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30 January 2014
Jury Finds Moundsville Man Guilty of Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistDefendant faces up to Forty Years in Prison
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - A 59-year old Moundsville, West Virginia, resident was convicted today by a federal jury for the illegal distribution of prescription painkillers.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that ROCCI WADE was convicted of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Oxycodone” and “Distribution of Oxycodone.” WADE was part of a five person conspiracy that distributed painkillers in the Moundsville area between 2010 and 2013.
WADE, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced by Chief Judge John Preston Bailey later this year. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Randolph J. Bernard and Robert H. McWilliams, Jr. and investigated by the Marshall County Drug Task Force which includes officers and agents from the Moundsville Police Department, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Jury Convicts Two Men for Filing False Claims Against Internal Revenue ServiceRead the Press Release
Jason McGuire of Detroit, Mich., and Delvin Davis of Saint Clair Shores, Mich., were found guilty by a jury sitting in Detroit in the Eastern District of Michigan of conspiracy and filing $3.4 million in false claims in the form of false individual income tax returns and false trust tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The defendants were also found guilty of filing or aiding and abetting in the filing of false, fictitious and fraudulent claims; Davis was found guilty of five such counts and McGuire of 18 counts. Witness testimony revealed that the defendants attended the same high school in Detroit and began the scheme in 2008. Prior to that time, McGuire had worked as a mechanic and Davis had worked as a mortgage broker and operated a “credit repair” business.
According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, McGuire, 37, and Davis, 36, recruited individuals from the Detroit area with whom they had existing, long-standing business and personal relationships to sign fraudulent trust and income tax returns. McGuire had the taxpayers sign blank trust return forms, and the taxpayers never saw the filled-out forms before they were filed. McGuire attached bogus forms to the income tax returns. McGuire included fictitious withholdings in both types of return forms, resulting in the taxpayers receiving large refunds. The defendants recruited at least nine different taxpayers to participate in the fraudulent scheme. The IRS received returns requesting more than $3.4 million in false refunds and paid over $1.5 million in false refunds as a result of the fraudulent scheme. Several taxpayers testified at trial that they were required to pay fines and interest to the IRS as a result of the false tax returns that the defendants submitted to the IRS.
“Those who prepare and file fraudulent returns cheat all honest taxpayers,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Tax Division. “The Department is committed to investigating, stopping, and prosecuting these crimes.”
"When criminals cheat the IRS, they rob all of us as taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade for the Eastern District of Michigan. “We hope that prosecutions like this one will deter others from stealing taxpayer funds."
Sentencing is scheduled for May 2, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Stephen J. Murphy. McGuire and Davis each face a statutory maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy count and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of filing a false claim.
This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Stafford and Trial Attorney Mark McDonald of the Tax Division.
Jennings Man Pleads Guilty to Importing and Distributing Anabolic SteroidsRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Christopher Paul Benoit, 33, of Jennings, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi to conspiring to unlawfully import and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, from January 2007 to June 2012, Benoit conspired with others to import steroids using the U.S. mail. Benoit ordered anabolic steroids online and paid for the drugs using money wires or debit cards to foreign accounts. The indictment lists five such orders delivered from China to Jennings from January 2011 to February 2012. Benoit and his co-conspirators would then take the powdered steroids from the packages, liquefy them, and place them into vials for sale. One of the co-conspirators, Regan Chase Benoit, 26, also of Jennings, and Christopher Benoit’s first cousin, approached Christopher Benoit in 2010 to purchase steroids. Regan Benoit admitted he later assisted his cousin in liquefying the powder steroids for distribution. Regan Benoit pleaded guilty to steroid importation, possession, and distribution charges on September 5, 2013, and sentencing is set for March 27, 2014.
Christopher Benoit faces up to 10 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release for one count of conspiracy to import and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids. Sentencing has been set for May 8, 2014.
Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Jennings Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett L. Grayson is prosecuting the case.
Indictment Returned for Murder in National Park in MarylandRead the Press Release
Virginia Man Faces Manslaughter Charge for Death of Climber in Carderock
Greenbelt, Maryland - A federal grand jury has indicted David DiPaolo, age 31, of Bristow, Virginia, on charges of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of a person in Carderock, an area within the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The indictment was returned on January 29, 2014. DiPaolo is scheduled to have an initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles B. Day, in Courtroom 2A, U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, at 3:30 p.m.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Acting Chief of Police Robert MacLean of the U.S. Park Police.
According to the indictment and other court documents, on December 28, 2013, the victim was found on a trail in Carderock with massive head injuries. The indictment alleges that after arguing with the victim, DiPaolo killed the victim by repeatedly striking the victim in the head with a blunt object. DiPaolo was arrested by New York State Police on January 8, 2014, and had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Albany, New York. DiPaolo was transported to Maryland by U.S. Marshals.
DiPaolo faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Park Police for its work in the investigation and thanked the New York State Police, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Mara Zusman Greenberg, who is prosecuting the case.
Idaho Man Sentenced for Failure to Pay Child SupportRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Post Falls, Idaho, man convicted of three counts of Failure to Pay Legal Child Support was sentenced on January 23, 2014, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
David E. Cox, age 47, was sentenced to 5 years of unsupervised probation on each count to run concurrently, ordered to pay a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, and child support restitution in the amount of $62,277.67. He was found guilty by a federal jury on January 16, 2014.
Cox was indicted for failing to pay over $61,000 in child support on July 9, 2013. The obligations went unpaid for more than two years and were in amounts greater than $10,000. At that time, Cox was residing in Idaho while his minor children resided in South Dakota. From that date and continuing to the present, Cox willfully and unlawfully failed to pay these past due child support obligations.
This case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman prosecuted the case.
Heroin Dealer SentencedRead the Press Release
The head of a heroin distribution conspiracy was sentenced January 30, 2014, to more than 27 years in federal prison.
Dwayne Appling, 37, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after an August 26, 2013, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and one count of distributing heroin near a school.
According to information disclosed at the sentencing hearing, between 2007 and March of 2010, Appling headed an organization responsible for distributing thousands of grams of heroin throughout the Waterloo area. Appling recruited at least eight other individuals to sell heroin on his behalf. Appling’s organization was extensive, involving over thirty other individuals who have been prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office.
Appling was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Appling was sentenced to 327 months’ imprisonment on each count to run concurrently. The Court also imposed a special assessment of $200. He must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Appling is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and was investigated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Cedar Rapids Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force and the Tri-County Drug Task Force. The Cedar Rapids DEA Task
Force consists of the DEA; Linn County Sheriff's Office; Cedar Rapids Police Department; Marion Police Department; Iowa City Police Department; Clinton
Police Department; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services. The Tri-County Drug Task Force consists of the Waterloo Police Department; Cedar Falls Police Department; Waverly Police Department; Bremer County Sheriff’s Office; Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office; LaPorte City Police Department; Evansdale Police Department; Hudson Police Department; and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR-11-2025.Guatemalan National Sentenced for ID Theft; more than 100 Illegal Aliens used False ID in Scheme to Obtain LicensesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Guatemalan national was sentenced in federal court today for aggravated identity theft in connection to a conspiracy to provide false identity documents so that more than 100 illegal immigrants could fraudulently obtain driver’s and non-driver’s licenses from the license office in St. Joseph, which is operated by a contractor for the Missouri Department of Revenue.
Pedro Pablo-Solis, 29, a citizen of Guatemala residing in Liberal, Kan., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to two years in federal prison without parole.
On Sept. 23, 2013, Pablo-Solis pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft. He is the fifth and final defendant to plead guilty and be sentenced in this case.
Illegal aliens traveled across the United States to obtain licenses at the St. Joseph license office by using unlawfully obtained birth certificates and Social Security cards. It is estimated that well over 100 Missouri licenses were unlawfully issued to illegal aliens as part of this conspiracy from July 1, 2010, to Jan. 10, 2012.
Pablo-Solis’s role in the conspiracy was to obtain genuine Social Security cards and birth certificates that were later used by illegal aliens to fraudulently obtain Missouri identification documents. Pablo-Solis, who is illegally present in the United States, provided co-defendant Domingo Ajanel-Castro, 33, a citizen of Guatemala residing in St. Joseph, with identification documents for a specific age range for either a male or a female that corresponded with the illegal alien who was purchasing the document set.
Thomas Richard McNamara III, 27, formerly an employee at the St. Joseph license office, Hector Juarez Mendoza, Sr., 55, a citizen of Mexico who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, and his wife, Isabel Ramirez Mendoza, 62, and Ajanel-Castro, all of St. Joseph, pleaded guilty to their roles in a conspiracy to unlawfully produce identification documents, unlawfully transfer the means of identification of another person and commit Social Security fraud and to aggravated identity theft. Ajanel-Castro also pleaded guilty to possessing false or fraudulently obtained identification documents.
The Mendozas and others (including family members, such as their minor son) escorted illegal aliens into the St. Joseph license office under the guise of serving as translators. They charged a fee, typically $100, for assisting the illegal aliens to obtain a Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license that was in the name of another person who was listed on unlawfully obtained birth certificates and Social Security cards.
The Mendozas also referred illegal aliens to co-conspirators who could assist them in obtaining identification documents that could be used to fraudulently obtain Missouri non-driver’s licenses. The illegal aliens were usually charged between $500 and $950 for the document sets and the Missouri driver’s and non-driver’s licenses.
The Mendozas assisted illegal aliens in preparing for potential questions from the license office employees, such as learning the names on the birth certificates, the names of the parents on the birth certificates, the dates of birth, and the Social Security numbers.
Sometime between June 22, 2009, and Nov. 2, 2011, Isabel Mendoza approached McNamara and asked him to accept identification documents he was not supposed to accept and issue Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s licenses to individuals who were escorted by her and others. In exchange, she offered to pay McNamara a fee of approximately $50 to $100 for each time he issued a license he was not supposed to issue due to the inadequate documentation of their true identity.
McNamara admitted that he accepted improper documents approximately two to three times a week, but he didn’t do this every week. Mendoza often called Isabel McNamara before bringing aliens to the license office to make sure he would be working and to let him know they were bringing in clients. McNamara then met with Isabel Mendoza on numerous occasions during non-work hours at locations other than the licensing office to receive payment.
According to McNamara, it was common knowledge among the employees at the license office that co-conspirators were assisting illegal aliens to obtain licenses.
This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department, the Platte County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Revenue Investigation Bureau, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.Gillette Man Convicted for Attempted Online Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Christopher A. Crofts announced today that Gillette, Wyoming resident JONATHAN EARL OLAVESON has been convicted in federal court. A jury found Olaveson guilty of attempted online enticement of a minor for sexual purposes after a two-day jury trial in the U.S. District Court in Casper. Olaveson is scheduled to be sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Skavdahl on April 10, 2014.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, assisted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.
Fugitive ‘Nurse’ ArrestedRead the Press Release
Little Rock - Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas announced the arrest of Susan Elaine Boyce, 59, formerly of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas. Boyce was arrested last night in Howell County, Missouri by Social Security Administration - Office of the Inspector General agents and by deputies from the Howell County Sheriff’s Office.
Law enforcement succeeded in locating Boyce by acting upon a lead generated by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Boyce is scheduled to make her initial appearance in federal court at 4 p.m. this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Jerome T. Kearney.
“I want to commend the agents from the Social Security and the Department of Health and Human Services Administration – Offices of the Inspector General for continuing to develop and pursue leads in this investigation resulting in the apprehension of Ms. Boyce,” stated Thyer. “We could not rest knowing she might try to pose as a nurse in some other town to get another healthcare-related position in a school or other facility. The health and safety of anyone who would have trusted she was a qualified healthcare provider was at risk. Thankfully, people no longer have to worry now that she is in custody.”
Boyce was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 5, 2012. The seven-count indictment charged her with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and misuse of a social security number. Boyce used an Arkansas State Board of Nursing license number and a Social Security Number belonging to another person to obtain employment as a school nurse in Searcy, Arkansas, from the 2007-2008 school year through the 2011-2012 school year.
The investigation is being conducted by agents from the Social Security Administration-Office of the Inspector General and the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Morgan.
An indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Four Indicted in New Jersey for Allegedly Trafficking A Minor, Forcing Her to Work as A ProstituteRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A federal grand jury in Trenton returned a superseding indictment today charging four men from New York and Pennsylvania with various offenses related to the trafficking of a minor and forcing her into prostitution for their own profit, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
The indictment charges Varian Charles, 29, aka “Bob,” of Philadelphia; Wilbur Senat, 24, aka “Wilby,” of Haverstraw, N.Y.; Samuel Verrier, 35, aka “Dre,” of Philadelphia; and Karl Venord, 31, aka “Imme,” of Philadelphia. All four were previously charged by complaint with related offenses in July 2013 and have been detained since that time. Charles was subsequently indicted. Today’s superseding indictment adds additional charges. All four defendants will be arraigned on a date to be determined.
According to the documents filed in this case:
The minor victim met Senat in the summer of 2011 in upstate New York. Shortly after they met, Senat took her to a motel in Nyack, N.Y., where he forced her to engage in commercial sex acts with various individuals for which they paid Senat. Senat threatened the victim’s family if she did not leave New York with him, so she agreed, and Senat purchased tickets for himself and the minor victim to take public transportation from New York to Philadelphia.
Charles met Senat and the victim in Philadelphia, where the men told the girl she would be staying at Charles’ house to engage in prostitution. While there, the victim was forced to have sex with various individuals who paid Senat and Charles. Senat and Charles also physically abused her.
Verrier met the victim while she was at Charles’ house, and took her. He then brought her to various clubs in Philadelphia, where he instructed her to solicit club patrons for sex acts in exchange for money.
In late August 2011, Verrier introduced the victim to Venord and the pair took her to New Jersey. During the drive, the men told her they intended to blackmail an individual in New Jersey, instructing her to have sex with this individual and take photographs of him. After locating the individual outside a bank in Bordentown, N.J., they were unsuccessful in their attempt.
The charges and maximum penalties are as follows:
Count
Defendant(s) Charged
Maximum Potential Penalty
Charles
SenatLife in prison; $250,000 fine
2 – sex trafficking of children
Senat
Life in prison (10 year minimum/15 year minimum if by force); $250,000 fine
3 – conspiracy to transport minors to engage in prostitution
Charles
SenatLife in prison (minimum 10 years); $250,000 fine
4 – transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution
Senat
Life in prison (minimum 10 years); $250,000 fine
5 – conspiracy to transport a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity
Verrier
VenordLife in prison (minimum 10 years); $250,000 fine
6 – transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity
Verrier
VenordLife in prison (minimum 10 years); $250,000 fine
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation. The New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice also provided assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Wolfe in Trenton and Courtney M. Oliva in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Charles, Varian Superseding Indictment
Four Additional Individuals Sentenced in Oxycodone ConspiracyRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On Jan. 24, 2014, three additional individuals involved in an oxycodone distribution conspiracy were sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Court Judge. Ashley Nicole Gray Patterson, 29, of Morristown, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 70 months in federal prison. Upon her release from prison, she will be subject to six years of supervised release, under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office. Kerry Glenn Nelson, 44, of Morristown, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 48 months in federal prison. Upon his release from prison, he will also be subject to supervised release for three years. Kimberly Ann Vanover, 39, of Tazewell, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 15 months in federal prison. Upon her release from prison, she will be subject to supervised release for four years. On Jan. 27, 2014, Tamara Michelle Moles, 45, of Morristown, Tenn. was sentenced to serve 51 months in federal prison. Upon her release from prison, she will be subject to supervised release for three years. There is no parole in the federal system.
In October 2012 Patterson, Nelson, Vanover, Moles, and eight others were named in an 18-count federal indictment. Charges in the indictment involved drug trafficking of oxycodone, oxymorphone, and methamphetamine, firearms violations, and money laundering. Patterson, Nelson, Vanover, and Moles were each charged with conspiring to distribute oxycodone. Patterson was also charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Vanover was also charged with distributing oxycodone. The charges initiated from a lengthy investigation of the 12 individuals who traveled by commercial airlines and automobiles to Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia, to obtain oxycodone and other drugs to distribute throughout eastern Tennessee. The total conspiracy involved over 778,000 milligrams of oxycodone, which is the equivalent of nearly 26,000 dose units of 30 milligram oxycodone. All 12 charged in the indictment have been convicted. Two remain to be sentenced in 2014.
U.S. Attorney Bill Killian commended the law enforcement agencies who were involved in this investigation. “Prescription drugs, including oxycodone, continue to be a major problem in east Tennessee. Powerful narcotics are highly addictive and can lead to criminal activity, as evidenced by the extensive efforts of this drug trafficking organization. Our office will continue to work closely with all law enforcement agencies to cut off the illegal supply lines of oxycodone and other prescription narcotics,” stated Killian.
Agencies involved in this investigation included the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Morristown Police Department, and Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Kerney-Quillen represented the United States.
Fort Thompson Man Indicted on Assault Charges and Child AbuseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, Domestic Abuse by an Habitual Offender, and Child Abuse.
Anthony Comes Flying, a/k/a Anthony Miller, age 29, was indicted on January 15, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on January 16, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 15 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and up to $600 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about January 4, 2014, Comes Flying assaulted his dating partner and their two children, when Comes Flying had a final conviction on at least two separate occasions for prior offenses against a spouse or dating partner.
The charges are merely accusations and Comes Flying 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.
Comes Flying was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Fort Hall Man Charged with Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that Dulton E. Johnson, 23, of Fort Hall, Idaho, pleaded not guilty today to the indictment charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on September 10, 2013. Johnson appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush at the federal courthouse in Pocatello. Trial is set for March 10, 2014, before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.
The indictment alleges that Johnson intentionally assaulted another person, which resulted in serious bodily injury, including multiple broken bones.
The charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Westin San Diego Executive Pleads Guilty to Elaborate EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that Kevin Kelso pled guilty today in federal court before Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo to charges of wire fraud stemming from his employment as a senior finance executive at the Westin San Diego, from which he stole more than a half a million dollars.
According to court records, Kelso was an employee of Interstate Hotels & Resorts and worked as Westin San Diego’s Director of Finance between December 2010 and September 2012. Kelso utilized this position to embezzle funds from the Westin to pay for his own personal expenses. He admitted stealing the money using a variety of means, including abusing the hotel’s change order process (the process by which a hotel exchanges large denomination bills for smaller bills to keep in the hotel safe), obtaining an unauthorized corporate American Express card (which he paid using Westin San Diego’s bank account), and writing checks from Westin San Diego’s bank account to pay himself and third parties for personal expenses. In his plea, Kelso also admitted to concealing the fact that he was taking cash from the hotel’s safe and not making a corresponding deposit during the change order process and making false entries in Westin San Diego’s general ledger.
Kelso further admitted to defrauding his prior employer, the Ann Arbor Marriot Ypsilanti in Michigan, using similar machinations. The total amount of embezzled funds from the two hotels was over $800,000.
The defendant has been released on bond pending sentencing. The guilty plea is not final until it has been accepted by the district court. Kelso is scheduled to be sentenced April 18, 2014 at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 13CR3017-DMSKevin Kelso
SUMMARY OF CHARGESCounts 1-6: Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 – Wire Fraud
Forfeiture: Title 18, United States Code, Sections 981(a)(1)(C) and Title 28, United States Code, Section 246
INVESTIGATING AGENCIESUnited States Secret Service
Former School Business Official, and Treasurer of the Carterville School District, Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Funds from the Carterville School DistrictRead the Press Release
Todd Ryan Frazier, 31, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, entered a plea of guilty in federal district court to an Indictment charging Embezzlement and Theft from the Carterville School District - a unit of local government that received federal funds, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. The offense carries a total statutory maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and mandatory restitution. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 8, 2014.
“Theft from the taxpayers, whether by force and violence, or with a pen, will not be tolerated.” said United States Attorney Wigginton. “In this and all such cases, my office will seek full restitution, and will aggressively pursue its collection.”
According to information revealed in Court, Frazier, from August 2008, and continuing through February 2012, engaged in a scheme to defraud the Carterville School District, Unit 5, in Williamson County, Illinois, while he was the School Business Official. This job included the duties and responsibilities to act as the treasurer and payroll officer for the district. In Court, the United States indicated that the loss was approximately $114,000.00, and that restitution should include the costs of audits conducted in ascertaining the loss amount. Although Frazier pled guilty to one count of a multiple count indictment, his conduct in the remaining counts is considered as relevant conduct by the Court in determining the appropriate sentence to impose.
The successful prosecution is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman R. Smith.
Former Financial Advisor, Jabari Ragas, Guilty of Embezzling $1.4 Million from ClientsRead the Press Release
JABARI RAGAS, age 40, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, pled guilty to money laundering and filing a false tax return in federal court today before United States District Court Judge Lance M. Africk, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
According to court documents, RAGAS was employed by Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (“Ameriprise”) as a registered broker and investment adviser from 2005 - 2009. RAGAS admitted in court to embezzling nearly $1,400,000 from clients, and failing to pay nearly $260,000 in tax due and owing to the Internal Revenue Service. RAGAS has agreed to pay full restitution.
In early 2006, a client of RAGAS indicated to him that he wished to open a Simplified Employee Pension (“SEP”) account to allow him to contribute towards retirement. The client made contributions from 2006 – 2009. Without authorization, RAGAS began moving money from the Ameriprise SEP account, into an account controlled by RAGAS. The client later checked the account balance and inquired as to why the account balance was lower than it should have been and was told by RAGAS that the funds had been transferred to a different financial institution located in Texas. RAGAS was asked by the client to supply him with written account statements showing the balance, account number, and institution name. RAGAS then supplied the client with a fraudulent account statement for an account that did not exist, along with a fraudulent balance. After using the interstate wire to embezzle funds from the client’s Ameriprise account, RAGAS committed money laundering by further transferring $20,000 into a different account that he controlled.
Additionally, on October 12, 2008, RAGAS signed and filed a 2007 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (Form 1040) with the Internal Revenue Service. The tax return allegedly did not report approximately $288,000 in income.
RAGAS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, on the money laundering count, and a maximum term of imprisonment of 3 years, on the tax count. RAGAS also faces a fine of $250,000 or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to any person as to the money laundering count. As to the tax count, RAGAS faces a fine of $100,000 together with the costs of prosecution. RAGAS faces a 3 year term of supervised release as to the money laundering count and a 1 year term of supervised release on the tax count, following any term of imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Secret Service, and the prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jon Maestri.
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Former City of Miami Police Officer Sentenced on Corruption ChargesRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Manuel Orosa, Chief, City of Miami Police Department, announce that Vital Frederick, 27, a former City of Miami Police Officer, was sentenced to 81 months in prison, three years of supervised release, fined $16,806.33 and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $1,200.
Vital was previously convicted after a five day trial before U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore. The jury returned a guilty verdict on all seven counts in the indictment, including four counts of interference with commerce by extortion, one count of access device fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. The defendant provided protection and security for an illegal check cashing scheme and exploited the Police databases to steal identities and sell the identifiers believing they were to be used to commit tax fraud.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “There is no compromise when it comes to corruption. It has to be sought out and defeated. As a sworn police officer, Vital Frederick, pledged to protect the public. Instead, he abused that trust to victimize those he swore to protect. The Federal Bureau of Investigation Public Corruption Task Force and this office are committed to rooting out public corruption at all levels. This case is a reminder that no one is above the law.”
“Law enforcement officers have a great responsibility to the public and therefore must be held to a higher standard of integrity,” said Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “The FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force was assembled and designed to ensure that these high standards are met and maintained.”
FBI Public Corruption Task Force and the City of Miami Internal Affairs Section initiated an investigation on former Officer Frederick after receiving a report of Frederick’s suspicious activity while on duty. On four separate occasions, between August 2012 and September 2012, Frederick provided protection for a courier who he believed was cashing fraudulent government checks at the check cashing store. He did so, while in full uniform and while driving his marked City of Miami Police Department vehicle. Frederick, in an effort to further facilitate the criminal activity, escorted the courier away from the check cashing store to give the courier safe passage. In exchange for providing security of the courier, who was purportedly cashing fraudulent government checks at the check cashing store, Frederick took receipt of approximately $800 cash.
In October 2012, Frederick sold the personal identifiers of 52 individuals to a second cooperating source after accessing City of Miami Police Department databases. During the investigation, City of Miami Police Department Internal Affairs Unit covertly monitored Frederick’s Police issued laptop and found that he conducted searches of the victims whose identities he was selling.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the City of Miami Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robin Waugh and Michael Davis.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Former Business Owner Sentenced for $500,000 Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former business owner was sentenced in federal court today for tax evasion after failing to pay more than $530,000 in taxes owed.
William Fielding Jones, 56, of Clearwater Beach, Fla. (formerly of Kansas City, Mo.), was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to two years in federal prison without parole. The IRS is responsible for collecting $530,059 in restitution.
Jones, who pleaded guilty on Sept. 4, 2013, previously owned two companies – SAM Packaging and Mustang Innovation. Jones admitted that he attempted to evade paying income taxes for tax years 2006-2008, during which time he accumulated a tax debt of $530,059.
Jones evaded paying taxes by concealing bank accounts, changing the name of his business, making payments in cash to avoid using bank accounts, and concealing his true financial condition from the government.
According to court documents, Jones didn’t withhold taxes or make estimated payments from at least 2005 to 2011. During this time, his average annual income was nearly $170,000. After moving to Florida in 2010, Jones lived in a furnished luxury beach condominium in Clearwater with a rent of $2,900 per month. He drove a Lincoln Navigator and Cadillac CTS.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Five Central Ohio Men Charged with Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
COLUMBUS – A cooperative investigation by federal, state and local law enforcement in Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio has led to the indictment of five people on federal drug trafficking charges.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS), Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the charges today following the arrest of the final defendant named in a superseding indictment returned January 16.
Named in the indictment are: William Totten, 51, Canal Winchester
Andre Broom, 47, Columbus
Christafer L. Jackson, 31, Pickerington
Donald A. Jordan, 51, Columbus
Lawrence G. Beavers, 46, SpringfieldTotten and Broom were indicted in December. The 12-count superseding indictment adds the other three defendants and charges each of them with conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, a crime punishable by at least ten years and up to life in prison. Totten is also charged with additional drug trafficking charges and three counts of money laundering, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The five will be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King today at 2 p.m.
The superseding indictment also seeks forfeiture of three houses allegedly purchased with proceeds of illegal activities, and forfeiture of cash and jewelry representing the proceeds of the crime.
Officers arrested Jordan on January 29. Jackson was arrested on January 21 and all have been ordered held without bond. According to evidence presented at a detention hearing on December 10, more than 20 kilograms of cocaine were seized during execution of a search warrant at Totten’s house. Beavers was released on bond. Judge Michael Watson will set a trial date for the defendants.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the IRS, FBI, Columbus Police and Franklin County Sheriff, as well as the cooperation of the DEA which provided information vital to the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Kelley and David DeVillers, who are prosecuting the case.
Charges contained in an indictment are allegations. All defendants should be presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Federal Jury Convicts Terry Michael Honeycutt for Unlawful List Chemical DistributionRead the Press Release
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On Jan. 27, 2014, following a four-day trial in U.S. District Court, a jury convicted Terry Michael Honeycutt of Ringgold, Ga., of conspiring to distribute a listed chemical, iodine, knowing that the chemical would be used to manufacture methamphetamine (meth) and other related offenses.
Sentencing is set for 2:00 p.m., May 12, 2014, in U.S. District Court, Chattanooga. Honeycutt faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a maximum monetary judgment of up to $269,751.98, which represents the profit Honeycutt made from the sale of iodine. Earlier, Honeycutt’s brother, Tony Dewayne Honeycutt, pleaded guilty to a similar offense and agreed to a $200,000 monetary judgment, which he paid prior to his sentencing.
Evidence presented at trial showed that the Honeycutt brothers sold Polar Pure from the Brainerd Army Store. Polar Pure is a product ostensibly used to purify water but which contains 100% pure iodine in a form preferred by many involved in the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine. One bottle purifies 500 gallons of water, yet the brothers were selling as many as 12 bottles in a single transaction. A witness testified that he was in line at the Brainerd Army Store when one of the brothers announced that the store was out of Polar Pure. The witness then observed all five or six customers who were in line leave the store. During the trial, Honeycutt testified that he was responsible for ordering and stocking the Polar Pure at the Brainerd Army Store. Ultimately, the Brainerd Army Store sold almost 21,000 bottles of Polar Pure from April 2008 to December 2010.
“This case is an example of how law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are working together to remove the major sources of supply for chemicals to individuals who manufacture methamphetamine and have no regard for the negative impact this substance has on society,” stated U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee William C. Killian.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to indictment and subsequent conviction of Honeycutt included the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, and Chattanooga Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Woods represented the United States at trial.
Federal Jury Convicts Merritt Island Felon for Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury yesterday found Jason Lydell Orr (35, Merritt Island) guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Based on his prior felony convictions, Orr faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, up to life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 14, 2014, before Senior U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell. Orr was indicted on September 25, 2013.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on April 21, 2013, deputies from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office responded to a neighborhood in Merritt Island after residents reported hearing multiple gun shots. After canvassing the neighborhood and speaking to a 911 caller, deputies observed spent shell casings in the bed of a pickup truck parked in front of Orr’s residence. Deputies knocked on Orr’s front door and Orr eventually came to the door. Further investigation revealed that Orr possessed a loaded Israeli Weapon Industries, model Desert Eagle, .40 caliber pistol inside a Chevy Caprice Classic parked in front of his home. A crime scene technician collected DNA evidence from the firearm. Laboratory analysis confirmed that Orr’s DNA was present on the firearm.
At the time, Orr had at least three prior felony convictions for serious drug offenses and violent felonies. As such, he was not permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.
It is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Julie Leon, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
This case is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violent crime and improve the quality of life in communities, where law enforcement efforts are focused.
Federal Employee Sentenced for Selling Bootleg DVD's During Work HoursRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs OfficerCOLUMBUS - Darrell Lee Lynch, 65, of Columbus pleaded guilty in U.S. District court to one misdemeanor count of copyright infringement, admitting that he sold pirated DVD movies during work hours at the Defense Logistics Agency in Columbus where he was employed.
Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kathy Roberts, Assistant Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, Defense Logistics Agency Office of the Inspector General, announced the plea entered and sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost.
According to court documents, the investigation began following complaints that he was frequently selling pirated DVD movies to fellow employees during work hours. Investigators searched his work space in April, 2013 and found 188 unauthorized copies of recent full-length movies. Investigators also found a black binder containing a list of the movies he had for sale and a brief description of each movie.
Judge Frost sentenced Lynch to serve two years of probation and pay restitution of $1,573 to the Motion Picture Association of America. The plea agreement also called for Lynch to resign immediately.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation conducted by Senior Special Agent Raymond Collier, DLA Office of the Inspector General and Assistant U.S Attorney Deborah A. Solove who prosecuted the case.Federal Authorities Sieze $3.5 Million in Cocaine, Detain Three Smugglers in CaribbeanRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Yesterday, January 29, U.S. Magistrate Judge Marcos E. López authorized a complaint charging: Joselito Taveras, Miguel Jimenez, and Alberto Dominguez with conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to import and importation of controlled substances, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Farallon offloaded 136 kilograms (300 pounds) of cocaine Monday night, 60 nautical miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and transferred the custody of the defendants to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agents and Customs and Border Protection officers Wednesday at Coast Guard San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The interdiction was a result of U.S. Coast Guard, Customs Border Protection, Drug Enforcement Administration and Dominican Republic Navy coordinated efforts in support of Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard, and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF) to interdict the illegal drug shipment consisting of nine bales of cocaine with an estimated street value of approximately $3.5 million dollars.
“These arrests and multi-kilogram seizure are a strong indication of the success of the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force Initiative,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “The US Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement counterparts remain committed to using every law enforcement tool available to attack these criminal organizations and ensure that drug traffickers and their associates are brought to justice for the damage they inflict on our communities.”
“Our multiagency and international partnerships in the region continue to pay off as we continue to interdict major drug shipments and bring smugglers to justice,” said Capt. Drew W. Pearson, Commander, Coast Guard Sector San Juan. “Our resolve and commitment are unwavering as we stand watch twenty-four seven to protect the safety and security of the citizens of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands from the threats delivered by the sea.”
“Once more DEA's joint efforts with our counterparts to stop the flow of drugs through the Caribbean region paid off,” said Vito Salvatore Guarino, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Caribbean Division. “This successful interdiction operation is another example of the effectiveness of our coordinated teamwork approach to cut off the supply of drugs transiting our region.”
While on patrol, the crew of a Coast Guard Auxiliary fixed-wing patrol aircraft detected three men aboard a suspicious, eastbound 20-foot yola (boat) carrying a load of suspected contraband northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. When the vessel spotted the aircraft, it immediately turned west toward Dominican Republic.
The crew of the Coast Guard Auxiliary aircraft notified Coast Guard Sector San Juan Watchstanders of the developing situation, who in turn proceeded to divert the Coast Guard Cutter Farallon and launch Coast Guard aircraft, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Borinquen and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry Maritime Patrol Aircraft deployed to Puerto Rico from Air Station Miami, to provide air support throughout the interdiction.
The suspected smugglers became compliant as the Coast Guard Cutter Farallon arrived on scene with the cutter small boat and came alongside the suspect vessel that was taking on water and sinking. The crew of Farallon’s small boat rescued the three men onboard, seized the nine bales of suspected contraband and transferred the men and seized contraband to the Farallon before the smuggler’s vessel completed sinking. A field test revealed the suspected contraband to be cocaine.
The Coast Guard's efforts under Operation Unified Resolve contribute to the interagency results being achieved each and every day locally under Operation Caribbean Guard, which coordinates efforts between the Coast Guard, its DHS, Commonwealth and Territorial law enforcement partners, who are working diligently to deter, detect and disrupt illicit maritime trafficking to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney José Contreras. If convicted, the defendants could face from 10 years up to life in prison.Federal Agencies Partner to Protect Veterans, Service Members and Their Families Using Gi Bill Education BenefitsRead the Press Release
The Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Education and Justice, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission announced today the launch of a new online complaint system designed to collect feedback from veterans, service members and their families who are experiencing problems with educational institutions receiving funding from Federal military and veterans educational benefits programs, including benefits programs provided by the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the DoD Military Tuition Assistance Program.
The centralized online reporting system is designed for veterans, service members and eligible dependents to report negative experiences with educational institutions; and gives the federal government the information needed to identify and address unfair, deceptive, and misleading practices and ensure high quality academic and student support services are available for veterans, service members, and their families.
“The online complaint system empowers veterans and their dependents and provides them a direct line to VA and our partner agencies,” said Allison A. Hickey, Under Secretary for Benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs. “The feedback we receive from veterans, service members and their families will help us strengthen enforcement of the ‘Principles of Excellence’ for institutions of higher learning serving veterans and their families to ensure students are receiving the education benefits they have earned and deserve.”
"Our service members and their families now have an easier and efficient way to provide feedback on their civilian educational experiences, which will ensure we have the right information to identify and address any negative practices," said Jessica Wright, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
“This launch marks a critical step in an ongoing interagency effort to stop those who engage in fraud and misrepresentation targeting our service members and veterans,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “Individuals who report concerns will not only be able to resolve their personal issue, but also help protect fellow service members and veterans from the same misconduct.”
Students can submit a complaint if they believe their school is failing to follow the Principles of Excellence, (i.e. unfair recruiting practices, credit transfer or change in degree requirements) through the centralized online reporting system accessed via the Department of Defense and GI Bill websites. When feedback is received, agencies will contact the school on behalf of the student and work toward a resolution. Complaints and their resolution will be forwarded to the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Sentinel Network, accessible by over 650 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies for use in enhancing and coordinating law enforcement investigations.
Executive Order 13607, signed April 27, 2012, addresses reports of unfair, deceptive or misleading behavior toward veterans, service members and their families pursuing higher education and directs agencies to establish, implement and promote compliance with “Principles of Excellence” for educational institutions receiving funding from Federal military and veterans educational benefits programs for America’s veterans, service members and eligible dependents, including preventing abusive and deceptive recruiting practices. The new online complaint system is one of a range of tools being implemented by the federal government to ensure that service members, veterans and eligible dependents have access to meaningful information about the cost and quality of educational institutions.
Ex-Postal Employee Pleads Guilty to Worker’s Compensation FraudRead the Press Release
COEUR D’ALENE — Pamela J. Unruh, 58, of Rainer, Washington, pleaded guilty today in federal court to an information charging her with one count of false statement or fraud to obtain Federal Employee’s Compensation, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the court proceeding, Unruh admitted that from at least as early as August 2006 to 2011, she failed to report her self-employment income to the Office of Worker's Compensation (OWCP) on the annual form she was required to complete and return to OWCP.
The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
Unruh is scheduled to be sentenced on April 28, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
The case was investigated by United States Postal Service-Office of Inspector General.
El Paso Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
El Paso resident Gustavo Cervantes-Perez, age 26, will serve ten years in federal prison for possession and distribution of child pornography announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, El Paso.
In addition to the prison term handed down today, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone ordered that Cervantes-Perez pay a $1,500 fine and be placed under supervised release for a period of five years after completing his prison term.
On September 11, 2013, a jury convicted Cervantes-Perez of two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of receipt/distribution of child pornography. Evidence presented during trial revealed that the defendant used a peer-to-peer program to search for and acquire images/videos of child pornography beginning in approximately April 2006. Following the execution of a search warrant on January 6, 2012, at the defendant’s residence, HSI agents forensically discovered 156 videos depicting child pornography on Cervantes-Perez’s computer.Assistant United States Attorney Robert Almonte, II, and former Assistant United States Attorney J. Brandy Gardes prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
Eagle Butte Woman Charged with LarcenyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Larceny.
Susan Dillabaugh, age 33, was indicted on January 15, 2014. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William D. Gerdes on January 23, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 5 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that on or about between September 23, 2011, and January 9, 2012, Dillabaugh unlawfully took and carried away with intent to steal and purloin the personal property of another, namely Pretty Bird Woman House. The property had a value in excess of $1,000.
The charge is merely an accusation and Dillabaugh is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley is prosecuting the case.
Dillabaugh was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Department of Justice Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008Read the Press Release
The Department of Justice published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking today intended to revise the department’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II and Title III regulations to implement the requirements of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). Congress passed the ADAAA in response to several Supreme Court decisions that had narrowly interpreted the ADA’s definition of disability. The ADAAA made a number of significant changes to the ADA definition of disability to ensure that it would be easier for individuals seeking the protection of the ADA to establish that they have a disability that falls within the meaning of the statute.
“The narrow interpretation of the ADA’s definition of disability resulted in the denial of the law’s protection for many individuals with impairments such as cancer, diabetes and epilepsy who had been the subject of adverse actions due to their disabilities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The ADAAA and our proposed regulations properly place the focus of ADA cases on whether a covered entity has complied with its obligations and whether discrimination occurred, and not on whether the person has a disability.”
The ADAAA’s revised definition of disability applies to Title I, which deals with employment, as well as to Titles II and III of the ADA. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is responsible for developing regulations that implement Title I of the ADA, published its revised Title I regulation incorporating the ADAAA in March 2011. The department has made every effort to ensure that its proposed revisions to the Title II and Title III regulations are consistent with, if not identical to, the corresponding provisions in the Title I regulation. This will ensure that the definition of disability is interpreted consistently for all three titles of the ADA.
The comment period for the proposed rule closes on March 31, 2014. For more information about the ADAAA and to comment on the proposed rule, please visit www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/01/30/2014-01668/office-of-the-attorney-general-amendment-of-americans-with-disabilities-act.
Daytona Beach Tax Preparer Convicted of Tax OffensesRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury today found Fane Dacosta (40, Daytona Beach) guilty of twenty-five counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, and three counts of failure to file his personal tax returns. Dacosta faces a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment for each count of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, and one year in federal prison for each count of failing to file a personal tax return. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 24, 2014.
Dacosta was indicted on April 11, 2013.
According to evidence presented at trial, Dacosta was the owner of a tax return business (More Than Enaf Refund & Affordable Tax Services) in Holly Hill. For the tax years of 2006 through 2009, Dacosta prepared returns for individuals in which he falsified the amounts of deductions and tax credits owed to taxpayers, resulting in those taxpayers receiving undeserved tax refunds. In particular, Dacosta fraudulently claimed education credits for clients who never attended college, and he inflated itemized deductions. In response to the false returns that Dacosta prepared, the Internal Revenue Service issued over $500,000 in undeserved refunds. In addition, Dacosta failed to file his personal tax returns in 2007, 2008, and 2009, despite earning over $100,000, $200,000, and $300,000 in each of those years, respectively.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service -- Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
Crenshaw Named Jefferson County District AttorneyRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT, Texas – An Assistant United States Attorney in the Beaumont Office of the U.S. Attorney has been appointed to serve as the next Jefferson County District Attorney, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.
On Jan. 27, 2014, Texas Gov. Rick Perry appointed AUSA Cory Crenshaw as the District Attorney for Jefferson County, Texas. Crenshaw replaces long-time DA Tom Maness who retired in December 2013.
Crenshaw, 34, is a native of Beaumont and a 1997 graduate of Kelly High School. Crenshaw attended Baylor University where he received a degree in history and then earned his law degree at Texas Tech University in 2004. Crenshaw began his career in prosecution in Bryan/College Station in 2005 as a state felony prosecutor where his caseload focused mainly on child sex predators and gang offenders. In 2010, Crenshaw began his federal career in the Southern District of Texas as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in McAllen, Texas. His heavy border caseload focused on narcotics, immigration, and firearm offenses. He joined the Eastern District of Texas in December 2012 where he served in the Beaumont office prosecuting complex drug trafficking crimes as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
“We are excited for Cory and Jefferson County,” said U.S. Attorney Bales. “Judge Maness’ legacy of achievement will not be tarnished by Cory’s stewardship. Naturally, we look forward to continuing our close partnership with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.”
The Eastern District of Texas is comprised of 43 counties stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Oklahoma/Texas border. There are 6 staffed offices located in Beaumont, Lufkin, Tyler, Texarkana, Plano and Sherman with over 50 federal prosecutors.
Coral Gables Physician Convicted of Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, announce today that after a two week trial before U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, a federal jury in Miami convicted Lourdes Margarita Garcia, 62, of Pinecrest, a medical doctor, of conspiracy to defraud and to file false returns with the IRS, and of three counts of filing false returns with the IRS. Sentencing is scheduled for April 10, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.
According to the superseding indictment, Garcia was the owner and operator of Global Medical Group, LLC, a Sub-S Corporation, or “flow through” entity for income tax purposes, which operated a medical clinic in Coral Gables, and previously in Miami. The evidence presented at trial showed that Garcia, a physician assistant at the time the false tax returns were filed in 2007 and 2008, had originally been the subject of an IRS collection action for multiple years of back-taxes owed. During the collection case, the IRS learned that Garcia and her now deceased spouse were delinquent in filing income tax returns for the years 1997 through 2005. When those returns were filed in August 2007, under penalties of perjury, the 1997 and 2001 through 2005 returns reported $0.00 adjusted gross income, and a 2006 amended return also filed in August 2007, reported less than $20,000 of adjusted gross income.
According to the evidence presented at trial, during a 1997 Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, Garcia filed sworn monthly reports with the Bankruptcy Court reporting $81,000 of salaries and commissions for the months of May 1997 through October 1997. Additionally, during 2001 through 2007, Global Medical Group had steadily increased its revenues from insurance payments and patient fees, from approximately $81,000 in 2001, to approximately $1.9 million in 2006 and $1.7 in 2007, but no flow-through income from Global was reported on the 2001 through 2005 individual returns of Garcia and her spouse. Their 2006 and 2007 returns omitted approximately $400,000 of insurance payments and patient fees from Global. The evidence at trial also showed that in 2007, Garcia and her spouse purchased an approximately $2 million residence in Pinecrest, despite the $0.00 adjusted gross income reported in the 1997, and 2001 through 2005 returns, and the less than $20,000 and $30,000 of adjusted gross income reported in the 2006 and 2007 returns, respectively. Further, the evidence presented at trial showed that Garcia and her spouse conspired to defraud the IRS, by impairing, obstructing and defeating its lawful functions in the ascertainment, computation and collection of federal income taxes, including by withdrawing approximately $900,000 from bank accounts, only days before an IRS Notice of Levy attached to the accounts.
At sentencing, Garcia faces up to fourteen years in prison on the four counts of conviction.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jose A. Bonau and Andy R. Camacho.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Methamphetamine in New HampshireRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –Daniel Preston, 36, of Monument, Colorado, pled guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and the distribution of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
In January 2011, Preston shipped ounce quantities of methamphetamine from Colorado to Milton, New Hampshire. After the methamphetamine arrived in New Hampshire, it would be repackaged and distributed in gram quantities. Preston shipped over 500 grams of methamphetamine to New Hampshire from Colorado during a one (1) year time-frame.
Preston is facing up to 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in May, 2014. The case was investigated by the New Hampshire State Police and the United States Postal Inspection Service, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Terry L. Ollila.
Colleyville, Texas Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Federal Prison for Running Ponzi Scheme That Caused More Than $8 Million in Losses to InvestorsRead the Press Release
Defendant Was on the Lam for Nearly Two Years
Before He Was Apprehended in Greece and Extradited to U.S.FORT WORTH, Texas — Christopher Blackwell, 34, who pleaded guilty almost three years ago to running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded dozens of investors of millions of dollars, fled the country while he was awaiting sentencing, and was recently apprehended and extradited to the U.S., was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 210 months in federal prison and ordered to pay approximately $8.6 million in restitution.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña, of the Northern District of Texas, said, “I commend the tremendous coordination and efforts of an international law enforcement team, including Homeland Security Investigations, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Marshals Service, Interpol and the Greek authorities that located this fugitive and returned him to the U.S. to face justice.”
“After pleading guilty to his Ponzi scheme that cheated dozens of people out of more than $8 million, Mr. Blackwell hoped that he could hide from punishment by fleeing to Greece,” said David M. Marwell, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Dallas. “However, by working closely with our worldwide HSI attaché offices, and the Hellenic National Police, we used the ‘long arm of the law’ to bring Mr. Blackwell to justice.”
Acting U.S. Marshal Benjamin E. Kates of the Northern District of Texas, said, “Bringing Christopher Blackwell to justice is an excellent example of law enforcement cooperation.”
Following his plea in July 2011, Blackwell, who at the time was a Colleyville, Texas, resident, absconded to Greece. On April 16, 2013, he was arrested in the island of Corfu in Western Greece by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Athens and the Hellenic National Police. On November 11, 2013, Blackwell was extradited from Greece by the U.S. Marshals Service to the Northern District of Texas.
Blackwell operated the Ponzi scheme, which caused approximately $8.6 million in losses to investors, from approximately January 2007 to mid-June 2011, when he was arrested in Phoenix on charges outlined in a criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of Texas. At yesterday’s sentencing hearing, a special agent with HSI testified about the severe financial impact of the fraud on the lives of the dozens of victims.
According to the factual resume filed in the case, Blackwell told potential investors that their money would be invested in specific business ventures. However, when he received money from them, he did not invest those funds, but instead used the majority of the money for his own personal benefit. Blackwell also occasionally used some of the funds received from new investors to make small payments to earlier investors. These payments were designed to convince investors that their money was generating a profit. Not all investors received payments from Blackwell, and many lost all of the money they invested. Blackwell recruited investors from a variety of geographic areas.
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.
The investigation was led by HSI.
Coeur D’Alene Man Admits Possessing Sexually Explicit Images of MinorsRead the Press Release
COEUR D’ALENE – Loren Stanley Hall, 69, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to possessing sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, in June 2012, a police officer, working with the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, discovered that a computer in Coeur d’Alene was making child pornography available on the Internet. The officer was able to download the file from a publicly available Internet network. He observed that the file contained a video of minors involved in sexually explicit conduct. Using digital information obtained when downloading the file, the officer was able to determine that the video was being made available from Hall’s residence in Coeur d’Alene.
In October 2012, a federal search warrant was served on Hall’s residence. According to the plea agreement, Hall told officers that he had been downloading pornography involving “younger girls.” A forensic examiner with the United States Secret Service examined Hall’s computer and other digital storage devices found in his home, and found that Hall had at least 50 movies depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The examiner determined that Hall had used search terms such as “underage,” “pre-teen,” “kiddy,” “man boy love,” and other search terms to find child pornography. Law enforcement officers were able to determine that the videos in Hall’s collection involved children from Washington state, Texas, New Hampshire, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and a number of foreign countries.
The charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and five years to lifetime supervised release.
Sentencing is set for April 28, 2014, before U.S. District Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
The case was investigated by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) and included the cooperative law enforcement efforts of Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Meridian (Idaho) Police Department, United States Secret Service, Idaho Attorney General’s Office, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, and U.S. Marshals Service. For more information about the ICAC Task Force, visit www.icacidaho.org.
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.”
Cherry Creek Man Sentenced for Assault with A Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Cherry Creek, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon was sentenced on January 22, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
William Z. Mexican, age 21, was sentenced to 24 months in custody, 2 years of Supervised Release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Mexican was indicted for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon by a federal grand jury on October 22, 2013. He pled guilty on December 12, 2013.
Mexican’s conviction was the result of an incident on August 20, 2013, in Cherry Creek, when he got into an altercation with two other individuals. Mexican pulled a hunting knife and tried to stab the victim, with the intent to do bodily harm.
This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikal Hanson prosecuted the case.
Mexican was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Chamberlain Man Sentenced for LarcenyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Chamberlain, South Dakota, man convicted of Larceny was sentenced on January 21, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Warren LaRoche, age 23, was sentenced to time served (66 days), 1 year of supervised release, $1,381.94 in restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
LaRoche was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 14, 2013. He pled guilty on December 12, 2013.
On November 29, 2012, LaRoche checked a guest into the Lone Star motel in Fort Thompson, South Dakota. The guest used a credit card to pay for two nights. LaRoche memorized the credit card and created an account on Amazon.com. Beginning on December 3, 2012 through April 16, 2013, LaRoche made 64 purchases on the Amazon account using the guest’s credit card as payment. The purchases were goods totaling $1,381.94. LaRoche admitted he did not have permission to use the credit card to make these purchases.This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Carlsbad Man Pleads Guilty to Hobbs Act RobberyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Phillip Jacob Castaneda, 28, of Carlsbad, N.M., entered a guilty plea this morning in federal court in Las Cruces to violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce, announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, 5th Judicial District Attorney Janetta B. Hicks, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI and Carlsbad Police Chief Kent Waller.
Castaneda was arrested on federal charges on Aug. 30, 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging that he and a juvenile accomplice robbed the Check ‘n Go store located at 2521 S. Canal Street in Carlsbad at gunpoint on June 5, 2013. According to the complaint, Castaneda, who was armed with a firearm, went behind the teller counter in the store and removed money from the tellers’ drawers while the juvenile remained near the front of the store and acted as a lookout. Castaneda and the juvenile were arrested on state charges by officers of the Carlsbad Police Department after witnesses positively identified Castaneda and the juvenile as the robbers.
Today, Castaneda entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce. In his plea agreement, Castaneda admitted robbing the Check ‘n Go in Carlsbad at gunpoint on June 5, 2013. He also admitted threatening the store’s employees with a firearm.
Castaneda has been in federal custody since his arrest in Aug. 2013, and he remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Castaneda faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Castaneda is required to enter a guilty plea in a related state case pending in the 5th Judicial District Court in Eddy County, N.M., after he is sentenced in this federal case. The sentences imposed in the two cases will run concurrently under the terms of Castaneda’s plea agreement.
The federal and state cases against Castaneda were investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI and the Carlsbad Police Department. The federal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office and the state case is being prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Davis R. Ruark.
Burlington Man Sentenced for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated today that Brent McDonald, 60, of Burlington, Vermont, was sentenced on January 30, 2014, in United States District Court in Brattleboro, Vermont, to serve 151-months imprisonment and a three-year term of supervised release following his guilty plea to four counts of possession and distribution of crack cocaine and heroin. Senior United States District Judge J. Garvan Murtha also ordered McDonald to pay a $400 special assessment.
According to court records, at the time of the offense conduct, McDonald was a career offender on supervised release from his prior federal conviction for drug trafficking and possessing a firearm while drug trafficking. McDonald sold crack cocaine on three occasions to a confidential informant. When law enforcement executed a search warrant at McDonald’s residence, they discovered quantities of crack cocaine and heroin.
United States Attorney Coffin commended the work of the Burlington Police Department in the investigation of the case. Mr. McDonald was represented by Elizabeth D. Mann. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Barbara A. Masterson.
Branford Woman Pleads Guilty to Strucuring Cash TransactionsRead the Press Release
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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DAWN M. GUARINO, also known as Dawn DeCapua Guarino, 54, of Branford, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to one count of structuring currency transactions to evade reporting requirements.
Federal law requires all financial institutions to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) for currency transactions that exceed $10,000. To evade the filing of a CTR, individuals will often structure their currency transactions so that no single transaction exceeds $10,000. Structuring involves the repeated depositing or withdrawal of amounts of cash less than the $10,000 limit, or the splitting of a cash transaction that exceeds $10,000 into smaller cash transactions in an effort to avoid the reporting requirements. Even if the deposited funds are derived from a legitimate means, financial transactions conducted in this manner are still in violation of federal criminal law.
According to court documents and statements made in court, over the course of 18 days in October and November 2009, GUARINO cashed 18 checks made payable to her in the amount of $9,900 and totaling $178,200. The transactions occurred at 13 different branches of two banks in eight towns in the New Haven area. The checks, which were from her attorney, represented GUARINO’s portion of a settlement of a Connecticut civil lawsuit stemming from an automobile accident. At the time, GUARINO knew that the bank was required to issue a report for a currency transaction in excess of $10,000, and her intention was to evade the transaction reporting requirements.
Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for April 24, 2014, at which time GUARINO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000. GUARINO also has agreed to forfeit $13,000.
This matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter S. Jongbloed.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Bismarck Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BISMARCK– U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Jan. 30, 2014, Steven J. Paul, 59, Bismarck, N.D., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. Paul pleaded guilty to the charge on Oct. 23, 2013.
Judge Hovland sentenced Paul to serve 15 years in federal prison, the mandatory minimum sentence, to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. Paul was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.
Paul was previously convicted for possession of child pornography and was on probation with the state of North Dakota. In December 2012 Paul was interviewed by probation officers to determine his compliance with his probation conditions. Paul admitted to accessing the Internet to download child pornography.
This case was brought as a 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This investigation was conducted by the North Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and was a cooperative effort of Homeland Security Investigations, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the North Dakota Parole & Probation Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Delorme prosecuted the case.
Baltimore Man Indicted on Charges Related to the Sexual Exploitation of A MinorRead the Press Release
When Adults Promote Juvenile Prostitution, “That is Human Trafficking, Period”
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging Richard Ho Lee, age 32, of Baltimore, today with production of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, receipt of child pornography, and aggravated identity theft.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“When an adult profits from sex with a child, that is human trafficking, period,” said Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Children cannot consent to have sex for money, and any adult who encourages or profits from sexual exploitation of children faces a lengthy term in federal prison.”
According to the five count indictment, on five occasions in September and October of 2011, while Lee and the victim were in Baltimore, Lee purchased sex from the victim, who was only 16 years old. On October 31, 2011, Lee paid for a bus ticket for the victim to travel to Panama City, Florida, where Lee met her. Lee took the victim to a condo he had rented in Panama City and allegedly provided the victim with marijuana and alcohol. According to the indictment, Lee continued to have sex with the 16 year old victim, and encouraged her to engage in prostitution. From about December 22, 2011 to January 4, 2012, Lee placed at least 15 advertisements for the victim in the “escorts” and “body rubs” sections of an adult website. Lee used his personal credit card to pay for the advertisements, which stated, among other things, that the victim was an adult. Lee took provocative photographs of the victim in lingerie and underwear that he had purchased for the victim and attached some of the photos to the advertisements. Lee allegedly rented a second condominium where he told the victim to engage in prostitution. The indictment charges that the victim had sex with customers and agreed to provide Lee with a percentage of her earnings.
On January 9, 2012, Lee purchased a bus ticket for the victim, which she used to travel from Florida back to Maryland. In January 2012, Lee produced a counterfeit North Dakota state driver’s license for the victim, which indicated that she was 22 years old, and which Lee knew to contain the personal identifying information of another person. In May 2012, Lee allegedly took pornographic photographs of the victim inside his residence in Baltimore, some of which he sent via email over the Internet.
According to the superseding indictment, in June 2012, federal agents recovered Lee’s laptop computers and an external hard drive which contained over 600 images of child pornography, including images that depicted minors that are less than twelve years old and portrayed sadistic and masochistic conduct. Further, the laptop contained pornographic photographs that Lee had taken of the victim. In addition, the indictment alleges that Lee’s computer contained templates designed to be used for the production of counterfeit state driver’s licenses.
Lee faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for production of child pornography and for transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; a maximum of 20 years in prison for receipt of child pornography; and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for aggravated identity theft. An initial appearance will be scheduled in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
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 http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_human.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI for its work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Crooks, who is prosecuting the case.
Baltimore Drug Kingpin Sentenced to 25 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Distributed Over a Ton of Cocaine in Baltimore in Less Than Two Years; Authorities Seized Over $6.7 Million in Luxury Cars and Motorcycles, Jewelry, Cash and Bank Accounts, Clothing and Real Estate
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Garnett Gilbert Smith, a/k/a Abdule Jones a/k/a Brian Slack, age 44, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 25 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Colonel George F. Johnson IV, Superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resources Police.“Garnett Smith was one of the largest cocaine and heroin dealers to be arrested by the DEA in recent history,” stated Gary Tuggle, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office. “Smith was responsible for the distribution of more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine during a period of less than two years. Smith will now spend the prime of his life in prison and will not be eligible for parole until he is a senior citizen,” added Tuggle.
According to his plea agreement and court documents, beginning in at least 2009, Smith acquired large quantities of cocaine from sources of supply in California and shipped the drugs for distribution in the Baltimore area. By 2010, he teamed up with codefendants Marc Collins and Michael White who supplied Smith with over 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from California. Shipments of the cocaine were typically in quantities of 60 to 80 kilograms each. The cocaine was often hidden within vehicles loaded on car carriers. Smith sent money for the payment of the drugs back to California in concealed compartments on the car carriers.Smith directed others in acquiring, transporting and delivering the cocaine, and in laundering the proceeds from the cocaine sales. In Los Angeles, expensive apartments with gated garages were used to store and test the cocaine prior to shipment. The gated entrances provided additional security from potential law enforcement surveillance. New cell phones were used on each trip to further conceal their illegal activities.
When White was arrested on unrelated federal drug charges in July of 2010, Collins replaced White as Smith’s supplier of cocaine until October 2011, when Arkansas state troopers stopped a car carrier loaded with $2,306,745 sent by Smith in Baltimore to be delivered to Collins in California. Between early 2010 and October 2011, at least 18 shipments of cocaine, consisting of between 60 to 80 kilograms per trip, had been made using the car carrier method.
Smith maintained a low profile after the Arkansas authorities seized the money, but by the summer of 2012, Smith again acquired drugs, shipping them to Maryland. Smith used co-defendant Antonio Johnson to ship kilogram quantities of cocaine through the U.S. Postal Service. In late August, Smith and Johnson sent a car to Maryland on a different car carrier. The vehicle was intercepted and four kilograms of heroin were found in a hidden compartment. Authorities made a controlled delivery of the heroin in September. Johnson retrieved the vehicle from the car carrier and delivered it to Smith in Baltimore. Both were arrested. The heroin had a wholesale value of $300,000.
Search warrants were executed at Smith’s residences in Maryland and Studio City, California. Money counters were seized, along with approximately $1.6 million in jewelry, $740,000 and hundreds of shoes. Authorities also seized two Can Am Spyder three wheeled motorcycles and 15 vehicles purchased by Smith, including a 2010 Aston Martin, a 2009 Lamborghini Murcielago, a 2008 Maybach and a Mercedes-Benz CL550, along with real estate and bank accounts worth over a million dollars. Smith paid no taxes, structured cash deposits to bank accounts to avoid financial reporting requirements and placed assets in the names of friends and relatives.
Including the cash seizure in Arkansas, approximately $6.7 million dollars in assets have been seized from Smith.
Marc Tyrone Collins, Michael Lee White and Antonio Lamont Johnson previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy. Johnson was sentenced to 156 months in prison. Collins is scheduled to be sentenced on March 6, 2014. No sentencing date is currently scheduled for White.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the DEA Baltimore and Los Angeles Field Offices, Maryland Natural Resources Police, the Baltimore Police Department and the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and David Sharfstein, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Bakken Oil Lease Telemarketer Mike Campa Sentenced to 30 Years Without ParoleRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Helena, on January 30, 2014, before Senior U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, the mastermind of a nationwide oil and case swindle involving fraudulent investments in leases on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, MIKE ALFONS CAMPA, 55, of Yorba Linda, California, was sentenced to 360 months-30 years-in prison and $5,175,406 in restitution.
Campa was sentenced for his involvement in a telemarketing fraud scheme that operated from 2006 until it was shut down by federal agents in the summer of 2012. Campa and his associates promised investors that they had oil and gas leases with the prospect of production and refining on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. The group sold interests in the promotion to investors from all over the United States. In truth, Campa's leases were never valid (for failure to follow procedural requirements) and to the extent they were available they were cancelled in 2007.
Campa pled guilty to all charges just prior to the trial of his wife, Suzette Gal, her sons and codefendants, Andras Gal and Krisztian Gal, and his business partner and codefendant, Steven Carpenter. Campa then appeared as a defense witness for the Gal defendants, placing much of the blame on Carpenter but telling the jury that his wife and her children were blameless.
Suzette Gal was convicted on all counts and sentenced to ten years in prison in August 2013. Andras Gal was convicted on all counts and sentenced to six years in prison. In December 2013, Krisztian Gal, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud, was sentenced to five years in prison. Steve Carpenter, who had a criminal history for committing telemarketing fraud dating back to the early 1990s, was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 188 months in August of 2013. All have appealed their convictions.
At trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney's Carl Rostad and Ryan Weldon provided evidence that in the summer of 2006, a California man originally from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation who had inherited mineral interests on the reservation, was approached by Mike Campa and Suzette Gal. Campa and Gal convinced the owner to lease his land for an oil and natural gas project to Domestic Energy Solutions, a company based in Yorba Linda, California. In June and July, Suzette Gal, as President of Domestic Energy Solutions, signed three Offers to Lease on Fort Pack lands. On October 20, 2006, the BIA informed Domestic Energy Solutions that the three oil and gas leases had been approved and billed the company $8,583.40 for the three leases. When the payment required to complete the leasing process was not forthcoming from Domestic Energy Solutions the leases were cancelled. The correspondence advising the company of their default was signed for by Mike Campa and Suzette Gal. Domestic Energy Solutions never responded to the BIA letters warning of default and cancelling the leases, and never again communicated with the BIA to perfect their interest.
A US Bank account was opened in October of 2009 by Andras Gal, using the Domestic Energy Solutions address of 5818 Via Romero in Yorba Linda. The account was opened as a business account for company Domestic Energy Solutions. Gal indicated on the account opening documents that Domestic Energy Solutions was a sole proprietorship owned by him and was the only person listed on the account's signature card. The account was opened with a $2,500.00 deposit of a check dated October 1, 2009, made payable to Domestic Energy Solutions from investors from Port Orange, Florida.
On December 15, 2009, Mike Heretel, an alias name known to be used by Mike Alfons Campa, opened the e mail account [email protected] which was used to communicate with, and solicit investments from, potential investors in Domestic Energy Solutions. The solicitations for investment in a Fort Peck/Bakken Fields oil and gas project made by Mike Campa, using the alias Mike Heretel, began generating significant investment from investors persuaded to participate in the oil and gas venture. Campa used the BIA Lease documents generated in the summer of 2006 as validation for his claims that Domestic Energy Solutions had an ongoing enterprise in northwest Montana.
Between May 2010 and December 2011, the conspirators solicited, or aided and abetted in the solicitation of, monies from investors based upon conversations by phone and e-mail with Mike Campa and Steve Carpenter.
In June 2011, Mike Campa began notifying investors with Domestic Energy Solutions that the company was going to become a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) and merge with US Energy. For example, prosecutors introduced at trial a June 30, 2011, email message sent from [email protected] to dijoe@*****.net and copied to [email protected] with a subject line of "letter of intent." The body of the e mail read, "***, Domestic Energy Solutions and US Energy will be one LLC and you will get ownership as a non-liable partner. This letter was emailed to Bureau of Indian Affairs and was given the green light by Lori Nordwick, the acting superintendent. The original and all the other info is on the way to the Ft. Peck tribe. Your patience will be well rewarded. Thanks, Mike P.S. I'll try to avoid you having to wire the $5000 tomorrow and let you overnight a check." The prosecutors introduced dozens of emails at trial making the same or similar promises and fraudulent representations.
On July 22, 2011, an e mail message sent from [email protected] to an investor or potential investor, which had a five page Letter of Intent for Business Transactions dated June 28, 2011. The letter was from U.S. Energy, 18340 Yorba Linda Blvd. #153, Yorba Linda, CA 92887 and addressed to the Superintendent, Ft. Peck Reservation. The letter was a proposed agreement between U.S. Energy and the Ft. Peck Reservation to allow U.S. Energy to "build a 20,000 barrel per day oil refinery on the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation." No such letter was ever received by the BIA, but the letter was used by the conspirators to validate their claims that investors would profit not only from oil and gas production but from the refined products as well.
In September 2011, investors were notified by Steve Carpenter that U.S. Oil and Gas, LLC had acquired Domestic Energy Solutions. The solicitations are the same-" that U. S. Energy has an oil and gas operation on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation" and that the investors could "buy in" and realize significant returns on their investment.
Another example of the communications from the conspirators is a September 6, 2011, email to an investor from Steve Carpenter, using an e-mail account of [email protected], which read, in part, that "[t]his letter is to acknowledge that US Oil and Gas has assumed all Domestic Energy Solutions clients, liabilities and projects." Attached to the e-mail were blank pages of a Bureau of Indian Affairs Collective Bond form. This notification was also sent to other investors. At trial, victims testified that Carpenter's appeal for more money suggested that without additional capital, all previous investments would be lost, placing the victims in the position to either add to their share or lose everything they had already committed.
A new US Bank account was opened on September 12, 2011, in the name of U.S. Oil and Gas by Andras Gal, using the Domestic Energy Solutions address of 5818 Via Romero, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. Gal indicated on the account opening documents that U.S. Oil and Gas was a sole proprietorship involved in the oil drilling business and he was the only person listed on the account's signature card. The account was opened with an $18,000.00 check from an investor in Redmond, Washington. On the memo line of the check a notation indicated "1% ownership."
An e mail [email protected] created on July 16, 2011, by Mike Campa (as Heretel). This e mail account was used to communicate with and solicit investments from potential investors in Domestic Energy Solutions. On September 28, 2011 at 5:21 p.m., an e-mail message to an investor from the [email protected] account, with a subject line of "montana info" read "Ed check out this confidential report [link omitted]. Then go to momtanancdude.com for other links. Attached is our letter of intent submitted to the Indians. If you have any questions please call me at 714 489 1919. Thanks, Steve Carpenter". The website address in the e mail linked to a 98 page report entitled Status of Mineral Resource Information for the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Northeastern Montana B Administrative Report BIA 28 (1977) Also attached to the e-mail was a five page Letter of Intent for Business Transactions, dated June 28, 2011, from AU.S. Oil and Gas, LLC aka Domestic Energy Solutions, 18340 Yorba Linda Blvd. #153, Yorba Linda, CA 92887.@ The letter was to the Superintendent, Ft. Peck Reservation and purportedly represented or referenced a proposed agreement between U.S. Energy and the Ft. Peck Reservation to allow U.S. Energy to build a "20,000 barrel per day oil refinery" on the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation. The letter was unsigned. The BIA has no record of ever receiving any such letter and at trial, Fort peck Tribes official Stoney Anketell testified that he had never heard of these companies and that there had never been any negotiations with Campa or Carpenter about the construction of an oil refinery on reservation lands.
As an example of the solicitation as it evolved after June 2011, in an October 27, 2011, [email protected] email sent to a potential investor-with a subject line of "montana oil"-Carpenter wrote that "[e]ach $30,000.00 investment will entitle you to a 1% ownership in US Oil and Gas and all income generated on the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation. Each percentage will also include income generated by all oil and natural gas, our drilling rigs, a 20,000 bpd refinery, pipelines and other land leases. You will recoup your initial investment within 120 days of completion and monthly checks thereafter of at least 5 percent. Upon receipt of your funds, payable to U.S. Oil and Gas, we will file your name with the Bureau of Land Management in Montana, and they will in turn forward you the necessary paperwork and contacts. Attached is our official letter of intent and other documents. Check out this confidential report ... Thankyou (sic) for your Trust and Confidence. We look forward to sharing our success with you. Steve Carpenter." The e-mail was nearly identical-even with the same typo and case structure-to emails sent by Mike Campa in 2009.
On February 17, 2012, a person who suspected he may have been a victim of the Campa/Carpenter oil and gas scheme made a referral to the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Inspector General. On March 1, 2012, a phone call was made to Steve Carpenter that was monitored by federal agents. During the phone call Steve Carpenter assured the investor that there was "zero chance" that the investor would lose the money that had been committed to the investment with U.S. Oil and Gas, LLC. Carpenter told the investor that "everything was going perfect" with U.S. Oil and Gas and the Fort Peck investment. Carpenter advised that he was going to have a conference call on March 5, 2012, with the Fort Peck Tribe in order to finalize everything so that the drilling could begin.
The FBI and Department of Interior's Office of Inspector General initiated a joint undercover investigation of Steve Carpenter, Mike Campa, Suzette Gal, and Andras Gal in April 2012. During a recorded phone call between Steve Carpenter and an undercover agent (UA) from the Department of Interior's Office of Inspector General posing as a potential investor, Carpenter told the UA that he would receive paperwork from the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs that would show that the UA had an ownership interest in the Indian mineral rights. Carpenter told the UA that he, Carpenter, was required to have, and had posted an irrevocable $75,000 certificate of deposit bond with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in connection with the project. During one of their conversations, Carpenter told the UA that he was so close to the Fort Peck Indians that they were going to have a ceremony in his honor and make him a blood-brother of the Tribe.
The UA, posing as a watercraft broker from South Carolina willing to invest in the oil and gas project at Fort Peck, arranged to meet Carpenter in person to deliver a $43,000 check. The two met in a hotel room in Yorba Linda, California, on August 23, 2012. Their meeting was video and audio recorded by agents of the FBI. During that meeting, Carpenter told the UA that the project was on the cusp of fruition and that he had received $158 million dollars in loan commitments from banks in Central and South America. Carpenter assured the UA that he had three rigs on site and that he was working closely with the BLM, BIA, and the Tribes.
Immediately after the meeting, FBI agents arrested Carpenter. Campa, Suzette Gal, Andras Gal and Krisztian Gal were arrested later that day.
Between October of 2009 and May 25, 2012, the Fort Peck oil and gas schemes (Domestic Energy Solutions and U.S. Oil and Gas) brought the defendants approximately $673,406.62 in monies from investors.
Judge Haddon also heard evidence of Campa's involvement in a 2011-2012 Arizona gold mining scheme. Prosecutors linked the two schemes by following money from the Liberty Bell scheme-being run by former Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington-into an account controlled by Krisztian Gal and proceeds from that account to Steve Carpenter. The Arizona gold mine scheme was shut down by state authorities in May of 2013. Trial testimony revealed that Campa had received a $900,000 commission for his role in bringing in a $4.5 million investment into the Liberty Bell scheme.
At sentencing, prosecutors emphasized Campa's long history of telemarketing and investment fraud. On July 8, 1993, Campa pled guilty in California to mail fraud. Campa owned and operated a company named International Marketing Concepts, which was engaged in extensive telemarketing fraud. Campa and his employees would inform elderly victims that they had won fictitious, expensive prizes and persuade the victims to send money in order to claim their winnings.
While free on bail after the first guilty plea, Campa resumed his illegal telemarketing activities. He was re-arrested on February 4, 1994. On March 17, 1994, he pled guilty to two more counts of wire fraud. The court then sentenced Campa to sixty months' incarceration with three years' supervised release and ordered Campa to pay $319,123 in restitution and a $150 fine.
On October 11, 2012, the United States filed a pleading with the Court outlining Campa's involvement in other fraudulent investment promotions. Campa, both individually or through his association with other telemarketing schemes as a salesman, was the subject of cease and desist orders from Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Washington State. On April 2, 2007, the State of Colorado obtained a default judgment against Mike Campa in the amount of $476,875 for his role in an oil and gas investment fraud scheme called Universal Energy Solutions.
United States Attorney Mike Cotter:
This sentence puts an end to Mike's Campa's chances to prey on others. Telemarketing fraud is a uniquely deplorable crime-from the sophistication and thought it requires to construct and execute to the vulnerability of the people it targets. Campa's victims included the elderly looking for a chance to pass along a nest-egg to their children and the desperate caring for a sick loved one or facing foreclosure. People like Mike Campa and Steve Carpenter feed on hope and live on other peoples' dreams-enjoying the high-life while condemning their victims to poverty. In a single phone call they can take away everything a person has saved and everything they are saving for. Only a sentence like this can protect the public from a man like Mike Campa."
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the (truth in sentencing( guidelines mandate that Campa will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, Campa does have the opportunity to earn a limited reduction in time served for (good behavior(; a reduction for good conduct while incarcerated will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
Arrests Made in Employment Referral Conspiracy Involving Chinese Restaurant IndustryRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT, Texas – A task force of federal, state, and local law enforcement have begun arresting 32 defendants charged with RICO and immigration violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales and Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Houston today.
According to court documents, two employment referral businesses operating out of Houston recruited unauthorized aliens, mostly from Mexico and Central America, for work in the Chinese restaurant industry. These workers routinely worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, they were not paid overtime, not permitted to receive tips or gratuities, and were paid in cash by the restaurants. The restaurants profited by avoiding payment of employment taxes and did not provide any benefits such as health insurance, vacation or sick time. Workers were paid far less than minimum wage, did not receive health examinations, food safety training, or any job training at any time while employed.
Additionally, these workers were subject to unfavorable living arrangements provided by the restaurant operators, either at the operator’s residence or at another off-site residential location. Living arrangements were overcrowded and sometimes consisted of air mattresses or floors for sleeping. For instance, 18 people were found to be housed in a 2000 square foot house.
Arrests of the indicted individuals began on Jan. 30, 2014. The following individuals have been charged:
- Lina Sun, 54, of Houston;
- Chenglun Ma, 57, of Houston;
- Chang Jin Song, 56, of Houston;
- Zhiqiang Li, 59, of Houston;
- Chenzong Yu, 44, of Houston;
- Jin Zhu Wang, 50, of Port Arthur, Texas;
- Li Qiu Jiang, 52, of Port Arthur, Texas;
- Hua Zhu Dong, 45, of Port Arthur, Texas;
- Wei Ji Zheng, 38, of San Marcos, Texas;
- Wen Juan Zhang, 34, of San Marcos, Texas;
- Chanjuan Xie, 31, of Sanger, Texas;
- Xue Fang He, 28, of Sanger, Texas;
- Zhen Yin Weng, 55, of Little Rock, AR;
- Dan Hui Lu, 32, of Dallas;
- Zeng Yu Huang, 50, of Mineola, Texas;
- Jian Tuan Dong, 47, of Rockwall, Texas;
- Jian Jun Ma, 60, of Houston;
- Liang Gao, 42, of Houston;
- Shoufang Jiang, 43, of Houston;
- Jiang Ping Zhang, 65, of Houston;
- Wen Jian Wen, 26, of Houston;
- Xiaofeng Zhu, 43, of Sugar Land, Texas;
- Xianghong Sun, 54, of Missouri City, Texas;
- Yan Mao, 39, of Brownwood, Texas;
- Yip Keung Leung, 40, of Brownwood, Texas;
- Selena Ling Feng, 37, of Nacogdoches, Texas;
- Zongxian Zhu, 41, of Nacogdoches, Texas;
- Jing Heng Jiang, 51, of Bastrop, LA;
- Hua Lin, 30, of Allen, LA;
- Houng Chen, 39, of Abbeville, LA; and
- Jin Zhu Fang, 38, of Abbeville, LA.
Federal indictments were returned on Nov. 7, 2013, charging 32 individuals with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to transport, harbor, and encourage and induce aliens to reside in the United States. If convicted, defendants face up to 20 years for the RICO charge and up to 10 years for the immigration conspiracy charge.
“The Hong Li Job Agency and the Tai Shan Employment Agency operated a ‘take-out and delivery service’ for restaurants across the region- but they didn’t deliver food. Instead, they delivered people illegally present in the United States to greedy restaurant owners and managers looking for cheap labor,” said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Houston. “The illicit efforts of the defendants and others like them help push those unlawfully here deeper into the shadows, and the jobs they market serve as a magnet for future illegal immigration.”
This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) offices in: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and New Orleans; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine; U.S. Marshals; Police Department’s in Houston, Port Author and Beaumont. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Beaumont.
It is important to note that a grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt.
Arizona Resident Sentenced to Ten Years for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - On January 28, 2014, Shawn Michael Carrico, a 47 year-old resident of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge James E. Gritzner to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt.
On February 17, 2012, Carrico was stopped by the Iowa State Patrol as he traveled on Interstate 29 through Harrison County, Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol determined that there was an arrest warrant for Carrico from Arizona which led to a subsequent search of his items. In his possession a computer was found that appeared to have several suspicious files on it. When examined later by computer forensic experts, the computer contained images of child pornography. On October 3, 2013, Carrico entered a guilty plea to possession of child pornography.
The investigation was conducted by the Iowa State Patrol, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, Cyber Crime Unit. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
(Download Press Release )
Arizona Man, Vittorio Francesco Gonzalez-castillo, Arrested After Being Indicted for Conspiracy to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
VITTORIO FRANCESCO GONZALEZ-CASTILLO, age 26, a resident of Tucson, Arizona, was arrested in Arizona after being indicted by an Eastern District of Louisiana Federal Grand Jury on January 24, 2014 for Conspiracy to Produce Child Pornography, announced U. S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
According to court documents, as a result of a nationwide child exploitation investigation, special agents with the New Orleans Office of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) determined that GONZALEZ-CASTILLO was responsible for producing videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children.
Additionally, GONZALEZ-CASTILLO was previously indicted on February 6, 2013, by a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Arizona for Distribution, Possession, and Knowing Access of Child Pornography. He is currently awaiting trial in Arizona on those charges. Upon resolution of the charges in Arizona, GONZALEZ-CASTILLO will be extradited to the Eastern District of Louisiana to address the new charges filed against him.
Conspiracy to produce child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years. If convicted, GONZALEZ-CASTILLO will have to register has a sex offender.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. reiterated that an 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 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Fraud Section Chief, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.
(Download Indictment )
Alleged Computer Hacker Charged with Emailing Bomb Threat to Shopping MallRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - David Barnhouse, 24, of Horsham, PA, was charged today by superseding indictment with emailing a bomb threat to the Willow Grove Park Mall website and hacking a computer to make it appear as if someone else sent the threat. Barnhouse is charged with threats, unauthorized access to a protected computer, resisting and impeding federal officers, obstruction of service of judicial process, destruction of records in a federal investigation, and destruction of property to prevent seizure.
According to the indictment, on June 20, 2013, Barnhouse hacked into the Verizon FiOS router of his neighbor and, using their Internet service, posted the following message:
“We have planted an explosive device somewhere in the mall, and will detonate it unless all members of the Islamic faith imprisoned in the United States are freed by 7pm on June 23. Even if you search the mall for 72 consecutive hours, you will NEVER find it.”
By using the neighbor’s Verizon service, the defendant made it appear that the neighbors had posted the threat. As a result, on June 20, 2013, FBI agents, believing that the neighbors had posted it, executed a search warrant at the neighbor’s home. After conducting a search and interviewing the neighbors, the agents concluded that they were not the source of the threat.
The indictment further alleges that when agents returned, in November 2013, to execute a search warrant at Barnhouse’s home, Barnhouse tried to activate encryption by unplugging his computer and, during that attempt, fought and struggled with agents.
If convicted of all charges, Barnhouse faces a maximum possible sentence of 37 years in prison, a fine of up to $1.2 million, and up to three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeanine Linehan and Michael L. Levy.
Click here to view the indictment
An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525
29 January 2014
Westerville Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
COLUMBUS – Jason C. Grossman, 31, of Westerville, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to five years in prison for viewing and downloading child pornography over the internet.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Marlon Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Ohio and Michigan, and Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott and members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), announced the sentence handed down yesterday by U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost.
Grossman pleaded guilty in August 2013 to one count of receiving child pornography. At that time, he admitted to using the internet to download and view images of child pornography involving pubescent and prepubescent children. Grossman also admitted that law enforcement came to discover his child pornography activities after he had communicated online with an undercover officer posing as the father of an 11-year-old girl, had discussed engaging in various sex acts with the fictitious minor girl, and had arrived at a location in Columbus, Ohio for a planned meeting with the undercover officer.
Judge Frost also sentenced Grossman to serve five years under court supervision following his time in prison. During that time, he will be required to register as a sex offender anywhere he lives, works or goes to school. Grossman was also ordered to pay $1,500 in restitution to one of the minor victims pictured in a series of photos found on Grossman’s computer.
“The government suggests that sex offender treatment would be beneficial to the defendant and recommends that the defendant be placed in a facility that may provide these treatment options,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill told the court.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by ICAC task force officers and HSI Special Agents, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill, who prosecuted the case.
West Branch Man Charged with Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Brady Verlo, age 22, of West Branch, Iowa, has been charged with one count of receipt of child pornography. The charge is contained in an Indictment filed on January 28, 2014, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, in August 2013, Verlo received child pornography.
If convicted, Verlo faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and at least five years and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment.
Verlo appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Verlo’s next appearance for a detention hearing is set for February 5, 2014.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa City Police Department, and the West Branch Police Department.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 14-9.Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Home InvasionRead the Press Release
Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Robert L. Barcliff, 29, of Wytheville, Virginia, pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston, West Virginia, to home invasion armed robbery. On April 22, 2012, Barcliff, Keith Glenn, Robert Jared Smith, and William Seltzer rushed a Marmet, West Virginia apartment thought to be occupied by drug dealers from Detroit, Michigan. Barcliff and Smith, dressed in dark clothing, stormed the apartment at gunpoint, stole drug money and then ran into hiding. Barcliff and his gang targeted drug dealers because they were thought to be unlikely to report the robberies to police for fear of implicating themselves in drug crimes. Other similar home invasion robberies were committed in Charleston and surrounding communities, but the crime spree also extended to Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
“Some of these robberies occurred in neighborhoods where families live and where children play outside---places where decent people have every right to expect to be safe and free from this type of violent behavior,” said U.S. Attorney Goodwin. “But when prescription and other types of illegal drugs are involved, criminal behavior is unpredictable and can be dangerous. Be assured, my office is committed to ensuring that these kind of offenders are identified, investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, so that people can be safe in their homes.”
Glenn, Smith, and Seltzer have all entered guilty pleas in federal court for charges related to this investigation and are awaiting sentencing.
Barcliff faces a up to life imprisonment when he is sentenced on May 7, 2014, by United States District Court Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
The South Charleston Police Department, Charleston Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Monica D. Coleman and Philip H. Wright are in charge of the prosecution.