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Wednesday 13 November 2013
Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Traveling to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct with A MinorAnd Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Thomas DeGrange, 27, formerly of Frederick, Md., pled guilty today to federal charges of traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
DeGrange pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Beryl A. Howell scheduled sentencing for Feb. 13, 2014. DeGrange faces a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison for traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct and a maximum of 20 years for possession of child pornography, as well as potential fines.
According to the government's evidence, on May 3, 2013, DeGrange began a series of online communications with a man who he believed had a sexual interest in children. The man was actually an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, posing as the father of an under-aged girl. Over the next several days, DeGrange expressed interest in engaging in sexual acts with the undercover officer’s purported daughter. DeGrange also sent the undercover officer several images depicting child pornography. On May 7, 2013, DeGrange traveled from Maryland to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C., for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with the girl. When he arrived, he was arrested.
A search by law enforcement of the defendant’s home led to the discovery of a computer containing two videos depicting child pornography, 23 images depicting child pornography and other evidence of child pornography.
The defendant’s plea agreement resolved other potential federal charges in the District of Columbia and the District of Maryland.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave and Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agent of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassidy Kesler Pinegar, who prosecuted the case.
13-389Man Sentenced for Selling Counterfeit GoodsAt Store in Kansas City, Kan.Read the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Missouri man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for selling counterfeit designer goods at a store in Kansas City, Kan., including shoes labeled as Nike Air Force 1 and shirts labeled as Polo Ralph Lauren, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Jehad Shalabi, 45, Blue Springs, Mo., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit trademark goods. During his plea hearing, prosecutors told the judge that Shalabi sold counterfeit goods at a retail store called Joe Black, Inc., at 3201 State Avenue in Kansas City, Kan.Agents of the FBI made undercover purchases at the store including a counterfeit trademark pair of Nike Air Force 1 shoes on Feb. 22, 2011, and a counterfeit trademark Polo Ralph Lauren knit shirt on June 9, 2011. On June 30, 2011, Shalabi sold a counterfeit trademark NBA Chicago Bulls hat.
On June 28, 2011, agents served a search warrant at the store and seized approximately 588 counterfeit items with trademarks including Polo Ralph Lauren, Nike, Major League Baseball, Nervous Tattoo (Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier), Luxirie, Rocawear and Coogi.
Investigators learned that counterfeit goods made up approximately 20 percent of the store=s weekly sales of $4,000 to $6,000.
Grissom commended the FBI, ICE-HSI, and the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department for their work on the case.Leader of Mexican Narcotics Trafficking Organization Extradited to the United States to Face International Narcotics Importation and Distribution Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
Juan Juarez Orosco, also known as “El Abuelo,” the alleged leader of a Mexican narcotics trafficking organization responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine, was extradited to the United States from Panama on November 8, 2013, and was arraigned on November 10, 2013, before United States Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.
The extradition was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Mythili Raman, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice; New York Division; and James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to charges in an indictment returned in the Eastern District of New York, from the early 1990’s until his arrest in March 2012, Juarez led a large-scale maritime and land transportation operation responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Central America, through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the coast of Mexico. Once the cocaine arrived in Mexico, Juarez and his co-conspirators transported the tons of cocaine from the coast of Mexico to Mexico City, where they were shipped to the United States for distribution. Throughout the 2000s, Juarez worked with major narcotics traffickers based in Colombia and Mexico, including the Norte Valle Cartel, the Beltran-Leyva Cartel, and the Sinaloa Cartel. According to court filings, through the mid-2000’s, Juarez’s organization was responsible for transporting over 35,000 kilograms of cocaine for the Beltran-Leyva organization alone. At the height of its activity, Juarez’s organization was allegedly responsible for transporting approximately eight tons of cocaine a month in conjunction with the Sinaloa Cartel.
“There is no escape from the reach of the law, no matter where drug kingpins operate their poisonous trade. Juan Juarez Orosco may have operated an international drug trafficking network that stretched across the Western Hemisphere, but today he faces justice in a courtroom in Brooklyn,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Thanks to our law enforcement partners in Panama, today’s extradition also shows that there is no safe haven for drug traffickers on the run.” Ms. Lynch extended her appreciation to the DEA, HSI, and the Office of International Affairs of the U.S. Department of Justice.
“As alleged in the indictment, Juarez’s trafficking organization was responsible for the importation of massive quantities of cocaine, across oceans and continents, into the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman. “Juarez’s arrest and extradition are a testament to the tenacity of law enforcement officers across the world, and show that what we can accomplish when we work together with our partners around the globe to capture major drug traffickers and bring them to justice.”
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Gina M. Parlovecchio and Tiana Demas, and Trial Attorney Adrian Rosales of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Defendant
JUAN JUAREZ OROSCO
Age: 64
Mexico City, MexicoE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 12-CR-197
Leader of Massive Tax Refund Fraud Scheme Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 10 Years in Prison for Orchestrating $50 Million Tax Refund FraudRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MELVIN DUARTE was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 10 years in prison for his role in a scheme to fraudulently generate and then steal more than $50 million in federal tax refund checks. DUARTE was originally arrested in 2008 and subsequently fled the U.S. He was extradited from the Dominican Republic and arrived in the U.S. in January 2013. DUARTE pled guilty in June 2013 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to steal mail, and one count of mail theft, and he was sentenced today by U.S. Circuit Court Judge Denny Chin, sitting by designation.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Melvin Duarte stole Puerto Rican identities and used those identities fraudulently to obtain more than $50 million in federal tax refund checks to which he was not entitled. In doing so, he contributed to the millions of dollars in losses to the IRS resulting from this case. Duarte’s integral role in one of the largest known tax refund fraud schemes has now earned him a prolonged stay in prison.”
According to the Indictment and other documents filed in Manhattan federal court:
DUARTE was charged as part of an investigation into a massive tax and mail theft scheme. As part of the scheme, co-conspirators operating out of the Dominican Republic and other places electronically filed thousands of fraudulent federal tax returns, seeking tens of millions of dollars in tax refunds. The fraudulent returns were filed using Social Security numbers and other identifying information stolen from residents of Puerto Rico. Participants in the scheme targeted Social Security numbers assigned to residents of Puerto Rico because they are generally not required to file federal tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), as long as their income is derived solely from Puerto Rican sources. In so doing, the co-conspirators minimized the risk that legitimate federal tax returns were already filed by the holders of the Social Security numbers that they were using in the scheme.
Each of the tax returns at issue falsely represented that the taxpayer resided at an address in the Bronx, New York, where the refund check requested in the return was to be sent. The checks were then stolen by letter carriers assigned to the mail routes where the checks were sent who had been recruited beforehand to participate in the scheme. The letter carriers participating in the scheme were paid a kickback for each check they stole. The letter carriers passed the checks on to other co-conspirators, who cashed them at various banks and check-cashing businesses located in the U.S. and the Dominican Republic.
Over the course of the scheme, thousands of false and fraudulent federal tax returns were filed seeking more than $50 million of fraudulent tax refunds from the IRS.
DUARTE was previously convicted in 2002 for conspiracy to steal federal funds, based on substantially similar conduct, and was sentenced to three years of probation.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chin ordered DUARTE, 38, to pay forfeiture of $15 million and to serve a term of three years of supervised release to follow his prison sentence.
Mr. Bharara praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and thanked them for their work in this case. He also thanked the Dominican National Police for their significant assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Serrin Turner is in charge of the prosecution.
KC Man Sentenced to 31 Years in Prison for Attempted Armed Bank Robbery After Shoot-out with Bank Guard, Federal AgentRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for attempting to rob Blue Ridge Bank and Trust at gunpoint, after being foiled by a bank guard and a federal agent who was a customer at the bank.
Eric L. Smith, 34, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 31 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.
Smith was found guilty at trial of attempted armed bank robbery, using a firearm during a violent crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm on Aug. 14, 2013.
Smith attempted to rob Blue Ridge Bank and Trust, 6202 Raytown Trafficway, Raytown, Mo., on June 23, 2012. Smith entered the bank and pointed a firearm at a security guard who was seated in the lobby. Smith walked straight to the guard, still pointing the firearm at him, and demanded that the guard give him his weapon. Smith fled from the bank without taking any money when the guard fired three rounds from his 9mm Glock handgun in Smith’s direction. A bullet fired from the guard’s gun shattered the glass in one of the doors through which Smith exited the bank.
The only customer in the bank, a federal agent who was dressed in plain clothes, drew his weapon, pointed it at Smith and pursued Smith out of the bank along with the guard. Smith stopped in the parking lot and turned and fired one shot toward the bank, guard and federal agent. Smith continued running through the parking lot and around the western corner of the strip mall. Smith ran to a red four-door sedan he had parked behind the mall and sped away.
An anonymous tipster saw a surveillance photo of Smith and called the Crime Stoppers TIP Hotline on June 26, 2012. The caller reported that Smith had a bandaged right hand since Saturday but no hand injury on Friday night. The tip led law enforcement officers to the home of Smith’s mother, where he was staying. Smith was at home and was arrested on outstanding warrants.
When agents searched the house, they found a loaded .40-caliber Ruger under a cushion of the couch. The Ruger matched the firearm used by Smith in the attempted bank robbery. The brand of ammunition found in the firearm matched the live round and the shell casing found in the parking lot of Blue Ridge Bank and Trust. Additionally, a forensic expert determined that the .40-caliber shell casing recovered from the parking lot was fired from the Ruger found under the couch cushion. The Ruger contained live rounds of ammunition that matched the shell casing and bullet recovered from the crime scene. Law enforcement officers also identified a Ford four-door sedan parked at the residence that matches the vehicle in which the robber fled.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Smith has two prior felony convictions for aggravated robbery.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Y. Tabor. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
KC Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Distributing Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Joseph Frank Sliepka IV, 31, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013, to 10 years in federal prison without parole followed by 20 years of supervised release.
On May 21, 2013, Sliepka pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography over the Internet. Sliepka admitted that he sent an email to an undercover federal agent in which he expressed a desire to trade images of child pornography. The e-mail included an attached image of child pornography that depicted a 6- or 7-year-old child. Sliepka asked the undercover agent to “Show me what you like and I’ll send more of it…Lets have some fun….”
Law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Sliepka’s residence and seized his laptop computer. Investigators determined that there were 24 more e-mails from March 25 to April 6, 2013, that contained approximately 63 images and 27 movies of child pornography. These images and videos depict children ages one to 12.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Daly. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Justice Department Officials Raise Awareness of Disaster Fraud Hotline Following Typhoon HaiyanRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice, the FBI, and the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) remind the public that there is a potential for disaster fraud in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Suspected fraudulent activity pertaining to relief efforts associated with Typhoon Haiyan should be reported to the toll-free NCDF hotline at 866-720-5721. The hotline is staffed by a live operator 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the purpose of reporting suspected scams being perpetrated by criminals in the aftermath of disasters.
NCDF was originally established in 2005 by the Department of Justice to investigate, prosecute and deter fraud associated with federal disaster relief programs following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Its mission has expanded to include suspected fraud related to any natural or man-made disaster. More than 20 federal agencies – including the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service – participate in the NCDF, allowing the center to act as a centralized clearinghouse of information related to disaster relief fraud.
In the wake of natural disasters, many individuals feel moved to contribute to victim assistance programs and organizations across the country. The Department of Justice and the FBI remind the public to apply a critical eye and conduct due diligence before giving to anyone soliciting donations on behalf of hurricane victims. Solicitations can originate as emails, websites, door-to-door collections, mailings, telephone calls and similar methods.
Before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, including the following:
• Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming emails, including by clicking links contained within those messages, because they may contain computer viruses.
• Be cautious of individuals representing themselves as victims or officials asking for donations via email or social networking sites.
• Beware of organizations with copycat names similar to but not exactly the same as those of reputable charities.
• Rather than following a purported link to a website, verify the existence and legitimacy of non-profit organizations by using Internet-based resources.
• Be cautious of emails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files, because those files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
• To ensure that contributions are received and used for intended purposes, make donations directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf.
• Do not be pressured into making contributions; reputable charities do not use coercive tactics.
• Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions. Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
• Avoid cash donations if possible. Pay by debit or credit card, or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals.
• Legitimate charities do not normally solicit donations via money transfer services. • Most legitimate charities maintain websites ending in .org rather than .com.
If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud by a person or organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of disaster victims, contact the NCDF by phone at (866) 720-5721, fax at (225) 334-4707 or email at [email protected].You can also report suspicious e-mail solicitations or fraudulent websites to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
Justice Department Officials Raise Awareness of Disaster Fraud Hotline Following Typhoon HaiyanRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice, the FBI, and the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) remind the public that there is a potential for disaster fraud in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Suspected fraudulent activity pertaining to relief efforts associated with Typhoon Haiyan should be reported to the toll-free NCDF hotline at 866-720-5721. The hotline is staffed by a live operator 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the purpose of reporting suspected scams being perpetrated by criminals in the aftermath of disasters.
NCDF was originally established in 2005 by the Department of Justice to investigate, prosecute and deter fraud associated with federal disaster relief programs following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Its mission has expanded to include suspected fraud related to any natural or man-made disaster. More than 20 federal agencies – including the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service – participate in the NCDF, allowing the center to act as a centralized clearinghouse of information related to disaster relief fraud.
In the wake of natural disasters, many individuals feel moved to contribute to victim assistance programs and organizations across the country. The Department of Justice and the FBI remind the public to apply a critical eye and conduct due diligence before giving to anyone soliciting donations on behalf of hurricane victims. Solicitations can originate as emails, websites, door-to-door collections, mailings, telephone calls and similar methods.
Before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, including the following:
- Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming emails, including by clicking links contained within those messages, because they may contain computer viruses.
- Be cautious of individuals representing themselves as victims or officials asking for donations via email or social networking sites.
- Beware of organizations with copycat names similar to but not exactly the same as those of reputable charities.
- Rather than following a purported link to a website, verify the existence and legitimacy of non-profit organizations by using Internet-based resources.
- Be cautious of emails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files, because those files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
- To ensure that contributions are received and used for intended purposes, make donations directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf.
- Do not be pressured into making contributions; reputable charities do not use coercive tactics.
- Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions. Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
- Avoid cash donations if possible. Pay by debit or credit card, or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals.
- Legitimate charities do not normally solicit donations via money transfer services.
- Most legitimate charities maintain websites ending in .org rather than .com.
If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud by a person or organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of disaster victims, contact the NCDF by phone at (866) 720-5721, fax at (225) 334-4707 or email at [email protected].
You can also report suspicious e-mail solicitations or fraudulent websites to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
Justice Department Officials Raise Awareness of Disaster Fraud Hotline Following Typhoon HaiyanRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice, the FBI, and the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) remind the public that there is a potential for disaster fraud in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Suspected fraudulent activity pertaining to relief efforts associated with Typhoon Haiyan should be reported to the toll-free NCDF hotline at 866-720-5721. The hotline is staffed by a live operator 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the purpose of reporting suspected scams being perpetrated by criminals in the aftermath of disasters.
NCDF was originally established in 2005 by the Department of Justice to investigate, prosecute and deter fraud associated with federal disaster relief programs following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Its mission has expanded to include suspected fraud related to any natural or man-made disaster. More than 20 federal agencies – including the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service – participate in the NCDF, allowing the center to act as a centralized clearinghouse of information related to disaster relief fraud.
In the wake of natural disasters, many individuals feel moved to contribute to victim assistance programs and organizations across the country. The Department of Justice and the FBI remind the public to apply a critical eye and conduct due diligence before giving to anyone soliciting donations on behalf of hurricane victims. Solicitations can originate as emails, websites, door-to-door collections, mailings, telephone calls and similar methods.
Before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, including the following:
- Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming emails, including by clicking links contained within those messages, because they may contain computer viruses.
- Be cautious of individuals representing themselves as victims or officials asking for donations via email or social networking sites.
- Beware of organizations with copycat names similar to but not exactly the same as those of reputable charities.
- Rather than following a purported link to a website, verify the existence and legitimacy of non-profit organizations by using Internet-based resources.
- Be cautious of emails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files, because those files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
- To ensure that contributions are received and used for intended purposes, make donations directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf.
- Do not be pressured into making contributions; reputable charities do not use coercive tactics.
- Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions. Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
- Avoid cash donations if possible. Pay by debit or credit card, or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals.
- Legitimate charities do not normally solicit donations via money transfer services.
- Most legitimate charities maintain websites ending in .org rather than .com.
If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud by a person or organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of disaster victims, contact the NCDF by phone at (866) 720-5721, fax at (225) 334-4707 or email at [email protected].
You can also report suspicious e-mail solicitations or fraudulent websites to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
Jury Convicts Miami-Dade Resident in Tax Preparation Fraud SchemeRead 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), announce that a federal jury convicted Rigoberto Cabrera, 37, of Miami-Dade County, on charges relating to his participation in a tax preparation fraud scheme.
Specifically, the jury convicted Rigoberto Cabrera on 29-counts, including one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 18 counts of making false claims to the IRS, four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and four counts of money laundering.
According to the indictment and evidence presented during the trial, defendant Cabrera and co-conspirator Carlos Perez, 34, also of Miami-Dade County, recruited individuals and offered to prepare their individual income tax returns with the promise that the defendants could obtain substantial tax refunds for the taxpayers. The recruited taxpayers agreed to pay Cabrera and Perez a percentage of the refunds they received. The defendants then prepared fraudulent 2008 and 2009 federal income tax returns on behalf of the recruited taxpayers, claiming tax credits or deductions to which the taxpayers were not entitled. After the taxpayers received the fraudulent refunds from the IRS, Cabrera and Perez collected a percentage of the funds from the taxpayers through checks payable to companies that the defendants controlled and shell companies.
Through this scheme, the defendants claimed approximately $1,458,905 in tax refunds from the IRS.
Defendant Carlos Perez pled guilty on September 19, 2013 to Counts 1 and 21 of the superseding indictment, which charges the defendant with conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, and to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Sentencing for Rigoberto Cabrera has been scheduled for January 24, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. Sentencing for Carlos Perez has been scheduled for December 6, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. Both sentencing hearings are scheduled to take place before U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. At sentencing the defendants face up to ten years in prison for each count of conspiracy to defraud the government, making false claims, and conspiracy to commit money laundering; and up to twenty years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Bernstein and Alejandro O. Soto.
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.
Judge Sentenced Philadelphia Man for Sex Trafficking ChildrenRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Craig Johnson, 42, a/k/a AGeez,@ of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to 288 months (24 years) in prison for two counts of sex trafficking of minors. Johnson operated a prostitution venture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As part of that venture, in June 2012, Johnson recruited young females, ages 15 and 16, respectively, to work as prostitutes. He also created Internet advertisements in which he advertised various females as available for purchase for purposes of prostitution. These advertisements featured pictures of the prostitutes, either scantily clad or partially nude, the price for an encounter, and a phone number to call to arrange a meeting with a prostitute. Johnson pleaded guilty to the charges on June 13, 2013.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge C. Darnell Jones, II, ordered 10 years of supervised release and ordered Johnson to pay $10,400, per victim, in restitution.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department Special Victims Unit, with assistance from the Philadelphia District Attorney=s Office and the Bucks County District Attorney=s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle L. Morgan.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Jamaican National Indicted for Fraudulently Receiving Medicaid BenefitsRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury in Buffalo has returned a four-count indictment charging Georgia Bowen, a/k/a Georgia Bennett, 38, of Lackawanna, N.Y., with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
Assistant United States Attorney John E. Rogowski, who is handling this case, stated that according to the indictment, Bowen, a native and citizen of Jamaica, applied for Medicaid benefits through the Erie County Department of Social Services on three separate occasions in December 2010, November 2011, and June 2013. The defendant claimed to be a United States citizen and utilized social security numbers assigned to other persons. In August of this year, the defendant was charged in a criminal complaint in connection with the 2010 and 2011 applications which resulted in Medicaid paying over $19,000 in benefits to health care providers for services provided to Bowen, benefits for which the defendant was not entitled to receive.
In August 2010, Bowen was sentenced in federal court to two years in prison after being convicted of identity theft in connection with her fraudulent use of the name and social security number of another person which caused over $13,000 in Medicaid benefits to be paid through the Erie County Department of Social Services for medical services she had received. As a result of that conviction, removal proceedings against Bowen were initiated by the Department of Homeland Security.
The indictment is the result of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero and the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Edward Ryan.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.Iowa Man Sentenced to 10-Year Prison Term for Possession of Child Pornography-Defendant Was A Registered Sex Offender at Time of Offense-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Nicholas Michael Jackson, 36, of Boone, Iowa, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Jackson pled guilty in March 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan. Upon completion of his prison term, Jackson will be placed on 20 years of supervised release, with conditions including restrictions on Internet and computer use and contact with minors. Jackson also will be required to register as a sex offender for 25 years.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 7, 2011, Jackson communicated with a man he believed to have access to child pornography. That man turned out to be an undercover officer with the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. That day, Jackson shared about 20 images of child pornography with the undercover officer in exchange for a promise that the undercover officer would share pornographic images in return, via a live webcam, of an adolescent girl. No such webcam session occurred and law enforcement arrested Jackson the following day.
Upon execution of a search warrant on Jackson’s residence, law enforcement recovered a computer and external storage device containing nearly 100 images of child pornography.
At the time of his arrest, Jackson was a registered sex offender in Iowa. He was convicted in Iowa in 2002 of three counts of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.
The defendant’s plea agreement resolved other potential federal charges in the District of Columbia and the Southern District of Iowa.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. Project Safe Childhood is 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 U.S. 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 those who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave and Chief Lanier praised the MPD Detectives and the Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force, who investigated the case. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance of the FBI’s Omaha Field Office, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations, the Boone, Iowa Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cassidy Kesler Pinegar, David Last, and Amy Zubrensky, who prosecuted the case.
13-390Internet Pharmacy Website Affiliate Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
Pamela B. Reid pleaded guilty last night to one count of filing a false individual income tax return for the 2006 tax year, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Reid was charged in the District of Minnesota by an information filed on Sept. 27, 2013.
According to the plea agreement, Reid worked as a website affiliate for an internet pharmacy organization from 2006 through 2012. As a website affiliate, Reid maintained websites based on templates provided from the internet pharmacy organization. These websites allowed U.S. customers to purchase prescription drugs from their personal computer. Reid was paid a percentage of the profit on each prescription sold through one of her websites and received her compensation by international wire from non-U.S. bank accounts under the control of the internet pharmacy organization.
Reid pleaded guilty to filing a false individual income tax return that failed to report any business income for the year 2006. According to the plea agreement, Reid admitted that in 2006 she had unreported gross receipts of at least $306,081.88 and additional federal income tax due and owing of at least $100,908. As part of her guilty plea, Reid also admitted that she failed to report business income from her internet pharmacy organization affiliated websites on her individual income tax returns from 2007 through 2010. The total federal income tax Reid did not report or pay for 2006 through 2010 was $270,397.
“In today’s economic environment, it’s more important than ever that the American people feel confident that everyone is playing by the rules and paying the taxes they owe,” said Kelly R. Jackson, IRS - Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the St. Paul Field Office. “Those Americans who file accurate, honest and timely returns can be assured that the government will hold accountable those who don’t. The IRS Criminal Investigation Division, together with the Department of Justice, will investigate and prosecute those who violate our tax system.”
Reid faces a potential maximum penalty of three years in prison and a potential maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain of the offense. Reid has also agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $376,438.87. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Department’s Tax Division, thanked Special Agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorney Dennis R. Kihm, who prosecuted the case.
Indictment: Kansas City, Kan., Woman Sold Counterfeit Identity DocumentsRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. - A Kansas City, Kan., woman has been indicted on charges of producing and selling counterfeit identity documents, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Lluvia Fernanda Salinas-Rodriguez, 29, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with one count of trafficking in a means of identification and one count of fraudulent use of an identification document. The crimes are alleged to have occurred prior to Oct. 28, 2013, in Wyandotte County, Kan.
Salinas-Rodriguez initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed Nov. 4 in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan. An investigator’s affidavit filed in support of the complaint alleges she produced counterfeit identity documents including Resident Alien cards, Social Security cards and Mexican and U.S. driver’s licenses over a period of approximately three years. The affidavit alleges she used a computer and printer to scan photos and manipulate them onto a template to produce counterfeit identity documents. She charged $80 to $100 for a set of documents, which included a counterfeit Social Security card and a counterfeit Resident Alien card. According to the affidavit, she sold two sets of identity documents a week for roughly three years.
If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the trafficking charge, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the other charge. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.OTHER INDICTMENTS
Rodney Heinen, 37, Dawson, Neb., is charged with two counts of violating the Clean Water Act. One count is alleged to have occurred starting in January 2012 and the other count is alleged to have occurred starting in April 2013 in Jackson County, Kan.
In the first count, Heinen is alleged to have introduced earthen fill and wood debris into a stream flowing through 160 acres of agricultural property he owned. The indictment alleges the stream was covered by the Clean water Act and subject to the supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Natural Resources Conversation Service and the Environmental Protection Agency. The second count alleges that in April 2013 the defendant purchased more than 72 acres of agricultural land in Jackson County. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers later found dredge and fill material placed in two streams on the property.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a fine up to $50,000 per day of violation. The Environmental Protection Agency investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich Hathaway is prosecuting.
Joel Christian-Ashton Tindall, 25, who is being held in the Shawnee County Jail, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Oct. 9, 2013, in Shawnee County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Hungarian National Charged in Internet Car Sales ScamRead the Press Release
Istvan Zoltan Foris, 44, of Szarvas, Hungary, was charged on November 8, 2013, by Information, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and possession of a fraudulent passport, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Foris conspired with others to defraud persons who sought to purchase used vehicles on the internet. Foris used false passports supplied by other conspirators to open bank accounts in the United States for the purpose of receiving funds obtained by fraud from the prospective buyers. These buyers would wire money to the bank accounts opened by Foris and Foris would immediately withdraw the funds and then wire most of the money to conspirators outside the United States. The buyers were not able to recover the funds they sent after they discovered that the offers to sell the vehicles were fraudulent.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison, three years of supervised release, possible fines, restitution, and forfeiture, and a $200 special assessment.
The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Albert S. Glenn.
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, 215-861-8525Houston Woman Convicted of Using Brother’s Social Security Number to Cash Deceased Woman’s Benefit ChecksRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Doris Hayes, 36, of Houston, has entered a guilty plea to two counts of making false statements involving a Social Security number, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Hayes admitted she opened bank accounts at International Bank of Commerce and University Federal Credit Union using false Social Security numbers, including that of her brother, in order to facilitate a check cashing scheme.
A previous related indictment charged Sandra Carrier, 57, of Houston, with taking part in the scheme in which she caused her deceased mother’s treasury checks from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Security Administration to be cashed after her mother had passed away. Some of those checks were cashed using the same bank accounts Hayes had opened with false Social Security numbers. Carrier and Hayes continued to negotiate the checks up to eight years after Carrier’s mother’s death.
The United States suffered $177,642 in damages as a result of the scheme.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who accepted the guilty plea today, has set sentencing for Feb. 13, 2014, at 9:45 a.m., at which time Hayes faces up to five years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
Carrier has already pleaded guilty to related charges and received a sentence of 12 months and one day in prison.
This case is the result of a joint investigation involving multiple federal agencies including the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Leuchtmann is prosecuting this case.Hogsett Announces the Third Straight Year of Spending Cuts in the U.s. Attorney’s OfficeRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that for the third straight year, total office spending has fallen in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, reversing what had been a multi-year trend of rising expenditures. In fiscal year 2013, which ended on September 30, office spending was down 1.6% compared to the prior year, and is now down 5% over the last three years.“Over the last three years, the employees of this office have embraced a desire to do more with less,” Hogsett said. “In challenging economic times, I am proud that we have dramatically increased our prosecutions and convictions, all while turning back the clock on a trend of increased spending. We are now operating our office at levels not seen since 2008.”
Hogsett noted that a number of milestones have been achieved during the three year period of reduced spending. In 2011, 442 defendants were federally charged by the Office, an all-time record that represented a 204% increase over 2009 figures. In 2012, 421 defendants were convicted and sentenced, another all-time record for the Office.
Under the U.S. Attorney’s Violent Crime Initiative, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of gun-related prosecutions filed by the Office. In the year preceding the initiative, there were just 14 defendants charged with federal gun crimes by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In the nearly two years since, more than 200 defendants have been charged. There have also been a number of successful public corruption and white collar prosecutions over the same period of time, as dozens of elected and appointed public officials have faced federal charges.
The chart below indicates the actual costs and the percentage changes that the Office of the United States Attorney has incurred from FY 2006 through FY 2013. Figures are in thousands.
Annual Spending and Corresponding Percentages from FY 2007 through FY 2013
Year
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
Annual Spending Costs
$6,581.5 - $6,859.0
$6,859.0 - $7,235.0
$7,235.0 - $7,746.1
$7,746.1 - $7,928.1
$7,928.1 - $7,850.1
$7,850.1 - $7,648.2
$7,648.2 - $7,527.8
+4.2%
+5.5%
+7.1%
+2.3%
-1.0%
-2.6%
-1.6%
Hogsett Announces Sentencing of Indianapolis Woman After Bank Fraud, Tax Evasion ConvictionRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – United States Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett announced today that U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson has sentenced Michele Spurgeon to 60 months (5 years) in federal prison, and has ordered the defendant to pay more than $1.7 million in restitution to a victim company and the government. Spurgeon, age 58, of Indianapolis was charged in July 2013 with defrauding an area business out of nearly $1.5 million using a bank fraud scheme, and was also charged with hiding those assets from the Internal Revenue Service through a tax fraud scheme.
“When Hoosiers steal from Hoosiers, we all lose – no matter if the theft takes place in a back alley or a back office,” Hogsett said. “That is why, together with our law enforcement partners, we are committed to doing all we can to hold accountable those who embrace a culture of corruption in our business community.”
Spurgeon admitted that from 1996 until 2011, she used her position at a Hamilton County business to orchestrate a sophisticated fraud scheme. The defendant would process all checks made payable to the company, but would withhold some of these checks, not depositing them into the company's bank accounts. Instead, she would deposit these checks into a business account for a fraudulent company that Spurgeon created as a vehicle for her fraud.
Court documents describe a number of ways that Spurgeon hid this criminal activity. In some situations, she would alter some of the checks payable to her employer, making them appear as if they were payable to her shell company. She also would make adjustments to her employer's accounting records to conceal these fraudulent deposits. All told, Spurgeon deposited at least $1,429,326 in checks intended for her employer into this fraudulent account.
Over the course of the scheme, Spurgeon spent this money on a number of personal items. These included casino gambling, credit card payments, mortgage and home equity loan payments, utility payments, as well as cash withdrawals. In addition, Spurgeon failed to report this additional money to the Internal Revenue Service. In 2007 alone, it is alleged that this failure to report resulted in a loss to taxpayers of $67,378.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and MaryAnn T. Mindrum, who prosecuted the case for the government, Spurgeon petitioned the U.S. District Court to enter a plea to the charges against her. Under federal law, the defendant must serve a minimum of 85% of her prison term in a federal correctional facility, and she was ordered to serve 3 years of federally-supervised release at the end of her prison term. In addition, the federal government may seek to forfeit some of the defendant’s property, including real estate, bank accounts, and retirement accounts.
This prosecution was the result of a collaborative investigation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service B Criminal Investigation, as well as the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.
Harrisburg Man Classified as “Armed Career Criminal” and Sentenced to 224 Months in Federal Firearms CaseRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Eric Chambers, age 44, of Harrisburg, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge William W. Caldwell, following Chambers’ conviction at a jury trial for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
On June 12, 2013, a federal jury convicted Chambers of possessing a loaded firearm in a motel in Swatara Township on January 9, 2012.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Judge Caldwell classified Eric Chambers as an “Armed Career Criminal,” a determination that allows for additional penalties to be imposed once an individual has previously been convicted of three violent crimes or serious drug offenses. Judge Caldwell sentenced Chambers to 200 months’ incarceration to be followed by five years of supervised release and a fine of $2,100 for the firearms conviction. Judge Caldwell also sentenced Chambers to a consecutive 24 month sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release.Judge Caldwell ordered that this 224-month sentence be served consecutively to a 25-50 year sentence Chambers received in July 2013 after he was convicted by a jury in Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas of Attempted Homicide for his involvement in a shooting that occurred in September 2011.
This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the Harrisburg Police Bureau; and Swatara Township Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith A. Taylor.
Guilty Plea Entered for False Claims Against the Government in Connection with Fraudulent Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Alisa Grisson has pleaded guilty to one count of making a false claim against the government, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
According to the plea agreement filed in the record of the case, Grisson acknowledged she prepared tax returns in her name and in the names of others. She acknowledged she knew the returns were false and fraudulent when she prepared them and caused them to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Grisson admitted in the plea agreement that these returns reported income that had not been earned and/or expenses that had not been incurred, thus claiming monies from the government in the form of tax refunds to which she and the other taxpayers were not entitled. Specifically, she admitted to falsely claiming a refund of more than $7.4 million for the 2009 tax year.
Grisson stipulated that the tax losses to the government is $674,284.62 and has agreed to pay that in restitution to the United States. Grisson further agreed never again to aid or assist in preparing or presenting tax returns for any taxpayer except herself and not to oppose any civil action brought by the United States seeking to enjoin her from preparing income tax returns for others.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, who accepted the guilty plea today, has set sentencing for Jan. 28, 2014. At that time, she faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
IRS-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Corso is prosecuting.
Glenwood, Iowa, Resident Sentenced for Theft of Social Security FundsRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - On November 12, 2013, Marlene Lucille Moore, a 61 year-old resident of Glenwood, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge John Jarvey to six months in prison followed by six months of home confinement for theft of funds from the Social Security Administration, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Judge Jarvey also ordered Moore to serve three years of supervised release when she completes her imprisonment, and ordered Moore to pay restitution to the Social Security Administration in the amount of $164,852.
On July 3, 2013, Moore pled guilty to theft of funds of the United States. The charge was the result of an investigation into the payment of funds by the Social Security Administration to a bank account set up to receive funds for an eligible recipient. The Social Security Administration had learned that the recipient had died in 2001. The investigation revealed that Moore removed money from the account from 2001 until August of 2012, taking $164,852 from the account without authority.
The investigation was conducted by the Social Security Administration-Office of the Inspector General, and the case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Gautier Man Pleads Guilty to Oil Spill FraudRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – Joseph Anthony Clements, 51, of Gautier, pled guilty to three counts of mail fraud in connection with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis.
Clements admitted that he carried out a scheme to defraud the BP Gulf Coast Claims Facility by making a false claim for damages as a result of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Clements claimed he lost earnings and profits from his commercial shrimp and fishing business and shrimping vessel when, in fact, Clements was not a commercial shrimper and suffered no lost earning or profits as a result of the oil spill.
As a result of his fraudulent claim, Clements received an emergency advance payment of $36,300.00 of the $273.000.00 claim he sought from the oil spill Gulf Coast Claims Facility.
Clements will be sentenced on Thursday, January 30, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. by U. S. District Judge Sul Ozerden. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of mail fraud. This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones.
This case was brought as part of this District’s partnership with the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF), a nationwide initiative to protect available funds and assistance for those victims of both natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and the recent Gulf oil spill. If you have knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, you can contact the NCDF by either calling the hotline at (866) 720-5721, faxing (225) 334-4707, emailing at [email protected] or in writing to National Center for Disaster Fraud, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4909.###
If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at:
(866) 720-5721
You can also fax information to:
(225) 334-4707
or e-mail it to:
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Former State Correctional Inmate Sentenced to 7 More Years in Prison for Threatening to Kill Federal JudgesRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A former inmate of the Fayette State Correctional Institution in LaBelle, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 84 months in jail on his conviction of mailing a threatening communication, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Maurice B. Cohill, Jr. imposed the sentence on Gregory Garrett Brown, 49. The sentence was imposed to run consecutively to the sentence Brown is currently serving.
According to information presented to the court, Brown mailed a letter to a United States Magistrate Judge which contained a threat to kill the Magistrate Judge and a United States District Judge.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Cohill noted Brown's lengthy history of violence and the fact that Brown was incarcerated for threatening an Erie Court of Common Pleas judge when he threatened the Magistrate Judge and District Judge.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the United States Marshal's Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Brown.
Former St. Louis Executive of Chicago Area Company Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for $3.9 Million Invoicing Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
CHICAGO – A former vice president of a company that was based in west suburban Downers Grove was sentenced today to four years in federal prison for a fraudulent invoicing scheme in which he obtained more than 100 company checks totaling more than $3.9 million and stole the money for himself. The defendant, STEVEN M. BRAZILE, used a portion of the stolen funds to operate a classic car business. He had pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of fraudulently obtained securities last July in U.S. District Court.
Brazile, 52, of St. Louis, was a vice president in the victim company’s St. Louis office where he managed the information technology functions in that office. Brazile was also ordered to pay $3,902,880 in restitution and forfeiture and to begin serving his 48-month sentence on Jan. 7, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo.
Brazile also agreed to forfeiture of approximately $375,000 in funds that were seized or will be turned over from various bank and brokerage accounts, as well as 24 automobiles including classic cars, approximately $180,000 in proceeds from the sale of several classic automobiles, and a commercial property he owned in St. Louis.
Brazile, who had authority to approve company payments to vendors up to $100,000, admitted that between December 2006 and December 2009 he approved false invoices purporting to be from vendors for goods and services that were never provided to the corporation. He caused the company to issue approximately 104 checks totaling slightly more than $3.9 million. Brazile took those checks and stole the proceeds by depositing them into a bank account he controlled in the name Steve’s Classic Cars, a business he owned to buy and restore classic automobiles.
The sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Streicker.
The case falls under the umbrella of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement, who working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit: StopFraud.gov.
Former NFL Player Sam Hurd Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Role in Cocaine and Marijuana Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Samuel George Hurd, III, 28, was sentenced late this afternoon, by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis, to 15 years in federal prison for his role in a cocaine and marijuana distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Hurd, who is in custody, pleaded guilty in April 2013 to a superseding indictment that charged conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. That superseding indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury on March 19, 2013, alleged that from July 2011, to on or about June 6, 2012, Hurd conspired to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. It also included a sentencing notice stating that on or about June 6, 2012, Hurd, while on pretrial release, attempted to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and at least 50 kilograms, but less than 100 kilograms, of marijuana.
Two co-defendants, Toby Lujan, 28, and Jesse Tyrone Chavful, 46, have pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug conspiracy. Chavful was sentenced on October 23, 2013, to serve a total of 127 months in federal prison. Lujan is scheduled to be sentenced on January 8, 2014.
The investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Denton Police Department. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Kull and Errin Martin prosecuted.
Former Manager of Gloucester Store SentencedRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Jose Nicholas Alvarado, 35, of Gloucester, Va., was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of, synthetic drugs also known as “Bath Salts” and “Spice.” The synthetic drugs were being sold out of a store called “A Lil Of This N That,” located in Gloucester County, Virginia.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
Alvarado pled guilty on August 13, 2013. According to court documents, Alvarado was employed as store manager at “A Lil Of This N That,” for approximately nine months in 2012. During execution of a search warrant at the store, law enforcement officers recovered a large quantity of synthetic drugs. Alvarado admitted to selling “Bath Salts” and “Spice” to make money and that the drugs were intended for human consumption.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, the Virginia State Police and the Gloucester Sheriff’s Dept. Assistant United States Attorney Eric M. Hurt is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Former Loan Processor Indicted with Husband and Brother in Conspiracy to Defraud California BankRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - An 11-count sealed indictment charging conspiracy and bank fraud has been unsealed following the arrests of area residents Rita “Jessica” Martinez, her husband Gilbert Martinez and her brother Felix Martinez, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
The three were arrested this morning without incident at their residences. They made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Malloy today, at which time they were permitted release upon posting bond. They are set for arraignment on Monday, Nov. 18, at 9:45 a.m.
Rita “Jessica” Martinez, 31, Gilbert Martinez, 35, both of Houston, and Felix Martinez, 37, of New Caney, are charged for their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud Farmers and Merchants Bank of Long Beach, Calif., out of bank loans for themselves and others.
According to allegations in the indictment, Jessica Martinez worked as a loan processor at a Houston area business known variously as Globan Mortgage Company, Casa Milagro and First Milagro. She allegedly submitted falsified loan applications for Gilbert and Felix Martinez and others to Farmers and Merchants Bank. The indictment alleges the defendants completed loan applications containing falsified income information and provided false information about borrowers’ employment, income and assets.
The Indictment also provides notice of the government’s intent to forfeit their interest in the loan proceeds they allegedly obtained as a result of the bank fraud scheme, including a house in New Caney, which was allegedly purchased with loan proceeds from the purported fraud.The maximum penalty, upon conviction, for conspiracy and bank fraud is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
This case is being investigated by the FBI, United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Assistant United States Attorney Belinda Beek is prosecuting.
Former Executive Director of Public Charter School Pleads Guilty to Stealing $29,000 in Funds-Defendant Wrote Series of Checks for Personal Benefit-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Monique S. Murdock, 44, the former executive director of Nia Community Public Charter School, pled guilty today to a federal theft charge stemming from the embezzlement of $29,000 in funds meant for the school.
As part of her guilty plea, Murdock also admitted making unauthorized purchases with a government-issued purchase card while she worked for another employer in Virginia.
The guilty plea was announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Charles J. Willoughby, Inspector General for the District of Columbia; Steven Anderson, Special Agent in Charge, Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Education, and Robert E. Craig, Special Agent in Charge of the Mid-Atlantic Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).
Murdock, of Fort Washington, Md., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of theft from a program receiving federal funds. The Honorable Richard J. Leon scheduled sentencing for Feb. 26, 2014. Under the plea agreement, Murdock must pay criminal forfeiture and restitution. Under the voluntary federal sentencing guidelines, she faces six to 12 months of incarceration.
According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, Murdock was a co-founder of Nia Community Public Charter School and its executive director from June 2006 through October 2008. As the executive director of the Northeast Washington school, she had the primary responsibility of overseeing its fiscal management.
Public charter schools are independently-operated public schools that are open to all District of Columbia residents. Enrollment is on a space-available basis. Public charter schools receive public funds based on the number of students they enroll. Nia Community Public Charter School, for example, received funding through the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board as well as through the U.S. Department of Education.
Between July 2006 and August 2008, the school received more than $3.3 million from the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board. The school also received more than $548,000 from the U.S. Department of Education during the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years.
From March 2008 through August 2008, Murdock signed five checks on the school’s account, totaling $29,000, and converted them to her own personal use and benefit.
The theft charge involved the money stolen from the charter school.
The guilty plea also resolves a criminal investigation in Virginia. After separating from the school, Murdock was hired in August 2009 as a Child Youth and School Services Assistant Director by the Cody Development Center in Fort Myer, Va. In this position, she was provided with a government purchase card that was to be used for buying work-related items.
As part of her plea, Murdock admitted that from February 2012 through December 2012 while employed by the Cody Development Center, she used her government purchase card to make $11,773 in unauthorized gift card purchases.
Murdock has agreed to pay $29,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Education and another $11,773 to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The theft from Nia Community Public Charter School was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General. The activities at the Cody Development Center were investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Defense.
U.S. Attorney Machen, Acting U.S. Attorney Boente, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, Inspector General Willoughby, and Special Agent in Charge Anderson, and Special Agent in Charge Craig commended the work of those who investigated the matters. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialists Krishawn Graham and Diane Hayes and Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine K. Connelly, who assisted with forfeiture issues. Finally, they thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lionel André, who is prosecuting the case.
13-391Former Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Murder-for-hire SchemeRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. B Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former correctional officer at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to hiring someone to kill his wife’s ex-husband.
Robert W. Jones, 43, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to using a telephone with the intent that a murder be committed for payment.
According to court documents, Jones contacted an inmate at the federal medical center while he was employed as a correctional officer. Jones asked him to assist in hiring a hit man to murder his wife’s ex-husband (referred to as “John Doe” in public court documents). Jones was aware that the inmate had been in a leadership position in a drug-trafficking organization, an affidavit says, and had connections to individuals who could carry out such a request.
The inmate, who was cooperating with investigators, met with Jones for 10 to 15 private conversations in March and April 2012. Jones offered to give the inmate a cell phone to call a hit man, avoiding the possibility of the conversation being recorded if the call were placed on a landline at the prison.
As a part of a routine quarterly personnel shift at the medical center, Jones was moved to a different unit and was therefore unable to meet with the inmate for a period of time. The inmate later reestablished contact with Jones after being moved to a cell in the same unit that Jones was assigned. They met again on June 21, 2012, the first day they were in the unit at the same time. They had multiple meetings during July 2012, with Jones standing outside the inmate’s jail cell and speaking to him through an opening in the door. All the meetings were captured on the unit’s surveillance system. During one of those meetings, Jones told the inmate that his wife had left him and took all their belongings except the couch, television and bills, and he blamed John Doe for his wife’s departure.
An undercover FBI agent posed as a hit man named Chuey, and the inmate gave Jones a telephone number to contact Chuey. Jones contacted Chuey and made arrangements to meet in the food court located inside the Battlefield Mall in Springfield. At that meeting, Jones told the undercover agent he would pay him $1,500 to murder John Doe and provided the undercover agent with a photograph of John Doe, his home address, and $1,500 in cash. At the conclusion of the meeting, Jones was arrested.
Under federal statutes, Jones is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners Special Investigative Support, the FBI and the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General.Former Bucks County Company VP Charged in Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
Steven A. Cohen, 53, of Virginia, was charged today by Information with one count of visa fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Cohen had been the Vice-President of Operations at Land Tech, Enterprises, a landscaping company in Bucks County. He made a material misstatement on immigration documents so that the company could improperly obtain visas for workers from Mexico to do landscaping work for the company.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the Department of State, and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laurie Magid.
Click here to view the indictment
An Indictment or Information 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, 215-861-8525Former Banker Pleads Guilty to Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Daniel Mumbower, 35, a former banker, of Glassboro, NJ, pleaded guilty today to two counts of bank fraud and one count of receiving bribes by a bank employee for his role in a scheme that defrauded lenders of nearly $3 million. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 11, 2014. Mumbower worked as a financial specialist at Wachovia Bank in Sicklerville, New Jersey, from April 2005 through April 2008. In mid-2006, Mumbower met a corrupt loan broker, Gerald Cathie (charged elsewhere), who began bringing clients’ applications for lines of credit to Mumbower for submission to Wachovia. Through Cathie, Mumbower met Simon Aouad (charged elsewhere). Aouad also brought others’ loan applications to Mumbower. Mumbower realized that the applications Cathie and Aouad brought him contained false income and employment information and were supported by false documentation, such as false tax returns, but he processed the applications anyway. Mumbower earned a commission from Wachovia Bank for each loan that closed. Mumbower paid Cathie and Aouad a commission out of the proceeds of the loan, which was against bank policy, and Cathie paid Mumbower a cash kickback of approximately $200 per approved loan. Aouad, also, paid Mumbower kickbacks totaling approximately $10,000. The defendant processed a regular, weekly stream of fraudulent loan applications brought to him by Cathie and Aouad. Most applications were for lines of credit totaling between $50,000 and $100,000.
Mumbower received several thousand dollars in kickbacks from both Cathie and Aouad for assisting them in obtaining lines of credit for others. Most of the loans were unsecured business lines of credit. The borrowers defaulted. The total intended loss for the fraudulent lines of credit was approximately $765,000. During the same time frame, Mumbower met John Lucidi, charged elsewhere, a corrupt mortgage broker working in West Chester and Newtown Square. Lucidi was orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme in which he and others, including Aouad, found buyers to apply for mortgages to purchase real estate located mostly in North Wildwood, New Jersey. With the knowledge of Lucidi, Aouad, and others, but unbeknownst to the lenders, the buyers applied for the mortgages using false and fraudulent income and asset information and received tens of thousands of dollars in undisclosed kickback payments for purchasing the properties. At the request of Aouad and Lucidi, Mumbower provided false verifications of deposit (VODs) purporting to show that the mortgage applicants had tens of thousands of dollars in Wachovia Bank accounts. These false VODs were provided to the mortgage lenders, including Wells Fargo Bank, PNC Bank, and others, in support of mortgage applications to purchase real estate located in West Chester, Pennsylvania; North Wildwood, New Jersey; and Boston, Massachusetts. In exchange for providing the false VODs, Aouad paid Mumbower $5,000 cash. Many of the properties purchased using the false verifications of deposits supplied by Mumbower went into default, and the lenders lost approximately $2 million.
The defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 90 years of imprisonment, five years of supervised release, a $3 million fine, and a $300 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and the United States Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nancy E. Potts.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Former Albuquerque Police Department Officer Arrested on Federal Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Nelson Begay, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M., was arrested this afternoon on a criminal complaint charging him with receiving and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Shortly before his arrest, Begay resigned from his position as an officer of the Albuquerque Police Department. Begay is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court tomorrow morning.
The arrest was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, and New Mexico Attorney General Gary K. King.
According to the criminal complaint, in Sept. 2013, a special agent with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office (NMAGO) identified an IP address that was being used share files containing child pornography while conducting an investigation targeting those who share child pornography on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Subsequent investigation revealed that the IP address was subscribed to Begay at a residential address in northeast Albuquerque.
The criminal complaint states that on Nov. 7, 2013, HSI and other agencies participating in the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force executed a federal search warrant at Begay’s residence and seized computers and computer-related media. A preliminary forensic examination of a laptop computer taken from a bedroom allegedly used by Begay recovered more than 30 images consistent with child pornography.
If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Begay faces a federal prison term of not less than five years and not more than 20 years. If convicted, Begay also would be required to register as a sex offender. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.HSI Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, expressed his appreciation to Chief Allen Banks of the Albuquerque Police Department for the Department’s cooperation in the investigation of this case.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI and the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The Operation also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
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Indictment
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Florida Man, George Potter, Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
GEORGE POTTER, 27, of Gulf Breeze, Florida, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman to crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
According to court documents, following an investigation by the Louisiana State Police and the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), POTTER was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 20, 2013 for Distribution of Child Pornography.
POTTER will be sentenced on February 26, 2014 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five (5) years and a maximum penalty of twenty (20) years, followed by up to a lifetime term of supervised release, and a $250,000.00 fine.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
This case was investigated by special agents from the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Strike Force Chief and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.
(Download Factual Basis )
Disbarred Canadian Attorney Sentenced to Five Years for Unclaimed Funds Fraud Scheme He Ran in CincinnatiRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
CINCINNATI – L. Gino Boggia, 63, of Quebec, Canada was sentenced to 60 months in prison for engaging in a scheme to defraud a local bank in connection with dormant bank account funds.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation Cincinnati Field Office (FBI) announced the sentence handed down today by Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott.
According to court documents, Boggia is a disbarred Canadian attorney who engaged in two related fraud schemes in the Southern District of Ohio to attempt to fraudulently acquire funds of dormant, unclaimed bank accounts that have been escheated (turned over) to the state of Ohio by financial institutions.
In the first scheme in May 2003, Boggiafalsely claimed to represent the account holder who was hospital-bound and in urgent need of surgery with life-threatening injuries. Further investigation found that the client Boggia claimed to represent had died 20 years earlier. In the second scheme Boggiafalsely claimed to represent a creditor of the account holder who was seeking to obtain a judgment against the account holder.
Like the first scheme, the attempted fraud was discovered before any funds were paid out. The amount of dormant account funds Boggia fraudulently attempted to obtain in this second scheme, which included the amount the dormant funds plus claimed accrued interest over several years, totaled $1,310, 670.06.
Boggia was indicted in Cincinnati in 2007. He was extradited from Canada earlier this year following completion of a sentence there on similar charges.
Boggia pleaded guilty in June 2013 to one count of bank fraud. Boggia was also sentenced to 12 months in prison for violating his supervised release imposed after his prior federal conviction on similar charges in California. The sentences will run concurrently.
Boggia was also ordered to pay restitution of $247,159.25.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the FBI and Senior Litigation Counsel Anne Porter, who represented the United States in the case.
###Coeur D’Alene Man Sentenced for Unlawfully Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
COEUR D’ALENE – Kalum McPhedran, 29, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to eight months in prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered McPhedran to serve three years of supervised release and to forfeit the firearm he unlawfully possessed. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 20, 2013.
According to the plea agreement, McPhedran admitted that on January 15, 2013, he unlawfully possessed a Remington 12 gauge shotgun, knowing that he was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior felony conviction in 2010 for possession of a controlled substance.
The case was investigated by the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force (NIVCTF). NIVCTF members include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, Bonner County Sheriff's Office, Coeur d'Alene Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, and Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police. The NIVCTF investigates a myriad of violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping, felonious assault and drug trafficking.
The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
City of Shreveport Agrees to $342 Million Sewer System Upgrade to Comply with Clean Water ActRead the Press Release
The city of Shreveport, La., has agreed to make significant upgrades to reduce overflows from its sanitary sewer system and pay a $650,000 civil penalty to resolve Clean Water Act (CWA) violations stemming from illegal discharges of raw sewage, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The state of Louisiana, a co-plaintiff in this case, will receive half of the civil penalty.
When wastewater systems overflow, they can release raw sewage and other pollutants, threatening water quality and potentially contributing to disease outbreaks. To come into compliance with the CWA, the city estimates it will spend approximately $342 million over the next 12 years in order to improve the sewer system’s condition. While the city upgrades the system, it will also implement a program for capacity management, operation, and maintenance to help reduce sanitary sewer overflows.
“The key provisions of this settlement will eliminate overflows of raw sewage in neighborhoods that have for too long been subject to these contaminated overflows,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Dreher. “These provisions are critical to protecting the public health of all citizens of Shreveport.”
“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to assisting our federal partners and the state in protecting the environment and public health,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley. “Sewer overflows are a public health hazard. The citizens of Shreveport are the beneficiaries of this settlement, which will eliminate these overflows.”
“Keeping these discharges out of our waterways is a priority for the EPA and the state of Louisiana,” said EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry. “The residents of Shreveport deserve clean water and reliable infrastructure, and this agreement will help achieve that.”
The Justice Department, on behalf of the EPA, filed a complaint against the city alleging that, since 2005, the city has had untreated sewage overflows from its sanitary sewer system in violation of the CWA and state-issued discharge permits. The cause of these illegal overflows stems largely from the city’s failure to properly operate and maintain the condition of the sewer system, resulting in discharges of untreated sewage into local waterways and the community.
Shreveport’s wastewater collection and treatment system, including the Lucas and North Regional waste water treatment plants, serves approximately 220,000 people in an environmental justice area.
Keeping raw sewage out of the community and the waters of the United States is a national priority for EPA, as sewage overflows can present a significant threat to human health and the environment. These discharges can degrade water quality, spread bacteria and viruses, and cause diseases ranging from gastroenteritis to life-threatening conditions such as cholera and dysentery.
The settlement, which will be lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, is subject to a 30-day public comment period before the court can give final approval and enter the consent decree as final judgment, at which time it will become effective. The proposed consent decree can be viewed online at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
More information about the settlement: www2.epa.gov/enforcement/city-shreveport-settlement
More information about EPA’s national enforcement initiative: www.epa.gov/compliance/data/planning/initiatives/2011sewagestormwater.html
More information about Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Plans: cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/integratedplans.cfm
City of Sweetwater Mayor and Lobbyist Plead Guilty in Corruption InvestigationRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that Manuel L. Maroño, 41, the former Mayor of the City of Sweetwater and Jorge L. Forte, 41, a lobbyist, both of Miami, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, for their participation in a scheme to personally benefit through the use of Maroño’s position as Mayor of Sweetwater.
Sentencing has been scheduled for January 23, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch. At sentencing, Maroño and Forte face a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “Today, the former Mayor of Sweetwater admitted under oath in court that he sold the power granted to him by the people of Sweetwater. It is vitally important that the people of South Florida have confidence in their elected officials and know that any abuse of their trust will not be tolerated. I hope that today’s timely resolution and guilty plea will make others think twice before lining their pockets with the greed of corruption.”
“Corrupt officials – either elected or appointed - are on notice; if they breach the public’s trust through stealing or accepting bribes in the course of their official duties, they will be vigorously investigated,” said Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “Public corruption remains a top priority for the FBI. We encourage anyone who may have information about corruption to come forward and report it. This information is vital to our work.”
On October 17, 2013, Maroño and Forte were charged by way of information with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ' 371.
According to the facts admitted at today’s guilty plea and publically available information, Maroño was the elected Mayor of the City of Sweetwater. In his elected position, Maroño served as the chief executive officer of the City of Sweetwater and was responsible for the management and administration of the city government. Forte, a lifelong friend of Maroño, was a lobbyist and business partner of Maroño.
Maroño and Forte admitted today that beginning in late November 2011, they agreed to aid a company known as Sunshine Universal to obtain federal grant funds for the stated reason of preparing an economic development study for Sweetwater, all in exchange for cash kickbacks to Maroño and Forte. Unknown to Maroño and Forte, Sunshine Universal was an undercover FBI entity. To aid the scheme, Maroño caused the passage of a resolution in Sweetwater that authorized the undercover agents’ company to apply for federal grant moneys using the authority of the City of Sweetwater. After the resolution was passed, Maroño and Forte personally met and negotiated with the undercover agents and accepted a series of cash payments in exchange for Maroño’s official actions in support of the grant scheme. During these negotiations and meetings, Forte acted as the front man for Maroño.
To further the scheme and avoid detection, Maroño also participated in what he believed to be audit telephone calls from the federal government to confirm the grantees’ performance on the grant. During two separate audit calls, both of which were recorded, Maroño lied to and misled the auditor, who was in fact an undercover FBI agent, about the actual use of the grant money and the grantee’s performance. For their corrupt actions, Maroño and Forte received $45,000. Both defendants have agreed to forfeit all of the monies they received as part of their plea agreements.
Mr. Ferrer commends the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force. This case is being prosecuted Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared E. Dwyer and Robert K. Senior.
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.
Cicero Gear Manufacturing Firm Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Clean Water Act and Agrees to Pay $1.5 Million FineRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A suburban Cicero gear manufacturing company pleaded guilty today to illegally discharging industrial wastewater into the public sewer system and agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine. The defendant company, BRAD FOOTE GEAR WORKS, INC., began cooperating and taking remedial water treatment measures after federal environmental agents executed a search warrant in February 2011.
Brad Foote Gear Works pleaded guilty to one count of violating the federal Clean Water Act on at least 300 separate days between April 2007 and February 2011. The company, which manufactures precision gear parts for wind turbines, among other things, admitted illegally discharging spent acid wastewater and spent alkaline wastewater, industrial rinse waters, acidic solutions, oil, grease, and metal-bearing wastewater into the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago sewer system without a permit. The wastewater was received at the MWRDGC’s Stickney Water Reclamation Plant in southwest Chicago, where it was treated and discharged into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
The company, located at 1309 South Cicero Ave., in Cicero, entered the guilty plea at its arraignment in U.S. District Court after being charged in September. U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., set sentencing for Feb. 19, 2014.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, which remains subject to court approval, Brad Foote will pay a $1.5 million fine in three $500,000 installments over three years. The fine is based on a mandatory minimum fine of $5,000 per day of violation, for a total of $1.5 million. The company faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years’ probation and a maximum fine of $500,000, twice the gross gain or loss, or $50,000 per violation, whichever is greater. The Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Randall Ashe, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Criminal Enforcement in Chicago.
“To protect public health and our nation’s waterways, it is critical that industries treat their wastes safely and legally before sending them into the public sewers,” Mr. Ashe said. “For years, the defendant knowingly broke the law by allowing untreated industrial waste ― including corrosive liquids ― to be discharged into the public sewer system without a permit. Today’s guilty plea shows that those who engage in such conduct will be prosecuted.”
Following the search of its premises in February 2011, the company began cooperating and implementing protocols to ensure the proper discharge and disposal of industrial wastewater from its facility. As a result, the government did not seek a court-imposed corporate compliance agreement.
According to the plea agreement, Brad Foote’s manufacturing operations included a nital etch line, in which finished parts were dipped into a series of tanks containing caustic cleaners, rinse waters, and nitric acid and hydrochloric acid solutions. The etching acids and caustic cleaners of the nital etch line generally exhibited impermissibly low acidic solutions and impermissibly high alkaline solutions and, over time, those solutions and rinse waters became “spent,” meaning they lost their effectiveness and needed to be replaced.
Beginning in 2004, the company’s then chief executive officer and the manager of the nital etch line created a piping system that allowed untreated wastewater to be discharged into the public sewer system. The discharged wastewater from acid and alkaline tanks generally exhibited a pH of less than 2.0 or greater than 10.5. A second source of illegal discharge involved the company’s “Superfinish” process that used chemicals and abrasive sand-like material to smooth and polish gear parts. As a significant industrial user, Brad Foote was required to have a valid discharge authorization permit to discharge these wastewaters into the sewer system. Brad Foote knew that it did not have, and never applied for, a discharge authorization permit.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Flanagan. The case was investigated by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division.
Plea Agreement
Bryn Mawr Realtor Pleads Guilty to Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
Randall Stein, 55, of Bryn Mawr, PA pleaded guilty today to three counts of filing a false tax return for the years 2006, 2007, and 2008. Stein is the co-founder and former President of WP Realty, Inc. Stein founded WP Realty (formerly known as Weingarten Properties) with Bryan Weingarten in 1995. WP Realty is a Bryn Mawr, PA based commercial real estate company that specializes in the acquisition, development, leasing and management of grocery store-anchored shopping centers. Weingarten, 53, of Ardmore, PA, is the co-founder and CEO of WP Realty.
According to the informations filed separately against Stein and Weingarten, the defendants established the partnership entities of Stein Realty Capital, LP and Weingarten Capital, LP, as repositories for fee income earned through their employment with WP Realty. These partnerships had no business relationship to the fees earned, no operating expenses, and no employees. Both men used these partnerships as a means to deduct personal expenses, thereby reducing their taxable income on their personal income tax returns.
For the years 2006 through 2008, Weingarten filed tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service claiming approximately $5.5 million in false business expenses for his company, Weingarten Captial, LP, in an attempt to reduce his federal income tax liability. Weingarten knew that these were in fact personal expenditures. Weingarten pleaded guilty on April 10, 2013 to three counts of filing false tax returns for the tax years 2006, 2007, and 2008.
For the years 2006 through 2008, Stein filed tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service claiming approximately $334,499 in false business expenses for his company, Stein Realty Capital, LP, in an attempt to reduce his federal income tax liability. Stein knew that these expenses were personal in nature.
Stein will be sentenced on February 18, 2014, before the Honorable Legrome D. Davis, Jr., United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He faces a maximum sentence of nine years imprisonment. A sentencing date has not yet been set for Weingarten. He also faces a maximum sentence of nine years imprisonment.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney A. Nicole Phillips and Special Assistant United States Attorney Tiwana Fleming of United States Department of Justice, Tax Division.Click here to view the indictment
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Attorney General Eric Holder Announces First Public Hearing of Task Force to Examine Impact of Violence on American Indian and Alaska Native ChildrenRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the first public hearing of a new task force to examine the impact of exposure to violence on American Indian and Alaska Native children. Joining President Obama and other officials at the Department of the Interior for the White House Tribal Nations Conference, Attorney General Holder shared the announcement with leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes and emphasized the Justice Department’s long-standing collaboration with leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve public safety.
“We must not accept the shameful reality that American Indians and Alaska Natives are disproportionately likely to be exposed to crime and violence – and that many who suffer exposure are children,” said Attorney General Holder. “By bringing together federal officials, tribal leaders, and local partners to focus on the unique challenges that Indian children face, this task force will enhance public safety. And these leaders will strengthen our communities by ensuring that every child can have the opportunity to learn, to grow, and to thrive – free from violence and fear.”
This task force is anchored by both a federal working group that includes U.S. Attorneys and officials from the Departments of the Interior and Justice and an advisory committee of experts appointed to examine the scope and impact of violence facing American Indian and Alaska Native children and make policy recommendations to Attorney General Holder on ways to address it.
The advisory committee will convene four public hearings across the country beginning in Bismarck, N.D., Dec. 9, focusing on violence in children’s homes, schools and communities in Indian country. Associate Attorney General Tony West will join the task force at the first hearing in Bismarck. The other hearings will be held in Phoenix, Ariz., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Anchorage, Alaska early in 2014.
The advisory committee will be co-chaired by former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan and Iroquois composer and singer Joanne Shenandoah. They will be aided by tribal members and national experts on American Indian studies, child health and trauma, and child welfare and law. There are currently 12 advisory committee members:• Dolores Subia Bigfoot, Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, Director, Indian Child Trauma Center, University of Oklahoma
• Rear Admiral Eric Broderick, former Deputy Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Eddie Brown, Pasqua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O’odham Nation, Executive Director of the American Indian Policy Institute and Professor of American Indian Studies, Arizona State University
• Valerie Davidson, Orutsararmiut Native Council Member and Senior Director, Legal and Intergovernmental Affairs, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
• The Hon. Byron Dorgan, Chairman, Board of Advisors, Center for Native American Youth; former U.S. Senator and chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
• Anita Fineday, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Director, Indian Child Welfare, Casey Family Programs
• Matthew Fletcher, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Director, Indigenous Law and Policy Center, Michigan State University
• Alicia Lieberman, Director, Child Trauma Research Program, University of California at San Francisco
• Joanne Shenandoah, Iroquois, composer and musical artist
• Chaske Spencer, Lakota, actor
• Ron Whitener, Squaxin Island Tribe, Executive Director, Native American Law Center, University of Washington School of Law
• Marilyn J. Bruguier Zimmerman, Assiniboine-Sioux/Fort Peck Reservation, Director, National Native Children’s Trauma Center, University of Montana
This new task force is a key part of Attorney General Holder’s Defending Childhood initiative to prevent and reduce children’s trauma from experiencing violence as victims or witnesses. The task force was created in response to a recommendation in the Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence December 2012 final report. The report noted that American Indian and Alaska Native children have an exceptional degree of unmet needs for services and support to prevent and respond to the extreme levels of violence they experience.
For more information about the Defending Childhood initiative, please visit www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood.
To submit oral or written testimony to the committee, please contact the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s technical assistance provider to the committee, at [email protected]; or 323-650-5467.Atlantic, Iowa, Resident Sentenced to 46 Months for Possession of A Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA- On November 12, 2013, Gregory Allen Jennings, a 42 year-old resident of Atlantic, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge John Jarvey to 46 months in prison for possessing a stolen firearm, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Judge Jarvey also ordered Jennings to serve three years of supervised release when he completes his imprisonment.
On November 12, 2013, Jennings pled guilty to knowingly possessing a stolen firearm. The charge was the result of an investigation into firearms which were stolen from a vehicle in Atlantic, Iowa, in January of 2013. The investigation revealed that Jennings had received the firearm shortly after it was stolen, and was attempting to sell the firearm when it was located by law enforcement.
The investigation was conducted by the Atlantic, Iowa, Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Allen Locke Pleads Not Guilty to Failing to Register as Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Allen Locke, 64, a New Hampshire native who moved to Vermont in early 2013, pleaded not guilty today in United States District Court in Burlington to a charge that he travelled in interstate commerce without updating his registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy released Locke on conditions, which includes house arrest, pending trial. Locke’s trial has not been scheduled.
According to court records, Locke was convicted in New Hampshire in 1984 of aggravated sexual assault. That conviction requires him to register as a sex offender with officials of any state where he resides or to which he moves. In early 2013, after being released from prison in Massachusetts, Locke moved to Vermont. However, he did not register as a sex offender with Vermont officials until late October 2013. Under federal law, when a sex offender moves from one state to another, he has three days to update his registration. On November 7, 2013, a federal grand jury in Burlington returned a one-count indictment charging Locke with failing to timely register as a sex offender after moving to Vermont.
The United States Attorney emphasizes that the charge against Locke is merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.
If convicted, Locke faces up to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence would be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Office of Inspector General of the Veterans Administration.
Locke is represented by Federal Public Defender Michael Desautels. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.
Alleged Leader of Mexican Narcotics <br /> Trafficking Organization Extradited to U.S.Read the Press Release
The alleged leader of a Mexican narcotics trafficking organization responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine, Juan Juarez Orosco, aka “El Abuelo,” was extradited to the United States from Panama on Nov. 8, 2013, and arraigned on Nov. 10, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom in the Eastern District of New York.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch of the Eastern District of New York, Special Agent in Charge James T. Hayes Jr. of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) and Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Division made the announcement.
According to court documents, from the early 1990s until his arrest by Panamanian law enforcement in March 2012, Juarez allegedly led a large-scale maritime and land transportation operation that was responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Central America via ship to the coast of Mexico. Once the cocaine arrived in Mexico, Juarez and his co-conspirators would transport the cocaine from the coast to Mexico City, where it was then destined for the United States. Throughout the 2000s, Juarez allegedly worked with major narcotics traffickers based in Colombia and Mexico, including the Norte Valle Cartel, the Beltran-Leyva Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel. Through the mid-2000s, Juarez’s organization allegedly transported at least 35,000 kilograms of cocaine for the Beltran-Leyva organization alone. At the height of its activity, Juarez’s organization allegedly transported approximately eight tons a month in conjunction with the Sinaloa Cartel.
“As alleged in the indictment, Juarez’s trafficking organization was responsible for the importation of massive quantities of cocaine, across oceans and continents, into the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman. “Juarez’s arrest and extradition are a testament to the tenacity of law enforcement officers across the world, and show what we can accomplish when we work together with our partners around the globe to capture major drug traffickers and bring them to justice.”
“There is no escape from the reach of the law, no matter where drug kingpins operate their poisonous trade,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch. “Juan Juarez Orosco may have operated an international drug trafficking network that stretched across the Western Hemisphere, but today he faces justice in a courtroom in Brooklyn. Thanks to our law enforcement partners in Panama, today’s extradition also shows that there is no safe haven for drug traffickers on the run.”
Juarez was indicted on March 15, 2012, and charged with international narcotics importation and distribution conspiracy. If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison.The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by ICE HSI and DEA. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Adrian Rosales of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gina M. Parlovecchio and Tiana Demas of the Eastern District of New York, with the assistance of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Criminal Copyright InfringementRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Johnson Augustus Powell, 53, of Huntsville, Ala., pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik to copyright infringement.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Louisiana State Police stopped Powell’s vehicle August 10, 2011 on Interstate 10. During a search of the vehicle, State Police found 1,463 counterfeit DVD movies and 1,225 counterfeit music CDs. Powell surrendered the illegal materials and admitted that he was selling them for profit.On November 30, 2011, a Calcasieu Parish Anti-Drug Team officer stopped Powell’s vehicle on Interstate 10 for a routine traffic violation. After a vehicle search, officers found 1,085 counterfeit DVD movies and 836 counterfeit music CDs. Powell again admitted to making the illegal materials for profit. In January 2012, Powell turned over computer programs and equipment he used to counterfeit the media. On April 4, 2012, a Calcasieu Parish Anti-Drug Team officer again stopped Powell on Interstate 10, and after a search of the vehicle, found 511 counterfeit DVD movies and 423 counterfeit music CDs.
Powell faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release for one count of criminal copyright infringement. A sentencing date was not set.
The Louisiana State Police, Calcasieu Parish Anti-Drug Team and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett L. Grayson is prosecuting the case.
Tuesday 12 November 2013
Weight-Loss Infomercial Pitch-Man Kevin Trudeau Convicted of Criminal ContemptRead the Press Release
CHICAGO ― Author and television pitch-man KEVIN TRUDEAU was convicted today of criminal contempt for violating a 2004 federal court order that prohibited him from making deceptive television infomercials that misrepresented the contents of his weight loss cure book. A federal jury deliberated approximately an hour after a week-long trial in U.S. District Court.
Trudeau, 50, of Oak Brook, had his bond revoked and he was ordered taken into custody by U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman, who set a schedule for post-trial motions but no sentencing date.
Criminal contempt has no statutory maximum sentence. The Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The guilty verdict was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Tony Gómez, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago; and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to the evidence at trial, Trudeau appeared in three television infomercials between December 2006 and November 2007 in which he willfully misrepresented the contents of his book The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About. In April 2010, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman issued an order to show cause why Trudeau should not be held in criminal contempt of a Sept. 2, 2004, settlement in which Trudeau agreed not to directly or indirectly produce and broadcast any deceptive infomercials that misrepresented the contents of any book, including the weight loss cure book. Federal Trade Commission v. Trudeau, No. 03 C 3904.
In closing arguments today, prosecutors listed a litany of blatant lies and misrepresentations made by Trudeau in his infomercials. These included his claims that his book was not a “diet,” when in fact it required at least three weeks of eating 500 calories or less a day, and that a hormone found only in pregnant women that was required to be injected daily could be obtained “anywhere,” when in fact it could be obtained in the United States only through a doctor’s prescription. He also claimed that after finishing the diet, consumers could eat anything they wanted without regaining weight, when in fact the diet required severe food deprivation that lasts for life.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys April Perry and Marc Krickbaum.
Two Sentenced to Federal CustodyIn Separate Firearms CasesRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. Two Topeka men have been sentenced to federal custody in unrelated federal firearms cases, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Tyrone J. Lewis, Sr., 33, was sentenced to 30 months. Matthew L. Hoag, 22, Topeka, was sentenced to six months in a halfway house.
Lewis pleaded guilty on one count of unlawful possession of ammunition after a felony conviction. In his plea, he admitted that on Jan. 19, 2013, he called the Topeka Police Department to report that people were chasing him in a vehicle. When officers arrived in the 1600 block of SW Topeka they found Lewis in the intersection jumping back and forth as if he were avoiding multiple football tackles. Believing him to be under the influence of a narcotic, they placed him under arrest. They found four .45 caliber bullets in a plastic bag in his possession. At the time, he was prohibited from possessing ammunition because of prior felony convictions in Shawnee County District Court for aggravated robbery and attempted criminal possession of a firearm.
Hoag pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. In his plea, he admitted that officers of the Topeka Police Department encountered him on March 21, 2013, after being called to a report of shots fired. Hoag was riding in the back seat of a car officers stopped in the 1100 block of SW Lincoln. They found him in possession of a .380 caliber handgun. At the time, Hoag was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had been convicted in June 2010 in Jackson County District Court on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.
Grissom commended the Topeka Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hathaway for their work on the cases.
Two Individuals Sentenced in Plot to Conceal and Dispose of Assets in Connection with Rothstein CaseRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announce that Kimberly Wendell Rothstein, 38, and Stacie Weisman, 49, were sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum. Kimberly Rothstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Stacie Weisman was sentenced to three months in prison, to be followed by nine months of home detention and three years of supervised release. Forfeiture of the jewelry valued in excess of one million dollars and $515,000 was also ordered as to both defendants. Both defendants previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and to obstruct justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
Kimberly Rothstein and Stacie Weisman were charged, along with Scott F. Saidel, 45, in September 2012 in connection with certain crimes committed in furtherance of a plot to conceal and dispose of assets which were subject to forfeiture in connection with a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Scott W. Rothstein. At the same time, in September 2012, Eddy Marin, 50, and Patrick Daoud, 54, were also charged in a separate, but related, matter with obstruction of justice and perjury, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1512(k) and 1621.
According to the documents filed with the court, former Ft. Lauderdale attorney Scott W. Rothstein, who was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A. (RRA), used the funds obtained from the operation of a Ponzi scheme to purchase tens of millions of dollars of real estate, vehicles, vessels, business interests, luxury watches, jewelry and sports memorabilia for himself, his wife, Kimberly Rothstein, and others. As part of his plea agreement, Scott W. Rothstein agreed to forfeit to the government all assets acquired with funds derived from the aforesaid Ponzi scheme. On November 9, 2009, agents of the IRS-CI went to the Rothstein residence, where Kimberly Rothstein assisted the agents in retrieving what was believed to be all of the available cash, jewelry and luxury watches which had been purchased by Scott W. Rothstein with proceeds derived from the Ponzi scheme. However, according to court documents, before, during and after the aforesaid seizure by federal agents on November 9, 2009, Kimberly Rothstein, Stacie Weisman, and Scott F. Saidel knowingly took action to conceal certain items of jewelry, valued in excess of one million dollars, for the purpose of preventing the government from exercising its authority to take such property into its lawful custody and control. Thereafter, Kimberly Rothstein and Stacie Weisman sold and attempted to sell a portion of this jewelry to and through various persons, including Eddy Marin and Patrick Daoud.
The documents further allege that, in connection with civil proceedings instituted by the Trustee in bankruptcy for RRA, all of the defendants took steps to obstruct justice by concealing the true location of certain items of jewelry in order to prevent its availability for use in the bankruptcy proceedings. It is further alleged that Marin and Daoud committed perjury during depositions in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings, and that Kimberly Rothstein, Stacie Weisman and Scott F. Saidel sought to have Scott W. Rothstein testify falsely in connection with those proceedings.
Defendant Scott F. Saidel pled guilty on January 30, 2013. He was sentenced on October 7, 2013 to 36 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Defendants Eddy Marin and Patrick Daoud pled guilty on October 18, 2013. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for February 3, 2014.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence LaVecchio, Jeffrey Kaplan, Paul Schwartz and Evelyn Sheehan.
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.
Two Get Lengthy Federal Prison Sentences for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
FORT WORTH, Texas— Latona E. Long, 27, of Greenville, Texas, and Michael M. Bodie, 41, of North Richland Hills, Texas, were sentenced today, by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means, to 120 months, and 108 months, respectively, following their guilty pleas in June 2013 to distribution of child pornography. Bodie was arrested in February 2013, and Long was arrested the following month, on related charges outlined in criminal complaints; they have been in custody since that time. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
According to documents filed in the case, in February 2013, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Bodie’s home, regarding his use of a Yahoo email account that was being used to send and receive images of child pornography. Bodie admitted that he did use that account to send and receive child pornography and that he had corresponded via Yahoo email, with a person, L.L., now known to be Long.
In February 2013, FBI agents and task force officers met with Long at her home regarding her use of a Yahoo email account that was used to send and receive child pornography. Long also said that she had corresponded via Yahoo Instant Messenger with a person she knew as M.B., now known as Bodie, and that during their communications, she sent Bodie an image of child pornography.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem prosecuted.
Two Conspirators Sentenced in Baltimore Reservoir Hill Neighborhood Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Approximately $1 Million Loss
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Kimberly Eileen McMillian, a/k/a Kimberly Simmons and Kimberly Simmons McMillian, age 46, of Baltimore, today to two years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for wire fraud in connection with a fraud scheme involving more than $1 million in fraudulently obtained mortgages. Judge Russell sentenced co-defendant Glenroy E. Day, Sr., age 73, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, to two years’ probation, with the first year to be served in home confinement, and as a special condition ordered Day to perform 200 hours of community service during his second year of probation. Judge Russell entered an order that McMillian and Day pay $1,028.003.20 and $540,000 in restitution, respectively.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Special Agent in Charge Brian Murphy of the United States Secret Service-Baltimore Field Office.
According to her plea, in 2007, McMillian told a man who had bought three houses in Baltimore and had finished renovations on two of them, that she had clients from the New York area who were interested in purchasing the properties. When he agreed to sell, McMillian submitted loan application packages to a loan officer at a mortgage corporation in connection with the three properties, as well as a fourth property. The four loan application packages were subsequently approved.
The government’s investigation revealed that virtually all of the information submitted in the four loan packages was false. In two cases, the purported buyers were individuals who had already returned to their home countries or planned to do so in the near future; the other two “buyers” listed on the loan applications were either stolen or fictitious identities. In none of the four cases was there a real individual who actually intended to live in the properties and make the mortgage payments on them. Moreover, the representations made and the supporting documentation provided on each loan application relating to the employment, income, and financial assets for each purchaser were likewise false.
McMillian arranged to have Day, an unlicensed appraiser, prepare the appraisal reports on all four properties because she knew he would provide an appraisal at the specific contract price without regard to the actual condition or value of the property. For two properties located at 2243 Madison Avenue and 2359 McCulloh Avenue, Day admitted that he falsely represented that both properties had been recently upgraded and renovated. Day further admitted that these two appraisals also included interior photographs that were actually taken in completely different and thoroughly renovated houses. Day’s appraisals indicated that each of the four appraisals had been reviewed and approved by a licensed appraiser, but the individual specified has denied that he saw or reviewed any of the four appraisals.
Based on the false information provided relating to the four “buyers” and the condition and market value of the properties, the mortgage company agreed to extend financing on each of the four properties, totaling $1.094 million in all.McMillian received a total of approximately $278,000 from the four transactions at the closings, although she in turn transferred $122,000 of the settlement proceeds to another individual and an associate’s business checking account. Day received approximately $2,000 which he had charged for preparing the four appraisals.
Following the closings, the mortgage on each property soon went into default. Typically, either no mortgage payments were made at all, or only a couple of payments were made.
The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established to unify the agencies that regulate and investigate mortgage fraud and promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of mortgage fraud schemes. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from fraud and promote the integrity of the credit markets. Information about mortgage fraud prosecutions is available www.justice.gov/usao/md/Mortgage Fraud/index.html.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI and U.S. Secret Service for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Jefferson M. Gray, who prosecuted the case.