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Friday 13 December 2013
Ponchatoula Man, Robert Swan, Charged with the Sexual Exploitation of Children, as Well as the Distribution and Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ROBERT SWAN, age 51, a resident of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, was charged today in a three-count Indictment with the sexual exploitation of children, as well as receiving and distributing images depicting the sexual victimization of children, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
According to the Indictment, between a date unknown and June 25, 2012, SWAN coerced a six-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct. Additionally, SWAN was charged with knowingly receiving and distributing videos and images of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The Indictment also provides notice of an enhancement of SWAN’S sentence upon conviction based on his prior conviction for lewd and lascivious assault of a minor in Escambia County, Florida.
If convicted, SWAN faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 25 years and a maximum of 50 years as to Count 1, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years as to each of Counts 2 and 3, followed by up to a life term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. He can also be required to register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Polite reiterated that the Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.”
This case is being investigated by investigators from the State of Louisiana - Office of the Attorney General. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Ginsberg.
(Download Indictment )
Pittsburgh Man Sentenced to 5+ Years in Prison for Heroin Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Duane Scott was sentenced in federal court for violating federal narcotics trafficking laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Scott, a 23-year-old Pittsburgh resident, was sentenced to serve 63 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release by United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab. Throughout 2010 and into 2011, Scott conspired with Harold Bacon and others to distribute hundreds of bricks of heroin even though he was on adult probation at the time for an adult conviction for carrying a firearm without a license. Scott was, in fact, under house arrest for much of that time period, but he still stored bricks of heroin and distributed them at Bacon’s direction.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office, the Ross Township Police Department, the Canonsburg Police Department, and the Allegheny County Police Department for the successful investigation leading to the conviction and sentence in this case.
Owners and Managers at Restraurant Chain Indicted for Conspiracy to Hire Undocumented WorkersRead the Press Release
A grand jury returned a 23-count indictment charging six people for their roles in a conspiracy to hire undocumented workers at a chain of restaurants in Stark and Summit counties and pay them less than minimum wage and sometimes only in tips, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District.
Prosecutors are also seeking to forfeit more than $16 million generated by the restaurants.
Indicted are owners Miguel Castro, age 44, and Monica Castro, age 43, both of Uniontown, Ohio; and managers Cesar Castro, age 28, of Akron; Aldo Castro, age 42, of Akron; Pedro Cervantes, age 39, of Mexico; and Gustavo Torres, age 45, of Kent, Ohio.
“The owners and managers of these restaurants took advantage of their workers’ immigration status for their own profit,” Dettelbach said.
“Employers have a legal responsibility to protect the integrity of their workforce,” said Marlon Miller, special agent in charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit, which covers Michigan and Ohio. “When companies engage in schemes that flout immigration laws, workers are often exploited and businesses that play by the rules are put at a significant disadvantage.”
The defendants face charges including conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens, aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented aliens, harboring undocumented aliens, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud. Miguel Castro and Monica Castro also are charged with making false statements to federal law enforcement officers.
Since 2002, the defendants owned and/or managed the seven “Mariachi Locos” and “Mariachi Cocos” chain of restaurants with locations in Akron, Stow, Tallmadge and North Canton.
The defendants engaged in the practice of hiring undocumented workers who were illegally present in the United States and conspired to shield these workers from detection by paying them in cash, excluding them from payrolls, leasing housing for the workers, and aiding the workers in obtaining fraudulent work documentation, according to the indictment.
The defendants also used the U.S. mail to submit false wage reports to the state of Ohio. The defendants’ employment practices enabled them to enrich themselves because they paid the undocumented workers less than minimum wage and did not pay these workers for overtime hours worked, according to the indictment.
In some cases, the defendants paid these workers only the tips that the workers received from their customers, according to the indictment.
The indictment seeks the forfeiture of $16,474,870 in gross proceeds that the defendants earned as a result of the offenses.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal record, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offense and the 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.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Bell and Phillip J. Tripi, following a joint investigation by agents of Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor -- Office of Inspector General.
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.
Owner of Bluegrass Women’s Healthcare in Elizabethtown Ordered to Pay Victims $50,663.31 for MisbrandingRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The owner of Bluegrass Women’s Healthcare, located in Elizabethtown, Kentucky was sentenced yesterday, in United States District Court, by United States District Judge John G. Heyburn, to one year probation for a single charge of misbranding, and the corporation, Bluegrass Women’s Healthcare, was sentenced and ordered to pay a fine of $25,000 announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. The defendant owner, Canh Jeff Vo was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $50,663.31 to victims.
Vo, age 45, of Louisville, Kentucky, was the owner, supervising physician, and president at Bluegrass Women’s Healthcare between March 2008 and September 2009 when the violations occurred. Vo offered gynecological and obstetric services to women at Bluegrass Women’s Healthcare, including providing forms of birth control. According to the plea agreement, between March 2008 and September 2009, Vo, purchased and inserted into patients, foreign, non-FDA approved (levonorgesteral-releasing intrauterine device). These intrauterine devices or IUDs, were misbranded in that their labeling was not in the English language; and their labeling did not bear adequate directions for use. Vo pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of misbranding on September 6, 2013 and agreed to pay jointly and severally with Bluegrass Women’s Healthcare, restitution to the victims.
Also, between March 2008 and September 2009, Bluegrass Women’s Healthcare received, brought, and imported into the United States, IUDs, knowing that these were misbranded and unlawfully introduced into interstate commerce from various countries, including from Canada. Defendant VO, as president of Bluegrass Women’s Healthcare pleaded guilty, on behalf of the corporation, to the felony charge of smuggling and agreed to pay a $25,000 fine.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lettricea Jefferson-Webb, and was investigated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Kentucky Office of the Attorney General Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control.
Oakland Resident Convicted of Trafficking A Minor for Purposes of ProstitutionRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday afternoon a federal jury convicted Roderick Harold Bolds of one charge of Sex Trafficking of Children and another charge of Transportation of a Minor for Purposes of Prostitution, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.
The jury found that beginning on or about July 3, 2011, and continuing through July 11, 2011, Bolds recruited a minor from Reno, Nevada, to Oakland, California. Bolds knew or ignored the fact that the minor was not 18 years of age and would be caused to engage in a commercial sex act. The guilty verdict followed a jury trial before the Honorable Charles R. Breyer, United States District Court Judge.
Evidence at trial showed that Bolds, of Oakland, California, met the victim in Reno, Nevada, when she was fifteen years old and convinced her to come to Oakland, where he intended that she engage in prostitution. From July 4, 2011, to July 11, 2011, Bolds prostituted the victim on the streets of San Francisco and Oakland and placed an advertisement for her services online. The victim was arrested in the Mission District of San Francisco on prostitution-related charges by the San Francisco Police Department, who referred the case to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Bolds was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 27, 2011. He was charged with one count of Sex Trafficking of Children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a)(1), and one count of Transportation of a Minor for Purpose of Prostitution, 18 U.S.C. § 2423(a). He has been in prison since his arrest. Bold’s sentencing hearing is set for April 16, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. before Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco. Each of the counts for which Bolds was convicted carries a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years in prison. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Kevin J. Barry and Laura Vartain Horn are the Assistant United States Attorneys prosecuting the case with the assistance of Alycee Lane and Jacquelyn Lovrin. The prosecution is the result of an investigation of the FBI with assistance from the San Francisco and Oakland Police Departments.
(Bolds indictment )
Northern Arapaho Man Sentenced for Assault with A Dangerous Weapon with Intent to Do Bodily HarmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Christopher A. Crofts announced today that on December 11, 2013, Jess Theodore Birdshead, a 47-year-old enrolled Northern Arapaho man from Arapahoe, Wyoming, appeared in Federal District Court in Casper, Wyoming for sentencing before United States District Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily Harm. Birdshead was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $5,733.00 in restitution. The charge stemmed from an assault which occurred on May 20, 2013, on the Wind River Indian Reservation. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Nine Members of Largest Counterfeit Goods Conspiracy Ever Charged Admit GuiltRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Nine members of a massive, international counterfeit goods conspiracy have admitted their roles in the scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Hai Dong Jiang, 37, and Fei Ruo Huang, 37, both of Staten Island, N.Y.; Hai Yan Jiang, 34, of Richardson, Texas; Xiance Zhou, 39, and Jian Chun Qu, 33, both of Bayside, N.Y.; and Ming Zheng, 48, of New York, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court. Dong Jiang, Ruo Huang, and Yan Jiang pleaded guilty to informations charging them each with one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. Xiance Zhou and Qu pleaded guilty to informations charging them each with one count of conspiracy to structure money. Zheng pleaded guilty to an information charging him with a conspiracy to launder money.
Wei Qiang Zhou, 38, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty Dec. 3, 2013, Patrick Siu, 41, of Richardson, Texas, pleaded guilty Dec. 4, 2013, and Da Yi Huang, 43, of Staten Island, pleaded guilty Dec. 11, 2013, all before Judge Salas in Newark federal court, to informations charging them each with one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in Court:
From November 2009 through February 2012, the defendants ran one of the largest counterfeit goods smuggling and distribution conspiracies ever charged by the Department of Justice. The defendants and others conspired to import hundreds of containers of counterfeit goods – primarily handbags, and footwear, and perfume – from China into the United States in furtherance of the conspiracy. These goods, if legitimate, would have had a retail value of more than $300 million.
The counterfeit goods were manufactured in China and smuggled into the United States through containers fraudulently associated with legitimate importers, with false and fraudulent shipping paperwork playing a critical role in the smuggling scheme. Some of the conspirators created and managed the flow of false shipping paperwork between China and the United States, and supervised the importation of counterfeit goods, and others controlled the importation of the counterfeit goods into the United States.
Other conspirators managed the distribution of counterfeit goods once those goods arrived in the United States. After importation, the counterfeit goods were delivered to warehouses, and distributed throughout New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. Certain conspirators paid large amounts of cash to undercover law enforcement officers to assist in the removal of counterfeit goods from the port.Some conspirators acted as wholesalers for the counterfeit goods, supplying retailers who sold counterfeit goods to customers in the United States. Other conspirators were money structurers, who arranged for cash to be wired to China in amounts small enough to avoid applicable financial reporting requirements, to evade detection of the smuggling scheme and related proceeds.
Law enforcement introduced several undercover special agents (collectively, the UCs) to the conspirators. The UCs purported to have unspecified “connections” at the port, which allowed the UCs to release containers that were on hold, and pass them through to the conspirators. The conspirators paid the UCs for these “services.” In total, during the course of this investigation, the conspirators provided the UCs more than $2 million.UCs recorded dozens of phone calls and in-person meetings with various conspirators. The investigation also utilized several court-authorized wiretaps of telephones and electronic communications.
Roles of the Individual Defendants
- Patrick Siu, a/k/a “Sam Huang,” facilitated the importation and distribution of counterfeit goods, by serving as the “hub” for communications between customs brokers, UCs, and the conspirators. Siu sent false and fraudulent shipping documents to UCs and customs brokers (including by interstate and international faxes and e-mails); engaged in conversations with UCs, customs brokers, and other conspirators in furtherance of the smuggling scheme; and created or caused to be created false and fraudulent identification documents.
- Hai Dong Jiang, a/k/a “Jimmy,” a/k/a “Dong,” served as one of the directors of the smuggling scheme. Dong Jiang ordered counterfeit merchandise from China; negotiated shipments of counterfeit goods from China; arranged for payment for that merchandise; and supervised the distribution of that merchandise in and around the New York/New Jersey area.
- Hai Yan Jiang, a/k/a “Yan,” served as one of the directors of the smuggling scheme. Yan Jiang made decisions regarding what kind of counterfeit goods should be manufactured; arranged for payment for counterfeit merchandise; supervised the distribution of that merchandise in and around the New York/New Jersey area; and interacted with wholesalers of counterfeit goods by arranging payments by the wholesalers to the directors of the scheme.
- Fei Ruo Huang, a/k/a “Emily,” a/k/a “Ah Yue,” was another director of the smuggling scheme. Ruo Huang coordinated the distribution of counterfeit merchandise once it arrived in the New York/New Jersey area. Ruo Huang directed merchandise to warehouses, where it was stored and then delivered to wholesalers.
- Da Yi Huang, a/k/a “Boss,” a/k/a “Da Nian,” was another director of the smuggling scheme. Da Yi negotiated pricing for counterfeit merchandise; made payments for the counterfeit merchandise; and participated in deciding which counterfeit products should be ordered from China.
- Wei Qiang Zhou’s primary role was to assist other conspirators in arranging for transportation of counterfeit merchandise.
- Xiance Zhou and Jian Chun Qu’s primary roles were to wire proceeds obtained from the smuggling scheme to accounts in China. Conspirators in the scheme dropped off large sums of money to Xiance Zhou and Qu and others – sums far in excess of $10,000 at a time. Xiance Zhou and Qu, then divided these large sums into amounts of less than $10,000, deposited them into accounts they controlled to evade reporting requirements, and wired the money – in increments of less than $10,000 – to China and elsewhere.
- Ming Zheng, a/k/a “Uncle Mi,” was a money launderer. Other conspirators obtained cash from UCs, which was purportedly the proceeds of gambling and other unlawful activities. These other conspirators then provided the money to Zheng. For every $50,000 in cash the UCs provided, Zheng and others would return approximately $42,500 – via wire transfers from banks in China – into a bank account set up by the UCs. When other conspirators, including Ning Guo, received money from the UCs to be laundered, he would then contact Zheng, who in turn contacted a Chinese-based conspirator, and transferred the money to locations in China. Then the money (less the laundering fee) was transferred from in Fujian, China, to a bank in Guangzho, China, where it was subsequently withdrawn and physically transported via courier to a bank in Hong Kong. The final transfer was from the bank in Hong Kong to the UCs’ bank account. Zheng was therefore instrumental in each of the money laundering transactions – he received the cash from other conspirators and caused it to be transferred overseas in furtherance of the laundering process.
The conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods count to which Da Yi Huang, Hai Dong Jiang, Hai Yan Jiang, Fei Ruo Huang, Patrick Siu, and Wei Qiang Zhou pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $2 million. The money laundering count to which Zheng pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gain or loss caused be the offense. The structuring conspiracy to which Zhou and Qu pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing for Siu and Qiang Zhou is scheduled for March 17, 2014. Sentencing for Qu, Zhou and Zheng is scheduled for March 24, 2014. Sentencing for Hay Yan Jiang, Hai Dong Jiang and Fei Ruo is scheduled for March 25, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, for the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Pak and Zach Intrater of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property section of the Economic Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark and Nicholas Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Trenton.
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Defense counsel:
Qiang Zhou: Jonathan Marks Esq., New York
Siu: Robert Gottlieb Esq., New York
Da Yi Huang: Daniel Kratka Esq., New York
Hai Dong Jiang: Joseph Conway Esq., Mineola, N.Y.
Hai Yan Jiang: Benjamin Herzweig Esq., Patchogue, N.Y.
Fei Ruo Huang: Adam Mehfar Esq., New York
Qu: Alan Liebowitz Esq., Englewood, N.J.
Xiance Zhou: Patrick Brackley Esq., New York
Ming Zheng: Stacey Van Malden Esq., Bronx, N.Y.New York Man Admits to Participating in Three Armed Robberies of Electronics Stores in New Jersey and New YorkRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Brooklyn, N.Y., man admitted today to participating in three armed robberies of electronics stores, including two armed robberies in Woodbridge, N.J., and Linden, N.J., U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Terrell McQueen, 30, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton federal court to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies.
McQueen was arrested on May 22, 2013, and originally charged in an indictment in connection with two armed robberies of electronics stores in Woodbridge and Linden. McQueen has been in custody since his arrest.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between May 30, 2012, and Oct. 2, 2012, McQueen conspired with others to commit a series of gunpoint electronics store robberies in New Jersey and New York during which he and accomplices robbed merchandise for illegal resale. McQueen provided the firearms used in both of the New Jersey robberies, coordinated the resale of the stolen merchandise and distributed the profits from the robberies to the other perpetrators.
The charge of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 9, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Linden and Woodbridge Police Departments in New Jersey, as well as the New York City and Nassau County Police Departments and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in New York for their excellent work in this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Osmar J. Benvenuto of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Anthony J. Pope Esq., Newark, N.J.McQueen Superseding Information
New Orleans Man, Gregory R. Alexander, Sentenced for Attempting to Firebomb His TruckRead the Press Release
GREGORY R. ALEXANDER, 36, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced yesterday by U. S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier for his involvement in possessing unregistered destructive devices in a failed attempt to destroy his truck in February, announced U. S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. Judge Barbier imposed a sentence of 18 months imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release.
ALEXANDER pleaded guilty on August 22, 2013, to unlawfully possessing multiple destructive devices. Judge Barbier granted a downward departure citing the defendant’s lack of any meaningful criminal history, his intent to only damage his personal property and the factual circumstances leading up to the criminal activity.
According to court records, ALEXANDER, made and used multiple flammable liquid devices in a failed attempt to burn his truck.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department and Bomb Squad. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tony Gordon Sanders.
Monmouth County, N.J., Casino Owner Pleads Guilty to Evading Nearly $1.3 Million in Income Taxes from Trinidad CasinoRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County, N.J., man admitted today to evading taxes on income from his ownership of a casino in Trinidad, resulting in an approximately $1.3 million loss to the United States, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
David Migliore, 50, of Brielle, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper in Trenton federal court to one count of an indictment charging him with evading taxes with respect to his 2011 personal tax return.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Migliore owns several businesses in New Jersey, including Brielle Investment LLC, Brielle Investments & Management Co. LLC and La Soufriere Maritime Inc., as well as Island Club Casino in Trinidad.
From 2009 to 2011, Migliore earned millions of dollars from Island Club Casino, resulting in taxes due of $1,286,657. During that time, Migliore took steps to conceal his income and assets from the IRS. At his guilty plea proceeding, Migliore admitted to using unreported bank accounts in Trinidad to deposit personal income; using U.S. bank accounts in the names of his New Jersey business entities to receive income from Island Club Casino; and using those business entities to pay for personal expenses.
Migliore also admitted to transferring income from Island Club Casino directly to vendors in the U.S. for personal expenses and directing Island Club Casino employees to send his income through Western Union to individuals in New Jersey who collected the cash on his behalf.
The tax evasion count to which Migliore pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss arising out of the offense together with the costs of prosecution. Sentencing is scheduled for March 20, 2014.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Migliore agreed to pay restitution of $1,286,657 to the IRS.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark; special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees in Newark; law enforcement officers from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni; police officers from Wall Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Robert Brice; and international assistance from the Financial Intelligence Unit for Trinidad & Tobago, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Robert Weir Esq., Red Bank, N.J.Migliore, David Indictment
Mercer County, N.J., Man Admits His Role in Conspiracy to Extort BribesRead the Press Release
Also Pleads Guilty to Separate Extortion, Narcotics Distribution and Weapons Charges; Co-Defendant Admits Narcotics Distribution
TRENTON, N.J. — A Mercer County, N.J., man admitted today he conspired with the Mayor of Trenton and others to extort bribes and kickbacks in connection with a Trenton parking garage project, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Joseph Giorgianni (a/k/a “Jo Jo”), 64, of Ewing Township, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to Count One of an indictment returned in December 2012 charging him with conspiring with Trenton Mayor Tony F. Mack, 47, Ralphiel Mack, 41, (Mayor Mack’s brother) both of Trenton, and others to obstruct interstate commerce by extorting individuals under color of official right by corruptly arranging to obtain, and obtaining, money and things of value in exchange for Tony Mack’s exercise of official authority and influence.
Giorgianni also pleaded guilty to Count Eight in the indictment, charging him with conspiring with City of Trenton employee Charles Hall III, 50, of Trenton, to obstruct interstate commerce by extorting another individual under color of official right by corruptly arranging to obtain, and obtaining, money and things of value from that individual in exchange for Hall’s exercise of official authority and influence in connection with the administration of a power-washing contract.
Giorgianni also pleaded guilty to charges contained in a separate indictment returned in March 2013 which included conspiring with others, including Hall, to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone (Count One) and to being a felon in possession of a firearm (Count Six).
An associate of Giorgianni, Mary Manfredo, 65, of Lawrenceville, N.J., pleaded guilty to conspiring with Giorgianni, Hall and others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone (Count One of the March 2013 indictment).
Hall, a former City of Trenton employee, pleaded guilty in February 2013 to conspiring to obstruct commerce by extortion under color of official right by agreeing with Giorgianni, Tony Mack and Ralphiel Mack to obtain payments from the purported developers of the parking garage project in exchange for Tony Mack’s official assistance on the project. Hall also admitted his involvement in the narcotics distribution conspiracy involving Giorgianni, Manfredo and others in connection with the purchase and sale of oxycodone.
The extortion and narcotics conspiracy counts are punishable by a maximum potential prison term of 20 years in prison per count. The firearms count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. All offenses except the narcotics offense carry a maximum fine of $250,000; the narcotics offense has a $1 million maximum fine. Sentencing for both defendants has been scheduled for March 19, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Trenton Resident Agency, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric W. Moran and Matthew J. Skahill of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Trenton and Camden, respectively.
The charges and allegations in the referenced indictments are merely accusations, and all defendants with pending charges are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense Counsel:
Giorgianni: Jerome A. Ballarotto Esq., Trenton
Manfredo: Anthony Simonetti Esq., Hightstown, N.J.Giorgianni, Joseph et al. Indictments
Manhhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Conviction of Richard Chichakli, Co-Conspirator of International Arms Dealer Viktor Bout, on Money Laundering, Wire Fraud, and Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RICHARD AMMAR CHICHAKLI, an associate of international arms dealer Viktor Bout, was found guilty today, by a jury in Manhattan federal court, of conspiring with Bout and others to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) by attempting to purchase commercial airplanes from American companies in violation of U.S. sanctions. CHICHAKLI was also found guilty of money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and several counts of wire fraud, in connection with the attempted aircraft purchases. He was convicted following a four-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As the evidence at trial established, Richard Chichakli conspired to violate international sanctions by working to purchase aircraft for and with Viktor Bout, formerly one of the world's most notorious weapons traffickers. But for the intervention of our law enforcement partners, Chichakli would have played a vital role in furthering Bout's objectives.”
According to evidence at trial and documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court:
CHICHAKLI conspired with Viktor Bout and others to violate IEEPA by engaging in prohibited business transactions with companies based in the United States. The focus of these transactions was the purchase of commercial airplanes for a company that Bout and CHICHAKLI controlled, and the ferrying of those aircraft to Tajikistan. At the time of these unlawful transactions, both CHICHAKLI and Bout had been designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs”), which meant that individuals and businesses in the United States were prohibited from engaging in financial transactions with them. CHICHAKLI sought to evade these SDN sanctions by, among other things, concealing his identity and his SDN listing, and by concealing Viktor Bout’s involvement in the airplane transactions. In connection with this fraudulent scheme, CHICHAKLI helped to make a series of wire transfer payments, totaling more than $1.7 million; these payments were sent from overseas bank accounts into accounts in the United States.
CHICHAKLI was convicted of one count of conspiring to violate the IEEPA one count of money laundering conspiracy, one count of wire fraud conspiracy, and six counts of wire fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the IEEPA conspiracy count, and a maximum of 20 years in prison on each of the other eight counts. CHICHAKLI is scheduled to be sentenced on March 14, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.
CHICHAKLI’s co-conspirator, Viktor Bout, is currently serving a 25-year prison term as a result of his November 2011 conviction in this District in connection with his conspiring to sell millions of dollars of weapons to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the Special Operations Division of the DEA, and specially thanked the DEA Canberra Country Office, and the DEA Digital Evidence Laboratory. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Australian Federal Police, the Victoria State Police, and the Australian Attorney General’s Department, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and National Security Division, and Interpol.
The case is being handled by the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Christian R. Everdell, Ian McGinley, and Jenna M. Dabbs are in charge of the prosecution.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney, FBI, and IRS Announce Charges Against Pharmacy Owner in Multimillion-Dollar Medicare/Medicaid Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Toni Weirauch, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced that PURNA CHANDRA ARAMALLA was arrested yesterday for engaging in a scheme to defraud Medicaid and Medicare through the sale of illegally diverted prescription drugs. ARAMALLA was also charged with a related money laundering offense. ARAMALLA was arrested yesterday morning and was presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman yesterday afternoon. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 13, 2014.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The illegal diversion of prescription medications threatens the health of those induced to sell their medication rather than take it. It threatens the health of those who unwittingly purchase the repackaged drugs believing them to be factory-fresh. And, as alleged here, Purna Aramalla’s diversion scheme defrauded millions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid, taxpayer-funded programs established to provide health care assistance for the elderly and indigent. This Office is committed not only to punishing and preventing fraud, and safeguarding Medicare and Medicaid, but also to protecting the public.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos said: “As alleged in the complaint, Aramalla conspired to defraud our government health care programs and profit from the illness and misfortune of others. Aramalla treated our American health care system as a vehicle to fuel his greed and line his own pockets. The FBI, in conjunction with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate and bring to justice criminals who bilk the system and defraud the American taxpayer.”
IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Weirauch said: “The illegal sale of prescription drugs by pharmaceutical professionals is an escalating problem. Not only does it put potentially dangerous medications in the wrong hands, but fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements divert resources from the government. The money laundering statutes have always been effective tools in the fight against illegal drugs. We are now applying these same laws to the illegal prescription drug business, tracing the lucrative proceeds that the sales of these drugs generate.”
According to the allegations contained in the Criminal Complaint unsealed today:
ARAMALLA operates A Fair Deal Pharmacy Inc. in Queens, New York, and Quality Health Drug Inc. in Bronx, New York. Using these pharmacies, ARAMALLA allegedly carried out a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud New York State Medicaid and Medicare programs through the sale of diverted pharmaceutical drugs, that is, drugs not obtained from legitimate sources.
As part of the scheme, ARAMALLA purchased pharmaceuticals, including high-cost medications used to treat HIV, that were obtained from patients who sold the pharmaceuticals rather than use them to treat their illnesses. ARAMALLA then repackaged and resold those pharmaceuticals to his customers, as if the pharmaceuticals were new drugs obtained from legitimate sources. ARAMALLA requested and received reimbursement from Medicaid and Medicare in connection with these sales, even though Medicaid and Medicare would not have been willing to reimburse the cost of second-hand drugs. In addition, in some cases, Medicaid or Medicare had already paid for the pharmaceuticals when they were initially dispensed. In order to make the diverted pharmaceuticals appear to be new pharmaceuticals from legitimate sources, ARAMALLA and his co-conspirators used lighter fluid and other means to dissolve the adhesive on the patient labels on prescription bottles so that they could be removed and replaced with new labels.
ARAMALLA also sought and obtained reimbursement for pharmaceuticals that were never actually dispensed to patients. Instead, customers with prescriptions for pharmaceuticals essentially “sold” their prescriptions to ARAMALLA, agreeing not to take delivery of the pharmaceuticals in exchange for a share of the reimbursed proceeds.
From October 2010 to August 2012, ARAMALLA purchased approximately $1.7 million of certain branded HIV medications from two legitimate, licensed wholesalers that were his primary sources of legitimate drugs. During that same period, he received approximately $4.3 million in reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid for those same drugs, an amount far in excess of what he would have been entitled to had he only sought reimbursement for the legitimately obtained drugs.
ARAMALLA, 65, of Port Washington, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison, and one count of money laundering, which also carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. He was ordered detained pending satisfaction of bail conditions, including a $2 million personal recognizance bond.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the IRS. He also thanked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, the New York State Office of Medicaid Inspector General, and the New York City Human Resources Administration.
The New York FBI Health Care Fraud Task Force was formed in 2007 in an effort to combat health care fraud in the greater New York City area. The task force comprises agents, officers, and investigators from the FBI, NYPD, the New York State Insurance Fraud Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Inspector General, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, New York State Attorney General's Office, New York State Office of Medicaid Inspector General, New York State Health and Hospitals Inspector General, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
If you think you may have purchased second-hand prescription drugs or were otherwise victimized by this scheme, you can call the FBI Hotline at 212-384-3555.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Niketh Velamoor is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. Purna Chandra Aramalla Complaint
Major Methamphetamine Dealer Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Late WV State Police members Corporal Marshall Bailey and Trooper Eric Workman played pivotal role in building case against longtime Clay meth supplier
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Clay County man who ran a pipeline that brought large quantities of methamphetamine from North Carolina to West Virginia was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Raymond Hersman, 47, of Wallback, W.Va., was previously convicted in May for selling methamphetamine. Herman’s sentence was handed down by United States District Court Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
“Raymond Hersman was a significant methamphetamine dealer in and around the Clay County, West Virginia area,” U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said. “Today, instead of peddling poison, he’s going to prison.”
Goodwin continued, “This is perhaps the last investigation on which the late Trooper Eric Workman and the late Corporal Marshall Bailey worked. The people of Clay County and of West Virginia are safer because of the brave and skilled work of these two dedicated officers.”
According to evidence revealed during the three-day trial, law enforcement agents began investigating Hersman’s suspected meth distribution scheme in and around Clay County in August 2012. At the time, agents were aided in the investigation by West Virginia State Troopers Cpl. Marshall Bailey and Trooper Eric Workman. Cpl. Bailey and Tpr. Workman, both of whom patrolled the Clay County area, provided essential details to fellow law enforcement agents which outlined Hersman’s methamphetamine operation.
The information provided by Bailey and Workman assisted the investigation and culminated in the criminal conviction of Hersman in May.
Cpl. Marshall Bailey and Tpr. Eric Workman were shot and killed in the line of duty following a traffic stop near Clay County in late August 2012.
Hersman was previously convicted in April 1993 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The West Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Monica D. Coleman and John Frail handled the prosecution.
Lower Brule Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual Contact with A MinorRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Lower Brule, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact with a Minor was sentenced on December 12, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Robert Stricker, age 39, was sentenced to 30 months of custody, 5 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Stricker was indicted for the above charge by a federal grand jury on November 15, 2012. He pled guilty on September 17, 2013.
The conviction stems from an incident that took place in Lower Brule between August 25th and into the early morning hours of August 26, 2012, when Stricker engaged in sexual contact by touching the victim over the clothes. At the time of the offense, the victim was under the age of 16.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Stricker was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Lower Brule Man Charged with Assault by Strangulation and SuffocationRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Lower Brule, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assault by Strangulation and Suffocation.
Shane Coleman, age 25, was indicted on November 14, 2013. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on December 10, 2013, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on July 11, 2013, Coleman assaulted his spouse or intimate partner by strangling and suffocating her.
The charge is merely an accusation and Coleman is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges is prosecuting the case.
Coleman was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial, which has been set for February 11, 2014.
Louisville Man Guilty of Sexual Abuse of A Minor Under the Age of Seven in the Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky – A Louisville man pleaded guilty in United States District Court this week to charges of sexually abusing a minor under the age of seven during the production of child pornography, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
According to the five count indictment, Thomas Evan Middleton, age 50, sexually abused the minor female during the creation of pornography, while babysitting the minor at his home, between August 2009 and May 2011.
This case was initially brought by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office (LAGO) who contacted law enforcement in Louisville, Kentucky regarding a peer-to-peer investigation into Louisiana resident Robert Swan. The LAGO had previously executed a search warrant on Swan’s residence on January 30, 2013. During the review process of Swan’s electronic storage devices the LAGO discovered images of Swan and a then unknown individual engaged in the sexual exploitation of a minor. The unknown man had a cross tattoo on his right middle finger and was later identified as Thomas Middleton, through identifying information located on Swan’s computer. During the course of their investigation, thousands of digital images of child pornography were recovered, including images with Swan and Middleton sexually abusing a 4 to 5 year old female.
On July 24, 2013, a federal search warrant was executed on Middleton’s residence. Several items in the residence appeared to be the same as items observed in some of the sexual abuse images found on Swan’s computer. During the execution of the search warrant, Middleton identified the child victim depicted in the pictures with him.
Middleton faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison, and a combined maximum term of imprisonment of 250 years, a fine of $1,250,000 and a period of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to any number of years including life.
Middleton is scheduled for sentencing before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell, on March 18, 2014, at 12:15 in Louisville.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney A. Spencer McKiness and is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office.
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."
Louisville Internet Tobacco Product Retailer Sentenced to 12 Months and One Day for Role in Contraband Cigarette TradeRead the Press Release
– Agreed restitution in the amount of $2,090,571.00 from $3,214,035.66 forfeited to the United States.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The former owner of Cigarettes Direct to You, was sentenced in U.S. District Court yesterday, to one year and one day in prison by U.S. Magistrate Judge Dave Whalin, for running an illegal retail cigarette trafficking business, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. Prior to sentencing Israel Chavez of Louisville, agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $2,090,571 to the Kentucky Department of Revenue, from $3,214,035.66 he agreed to forfeit to the United States.
Israel Chavez, age 48, previously admitted in court that he conspired and agreed with Pedro, a/k/a Peter Bello, d/b/a, GT Northeast of Indiana/Kentucky, from January 5, 2005 through December 9, 2009, to buy and sell contraband cigarettes through internet websites and telephone call centers. By doing so, Chavez, aided and abetted by Bello, deprived the Kentucky State Department of Revenue of $2,090,571, by not paying taxes on cigarettes bought, sold, and shipped from locations within the Western District of Kentucky.
Chavez was the owner of Chavez, Inc., d/b/a, Cigarettes Direct to You (CD2U), a Kentucky Corporation located in Louisville, Kentucky. Chavez admitted in court to purchasing unstamped cigarettes, valued at $12,500,000 from Bello, for which no Kentucky tax had been paid, in order to significantly undercut the price charged for cigarettes by competing businesses which complied with state laws and paid the required taxes on cigarettes they held for sale. Further, Chavez admitted to knowing that fraudulent invoices had been created to disguise the nature of the cigarette transactions from the Kentucky Department of Revenue. This was accomplished through the creation of fraudulent invoices, which were transmitted by fax between Louisville, Kentucky, and St. Louis, Missouri, to make it appear that the cigarettes were purchased from a wholesaler in St. Louis – when, in fact, Chavez admitted to knowing that the unstamped cigarettes were from Kentucky, and that as a licensed wholesaler, Chavez was required to pay the Kentucky state tax.
According to the civil forfeiture suit, filed by the United States against Chavez, his ex-wife Pam Chavez, and their two companies Pam Chavez, Inc., and Chavez, Inc., Israel Chavez and Pam Chavez agreed to forfeit to the United States, assets including approximately $3,214,305.66 in cash and deposit accounts and approximately 10,824,192 tobacco products. Tax stamps valued at $108,000 will be returned to the Kentucky Department of Revenue.
"This ATF investigation was supported by the Kentucky Attorney General's Office of Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspections Service and the Louisville Metro Police Department. In addition, coordination with various State Attorney Generals and their respective revenue/regulatory agencies has led to the collection of over $40 million in lost state excise taxes by states directly impacted by Chavez's illicit operations," stated ATF Louisville Special Agent in Charge Stuart Lowrey.
In a separate, but related case, Bello, age 43, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering is scheduled for sentencing before Chief Judge Joseph H. McKinley on February 3, 2014. According to the October 3, 2011 indictment, returned by a grand jury meeting in Louisville, Bello created fraudulent cigarette invoices to circumvent paying Kentucky state excise taxes.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ream and the civil forfeiture case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amy Sullivan and will result in the payment of restitution to the victim. This case was investigated by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Law Enforcement Officials Announce Results of Southern W.va. Sex Offender Registration Compliance BlitzRead the Press Release
Operation Lump of Coal found 54 sex offenders out of compliance
BECKLEY, W.Va. – A major four-day law enforcement blitz aimed at verifying compliance of more than 317 registered sex offenders currently residing in five southern West Virginia counties found 54 offenders out of compliance, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, U.S. Marshal John D. Foster, and West Virginia State Police Capt. Brad Mankins announced today during a press conference in Beckley, W.Va.
The initiative, known as Operation Lump of Coal, is a multi-agency law enforcement effort targeting registered sex offenders to determine individual compliance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, also known as SORNA. Led by the U.S. Marshals Service’s Cops United Felony Fugitive Enforcement Division (CUFFED), Operation Lump of Coal targeted 317 registered sex offenders and found 263 to be in compliance. A total of 54 individuals were determined to be out of compliance within the Southern District of West Virginia during checks conducted on Dec. 9-12 of this week.
U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said, “Registering as a sex offender is not optional. It’s not something that offenders can simply put on the back burner or casually get around to completing whenever they feel like it. It’s mandatory.” Goodwin continued, “I’ve made prosecuting sex offenders who violate federal registration requirements one of my office’s top priorities. Today I want to reiterate that message: If you are out of compliance, we will track you down and we will bring you to justice.”
Operation Lump of Coal was initiated by members of the West Virginia State Police, in cooperation with the U.S. Marshals Service’s CUFFED Division. The four-day law enforcement sweep covered Mercer, McDowell, Monroe, Summers and Wyoming counties.
“One registered sex offender out of compliance is one too many,” U.S. Marshal John Foster said. “The U.S. Marshals Service is thoroughly committed to tracking down fugitives who attempt to evade the law.”
In August, a similar law enforcement sweep known as Operation Coal Dust was initiated in Boone, Lincoln and Logan counties. Operation Coal Dust conducted compliance checks on 209 registered sex offenders and found a total of 10 individuals out of compliance.Also, in December 2012, a compliance sweep dubbed Operation River Cities, aimed at Cabell, Mingo and Wayne counties, netted 18 arrests after nearly 300 checks were conducted.
As a result of the three regional operations, a combined total of more than 1000 offender compliance checks have been made.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248). SORNA provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States.
Las Vegas Physician Charged with Unlawfully Prescribing Large Quantities of OxycodoneRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas physician has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he unlawfully prescribed large quantities of Oxycodone and other highly addictive prescription drugs, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Victor Bruce M.D., 48, of Las Vegas, is charged in a criminal indictment dated Dec. 11, 2013, with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Bruce was arrested in Las Vegas this morning and is scheduled to appear before United States Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe, at 3:00 p.m. for an initial appearance and arraignment and plea.
“Our office will continue working aggressively with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to attack the growing problem of prescription drug abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Our federal and local law enforcement partners will continue to prioritize these unlawful prescription drug distribution cases and continue working to shut down dangerous unlawful “pill mill” operations.”
According to the indictment, Bruce is a physician licensed to practice medicine in Nevada. Bruce maintains a medical practice known as Swan Lake Medical Center at 3330 South Hualapai Way on the west side of Las Vegas, and represents himself to be a specialist in pain management. It is alleged that beginning at a date unknown and continuing to around November 2013, Bruce prescribed large quantities of oxycodone and other highly prescription drugs without medical necessity and knowing that they were going to be illegally diverted. Bruce allegedly conspired with local drug dealers to distribute the drugs in and around Las Vegas to customers who abused them.
If convicted, Dr. Bruce faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
This case is being investigated by the Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (Nevada HIDTA) Pharm-Net Task Force, including the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Henderson Police Department, North Las Vegas Police Department, and the Nevada Division of Investigations, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Crane M. Pomerantz and Cristina Silva.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In order to address the growing problem of prescription drug abuse in Nevada, the Nevada HIDTA, along with the United States Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement partners, are holding a training summit on prescription drug abuse at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17, 2013. The summit will be a collaboration of professionals from local, state and federal agencies, academia, clinicians, treatment providers, counselors, educators, state and national leaders, and advocates impacted by prescription drug abuse.Kansas Man Charged in Plot to Explode Car Bomb at AirportRead the Press Release
A man has been charged in federal court with attempting to explode a car bomb at Wichita Mid Continent Airport, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, John Carlin and U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom announced today. The defendant was arrested as part of an FBI undercover investigation, and the device used by the defendant was, in fact, inert and at no time posed a danger to the public.
Terry Lee Loewen, 58, of Wichita, Kan., is charged in a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court in Wichita with one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempting to damage property by means of an explosive and one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
“There was no breach of Mid-Continent’s Airport’s security,” said U.S. Attorney Grissom. “At no time was the safety of travelers or members of the public placed in jeopardy.”
Loewen, who works as an avionics technician, is alleged to have spent months developing a plan that involved using his access card to airport grounds to drive a van loaded with explosives to the terminal. He planned to pull the trigger on the explosives himself and die in the explosion.
Agents arrested Loewen about 5:40 a.m. Friday after he attempted to enter the airport tarmac and deliver a vehicle loaded with what he believed were high explosives. Members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) took him into custody without incident.
Loewen has been under investigation by the Wichita Joint Terrorism Task Force since early summer 2013. It is alleged that, prior to his attempted attack, he made statements that he was resolved to commit an act of violent jihad against the United States. Over a period of months, he took a series of actions to advance the plot. According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Loewen:- studied the layout of the airport and took photographs of access points;
- researched flight schedules;
- assisted in acquiring components for the car bomb;
- and talked about his commitment to trigger the device and martyr himself.
On Friday, Loewen went to Mid-Continent Airport to detonate the car bomb. He was taken into custody when he attempted to open a security access gate. FBI Evidence Response Teams are executing search warrants related to the case. Although the investigation is ongoing, no additional arrests are anticipated.
“Lone wolves - home grown violent extremists remain a very serious threat to our nation’s security, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Kaste. “Today’s arrest emphasizes the continual need for the public to remain vigilant as law enforcement relies on the public’s assistance.”If convicted, Loewen would face a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
The investigation was conducted by the Wichita FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes members from the FBI, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Highway Patrol. Assisting with the investigation were the FBI Kansas City Division, the Transportation Security Administration, the Wichita Airport Authority, and the Wichita Police Department.
The case is being handled by prosecutors from the United States Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s National Security Division.In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The charges merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
John Labee Pleads Guilty to Aiding and Assisting in the Preparation of False Tax Documents, Making False Statements on Income Tax Returns and Lying to A Federal Grand JuryRead the Press Release
JOHN LABEE, age 35, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana plead guilty yesterday before United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax documents, lying on personal income tax returns, and making false declarations before the Grand Jury, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
According to court documents, LABEE owned and operated several tax preparation companies, including Millenium Bookkeeping Services (“Millenium” [sic]) and IP Financial Services (“IP”), which prepared the taxes of numerous clients. As a regular part of his business LABEE prepared tax returns that contained false or fraudulent information for his clients, including false W-2s that fabricated the amount of federal income tax that had been withheld and inflated business expenses and deductions. LABEE prepared and filed approximately 460 federal tax returns that falsely claimed, and he charged substantial preparation fees, which he failed to report on his personal income tax returns. LABEE’S conduct resulted in an intended loss to the United States, of approximately $2,242,121 of federal income tax withholdings, and he failed to pay approximately $163,000 in federal taxes personally.
LABEE faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 11 years in prison, followed by up to 3 years of supervised release, and restitution as ordered by the Court. Sentencing has been scheduled for March 20, 2014, at 9:30 am.
The case was investigated by agents with the Internal Revenue Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg.
(Download Factual Basis )
Illegal Re-Entry Defendant SentencedRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown announces that on 12/10/2013 Saturnino Palomo-Ramirez, was sentenced by Judge William Steele to Time Served, and to a Supervised Release Term (SRT) of one year. It was ordered that the Defendant be delivered to a duly-authorized Immigration official for possible deportation, and a Special Assessment (SA) of $100.00.
The indictment alleged that Palomo-Ramirez was found to be illegally in the United States on June 30, 2013 after he was removed or deported on or about November 9, 2010. Illegal Reentry into the United States is a violation of Title 8, United States Code, and Section 1326. Under the circumstances alleged in the indictment, the charge carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in custody.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Baldwin County Sheriff=s Office and presented the case for prosecution to the United States Attorney=s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Vicki M. Davis handled the prosecution of the case on behalf of the United States.
Huntsville Man Must Pay $3.7 Million to IRS for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE -- A federal judge this week sentenced a Huntsville man to five years' probation for tax evasion but ordered him to pay $3.7 million in restitution to the government, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot.
U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon sentenced PAUL BRACY JR., 71, on one count of tax evasion. The U.S. Attorney's Office charged Bracy in July. Bracy owned several small businesses: Bracy's Vending and the Green Room Lounge in Madison County and PBS Blues Bar in Macon County. Bracy also owned four pieces of real property, two in Madison County, one in Choctaw County and one in Mobile County.
According to court documents, the IRS was about to determine Bracy was personally responsible for $60,995 in unpaid taxes associated with businesses he owned, when Bracy conveyed the four pieces of real property, via “sham transactions,” to others in order to avoid IRS seizure of the properties to satisfy the outstanding tax amount. As part of his plea agreement, Bracy agreed to pay the $3,747,650 in restitution to the government.
“Most citizens diligently pay their taxes,” Vance said. “The willful failure of others to do so is patently unfair and criminal. We will aggressively seek to investigate and prosecute those individuals.”
"Business owners have a responsibility to withhold income taxes for their employees and then remit those taxes to the Internal Revenue Service," Hyman-Pillot said. "The failure to pay over withheld taxes is a serious offense. IRS Criminal Investigation vigorously pursues anyone who collects taxes and fails to timely remit those taxes."
The IRS-CI investigated the case, which the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama prosecuted.
Honduran Sentenced to 9 Months in Prison for Illegally Re-entering U.S. After RemovalRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - An alien found in Pittsburgh, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to nine months incarceration on his conviction of illegal re-entry after deportation, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Mark Hornak imposed the sentence on Pastor Gomez-Perez, 32, of Honduras.
According to the information presented to the court, Pastor Gomez-Perez, an alien, was formally removed from the United States by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on July 28, 2009. Pastor Gomez-Perez was found to be illegally present in Pittsburgh on Sept. 20, 2013.
Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hull prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Custom Enforcement for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Gomez-Perez.
Hogsett Announces Sentencing of Local Man as Part of Violent Crime InitiativeRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today the sentencing of James I. Bowling, age 41, of Manilla, to 27 months (2 years, 3 months) in federal prison. This follows a September 2013 jury trial, at which Bowling was found guilty of providing false information when purchasing a firearm and of receiving a firearm while under indictment.
“The facts of this case show that Mr. Bowling thought he was above the law, and that recklessness put this community in danger,” Hogsett said. “This case is an example of what our collaborative Violent Crime Initiative aims to accomplish in Hoosier communities. This effort isn’t about making new laws - we are focused on enforcing those laws already on the books.”
An indictment filed last November charged that on July 19, 2012, Bowling was found to have falsely applied to purchase a .357 caliber revolver at a Rushville sporting goods store. In making that purchase, Bowling filed sworn statements with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, indicating that he was not under felony indictment or information. In fact, the defendant was aware of felony charges pending against him in Rush County Superior Court. Bowling was also convicted of illegally possessing the weapon in question.
These indictments come as part of the U.S. Attorney's Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), and are the result of collaborative investigative efforts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Indiana State Police.
Launched in March 2011, the VCI has produced a dramatic increase in the number of gun-related charges brought federally. In the year preceding the initiative, there were just 14 defendants charged with federal gun crimes by the U.S. Attorney's Office. In the nearly two years since, more than 200 defendants have been charged.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Rinka, who prosecuted the case for the government, Bowling was ordered to serve 2 years of federally-supervised release at the end of his prison term, and was fined $2,000. Under federal law, Bowling is required to serve at least 85% of his prison term within a federal correctional facility.
Harrisburg Woman Sentenced for Harboring Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Nura Ziadeh, age 62, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday in Harrisburg by United States Senior District Court Judge William W. Caldwell to 15 months’ imprisonment. Judge Caldwell further ordered that Ziadeh pay $21,300 in restitution.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, in 2006, the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, began reviewing A-3 Non-Immigrant Visa (NIV) applications submitted at diplomatic facilities in Jakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia, for suspected fraudulent activity.
A-3 NIVs are for personal or domestic employees of foreign government officials who are serving their country in the United States in an official capacity. Recipients of A-3 NIVs are not permitted to work for private employers for any reason.
The investigation revealed that during 2007 through 2010, Ziadeh, formerly of Jakarta, Indonesia, worked in association with some of her family members still residing in Jakarta, to recruit poor, uneducated Indonesian women to come to Jakarta for eventual transportation to the U.S. and other countries under false pretenses to serve as domestic employees.
Once inside the United States, Ziadeh would charge those seeking domestic employees thousands of dollars to employ one of the women for two years. The women would be required to work an average of 12 to 17 hours per day, seven days per week. In turn, the employers would pay the women substandard wages, approximately $250-$400 per month. Some of the women were not paid at all. However, if the women left before the two years, Ziadeh threatened that they would be required to pay a fine. Ziadeh also held the women’s passports and luggage to ensure they would not try to “escape.”
The investigation identified at least 49 female victims.
Ziadeh was indicted in February 2012, along with her husband, Rashid Ziadeh and daughter, Mannatullah Ziadeh. They were charged with Transporting and Harboring Illegal Aliens and Aiding and Abetting. Nura and Rashid Ziadeh pleaded guilty in March 2013. Rashid Ziadeh was sentenced to probation.
This case was investigated by the United States Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service and Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and Lower Paxton Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom.
Ft. Pierre Man Sentenced for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Fort Pierre, South Dakota, man convicted of bank fraud was sentenced on December 12, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Wyatt Rasmussen, age 40, was sentenced to 33 months in custody to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to make restitution of $238,969.59.
Rasmussen was indicted for bank fraud by a federal grand jury on May 8, 2013. He pled guilty on August 1, 2013.
Rasmussen applied for a business line of credit from Dakotaland Federal Credit Union in Huron. In support of his application, he created and submitted fraudulent documents that grossly overstated and misrepresented his income. Rasmussen received the line of credit and used the funds for his own personal purposes.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case.
Rasmussen was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Four Time Felon Exiled to over 10 Years in Prison for Illegal Possession of A Gun and Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Gerod Simmons, age 30, of Lancaster, South Carolina, today to 125 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and witness tampering.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Steven L. Gerido of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Teresa Chambers of the U.S. Park Police.
According to his plea agreement, on September 1, 2012, Simmons was arrested in Maryland after police found a loaded .40 caliber pistol under the front passenger seat of a car where Simmons was sitting. Simmons was charged with being a felon in possession of a gun. The car was registered to his mother in Lancaster, South Carolina. The gun had been purchased by his co-defendant, Canyon Nelson, in Lancaster in 2011. Simmons had four previous drug convictions and was prohibited from possessing a gun.
Simmons was detained after his arrest and called Nelson almost every day during September and October, 2012. During a call on September 7, 2012, Simmons suggested that Nelson should say that she had placed the gun under the seat without his knowledge. In that phone call and two subsequent letters mailed to Nelson’s home, Simmons told Nelson to say that they had driven around town running errands on the morning of August 31, 2012, and that she placed the gun under the passenger seat without his knowledge, after he got out of the car at the bank where she cashed her paycheck.
On November 7, 2012, Nelson falsely testified before the grand jury that on August 31, 2012, she and Simmons had driven around town running errands. Nelson said she had paid her light bill and cashed her pay check at the bank. Investigation showed that the power company had no record of any payments made by Nelson or Simmons the morning of August 31, 2012. Video recordings of the bank lobby reveal that neither Nelson nor Simmons went into the building that morning.
Canyon Nelson, age 25, of Lancaster, South Carolina, previously pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the grand jury and was sentenced to five months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF and U.S. Park Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Hollis R. Weisman, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ophardt of the U.S. Justice Department, who prosecuted the case.
Former Bay Area Resident Sentenced to Nearly Three Years for Her Participation in Tax SchemeRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Charmetra Urssery was sentenced on December 11, 2013, to 34 months in prison, and ordered to pay restitution of $196,766 for conspiring to file false tax returns, United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez announced.
According to the plea agreement, beginning in June 2008, Urssery helped obtain tax refunds based on false tax returns that were filed with the IRS. As part of the scheme, Urssery spoke with others who then provided their personal information for use in the false returns. She knew the returns were false because the person whose name appeared on the returns often did not supply the information used to support the refund. Urssery also allowed her bank account to be used to receive fraudulent tax refunds, and spoke with others who then provided their bank account information to be used to receive fraudulent refunds. When Urssery withdrew the fraudulently obtained money from her bank account she would split the proceeds with other individuals involved in the scheme. Similarly, when the fraudulent refund was issued to another account holder they would also split the proceeds with others. In her plea, Urssery additionally admitted that she obstructed the investigation of this matter.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Charles R. Breyer, United States District Court Judge. Urssery was ordered to self-surrender on February 14, 2014.
Urssery, 36, was indicted on July 12, 2012. She was charged with one count of conspiracy to file false claims and pleaded guilty to the charge.
Thomas Newman is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
(Urssery indictment )
Former Baltimore City Firefighter Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking of A MinorRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Jamar Marvin Simmons, a/k/a “Mar,” age 31, of Baltimore, today to 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for sex trafficking of a minor, in connection with a prostitution business he ran with co-defendant Franklin Coit. Simmons was a Baltimore City firefighter at the time of the offense. Judge Russell ordered that upon his release from prison, Simmons must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
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; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.
According to their plea agreements, Simmons and Coit operated a brothel in Baltimore City on Madison Avenue. They also rented hotel rooms and a residence in Maryland for prostitution. Simmons and Coit falsely advertised online for exotic dancing and an escort service to recruit females, including at least one minor female, from Maryland and other states. They arranged to transport the women from Delaware, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, South Dakota and Virginia to Maryland to engage in prostitution. Many of the women recruited by Simmons and Coit were in financial distress, had no place to live, or were otherwise vulnerable.Simmons and Coit took sexually explicit pictures of the females they recruited, and posted the pictures on the escort section of an online advertising website along with phone numbers to call to schedule a “date,” or sex. Simmons set the pricing for the sex acts, and instructed the females on how to arrange “dates” over the phone and how to avoid detection by law enforcement. Simmons and Coit shared the cash proceeds of the prostitution business, and used a gun to protect the business and its cash proceeds.
Franklin Roosevelt Coit, a/k/a “Frank,” and “Nitty,” age 35, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to the same charge and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 17, 2013 at 2:30 p.m.
The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), created in 2010 to combat child prostitution, with members from10 state and federal law enforcement agencies. The Task Force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution.
MCETF partners with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit www.justice.gov/usao/md/Human-Trafficking/index.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore City and County Police Departments and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation, and Baltimore City Assistant State's Attorney Aaliyah Muhammad who assisted in the prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel M. Yasser, who prosecuted the case.Fletcher Dairy Company and Owner Plead Guilty to Clean Water Act Violation for Discharging Cow Feces into French Broad RiverRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Tap Root Dairy, LLC, one of North Carolina’s largest dairy farms located in Fletcher, N.C., and one of its owners pleaded guilty in federal court today to criminal violations of the Clean Water Act, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Special Agent in Charge Maureen O’Mara of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID), Atlanta Area Office, and Greg McLeod, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI).
A criminal bill of information filed in U.S. District Court on November 11, 2013, charged Tap Root Dairy, LLC (Tap Root) and William “Billy” Franklin Johnston, 60, of Mills River, N.C., with one count of violation of the Clean Water Act, in connection with the discharging of cow feces into the French Broad River. According to filed documents and statements made in court, Tap Root maintains several hundred cows and manages hundreds of acres of crop fields in Fletcher. In the annual course of its operations, Tap Root disposes millions of pounds of solid and liquid animal waste, which are considered pollutants under the Clean Water Act.
Court documents indicate that beginning in 2009, Johnson let his certification lapse as Operator in Charge (OIC) of Tap Root’s animal waste management system. Despite receiving repeated warnings and notices, court records show that as of December 4, 2012, Tap Root still had not designated a valid OIC to oversee its waste management system. Furthermore, according to filed documents, from September 3, 2012 to December 4, 2012, for a total of 93 days, Tap Root failed to check and maintain the levels of cow waste in their on-site waste containment lagoons. This resulted in the spillover and discharge of 11,000 gallons of cow feces and other waste into the French Broad River on December 4, 2012.
In addition to pleading guilty to violating the Clean Water Act, Tap Root has also agreed: 1) to pay a fine of $80,000, which will be directed to entities that safeguard the French Broad River and other environmental concerns in the Southeast; 2) to abandon any appeal to a related $13,507.82 North Carolina State civil penalty; 3) to serve a probationary term of four years during which regulators and investigators can inspect their records and facilities without notice and without a warrant; and 4) to design and implement a compliance plan subject to approval by the EPA. At sentencing, Johnston faces a maximum prison term of one year and has agreed to pay an additional fine of $15,000. A sentencing date has not been set yet.
The Clean Water Act is a federal law enacted to prevent, reduce and eliminate pollution, and to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological quality, of the Nation’s waters for the protection and propagation of fish and aquatic life and wildlife, for recreational purposes, and for the use of such waters for public drinking water, agricultural, and industrial purposes. The French Broad River supplies drinking water more than one million people and is frequently used for recreational water activities, such as swimming and kayaking. In 2012, North Carolina listed the French Broad River from Mud Creek to NC Highway 146 as impaired for fecal coliform bacteria. Tap Root is located on this impaired section of the French Broad River.
The investigation of this case was conducted by special agents of the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, and NC SBI’s Diversion and Environmental Crimes Unit. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Steven R. Kaufman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Federal Jury Convicts Tampa Woman on All Counts for Participation in Credit Card Fraud RingRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that following a four-day trial, a federal jury yesterday found Viviana Reyes (40) guilty of conspiracy to commit credit card fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, credit card fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and identity theft. Reyes faces maximum penalties ranging from 5 to 30 years in federal prison on each conspiracy, fraud and identity theft count, and a mandatory 2-year consecutive term in prison for each of the three aggravated identity theft counts. A sentencing hearing has been set for March 6, 2014.
Reyes was first indicted on July 29, 2013. Four of her co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Another co-conspirator (Michel Lermos-Hernandez) remains a fugitive.
According to the testimony and evidence presented at trial, the individuals in this indictment, led by Michel Lermos-Hernandez, ran a credit card fraud ring. Lermos, aided by others, obtained credit card numbers by placing key loggers that intercepted and stored swiped credit and debit card account information on credit card terminals at the International Mall, in Tampa. One device, in particular, was located at the Haagen-Dazs ice cream store. Using the stolen credit and debit card account numbers, Lermos and his co-conspirators then created counterfeit credit cards. Lermos obtained blank credit card stock (cards), embossing machines and magnetic stripe re-encoders from Viviana Reyes, and also sold stolen credit and debit card numbers, taken from the key loggers, to her.
After making the credit cards, Lermos provided the counterfeit credit cards to his co-conspirators, including his sister (Norma Cabezas-Hernandez), his girlfriend (Danay-Crespo Rodgriguez), and at least two other separately charged individuals (Lazaro Rodriguez and Abel Osorio-Cuok), to buy electronics and gift cards at Tampa area retailers. The conspirators then took these items to Viviana Reyes’ house, where she paid them in cash for the fraudulently obtained merchandise.
A search of Reyes’ house, in February 2013, revealed a credit card skimming device and two thumb drives filled with hundreds of stolen credit and debit card numbers, many of which were compromised at Haagen-Dazs. Agents also recovered three counterfeit Florida Drivers Licenses, which were indicative of those that Reyes had sold to others for the purpose of opening lines of credit at area stores. A search of Reyes’ phone revealed pictures of merchandise such as Apple computers and tablets for sale, along with numerous text messages advertising electronics and gift cards for sale at greatly reduced prices.
To date, agents estimate the loss to the affected financial institutions to exceed $650,000.
This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the United States Secret Service (USSS), as part of the USSS’s Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mandy Riedel and Suzanne Nebesky.
Emory Students Targeted by Identity ThievesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Maario Coleman and Angela Russell have been arraigned for operating a scheme to obtain thousands of dollars by stealing the identities of Emory University law and medical students and using them to apply for loans.
“The alleged actions of these two defendants demonstrates how every member of our community is vulnerable to identity theft and computer intrusions,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “The potential for causing damage to Emory students’ financial and professional futures cannot be overstated. We continue to work aggressively to combat this problem.”
Ricky Maxwell, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “This case illustrates the need for the law enforcement community to work together in order to stay ahead of today’s very capable and tech savvy individuals that are able to do much harm to many unsuspecting victims. The FBI’s Atlanta Cyber Task Force applauds the quick response of the Emory University Police Department and its continued assistance throughout this investigation.”
“The teamwork of Emory Police investigators, Emory's University Technology Services and school officials, allowed Emory to respond quickly to reports, initiate an investigation and take steps to prevent further fraud against our graduates,” says Emory Police Chief Craig Watson. “On behalf of the Emory Police Department, I greatly appreciate the productive partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation that has led to the arrest of these two individuals.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: Coleman obtained lists of students graduating in the class of 2013 by checking university websites and attending graduation ceremonies. Coleman and Russell used that information to obtain the students’ dates of birth and social security numbers from online databases. The defendants then used those personal identifiers to apply for post-graduate “bar loans” and “residency loans” at Discover Bank. “Bar loans” are designed to pay for living expenses and exam preparation while law school graduates studied for the bar exam. Similarly, “residency loans” assist medical school graduates with the costs of residency, relocation, and board exam review courses.
In many instances, Discover required school transcripts before it would approve and fund the loans. To satisfy this requirement, Coleman and others used the personal identifiers of the victims to obtain passwords to access Emory’s online portal and order the victims’ transcripts. The transcripts were mailed to other participants in the scheme, and Coleman then coordinated sending the transcripts to Discover. He also arranged for the loan proceeds to be deposited into bank accounts fraudulently opened in the victims’ names. After the loans were funded, other participants in the scheme obtained the funds via ATM withdrawals.
The investigation showed that the scheme began as early as May 2013, and continued until at least November 6, 2013. On that date, law enforcement officers, including federal agents, interviewed Russell regarding the scheme. Following the interview, the agents went to a second location, and then returned to Russell’s residence. When they arrived, agents became alarmed by a large volume of smoke they saw rising from Russell’s apartment. After entering the apartment, the agents found Coleman and Russell inside, with fire and smoke coming from the fireplace. The agents put out the fire with an extinguisher and discovered documents and computer equipment, including hard drives and at least one laptop, all either burned in the fire, dismantled or gouged.
To date, investigators have identified over $200,000 in false loan applications. In addition, over 100 students at Emory and other Georgia universities have had their personal information compromised. The fraud was discovered when several Emory students contacted the Emory Police Department after realizing that their personal information had been compromised. The investigation is ongoing.
The indictment charges Coleman, 27, of Decatur, Ga., with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of computer fraud, and one count of tampering with computers and documents. Russell, 42, of Dunwoody, Ga., is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of tampering with computers and documents. Both appeared before Linda T. Walker, United States Magistrate Judge.
The bank fraud conspiracy and tampering charges each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The computer fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison. The aggravated identity theft charges carry at least one mandatory two-year consecutive sentence, in addition to any other sentence imposed. In addition, the bank fraud count carries a fine of up to $1,000,000, and the computer fraud and tampering counts each carry a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Emory University Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Shanya Dingle is prosecuting the case.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
If you are a victim of identity theft, change the passwords to your online banking and other financial accounts because your information may have been stolen/ acquired over the Internet.
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/ .
Edward Henry Pratt Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on December 11, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, EDWARD HENRY PRATT, a 35-year-old resident of Browning, was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 96 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 3 years
PRATT was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to being a felon-in-possession of a firearm.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In 2006, PRATT was convicted of felony controlled substances which therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.
On March 23, 2011, in Browning, PRATT possessed a Savage/Springfield, model 67 series E, 12 gauge, pump-action shotgun.
PRATT had been drinking at a residence in Browning, holding the firearm and showing it to various people in an effort to sell it. Multiple individuals observed PRATT with the firearm.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the truth in sentencing guidelines mandate that PRATT will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, PRATT does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for good behavior.( However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
East St. Louis Man Sentenced to 57 Months’ Imprisonment for Possession of A Firearm by A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
An East St. Louis, Illinois, man was sentenced to a prison term in federal district court for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on December 13, 2013, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Stephen Benson, 42, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced in federal district court in East St. Louis to 57 months’ imprisonment, 3 years’ supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a fine of $250, following his plea of guilty, on August 18, 2013, to an Indictment charging him with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. The charge relates to an incident that occurred on December 12, 2012, in East St. Louis, Illinois, when law enforcement officers, responding to Benson’s residence in reference to an assault, questioned Benson, who admitted having a firearm. Benson was previously convicted of Theft Under $300/Subsequent Offense, on or about September 9, 2010, in St. Clair County, Illinois, Case No. 10-CF-769. The firearm was a Raven, .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol. The sentencing judge also ordered forfeiture of the firearm and the ammunition contained therein.
The case was investigated by members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen B. Clark.
District Man Sentenced to 28 Months in Prison for Sexual Abuse of Child-Five-Year-Old Victim, A Relative, Aided Early Investigation-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A 21-year-old man, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 28 months in prison on charges stemming from a sexual assault against a five-year-old relative, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
The defendant, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pled guilty in August 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count each of attempted second-degree child sexual abuse and violating the Bail Reform Act. The Honorable Robert E. Morin sentenced him. Upon completion of his prison term, the defendant will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for 10 years.
According to the government’s evidence, on May 9, 2013, at approximately 8:50 p.m., the defendant was at the home of a relative in Northeast Washington. During this time, the child and her mother were living temporarily with the same relative and were also in the apartment. The child’s mother, who had momentarily left the home, returned to find the defendant under a blanket with her daughter. The child made an immediate report regarding sexual acts the defendant engaged in with her while her mother was gone.
While this case was pending, the court released the defendant, placing him in the high-intensity supervision program on June 14, 2013. After the June court date, the defendant removed his GPS device, and he did not appear in court as scheduled for a hearing on July 15, 2013. He was re-arrested on a bench warrant on July 26, 2013.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) Youth Division who were involved in the arrest and investigation of this case. He also expressed his appreciation to Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key, Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mervin A. Bourne, Jr., who investigated and prosecuted the case.
13-420Defendant Sentenced for Planting Drugs on Woman’s CarRead the Press Release
ROME, Ga. – Clifford J. Joyce has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison for framing a Murray County citizen for drug possession.
“By planting drugs on an innocent woman’s car, Mr. Joyce attempted to use the criminal justice system to serve his own personal agenda,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “In the end, however, it is Mr. Joyce, and not the Murray County woman, who will be headed to prison.”Ricky Maxwell, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “Mr. Joyce’s sentencing today serves to not only hold him accountable for his crime, but provides him time to reflect on this terrible deceptive act intended to harm another innocent individual. The FBI will continue to work with its various local, state and other federal law enforcement partners to identify and investigate any allegations of criminal conduct involving or adversely impacting our criminal justice system.”
“Vindicating an innocent person is as important as convicting the guilty. The GBI will continue to work with our federal law enforcement counterparts to ensure criminal cases are thoroughly investigated so the innocent remain free and the guilty are held accountable,” said Vernon Keenan, GBI Director.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: In July 2012, a Murray County citizen met with then-Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant Cochran regarding a legal matter. She alleged that during the meeting, Cochran made inappropriate sexual advances towards her.
In an effort to discredit the citizen, Joyce and others participated in a scheme to frame her for drug possession. On or about August 12, 2012, Joyce hid a metal tin containing five packets of methamphetamine under the tire well of the citizen’s car.
Two days later, on August 14, 2012, Murray County Deputy Sheriff Joshua Greeson (who has since been convicted of witness tampering for lying to law enforcement officers) conducted a traffic stop of the citizen’s car. During the traffic stop, Greeson searched the vehicle for drugs. Ultimately, after receiving information from Captain Michael Henderson (who has also been convicted of witness tampering), Greeson found the metal tin of methamphetamine under the tire well. After locating the drugs, Greeson and Henderson arrested the citizen and the driver of the car on narcotics charges. On August 24, 2012, the District Attorney dismissed the charges against the citizen.On June 14, 2013, Joyce, 27, of Dalton, Ga., pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Today, United States District Judge Harold L. Murphy sentenced Joyce to one year, six months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Michael V. Herskowitz prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.
Dallas County Man Sentenced to 108 Months Incarceration Based on Illegal Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney, Kenyen Brown announces that Norris Johnson, a 29 year old Selma resident was sentenced today. The Honorable William Steele sentenced Johnson to 108 months incarceration followed by three (3) years of supervised release and a monetary assessment of $200. This sentence was based on Johnson’s illegal possession of two (2) firearms on different occasions and the discharge of one of the firearms into a crowd of people. Johnson was charged by Indictment in May 2013 and later pled guilty on August 8, 2013.
Special Agents of The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and the Selma, Alabama Police Department investigated the case and brought it to the U.S. Attorney=s Office for prosecution. The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant United States Attorney, Gina S. Vann.
Court Upholds Revocation of Federal Firearms License of Adams County Gun DealerRead the Press Release
Peter J. Smith, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and Essam Rabadi, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Philadelphia Field Division jointly announced today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the revocation of the Federal Firearms License (FFL) of Scott W. Taylor, d/b/a Taylor’s Trading Post, located in Biglerville, Pennsylvania.
In early 2010, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted a compliance inspection of Taylor’s business, which was operated out of his home in Biglerville. ATF discovered that over a three-year period of time, Taylor had committed more than 10,000 violations of the Gun Control Act, which requires firearm dealers to keep detailed and timely records of the purchase and sale of firearms.
Law enforcement relies on these records to apprehend criminals who use firearms to commit crimes and to ensure that firearms are not being sold to persons not authorized to possess them.
Despite buying and selling thousands of guns over that three-year period, Taylor failed to record the purchase of 5,715 firearms, the sale of 2,856 firearms, and keep records of the disposition of 1,618 additional firearms – with about 160 of the firearms remaining unaccounted for. Taylor also admitted to possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, which he knew was illegal and failing to report it to law enforcement.
As a result of the large volume of guns that Taylor never recorded, it took nine months and the assistance of additional ATF agents to complete the compliance inspection. Ultimately, in November 2011, ATF revoked Taylor’s Federal Firearms License. Taylor challenged this administrative action claiming his three-year failure to comply with the record requirements had not been willful.
U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones, III, adopted findings resulting from a hearing before Chief Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson in which the violations were found to be willful because Taylor admitted he knew the law required him to keep the records and had kept the records in the past, but then failed to keep the records for three years while he continued to buy and sell thousands of guns each year.
Taylor appealed his license revocation to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals claiming that his three-year failure to record firearm sales and purchases were not willful. The Court of Appeals disagreed, finding that the facts established that there was “no question that Taylor violated the [Gun Control Act]” and that his violations were “willful.” As a result of this ruling, Taylor remains unable to engage in the business of dealing in firearms.
This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kate L. Mershimer of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and ATF Associate Chief Counsel Jeffrey A. Cohen and ATF Division Counsel J. Kevin White.
Conspirator in $220,000 Armored Car Robbery Exiled to over 7 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Kai Holt, age 38, of Waldorf, Maryland, today to 88 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to commit, and committing, the armed robbery of an armored vehicle, and conspiracy to possess, and possession of, a firearm in connection with the robbery.
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; Special Agent in Charge Steven L. Gerido of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
According to his plea agreement, in June 2012, Holt and co-defendants Carmen Camacho and John Williams began planning the robbery of an armored vehicle outside the Navy Federal Credit Union located at 12248 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland. On June 12, Williams told Holt that the robbery would take place the next day.
On June 13, Holt armed himself with a loaded .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol and met with Williams and two other co-defendants, Marcus Brooks and Deangelo Williams. They traveled in two vehicles to the Navy Federal Credit Union. The conspirators drove around the area planning escape routes, and parked nearby waiting for the armored car to arrive. At 11:20 a.m., John Williams called Holt and told him to proceed with the robbery. Holt and Brooks walked towards the credit union where a courier was unloading cash from the back of the van for delivery to the credit union. Holt drew his pistol. The courier threw the bag of money on the ground and ran away. Brooks picked up the bag, which contained $220,000, and he and Holt ran back to their vehicles and fled. The co-conspirators traveled back to Prince George’s County where they divided the proceeds of the robbery.
Carmen Camacho, age 31, of Fort Washington, Maryland, pleaded guilty to his role in the robbery and is awaiting sentencing. John Bernard Williams, age 48, and Deangelo Williams, age 20, both of Fort Washington, and Marcus Brooks, age 21, of Lanham, Maryland, also pleaded guilty. John Williams was sentenced to 112 months in prison, Deangelo Williams was sentenced to three years in prison, and Brooks was sentenced to 61 months in prison.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, ATF, Montgomery County Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Steven E. Swaney and William D. Moomau, who prosecuted the case.
Con Artist Who Craved A Life of Luxury SentencedIn White Plains Federal Court to Six Years in Prison for Operating A Long-Term Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ALICIA HOLMES was sentenced today in White Plains federal court by United States District Judge Kenneth M. Karas to six years in prison for defrauding individuals and businesses of hundreds of thousands of dollars in accommodations, goods, services, and money. HOLMES pled guilty on March 1, 2013, to one count of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of providing a false address in furtherance of fraud before Judge Karas.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “Many of us would enjoy some of the finer things in life – a lavish home, luxurious hotel suites – and would work for those goals. Alicia Holmes took a huge shortcut with her fraudulent schemes. With today’s sentence, her next address will far more basic.”
According to the Indictment and documents filed in court proceedings:
Holmes’ scheme spanned from approximately April 2007 through May 2011. To attain a life of luxury, Holmes told scores of lies to real estate brokers, property builders, home owners, hotel managers and staff, and school administrators, among others, including lies about her net worth, about where she lived, and about having access to a vast “overseas trust” within a short period of time. To live in hotels with her husband and two sons, Holmes had the bills paid for by friends who trusted her and by real estate brokers who believed she would soon be purchasing multimillion-dollar homes, which would lead to large commissions for the brokers. Holmes also conned hotel employees into letting her and her family stay at their hotels for months at a time without payments. To keep the scheme going, Holmes impersonated lawyers, bankers, and an FBI agent. Additionally, Holmes instructed victims not to cooperate with federal law enforcement agents who were investigating her scheme.
In addition to the prison term imposed on HOLMES, 49, Judge Karas ordered HOLMES to forfeit $542,343.51, to pay restitution to her victims in the amount of $894,205.01, and to serve three years of supervised release.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilan Graff and Lee Renzin are in charge of the prosecution.
Holmes Alicia.S2
Columbia County Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Receiving Child Pornography over the InternetRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that John George Sessine (58, Lake City) has pleaded guilty in United States District Court, in Jacksonville, to receiving images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minor children over the Internet. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of not less than 5 years, up to 20 years in federal prison, a potential life term of supervision, and will be required to register as a sex offender. The court also forfeited his computer media, which was traceable to the offense. Sessine has been in custody since his arrest on June 5, 2013. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, on June 5, 2013, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at a residence occupied by Sessine, in Lake City, Florida. The FBI had previously learned that at least one computer using an Internet Protocol (IP) address resolved to that residence was sharing videos of child pornography over the Internet. Sessine was at the residence and was interviewed by the agents. During an interview, Sessine stated, among other things, that he used a particular file sharing program to download images and videos, that his preference was for young females, and that the youngest child on his computer was 10 or 12 years old. A forensic analysis of Sessine’s computer media revealed that Sessine had collected 107 images and 104 videos of minor children being sexually abused.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Clinton Man Sentenced for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss - Christopher Allen Morace, 31, of Clinton, Mississippi, was sentenced in
U. S. District Court today to 120 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised
release for possession of child pornography, announced U. S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and
Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”). Morace was previously convicted of possession of child pornography in North Carolina and sentenced to one year in prison.
“Child pornographers often go to great lengths in an attempt to conceal their criminal actions,” said HSI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. "This case shows that despite those attempts to hide, HSI investigators are routinely able to identify and seek prosecution of these dangerous individuals to make our communities a safer place for law-abiding citizens everywhere.” Parmer oversees a five-state region including Mississippi , Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.###
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:
Making sure that victims of federal crimes are treated with compassion, fairness and respect.
Training and seminars for Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Help us combat the proliferation of sexual exploitation crimes against children.
Our nation-wide commitment to reducing gun crime in America.
Canton Man Charged with Distributing Hardcore Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Billy Gene McCorkle, Jr. has been arraigned on charges of distributing and possessing child pornography of children under the age of 12. McCorkle was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 10, 2013. He was detained.
“The sexual exploitation of a child through the distribution of child pornography is a crime that preys on the most innocent in our society, the very ones who depend on us to protect them,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “This defendant is accused of trafficking sexually graphic images of very young children, with some of them even shown in bondage situations. This office is committed to prosecuting those who engage in this horrible trade.”
"The defendant stands accused of trading in the worst kinds of child pornography, in effect victimizing again children whose documented rapes will haunt them for the rest of their lives ," said Brock D. Nicholson, special agent in charge of HSI Atlanta. "HSI special agents and our law enforcement partners will continue to tirelessly pursue these monsters and will use every tool we have available to hold them accountable for their crimes and keep them away from children."
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: In October 2013, special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations identified McCorkle as a Canton, Georgia resident using a Google email account to transmit hardcore images of pornography depicting very young children. Federal agents then obtained a search warrant to gain access to McCorkle’s email content. A review of those records revealed that between October 27, 2013, and sometime in November 2013, McCorkle used a cellular telephone connected to the Internet to transmit more than 208 photographs and 14 video files, depicting pornographic images of minors, including children under age 12. The photographs and video files included hardcore images of child pornography, some of which involved bondage.
The indictment charges McCorkle, 45, of Canton, Ga., with distributing child pornography, and possessing images of child pornography depicting minors under age 12. Because McCorkle was previously convicted of a sex offense, the distribution charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years of imprisonment, up to a maximum sentence of 40 years of imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000. And because McCorkle possessed images of prepubescent minors, the possession charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years of imprisonment, up to a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant United States Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. is prosecuting the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
California Man Sentenced to Prison for Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss – Jerome Gordon Wellington, 38, of Palmdale, California, and Byram, Mississippi, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for laundering drug proceeds through the purchase of a house in Byram, Mississippi, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Gabriel L. Grchan, Special Agent in Charge, IRS - Criminal Investigation. Wellington was previously convicted of conspiring to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine from California into Mississippi.
IRS Special Agent in Charge Gabriel L. Grchan stated: “The role of IRS - CI in narcotics investigations is to follow the money, which enabled us to financially disrupt and dismantle Jerome Wellington’s drug trafficking organization. We were proud to have provided this financial expertise as we worked alongside our law enforcement partners to bring Wellington and his cartel of criminals to justice.”
The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the criminal investigation of the financial affairs leading to the current indictment. The Drug Enforcement Administration, in conjunction with officers from the Ridgeland Police Department, Jackson Police Department, Hinds County Sheriff=s Office, and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, initially investigated the drug trafficking organization of Jerome Gordon Wellington.
U.S. Attorney Davis praised the efforts of the IRS Criminal Investigation and DEA agents who worked tirelessly on the complex investigation into the financial affairs of this drug organization, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca who prosecuted the case for the government.###
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:
Making sure that victims of federal crimes are treated with compassion, fairness and respect.
Training and seminars for Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Help us combat the proliferation of sexual exploitation crimes against children.
Our nation-wide commitment to reducing gun crime in America.
Berlin Man Convicted of Robbing Guardian Angel Credit Union in Berlin, New HampshireRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. –Daniel Hufstetler, 34, formerly of 36 High Street in Berlin, New Hampshire was convicted in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire of robbing the Guardian Angel Credit Union, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
On November 14, 2011, Hufstetler robbed the Guardian Angel Credit Union, which is located at 200 Coos Street in Berlin, New Hampshire. Hufstetler was arrested on state armed robbery charges two days after the crime, but those charges were later dismissed and the defendant was prosecuted in federal court.
Hufstetler is in custody pending sentencing which is scheduled for April 1, 2014.
This investigation involved the cooperative efforts of federal and local law enforcement entities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Hampshire State Police, the Berlin Police Department, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Hampshire Drug Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.
Bankruptcy Court Awards Between $5.1 Billion and $14.1 Billion Against Subsidiaries of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for Fraudulent Conveyance Designed to Evade Environmental LiabilitiesRead the Press Release
Largest Bankruptcy Award Ever for Governmental Environmental Claims and Liabilities, and One of the Largest Environmental Enforcement Awards Ever
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”), Robert G. Dreher, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resource Division (“ENRD”), Cynthia Giles, the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), and Judith Enck, Regional Administrator of the EPA’s Region 2, announced today that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has awarded between $5.1 billion and $14.1 billion against defendant Kerr-McGee Corporation and certain related defendant companies (“Kerr-McGee” or “New Kerr-McGee”), all of which are subsidiaries of the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, in a fraudulent conveyance case brought by the United States and co-plaintiff Anadarko Litigation Trust (the “Trust”) in the bankruptcy of Tronox, Inc., and its subsidiaries (“Tronox”). The Court found that in 2005 the historic Kerr-McGee Corporation (“Old Kerr-McGee”) fraudulently conveyed assets to New Kerr-McGee to evade its debts, including its liability for environmental clean-up at toxic sites around the country. This is the largest award ever in a bankruptcy for governmental environmental claims and liabilities, and one of the largest environmental enforcement awards ever.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The United States will not let polluters evade their environmental liabilities through a corporate shell game. For decades, the Old Kerr-McGee Corporation dumped toxic chemicals across the United States, and then it tried to dump its obligation to clean up this mess on an insolvent company. In its wake, Old Kerr McGee left a legacy of contamination in communities across the nation, which has affected homes, places of worship, and town centers. The Court’s decision means that Kerr-McGee will finally have to pay for its pollution, and will fund clean-up in contaminated communities across the nation.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Dreher said: “We are very pleased with this outcome, which will appropriately and fairly account for past pollution and replenish funds for tomorrow’s cleanups. This court decision also sends a clear message that polluters cannot simply walk away from a toxic legacy and leave federal, state, and tribal governments to pick up the tab. This ruling will keep the financial burden on the responsible party, and not allow it to be shifted to the American taxpayer.”
EPA Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles said: “The Court’s decision makes a strong statement that companies should take responsibility for the toxic pollution they cause. Those that manipulate their assets and leave American taxpayers to foot the bill to clean up their mess will be held accountable. This is a huge win for public health and the environment, as proceeds from the decision will fund needed cleanups across America.”
EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck said: “This legal victory illustrates EPA’s commitment to cleaning up toxic waste sites in communities and ensuring that polluters, not taxpayers, pay for the environmental remediation. This was a complex case and the outcome ensures that billions of dollars will be channeled to advance toxic cleanups.”
The Fraudulent Conveyance
According to the complaints of the Government and the Trust and the written opinion of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan L. Gropper:
Old Kerr-McGee operated numerous businesses, which included uranium mining, the processing of radioactive thorium, creosote wood treating, and manufacture of perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel. These operations left contamination across the nation, including radioactive uranium waste across the Navajo Nation; radioactive thorium in Chicago and West Chicago, Illinois; creosote waste in the Northeast, the Midwest, and the South; and perchlorate waste in Nevada.
In the years prior to 2005, Old Kerr-McGee concluded that the liabilities associated with this environmental contamination were a drag on its “crown jewel” business, the exploration and production of oil and gas. With the intent of evading these and other liabilities, Old Kerr-McGee created a new corporate entity – defendant New Kerr-McGee – and, through a series of corporate transactions in 2005 and 2006, transferred its valuable oil and gas exploration assets to the new company. The legacy environmental liabilities were left behind in the old company, which was re-named Tronox. As a result of these transactions, Tronox was rendered insolvent and unable to address its environmental and other liabilities. In 2009, Tronox went into bankruptcy.
The United States and the bankruptcy estate (now represented by the Trust) brought this lawsuit to require the defendants to repay the value of the assets fraudulently conveyed from Old Kerr-McGee.
In its decision, the Court found that Old Kerr-McGee transferred assets with the intent to hinder or delay creditors, including particularly environmental creditors, and also transferred those assets for less than their fair value, which left Tronox insolvent, unable to pay its debts when they came due, and undercapitalized. Among other things, the Court concluded that:
- “[T]here can be no dispute that Kerr-McGee acted to free substantially all its assets – certainly its most valuable assets – from 85 years of environmental and tort liabilities.”
- “[O]verhelming” evidence demonstrated that “Defendants devised, carried out and had complete knowledge that [the transfer of Old Kerr-McGee’s oil and gas exploration and production assets was] part of ‘a single integrated scheme’ to create a ‘pure play’ E&P business free and clear of the legacy liabilities.”
- “[T]here is no credibility to the uniform testimony of the inner circle [of Old Kerr-McGee management] that isolation of the oil and gas assets from the chemical business had nothing to do with an effort to cleanse the E&P assets from the legacy liabilities.”
- “The record is replete with evidence that Kerr-McGee misapplied [the] standard [for setting reserves for environmental claims under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles] and thereby understated its liabilities for GAAP purposes.”
- Statements by former Old Kerr-McGee employees that the cost of this environmental pollution would decline after the spin-off were “not rooted in reality.”
The Court concluded that the net proceeds of the fraudulent transfer were $14,459,000,000, and that, depending on a question of bankruptcy law still to be decided in further proceedings, will result in a damages award of between $5,150,490,000 and $14,166,148,000. The bankruptcy court will conduct further proceedings to determine the amount of damages within this range.
Prior Bankruptcy Settlement and Distribution of Fraudulent Conveyance Recovery
In 2011, in connection with Tronox’s Plan of Reorganization, the estate paid approximately $270 million to fund environmental response trusts created to own and clean-up contaminated property. Additionally, pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization and agreements signed at that time, approximately 88% of the recovery in this lawsuit, net of Trust expenses, will be distributed to the environmental trusts and to the federal, state, and local environmental creditors for environmental clean-up of contaminated sites around the nation.
As a result of these agreements, some of the key environmental recoveries for environmental claims and for clean-up of environmental sites are estimated to be the following:
- Between $1.1 billion and $3.1 billion for the Multistate Environmental Response Trust created in the bankruptcy to clean up more than two dozen contaminated sites around the country, including the Kerr-McGee Superfund Site in Columbus, Mississippi.
- Between $1.1 billion and $3.1 billion to be paid to the Nevada Environmental Response Trust created in the bankruptcy to clean up the perchlorate and other contamination resulting from operations at an industrial park near Lake Mead in Nevada.
- Between $880 million and $2.4 billion to be paid to EPA for clean-up of contamination from uranium mining on the Navajo Nation.
- Between $220 million and $620 million to be paid to EPA for clean-up of thorium contamination at the Welsbach Superfund Site in Gloucester, New Jersey.
- Between $213 million and $601 million to be paid to the federal Superfund in repayment of costs previously incurred by EPA cleaning up the Federal Creosote Superfund Site in Manville, New Jersey.
Additional amounts will be paid for numerous other environmental claims and sites at issue in this case.
Mr. Bharara thanked the Trust, its trustee, and its counsel for their critical work on this case. Mr. Bharara also thanked the many federal, state, and tribal officials who worked tirelessly on this matter. The litigation of this case was assisted by EPA personnel from around the country; the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management of the U.S. Department of the Interior; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce; the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and the U.S. Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as numerous state governments and the Navajo Nation.
This case was handled by the Environmental Protection Unit and Tax and Bankruptcy Unit of the Office’s Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert William Yalen and Joseph Pantoja, along with Alan S. Tenenbaum, Katherine Kane, Frederick S. Phillips, Marcello Mollo, and Erica Pencak of ENRD, are in charge of this case.
Bank Robbery Accomplice Sentenced to 114 Months in CustodyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown announces that on 12/4/2013, Brandon Payne, was committed to the BOP for a term of 114 MONTHS by Federal Judge William Steele; said term consists of 30 months as to Count One and 84 months as to Count Two; said terms to run consecutively. The Judge recommended that the defendant be allowed to participate in residential, comprehensive, substance abuse treatment while incarcerated. The defendant was sentenced to a Supervised Release Term (SRT) of five (5) years as to Counts One and Two. Defendant was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $5,826.00, payable to BankTrust and to participate in a program of testing and treatment for drug and/or alcohol abuse as directed by the Probation Office and to pay a Special Assessment fee of $200.00.
The defendant along with two co-defendants, Kenterrio Scott and Renaldo Gaddis were charged in Count One of the Superseding indictment with a violation of 18U.S.C. ' 2113(a) & (d), Bank Robbery. Bank Robbery carries a maximum penalty of up to 25 years in custody, a $250,000 fine, 5 years of SRT and $100 Special Assessment. He was also charged in Count Two of the Superseding Indictment with a violation of 18 U.S.C. ' 924(c), Possession of Firearm During a Crime of Violence. The maximum penalty is a custody sentence of 7 years consecutive, a fine of $250,000, 3 years SRT and $100 Special Assessment. Payne was the last one to be brought to justice.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by AUSA Vicki Davis.
Bank Robber Ordered to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The last of four convicted in the armed bank robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank in September 2012 has been ordered to federal prison, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Today, U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon sentenced David Holiday, 35, of Houston, to 135 months for his role in the aggravated bank robbery.
On Sept. 26, 2012, at approximately 9:45 a.m., the Wells Fargo Bank on Fulton Street in Houston was robbed by Holiday and two others – Stanley Snowden, 40, and Alvin Theotis Snowden, 41, both of Houston - wearing masks and bandanas. Stanley Snowden and Alvin Snowden were armed with semiautomatic pistols.
Holiday and Alvin Snowden jumped over the teller counter and demanded the bank employees lay down on the ground, while Alvin Snowden pointed his weapon at them. Alvin Snowden took the bank manager to the vault and demanded money, and Holiday took one of the bank employees to her teller drawer.
Stanley Snowden controlled the lobby area, during which time he assaulted an elderly female customer by throwing her to the ground and pointing his pistol directly at her as she lay on the floor of the bank.
After the robbery, the three men exited the bank and entered a Chevrolet Impala, driven by Anthony D. Brown, 40, of Houston, who drove the others to the bank prior to the robbery. All were apprehended a short time later, at which time a .32 caliber pistol, a 9mm pistol and money stolen from the bank were recovered from the vehicle.
The three others also pleaded guilty. Alvin Snowden received a sentence of 319 months, Stanley Snowden received a sentence of 177 total months, while Brown will serve 92 months in federal prison.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force, which is comprised of personnel from the FBI, Houston Police Department and Harris County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jennie Basile is prosecuting the case.