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30 April 2014
Wellsville Man Sentenced on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that John R. Faber, 28, of Wellsville, N.Y., who was convicted of conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute and distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay $3,143 in restitution to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, who handled the case, stated that during the execution of a search warrant on January 26, 2012 at a residence on South Main St. in Wellsville, law enforcement officers discovered items used to manufacture methamphetamine and a quantity of methamphetamine. A search warrant was later executed at a residence on Madison Ave. in Wellsville. During that search, officers discovered an active methamphetamine laboratory.
The defendant was arrested along with Jason Patterson, his wife April Patterson, Anthony Kidd, and Justin McPherson. Jason Patterson, April Patterson and Anthony Kidd have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing. Justin McPherson was convicted and sentenced to 24 months in prison.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Michael Cerretto, the Wellsville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy Walsh, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Jamie J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.Waterloo Man Sent to Federal Prison for Unlawful Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
A Waterloo man who ran from police with a firearm was sentenced on April 25, 2014 to almost four years in federal prison.
Ted Alfonso Scott, Jr., 23, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 4, 2014 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.
In a plea agreement, Scott admitted he possessed two separate 9 millimeter pistols in Waterloo. In December 2013, the Waterloo Police Department responded to a report of shots fired. An officer responding to the scene observed an individual the officer later identified as Scott running from the scene. Police chased Scott as he ran up the external staircase of an apartment building with a pistol in his hand. Scott was later arrested and admitted to possessing the gun, which was found in the staircase. Scott also admitted he possessed a second firearm which officers found hidden in a Waterloo garage in July 2013. Scott was a felon, having been convicted of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver in Black Hawk County in 2011. Scott has a history of gang involvement.
Scott was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. He was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Scott is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lightfoot and investigated by the Waterloo Police Department’s Violent Crime Apprehension Team (VCAT) and Watch III patrol, with assistance from the Black Hawk County Attorney’s Office.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/ cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 13-CR-2041.
Waste Management of Hawaii Inc. and Managers Indicted for Violations of Clean Water Act, Conspiracy, Making False StatementsRead the Press Release
Millions of Gallons of Medical Waste-Contaminated Storm Water Released into Hawaii’s Coastal Waters
HONOLULU – A federal grand jury in Honolulu returned a 13-count indictment today charging Waste Management of Hawaii Inc. (WMH); Joseph R. Whelan, WMH’s General Manager and a vice president of WMH; and Justin H. Lottig, WMH’s environmental protection manager, with multiple felonies, including knowing violations of the Clean Water Act, conspiracy and making false statements to the Hawaii Department of Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Justice Department announced today.
The charges stem from alleged illegal discharges of contaminated storm water from the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill into Hawaii’s coastal waters after heavy rainfalls in December 2010 and January 2011. WMH was permitted to discharge storm water from the landfill to the Pacific Ocean under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the Hawaii Department of Health Clean Water Branch (DOH-CWB). The storm water was required to go through the landfill’s storm water management system to ensure that it did not come into contact with waste in the landfill before being discharged to Hawaii’s coastal waters. The NPDES permit prohibited WMH from causing or contributing to a violation of Hawaii’s state water quality standards.
The indictment alleges that from April 19, 2010 until Dec. 23, 2010, WMH Environmental Protection Manager Lottig conspired with employees from an environmental consulting firm to submit false and outdated information to DOH-CWB in June, August and September 2010. The purpose of the conspiracy was to convince DOH-CWB that the landfill had an adequate storm water management system in place in order to renew its NPDES storm water discharge permit.
The indictment also alleges that from Oct. 27 to Dec. 23, 2010, Lottig and WMH violated the permit by knowingly failing to inform DOH-CWB of material changes in the storm water management system that would have alerted the DOH-CWB that an inadequate system was in place.
On Dec. 19, 2010, a heavy rainstorm struck Oahu, and Cell E6, which contained millions of pounds of waste including raw sewage, sewage sludge and medical waste, was flooded with millions of gallons of storm water from up canyon. The indictment alleges that from December 20 to 23, WMH pumped millions of gallons of contaminated storm water from Cell E6 into coastal waters near the Ko Olina Resort. The indictment alleges that on December 20 and 23, Lottig falsely stated to DOH-CWB inspectors that any storm water being discharged from the landfill had not come into contact with waste from Cell E6.
On the evening of Jan. 12, 2011, another heavy rainstorm struck Oahu. The indictment alleges that unbeknownst to DOH-CWB, Whelan and WMH caused the discharge of millions of gallons of contaminated storm water to the coastal waters near the Ko Olina beach resort for several hours that evening and/or into the morning of January 13 without authorization from DOH-CWB. The pollutants included large amounts of medical waste, including blood vials, syringes and catheters, raw sewage and sewage sludge. The indictment alleges that on Jan. 13 and 20, 2011, an engineer from WMH falsely stated to DOH-CWB inspectors that the manhole which WMH used for the unauthorized discharges had been closed when in fact he knew that it had been left open to serve as an overflow drain.
The indictment also alleges that Whelan and WMH submitted false material statements and concealed material information in written submissions to DOH-CWB on April 21, 2011 and to the EPA on Aug. 1, 2011.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, WMH faces a maximum criminal fine of $500,000 for each count. If convicted of the count charging failing to inform DOH-CWB of material changes in the storm water diversion system, WMH faces a maximum fine of $50,000 per day of the alleged violation.
If convicted, Lottig faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count of conspiracy and for each count of making a false statement to DOH-CWB; a maximum of three years for failing to inform DOH-CWB of material changes in the storm water diversion system plus a fine of $50,000 per day of the alleged violation; a maximum of two years for each count of providing false information to DOH-CWB; and a maximum of three years for each count of illegal discharges in violation of the Clean Water Act. If convicted, Lottig also faces a maximum criminal fine of $250,000 for each count.
If convicted, Whelan faces a maximum sentence of three years for each count alleging illegal discharges in violation of the Clean Water Act and a maximum of two years for each count of making false statements to DOH-CWB and EPA; and a maximum criminal fine of $250,000 for each count.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall Silverberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii and Senior Trial Attorney Daniel Dooher of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. It was investigated by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division, with the assistance of the DOH-CWB.
Washington Man Sentenced in Conspiracy to Export Sophisticated Computer Equipment to IranRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced John Alexander Talley (42, Seattle, Washington) to 30 months in federal prison for conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transaction Regulations. The court also sentenced Talley’s company, Tallyho Peripherals, Inc. d/b/a Enterprise Solutions Systems, to one year of probation.
Talley and Tallyho pleaded guilty on September 18, 2013.
According to court documents, from about 2009 to about September 2012, Talley and his company conspired with others, including Mohammed Reza “Ray” Hajian, to unlawfully export sophisticated enterprise level computer equipment from the United States to Iran, and to provide computer information technology (IT) support services for the equipment, all in violation of the United States embargo. Talley’s role was to provide training and computer IT support to ensure that the computer equipment operated in Iran. In an effort to conceal their activities, the conspirators in the United States caused shipments of the computers and related equipment, as well as the payments for same, to travel to and from the United States and Iran through the United Arab Emirates. Similarly, payments for Talley’s support services were wired through the UAE.
On July 11, 2012, Hajian and three of his companies, RH International LLC, Nexiant LLC, and P & P Computers LLC, pleaded guilty to charges involving the same conspiracy to violate the Iranian Embargo. Hajian and his companies also pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transaction Regulations. On October 18, 2012, Hajian was sentenced to four years in federal prison.
On September 12, 2013, two Iranian nationals, Mahmood Akbari, a/k/a John Wasserman and Reza Hajigholamali, and three UAE front companies, Patco Group Ltd., Managed Systems and Services (FZC), and TGO General Trading LLC, were indicted in connection with the same conspiracy. Charges against those parties included a conspiracy to violate the International Economic Powers Act, and a conspiracy to commit international money laundering. According to the superseding indictment in that case, Hajian was selling the sophisticated computer equipment and services at issue to Akbari.
If convicted, Akbari and Hajigholamali face a maximum penalty of up to 40 years in federal prison.
On April 24, 2014, Michael J. Dragoni (48, Riverview, FL), and two companies controlled by him, Fortis Data Systems, LLC (“FDS”) and Greencloud LLC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Dragoni faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison.
According to plea agreements filed in the case, from about August 2009 through at least August 2011, Dragoni, along with Randy Dale Barber, using Dragoni’s companies FDS and Greencloud, conspired to defraud Hitachi Data Systems (“HDS”) by making materially false statements to HDS in order to purchase computer equipment for resale to Hajian, who in turn resold the equipment to his client, Akbari, and UAE company Patco. By late 2009, Dragoni, Barber and Hajian knew that HDS refused to sell computer equipment to Hajian, and his customers Akbari and Patco, because HDS believed that the equipment was being diverted to unauthorized end users. In order to deceive HDS and purchase the computer equipment, Dragoni and Barber made false statements regarding the purchaser, end user, and location of installation of the equipment that they were purchasing, including by using front companies to make equipment purchases on their behalf. Dragoni and the conspirators then caused the equipment to be shipped to Dubai.
On February 28, 2014, Barber also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with making false statements to HDS. Barber is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28, 2014, and faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in federal prison.
“Engaging in a conspiracy to export sensitive United States technologies to prohibited countries like Iran is a serious crime that threatens our national security,” said Shane Folden, acting special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “HSI is committed to investigating those who seek to steal our country’s critical technology and to working with our law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle these illicit procurement networks.”
"Protecting our national security is a top priority of the Office of Export Enforcement," said Robert Luzzi, Special Agent In-Charge of the of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Export Enforcement Miami Field Office. "Today's sentencing proves that those who conspire to violate U.S. export controls by illegally diverting sensitive technology anywhere in the world will be pursued and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark E. Bini and Trial Attorney Mariclaire Rourke of the Counterespionage Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, National Security Division.
U.S. Border Patrol Agent Arrested on Federal Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Abel Michael Quiroz, 26, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent who resides in Las Cruces, N.M., was arrested yesterday on federal child pornography offenses. Quiroz made his initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces this morning. He remains in custody pending a detention hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
Quiroz was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with receiving and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. According to the criminal complaint, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) initiated an investigation into Quiroz after receiving information that an adult male, later confirmed to be Quiroz, was having inappropriate communications with a 15-year-old child (victim).
The complaint alleges that execution of a search warrant for the contents of an email address belonging to Quiroz revealed found numerous sexually explicit communications between Quiroz and the victim as well as nude and sexually explicit photographs of the victim. On April 29, 2014, HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at Quiroz’s residence where they seized digital media and arrested Quiroz. There is no evidence suggesting that Quiroz’s alleged criminal activities were conducted with government-owned equipment or technology.
If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Quiroz faces a federal prison term of not less than five years and not more than 20 years. If convicted, Quiroz also would be required to register as a sex offender. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Child Exploitation Unit of HSI’s office in Las Cruces pursuant to Project iGuardian, an HSI initiative designed to reach children, parents and teachers and share information about the dangers of online environments, how to stay safe online and how to report abuse and suspicious activity. The Olathe (Kansas) Police Department assisted in the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The Operation also was brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 74 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.Two Yantis TX Men Plead Guilty to Wire/Mail FraudRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that MICHAEL SCOTT CALHOUN, age 49, and TOMMY WAYNE DAVIS, age 47, both of Yantis, Texas, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud/Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The defendants were indicted in August, 2012.
The Indictment alleged that in or about August 2007 to in or about April 2010, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendant, knowingly and wilfully conspired with other persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to transmit or caused to be transmitted by means of a wire communication or the United States Mail, communication for the purpose to defraud the United States and Texas Capital Bank, a financial institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, all in order to obtain money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the guilty pleas and ordered the completion of presentence reports.
The statutory range of punishment is up to 30 years imprisonment and/or up to a $1,000,000.00 fine.
Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wilson represented the United States.
Two Tax Preparers Prosecuted in Separate Unrelated Cases for Filing Fraudulent ReturnsRead the Press Release
DENVER – U.S. Attorney John Walsh and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Stephen Boyd announce the prosecution of return preparers for fraudulently preparing false tax returns. As another filing season comes to an end, Federal officials remind those who prepare and file fraudulent tax returns, they will be criminally prosecuted. Recent return preparer cases prosecuted in the District of Colorado include the following:
Austin Ray, Age 46, of Denver CO and Anne Rasamee, Age 29, of Stockton CA, where arrested last week on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and preparing fraudulent tax returns. Ray and Rasamee were indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on April 10, 2014 which remained sealed until their arrests. Ray was arrested in Denver and had his initial appearance and arraignment last week. He remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals. Rasamee was arrested in Stockton where she had her initial appearance on April 22, 2014 and was released on bond. Her arraignment is scheduled for May 7, 2014 in Denver.
Ray and Rasamee owned and operated Cheapertaxes LLC, a tax preparation business in Colorado. Beginning in March 2006 through April 2010, they conspired to defraud the IRS by preparing fraudulent income tax returns which containing false income and deductions, for the purpose of obtaining inflated tax refunds for their clients. They falsified itemized deductions on Schedule A, business losses on Schedule C and personal exemptions.
To further conceal the scheme, they would list a third party who had not prepared the fraudulent tax return as the return preparer on the client’s return. Ray and Rasamee had the taxpayers refunds deposited into Cheapertaxes’s bank account and after deducting their fees pay the difference to the taxpayers. At times, they failed to pay their client’s the balance of the refunds. Rasamee was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and thirty counts of preparing fraudulent tax returns. Ray was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and five counts of preparing fraudulent tax returns. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anna Edgar.
In a separate case, Lance McCuistion, age 46, of Thornton CO, pled guilty on April 28, 2014 to one count of preparing a fraudulent tax return. He was charged by an Information on February 20, 2014 waiving his right to be charged by a federal grand jury.
McCuistion owns and operates LM Tax Services, a tax-preparation business in Thornton, CO. From 2007 through 2009, he prepared and filed at least 1600 tax returns for which at least 18 clients he falsely inflated their Schedule A deductions, resulting in refunds greater than his clients were entitled. False deductions included charitable contributions, unreimbursed business expenses, and child care expenses. The tax loss relevant to his offense is $70,536.
IRS CI Special Agents conducted an undercover operation during which McCuistion prepared a tax return falsely overstating deductions and he openly discussed his fraudulent return preparation. Following the execution of a search warrant at his home and business, McCuistion admitted to the special agents that he had filed returns with false charitable contributions. Furthermore, he also approached several taxpayers during their audit process to discuss false items on their returns to further conceal the fraud. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Suneeta Hazra.
Conspiracy to defraud the United States carries a penalty of not more than 5 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $100,000, per count. Preparing a false tax return carries a penalty of not more than 3 year imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000, per count.
Two Plead Guilty to Timber TheftRead the Press Release
BOISE - Terry Kevin Burton, 46, of Wilder, Idaho, and his son, Brent L. Burton, 22, of Homedale, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to theft of government property from the Malheur National Forest, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. The Burtons were indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on October 9, 2013.
According to the plea agreement, the Burtons admitted that in May 2013, they made several trips into the Malheur National Forest to unlawfully cut lodgepole pine post and poles, which they intended to sell commercially. Neither Burton had a commercial timber license or contract allowing them to take the lodgepole pine post and poles from the National Forest. The Burtons also created an illegal trail through the National Forest to get to the timber, which resulted in additional damage to the area. As part of their plea agreement, the Burtons have agreed to pay $3,880 in restitution for the timber they unlawfully cut and removed from the National Forest and for the costs to restore the damaged area.
The charge of theft of government property is punishable by up to one year in prison, a maximum fine of $5,000, and up to one year of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for July 9, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The case was investigated by the U. S. Forest Service in John Day, Oregon.
Two Officers of Long Island Based Company Indicted for Sale of $17 Million Worth of Misbranded Prescription Drugs Including Counterfeit Cancer DrugsRead the Press Release
A 73-count indictment was unsealed this morning in federal court in Central Islip, NY, charging William Scully and Shahrad Rodi Lameh – President and Vice President, respectively, of Pharmalogical, Inc., d/b/a Medical Device King in Great Neck, New York – with multiple counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, distribution of misbranded and counterfeit prescription drugs, trafficking in counterfeit goods, and smuggling.1 The defendants were arrested earlier today and will appear for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge William D. Wall at 2 pm at the federal courthouse in Central Islip.
The arrests were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Mark Dragonetti, Special Agent-in-Charge, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigation, New York Field Office (“FDA OCI”).
As alleged in the indictment, the defendants operated the illegal schemes since March, 2009, and the counterfeit cancer treatment medication was sold to an oncology practice in Iowa. The defendants sold in the United States other drugs and devices including, Mirena brand intrauterine birth control implant devices (“IUDs”) manufactured in Finland that were not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States. The unapproved IUDs were sold throughout the country to women's clinics and health care providers. The defendants also sold a variety of other unapproved prescription drugs during the course of the scheme and grossed over $17 million.
“As alleged, instead of seeing an opportunity to alleviate suffering and cure disease, Scully and Lameh saw a chance to make money off the backs of those already fighting for their lives, selling counterfeit cancer medication to an unsuspecting clinic. The defendants deliberately and repeatedly flouted the laws enacted to protect our citizens, all in order to flood the market with counterfeit and unapproved drugs and medical devices just so they could line their own pockets,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. "We and our law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue and prosecute those who seek to profit from the illness of others by such fraud."
FDA OCI Special Agent-in-Charge Dragonetti stated, "The FDA will remain vigilant in our efforts against those who would threaten the integrity of the prescription drug supply chain by introducing counterfeit and unapproved products for their own financial gain. We commend the work by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and together we will continue to pursue those who jeopardize the health of the public."
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment, asset forfeiture of more than $17 million, and a $250,000 fine.
The government's case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles P. Kelly.
The Defendants:
Name: WILLIAM SCULLY
Age: 45
Residence: Commack, N.Y.
Name: SHAHRAD RODI LAMEH
Age: 40
Residence: Manhasset, N.Y.
___________________________________________________________________________
1 The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Two Men Sentenced for Drug Trafficking in Omaha, NebraskaRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Heriberto Gomez, Jr., age 32, and Adrian Pisares-Valenzuela, age 25, both of Omaha, Nebraska, were sentenced for conspiracy to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Gomez was also sentenced for money laundering. Sentencing proceedings were held before United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon. Mr. Gomez was sentenced on April 28, 2014, to time served, followed by a five-year term of supervised release. Mr. Pisares-Valenzuela was sentenced on December 23, 2013, to nine years in prison and will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release following the completion of his prison sentence.
Heriberto Gomez, Jr., owned Gomez Auto Sales and traded methamphetamine in exchange for work done on vehicles at his business. He sold vehicles to Mr. Pisares-Valenzuela and others, knowing the source of the payments were from drug sales or other illegal activities. Gomez falsified paperwork regarding the purchase of vehicles to disguise the sources of the funds by falsifying the purchasers’ name, purchase price, down payment and/or subsequent payment amounts. He also constructed concealed compartments in two vehicles that were purchased. He used four bank accounts to deposit cash received from those transactions. On two occasions, Mr. Gomez did not file a Form 8300, a Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business. A Form 8300 is required to be filed with the IRS when a cash purchase of more than $10,000 takes place.
This case was investigated by the Bellevue Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation, and Omaha Police Department.
Two Defendants Sentenced for Participating in Racketeering Conspiracy with Russian-American Organized Crime Enterprise Operating International Sportsbook That Laundered over $100 MillionRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANATOLY GOLUBCHIK and was sentenced yesterday in Manhattan federal court to five years in prison and VADIM TRINCHER was also sentenced today to five years in prison for participating in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with their roles as members of a Russian-American organized crime enterprise. GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were also each ordered to forfeit more than $20 million in cash, investments, and real property. They were charged in April 2013 along with 32 other alleged members and associates of two Russian-American organized crime enterprises in an indictment that included racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and various gambling offenses. GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The sentences meted out to Anatoly Golubchik and Vadim Trincher are just and appropriate penalties for the roles the defendants played in this far-reaching, Russian-American organized crime ring. I’d like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service for their tireless efforts in working to ensure that the members of this underground enterprise were held to account for their crimes.”
According to the Indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:
The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization (the “Organization”) was a criminal enterprise with strong ties to Russia and Ukraine. The enterprise operated a high-stakes, illegal sports gambling business out of New York City that catered primarily to Russian oligarchs living in Ukraine and Russia. GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were U.S.-based participants in the enterprise. GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER booked sports bets that reached into the millions of dollars and laundered the proceeds of the Organization’s international sportsbook. Between 2006 and April 2012, the enterprise laundered approximately $100 million in proceeds from their gambling operation in Russia and Ukraine through shell companies and bank accounts in Cyprus; and of this $100 million, approximately $50 million was subsequently sent from Cyprus into the United States. Once the money had been transferred to the United States, it was either laundered through additional shell companies or invested in legitimate investments, such as hedge funds and real estate.
The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization operated under the protection of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who is known as a “Vor,” a term translated as “Thief-in-Law,” that refers to a member of a select group of high-level criminals from the former Soviet Union. Tokhtakhounov used his status as a Vor to resolve disputes with clients of the high-stakes illegal gambling operation with implicit and sometimes explicit threats of violence and economic harm. Between December 2011 and February 2013, Tokhtakhounov was paid at least approximately $12 million for his services by the Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization. Tokhtakhounov is also under indictment in the Southern District of New York for his alleged involvement in bribing officials at the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tokhtakhounov is a fugitive and is still being sought.
Twenty-eight defendants in this case have pled guilty, and two have entered into deferred prosecution agreements. The defendants who have pled to date have agreed to forfeit, in total, more than $68 million. The following defendants have pled guilty, and have been sentenced or await sentencing:
- Bryan Zuriff pled guilty to gambling charges on July 26, 2013, and was sentenced on November 25, 2013.
- William Barbalat pled guilty to gambling charges on August 14, 2013, and was sentenced on December 16, 2013.
- Kirill Rapoport pled guilty to gambling charges on August 16, 2013, and was sentenced on December 19, 2014.
- Edwin Ting and Justin Smith pled guilty to gambling charges on September 4, 2013, and were sentenced on January 21, 2014, and January 6, 2014, respectively.
- Dmitry Druzhinsky and David Aaron pled guilty to gambling charges on October 4, 2013, and were sentenced on April 18, 2014, and February 14, 2014, respectively.
- Alexander Zaverukha pled guilty to gambling charges on October 10, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2014.
- Nicholas Hirsch pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud on October 16, 2013, and was sentenced on February 25, 2014.
- Anatoly Shteyngrob pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering on October 17, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2014.
- Yugeshwar Rajkumar pled guilty to gambling charges on October 18, 2013, and was sentenced on March 25, 2014.
- Stan Greenberg pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on October 22, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
- Arthur Azen pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering and conspiring to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means on November 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
- Hillel Nahmad pled guilty to gambling charges on November 12, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
- Vadim Trincher pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 14, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
- Eugene Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 14, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2014.
- Anatoly Golubchik pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 15, 2013, and was sentenced on April 29, 2014.
- Illya Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 15, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2014.
- Ronald Uy pled guilty to structuring financial transactions on November 25, 2013, and was sentenced on March 27, 2014.
- Moshe Oratz pled guilty to gambling charges on December 3, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
- Michael Sall pled guilty to interstate travel in aid of an unlawful activity (illegal gambling) and Jonathan Hirsch pled guilty to gambling charges on December 4, 2013. Sall was sentenced on April 18, 2014, and Hirsch is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2014.
- Noah Siegel pled guilty to gambling charges on December 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 10, 2014.
- Molly Bloom pled guilty to gambling charges on December 12, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
- Alexander Katchaloff pled guilty to gambling charges on January 16, 2014, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, 2014.
- Donald McCalmont, John Jarekci, a/k/a “John Hanson,” and Abraham Mosseri pled guilty to making a fraudulent tax statement, to failing to file a tax return, and causing a financial institution to participate in a lottery related matter, respectively, on January 24, 2014, and are scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2014, May 28, 2014, and May 21, 2014, respectively.
- William Edler and Peter Feldman entered into deferred prosecution agreements on April 11, 2014.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harris M. Fischman, Joshua A. Naftalis, Peter J. Skinner, and Kristy J. Greenberg of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Wilson of the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.
Twenty-Nine Golden Grove Inmates Indicted for Possessing Illegal ContrabandRead the Press Release
St. Croix, USVI – A federal Grand Jury in St. Croix has indicted 29 inmates at the Golden Grove Adult Correctional and Detention Facility for possessing illegal contraband, announced Ronald W. Sharpe, United States Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands; Vito S. Guarino, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Caribbean Division, and Carlos Cases Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) San Juan Field Division. The indictments were returned by the Grand Jury on April 3, 2014, and 27 of the indictments were unsealed on April 28, 2014. Two indictments remain under seal. Under federal and territorial law, it is illegal for inmates to possess illegal contraband such as weapons, controlled substances and cellular telephones in prison. If convicted, these defendants face between one and five years in prison, and fines of between $200,000 and $250,000 depending on the nature of the contraband possessed.
These indictments are part of an ongoing federal investigation involving the smuggling of illegal contraband into Golden Grove by Correctional Officers, inmates, and others. On April 7 and 8, 2014, federal agents executed federal search warrants on Golden Grove, which authorized the search of inmates’ cells and certain common areas such as the prison yard and workshop areas for illegal contraband, weapons, controlled substances and cellular telephones. As a result of those searches, federal agents seized, among other contraband, approximately 55 weapons (“shanks” and other contraband capable of being used as weapons such as razor blades and scissors), 28 cellular telephones, a cell phone “booster,” and a Sony PlayStation. In addition, illegal drugs were seized from 33 separate cells, along with drug packaging material and other drug paraphernalia.
The indictments unsealed Monday involve contraband seized before the execution of the federal search warrant. Additional inmates could face federal charges based on the seizures made on April 7 and 8.
The following inmates are charged in the indictments unsealed on April 28:
Inmate Name Charged Contraband Ballantine, Warren cell phone Barbel, Al-Ahad cell phone Colbourne, Romal cell phone George, Gregoire shank/knife, cell phone Harrington, Toma marijuana Lettsome, Renell marijuana Martinez, Edwin Velez cell phone Monsanto, Avery marijuana Percival, Shevron cell phone Boyce, Michael shank/knife, cell phone Bramble, Emmet cell phone Elmes, Shamari shank/knife Encarnacion, Rusiel cell phone Ford, Michael cell phone Girard, Paul cell phone, marijuana Lloyd, Calvin cell phone, marijuana Morris, Suhmeid shank/knife, cell phone, marijuana Nisbett, Leon cell phone Simmonds, Jahseen shank/knife, cell phone West, Jameel shank/knife Phillip, Jervern shank/knife, cell phone Sampson, Henry marijuana Samuel, Tishawn shank/knife, cell phone, marijuana Santiago, Andelson shank/knife Smith, Anthon cell phone Stanley, Rodney cell phone Woods, Delroy shank/knife, cell phone“These indictments demonstrate the United States’ ongoing commitment to identify, investigate and prosecute those responsible for possessing and introducing contraband into Golden Grove,” U.S. Attorney Sharpe said. “It is important for the community to have confidence that prison inmates do not have access to weapons or the ability to engage in criminal activity from behind bars.”
“The safety of all inmates and employees is a priority in all correctional facilities. It is imperative that order is maintained inside the prison to prevent crimes from happening both in and outside as well,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Guarino. “DEA will continue to work closely with other federal and territorial law enforcement and government agencies to reach that goal in the Golden Grove Correctional facility.”
“Illegal contraband in the prison system affects operations and the safety of all correctional facilities' employees,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases. “The FBI will continue to support all federal and local authorities in combating illegal contraband in the prison system.”
An indictment is merely a charging document and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The investigation is being led by the St. Croix DEA High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, which includes officers from the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD), with assistance from the FBI. Assisting HIDTA in the April 7 and 8 search were agents from the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, VIPD, and the Virgin Islands National Guard.
Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Amberula Levitt, who owned Tax Time Tax Service, a tax preparation business with multiple locations throughout metro Atlanta, has been sentenced to serve one year and nine months in federal prison for committing tax fraud on her own personal tax returns.
“Individuals in the business of preparing tax returns for others should set an example of tax compliance,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Instead, Levitt used her knowledge and skills of the tax system defraud it. For that, she will be punished.”
“While most preparers provide excellent service to their clients, a few dishonest return preparers give the industry a black eye,” stated IRS Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge, Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot. “Return preparers must comply with the same tax obligations as the clients that they serve. No one is above the law.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: From 2004 through 2010, Levitt owned and operated Tax Time Tax Service (“Tax Time”), a tax preparation business with multiple locations throughout metro Atlanta. Levitt fraudulently under-reported her earnings from Tax Time on her personal tax returns. For the years 2004 through 2009, Levitt owes approximately $620,000 in back taxes to the IRS.
Levitt has been sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Totenberg to one year, 9 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $620,004, and complete 100 hours of community service. Levitt, 45, of East Point, Ga., was convicted on two counts of filing false tax returns for the 2004 and 2005 tax years, after she pleaded guilty on October 29, 2013.
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Trial Attorney Christopher J. Maietta of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Grimberg prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Swiss Offshore Tax Evasion Enabler Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
Josef Dörig, 72, of Switzerland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in connection with his work as the owner of a trust company in Switzerland. Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia and IRS-Criminal Investigation Chief Richard Weber made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. Dörig was charged in a one count superseding indictment on July 21, 2011. Sentencing is set for Aug. 8, 2014, and Dörig faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.
“Today’s plea further pulls back the curtain on efforts by Swiss banks to help U.S. taxpayers evade taxes through the use of sham trusts and foundations,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole. “Rest assured, the days of bank secrecy for U.S. tax cheats in Switzerland – and around the world – are numbered.”
“This plea sends a strong message to those who use or help others use offshore bank accounts to evade U.S. taxes,” said Assistant Attorney General Keneally. “We are receiving information from a variety of sources and are committed to investigating and prosecuting this wrongdoing.”
“We will continue to investigate and prosecute banks and individuals who assist U.S. citizens in the evasion of income taxes with overseas accounts,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “The doors are quickly closing on this illegal activity.”
“Assisting American taxpayers to evade their tax obligations with the use of secret bank accounts held in sham entities violates the law, and we will find those who are doing it,” said Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber. “IRS-CI will pursue those who use anonymous offshore accounts to avoid paying their fair share. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to have shared our hallmark expertise in following the money trail in this and other increasingly sophisticated criminal schemes.”
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Dörig admitted that between 1997 and 2011, while owning and operating a trust company, he engaged in a wide-ranging conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. customers in evading their income taxes by concealing assets and income in secret bank accounts held in the names of sham entities at a financial institution referred to in the superseding indictment as International Bank (IB), one of the biggest banks in Switzerland and one of the largest wealth managers in the world.
According to the statement of facts, from 1972 to 1996, Dörig worked for a subsidiary of IB. The subsidiary formed, managed and maintained nominee tax haven entities. Individuals concealed their assets by holding their accounts at IB in the names of these tax haven entities. During this time, the subsidiary managed and maintained over 100 sham entities for U.S. taxpayers committing tax evasion.
Also included in the statement of facts, in 1997, executives at the subsidiary devised a plan to spin off all of these sham entities into a new trust company, Dörig Partner AG, to be owned and operated by Dörig, who was then an employee of the subsidiary. Dörig was required to make his best efforts to keep the existing accounts at IB open and to ensure that any clients referred to him by IB would open new accounts at that institution.
According to the statement of facts, IB promoted Dörig Partner as a provider of various entity structures. The phone list used in IB’s New York representative office identified Dörig Partner as an external trust expert. Dörig Partner also sublet space from IB in an office tower where a private bank owned by IB was the major tenant.
As part of the conspiracy, Dörig traveled to the United States to introduce himself to new clients he had obtained as part of the spin-off. In the following years, he traveled to the United States with bankers from IB, including his co-defendants Markus Walder, Marco Parenti-Adami and Michele Bergantino, to meet with existing and prospective clients who already had undeclared accounts at IB but had been identified by the IB’s bankers as potential candidates for the use of a structure.
According to the statement of facts, although Dörig ostensibly controlled both the structure and the account at IB, in practice, many of the U.S. taxpayers with undeclared accounts controlled the assets in those accounts by dealing directly with IB bankers, often without either the knowledge or consent of Dörig.
According to the statement of facts, in 2008, IB ordered Dörig Partner to close accounts for the structures they managed. Dörig turned to an asset manager at a financial services firm in Zurich for assistance. The financial services firm maintained a master account in its own name at a private bank in Gibraltar, and then opened sub-accounts for Dörig’s clients at that bank to which Dörig transferred the funds from the clients’ undeclared accounts at IB. The financial services firm provided the Gibraltar bank only with the number associated with each sub-account and did not inform the bank of any information regarding the owners of the assets in the sub-accounts.
This case is being investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark D. Lytle and Trial Attorneys Mark F. Daly and Nanette L. Davis of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at the division website.
Related Materials:
United States v. Josef Dörig
Statement of FactsState Prison Inmate Charged with Forging A Federal Judge’s SignatureRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - An inmate at SCI-Houtzdale, located in Houtzdale, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of violating federal law, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The one-count indictment, returned on April 29, named Michael Kramer, 30, currently incarcerated in SCI-Houtzdale.
According to the indictment, Kramer forged a federal Judge’s signature on a court order.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Barbara K. Doolittle is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Marshal’s Service conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
St. Albans Woman Charged with Stealing Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
Charleston, W. Va. - A federal grand jury in Charleston, West Virginia, has returned a single count indictment against Regina Ancion, age 64, of St. Albans, West Virginia for theft of government money. The indictment alleges that Ancion forged social security checks made out to a deceased relative between November of 2006 and November of 2013, with a total loss to the government of more than $80,000. If convicted, Ancion faces a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and an order to pay restitution.
The Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is in charge of the prosecution.
Note: The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Squatter Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing AmmunitionRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Elanda Bell has pled guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal firearm laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Bell, 55, with no known permanent address, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count before Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that between Jan. 3, 2008, and June 29, 2013, Bell possessed ten .41 Caliber cartridges. Bell had previously been convicted of manslaughter and aggravated assault in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year from possessing ammunition or a firearm.
Judge Diamond scheduled sentencing for Aug. 20, 2014, at 11 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Clairton Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Bell.
South Dakota Man Sentenced for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.B U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jesse Adams, 27, of Rapid City, South Dakota, who was convicted of distribution of child pornography, was sentenced to 144 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol G. Bridge, who handled the case, stated that the investigation began when an undercover agent in Utah received emails and images depicting child pornography from Adams who is a student attending a local college.
On April 12, 2013, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the defendant’s dormitory residence and seized a laptop computer, thumb drive, and a cellular telephone. A forensic examination revealed one video and close to 90 images of child pornography. Some of the images depicted children under 12 years old.
Adams utilized a website called vampirefreaks.com where he met four minor females that he communicated with. At the request of the defendants, some of the minor females sent Adams naked photos of themselves. The defendant also sent naked photos of himself to some of the minor females.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The Complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of James C. Spero, Special Agent-In-Charge.
South Carolina Woman Sentenced for Bank Robbery Spree in VirginiaRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Nicole Racquel Drakeford, 44, of Fountain Island, S.C., was sentenced today to 147 months in prison, followed by a term of supervised release, for armed bank robbery and using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr.
Drakefordpleaded guilty on January 27, 2014. According to the statement of facts that were filed with her plea agreement, Drakeford took responsibility for committing a series of bank robberies across Virginia. Drakeford admitted that she robbed the Bank of America in Fairfax County, Virginia on July 15, 2013 and walked away with $5598.00. She admitted that on July 20, 2013, she robbed the United Bank in Fairfax County and took $1321.00. She also admitted that on July 31, 2013 she robbed a Chartway Federal Credit Union (FCU) in Chesapeake, Virginia with a gun and took approximately $302.00.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Norfolk Field Office and the Chesapeake Police Department. Managing Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin L. Hatch prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Silver City Man Sentenced to Prison for Violating Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jeremy Cuevas, 35, of Silver City, N.M., was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 77 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 6th Judicial District Attorney Francesca Martinez-Estevez and Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas.
Cuevas was arrested in Nov. 2013 in a criminal complaint alleging that Cuevas unlawfully possessed a handgun and ammunition in Grant County, N.M., on Oct. 4, 2012. According to the complaint, state probation officers who were conducting a field visit at Cuevas’ residence on Oct. 4, 2012, contacted the Silver City Police Department after learning that Cuevas was in possession of methamphetamine. The Silver City Police Department obtained a search warrant for Cuevas residence. When the officers executed the search warrant, they seized a handgun and ammunition, a small amount of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Court records reflect that Cuevas was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition in Oct. 2012 because he previously had been convicted of the following felony offenses in the 6th Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico: trafficking in cocaine in 1999; attempted aggravated battery in 2000; possession of methamphetamine in 2010; and tampering with evidence in 2011.
On Jan. 22, 2014, Cuevas entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Deming office of HSI, the Silver City Police Department, and the Probation and Parole Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Cuevas was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
Shrewsbury Woman Sentenced for Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Shrewsbury woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Worcester for underreporting income on her federal tax returns.
Roberta I. Crudale Blute, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to one year probation and 100 hours of community service. Judge Hillman further ordered her to pay $114,576 in restitution to the IRS and to cooperate with the IRS to file amended tax returns and pay the taxes owed. In January 2014, Blute pleaded guilty to filing false federal tax returns for tax years 2007 and 2008.
Blute omitted from her tax returns hundreds of thousands of dollars in income she earned from numerous employers in 2007 and 2008. Specifically, she failed to report income she earned from four companies in 2007 and five companies in 2008.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Amanda P.M. Strachan and Miranda Hooker of Ortiz’s Health Care Fraud Unit.
San Francisco Woman Sentenced to 74 Months in Prison for Distribution of Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Thomasha Mayfield was sentenced yesterday to more than 6 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.
Mayfield, 39, of San Francisco, and Tony Patton, 47, of San Mateo, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 8, 2013. Mayfield and Patton were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine base in the form of crack cocaine (Count One), and possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine base in the form of crack (Counts Two through Eight). Mayfield was charged with a total of seven drug trafficking counts. Tony Patton was charged with three counts of drug trafficking.
Mayfield pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2014, to Count Seven for possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine base in the form of crack, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a). According to the plea agreement, Mayfield admitted to distributing approximately 100 grams of crack cocaine to another individual on Feb. 18, 2010. Mayfield also admitted that the total amount of crack cocaine attributable to her in the case is approximately 472 grams, as she also sold crack cocaine on numerous other occasions between September 2008 and February 2010.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Richard Seeborg, United States District Court Judge in San Francisco, following a guilty plea on Count Seven of the Indictment in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a). Judge Seeborg also sentenced the defendant to a 4 year period of supervised release. Mayfield has been in federal custody since her remand on March 11, 2014. Patton pleaded guilty on June 25, 2013, and was sentenced on Sept. 24, 2013.
Chinhayi Coleman Cadet is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Yanira Osorio. The prosecution is the result of a an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(Mayfield indictment )
San Bernardino Man Admits Smuggling Counterfeit Levi Labels for $192,000 Worth of JeansRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that Angel Garcia Hernandez pled guilty to smuggling labels, tags and buttons for counterfeit Levi jeans Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen S. Crawford. In pleading guilty, the defendant admitted that on December 28, 2012, he smuggled counterfeit Levi Strauss & Co. labels, buttons and tags, enough to make $192,000 worth of counterfeit jeans.
Within an hour of Garcia’s border crossing, another defendant, Amadeo Calderon Valdivinos, also attempted to smuggle counterfeit Levi Strauss & Co. labels, buttons and tags into the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Calderon had enough labels to manufacture $128,000 worth of counterfeit jeans. Examination of the labels smuggled by both Garcia and Calderon by representatives of Levi Strauss & Co. revealed the same defects in the labels, suggesting that they came from the same source. According to court filings, although Garcia and Calderon both denied knowing each other at the time they crossed the border with the counterfeit labels, their cell phone records showed numerous calls between them. Calderon pled guilty to smuggling and was sentenced to time served (four months).
Sentencing for Garcia Hernandez is set for August 1, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. before the Honorable Barry Ted Moskowitz.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 14cr1034-BTM Angel Garcia Hernandez Age: 55 CHARGESSmuggling, in Violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 545 Maximum Penalty: 20 years in custody and/or $250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment
INVESTIGATING AGENCYDepartment of Homeland Security Investigations
*Indictments and complaints are not evidence that the defendant committed the crime charged. All defendants are presumed innocent until the United States meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Owners of Ukiah Restaurants Charged with Tax FraudRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO –Yaowapha Ritdet and Steve Walter were arraigned today in court on five counts of filing false tax returns. Yaowapha Ritdet was also arraigned on two counts of willfully failing to report a foreign bank account, announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez.
According to the Indictment, unsealed today, Ritdet and Walter were residents of Ukiah, Calif. and owners of Tuen Tong Thai Cuisine and Walter Café. For the tax years 2007 through 2011, Ritdet and Walter willfully signed Form 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns which they did not believe to be true and correct. The returns failed to disclose rental income, foreign bank accounts, and gross receipts or sales and income received from their business activities.
The Indictment also alleges that from 2009 through 2010, Ritdet maintained a passbook savings account at Kasikorn Bank, Public Company Limited, a bank organized under the laws of Thailand and operating in Thailand. In 2009 and 2010, Ritdet failed to file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) disclosing her financial interest in the passbook savings account, which had a value of greater than $10,000 during the calendar years 2008 and 2009.
Ritdet, 53, and Walter, 52, both of Ukiah were indicted on April 15, 2014. They were arrested this morning and made their initial appearance before the Honorable Nandor J. Vadas in Eureka, United States Magistrate Court Judge. Ritdet and Walter’s next court appearance is on May 7, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. before the Honorable Jacqueline Scott Corley, United States Magistrate Court Judge in San Francisco.
The maximum penalty for each count of failure to file a FBAR, in violation of Title 31, U.S.C §§ 5314 and 5322(a) is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for filing a false tax return, in in violation of Title 26, U.S.C § 7206(1) is three years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant US Attorney Thomas Moore is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Please note, an indictment contains only allegations and, as with all defendants, Yaowapha Ritdet and Steve Walter must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
(Ritdet and Walter indictment )
Otero County Corrections Officer Charged in Narcotics Smuggling SchemeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A corrections officer at the Otero County Prison Facility (OCFP) in Chaparral, N.M., has been charged with violating the federal narcotics laws, Acting U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI and Department Secretary Gregg Marcantel of the New Mexico Corrections Department announced.
The correction officer, Luis Delgadillo, 37, of El Paso, Texas, is one of six individuals charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to violate the federal narcotics laws by smuggling controlled substances into the OCPF. The criminal complaint also charges Nancy Salas, 35, of Alamogordo, N.M., Ana Lopez, 24, of Albuquerque, N.M., and three OCPF inmates, Eric Lovato, 30, of Boles Acres, N.M., and Armando Lopez, 27, and Gary Borja, 26, both of Albuquerque, with participating in the conspiracy.
Delgadillo and Ana Lopez were arrested by the FBI on April 26, 2014. During court proceedings this morning, a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Las Cruces ordered Delgadillo detained pending trial while Ana Lopez was released on conditions of release and under pretrial supervision. Salas, who was arrested on April 28, 2014, made her initial appearance in federal court this morning and remains in custody pending a detention hearing which has yet to be scheduled. The three inmates, who remain in state custody, will be transferred to federal custody to face the charges in the criminal complaint.
According to the criminal complaint, the FBI initiated its investigation into the case in Jan. 2014, after receiving information from the New Mexico Corrections Department allegedly showing that Delgadillo was smuggling heroin and methamphetamine into the OCPF. The investigation, which included a review of recorded inmate telephone calls and OCPF surveillance video, physical surveillance and the results of inmate drug testing, identified the six defendants as members of a conspiracy that allegedly smuggled narcotics into the OCPF between Jan. 2014 and April 2014.
The criminal complaint generally alleges that Ana Lopez and Salas purchased narcotics at the behest of the inmate defendants and transferred the narcotics to Delgadillo, who was paid to smuggle the narcotics to the inmate defendants. In late Jan. and early Feb. 2014, Ana Lopez, Armando Lopez, Salas and Lovato allegedly participated in a series of telephone calls during which they arranged for Salas to purchase narcotics that would be smuggled into the OCPF by Delgadillo.
The criminal complaint further alleges that in Feb. and March 2014, Salas, Borja and Lovato participated in a series of telephone calls during which they arranged for Salas to purchase narcotics and to transfer the narcotics to Delgadillo so that he could smuggle the narcotics into the OCPF. On March 14, 2014, the FBI conducted surveillance of a meeting between Salas and Delgadillo. On March 15, 2014, OCPF video surveillance cameras allegedly recorded an interaction during which Delgadillo handed a package to Borja which Borja took to his bunk area where he was joined by Armando Lopez. During a telephone call later that day, Armando Lopez allegedly told Ana Lopez that Delgadillo had smuggled the narcotics into the OCPF. On March 18, 2014, the OCFP performed inmate drug tests which allegedly revealed that Borja, Armando Lopez and another inmate tested positive for opiates.
According to the criminal complaint, in April 2014, Borja participated in in a series of telephone calls with Ana Lopez during which they made plans for Ana Lopez to purchase narcotics and to transfer the narcotics to Delgadillo. On April 26, 2014, the FBI conducted surveillance of a meeting between Delgadillo and Ana Lopez. Shortly thereafter, the FBI arrested Delgadillo and Ana Lopez. During a search of Delgadillo’s vehicle, the FBI allegedly found a box containing 38.9 grams of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine; 12.5 grams of a substance that appeared to be heroin; and 10 Suboxone pills.
If convicted of the offense charged in the criminal complaint, each of the six defendants faces a prison sentence of not less than five years and not more than 40 years. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the New Mexico Corrections Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
- Delgadillo Complaint
Oregon Man Indicted for Traveling to MO to Engage in Sex with a MinorRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a LaGrande, Ore., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for traveling across states lines to Missouri to engage in illicit sex with a minor.
Abdul Lamont Gamble, 39, of LaGrande, Ore., was charged in a single-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Gamble on April 10, 2014.
The indictment alleges that Gamble traveled from Oregon to Missouri between March 25 and April 9, 2014, to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and a commercial sex act with a minor.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Gamble contacted an undercover law enforcement officer through a Website on Oct. 28, 2013, and offered to have sex with her fictitious 11-year-old and 15-year-old daughters. He allegedly continued to communicate with the undercover officer sporadically, via e-mail, texts and phone calls, until late March 2014.
Gamble’s communications allegedly included explicit descriptions of the sexual acts he intended to perform on and with the two minor girls, as well as an agreement to pay $250 in exchange for his sexual activities with the two minor girls. Gamble traveled to Kansas City, Mo., on a Greyhound bus, the affidavit says, and arrived on April 9, 2014. The undercover officer met him at the bus station. According to the affidavit, Gamble paid the undercover officer $100 upfront and stated he would pay the remaining $150 after he completed the sex acts with the minor girls. Gamble also reconfirmed the sexual acts he intended on performing on and with the two minor girls.
They stopped at a CVS on Independence Avenue. As he exited the car and began to approach the CVS, police officers arrested Gamble.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge 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 Patrick D. Daly. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Olathe Man Pleads GuiltyTo Computer FraudRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – An Olathe man pleaded guilty Wednesday to computer fraud, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Ryan Cauble, 41, Olathe, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of computer fraud. In his plea, he admitted he committed the crime while he worked for G.E. Consumer Finance, a saving and loan holding company with an office in Merriam, Kan. Cauble sent an email to a vice president of the company claiming there was a security breach and credit card numbers of the company’s customers had been compromised. The email – sent from an address of [email protected] – included 20 credit card numbers. The email stated, “If you want to identify the person who is responsible, message me immediately to discuss compensation for the information.”
Sentencing is set for Aug. 19. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Grissom commended the U.S. Secret Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jabari Wamble for their work on the case.
A review of the 20 account numbers confirmed that there were fraudulent ATM transactions on those accounts in New York and California. Cauble used various employee credentials to login to the company’s databases and transfer account numbers and information including customers’ names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers in exchange for Bitcoins. He told investigators he sold the account numbers in batches of 40 for $1,000. He said that over time he sold 250 to 300 account numbers.Oklahoma Attorney Pleads Guilty to Failing to Pay Employment TaxesRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division Kathryn Keneally, U.S. Attorney Sanford C. Coats for the Western District of Oklahoma, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today that Larry Douglas Friesen pleaded guilty to three counts of willfully failing to pay employment taxes.
On March 21, 2014, a criminal information was filed in federal district court that alleged Friesen willfully failed to pay over to the IRS the federal income taxes and the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes due and owing during three tax quarters in the 2007 calendar year. According to the criminal information, Friesen, who was the owner of the Law Office of Doug Friesen, deducted and collected federal income taxes and FICA taxes from his employees’ paychecks but failed to pay these taxes to the IRS.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Friesen agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $320,000 to the IRS. Friesen faces a statutory maximum penalty of one year in prison per count, one year of supervised release per count and a maximum fine of $100,000 per count. A sentencing hearing will be set by the court in approximately 90 days.
The case was investigated by Special Agents from IRS-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christopher Maietta and Sonia Owens of the Tax Division, with valuable support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma.
New Jersey Regional Medical Center Pays Hundreds of Thousands to Resolve Kickback AllegationsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Somerset Medical Center – a regional medical center located in Somerville, N.J. – has paid $435,640 to settle allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act by making improper rental payments to a cardiology group that referred large numbers of patients to the hospital, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.
The civil settlement agreement is between the United States of America – acting through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and on behalf of the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) – and Somerset Medical Center.
“Making inflated rental payments to induce referrals is no better than slipping a doctor an envelope stuffed with cash,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Kickback arrangements undermine the physician-patient relationship and can lead to unnecessary treatment and higher costs. There is no room in our healthcare system for hospitals that abuse federal health care programs to boost their bottom line.”
“Today’s settlement reaffirms our commitment to investigate all matters relating to kickbacks and inducements, which have no place in the healthcare arena,” Special Agent in Charge Tom O’Donnell from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said.
According to the contentions of the United States contained in the settlement agreement:
From Oct.1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2013, Somerset paid Medicor Cardiology, a practice based in Hillsborough, N.J., rental amounts that were above fair market value for the leased space. The cardiology practice was a significant source of patient referrals to Somerset.
At least one purpose of the payments was to induce the referral of patients to Somerset, and they were successful. Somerset’s subsequent billings of the Medicare program for services resulting from those tainted referrals were therefore false claims in violation of federal anti-kickback and self-referral laws.
Somerset has agreed to pay $435,640, which includes interest, to the United States to settle the federal civil claims. The settlement resolves allegations against Somerset in a False Claims Act suit that was brought by two formerSomerset employees, a physician and an administrator.
The whistleblower – or qui tam – provisions of the federal False Claims Act permit private individuals, known as relators, to file such whistleblower actions and share in a portion of the proceeds recovered by the federal government.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of HHS-OIG, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge O’Donnell, for the investigation leading to today’s settlement.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Graybow of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit.
The claims settled by these agreements are allegations; there have been no admissions of liability.U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $535 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
14-148Counsel for Somerset Medical Center: Jack Wenik Esq., Newark
Counsel for Relators: John E. Riley Esq., PhiladelphiaSomerset Medical, Executed Settlement Agreement
Monroeville Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Drug and Gun Law ViolationsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A Monroeville man has been sentenced in federal court to 108 months in prison at Count One of the Superseding Indictment, and 60 months in prison at Count Four of the Superseding Indictment to run consecutively, for a total 168 months imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release on his conviction of violating federal firearms and drug trafficking laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Antonio Hardin, 32.
According to information presented to the court, and as reflected in Count One of the Superseding Indictment, from April, 2012 to February 2013, Hardin conspired together with his charged co-defendants Brandon Thompson, James Walker, Richard Wood, Gregory Harris, Jr., Luther Harper and others to possess with the intent to distribute and distribute, 100 grams or more of heroin. In total, Hardin agreed to accept responsibility for between 900 and 990 grams of heroin. All of the abovementioned co- conspirators, except for Richard Wood, have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Specifically, the Court learned that in April, 2012, Hardin received heroin from co- conspirator Brandon Thompson. Hardin then supplied this heroin to an uncharged co-conspirator who was later shot by Thompson and Edward Cook at Club Pink in Munhall on or about Aug. 12, 2012. Cook has pleaded guilty to this shooting, and he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Court also learned that Hardin, acting together with Brandon Thompson, James Walker, and Joseph Thompson, shared a heroin “stash house” in Pitcairn at which these persons packaged raw heroin into stamp bags that would later be sold on to other dealers, and eventually, to individual users. In addition, the Court learned that Hardin, over the course of the conspiracy, sold heroin to other charged distributors, including Richard Wood, Gregory Harris, Jr., and Luther Harper. The Court heard intercepts of a call in which Luther Harper and Bryce Harper discussed purchasing 25 brick quantities (40 gram quantities) of heroin from Hardin that the Harpers then planned to distribute to individual users. Last, Hardin acknowledged that during his drug trafficking crimes he possessed a firearm, including a 9mm Glock, to protect himself and to protect his drugs. As a result, Hardin possessed a firearm in furtherance of the abovementioned drug trafficking crimes.
Assistant United States Attorney Eric S. Rosen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Pennsylvania State Police, Allegheny County Sheriff's Office, McKeesport Police Department, Munhall Police Department, and the West Homestead Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Antonio Hardin.
Maryland Owner of Loan Brokerage Firms Indicted on Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Indictment Seeks Forfeiture of Over $14 Million
Baltimore, Maryland - A federal grand jury has indicted Jeong Joon Moon, a/k/a Patrick Moon, age 46, of Germantown, Maryland, on charges arising from a scheme to defraud financial institutions who loaned money to small businesses. The indictment was returned on April 24, 2014, and unsealed today. Moon was arrested yesterday and his initial appearance is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. today in federal court in Baltimore.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Small Business Administration (SBA) Inspector General Peggy E. Gustafson; Postal Inspector in Charge Gary R. Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office; and Acting Inspector General Fred W. Gibson, Jr. of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Moon owned and operated JM Capital Solutions, Inc. and RNB Consulting, Inc., which were loan brokerage firms with offices located in Annandale and Springfield, Virginia. These firms specialized in securing loans for individuals interested in purchasing or refinancing small businesses in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and elsewhere.
Moon encouraged prospective borrowers to apply for business loans through the SBA’s Section 7(a) program, which authorizes SBA to help small businesses obtain financing by guaranteeing 75 to 90 percent of qualified loans made by commercial lenders. Small business owners are required to invest a certain amount of their own money into the business before they can qualify for the loan. Moon compiled and submitted to lenders the documentation necessary to substantiate the borrowers’ equity injection and ability to repay loans guaranteed by SBA, as well as documentation needed for other commercial loans.
According to the 25 count indictment, from 2006 to April 2014, Moon and others defrauded financial institutions by submitting false copies of the borrowers’ monthly bank statements to reflect more money than was actually in the borrowers’ bank accounts. Moon and others also allegedly prepared and submitted false tax returns for the borrowers which inflated the borrowers’ income. The financial institutions relied on the false information to lend funds to the borrowers, which resulted in loan broker commissions being paid to JM Capital and RNB Consulting.
The indictment also alleges that on July 12 and 15, 2013, Moon altered, destroyed or concealed documents relating to six loans guaranteed by SBA for six small businesses, intending to impede the federal investigation of such loans.
The indictment seeks the forfeiture of $14,708,000, the amount of fraudulently obtained loans.
Moon faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and for each of the 18 counts of bank fraud; and 20 years in prison on each of six counts for destruction of records in a federal investigation
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the SBA - OIG, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI and FDIC for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Leo J. Wise and Marty Clarke, who are prosecuting the case.
Man Convicted of Child Sex Trafficking in Grand RapidsRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – Eddie Allen Jackson, 31, of Grand Rapids, was convicted yesterday in federal court on three counts of child sex trafficking. From July to August 2012, Jackson recruited teenage girls in Muskegon to work for him as child prostitutes. He drove them back and forth to Grand Rapids, where he put them out on the street to solicit men for sex. He also took them to semi-vacant houses to perform acts of prostitution with men. The teens, whose identities are protected, were in 8th, 9th, and 10th grades. The jury convicted Jackson on all three counts after a two-day trial. He was returned to custody following the trial and will be sentenced in September. He faces a mandatory sentence of ten years to life in prison.
“This was the first child sex trafficking case to be prosecuted federally in Western Michigan. The local, state, and federal authorities are committed to working together to locate and stop sex traffickers. Any type of child exploitation is of course a top priority in our district, and those who prey on children will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr.
Jackson targeted vulnerable girls with troubled backgrounds. An agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) testified that the victims in this case share qualities common for child victims of sex trafficking. Specifically, he explained that pimps often target teenage girls who are unlikely to tell on the pimp and who are easy to manipulate and control because the pimp fills a void in their lives. Jackson controlled his victims by making them feel like he loved and cared about them, interspersed with threats and violence.
“The sexual exploitation of children is a heinous crime,” said Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “As part of the nationwide Project Safe Childhood initiative, the FBI’s West Michigan Based Child Exploitation Task Force will remain vigilant in combating perpetrators who attempt to prey upon the children of West Michigan, and bring to bear the full weight of the federal criminal justice system upon those who exploit the vulnerabilities of our children.”
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney's Office; county prosecutor's offices; the Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC); and federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. The partners in Project Safe Childhood work to educate communities about the dangers of online child exploitation and to teach children how to protect themselves. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Individuals with information or concerns about possible child exploitation should contact local law enforcement.
The FBI, in conjunction with the West Michigan Based Child Exploitation Task Force (WEBCHEX), the Grand Rapids Police Department, and the Muskegon Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tessa K. Hessmiller and Russell A. Kavalhuna prosecuted the case.
END
Madison Firearms Dealer SentencedRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA– Chad Eric Jones, 43, of Madison, Florida, was sentenced on April 29, 2014, to one year in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle following acceptance of his guilty plea in November of last year. Jones, a federally licensed firearms dealer, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of selling firearms to a convicted felon and a single count of selling a handgun to a person under 21 years of age.
In September of last year, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with the assistance of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and the Madison Police Department, executed a search warrant at Jones’ residence and place of business, Gunslingers Pawn and Gun on Duval Street in Madison.
While executing the search warrant at Gunslingers Pawn and Gun, agents seized 67 firearms not listed in the Gunslingers acquisition and disposition book. Jones ultimately forfeited all of these firearms to the government and surrendered his federal firearms license.
During the course of the investigation, agents obtained an audio recording in which Jones admitted that he intentionally kept certain firearms out of his acquisition and disposition book to conceal the fact that he was selling firearms to prohibited persons. If a firearm was not in his acquisition and disposition book, Jones believed that government agents would be unable to determine that he had sold the firearm to a convicted felon.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and the Madison Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason S. Beaton.Los Angeles Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Doree McGee, 39, of Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison, a maximum of 32 years, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that in 2010 and 2011, McGee conspired with Cassandra Montrevel, and others, to defraud Bank of America. The scheme involved the defendants posing as actual Bank of America account holders. They used fake driver’s licenses and other means of identification, and made cash withdrawals from actual customer accounts. Traveling from California to cities around the nation, McGee and others defrauded Bank of America of more than $325,000. The scheme came to an end on March 18, 2011, when Montrevel was arrested in a bank branch in Irondequoit, N.Y. Montrevel was convicted and sentenced to 70 months in prison for her role in the scheme.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the United States Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tracy Gast, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn, the Gates Police Department, under the direction of Chief James VanBrederode, the Irondequoit Police Department, under the direction of Chief Richard V. Tantalo, and the Batavia Police Department under the direction of Chief Shawn Heubusch.
A sentencing date will be scheduled at a later date.Local Couple Sentenced for Selling Stolen MerchandiseRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – CHRISTIAN OUNANIAN and GINA VOGEL were sentenced to 63 and 42 months in prison, respectively on charges of selling merchandise stolen from Walgreens and CVS drug stores. In addition to the prison sentences, they were ordered to pay restitution of $1,008,890.
According to court documents, Ounanian owned Xtra Wholesale, located on Southwest Avenue, St. Louis City. Between 2007 and September 2012, Ounanian and Vogel hired people to steal over-the-counter drugs and other items from Walgreens and CVS stores. The shoplifters were paid for the items and Ounanian and Vogel conspired to resell the items.
Christian Ounanian and Gina Vogel, St. Louis City, pled guilty in December to one felony count of conspiracy to transmit stolen goods and one felony count of interstate transportation of stolen goods. Christian Ounanian appeared today before United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. Gina Vogel was sentenced in March.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Franks handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Local Attorney Sentenced for Theft from ClientsRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Attorney Sharon Anderson, 51, of Oakland, Tennessee, was sentenced to twenty months in federal prison yesterday after pleading guilty in September 2013 to theft from her clients’ trust accounts, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, Edward L. Stanton III.
From August 2010 to September 2011, Anderson stole nearly $200,000 from two clients, soliciting them to make what they believed were four separate short-term “hard money” loans for investors purchasing properties and awaiting conventional financing from banks. Anderson provided the victims with fraudulent documents, including settlement statements, notes, and deeds of trust, creating the impression that the victims had issued valid loans for true sales of properties by actual buyers, and that the victims had secured interests in the properties. In one instance, Anderson used the identity of another client as the supposed “buyer” for these nonexistent loans and victimized this additional client by apparently forging the client’s name on the loan documents. In reality, Anderson herself already owned each of the properties for which the victims believed they had made loans. There were no actual loans, no sales, and no buyers. Instead, Anderson used the victims’ money to purchase a $499,500 condominium at the Caribe Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama and, apparently, a $725,000 waterfront home in Orange Beach as well as a second condominium at the Caribe Resort.
Over the course of the following three years, Anderson engaged in an ongoing series of communications lying to the victims to lead them to believe that the “buyers” to whom they issued loans were finally going to obtain conventional financing and pay the victims. Anderson told the victims at various times that refinances were “in process,” that she had learned that “a couple of credit glitches” were “being addressed,” and that the property “was sold and is being refinanced.” All of these statements were lies because there were no sales, no buyers, and no loans to be refinanced. Anderson made sporadic interest payments to the victims during this time. As the victims followed up to obtain the payments, Anderson responded with such statements as “Take a breath!!” and made explanations for late payments or nonpayments such as, “I’m out of town and recovering from the flu,” “I didn’t listen to my voicemail at the office on Friday,” “our computers have been on the blink all morning,” I have been tied up all day in closings,” and “[m]y husband . . . is 200 miles out at sea.”
Each of the victims independently caught on to Anderson’s fraud when they checked the website for the register of deeds and realized they had no secured interests in the properties for which they had made loans. After the first victim threatened litigation and a report to the board of professional responsibility, Anderson paid the victim off by stealing additional money from the client trust account for the payoff. After the second victim caught Anderson, they reached an agreement that Anderson would give the victim a second mortgage on her residence at Anderson Farms in Fayette County and that Anderson would sell assets to pay off the loans. Even after the agreement, Anderson continued lying to the victim, concealing her $435,000 sale of one of the Caribe Resort condominiums in July 2013. Finally, after Anderson gave the victim a $26,744 check in November 2013 that bounced, Anderson agreed to satisfy the debt to avoid reporting of the bounced check. The victim accepted a reduced settlement from Anderson to avoid being left at a total loss.
At the sentencing hearing, Anderson asked United States District Court Judge Samuel H. Mays to consider, among other things, her role in her family, her business success, and her role in the Fayette County community, hosting and paying for events such as a Wounded Warriors event at Anderson Farms. The government noted that Anderson’s thefts were not based on any emergency need, but rather for greed. Anderson owns numerous properties, and used the money she stole to buy more. In addition, her failure to repay the victims was not apparently the result of an inability to make repayment but simply because the defendant did not want to. She had the means to host charitable events and owned multiple properties and a yacht.
One victim made a statement at the hearing reflecting the stress Anderson imposed on her. Fifty thousand dollars of the money Anderson stole from the victim came from the victim’s mother, who had gone into a nursing home while the victim was seeking repayment. Even after the victim told Anderson that fifty thousand dollars of the money was her mother’s, and that her mother had entered a nursing home, Anderson did not repay the loss until more than fifteen months later and after the victim threatened to report the bounced check. The victim stated she agreed to a partial repayment because she did not want to risk getting no payment at all. The victim added that she did not believe Anderson ever intended to repay her and that if Anderson wanted to do the right thing, she would have paid the loan in full. The victim expressed the hope that Anderson never be allowed to use her position to harm anyone else in the future.
Anderson’s attorney stated at the sentencing hearing that Anderson has agreed with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility to be disbarred from the practice of law.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Fabian represented the government.Konn Convicted of Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
Retired State Worker’s Child Pornography Collection Included
Thousands of Images and Over 800 MoviesALBANY, NEW YORK – Today, a federal jury trial that began Monday ended in the conviction of STEPHEN J. KONN, 63, of Clifton Park, New York, of the felony offenses of distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
KONN faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment for five years and a maximum sentence of imprisonment for twenty years for each of the distribution and receipt convictions, and a maximum sentence of imprisonment for ten years for the possession conviction, as well as a lifetime term of supervised release, a maximum fine of $250,000, and mandatory registration as a sex offender. KONN, who was remanded, will be sentenced in Albany on September 4, 2014 by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.
The evidence presented at trial showed that KONN, a retired employee from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, used a peer-to-peer file trading program to distribute child pornography to an undercover FBI agent via the Internet. A subsequent search of KONN’s Clifton Park residence uncovered a computer containing over 4,000 images and 800 videos of child pornography, and evidence that KONN had been trading child pornography over the Internet for years.
This prosecution resulted from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Albany Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Wayne A. Myers.
Killeen Brothers Sentenced to Lengthy Federal Prison Terms for Cocaine DistributionRead the Press Release
In Waco, 30-year-old Christopher Andrew and 32–year-old Cornelius Tywarren Wilson were sentenced to 35 years and 30 years in federal prison, respectively, for their roles in a cocaine distribution operation based in Killeen, Texas, announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Christopher H. Combs, San Antonio Division and Killeen Police Chief Dennis M. Baldwin.
In addition to the prison terms, United States District Judge Walter S. Smith, Jr. ordered that the brothers pay a fine—Chris, $2000; Cornelius, $1,500—and be placed under supervised release for a period of ten years after completing their respective prison terms.
On March 10, 2014, a federal jury in Waco found Christopher Wilson, Cornelius Wilson and 29–year-old Bryant Keith Pressley guilty of multiple drug charges. The jury also found Cornelius Wilson guilty of possession of a Ruger handgun during a drug trafficking crime on May 14, 2013. Presley is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28, 2014.
Evidence presented during trial revealed that from April 2011 to May 2013, the organization led by the Wilson brothers was responsible for the distribution of close to 30 kilograms of cocaine and “crack” cocaine in Killeen and the surrounding area.
The Wilson brothers and Presley were among eight Killeen residents indicted and convicted of federal drug charges in connection with this cocaine distribution operation. The other five defendants--39-year-old Jamel Azar Singleton, 31–year-old Jason Eugene Jackson, 31-year-old Katrie Deshone Simpson, 39–year-old Michael Anthony Mango and 34–year-old Kevin Elthonda Lee--entered guilty pleas prior to jury selection and received federal prison sentences ranging from 18 months to 151 months.
This case resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) together with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Killeen Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Frazier and former Assistant United States Attorney Sean Condron are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
KC Man Indicted for Maryville Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for robbing a Maryville, Mo., bank.
Ronald David Brown, Jr., 39, of Kansas City, was charged in a single-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.
Today’s indictment alleges that Brown stole $1,480 from Bank Midwest, 1016 S. Main St., Maryville, on Nov. 13, 2013.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge 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 Christina Y. Tabor. It was investigated by the FBI and the Maryville, Mo., Police Department.Illinois Residents Charged in Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - Two Illinois residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of conspiracy, using unauthorized access device in aggregate of $1,000, possessing device- making equipment, possessing 15 or more access devices, and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The six-count superseding indictment, returned on April 29, named Joel M. Cosey, 25, of Chicago, Illinois, and Monique S. Morris, 33, of Bolingbrook, Illinois.
According to the indictment, Cosey was charged with conspiracy, possessing device- making equipment, possessing 15 or more access devices, aggravated identity theft, and two counts of using unauthorized access device in aggregate of $1,000 on or about Aug. 9, 2013.
According to the indictment, Morris was charged with conspiracy and two counts of using unauthorized access device in aggregate of $1,000 on or about Aug. 9, 2013.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 52 years in prison, a fine of $1,500,000 or both for Cosey. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 25 years in prison, a fine of $750,000 or both for Morris. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Secret Service conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Hogsett Announces Kokomo Man’s Petition to Plead Guilty to Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Prosecution represents more results in U.S. Attorney’s ongoing "Operation Community Watch"
INDIANAPOLIS - Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Brandon Tooley, age 32, of Kokomo, has been charged by information with one count of distribution of sexually explicit material involving minors. Tooley has filed a petition to plead guilty, along with entering into a plea agreement and stipulated factual basis for the offense. This prosecution comes as the U.S. Attorney’s Office has recommitted to Operation Community Watch, a federal effort which aims to reduce the abuse of Hoosier children through innovative investigative techniques and aggressive prosecution.
“The type of behavior alleged in this case exploits children and will not be tolerated by federal law enforcement,” Hogsett said. “That is why we launched Operation Community Watch last year – to protect Hoosier families and send a message to criminals that they cannot hide online.”
The information alleges that between on or about August 1, 2013 and on or about October 7, 2013, Tooley sent emails to others containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Court documents indicate that the government has filed a forfeiture allegation identifying computer equipment used in the offense that the government will seek to seize from Tooley if he is convicted.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney MaryAnn T. Mindrum, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Tooley faces no less than five and up to twenty years in federal prison if the Court accepts a guilty plea. Federal law also mandates that individuals convicted of child exploitation pay restitution to their victims. In addition, Tooley faces a sentence of up to lifetime supervised release, and must comply with state and federal requirements as a registered sexual offender.
This arrest comes one year after Hogsett announced a comprehensive crackdown on child exploitation in Indiana. In 2013, he launched "Operation Community Watch," which has allowed prosecutors and investigators to use cutting-edge techniques to identify and charge people in Hoosier communities who are engaged in the receipt and trafficking of child pornography materials. In this case, those efforts were facilitated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
"The sexual exploitation of children is abhorrent and is one of the most disturbing crimes we investigate at HSI,” said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of HSI Chicago. "Once a pornographic image of a child is shared online, it multiplies and is virtually impossible to remove. Protecting our youth in the digital age requires us all to be vigilant."
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a larger nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Hogsett pointed out that in the last Project Safe Childhood reporting year, the Office prosecuted 52 defendants, an increase of 37% over the prior year, and 49 defendants were convicted and sentenced. These are all-time records for the Office.
The greatest measure of the PSC program's impact, however, is the identification and rescue of child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. Over the last two years, the U.S. Attorney's Office successfully identified more than 120 child victims, including minors in Indiana, numerous places in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and other countries around the world.
Led nationally by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
An information or indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Hogsett Announces Child Pornography Charges Against Westfield ManRead the Press Release
Pornography allegations against volunteer wrestling coach
INDIANAPOLIS - Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today federal child pornography charges against Christopher Rennard, 28, of Westfield. Rennard serves as a volunteer wrestling coach at Westfield High School and faces charges including, two counts of shipping or transporting by means of computer visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, as well as possessing and distributing child pornography.
“When the most vulnerable of our citizens are victimized, my office will aggressively do everything in its power to protect them,” said Hogsett. “Child predators around the state are on notice; we will find you, investigate you and prosecute you with the full force of federal law.”
According to the criminal complaint affidavit, a report was submitted to the Cyber Tip Line by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The report was submitted by Dropbox, Inc. and indicated that a user on their online data storage service had uploaded and stored files that contained child pornography between January 15-27, 2014. Investigators determined Rennard was the subscriber and traced the IP address to his residence in Westfield.
A federal search warrant was issued and served on Rennard’s residence on April 17, 2014 by special agents of Homeland Security Investigations and task force officers of the Hamilton County Metropolitan Child Exploitation Task Force. The affidavit alleges that Rennard was present during the search and admitted to collecting and distributing child pornography.
The affidavit further alleges Rennard would make contact with other persons interested in child pornography using an iPhone application called Omegle. Once he found someone to trade with, they would specify if they preferred boys or girls. Rennard would then post links to child pornography images and videos which could be used to access the files stored in his and other individual’s Dropbox accounts. This would make files available for viewing, downloading and copying.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney MaryAnn Mindrum, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Rennard could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine if convicted.
“Through our Operation Community Watch initiative, we have joined with state and local partners to make clear that we will not tolerate child exploitation in Indiana,” Hogsett said. “With innovation and vigilance, we are unmasking these online predators and holding them accountable for their criminal activity.”
This arrest comes one year after Hogsett announced a comprehensive crackdown on child exploitation in Indiana. In 2013, he launched "Operation Community Watch," which has allowed prosecutors and investigators to use cutting-edge techniques to identify and charge people in Hoosier communities who are engaged in the receipt and trafficking of child pornography materials. In this case, those efforts were facilitated by United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the Hamilton County Metropolitan Child Exploitation Task Force.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a larger nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
The greatest measure of the PSC program's impact, however, is the identification and rescue of child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. Over the last two years, the U.S. Attorney's Office successfully identified hundreds of child victims, including minors in Indiana, numerous places in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and other countries around the world.
Led nationally by United States Attorney’s' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which time the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Hercules Resident Pleads Guilty to Transporting Multiple Minors Around the United States for ProstitutionRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Jamal Raphael Broussard pleaded guilty in federal court today, to transportation of minors for prostitution, announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.
In pleading guilty, Broussard admitted that beginning in the summer of 2010 and continuing at least through May 2013, he recruited and transported two minor females and caused them to engage in commercial sex acts, knowing that they were high school students younger than 18-years-old. Broussard admitted that he received the money from the minors for their engaging in these commercial sex acts as he acted as a “pimp” for these minors, providing them with clothing, giving them instructions, and advertising their services on the Internet using pictures of the minors to solicit customers. Further, Broussard admitted to having arranged or induced the travel of these minor victims, providing the minors with fake identifications and sending them from California to almost every state across the country for the express purpose of engaging in prostitution.
Broussard, 24, of Hercules, CA, was indicted by a federal Grand Jury on Oct. 16, 2013. He was charged with two counts of sex trafficking of children in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 1591, two counts of transportation of minors for prostitution in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 2423, and two counts of coercion and enticement for prostitution in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 2422. Under the plea agreement, Broussard pled guilty to the two counts of transportation of minors for prostitution.
Broussard, who has been in custody since his arrest on Oct. 30, 2013, is currently being held in Santa Clara County Main Jail pending his sentencing.
Broussard’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13, 2014, at 9:30 a.m., before The Honorable Lucy H. Koh, United States District Court Judge, in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for each count in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423 is 30 years, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Amie Rooney is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Nina Williams and Tracey Andersen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Jose Police Department Human Trafficking Task Force.
Anyone who suspects instances of human trafficking are encouraged to call the FBI or the Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Anonymous calls are welcome.
In addition, suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.
(Broussard indictment )
Haynesville Man Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for Illegally Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Ricky Nikki Beene, 38 of Haynesville, La., was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to 96 months in prison and three years of supervised release for possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea on January 24, 2014, Haynesville Police officers responded to a call on June 1, 2012 that a man with a gun was seen at an apartment complex. The man was later identified as Beene. Police waited for Beene at his home, and when he arrived, he was driving a car matching the description of one seen at the apartment complex. The car was searched, and a loaded .380 caliber pistol, more than $900, and crack cocaine and marijuana were found.
The Haynesville Police Department, the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide program to reduce violence by aggressively enforcing existing federal firearms and explosives laws.
Greensburg Man Took $172K in Deceased Aunt’s Social Security Benefit PaymentsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A Westmoreland County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of theft of government money, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Kelly McGuire, 54, of Greensburg, Pa., pleaded guilty to one count before Senior United States District Court Judge Maurice B. Cohill.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from Nov. 3, 1993 to Oct. 3, 2011, McGuire converted to his own use $172,375 in Social Security Title II, Old Age, Survivor’s Disability Insurance benefit payments of his aunt, Lucille McGuire, who died on Oct. 2, 1993, benefits he knew he was not entitled to receive.
Judge Cohill scheduled sentencing for Aug. 6, 2014 at 2 p.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentence, the court released McGuire on bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Mary McKeen Houghton is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, conducted the investigation that lead to the prosecution of McGuire.
Getaway Driver in Milford Mini-Market Robberies Sentenced to 90 Months’ ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced yesterday that Senior United States District Court Judge Richard P. Conaboy sentenced Daviandra Gwendolyn Green, age 28, formerly of Port Jervis, New York, to 90 months’ imprisonment for her participation in the robberies of six convenience stores between April and October 2011.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Green previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Scranton to acting as a getaway driver when a confederate robbed (1) the Hilltop Sunoco/Extra Mart located at 238 State Route 6, Milford, Pennsylvania on April 6, 2011; (2) the Turkey Hill Minit Market, 912 Pennsylvania Avenue, Matamoras, Pennsylvania, on April 11, 2011; (3) the Hilltop Sunoco/Extra Mart located at 238 State Route 6, Milford, Pennsylvania on April 17, 2011; (4) the Citgo Mart, 220 Dolson Road, Middletown, New York on May 1, 2011; and (5) the Turkey Hill Minit Market, 912 Pennsylvania Avenue, Matamoras, Pennsylvania, on May 5, 2011. Green’s confederate brandished a weapon during the robberies.
Green and Jeremiah Anderson also entered the Hilltop Sunoco/Extra Mart, in Milford, Pennsylvania on October 5, 2011, and attempted to rob it without success. Anderson, age 29, also of Port Jervis, recently pleaded guilty in federal court to attempted robbery of that store and will be sentenced later this year.
Green’s two other confederates in the string of robberies were also convicted in federal court for their involvement in the scheme. Daniel Ortiz, age 28, of Watertown, New York, was sentenced to 80 months’ imprisonment. Simon Shomo, age 28, of Port Jervis, New York received a 70 months’ imprisonment term.
Judge Conaboy ordered that Green be placed on supervised release for three years following the service of her 90-month prison sentence.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Eastern Pike Regional Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant United States Attorney John Gurganus prosecuted the case.
Fugitive Charged with Selling Heroin That Caused A Death in CustodyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- A Birmingham man and federal fugitive charged in connection with a 2013 heroin overdose death in Tuscaloosa was arrested this month in Atlanta and arraigned today in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Clay A. Morris.
PATROPIUS FOSTER, 34, had been a fugitive since a law enforcement roundup aimed at heroin dealers in north Alabama in September. Foster is the last defendant to be arrested among 49 people indicted in 2013 as part of an ongoing initiative between law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney's Office to attack the supply side of the spiraling heroin problem.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Ott arraigned Foster on the charges against him and ordered he remain in custody pending trial.
The charges include that Foster distributed heroin on March 19, 2013, that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old University of Alabama student the following day. The charge of distributing heroin that results in a death carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years in prison.
"The U.S. Attorney's Office is fighting the growing availability of heroin and alerting the community that the problem is here and growing ever more deadly," Vance said. "The rising use of heroin is a public health crisis. It ruins lives and is killing our children. My office prosecutes heroin dealers. Those who sell heroin that causes a death are looking at a mandatory 20-year sentence in federal prison," she said.
Another Birmingham man arrested in the September roundup also was charged with selling heroin that resulted in a death. Harold Donnell Mims, 31, pleaded guilty in February to selling heroin that caused the death of a 28-year-old Tuscaloosa resident. Mims is scheduled for sentencing May 27.
The two overdose deaths Foster and Mims are charged with causing occurred at the same Tuscaloosa apartment complex within the span of one month in 2013.
As of today, 39 of the 49 people indicted in the 2013 sweep have pled guilty and 36 have been sentenced. The sentences have ranged from probation for first-time offenders to 12 1/2 years for the dealers who qualify as career offenders under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Law enforcement agencies working with DEA in the months-long investigation leading to the 2013 indictments and arrests included the Hoover, Pelham, Gardendale, Vestavia Hills, Tuscaloosa, Hueytown, Bessemer and Pleasant Grove police departments, Marshall County Drug Task Force, Gulf Coast HIDTA Task Force, Alabama Beverage Control Board, Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Jefferson and Shelby County sheriff's offices, and district attorney's offices for Jefferson, Shelby and Tuscaloosa counties and the Bessemer Cutoff. Assistant U.S. Attorney L. James Weil Jr. is prosecuting the cases.
The public is reminded that an indictment contain only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent and it is the government's responsibility to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
Former Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Heroin on Charleston's East EndRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A man who sold heroin on Charleston’s East End pleaded guilty today in federal court in Charleston, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Darrell Shawton Collins, 36, originally from Detroit, Michigan, faces up to 20 years in prison for heroin distribution. In December of 2013, detectives with the Charleston Police Department Special Enforcement Unit used a confidential informant to buy heroin from Collins. The drug deal took place at the corner of Washington Street East and Thompson Street. At the time of the drug deal, Collins was on federal supervised release for a prior drug trafficking offense. His supervised release was revoked today following his guilty plea. Sentencing is scheduled for August 14, 2014.
The Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Former Clovis Teacher Sentenced to 38 Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced former Clovis Unified School District teacher Neng Yang, 46, of Clovis, today to 38 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. On March 24, 2014, Yang pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to court documents, Yang used an I-Phone and a computer to record and store videos depicting the sexual abuse of a minor on multiple occasions in January of 2012. At the time, the minor was under 12 years of age. The incidents involved sexual contact between the minor and Yang and took place while the minor was under Yang’s supervisory control. Yang was charged with four counts of producing child pornography and has been in federal custody since January 27, 2012.
US Attorney Wagner stated: “Law enforcement at all levels worked together to achieve today’s result. This office will continue to vigorously prosecute those who target innocent and vulnerable victims for sexual exploitation.”
“The unconscionable acts perpetrated by a trusted teacher on a youngster under the age of 12, in addition to producing child pornography, are crimes that must be addressed with a lengthy prison sentence. Clovis Police detectives, some with young children of their own, worked tirelessly to gather evidence and put together a solid case to keep Neng Yang locked up and away from innocent children. This man should never be in a position to victimize a child like this again,” said Clovis Police Chief Matt Basgall.
“For most people, criminal acts against children are impossible to comprehend,” said Mike Prado, resident agent in charge of HSI Fresno. “For a child who has been tricked and sexually exploited by a trusted teacher — while at school — the physical and emotional scars will be with them forever. Thanks to a parent’s vigilance and outstanding law enforcement cooperation, this predator was apprehended before he could further abuse his position of trust to hurt other vulnerable children. As this sentence makes unmistakably clear, child sex predators will be caught, prosecuted, and meted the justice they deserve for their despicable actions.”
This case was the product of an investigation by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task force, specifically the Clovis Police Department and the Fresno U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney Brian W. Enos prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood Marshals, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety.
Florida Resident Sentenced in Connection with International Lottery Scheme That Defrauded Elderly AmericansRead the Press Release
Charmaine Anne King was sentenced yesterday in connection with her role in a fraudulent international lottery scheme that targeted U.S. citizens, the Justice Department announced. King was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore in Miami to serve 57 months in prison and five years of supervised release. A hearing on restitution has been scheduled for June 5, 2014. King was convicted by a federal jury in Miami on Feb. 5, 2014, of one count of conspiracy, three counts of mail fraud, and two counts of wire fraud.
King’s prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s effort, working with federal and local law enforcement, to combat international lottery fraud schemes preying on American citizens. According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Americans have lost tens of millions of dollars to fraudulent foreign lotteries.
“International lottery fraudsters have cheated Americans out of tens of millions of dollars,” said Wifredo Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “In this particular scheme, the fraudsters convinced the victims to deposit counterfeit checks into their bank accounts in order to pay fees to collect their purported lottery winnings. After the victims sent the money to King, the counterfeit cashier’s checks bounced and they lost their money. Such fraud will not be tolerated. Together with federal and local law enforcement, we are working to put an end to this type of scheme.”
“The Justice Department will continue to hold criminals accountable for fraudulent lottery schemes,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This illegal conduct creates significant financial harm to people throughout the country, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute such crime, and bring those responsible to justice.”
A federal grand jury in Miami returned an indictment against King and co-conspirator Althea Angela Peart on Oct. 31, 2013. Judge Moore adopted a report and recommendation accepting Peart’s guilty plea on Feb. 4, 2014, and on March 20, 2014, he sentenced Peart to 33 months’ incarceration. As part of her plea agreement, Peart acknowledged that a co-conspirator, believed to be located in Canada, mailed letters to elderly victims in the United States falsely informing the victims that they had won more than a million dollars in a lottery. These letters purported to be from an actual sweepstakes company in the United States.
The evidence at King’s trial showed that a co-conspirator sent fraudulent lottery letters to the victims and included counterfeit cashier’s checks made out to the victims for thousands of dollars. These letters instructed victims to call “claims agents” who were actually co-conspirators, and when the victims called the purported claims agents, the agents informed the victims that they had to pay several thousand dollars in fees in order to collect their purported lottery winnings. The claims agents told the victims to deposit the cashier’s checks in the victims’ bank accounts in order to purportedly cover the money they had to pay. The co-conspirators instructed the victims on how to send and wire this money to King and others. The cashier’s checks that victims received from the fraudulent lottery had no value. The evidence demonstrated that after the victims sent money to King, the counterfeit cashier’s checks bounced. Victims never received any lottery winnings.
Evidence presented at trial showed that King kept a percentage of the money she received from victims and sent the rest of the money to a co-conspirator. King continued to participate in this scheme even after the U.S. Postal Inspection Service verbally informed her that she was participating in unlawful activity, and after she later signed a Cease and Desist Order requiring that she stop receiving money from victims of fraud. The order that King signed described the lottery related activity that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service explained was unlawful.
Assistant Attorney General Delery commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Director Jeffrey Steger and Trial Attorney Kathryn Drenning with the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, Consumer Protection Branch.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.