Boston; Kairis Sanchez, a/k/a Lola, 19, of Boston; and John Kanda, a/k/a J., 21, of Portland, Maine, were charged in a 17-count superseding indictment unsealed today involving the trafficking of six victims, three of whom were under the age of 18, for the purposes of prostitution in Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Nevada, and California.
The indictment alleges that, at various times from 2006 through January 2014, different combinations of these defendants trafficked the victims for prostitution by force, fraud or coercion and, in the cases of the minor girls, knowing or in reckless disregard that they were under the age of 18.
Norris was previously charged in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts for sex trafficking of a minor from Massachusetts to Rhode Island, and this indictment expands on those charges.
If convicted on the charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, the defendant faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of a lifetime, five years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution. If convicted on sex trafficking of a minor, the defendant faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of a lifetime, five years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Shawn Meehan, Resident Agent in Charge of the HSI Portland Office; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Aaron Steps, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent in Charge of the Maine Office, made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office wishes to thank the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Cumberland County (Maine) District Attorney’s Office, United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine, Massachusetts State Police, Portland (Maine) Police Department, Old Town (Maine) Police Department, Braintree Police Department, South Portland (Maine) Police Department, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Harman Burkart and Cory S. Flashner of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team and Special Assistant United States Attorney and Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney David S. Bradley.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Felon in Possession Charges Filed Against James Nathaniel Watts Following Arrest in CairoRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsJames Nathaniel Watts, age 30, of Cairo, Ill., was charged by criminal complaint with Felon in Possession of a Firearm, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. The affidavit in support of the complaint indicates that Watts was arrested on May 15, 2014, on a railroad train trestle in Cairo, Illinois, after a high speed chase with law enforcement. Watts was driving a vehicle which belonged to an employee of the First National Bank, which had been robbed earlier in the day. During the robbery, two employees were killed and one was critically wounded. Those offenses remain under investigation.
The offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to ten years, a fine of $250,000, or both, and up to 3 years supervised release.
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.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin for prosecution.
Federal Jury Finds Shiprock Man Guilty on Three Second Degree Murder ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury returned a verdict today finding Tillman Naskia Begaye, 33, guilty on three counts of second degree murder after a five day trial, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Director John Billison of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.
Begaye, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was arrested on July 22, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging three counts of second degree murder, and was indicted on the same charges on Aug. 7, 2013. According to the indictment, Begaye killed a Navajo woman and two of her adult children on July 14, 2013, while driving under the influence of alcohol on the Navajo Indian Reservation.
Trial began on May 12, 2014, and concluded today when the jury returned a verdict of guilty on each of the three counts of the indictment.
The evidence at trial established that on July 14, 2013, officers of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety were called to the scene of a two vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 491 south of Newcomb, N.M., near Sheep Springs, N.M. The officers’ investigation revealed that Begaye caused the crash by driving his full-sized pickup truck northbound on the southbound lane of the highway and crashing head on into a vehicle occupied by the three victims who died at the scene.
The investigation revealed that Begaye was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Begaye’s blood alcohol content (BAC) level was .18 when his blood was drawn when he was transported to a nearby hospital an hour after the crash. The investigation also revealed that Begaye was driving northbound on a southbound lane of a four-lane highway at a speed of 75 per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone prior to impact.
Through a stipulation, the jury learned that Begaye had two prior DWI convictions. According to the stipulation, Begaye was convicted on a driving under the influence charge in Oct. 2012, in the State of Colorado. Begaye also was convicted on an aggravated driving while intoxicated charge in Jan. 2001, in the Municipal Court in the City of Farmington, N.M.
The jury deliberated approximately an hour and a half before returning its guilty verdict.
Begaye has been in federal custody since his arrest. He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Begaye faces a prison term of any term of years to life in prison on each of the three second degree murder charges.
This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the Farmington office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Presiliano A. Torrez and Louis E. Valencia.
Federal Jury Finds Bridgeport Man with Violent Criminal History Guilty of Illegal Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal jury in Hartford has found JOSE ROQUE, 47, of Bridgeport, guilty of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. The jury returned the verdict this morning after a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, on September 1, 2010, Bridgeport Police responded to a residential burglary call. The complainant described the burglar and the vehicle he drove from the scene. Later that day, officers spotted ROQUE driving the car and attempted to stop him. After a chase, which involved multiple police cars, ROQUE was stopped.
ROQUE refused to get out of the vehicle. As one officer attempted to remove ROQUE, a second officer approached from the other side of the car and saw a brown gun handle tucked along the right side of the driver’s seat. After ROQUE made a movement toward the gun, the second officer kicked in the passenger window of the vehicle. ROQUE was taken out of the vehicle and tasered when he pushed back at officers.
A search of the vehicle revealed a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson SPL Model #64-2 handgun at the side of the driver’s seat.ROQUE’s criminal history includes several state felony convictions, including convictions for murder, robbery and burglary in 1984; assault and burglary in 1991; escape in 1992; burglary in 1993, and assault, attempted assault of an officer, attempted escape, attempted riot in an institution, and conspiracy to commit assault in 1994. ROQUE was sentenced to 15 years of incarceration for the 1994 convictions.
It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Judge Bryant has scheduled sentencing for August 27, 2014.
ROQUE is subject to the Armed Career Criminal Act, a federal law imposing severe penalties for firearm or ammunition possession by persons who have been convicted of at least three violent felonies or serious drug offenses. As an Armed Career Criminal, ROQUE faces a minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.
This matter was investigated by the Bridgeport Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Rombeau.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Federal Inmate Sentenced to Almost Two Years in Prison for Walking Away from the Hinzman CenterRead the Press Release
A man serving out the last few months of a sentence on federal drug charges was sent back to prison for twenty-one months when he walked away from the Gerald R. Hinzman re-entry center after testing positive for alcohol.
Brandon Devos, age 30, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 28, 2014, guilty plea to escape.
In a plea agreement, Devos admitted he was convicted on December 7, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, of conspiracy to distribute heroin. Devos was sentenced to 104 months in federal prison. Toward the end of his prison sentence, Devos was transferred to the Hinzman Center, a residential re-entry center in Cedar Rapids, to help him transition back into society. He was permitted to leave the center to find employment. On December 14, 2013, Devos tested positive for alcohol when he returned to the center that day. While the staff waited to perform a second breathalizer test, Devos walked away from the center without permission. United States Marshals captured Devos two days later hiding at a residence in Iowa City.
Devos was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Devos was sentenced to twenty-one months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Devos is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison where he will finish serving out his prior prison sentence before starting his new prison sentence.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and investigated by United States Marshal’s Service.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-cr-4-LRR.
Erath Woman Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Wire FraudRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Hue Bui, 27, of Erath, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Foote, to 12 months in prison and two years of supervised release for one count of wire fraud involving theft from Walk-On’s Bistreaux and Bar in Lafayette. Bui was also ordered to pay $30,222.12 in restitution to Walk-On’s.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea on January 22, 2014, while employed as a server at Walk-On’s, Bui stole approximately $30,222 from February 2012 to August 2012. She devised a scheme using $25 pre-paid American Express, VISA, and Master Card gift cards that she bought herself. During her shift, she would create a fake food or beverage order costing approximately $25, pay for the fake order with the gift card, write in a gratuity amount on the bill, and collect the tips at the end of her shift. When the credit card companies realized the $25 limit was exceeded, they charged the transactions back to Walk-On’s.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly P. Uebinger prosecuted the case.Eight Indicted on Federal Racketeering ChargesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA – A Federal Grand Jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville has returned an indictment charging eight individuals with federal racketeering, narcotics, robbery, kidnapping and murder charges related to a string of violent episodes across Central Virginia that included the alleged kidnapping and murder of Waynesboro Reserve Police Captain Kevin Quick. A ninth defendant has been charged federally with obstruction of justice.
In an indictment returned under seal on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 and unsealed this morning following the defendants’ initial court appearances, the grand jury has charged the following:
Daniel Lamont Mathis, 18, of Charlottesville, Va., Shantai Monique Shelton, 24, of Charlottesville, Va., Mersadies Lachelle Shelton, 20, of Charlottesville, Va., Travis Leon Bell, 23, of Front Royal, Va., Anthony Leon White, 22, of Louisa, Va., Gert Arthur Lee Wright, III, 23, of Manassas, Va., Anthony Darnell Stokes, 32, of Manassas, Va., Devante O’Brian Bell, 20, of Louisa, Va., and Leslie Hope Casterlow, 50, of Manassas, Va.
According to the indictment, those charged today are either members or associates of the “99 Goonz Syndikate” set of the Bloods criminal street gang. The indictment alleges that members of this gang participated in a pattern of racketeering from December 2012-April 2014 that included violent armed robberies, the kidnapping and murder of Kevin Quick, the sale of narcotics and the obstruction of justice after that incident.
Mathis, Shantai Shelton, Mersadies Shelton, Travis Bell, Anthony White and Devante Bell are charged with conducting several armed robberies of both commercial businesses and individuals in Louisa, Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Fluvanna County and Gordonsville. It is alleged that this series of robberies were conducted using firearms and were conducted to financially benefit the collective group.
Anthony Stokes, Gert Wright and Leslie Casterlow are charged with obstructing justice by assisting other members of the conspiracy destroy evidence and elude apprehension following the kidnapping and murder of Kevin Quick.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Virginia State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Albemarle County Police Department, the Charlottesville City Police Department, the Louisa County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the Waynesboro Police Department, the Henrico County Police Department, the Gordonsville Police Department, the Goochland County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the Fluvanna County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the Prince William County Police Department.
United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy, Assistant United States Attorney Ronald M. Huber and Special Assistant United States Attorney and Louisa County Commonwealth’s Attorney Russell E. McGuire will prosecute the case for the United States.
An indictment is only a charge and all defendants are entitled to a fair and speedy trial and are considered innocent until and if they are proven guilty.
District Man Sentenced to 75 Years in Prison for 2008 Shooting That Killed Two People-Targeted One Victim in Dispute; Other Was Innocent Bystander-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Arvel Crawford, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 75 years in prison on first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and related weapons charges for the slayings of two people in 2008, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Crawford was found guilty by a jury in February 2014, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Jennifer Anderson.
At trial, the government’s evidence established that on Aug. 14, 2008, at about 10 a.m., Crawford snuck up on Johnquan Wright, 18, in front of a building in the unit block of K Street NW and shot him multiple times in the back. One of the shots went through Mr. Wright and hit and killed Nolan Cooper, 61, an innocent bystander. In the months preceding the murders, a dispute had arisen between two groups of young men in the Sursum Corda neighborhood, leading to multiple homicides. Crawford and Mr. Wright were on opposite sides of this dispute.
In a separate case, Crawford is serving an 18-year prison sentence for killing his father on Dec. 1, 2009 in a robbery conspiracy gone awry. Today’s sentence runs consecutively to the prison time in that case.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives, officers, and evidence technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Meridith McGarrity and Kwasi Fields; Victim/Witness Advocate Tamara Ince; Intelligence Specialist Zachary McMenamin, and Litigation Technology Specialists Anisha Bhatia and Paul Howell.
Finally, he acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Bach, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Magdalena Acevedo and Glenn Kirschner, who prosecuted the case at trial.
14-113District Man Sentenced to 73 Years in Prison for Killing A Man During 2009 Kidnapping and RobberyTwo Co-Defendants Earlier Sentenced, One to Life in Prison, One to 90 YearsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Merle Watson, Jr., 57, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 73-year prison term on charges stemming from the 2009 killing of a man during a kidnapping and robbery, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Watson and co-defendants Keith Logan and Paul Ashby were found guilty by a jury in August 2013 of first-degree murder while armed, with aggravating circumstances, conspiracy, kidnapping while armed, armed robbery, and weapons offenses. Logan also was found guilty of assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, and mayhem while armed, for shooting a potential witness on the night of the murder. The verdicts followed several weeks of trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
The Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr. sentenced Watson today. Logan and Ashby, also of Washington, D.C., were sentenced in April 2014 by Judge Dixon. Logan, 52, was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of release, and Ashby, 51, to a 90-year prison term.
According to the government’s evidence, Watson, Logan, and Ashby conspired to kidnap and rob Carnell Bolden, 36. They lured Mr. Bolden into Logan’s residence in the unit block of W Street NW during the early evening hours of Dec. 30, 2009. After beating him unconscious and tying him up, the defendants then went to get Mr. Bolden’s car, which was parked on the block.
Watson, Logan, and Ashby then discovered that Mr. Bolden’s girlfriend was sitting in the car. Fearing she would be a witness against them because she might know where Mr. Bolden was going when he left the car, they then decided to kill both of them.
Ashby drove Mr. Bolden, tied up and unconscious, to the 3000 block of Park Drive SE, where he dragged him into a wooded area adjacent to that block. He then shot Mr. Bolden twice at close range with a .38 or .357-caliber handgun, killing him.
While Ashby was on the way to Southeast Washington with Mr. Bolden, Logan approached Mr. Bolden’s girlfriend as she sat in her car. He stood outside the driver’s window and shot her four times with a nine-millimeter handgun. She was rushed to Washington Hospital Center and survived the attack.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va.
He also thanked those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates and Specialists Marcia Rinker, La June Thames, Katina Adams-Washington, and Michael Hailey; Paralegal Specialists Sandra Lane, Kendra Johnson, Kwasi Fields, Anthony Griffith, and Antoinette Sakamsa; Litigation Technology Specialists Paul Howell, William Henderson, and Anisha Bhatia; Law Clerks Lauren Sparks and Ryan Lipes, and Criminal Investigators Derek Starliper, Mark Crawford, Nelson Rhone, Chris Brophy, and Melissa Matthews. In addition, he acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alessio Evangelista, who led the grand jury investigation, and Reagan Taylor, who helped prepare the case for trial. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael C. Liebman and Erik Kenerson, who tried the case.
14-114District Man Sentenced to 15-Year Prison Term for Brazen Home Invasion in Southeast Washington-Second Assailant Was Fatally Shot by Victim-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Jaren Holley, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 15-year prison term for a brazen, armed home invasion he committed in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced. During the crime, Holley’s accomplice was fatally shot by one of the victims, who feared for his life.
Holley pled guilty in January 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of first-degree burglary, aggravated assault, and a firearms offense. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna L. Beck. Upon completion of his prison term, Holley will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government's evidence, on Sept. 19, 2012, at about 8:30 p.m., Holley and 21-year-old Joel Johnson armed themselves with firearms and participated in a home invasion in the 4200 block of First Street SE. The victim was returning to his apartment building from a grocery store. Holley and Johnson waited until the victim was closing the door to his residence. At that point, they rushed the door and pushed past him into the man’s third-floor apartment. A woman in the residence was cooking dinner when the assailants rushed in.
Holley assaulted the man by hitting him on the head with a firearm, while Johnson ran after the woman. She was able to escape into her room, and then managed to jump out the third-floor window to get away. She broke her ankle and several toes, and ran away in search of aid.
Meanwhile, the man struggled with Holley, and gained control of Holley’s firearm. After losing control of his gun, Holley repeatedly urged Johnson to shoot and kill the man. Johnson had his gun drawn, and the man, believing he was about to be shot, fired the gun he took from Holley twice. Johnson died on the scene from gunshot wounds. Holley then fled out the window and was able to leave the area without injury. Holley was arrested several days after the attack. During his flight, Holley left behind a hat which was found to contain his DNA.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Richard Cheatham, Anthony Griffith, and Antoinette Sakamsa. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tejpal S. Chawla, George Pace and James Petkun.
14-115Dallas Man Indicted for Smuggling Hummingbirds from Mexico to USRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsTYLER, Texas — A 53-year-old Dallas man has been indicted on smuggling charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Carlos Delgado Rodriguez was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 14, 2014 and charged with smuggling dead hummingbirds from Mexico into the United States.
According to the indictment, from February 2013 through January 2014, Rodriguez is alleged to have unlawfully imported approximately 61 dead hummingbirds, of various varieties, into the United States for sale. The five-count indictment specifically alleges that the importation of dead hummingbirds violates the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), the Lacey Act, the federal smuggling law, and Texas State Law.
If convicted, Rodriguez faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
It is important to note that an indictment should not be considered as evidence of guilt and that all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Convenience Store Robber Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
Committed 14 Convenience Store Robberies in Less Than 2 Months
Baltimore, Maryland – Omar Hance, age 33, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty today to a series of commercial robberies. Darrell Blackwell, age 27, of Columbia, Maryland pleaded guilty on May 1, 2014, to being the get-away driver in two of the robberies.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.
According to Hance’s plea agreement, between December 23, 2012 and February 7, 2013, Hance and a co-conspirator, Willie Vinson, robbed 14 convenience stores. In each robbery, Hance or Vinson used what appeared to be a black handgun, but was later determined to be a BB gun, to commit the robbery, taking money and store products by the use or threatened use of force against employees and customers of the store.
For example, on February 7, 2013, Darrell Blackwell drove Hance and Vinson to a 7-Eleven on West 33rd Street in Baltimore. Blackwell parked a short distance away and remained in the vehicle while Hance and Vinson, wearing masks, went into the store. Hance pointed what appeared to be a black semi-automatic handgun at the cashier and demanded money. The cashier turned over $200 in cash and $300 worth of cigarettes. Approximately five minutes later, after Blackwell had driven Hance and Vinson to the Royal Farms store on West 41st Street in Baltimore, they entered the store, while Blackwell again remained in the vehicle. Hance and Vinson announced the robbery and the customers left the store. Hance ordered the store employee to open the cash register, pulled out the black handgun and placed it on the counter, telling Vinson to take the gun. Hance then removed cartons of cigarettes, placing them in a large bag, while Vinson emptied the cash from the register. The two then left the store and sped away in the vehicle being driven by Blackwell.
Witnesses identified the vehicle, which was located by the police aviation unit. Other police units followed the vehicle and saw at least one item thrown from the vehicle. The vehicle eventually stopped at a garage at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Blackwell, Hance and Vinson ran away. All three were caught a short time later. Hance and Vinson were wearing the same clothing and fit the physical description of the robbers seen in the surveillance video from the stores. The gun was recovered from the road along the route of the robbers and was determined to be a BB gun.
Vinson previously pleaded guilty to his role in the robberies in Baltimore County Circuit Court and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Hance and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement he will be sentenced to 110 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for Hance on September 2, 2014 at 2:30 p.m. and for Blackwell on August 26, 2014 at 11:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Baltimore Police Department, Baltimore County Police Department and the Baltimore City and Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Offices for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Bonnie S. Greenberg and Scott A. Lemmon, who are prosecuting the case.
Chief Executive Officer of Superior Discount Coins Is Sentenced to 90 Months in Federal Prison for Defrauding Gold Coin Investors Out of over $2.4 MillionRead the Press Release
DENVER – James P. Burg, age 63, formerly of Fairplay, Colorado, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane to serve 90 months in federal prison for mail fraud and failing to file an income tax return, federal law enforcement authorities announced. Following his prison sentence, Burg was ordered to spend 3 years on supervised release. Judge Kane also ordered him to pay just under $2.5 million in restitution to the approximately 40 victims of his crime.
Burg was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on November 5, 2012. The indictment remained sealed until his arrest in California on November 29, 2012. He pled guilty on September 12, 2013. According to the indictment as well as the plea agreement, starting in October 2007, and continuing through January 2012, Burg devised a scheme to defraud customers that ordered coins from businesses known as Superior Discount Coins and Gold Run Investments. He obtained money from those customers by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. Burg took and received $2,464,099 from customers that ordered coins that he failed to deliver as promised.
As part of the scheme, Burg represented that he was the Chief Executive Officer of a company known as Superior Discount Coins (“SDC”) and that SDC was in the business of selling coins. Burg also conducted business using a company known as Gold Run Investments (“GRI”) and represented that GRI was in the business of selling coins. At times, Burg operated GRI using the alias “Tim Burke”. Burg advertised and solicited customers through radio advertisements and over the internet using websites he controlled, including; www.superiordiscountcoins.com, www.yourcoinbroker.com, and www.goldruninvestments.net.
Burg misrepresented and promised customers that if they ordered coins from SDC or GRI and paid him for those coins, he would deliver the coins to them or to accounts designated by them. He sent, and caused to be sent to customers that ordered coins from SDC or GRI invoices stating amounts of money owed for the coins and, in some cases, providing information about a bank account to which the customers should transfer their money to purchase the coins.
A substantial portion of the money Burg received from customers was not used to purchase their coins but instead was used for his own personal benefit. Burg refused to refund money to customers in several instances where the customers requested a return of their money after he failed to deliver coins as originally promised. To prevent the scheme’s detection, Burg sometimes filled customers’ orders for coins only after such customers threatened to take legal action or report him to law enforcement authorities. Burg used one customer’s payment for coins to refund funds to another customer.
For calendar years 2003 through 2009, Burg also failed to file income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service as required by law. These returns were required to be filed with the IRS on April 15 following the subsequent above mentioned years. The investigation determined during the above years Burg generated a gross income of over $5.5 million for which he failed to pay $1,100,334 in income taxes on that income.
“The defendant’s sentence serves a number of purposes,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “To those who consider implementing investment fraud, let this case be a warning that there are consequences, including prison sentences. To those who are asked to invest, do research before handing over your hard earned money. And to those who have lost money in these schemes, know we will do the best that we can to recover as much money as possible.”
“Investment schemes are motivated by greed and this sentence should serve as a reminder for those who prey on investors for their personal financial gain. These fraudsters will be caught and sent to prison,” said Stephen Boyd, Special Agent in Charge for IRS Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office.
“The collaborative effort between the IRS CI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the FBI is an example of the on-going working relationships federal investigative agencies have to combat violations of federal law,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas P. Ravenelle. “This investigation highlights the leveraging of federal law enforcement resources to protect innocent investors and our economy from those who engage in these types of fraudulent schemes.”
“The sentence James Burg received reflects the public’s right to expect punishment for those who commit fraud in order to enrich themselves personally,” said Denver Division U.S. Postal Inspector In Charge Adam P. Behnen. “Postal Inspectors will continue to ensure the integrity of the U.S. Mail through these types of investigations and our valued partnerships with other law enforcement agencies.”
This case was investigated by special agents with IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff.
Career Criminal Gets Nearly 47 Years in Prison for Armed Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- A federal judge this week sentenced a Birmingham man to nearly 47 years in prison for an armed bank robbery in Tarrant in October, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr.
MICHAEL SCOTT THOMAS, 40, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty in January to one count each of armed robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. All the charges stemmed from the Oct. 14 robbery at Wells Fargo Bank on Pinson Street in Tarrant.
U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced Thomas to 21 years and 10 months in prison on the armed robbery and felon in possession counts, to be followed by 25 years in prison for brandishing a gun during the robbery.
According to court records, Thomas entered the Tarrant bank and robbed it as follows: He walked to the teller counter, brandished a handgun, pulled a black bag from behind his waistband and demanded the teller put money in it. Thomas also ordered other tellers to put money in the bag. He left the bank with $26,516, got into a car and drove away. Tarrant Police stopped the car he was driving, arrested Thomas and recovered the stolen money and a loaded Smith and Wesson .40-caliber pistol.
Judge Bowdre sentenced Thomas as an armed career criminal. He has been convicted for five previous violent robberies, according to court records.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Montminy prosecuted.
California Man Sentenced for Cash SmugglingRead the Press Release
GREENSBORO, N.C. –A California man was sentenced to 50 months in prison for bulk cash smuggling, announced United States Attorney Ripley Rand.
Adolfo Pulido, age 55, pled guilty on January 3, 2014, and was sentenced on May 13, 2014. Chief United States District Judge William L. Osteen, Jr., sentenced Pulido to a total of 50 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. A special assessment of $100 was also imposed.
Pulido traveled to Asheboro, North Carolina, with the intent to transport over $1.5 million in cash back to California and then to Mexico without reporting the movement of the cash across the Mexican border as required by federal law. Cash in the amount of $1,567,576.00 was seized from Pulido during the investigation.
The case was investigated by the Asheboro Police Department, Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sandra Hairston.
Buffalo Man Sentenced on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Myron Johnson, 39, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, was sentenced to 51 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys George C. Burgasser and Timothy C. Lynch, who handled the case, stated that on November 16, 2011, Erie County Sheriff’s Department deputies executed a search warrant at the defendant’s Ruspin Avenue residence and his vehicle. During the search, deputies seized approximately 209 grams of crack cocaine, 762 grams of cocaine, $58,000 in United States currency and two firearms.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Jamie J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.Buffalo Man Sentenced for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Avery Gill, 56, of Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara, to bank fraud. The charge carries a mandatory 30 years sentence, a fine of $1,000,000 and a term of supervised release of five years.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who is handling the case, stated that between September 2012 through March 2013, Gill and co-defendants Calvina Myles and David Johnson devised a scheme to defraud Capital One Bank. The defendants used the names and personal identification information of two individuals to apply for two Capital One credit cards in those names. The defendants then purchased merchandise and gift cards from retail stores using the credit cards. Gill also made ATM withdrawals using the credit card. As a result of this conduct, Capital One suffered a loss of $29,429.16. involving two fraudulently issued credit cards.
The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division currently under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge, Shelly A. Binkowski.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 28, 2014, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.