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25 February 2014
Shelby County Man Sentenced for Federal Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT, Texas – A 68-year-old Center, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
John Madison Hughes pleaded guilty on Oct. 2, 2013, to possessing a stolen firearm and was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark.
According to information presented in court, on Oct. 17, 2012, a law enforcement officer was dispatched to a residence on County Road (CR) 1286 in Shelby County, Texas regarding a domestic disturbance involving Hughes and his girlfriend. A sheriff’s deputy stopped Hughes’ truck on CR 1286 and detained Hughes pending further investigation. The deputy observed a rifle on the seat of Hughes’ truck. Hughes’ girlfriend told deputies the rifle belonged to her an Hughes took it without her consent. Hughes was indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 23, 2013, and charged with federal firearms violations.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Project Safe Neighborhoods is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, ammunition and body armor, and improving the safety of residents in the Eastern District of Texas. Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.This case was investigated by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
####Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to Nearly Nine Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Scott Niemic, 36, of Swansea, Mass., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence to 105 months in federal prison for committing five “note-job” bank robberies in Rhode Island and Massachuetts in a span of twenty-six days in March and April 2012. A “note-job” robbery occurs when a note demanding money is passed but no weapon is shown.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith also ordered Niemic to serve 3 years supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Niemic pleaded guilty on October 9, 2013, to five counts of bank robbery.
Niemic’s sentence was announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston field office of the FBI, and Warwick Police Chief Colonel Stephen M. McCartney.
At the time of his guilty plea, Niemic admitted to robbing a Plymouth, Mass., bank on March 22, 2012, of $4,923; a second bank in Plymouth on March 27 of $3,592; a Warwick, R.I., bank on April 3 of $8,100; a Bellingham, Mass., bank on April 10 of $5,045; and a Wellesley, Mass., bank on April 16 of $5,453.
According to information presented to the court, Niemic entered each of the banks wearing black wrap-around sunglasses and a baseball cap, and handed a note to a bank employee that stated that he was armed, that he was demanding money and that no dye packs were to be included with the cash. In some instances Niemic verbally told bank employees that he was armed. In four of the robberies, Niemic kept a cell phone to his ear purporting to be having a conversation with another person.
According to information presented to the court, investigators determined that the note left at the scene of the Warwick robbery on April 3 was written on a piece of paper torn from a receipt for motor vehicle excise taxes paid in Old Town, Maine. The investigation determined that the car was registered to Scott Niemic’s mother and that the defendant, who was living in Swansea, had possession of the vehicle. On April 4, police executed a court authorized search of the vehicle. Among the items seized was a piece of paper that matched the torn paper handed to the bank employee the day before. Police learned that Scott Niemic was also in possession of a second vehicle.
On April 23, 2012, an FBI agent who was a member of the law enforcement team investigating the bank robberies spotted Niemic operating a vehicle on Rte. 24 in Massachusetts and contacted Massachusetts State Police for assistance. A state trooper attempted to stop Niemic’s vehicle but Niemic refused to stop, instead fleeing onto the streets of Fall River. Niemic was apprehended after driving at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour and crashing his vehicle. Investigators recovered nearly $8,100 in cash from Niemic’s vehicle.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.
United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha acknowledged the cooperation and assistance in the prosecution of this case by the offices of Plymouth County, Mass., District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz; Norfolk County, Mass., District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey; and Worcester County, Mass., District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr.
The bank robberies were investigated by the FBI, and the Warwick, R.I., Plymouth, Mass., Bellingham, Mass., and Wellesley, Mass, Police Departments, with the assistance of Swansea and Westport, Mass., Police and the Massachusetts State Police.###
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Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Sequim Drug Trafficker Arrested Following High Speed ChaseRead the Press Release
The owner of ‘Sellin Style’ car dealership in Sequim, Washington was arrested on drug trafficking charges Sunday evening following a high speed chase that ended after two sets of spike strips were placed on the highway, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. TIMOTHY P. SMITH, 29, a long time Clallam County resident was charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, four counts of distribution of methamphetamine and maintaining a drug involved premises. Two of SMITH’s co-conspirators, KELSEY A. DAVIS and TAMMY R. COBURN were also charged in the case. SMITH remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, Washington. DAVIS is in federal custody with a detention hearing Thursday. COBURN is being sought by law enforcement.
“The charges in this case follow a lengthy investigation of Timothy Smith’s drug dealing in Clallam County,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “Federal law enforcement officers with ATF, FBI and DEA worked closely with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and other local partners to shut down the meth dealing which was a blight on the community. Smith and his cohorts now face significant federal sentences for their criminal conduct.”
“I am pleased that this complex investigation involving federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies has resulted in the arrest of a prolific drug dealer in Clallam County,” said Sheriff Bill Benedict. “This criminal enterprise has fueled too much personal misery and property crime in Clallam County. I am grateful to our federal partners in the DEA, FBI, ATF, and DOJ, as well as the Washington State Patrol, for the successful outcome in this operation.”
According to the criminal complaint and police reports on the arrest, SMITH and his cohorts were under investigation by law enforcement as early as February 2012. On multiple occasions SMITH, DAVIS and COBURN sold methamphetamine to a person working with law enforcement. SMITH sold methamphetamine on multiple occasions in June, July and August 2013 at his ‘Sellin Style’ car dealership on Old Blyn Highway near Sequim.
As part of an investigation and take down of a larger drug ring, supplying methamphetamine to SMITH and others, law enforcement arrested SMITH as he traveled back to Sequim on Sunday evening February 23, 2014. Shortly after SMITH and DAVIS’ vehicle crossed the Hood Canal Bridge, the Washington State Patrol pulled the car over. After initially stopping, SMITH sped away, traveling at speeds nearing 100 mph and weaving into the lane for oncoming traffic. Troopers noticed white bags tossed from the car. Inside was 1.6 pounds of suspected methamphetamine. The car hit one set of spike strips and continued on. After hitting a second set of spike strips the car came to a halt and SMITH and DAVIS were taken into custody.The charges contained in the complaint are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, DEA, and Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Task Force (OPNET) containing officers from Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Port Angeles Police Department, Sequim Police Department, Neah Bay Department of Public Safety, Elwha Klallam Police, LaPush Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol, the Washington Department of Corrections, Washington State Patrol and the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team (WestNet) which contains officers from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office and Poulsbo Police.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory A. Gruber.Pharmacist Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Obtaining $1.7 Million from Health Insurers for Drug He Never DispensedRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A Chicago pharmacist was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after being convicted at trial of collecting more than $1.7 million through false claims he submitted to insurance companies for a drug that he never dispensed and stealing the identities of unsuspecting pharmacy customers to make that money, which he used to finance a lavish lifestyle. The defendant, RONALD KIELAR, also created fake documents to make his false insurance claims appear legitimate.
Kielar, 76, of Mundelein, was a pharmacist at the former Cartagena Pharmacy, located in the 1500 block of West Devon Avenue, which was owned by his ex-wife. He was sentenced to five years in prison on six counts of health care fraud and one count of obstruction of justice, and received a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years on three counts of aggravated identity theft. Kielar, who was convicted on all 10 counts he was charged with at a trial last fall, was ordered to begin serving the 84-month sentence on June 10.
U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., who imposed the sentence on Friday, also ordered Kielar to pay more than $1.725 million in restitution and to forfeit nearly $78,000 in proceeds from the sale of property he owned in Florida.
According to court documents, Kielar used patients’ insurance information, including their names and dates of birth, to bill for the drug Procrit, which stimulates the production of red blood cells. These patients, however, were never prescribed Procrit, Kielar never provided them with the medication, and the patients never authorized the use of their insurance information to submit claims for payment. After he was indicted, Kielar forged prescriptions, patient receipts, and false invoices to make the insurance claims look legitimate. Between November 2004 and August 2010, Kielar submitted 603 false claims and received more than $1.7 million from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and the United Food and Commercial Workers Unions and Employers Midwest Health Benefit Fund.
“Each time [Kielar] hit the submit button on the pharmacy’s computer for a Procrit claim, he made a calculated choice: to lie to the victim insurance company who received, processed, and paid on the claim,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather McShain wrote in a sentencing memo. Kielar also betrayed a physician who had been his friend for 40 years and whose name and DEA registration number Kielar used without permission, as well as unsuspecting patients whose personal information he used.
Evidence showed that Kielar used proceeds from the fraud scheme to pay salaries to himself and his ex-wife, and then used those funds to pay mortgages on his home in Illinois, as well as properties in Florida and Arizona.
The sentence was announced today by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General in Chicago; and John Redmond, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather McShain and Steven J. Dollear.
Petersburg Fugitive Apprehended by U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task ForceRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Shawn Rives, 33, of Petersburg, Va., was arrested today on an outstanding federal warrant after failing to appear in court on November 7, 2013. Rives was indicted on October 16, 2013, and failed to appear before United States District Court Judge James R. Spencer for his arraignment. He is charged with two counts of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base and three counts of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride. If convicted, Rives faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison on each of the cocaine base counts and 20 years in prison on each of the cocaine hydrochloride counts.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jeffrey C. Mazanec, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Robert Mathieson, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Ray J. Tarasovic, Chief of Police for the City of Richmond Police Department, made the announcement.
The United States Marshal Service (USMS) Fugitive Task Force, in conjunction with the FBI, arrested Rives early this morning at the Southwood Apartments in Richmond, Virginia. According to an affidavit filed in the case, as the Fugitive Task Force made entry into the apartment, Rives kicked through the drywall of a closet in the residence, and squeezed through the wall, entering the bedroom of a five year old girl in the apartment next door where he attempted to hide.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the FBI and the Richmond Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller is 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.Pennsylvania Middle School Football Coach, School Cook and Summer Camp Counselor Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Attempted Online Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Michael J. Barndt, a/k/a “mikecoach73,” age 40, of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, in violation of federal law. Barndt also was sentenced to five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.
Prior to his arrest, Barndt had been employed as a chef manager at the Lakeside School in Horsham Township, Pennsylvania since 2009. Barndt also served for six years as the football coach at Springfield Township Middle School, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He last coached in 2012 – the last football season prior to his arrest. During the summer months, Barndt worked as a camp counselor at “Blue Bell Camp,” in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, where his duties including coaching football and driving children home from camp.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Barndt was arrested on June 19, 2013, after he traveled from his Pennsylvania home to the Concord Mall, in Wilmington, Delaware, to meet a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sexual activity. Barndt identified this supposed 14-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover federal agent, after he posted an on-line personals ad on www.craigslist.com. In the ad, which he entitled, “Real Teen Fantasy,” Barndt expressed interest in a sexual liaison with a teenage girl. Using the screen name “mikecoach73,” Barndt engaged in a series of explicit online chat conversations with the undercover agent, during which he transmitted explicit photos of himself. Through the chats, Barndt and the “teen” planned to meet at the Concord Mall and then travel to a Wilmington hotel for a sexual encounter on June 19, 2013.
On the morning of June 19, 2013, Barndt drove from his Sellersville residence to Wilmington, Delaware, where he checked into a local hotel. Barndt then drove to the Concord Mall, where he was met by a team of federal agents shortly after purchasing items at Victoria’s Secret. Federal agents seized a smartphone from Barndt, which was later found to contain approximately 15,000 images of teenage females who are either suggestively dressed or partially or completely nude. Most of these images appear to have been self-produced by the teenagers with smartphones.
Following the sentencing hearing, U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “This case serves as yet another example of the danger that lurks in cyber world. Mr. Brandt was ready, willing, and able to assault an underage child to fulfill his own twisted desires. Fortunately, he was taken off before he could carry out his criminal acts. Every parent should carefully monitor their child's use of the Internet so as to protect him or her from predators looking for vulnerable victims.”
"Predators like Mr, Barndt, stalk and attack the most vulnerable in our society, our children,” said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “As today’s sentencing shows, he will now answer for his despicable actions. HSI will not tolerate such acts, we will relentlessly and aggressively track down child predators to ensure our communities are safe."
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.
Former Bank Vice President Pleads Guilty To Attempted Online Enticement of a Minor
WILMINGTON, Del. – Kirk A. Simmons, age 59, of Newark, Delaware, pled guilty today to Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, in violation of federal law. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the guilty plea following a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, where Simmons will be sentenced by United States District Judge Leonard P. Stark on June 24, 2014.
Simmons faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, and a maximum sentence of life, in prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release following his prison sentence of at least five years to life. Simmons also will be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.At the time of his arrest in this case, Simmons was employed as a Vice President, Market Information Manager II at Bank of America’s Newark, Delaware facility. Bank of America terminated Simmons’s employment following notification of his arrest and criminal conduct. According to his LinkedIn profile, at the time of his arrest, Simmons also was working as a “Professional private tutor” through WyzAnt Tutoring, “providing private in-home tutoring at the high school and college levels.”
According to the indictment and court documents, Simmons was arrested by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force on July 18, 2013, after he arrived at a Newark hotel to engage in sex acts with two persons he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and her biological father. Approximately one month earlier, in June 2013, Simmons responded to a “personals” advertisement for “fam love/taboo” on an adult social networking website. Simmons believed the advertisement had been posted by the father of a 13-year-old girl who the father would make available for sex with adult males. In fact, the “father” was actually an undercover Delaware State Police detective assigned to the Delaware Child Predator Task Force.
Over the course of the next month, Simmons and the undercover detective engaged in numerous online chat conversations in which Simmons indicated and graphically described that he wanted to engage in sexual activity with the purported “father” and his child. After a number of online conversations, Simmons and the “father” agreed to meet at a Newark hotel on July 18, 2013, where they both would engage in sex acts with the “13-year-old daughter.”
Shortly before that meeting, Simmons was under surveillance by the Delaware State Police and was observed driving directly from his workplace to the hotel. He was arrested by Child Predator Task Force members when he arrived in the hotel parking lot. In a recorded interview with a Delaware State Police detective, Simmons admitted that he intended to engage in sexual activity with the fictitious “father” and “13-year-old daughter” at the hotel. Simmons also admitted that he brought a digital camera with him to photograph the sexual activity.Following the plea hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “I want to thank the Delaware Child Predator Task Force for its outstanding work in this case. This was a time-intensive, month-long, online undercover investigation that resulted in the capture of a seemingly upstanding and successful businessman who planned to rape a child with her father’s help. I would also like to thank the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for its continued and successful partnership with our State law enforcement partners on this critically important work.”
"Protecting children from predators requires cooperation among law enforcement agencies," said Delaware State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings. "That's why under Attorney General Biden's leadership the Delaware Child Predator Task Force, which is co-led by the Delaware Department of Justice and the Delaware State Police, regularly works across jurisdictional lines with local, state, and federal partners to track down and stop those who are seeking to hurt our kids."
"This case shows that exploitation of children has severe consequences for those who engage in these depraved activities,” said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “HSI is committed to investigating these cases, working alongside our agency partners to help protect the citizens of our neighboring communities.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew and investigated by the Delaware State Police and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Parker Woman Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for AssaultRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – On Feb. 24, 2014, Ginger Louise Scott Holmes, 44, of Parker, Ariz., an enrolled member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release resulting from her plea of guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
On March 16, 2013, Holmes was recklessly operating a motor vehicle at a high rate of speed, when she struck the minor victim who sustained serious bodily injuries.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado River Indian Tribes Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Christina J. Reid-Moore, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-0944-PHX-SRB
RELEASE NUMBER: 2014-012_HolmesFor more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Palatka Man Sentenced to More Than 8 Years in Federal Prison for Receiving and Possessing of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced Travis Rocky Dixon (36, Palatka) yesterday to 8 years and 9 months in federal prison for receiving and possessing videos of child pornography using the Internet. In addition, he was ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervision, following his incarceration, and to register as a sex offender. A federal jury found Dixon guilty on November 15, 2013.
According to testimony and evidence introduced during the trial, during 2011, two different law enforcement officers downloaded videos depicting child pornography over the Internet from a host computer using Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that resolved back to Dixon’s residence in Palatka. On January 18, 2012, a federal search warrant was executed at the residence. FBI Forensic examiners entered the residence and discovered that Dixon’s computer was, at that time, actively downloading video files with titles indicative of child pornography. During an interview, Dixon told agents that he was the primary user of the computer, that he used a file sharing program to download video files of young girls, and that he had been looking at child pornography for about one year. A forensic analysis of Dixon’s computer revealed that it contained at least 64 videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Daytona Beach, Miami, and Jacksonville, the Clewiston (FL) Police Department, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another 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.
Northern California Real Estate Investor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging and Fraud at Public Foreclosure AuctionsRead the Press Release
A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.
Felony charges were filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland against Charles Gonzales, of Alamo, Calif. Including Gonzales, a total of 44 individuals have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty as a result of the department’s ongoing antitrust investigations into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.
According to court documents, beginning as early as April 2009 until about October 2010, Gonzales conspired with others not to bid against one another, and instead to designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Alameda County, Calif. Gonzales was also charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud by fraudulently acquiring title to selected Alameda County properties sold at public auctions and making and receiving payoffs and diverting money to co-conspirators that would have gone to mortgage holders and others by holding second, private auctions open only to members of the conspiracy. The department said that the selected properties were then awarded to the conspirators who submitted the highest bids in the second, private auctions. The private auctions often took place at or near the courthouse steps where the public auctions were held.
“The Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation has resulted in charges against 44 individuals for their roles in schemes that defraud distressed homeowners and lenders,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to vigorously protect competition at the local level.”
The department said that the primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and restrain competition and to conceal payoffs in order to obtain selected real estate offered at Alameda County public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at the auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner. According to court documents, the conspirators paid and received money that otherwise would have gone to pay off the mortgage and other holders of debt secured by the properties, and, in some cases, the defaulting homeowner.
“The symbolism of holding illegitimate and fraudulent private auctions near a courthouse is deplorable,” said David J. Johnson, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Office. “The justice system will continue to prevail in this ongoing investigation pursuing bid rigging and fraud at public foreclosure auctions.”
A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for the Sherman Act charges may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim if either amount is greater than $1 million. A count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The government can also seek to forfeit the proceeds earned from participating in the conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Today’s charges are the latest filed by the department in its ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, Calif. These investigations are being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300, or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.
Today’s charges were brought 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 is 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.
**The fraud charge(s) referenced in this press release were subsequently dismissed on the government’s motion.**
New Jersey Man Sentenced on Federal Bomb Threat ChargeRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that William H. Klein, age 47, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to Interstate Communication with Threat to Injure charge.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, on July 5, 2013, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts received a call at approximately 9:52 p.m. in which a male caller stated, “If One Direction plays tomorrow, the stadium will blow up.” The stadium was placed on lockdown before the concert, a bomb sweep was performed and a bag check was performed on all patrons coming into the stadium.
The call was made from a New Jersey number. Further investigation determined that the number is assigned to a pay phone outside of a 7-Eleven convenience store located in Northfield, New Jersey. Through video surveillance the caller was positively identified as William H. Klein.
On February 25, 2014, the United States District Judge Yvette Kane sentenced Klein to eight months’ imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release with two months to be served on home detention with electronic monitoring.
The United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation stands in close partnership with the local law enforcement community to identify, thoroughly investigate, and prosecute such criminal conduct.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Derry Township Police Department. Prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom.
New Haven Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Federal Prison for Distributing CocaineRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that FRANK DOUGHTY, also known as “Fresh,” 42, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 41 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from “Operation Bloodline,” a joint law enforcement investigation targeting narcotics trafficking and gang violence in the Dwight-Kensington and Fair Haven sections of New Haven. Led by the DEA New Haven Task Force and the New Haven and Hamden Police Departments, the year-long investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps on numerous telephones, extensive physical surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, execution of search warrants, and seizures of narcotics and firearms. More than 100 individuals were charged as a result of the investigation.
During the investigation, law enforcement officers received court-authorization to monitor three telephones used by Michael Smith, also known as “Smitty” and “Fingers.” DOUGHTY was intercepted on multiple occasions ordering distribution quantities of cocaine from Smith.
DOUGHTY has been detained since his arrest on May 22, 2012. On October 25, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine.
On January 13, 2014, a jury found Michael Smith guilty of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine and cocaine base (“crack cocaine”), and one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine base. He awaits sentencing.
This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia and Meriden Police Departments. The United States Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, Parole and Community Services and the Milford, Hartford, New Britain, North Branford and Stratford Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Dave Vatti and Marc Silverman.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]National Award Honors Federal Prosecutor Tris Hunt in KansasRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt has been named Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year for his work with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
The national award from the Office of National Drug Control Policy recognizes Hunt for his work with the Midwest HIDTA on a large scale investigation of methamphetamine trafficking that resulted in the prosecution of 17 individuals.
“Tris Hunt is an outstanding prosecutor,” said U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom. “He sets a high standard and he brings out the best in his colleagues.”
The award recognizes the prosecutor who has consistently developed and utilized an innovative or unique approach. Winners must demonstrate a commitment to the cooperative spirit of the task force approach, the timely development and application of legal tools and the arrest, prosecution and conviction of individuals engaged in illegal drug activities.
The award recognizes Hunt for his work with the Drug Enforcement Administration in Kansas City, Homeland Security Investigations and the Jackson County Drug Task Force, as well as many other law enforcement agencies.
The Executive Board of the Midwest HIDTA also recognized Hunt as the region’s Outstanding Prosecutor of 2013.
David Barton, Director of the Midwest HIDTA, said Hunt’s work has involved some of the more complex issues ever undertaken by the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and the DEA-Investigative Technology section.
Muskogee Jail Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent Convicted of Civil Rights Violations and Excessive Force, False StatementsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Today, a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee, Okla., convicted Raymond A. Barnes, 43, and Christopher A. Brown, 32, the former jail superintendent and assistant jail superintendent, respectively, of the Muskogee County Jail (MCJ) on multiple counts of civil rights offenses related to allegations of excessive force on inmates at MCJ on or between August 2009 and May 2011. Brown was also convicted of making material false statements to the FBI.
Both Barnes and Brown were found guilty of conspiring to violate the rights of inmates housed at MCJ by assaulting inmates themselves or by directing other jailers employed by MCJ to do so. Specifically, the defendants did or caused the following to be done: unjustifiably strike, assault, harm and physically punish inmates at MCJ who were restrained, compliant and not posing a physical threat; organize “meet and greets,” whereby jailers would scare, punish and harm incoming inmates from neighboring counties by throwing and slamming the handcuffed inmates to the ground upon their arrival at MCJ; threaten to fire MCJ employees if they reported abusive behavior directly to the sheriff or to outside law enforcement authorities; require and encourage MCJ jailers to write incident reports that falsely justified uses of force and contained misleading or inaccurate accounts of what had occurred when force was used; and perpetuate an environment within MCJ that allowed unlawful beatings and assaults against inmates to continue indefinitely and without consequence.
Both defendants were also convicted of violating the rights of an inmate identified as J.R. when MCJ jailers slammed and threw J.R. head-first to the ground while he was handcuffed. Barnes was additionally convicted of violating the rights of a second inmate, G.T., for similar conduct. Brown was acquitted of violating the rights of G.T.
In addition, Brown was convicted of one count of making material false statements to the FBI. Brown falsely claimed that, during meet and greets, the incoming inmate was ordered out of the transport vehicle and then “gently placed” on the ground. But in fact, Brown knew at the time of his statement to the FBI that during these meet and greets the MCJ jailers routinely threw and slammed inmates to the ground even though the inmates were restrained and posed no physical threat.
“Our Constitutional system of government requires this nation’s jailers to abide by the laws they enforce, and to protect the Constitutional rights of all persons in their custody,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels of the Civil Rights Division. “Today’s verdict demonstrates that the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute anyone who abuses their official power to harm the people in their custody.”
The defendants face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years for each of the civil rights convictions. Brown faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years for making material false statements to the FBI.
This case was investigated by the Muskogee Resident Agency of the Oklahoma City Division of the FBI and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Fara Gold and Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division.
Mother and Daughter Sentenced for Passing Counterfeit BillsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Brenda Moody, age 47, and her daughter, Cierra Jackson, age 28, both formerly of Baltimore, today to 27 months and 18 months in prison, respectively, each followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Hollander also entered an order that Moody pay $347,700 in restitution and Jackson pay $140,600 in restitution.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Brian Murphy of the United States Secret Service - Baltimore Field Office; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County Sheriff Jay Fisher.
According to their plea agreements and court documents, Moody moved from Baltimore to the Miami area around 2007 or early 2008. Starting in at least May 2008, Moody obtained hundred dollar counterfeit bills from the leader of the scheme in Miami and distributed the counterfeit bills in Maryland. Moody recruited others, including her daughter, to pass counterfeit bills in Maryland. The conspirators converted the counterfeit currency to genuine currency by going to stores, buying $10 to $20 of products with a counterfeit $100 bill and receiving $80 to $90 in change. The conspirators would give $40 to $60 back to Moody for each counterfeit $100 bill they passed.
From May 2008 to late 2011, Moody passed and recruited others to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars in counterfeit bills, resulting in a loss of $347,700. From June 2008 to July 2010, Jackson passed counterfeit bills, resulting in a loss of $140,600.
The leader of the scheme, Alexis Palmer, who ran this conspiracy out of Miami, was sentenced in the Southern District of Florida federal court on January 9, 2014 to 10 years in prison. His four co-defendants, including two top lieutenants, were sentenced to between 51 and two months in prison.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Secret Service, Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida for their assistance in the investigation and Assistant United States Attorney Justin S. Herring, who prosecuted the case.
Monroe Drug Dealer SentencedRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that Joshua Smith, aged 29, of Monroe, Georgia, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge C. Ashley Royal on Tuesday, February 25, 2014, to serve over 12 years (151 months) in Federal prison for distribution of oxycodone.Mr. Smith entered a plea of guilty to the charges on September 9, 2013. As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Smith admitted that on July 12, 2012, he sold Roxicodone (oxycodone hydrochloride) tablets to an undercover detective. Mr. Smith also admitted to other similar drug transactions with the undercover detective.
“Unfortunately, the Middle District of Georgia is not immune from the scourge of illegal prescription drug distribution. At least we can take some comfort in knowing that for the next 12 years, Mr. Smith won’t be peddling his pills on our streets or in our neighborhoods,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Moore.
The case was investigated by the City of Monroe, Georgia Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Danial E. Bennett.Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, United States Attorney's Office at (478) 621-2603.
McAlester Man Pleads Guilty to Three Counts of Video VoyeurismRead the Press Release
Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that KENNETH WAYDE ELKINS, age 55, of McAlester, Oklahoma, pled guilty to an Information charging him with three counts of Video Voyeurism, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1801.
The charges arose from an investigation by the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Information alleged that between July 1, 2013 and August 14, 2013, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, the defendant, knowingly and intentionally captured images of the private areas of females without their consent while they were in an area in which they had a reasonable expectation of privacy, a restroom.
The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the defendant’s guilty plea, and ordered the completion of a presentence report. Sentencing will be scheduled upon its completion. The defendant remains on bond pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.
Massachusetts Man Sentenced for Child Exploitation OffenseRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated today that Michael Dupont, 37, of Westfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced on February 24, 2014, in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to serve 36-months imprisonment following his guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography. United States District Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered the defendant to serve a five-year term of supervised release and to pay a $100 special assessment.
According to court records and proceedings, Dupont used the Internet to access chat rooms where he would meet whom he believed to be teenage girls. Dupont and the girls would communicate in the chat rooms and by private messaging. The chats became sexual in nature and involved the girls sending to Dupont naked pictures of themselves. Images of one girl were found on Dupont’s computer.
United States Attorney Coffin commended the work of the Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Homeland Security, and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Mr. Dupont was represented by Assistant Federal Defender Steven L. Barth. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Barbara A. Masterson.
United States Attorney Coffin noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney=s Offices and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, 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.
Mark Lawrence Wilson SentencedRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney(s Office announced that MARK LAWRENCE WILSON was sentenced on February 20, 2014, to a term of 6 months in federal prison with three years of supervised release to follow, before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen.
Wilson was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to being an unlawful drug user in possession of firearms.
In an Offer of Proof filed with the Court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart advised the court that on November 8, 2012, Mark Lawrence Wilson, an unlawful drug user of marijuana and cocaine, possessed 12 firearms and more than 5,200 rounds of ammunition in Flathead County. Stewart told the court that Wilson was a user of both cocaine and marijuana.The investigation was a cooperative effort of Homeland Security Investigations, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration Laboratory, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force.
Man Found Guilty of Stabbing Three Women in PoplarRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office today announced that after less than an hour of deliberation, a federal jury has found 31-year-old Robert Lewis Burshia guilty of stabbing three women at a residence in Poplar, Montana on March 6, 2013. Following a day and half long trial before U.S. District Court judge Brian M. Morris, the jury convicted Burshia of all four counts in the indictment: three counts of assault with a a dangerous weapon, and one count assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
At trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Weiss presented evidence that on the evening of March 6, 2013, Burshia appeared at a residence in Poplar where he asked to use the bathroom. Burshia then joined three women at the residence who were sharing a bottle of Black Velvet. He left, then returned fifteen minutes later, having told one of the women he was using meth and wanted to drink. As two of the women were eating spagetti, Burshia took a shot from the bottle in the kitchen and began making claiming that the bottle of Black Velvet belonged to him. Burshia then pulled up his hood, put his hand in the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a knife. Burshia then stabbed one of the women. A second woman tried to protect the first assault victim and Burshia stabbed her as well. The two women then ran from the house and hid in the garage. Burshia, who had been in the house before, went straight back to the bedroom where the third woman was sleeping with two young children, ages six and seven. Burshia kicked the door in and stabbed the third woman as she draped her body over the children to try to protect them. He then fled the house and was located by law enforcement a few doors down.
The three women were transported by ambulance to the emergency room. The first woman who was stabbed had to be transported to Billings, due to the severity of her injuries. It is estimated that she lost 10 percent of her blood. In surgery, the doctor located a stab wound that went directly into her stomach. Part of her stomach had to be removed in order to staple shut the stab wound.
Burshia faces a possible penalty on each of the four counts of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years supervised release. The terms of imprisonment on each count could run consecutively.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice.
Lockport Man Pleads Guilty to Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced that Bobby Spencer, 59, of Lockport, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie G. Foschio to use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug felony. The charge carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who is handling the case, stated that from March, 2010 through August, 2010, the defendant used a cellular telephone to call co-defendant Eric Williams to facilitate the purchase of cocaine. Spencer then distributed the cocaine to others in the Lockport area.
Spencer is one of 24 defendants convicted as a result of this drug investigation.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Acting Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, and the Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Votour.Leader of Massive Real Estate Fraud Scheme Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. - An Ocean County, N.J., man was sentenced today to 264 months in prison for running a real estate investment fraud scheme that caused $200 million in losses and laundering the proceeds of the scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Eliyahu Weinstein, a/k/a “Eli Weinstein,” a/k/a “Edward Weinstein,” a/k/a “Eddie Weinstein,” 38, of Lakewood, N.J., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano to two counts of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering. Weinstein’s co-defendant, Vladimir Siforov, is charged in the indictment with three counts of wire fraud and remains a fugitive.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From June 2004 through August 2011, Weinstein orchestrated – with the help of Siforov and others – a real estate investment fraud scheme headquartered in Lakewood that resulted in multimillion-dollar losses to victim investors.
To induce victims to invest, Weinstein and others made various types of materially false and misleading statements and omissions. Weinstein and others told victims that Weinstein’s inside access to certain real estate opportunities allowed him to buy a particular piece of property at a below-market price. Weinstein and others also told victims that their money would be used to purchase a specific property, and the property would be quickly resold – or “flipped” – to a third-party purchaser that Weinstein had lined up. Victims were also told that the victims’ money would be held in escrow until the closing of a purported real estate transaction.
Weinstein bolstered his lies by creating, and causing to be created, various types of fraudulent documents, including “show checks,” which Weinstein led victims to believe represented Weinstein’s investments in specific transactions, but which in fact were never deposited; forged checks, which had actually been negotiated for small amounts, but which Weinstein altered so as to appear worth millions of dollars; and various kinds of phony legal documents, including mortgages, and deeds.
Weinstein and others initially targeted victims from the Orthodox Jewish community to which Weinstein belonged, exploiting his standing in, and knowledge of, the customs and practices of this community to further the scheme. Weinstein abused the Orthodox community’s practice of engaging in transactions based on trust, and without paperwork, to obtain money from his victims without substantial written records. He would then falsely represent that specific real estate transactions existed, that the victims’ monies were used to fund those transactions, or that the victims’ profits from those transactions were being “rolled” into new investments. Weinstein also used a portion of the fraud’s proceeds to fund “charitable and religious contributions,” which he used to elevate his reputation within the Orthodox Jewish community.
By 2010, Weinstein had tarnished his reputation in the Orthodox Jewish community due to the massive losses caused by his fraud scheme and found it difficult to obtain more money to further the scheme from within the community. In April 2010, Weinstein and others began soliciting victims from outside of the Orthodox Jewish community, whom they defrauded out of additional millions of dollars.
Weinstein also used millions of dollars fraudulently obtained from his victims to fund his own lavish spending, including millions of dollars’ worth of antique Judaica and other artwork; a multimillion-dollar collection of jewelry and watches; gambling in Las Vegas and elsewhere; and Weinstein’s personal expenses, including millions of dollars in credit card bills, millions of dollars in legal bills, and luxury car-lease payments.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Pisano sentenced Weinstein to three years of supervised release. Judge Pisano ordered Weinstein to pay restitution of $215.4 million and forfeiture of $215.4 million.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s sentence. He also credited agents of IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen, for their important contributions to the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zach Intrater, Gurbir S. Grewal, Rachael A. Honig and Evan Weitz.
The charges and allegations against Siforov are merely accusations, and he is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Eric Creizman Esq., New York
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’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
14-064Keith Bowers Sentenced for Bomb ThreatsRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that Keith Bowers, aged 59, of Jessieville, Arkansas, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Clay D. Land on Tuesday, February 25, 2014, to serve 1 year and 1 day in federal prison for transmitting threats in interstate commerce.Mr. Bowers entered a plea of guilty to the charge on December 18, 2013. As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Bowers admitted that on August 16, 2012, he placed two threatening telephone calls from Longview, Texas to Carmike Cinema’s Columbus, Georgia, headquarters. Using a Hispanic accent, Mr. Bowers expressed his displeasure with Carmike’s alleged practice of underpaying immigrant workers for cleaning services and stated that he was going to detonate an explosive during Carmike’s screening of a movie called “the Expendables”. At the time, Mr. Bowers was in the business of providing cleaning services to businesses, including Carmike, and was bitter about rival cleaning companies who allegedly hired illegal immigrant labor and were therefore able to undercut Mr. Bowers’ contract bids.
“We take threats seriously. In this case, Mr. Bowers not only caused unnecessary fear, he caused us to have to use precious law enforcement resources to track him down. He will have time to consider just how reckless he was as he sits in federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Moore.
The case was investigated by S/A Gordon Hurley and S/A Gabe Coulter with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melvin E. Hyde, Jr.Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, United States Attorney's Office at (478) 621-2603.
Kansas Woman Indicted for Stealing $543,000 from EmployerRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Bucyrus, Kan., woman was indicted by a federal grand jury today for embezzling more than $543,000 from her employer.
Susan Elise Prophet, 45, of Bucyrus, was charged in a 16-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.
Prophet worked as a bookkeeper for Dorfman Plumbing Supply Company in Kansas City, Mo., from December 2012 until she was fired eight months later in August 2013. (The company has since been sold to Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., a national distributor of residential and commercial plumbing supplies.) Prophet was known to her employer as “Susan Morriss.” She touted that she was the wife of a federal law enforcement agent, which was true at or close to the time she was hired (Morriss is the last name of her now-estranged husband).
According to the indictment, Prophet engaged in a scheme to embezzle at least $543,034 from Dorfman Plumbing Supply Company that began soon after she was hired and continued until she was fired. Prophet allegedly wrote 105 unauthorized checks drawn on the company’s bank account for her benefit. Prophet was not an authorized signatory for the company, so she forged the owner’s signature on each of the checks.
Prophet allegedly opened multiple bank accounts using a bogus Social Security number and a misspelled variation of her last name. She paid her personal creditors with the checks, cashed the checks or deposited them into her personal accounts, the indictment says. Among those checks, the indictment says, were two checks payable directly to her landlord. She allegedly used the funds for her personal enrichment, purchasing trucks, a car, a motorcycle, travel, furniture, electronics, and other items. She also withdrew large amounts of cash, according to the indictment.
In addition to the fraudulently-opened bank accounts, the indictment alleges that Prophet took other steps to conceal her scheme, such as altering the company’s financial records. According to the indictment, Prophet altered the company’s ledger to show that vendors had been paid when, in fact, they had not been paid. When vendors attempted to collect, Prophet allegedly answered the calls and hid the claims from her employer. As vendors began to freeze the company’s accounts, the indictment says, Prophet created new checks and forged her employer’s name on the checks to pay the most critical invoices.
According to the indictment, Prophet spent at least $130,424 on vehicle-related purchases, including a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport; a 2013 Harley Davidson FLTRX Road Glide motorcycle; a 2008 Ford Focus; a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe; and a 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer. She allegedly shared the vehicles with her boyfriend and adult children. Prophet withdrew at least $86,000 from her accounts, the indictment says, and wrote nearly $21,000 in checks to herself or to cash. She allegedly used the embezzled funds to pay her rent and pay down her debts, and allegedly spent at least $15,096 at restaurants, $12,743 on travel, $6,703 on electronics, and $9,221 at Nebraska Furniture Mart.
Today’s indictment charges Prophet with two counts of bank fraud, one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and 11 counts of aggravated identity theft.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Prophet to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged violations, including a money judgment of $543,034 the five vehicles.
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 Daniel M. Nelson. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.Justice Department Announces Results of Investigation into the Death of Milton HallRead the Press Release
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the FBI announced today that they will not be pursuing federal criminal civil rights charges against the Saginaw Police Department (SPD) officers who shot and killed Milton Hall on July 1, 2012. After a thorough investigation, federal authorities have determined that this tragic event does not present sufficient evidence of willful misconduct to lead to a federal criminal prosecution of the police officers involved.
The Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the FBI conducted an independent investigation that carefully considered all of the evidence. During the investigation, prosecutors thoroughly reviewed the criminal investigation previously conducted by the Michigan State Police in conjunction with the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office and the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. State authorities collected the physical evidence at the scene; photographed the scene; interviewed the two non-shooting SPD officers and dozens of eyewitnesses; acquired the patrol car dashcam and civilian videos of the incident; gathered the dispatch logs, 911 calls and other investigative materials related to the incident; obtained the involved officers’ police reports; and conducted a ballistics and autopsy examination. At the conclusion of the state investigation, the Saginaw County Prosecutor and the Michigan Attorney General declined to prosecute any of the SPD officers involved in the incident.
In addition to reviewing the evidence previously collected, FBI agents interviewed a number of witnesses who had not been interviewed during the state investigation, including individuals whose names were provided to prosecutors by Hall’s family.
To pursue prosecution under Section 242 in the U.S. Code, the applicable criminal civil rights statute, the government would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the SPD officers deprived Hall of his constitutional right to be free from an unreasonable use of force. The government would also have to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers acted willfully, that is, for the specific purpose of violating the law. Law enforcement actions based on fear, panic, misperception or even poor judgment do not constitute willful conduct prosecutable under the statute.
The evidence in this case shows that on July 1, 2012, SPD officers responded to the Riverview Plaza in Saginaw, Mich., after receiving a 911 call about a confrontation between a man, later identified as Hall, and a clerk at a Mobil gas station. An SPD sergeant was the first officer to arrive at the scene, where she located Hall in the plaza’s parking lot and saw that he was carrying a knife with an approximately three-inch blade. After encountering Hall and seeing that he was armed with a knife, the sergeant requested backup. When the second officer arrived, Hall approached that officer’s patrol car and jabbed the hood of the vehicle with a knife. The six remaining SPD officers on duty that day, including a K-9 officer and his dog, reported to the plaza, approached Hall and repeatedly ordered him to drop his knife. Hall did not comply with the officers’ commands, and verbally responded that he would not put the knife down. While the SPD officers came together on the scene, the K-9 officer and his dog approached and retreated from Hall several times. During this time, Hall was intermittently shifting his feet and getting into and out of a crouching stance. When Hall, with the knife still in his hand, moved toward the K-9 officer and his dog, six SPD officers fired at him and fatally wounded him.
Two SPD patrol car dashcams captured a video recording, with no audio, of much of the encounter between Hall and the SPD officers. The dashcams on the other SPD patrol cars were either not operational or not activated during this incident. Several civilians witnessed the incident and recorded portions of it on their cellular phones.
After the shooting, all of the SPD officers at the scene wrote reports. In these reports, the officers who discharged their weapons explained that they did so because they believed Hall posed an imminent threat to the officers’ safety.
A fter a careful review of all of the evidence, experienced prosecutors from the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan have determined that t he evidence in this case is insufficient to prove , beyond a reasonable doubt, that the SPD officers willfully shot Hall for an unlawful purpose, rather than for their stated purpose of preventing Hall from harming SPD staff. Even if the officers were mistaken in their assessment of the threat posed by Hall, this would not establish that the officers acted willfully, or with an unlawful intent, when using deadly force against Hall. Accordingly , this tragic event does not present sufficient evidence of willful misconduct to give rise to a federal criminal prosecution of the police officers involved.
Jury Convicts Macoupin County Man for Possession of Heroin with Intent to DistributeRead the Press Release
Springfield, Ill. – Sentencing is scheduled in June 2014, for a Mt. Olive, Ill., man, after a jury convicted him of possession of heroin with intent to distribute. The jury deliberated for approximately 30 minutes on Feb. 20, 2014, before finding David L. Simpson, 51, guilty.
During the trial, which began on Monday, Feb. 18, and in pre-trial hearings, the government presented evidence that established that Simpson traveled to St. Louis to pick up heroin three to four times a day from at least April to mid-June 2013, totaling more than 100 grams. Evidence further established that Simpson brought the heroin to Mt. Olive and distributed the heroin to customers in Litchfield, Mt. Olive, Staunton, and Wilsonville, Ill.
At sentencing, scheduled on June 9, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., Simpson faces a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years in prison because the government has filed notice that Simpson has a prior felony drug conviction from 2011 in Will County, Ill. Simpson has remained in law enforcement custody since his arrest in June 2013.
Law enforcement agencies participating in this investigation include the DEA, Springfield Division; the Mt. Olive Police Department; and task force officers assigned to DEA by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the FBI. The Litchfield Police Department and the Illinois State Police also provided assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Bass is prosecuting the case in the Central District of Illinois, Springfield Division.
Information: Federal Court ArraignmentsRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office today announced that those persons listed below were arraigned before the U.S. Magistrate and the indictments handed down by the Grand Jury unsealed.
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Strong in Great Falls on February 24, 2014 and entering please of Not Guilty were:
- VICTOR MICHAEL VIELLE, a 31-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of second degree murder. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, VIELLE faces life imprisonment, $250,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. PACER Case Reference: 13-110
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Strong in Great Falls on February 25, 2014 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:
- KENNETH WAYNE DAVIS, a 58-year-old resident of Cascade, appeared on charges of conspiracy with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, felon in possession of a firearm, and drug user in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious offenses charges in the indictment, DAVIS faces 40 years imprisonment, $5,000,000 in fines and 4 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the HIDTA Task Force. PACER Case Reference: 14-11
- RUEBEN FRIESEN, a 33-year-old resident of Alberta, Canada, appeared on charges of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. If convicted of the most serious offense charged in the indictment, FRIESEN faces 30 years imprisonment, $250,000 in fines and lifetime supervised release. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Great Falls Police Department. PACER Case Reference: 14-10
- WILLIAM TAYLER KIRKALDIE, a 31-year-old resident of Fort Belknap, appeared on charges of domestic abuse by a habitual offender. If convicted of the offense charged in the indictment, KIRKALDIE faces 5 years imprisonment, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. PACER Case Reference: 14-12
The indictment is merely a formal charging document. It is not proof of guilt and all persons indicted are presumed to be innocent of any crime until proof of guilt is established by trial or guilty plea.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is currently transitioning its media program to new media contacts. Resources and this transition may affect the amount of information the office can process and disclose in a timely manner. Therefore, if any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system so that you stay current and not miss any important developments in the case.
To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html.
To access the district court's calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
Indictment Charges Philadelphia Man in Multiple Bank HeistsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - William Butler, 48, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by Indictment with committing four armed bank robberies at two separate Center City banks, in January 2014, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
According to the indictment, Butler was armed with a knife when he robbed the Republic Bank branch, at 1818 Market Street, on January 17th and January 27th and the Citizens Bank branch, at 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, on January 24th and January 28th. Butler took just over $11,000 total in the four robberies.
If convicted, Butler faces a maximum possible sentence of 100 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a $1 million fine, and a $400 special assessment.
The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anita Eve.
Click here to view the indictment
An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
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PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Huntington Heroin Dealer Sentenced to Four Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man was sentenced yesterday to four years in federal prison for his role in a heroin distribution conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Forty-nine-year-old Rickey Ray Rockwell previously pleaded guilty in November 2013 to conspiracy to distribute heroin before Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers in Huntington federal court.
Between November 2010 and July 2011, Rockwell participated with convicted felons Kevin Luthor Robinson and Jermaine D. Dickerson to distribute heroin in and around the Huntington area.
Rockwell told police that during the illegal drug scheme, he controlled the door to a Huntington residence that was primarily used as a place to distribute illegal drugs. Rockwell also completed illegal heroin transactions on behalf of Robinson and Dickerson. Afterward, Rockwell gave the drug proceeds to his co-conspirators at the completion of the drug transactions.Robinson, 44, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison in March 2013 for his role in the illegal drug conspiracy. Dickerson, 36, was also sentenced in March 2013 to 15 years and nine months in federal prison. Robinson and Dickerson, both of Columbus, previously pleaded guilty in December 2012 to conspiracy to distribute heroin and 28 grams or more of crack cocaine.
During the scheme, Robinson and Dickerson arranged frequent trips to Columbus to purchase heroin and cocaine. The illegal drugs were then brought to Huntington and sold. The defendants also utilized several Huntington residences to store, prepare and package illegal drugs during the fall of 2010 through July 2011.
This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Huntington Police Department, and the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.
This case was 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.Hogsett Announces Sentence for Drug Conspiracy and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Daviess County woman to serve a decade in prison for methamphetamine sales
EVANSVILLE - Joseph H. Hogsett, United States Attorney, announced today that Ruby Ramsey, 56, of Daviess County, Indiana, was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) imprisonment by U.S. District Chief Judge Richard L. Young for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering.
“Dealing drugs and violence seem to go hand-in-hand, in our Hoosier communities,” Hogsett said. “Making our neighborhoods safer by putting the worst of the worst in federal prison is one of my top priorities.”
Ramsey pleaded guilty to the charges on January 23, 2014. At the time of her guilty plea, Ramsey admitted that she was involved in sending parcels containing methamphetamine to southwestern Indiana and distributing large amounts in the Pike County area. She also deposited approximately $3,000 at a bank in Washington, Indiana from proceeds of methamphetamine sales.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney, Lauren M. Wheatley, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge Young also imposed 5 years of supervised release.
Frankfort Man Sentenced to 87 Months for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
FRANKFORT, KY - A Franklin County man, who previously admitted to downloading numerous images of child pornography, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove sentenced 43-year-old Dennis Hodge for receipt of child pornography. Under federal law, Hodge must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence and will be on supervised release for 20 years following the completion of his prison term.
Hodge admitted, during his guilty plea in October 2013, that he downloaded more than 100 images of child pornography using a computer at his Frankfort home. According to the plea agreement, the images depicted children, under 12 years of age, engaged in sexually explicit conduct and many were considered sadistic and violent in nature.
In October 2011, Kentucky State Police seized Hodge’s computer during the execution of a search warrant. Agents later performed a forensic examination of the computer and discovered the child pornography images.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Perrye K. Turner, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, and Rodney Brewer, Kentucky State Police Commissioner, jointly announced the sentence today.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Kentucky State Police. This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Fort Mitchell, KY.
Former Wellington Resident Sentenced in Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Drew J. Breakspear, Commissioner, Florida Office of Financial Regulation, announce that George Louis Theodule, 52, a former resident of Wellington, was sentenced to 150 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Theodule previously pled guilty to wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
According to the indictment, Theodule engaged in an investment fraud or “Ponzi” scheme, wherein he induced individuals to invest money with his companies, Creative Capital Consortium and A Creative Capital Concepts, based upon the representation that he would be able to double their money in 90 days, primarily by trading in stock options. Theodule, the indictment alleges, targeted the Haitian community in South Florida and elsewhere, forming “investment clubs” which attracted thousands of investors between late 2007 and late 2008. In reality only a small portion of investors’ money was placed into trading accounts – which invariably were depleted without showing any gains whatsoever. Rather, substantial funds were used to repay earlier investors, creating the appearance of investment success, and other funds were used by the defendant for his personal benefit. The scheme unraveled in early 2009 when the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a restraining order and later an injunction to stop the alleged unlawful practices.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “George Louis Theodule defrauded his victims out of millions of their hard-earned dollars. He did so by taking advantage of people who trusted him because of their cultural affinity. Such tactics are intolerable, especially given that some of his victims lost their entire life savings. This sentence should send a strong message to those who prey on the trust of others: you will get caught and justice will be served.”
“George Louis Theodule preyed on his connections within the Haitian community with offers too good to be true,” said Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. Theodule now has 12 and a half years in prison to think about how he betrayed others.”
“Protecting Floridians from fraud, such as this, is one of our highest priorities and we are pleased with the outcome,” said OFR Commissioner Drew J. Breakspear. “We thank our partners in law enforcement for bringing this individual to justice. All potential investors are strongly encouraged to use due diligence when considering any financial product.”
In addition to the prison sentence, Theodule will be ordered to pay restitution to identified victims of the scheme. A restitution hearing has been scheduled for May 9, 2014.
Any victims of George Louis Theodule’s fraud who have not yet submitted a claim with the U.S. Probation Office are asked to contact Rosemary Williams at (305) 523-5455.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roger H. Stefin and Carolyn Bell.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Former Union President Indicted for Embezzling $185,000Read the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the former president of the union representing Jackson County Department of Corrections employees was indicted by a federal grand jury today for a wire fraud scheme in which he embezzled more than $185,000 from the union local.
Jesse E. Morgan, 38, of Kansas City, Mo., was charged in a 29-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City. Morgan was president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1707 from 2008 through Oct. 20, 2012.
Today’s indictment alleges that Morgan engaged in a wire fraud scheme from Nov. 1, 2008, through Oct. 22, 2012, to steal from AFSCME Local 1707. The federal indictment charges Morgan with 29 counts of wire fraud.
According to the indictment, Morgan wrote $9,700 in unauthorized checks from the union local’s bank account, payable to himself. Morgan allegedly made $69,540 in electronic payments from the AFSCME Local 1707 bank accounts to others, for his own benefit. Morgan allegedly made $56,231 in unauthorized ATM withdrawals from AFSCME Local 1707 bank accounts. Morgan allegedly made $50,091 in unauthorized counter withdrawals from AFSCME Local 1707 bank accounts.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Morgan to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged wire fraud scheme.
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 Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor-Management Standards.
Former Sycamore Resident Indicted on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A former Sycamore, Ill. resident was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Rockford for allegedly transporting and possessing child pornography. MICHAEL PODOLSKY, 26, now of Elkader, Iowa, was charged with two counts of transporting child pornography via the internet, and one count of possessing child pornography that had crossed state lines.
Transporting child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison, while possessing child pornography carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. If convicted, the actual sentence will be determined by a United States District Court Judge, guided by the United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The indictment was announced today by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Donald M. Thomas, Chief of the Sycamore Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Love.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment
Former Rockford Physician Charged with FraudRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A former Rockford physician was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Rockford on two counts of making false statements in a bankruptcy case and three counts of mail fraud. The indictment alleges that LYNN Y. ZOIOPOULOS (also known as Lynn Shelton-Zoiopoulos, Lynn Y. Shelton, Lynn Yenko, Lynn Yenko Zoiopoulos, Lynn Yenko Shelton-Zoiopoulos, and Lynn Zoiopoulos), 58, now of Chicago, Ill., filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition on August 11, 2009. As alleged in the indictment, Zoiopoulos failed to disclose that she had an interest in the estate of her deceased grandmother, and that she fraudulently concealed property from the bankruptcy trustee, creditors, and the United States Trustee. The indictment further alleges that Zoiopoulos made false statements on a bankruptcy schedule and a Statement of Financial Affairs, both of which were filed under penalty of perjury.
According to the indictment, Zoiopoulos was Executor of her deceased grandmother’s estate, in which she and her sister were beneficiaries. It is alleged Zoiopoulos devised a scheme to defraud the estate and her sister, by misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars of assets of the estate for her own personal use and benefit. It is further alleged that Zoiopoulos concealed her embezzlement of estate assets by not filing the required inventory, accounting, tax returns, and status reports for the estate, and falsely asserted to the Trustee of her bankruptcy case that the remainder of the estate’s assets were earmarked for her sister. It is also alleged that in carrying out the scheme, Zoiopoulos caused checks representing assets of the estate to be sent to her using the United States mail.
Each charge of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, and each count of providing material false statements or documents under penalty of perjury in a bankruptcy case carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. Each count also carries a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from that offense, whichever is greater. The judge may also impose a sentence of probation of one to five years, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
Members of the public are reminded that a criminal indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.
Indictment
Former President of Galiano Career Academy Sentenced for Theft of Federal Funds, Obstruction of A Federal Audit, and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton today sentenced Michael Gagliano (50, Sanford) to four years in federal prison for theft of government property, obstruction of a federal audit, and aggravated identity theft. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered restitution and entered a money judgment in the amount of $2,105,761.00, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. Gagliano pleaded guilty on August 16, 2013.
According to court documents, Galiano Career Academy, Inc. (GCA), located in Altamonte Springs, was a for-profit trade school, offering career programs such as Medical Assistant, Medical Billing and Coding, Pharmacy Technician, Travel Counselor, and Travel and Tourism Specialist. Gagliano was GCA’s President and School Director. GCA was approved by the United States Department of Education (DOE) to administer Federal Student Assistance (FSA) programs, including the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL) and the Federal Pell Grant program, which offered assistance to eligible students participating in post-secondary education at eligible institutions. GCA also received financial assistance for job training from Workforce Central Florida (WCF), a permanent placement agency, that helps employers connect with central Florida job seekers.
Gagliano used Columbus Academy, a high school “diploma mill” owned and operated by his wife, to make students eligible for FSA when they otherwise would not have been qualified. The GCA students who “graduated” from Columbus Academy were not eligible to receive the federal funds since these students did not receive a real high school education. From July 2007 through July 2010, 176 ineligible students who were enrolled at GCA, through Columbus Academy, received $1,221,878.00 in Direct Student Loan funds and $715,708.00 in Pell grant funds. Additionally, GCA received federal funds from the United States Department of Labor and WCF for ineligible students who attended GCA. As a result, GCA unlawfully received $168,175.00 in funds for unqualified students.
On July 13, 2009, the DOE Office of Federal Student Aid conducted a program review of GCA. The review was conducted to assess GCA’s administration of the financial aid programs in which it participated. During the program review, Gagliano tampered with student records and placed a recording device in the auditor’s room to secretly monitor their conversations. The investigation also revealed that GCA/Gagliano electronically submitted the name and social security number of a student to the DOE in order to obtain loan funds on the student’s behalf, well after the student stopped attending GCA. Gagliano falsified the student’s attendance records to indicate that she was in attendance at GCA.
This case was investigated by U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haas.
Former Pittsburgh Chief Harper Sentenced to 18 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Former Pittsburgh Police Chief Nathan E. Harper has been sentenced in federal court to 18 months imprisonment and one year of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $31,986 in restitution on his conviction of conspiracy and willful failure to file income tax returns, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Harper, 60, of Pittsburgh, Pa.
According to information presented to the court, Harper was the Chief of the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. From 2009 to 2012, he caused checks received by the Special Events office of the Department to be diverted to two “off the books” accounts at the Greater Pittsburgh Police Federal Credit Union. Using Visa debit cards, Harper obtained over $31,000 in ATM withdrawals and debit purchases, all for his personal benefit. Harper also failed to file federal tax returns for the years 2008 to 2011.
“The vast majority of elected and appointed officials serve their constituents with integrity an honor,” stated U.S. Attorney Hickton. “But when those whom the public entrusts with authority place greed over good, they must be held accountable. It is our hope that through this prosecution we can shape the future of Pittsburgh by deterring other officials from stealing from taxpayers and by attracting honest public servants to office.”
Gary Douglas Perdue, Special Agent in Charge of the Pittsburgh Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said, “Stemming public corruption is the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority. It will not be tolerated in our community – no matter the level, the amount, or the individuals involved. We invite the public to report information concerning public corruption to the FBI through the public corruption hotline at (412) 432-4122.”
“No public official gets a free pass to ignore the tax laws,” added Asst. Special Agent in Charge Ed Wirth of the IRS-Criminal Investigation. “The IRS-Criminal Investigation Division, together with our partner agencies and the Department of Justice will investigate and prosecute those who violate our tax system to ensure that everyone pays their fair share.”
Assistant United States Attorneys Robert S. Cessar and Lee J. Karl prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Harper.
Former Okla. Jail Superintendents Convicted of Excessive Force Against InmatesRead the Press Release
Today, a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee, Okla., convicted Raymond A. Barnes, 43, and Christopher A. Brown, 32, the former jail superintendent and assistant jail superintendent, respectively, of the Muskogee County Jail (MCJ) on multiple counts of civil rights offenses related to allegations of excessive force on inmates at MCJ on or between August 2009 and May 2011. Brown was also convicted of making material false statements to the FBI.
Both Barnes and Brown were found guilty of conspiring to violate the rights of inmates housed at MCJ by assaulting inmates themselves or by directing other jailers employed by MCJ to do so. Specifically, the defendants did or caused the following to be done: unjustifiably strike, assault, harm and physically punish inmates at MCJ who were restrained, compliant and not posing a physical threat; organize “meet and greets,” whereby jailers would scare, punish and harm incoming inmates from neighboring counties by throwing and slamming the handcuffed inmates to the ground upon their arrival at MCJ; threaten to fire MCJ employees if they reported abusive behavior directly to the sheriff or to outside law enforcement authorities; require and encourage MCJ jailers to write incident reports that falsely justified uses of force and contained misleading or inaccurate accounts of what had occurred when force was used; and perpetuate an environment within MCJ that allowed unlawful beatings and assaults against inmates to continue indefinitely and without consequence.
Both defendants were also convicted of violating the rights of an inmate identified as J.R. when MCJ jailers slammed and threw J.R. head-first to the ground while he was handcuffed. Barnes was additionally convicted of violating the rights of a second inmate, G.T., for similar conduct. Brown was acquitted of violating the rights of G.T.
In addition, Brown was convicted of one count of making material false statements to the FBI. Brown falsely claimed that, during meet and greets, the incoming inmate was ordered out of the transport vehicle and then “gently placed” on the ground. But in fact, Brown knew at the time of his statement to the FBI that during these meet and greets the MCJ jailers routinely threw and slammed inmates to the ground even though the inmates were restrained and posed no physical threat.
“Our Constitutional system of government requires this nation’s jailers to abide by the laws they enforce, and to protect the Constitutional rights of all persons in their custody,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels of the Civil Rights Division. “Today’s verdict demonstrates that the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute anyone who abuses their official power to harm the people in their custody.”
The defendants face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years for each of the civil rights convictions. Brown faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years for making material false statements to the FBI.
This case was investigated by the Muskogee Resident Agency of the Oklahoma City Division of the FBI and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Fara Gold and Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division.
Former Director of Finance of New Jersey-Based Toll Global Forwarding Admits Stealing $1.3 Million from the CompanyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – The former director of finance of the Middlesex County-based integrated logistic services company Toll Global Forwarding today admitted stealing more than $1.3 million from her former employer through an elaborate false invoicing scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Karen Sipes, 40, of Brick, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton federal court to an information charging her with wire fraud for her theft from the multi-national company based in Carteret, N.J. She was originally charged by complaint in November 2012.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
While Sipes was employed at Toll Global Forwarding (TGF) – from August 2010 through August 2012 – she was responsible for entering vendor transactions and invoices into TGF’s accounts payable accounting system and paying those vendors by preparing checks from TGF. As a result, Sipes had access to and significant control over TGF’s accounts payable accounting and bill payment systems.
In the false invoicing scheme, Sipes identified vendors with a high number of transactions and invoices in TGF’s accounting system. She admitted she would then create and input fake transactions and invoices for them, preparing checks payable to herself.
Sipes also admitted that she identified legitimate vendor transactions and invoices and changed vendors’ names to her name, making those checks payable to herself. She also used TGF checks to pay the credit card bill of a family member and accessed TGF’s accounting system to remove any record of the fraudulent transactions.
The wire fraud count to which Sipes pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As part of her guilty plea, Sipes is required to pay restitution of $1,335,698.93 to Toll Global Forwarding. Sentencing is scheduled for July 29, 2014.U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney M. Oliva and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Kearney of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Michael Critchley Sr. and Edmund DeNoia, Esqs., Roseland, N.J.
Former Bank Vice President Pleads Guilty to Attempted Online Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Kirk A. Simmons, age 59, of Newark, Delaware, pled guilty today to Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, in violation of federal law. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the guilty plea following a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, where Simmons will be sentenced by United States District Judge Leonard P. Stark on June 24, 2014.
Simmons faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, and a maximum sentence of life, in prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release following his prison sentence of at least five years to life. Simmons also will be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.
At the time of his arrest in this case, Simmons was employed as a Vice President, Market Information Manager II at Bank of America’s Newark, Delaware facility. Bank of America terminated Simmons’s employment following notification of his arrest and criminal conduct. According to his LinkedIn profile, at the time of his arrest, Simmons also was working as a “Professional private tutor” through WyzAnt Tutoring, “providing private in-home tutoring at the high school and college levels.”
According to the indictment and court documents, Simmons was arrested by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force on July 18, 2013, after he arrived at a Newark hotel to engage in sex acts with two persons he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and her biological father. Approximately one month earlier, in June 2013, Simmons responded to a “personals” advertisement for “fam love/taboo” on an adult social networking website. Simmons believed the advertisement had been posted by the father of a 13-year-old girl who the father would make available for sex with adult males. In fact, the “father” was actually an undercover Delaware State Police detective assigned to the Delaware Child Predator Task Force.
Over the course of the next month, Simmons and the undercover detective engaged in numerous online chat conversations in which Simmons indicated and graphically described that he wanted to engage in sexual activity with the purported “father” and his child. After a number of online conversations, Simmons and the “father” agreed to meet at a Newark hotel on July 18, 2013, where they both would engage in sex acts with the “13-year-old daughter.”
Shortly before that meeting, Simmons was under surveillance by the Delaware State Police and was observed driving directly from his workplace to the hotel. He was arrested by Child Predator Task Force members when he arrived in the hotel parking lot. In a recorded interview with a Delaware State Police detective, Simmons admitted that he intended to engage in sexual activity with the fictitious “father” and “13-year-old daughter” at the hotel. Simmons also admitted that he brought a digital camera with him to photograph the sexual activity.Following the plea hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “I want to thank the Delaware Child Predator Task Force for its outstanding work in this case. This was a time-intensive, month-long, online undercover investigation that resulted in the capture of a seemingly upstanding and successful businessman who planned to rape a child with her father’s help. I would also like to thank the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for its continued and successful partnership with our State law enforcement partners on this critically important work.”
"Protecting children from predators requires cooperation among law enforcement agencies," said Delaware State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings. "That's why under Attorney General Biden's leadership the Delaware Child Predator Task Force, which is co-led by the Delaware Department of Justice and the Delaware State Police, regularly works across jurisdictional lines with local, state, and federal partners to track down and stop those who are seeking to hurt our kids."
"This case shows that exploitation of children has severe consequences for those who engage in these depraved activities,” said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “HSI is committed to investigating these cases, working alongside our agency partners to help protect the citizens of our neighboring communities.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew and investigated by the Delaware State Police and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Former AAU Coach Sentenced on Wire Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA – A former AAU coach and mentor to a local college basketball star, who pled guilty in December, was sentenced this morning in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Lynchburg on a wire fraud charges.
Thomas Patric Boggs, 60, of Brookneal, Va., previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud. This morning in U.S. District court, Boggs was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. In addition, Boggs was ordered to pay over $380,000 to the victims of his fraud.
“Mr. Boggs exploited the trust placed in him by Travis Watson and turned it into a vehicle for fraud,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “He stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mr. Watson and caused harm that extends well beyond financial loss.”
Boggs has admitted that he met Travis Watson when Watson was a freshman in high school in Texas. During a trip to Lynchburg, Va. to play in an AAU tournament, Watson met the defendant, who welcomed Watson into his home. The two soon became close and through Boggs’ efforts, Watson was able to attend Oak Hill Academy where he continued to develop his basketball skills. Watson considered Boggs a mentor, coach and father figure.
Following high school, Watson attended and played basketball at the University of Virginia before playing professionally in Greece, Italy, Lithuania and other places in Europe.
The Government’s evidence established, and Boggs admitted, that during Watson’s time overseas, Boggs approached him and offered to invest a portion of Watson’s earnings to ensure financial security post-basketball. Boggs knew that due to the close personal nature of their relationship, Watson would trust him to invest his money wisely. Boggs instructed Watson how to wire money into a pair of accounts, and that Watson expected Boggs to invest that money for Watson’s benefit.
Between 2009 and 2011, Watson wired $357,965 to the accounts controlled by Boggs, who admitted that he used nearly all of the money sent by Watson to pay the personal expenses of Boggs and to pay family members. In addition, throughout the process, Boggs assured Watson that he was making sound investments and that he was going to make Watson a “millionaire.”
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Giorno and Laura Rottenborn prosecuted the case for the United States.
Florida-Based Oxycodone Suppliers Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
ROME, Ga. – Gerald Young and Rodney Strachan, two Florida men who supplied large amounts of the prescription narcotic Oxycodone to pill distributors in northwest Georgia, have been sentenced to prison.
“The significant sentences imposed reflect our office’s continued commitment to ending the illegal distribution of prescription painkillers in our community,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “The defendants sentenced today supplied a drug trafficking organization with tens of thousands of Oxycodone tablets. In recent years, the abuse of Oxycodone has risen to epidemic proportions, and fatal overdose rates continue to rise. We will pursue anyone involved in the illegal acquisition and distribution of pain killers, including unscrupulous doctors, pharmacists, and clinic owners.”
Harry S. Sommers, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division commented on the case, “One of DEA’s top priorities are addressing the problem of the diversion and abuse of controlled pharmaceuticals. These pill peddling perpetrators trafficked scores of Oxycodone pills. Now, they are deserving of the prison term they received. This case was successful because of the unified efforts of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: An investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, and the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office, revealed that John Gregory Alvarez was the leader of a thirteen-person conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone and launder the proceeds of the illicit sales of the pills. This drug trafficking organization obtained the vast majority of its pills from Florida. Specifically, co-defendant Alvarez, and later co-defendants that he recruited, would travel to Florida on a monthly basis to obtain prescription Oxycodone painkillers from both Young and Strachan.
Young and Strachan stockpiled copious amounts of Oxycodone pills, which they would then provide to Alvarez and his co-conspirators on consignment. Members of the Alvarez organization would sell the pills for a profit, and then reinvest the proceeds into the organization by using the funds to pay for the previous month’s supply of narcotics. The reach of this organization’s illegal Oxycodone distribution included not only the northwest Georgia area, but also extended into Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Investigators determined that this conspiracy was responsible for trafficking hundreds of thousands of Oxycodone pills.
Young, 69, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Strachan, 58, of Pompano Beach, Fla., were sentenced by United States District Judge Harold L. Murphy. Young was sentenced to ten years, one month in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Strachan was sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Both are the last defendants to be sentenced for their roles in this Oxycodone distribution ring based in Rossville, Ga.
For his role in leading the northwest Georgia drug trafficking organization, on October 21, 2011, Alvarez was sentenced to 21 years, ten months in prison to be followed by six years of supervised release.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.com.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, officers of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, and deputies of the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorney C. Brock Brockington prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Information Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.
Florida Man to Serve 13 Months for Defrauding Thousands of Homeowners in $4 Million Home Loan Modification ScamRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Florida man was sentenced today to serve 13 months in prison for defrauding thousands of homeowners in a $4 million nationwide home loan modification scheme.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) Christy Romero made the announcement.
Vernell Burris Jr., 54, of Coconut Creek, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel and ordered to serve two years of supervised release following his prison term. Two co-defendants, Christopher S. Godfrey, 44, of Delray Beach, Fla., and Dennis Fischer, 42, of Highland Beach, Fla., were each sentenced on Feb. 20, 2014, to serve 84 months in prison and three years of supervised release following their prison term.
On Nov. 28, 2012, Burris pleaded guilty, to conspiracy and nine counts of wire fraud.
Burris worked for Godfrey and Fischer, initially as a salesman and later as the sales manager. From January 2009 through May 2011, Burris, along with Godfrey, Fischer and others, operating under the name Home Owners Protection Economics Inc. (HOPE), made a series of misrepresentations to induce struggling homeowners to pay HOPE $400 to $2,000 in up-front fees in exchange for HOPE’s help obtaining federally-funded home loan modifications. The scheme generated over $4 million in revenues.
The conspirators misrepresented that, with HOPE’s assistance, the homeowner was guaranteed to receive a loan modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which is part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and is a federally-funded, mortgage-assistance program. For example, the defendants routinely claimed that the homeowner had already been approved for a loan modification, provided phony “approval codes,” quoted new (and wholly fictitious) mortgage terms and due dates, touted their 98 percent past success rate and claimed that they were “underwriters” or were otherwise affiliated with the homeowners’ mortgage companies. HOPE also claimed that it would offer homeowners refunds in the unlikely event that they did not receive a loan modification.
In exchange for the up-front fees, HOPE sent its customers, including homeowners in Massachusetts, a do-it-yourself application package, which was virtually identical to the application that the government provides free of charge. The HOPE customers had no advantage in the application process, and, in fact, most of their applications were denied. Through these misrepresentations, HOPE was able to persuade thousands of homeowners to pay more than $4 million in fees.
The remaining defendant in the case, Brian Kelly, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.The case was investigated by SIGTARP, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bookbinder of Ortiz’s Computer Crimes Unit and Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
Federal Jury Finds Sarasota Convicted Felon Guilty of Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury today found Tory Lenard James (32, Sarasota) guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. James faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 16, 2014.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on July 25, 2013, members of the Sarasota Police Department executed a search warrant at James’s residence. Inside the home, law enforcement officers found a loaded .22 caliber pistol.
At the time of the incident, James was a convicted felon. His prior felonies include robbery and multiple drug charges. As a convicted felon, James is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Sarasota Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carlton C. Gammons and Shauna Hale.
This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Julie Leon, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violent crime and improving the quality of life in communities where law enforcement efforts are focused.
Federal Inmate Pleads Guilty to Possession of Contraband WeaponsRead the Press Release
TERRE HAUTE– Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced that Aeron Curtis Bush, 39, an inmate of the United States Penitentiary at Terre Haute, pled guilty to possession of 15 homemade contraband weapons, commonly referred to as “shanks” in a prison setting.
“Protecting our federal prison employees is a top priority of this Office,” said Hogsett. “We will not allow inmates to get the upper hand in the Bureau of Prisons.”
On August 25, 2012, officers at the penitentiary stopped Bush to conduct a random visual search. Upon searching Bush’s clothes, officers noticed homemade knife sheaths sewn into the inside of both his shorts and underwear. An officer then contacted the unit officer in Bush’s unit to secure Bush’s cell so it could be searched for weapons.
Officers searched the cell and located several pairs of shorts with sheaths sewn into the groin area. Upon inspection of the lower locker it was discovered that the rivets and bolts had been removed from the lower floor plate. Under this floor plate, 15 homemade metal and plastic weapons were discovered, along with multiple pieces of unsharpened metal. Bush was the only inmate assigned to this cell at the time.
Bush is currently imprisoned after being convicted of drug trafficking offenses in the Western District of Texas. His scheduled release for that conviction would have been May, 2018.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Warden who is prosecuting the case, Bush faces an additional five years in prison upon sentencing.
Federal Grand Jury in Fort Wayne Returns IndictmentRead the Press Release
Hammond South Bend Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana - The United States Attorney's Office announced that a Grand Jury sitting in Fort Wayne, Indiana, returned the following Indictment on January 22, 2014: Travon D. Russell, 22, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is charged in a two count Indictment with being a felon in possession of a firearm on or about December 23, 2013, and maintaining a drug involved premise on or about December 12, 2013. The Indictment also alleges forfeiture of firearms, ammunition and a digital scale. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fort Wayne Police Department. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley J. Miller Lowery.
The United States Attorney's Office emphasized that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.Drug Felon Sentenced to Twenty-Seven Years ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – Jacob Drummondo-Farias, age 31, of Waialua, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge J. Michael Seabright to 324 months imprisonment for being a manager and supervisor of a conspiracy to distribute and possess, with intent to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between 2011 and January, 2012. Drummondo-Farias’ brother and co-defendant, Joshua Lew, 28, also of Waialua, earlier pled guilty to the same offense and will be sentenced on April 21, 2014.
Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that a federal jury found Drummondo-Farias, who has a prior federal felony drug conviction for distributing methamphetamine, guilty in November 2013, and that according to information presented at that trial Drummondo-Farias and Lew agreed with other individuals to distribute methamphetamine that was sent from California, via express mail services, to Honolulu during 2011 and 2012. The evidence also reflected that Drummondo-Farias arranged to have an express mail parcel with 890 grams of methamphetamine delivered to a Honolulu apartment in January 2012, but it was intercepted at the Honolulu International Airport by federal law enforcement authorities.
Drummondo-Farias faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years imprisonment due to his prior federal drug felony conviction. The investigation which resulted in the charges in the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hawaii Airport Task Force and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Inciong handled the prosecution.
Distributing Child Pornography Lands Huntsville Man in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Reed Christopher LeBlanc, 20, a former resident of Huntsville, will now be serving a federal prison sentence of nearly 11 years following his conviction of distribution of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. LeBlanc pleaded guilty Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas, who took into consideration that LeBlanc had molested a young girl when he was a juvenile, ordered a total sentence of 130 months in federal prison. The sentence will be immediately followed by 30 years of supervised release, during which time he will be under special conditions designed to protect children and prohibit the use of the Internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
The investigation started as a result of several downloads of child pornography over the Internet by a federal agent with the New York office of the FBI which were traced to a computer used by LeBlanc. On Dec. 3, 2012, federal agents served a search warrant at LeBlanc’s Huntsville address and seized his Apple computer. A forensic exam was conducted, revealing approximately 82 images and 33 videos of child pornography.
LeBlanc will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The charges against were the result of an investigation conducted by the Texas City office of the FBI and officers with the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Stabe, 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."
Diagnostic Imaging Group to Pay $15.5 Million for Allegedly Submitting False Claims to Federal and State Health Care ProgramsRead the Press Release
Diagnostic Imaging Group (DIG) has agreed to pay a total of $15.5 million to resolve allegations that its diagnostic testing facility falsely billed federal and state health care programs for tests that were not performed or not medically necessary and by paying kickbacks to physicians. Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Paul J. Fishman and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch announced the settlement today.
DIG has agreed to pay $13.65 million to the federal government and an additional total of $1.85 million to New York and New Jersey. DIG operates a chain of diagnostic testing facilities through its subsidiary, Doshi Diagnostic Imaging Services, which is headquartered in Hicksville, N.Y. DIG previously operated chains in New Jersey and Florida through subsidiaries Doshi Diagnostic Imaging Services of New Jersey and Signet Diagnostic Imaging Services.
“When health care providers pay kickbacks and submit false claims to Medicare, they not only deplete the Medicare Trust Fund, they undermine the integrity of the health care system,” said Assistant Attorney General Delery. “The Justice Department will relentlessly pursue those who misuse federal health care funds for their own profit.”
“Health care providers who make decisions based on profit instead of medical need compromise patient safety and confidence,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “Unnecessary tests and the payment of kickbacks also siphon precious resources from our health care system. The settlement we’re announcing today is an appropriate response to these unacceptable practices.”
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that DIG submitted claims to Medicare, as well as the New Jersey and New York Medicaid Programs, for 3D reconstructions of CT scans that were never performed or interpreted. Additionally, DIG allegedly bundled certain tests on its order forms so that physicians could not order other tests without ordering the additional bundled tests, which were not medically necessary. Today’s settlement also resolves allegations that DIG paid kickbacks to physicians for the referral of diagnostic tests. According to the government, the kickbacks were in the form of payments that DIG made to physicians ostensibly to supervise patients who underwent nuclear stress testing. These payments allegedly exceeded fair market value and were, in fact, intended to reward physicians for their referrals.
“Patients deserve testing decisions based solely on medical need, not doctors’ pocketbooks,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch. “We will continue to work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to investigate vigorously allegations of fraud on federal programs like Medicare and to pursue those who seek to fraudulently deplete the Medicare Trust Fund.”
“Paying physicians for their referrals and submitting false claims to increase Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements – as was alleged in this case – simply cannot be tolerated,” said Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Daniel R. Levinson. “Besides levying a hefty penalty, the settlement requires an independent organization to review Diagnostic Imaging Group’s claims for five years and to send reports to the government.”
The allegations resolved by today’s settlement were raised in three lawsuits filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The three whistleblowers, Mark Novick, M.D., Rey Solano and Richard Steinman, M.D., will receive $ 1.5 million , $ 1.07 million and $ 209,250 , respectively, as part of today’s settlement.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $19 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $13.4 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This case was handled by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The settlement is the culmination of an investigation conducted jointly by special agents of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI with contributions from the Railroad Retirement Board.
The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The three cases are captioned United States ex rel. Mark Novick, M.D. v. Doshi Diagnostic Imaging Services P.C. , Civil Action No. 09-4992 (D.N.J.), United States ex rel. Rey Solano v. Diagnostic Imaging Group et al., Civil Action No. 10-267 (D.N.J.) and United States ex rel. Richard Steinman, M.D. v. Diagnostic Imaging Group, et al., Civil Action No. 10-4161 (E.D.N.Y.).
Diagnostic Imaging Group to Pay $15.5 Million for Allegedly Submitting False Claims to Federal and State Health Care ProgramsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Diagnostic Imaging Group (DIG) has agreed to pay a total of $15.5 million to resolve allegations that its diagnostic testing facilities falsely billed federal and state health care programs for tests that were not performed or not medically necessary and by paying kickbacks to physicians.
U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Paul J. Fishman, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery, and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch announced the settlement today.
DIG has agreed to pay $13.65 million to the federal government and an additional total of $1.85 million to New York and New Jersey. DIG operates a chain of diagnostic testing facilities through its subsidiary, Doshi Diagnostic Imaging Services, which is headquartered in Hicksville, N.Y. DIG previously operated chains in New Jersey and Florida through subsidiaries Doshi Diagnostic Imaging Services of New Jersey and Signet Diagnostic Imaging Services.
“Health care providers who make decisions based on profit instead of medical need compromise patient safety and confidence,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Unnecessary tests and the payment of kickbacks also siphon precious resources from our health care system. The settlement we’re announcing today is an appropriate response to these unacceptable practices.”
“When health care providers pay kickbacks and submit false claims to Medicare, they not only deplete the Medicare Trust Fund, they undermine the integrity of the health care system,” said Assistant Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. “The Justice Department will relentlessly pursue those who misuse federal health care funds for their own profit.”
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that DIG submitted claims to Medicare, as well as the New Jersey and New York Medicaid Programs, for 3D reconstructions of CT scans that were never performed or interpreted. Additionally, DIG allegedly bundled certain tests on its order forms so that physicians could not order other tests without ordering the additional bundled tests, which were not medically necessary. Today’s settlement also resolves allegations that DIG paid kickbacks to physicians for the referral of diagnostic tests. According to the government, the kickbacks were in the form of payments that DIG made to physicians ostensibly to supervise patients who underwent nuclear stress testing. These payments allegedly exceeded fair market value and were, in fact, intended to reward physicians for their referrals.
“Patients deserve testing decisions based solely on medical need, not doctors’ pocketbooks,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch. “We will continue to work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to investigate vigorously allegations of fraud on federal programs like Medicare and to pursue those who seek to fraudulently deplete the Medicare Trust Fund.”
“Paying physicians for their referrals and submitting false claims to increase Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements – as was alleged in this case – simply cannot be tolerated,” said Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Daniel R. Levinson. “Besides levying a hefty penalty, the settlement requires an independent organization to review Diagnostic Imaging Group’s claims for five years and to send reports to the government.”
The allegations resolved by today’s settlement were raised in three lawsuits filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The three whistleblowers will receive the following amounts as part of today’s settlement: Mark Novick, M.D., $1.5 million; Rey Solano, $1.07 million; Richard Steinman, M.D., $209,250.
U.S. Attorney Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $535 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Graybow of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark and Trial Attorneys Arthur Di Dio and William Olson of the Justice Department’s Civil Division in all aspects of the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Kaufman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York with regard to the Steinman qui tam. New York was represented the New York Attorney General’s Medicaid Control Fraud Unit in New York City, and New Jersey was represented by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Government & Healthcare Fraud Section in Newark.
The settlement is the culmination of an investigation conducted jointly by special agents of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and special agents of the FBI in Newark under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with contributions from the Railroad Retirement Board.The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The three cases are captioned United States ex rel. Mark Novick, M.D. v. Doshi Diagnostic Imaging Services P.C., Civil Action No. 09-4992 (D.N.J.), United States ex rel. Rey Solano v. Diagnostic Imaging Group et al., Civil Action No. 10-267 (D.N.J.) and United States ex rel. Richard Steinman, M.D. v. Diagnostic Imaging Group, et al., Civil Action No. 10-4161 (E.D.N.Y.).
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Defense counsel for Doshi: Mitchell Lazris Esq. and Ronald Wisor Esq., Washington
Counsel for Relators: Novick qui tam – bundling, including 3D reconstruction: Marc S. Raspanti Esq. and Michael A. Morse Esq., Philadelphia
Solano qui tam – stress-testing: Eric H. Jaso Esq., New York, and David Bocian Esq., Radnor, Pa.
Steinman qui tam – 3D reconstruction: Timothy McCormack Esq., WashingtonDoshi Executed Settlement Agreement
Deported Alien Charged with Illegally Re-entering U.S.Read the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - An alien found in Beaver Falls, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of illegal re-entry after deportation, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The one-count indictment named Jesus Espinoza-Fernandez, 30, of Mexico, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment presented to the court, Espinoza-Fernandez, an alien, was formally removed from the United States by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Jan. 6, 2009. Espinoza-Fernandez was found to be illegally present in Beaver Falls on Feb. 6, 2014.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of two years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Mary McKeen Houghton is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.