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5 February 2014
Correctional Officer Sentenced in Baltimore Jail Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Correctional Officer Smuggled Drugs and Contraband for BGF into Baltimore Correctional Facility and Had Sex With a BGF Inmate
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced correctional officer Jasmine Thornton, a/k/a J.T., age 26, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, to 32 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for racketeering conspiracy arising from the smuggling of drugs and contraband for members of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang inside the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Acting Secretary Gregg Hershberger of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.This case was developed as a result of the efforts of the Maryland Prison Task Force, formed in 2011 with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors. The Task Force has met regularly for over three years, generating recommendations to reform prison procedures and producing leads that have been pursued by state, local and federal criminal investigators. The investigation is continuing.
According to court documents, BGF has been the dominant gang at the BCDC, and in several connected facilities, including the Baltimore Central Booking Intake Center (BCBIC), the Women’s Detention Center, which houses many men, and in the Jail Industries Building.
According to her plea agreement, Thornton worked as a correctional officer at BCDC and BCBIC from 2007 to 2013. She had a personal and sexual relationship with one of the leaders of the BGF inmates at BCDC. Thornton smuggled large quantities of contraband, including marijuana, tobacco and prescription pills, into BCDC on behalf of the BGF leader and other BGF leaders, including Steve Loney and Tavon White. Thornton also warned inmates of impending searches by prison officers.
Thornton is the third correctional officer to be sentenced in the conspiracy. Correctional officers Taryn Kirkland, age 23, and Adrena Rice, age 26, both of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy and were sentenced in January 2014, each to 42 months in prison. Six other correctional officers have pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy and await sentencing.
BGF leader Tavon White, age 36, and BGF commander Steven Loney, age 24, also pleaded guilty to the racketeering enterprise. Loney was sentenced on January 14, 2014 to nine years in prison. Tavon White awaits his sentencing.
Tyrone Thompson, a/k/a Henry, age 46, who admitted to supplying prescription pills that were smuggled into the jail, will be sentenced tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.
U.S. Attorney Rosenstein recognized the efforts of the other members of the Maryland Prison Task Force, including: Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; United States Marshal Johnny Hughes; Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Tom Carr, Director of the Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area; and Dave Engel, Executive Director of the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Baltimore Police Department, and Maryland Prison Task Force, for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Robert R. Harding and Ayn B. Ducao, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.Citgo Sentenced to Pay More Than $2 Million for Environmental Crimes at Corpus Christi, Texas, RefineryRead the Press Release
CITGO Petroleum Corporation and CITGO Refining and Chemicals Company LLP (CITGO) were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Corpus Christi for violations of the Clean Air Act related to its illegal operation of two massive tanks at their Corpus Christi East Plant Refinery as oil water separators without the required emission control equipment. The failure to equip the tanks with emission controls exposed numerous residents in the Oak Park and Hillcrest communities to chemical emissions.
CITGO Petroleum Corporation was ordered to pay a fine of $500,000 on each of the two Clean Air Act counts of conviction. CITGO Refining and Chemicals Company LLP was ordered to pay a fine of $500,000 on each of the federal Clean Air Act counts of conviction plus $15,000 on each of the three misdemeanor Migratory Bird Treaty Act conviction, for a total of $45,000.
In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey deferred his ruling on victim restitution and a remedial order and will issue a written order on those issues within the next 90 days. Approximately 80 victims appeared in the full court room.
In June 2007, a jury convicted CITGO for illegally operating the two tanks at their Corpus Christi East Plant Refinery between January 1994 and May 2003. The open top tanks were the source of emissions including benzene, a known carcinogen, and other volatile organic compounds, which affected persons in the surrounding communities. Texas state investigators testified at the trial that they traced emissions that caused burning eyes, sore throat, difficulty breathing and other acute health effects back to the tanks on several occasions. The emissions from the tanks were detected in Oak Park and Hillcrest in the form of strong gaseous type odors.
“CITGO’s illegal and careless operation of two massive tanks without emission controls exposed residents – the company’s neighbors – in the Oak Park and Hillcrest communities of Corpus Christi to unacceptable health impacts from toxic chemical emissions,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Dreher of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “I am grateful to the prosecutors, the victim specialists and the federal and state investigators for fighting tirelessly for justice for these residents who deserve to breathe clean air and to be protected under the nation’s Clean Air Act.”
“The stories from victims in this case are a powerful reminder of why we protect clean air for all Americans,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Facilities that operate in our backyards, especially in overburdened communities, have a responsibility to follow the nation’s environmental laws. Today’s sentencing supports our commitment to reduce pollutants from the air we breathe, and to fight for those most vulnerable to pollution.”
The Department of Justice, The U.S. Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Section, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division (EPA/CID), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Environmental Crimes Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted by the Texas Environmental Crimes Task Force (which also includes agents from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department) held three days of community meetings in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Oct. 25-27, 2012, to identify area residents who suffered immediate negative health effects from emissions from the CITGO refinery in order to comply with an order by U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey to make members of the community aware of their potential victim rights, and followed similar meetings held in 2007. Individuals who suffered acute health effects from the emissions prepared victim impact statements for submission to the district court.
On Oct. 11-13, 2013, the same government agencies assisted approximately 90 of the identified victims who were permitted to address Judge Rainey as a part of the sentencing process, which occurred over a three week period. During the hearing, victims told Judge Rainey of the difficulty of living in Hillcrest and Oak Park during the time the tanks were being operated illegally. Residents spoke of the sore throats, difficulty breathing, burning eyes, skin rashes and damage to property caused by the chemical emissions that were coming from the tanks.Chataignier Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Ricky Johnson, 53, of Chataignier, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik to possession of child pornography.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, in early 2010, a computer Johnson used was found to be downloading child pornography from a file sharing network online. In September of 2010, Johnson’s computer and other electronic devices were searched, and images and videos of child pornography were found. Johnson has a prior conviction for molestation of a juvenile.
Johnson faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release. The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be submitted anonymously.
Those concerned may also leave tips with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously. The Lafayette FBI office number is (337) 233-2164.
California Man Sentenced for Assault by Striking, Beating and Wounding and Simple AssaultRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Los Angeles, California, man charged with Assault by Striking, Beating and Wounding and Simple Assault pled guilty and was sentenced on February 4, 2014, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno.
Francisco Hernandez, Jr., age 41, was sentenced to 2 years’ probation on each count, to be served concurrently, and $20 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction stems from an incident that took place on January 21, 2013, in Timber Lake, in Indian country, when Hernandez, who had been drinking alcohol that morning, assaulted his girlfriend by striking her on the head and body while she attempted to leave the house with their children.
The investigation was conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley.
Brownsville Man Sentenced on Federal Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Jesus Mauricio Juarez Jr. aka Flaco 27, has been sentenced to federal prison for his involvement in a 1,000 pound marijuana load, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. He pleaded guilty in November 2013.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle sentenced Juarez to 31 months in federal prison. In handing down the sentence, Ruben Gonzalez-Cavazos aka Mume, also pleaded guilty in relation to the conspiracy and was sentenced to 47 months in federal prison and assessed a $15,000 fine on Feb. 3, 2014. Co-defendant Francisco Javier Maya, 35, went to trial last week in Brownsville and was convicted on all counts. He will be sentenced on May 13, 2014. Adolfo Lozano-Luna aka Chefero, 35, and Alberto Martinez aka El Diablo, 50, also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later date.
Evidence at Maya’s trial placed all five men in a conspiracy involving a 1,000 pound marijuana, which was forcibly hijacked from them by unknown individuals on Dec. 11, 2012. One month later, Juarez was injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated at his residence in Brownsville. In sentencing Juarez today, Judge Tagle discussed the bombing incident and noted that at least he and his family still have their lives.
Evidence also linked Juarez, Gonzalez-Cavazos and Maya to other marijuana loads during the conspiracy. Maya’s role in the drug trafficking organization was to provide drivers for tractor trailers to drive marijuana loads to locations to include Houston and Taylor. Maya, Juarez and Gonzalez-Cavazos would share in the profits of each successful marijuana load.At the direction of Juarez, Maya provided bank account numbers associated with him and Gonzalez-Cavazos to Juarez in order to deposit drug profits. Juarez then made deposits stemming from narcotics proceeds from a successful marijuana load delivered to Taylor in November 2012. Evidence was presented at Maya’s trial that a $6,000 deposit was made into an account associated with Maya on Nov. 28, 2012, while another $6,500 was deposited into an account associated with Gonzalez-Cavazos on the same day.
The jury last week also heard that Maya was a follower of the Santeria religion. The jury saw photos of Maya’s residence in Mission, Texas, which depicted numerous images of what was considered to be altars showing glasses of alcohol, knives, a machete, kettles, feathers and substances that appeared to be blood. Testimony also included descriptions of two rituals involving the sacrifice of animals.
In December 2012, Maya had a Santeria priest, known as a “Padrino,” perform rituals with the organization to “bless” a 1,000 pound marijuana load that was destined for Houston. After meeting with the Padrino, Maya, Gonzalez-Cavazos and Juarez decided the marijuana load should remain in the Rio Grande Valley. The next day, a second ritual, attended by all five defendants, was performed and the 1,000 pounds of marijuana was to be transported to Houston. However, the marijuana was stolen from the group by unknown individuals that evening. After the theft and subsequent IED detonation, law enforcement was able to piece together the events and conspirators involved in this drug trafficking organization.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Brownsville Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Angel Castro and Jody Young.
Brownsville Man Sentenced on Federal Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Jesus Mauricio Juarez Jr. aka Flaco 27, has been sentenced to federal prison for his involvement in a 1,000 pound marijuana load, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. He pleaded guilty in November 2013.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle sentenced Juarez to 31 months in federal prison. In handing down the sentence, Ruben Gonzalez-Cavazos aka Mume, also pleaded guilty in relation to the conspiracy and was sentenced to 47 months in federal prison and assessed a $15,000 fine on Feb. 3, 2014. Co-defendant Francisco Javier Maya, 35, went to trial last week in Brownsville and was convicted on all counts. He will be sentenced on May 13, 2014. Adolfo Lozano-Luna aka Chefero, 35, and Alberto Martinez aka El Diablo, 50, also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later date.
Evidence at Maya’s trial placed all five men in a conspiracy involving a 1,000 pound marijuana, which was forcibly hijacked from them by unknown individuals on Dec. 11, 2012. One month later, Juarez was injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated at his residence in Brownsville. In sentencing Juarez today, Judge Tagle discussed the bombing incident and noted that at least he and his family still have their lives.
Evidence also linked Juarez, Gonzalez-Cavazos and Maya to other marijuana loads during the conspiracy. Maya’s role in the drug trafficking organization was to provide drivers for tractor trailers to drive marijuana loads to locations to include Houston and Taylor. Maya, Juarez and Gonzalez-Cavazos would share in the profits of each successful marijuana load.At the direction of Juarez, Maya provided bank account numbers associated with him and Gonzalez-Cavazos to Juarez in order to deposit drug profits. Juarez then made deposits stemming from narcotics proceeds from a successful marijuana load delivered to Taylor in November 2012. Evidence was presented at Maya’s trial that a $6,000 deposit was made into an account associated with Maya on Nov. 28, 2012, while another $6,500 was deposited into an account associated with Gonzalez-Cavazos on the same day.
The jury last week also heard that Maya was a follower of the Santeria religion. The jury saw photos of Maya’s residence in Mission, Texas, which depicted numerous images of what was considered to be altars showing glasses of alcohol, knives, a machete, kettles, feathers and substances that appeared to be blood. Testimony also included descriptions of two rituals involving the sacrifice of animals.
In December 2012, Maya had a Santeria priest, known as a “Padrino,” perform rituals with the organization to “bless” a 1,000 pound marijuana load that was destined for Houston. After meeting with the Padrino, Maya, Gonzalez-Cavazos and Juarez decided the marijuana load should remain in the Rio Grande Valley. The next day, a second ritual, attended by all five defendants, was performed and the 1,000 pounds of marijuana was to be transported to Houston. However, the marijuana was stolen from the group by unknown individuals that evening. After the theft and subsequent IED detonation, law enforcement was able to piece together the events and conspirators involved in this drug trafficking organization.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Brownsville Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Angel Castro and Jody Young.
Artesia Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms and Methamphetamine Trafficking Charges Kimble Prosecuted as Part of “Worst of the Worst” Anti-Violence InitiativeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Bryan O’Keef Kimble, 29, of Artesia, N.M., pleaded guilty this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to six counts of a seven-count indictment charging him with federal firearms and methamphetamine trafficking charges. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, 3rd Judicial District Attorney Mark D’Antonio and Special Agent in Charge Bernard J. Zapor of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough said that Kimble was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
“Combating violent firearms crimes and the criminal use of firearms is a focus of our enforcement efforts in New Mexico,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Bernard J. Zapor.
Kimble was transferred from state custody to federal custody in March 2013 to face federal charges in a criminal complaint alleging that law enforcement authorities seized firearms, methamphetamine and other drugs from Kimble on two separate occasions in Aug. and Sept. 2012. In Aug. 2013, Kimble was indicted and charged with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition (Counts 1 and 4); two counts of carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime (Counts 2 and 5); two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute (Counts 3 and 7); and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number (Count 6).
Court records reflect that Kimble was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition in 2012 because he previously had been convicted of the following felony offenses: possession of a controlled substance in the 3rd Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico (Eddy County); and being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.
According to the criminal complaint, on Aug. 12, 2012, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office arrested Kimble in Las Cruces on local charges after a deputy found a loaded handgun and methamphetamine in Kimble’s possession. During a search of Kimble’s vehicle, deputies found another firearm, more methamphetamine, marijuana and heroin. On Sept. 14, 2012, the Las Cruces Police Department and U.S. Marshals Service arrested Kimble in Las Cruces on an outstanding state warrant. At the time of this second arrest, Kimble was in possession of methamphetamine, approximately 40 pills, and $4,725 in cash; a 9 mm pistol with an obliterated serial number was later found in Kimble’s vehicle.
During today’s proceedings, Kimble entered guilty pleas to all but Count 5 of the seven-count indictment. Kimble remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
At sentencing, Kimble faces the following maximum penalties: ten years in prison for each of the two felon in possession charges (Counts 1 and 4); less than five years nor more than 40 years in prison on the first methamphetamine trafficking charge (Count 3) and up to 20 years in prison on the second methamphetamine trafficking charge (Count 7); a mandatory five years in prison for carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime (Count 4) which must be served consecutive to the sentences imposed on the other charges; and up to five years for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number (Count 6).
Kimble is charged with state offenses arising out of the two incidents leading to his federal charges. The 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting those charges.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the Las Cruces Police Department, the Las Cruces office of the U.S. Marshals Service and the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Arizonan Mark Karas Imprisoned for Distributing OxycodoneRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Mark Karas, 52, of Tucson, AZ, was sentenced today to 30 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge that he conspired to distribute oxycodone. U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered that Karas serve three years of supervised release following completion of his prison term. Karas has been incarcerated since his arrest last April.
According to court records, on March 1, 2012, a federal grand jury in Burlington returned an indictment charging Karas and Mark Turner, 28, of Fairfax, with conspiring to distribute oxycodone. In the winter of 2012, Milton Police Officers made several controlled purchases of oxycodone from Turner. Local law enforcement officials and postal inspectors then executed search warrants at Turner's residence and on a piece of U.S. mail and seized drugs, a gun and money. Further investigation developed that Karas was mailing the oxycodone pills to Turner from Arizona and Turner was paying for the drugs by return mail.
Turner pled guilty to the charge in 2013 and was sentenced last fall to time served. Karas was not arrested until last spring, following a traffic stop in Missouri.
This case was investigated by the Milton Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Karas is represented to Assistant Federal Public Defender Steven Barth. Turner was represented by Chris Davis. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
Alabama Man Admits Attempted Murder of Witness, Mortgage Fraud Conspiracy and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Alabama man admitted today to conspiring to defraud financial institutions and launder stolen funds as part of a $15 million mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and “straw buyers” to make illegal profits on overbuilt condos, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Kinard Henson, 41, of Ventress, Ala., also admitted to the attempted murder of a straw buyer who was a witness to the mortgage fraud scheme.
Henson pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden federal court to a second superseding indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of attempted murder of a witness in a federal case.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Henson was among 11 defendants charged in July 2012 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Two additional defendants, Nicholas Tarsia, 65, of Totowa, N.J., and Mashon Onque, 43, of East Orange, N.J., were charged in November 2013 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Tarsia was also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Henson’s conspirators, including Timothy Ricks, 46, of East Orange, N.J., who pleaded guilty before Judge Simandle on Feb. 27, 2013, located oceanfront condominiums overbuilt by financially distressed developers and negotiated a buyout price with the sellers. They then caused the sales prices for the properties – located in Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood, N.J., other locations in New Jersey and in Naples, Fla. – to be much higher than the buyout price to ensure large proceeds. Other defendants helped conceal the true sales prices of certain properties through inflated sales contracts and sale and finder’s fee agreements.
Henson recruited one of the straw buyers to purchase certain properties at the inflated rates. The straw buyers had good credit scores but lacked the financial resources to qualify for mortgage loans. The conspirators created false documents, such as fake W-2 forms, pay stubs, bank statements and investment statements, to make the straw buyers appear more creditworthy than they actually were in order to induce the lenders to make the loans.
Henson and his conspirators caused fraudulent mortgage loan applications in the name of the straw buyers, including the supporting documents, to be submitted to mortgage brokers that the brokers knew were false. Once the loans were approved and the mortgage lenders sent the loan proceeds in connection with real estate closings, Henson received a portion of the proceeds from his conspirators, after his conspirators had funds wired or checks deposited into various accounts they controlled. Henson’s conspirators also distributed a portion of the proceeds to other members of the conspiracy for their respective roles.
Henson learned of a subpoena seeking documents in connection with a straw buyer’s purchases of real estate properties shortly after it was served by federal law enforcement agents on a mortgage brokerage firm. Henson, who had recruited the straw buyer, contacted another individual to kill the straw buyer. They then lured the straw buyer to a wooded area in Mobile, Ala. At Henson’s direction and using Henson’s firearm, the other individual shot the straw buyer multiple times.
The wire fraud conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The money laundering conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The attempted murder of a witness charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Henson’s is scheduled to be sentenced July 11, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark; and IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen in Newark, for their roles in the ongoing investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew T. Smith and Jacqueline M. Carle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
14-041Defense counsel: Stanley King Esq., Woodbury, N.J.
Henson, Kinard Second Superseding Indictment
Abilene Dentist Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison and Ordered to Pay Nearly $58,000 in Restitution in Medicaid Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Defendant Worked as a Pediatric Dental Provider at Kool Smiles and Personally Benefitted From Scheme
ABILENE, Texas — Dr. Tuan Truong, aka “Terry Truong,” of Abilene, a dentist who practiced pediatric dentistry at Kool Smiles in Abilene, was sentenced this afternoon, by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis, to 18 months in federal prison. Truong pleaded guilty in August 2013 to an Information charging one count of making a false statement in connection with a health care matter. Truong was also ordered to pay $57,969 in restitution to Kool Smiles. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
According to documents filed in the case, in summer 2008, Truong began working for Kool Smiles, which paid him a base salary and offered opportunities for bonuses based on additional procedures he performed in excess of daily targets set by Kool Smiles management. Dentists were required to use professional judgment in the treatment and management of patient care.
Beginning on June 30, 2008, and continuing to July 10, 2009, Truong made false entries on Kool Smiles patient records, purporting to have performed dental services for Medicaid beneficiaries that he well knew he had not performed. As a result of the false and fraudulent statements and entries Truong made, Kool Smiles billed Medicaid for procedures that were not performed. In fact, during this time period, Truong made false entries in the Kool Smiles electronic database that caused Kool Smiles to bill and receive payment from Medicaid (and Medicaid affiliates) of more than $120,000, but less than $200,000 for services he claimed to have performed, but did not.
In addition, according to the factual resume filed, Truong personally benefitted from this scheme by receiving bonuses of $32,749 to which he would not have been otherwise entitled. The court also ordered Truong to reimburse Kool Smiles for the legal fees incurred during the investigation.
Kool Smiles has cooperated throughout the investigation, which was conducted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Texas and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Burch, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, was in charge of the prosecution.
4 February 2014
Zwolle Man Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Felon in Possession of A Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that David Earl Sepulvado Jr., 33, of Zwolle, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Foote to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release for one count of felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He pleaded guilty September 25, 2013.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, on February 22, 2013, Deputy U.S. Marshals located and arrested Sepulvado in Shreveport on arrest warrants issued by the Kaufman County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office for aggravated robbery and theft of a motor vehicle. At the time of his arrest, Sepulvado was found in possession of a .380 caliber pistol and ammunition. He had prior felony convictions for possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in the presence of controlled dangerous substances in Sabine Parish in 2008.
The U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force, Louisiana State Probation and Parole Office, the Kaufman County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide program started in 2001 designed to reduce violence by aggressively enforcing existing federal firearms laWolcott Used Car Dealer Doug Jordan Jailed for FraudRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Douglas Jordan, 40, of Wolcott, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Rutland to 8 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge of odometer fraud. Chief Judge Christina Reiss also ordered that Jordan serve a one-year term of supervised release once he gets out of jail. The court indicated it will order Jordan to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a future hearing. Judge Reiss directed Jordan to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 8 to begin serving his sentence.
On April 29, 2013, a federal grand jury in Burlington returned a three-count indictment against Jordan, a former used car dealer who did business under the name Auto Credit Solutions. According to the indictment, Jordan bought high-mileage used cars at auctions in Vermont and then resold them. The indictment accused Jordan of defrauding customers by concealing malfunctions in various safety and operating systems on vehicles he was selling. Jordan caused the removal or disabling of warning lights for anti-lock brake, air bag and check engine warning systems. This enabled him to resell the vehicles for more than their fair market value. In one instance, Jordan also tampered with the odometer on a pick-up truck by rolling the mechanical odometer back 100,000 miles.
Jordan pled guilty to the odometer fraud charge last October. After his guilty plea, DMV revoked Jordan's license to sell used cars.Jordan is represented by assistant Federal Public Defender. David McColgin. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
Wilmington Tax Preparer Sentenced to 57 Months for Making False Statements to IRS and the North Carolina Banking CommissionRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that today in federal court, Senior United States District Judge W. Earl Britt sentenced Eugenio M. David-Martinez , age 55, of Wilmington, North Carolina, to 57 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
David-martinez was named in a two-count Criminal Information filed on April 22, 2013, charging him with Making False Statements to a Federal Agency and Making False Claims of US Citizenship. On July 11, 2013, david-martinez pled guilty to those charges.
According to the investigation, DAVID-MARTINEZ came to the United States from Cuba in 1980. Since then, he has illegally resided in the United States. As a Cuban national, however, he is not deportable.
Since at least January 2007, DAIVD-MARTINEZ has provided tax and accounting services, in Wilmington, North Carolina. The majority of his clients were also residing in the United States illegally. In order to file income tax returns, DAVID-MARTINEZ’s clients required Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, otherwise referred to as ITINs. To obtain an ITIN, the applicant must submit proof of identification and a tax reason for filing a return, which includes earning wages in the United States. The IRS authorizes individuals, known as acceptance agents, to assist applicants in the ITIN process. To become an acceptance agent, the individual must prove that he is a citizen or a legal resident and pass a suitability background check. In his applications to become an acceptance agent, DAVID-MARTINEZ falsely stated that he was a US citizen and bypassed the suitability background check by falsely representing he had previously been authorized to practice before the IRS as an Enrolled Agent.
For the years 2007 through 2012, DAVID-MARTINEZ filed approximately 18,536 ITIN applications for which he received $15 per application. He also filed approximately 12,985 income tax returns for individuals with ITINs for which he charged on average $90 per return.
DAVID-MARTINEZ also negotiated the IRS refund checks issued to the ITIN taxpayers. To advertise or offer this check cashing service for a fee, DAVID-MARTINEZ required a check cashing license issued by the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks. The application required DAVID-MARTINEZ to indicate his country of citizenship. DAVID-MARTINEZ falsely claimed he was a US citizen.
An integral part of the IRS-Criminal Investigation's mission involves detecting and catching fraudulent tax refund claims,” stated Jeannine A. Hammett, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge. “The IRS-Criminal Investigation will continue to aggressively pursue those who file false tax returns to claim tax refunds for which they are not entitled.”
The Investigation of this case was conducted by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and the US Department of Homeland Security. Assistant United States Attorney Susan Menzer represented the government.
Wenatchee Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Spokane - Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Christopher Gary Carlson, age 40, of Wenatchee, Washington, was sentenced today after having previously pleaded guilty in November, 2013 to Possession of Child Pornography. Chief United States District Court Judge Rosanna Malof Peterson sentenced Carlson to a ten-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a life term of court supervision after he is released from Federal prison.
According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, the Wenatchee Police Department received several reports last April of an individual using the username "warlock666" to trade images of child sex abuse over the Internet. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents joined the investigation and the law enforcement officers were able to determine "warlock666" was Carlson. They determined Carlson was using his cellphone to chat online about child pornography. The officers obtained a search warrant for the phone and they discovered more than 600 images of child pornography. Among the images were child exploitation victims younger than 5-years-old.
In addition, information was disclosed that Carlson was convicted in 2007 for the same offense – Possession of Child Pornography. Carlson has a history of non-compliance with sex offender registration requirements. Records show he has been convicted twice since 2009 in Delaware for failing to register as a sex offender.
Michael C. Ormsby stated, "I commend the collaborative work of the Wenatchee Police Department and HSI in this case. The United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Washington is, and will continue to be, committed to prosecuting aggressively and seeking appropriate punishment for child pornography crimes. Prosecuting offenders who are collecting child pornography is a priority of the United States Attorney's Office."
"Those who trade child pornography are a part of a disturbing cycle of violence against children," said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. "Imagine being in your 20s, 30s or 40s and knowing that, in the shadows of the Internet, predators are trading images of your childhood sex abuse. This is what victims of this crime must live with for the rest of their lives."
This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.
This case was pursued as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. The Project Safe Childhood Initiative ("PSC") has five major components:
- Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue child victims;
- Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives;
- Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases;
- Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents; and
- Community awareness and educational programs.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources".
This investigation was by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and Wenatchee Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Stephanie J. Lister, an Assistant United States Attorney and PSC Coordinator for the Eastern District of Washington.
CR-13-00135-RMP
Waveland Man Pleads Guilty to Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill FraudRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – Luom Van Ngo, 44, of Waveland, Mississippi, pled guilty in U.S. District Court today to mail fraud related to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis announced.
Ngo admitted that he devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the Gulf Coast Claims Facility established by BP Exploration and Production, Inc. to administer, process, and settle certain claims of individuals and businesses impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Ngo made false representations in his claim for damages by alleging that, as a result of the oil spill, he lost earnings, profits and work hours as a commercial fisherman in Hancock County, Mississippi. As a result of his fraudulent scheme, Ngo caused a check in the amount of $18,000.00 to be sent to him from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility through the United States mail.
Luom Van Ngo will be sentenced on April 30, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., by Chief U. S. District Judge Louis Guirola. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones. It was brought as part of this District’s partnership with the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF), a nationwide initiative to protect available funds and assistance for those victims of both natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and the recent Gulf oil spill. If you have knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, you can contact the NCDF by either calling the hotline at (866) 720-5721, faxing (225) 334-4707, emailing at [email protected] or in writing to National Center for Disaster Fraud, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at:
(866) 720-5721
You can also fax information to:
(225) 334-4707
or e-mail it to:
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Virginia Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Traveling to Engage in Illicit Sexual ConductWith A Minor and Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Nicholas Hanlon, 28, of Stafford, Va., was sentenced today to eight years in prison on one count of traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of receipt of child pornography.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Earl L. Cook, Chief of the Alexandria Police Department, Alexandria, Va.
Hanlon pled guilty to the charges in November 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Gladys Kessler. Upon completion of his prison term, Hanlon will be placed on 10 years of supervised release.
According to the government's evidence, on April 25, 2013, a member of the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, a detective from the Alexandria Police Department, was contacted by the parent of an under-aged female who was concerned that the child had been engaged in illicit text message conversations with Hanlon and others. The task force member, in an undercover capacity, began communicating with Hanlon, who believed the officer was the child.
Over the next few days, Hanlon engaged in text messaging with the undercover officer. During this period of time, Hanlon arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the child.
On April 25, 2013, Hanlon traveled from Virginia to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C. When he arrived, he was arrested. Subsequent to his arrest, law enforcement searched Hanlon’s computer and cell phone. Pursuant to that search, law enforcement found evidence that Hanlon had been communicating via text message and email with multiple young girls. Specifically, law enforcement recovered evidence that Hanlon received explicit videos from a female child from Missouri and from a 15-year-old from Virginia.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave, Chief Lanier, and Chief Cook praised the work of the MPD and Alexandria Police Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who prosecuted the case.
14-030Virginia Beach Man Convicted on Charges of Receipt and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Marcus Warrick, 29, of Virginia Beach, Va., was convicted today by a federal jury on six counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Scot R. Rittenberg, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington, made the announcement after the verdicts were accepted by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis. Warrick faces five years minimum and 20 years maximum in prison for each count when he is sentenced on May 8, 2014.
Warrick was indicted on December 6, 2012 by a federal grand jury. According to court records and evidence at trial,HSI executed a search warrant and seized his computer on November 8, 2013. HSI found more than 400 videos and images of child pornography on his computer. The investigation revealed that he installed ARES on his computer and, using search terms, actively sought out images of child pornography.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Randy Stoker and Elizabeth Yusi are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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.United States Attorney Peter Neronha Announces Leadership Team AppointmentsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha today announced the appointment of Assistant United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch to the position of First Assistant United States Attorney. The position was most recently held by Kenneth P. Madden, who retired on January 31, 2014, after serving thirty-eight years in public service as a prosecutor.
Mr. Dambruch, who was appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney in January 2004 and Criminal Division Chief in February 2007, served a 10-month detail for the Department of Justice in the Regime Crimes Liaison Office in Iraq beginning in December 2005. Prior to his appointment as an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Dambruch served as a state prosecutor, including appointments as Chief of the Narcotics Prosecution Unit, Chief of the Newport County Office, Chief Prosecutor, and Deputy Criminal Chief. Mr. Dambruch is a 1982 graduate of Providence College and received his law degree from Boston College Law School in 1985.
United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha today also announced the appointment of Assistant United States Attorney Adi Goldstein to the position of Criminal Division Chief. AUSA Goldstein, who joined the United States Attorney’s Office in September 2002, and who was appointed Criminal Division Deputy Chief and lead Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Attorney in October 2009, also supervised the white collar crime unit which includes financial crimes, public corruption, health care fraud, and child exploitation cases.
Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Ms. Goldstein served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and as a law clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ms. Goldstein is a 1995 graduate of Harvard University and received her law degree from Columbia School of Law in 1999.
United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha today also announced the appointment of Assistant United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus to the position of Civil Division Chief. The position of Civil Division Chief was most recently held by former Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Iannotti, who retired after thirty-one years of public service with the Department of Justice.
Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office in May 2007, Mr. Myrus was a partner in two Boston law firms specializing in patent litigation and served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A veteran, Mr. Myrus served in the United States Navy where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant as a helicopter aircraft commander and officer-in-charge of a helicopter detachment. Mr. Myrus was awarded the United Nations Humanitarian Service medal for the rescue of Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea and the National Defense Service Medal for the training of pilots during Operation Desert Storm.
Mr. Myrus, who is a 1984 graduate of Columbia University and a 1992 graduate of the University of San Diego, earned his law degree from Fordham University School of Law in 1995.
United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha commented, “I have worked with these three outstanding Assistant United States Attorneys for many years, some of them for over a decade. They are highly intelligent, motivated and experienced attorneys, and I am confident that they will serve the people of Rhode Island extraordinarily well.”
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To assist the media and the public, a glossary of federal judicial terms and procedures is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice101/
Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Uniontown Man Indicted on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that William T. West, 29, of Uniontown, Ohio, was charged with receiving, distributing and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The indictment charges that from on or about November 12, 2013, through on or about January 20, 2014, West knowingly received and distributed, by computer, numerous computer files, which contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
On January 21, 2014, images of child pornography were also found on his ASUS laptop computer, according to the indictment.
If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the Court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carol M. Skutnik. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Canton Office.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Two Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Two men who conspired to distribute methamphetamine were sentenced on November 14, 2013, and January 31, 2014, each to one year in federal prison.
Robert Skarin, 54, and William Meisner, 54, both from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after July 23, 2013, and August 26, 2013, guilty pleas to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
At the guilty pleas, each admitted that from the beginning of 2013 through April 2013 they distributed more than 50 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine in the Sioux City, Iowa area. Each further admitted that on at least two occasions they traveled together to Omaha, Nebraska, to obtain methamphetamine for later distribution in Sioux City. On April 3, 2013, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Skarin with Meisner as passenger. A search yielded a brown paper bag rolled up and hidden inside Skarin’s right sock. The bag contained over 80 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine. Skarin and Meisner intended to distribute some or all of this methamphetamine.
Both were sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Skarin was sentenced to 12 months’ and one day imprisonment. He must also serve a five year term of supervised release after the prison term. Meisner was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five year term of supervised release after the prison term. A special assessment of $100 was imposed to each of them. There is no parole in the federal system. Skarin and Meisner are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, which consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 13-4035.
Two Federal Inmates Found Guilty of Racially-Motivated MurderRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - A federal district court jury found Donald R. LaFond and Jason Robert Widdison guilty of second-degree murder. LaFond and Widdison are both federal prison inmates.
“This verdict shows that, even within the federal prison system, violent offenders must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “The fact that this particular homicide was motivated by racial animus makes these defendants’ actions all the more reprehensible. The Department of Justice and its Bureau of Prisons endeavor to protect the life and safety of every federal inmate. We remain vigilant and will do everything we can to ensure that prisons are as safe as possible for every inmate and employee.”
Ricky Maxwell, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: "The FBI, with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, Special Investigations Section, was determined to bring these two violent inmates forward and hold them accountable for the murder of a fellow inmate with the firm understanding that within the federal prison system, the rule of law still applies."
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: On March 1, 2011, LaFond and Widdison, both members of white supremacist prison gangs, were exercising inside the special housing unit recreation area of the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Ga. The victim, a white inmate who was not a gang member, joined the defendants in the area and attempted to make conversation and walk around with them.
After a short period of time, LaFond and Widdison suddenly began to punch the victim from both front and behind, knocking the victim to the ground. Both LaFond and Widdison then stomped on the victim’s head and neck, as many as ten times each. A correction officer witnessed the incident and intervened. Both men complied with the officers’ orders to stop beating the victim, but by then, the victim was unconscious. The victim was taken to a hospital but never regained consciousness. As a result of his injuries, the victim died on April 5, 2011.
The evidence at trial showed that, in the weeks leading up to the assault, Donald R. LaFond, Jr., 53, of New Bedford, Mass., and Jason Robert Widdison, 35, of Morgan, Utah expressed anger towards the victim because the victim refused to protest the fact that he had a black cellmate. The defendants pressured the victim to take any steps necessary to be reassigned to another cell. Further evidence showed that the victim refused to comply with the defendants’ demands and that the defendants regarded this refusal as a violation of their gang code.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Nekia S. Hackworth and Brent Alan Gray are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Tucson Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Prison for False Return SchemeRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – On Feb. 3, 2014, Margarita Gomez, 32, of Tucson, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Jarvey to 30 months imprisonment. Gomez pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue Laws. Gomez was also ordered to pay $200,408 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Gomez operated a tax return preparation service (M & M Tax Service) in Tucson, Ariz., and conducted a scheme to obtain, and to aid others to obtain, the payment of more than $200,000 in federal tax refunds from the IRS through the preparation and filing of federal individual income tax returns that contained false refund claims. Gomez admitted to soliciting clients who did not have legal status to work or reside in the United States, preparing false W-7 Forms, and manufacturing other fraudulent documentation. Gomez also intentionally filed clients' federal individual income tax returns without signing the tax returns as the paid tax return preparer and directed certain federal income tax refunds issued to her clients to be transmitted to either her personal bank account or to a mail drop over which she had control.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Mary Sue Feldmeier, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson, and Danny N. Roetzel, Trial Attorney, Department of Justice, Tax Division.
CASE NUMBER: CR-13-00621-TUC-JGZ
RELEASE NUMBER: 2014-008_GomezFor more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Speech Therapist and Office Manager Charged with FraudRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Rebecca Lee Rabon, 44, and Tiffany Nicole Thompson, 31, both of Houston, have been charged in a 44-count indictment alleging conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Special Agent in Charge Janice Flores of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) - Southwest Field Office in Arlington.
The sealed indictment, returned Jan. 30, 2014, was unsealed late yesterday as Rabon made her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy. After the hearing, Judge Stacy permitted Rabon’s release upon posting bond. Just a short time ago, Thompson turned herself in to federal authorities and is expected to appear before Judge Stacy at 2:00 p.m. today.
“As the investigative arm of the Department of Defense - Office of Inspector General, one of the primary missions of the DCIS is the detection of fraud, especially the type that targets critical funding for health care for our warfighters, their families and military retirees,” said Flores. “This investigation demonstrates the commitment of DCIS in rooting out and stopping health care fraud.”
The indictment alleges Rabon, the owner of Rabon Communication Enhancement (RCE) fraudulently billed TRICARE and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas approximately $3,784,642 for speech therapy and swallowing therapy services that were not provided to patients. Of that amount, the indictment alleges approximately $1,285,827.67 was paid on the fraudulent claims. Rabon and Thompson also allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for themselves and three employees of RCE for services that were not provided. Two individuals are identified in the indictment as victims of identity theft.
Rabon and Thompson both face up to 10 years in federal prison for each of the conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 36 substantive health care fraud charges. Rabon, who is also charged with five counts of mail fraud, faces up to 20 years in prison on each of those charges. If convicted of either of the two counts of aggravated identity theft, each also face an additional two-year-term which must be served consecutively to any sentence for the underlying offenses. There is also a possibility of up to a $250,000 fine for conviction of any of the offenses.
DCIS investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Julie Redlinger is prosecuting.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.Speech Therapist and Office Manager Charged with FraudRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Rebecca Lee Rabon, 44, and Tiffany Nicole Thompson, 31, both of Houston, have been charged in a 44-count indictment alleging conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Special Agent in Charge Janice Flores of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) - Southwest Field Office in Arlington.
The sealed indictment, returned Jan. 30, 2014, was unsealed late yesterday as Rabon made her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy. After the hearing, Judge Stacy permitted Rabon’s release upon posting bond. Just a short time ago, Thompson turned herself in to federal authorities and is expected to appear before Judge Stacy at 2:00 p.m. today.
“As the investigative arm of the Department of Defense - Office of Inspector General, one of the primary missions of the DCIS is the detection of fraud, especially the type that targets critical funding for health care for our warfighters, their families and military retirees,” said Flores. “This investigation demonstrates the commitment of DCIS in rooting out and stopping health care fraud.”
The indictment alleges Rabon, the owner of Rabon Communication Enhancement (RCE) fraudulently billed TRICARE and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas approximately $3,784,642 for speech therapy and swallowing therapy services that were not provided to patients. Of that amount, the indictment alleges approximately $1,285,827.67 was paid on the fraudulent claims. Rabon and Thompson also allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for themselves and three employees of RCE for services that were not provided. Two individuals are identified in the indictment as victims of identity theft.
Rabon and Thompson both face up to 10 years in federal prison for each of the conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 36 substantive health care fraud charges. Rabon, who is also charged with five counts of mail fraud, faces up to 20 years in prison on each of those charges. If convicted of either of the two counts of aggravated identity theft, each also face an additional two-year-term which must be served consecutively to any sentence for the underlying offenses. There is also a possibility of up to a $250,000 fine for conviction of any of the offenses.
DCIS investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Julie Redlinger is prosecuting.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.South Florida Couple Charged with Money Laundering and Smuggling in Gold InvestigationRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alysa Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, Scott J. Israel, Sheriff, Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), and Addy Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), announce the arrests of defendants Natalie Ladin, 61, and Jed Ladin, 65, both of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida. Natalie and Jed Ladin made their initial appearance in federal court on February 3, 2014 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hunt in Fort Lauderdale. A pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for both defendants on Friday, February 7, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hunt.
The criminal complaint, which was unsealed after the defendants’ arrest on January 31, 2014, charges Natalie and Jed Ladin with conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h); conspiracy to smuggle gold, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371; entry of goods by false statements, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 542; and smuggling of gold, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 545. If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
According to the complaint, Natalie Jewelry, doing business as Golden Opportunities, smuggled Guatemalan scrap gold into the United States that was significantly undervalued: from January 2012 until November 2013, two Guatemalan companies sent gold with a declared value of $6,451,90, yet during that same period Natalie Jewelry wire transferred $24,317,665 to Guatemala for those imports. Natalie Ladin and Jed Ladin were the owners of Natalie Jewelry, located in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, BSO and FDLE. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Thakur.
A complaint is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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.
Six More Defendants Sentenced and One More Defendant Pleads Guilty in Staged Automobile Accident SchemeRead the Press Release
92 defendants have been charged to date in Operation Sledgehammer I-VI
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Jeff Atwater, Florida Chief Financial Officer, Florida Department of Financial Services, and Dave Aronberg, State Attorney, Office of the State Attorney for Palm Beach County, announce that defendants Elias Sebastian Munguia, 41, clinic owner, of Miami, Aleida Capdevila, 62, clinic office manager, of West Palm Beach, Yenisleydi Ramos, 26, front desk receptionist and secretary, of West Palm Beach, Juan Francisco Avon, 62, licensed massage therapist, of Miami, Oscar Montiel Martinez, 34, staged accident participant, recruiter and check casher, of Lake Worth, and Teresita Mena, 52, staged accident participant and check casher, of West Palm Beach, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra for their participation in an automobile insurance fraud scheme involving staged automobile accidents. Also announced today is the guilty plea of defendant Amaury Tomas Contino, 30, staged accident recruiter, of Lake Worth, for his involvement in said scheme.
Specifically, Elias Sebastian Munguia was sentenced to 102 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release; Aleida Capdevila was sentenced to 53 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release; Yenisleydi Ramos was sentenced to 50 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release; Juan Francisco Avon was sentenced to 38 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release; Oscar Montiel Martinez was sentenced to 76 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release; and Teresita Mena was sentenced to 66 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, Munguia was ordered to pay $3,491,516.93 in restitution; Capdevila was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,039,928.19; Ramos was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,666,028.08; Avon was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $866,801.60; Martinez was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,359,208.73 and Mena was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,321,459.87.
Each of the defendants previously pled guilty to one count of conspiring to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349; and multiple counts of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341 and 2. In addition, Munguia, Capdevila, Ramos, Martinez and Mena pled guilty to one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1), all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h). Mungia, Capdevila and Mena also pled guilty to multiple counts of money laundering, and Martinez pled guilty to one substantive count of money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(A)(i), 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), 1956(a)(1)(B)(ii), and 2.
Amaury Tomas Contino pled guilty today to one count of conspiring to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and six counts of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341 and 2. Judge Marra will sentence Contino on April 18, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. in West Palm Beach. At sentencing, Contino faces a possible maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and substantive mail fraud, to be followed by up to three years of supervised release. Contino also will be ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his offenses.
According to court documents, between approximately October 2006 and December 2012, the conspiracy members staged automobile accidents by recruiting individuals to participate in the accidents. Oscar Montiel Martinez and Teresita Mena served as accident participants and Oscar Montiel Martinez and Amaury Tomas Contino recruited others to participate in staged accidents. The participants were referred to as “Perro” and “Perra” or “Macho” and “Hembra.” Thereafter, the clinic owners, including defendant Munguia, caused the submission of false insurance claims through chiropractic clinics that were controlled by members of the conspiracy. To execute the scheme, the true owners of the chiropractic clinics, including Munguia, recruited individuals who had the medical or chiropractic licenses required by the state to open a clinic, to act as “nominee owners” of the clinics. The co-conspirators also hired complicit licensed chiropractors, and licensed chiropractic physicians’ assistants, including Juan Francisco Avon, who prescribed and billed for unnecessary treatments and/or for services that had not been rendered. Thereafter, complicit clinic employees, prepared and submitted claims to the automobile insurance companies for payment for these unnecessary or non-rendered services. Twenty-one clinics participated in this scheme. Elias Munguia was the “true owner” of three of those clinics. Munguia’s aunt, Aleida Capdevila, served as the office manager of two of the clinics.
Furthermore, according to court records, once fraud proceeds were received from the insurance companies, the clinic owners, including Munguia and Capdevila, also recruited individuals including Oscar Montiel Martinez, Yenisleydi Ramos, and Teresita Mena, to help the clinics launder the insurance proceeds.
Starting with Operation Sledgehammer I in June 2011 and including the defendants charged in Operation Sledgehammer VI, 92 defendants have been charged for their participation in this automobile insurance fraud scheme. Of those 92 defendants, 56 have been charged federally by the U.S. Attorney's Office, resulting in court-ordered restitution of more than $5 million to the defrauded insurance companies. Thirty-six defendants have been charged by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office.
Mr. Ferrer commended the efforts of the FBI, IRS-CI, the Florida Department of Insurance Fraud, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, and the Greater Palm Beach County Health Care Fraud Task Force for their outstanding work in this case. Mr. Ferrer also recognized the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) for its collaboration and assistance in this investigation. The federal cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Marie Villafaña and the state cases are being prosecuted by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office.
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.
San Felipe Pueblo Man Sentenced to Eighty-Seven Months in Federal Prison for Assaulting Intimate PartnerRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Valentino Sanchez, 24, a member of San Felipe Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 87 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on two assault charges.
Sanchez was arrested on May 22, 2012, after investigation revealed that he had assaulted the victim, his intimate partner, by repeatedly striking and punching her on the head and back with his hands, kicking her, and striking her on the head and back with a stick. As a result of the assault, the victim suffered an orbital fracture to the right side of her face and a small traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage to the left front part of the brain.
On Jan. 16, 2013, Sanchez pled guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In entering his guilty plea, Sanchez admitted assaulting the victim, a San Felipe Pueblo woman, with a stick on May 14, 2012. He also admitted that the victim sustained serious bodily injuries as a result of the assault. The offenses occurred on San Felipe Pueblo land.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, Southern Pueblos Agency, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano A. Torrez. It was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Rosebud Man Sentenced for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of Child Pornography was sentenced on February 3, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Jeremy Gunhammer, age 20, was sentenced to 36 months in custody, 5 years supervised release, a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Gunhammer was indicted for Possession of Child Pornography by a federal grand jury on June 12, 2013. He pled guilty on November 19, 2013.
The conviction stems from incidents that took place between January 1, 2013, and May 31, 2013, when Gunhammer used the Internet to receive and possess numerous images of child pornography.The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, Sioux Falls Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tim Maher and Sarah Collins prosecuted the case.
Gunhammer was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Rosebud Man Sentenced for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of Child Pornography was sentenced on February 3, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Jeremy Gunhammer, age 20, was sentenced to 36 months in custody, 5 years supervised release, a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Gunhammer was indicted for Possession of Child Pornography by a federal grand jury on June 12, 2013. He pled guilty on November 19, 2013.
The conviction stems from incidents that took place between January 1, 2013, and May 31, 2013, when Gunhammer used the Internet to receive and possess numerous images of child pornography.The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, Sioux Falls Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tim Maher and Sarah Collins prosecuted the case.
Gunhammer was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Roanoke Endodontist Pleads Guilty to ObstructionRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A local endodontist, with a practice on Starkey Road, pled guilty this afternoon in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke to an obstruction charge.
Robert Stanley Kidder, 66, of Roanoke, Va., waived his right to be indicted on January 24, 2014, and pled guilty this afternoon to a one-count Information charging him with obstruction of a criminal investigation of health care offenses.
“Dr. Kidder devised a scheme through which he obtained portions of payment for his services from both patients and their insurance carriers,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “’When an employee discovered his fraud, he tried to keep her silent, then modified and destroyed records documenting his crimes. For his brazen acts of obstruction of justice, Dr. Kidder has been held accountable.”
“Attempting to destroy evidence and encourage deceit during a federal investigation is a serious crime in and of itself,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge D.J. Hathaway, “and as witnessed in today’s plea is not a crime that will be overlooked nor tolerated by law enforcement during any of their investigations.”
According to evidence presented at today’s guilty plea hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Jennie Waering, Kidder’s endodontic practice accepted cash and private dental insurance for procedures. However, Kidder required all patients to pre-pay for a portion of their service. Often times, after insurance payment was received, Kidder was overpaid for his services. When an overpayment occurred, Dr. Kidder was responsible for refunding his patients, which, in several cases, he chose not to do.
In April 2012, a new employee discovered that Kidder was not issuing some of these refunds. When confronted with this information, Kidder fired the new employee and began manipulating his practice’s accounting information to “zero-out” patients’ account balances without issuing refunds. In November 2012, the recently fired employee took legal action against Kidder regarding her termination. Within days of that disclosure, Kidder began issuing refunds to those patients whose accounts had not already been zeroed out.
In December 2012, Kidder began a course of action with one of his employees to obstruct a potential employment civil law suit and potential criminal investigation into healthcare fraud offense. As part of his obstructive conduct, Kidder staged a break-in at his office where all the computers containing accounting information were stolen. In addition, Kidder repeatedly advised and instructed his employee in what she should say to attorneys and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The employee reported this information to the FBI.
During recorded conversations, the transcripts of which were entered into the record during today’s hearing, Kidder told the employee “just say no, nothing was zeroed out because the accounts are gone, there’s no way that can be proven anyway.”
Furthermore, after an employee received a subpoena to appear before a Federal Grand Jury, Kidder instructed the employee what lies to tell the Federal Grand Jury and what would happen to them both if she told the truth.
At sentencing, Kidder faces a maximum possible penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jennie L.M. Waering is prosecuting the case for the United States.
Rittman Man Indicted for Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury sitting returned a two-count indictment charging Jesse C. Lyons, age 32, of Rittman, Ohio with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Additionally, Lyons was charged with one count of attempted possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine on January 15, 2014.
The investigation is being conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and the Wadsworth Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney, Kevin Culum.
If convicted, the sentence of Lyons will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, his role in the offenses and the unique characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Rexburg Man Sentenced for Distributing Meth and Unlawfully Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Noe Munguia-Diaz, a/k/a Juan Ernesto Medina-Munguia, 35, of Rexburg, Idaho, was sentenced today to 144 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine and illegally possessing weapons, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. The Hon. Terry J. Hatter, Jr., Senior U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California, also ordered Munguia-Diaz to pay a $900 special assessment and forfeit the firearms he unlawfully possessed.
On September 10, 2013, Judge Hatter found Munguia-Diaz guilty of six counts of distributing methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and two counts of unlawfully possessing firearms. He waived his right to trial by a jury in August 2013.
During the two-day trial, Judge Hatter heard evidence that Munguia-Diaz sold methamphetamine to other individuals on six occasions between March 23, 2011, and October 19, 2012. During one of the sales, Munguia-Diaz also sold a handgun. Judge Hatter also heard evidence that on March 4, 2013, when Munguia-Diaz was arrested, Rexburg police officers found over $4,500 in the possession of the defendant and his female passenger; evidence that Munguia-Diaz had deposited that day a total of $15,000 between two different banks; and a loaded handgun. A search warrant executed on Munguia-Diaz’s residence later that day recovered approximately one ounce of methamphetamine from a heating vent in the defendant’s bedroom. Munguia-Diaz admitted to officers that he had methamphetamine in his house and that the firearm in the car belonged to him.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance by Bingham Co. Sheriff’s Office, Blackfoot Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fremont Co. Sheriff’s Office, Idaho State Police, Jefferson Co. Sheriff’s Office, Rexburg Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Registered Sexual Offender Sentenced to Return to PrisonRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Pensacola resident Clay C. Keys, 53, was sentenced today on his guilty plea to a federal indictment charging him with the receipt and distribution of child pornography and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Keys was previously convicted in state court for a lewd and lascivious act upon a child, and was a registered sexual offender.
Keys was found guilty of using peer-to-peer software between April 2009 and August 2013 to share thousands of images of child pornography online. A federal search warrant was obtained for Keys’ residence in August 2013, and law enforcement officers discovered more than 10,000 images and videos of child pornography. Chief United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers sentenced Keys to 15 years in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
Keys was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, which will run concurrent with his sentence for child pornography.
In announcing the sentence imposed by the court, United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, the Pensacola Police Department, and other members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, whose joint investigation led to the complaint in the case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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 exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.Pittsford Man Sentenced on Drug Trafficking<br /> and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jerry Pulsifer, 28, of Pittsford, N.Y., who was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, was sentenced to 130 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan, who handled the case, stated that Pulsifer was arrested on August 8, 2010, after members of law enforcement responded to the Red Carpet Inn on West Henrietta Road, in Henrietta, N.Y.. A resident called the police to report a male who was using drugs in his hotel room at the location. Upon arrival, Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from room 143. Deputies could smell an even stronger odor of marijuana coming from the room once the defendant opened the door.
Pulsifer admitted to smoking marijuana when asked about the smell and gave an additional amount of marijuana to the deputies. Further investigation revealed that the defendant possessed 30 bags of cocaine, packaged for distribution, concealed inside of a hair spray can with a false bottom, a Smith & Wesson Model 1000 20 gauge shotgun, over $42,000.00 in United States currency, as well as other items associated with drug trafficking.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Cannon, and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick M. O’Flynn.
Owner of Rocky Mount Based Tax Return Preparation Business Sentenced to 100 MonthsRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that today in federal court, Senior United States District Judge W. Earl Britt sentenced LARRY D. HILL, JR. , age 41, of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, to 100 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.
"During tax filing season, return preparers and taxpayers should be aware of the serious consequences facing those who aid or assist in the filing of fraudulent tax returns," said Special Agent in Charge Jeannine A. Hammett, IRS-Criminal Investigation. "Those who fly in the face of the tax laws face investigation, prosecution, and if convicted, significant prison sentences and substantial fines. Today's sentence sends a strong message to unscrupulous return preparers who think they can get away with tampering with our nation's tax system."
HILL was named in a Criminal Information filed on April 29, 2013, charging him with one count of conspiring to submit false claims for federal income tax refunds to the IRS, and one count of filing a false 2010 federal income tax return. On August 5, 2013, HILL pled guilty to the charges.
According to the investigation, HILL owned and operated Hill’s Tax Service (HTS), a tax return preparation business which, at various times, maintained offices in Rocky Mount, Farmville, Scotland Neck, Hollister, and Wilson. Between 2010 and 2012, HILL and his co-conspirators filed well over 2,000 federal income tax return for HTS customer that claimed, collectively, over $14 million in tax refunds. A significant number of the HTS returns reported materially false information – including false dependents, income, and withholdings – in order to maximize the earned income tax credit and otherwise cause the issuance of inflated refunds. HILL and his co-conspirators pocketed a portion of every fraudulent tax refund that was issued. According to the investigation, HILL profited the most from the long-running scheme, collecting, on average, $1,000 or more from each unlawful refund.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam F. Hulbig
Oran Man Sentenced to 110 Years for Sexually Exploiting Four Children and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Februay 4, 2014A man who sexually exploited four children and possessed child pornography was sentenced February 3, 2014, to 110 years in federal prison.
Benton Stong, age 76, of Oran, Iowa, received the sentence after a September 17, 2013, jury verdict finding him guilty of one count of sexual exploitation of children and four counts of possession of child pornography.
The evidence at trial showed that, in 2012, Stong used, persuaded, induced, and enticed four children to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of this conduct. The evidence also showed that, between 2009 and 2012, Stong possessed child pornography at his residence in Oran.
Stong was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Stong was sentenced to 1,320 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $500 was imposed, and Stong must also serve a life term of supervised release. He must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 13-2014.
New Jersey Doctor Convicted of Taking Cash Kickbacks for Patient ReferralsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A doctor practicing in Newark was convicted at trial of receiving cash kickbacks for diagnostic testing referrals, becoming the 14th doctor and 16th defendant to be convicted in connection with the government’s investigation of illegal payments made by an Orange, N.J., diagnostic testing facility, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.
Maryam Jafari, 43, was convicted of all three counts of a superseding indictment charging her with conspiracy and two counts of violating the federal health care anti-kickback statute after a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court. The jury returned the guilty verdicts late Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 4, 2014) after two hours of deliberations.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
Jafari was a doctor licensed in New Jersey to practice internal medicine and operated an office in Newark. From 2010 through December 2011, Jafari solicited and received cash kickbacks from Orange Community MRI LLC (Orange MRI) in exchange for MRIs and CAT scans she referred to the diagnostic testing facility.
At the end of each month, OCM printed patient reports that included information such as dates of service, patient name, referring health care practitioner and medical insurance to be billed. The reports were used to tally the number of tests referred by each doctor and determine the amount of kickback payment paid to the referring healthcare provider.
On Nov. 22, 2011, Jafari met with a cooperating witness at Jafari’s office and accepted a white envelope containing $1,965 in cash, payments for three months of tests Jafari referred to Orange MRI. On Dec. 6, she accepted another payment of $420 in cash for referrals from October 2011. A trial on these charges in 2012 ended in a mistrial when the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.
The charges of which Jafari was convicted are each punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tom O’Donnell, who investigated the case with criminal investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott B. McBride and Deputy Chief Joseph G. Mack of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $500 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
14-040Defense counsel: Maria Noto Esq., Matawan, N.J.
Jafari, Maryam Superseding Indictment
Monroe Man Sentenced to 117 Months in Prison as A Felon with A Firearm and Possession of A Firearm During Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Michael Pryor, 37, of Monroe, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James to 57 months in prison for one count of felon in possession of a firearm, and to an additional and consecutive 60 months in prison for one count of possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release, and his firearm was forfeited. He pleaded guilty October 28, 2013.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, on December 6, 2012, Monroe Police officers investigated reports of marijuana being sold at a home on Gordon Avenue. They visited the home, and while speaking to Pryor about the reports, they smelled marijuana and received his permission to search the home. They found a total of 33 grams of marijuana packaged for street sale, a loaded .22 caliber pistol, baggies, scales, and scissors, and three other firearms. Pryor had previously been convicted in Orleans Parish in 1997 on possession of cocaine and attempted possession of a firearm while in possession of controlled dangerous substances. He was also convicted in Orleans Parish in 2004 for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
The Monroe Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide program designed to reduce violence by aggressively enforcing existing federal firearms laws.
Monroe Lawyer Sentenced to 28 Months in Prison for False Tax ClaimsRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Francis C. Broussard, 54, of West Monroe, La., was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James to 28 months in prison and three years of supervised release for making false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in an attempt to receive more than $9.7 million in tax refunds. He pleaded guilty April 19, 2013.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Broussard, who has been licensed to practice law in Louisiana since 1986, filed personal tax returns in 2009 for years 2005 to 2008 using documents containing false information in an attempt to receive a total of 9.7 million in refunds to which he was not entitled. Broussard did not receive the requested refunds.
The IRS criminal investigations unit conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Cytheria Jernigan prosecuted the case.
Miami Resident Pleads to Tax Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced that Ashley Assgill Glover, 28, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty today to one count of theft of government property, one count of possession of unauthorized devices, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Glover is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker on April 18, 2014. On the first two counts, she faces maximum penalties of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. On the third count, she faces a mandatory two-year term of imprisonment that must run consecutive to the sentence imposed on the other counts, one year of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
On March 12, 2012, the Tallahassee Police Department stopped Glover and found her in possession of personal identifying information (PII) for more than 800 victims. Debit cards loaded with tax refunds linked to fraudulent tax returns were also found. To date, the IRS has identified fraudulent tax returns using that PII, which claim approximately $369,848 in fraudulent tax refunds.
Three months after the Tallahassee Police Department incident, Glover was stopped by Coral Springs Police Department and found in possession of PII for more than 160 victims. Then five months later, Glover was stopped by the Florida Department of Agriculture, and was found in possession of yet another list containing PII for more than 600 victims.
The case was investigated by the Tallahassee Police Department, the United States Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Florida Department of Agriculture.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Winifred L. Acosta Nesmith.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Sues and Settles with JPMorgan Chase for $614 Million for Fraudulent Mortgage Lending PracticesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Associate Attorney General Tony West, Stuart F. Delery, the Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Damon Smith, Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), David A. Montoya, Inspector General of HUD, and Richard J. Griffin, Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”), announced today that the United States has filed, and simultaneously settled, a civil fraud lawsuit against JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. (collectively, “JPMORGAN CHASE”), for improperly approving thousands of residential home mortgage loans for government insurance and refinancing. In the settlement, JPMORGAN CHASE admitted, acknowledged, and accepted responsibility for, among other things, submitting false certifications to HUD, the VA, and the Federal Housing Administration (a component of HUD, and, together with HUD, “HUD-FHA”) that: (1) induced HUD-FHA and the VA to accept for government insurance and refinancing thousands of loans that were not eligible for such insurance or refinancing; and (2) ultimately resulted in substantial losses to the Government when the loans defaulted. JPMORGAN CHASE also admitted to failing to self-report to HUD-FHA hundreds of loans that it had identified as fraudulent or otherwise deficient, and to submitting loan data to HUD-FHA that lacked integrity.
To resolve the United States’ claims, JPMORGAN CHASE has agreed to pay $614 million to the United States under the False Claims Act. In addition, JPMORGAN CHASE has agreed to implement an enhanced quality control program to address the misconduct concerning the integrity of loan data submitted to HUD-FHA. The settlement was approved today by United States District Judge J. Paul Oetken.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “For years, JPMorgan Chase has enjoyed the privilege of participating in federally-subsidized programs aimed at helping millions of Americans realize the dream of homeownership. Yet, for more than a decade, it abused that privilege. JPMorgan Chase put profits ahead of responsibility by recklessly churning out thousands of defective mortgage loans, failing to inform the Government of known problems with those loans, and leaving the Government to cover the losses when the loans defaulted. With today’s settlement, however, JPMorgan Chase has accepted responsibility for its misconduct and has committed to reform its business practices. This settlement adds to the list of successful mortgage fraud cases this Office has pursued.”
Associate Attorney General Tony West said: “The resolution announced today is a product of the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to hold accountable those whose conduct contributed to the financial crisis. This settlement recovers wrongfully claimed funds for vital government programs that give millions of Americans the opportunity to own a home and sends a clear message that we will take appropriately aggressive action against financial institutions that knowingly engage in improper mortgage lending practices.”
Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said: “The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable financial institutions whose irresponsible mortgage lending undermines the housing market and costs the taxpayers many millions of dollars. I thank U.S. Attorney Bharara and his team for their stellar efforts in this case and look forward to our coordinated efforts in these cases.”
HUD Acting General Counsel Damon Smith said: “This settlement with JP Morgan Chase will enable HUD to recover funds lost due to Chase’s past unacceptable mortgage underwriting practices. In addition, Chase must now institute new and tighter controls to prevent abuses of FHA’s automated underwriting system. HUD will continue working with the Department of Justice to ensure that lenders are held accountable and are required to institute practices that will benefit both borrowers and the FHA insurance fund.”
HUD Inspector General David A. Montoya said: “The agreement reached with JPMC was possible due to the dedication of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the hard work of the talented staff at the Office of Inspector General. It also demonstrates the combined commitment of the Justice Department and the Office of Inspector General to continuing efforts to enforce FHA mortgage insurance requirements.”
Richard J. Griffin, Acting Inspector General for the Office of Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs, said: “I commend the efforts of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to hold lenders accountable for conduct that defrauds the Government and deserving veterans who rely on VA’s loan guaranty program to purchase their homes.”
According to the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:
Since at least 2002, JPMORGAN CHASE has been a participant in the HUD-FHA Direct Endorsement Lender program (“DEL Program”) and the VA Home Loan Guaranty program (“Loan Guaranty Program”) – federal programs authorizing private-sector mortgage lenders to approve mortgage loans for insurance or refinancing by the Government. If a lender approves a mortgage loan for insurance and refinancing pursuant to the DEL Program or the Loan Guaranty Program and the loan later defaults, the holder of the loan may submit an insurance claim to FHA-HUD or the VA for the costs associated with the defaulted loan, which HUD-FHA or the VA must then pay. Under both the DEL Program and the Loan Guaranty Program, neither HUD-FHA nor the VA reviews a loan before it is approved for government insurance or refinancing. Consequently, it is crucial that lenders follow the rules of the DEL Program and the Loan Guaranty Program. Those rules require lenders to follow HUD-FHA’s and the VA’s underwriting requirements in determining which loans to approve for insurance or refinancing. The rules also require lenders to self-report loans that they identify as having been affected by fraud or other material deficiencies. The rules further require lenders to refrain from manipulating the loan data they submit to TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard (“TOTAL”) – a credit-rating software application maintained by HUD-FHA that determines whether a given loan qualifies for government insurance.
Notwithstanding the importance of following the rules of the DEL Program and the Loan Guaranty Program, during the period January 1, 2002, through the present (the “Covered Period”), JPMORGAN CHASE routinely violated those rules. Specifically, JPMORGAN CHASE: (1) approved thousands of loans for government insurance or refinancing that did not meet one or more of the requirements of the DEL Program or the Loan Guaranty Program; (2) failed to self-report hundreds of loans that it identified as having been affected by fraud or other material deficiencies; and (3) regularly submitted to TOTAL loan data that lacked integrity – the data was not based on documents or other information possessed by JPMORGAN CHASE employees at the time they submitted it. This conduct prompted HUD-FHA and the VA to accept for government insurance and refinancing thousands of loans that did not, in fact, qualify. When those loans ultimately defaulted, HUD-FHA and the VA suffered substantial losses that, but for JPMORGAN CHASE’s conduct, would not have occurred.
As part of the settlement, JPMORGAN CHASE has admitted, acknowledged, and accepted responsibility for the following conduct alleged in the Government’s complaint:
- It failed to self-report to HUD-FHA 582 loans that, from 2007 through 2009, it identified as having been affected by borrower or correspondent fraud or other material deficiencies.
- It approved for government insurance or refinancing thousands of loans that did not meet one or more rules of the DEL Program or the Loan Guaranty Program, and therefore were not eligible for government insurance or refinancing.
- Certain of its employees submitted data to TOTAL that lacked integrity. Specifically, when loans did not receive an “accept/approve” rating from TOTAL, these employees re-submitted the loans through TOTAL multiple times over a short period, each time entering into TOTAL hypothetical data that had not been corroborated by documents or other information possessed by the employees in order to determine data values that would generate an “accept/approve” rating. These employees communicated the qualifying data values to borrowers, thus increasing the risk of borrower fraud.
- As a result of the conduct described above, JPMORGAN CHASE induced HUD-FHA and the VA to accept for government insurance or refinancing thousands of loans that were not eligible for such insurance or refinancing, and that HUD-FHA and the VA otherwise would not have accepted for insurance or refinancing, and this resulted in substantial losses to the Government when the loans ultimately defaulted.
Pursuant to the settlement, JPMORGAN CHASE will pay the United States $614 million within 30 days of the settlement.
Under the settlement, JPMORGAN CHASE has also agreed to comply with all of the rules applicable to participants in the DEL Program and the Loan Guaranty Program, including the DEL Program requirement that it ensure the “integrity of the data supplied” to TOTAL. To ensure compliance with that data integrity requirement, JPMORGAN CHASE has agreed to implement an enhanced quality control program to review loans that it underwrites using TOTAL. Pursuant to this program, JPMORGAN CHASE must implement certain controls designed to detect instances where its employees submit to TOTAL data that is not supported by documents or other information possessed by the employees at the time the data is submitted. The details of the enhanced quality control program are subject to approval by this Office.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Frauds Unit. Mr. Bharara established the Civil Frauds Unit in March 2010 to bring renewed focus and additional resources to combating financial fraud, including mortgage fraud.
By filing this case, the Government joined a private whistleblower lawsuit that had previously been filed against JPMORGAN CHASE under the False Claims Act.
The case filed today against JPMORGAN CHASE represents the eighth civil fraud lawsuit brought by this Office since May 2011 alleging fraudulent lending practices by residential mortgage lenders. In February 2012, this Office settled with Citimortgage (a subsidiary of Citibank) and Flagstar Bank. In May 2012, the Office settled with Deutsche Bank and a number of its subsidiaries. In October 2013, a jury returned a verdict against Countrywide, Bank of America, and Rebecca Mairone. Litigation is pending against Wells Fargo Bank and Kurt Lofrano; Allied Home Mortgage, Jim Hodge, and Jeanne Stell; and Golden First Mortgage and David Movtady.
The Civil Frauds Unit works in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which Mr. Bharara serves as a Co-Chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Mr. Bharara thanked HUD-OGC, HUD-OIG and VA-OIG for their extraordinary assistance in this case. He also expressed his appreciation for the support of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division in Washington, D.C.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher B. Harwood is in charge of the case.
U.S. v. JPMorgan 13 Civ 0220 Government Complaint
U.S. v. JPMorgan 13 Civ 0220 Executed Stipulation of Settlement and JudgmentManhattan U.S. Attorney Announces the Indictment of Ross Ulbricht, the Creator and Owner of the “Silk Road” WebsiteRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the indictment in Manhattan federal court of ROSS WILLIAM ULBRICHT, a/k/a “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a/k/a “DPR,” a/k/a “Silk Road,” in connection with his operation and ownership of Silk Road, a hidden website designed to enable its users to buy and sell illegal drugs and other unlawful goods and services anonymously and beyond the reach of law enforcement. ULBRICHT was arrested in San Francisco, California, on October 1, 2013, pursuant to a criminal Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
According to the allegations in today’s Indictment and other documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court:
ULBRICHT created Silk Road in approximately January 2011, and owned and operated the underground website until it was shut down by law enforcement authorities in October 2013. Silk Road emerged as the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet, serving as a sprawling black-market bazaar where unlawful goods and services, including illegal drugs of virtually all varieties, were bought and sold regularly by the site’s users. While in operation, Silk Road was used by several thousand drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other unlawful goods and services to well over a hundred thousand buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from these unlawful transactions.
ULBRICHT deliberately operated Silk Road as an online criminal marketplace intended to enable its users to buy and sell drugs and other illegal goods and services anonymously and outside the reach of law enforcement. ULBRICHT sought to anonymize transactions on Silk Road in two principal ways. First, ULBRICHT operated Silk Road on what is known as “The Onion Router,” or “Tor” network, a special network of computers on the Internet, distributed around the world, designed to conceal the true IP addresses of the computers on the network and thereby the identities of the networks’ users. Second, ULBRICHT designed Silk Road to include a Bitcoin-based payment system that served to facilitate the illegal commerce conducted on the site, including by concealing the identities and locations of the users transmitting and receiving funds through the site.
The vast majority of items for sale on Silk Road were illegal drugs, which were openly advertised as such on the site. As of September 23, 2013, Silk Road had nearly 13,000 listings for controlled substances, listed under such categories as “Cannabis,” “Dissociatives,” “Ecstasy,” “Intoxicants,” “Opioids,” “Precursors,” “Prescription,” “Psychedelics,” and “Stimulants.” From November 2011 to September 2013, law enforcement agents made more than 100 individual undercover purchases of controlled substances from Silk Road vendors. These purchases included heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and LSD, among other illegal drugs, and were filled by vendors believed to be located in more than ten different countries, including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Austria and France.
In addition to illegal narcotics, other illicit goods and services were openly bought and sold on Silk Road as well. For example, as of September 23, 2013, there were: 159 listings under the category “Services,” most of which offered computer-hacking services, such as a listing by a vendor offering to hack into social networking accounts of the customer’s choosing; 801 listings under the category “Digital goods,” including malicious software, hacked accounts at various online services, and pirated media content; and 169 listings under the category “Forgeries,” including offers to produce fake driver’s licenses, passports, Social Security cards, utility bills, credit card statements, car insurance records, and other forms of false identification documents.
Using the online moniker “Dread Pirate Roberts,” or “DPR,” ULBRICHT controlled and oversaw every aspect of Silk Road, and managed a small staff of paid, online administrators who assisted with the day-to-day operation of the site. Through his ownership and operation of Silk Road, ULBRICHT reaped commissions worth tens of millions of dollars generated from the illicit sales conducted through the site. ULBRICHT also demonstrated a willingness to use violence to protect his criminal enterprise and the anonymity of its users. ULBRICHT even solicited six murders-for-hire in connection with operating the site, although there is no evidence that these murders were actually carried out.
To date, approximately 173,991 Bitcoins (worth over $150 million at present exchange rates) have been seized in the course of the investigation, including approximately 29,655 Bitcoins recovered from servers used to run the Silk Road website, and approximately 144,336 Bitcoins recovered from computer hardware belonging to ULBRICHT seized upon his arrest. On January 15, 2014, the Bitcoins recovered from the Silk Road servers were ordered forfeited in connection with a civil action previously filed in Manhattan federal court on September 30, 2013, seeking the forfeiture of all assets of Silk Road, including its website and all of its Bitcoins, because those assets allegedly were used to facilitate money laundering and constitute property involved in money laundering. ULBRICHT has filed a claim in the civil action, asserting that he is the owner of the Bitcoins found on his computer hardware, and contesting the forfeiture of those Bitcoins.
ULBRICHT, 29, of San Francisco, California, is charged with one count of narcotics conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years; one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison; one of count of conspiracy to commit computer hacking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
In December 2013, an Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court was unsealed charging three individuals, Andrew Michael Jones, a/k/a “Inigo,” Gary Davis, a/k/a “Libertas,” and Peter Phillip Nash, a/k/a “Samesamebutdifferent,” a/k/a “Batman73,” a/k/a “Symmetry,” a/k/a “Anonymousasshit,” for their alleged roles in assisting Ulbricht in the operation of Silk Road.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its New York Special Operations and Cyber Division, as well as the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which comprises agents and officers of the DEA, the IRS, the New York City Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the New York State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, Office of Foreign Assets Control, and NY Department of Taxation. Mr. Bharara also thanked the ICE-HSI Chicago-O’Hare office for its assistance and support, as well as the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Office of International Affairs. Additionally, Mr. Bharara praised the foreign law enforcement partners whose contributions to the success of the investigation and prosecution have been invaluable, namely, the Australian Federal Police, the Irish Republic’s Computer Crime Investigation Unit of the An Garda Siochana, the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police of the Republic of Iceland, and the French Republic’s Central Office for the Fight Against Crime Linked to Information Technology and Communication.
Mr. Bharara also noted that the investigation remains ongoing.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Serrin Turner is in charge of the prosecution, and Assistant United States Attorney Christine Magdo is in charge of the forfeiture aspects of the case.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
US v. Ross Ulbricht Indictment
Madison Parish Hospital Administrator, Two Businessmen, Sentenced for Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that the former Madison Parish Hospital administrator and two of its vendors were sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James for health care fraud. They pleaded guilty in October and November of 2013.
Charles Wendell Alford, 71, of Newellton, La., received 37 months in prison and was ordered to pay $1,383,874 restitution; Barney W.I. Hughes IV, 45, of Keller, Texas, received 12 months in prison and was ordered to pay $566,874 restitution; and Henry Russell Ham, 65, of West Monroe, La., received 14 months in prison and was ordered to pay $817,000 restitution. All were sentenced to three years of supervised release.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Alford served as hospital administrator for Madison Parish Hospital in Tallulah, La; Hughes served as owner of Tech Solutions of Keller, Texas; and Ham, served as owner of Insurance World in Monroe. Both Hughes and Ham paid Alford a combined total of more than $1.3 million in kickbacks for his approval and continuation of their business agreements. The hospital is a critical care facility that receives Medicare funds.
Madison Parish Hospital leased equipment and personnel from Tech Solutions to operate the hospital’s nuclear medicine and Ultrasound departments. At no time did Alford or Hughes disclose to the hospital’s board or Medicare that they had an exclusive agreement. From October 2006 to June 2012, the hospital paid Hughes’ company $2,029,504, and Hughes paid Alford $566,874 of that total. They submitted fraudulent cost reports to Medicare at least six times from December 2006 to 2011.
Madison Parish Hospital purchased a majority of its health insurance and life insurance products from Ham. Alford and Ham negotiated and set the insurance policy rates and Alford approved Ham’s billings as well as the hospital’s payments to Ham. From 2007 through April 2012, the hospital paid Ham $4,979,487, and Ham paid Alford $817,000 of that total. They submitted fraudulent cost reports to Medicare at least five times from December 2007 to 2011.
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph G. Jarzabek prosecuted the case.
Luzerne County Woman Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Consumer ProductRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 35-year-old Wilkes-Barre resident pleaded guilty today in Wilkes-Barre before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick to a criminal information charging her with tampering with a consumer product that affected interstate commerce.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the defendant, Yolanda Holman, of Wilkes-Barre, admitted that she knowingly and intentionally tainted a bottle of non-prescription children’s pain reliever with prescription pills and other medication and caused it to be taken to a retail store in Wilkes-Barre as a returned item on or about August 23, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Smith stated that suspected tainted containers related to this incident were recovered and were in the possession of law enforcement officers or otherwise destroyed. The tainted containers present no danger to the public.
The criminal information and a plea agreement were filed on December 19, 2013.
The investigation was conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Scranton Resident Office. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 10 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
****Louisville Based Tobacco Wholesaler Sentenced to 18 Months for Role in Contraband Cigarette TradeRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, KY - A Louisville based tobacco wholesaler and retailer was sentenced in U.S. District Court yesterday, by Chief District Judge Joseph H. McKinley, Jr., to 18 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for his role in a scheme that defrauded the Commonwealth of Kentucky of excise tax returns totaling more than $2 million announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
Pedro “Peter” Bello, age 43, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on May 30, 2013. According to the plea agreement, between April 5, 2007 and December 1, 2009, Bello, a/k/a Peter Bello, d/b/a, GT Northeast of Indiana/Kentucky, conspired with Israel Chavez, both of whom were licensees with the Kentucky Department of Revenue, Excise Tax Division, to deprive Kentucky of excise tax revenues. Chavez was the owner of Chavez, Inc., d/b/a, Cigarettes Direct to You (CD2U). Bello and Chavez, created fraudulent cigarette invoices for the sale of cigarettes to Chavez's business in Louisville, and made the invoices appear as if the cigarettes in question had been sold and shipped from an out of state vendor - specifically, GT Northeast of St. Louis, a business not licensed by Kentucky tax authorities, when, in fact, the cigarettes had been sold by Bello to Chavez, both of whom were license holders and therefore payment of taxes were due at the time the cigarettes were transferred.
Chavez was sentenced on December 13, 2013 to 12 months and one day in prison and agreed to restitution in the amount of $2,090,571.00 to the Kentucky Department of Revenue, from $3,214,035.66 he agreed to forfeit to the United States. Further, Chavez agreed to forfeit 10,842,192 tobacco products and tax stamps valued at $108,000 which were returned to the Kentucky Department of Revenue.
"This ATF investigation included the Kentucky Attorney General's Office of Criminal Investigations, the Louisville Metro Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. In addition, coordination with various states’ revenue/regulatory agencies has led to the collection of over $40 million in state excise taxes previously lost due to these illicit operations," stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Stuart Lowrey.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Randy Ream and Amanda Gregory, and the civil forfeiture case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amy Sullivan. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Local Woman Sentenced for False Claims in Connection with Fraudulent Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Alisa Grisson has been ordered to federal prison following her conviction of one count of making a false claim against the government, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cruz, of Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Grissom pleaded guilty Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013.
Today, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Grissom a 30-month sentence. Grissom will also be required to serve a term of three years of supervised release following completion of the prison term.
Grisson stipulated that the tax losses to the government is $674,284.62 and has agreed to pay that in restitution to the United States.
According to the plea agreement filed in the record of the case, Grisson acknowledged she prepared tax returns in her name and in the names of others. She acknowledged she knew the returns were false and fraudulent when she prepared them and caused them to be filed with the IRS.
Grisson admitted in the plea agreement that these returns reported income that had not been earned and/or expenses that had not been incurred, thus claiming monies from the government in the form of tax refunds to which she and the other taxpayers were not entitled. Specifically, she admitted to falsely claiming a refund of more than $7.4 million for the 2009 tax year.
Grisson further agreed never again to aid or assist in preparing or presenting tax returns for any taxpayer except herself and not to oppose any civil action brought by the United States seeking to enjoin her from preparing income tax returns for others.
Grissom was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
IRS-CI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Corso is prosecuting.
Local Woman Sentenced for False Claims in Connection with Fraudulent Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Alisa Grisson has been ordered to federal prison following her conviction of one count of making a false claim against the government, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cruz, of Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Grissom pleaded guilty Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013.
Today, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Grissom a 30-month sentence. Grissom will also be required to serve a term of three years of supervised release following completion of the prison term.
Grisson stipulated that the tax losses to the government is $674,284.62 and has agreed to pay that in restitution to the United States.
According to the plea agreement filed in the record of the case, Grisson acknowledged she prepared tax returns in her name and in the names of others. She acknowledged she knew the returns were false and fraudulent when she prepared them and caused them to be filed with the IRS.
Grisson admitted in the plea agreement that these returns reported income that had not been earned and/or expenses that had not been incurred, thus claiming monies from the government in the form of tax refunds to which she and the other taxpayers were not entitled. Specifically, she admitted to falsely claiming a refund of more than $7.4 million for the 2009 tax year.
Grisson further agreed never again to aid or assist in preparing or presenting tax returns for any taxpayer except herself and not to oppose any civil action brought by the United States seeking to enjoin her from preparing income tax returns for others.
Grissom was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
IRS-CI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Corso is prosecuting.
Leader of Colombian Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Importation ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Jose Samir Renteria-Cuero, a/k/a Jose Morfi (51, Cali, Colombia, South America) today pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to distribute five (5) kilograms or more of cocaine, on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Renteria-Cuero faces a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years in federal prison, up to a maximum term of life imprisonment.
According to the plea agreement, Renteria-Cuero was involved in maritime cocaine smuggling operations from the 1980s until at least 2009. He started out as a mechanic, servicing go-fast vessels (GFVs) and participating in GFV smuggling operations. Eventually, he acquired GFVs and self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessels and recruited mariners to participate in maritime cocaine smuggling operations. Renteria-Cuero worked with others to transport and store cocaine in Colombia, construct and repair GFVs and SPSS vessels, and dispatched those stateless vessels from Colombia. Renteria-Cuero provided maritime cocaine transportation services aboard stateless vessels that were used to smuggle cocaine from Colombia to Mexico, via the Pacific Ocean, in international waters, knowing and intending that the cocaine would ultimately be imported unlawfully into the United States. Many of these ventures involved at least 1,000 kilograms of cocaine.
Renteria-Cuero was arrested in Cali, Colombia in March 2012, and subsequently extradited to the United States, first arriving at a place in the Middle District of Florida.
This case was investigated by the Panama Express South Strike Force, a standing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation comprised of agents and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force South. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray.
Law Enforcement Task Force Announces First Federal Charges for Human TraffickingRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney says collaborative investigation has resulted in first-of-kind charges
INDIANAPOLIS – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced this afternoon the filing of a nine count federal indictment against Jerry Mitchell, a/k/a “Tre da Great,” age 24, of Indianapolis. The charges include sex trafficking, sex trafficking of a child, transporting a child to engage in prostitution, and the production of child pornography. This follows Mitchell’s arrest by Indianapolis law enforcement and the filing of charges by Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry, and comes as federal and local authorities have joined forces to combat human trafficking and child exploitation.
“The scourge of human trafficking is a global crisis, but the fight against modern day slavery begins right here at home,” Hogsett said. “That is why we have teamed up with law enforcement partners across this state and around the country to combat the types of horrific abuse that are alleged in this case.”
“This indictment shows the importance of partnerships across all levels to address the horrific crime of human trafficking,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels. “The Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys offices across the country will continue their aggressive work to combat these types of crimes.”
The Investigation and Allegations
According to the federal indictment and state probable cause affidavit, an investigation into Mitchell’s alleged criminal activity began in July 2013, when officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were flagged down and informed by a woman that her niece, a recent runaway, had returned home and reported she had been the victim of a sexual assault. Further investigation resulted in the identification of a suspect who went by the name of “Tre,” an alleged alias of Mitchell, as well as information indicating that the defendant was operating a prostitution operation in and around the Near Northside of Indianapolis.
The indictment alleges that from May 2013 through June 27, 2013, Mitchell engaged in sex trafficking by means of force, fraud, or coercion. The allegations include female victims between the ages 19-21, as well as a minor age 17, a minor age 16, and a minor age 12. It is further alleged that Mitchell would transport the minors to facilitate their prostitution activities, and that on a number of occasions he sexually assaulted these female minors. The federal indictment alleges that on June 22, 2013, Mitchell also made a video recording of the sexual abuse of the 16 year old female victim.
Mitchell had an initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Indianapolis this afternoon, and was ordered detained pending trial. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to life in federal prison. Under federal law, the defendant would be required to serve a minimum of 85% of his prison term within a correctional facility.
Joint Task Force on Human Trafficking
This case was the result of a collaborative investigation spearheaded by the Indiana Protection for Abused and Trafficked Humans (IPATH), one of 42 task forces nationwide funded by the Department to address the issue of human trafficking. IPATH was created in 2006 and is chaired by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. The group meets regularly to collaborate on cases and projects, provide additional training to law enforcement, and raise awareness in our community about human trafficking.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gayle L. Helart, who is prosecuting the case for the government, this case would not have been possible without significant law enforcement assistance from the Homeland Security Investigations, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In addition, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry has announced that he will continue to prosecute a pending felony child molestation case against Mitchell in Marion County Superior Court. In 2011, Curry’s office prosecuted Indiana’s first conviction under the state’s revamped human trafficking law.
The following law enforcement partners released statements in response to today’s announcement:
“The collaborative efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement partners to hold traffickers accountable and serve victims are essential. Sex trafficking – especially when it involves children who are being trafficked on the Internet – requires all of our efforts and I applaud U.S. Attorney Hogsett's leadership in this case. Human trafficking isn’t just a problem elsewhere in the world, it happens right here in Indiana.” -- Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller
“Few crimes strike at the heart of a community the way human trafficking does. Traffickers who prey on the emotional and physical vulnerability of their victims in the name of making a profit will be held accountable for their actions. HSI, along with our law enforcement partners in Indiana, will continue to aggressively investigate human trafficking to identify and rescue its innocent victims.” -- Gary Woolf, Resident Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations Indianapolis
Informations, indictments, and criminal complaints are only a charge and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Kissimmee Man Pleads Guilty to over $1 Million in Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Walter Medlin (70, Kissimmee) pleaded guilty today to tax evasion. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Medlin was charged on November 10, 2013.
According to court documents, Medlin received more than $7.5 million in income from the sale of an interest in a landfill. Rather than report that income on his tax return, he attempted to evade his taxes by using several limited partnerships to conduct transactions for his benefit. As the result of a prior United States Tax Court ruling, Medlin knew that he could not use nominees, such as the limited partnerships, to evade his taxes in this manner. To further conceal the offense, Medlin failed to file a tax return, but submitted requests for extensions in which he falsely represented that he did not owe any taxes. The total amount of the attempted tax evasion was over $1.1 million. As part of his plea agreement, Medlin has agreed to file his tax return and pay his taxes, including penalties, and interest.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service -- Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.