Latest Records
Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
Tuesday 25 March 2014
Bookkeeper for Northern Kentucky Bank Admits Stealing over $100,000Read the Press Release
COVINGTON, KY -A longtime bookkeeper for a Northern Kentucky Bank admitted in federal court that she embezzled more than $100,000 from her employer, over a three year period.
Linda Penick, 58, of Dry Ridge, KY., pleaded guilty on Tuesday to bank embezzlement, before U.S. District Court Judge David L Bunning.
Penick admitted that, from 2010 until 2013, she defrauded the Grant County Deposit Bank, by transferring bank funds to her personal account and issuing cashier checks and money orders to herself. Many of these checks and money orders were made payable to her husband. Penick admitted that she used the money to pay bills and taxes.
According to the plea agreement, Penick embezzled $118,775.00, over a three year period. Penick worked at the bank for 23 years.
Penick waived her right to be indicted by a grand jury and pled guilty to the embezzlement charge by way of an information.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Perrye K. Turner, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, jointly made the announcement.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura K. Voorhees.
Penick is scheduled to be sentenced on July 22, 2014. The bank embezzlement offense carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.
Beaver Falls Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison for Violating Federal Drug and Gun LawsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – One resident of Beaver Falls, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 108 months in prison followed by five years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal narcotics and firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed the sentence on Anitwon Maurice Peoples, 31.
According to information presented to the court, from on or about Dec. 4, 2009, and continuing thereafter to on or about Sept. 30, 2011, Peoples conspired with others to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Additionally, on or about Sept. 30, 2011, Peoples, being a convicted felon, illegally possessed a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year to possess a firearm.
Assistant United States Attorneys Katherine A. King and Troy Rivetti prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the federally administered Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) comprised of members drawn from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division, and the Beaver Falls Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Peoples.
Attorney Sent to Prison for Her Role in Mortgage FraudRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office announces that in federal court yesterday Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced former attorney AMY ROBINSON, 36, of Rolesville, to 18 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. The Court further ordered ROBINSON to make restitution of $2,613,046.37 to various banks and other victims.
The Criminal Information and other evidence showed that between 2002 and 2006, James Thomas Webb(previously sentenced to 237 months in prison) was operating a company identified as Alpine Properties, LLC. Webb promised investors that he and Alpine Properties would use investor money to purchase homes at a low value, renovate the homes, and then sell them to first-time home buyers for a higher value. During that time period, ROBINSON was a licensed North Carolina attorney who closed real estate transactions for Webb and his investors.
Evidence established that ROBINSON and Webb systematically falsified the HUD-1 settlement statements associated with numerous sales of properties from Alpine Properties to Webb’s investors. The HUD-1s contained numerous false statements and misrepresentations, including the amount of money the borrower brought to closing, the payment of closing funds to secondary, prior lien holders, and the amount of money actually paid to Webb. Each HUD-1 also contained a false certification by Webb and ROBINSON that the settlement statements were true and accurate reflection of all receipts and disbursements made by or on behalf of the parties to the transactions. ROBINSON transmitted the false documents to the lenders and banks by mail and wire. The banks and lenders relied upon the statements in issuing loans for the sale of properties from Webb’s companies to his investors.
Ultimately, after the collapse of Alpine Properties, many of the loans on the properties went into default, resulting in millions in losses to various banks and lenders. At the sentencing, the Court held ROBINSON accountable for $2,613,046.37 in losses and ordered ROBINSON to make restitution to the victims of the offense.
ROBINSON pleaded guilty on May 3, 2010 to Conspiracy to Commit Wire, Mail, and Bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of the Inspector General, with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bar. Assistant United States Attorney William M. Gilmore represented the United States.
Armed Career Criminal Handed 15+ Year Prison SentenceRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Joel Sanchez Jr., 44, of Corpus Christi, will now be serving 188 months in federal prison following his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. He entered a plea of guilty Nov. 7, 2013.
Late yesterday, U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack handed Sanchez his sentence which will be followed by five years of supervised release. Sanchez had previously been convicted in state court for numerous felonies and was determined to be an armed career criminal by the court.
On July 19, 2013, agents and officers executed a federal search warrant at Sanchez’s Corpus Christi residence. The search warrant was based on information that Sanchez was selling crack cocaine from his residence and the purchase of 3.1 grams of crack cocaine by agents during an undercover operation. During the search, agents located a Sig Sauer Model 2022, 9mm pistol in Sanchez’s room.
In federal custody since his arrest, Sanchez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The charge stems from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol. Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Corpus Christi Police Department Gang Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez is prosecuting.
Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Rochester Asbestos Contractor Violating Clean ActRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the November 2010 conviction of asbestos contractor Keith Gordon-Smith, owner of Gordon-Smith Contracting. The defendant was convicted after a jury trial of multiple counts of violating the Clean Air Act and was sentenced in September 2011 to 72 months in prison and ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution by Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The company, also convicted at trial, was ordered to pay $44,000 in fines.
This is the second significant development involving environmental prosecutions and the Clean Air Act in the past several days. On March 19, 2014, the United States Attorney’s Office obtained a $24 million fine and restitution order against Tonawanda Coke for a decades long release of the poisonous gas Benzene from its production facilities which, a jury found after trial, also violated the Federal Clean Air Act.
“These cases show the commitment of this Office to protecting the community and environment, while also ensuring a level playing field for all who conduct business in this area,” U.S. Attorney Hochul said.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph J. Karaszewski, who handled the appeal on behalf of the Government, the Court of Appeals rejected Gordon-Smith’s argument that evidence presented at trial was insufficient and therefore his conviction should be overturned. The Court of Appeals ruled that the evidence presented by the Government was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict.
Specifically, the defendant argued that there was not enough evidence to support the claim that he violated the Clean Air Act by failing to notify the Environmental Protection Agency before beginning asbestos removal at Cobbles Elementary School in Penfield, N.Y. The Court ruled that the failure to notify the EPA was deliberate, and not the result of “carelessness or some other innocent reason,” as Gordon-Smith claimed.
The jury convicted Gordon-Smith of multiple counts of failure to notify the EPA about asbestos related work done on several sites within the Western District of New York. Federal law requires that a contractor notify the EPA prior to performing any work which would disturb a jurisdictional amount of asbestos so that inspectors can ensure that proper safeguards are in place. Gordon-Smith performed major asbestos abatement or renovation work at several area projects, including schools, colleges, and the Genesee hospital complex, without ever notifying the appropriate federal agency. When EPA Criminal Investigators visited the sites, they found asbestos left behind on pipes, walls, in utility rooms and other places. Several of those locations required additional asbestos abatement to remove the material left behind.
The Gordon Smith case was investigated by Special Agents of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of William Lometti; the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Garcia; Occupational Safety Health Administration, Buffalo Office, under the direction of Art Dube, and the New York State Department of Labor, Asbestos Control Bureau, under the direction of Maureen Cox.Adams Man Charged with Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Adams man was charged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Springfield with possessing child pornography.
William Guinan, 51, of Adams, Mass., was charged in an Information with possessing material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor. Pursuant to a plea agreement also filed, Guinan has agreed to a sentence of between 37 and 46 months in prison and five to 15 years of supervised release.
In October 2012, a federal agent used a computer program to conduct a search for individuals engaged in receiving, possessing, and distributing child pornography over a peer-to-peer filing sharing (P2P) network. The program successfully downloaded several files of child pornography from an IP address that agents later determined was connected to a residence in Adams. Based upon this investigation, agents obtained and executed a federal search warrant for the residence in November 2012. A computer that contained numerous files of child pornography, including three video files that were downloaded in November 2012, was located. During the execution of the search warrant, Guinan stated that he used the computer and that approximately four days earlier, he downloaded these three files of child pornography using the P2P network.
On Nov. 29, 2012, federal agents arrested Guinan. He was charged in a criminal complaint with receiving material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor. The Information filed today charges Guinan with possessing child pornography.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Bruce Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in New England, made the announcement. The case was investigated with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police and the Adams Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven H. Breslow of Ortiz's Springfield Branch Office.
The details contained in the information are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
21 KC-area Men Indicted for Distributing Cocaine, Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that 21 Kansas City, Mo., area men have been indicted by a federal grand jury, in a series of separate, but related, indictments for distributing cocaine and crack cocaine in Jackson County, Mo.
Law enforcement officers arrested 12 defendants in an operation today. During the course of the investigation, officers seized more than five kilograms of cocaine, approximately $200,000 and six firearms.
Three indictments were returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, March 19, 2014. The federal indictments were unsealed and made public today upon the arrests and initial court appearances of the defendants.
USA v. Piggie, et al
Frenklyn Piggie, 36, Olufemi Siffre, 36, James Caldwell, 36, Kidada Clayborn, also known as “Goldie,” 36, Robert Clark, 33, Frederick D. Clark, 20, David Ramsey, 52, Dawawn Orr, 33, Nathaniel Morris, 43, Kenneth Harvey, 27, Ronnie Prewitt, 32, Ryan Wilson, 34, Dennis Griffin, 55, Brian Whitley, 36, Maurice L. Campbell, 48, Leon Lee, also known as “JJ,” 33, Jerome L. Barnes, 33, all of Kansas City, Mo.; DeMichael Johnson, also known as “Shaq,” 35, of Raytown, Mo.; and Jesus Frye-Santoyo, 28, of Kansas City, Kan., were charged in a 43-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, March 19, 2014.
The federal indictment alleges that all of the defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and crack cocaine in Jackson County from Jan. 1, 2013, to March 19, 2014.
In addition to the conspiracy, Piggie and Frye-Santoyo are charged together in one count of possessing five kilograms or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute. Other defendants are also charged in various counts related to distributing cocaine and crack cocaine.
Piggie is also charged with one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Frederick Clark is also charged with one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
USA v. Bell
Terrell Bell, 29, of Raytown, Mo., is charged with one count of participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine from Sept. 1 to Dec. 1, 2013. Bell is also charged with two counts of distributing crack cocaine.
USA v. Reed
Monroe E. Reed, 34, of Kansas City, Mo., is charged with seven counts of distributing crack cocaine and two counts of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Reed is also charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes. Reed allegedly was in possession of an S & W .22-caliber rifle, a Century Arms 7.62-caliber rifle, a Hi-Point .45-caliber rifle, a Bersa .38-caliber pistol, an Armi Tanfoglio .25-caliber pistol and a Lorcin .380-caliber pistol on Oct. 30, 2012.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Venneman. They were investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Monday 24 March 2014
Watertown Man Sentenced in Synthetic Drug CaseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Watertown, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance Analogue was sentenced on March 18, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Joshua Allen Hayhurst, age 25, was sentenced to time served (11 months) and 2 years supervised release.
Hayhurst was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 4, 2012, for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance Analogue. He pled guilty on April 15, 2013.
On June 29, 2012, law enforcement executed a search warrant for Hayhurst’s residence in Watertown, and recovered approximately two pounds of an illegal drug, commonly referred to as spice or K2. The product is made by treating plant material with controlled substance analogues. Under federal law, a controlled substance analogue has a chemical structure that is similar to certain controlled substances and has an effect on the central nervous system which is intended to be similar to those controlled substances. Where controlled substance analogues are intended for human consumption, they are treated as controlled substances. Hayhurst intended to distribute the illegal drug to others.
This case was investigated by the Watertown Police Department, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Senior Litigation Counsel John E. Haak and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer D. Mammenga prosecuted the case.
Washington County Man Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Manufacture and Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – On March 21, 2014, Kyle Joseph Boileau, age 27, was sentenced by United States District Judge Stephanie M. Rose to 48 months in prison for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Boileau was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following the imprisonment and to pay $100 towards the Crime Victims Fund.
Beginning in during or about April 2012, and continuing until on or about December 5, 2012, Boileau conspired with others to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in the Washington County, Iowa area. During this time period Boileau manufactured methamphetamine both for himself and several other persons. During this period other persons provided Boileau pseudoephedrine, or other materials necessary for methamphetamine manufacture, and he provided them a portion of the resultant methamphetamine he manufactured. On December 5, 2012, law enforcement approached a vehicle occupied by Boileau after it parked on the town square in Washington, Iowa. Boileau was in the process of manufacturing methamphetamine in the vehicle when it was approached. On that same date, police located a variety of items indicative of methamphetamine manufacture during a search of Boileau’s apartment residence in nearby Wayland, Iowa.
This case was investigated by the Washington-Louisa County Drug Task Force, the Iowa Department of Public Safety Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Johnson County Drug Task Force, and the Muscatine County Drug Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
(Download Press Release )
U.S. and Canadian Citizens Charged with Using Offshore Accounts and Foreign Nominee Entities to Launder $200,000Read the Press Release
Joshua Vandyk, a U.S. citizen, and Eric St-Cyr and Patrick Poulin, Canadian citizens, were indicted for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The indictment alleges that Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin conspired to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership and control of property believed to be the proceeds of bank fraud. The Caribbean-based defendants allegedly assisted undercover law enforcement agents, posing as U.S. clients, in laundering purported criminal proceeds through an offshore structure designed to conceal the true identity of the proceeds’ owners. Vandyk and St-Cyr invested the laundered funds on the clients’ behalf and represented the funds would not be reported to the U.S. government.
The indictment was returned in the Eastern District of Virginia on March 6, 2014, and unsealed on March 12, 2014, when all three defendants were arrested in Miami, Fla. In addition to the conspiracy charge, Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin were each charged with two counts of money laundering.
“These charges result from an extensive investigation and are the latest demonstration of the Department’s resolve to find and prosecute those who aid money laundering and tax fraud globally," said Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.
According to the indictment, Vandyk and St-Cyr lived in the Cayman Islands and worked for an investment firm based in the Cayman Islands. St-Cyr was the founder and head of the investment firm, whose clientele included numerous U.S. citizens. Poulin, an attorney at a law firm based in Turks and Caicos, worked and resided in Canada and in the Turks and Caicos. His clientele also included numerous U.S. citizens.
According to the indictment, Vandyk, St-Cyr and Poulin solicited U.S. citizens to use their services to hide assets from the U.S. government. Vandyk and St-Cyr directed the undercover agents posing as U.S. clients to create offshore foundations with the assistance of Poulin and others because they and the investment firm did not want to appear to deal with U.S. clients. Vandyk and St-Cyr used the offshore entities to move money into the Cayman Islands and used foreign attorneys as intermediaries for such transactions.
According to the indictment, Poulin established an offshore foundation for the undercover agents posing as U.S. clients and served as a nominal board member in lieu of the clients. Poulin transferred wire payments from the offshore foundations to the Cayman Islands, where Vandyk and St-Cyr invested those funds outside the United States in the name of the offshore foundation. The investment firm represented that it would neither disclose the investments or any investment gains to the U.S. government, nor would it provide monthly statements or other investment statements to the clients. Clients were able to monitor their investments online through the use of anonymous, numeric passcodes. Upon request from the U.S. client, Vandyk and St-Cyr would liquidate investments and transfer money, through Poulin, back to the United States. According to Vandyk and St-Cyr, the investment firm would charge clients higher fees to launder criminal proceeds than to assist them in tax evasion.
“I commend IRS Criminal Investigation and the Division’s prosecutors for the extraordinary work that they have done over many months in this investigation,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Tax Division. “In particular, it is important to note that the IRS’s voluntary disclosure policy excludes disclosures after the government has received information about taxpayers’ identities. If the investigation team now has the names of account holders who have not yet come forward, time has run out for them.”
“As alleged in the indictment, these defendants were in the business of creating layers of transactions so their US clients could launder criminal proceeds,” said Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber. “IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to unraveling complex financial and money laundering schemes and holding those accountable for creating mechanisms to hide assets offshore and dodge the tax system.”
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison for each count.
The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Todd Ellinwood and Caryn Finley of the Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kosta Stojilkovic of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
More information about the Tax Division and its offshore banking enforcement efforts can be found at the division website.
Related Materials:
United States v. Joshua Vandyk, etc.
IndictmentU.S. Attorney Honors via ChristiFor Innovative Human Trafficking TrainingRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - Via Christi Health today received a special Community Service Award from U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom for its groundbreaking work training health care professionals to identify and assist victims of human trafficking.
“Human trafficking is a crime that hides in plain sight,” Grissom said. “Via Christi Health is leading the nation by training its health care professionals to recognize warning signs and offer victims assistance that could save lives.”
Via Christi’s human trafficking initiative already has trained more than 125 physicians, nurses and other frontline caregivers with a four-step protocol on what to look for and how to help human trafficking victims. Videos of the training are available online at:
http://www.via-christi.org/human-trafficking
“We are humbled and honored to receive this award,” said Jeff Korsmo, president and CEO of Via Christi Health. “Training our clinicians to recognize the warning signs of human trafficking so that we can help these victims is part of Via Christi’s mission to serve as a healing presence to the most vulnerable among us. The victims of this modern form of slavery need – and deserve – our help.”
Physicians, nurses and other health care workers are in a position to meet human trafficking victims who remain hidden from most of us. Victims may show up in emergency rooms seeking treatment for injuries, physical or sexual abuse and health problems. Whether they are being trafficked for commercial sex or other kinds of labor, they are most likely to seek help from health care professionals who recognize the warning signs and are trained in treating them as victims, not criminals.
Via Christi Health employees who received the award include: Nicole Ensminger, Sister Sherri Marie Kuhn, Joseph Akif, Tina Peck, Dr. Robert Stangl, Jennifer Rodgers, Kim Johnson, William “Skip” Hidlay, Deborah Wendt, Roz Hutchinson, Clint Schaefer, Tressie Maugans and Claire Hieger.
Grissom cited a report released earlier this month that was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice titled: “Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major US Cities.”
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy.pdf
The report looked at the underground commercial sex economy in Miami, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Denver, Kansas City, Mo., San Diego, Seattle and Atlanta, which it estimated in 2007 totaled as much as $290 million. The report concluded that different forms of coercion and fraud are used by pimps to recruit, manage and retain control over victims. These forms include feigning romantic interest, emphasizing mutual dependency between pimps and trafficking victims, discouraging victims from giving away “sex for free” and promising victims rewards and material comforts they never see. The number of cases of pimping and sex trafficking currently being investigated and prosecuted, the study concluded, represents only a small fraction of the underground commercial sex economy.
Two Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – U.S. Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced the sentencing today of Jason Andrew Vitulano, 38, of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Marc A. Gross, 54, of Boca Raton, Florida, by U.S. District Court Chief Judge M. Casey Rodgers following acceptance of their guilty pleas in August of last year. Both Vitulano and Gross pleaded guilty to several counts that included: conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Gross also pleaded guilty to making false statements to a federal agent and perjury. Vitulano was sentenced to 77 months in prison, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,047,140.81, and a monetary judgment in the amount of $1,404,447 was entered. As part of Gross’s sentence, the Court forfeited Gross’s personal residence valued at approximately $340,000, his retirement accounts valued at approximately $253,000, and also ordered him to pay $3,507,187 in restitution as part of the five years of probation Gross was ordered to complete.
Vitulano and Gross both admitted that between June 2007 and February 2008, they were involved in the purchase of six townhomes in Temple Terrace, Florida, and two homes in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, all purchased in the names of straw buyers. In order to finance each of these purchases, Vitulano and Gross caused loan applications containing false information to be submitted to various mortgage lenders and financial institutions. The false information submitted included false employers and an overstatement of income and assets. The fraudulently obtained loans were foreclosed upon causing harm to the lenders.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Eggers.
Two Men Sentenced in Dodge City Gang Racketeering CaseRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – Two members of a Dodge City street gang were sentenced Monday in a federal racketeering case, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Jayson Vargas, 31, Dodge City, Kan., was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Juan Torres, 23, Dodge City, Kan., was sentenced to one year and a day.
Vargas pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a stolen firearm. In his plea, he admitted that on Aug. 20, 2011, he was driving a car in pursuit of his former girlfriend, who was in another car. During the chase, he pointed a handgun at her. Officers of the Ford County Sheriff’s Office stopped Vargas’ car and arrested him. They seized a .45 caliber handgun.Torres pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting attempted murder, which was a violent crime in aid of racketeering. He admitted he was involved in an Oct. 4, 2008, incident in which two people were shot.
In his plea, Torres admitted he was a Diablos Viejos (DV) gang member associated with the Norteno street gang when he accompanied two co-defendants in an attack at the home of a member of the rival Sureno gang. On Oct. 4, 2008, Torres and two co-defendants gathered in a barn behind a house at 10770 Kettle Way near Dodge City, which was a hangout for the gang. Later that day, Torres and the two co-defendants drove to the home of Abel Hernandez, a known Sureno gang member, and Rumalda Hipolito. Outside the home, Hernandez?s brother and others were drinking beer. One of the Nortenos began harassing them and shouting Norteno slogans. After someone threw a beer bottle at the Nortenos? car, Torres and the two co-defendants drove away.
The three Nortenos obtained a firearm, an SKS or AK-47 style weapon and returned to Hernandez?s house, parking in an alley half a block away. After approaching the house on foot, co-defendant Gonzalo Ramirez discharged multiple rounds from the firearm. The gunshots hit the house, striking Abel Hernandez and Rumalda Hipolito. Hipolito suffered a gunshot wound to the arm. Hernandez suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. Investigators found 10 bullet holes in the house and recovered 20 shell casings at the scene. After the shooting, Torres and the two co-defendants returned to the house on Kettle Way, where they hid the car in the barn.
Grissom commended the Dodge City Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Ford County Sheriff's Office, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Ford County Attorney's Office, Assistant Aaron Smith and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch for their work on the case.
Two Medical Product Companies Pay More Than $1 Million to Resolve False Claims Lawsuit That Alleged They Overbilled Federal AgenciesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The publicly traded Stryker Corporation and the privately held Alliant Enterprises have paid the United States a total of $1.05 million to resolve a “whistleblower” lawsuit that alleged a failure to disclose complete information about projected government sales, allowing them to avoid heightened scrutiny of a government contract.
The case was resolved when a federal judge dismissed and unsealed the case on March 13.
The lawsuit alleged that Stryker and Alliant failed to disclose to government negotiators complete pricing information, which resulted in higher costs to government agencies that purchased medical products from the Federal Supply Schedule contract awarded by the Department of Veterans Affairs to Alliant. As a result of the conduct by Stryker and Alliant, the VA and other government agencies allegedly purchased products at inflated prices.
The two companies paid the settlement in December. Stryker paid the United States $911,219, and Alliant paid $151,215.
Stryker Corporation is a Fortune 500 medical technology and equipment company with several divisions, including Stryker Medical, which manufactures medical equipment. Stryker sold certain medical equipment – including critical care hospital beds, medical-surgical hospital beds and stretchers – to government purchasers through the Federal Supply Schedule pursuant to modifications to a contract that the VA had previously awarded to Alliant. The lawsuit alleged that because Alliant was used to sell the Stryker-manufactured products, the defendants provided none of Stryker’s commercial pricing history to the VA for price comparison purposes, and that Alliant understated expected sales of the products, which allegedly allowed the defendants to avoid scrutiny and overcharge the VA.
The lawsuit was filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles in 2008 by a former Stryker employee under the qui tam – or “whistleblower” – provisions of the federal False Claims Act, which allow individuals to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States and to receive a portion of the proceeds of a settlement or judgment awarded against a defendant.
Stryker and Alliant have resolved this action without admitting any wrongdoing.
This settlement was reached by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch. The matter was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General.
Release No. 14-032a
Topeka Man Sentenced in Lawrence Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Topeka man was sentenced Monday to 84 months in federal prison in connection with an armed robbery in Lawrence, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Mario A. King, 35, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of armed robbery. In his plea, he admitted that on June 1, 2013, he used a .357 revolver to commit an armed robbery in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant at 4911 West 6th Street in Lawrence, Kan.
The victim met King and another man at the restaurant in order to sell them two pounds of synthetic marijuana. During the meeting, King drew the gun and pointed it at the victim. The victim fought with King for control of the gun. The victim eventually broke free and ran into the restaurant to get help. While he was inside, the marijuana and other items belonging to him were stolen.
Co-defendants are:
Justin Alcorn, 30, Topeka, who is awaiting sentencing.
Jesse J. Forbes, Jr., 39, Topeka, who is set for jury trial May 19.Grissom commended the Lawrence Police Department and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Krug for their work on the case.
Tax Return Preparer Indicted for Tax Fraud That Caused More Than $1.6 Million LossRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - A federal grand jury in Newark today returned a nine-count indictment charging a former Bergen County tax return preparer for his alleged role in filing false federal income tax returns and filing false personal returns, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Wayne Dunich-Kolb, 49, formerly of Saddle River, N.J., was charged with aiding and assisting in the filing of false federal income tax returns for tax years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011; and with preparing and signing his own false federal income tax returns for tax years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Dunich-Kolb’s will make his initial court appearance on March 27, 2014, before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III.
According to the indictment:
Dunich-Kolb owned and operated a tax preparation business called Dunich-Kolb LLC, which he ran from his residence in Saddle River. He caused many of his clients to form fictitious partnerships or corporations that existed in name only and had no business purpose other than to falsely reduce the clients’ tax liability.
Dunich-Kolb prepared false and fraudulent business returns for clients’ fictitious businesses by fabricating and inflating business expenses, such as advertising, travel and other miscellaneous expenses, in order to generate false and fraudulent business and partnership losses, which he then used to substantially reduce taxpayers’ taxable income on their individual federal income tax returns.
He falsified clients’ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 individual federal income tax returns by fabricating and inflating deductions for unreimbursed employee business expenses, including home office, vehicle mileage and fuel expenses.
Dunich-Kolb caused these false and fraudulent individual federal income tax returns to be filed with the IRS, resulting in a total tax loss of more than $1.6 million for 10 clients.
Dunich-Kolb also falsified his own personal federal income tax returns for tax years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. For these tax years, Dunich-Kolb’s client invoices reflected that he charged his clients an annual total of approximately $600,000 to $860,000 per year. Dunich-Kolb claimed approximately zero tax due and owing for tax years 2007 and 2008 and tried to obtain refunds for prior year tax payments that he never made, and substantially offset his tax liabilities for tax years 2009 and 2010 by claiming false credits for prior year tax payments that he never made.
Each of the nine tax counts carries a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to the indictment.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shirley U. Emehelu of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.14-100
Defense counsel: TBA
Dunich-Kolb, Wayne Indictment
Statement of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet BhararaOn the Convictions of Former Employees of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLCRead the Press Release
“As the jury unanimously found, these five defendants played crucial roles in constructing and maintaining the house of cards that was the Madoff investment fraud. These convictions, along with the prior guilty pleas of nine other defendants, demonstrate what we have believed from the earliest stages of the investigation: this largest-ever Ponzi scheme could not have been the work of one person. The trial established that the Madoff fraud began at least as far back as the early 1970s, decades before it came to light. These defendants each played an important role in carrying out the charade, propping it up, and concealing it from regulators, auditors, taxing authorities, lenders, and investors. The scheme these defendants helped perpetrate cost innumerable investors their life savings. Now it likely will cost the defendants their freedom.”
St. Mary’s County Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Used a Watch Camera to Surreptitiously Film the Victim
Greenbelt, Maryland – Ronald Davis Pope, age 49, of Mechanicsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron; and St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney Richard Fritz.
According to Pope’s plea agreement, from February through May 2013, Pope lived with a family and shared a bathroom with the victim, a 14 year old male. Pope placed a watch containing a hidden camera in the bathroom and recorded the victim in the shower and using the bathroom. The camera was placed in a location that allowed Pope to capture videos focused on the victim’s genital area. Pope then transferred the videos to his computer and cellular phone. The victim was not aware that he was being recorded.
On May 2, 2013, federal and state law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at Pope’s residence and seized electronic devices, including Pope’s cellular phone and laptop computer. A forensic analysis of the SD card found in the cellular phone and the laptop recovered a total of 18 videos depicting the victim dressing, undressing, showering and using the restroom. The victim’s penis is exposed in at least 12 of the videos. At least one of the five videos found on the laptop appears to be part of the same video recovered on the cellular phone.
On May 7, 2013, a package addressed to Pope arrived at his residence. The package contained a weather clock hidden camera purchased on May 1, 2013, one day before Pope’s arrest. Later that month, one of Pope’s family members retrieved a package from a post office box belonging to Pope, which contained an HD clock DVR, USB cord and a micro SD card.
In June 2013, federal law enforcement officials seized the camera watch used to record the videos of the victim. Subsequent forensic analysis of the watch camera memory revealed three videos, one of which depicts the victim showering. The spy camera watch also contained an image of Pope’s face.
As part of his plea agreement, Pope must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Pope and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Pope will be sentenced to 235 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for June 3, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. Pope’s federal sentence will run concurrent to the sentence imposed in a case pending the St. Mary’s County Circuit Court involving a separate victim. In that case, Pope has agreed to plead guilty to sexual abuse of a minor and be sentenced to 25 years in prison with all but 20 years suspended.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristi N. O’Malley and Nicolas Mitchell, who are prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – ELIJAH BOYKINS, St. Louis, pled guilty to possessing 28 grams of heroin, which was packaged for sale at his home on February 13, 2014. The drugs were discovered during the execution of a search warrant by the St. Louis Police Department in the City of St. Louis. In addition to the drugs, Boykins was in possession of $3,381 in cash.
Boykins admitted to possession with the intent to distribute heroin before Judge Henry E. Autrey in U.S. District Court. He faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000,000 on the charge.
Additionally, Boykins was on federal supervised release for a 2007 gun offense and violated his supervision by the commission of the new crime. He faces additional imprisonment as a result of his supervised release violation.
Judge Autrey deferred sentencing on both matters until June 23, 2014.
This case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Southern California Man Found Guilty of <br /> Health Care Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft <br /> for Role in $1.5 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Southern California man who ran a durable medical equipment (DME) supply company has been found guilty by a federal jury in Los Angeles for his role in a $1.5 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California, Assistant Director in Charge Bill Lewis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Glenn R. Ferry of the Los Angeles Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
Vahe Tahmasian, 36, of Glendale, Calif., was found guilty on March 21, 2014, in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, six counts of health care fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft. Sentencing is set for June 9, 2014.
The evidence introduced at trial showed that between April 2009 and February 2011, Tahmasian operated a Medicare fraud scheme at Orthomed Appliance Inc. (Orthomed), a DME supply company in West Hollywood, Calif. Tahmasian and his co-conspirator, Eric Mkhitarian, purchased Orthomed from the previous owners and put the company in the name of a straw owner. The defendant and his co-conspirator then stole the personal identifying information of Medicare beneficiaries and doctors in the company’s patient files and used that information to submit a large volume of fraudulent claims to Medicare. The evidence showed that during a three-month period in late 2010, Tahmasian submitted more than $1.2 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for services that were never prescribed by a physician and never provided to the Medicare beneficiaries. Tahmasian and his co-conspirator then took out more than $622,000 in cash from the company over a six-week period in early 2011. The evidence at trial showed that Tahmasian used a fake California driver’s license during the course of the fraudulent scheme. Tahmasian submitted a total of $1,584,640 in claims to Medicare and received approximately $994,036 on those claims.
Mkhitarian, Tahmasian’s alleged co-conspirator, remains a fugitive.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Los Angeles Region of HHS-OIG and brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Benton Curtis and Trial Attorney Alexander Porter of the Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,700 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5.5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .South Carolina Tobacco Broker SentencedRead the Press Release
Charges included Interstate Travel in Aid of Racketeering
and Concealment Money Laundering.SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – William D. Humphries, age 67, of Lake City, South Carolina, was sentenced today principally to a term of 72 months imprisonment by the Hon. Norman A. Mordue. On November 11, 2013, Humphries was convicted after a two week long jury trial of one count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1952(a)(1) and (a)(3), one count of a wire fraud conspiracy to defraud Canada of tax revenue, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1349, one count of a conspiracy to manufacture of tobacco products without a license in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 5672 and Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and forty-one counts of concealment money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(B)(i).
Between 2005 and 2006, the defendant, a tobacco broker and wholesaler from South Carolina, conspired with other individuals living on the Akwesasne Indian Reservation (AMIR) to defraud Canada of tax revenue. In 2005, the defendant began working with a major manufacturer of cigarettes that was operating on the AMIR without the federally required bond and permit. The defendant provided “Canadian Blend” cut-rag tobacco and cigarette-making supplies to the unlicensed manufacturer. This tobacco was manufactured into cigarettes and subsequently smuggled into Canada without the payment of any legally required taxes to Canada. Between the summer of 2005 and May 2006, the defendant supplied the unlicensed manufacturer with approximately one load of cut-rag tobacco per week. The defendant supplied approximately 44 loads of tobacco, with each load producing 13,200,000 contraband cigarettes, causing a tax loss to Canada of approximately $40,000,000.
The unlicensed manufacturer was also engaged in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana smuggled in from Canada and then distributed throughout the United States. The proceeds of that marijuana distribution were used to fund the cigarette smuggling conspiracy, which employed the same smuggling routes used to bring marijuana into the United States from Canada.
In February 2006, after delivering a load of tobacco to the unlicensed manufacturer on the AMIR, the defendant was stopped on the AMIR for a vehicle infraction. Law enforcement officers seized approximately $88,000 in U.S. currency paid to Humphries for the sale of tobacco. A narcotics detection canine alerted to the currency, and officers were able to smell marijuana on the money. At trial, witness testimony established that the money found on Humphries was the proceeds of marijuana distribution.
In May 2006, the unlicensed manufacturers dealing with Humphries were arrested on federal marijuana charges and thereafter cooperated with the government. However, Humphries continued to sell tobacco and cigarette-making supplies to other unlicensed cigarette manufacturers based on the AMIR. Humphries continued to receive payments in the form of proceeds of marijuana sales from unlicensed manufacturers to which he had sold Canadian blend tobacco and supplies. In an attempt to disguise the source of the money, which was criminal proceeds, Humphries began taking substantial sums of U.S. currency to the Mohawk Bingo Palace, located on the AMIR. In recorded conversations heard by the jury with one of the government informants, he explained that he was inserting large sums of currency into the electronic bingo machines and then repeatedly cashing out at the cashiers’ window in an attempt to clean the marijuana smell from the money.
At sentencing, the Court ordered Humphries pay a special assessment of $4,400. The Court also ordered a money judgment against Humphries in the amount of $7,000,000. After the defendant completes his term of incarceration, he will serve a term of supervised release of 3 years.
The prosecution arose from the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Massena Police Department, the United States Border Patrol, and the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office.
The government was represented at sentencing by Assistant United States Attorney Carl Eurenius. For further information, please contact AUSA Eurenius at (315) 448-0672.
Sioux Falls Man Sentenced in Synthetic Drug and Money Laundering CaseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana and engaging in a banking transaction involving drug money was sentenced on March 18, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Corey Brandon Morrison, age 25, was sentenced to 34 months in custody, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
Morrison was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 10, 2012, for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance Analogue and Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Property Derived From Specified Unlawful Activity. He pled guilty to both offenses on May 17, 2013.
Beginning around September 2011, two or more persons formed an agreement to distribute an illegal drug to customers from one or more Roll With It store locations in Sioux Falls. The illegal product, commonly referred to as spice or K2, is made by treating plant material with certain chemicals that are controlled substance analogues. Under federal law, a controlled substance analogue has a chemical structure that is similar to certain controlled substances and has an effect on the central nervous system which is intended to be similar to those controlled substances. In situations where controlled substance analogues are intended for human consumption, they are treated as controlled substances.
During Morrison’s involvement, he sold controlled substance analogues to the Roll With It stores, where the analogues were in turn sold to customers to get high.
On or about September 16, 2011, Morrison deposited $12,500 cash into his personal bank account, which were proceeds from the illegal distribution of controlled substances.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force. Senior Litigation Counsel John E. Haak and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer D. Mammenga prosecuted the case.
Morrison was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Saratoga Resident Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion for Failing to Report over $1.2 Million of IncomeRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Liping Liu pleaded guilty today to tax evasion, United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez announced.
According to the plea agreement, Liu, 56, of Saratoga, was the receptionist and office manager for her spouse’s pediatric dental and orthodontic practice. Liu created a tax evasion scheme in which she skimmed money from various sources, including rental properties and her spouse’s dental and orthodontic practice. Liu admitted that knew her actions were against the law and she was evading the assessment and payment of federal taxes throughout the course of her scheme.
Liu evaded taxes by funneling money from the dental and orthodontic practice into the various bank accounts to prevent those funds from appearing in the business bank accounts. The only funds deposited into the business bank account were insurance payments, aside from thirteen personal checks in 2006 and one personal check in 2009. Liu deposited the insurance proceeds exclusively into the business accounts because she knew the insurance company reported these payments to the IRS. Liu offered a 10% discount to dental clients if they paid in cash or by check if they left the payee section blank. Liu wrote “cash” in the blank payee section or left it blank, then deposited the checks into the non-business accounts. Liu also modified checks, in the memo and payee fields to disguise the source of the payment. This enabled her to deposit the checks into the non-business account holder’s names.
In addition, according to her plea agreement, from 2006 through 2010, Liu was a 50% partner in a limited liability corporation, HSL, which was created to hold rental property. Liu diverted rental checks paid to HSL to non-business bank accounts for the purpose of evading taxes on the HSL entity. She also changed the payee information on numerous rental checks. From 2006 through 2010, Liu omitted $2,147,741.04 in gross receipts. This resulted in additional tax due and owing of $744,248. Liu provided incomplete and false information to the family bookkeeper
Liu also admitted to engaging in a series of structured cash transactions from September 2008 to September 2009, which allowed her to continue to hide taxes from the IRS.
Liu was charged on March 19, 2014, with one count of tax evasion. She pleaded guilty to the charge. Liu’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 15, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. before the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte, United States District Court Judge, in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of tax evasion, in violation of Title 26, U.S.C § 7201, is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Moore is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
(Liu indictment )
Russellville Man Charged with Meth, Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Russellville, Mo., man was charged in federal court today with illegally possessing methamphetamine and firearms.
Emmanuel Guillen, 21, a citizen of Mexico residing in Russellville, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo.
The complaint charges Guillen with one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.
According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s criminal complaint, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Guillen’s residence on Thursday, March 20, 2014, as part of an investigation into alleged narcotics sales at that location.
Officers found a box in a bedroom closet that contained five plastic containers, the affidavit says, which contained a total of 625 grams of methamphetamine. Two bags of methamphetamine, totaling 60 grams, were found in a vehicle parked in the driveway. Officers also found 21 firearms – including handguns, rifles and shotguns – in the residence and in two vehicles parked in the driveway. Two of the firearms have shortened barrels and neither has a serial number. Officers found a small safe in the bedroom closet that contained $13,168; Guillen also had $2,504 in his wallet.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this complaint are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the MUSTANG Drug Task Force and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
President of East Bay University Convicted in Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, a federal jury convicted Susan Xiao-Ping Su of wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit visa fraud, visa fraud, use of a false document, false statements to a government agency, alien harboring, unauthorized access to a government computer, and money laundering, announced United States Attorney Melinda and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas S. Winkowski.
The jury found Su guilty of 31 counts all arising from Su’s visa fraud scheme, which she carried out in her role as the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Pleasanton-based Tri-Valley University, described as “a Christian higher education institution.” The guilty verdict followed a three-week jury trial before the Honorable Jon S. Tigar, United States District Court Judge.
Evidence at trial showed that Su, 43, of Pleasanton, engaged in a two-year scheme to defraud the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by submitting fraudulent documents in support of Tri-Valley University’s petition for approval to admit foreign students and, after having obtained such approval, fraudulently issued visa-related documents to student aliens in exchange for “tuition and fees.” In her petition for approval, Su made material false representations to DHS regarding Tri-Valley University’s admission requirements, graduation requirements, administrators, instructors, class transferability, and intent to comply with federal regulations.
Three purported Tri-Valley University professors testified that they never authorized Su to use their credentials in connection with the university. Multiple Tri-Valley University employees testified that the university had no requirements for admission or graduation, and that Su routinely instructed her staff to fabricate fraudulent transcripts.
In carrying out the scheme, Su made additional false representations to DHS through Tri-Valley University’s use of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which the United States government uses, in part, to monitor the “F-1” student visa program. Through her false representations, Su was able to unlawfully obtain and issue F-1 visa-related documents without regard to the students’ academic qualifications or intent to pursue a course of study required to maintain a lawful immigration status. Su admitted and maintained student aliens in exchange for tuition and other payments. The jury also convicted Su of harboring two Tri-Valley University student-employees to assist her in making the false representations to SEVIS. One of the harbored student employees testified that Su asked him to paint her house and to move furniture.
Su made over $5.9 million through her operation of Tri-Valley University and engaged in seven money laundering transactions using proceeds to purchase commercial real estate, a Mercedes Benz car, and multiple residences, including a mansion on the Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, each in her name. The investigation began in May 2010 following a tip to HSI pertaining to irregularities at Tri-Valley University.
Su was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 10, 2011. She was charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit visa fraud, visa fraud, use of a false document, false statements to a government agency, alien harboring, unauthorized access to government computer, and money laundering.
Su was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal after the jury’s verdict. Su’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 20, 2014, before Judge Tigar in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for each violation is as follows:- 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (wire fraud): 20 years of imprisonment, $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and restitution;
- 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (mail fraud): 20 years of imprisonment, $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and restitution;
- 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a) (visa fraud): 10 years of imprisonment, $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and restitution;
- 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3) (use of a false document): 5 years of imprisonment, $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and restitution;
- 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (alien harboring): 10 years of imprisonment, $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and restitution;
- 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (unauthorized access of government computer): 5 years of imprisonment, $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and restitution; and
- 18 U.S.C. § 1957(a) (money laundering): 10 years of imprisonment, $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and restitution.
However, any sentence will 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.
Wade Rhyne and Hartley West are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Noble Hughes, Janice Pagsanjan, and Rosario Calderon. The prosecution is the result of a multi-year investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
(Su superseding indictment )
Pine Ridge Man Sentenced on Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of two separate incidents of assault was sentenced on March 14, 2014, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Larney was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Lee Larney, a/k/a “Southern Wind”, was sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for Assault on a Federal Officer, and 30 months of imprisonment consecutive and 3 years of supervised release concurrent for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. Larney was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims for each offense.
In August 2012, at Oglala, Larney struck an Oglala Sioux Tribe police officer in the face while the officer was arresting him for intoxication. In April 2012, at Porcupine, Larney struck a man repeatedly in the face, causing a broken jaw which resulted in surgery.
The investigations were conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. The cases were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Collins.
Philadelphia Man Admits to "Secret Shopper" and Craiglist ScamsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Dave Brister, 57, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to all counts stemming from a counterfeit check scheme that victimized dozens of people across the United States through a series of Internet-based sales scams. Brister pleaded guilty to 24 counts including conspiracy, five counts of mail fraud, 12 counts of wire fraud, two counts of presenting and transmitting counterfeit money orders, and four counts of passing and uttering counterfeit checks. U.S. District Court Judge Gene E.K. Pratter scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 17, 2014.
Brister teamed up with at least one person located outside of the United States to defraud Americans in a series of Internet-based schemes. He allegedly duped the recipients of counterfeit checks and money orders into depositing the items into their bank accounts and wiring money to him. In one scam, Brister and his co-conspirators posted advertisements on the website Craigslist.com for fake jobs, which included phony positions such as “secret shoppers” and “administrative assistants.” Whenever a person answered the advertisement and was “hired” for the fake job, Brister or a co-conspirator would send counterfeit money to the “new employee” along with a set of instructions on how to complete their new “employment” obligations. The instructions generally involved depositing the checks or money orders into their own bank accounts, keeping a portion as their “salary,” performing some simple task, and sending the rest of the money to Brister via Western Union or MoneyGram. Only after wiring the funds to Brister did the would-be employees learn that the checks and money orders they had deposited into their bank accounts were counterfeit.
In a different scheme, a co-conspirator of Brister’s would respond to advertisements on Craigslist.com for the sale of merchandise, agree to buy the advertised item, send counterfeit checks or money orders to the seller in excess of the sales price, and indicate that the difference was to be spent on a third-party delivery company. Brister’s co-conspirator would identify Brister as the representative of the third-party delivery company and ask the seller to deposit the check or money order into his account, keep enough to cover both the sales price and a little bonus, and then wire the rest to Brister. As with the fake job-offer scheme, the sellers followed the instructions and wired thousands of dollars to Brister, only to learn that the monetary instruments they had received were counterfeit, and their bank accounts had been debited.
In total, Brister received more than $98,000 in fraudulent proceeds from the various Internet-based schemes between January 2008 and August 2012. Brister and at least one co-conspirator also planned to send additional counterfeit checks and money orders to unsuspecting victims in the United States as part of their schemes.
Brister faces a possible advisory sentencing guidelines range of three to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $6 million, and a $2,500 special assessment.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Dubnoff.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525New York Residents Sentenced on Counterfeit Receipt Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – These five New York residents traveled from New York to St. Louis returning stolen merchandise to various retail stores using counterfeit driver’s licenses and receipts.
According to court documents, on November 29, 2012, Maryland Heights police officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle being driven by Ishaan Davis. A subsequent search revealed Toshiba laptop computers, a Star TSP 100 Future Print receipt printer, document making card stock, counterfeit State of Florida and New York driver's licenses in Davis’ name and the names of others, and assorted clothing bearing sales tags. Further investigation revealed two rooms in which Davis, Shonta V. Simpson and William Randall Estes were registered. In addition to items similar to those found in Davis’ car, in the hotel rooms, the officers found boxes of additional clothing with tags, which had been mailed from Leo Lewis in New York to Davis in St. Louis, as well as receipts showing wire transfers of money from Davis to Lewis and Ingrid Millsaps.
Through his plea in November, Davis admitted that he utilized the equipment and the laminated card stock to produce counterfeit drivers’ licenses and merchant receipts so that Simpson and Estes could return stolen merchandise for cash in states including Missouri, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. Thirteen different driver's licenses for various states were found bearing the photographs of Simpson, Estes and others. Ann Taylor, The Loft stores, and The Gap were among the stores targeted by the counterfeit receipt scheme. Simpson had been recruited by Davis and Leo Lewis recruited Estes to participate in the fraudulent scheme. Estes received a daily rate for his participation and Simpson was promised a percentage of the money received when she returned the stolen items.
The merchandise that was fraudulently returned was stolen by individuals such as co-defendant Ingrid Millsaps from stores located in, and near, the Brooklyn, New York area. In general, Millsaps was able to steal merchandise valued at $5,000 within two to three days, which she then provided to Davis and others. On one occasion, in order to comply with a request for merchandise, Millsaps stole clothing and items valued at approximately $60,000 during a two to three week period. Millsaps also stole receipt tape and proprietorial store information from retailers, such as Ann Taylor, in order to facilitate the fraudulent scheme. Millsaps and Davis engaged in the criminal activity for approximately 11 years. Lewis admitted participating in the scheme in 2004 and 2012. Through their pleas, they agreed that a conservative estimate would place the loss as exceeding $400,000.
LEO LEWIS, Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced today to 41 months in prison.
The following co-defendants, entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced:
- Ingrid Millsaps, Brooklyn, New York, sentenced to 87 months in prison
- Shonta Simpson, Brooklyn, New York, sentenced to 18 months in prison
- William Estes, Brooklyn, New York, sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison
- Ishaan Davis, Springfield Gardens, New York, sentenced to 87 months prison
The case was investigated by the City of Maryland Heights Police Department and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Tracy Berry handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Nampa Man Sentenced to 168 Months in Prison for Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
BOISE – Darrell Ray Zirschky, 32, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced today to 168 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Zirschky to serve five years of supervised release following his release from prison. Zirschky pleaded guilty to the charges on November 15, 2013.
According to information presented in court, Zirschky agreed to help others distribute methamphetamine beginning in approximately January 2013. Zirschky participated in the on-going distribution of methamphetamine until April 2013. Zirschky was present on March 25, 2013, when co-defendant Jeramie Mahler shot another person during the course of the drug conspiracy. Zirschky was later arrested by the United States Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force (GIFTF) on April 9, 2013, on an outstanding arrest warrant. When agents arrested Zirschky they found a 9-millimeter handgun in his possession. Zirschky is prohibited from possessing firearms because he was previously convicted of the felony crimes of possessing a controlled substance in 2001, delivery of a controlled substance in 2001, and lewd conduct with a minor in 2004.
Zirschky and ten other individuals were indicted on July 9, 2013, in a case including charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, distribution of cocaine, and unlawful possession of firearms. The defendants are responsible for distributing pounds of methamphetamine within the community. During the investigation, law enforcement agents seized twelve firearms, including a stolen firearm, and an illegal fully-automatic machine gun. All eleven defendants have pleaded guilty, including defendant Jeramie Mahler, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Zirschky is the fifth defendant to be sentenced; co-defendants Wendy Harrison and Bobbi Eileen Woolsey were both sentenced previously to 84 months in prison and Nearia Pinnell was sentenced to 33 months in prison; Daniel Vaughan was sentenced to 80 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole. Other agencies that contributed to this investigation include the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, Nampa Police Department, Caldwell Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.
Men Sentenced for Conspiring to Obstruct the IRSRead the Press Release
RENO, Nev. – Two men who were convicted by a federal jury in Reno of conspiring to obstruct the IRS, were sentenced today to terms of imprisonment, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Bret Ogilvie, 50, of Reno, Nev., was sentenced to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $315,286 in restitution. Linwood Tracy, 73, of Fallon, Nev., was sentenced to nine months in prison and three years of supervised release. They were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud, and Ogilvie was also convicted of one count of corrupt interference with tax administration and five counts of presenting false claims to the IRS. U.S. District Court Judge Larry R. Hicks imposed the sentences.
"When criminals cheat the IRS, they steal from all taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We hope that prosecutions like this one will deter others from impeding, obstructing and threatening the IRS in their collection work."
According to the court records, from about Feb. 22 to Nov. 18, 2008, Ogilvie and Tracy conspired to impede and obstruct the IRS in their collection of income taxes by a number of means, including threatening to sue the IRS for $10 million if the IRS did not remove a tax lien on Ogilvie’s residence, by contacting businesses and telling them not to comply with IRS levies against Ogilvie, by setting up a corporation and transferring compensation that Ogilvie earned through his plumbing company to the corporate bank account in an attempt to evade taxes, by threatening to sue employees of the IRS, and by filing a frivolous lawsuit against IRS personnel in Washoe County. Between Dec. 8 and Dec. 10, 2008, and on March 30, 2011, Ogilvie also presented false claims to the IRS for income tax refunds the tax years 2006 through 2010 totaling approximately $3.9 million. Ogilvie made the claims by preparing and causing to be prepared an IRS form indicating he held a Power of Attorney for the Bret Ogilvie Trust.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Rachow.
This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established 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. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.Marion County Man Sentenced for Stolen Identity Refund FraudRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge John E. Steele today sentenced Fred Kevin Johnson to 10 months in federal prison for possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices. In addition, he was sentenced to a consecutive term of 24 months’ imprisonment for aggravated identity theft. Johnson pleaded guilty on January 7, 2014.
According to court documents, on October 2, 2012, Johnson was stopped in a vehicle for traffic violations in Lee County, Florida. A subsequent search of his vehicle revealed that Johnson possessed multiple notebooks containing the Personal Identification Information (PII) of more than 100 individuals. Some of the PII was used to file fraudulent tax returns. The fraudulent returns were filed without the knowledge of the individuals whose PII was used by Johnson.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey F. Michelland.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney and FBI Announce Charge Against Rikers Island Correction Officer for Deliberately Ignoring Urgent Medical Needs of Inmate Who Later DiedRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the arrest of TERRENCE PENDERGRASS, a correction officer and former captain, for deliberately ignoring the urgent medical needs of a Rikers Island inmate who had ingested a corrosive disinfectant and later died, in violation of the inmate’s rights under the United States Constitution. PENDERGRASS was taken into custody this morning, and is expected to be presented this afternoon in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Jason Echevarria should not have died. As alleged, Terrence Pendergrass abused his power as a Rikers Island captain in charge of a vulnerable population of inmates with mental health issues by denying Echevarria access to medical care despite his obvious and urgent medical need for it. The Constitution protects the civil rights of everyone, including prison inmates at Rikers. The kind of conduct alleged today cannot be tolerated in our criminal justice system.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos said: “The public’s trust in law enforcement officers to enforce the law and ensure justice should never be abused. Sadly, as alleged, Mr. Pendergrass took his authority as a supervisory correction officer to the extreme and violated the rights of an inmate in his charge to the point that it resulted in death. The FBI is the lead federal agency to investigate such abuses of power and it remains one of our top priorities.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
Rikers Island is a jail complex, located in the Bronx, New York, maintained by the New York City Department of Correction. At the time of his death, Jason Echevarria was an inmate incarcerated on Rikers Island in the Mental Health Assessment Unit for Infracted Inmates, a unit housing inmates who have committed infractions while incarcerated and who have been identified as needing mental health treatment.
On the afternoon of August 18, 2012, Echevarria swallowed a powerful disinfectant/detergent combination in powder form, commonly referred to as a “soap ball,” sometimes provided to inmates to assist in the cleaning and disinfecting of cells. Echevarria had been given the soap ball by a new correction officer for the purpose of cleaning Echevarria’s cell following a sewage backup. The soap ball contained, among other things, ammonium chloride, a corrosive chemical that is life threatening if ingested.
After Echevarria swallowed the soap ball, other inmates heard Echevarria banging on his cell door and asking for medical help. Echevarria also told a correction officer that he had swallowed a soap ball and needed medical attention. That correction officer in turn informed PENDERGRASS, the captain—a supervisory correction officer—on duty at that time. PENDERGRASS responded that the correction officer should only call on PENDERGRASS if he needed help with the extraction of an inmate from a cell or if there was a dead body. A short time later, the same correction officer told PENDERGRASS that he saw vomit in Echevarria’s cell, and PENDERGRASS responded that Echevarria should “hold it.”
Later the same day, a pharmacy technician assigned to distribute inmate medication saw that there was vomit in Echevarria’s cell, and that Echevarria’s skin appeared discolored. The pharmacy technician learned from a second correction officer, who was serving as an escort, that Echevarria had swallowed a soap ball, and Echevarria told both the pharmacy technician and the second correction officer that he needed medical help. The pharmacy technician informed the second correction officer that Echevarria could die if he did not receive medical attention. The second correction officer then informed PENDERGRASS that Echevarria had swallowed a soap ball and needed medical help. Notwithstanding this report, PENDERGRASS failed to contact any medical personnel about Echevarria’s condition. In fact, PENDEGRASS told the second correction officer that perhaps the officer had simply misheard Echevarria’s request for medical help, which the second correction officer responded was not the case.
The next morning, Echevarria was found dead in his cell. An autopsy revealed that Echevarria died as a result of injuries caused by the ingestion of a caustic substance, consistent with the ingestion of a soap ball. Echevarria had internal burns and scarring along his esophagus and into his trachea, indicating that he suffered aspiration of vomit into his lungs. At no point prior to his death was Echevarria provided with any medical assistance to treat his ingestion of the substances contained in the soap ball.
PENDERGRASS, 49, of Howard Beach, New York, is charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. He faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI. Mr. Bharara also thanked the New York City Department of Correction, Investigation Division, and the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in the ongoing investigation.
The case is being handled jointly by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit and Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara K. Eshkenazi and Daniel C. Richenthal are in charge of the prosecution.
The charge contained in the Complaint is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. Terrence Pendergrass Complaint
Man Accused of Threatening Senator Manchin Arrested on Criminal ComplaintRead the Press Release
Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Steven Anthony Major, 49, of Barboursville, W.Va. was arrested on Friday, March 21, 2014 on a federal criminal complaint alleging that he made violent threats against United States Senator Joe Manchin and his family members.
According to the complaint, which was unsealed today, Major made multiple calls to the Charleston, W.Va. and Washington, D.C. offices of Senator Manchin. During the calls, Major identified himself and made violent threats targeting Senator Manchin and his family members.
Major’s initial appearance on the arrest is scheduled for 2 p.m. in front of Magistrate Judge Dwane L. Tinsley, Fifth Floor, Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse, Charleston, W.Va. Major faces up to 10 years in prison, if convicted.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is in charge of the prosecution.
Click here for a link to the complaint.
Note: The charge contained in the complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Leader and Co-Conspirator of Android Mobile Device App <br /> Piracy Group Plead GuiltyRead the Press Release
The leader of a piracy group engaged in the illegal distribution of copies of copyrighted Android mobile device applications and a co-conspirator have pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme that distributed more than one million copies of copyrighted apps with a total retail value of more than $700,000.
Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia and Special Agent in Charge J. Britt Johnson of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
“These mark the first convictions secured by the Justice Department against those who illegally distribute counterfeit mobile apps,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil. “These men trampled on the intellectual property rights of others when they and other members of the Appbucket group distributed more than one million copies of pirated apps. The Criminal Division has made fighting intellectual property crime a top priority, and these convictions demonstrate our determination to prosecute those who undermine the innovations of others in new technologies.”
“Copyright infringement discourages smart, innovative people from using their talents to create things that the rest of society can use and enjoy,” said U.S. Attorney Yates. “Theft is theft – whether the property taken is intellectual or tangible – and we will continue to prosecute those who steal copyrighted material.”
“The wholesale theft of intellectual property as seen in this case cannot and will not go unaddressed,” said FBI SAC Johnson. “The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in identifying, investigating and presenting for prosecution those individuals and groups engaged in such criminal activities that involve the attempt to profit from the hard work and the developed creative ideas of others.”
Nicholas Anthony Narbone, 26, of Orlando, Fla., pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, and Thomas Allen Dye, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla., pleaded guilty to the same change on March 10, 2014. Sentencing is scheduled for July 8, 2014, and June 12, 2014, respectively.
An information filed on Jan. 24, 2014, charged Narbone, Dye and others with one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. According to the information, Narbone, Dye and their fellow conspirators identified themselves as the Appbucket group, with Narbone as the leader, and, from August 2010 to August 2012, they conspired with other members of the Appbucket group to reproduce and distribute more than one million copies of copyrighted Android mobile device apps through the Appbucket alternative online market without permission from the copyright owners of the apps.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Bly of the Northern District of Georgia and Assistant Deputy Chief for Litigation John H. Zacharia of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). Significant assistance was provided by the CCIPS Cybercrime Lab, and the Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this matter.Leader of Scheme to Defraud IRS Using Stolen Puerto Rican Identities Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to Nine Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CARLOS JOSE LUIS (“JOSE LUIS”), also known as Jose Quilestorres, was sentenced on Friday, March 24, 2014, in Manhattan federal court to nine years in prison for his role as the leader of a scheme to fraudulently generate and then steal more than $10 million in federal tax refund checks. JOSE LUIS pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Sullivan in May 2013 to one count of each of: conspiracy to steal government funds, stealing government funds, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to submit false claims to the United States, and submitting false claims to the United States. JOSE LUIS also pleaded guilty to similar charges in the District of New Jersey in November 2013, and that case was transferred to the Southern District of New York for sentencing. Judge Sullivan imposed the nine-year sentence based on JOSE LUIS’s guilty plea in both cases.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Jose Luis stole people’s identities and used a corrupted Postal employee to perpetrate a multimillion-dollar tax fraud scheme. As the judge in this case correctly noted, stealing from the government may seem impersonal but everyone who is deprived of the good the government can do by that money being taken is a victim. This Office will not tolerate the wholesale thievery from the Treasury that this scheme was.”
According to the Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court, other court documents, and statements made during court proceedings:
JOSE LUIS operated a tax refund fraud mill from an apartment in the Bronx. Between January 2011 and September 2012, JOSE LUIS fraudulently claimed more than $10 million in IRS tax refund checks.
To fraudulently obtain the refund checks, JOSE LUIS would unlawfully obtain identifying information, including names, dates of birth, and social security numbers, of Puerto Rican citizens. Their stolen identities would then be used to claim large refunds from the federal government. Many of the checks in this particular scheme were sent to addresses in Shirley, New York, where a Postal Service employee was stealing United States mail containing tax refund checks. The checks generated by the fraudulent returns filed by JOSE LUIS were then cashed by other individuals, including four individuals charged in the Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court: Miguel Caceres, Felipe Duran Martinez, Ana Pimentel, and Emil Mejia.
In sentencing JOSE LUIS, Judge Sullivan remarked that “this is a crime that went on for a long time, the entire purpose of which was to steal from the government of the United States. On the one hand, that's . . . a very impersonal victim. . . . But it is a government that is designed to serve people and serve communities. And so the staggering amount of loss here . . . more than $10 million, if you think about what the government could do with that money . . . $10 million can do . . . an awful lot of good. . . . So there are victims to this crime. . . .”
Caceres pleaded guilty in April 2013 to conspiracy to steal government funds and to stealing government funds and was sentenced in November 2013 to 14 months in prison. Martinez pleaded guilty in April 2013 to similar charges and is awaiting sentence. Another individual linked to this organization and charged in the Indictment, Jairo Polanco, also pleaded guilty, in March 2013, and was sentenced in July 2013 to one year and one day in prison. Pimentel and Mejia remain at large. The charges against Pimentel and Mejia are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mr. Bharara praised the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service for their work on this case.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Mukhi and Micah Smith are in charge of this prosecution.
Leader of Multistate Drug Trafficking Ring SentencedRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
CINCINNATI –Reginald S. “Reggie” Myers, 55, Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 232 months imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release for leading a multistate drug trafficking conspiracy that brought between 120 and 180 kilograms of powder cocaine into the greater Cincinnati area between 2005 and 2007.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.
Myers was convicted in January 2013 following a five day trial. According to testimony presented during the trial, the organization spread over several states, with Chicago, then Atlanta as the main “distribution centers” and “branch offices” in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New York City, Raleigh, NC, and elsewhere, and in total moved in excess of 600 kilograms of cocaine (plus heroin and marijuana) out of Atlanta, generating more than $5 million in profits.
Myers used a hair care business known as Unique from Head 2 Toe, located at 4142 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio, for the purpose of carrying out narcotics transactions, and his residence, located at 2032 First Avenue, Cincinnati, for the purpose of discussing business related to narcotics trafficking. FBI agents arrested Myers on February 3, 2009.
Following the verdict, Myers was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals and has been held without bond.
Agencies assisting in the investigation include the U.S. Attorneys’ offices in the Southern District of New York, Northern District of Illinois and the District of Maryland, FBI Field Divisions in New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago, the Cincinnati Police Department, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Athens, Tennessee Police Department.
Stewart commended the investigation conducted by the FBI, as well as Criminal Chief Kenneth Parker and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl Kadon, who represented the United States in the case.
###Laguna Puelbo Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting his Intimate Parnter by StrangulationRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Brian Dyea, 28, pleaded guilty this morning to an indictment charging him with assaulting an intimate partner by strangulation. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, DuWayne W. Honahni, Sr., Special Agent in Charge of District IV of BIA’s Office of Justice Services, and Acting Chief Brian Carr of the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department.
Dyea, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna who resides in Mesita, N.M., was arrested on Jan 21, 2014, on a criminal complaint alleging that he assaulted his intimate partner, a Laguna Pueblo woman, by strangling and biting her. Dyea subsequently was indicted and charged with assaulting his intimate partner by strangulation on Jan. 12, 2014 in a location within the Pueblo of Laguna.
In entering his guilty plea, Dyea admitted assaulting the victim on Jan. 12, 2014, by biting her and strangling her, by placing his hands around her neck and impeding her normal breathing. Dyea acknowledged that the victim suffered contusions to her forehead and foot, three bite-marks to her left hand and forearm, a wrist sprain, and a head injury with the loss of consciousness as a result of the assault.
Dyea has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.
This case was investigated by the Laguna Agency of BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams. The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Con-Way Freight Inc. to Enforce Reemployment Rights of Temporarily Disabled ServicememberRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit today against Con-Way Freight Inc. alleging that the company violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by failing to promptly reassign Naval Reservist Dale Brown to his former position as a driver with appropriate seniority once he notified the company that he had fully recovered from a temporary service-related medical disability.
According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Brown began working for Con-Way on Nov. 9, 1987, as a driver sales representative (DSR). In 2006, Brown was working at Con-Way’s Rock Island, Ill., facility when he deployed for active duty. While in Iraq, Brown suffered a serious shoulder injury in a truck accident during a night mission and returned to Con-Way in 2009 following an honorable discharge. Con-Way placed him in a lower-paying position due to medical restrictions that prevented him from returning to the DSR position. By 2012, Brown had made a full recovery and notified the company that he was able to resume work as a DSR without medical restrictions. Con-Way refused to return Brown to the DSR position and instead made him apply for open positions as they became available. Months later, Brown was eventually hired as a DSR, but, Con-Way treated him as a new employee with no seniority to bid on assignments. As a result, Brown effectively received a 40 percent reduction in pay compared to what he was earning as a DSR prior to his military leave. He also no longer has a regular work schedule because his seniority was not restored upon resinstatement and he must call in each day to see if and for how long he will work on a given day.
USERRA obligates employers to promptly reemploy returning servicemembers and place them as near as possible in the position that they would have been in absent military service, or a position of similar seniority, status and pay. For servicemembers like Brown who return with a service-connected disability, the reemployment obligation extends to providing accommodations to the servicemember, which can include a temporary position until the servicemember has recovered and is able to return to his or her proper reemployment position. Contrary to these requirements, Con-Way violated USERRA by treating Brown as a newly hired DSR, with no accrued seniority, rather than placing him in the position that he would have held had he not served his country and suffered a serious and debilitating injury that required temporary accomodation.
The lawsuit seeks an adjustment to Brown’s seniority date as a DSR to his pre-deployment date with back wages for Con-Way’s six month delay in reemploying Brown once he asked for reinstatement as a DSR following his medical clearance, and his inability to bid on desirable shifts and routes due to his lack of seniority.
“Employers have a legal obligation under USERRA to accommodate servicemembers who suffer a disability while serving their country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting the rights of those who have served their country through military service.”
This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) following an investigation by the DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The case is being handled by the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division.
Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department website’s Servicemember page and Employment Litigation Section page, as well as on the DOL website.
Jefferson County Man Sentenced to Nearly 20 Years in Federal Prison for Methamphetamine Related ChargesRead the Press Release
Follow @SDILNewsA Jefferson County man was sentenced on March 19, 2014, to federal prison on methamphetamine related charges, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.
Alvin Gene Chelf, 42, of Bonnie, Illinois, was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison, to be followed by six years of supervised release, and fined $400. The Court sentenced Chelf as a Career Offender due to Chelf’s previous criminal history. Chelf had pleaded guilty to two counts in a federal indictment, Count 1 charged that on February 14, 2013, in Jefferson County, Illinois, Chelf knowingly and intentionally distributed methamphetamine, and Count 2 charged that on February 19, 2013, in Jefferson County, Illinois, Chelf knowingly and intentionally distributed methamphetamine.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Joint Narcotics Unit of the Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney George Norwood.
In New Step to Fight Recidivism, Attorney General Holder Announces Justice Department to Require Federal Halfway Houses to Boost Treatment Services for Inmates Prior to ReleaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON—In a new step to further the Justice Department’s efforts towards enhancing reentry among formerly incarcerated individuals, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will impose new requirements on federal halfway houses that help inmates transition back into society. Under the proposed new requirements, these halfway houses will have to provide a specialized form of treatment to prisoners, including those with mental health and substance abuse issues. For the first time, halfway houses will also have to provide greater assistance to inmates who are pursuing job opportunities, such as permitting cell phones to be used by inmates and providing funds for transportation. The new requirements also expand access to electronic monitoring equipment, such as GPS-equipped ankle bracelets, to allow more inmates to utilize home confinement as a reentry method.
Holder announced the changes in a video message posted on the Department’s website.
The BOP’s new policies have the potential to be far-reaching. To ease their transition, those exiting prison typically spend the last few months of their sentence in either a federal halfway house—known as a residential reentry center (RRC)—or under home confinement, or a combination of the two. These community-based programs provide much needed assistance to returning citizens in finding employment and housing, facilitating connections with service providers, reestablishing ties to family and friends, and more.
Last year alone, more than 30,000 federal inmates passed through a halfway house.
Among the most significant changes Holder announced is the requirement for standardized Cognitive Behavioral Programming (CBP) to be offered at all federal halfway houses. This treatment will address behavior that places formerly incarcerated individuals at higher risk of recidivism. As part of this treatment requirement, BOP is setting guidelines for instructor qualifications, class size and length, and training for all staff at the halfway houses.
Several other modifications are being made to the standard contracts that apply to federal halfway houses in order to provide greater support to returning citizens. Examples include requiring halfway houses to provide public transportation vouchers or transportation assistance to help residents secure employment, requiring all federal halfway houses to allow residents to have cell phones to facilitate communication with potential employers and family, and improving and expanding home confinement by increasing the use of GPS monitoring.
The proposed new requirements will be posted today on the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.fbo.gov). Interested parties will have a 30-day period to comment on the proposal. The BOP anticipates implementing the new requirements beginning with contracts expiring in 2014.The complete text of the Attorney General’s video message is below:
“Today, America’s federal prison population is experiencing a period of significant negative growth, with nearly 4,000 fewer inmates behind bars than at the end of the last fiscal year. This is the first major reduction in the federal prison population in three decades.“Thanks to a variety of effective, evidence-based reentry programs and services, we’re doing more than ever to ensure that the tens of thousands of federal inmates who return to their communities each year have access to the substance abuse treatment, job training, affordable housing, parenting education, and other resources that so many need to break the cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration.
“Through innovative strategies like the Justice Department’s ‘Smart on Crime’ initiative, we’re working hard to tear down unnecessary barriers to opportunity and independence – while building up programs that enable former prisoners to reintegrate into their communities. And nowhere is this work stronger than at the Federal Bureau of Prisons – where groundbreaking efforts are underway to make our criminal justice expenditures both smarter and more productive.
“Today, I’m pleased to announce that the Justice Department – through the Bureau of Prisons – is taking a critical step forward that will enable us to build on this important work – and improve the way reentry programming is implemented from coast to coast.
“For the first time, we will require all 200-plus halfway houses in the federal system to offer standardized treatment to prisoners with mental health and substance abuse issues. This treatment will be intensive, and must follow rigorous standards set forth by the Bureau of Prisons. Once fully implemented, these services will be available to every single one of the approximately 30,000 inmates who are released through halfway houses each year. This will ensure consistency and continuity of care between federal prisons and community-based facilities. And it will enhance the programs that help prisoners overcome their past struggles, get on the right path, and stay out of our criminal justice system.
“These important changes and others are codified in BOP’s published requirements for halfway houses – which will be posted online this week. Over the next 30 days, those who operate halfway houses will have the opportunity to provide feedback on these newly proposed requirements. And I encourage members of the public to visit this site, learn about these tools, and make your voices heard as well – so we can all take an active part in constructing the more effective, more efficient, and more just system that everyone in this country deserves.”
The full video is available at http://www.justice.gov/agwa.php.Huntington Woman Going to Prison for Allowing Heroin Trafficking from Her HomeRead the Press Release
Huntington, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Lindsey Alyn Thacker, 29, of Huntington, West Virginia, was sentenced today in United States District Court by Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers to three years imprisonment for maintaining a residence for the purpose of distributing heroin. Beginning in the summer of 2012 and continuing into the summer of 2013, Thacker allowed drug dealers from Detroit, Michigan to store and sell heroin at her residence on 11th Avenue in Huntington. She also permitted addicts to use heroin in her home. In return for facilitating this illegal drug activity, Thacker received heroin for personal use.
During a search of the residence, agents located approximately .3 grams of heroin and over $1000.00 from drug sales. Thacker also admitted that she had made six to seven trips to Detroit to obtain heroin and/or crack cocaine from an individual she knew as Zack or Zane, later identified as Zachary Merritt. Merritt, along with others, were charged and have pled guilty for their roles in trafficking heroin in Huntington.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. . The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Huntington Man Admits He Received Dangerous Drugs Through the MailRead the Press Release
Huntington, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Quincy Ray Johnson, 34, of Huntington, West Virginia was sentenced today by Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers to six years and six months imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute oxycodone, a dangerous and addictive pain killer. On April 17, 2013, an Express Mail Parcel was intercepted by United States Postal Inspectors after a specially trained police dog indicated the presence of drugs. A search warrant was obtained for the package and when it was opened, agents found 1260 oxycodone pills, and approximately 1 ounce of Molly (MDMA), a street drug akin to “Ecstasy.” After the inspection, the drugs were returned to the original packaging and delivered to 1737 10th Avenue, Huntington, West Virginia. A black male, later identified as Johnson, answered the door and accepted the delivery. A search warrant was subsequently executed and the package was recovered. When questioned by authorities, Johnson admitted that he expected and received the package containing the illegal drugs. Johnson also admitted receiving four other packages through the mail, each containing approximately 300 oxycodone 30-mg pills. Johnson plead guilty in September of 2013
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Guilty Plea in Bakersfield Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Antonio Perez Marcial, 41, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud, in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme in Bakersfield, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to Perez-Marcial’s guilty plea, he conspired with his co-defendants from 2007 to 2010 to use straw buyers to purchase residential properties in Bakersfield developed by Jara Brothers Investments (JBI), owned by co-defendants Eliseo Jara and Sergio Jara, and Pershing Partners LLC, owned by co-defendant Lucia Chavez. The conspirators paid straw buyers to purchase the properties from JBI and Pershing Partners, and funded the purchases using loans they obtained for the straw buyers from lenders based on false and fraudulent loan applications. The loan applications the conspirators submitted to lenders frequently contained false statements concerning the straw buyers’ employment status, income, assets, intent to occupy the properties as their personal residences, and source of down payments for the purchase of the properties. The conspirators concealed from the lenders that the property developers funded certain of the straw buyers’ down payments. The conspirators also submitted false supporting documentation to lenders such as false and altered bank account statements purporting to show that the straw buyer had a high bank account balance, false verifications of the straw buyers’ bank account funds, false verifications of rent purporting to be from the straw buyer’s landlord, false pay stubs, and false verifications of employment. Perez-Marcial at times received from other conspirators a “consulting fee” ranging from $20,000 to $30,000 or more when a property was sold to a straw buyer, to compensate Perez-Marcial for having obtained the straw buyer and to fund the straw buyer’s payment. Perez-Marcial admitted he caused lenders approximately $3,455,250 in losses due to his role in the conspiracy.
“Mortgage fraud saps the strength of our banking system and has victimized communities across our nation,” said Jose M. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Oakland. “Today’s plea represents one of the many results of the ongoing and focused efforts of the IRS and our law enforcement partners to identify and hold criminals who tried to game our financial system accountable for their actions.”
This case is the product of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kirk E. Sherriff and Henry Z. Carbajal III are prosecuting the case.
Perez-Marcial is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. by Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii. The maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge is 30 years in prison. The actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Co-defendant Ricardo Salinas pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2013, and his sentencing is set for July 28, 2014. The remaining six defendants have pleaded not guilty, the charges as to them are only allegations, and they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This law enforcement action is part of the work being done by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. One component of the FFETF is the national Mortgage Fraud Working Group, co-chaired by U.S. Attorney Wagner. For more information on the task force, visit StopFraud.gov.
Four Drug Defendants Sentenced in Federal Court in BluefieldRead the Press Release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that four defendants convicted of drug offenses were sentenced by Senior United States District Judge David A.Faber in federal court in Bluefield today. Richard Travis Robinette, Jr., 40, of Garland, West Virginia, was sentenced to six years in prison for distributing oxycodone pills. Robinette pled guilty in November of 2013, admitting that on September 16, 2010, he distributed ten oxycodone pills to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The transaction took place at or near Avondale, West Virginia. Mr. Robinette admitted that he was involved in the distribution of a total of 400 oxycodone pills. In a related case, Tobi LaDawn Jones, 25, of Avondale, was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for using a telephone to commit a felony drug offense. Jones pled guilty in November, admitting that she had used a telephone to set up the distribution of 13 oxycodone pills by an individual to a person cooperating with authorities. The drug transaction also took place near Avondale. Ms. Jones also admitted to being involved in additional drug transactions. The cases were investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
Faith Akers, 45, of Princeton, was sentenced to one year and one month for distributing hydromorphone pills. Akers pled guilty in November of 2013, when she admitted that on May 15, 2013, she distributed two hydromorphone pills to a person cooperating with authorities near Princeton. She further admitted that she was involved in distributing two hydromorphone pills on May 14 and one hydromorphone pill on May 15, 2013.
Terry Testerman, 61, of Bluewell, was sentenced to nine months of time served for distributing oxycodone pills. Testerman pled guilty in September of 2013, admitting that on February 3, 2012, he distributed two oxycodone pills to a person assisting law enforcement authorities in Bluewell. In addition, Mr. Testerman admitted that he distributed approximately five more oxycodone pills at various times.
The Akers and Testerman cases were investigated by the West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, and were prosecuted under the Bluefield Pill Initiative. All of the cases were prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U. S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Former Owner of Youngstown Company Pleads Guilty to Discharging Brine into the Mahoning RiverRead the Press Release
The former owner of a Youngstown-based company pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act by discharging brine into a tributary of the Mahoning River, said Steven M. Dettelbach, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Benedict W. Lupo, 63, of Poland, Ohio, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16.
The conduct took place between Nov. 1, 2012 and Jan. 31, 2013, according to court documents.
“Those who make it their business to harvest from under Ohio its great natural resources, have a responsibility to the men, women and children who drink its water, live on its land and breathe its air. And they have a duty to follow the law," Dettelbach said. "The defendant in this case has admitted ordering others to break the law, and he must be held accountable.”
“Ben Lupo put his own business interests ahead of the health and safety of our citizens, natural resources and wildlife by repeatedly releasing or ordering the release of his company’s brine waste into the Mahoning River. He will now be held accountable for this terrible crime,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.
“As natural gas exploration continues, it must be done in a way that ensures the drilling byproducts are treated and disposed of safely and legally,” said Randall Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio. “This case demonstrates that if companies and their owners skirt environmental laws, EPA will hold them accountable.”
“This incident is one of a small percentage of egregious environmental violations we see at Ohio EPA that must be prosecuted criminally,” Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler said. “This general disregard for the law will not be tolerated in Ohio and we will work with our partners at the local, state and federal agencies to make sure the responsible parties are held accountable. We especially appreciate the United States Department of Justice quickly assisting Ohio in this case and applying its more stringent laws regarding Clean Water Act violations. ”
According to the indictment and related court documents:
Hardrock Excavating LLC was owned by Lupo and located at 2761 Salt Springs Road in Youngstown. The company provided services to the oil and gas industry in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including the storage of brine and oil-based drilling mud used in hydrofracturing, or fracking.
There were approximately 58 mobile storage tanks at the facility and each holds approximately 20,000 gallons.
Lupo, who owns Hardrock, directed an employee to empty some of the waste liquid stored at the facility into a nearby wastewater drain on or about Nov. 1, 2012. Lupo directed the employee to conduct this activity only after no one else was at the facility and only after dark.
An employee, at the direction of Lupo, emptied some of the waste liquid at the facility into the nearby stormwater drain using a hose on numerous occasions over the next several months. The drain flowed into a tributary of the Mahoning River and ultimately into the Mahoning River.
The last time an employee emptied some of the waste liquid into the drain was on or about Jan. 31, 2013. The waste liquid that night included brine and drill cuttings. A sample of the discharge taken that night was black in color and a subsequent analysis showed the presence of several hazardous pollutants, including benzene and toluene.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Beeson following an investigation by the Ohio EPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, U.S. EPA, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Youngstown Department of Public Works and the Youngstown Fire Department.
The statutory maximum for violating the Clean Water Act is for individuals is three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $50,000 per day of violation or $250,000, whichever is larger.
Michael Guesman, 35, of Cortland, Ohio, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the crime and was sentenced last week to three years of probation and 300 hours of community service. The criminal case against Hardrock Excavating LLC remains pending.The case remains under investigation.
Former Middle School Teacher Arrested on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - William Kimbrell has been arraigned on federal charges of accessing with intent to view child pornography. Kimbrell was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 18, 2014.
"This now-former middle school teacher has been indicted on child pornography charges," said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. "Through the vigilance of our law enforcement partners, this defendant is no longer teaching, and will face the consequences of his actions."
“Consumers of child pornography create a demand for the sexual exploitation of children that has resulted in an explosion of abuse across the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Brock D. Nicholson of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta. “No matter how cleverly a suspect may think he has covered his tracks by deleting or encrypting illegal photos and videos, our special agents and computer forensic analysts are highly trained and skilled at finding the evidence of their crimes.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: Starting in October 2012, a sheriff's office detective in southern Georgia found that a person at an apartment complex in Statesboro, Ga., was distributing child pornography. In late December 2012 and continuing into January 2013, this same person was still offering child pornography for distribution, but this time the computer’s Internet protocol address came back to a residence in Covington, Ga.
When special agents with Homeland Security Investigations learned of the offense this year, they identified the subject as William Kimbrell, and obtained federal search warrants for his home in Covington. At that time, Kimbrell was working as a middle school teacher in Barrow County, Ga. When the agents executed the search warrants, they found that Kimbrell had deleted the bulk of the child pornography on his computer. The computer forensics analyst, however, was able to find remnants of files on the computer and was able to determine that Kimbrell had accessed child pornography on the Internet from October to December 2013, which includes the period that he was working as a teacher. Kimbrell resigned from his position as a middle school teacher on March 17, 2014.
William Kimbrell, 27, of Covington, Ga., was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant United States Attorney Paul R. Jones is prosecuting the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Former L.A. City Building Inspector Sentenced to 2½ Years in Federal Prison for Taking Tens of Thousands of Dollars in Bribe PaymentsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former inspector with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for taking more than $30,000 in bribes in relation to at least a dozen properties in and around the Koreatown District of Los Angeles.
Samuel In, 66, of Glendale, a 37-year veteran of LADBS, pleaded guilty just over one year ago to one count of bribery. According to court documents, In took bribe payments – which he described to some victims as “fees” – from 2007 through the end of 2010. In admitted that he solicited and accepted bribery payments totaling more than $30,000 in connection with his official duties in relation to at least a dozen Koreatown properties.
Federal prosecutors asked United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson to impose a 30-month prison term, reasoning that In took bribes as part of a “deliberate, long-running pattern of corruption.”
In a sentencing memo filed with the court, prosecutor wrote: “This recommended sentence appropriately accounts for the serious nature of defendant’s illegal course of conduct — abusing his position as a senior building inspector over a number of years to solicit and take bribes in return for approving numerous building projects that may or may not have been safe.”
The case against In is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI urges anyone with information about building inspectors or other officials accepting bribes to contact the FBI by calling its Los Angeles Field Office at its toll-free corruption hotline – 855-5-BRIBES (855-527-4237) – or sending an e mail to the [email protected].
Release No. 14-033
Five Former Employees of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities Found Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court on All CountsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a Manhattan jury today found DANIEL BONVENTRE, ANNETTE BONGIORNO, JOANN CRUPI, a/k/a “Jodi,” JEROME O’HARA, and GEORGE PEREZ guilty of all 31 counts in connection with their long-time employment at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“Madoff Securities”). The verdict was announced this afternoon after a more than five-month trial before Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan federal court.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As the jury unanimously found, these five defendants played crucial roles in constructing and maintaining the house of cards that was the Madoff investment fraud. These convictions, along with the prior guilty pleas of nine other defendants, demonstrate what we have believed from the earliest stages of the investigation: this largest-ever Ponzi scheme could not have been the work of one person. The trial established that the Madoff fraud began at least as far back as the early 1970s, decades before it came to light. These defendants each played an important role in carrying out the charade, propping it up, and concealing it from regulators, auditors, taxing authorities, lenders, and investors. The scheme these defendants helped perpetrate cost innumerable investors their life savings. Now it likely will cost the defendants their freedom.”
According to the evidence presented during the trial:
BONGIORNO, an employee in the investment advisory business for 40 years, managed hundreds of investment advisory accounts purportedly having a cumulative balance of approximately $8.5 billion dollars as of November 30, 2008. BONGIORNO also supervised employees who worked for the investment advisory business.
CRUPI, an employee in the investment advisory business for 25 years, managed several Madoff Securities investment advisory accounts purportedly having a cumulative balance of approximately $900 million as of November 30, 2008. She also tracked the daily activity of the bank account into which billions of dollars of investment advisory client money was deposited, and from which investment advisory client redemptions were paid.
During the course of managing investment advisory accounts, BONGIORNO and CRUPI “executed” trades in the investment advisory clients’ accounts only on paper, based on historically reported prices of securities that they researched in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Those trades achieved annual rates of return that had been pre-determined by Madoff. BONGIORNO and CRUPI also backdated the purchase dates of purported trades so that they could control the amount of gains reflected in the investment advisory accounts. Further, BONGIORNO processed exceptional gains in the investment advisory accounts that purportedly occurred months before the investment advisory accounts had been established. BONGIORNO also asked certain investment advisory clients to return previously issued Madoff Securities account statements so that she could alter them, and often include additional backdated trades.
CRUPI handled the receipt of funds sent to Madoff Securities by its clients for investment; transferred clients’ funds between and among various Madoff Securities bank accounts; handled client requests for redemptions sent to Madoff Securities by clients; monitored, on a daily basis, funds transferred into and out of the Madoff Securities bank account that was principally used to perpetrate the fraud; and prepared and assisted in the preparation of fabricated documents designed to deceive regulators and outside auditors. Further, CRUPI provided banks with false information in connection with mortgage loans for other Madoff Securities employees.
BONVENTRE was employed at Madoff Securities for 40 years and served as its Director of Operations. BONVENTRE was responsible for maintaining and supervising the production of the principal internal accounting documents for Madoff Securities, including its general ledger, financial statements, and stock record. BONVENTRE directed that false entries be made in the general ledger that concealed the scope of the investment advisory operations and understated Madoff Securities’s liabilities by billions of dollars. For example, from 1997 to 2008, more than $750 million of investment advisory investor funds were used to support Madoff Securities’s Market Making and Proprietary Trading operations, but were not accounted for on Madoff Securities’s books and records, including the general ledger, so as to conceal the true source of the funds. Moreover, as BONVENTRE knew, the general ledger did not accurately reflect the assets contained in the bank and brokerage accounts into which investment advisory investor funds were deposited, and likewise did not reflect the liability of Madoff Securities to its investment advisory clients that arose from the custody of investment advisory client funds in those accounts. The assets and associated liabilities of Madoff Securities’s investment advisory operations, which were omitted from the general ledger, ranged from millions to billions of dollars.
Madoff Securities was required to file Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single Reports (“FOCUS Reports”) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Those FOCUS Reports require the production of basic information that amounts to a condensed version of a broker-dealer’s general ledger. Because the general ledger was inaccurate, as BONVENTRE well knew, the FOCUS Reports were likewise false because they failed to accurately reflect Madoff Securities’s assets and liabilities. For example, one such report, for the month of April 2006, in the midst of a liquidity crisis, failed to reflect at least $299 million in Madoff Securities liabilities related to $154 million of an investment advisory client’s bonds and the $145 million that Madoff Securities had borrowed using those bonds as collateral. BONVENTRE also provided false FOCUS Reports and other financial documents to banks in connection with Madoff Securities’s bank loans.
In addition, between 2004 and 2007, in connection with audits of Bernard L. Madoff’s U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040s, BONVENTRE created false, backdated Madoff Securities records to show the tax auditors. Because Madoff had under-reported his income by tens of millions of dollars each year, BONVENTRE created false documents that appeared consistent with Madoff’s tax returns for the purposes of maintaining the falsity of Madoff’s tax returns and deceiving the auditors.
Further, between 2004 and 2008, Madoff Securities was subject to at least five reviews by the SEC and a European accounting firm which was conducting a review of Madoff Securities’s operations on behalf of investment advisory clients. As part of a concerted effort overseen by Madoff to deceive both the SEC and the European accounting firm, BONVENTRE, CRUPI, O’HARA and PEREZ participated in creating numerous false and fraudulent books and records.
O’HARA and PEREZ were employed as computer programmers at Madoff Securities beginning in 1990 and 1991, respectively. They were responsible for developing and maintaining computer programs that supported the operation of the Madoff Securities investment advisory business. For example, O’HARA and PEREZ created special programs that, among other things: created books and records for a small subset of Madoff Securities investment advisory clients to help hide the scope and nature of the investment advisory business; changed the names of account holders to help explain why the SEC would not find investment advisory client securities at the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”); altered details about the number of shares, execution times, and transaction numbers for trades reported on Madoff Securities trade blotters, by employing algorithms that produced false and random results; created false and fraudulent order entry and execution reports that included fictitious times at which orders for equities transactions purportedly were placed; generated fraudulent commission reports; and created fraudulent investment advisory client account statements in a format different from those sent to clients. O’HARA and PEREZ knew that the special programs they developed contained fraudulent information and that they were used in connection with the SEC and European accounting firm reviews.
In addition to convicting the defendants of their participation in securities fraud and related conduct in connection with the Madoff Securities Ponzi scheme, the defendants were convicted on a total of 31 counts – every count that was submitted to the jury – some of which relate to allegations of separate misconduct, including bank fraud and tax fraud offenses. BONVENTRE, for example, was convicted for his participation in an accounting fraud conspiracy that, among other things, included using falsified financial statements and other documents to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and lines of credit from federally-insured financial institutions. BONVENTRE was separately convicted in connection with creating fraudulent financial records to tax auditors, in an attempt to deceive the Internal Revenue Service and maintain the falsity of Bernard L. Madoff’s own (fraudulent) personal income tax returns.
CRUPI was convicted of a separate bank fraud conspiracy to assist David Kugel – a former supervisory trader in Madoff Securities’s market-making and proprietary trading operation, who pled guilty and agreed to cooperate with the Government in November 2011 – by creating and submitting to federally insured financial institutions falsified documents in support of personal bank loans for Kugel and members of his family.
Finally, BONVENTRE, BONGIORNO, and CRUPI were each convicted in connection with filing false income tax returns on their own behalf, in which each of the three defendants failed to report cash and other benefits they received from Madoff Securities. BONVENTRE was convicted of failing to report millions of dollars in cash and other benefits, including payments on his behalf for his membership in a country club and his son’s private high school tuition. BONGIORNO was convicted of failing to report more than a million dollars in cash payments she received from two “Bernard L. Madoff Special” accounts. And CRUPI was convicted for failing to report tens of thousands of dollars in personal expenses she charged on a corporate credit card.
In total, the jury convicted BONVENTRE, 67, of 20 counts; BONGIORNO, 66, of 10 counts; CRUPI, 53, of 13 counts; and O’HARA, 51, and PEREZ, 48, of eight counts each. A chart containing a description of the counts of conviction and their maximum penalties is attached. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
The defendants will be sentenced in July by U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan federal court. BONVENTRE and BONGIORNO will be sentenced on July 28, 2014. CRUPI and O’HARA will be sentenced on July 29, 2014. And PEREZ will be sentenced on July 30, 2014. Judge Swain ordered each of the defendants subject to electronic monitoring pending sentencing and limited home confinement.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration for their assistance.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which Mr. Bharara serves as a Co-Chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. The task force was established 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. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew L. Schwartz, John T. Zach, and Randall W. Jackson are in charge of the prosecution.
Click here to view chart(s)
U.S. v. Daniel Bonventre, et al. S10 Indictment
Fifth Defendant Pleads Guilty to Theft of Mail from Wasco Post OfficesRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Mayra Alejandra Soria, 30, formerly of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to steal and possess stolen mail and one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Soria is the last of five co-conspirators to plead guilty to mail theft crimes after being indicted in May 2013 as part of Operation Broken Mailbox, the United States Postal Inspection Service’s ongoing effort to work with local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute stolen mail offenses.
According to court documents, from March 17, 2013 until May 21, 2013, Soria and others engaged in a conspiracy to steal mail in Wasco and elsewhere in the Bakersfield area, in order to steal checks and commit identity theft. As part of the conspiracy, Soria and her co-conspirators fished mail out of U.S. mail collection boxes located at Bakersfield area post offices and then looked for third party information and financial instruments, including checks and money orders to cash. The defendants then altered and negotiated the stolen checks – sometimes by depositing them into accounts they had opened in the names of identity theft victims. In total, Soria and her co-defendants stole checks and other items valued at more than $120,000.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Wasco Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Megan A. S. Richards is prosecuting the case.
San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Rafael Nunez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service stated, “We are working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners in law enforcement to arrest and prosecute those responsible for mail theft to protect postal customer’s mail from theft.”
Soria is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on June 16, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. Soria faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Co-defendant Eric Alberto Herrera, 26, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal mail in December and was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment. Co-defendant Elisee Torres-Pacheco, 36, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen mail and was sentenced to 36 months of probation. Co-defendants Brisa Celeste Castillo, 33, and Mateo Manuel Santiago, 25, each have pled guilty to conspiracy to steal mail and are awaiting sentencing by Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill. Castillo faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Her sentencing is set for May 5, 2014. Santiago, who pled guilty to one count of unlawfully possessing a postal mail key in addition to conspiracy, faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing is set for April 28, 2014.
Endoscopy Center Agrees to Ensure Necessary Aid to Visually Impaired PatientsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- The Alabama Digestive Health and Endoscopy Center, a joint venture operating in leased space on the Brookwood Medical Center campus, has agreed to take action to ensure that patients who are blind or visually impaired receive necessary aids or services to enable them to communicate effectively with doctors and staff, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.
ADHEC and Brookwood Medical Center each have entered a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. A key provision of the settlement is a commitment to provide qualified readers, taped texts, audio recordings, Brailed materials, large-print materials or signature guides to patients -- or a family member, friend or associate assisting in a patient's care -- who are blind or visually impaired.
The Justice Department initiated negotiations after a visually impaired woman filed a complaint against ADHEC in April 2013 under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The woman claimed that staff at ADHEC failed to provide auxiliary aid to ensure effective communication with her. Rather than reading her the medical and legal documents for her to sign, the woman claimed the endoscopy center staff gave the documents to her husband for his signature.
ADHEC and Brookwood Medical Center dispute the woman's allegations and deny the endoscopy center failed to comply with Title III of the ADA, which prohibits public accommodations from discriminating against someone on the basis of disability in gaining full and equal access to its goods, services, facilities and privileges. The act also requires public accommodations to provide auxiliary aids and services if needed to ensure effective communication.
ADHEC and Brookwood Medical Center cooperated with the government's investigation and acknowledged their legal obligation, as well as their shared interest in providing blind and visually impaired individuals with the assistance necessary to communicate fully with staff, caregivers and doctors.
Other provisions of the settlement include:
• That the determination of whether, and which, aids a blind or visually impaired patient may need must be made at the time an appointment is scheduled or on the patient's arrival. ADHEC and Brookwood each will assess a patient's communication abilities and needs as part of each initial patient assessment.
• That all patients and companions who may need additional communication aids or services will be notified of the services available to them, regardless of whether the patient or companion has requested assistance.
• If the endoscopy center or the medical center staff believe that providing additional communications aids or services might assist in providing medical services to a patient, but neither the patient nor the patient's companion has requested assistance, each will inform the patient or companion that such assistance is available and free.
• Provide mandatory ADA training, annually, to physicians, employees and staff who might interact with patients or their companions on how to identify the communication needs of visually impaired patients and patient companions. The training also will include the types of auxiliary aids and services available and the notification procedures for alerting staff and physicians when patients and companions who might need those services schedule appointments, tests, therapies or other health care services.
• The agreement and the obligations are for a term of two years.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn W. Steverson represented the government in this matter.