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Wednesday 12 February 2014
Statement of Timothy Q. Purdon United States Attorney, District of North Dakota Department of JusticeRead the Press Release
Before the
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
At a Hearing Entitled,
Indian Law & Order Commission:
A Roadmap for Making Native America Safer
Presented on
February 12, 2014
Chairwoman Cantwell, Vice-Chair Barrasso, and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide the perspective of the Department of Justice on the Indian Law and Order Commission’s thorough, thoughtful, and incisive report, A Roadmap for Making Native America Safer, and to discuss the Department’s ongoing efforts to ensure public safety in Indian Country. The Department shares the commitment of this Committee and the Indian Law and Order Commission to this important issue, and we congratulate the Commission on the hard work that has culminated in its final report and recommendations. Like the Commission, we at the Department have long been concerned about the high rate of crimes occurring in Indian Country, in particular violence against women. That’s why, early in this Administration, Attorney General Eric Holder launched a Department-wide initiative to improve public safety in Indian country. Since 2009, the Department has been engaged in focused and energetic efforts alongside our tribal law enforcement partners to help stem this tide.
As the United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota and Chair of the Attorney General’s Native American Issues Subcommittee, I am honored to appear before you to discuss the work of the Department to improve public safety in Indian Country. Since 2009, the Department has made fighting crime in Indian Country a top priority and has pursued an aggressive strategy consisting of law enforcement action, prosecution, grant funding, training, technical support, and collaboration with tribal partners that is already showing success. For example, the Department’s renewed commitment to the vigorous prosecution of federal crimes in Indian Country has increased the number of Indian Country prosecutions by United States Attorney’s Offices nationwide by more than fifty percent over the past four years.
Nonetheless, the Department recognizes that an increase in federal arrests and prosecutions alone cannot solve all the public safety challenges on the reservations. Accordingly, we have augmented our enhanced focus on law enforcement and prosecutions with additional support for tribal criminal justice institutions. In 2010, the Department answered a call from tribal leaders for a more streamlined, holistic approach to its tribal-specific grant programs by establishing the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS). CTAS helps tribes secure critical federal assistance on a wide array of criminal justice issues, including preventing violence against women, protecting at-risk children, improving community policing, and exploring alternatives to incarceration. Through CTAS, we have awarded nearly $440 million in federal grants to tribes in the past four years. These funds work to directly strengthen the criminal justice system in Indian Country, creating opportunities for increased collaboration with our tribal partners and increased tribal self-determination.
The Department recognizes the unique challenges to public safety in Indian Country created by varied jurisdictional schemes and varying tribal cultures. It is against this backdrop that the Roadmap presents a broad array of recommendations in issue areas as diverse as criminal jurisdiction and juvenile justice. We are carefully studying the recommendations and will be reaching out to stakeholders to seek additional input on solutions that can address the difficult public safety issues confronting tribal communities. Meanwhile, we will continue to use our existing authorities to meet our responsibilities and to strengthen capacity at every level of the criminal justice system.
Establishing Unprecedented Levels of Cooperation
Since taking Office, Attorney General Holder has consistently emphasized that combatting violent crime in Indian Country and fostering safe communities is a top priority of the Department of Justice. Attorney General Holder has stated that when it comes to this challenge, we must “recommit ourselves to collaboration on an unprecedented scale.” To this end, the Department took steps in early 2010 to ensure that each United States Attorney’s Office with responsibilities in Indian Country implemented a district-specific operational plan to formalize its strategy for consulting and working with tribal, state, and local law enforcement, prosecutors, and other leaders, to improve public safety in Indian Country. For example, in North Dakota, our operational plan took the form of an Anti-Violence Strategy that combines enhanced enforcement of federal criminal laws with support for viable crime prevention programs and efforts to build a sustainable offender reentry program. Our plan has now been in place for almost three years and has resulted in unprecedented levels of communication and collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the tribes in North Dakota as well as a large increase in the number of Indian Country cases being prosecuted by our Office.
The Department’s renewed focus nationwide on leveraging partnerships with tribal, local, state, and federal partners to address violent crime has led to concrete results, not just in North Dakota, but across the rest of the country. In just the last four years, U.S. Attorneys’ offices with responsibility for Indian Country have seen the number of prosecutions for crimes committed on tribal lands increase by more than 54 percent. This increase was reported to Congress in our Indian Country Investigation and Prosecution Report (ICIP) for calendar years (CYs) 2011 and 2012. [1] Specifically, Indian Country caseloads nationwide have increased overall:
· 1,091 criminal cases filed in fiscal year (FY) 2009;
· 1,138 criminal cases filed in FY 2010;
· 1,547 criminal cases filed in FY 2011; and
· 1,677 criminal cases filed in FY 2012.
This increase in prosecutions is due to many factors, but efforts by U.S. Attorneys to enhance investigative and prosecutorial coordination with tribal partners have been critical to this improvement.
A great example of how collaboration improves law enforcement can be found in Montana. In 2010, Montana United States Attorney Mike Cotter began convening bi-monthly meetings involving the federal prosecutors assigned to each reservation, the tribal prosecutors for the reservation, and tribal and federal law enforcement officers. During these meetings, cases arising on a particular reservation during the preceding two-week period are discussed and a decision is reached collaboratively concerning which jurisdiction – Federal or tribal or both – will prosecute a particular case. This close communication ensures that serious Indian Country crimes are appropriately investigated and that the decision whether a matter will be charged in federal court or tribal court is an informed one.
An important tool contributing to improved collaboration is the Department’s enhanced Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) program. Tribal SAUSAs are tribal prosecutors who are “cross-deputized” and able to prosecute crimes in both tribal court and federal court as appropriate. These Tribal SAUSAs serve to strengthen a tribal government’s ability to fight crime and to increase the USAO’s coordination with tribal law enforcement personnel. Since its inception, the program blossomed, with dozens of Tribal SAUSAs serving in districts across the country.
To increase the use of Tribal SAUSAs in cases involving violence against Native women, in 2012, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) initiated its Violence Against Women Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project, making awards to four tribes in Nebraska, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota to fund cross-designated tribal prosecutors. The goal of the Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project is that every viable crime of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking will be prosecuted in federal court, tribal court, or both. We have an OVW-funded SAUSA working in my Office and for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Prosecutor. She has tried domestic violence cases in tribal court and has secured prison time in domestic violence cases in federal court as well.
The work of Tribal SAUSAs can also help to accelerate a tribal criminal justice system’s implementation of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The use of Tribal SAUSAs is expanding and, consistent with the Roadmap’s Recommendations 3.3 and 3.4, the Department supports strengthening the work of Tribal SAUSAs by improving access to law enforcement sensitive information and witnesses where such access does not exist already.
The SAUSA program is one area that the Roadmap acknowledges has the potential to address the broader need for skilled, committed prosecutors working on the ground in Indian Country. To help meet this demand, Attorney General Holder announced last November the Attorney General’s Indian Country Fellowship. This fellowship, which will be part of the Attorney General’s Honors Program, will inspire and train the next generation of prosecutors to serve in Indian Country. It will create an opportunity for highly qualified law-school graduates to spend three years – primarily in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices – working on Indian Country cases and thereby creating a pool of attorneys with deep experience in Federal Indian law, tribal law, and Indian country issues.
The commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Indian Country has been supported by Department components that have provided much-needed training to law enforcement and prosecutors who are working in Indian Country. For example:
· National Indian Country Training Initiative (NICTI). Prosecutors working in Indian Country need specialized training. The NICTI has answered that call. Launched in 2010, it works to ensure that AUSAs and Tribal SAUSAs, as well as state and tribal criminal justice personnel, receive the training and support needed to address the particular challenges relevant to Indian Country prosecutions. For example, in January 2013, the NICTI partnered with the National Strangulation Training Institute to deliver the first-ever national Indian Country training on the investigation and prosecution of non-fatal strangulation and suffocation offenses. The training, held at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, drew attendance from 17 tribes, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and provided an in-depth examination of the mechanics of strangulation and suffocation from a medical, legal, and law enforcement perspective.
· Access to Justice (ATJ) . Since 2011, ATJ has partnered with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, to host a series of tribal court trainings known as the Tribal Court Trial Advocacy Training Program. This free, three-day trial advocacy course is designed to improve the trial skills of judges, public defenders, and prosecutors who appear in tribal courts. All trainings are staffed by experienced tribal prosecutors, defenders, judges, Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) who prosecute Indian Country cases, and Assistant Federal Public Defenders.
Finally, the Department is also working to ensure that, in our work in Indian Country, we remain focused on providing critical services to the victims of crime. Since 2009, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), within the Office of Justice Programs, has provided over $2.6 million to the BIA to support victim assistance positions in Montana, South Dakota, Arizona, and New Mexico and has helped to build the capacity of sexual assault services in Indian Country through such innovative partnerships as the Department and the Indian Health Service working together to establish the American Indian/Alaska Native Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner-Sexual Assault Response Team (SANE-SART) Initiative, which addresses the comprehensive needs of tribal victims of sexual violence.
As the Roadmap recommends and as detailed above, the Department is embracing intergovernmental cooperation and coordination. In an effort to further strengthen the government-to-government relationships between the Department and sovereign tribes, the Department is in the process of adopting a new Statement of Principles to guide all the actions we take in working with federally recognized Indian tribes. This proposed Statement will codify our determination, as the Attorney General has remarked, to serve not as a patron, but as a partner in fighting crime and enforcing the law in Indian Country. It will also memorialize our commitment to Indian tribes and provide a foundation for reinforcing relationships, reforming the criminal justice system, and aggressively enforcing federal laws and civil rights protections. The Department has now begun the process of formal and informal consultation with tribal leaders on the Statement of Principles. [2]
Combating Domestic Violence
The fight against domestic violence in Indian Country has been an especially important priority for the Department of Justice. The Department applauds Congress for passing the bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013), which the President signed into law last March. This important Act, most of which has already taken effect, improves the ability of federal and tribal authorities to respond to domestic violence offenders and protect victims in three crucial ways. First, it strengthens federal domestic violence offenses and the federal assault statute – a statute frequently used in Indian Country intimate-partner violence crimes. Second, the Act recognizes the tribes’ inherent power to exercise “special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction” over those who commit acts of domestic violence or dating violence or violate certain protection orders in Indian Country, regardless of their Indian or non-Indian status. Finally, it contributes to tribal self-determination by recognizing that tribes have full civil jurisdiction to issue and enforce protection orders involving any person (Indian or non-Indian) in matters arising anywhere in the tribe’s Indian country or otherwise within the tribe’s authority. These provisions, which help hold Indian and non-Indian perpetrators accountable, were first proposed, and have long been championed, by the Department.
While the new law’s tribal criminal jurisdiction provision takes effect on March 7, 2015, VAWA 2013 also authorizes a voluntary “Pilot Project” to allow tribes to begin exercising special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction sooner. The Department received the first set of requests from six tribal governments to participate in the Pilot Project and last week three tribes – the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, the Umatilla Tribes of Oregon, and the Tulalip Tribes of Washington – were granted Pilot Project approval by the Department. They will be the first tribes in the nation to exercise special criminal jurisdiction over crimes of domestic and dating violence, regardless of the defendant’s Indian or non-Indian status, under VAWA 2013.
The Roadmap offers a recommendation for another step forward in Alaska as well. It urges the repeal of Section 910 of VAWA 2013. VAWA Section 910 renders the restored tribal jurisdiction provisions of Sections 904 and 905 of the Act generally inapplicable in Alaska. The Department supports the repeal of Section 910. Permitting application in Alaska of VAWA Section 905, which provides that tribes have full civil jurisdiction to issue and enforce domestic violence protection orders, would be a meaningful change that could help protect Alaska Native victims of domestic violence. Unlike VAWA Section 904 (which recognizes tribal criminal jurisdiction over certain crimes committed in a tribe’s Indian country), VAWA Section 905 expressly covers not only matters arising anywhere in the tribe’s Indian country but also matters that are “otherwise within the authority of the Indian tribe.” So the impact of repealing Section 910 will likely have its greatest direct effect on the application of Section 905, which would then recognize Alaska tribes’ civil jurisdiction to issue and enforce protection orders involving Natives and non-Natives alike.
Protecting Our Children
Providing safe, secure, and healthy communities for children is perhaps the most important priority for all stakeholders in Indian Country. In that regard, the Roadmap makes numerous recommendations relating to myriad criminal justice issues impacting tribal youth and juvenile justice.
The Department agrees that few issues are more critical to the long-term improvement of public safety in Indian Country than working with young people to break the cycle of violence and hopelessness we have come to see on some reservations. Recognizing the importance of this issue, the Department is working to improve juvenile justice in Indian Country.
· In South Dakota, my colleague U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson has implemented a process of collaboration with tribal prosecutors on some reservations that formalizes efforts to work together towards ensuring justice for juvenile offenders. While remaining committed to the federal prosecution of juveniles who commit the most serious offenses and those involved in gang activity, the South Dakota U.S. Attorney’s Office program recognizes that, where appropriate, tribal prosecution may be the most effective method of handling juvenile misconduct. The hope is that keeping these young offenders under the supervision of the tribal court for as long as possible will provide an opportunity for rehabilitation, allow the youth to remain in his community surrounded by his family and culture, and keep federal prosecution – and a federal record – as a last resort.
· In North Dakota, in the fall of 2012, we launched a pilot program aimed at reaching young people on the Standing Rock Reservation. An AUSA in our office, who is himself an enrolled member in a North Dakota tribe, spearheaded the program. During the 2012-2013 school year, he organized a series of presentations to the student bodies of Standing Rock High School and Standing Rock Middle School designed to educate the students on protecting their personal safety and on the legal and physical/psychological hazards associated with certain conduct. The Standing Rock students were receptive to these presentations and we believe the program increased trust of the law enforcement presenters. Indeed, the Bismarck Tribune editorialized that “[t]o have an assistant U.S. attorney making his or her presence felt on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation — not in the courtroom but in the lives of young Native Americans — has to make a positive difference.” [3] We agree.
Finally, the Department recently established the American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence Task Force as part of the Department’s Defending Childhood Initiative. The Initiative is designed to prevent and reduce children’s trauma from experiencing violence as victims or witnesses. Research funded by the Department demonstrates that a majority of America’s children – more than 60 percent – are exposed to some form of violence, crime, or abuse. [4] While this study was not specific to tribal communities, our own experiences and reports from tribal leadership tell us that American Indian and Alaska Native children experience high degrees of unmet needs for services and support to prevent and respond to extreme levels of violence on some reservations.
The Task Force is made up of an Advisory Committee of tribal members and national experts – in academia, child health and trauma, and child welfare and law – and a Working Group that, along with me, includes U.S. Attorneys Amanda Marshall from Oregon, Brendan Johnson from South Dakota, and Barry Grissom from Kansas, as well as other top officials from the Departments of Justice, the Interior, and Health and Human Services. More specifically:
· The Task Force’s Advisory Committee, co-chaired by former U.S. Senator and former chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Byron Dorgan and Iroquois composer and singer Joanne Shenandoah, has been appointed to examine the scope and impact of violence facing American Indian and Alaska Native children and make policy recommendations to Attorney General Holder on ways to address this issue.
· The Working Group was formed to support the Advisory Committee because the Department recognizes that there are things we can do right now that can have a direct and immediate impact in children’s lives. These efforts are already making a difference. Since its inception in August 2013, the Working Group of federal officials has taken action to improve educational and programmatic services in youth detention facilities in Indian Country. Contracts have been secured for teachers who will provide educational services to Native youths held in Bureau of Indian Affairs’ detention facilities.
The Advisory Committee held its first hearing on December 9, 2013, in Bismarck, North Dakota. We were honored to have Senator Heitkamp participate. Over this next year, the Advisory Committee will continue to travel throughout the country, holding hearings and listening sessions. The Advisory Committee will explore existing research and consult with experts to obtain a clearer picture of the incidence of violence among native children, and help identify ways to prevent it. The Advisory Committee’s work will culminate in a final report – a strategic plan of action that will guide practitioners and policymakers at all levels. Similar to the work of the Defending Childhood Task Force, the recommendations of the Advisory Committee will serve as a blueprint to guide us into the future.
The work that is done in Indian Country United States Attorney’s Offices across this nation every day is critical to the improvement of public safety on the reservations. As a United States Attorney who has prioritized this work in my District, I am incredibly grateful to my colleagues throughout the Department and to Attorney General Holder for their unwavering commitment to the mission in Indian Country. The United States Attorney community and the Department as a whole are proud of the work we have done thus far, but know there is much more to do. As the Attorney General has declared, we must and we will, recommit ourselves to collaboration with our tribal partners on an unprecedented scale.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to reiterate the Department’s strong commitment to working with Congress, and especially this Committee, and with our tribal partners to achieve the core goals that animated the Indian Law and Order Commission and its dedicated members and staff: to build safe, sustainable, healthy, and resilient American Indian and Alaska Native communities. We praise the Commission for its hard work and devotion to strengthening and securing public safety for tribal nations, and we thank the Commission for its thoughtful and comprehensive recommendations.
I look forward to answering any questions you may have.
[1] www.justice.gov/tribal/tloa-report-cy-2011-2012.pdf
[2] http://www.justice.gov/tribal/
[3] “Reaching out on the Reservation,” Bismarck Tribune, May 3, 2012.
[4] https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/227744.pdf
Sharon Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing, Selling Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Western Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 120 months in prison on his conviction of violating federal narcotic laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed the sentence on Maurice Davis, Jr., 28, of Sharon, PA.
According to information presented to the court, on April 12, 2012, Davis, a career offender, possessed with the intent to distribute 180 grams of crack cocaine. In addition, Davis, together with others, sold crack cocaine out a “stash house” located in Sharon, Pennsylvania.
Assistant United States Attorney Eric S. Rosen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Pennsylvania State Police and the Southwest Mercer County Regional Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Maurice Davis, Jr.
Rosebud Man Sentenced for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury was sentenced on February 10, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Jason Riley, age 36, was sentenced to 6 months in custody, 2 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Riley was indicted for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury by a federal grand jury on November 8, 2011. He pled guilty on November 19, 2013.
On October 13, 2010, Riley was at the Sicangu Village Housing on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. The victim approached Riley and asked for a cigarette. A verbal disagreement ensued and Riley struck the victim. The victim was also kicked by another man while he was on the ground. The victim suffered multiple abrasions, soft tissue bruising, and a nose bone fracture.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher prosecuted the case.
Riley was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Riverside County Art Dealer Arrested in Federal Cyberstalking CaseRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – The owner of a Temecula art gallery who allegedly stalked, harassed and attempted to extort several art world professionals was arrested today on federal cyberstalking charges.
Jason White, 43, of Temecula, was arrested this morning without incident by special agents with the FBI.
White’s arrest comes after federal prosecutors yesterday filed a criminal complaint that charges White with stalking, a crime that carries a potential penalty of five years in federal prison. White is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
According to the complaint, White engaged in a stalking and extortion scheme that targeted several art world professionals with whom he had had business relationships. When those business relationships ended, White posted derogatory information about his former associates on websites he had created, and then used threatening emails to demand hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for taking the websites down. According to the complaint, White repeatedly made extortionate demands through harassing text messages and emails, and when his demands were not met, he threatened violence.
In one part of the scheme, White targeted his former employer, an art publisher, as well as his supervisor at the art publisher’s company. After creating derogatory websites in the art publisher’s name, White allegedly sent threatening text messages to the art publisher, the publisher’s son, and his former supervisor. According to the complaint, in a text message to his former supervisor, he threatened to find her family and make her pay with “fear, anguish, and pain.” On several occasions, according to the complaint, White obtained pictures of her child and sent pictures of the child to the victim with comments such as “it will be very unfortunate if something was to happen to him.” During this time, according to the complaint, White continued to demand payment in exchange for taking down the websites he had created, and made it known to these victims that their business reputation would be ruined and that his websites would forever show up anytime anyone searched for their name on the internet.
Late last month, White allegedly went to the Facebook page of a well-known artist represented by the art publisher and posted a picture of himself, along with a statement that he was focusing on the artist’s wife and child. White allegedly wrote that he would be waiting in the bushes to “knee cap a child.” Through the Facebook message, White told the artist, “your children are my end game.”
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
The case against White is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Art Crime Team.
Release No. 14-022
Restaurant Owner Pleads GuiltyTo Employing Alien Illegally in U.S.Read the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Wichita restaurant owner and his wife pleaded guilty Wednesday to harboring a Chinese girl who worked at their restaurant, United States Attorney Barry Grissom said.
The owner, Yong “Tony” Lin, 33, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to harboring an alien unlawfully in the United States and his wife, Zhuo Mei “Mandy” Weng, 29, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to hiding the crime. Both charges are federal felonies.
The pleas were entered Wednesday afternoon before U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten, who set both defendants for sentencing on May 7. As part of their guilty pleas, the couple agreed to forfeit about $8,000 in cash seized by Homeland Security agents investigating the case. The money will go to employees who are owed back wages.
In September 2013, the Exploited and Missing Child Unit (EMCU) received a report that a minor teenager from China was being housed with other restaurant workers at a west Wichita apartment complex and that she also was employed at the World Buffet Grill, 2243 N. Ridge Road. With the assistance of the Wichita Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations, EMCU confirmed the reports and was able to place the minor elsewhere.
“More cases like this are coming to light,” Grissom said, where employers seek to exploit workers even if they are minors not authorized to work in the U.S. “Employers who hire persons they know or should know are not authorized to work or who are using false documents should expect to face criminal prosecution.”
Grissom commended the EMCU, the Wichita Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson for their work on the case.
An indictment was filed in the case Sept. 11 alleging that Lin and Weng harbored and employed at least three restaurant employees they knew were unlawfully in the United States. They often paid the employees in cash, failed to follow wage and hour guidelines, and failed to maintain I-9 employment eligibility verification forms, according to the indictment.Project Save Our ChildrenRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former Kansas City, Mo., man who has been living in Thailand pleaded guilty in federal court to fleeing the United States in 2007 to avoid paying child support.
Randy Lee Essary, 60, of Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. Essary was a resident of Chon Buri, Thailand, where he was employed as the senior vice president of development for Eclipse Hotels and Development, which is based in Manila, Philippines and in Hong Kong.
By pleading guilty, Essary admitted that he has failed to pay any court-ordered child support for his son for more than eight years, since January 2005. Essary owes $164,891 in child support.
Essary was a resident of Missouri in 1996. On Feb. 9, 1996, the Jackson County Circuit Court ordered him to pay $1,500 in monthly child support payments for his son, who currently resides with his mother in Utah.
Essary’s last documented entry into the United States and exit thereafter was on Sept. 12, 2007, to attend his daughter’s wedding in Illinois. Essary did not fly directly into the United States for the wedding. Instead, Essary flew from Thailand or the Philippines to Canada. Border crossing records confirm Essary then walked across the border from Canada into the United States at Blaine, Wash. He returned to Thailand in the same manner – by walking across the border at Canada and flying back to Thailand.
Essary was arrested at LAX airport when he returned to the United States on Feb. 22, 2012.
Under federal statutes, Essary is subject to a sentence of up to two years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
Project Save Our Children
Project Save Our Children is a multiagency law enforcement initiative that investigates and prosecutes the most egregious child support cases. Its members include investigative analysts from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Attorneys' offices, and the Department of Justice, along with child support agencies across the United States. These entities identify, investigate, and prosecute noncustodial parents who knowingly fail to pay support obligations and meet the criteria for federal prosecution under the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act. More information about federal child support enforcement is available at http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/child-support-enforcement/Princeton Woman Pleads Guilty to Selling Addictive Prescription Pain PillsRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Kristi Ball, 39, of Princeton, West Virginia, pled guilty in federal court in Bluefield to distributing hydromorphone, a powerful and addictive prescription pain medication. Ball admitted that on January 16, 2013, she sold three hydromorphone pills to a person who was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place in Princeton.
Ball faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber scheduled the sentencing for May 27, 2014.
The West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney John File is handling 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. 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 in communities across the Southern District.
Priest Sentenced to 90 Months in Prison for Illegal Interstate Transportation of A MinorRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
CINCINNATI –Robert Frank Poandl, 72, of Fairfield, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 90 months in prison for violation of the Mann Act, a federal law prohibiting interstate transportation of a minor for illicit purposes.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Marlon Miller, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Ohio and Michigan; and agencies in the Greater Cincinnati Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.
A jury convicted Poandl on September 20, 2013. Testimony presented during the trial showed that, in August 1991, Poandl transported a ten-year old boy from Cincinnati to West Virginia where he sexually assaulted the child. The crime was not disclosed until the victim came forward in 2009.
“The nature and circumstances of the offense are horrendous,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy told the court. “They involve the violent sexual and psychological assault of a prepubescent male. Poandl abused the trust placed in him by (the victim’s) family.
A federal grand jury indicted Poandl, known as “Father Bob”, in November 2012. FBI agents arrested him at the Glenmary Missioners in Fairfield, Ohio. He was placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring following his arrest. Judge Barrett remanded Poandl to the custody of the U.S. Marshals service at the end of today’s hearing to begin serving his sentence immediately.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Stewart commended the investigation by FBI agents and investigators with the Greater Cincinnati ICAC and the West Virginia State Police, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy Muncy and Timothy Oakley.
Agencies participating in the Greater Cincinnati ICAC, in addition to FBI and HSI Agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office include the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil, and the police departments in Amberley Village, Blue Ash, Cincinnati, and West Chester.
# # #Porcupine Man Sentenced for Child AbuseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Porcupine, South Dakota, man convicted of Child Abuse was sentenced on February 7, 2014, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Corey Good Crow, age 37, was sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Between 2008 and 2010, near Porcupine, Good Crow engaged in a pattern of conduct that subjected a child to abuse and neglect, causing the child severe and permanent psychological injury.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg S. Peterman.
Good Crow was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Pine Ridge Man Sentenced for Sexual ContactRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact was sentenced on February 3, 2014, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Patrick Left Hand Bull, age 40, was sentenced to 46 months of imprisonment, 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
In July 2013, near Pine Ridge, Left Hand Bull engaged in sexual contact with a woman who was unable to give consent.
The investigation was conducted by Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins.
Left Hand Bull was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Pine Ridge Man Sentenced for AssaultRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon was sentenced on February 7, 2014, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Michael Tobacco, age 22, was sentenced to 30 months in custody, 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $40 in restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Tobacco was indicted on August 27, 2013, by a federal grand jury for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to an Intimate Partner or Dating Partner. He pled guilty to Assault with a Dangerous Weapon on October 31, 2013.
The conviction stems from an incident in June of 2013 at a home in Pine Ridge, wherein Tobacco dragged his juvenile girlfriend by the hair from one room to another, and then repeatedly slapped, punched, and kicked her. This assault resulted in the female receiving a severely bruised eye that was swollen shut and numerous bruises all over her upper body.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman prosecuted the case.
Tobacco was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Pikeville Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PIKEVILLE, KY - A federal judge has sentenced a Pikeville man to 30 years in federal prison for producing videos of himself engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a small child.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar sentenced 63-year-old David Campbell for producing child pornography. The 30-year sentence is the maximum punishment allowed under the statute. Under federal law, Campbell will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence.
According to court documents, from March 2012 until March 26, 2013, Campbell produced sexually explicit videos of himself with the victim and then distributed them to others over the internet.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Perrye K. Turner, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Parman prosecuted this case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office on behalf of the federal government.
Owner of San Francisco Construction Company Sentenced to Jail for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Brian Kenny was sentenced yesterday to six months in prison and six months of home confinement and ordered to pay $199,493.83 in restitution for aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false U.S. Income Tax Return, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Jose M. Martinez.
Kenny pleaded guilty on November 5, 2013. According to court records, on or about February 17, 2005, Kenny incorporated his business, SF Bay Construction, Inc. (SFBC). SFBC filed tax returns reporting business gross receipts but paid no corporate income tax. Rather, Kenny reported SFBC’s income on his personal income tax return and paid the tax as SFBC’s sole shareholder. Kenny, however, evaded the full payment of his individual income taxes by underreporting SFBC’s business gross receipts. According to his plea agreement, Kenny failed to report $470,225.77 in business gross receipts during the 2006 tax year. Kenny admitted that he knew the amount of business gross receipts reported on SFBC’s tax return was material to the calculation of income tax owed on his personal income tax return.
Pursuant to the terms of his Plea Agreement, Kenny signed civil closing agreements with the IRS for his income tax liability and SFBC’s employment tax liability. Kenny has paid the full amount of his restitution.
Kenny, of San Francisco, was charged on July 25, 2013, with six counts of assisting in the filing of false tax returns. He pleaded guilty to one count.
Cynthia Stier is the Assistant United States Attorney who is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Owner of Local Advertising Company Pleads Guilty to Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – CARY JORDAN pled guilty to fraud charges involving his diversion of almost $500,000 of client funds for his personal use.
According to court documents, Cary Jordan owned and operated the Jordan Group, which was in the business of assisting companies in placing advertisements with various print, radio, television and outdoor media companies throughout the United States and Canada. Jordan Group clients contracted them to act on their behalf in finding media outlets for their advertising campaigns. Once the Jordan Group located media outlets in the appropriate geographical location for the advertising campaigns, they negotiated with the media outlets on behalf of its clients, and invoiced a pre-bill to the client based on the price and estimated number of advertising spots negotiated with the media outlets. In turn, clients paid the Jordan Group based on the pre-bill. After the ads ran, the media outlets invoiced the Jordan Group based on the price and actual number of advertising spots that ran. The Jordan Group then made payment to the media outlet from the funds it received from its client due to the pre-bill.
between January and October 2008, the Jordan Group ceased paying the media outlets for their advertising spots. Instead, Cary Jordan diverted funds for his personal use and to invest in other non-related investment opportunities.
Jordan, formerly of Webster Groves, MO, currently residing in Florida, pled guilty to two felony counts of mail fraud before United States District Judge John A. Ross. Sentencing has been set for May 15, 2014.
Mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Dianna Collins is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Orlando Man Pleads Guilty to Impersonating A DEA Agent and Unlawful Possession of A FirearmRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that William Benjamin Mejias (41, Orlando) today pleaded guilty to impersonating a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Mejias faces a maximum penalty of thirteen years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement and court documents, Mejias appeared at nightclubs in Orlando dressed in clothes that identified him as an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Mejias wore authentic-looking DEA badges, carried a firearm and reportedly told several people that he was a DEA agent. He also posted photos of himself on social media websites wearing DEA clothes, a DEA badge, and a firearm. In September 2013, local police officers conducted a traffic stop on Mejias and he displayed a DEA badge and credentials to get out of the ticket. During a later search of Mejias’s residence, agents found a loaded semi-automatic firearm.
Mejias was convicted of three separate felony burglaries in 1994, 1995, and 1996, and was therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bruce S. Ambrose.
Ohio Man Sentenced on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Steven Boffman, 53, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 53 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Everardo A. Rodriguez, who handled the case, stated that Boffman was indicted in August 2010 along with seven others for their participation in a marijuana distribution organization responsible for the large scale distribution of marijuana in Rochester and Columbus, Ohio. Three of the co-defendants in the case, Andrew Wright, Richard Anderson, and Aston Johnson, were convicted in December 4, 2013 of murdering three men in Greece, N.Y. in furtherance of the marijuana conspiracy.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Todd Baxter, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian P. Boetig, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Mark Koss, Immigration of Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of James C. Spero, the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Acting Chief Michael Ciminelli.
Of St. joseph River Watershed SettlementsRead the Press Release
Hammond, Indiana - United States Attorney David Capp and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that the City of Mishawaka, Indiana has agreed to make an estimated $132.1 million worth of improvements to its combined sewer system to completely eliminate overflows of raw sewage to the St. Joseph River during a typical year of rainfall.
The improvements that Mishawaka will implement to its sewer system under the consent decree announced today will provide major public health and environmental benefits.Currently, Mishawaka annually discharges into the St. Joseph River an estimated 111 million gallons of raw sewage.After implementing the improvements required under the settlement, Mishawaka will completely eliminate all raw sewage discharge events during a typical year of rainfall.The State of Indiana is a co-plaintiff and a signatory to the proposed consent decree.
The settlement with Mishawaka completes a trio of settlements; first with the City of Elkhart approved by the Court on November 30, 2011; then with South Bend approved by the Court on May 2, 2012; and finally with Mishawaka, lodged with the Court today for public comment pursuant to the Clean Water Act.The three settlements require sewer system improvements at an estimated cost of $800 million.The sewer system improvements are expected to reduce annual raw sewage discharges by over 1.1 billion gallons.The reduced discharges will result in preventing over 700,000 pounds of pollutants from entering the St. Joseph River each year.
All three communities have combined sewer systems that collect and convey stormwater, sanitary sewage, and other pollutants to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). During wet weather events, and during some dry weather time periods, a portion of the sewage that flows through combined sewer systems is not conveyed all the way to the WWTPs; instead the raw sewage is discharged into the St. Joseph River through outfalls activated when the waste water flow exceeds the capacity of the collection, conveyance, and treatment capabilities of the combined sewer system.
“The trio of Clean Water Act settlements concluded today will result in historic and permanent water quality improvements to the St. Joseph River and Lake Michigan that will benefit this region for decades to come,” said United States Attorney David Capp.“Mishawaka’s commendable commitment to completely eliminate raw sewage discharges during a typical year of rainfall, combined with the commitments of South Bend and Elkhart, will pay off in better protection of public health and a cleaner river and Great Lake for all to enjoy.”
“When the Cities of Mishawaka, South Bend, and Elkhart complete the work they have agreed to in these three settlements, the water in the St. Joseph River and Lake Michigan will be cleaner and healthier,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator / Great Lakes National Program Manager Susan Hedman.
“Mishawaka has made great progress in eliminating pollution from its CSOs and improving the quality of the St. Joseph River,” said Thomas Easterly, IDEM Commissioner.“The City’s continued commitment to further reductions will mean healthier neighborhoods for all downstream communities who use the St. Joseph River for fishing, recreation, and as a drinking water source.”
“Protecting our rivers and streams is an important shared responsibility.The settlement is fair to all sides and the City of Mishawaka has agreed to uphold its environmental obligations.Ultimately the public -- those who live and work near the river – will benefit from these planned improvements,” said Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, whose office serves as legal counsel to State government.
Today’s settlement is the latest in a series of Clean Water Act settlements that will reduce raw sewage discharges into the United States’ rivers, streams, and lakes.The settlement requires Mishawaka to pay a civil penalty of $28,000 for those Clean Water Act violations, which will be divided equally between the United States and the State of Indiana. Keeping raw sewage and contaminated storm water out of the waters of the United States is one of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives for 2011 to 2014.The initiative focuses on reducing discharges from sewer overflows by obtaining cities’ commitments to implement timely affordable solutions to these problems, including the increased use of green infrastructure and other innovative approaches.
This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Wayne Ault and EPA Senior Counsel Thomas Kenney. Elizabeth Admire, an attorney for IDEM, served as counsel for co‑plaintiff State of Indiana.
The consent decree was lodged in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.The consent decree will be subject to a 30‑day public comment period and subsequent judicial approval, and will be available on the Justice Department website at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html
Moorhead Man and Two Co-defendants Sentenced in Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Feb. 12, 2014, Juan Cerna, 26, Moorhead Minn., was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Ralph R Erickson, to 18 ½ years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance.
The conspiracy involved the transportation of kilogram quantities of methamphetamine from Texas that were distributed in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Co-conspirators also obtained large quantities of marijuana from the Minneapolis area and distributed throughout the local area.
Judge Erickson also sentenced two other members of the Cerna organization for their involvement in the conspiracy. Steven Schmidt, 35, Fargo N.D., was sentenced to five years in the conspiracy, and
Brandon Elsenpeter, 26, Fargo N.D. was sentenced to three years’ probation for his involvement. All three men were ordered to pay $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims Fund in addition to their sentence. Juan’s brother, David Cerna Jr., pleaded guilty during trial and will be sentenced on April 14, at 10:00 a.m. U.S. District Court.The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Fargo and Moorhead Police Departments, and Cass County Drug Task Force.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Myers and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Shasky prosecuted the cases.
Mission Woman Charged with Fraudulently Altered Money OrderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Fraudulently Altered Money Order.
Jamie Walking Eagle, age 27, was indicted on August 21, 2013. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on February 10, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 5 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge stems from an incident that took place on November 5, 2012, when Walking Eagle fraudulently passed a United States Postal Money Order purchased by another individual that was made payable to Estes Park Court in the amount of $215.00. Walking Eagle had altered it to be made payable to her.
The charge is merely an accusation and Walking Eagle is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie H. Ruettgers is prosecuting the case.
Walking Eagle was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Mexican National Sentenced to More Than Fifteen Years for Trafficking Methamphetamine in RoswellRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Hector Ruiz, 34, a Mexican national from Jalisco, Mexico, was sentenced late yesterday afternoon in Las Cruces federal court to 188 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, 5th Judicial District Attorney Janetta B. Hicks, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph A. Arabit of the El Paso Division of the DEA.
Ruiz, who was an undocumented alien illegally in the United States, and his co-defendant Mario Alvarez, also of Roswell, were arrested on Sept. 14, 2012, on a criminal complaint alleging methamphetamine trafficking charges. A three-count indictment subsequently was filed charging Ruiz and Alvarez with conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and charging Ruiz alone with another count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The indictment alleged that the offenses were committed in Roswell on Sept. 14, 2012.
According to court filings, on Sept. 14, 2012, the DEA and Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force conducted surveillance of Alvarez in Roswell based on a tip that he was planning to sell a pound of methamphetamine later that day in Artesia. After officers observed Alvarez meet with Ruiz, they executed a traffic stop on Alvarez’s vehicle and recovered a bag containing approximately one pound of methamphetamine hidden under the front passenger seat. During a post-arrest statement, Alvarez admitted he planned to deliver the methamphetamine to Artesia.
The officers then executed a search warrant at a Roswell residence where they recovered approximately three pounds of methamphetamine and $30,000, which Ruiz admitted belonged to him. After Ruiz was arrested, he admitted delivering a pound of methamphetamine to Alvarez earlier that day. Ruiz pled guilty to all three counts of the indictment on June 27, 2013.
Alvarez pled guilty to the two counts in the indictment against him on Feb. 8, 2013. He remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Alvarez faces a maximum sentence of not less than five and not more than 40 years in prison when he is sentenced.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald F. Moore, Jr., who is also an Assistant District Attorney in the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
The case was brought 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.
Memphis Woman Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Sylvia Denise Cathey, 46, of Memphis, TN, was sentenced yesterday to 57 months in federal prison following her guilty plea to one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III.
According to the facts alleged in the indictment and revealed in open court, Cathey was engaged in a mortgage fraud scheme that utilized third parties as “straw” buyers. As part of her plea agreement, Cathey admitted that on March 22, 2007, she knowingly sent a package of fraudulent documents to Chase Bank USA. She further admitted that on July 12, 2007, $11,517.48 was transferred to her company, Preferred Title and Escrow, as part of another fraudulent transaction.
In addition to the prison sentence, Senior U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla ordered Cathey to serve three years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service, and to either pay a $5,000 dollar fine or make at least $5,000 in restitution to the victims of her scheme.
This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Cotten represented the government.Man Pleads Guilty to Swindling Millions from Investors in Golf Course SchemeRead the Press Release
RENO, Nev. – A man who fraudulently convinced 11 persons to loan him a total of $3.6 million for the purchase of a golf course near Gardnerville, Nev., pleaded guilty today to 24 federal felony charges, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Scott H. Summerhays, 55, formerly of the South Lake Tahoe area, but currently in custody in Reno, pleaded guilty during the first day of trial to 14 counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, two counts of identity theft, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Summerhays, who was indicted in February 2012, faces over 30 years in prison and fines of up to $5.7 million, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks.
“This is the second person to be convicted or sentenced of federal investment fraud charges in the northern Nevada area this week,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “In both cases, the defendants led their victims to believe that they were legitimate businessmen and used fraudulent documents to support their scheme. If you are considering a financial arrangement with someone, be sure to check the veracity of any documents they provide you, as fraudulent documents are common and easy to create.”
According to the court records, during 2008 to 2010, Summerhays represented to potential investors that he was purchasing the Genoa Lakes Golf Club located west of Gardnerville, Nev. for $17 million and needed a short term loan to complete the deal because his own money was tied up in a trust. Summerhays also represented to the potential investors that he solicited funds for oil and gas investments in Texas and owned over $30 million in Berkshire, Las Vegas Sands and MGM stocks. Summerhays showed some of the investors a fraudulent investment account statement. Summerhays also claimed that he was in partnership with Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Aldelson, and showed potential investors a partnership agreement containing the forged signature of Adelson. In reality, Summerhays had no investment portfolio, and Adelson never heard of Summerhays or had any partnerships with him. Using this scheme, Summerhays was able to convince 11 persons to loan him money for the golf course, totaling approximately $3.6 million. None of the investors were repaid and they lost all of the money they loaned Summerhays.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ronald C. Rachow and Megan Rachow.
This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.MPRI Inc. Agrees to Pay $3.2 Million for False Labor<br /> Charges on Contract to Support Army in AfghanistanRead the Press Release
MPRI Inc. has agreed to pay $3.2 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false labor charges on a contract to support the Army in Afghanistan, the Justice Department announced today. MPRI is a Chantilly, Virginia-based company.
“We will not tolerate contractors that bill for work that is not performed,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “The Department of Justice will pursue those who do not comply with the terms of their bargain with the government and restore to the taxpayers the full measure of funds falsely claimed.”
The government alleged that MPRI billed for employees who had not worked because they had been granted leave and were out of the country. The alleged false billing occurred between March 2005 and October 2010.Under its contract with the Army, MPRI was required to provide support to the Army in its efforts to re-design and build from scratch a new Afghan Defense Sector that would establish an Afghan national security system suitable for a modern Western military. Among other things, MPRI was required to provide support for program and financial management, development and implementation of core systems for the Afghan Ministry of Defense and General Staff, intermediate Commands, and sustaining institutions, training in logistics, acquisitions, installation management and intelligence.
“Our job with our partner agencies is to ensure that the government gets what it pays for,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Carter Stewart. “Our office will make every effort to ensure that government contractors submit claims in strict compliance with contract terms and take no liberties in the submission of claims for payment.”
The allegations arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Byron Scott Lankford under the False Claims Act, which permits private individuals to bring lawsuits on behalf of the government and to share in the proceeds of any settlement or judgment. MPRI employed Lankford in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009 as a finance officer and contract support official. Lankford will receive $576,000 as his share of the settlement amount.
The settlement announced today was the result of a coordinated effort by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio and an investigative team that included the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Defense Contract Audit Agency. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
The case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Lankford v. MPRI Inc., Case No. 10-193 (S.D. Ohio).Luzerne County Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Heroin and Cocaine from 2009 to 2013Read the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a former Kingston resident pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to distributing heroin and cocaine during a four-year period.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the defendant, James Featherstone, age 33, admitted to distributing cocaine and heroin on multiple occasions in Luzerne County during January 2009 through September 2013.
The charge against Featherstone resulted from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Pennsylvania State Police, Kingston Police, and the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.
Featherstone faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
According to the terms of the plea agreement filed in the case, the government and the defendant will recommend that Featherstone be sentenced to between 163 months and 188 months in prison. Sentencing will occur in May 2014.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Local In-Home Healthcare Provider Indicted on Bank Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – TINA KUEHL was indicted on bank fraud charges involving her fraudulent statements involving payment of a bank loan.
According to the indictment, in December 2010, Kuehl’s mother obtained a $305,000 property loan from the Community Bank of Owensville, MO, a branch of the Maries County Bank. Both Kuehl and her mother are listed on the deed of trust for the property. Kuehl made the loan payments using checks drawn on her personal bank accounts at several banks, including a business account in the name of Baby Boomers Health, LLC, which Kuehl owned and operated. On many occasions, they did not make timely payments on the loan and in July 2013, Maries Bank foreclosed on the property.The indictment alleges that after the foreclosure in July 2013, Kuehl devised a scheme to defraud Maries Bank by submitting fraudulent checks as proof that she had made loan payments to the bank. On six occasions, she changed the payee on copies of unrelated cancelled checks so that it would appear that she had made loan payments to Community Bank of Owensville. She allegedly continued the fraud by claiming to have made cash payments to a bank employee on two occasions. The bank employee was on sick leave on the day Kuehl claimed she made the first $4,000 cash payment to the employee at the bank. Kuehl claimed that she made a second cash payment of $6,900 to a bank employee at a truck stop.
Finally, the indictment states that Kuehl retained attorneys to represent her after the foreclosure, and falsely told them she had made payments by checks and cash, which the bank had not credited to her loan account. She also gave copies of the fraudulent documents, including the fraudulent checks, to her attorneys who presented the fraudulent documents to the bank.
Kuehl, of Ballwin, Missouri,, was indicted by a federal grand jury on February on one felony count of bank fraud. She is expected to appear in federal court today.If convicted, bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
In November 2013, Kuehl was indicted by a federal grand jury on five counts of health care fraud and one count of making false statements to federal agents. The trial of these offenses is scheduled for May 5, 2014.
This case was investigated by Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Dorothy McMurtry is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.Judge Sentences Harrisburg Man to 25 Years Imprisonment for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Harrisburg man described as a danger to the community was sentenced today by a federal judge to a long prison term for conspiracy and distribution of cocaine and crack.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Senior United States District Judge William Caldwell sentenced Dawan Maynard, age 41, of Harrisburg, to 25 years in prison. Judge Caldwell noted that Maynard’s criminal history including violence and firearms demonstrated his danger to the community. Furthermore, Maynard’s extensive prior periods of incarceration had failed to deter him from reengaging in criminal conduct. Maynard has prior convictions for robbery and attempted murder.
On September 12, 2013, Judge Caldwell sentenced co-defendant Michael Morris, age 46, of Harrisburg to 262 months in prison. At that sentencing proceeding, Judge Caldwell noted Morris’s three prior drug trafficking convictions. Both Maynard and Morris were convicted by a jury in April 2013.
The three-year investigation into the activities of Dawan Maynard was spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with Dauphin County Drug Task Force. The indictment charged Maynard and his co-conspirator with using threats of violence and intimidation to acquire cocaine from other area drug traffickers.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office publicly acknowledged and thanked the law enforcement agencies who assisted in this investigation and successful prosecution, including the Dauphin County Criminal Investigation Division, Middletown Bureau Police Department, Lower Paxton Township Police Department, the Harrisburg Bureau of Police, and the Pennsylvania State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Consiglio.
* * * *Joint Statement by Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on the Declassification of Additional Documents Regarding Collection Under Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance ActRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper released the following joint statement Wednesday:
“On Jan. 3, 2014, the Director of National Intelligence declassified and disclosed publicly that the U.S. government had filed an application with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court seeking renewal of the authority to collect telephony metadata in bulk, and that, on Jan. 3, 2014, the court renewed that authority. The Director of National Intelligence also announced that the Administration was undertaking a declassification review of the court’s Jan. 3 primary order.
“During his speech on Jan. 17, 2014, President Obama ordered a transition that will end the Section 215 bulk telephony metadata program as it currently exists, and establish a mechanism that preserves the capabilities this country needs without the U.S. Government holding this bulk data.
“As a first step in that transition, the President directed the Department of Justice to work with the FISC to ensure that, absent a true emergency, the telephony metadata can only be queried after a judicial finding that there is a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the selection term is associated with an approved international terrorist organization. The President also directed that the query results must be limited to metadata within two hops of the selection term instead of three. As previously announced on Feb. 6, 2014, to put these two changes into effect, the Department of Justice filed a motion with the FISC to amend its Jan. 3, 2014, primary order that renewed the authority to collect telephony metadata under Section 215. On Feb. 5, 2014, the FISC granted the motion.
“Following a declassification review by the Executive Branch, today the FISC released in redacted form the previously classified Jan. 3, 2014, primary order, signed by Judge Thomas Hogan, re-authorizing the collection of bulk telephony metadata under Section 215. The order re-affirms that the bulk telephony metadata collection is lawful. The authorization expires on Mar. 28, 2014. The FISC also released in redacted form the U.S. Government’s previously classified motion to amend the Jan. 3, 2014, primary order, as well as the previously classified Feb. 5, 2014, order granting that motion, signed by Judge Reggie Walton.
“The motion and two orders are available at the FISC’s website, www.uscourts.gov; the website of the Department of Justice, www.justice.gov; the website of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, www.dni.gov; and ODNI’s public website dedicated to fostering greater public visibility into the intelligence activities of the Government, IContheRecord.tumblr.com.”
Jerome Woman Admits Using U.S. Mail in Immigration Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Defendant Falsely Represented Herself as Immigration Attorney to Collect “Fines and Fees” from Victims
BOISE – Celia Perez, 40, of Jerome, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to two counts of using the mail to execute an immigration services fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, Perez admitted that she falsely represented herself as an immigration attorney and solicited fees from clients for immigration services that she never provided. The scheme ran from 2006 through 2013. As part of the scheme to defraud, Perez sent her clients invoices requesting money for “fines and fees,” that she claimed were due and owing to various U.S. Government agencies for immigration benefits applications. The clients then sent money, by certified checks and money orders, to Perez at her U.S. Post Office Box in Wendell, Idaho, through the use of the U.S. Mail. Perez never filed any applications for immigration benefits with any U.S. Government agencies, nor were any fines or fees ever owed by the clients for immigration benefits applications. Rather, Perez used the money paid by the clients for her own purposes.
According to the plea agreement, during the investigation, Perez voluntarily met with agents of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and admitted that she had engaged in the fraud scheme for several years. Perez further admitted that she obtained money from victims identified in the plea agreement, but did not pay any fines or fees to U.S. Government agencies as she had represented. Instead she used the money for her own purposes. Perez admitted that the amount of loss resulting from her fraud scheme is greater than $300,000, but less than $400,000. Perez also admitted that she opened approximately 12 credit card accounts, and obtained a student loan in the name of a relative. The government is seeking forfeiture of assets and restitution for victims of the fraud.
“Ms. Perez took advantage of those who dreamed of U.S. citizenship,” said Olson. “She took their money but was never in a position to assist them in obtaining immigration benefits. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners are committed to vigorously pursuing this kind of fraud. We are committed to protecting the integrity of the United States immigration system and those who lawfully seek benefits through that system.”
Anyone who wants to notify the government that he or she was a victim of Celia Perez’s fraud scheme should send a written statement, with details and supporting documents, to Special Agent Richard Cross, Homeland Security Investigations, at 1185 S. Vinnell Way, Boise, Idaho 83709-1656.
Each count of mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for April 29, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
Jefferson County Man Guilty of Drug Trafficking ViolationsRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT, Texas – A 25-year-old Port Arthur, Texas man has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Michael Joseph Barrett IV pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Feb. 11, 2014 before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone.
According to information presented in court, on Feb. 19, 2013, law enforcement officers responded to a residence on 32nd Street in Port Arthur after receiving information regarding suspected manufacture of methamphetamine at the location. Consent to search was obtained and a search of the premises revealed a small amount of cocaine, a semi-automatic pistol, and various items associated with methamphetamine manufacture, including a three liter bottle containing a methamphetamine mixture. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Dec. 4, 2014, charging Barrett with drug trafficking violations.
Barrett faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Port Arthur Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall L. Fluke.
Jefferson City Man Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges related to receiving and attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet.
Dustin Clay Trail, 32, of Jefferson City, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City.
Today’s indictment alleges that Trail received child pornography over the Internet on Sept. 3, 2013. The indictment also charges Trail with attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet on Sept. 4, 2013, and with possessing child pornography from May 2013 to Oct. 31, 2013.
The indictment contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Trail to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offenses, including a desktop computer, three hard drives and CDs.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the FBI, the Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
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."Jefferson City Couple Sentenced for Illegal Firearms, Tampering with EvidenceRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., husband and wife were sentenced in federal court today for the husband’s illegal possession of firearms and the wife’s tampering with evidence.
Andrew David Brandwein, 39, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 10 years in federal prison without parole, the maximum penalty for violating the federal statute.
Brandwein was found guilty of being a felon in possession of firearms on Aug. 14, 2013. Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Brandwein was in possession of six firearms – a Marlin .22 magnum caliber rifle, a Harrington and Richardson .223-caliber rifle, a Weatherby .300 SBY Mag. rifle, a New England Firearms 10-gauge shotgun, a Rossi .30-06 Springfield rifle and a Harrington and Richardson .410 shotgun – on Jan. 8, 2011.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Brandwein has three prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and prior felony convictions for attempting to manufacture a controlled substance, possession of a precursor drug with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a concealable firearm and the distribution, delivery, sale or manufacture of a controlled substance.
His wife, Debra Louise Brandwein, 55, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison without parole. Debra Brandwein pleaded guilty on Aug. 9, 2013, to tampering with evidence. She admitted that she cleaned two jars that contained methamphetamine in order to protect her husband from prosecution.
Law enforcement officers were dispatched to the Brandwein’s residence on Jan. 8, 2011, when a large barn on the property caught on fire. Officers knocked on the door but received no response. After they used the keys from a truck parked near the barn to enter the house, Andrew Brandwein came out of the back bedroom, and appeared disoriented and confused. Debra Brandwein arrived at the residence a short time later. While in the residence, officers found five firearms sitting on the floor next to a television stand. There was also a loaded Harrington and Richardson .223 rifle lying on the ground next to the truck near the barn.
Andrew Brandwein was arrested; officers found several .223 shells and $2,458 in his pants pockets.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Berry. It was investigated by the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Osage Fire Protection District, MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team And Narcotics Group) and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Hogsett Announceswarrick County Woman Sentenced for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
Bookkeeper sentenced to 21 months after stealing nearly $150,000 from local business
INDIANAPOLIS – The United States Attorney, Joseph H. Hogsett, announced today that Cindy L. McDaniel, age 42, of Boonville, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young following her guilty plea to bank fraud and filing false tax returns. The suspected embezzlement was reported to law enforcement and investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division.
“When those in positions of trust cheat on their taxes, it affects all Hoosiers,” said Hogsett. “We take these crimes seriously and have made them a priority in this office.”
“All Americans have a duty to pay their fair share,” IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, James Lee stated. “The prosecution of Ms. McDaniel and others who conceal income and evade taxes is a vital element in maintaining the confidence in our tax system.”
McDaniel pleaded guilty to the offense immediately before sentencing. At the time of her guilty plea, McDaniel admitted that between June 1, 2009, and July 4, 2011, she was employed as a bookkeeper and office manager for Concrete Pavers, Inc. She used unique user names and passwords to access the company’s bank account, she then deposited the money into her personal checking account and that of her husband. As a result of her actions, approximately $149,000 earmarked for the purpose of paying employee’s withholding tax was never properly deposited or claimed on her individual tax returns.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge Young ordered McDaniel to serve a period of four years of supervised release after release from imprisonment. Judge Young also ordered McDaniel to pay restitution in the amount of $149,000 to Concrete Pavers and $29,033 to the Internal Revenue Service. ###
Greece Man Sentenced for Sexually Exploiting A ChildRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Terrance Junot, III, 37, of Greece, N.Y., who was convicted of online enticement of a minor, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci. The defendant was also placed on supervised release for 10 years upon his release. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who handled the case, stated that the defendant engaged in a series of sexually explicit online communications with a 13 year old child who was a family friend. During those communications, Junot repeatedly talked about having sex with the child, and persuaded her to produce sexually explicit photographs of herself which he then made her send to him over the internet. The defendant also sent sexually explicit photos of himself to the child during these chats in order to groom and manipulate her into sending her photos to him. The government noted at sentencing that the defendant would spend time with the victim’s parents during the day bowling, while at the same time sexually exploiting their 13 year old daughter at night without their knowledge.
The case came to the attention of law enforcement after the child's mother found naked photos of the defendant on her child's phone. The parent recognized Junot and took the phone to the Greece Police who began an investigation. When the defendant learned that law enforcement would be investigating, he erased all the photos, chats, and even the chat program he used to solicit and entice the child from his cell phone. This conduct resulted in a sentencing enhancement for obstruction of justice.
In the course of their investigation, Greece Police executed several search warrants and searched the victim's cell phone. Following their discovery of sexually explicit pictures of the victim, Greece Police contacted the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force for assistance. This team, made up of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations, as well as officers from the Rochester Police Department and deputies from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, continued the investigation, conducted forensic searches of the digital equipment in the case and ultimately arrested the defendant on federal charges.
“It’s a message that I share with parents and guardians every chance I get, please keep a very close eye on what your children do online and on their cell phones,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “The mother of the victim in this case did just that and now the predator that victimized her child will be spending many years behind bars. Let this case serve as an example to other parents to be on alert and if you suspect a problem, please contact police.”
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 sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Officers of the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Todd Baxter, Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian P. Boetig, Special Agents of Homeland Security Investigations under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Spero, Officers of the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Acting Police Chief Michael Ciminelli, and Deputies from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn.
Gang Member from Hollygrove Area, Norman Ratcliff, Sentenced to 33 Years in Prison on Federal Rico, Drug, and Murder ChargesRead the Press Release
NORMAN RATCLIFF, a/k/a “Turk”, 21, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. to serve 396 months in prison for violating federal RICO, drug conspiracy, firearms conspiracy, and murder charges, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. RATCLIFF was a member of a gang from the Hollygrove area of the city that was involved in several shootings and murders in recent years. To date, all but one of the indicted members of this gang have pled guilty and have been sentenced. The last remaining co-defendant, Walter Conley, is scheduled to be sentenced on February 26, 2014.
RATCLIFF had previously pled guilty to RICO conspiracy, drug conspiracy, and participating in the drive-by shooting that resulted in the murder of Ms. Eula Mae Ivey on June 14, 2010.
A thirty-four count second superseding indictment was returned on November 16, 2012, charging Walter Conley, a/k/a “Ike Neezy”; Tyronne Stevenson, a/k/a “Duke”; Theron Golston, a/k/a “Thema”; Bernell Williams a/k/a “Bussy”, a/k/a “A-Boogie”; Carey Jones, a/k/a “Bean”; and Mark Glenn with participating in a RICO conspiracy, drug conspiracy, firearms conspiracy, and several substantive acts of violence.
Co-defendant Ryan Carroll pled guilty to participating in the RICO conspiracy and to discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and a crime of violence. On October 16, 2013, he was sentenced to serve 210 months in federal prison.
Co-defendant Theron Golston was sentenced to life in prison on November 20, 2013 for his participation in the RICO conspiracy, the murder of Aaron Allen, and the drive-by murder of Ms. Eula Mae Ivey.
Co-defendants Tyronne Stevenson and Mark Glenn also pled guilty to various charges in the indictment, which included non-fatal shootings and were sentence back on December 11, 2013. Stevenson and Glenn were sentenced to serve 360 and 300 months, respectively.
Co-defendant Carey Jones was sentenced to life in prison on January 22, 2014.
“Ratcliff and his co-defendants were responsible for terrorizing the streets of New Orleans,” stated United States Attorney Polite. “Today’s lengthy sentence underscores that our community is fed up with violence in our neighborhoods. Those who perpetrate such violence are on notice: you will be held accountable for your actions.”
Mr. Polite thanked the federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (A.T.F.) who took the lead role in this investigation and who have been steadfast in their resolve to bring these violent offenders to justice. He also thanked the other members of the MAG UNIT who worked on this case and renewed the USAO’s commitment to assist the MAG UNIT in targeting these types of violent offenders.
The Multi-Agency Gang Unit is an N.O.P.D. led division which includes federal agents from A.T.F., the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as participants from the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana State Police, State Probation and Parole, and the New Orleans District Attorney’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Maurice E. Landrieu, Jr.
Four Individuals Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with Participating in A Multi-State Robbery Crew That Stole More Than $1 Million in Luxury Watches and Other GoodsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and William Bratton, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a five-count Complaint yesterday charging four members of a robbery crew operating across New York, New Jersey, and Virginia with robbery conspiracy and robberies of high-end jewelry and watch stores, resulting in the theft of more than a million dollars in watches. Specifically, ALLEN WILLIAMS, 35, ROBERTO GRANT, 33, TERRELL RATLIFF, 22, and TYRONE DEHOYOS, 35, have each been charged with robbery conspiracy and one or more substantive robberies. DEHOYOS was arrested yesterday in Brooklyn, New York, and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck. DEHOYOS was ordered detained pending trial. WILLIAMS, GRANT, and RATLIFF were all previously arrested by the NYPD and are expected to be transferred into federal custody to be presented on the charges contained in the Complaint.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, the defendants engaged in violent robberies of luxury jewelry stores in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. They allegedly combined forethought with force, scouting out their targets and then terrorizing customers and employees by smashing display cases with hammers and stealing high-end timepieces. They will now face the consequences of their violent shopping spree.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos said: “From Cartier on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue to the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, the defendants left no rock unturned, carrying out a series of brazen midday smash-and-grab robberies of high-end jewelers up and down the East Coast. It took sophisticated, modern crime fighting techniques to tie the heists together. Today, we see the result of diligent work by law enforcement from Virginia to New York to stop this violent, skilled crime syndicate.”
Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said: “Thanks to the collaborative efforts of investigators and prosecutors assigned to this case, four members of this smash and grab crew, which targeted businesses throughout New York City and in other states, have been shut down. Two of these criminals, Allen Williams and Roberto Grant, were quickly apprehended by members of the NYPD after they brazenly walked into a Manhattan Cartier store and stole more than $700,000 worth of watches.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint and statements made in court today:
Between approximately July 1, 2013, and January 30, 2014, a highly organized crew engaged in a series of violent robberies of high-end jewelry and watch stores located in three states, while customers and employees were in the stores, and stole more than a million dollars in luxury watches.
The robberies followed a simple but brazen pattern: On each occasion, three to five members of the crew entered a jewelry or watch store, began smashing glass display cases with hammers, grabbed luxury watches from those display cases, and then fled within minutes of entering the store into waiting getaway cars driven by members of the robbery crew. Each robbery occurred during business hours while store employees and customers were present. The crew used violence as necessary to carry out the scheme. For example, during one robbery in August 2013 in Richmond, Virginia, the robbers used a handheld stun gun to subdue a female store employee before fleeing with more than $100,000 in watches.
Among the stores robbed by the crew are: Cartier in Manhattan, New York; the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Schwarzschild’s Jewelers in Richmond, Virginia; and Martin Jewelers in Cranford, New Jersey.
All four of the defendants are charged in Count One of the Complaint, conspiracy to commit robbery in interstate commerce, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. WILLIAMS and GRANT are also charged with each of the robberies in interstate commerce in Counts Two through Five in the Complaint; RATLIFF is charged with the robbery in interstate commerce in Count Two of the Complaint; and DEHOYOS is charged with the robbery in interstate commerce in Count Four of the Complaint. Each of the substantive interstate robbery counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which brought charges against WILLIAMS and GRANT in connection with their participation in the January 30, 2014, robbery of Cartier. He also thanked the Richmond FBI Office and the Atlantic City Resident Agency of the Newark FBI Office, as well as the police departments of Cranford, New Jersey, Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Richmond, Virginia.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrea Griswold and Richard Cooper are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. Allen Williams, et al. Complaint
Former Youth Pastor at Church in Garland, Texas, Sentenced to 144 Months in Federal Prison on Child Pornography ConvictionRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Joshua Earls, 30, of Garland, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 144 months (12 years) in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release, following his guilty plea in October 2013 to one count of receipt of child pornography. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
According to the factual resume filed in the case, Earls admitted that while he was a youth pastor, he established a relationship with female minor at his church, “Jane Doe,” who at the time was 16-years-old.
In April 2013, Jane Doe disclosed the nature of her relationship with Earls to the Garland Police Department, and on April 9, 2013, law enforcement executed a search of Earl’s residence and seized several computers. An examination of those computers resulted in the identification of well over 600 images of child pornography, including images of Jane Doe.
Earls admitted that he exchanged nude pictures and videos with Jane Doe and possessed videos of her engaging in sexually explicit conduct, at his request. A forensic examination of Earls’ cell phone revealed text messaging between he and Jane Doe, in which he solicits, encourages and persuades her to produce pornographic images of herself and send them to him.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Garland Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Miller prosecuted.
Former St. Tammany Coroner, Peter Galvan, Sentenced for Conspiracy to Steal Funds from Coroner's OfficeRead the Press Release
PETER GALVAN, 54, a resident of St. Tammany Parish, and the former St. Tammany Parish Coroner, was sentenced today to serve 24 months in federal custody followed by one year of supervised release, fined $5,000, and ordered to pay restitution of at least $193,388. GALVAN pled guilty to conspiring to steal government funds from the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office on October 23, 2013, announced U. S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
According to the Factual Basis, the Bill of Information to which GALVAN pled guilty, and other court documents filed in federal court:
GALVAN earned annual or sick leave to which he was not entitled. However, with the assistance of another coroner’s office employee, GALVAN received yearly payments for unused annual and sick leave, totaling $111,376 over a five year period.
GALVAN, as a physician, individually contracted with the City of Slidell, Louisiana to provide medical services for inmates of the Slidell City Jail. The contract was not with the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office, but with GALVAN personally. However, GALVAN conspired with another individual employed with the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office to service this contract while the other individual was supposed to be working for and was being paid by the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office. The Coroner’s Office employee was paid at least $50,000 in public funds to fulfill GALVAN’s personal contract.
Additionally, GALVAN conspired with an employee of the coroner’s office to purchase a $9,170 generator for GALVAN’s personal vessel, a life raft and life jackets for his personal vessel valued at $4,841, and a Global Positioning Satellite Receiver for his personal use valued at $2,395, all with St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office funds.
Finally, GALVAN used his St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office credit card to make purchases of meals and other personal items with his public credit card totaling $15,606 which were unrelated to the office’s business.
The investigation of the St. Tammany Coroner’s Office is continuing.
“Members of this community, and indeed residents of this entire state, are tired of corruption and the negative effect it has on our reputation, economic development, and quality of life,” stated United States Attorney Polite. “Our residents expect that elected officials will provide honest services to the public, not use their offices or titles to enrich themselves. We expect, and will no longer tolerate, anything less.”
Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New Orleans Field Office, Michael Anderson stated: “This conviction clearly highlights the significant importance of the continuous engagement of the local citizenry to support law enforcement’s priority mission to address fraud, corruption and betrayals of public trust.”
“Today's sentencing of Dr. Peter Galvan again emphasizes the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement partners will continue their aggressive pursuit of those who defraud the public and divert public money for personal use." said Gabriel L. Grchan, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, New Orleans Field Office. "Honest taxpayers have been reassured today that no one is above the law."
Mr. Polite praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, and the State of Louisiana Legislative Auditor.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Fraud Unit, Assistant United States Attorneys Carter K. D. Guice, Jr. and Chandra Menon.
Former Nightclub Owners Sentenced for Tax ViolationsRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Vincent Giamo and his wife Mary Giamo, both of Orchard Park, N.Y., who were convicted of tax violations, were sentenced by Chief U.S District Judge William M. Skretny. Vincent Giamo, who was convicted of tax evasion, was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Mary Giamo, who was convicted of aiding or assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, was sentenced to three years probation. The couple was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $671,840. The defendants have already paid $550,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who handled the case, stated that the defendants owned and operated a bar business, known as "Utopia" located at 228 Franklin Street. Between 2002 and 2005, Vincent Giamo maintained two sets of books for "Utopia." One set of books was used for the preparing and filing of the corporate tax returns and the other set of books reflected the true receipts and expenses for the business. The total amount of tax loss associated with the evasion is approximately $1,225,651. Mary Giamo, as an officer of the corporation, aided her husband Vincent Giamo in filing a false return for the taxable years 2004 and 2005. As a result the tax loss for those years was approximately $123,454.
The defendants also face civil penalties associated with the charges.
The sentencings are the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Criminal Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Toni Weirauch.
Former Erie Man Sentenced to 7+ Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing GunRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 80 months in prison on his conviction of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Michael Jerod Manning, 23.
According to information presented to the court, Manning possessed a firearm while being a convicted felon.
Assistant United States Attorney Christine A. Sanner prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Erie Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Manning.
According to Mr. Hickton, this case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent, deter, and prosecute gun crime.
Former Employee of Forty Fort GM Foodmart Store Pleads Guilty to Synthetic Marijuana ConspiracyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 26-year-old New Jersey resident who worked at a GM Foodmart store in Kingston, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the defendant, Manjinder Singh, also known as “Mintu,” admitted that he conspired with others to distribute synthetic marijuana from the store during January 2012 through July 2012.
The charge against Singh resulted from an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigative Division, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Pennsylvania State Police.
Singh faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. No date for sentencing was scheduled.
The owner of the GM Foodmart store, Mastan Mathan, previously pleaded guilty to participating in a money laundering conspiracy connected to the sale of synthetic marijuana. He is waiting sentencing.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
****Former East Haven Police Sergeant Sentenced to Four Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that former East Haven Police Sergeant JOHN MILLER, 44, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to four months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for violating an individual’s civil rights by using unreasonable force during the course of an arrest. MILLER was also ordered to pay a $3000 fine.
This matter stems from a criminal investigation into members of the East Haven Police Department using excessive force during arrests, conducting unconstitutional searches and seizures, and filing false police reports. As a result of the investigation, MILLER and Officers Dennis Spaulding, Jason Zullo and David Cari were convicted of various civil rights offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on January 3, 2010, in the course of making an arrest, MILLER struck a handcuffed individual while the victim was in the secure custody of two other East Haven Police officers.
On September 21, 2012, MILLER pleaded guilty to one count of depriving an individual of his right to be free from the use of excessive force by a law enforcement officer.
Judge Thompson credited MILLER for his cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this matter and imposed a sentence below the recommended sentencing guidelines range of 12 to 18 months of imprisonment.
MILLER, who has retired from the East Haven Police Department, was ordered to report to prison on March 13.
On October 23, 2012, Jason Zullo pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction stemming from his filing of a false police report in order to prevent a possible excessive force investigation. On December 16, 2013, he was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment.
On October 21, 2013, David Cari was found guilty of one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of deprivation of rights for making an arrest without probable cause, and one count of obstruction of a federal investigation for preparing a false report. On January 21, 2014, he was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment.
On October 21, 2013, Dennis Spaulding was found guilty of one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer, two counts of deprivation of rights for making arrests without probable cause, and two counts of obstruction of a federal investigation for preparing false reports to justify the false arrests. On January 23, he was sentenced to 60 months of imprisonment.
This matter was investigated by the Civil Rights Squad of the FBI’s New York Field Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Krishna R. Patel and Senior Litigation Counsel Richard J. Schechter.
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[email protected]Former Doctor Enters Guilty Plea to Child Pornography Distribution ChargesRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that David H. Scanlan III, a former physician-in-training in pediatric oncology at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, pleaded guilty to child pornography distribution charges today in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg. Scanlan was charged last week in a one-count criminal Information.
The plea was entered in open court before U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III in Harrisburg. Judge Jones accepted the plea, adjudicated Scanlan guilty of the charge, and ordered a Presentence Report.
Judge Jones told Scanlan that the plea agreement made between him and the Government is not binding on the court, and that he can sentence Scanlan up to the maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
Scanlan was released pending sentencing, but was ordered that he be confined to his residence in Virginia under electronic monitoring by the U.S. Probation Office, except for approved absences such as employment and medical appointments.
Judge Jones warned Scanlan that any deviation from the conditions of release would be reported to him immediately and subject Scanlan to severe consequences. Sentencing likely will take place this summer.
The case was investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Pennsylvania State Police, and Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James T. Clancy.
Former Columbus Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Embezzling from Defense Department Surplus ProgramRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
COLUMBUS – Former Columbus Police Officer Steven Edward Dean, 49, of Columbus, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to misappropriating and selling heavy equipment and other property the Columbus Division of Police received through a Department of Defense surplus program.
Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Brian Reihms, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the pleas entered today before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.
According to court documents, an investigation by the Columbus Division of Police, the FBI and DCIS concluded that between October 1, 2005 and June 1, 2012, Dean diverted property with a fair market value of $251,570.94 the police department had received from the Defense Reutilization Marketing Office (DRMO) program.
The embezzled items included $133,554.59 of heavy equipment, construction equipment and vehicles, restaurant equipment, $94,163.25 of materials sold for scrap, and $16,353.15 worth of items sold to private persons including diesel generators. This conclusion was based on records obtained from the U.S. Department of Defense DRMO program, the State of Ohio offices involved with the DRMO program, scrapyard receipts, Craigslist online point-of-sale website records, restaurant supply records of sold equipment, and by viewing the items of property themselves.
Dean pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from a program receiving federal funds and one count of theft of public property. Each crime carries a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment, but the plea agreement specifies that the sentences should be groups and not imposed consecutively. Under terms of the plea agreement, Dean will forfeit $251,570.94 less the value of the recovered equipment.
Judge Watson will schedule a sentencing hearing following a pre-sentence investigation by the court.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by DCIS, the FBI and CPD, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Doug Squires and Deborah Solove, who are representing the United States in this case.
Former Attorney Indicted for Lying to Federal Investigators About His Role in A Million-Dollar Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed charging disbarred New York attorney Barry Stephen Zornberg with lying to federal investigators about his role in a foreclosure rescue fraud scheme.1 The scheme ensnared at least ten families, defrauding them of approximately $1.3 million in home equity and causing some of them to lose their homes. If convicted, Zornberg faces up to five years’ of imprisonment.
The charges, arrests and seizures were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Office of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
“As set forth in the indictment, the defendant, a disbarred attorney, lied to federal investigators about the role that he played in this fraud scheme, which took advantage of people who were looking to save their homes from foreclosure. A law license is not a license to steal or lie,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We are committed to protecting our communities from the abuses of fraud.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos stated, “All too often, desperate homeowners fall prey to dishonest foreclosure specialists, many of whom use their experience in mortgage-related industries to carry out their fraudulent schemes. Just as legitimate programs exist to assist distressed homeowners facing this dilemma, so too do con artists who make it their goal to capitalize on the misfortune of others. As alleged, the defendant knowingly exploited vulnerabilities in the foreclosure process, caused serious damage to a number of families, and lied to investigators about his role in the scheme. The FBI continues to support partnerships within the mortgage industry and law enforcement as we work together to combat this serious crime.”
USPIS Inspector-in-Charge Bartlett stated, “The defendant used the dream of home ownership and a fragile economy to lie and steal from trusting individuals. Postal Inspectors and their law enforcement partners used their investigative power and the justice system to ensure he is held accountable for his involvement in this illegal scheme.”
As alleged, the foreclosure rescue fraud was carried out from Empire Property Solutions, LLC ("Empire") in Bethpage, New York. Zornberg and two principals of Empire encouraged distressed homeowners to “refinance” their residences with Empire, when, in reality, the victims were tricked into transferring title to their homes to straw buyers and paying large fees to Empire. As part of this scheme, the victims lost title to their homes, valued in the aggregate at $4.3 million. Zornberg and his partners in the scheme extracted more than $1.3 million in equity from the victim families’ homes, leaving the victim families significantly worse off than when they asked for help. The straw buyers made no payments on the homes, causing the victims’ homes to go into default. Almost all of the victim homeowners face foreclosure due to the scheme and a number have been dispossessed.
As detailed in the indictment, when interviewed by federal investigators, Zornberg, the alleged architect of the scheme, falsely stated that he advised the victims to not continue with the scheme. In fact, he advised the opposite, thereby generating large fees for himself.
The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, February 12, 2014, at 3:00 p.m., before United States Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher A. Ott.
The Defendant:
BARRY STEPHEN ZORNBERG
Age: 54
Hauppauge, New York
_________________________________________________________________________
1 The charge in the indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Arlington, Texas, Police Officer Sentenced to One Year and One Day in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Unlawfully Accessed and Provided Law Enforcement Sensitive Information
to a Known Drug DealerDALLAS — Thomas S. Kantzos, 45, of Fort Worth, Texas, a former officer with the Arlington Police Department (APD), was sentenced this afternoon, by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn, to 12 months and one day in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2013 to an Indictment charging exceeding access to a protected computer. He was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 1, 2014. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
As an officer with the APD, Kantzos was authorized to access law enforcement information obtained through the Texas Crime Information Center (TCIC), the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunication System (TLETS), and he received specialized training on the authorized uses of the information, as well as the potential penalties for the misuse of such information. Personal use of such information, including releasing information to members of the general public, is not authorized and violates APD policy.
Prior to December 2011, Kantzos knew that “Person A” was an individual who trafficked in anabolic steroids. In fact, Kantzos had purchased anabolic steroids from Person A for both his own use and for the use of other APD officers. In November or December 2011, Person A suspected that he was under police surveillance.
On December 29, 2011, Person A saw a motor vehicle parked near his house and asked Kantzos to “run” the license plate because he was concerned that law enforcement was watching him and he didn’t want to get arrested for trafficking anabolic steroids. Kantzos, without a legitimate law enforcement purpose, used the computer in his patrol car, while he was on duty, to access the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) protected computer through TLETS, under the guise of conducting a stolen vehicle investigative inquiry. His computer inquiry automatically searched for information about that motor vehicle contained in law enforcement computers located in Texas and in other states, such as the NCIC computer.
Kantzos admitted he knew the use of this computer for this purpose exceeded authorized use. After Kantzos obtained the information about the vehicle, he relayed the information to Person A to help Person A avoid arrest, apprehension or disruption while Person A unlawfully trafficked in anabolic steroids. Person A recognized the name of the registered vehicle owner as a law enforcement officer. Thereafter, Person A decided to “lay low” to avoid arrest by law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas DPS. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Penley prosecuted.
First MS-13 Member Extradited from El Salvador to United States Convicted for Role in Attempted Murder of Two IndividualsRead the Press Release
One of the Seriously Wounded Victims Was Pregnant
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Edgar Benitez Hernandez, also known as “Shadow,” 25, of the District of San Miguel, El Salvador, pleaded guilty today to two counts of using and discharging a firearm during or in relation to attempted murder in aid of racketeering. Benitez Hernandez was extradited from El Salvador to the United States on Dec. 18, 2013, and had been indicted previously by an Eastern District of Virginia grand jury on June 13, 2010, on multiple racketeering charges, including attempted murder.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Michael L. Chapman, Loudoun County Sheriff; and Maggie DeBoard, Town of Herndon Chief of Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Acting U.S. Attorney Boente stated, “The apprehension, extradition, and now conviction of this extremely violent gang member is indicative of both the cooperation and commitment of U.S. and Salvadoran law enforcement and prosecutors to bring to justice those criminals who commit violent acts on U.S. soil, even when the perpetrators flee the United States to the perceived safety of the Central American hills.”
“This case is an example of the hard work and partnership between FBI agents and police detectives who serve on the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force,” said Assistant Director Parlave. “Together with prosecutors, their efforts are essential to investigating violent gang members who attempt to instill fear in our communities and bringing those individuals to justice, wherever they may be.”
“The arrest and extradition of Benitez Hernandez is testimony to the importance of integrating local, federal and international law enforcement partners. It demonstrates a unified, international commitment to justice and in apprehending our most violent criminal suspects,” said Mike Chapman, Sheriff of Loudoun County.
Chief of Police DeBoard stated, “The passage of time does not deter nor diminish the efforts of local and federal law enforcement partners to seek out and prosecute those responsible for committing violence in our communities. This case serves as an example of law enforcement’s dedication in ensuring those responsible for violent crimes are brought to justice. It also highlights the invaluable partnership between the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force and local and federal agencies in this region.”
Benitez Hernandez, who now stands convicted of two counts of using and discharging a firearm during or in relation to attempted murder in aid of racketeering, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum period of 35 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 23, 2014.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Benitez Hernandez, a soldier in the notoriously violent transnational street gang Mara Salvatrucha 13 (“MS-13”), attempted to murder two individuals on Sept. 13, 2008, in Loudoun County, Va. On that date, Benitez Hernandez concealed himself behind some shrubs and when the male and pregnant female victims were within range, he fired multiple shots while yelling “Mara Salvatrucha Cabrones.” Both of the victims were critically injured and likely would have died were it not for immediate surgical intervention. The unborn baby also survived the wounding. Benitez Hernandez committed the double shooting to increase his position within MS-13’s criminal enterprise.
On May 22, 2013, Benitez Hernandez was apprehended in El Salvador by an elite Salvadoran investigative unit known as the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Task Force. This extradition marks the first time in recent history that a Salvadoran citizen has been extradited to the United States to be held accountable for gang-related crimes committed in the United States.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force, with assistance from the Town of Herndon Police Department. The United States law enforcement partners involved in the investigation and prosecution of Benitez Hernandez would like to thank the Salvadoran National Police for their outstanding assistance in bringing this fugitive to justice. Acting U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente also thanked the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in El Salvador, the Government of El Salvador, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, each of which were critical in securing the custody and extradition of Benitez Hernandez. Assistant United States Attorneys Patricia Haynes and Zach Terwilliger are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.District Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Distributing Large Quantities of PCP-Arrest Followed Investigation by MPD, ATF-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Donnell Brown, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 70-month prison term for distributing large quantities of Phencyclidine (PCP) in the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.
Brown pled guilty in October 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of unlawful distribution of 100 grams or more of a mixture or substance of PCP. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer. Upon completion of his prison term, Brown will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, in the fall of 2011, investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began an investigation into sales of PCP in the Montana Terrace housing area in Northeast Washington. Law enforcement officers were able to purchase large quantities of liquid PCP from several targets. The investigation showed that Brown sold PCP on eight different occasions, in various amounts, from November 2011 to July 2012.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the actions of all the MPD officers and ATF agents who participated in this arrest and the removal of drugs from the streets of Washington, D.C. He also acknowledged the work of those who handled the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Candace Battle and Legal Assistant Tammy Scott. Finally, he praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole who investigated and prosecuted the case.
14-038Disbarred Attorney Sentenced to 64 Months in Federal Prison for Defrauding Elderly Woman's EstateRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a former California lawyer, now disbarred, was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage yesterday for fraud.
Philip Eric Myers, 61, of Santa Barbara, California, was sentenced to 64 months in prison by Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline for stealing over one million dollars from an elderly woman’s estate. Meyers pled guilty on September 20, 2013, to one count of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Retta Randall, who prosecuted the case, Myers, an estate and trust attorney from California, along with co-defendant Brian Ben-Israel, a registered nurse residing in Anchorage and working at Meridian Psychiatric Consulting Group, met and befriended Mrs. Juanita Gielarowski. During the period of 2005 through 2008, Ben-Israel became a health care provider and “financial advisor” to Mrs. Gielarowksi and her daughter, Linda Stowers. Myers enabled Ben-Israel to gain control over assets of the Juanita V. Gielarowski Revocable Trust by creating a new trust where Ben-Israel was appointed a co-trustee. Ben-Israel and Myers, using their professional relationship with and influence over Mrs. Gielarowski, then diverted for their own personal benefit over two million dollars from the Gielarowski Trust, monies intended for her long-term care. Ultimately Myers and Ben-Israel depleted the Gielarowski Estate and properties owned by the Estate were lost due to foreclosure, causing Mrs. Gielarowski to be moved from her long established home to a state funded elder care facility where she died in July 2010.
At the time of sentencing in the federal case, Myers had been convicted in three separate cases of Theft from Elder or Dependent Adult in the State of California. In each of those cases he had embezzled money from Trusts he had established for his elderly clients. Myers was disbarred from the practice of law by the State of California on February 11, 2013.
In sentencing the defendant, Judge Beistline noted that Myers had a history of exploiting others and that his exploitation of the attorney/client relationship with a vulnerable victim, especially when a fiduciary duty was involved, was extremely serious. The goal of society is “to protect our elderly and our vulnerable,” and Myers has seriously “impacted” society’s view of the legal profession.
Myers was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,081,000.
Deirdre L. Fike, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Alaska, said, “The sentencing of Philip Eric Myers is the culmination of a cooperative effort involving the FBI, the IRS, Anchorage Police, the State of Alaska’s Elder Fraud Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This investigation demonstrates the FBI’s ongoing commitment to protecting Americans, particularly the elderly, from the type of fraud committed by Myers and his co-defendant Brian Amiel Ben Israel.”
Ms. Loeffler commends the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the Anchorage Police Department for the investigation of this case. Ms. Loeffler also commends the State of Alaska Office of Elder Fraud & Assistance who provided assistance in this investigation.Department of Justice Proposes Remedy to Address Bazaarvoice’s Unlawful Acquisition of PowerReviewsRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today submitted to the court a proposed remedy to address Bazaarvoice Inc.’s unlawful acquisition of PowerReviews Inc., following the Jan. 8, 2014, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California finding that Bazaarvoice violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act when it acquired PowerReviews, its closest and only serious competitor. The proposed remedy is intended to restore competition in the provision of online ratings and reviews.“Bazaarvoice’s unlawful acquisition of PowerReviews has deprived customers of the benefits of competition for 20 months,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The department’s proposed remedy will restore the competitive landscape by enabling another company to replicate the critical competitive role that PowerReviews would be playing today had it not been illegally acquired by Bazaarvoice.”
Since the merger closed, Bazaarvoice has not invested in research and development for the PowerReviews platform, and it has migrated customers away from the PowerReviews platform to its own product, the department said. The department’s proposed remedy, if approved by the court, requires Bazaarvoice to sell all of PowerReviews assets and contains other provisions to compensate for the deterioration of PowerReviews’ business. Under the department’s proposal, Bazaarvoice would be required to provide syndication services to the divestiture buyer, allowing the buyer to build its customer base and develop its own syndication network. Bazaarvoice would also be required to waive trade-secret restrictions for any of its employees who are hired by the divestiture buyer, enabling the buyer to leverage Bazaarvoice’s post-merger research and development efforts.
If the PowerReviews assets have diminished so significantly that the asset sale would not transfer a large number of customers to the divestiture buyer, Bazaarvoice would also be required to license a copy of its latest ratings and reviews platform to the divestiture buyer, under the proposed remedy. Additionally, the department is asking the court to appoint a special master to oversee the divestiture process and monitor Bazaarvoice’s compliance with its other obligations under the proposed remedy.On Jan. 10, 2013, the department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Bazaarvoice. The department alleged that Bazaarvoice’s June 2012 acquisition of PowerReviews eliminated the company’s only significant rival, in violation of the antitrust laws.
Bazaarvoice’s acquisition of PowerReviews was not required to be reported under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, which requires companies to notify and provide information to the department and the Federal Trade Commission before consummating certain acquisitions. The department began its investigation shortly after the transaction closed.
The department’s trial against Bazaarvoice, which was overseen by Judge William Orrick, began on Sept. 23, 2013. The trial lasted three weeks, with closing arguments taking place on Oct. 15, 2013. On Jan. 8, 2014, the court found that Bazaarvoice violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act by acquiring its primary rival, PowerReviews.
Bazaarvoice’s opposition to the department’s proposed remedy must be filed with the court by March 5, 2014. If the court determines that a hearing is necessary, it will be held on April 2, 2014.
Denver Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion, Admits to Making False Statements to the IRSRead the Press Release
Abdelhamid M. Horany, 58, of Denver, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson in federal court in Denver to one count of tax evasion related to his 2007 individual income taxes, announced the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
As part of his plea, Horany admitted that he owned and operated Euphrates Pizza, doing business as Famous Pizza, in Denver from at least 2003 through 2007. He further admitted to willfully underreporting the income he received from his business by approximately $175,000 on his 2007 income tax return, which resulted in Horany underreporting his tax due and owing by over $60,000 for 2007. In total, for tax years 2005 through 2007, Horany admitted that he underreported his tax due and owing by more than $145,000. Horany further admitted to making false statements to an IRS Revenue Agent regarding his tax liabilities.
According to court documents, Horany was indicted in July 2012 after he had fled the United States to his native country of Jordan, and was arrested in October 2013 when he returned on a flight and was ordered detained as a flight risk.
Sentencing was set for May 8, 2014, when Horany faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. In addition, according to the plea agreement, he has agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of at least $195,280.
The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation, and Trial Attorneys Hayden Brockett and Timothy Stockwell of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.