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31 December 2013
Colorado Health Care Organization and One of Its Montana Hospitals to Pay $3.85 Million for <br /> Allegedly Providing Financial Benefits to Referring Physicians and Physician GroupsRead the Press Release
St. James Healthcare (St. James), a hospital located in Butte, Mont., and its parent company, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System (Sisters of Charity), a health care organization based in Denver, Colo., have agreed to pay $3.85 million to resolve allegations that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law and the False Claims Act by improperly providing financial benefits to physicians and physician groups that made referrals to the hospital, the Justice Department announced today.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits the provision of remuneration with the intent to induce referrals of government health care program business. The Stark Law restricts financial relationships that hospitals may enter into with physicians who refer patients to them. Federal law prohibits payment by federal health care programs of medical claims that result from arrangements that violate the Anti-Kickback Statute or the Stark Law.
“Improper financial arrangements between hospitals and physicians not only undermine the integrity of the decisions that doctors make, they raise the cost of health care for all of us,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “The department has longstanding concerns about such conduct and is committed to working with health care providers that come forward to disclose their misconduct.”The settlement announced today resolves allegations that St. James and Sisters of Charity provided various improper financial incentives to physicians and physician groups that were involved in a joint venture with St. James to own and operate a medical office building on the St. James campus. These incentives included a payment to the joint venture that increased the share values for the physicians and physician groups in the joint venture and resulted in below fair market value lease rates for the physicians renting space in the medical office building. Additional incentives provided by St. James and Sisters of Charity included below fair market value lease rates for the land upon which the medical office building was constructed and other below fair market value arrangements related to shared facilities, use and maintenance. These issues were disclosed by St. James and Sisters of Charity to the government.
“This matter is of great significance to Montanans because it helps ensure federal health care programs deliver services in a cost-effective and efficient manner,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael W. Cotter. “We are encouraged that hospitals like St. James Healthcare are taking these issues seriously by reviewing their operations and making disclosures to the government where necessary.”
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The partnership between the two departments has focused on efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $17 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $12.2 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This case was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana, the Department of Justice Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
30 December 2013
United States Attorney's Office Recovers $94,000,000 in Fiscal Year 2013 - A Record for this DistrictRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that the Western District of New York Office secured the highest amount of money for a given year in the Office’s history. Specifically, in Fiscal Year 2013, the Office recovered $94,220,047 as a result of wide-ranging efforts in criminal, civil and forfeiture cases. This money was used to repay victims of crime, provided as aid to law enforcement agencies, and in largest part, provided to taxpayers as a result of being transmitted to the United States Treasury.
In making the historic announcement, U.S. Attorney Hochul praised the hard work and dedication of Office attorneys and support staff that sought not only to put convicted defendants in jail, but took the profit out of crime in a more literal sense. “This Office strives mightily to protect the public from those who would cause it harm. From violent gang members to child predators, cyber criminals, and major fraudsters, we seek to ensure that the worst of the worst are identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But our Office also protects taxpayers. By using civil law and forfeiture, we recover money that helps repay victims of crime, aids local law enforcement, and fills the American Treasury. In other words, we don’t just take the profit out of crime, we use it for the public good.”
U.S. Attorney Hochul stated that in order to put the $94 million recovered by his Office into proper perspective for the public, the recovered money represents more than nine times the amount of money it took to operate the entire United States Attorney’s Office for the year. “Because our budget is approximately $10 million,” said Hochul, “the recovered money in reality means taxpayers spent nothing for the protection and safety provided by this Office, and still also obtained an additional $84 million in money it did not anticipate receiving through other means.”
As for how the record recoveries came about, the Office collected $75,146,101 in criminal and civil actions. Criminal actions, which include fines and restitution, totaled $20,142,677.26, $20,004,017 of which was returned to victims of crime. The Office also collected $55,003,424 in civil actions, which include proceedings involving health care fraud, government fraud, foreclosures and more.
In addition, the Office collected $19,073,946 in criminal and civil forfeitures. Forfeitures generally involve proceeds of crime, as well as property used to commit crime. Of that amount, $3,481,607 was shared with state and local law enforcement partners who work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice.Hochul also stated that in the four years of the current administration, the amount of money recovered by the Office exceeded $208,900,000. This is a result of the Office recovering in Fiscal Year 2010, $31,800,000, in 2011, $29,300,000, and in 2012, $53,600,000.
Beyond recovering money, Hochul also reported that 109 dangerous firearms, along with ammunition, and 56 computers were forfeited in FY 2013.
In addition to the $94,220,047 collected locally, Hochul also noted that the WDNY worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional amount of over $534,500,000.00 in cases pursued jointly with these offices including:
The following cases are an example of a successful forfeiture and affirmative civil enforcement concluded this past year in the Western District of New York:
United States vs. Zaveri: Ashvin Zaveri of Honeoye Falls, N.Y. was indicted on 16 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Between April 2003 and March 2009, Zaveri was accused of defrauding investors who had invested approximately $35,000,000 in Aoil and natural gas exploration partnerships in Tennessee and Kentucky through his company Zaveri Oil & Gas, Ltd. Over 40 partnerships were offered for investment by Zaveri. The defendant died on August 27, 2010, a week before his plea was scheduled and the criminal case was abated. As a result, the United States government filed a civil forfeiture complaint against 11.5 million dollars in life insurance proceeds, $541,395.06 contained in an M&T Bank account and other assets as property involved in the offense or traceable to the entire Ponzi scheme. The government forfeited $8,938,322.93, most of which was returned to victims.
United States vs. Ista Pharmaceuticals:
ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. paid $33,500,000 to resolve criminal liability and false claims act allegations. The company was convicted of conspiracy to introduce a misbranded drug into interstate commerce and conspiracy to pay illegal remuneration in violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute for misbranding the drug Xibrom, an anti-inflammatory drug approved by the FDA used to treat pain and inflammation following cataract surgery. Ista employees promoted Xibrom for unapproved new uses.
United States vs. Gizzi:
In July 2013, John P. Gizzi was convicted of filing false tax returns in 2008 and 2009. In addition, a corporation owned by Gizzi, Rochester Machinery Suppliers, Inc., was convicted of aiding and abetting the preparation of a false tax return. The defendant paid $1,901,633 in criminal restitution for taxes he owed and forfeited $1,500,000 to the Government in a related proceeding brought by the United States Attorney's Office. Rochester Machinery Suppliers, Inc., Gizzi's corporation paid a $500,000 fine for its role in assisting Gizzi's tax crimes. Finally, the defendant paid $7,623,431 to settle related civil claims with the Internal Revenue Service. This brings the total paid by Gizzi to the Government to $11,525,064.
The following is an example of a case that the Western District of New York worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Justice Department to bring to a successful conclusion:United States vs. Countrywide Mortgage:
The Affirmative Civil Enforcement and Asset Forfeiture Financial Litigation units participated in a shared recovery of $335,194.878.10 between the Civil Rights Division of Main Justice, along with numerous other districts across the country in a settlement in the United States vs. Countrywide case. This settlement resolved allegations that Countrywide Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries engaged in a widespread pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in their mortgage lending from 2004 through 2008. The settlement provides compensation for victims of Countrywide’s discrimination during a period when the company originated millions of residential mortgage loans as one of the nation’s largest single-family mortgage lenders. There were over 40 victims in the Western District of New York.
For further information, the United States Attorneys’ Annual Statistical Reports can be found on the internet at:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/resources/reports/.
Shooter Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison on Federal Firearm ConvictionRead the Press Release
Defendant Shot an Individual at Stripes Convenience Store in Lubbock in April 2013
LUBBOCK, Texas — Jarrod Charles Gauna, 23, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced, by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, to 10 years in federal prison on a federal firearm conviction stemming from his shooting and injuring an individual during a drug transaction at a convenience store in Lubbock this past spring. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Gauna pleaded guilty to one count of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and aiding and abetting. According to documents filed in the case, during a methamphetamine trafficking crime on April 20, 2013, Gauna shot and injured an individual with a Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistol at the Stripes convenience store on 50th Street in Lubbock.
The investigation revealed that Gauna told an individual that he needed to get out of town because he’d shot someone who had stolen methamphetamine from him. Gauna told another individual that he was getting ready to sell one-eighth of an ounce of methamphetamine to individual when that individual grabbed the drugs and ran. Gauna said he fired at the individual and possibly hit him in the foot.
The investigation also revealed that Gauna and others had disposed of the firearm by burying it in cement, but in May 2013, investigators were able to retrieve the firearm from a bucket of cement and identified it as the one used in the shooting.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lubbock Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag prosecuted.
Sentencing of eBay RICO DefendantRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL-- United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown announced that Jason Spellen, an Atlanta, Georgia area resident, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge William Steele for conspiracy to commit a RICO violation. Spellen received a sentence of 84 months and was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $1,691,509.51. The Court also ordered the forfeiture of assets seized from Spellen’s residence and storage unit.
Spellen previously entered a guilty plea to the conspiracy charge and admitted his involvement in selling stolen and fraudulently-procured electronics on eBay and by other means. Although Spellen did not steal the electronics or procure them by fraud himself, he purchased the electronics from other members of the conspiracy knowing them to have been stolen or fraudulently-procured.
The case arose from an investigation by the United States Secret Service and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Deborah Griffin.
Philadelphia Woman Charged with Theft of Government FundsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Mary Joyner, 25, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by Information with theft of public funds from the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”), announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. It is alleged that the defendant submitted fraudulent time sheets while she was assigned to the VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and took compensation for nursing aide services that she had not rendered. The VA paid approximately $87,000 for such services that it never received.
If convicted, the defendant faces 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release after imprisonment of three years, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney M. Beth Leahy.
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, 215-861-8525Lee's Summit Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking, Possessing Child PornRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lee’s Summit, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to cyberstalking one victim and possessing child pornography images of another victim.
August W. Jentsch, 25, of Lee’s Summit, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to cyberstalking and possessing child pornography. Jentsch was taken into federal custody at the conclusion of the hearing.
According to today’s plea agreement, the first victim notified the police department at the University of Minnesota (where she was attending school) that Jentsch had broken into her e-mail account and obtained nude images of her that were taken when she was 16 years old. The victim had briefly dated Jentsch in December 2007. The victim stated the 20-day relationship was not romantic and never physically intimate.
Jentsch stalked the victim from Jan. 2, 2008, to Aug. 29, 2011, by showing up at her work and residence, texting and e-mailing her, and leaving gifts for her. Beginning in September 2011, Jentsch set up fictitious Facebook profiles of the victim and posted the nude photos and video he had obtained from her e-mail account. This happened four or five times and each time the victim contacted Facebook to have the accounts taken down. Jentsch hacked into the victim’s gmail, Yahoo! E-mail, and Facebook accounts and assumed control of the accounts by changing the passwords. He sent random e-mails with the nude photos of the victim to people in her e-mail contacts. Jentsch also used the victim’s nude images and identity to set up another social media account to invite others to get in touch with the victim through Facebook for sexual activity.
A restraining order was served on Jentsch on Oct. 13, 2011. When a state search warrant was executed at Jentsch’s residence, officers found the images and video of the victim on an SD card that was in his computer. Investigators also discovered a video of child pornography on Jentsch’s computer that involved a second victim. The video portrayed the second victim, who was 15 years old, engaged in sexual activity with Jentsch.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Jentsch is subject to a sentence between five years and 10 years in federal prison without parole. 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 Teresa Moore. It was investigated by the University of Minnesota Police Department and the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department.Eastern California Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Fraud at Public Real Estate Foreclosure AuctionsRead the Press Release
An Eastern California real estate investor pleaded guilty today to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Eastern California, the Department of Justice announced.
Anthony B. Joachim of Stockton, Calif., entered his guilty plea in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento. Joachim was originally indicted by a federal grand jury in Sacramento on Dec. 7, 2011, along with three other investors – Andrew B. Katakis, Donald M. Parker and Wiley C. Chandler – and one auctioneer – W. Theodore Longley. All five individuals were charged with conspiring with other unnamed co-conspirators to rig bids and commit mail fraud when purchasing selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County, Calif. The indictment was superseded on May 8, 2013, to include an obstruction of justice charge against Katakis. Chandler pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, 2012, and trial is scheduled to begin against the remaining individuals on Jan. 28, 2014.
According to court documents, Joachim conspired with others not to bid against one another and to instead designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County. Joachim was also charged with conspiring to use the mail to carry out a scheme to fraudulently acquire title to selected San Joaquin County properties sold at public auctions, to make and receive payoffs and to divert money to co-conspirators that would have otherwise gone to mortgage holders and others by holding second, private auctions open only to members of the conspiracy. The department said that the selected properties were then awarded to the conspirators who submitted the highest bids in the second, private auctions. The private auctions often took place at or near the courthouse steps where the public auctions were held. According to Joachim’s plea agreement, he participated in the conspiracies between about April 2009 until about October 2009.
“Today’s plea is the 11th in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation of bid rigging and fraud involving real estate foreclosure auctions in the Eastern District of California,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division has uncovered similar schemes across the country and continues to prosecute those who profit by undermining competition at real estate foreclosure auctions.”
The department said that the primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and restrain competition and to conceal payoffs in order to obtain selected real estate offered at San Joaquin County public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at these auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner. According to court documents, these conspirators paid and received money that otherwise would have gone to pay off the mortgage and other holders of debt secured by the properties, and in some cases, the defaulting homeowner.
“My office will continue to fight real estate fraud in all its forms, including bringing to justice those who would subvert public foreclosure auctions for their own personal gain,” said United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner of the Eastern District of California.
Joachim pleaded guilty to bid rigging, a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Joachim also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The guilty plea entered today is the latest in the department’s ongoing federal antitrust investigation of fraud and bidding irregularities in certain real estate auctions in San Joaquin County. The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, the FBI’s Sacramento Division and the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office at 415-436-6660, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm, contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California at 916-554-2700 or contact the FBI’s Sacramento Division at 916-481-9110.
Today’s action was brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.Defendants sentenced in $25 Million Tax Fraud and Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Joel Santana-Pierna and Abel Santana-Pierna, citizens of the Dominican Republic residing in Alaska, were sentenced to 135 months and 72 months imprisonment, respectively, for their roles in masterminding and perpetrating large drug trafficking and tax fraud conspiracies.
Joel Santana-Pierna pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims on May 2, 2013. His brother, Abel Santana-Pierna, pled to the same charges on July 23, 2013. In addition to their prison sentences, the Santana-Pierna brothers were ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $559,755. Both brothers also agreed to forfeit to the United States approximately $130,000 obtained as part of their drug trafficking activities.
In sentencing the Santana-Pierna brothers, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess repeatedly emphasized the seriousness of the offenses committed by both men and noted the need to protect the public while also deterring others from committing these types of crimes in the future.
According to court documents, from January 2010 to March 2012, Joel Santana-Pierna led his conspirators, including his brother Abel Santana-Pierna and others, in distributing cocaine in the Anchorage area. He also arranged to import over two kilograms of cocaine into Alaska for distribution. In addition to their cocaine smuggling scheme, the Santana-Pierna brothers conspired to use stolen Puerto Rican identities to file false income tax returns and obtain large income tax refunds to which they were not entitled.
Conspirators in the income tax fraud scheme obtained the identities of more than 3,000 individuals, including names and social security numbers. Most of these stolen identities were from citizens of Puerto Rico. Using this stolen information, the brothers and their co-conspirators completed false returns and submitted them to the IRS. Altogether, the United States estimates that the total loss intended by members of the conspiracy exceeded $25 million.
“The sheer greed of these drug traffickers is clear; they wreaked havoc on the innocent to bolster their personal wealth,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Matthew G. Barnes. “This is an example of the multiple layers of criminal activity involved in a drug investigation. The extraordinary coordination between the law enforcement community has put these criminals where they belong.”
“The Santana-Piernas’ multi-layered identity theft and fraud scheme to divert taxpayer dollars from the U.S. Treasury to themselves victimized many innocent people, and today’s sentence is an appropriate outcome,” said Richard Weber, Chief of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. “Investigating tax return fraud through identity theft remains a top priority for criminal investigators of the Internal Revenue Service, and we will relentlessly pursue those who choose to defraud the government and disrupt the lives of innocent taxpayers.”Ten other individuals were also indicted as part of the drug trafficking and fraud conspiracies.
For his role in the conspiracy, co-defendant Isaac Amparo-Vazquez was sentenced on February 1, 2013, to 57 months in prison. Another co-defendant, Misael Polanco-Villa, who was instrumental in the drug trafficking conspiracy, was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Two former Wells Fargo Bank employees, Melissa Duran-Muniz and Hilda Josephine Hernandez McMullen, have also been sentenced. Multiple other co-conspirators await sentencing. One remains a fugitive.The case was jointly prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas C. Bradley, James Barkeley, and Stephanie C. Courter of the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. Additional assistance was provided by the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Southern District of New York.
Charleston Crack Cocaine Dealer Enters Guilty Plea to Federal Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
Defendant William Richmond charged as part of Charleston’s West Side Drug Market Intervention initiative
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty today in federal court to crack cocaine distribution, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Thirty-one-year-old William Edward Richmond sold crack cocaine to a police informant on June 7 in exchange for cash. The illegal drug transaction took place near the intersection of Park Avenue and Central Avenue on Charleston’s West Side.
Richmond is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27, 2014, by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
Richmond is being prosecuted as part of the Charleston area’s Drug Market Intervention (DMI) initiative.
The defendant was designated a member of the DMI A-list, which comprises the most serious offenders identified in the initiative.
The Charleston Police Department Special Enforcement Unit conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.
The DMI initiative was launched in February 2012 by U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin and Charleston Police Chief Brent Webster, in collaboration with other federal, state, local law enforcement agencies and leaders representing several West Side community development organizations. A continuation of the DMI initiative was announced earlier this month in Charleston.
Over the past several months, the Charleston Police Department and other law enforcement agencies have conducted undercover operations and completed investigations culminating in federal charges being filed against thirteen individuals.
Drug Market Intervention, first implemented in High Point, North Carolina, and replicated with success in several other cities, including Huntington, W.Va., is a strategic problem-solving initiative aimed at closing down drug markets that breed crimes of violence and disorder.
The DMI strategy also included a staged community intervention that was held earlier this month at New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church on Charleston’s West Side. The community intervention meeting offered a rare second chance for five low-level, non-violent offenders to end their criminal activity and avoid being prosecuted, if they obey a set of strict guidelines established by law enforcement. The Dec. 12 community intervention call-in meeting was attended by offenders’ relatives, concerned citizens, and faith-based leaders from the West Side community. The call-in meeting was organized and attended by federal, state and local law enforcement officials.
Buffalo Man Sentenced on Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Tyrone Nance, 32, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted following a jury trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana, was sentenced to 36 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Court Judge William M. Skretny. The defendant was also sentenced to another 18 months in prison for a violation of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank T. Pimentel and Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case, stated that in November 2011, federal probation officers conducted a search of the defendant’s residence and car on Timon Avenue in Buffalo. Nance was on supervised release as a result of a 2009 conviction for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. During the search, officers recovered a shotgun hidden under the hood of the defendant’s car. They also recovered a quantity of marijuana from the freezer in the defendant’s residence. DNA analysis performed by the Erie County Forensics Laboratory tied the shotgun to the defendant.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the United States Probation Department, under the direction of Anthony SanGiacomo, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Frank Christiano.
27 December 2013
“Joint Interagency Task Force West Transnational Crime Workshop” U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands Provides TrainingRead the Press Release
United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that her office conducted training to law enforcement on human trafficking investigations at the “Joint Interagency Task Force West Transnational Crime Workshop” held in the Republic of Palau on July 26, 2013. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco, Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Rosetta San Nicolas and AUSA Rami Badawy, also conducted training and presentations at the 2nd Pacific Regional Response to Combat Human Trafficking International Conference held on July 22-26, 2013, in the Republic of Palau.
The “Joint Interagency Task Force West Transnational Crime Workshop” was attended by approximately 30 officers of the Pacific regional community, some of whom are in the photos below.
Wausa Man Sentenced for Sale of Misbranded Meat to Omaha Public SchoolsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Paul Rosberg, age 63, of Wausa, Nebraska, was convicted of the Sale of Misbranded Meat, a felony. Senior United States District Judge Richard Kopf sentenced Rosberg to eighteen months imprisonment, a term of supervised release of one year and imposed a fine of $8,450.
In October of 2011 Rosberg while owner of Nebraska Finest Meats, a meat locker in Randolph, Nebraska, supplied the Omaha Public School system with approximately 2,650 pounds of ground beef certifying that the meat was federally inspected when in fact it was not inspected. Agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) were able to intercept all of the uninspected meat before it was served to the student population.
The case was investigated by the USDA Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service.U.S. Attorney Alicia Limtiaco Talks with Students at Vicente S.A. Benavente Middle SchoolRead the Press Release
United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), was invited to speak at Vicente S.A. Benavente Middle School on October 28, 2013. She addressed and shared with over 430 eighth grade students the significance of Red Ribbon Week and being healthy and drug free. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco also talked with the students about preventing and stopping bullying and cyber-bullying, and how to be safe on the Internet.
The first Red Ribbon Celebration was organized in 1986 by a grassroots organization of parents concerned about the destruction caused by alcohol and drug abuse. The red ribbon was adopted as a symbol of the movement in honor of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who was kidnapped and killed while investigating drug traffickers. The Campaign has reached millions of children and has been recognized by the U.S. Congress. Red Ribbon Week is a chance to be visible and vocal in our desire for a drug-free community. The Campaign provides communities with a forum to bring together parents, schools and businesses to find new and innovative ways to keep kids drug free.
Attached are photos taken at the school.
Left to Right, U.S Attorney Alicia Limtiaco, Myles Macaraig (student), Victoria Ananich (student), Chona Eco (PFC-Outreach Social Worker), and Kin Fernanez (Asst. Principal).
Students listening to U.S. Attorney Alicia Limtiaco.U.S. Attorney Alicia A.G. Limtiaco Speaker at FBI’s Citizens AcademyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), was invited to speak on November 6, 2013 at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Citizens Academy. This is the 6th FBI Citizens Academy held in Guam. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco has previously presented at the FBI Citizens Academy on topics related to the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco discussed the mission and priorities of the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office, the type of cases handled by the Criminal and Civil Divisions of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the various initiatives of the Department and U.S. Attorney’s Office including the “Smart on Crime Initiative” announced by Attorney General Eric Holder in August 2013.
The FBI offers members of the community an up close and personal look at how it operates through their Citizens Academy program. The program brings the community’s civic, business, and religious leaders together to experience firsthand how the FBI investigates crimes and threats to our national security and learn about the various tools and techniques we employ to carry out our mission.
FBI Citizens Academy class members are nominated by a Bureau employee or a previous academy graduate. To be eligible, you must be at least 21 years old, with no felony convictions, and because of the classified investigative techniques discussed, nominees must also undergo a background check and get an interim security clearance. The FBI Citizens Academy curriculum mirrors new-agent training. That means class members get plenty of hands-on instruction — from shooting firearms and learning how to fingerprint and handcuff suspects to collecting evidence from a crime scene and operating vehicles under emergency situations.
Three Local 17 Defendants Plead Guilty to Extortion and Agree to Testify in Upcoming TrialRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that three members of Local 17 of the International Union of Operating Engineers pleaded guilty before United States District Judge William M. Skretny to violations of the federal Hobbs Act Extortion statute and agreed to testify in the upcoming trial of their seven co-defendants.
Pleading guilty were:
CARL A. LARSON, 50, of Boston New York. LARSON formerly worked as an organizer for Local 17.
MICHAEL EDDY, 44, of Gowanda, New York, a member of Local 17
GEORGE DEWALD, 50 of Springville New York. DEWALD, also a member of Local 17.
Each defendant faces a sentence of up to twenty years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced in May of 2014.
In pleading guilty, each of the defendants admitted that he participated in a campaign of threats, violence and property destruction against non-union contractors in an effort to force those contractors to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with Local 17.
LARSON pled guilty to trying to force an Orchard Park contractor and its owner to sign with Local 17 by both threatening the owner personally and after the contractor’s owner was stabbed by another Local 17 member and, on February 5, 2003, asked Larson, “What are the positives [to signing with the union]? You guys slash my tires, stab me in the neck, try to beat me up in a bar. What are the positives to signing? There are only negatives,” Larson responded by telling the owner that “The positives are that the negatives you are complaining about would go away.”
EDDY pled guilty to being part of a campaign of violence and intimidation against a Latham, New York contractor while the contractor was removing soil contaminated with coal tar from under the Waterfront School in downtown Buffalo during the summer of 2005. EDDY admitted to being present when members of Local 17 damaged a pickup truck being driven by the contractor’s project manager as he tried to enter the worksite and then “belly bumping” the project manager when got out of his truck to investigate. During this campaign, a Local 17 organizer obtained the project manager’s home address and his wife’s name and sent his wife a letter saying “We would like for the job to run as smoothly as your wedding day did at [your wedding venue] and as smooth as [your husband’s] nights are in the Western New York region.
DEWALD pled guilty to being a part of campaign designed to force a Frankfort, New York contractor which was the low bidder on the 2003 expansion of the Chaffee Landfill in Chaffee, New York, to sign a collective bargaining agreement with Local 17. DEWALD admitted that May 7 or 8 of 2002, he and several other Local 17 members went to the Chaffee Landfill under the cover of darkness where they put sand used for sandblasting into the engines and hydraulic lines of nine separate pieces of heavy equipment causing significant delays in finishing the job and over $240,000 in damage to the equipment.
All three defendants agreed to testify in the trial of seven remaining defendants including former business manager and president Mark Kirsch, former business agents Jeffrey Peterson, Gerald Bove, and Thomas Freedenberg, and Local 17 members Michael Caggiano, Jeffrey Lennon and Kennth Edbauer, which is scheduled to commence on Janaury 7, 2014, before Judge Skretny. The trial will be handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony M. Bruce and Edward H. “Ned” White and Department of Justice Attorney Robert Tully.
The investigation of this case is being handled by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Department of Labor Inspector General Scott Dahl and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian P. Boetig.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 7, 2014 (LARSON), May 8, 2014 (EDDY) and May 9, 2014 (DEWALD) at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Skretny.Southern California Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Assist Al-Qai'da by Providing Weapons Training to Fighters in PakistanRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES -- An Orange County man pleaded guilty this morning to a federal terrorism offense, admitting that he intended to assist al-Qai'da by traveling to Pakistan, where he would provide weapons training to members of the terrorist group.
Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 24, of Garden Grove, California, pleaded guilty this morning to one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Nguyen, who also used the name Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, pleaded guilty this morning before United States District Judge John F. Walter, who is scheduled to sentence the defendant on March 21. At the time of sentencing, Nguyen faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
In a plea agreement filed last Friday in United States District Court, Nguyen admitted that approximately one year ago he travelled to Syria where he joined opposition forces. Using a social network site during a four-month period he was in Syria, Nguyen told people that he was fighting against the Assad regime and that he had had a "confirmed kill." After he returned to the United States, Nguyen told associates that he had offered to train al-Qai'da forces in Syria, but his offer had been turned down.
Between August 3 and October 11, Nguyen met with a man he thought was an al-Qai'da recruiter, but who in fact was working with the FBI. Within the first few minutes of their first meetings, Nguyen began questioning the man to determine if he was a fellow jihadist, according to the plea agreement. Nguyen told the man about his exploits in Syria and said he wanted to return to jihad because "this was what he was born to do."
During their meetings, Nguyen and the man he thought was an al-Qai'da recruiter discussed how Nguyen could travel to Pakistan under a fraudulently obtained United States passport. After Nguyen gave the purported recruiter a photo of himself and a passport application with bogus information, Nguyen agreed to travel to Pakistan, where he would train 30 al-Qai'da fighters for 5 or 6 weeks to prepare them "for a guerilla warfare ambush attack on coalition forces" that would take place this month, according to the plea agreement.
With the intention to travel to Pakistan to train al-Qai'da forces for the ambush, Nguyen on October 1 purchased a plane ticket to travel from Mexico to Peshawar, Pakistan, he admitted in the plea agreement. On October 11, Nguyen went to a bus station in Santa Ana where he purchased a ticket to Mexico. On this date he was arrested by FBI agents. When he was taken into custody, Nguyen had in his possession the false passport and a computer hard drive that contained "over 180 training videos on shooting firearms."
Nguyen has been in federal custody since his arrest.
The case against Nguyen is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Release No. 13-152
Social Security Customer Service Employee Indicted for Stealing Information and Money from AgencyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM -- A federal grand jury today indicted a Social Security Administration telephone service center employee for using his position to steal identifying information and benefits from Social Security beneficiaries, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Guy Fallen.
A 14-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges TABARIS ARCHIE BROWN, 35, of Montgomery, with wire fraud, theft of government property and aggravated identity theft in a scheme to obtain money and property fraudulently from the SSA.
Brown was a teleservice representative in the SSA Teleservice Center in Birmingham between April 2013 and July 2013 when the crimes occurred. The administration's teleservice centers across the United States accept toll-free calls from the public. In Brown's job as a customer service representative, he received calls and answered inquiries from SSA beneficiaries. His job responsibilities required that he have access to SSA databases, including the National Computer Center, which houses the Master Beneficiary Record for Social Security beneficiaries.
According to the indictment, Brown used his access to accounts and identifying information of beneficiaries, including Social Security numbers, contained in the NCC to alter bank deposit information for particular beneficiaries and to change the information for 11 beneficiaries so that each person's benefits would be paid into accounts that he controlled.
The indictment charges Brown with 11 counts of wire fraud for each interstate communication he made to change bank information in the Social Security Master Beneficiary Record. He faces one count of theft of government property for embezzling money from the SSA, and two counts of aggravated identity theft for unlawfully using someone else's Social Security number in relation to the wire fraud and government property theft.
The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for theft of government property is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Aggravated identity theft carries a minimum two-year prison term and a $250,000 fine.
SSA-OIG investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamarra Matthews Johnson is prosecuting.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent and it will be the government's responsibility to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
Rockford Man Sentenced to 113 Months in Federal Prison for the Robbery of Rockford Area Banks and Credit UnionRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Rockford, Ill. man was sentenced today in federal court before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala to 113 months in prison without parole, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, for robbing two Rockford area banks and a credit union. DELANIO BENFORD, 34, pled guilty on March 22, 2013, to the robbery of: Associated Bank, 3333 N. Rockton Ave., on June 22, 2010; PNC Bank, 6709 E. Riverside Blvd., on July 15, 2010; and Members Alliance Credit Union, 6951 Olde Creek Rd., on July 28, 2010 and Sept. 11, 2010. Benford was also ordered to pay restitution of $38,771 to the banks and credit union. Benford will not be eligible for parole.
Two other individuals have also pled guilty and been sentenced in related cases:
Prince Williams, 27, of Rockford, pled guilty on April, 19, 2012, to six counts of bank/credit union robbery and one count of armed bank robbery, all in Rockford, including: First Northern Credit Union, 2235 12th St., Rockford, on May 3, 2010; National City Bank (now PNC Bank), 1551 Sandy Hollow Rd., on June 10, 2010, while armed with a handgun; Associated Bank, 3333 N. Rockton Ave., on June 22, 2010; PNC Bank, 6709 E. Riverside Blvd., on July 15, 2010; Harris, N.A., 1275 Bennington Rd., on July 22, 2010; and Members Alliance Credit Union, 6951 Olde Creek Rd., on July 28, 2010, and on Sept. 11, 2010, while using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. Williams was sentenced by Judge Kapala on Dec. 4, 2013, to 128 months in federal prison without parole, 5 years of supervised release following imprisonment, and ordered to pay restitution of $56,644.35 to the banks and credit unions.
Michael Buck, 28, also of Rockford, pled guilty on Oct. 3, 2013, to the robbery of Members Alliance Credit Union on Sept. 11, 2013, and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard to 125 months in federal prison without parole, 3 years of supervised release following his release from prison, and ordered pay restitution of $12,180 to Members Alliance.
The sentencing today was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Rockford Police Department and Rockton Police Department assisted in the investigation.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
Prison inmate sentenced to 9 additional years in prison for filing false tax refund claims and aggravated identity theftRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that John Richard Koesterman, 49, currently an inmate in Federal prison, was sentenced to an additional 9 years in prison on December 27, 2013. Koesterman is serving a 15-year sentence on a federal drug conspiracy conviction, and today received an additional 9-year sentence, 84 months for conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims and mail fraud, and a consecutive sentence of 24 months for aggravated identity theft, to be followed by three years’ supervised release. After Koesterman completes the 15-year sentence, he will begin to serve the 9-year sentence imposed today. Koesterman pled guilty on September 16, 2013. In addition to his prison sentence, Koesterman was ordered to forfeit $19,538.75 which was seized by law enforcement, and to pay restitution in the amount of $95,568.
According to filings with the court, while Koesterman was a State of Alaska inmate, he directed others in a conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns in order to obtain fraudulent tax refunds. Between July 2009 and May 2011, Koesterman and his co-conspirators prepared and submitted approximately 55 false tax returns claiming refunds of over $275,000. Koesterman and his co-conspirators illegally obtained over $95,000 in fraudulent refund claims paid by the United States Treasury.
Court documents revealed that Koesterman obtained the names and social security numbers of individuals, many of whom were inmates with Koesterman. Koesterman then used that information to prepare and file false individual income tax returns. Koesterman also provided that information to other co-conspirators to prepare and file false tax returns. Most of the false tax returns claimed exemptions for dependents who were not known to or supported by the individual whose name and social security number was used for the false tax return. Koesterman authorized the co-conspirators to retain a portion of the money from the refunds, and directed them to mail portions of the refunds to other co-conspirators to hold the money for him.
In sentencing the defendant, United States District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess stated that “taxpayers have to foot the bill for making good on the loss.”
“John Koesterman and his conspirators unlawfully manipulated the tax code for their own personal gain, reaping thousands of dollars in fraudulently procured tax refunds,” said Teri Alexander, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations in the Pacific Northwest. “Today’s sentences signal that IRS Criminal Investigations will bring to justice those who abuse the tax system and attempt to swindle the honest tax paying public.”
s. Loeffler commends the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations for conducting the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Koesterman.
Postal Service Employees Indicted for Stealing Postal Money OrdersRead the Press Release
Postal Service Employees Indicted for Stealing Postal Money Orders
BIRMINGHAM -- A federal grand jury today indicted two U.S. Postal Service employees in different post offices for each stealing more than $27,000 in money orders or other postal funds, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Maximo Eamiguel.
In separate indictments filed in U.S. District Court, GERMAINE FOSTER, 36, of Birmingham, and SHARON HARRISON, 56, of Maplesville, are charged with theft of U.S. Postal money orders and theft of government property.
Foster worked in the Maylene post office and Harrison worked at the Shelby post office. Foster is charged with stealing about $27,650 in money orders and other postal funds. Harrison is charged with stealing about $27,291 in money orders.
Theft of Postal Service money orders carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Theft of government property carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Postal Service, OIG, investigated the cases, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank M. Salter is prosecuting.
The public is reminded that an indictment is only a charge. A defendant is presumed innocent and it will be the government's responsibility to prove guilt, beyond a reasonable doubt, at trial.
Portland Gang Associate Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison After Being Convicted for Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
Defendant, an Armed Career Criminal, was Just Recently Released from Federal CustodyPORTLAND, Ore. – December 24, 2013, Sid Edward Willis Jr., 34, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm after he threatened a couple with a loaded .357 caliber handgun.
On May 24, 2012, at approximately 10:00 p.m., a couple drove into the Plaid Pantry parking lot located at SE 162nd and SE Division, in Portland, Oregon, to pick up a couple of things on their way home. After the male driver exited the car and went into the store the defendant walked up to the female passenger, who was still sitting in the car, and asked her "why is your man mugging me." As he was talking to the passenger the defendant showed her a silver handgun that he had tucked into his waistband. Alarmed, the passenger exited the car and went into the market to tell her boyfriend what had happened and that they needed to leave. Immediately after leaving the store, the defendant called out to the male driver and stated why "you mugging me?" The male driver turned to walk toward the defendant who then pulled out his gun and pointed it directly at the male driver’s face stating, "You can’t be mugging me...I'll kill you...I'm a gangsta.” Part of the incident at the Plaid Pantry, including the defendant pointing a gun at the victim's face, was captured on the store security video tape.
The couple immediately left the store and called 911. Portland Police Officers responded and captured defendant Willis a short time later down the street. After defendant Willis was taken into custody, officers located a loaded .357 caliber revolver hidden in some bushes where the defendant was trying to hide from the police. When he was being booked into the Multnomah County Jail the defendant blurted out to the police that he had done everything and then said, "Just give me a deal, I want 15 years in the state, don't send me to the feds!"
The defendant had been released from federal custody less than two months prior to this incident after serving a 10-year drug sentence. The defendant was arrested on federal charges and initially charged on a federal criminal complaint on May 29, 2012. On June 5, 2013, he was indicted by the federal grand jury for being a felon in possession of a firearm as an armed career criminal. The defendant pled guilty on July 22, 2013. At the time of the crime, the defendant had 10 prior felony convictions, including four felony drug trafficking offenses.
U. S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown sentenced the defendant to 15 years in prison on the new felon in possession of a firearm charge. The new crime was also a violation of the defendant’s federal supervised release. Judge Brown also revoked the defendant’s federal supervision and imposed a consecutive five year sentence. When he is released from prison the defendant will serve an additional three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau and the Gang Enforcement Team. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Scott Kerin, the Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Drug Unit and former head of the Gang and Sex Trafficking Prosecution Team.
“When Congress enactedthe Armed Career Criminal Act it recognized that a very small percentage of repeat offenders commit a large percentage of violent or potentially violent crimes,” said U. S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “The law was designed to incapacitate criminals, like the defendant, through the imposition of very lengthy prison terms in an effort to keep our community safe from our most dangerous offenders.”Jose Rios Middle School Invites Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Leon Guerrero for Career DayRead the Press Release
United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), announced that Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Stephen Leon Guerrero was invited to speak at Jose Rios Middle School for Career Day on April 12, 2013. AUSA Leon Guerrero spoke to two 6th and 7th grade classes with approximately 25 students in each. He talked to them about the educational process of becoming an attorney and his duties as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He also talked about the U.S. Attorney’s role with Red Ribbon Week, as well as the G.R.E.A.T. Program and Cyber-bullying.
The first Red Ribbon Celebration was organized in 1986 by a grassroots organization of parents concerned about the destruction caused by alcohol and drug abuse. The red ribbon was adopted as a symbol of the movement in honor of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who was kidnapped and killed while investigating drug traffickers. The Campaign has reached millions of children and has been recognized by the U.S. Congress. Red Ribbon Week is a chance to be visible and vocal in our desire for a drug-free community. The Campaign provides communities with a forum to bring together parents, schools and businesses to find new and innovative ways to keep kids drug free.The G.R.E.A.T. Program=s primary objective is awareness and prevention of delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership. The G.R.E.A.T. lessons, aimed at elementary and middle school students, focus on teaching life skills to help students avoid delinquent behavior and violence, and learn to solve problems.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office (“USAO”) for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (“NMI”), continues to conduct presentations at various schools on the topics of Bullying and Cyber-bullying.
Attached are photos of AUSA Leon Guerrero addressing the students.
Jefferson County, Kentucky Woman Sentenced to 18 Years and 10 Months in Prison for Armed Robbery of Metro Louisville BankRead the Press Release
– Ordered to pay $213,785.62 restitution
– Getaway driver sentenced to 54 monthsLOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jillian Wojciechowski, age 30, was sentenced to 18 years and 10 months in prison, and ordered to pay restitution of $213,785.62 to Your Community Bank, by U.S. District Court Judge John G. Heyburn II, this week, for two armed robberies of the bank’s branch office located on Magisterial Drive in Jefferson County, Kentucky, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. Dean Martin Ridge Jr., age 34, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob the bank as well as unrelated drug and firearm charges, was sentenced today to 54 months by Judge Heyburn.
According to the plea agreements, Wojciechowski, Ridge and defendant John Hatton, age 30, of Louisville, conspired and robbed the Your Community Bank Branch located at 13205 Magisterial Drive, Louisville, Kentucky on September 23, 2011. Wojciechowski and Hatton brandished firearms in order to accomplish the robbery and obtained $120,714.62 in cash from the teller drawers and the bank’s vault. After taking the cash, Wojciechowski and Hatton forced the bank employees to lie on the floor and then covered them up with an entrance rug.
Further, Wojciechowski, Ridge and defendant Joshua Ewing, age 23, of Louisville, conspired and robbed the bank a second time on January 23, 2012. Wojciechowski and Ewing brandished firearms in order to accomplish the robbery and obtained $93,071.00 in cash from the teller drawers and the bank’s vault. On both occasions Ridge drove the defendants to the bank to commit the robberies and drove them away following the robberies.
Ewing was found guilty of robbing the Your Community Bank Branch and brandishing a firearm in order to accomplish the robbery, by a federal jury in Louisville, on July 3, 2013 and sentenced by Judge Heyburn to 13 years and 5 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release and ordered to pay $93,071.00 in restitution.
Hatton was found guilty by a federal jury in Louisville, on November 20, 2013, of robbing the Your Community Bank Branch, brandishing a firearm during the robbery, and of robbing the M & I Smoke Shop, located at 5627 Preston Highway, Louisville, Kentucky on October 26, 2011. Hatton is scheduled for sentencing before Judge Heyburn on February 7, 2014.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas W. Dyke, Micah Reyner and Stephanie Zimdahl and was investigated by the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Operating A Fraudulent Investment SchemeRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Anderson Scott Hall, a/k/a Scott Hall (49, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to four felony counts of operating a sham investment scheme. Specifically, Hall pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment for each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Hall, a licensed insurance salesman, was the architect of a sham investment scheme, which he operated for more than 10 years, between approximately 1996 through late 2011. During this time, Hall defrauded in excess of 50 victims and received more than $4 million from his victim investors. The investors included residents of the greater Jacksonville, Florida area; Columbus, Georgia; and North Carolina. A significant portion of the victim investors were either active or retired Duval County school teachers and administrators, who invested their retirement funds, including their "DROP" (Deferred Retirement Option Program) money, with Hall.
During the scheme, Hall was employed by various financial companies as an independent agent. His victim pool included current clients and client referrals. As part of this scheme, Hall incorporated a shell company, Abaco Securities International, Ltd. (ASI), in the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies. Hall is listed as the Director of that company, whose only presence in the Turks and Caicos is a post office box.
As reflected in the plea agreement, Hall’s scheme included his solicitation of clients to invest their retirement savings in an investment product, which he described as ASI, promising interest rates sometimes exceeding 12%. Hall directed the victim investors to cause their retirement savings, usually held in IRAs and other investment products, to be transferred from legitimate life insurance companies and investment companies, to his sham business. Generally, Hall would deposit the clients' funds into one of several bank accounts that he maintained at SunTrust. Occasionally, as in a Ponzi scheme whereby older investors are paid money from the funds taken from newer investors, Hall would make partial payments to victim investors.
A forensic analysis of Hall’s SunTrust accounts established that he failed to invest the victim investors' funds as promised. At times, in an effort to conceal and perpetuate his scheme, Hall created sham account documents falsely reflecting that the investors' funds were invested in a legitimate investment product. These sham account statements were provided to the investors to dispel questions regarding their investments. The accounting analysis also revealed that Hall used the investors' funds to pay for personal expenses, purchase commercial property, and to buy luxury automobiles.
This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Bureau of Financial Investigations and the DFS, Division of Insurance Fraud. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Devereaux.
Former Teacher, Tutor and Boy Scout Volunteer Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A former teacher at Tenino Elementary School pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. JAMES DONALD MOBLEY, 47, was arrested in January 2013 on a criminal complaint charging him with receipt and possession of child pornography. Under the terms of the plea agreement, MOBLEY will undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation, will register as a sex offender and will undergo sexual deviancy treatment. Both the prosecution and defense will recommend a four year prison term when MOBLEY is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton on March 21, 2014. Judge Leighton is not bound by the plea agreement and can impose a sentence up to the statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.
According to records filed in the case, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been investigating an international company, Azovfilms.com, which distributed child pornography through the mails and via download to personal computers. In May 2011, foreign law enforcement executed a search of the business and seized hundreds of child pornography DVDs and business records. An analysis of those records revealed that on multiple occasions between February 2009 and January 2011, MOBLEY purchased suspected child pornography from the company. In a search of MOBLEY’s home, law enforcement seized a computer, external storage devices, and DVDs of child pornography. An analysis of the items seized from MOBLEY’s home revealed 650 images of child pornography and 45 videos of child pornography.
MOBLEY was arrested as part of “Project Spade,” the investigation of Azovfilms.com. The Toronto-based website billed itself as a provider of “naturist films,” but was really a distributor of child pornography. The investigation, led in the United States by the Postal Inspection Service, has resulted in 386 children rescued from direct abuse and exploitation. So far MOBLEY is one of 348 people arrested worldwide as a result of the Spade investigation.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Tenino Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marci Ellsworth.
Evansville Man Charged with Possession, Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
EVANSVILLE – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Mark David Yauger, age 46, of Evansville, has been charged by a federal grand jury with two counts of distribution and one count of possession of sexually explicit material involving minors. This follows an investigation as part of the U.S. Attorney’s ongoing Operation Community Watch.
“The type of behavior alleged in this case exploits children and will not be tolerated by federal law enforcement,” Hogsett said. “That is why we launched Operation Community Watch earlier this year – to protect Hoosier families and send a message to criminals that they cannot hide online.”
The indictment alleges that on March 16, 2013, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Southwest Indiana Cyber Crimes Task Force identified Yauger as an online distributor of sexually explicit material involving minors. It is also alleged that Yauger possessed sexually explicit material involving minors in July 2013. Court documents indicate that the government has filed a forfeiture allegation identifying computer equipment used in the offense that the government will seek to seize from Mark David Yauger if he is convicted.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Yauger faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An initial hearing was held in Evansville before a U.S. Magistrate Judge, but no formal trial date has been set.
This arrest comes as Hogsett has announced a comprehensive crackdown on child exploitation in Indiana. Just last year, he launched “Operation Community Watch,” which will allow prosecutors and investigators to use cutting-edge techniques to identify and charge people in Hoosier communities who are engaged in the receipt and trafficking of child pornography materials.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a larger nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Hogsett pointed out that in the last Project Safe Childhood reporting year, the Office prosecuted 52 defendants, an increase of 37% over the prior year, and 49 defendants were convicted and sentenced. These are all-time records for the Office.
The greatest measure of the PSC program’s impact, however, is the identification and rescue of child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. Over the last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office successfully identified more than 120 child victims, including minors in Indiana, numerous places in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and other countries around the world.
Led nationally by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Information, indictments, and criminal complaints are only a charge and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR)Honors U.S. Attorney Alicia A.G. LimtiacoRead the Press Release
United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, was presented with and awarded the Patriot Award on October 24, 2013 by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). She was nominated by an employee of the U.S. Attorney’s Office presently serving in the National Air Guard.
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco expressed her appreciation to all Veterans and to all service members for their courage, fortitude and commitment to protecting our freedoms as Americans, and to the ESGR for their continued efforts to raise awareness among employers about the significant role and responsibilities employers have in supporting and protecting the rights of employees in military service.
According to the ESGR, the Patriot Award reflects the efforts made to support Citizen Warriors through a wide-range of measures including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families and granting leaves of absence if needed. Patriot Awards are awarded to individual supervisors, not to an entire staff or organization as a whole.Supervisors receive a Patriot Award certificate and accompanying lapel pin.
Please see attached photo of the ESGR’s presentation of the Patriot Award to U.S. Attorney Limtiaco.
U.S. Attorney Alicia Limtiaco is seen here receiving the ESGR Award from ESGR
State Chair David Sablan and members of the ESGR, together with First Assistant
Steve Sinnot, second from the right, from the U.S. Attorney’s OfficeAbbott Laboratories to Pay $5.475 Million to Resolve Federal Health Care Fraud InvestigationRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Abbott Laboratories, a global healthcare company, has agreed to pay $5.475 million to settle alleged violations of the False Claims Act, and other federal laws and regulations in connection with the operation of its medical device business which manufactures, markets and supplies carotid, biliary, and peripheral vascular products.
As alleged in the settlement agreement, between 2005 and 2010, through its employees and third party continuing medical education providers, Abbott offered physicians paid teaching and training assignments, consulting arrangements, speaking engagements, and/or sponsorship grants for physician conferences, for the purpose of inducing physicians to arrange for or recommend that the hospitals with which they were affiliated purchase or order Abbott’s carotid, biliary and peripheral vascular products. These financial arrangements were improper and did not meet the requirements of the Anti-Kickback Statute – a law designed to protect patients as well as the integrity of government- funded health care benefit programs such as Medicare. Where the choice of devices used in medical procedures is impacted by such improper arrangements, suppliers that cause claims for such devices and procedures to be submitted to Medicare and other federal health care programs violate the False Claims Act.
As U.S. Attorney Bill Killian explained, “Physicians should make decisions regarding medical devices based on what is in the best interest of patients without being induced by payments from manufacturers competing for their business.” Federal law prohibits medical providers from submitting claims to government-funded health care benefit programs for services and devices referred, ordered, or arranged for by physicians who received such prohibited financial inducements.
“Offering financial inducements can distort health care decision-making,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta. “OIG and our law enforcement partners vigilantly protect government health programs from such alleged abuses.” During the period between 2005 and 2010 hospitals affiliated with the physicians who received such inducements submitted to the Medicare program claims which included the cost of the medical devices referred, ordered or arranged for by such physicians. Medicare paid the claims that included the cost of the medical devices. This settlement addresses the financial harm to the Medicare trust fund for the moneys paid out of the fund which resulted from violations of the False Claims Act resulting from the kickbacks.
Mr. Killian further noted that this settlement resulted from a comprehensive investigation which began as a result of a qui tam or whistleblower complaint filed in 2010. The investigative team whose efforts resulted in this settlement was comprised of representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. U.S. Attorney Killian commended the cooperative efforts of the agencies which participated in this complex investigation, and, in particular, lead HHS-OIG Special Agent Tony Maffei, DOJ Trial Counsel Adam Schwartz, Assistant U.S. Attorney Betsy Tonkin, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Green, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Cunningham.
This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover more than $12.1 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases in 2013 alone exceeded $3.8 billion. False Claims Act recoveries by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee alone during the period since January 2009 exceed $100 million.
Abbott Laboratories Pays U.S. $5.475 Million to Settle Claims That Company Paid Kickbacks to PhysiciansRead the Press Release
Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay the United States $5.475 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce doctors to implant the company’s carotid, biliary and peripheral vascular products, the Justice Department announced today. Abbott is a global pharmaceuticals and health care products company based in Abbott Park, Ill.
“Patients have a right to treatment decisions that are based on their own medical needs, not the personal financial interests of their health care providers,” said Assistant Attorney General Stuart F. Delery of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “Kickbacks undermine the ability of health care providers to objectively evaluate and treat their patients, and will continue to be a primary focus of the Department’s health care enforcement efforts.”
The settlement resolves allegations that Abbott knowingly paid prominent physicians for teaching assignments, speaking engagements and conferences with the expectation that these physicians would arrange for the hospitals with which they were affiliated to purchase Abbott’s carotid, biliary and peripheral vascular products. As a result, the United States alleged Abbott violated the Anti-Kickback Act and caused the submission of false claims to Medicare for the procedures in which these Abbott products were used.
“Physicians should make decisions regarding medical devices based on what is in the best interest of patients without being induced by payments from manufacturers competing for their business,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Killian of the Eastern District of Tennessee.
“Offering financial inducements can distort health care decision-making,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta. “OIG and our law enforcement partners vigilantly protect government health programs from such alleged abuses.”
Carotid and peripheral vascular products are used to treat circulatory disorders by increasing blood flow to the head and various parts of the body, respectively. Biliary products are used to treat obstructions that occur in the bile ducts.
The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed by Steven Peters and Douglas Gray, former Abbott employees, under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act , which allows whistleblowers to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in any recovery As part of today’s resolution, Peters and Gray will receive a total payment of more than $1 million.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $17 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $12.2 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This settlement was the result of an investigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of Tennessee and the Northern District of California and the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Peters et al. v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Civil Action No. 3:09-CV-430 (E.D. Tenn.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
2013 Guam Coalition Against Sexual Assault & Family Violence SummitRead the Press Release
United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), was invited to speak at the “No More! Coming Together to End the Violence” 2013 Regional Summit held on October 25, 2013, and sponsored by the Guam Coalition Against Sexual Assault & Family Violence.
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco spoke on the topic of “Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking in Our Region” and presented “Strategies for Justice: A Pacific Regional Response to Combat Human Trafficking.” The “Pacific Regional Response to Combat Human Trafficking” initiative employs a multidisciplinary model, including participation, coordination, and collaboration among law enforcement; prosecution; victim service providers; social services; medical, mental and public health professionals; faith based organizations; educational institutions; Consulates; and other community stakeholders. The response calls for the establishment and provision of victim services, investigation and prosecution of human trafficking, training opportunities, community outreach/ public awareness and prevention programs, and creation of human trafficking task forces and coalitions in the Pacific region island communities. Providing fundamental training in human trafficking, including victimization, investigation and prosecution, prevention efforts, and other related topics, to law enforcement; prosecution; victim service providers; social services; medical, mental and public health professionals; faith based organizations; educational institutions; Consulates; and other community stakeholders, in our Pacific region island communities, is critical to effective prevention and enforcement efforts in the region.
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco also provided an overview of the Blue Lighting Campaign. The Blue Lightning Campaign was created in recognition of the fact that victims of human trafficking are trafficked through the use of airlines. It is a Department of Homeland Security initiative that provides U.S. commercial airlines and their employees training materials on the indicators of suspected human trafficking and more importantly, provides airlines with a voluntary mechanism to identify suspected human trafficking victims and notify federal authorities. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco further discussed domestic and international trafficking, human trafficking laws, and public awareness and enforcement efforts.
The two-day Summit was attended by approximately 154 participants, including participants from our neighboring islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Attached is a photo taken at the 2013 Guam Coalition Against Sexual Assault & Family Violence Regional Summit.
U.S. Attorney Limtiaco addressing the participants at the Summit.2013 Foreign Labor Compliance ConferenceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), announced that U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands participated at the 2013 Foreign Labor Compliance Conference held in Guam on March 19-20, 2013. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco spoke on the topic, “An Overview of the Pacific Regional Response to Combat Human Trafficking – Collaboration in the Western Pacific.” The conference was sponsored by the Guam Department of Labor and over 200 people attended the two-day training.
At the Conference, U.S. Attorney Limtiaco discussed Department of Justice initiatives, including Project Safe Childhood (PSC), Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and Diverse Community Outreach.
Launched in May 2006, PSC is a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys= Offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department=s Criminal Division, and Internet Crimes Against Children task forces, PSC 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. PSC’s goal is to educate parents about the potential dangers that their children face online, and warns potential online predators that exploiting a child online is a serious federal offense.
PSN is a nationwide commitment to aggressively prosecute defendants who engage in drug distribution, gang involvement and violent crime.
The purpose of the Diverse Community Outreach is to increase and improve communication and collaboration between the community and law enforcement. Faith-based community members and Consulate Offices are invited and participate in the initiative. Issues discussed at the Diverse Community Outreach meetings include human trafficking; hate crimes and civil rights; immigration; labor; cultural competency; national security; and crime prevention.
See attached photo of U.S. Attorney Alicia Limtiaco addressing the participants.
26 December 2013
Texas Man Charged with Federal Hate Crime for Punching and Breaking Jaw of 79-year-old African American ManRead the Press Release
Conrad Alvin Barrett, 27, has been charged with a federal hate crime related to a racially-motivated assault of a 79-year-old African American man, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels of the Civil Rights Division along with U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Stephen L. Morris of the FBI.
“Hate crimes tear at the fabric of entire communities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Samuels. “As always, the Civil Rights Division will work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to ensure that hate crimes are identified and prosecuted, and that justice is done.”
The criminal complaint was filed under seal Dec. 24, 2013, and unsealed today upon Barrett's arrest. He is expected to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy at 10:00 a.m. CST.
The complaint charges Barrett, of Katy, Texas, with one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. According to the complaint, on Nov. 24, 2013, Barrett attacked the elderly man because of the man’s race and color in what Barrett called a “knockout.”
“Suspected crimes of this nature will simply not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Magidson. “Evidence of hate crimes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted with the assistance of all our partners to the fullest extent of the law.”
Barrett allegedly recorded himself on his cell phone attacking the man and showed the video to others. The complaint alleges Barrett made several videos, one in which he identifies himself and another in which he makes a racial slur. In addition, Barrett had allegedly been working up the “courage” to play the “knockout game” for approximately a week.
The “knockout game” is an assault in which an assailant aims to knock out an unsuspecting victim with one punch. According to the complaint, the conduct has been called by other names and there have been similar incidents dating as far back as 1992.
According to the complaint, Barrett comments in a video that “the plan is to see if I were to hit a black person, would this be nationally televised?” The complaint further alleges Barrett claims he would not hit “defenseless people” just moments before punching the elderly man in the face. Barrett allegedly hit the man with such force that the man immediately fell to the ground. Barrett then laughed and said “knockout,” as he ran to his vehicle and fled, according to allegations. The complaint indicates the victim suffered two jaw fractures and was hospitalized for several days as a result of the attack.
“It is unimaginable in this day and age that one could be drawn to violently attack another based on the color of their skin,” said Special Agent in Charge Morris. “We remind all citizens that we are protected under the law from such racially motivated attacks, and encourage everyone to report such crimes to the FBI.”
If convicted, Barrett faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI in cooperation with the Fulshear and Katy, Texas, Police Departments as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Civil Rights Division Trial Attorneys Saeed Mody and Olimpia Michel and Assistant United States Attorneys Ruben R. Perez and Joe Magliolo in cooperation with Ft. Bend County District Attorney John Healey.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty through due process of law.Ten Indicted in Loan Modification Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, Miami Field Office, and Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division, announce the unsealing of a 20-count indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury in West Palm Beach charging mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341 and 1349.
The following defendants were charged in the indictment:
- Jason Andrew Vitulano, 38, of West Palm Beach, FL;
- Robert Harry Bacon, 34, of West Newbury, MA;
- Peter Ian Brown, 26, of Sound Beach, NY;
- Christopher Francisco Duharte, 36, of Coconut Creek, FL;
- Brian Fleuridor, 29, of Delray Beach, FL;
- Arthur Vincent Fogarty, III, 57, of Hollywood, FL;
- Neil Lawrence Sack, 40, of Fort Lauderdale, FL;
- Gregory B. Small, 28, of Boynton Beach, FL;
- Jeffrey Charles Leroy Taylor, 39, of North Lauderdale, FL; and
- Ajay Alexander Thuraisingham, 26, of Tamarac, FL.
Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and multiple counts of mail fraud. According to the Indictment, between September 2008 and August 2009, the defendants operated boiler rooms that collected advance fees from distressed homeowners purportedly in exchange for obtaining loan modifications for the homeowners which were, with few exceptions, never provided.
The indictment alleges that defendant Vitulano was the organizer and operator of FHA All Day.com, Inc. and two other companies, Housing Assistance Law Center, Inc. and Safety Financial Corp., which operated the boiler rooms in Boca Raton and later in Deerfield Beach. According to the indictment, defendant Bacon was an operations manager who wrote and edited sales scripts, while the other eight defendants served as team managers of four to eight telemarketers who made thousands of phone calls to homeowners behind on their mortgage payments.
As alleged in the indictment, the defendants made false statements to the homeowners including telling homeowners they had already been approved or pre-approved for a loan modification that would save the homeowner a specific amount off their mortgage payment, reducing the interest rate and often the principal balance on the mortgage loan. The defendants, according to the indictment, routinely told customers that they had been approved by an “underwriter” and that they had a team of “expert attorneys” who would finalize the loan modifications.
The indictment further alleges that the defendants targeted homeowners across the country that were facing foreclosure, falsely telling them that the company would stop the foreclosure process and that homeowners could stop making mortgage payments while they waited for the company to finalize their loan modifications. FHA All Day, as alleged in the indictment, moved its offices and changed the corporate name several times to avoid law enforcement scrutiny and to hamper consumer complaints. Through the use of these and other false representations, the defendants, according to the indictment, induced over 2,000 distressed homeowners to pay up front fees totaling more than seven million dollars to the defendants.
Defendant Vitulano faces up to 20 years imprisonment on each of the 20 counts against him. Defendants Taylor and Thuraisingham face up to 20 years in prison for each of the four counts against them. The other seven defendants, who are each charged in three counts, face up to 20 years in prison on each of those counts. All ten defendants further face up to $250,000 in fines and mandatory restitution as to each charge.
Defendant Vitulano is expected to make his initial appearance in West Palm Beach on January 15, 2014. Defendant Brown made his initial appearance in federal court in the Eastern District of New York on December 24, 2013 and was released on bond. Defendant Thuraisingham will make his initial appearance in the Eastern District of New York today.
Defendants Duharte, Fleuridor, Fogerty, Sack and Taylor made their initial appearances today in West Palm Beach. Fleuridor and Fogarty are being held pending bond hearings scheduled for Monday, December 30, 2013. Defendant Taylor’s pre-trial detention hearing is set for Tuesday, December 31, 2013. Defendants Bacon and Small will make their initial appearances in federal court on December 31, 2013 in West Palm Beach. These initial appearances and hearings will take place at 10:00 A.M. in U.S. Magistrate’s Court in West Palm Beach on their respective days. Defendants Duharte and Sack were released on bond today.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Jorgensen and Ellen Cohen.
An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Attachment:
Indictment (PDF)
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.
Katy Man Charged with Federal Hate Crime for Punching and Breaking Jaw of 79-Year-old African American ManRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - Conrad Alvin Barrett, 27, has been charged with a federal hate crime related to a racially-motivated assault of a 79-year-old African American man, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels of the Civil Rights Division and Special Agent in Charge Stephen L. Morris of the FBI.
“Suspected crimes of this nature will simply not be tolerated,” said Magidson. “Evidence of hate crimes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted with the assistance of all our partners to the fullest extent of the law.”
The criminal complaint was filed under seal Dec. 24, 2013, and unsealed today upon Barrett's arrest. He is expected to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy at 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m.
The complaint charges Barrett, of Katy, with one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. According to the complaint, on Nov. 24, 2013, Barrett attacked the elderly man because of the man’s race and color in what Barrett called a “knockout.”
“Hate crimes tear at the fabric of entire communities,” said Samuels. “As always, the Civil Rights Division will work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to ensure that hate crimes are identified and prosecuted, and that justice is done.”
Barrett allegedly recorded himself on his cell phone attacking the man and showed the video to others. The complaint alleges Barrett made several videos, one in which he identifies himself and another in which he makes a racial slur. In addition, Barrett had allegedly been working up the “courage” to play the knockout game for approximately a week.
The “knockout game” is an assault in which an assailant aims to knockout an unsuspecting victim with one punch. According to the complaint, the conduct has been called other names and there have been similar incidents dating as far back as 1992.
According to the complaint, Barrett comments in a video that “the plan is to see if I were to hit a black person, would this be nationally televised?” The complaint further alleges Barrett claims he would not hit “defenseless people” just moments before punching the elderly man in the face. Barrett allegedly hit the man with such force that the man immediately fell to the ground. Barrett then laughed and said “knockout,” as he ran to his vehicle and fled, according to allegations. The complaint indicates the victim suffered two jaw fractures and was hospitalized for several days as a result of the attack.
“It is unimaginable in this day and age that one could be drawn to violently attack another based on the color of their skin,” said Morris. “We remind all citizens we are protected under the law from such racially motivated attacks, and encourage everyone to report such crimes to the FBI.”
If convicted, Barrett faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI in cooperation with the Fulshear and Katy Police Departments as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ruben R. Perez and Joe Magliolo and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorneys Saeed Mody and Olimpia Michel in cooperation with Ft. Bend County District Attorney John Healey.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty through due process of law.District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Pennsylvania-Based Dairy Firms and Individuals to Prevent Distribution of Foods That Contain Excessive Drug ResidueRead the Press Release
U.S. District Court Judge Kim R. Gibson of the Western District of Pennsylvania has entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Metzler & Sons LLC and Pleasant View Farms Inc., the Justice Department announced today. The permanent injunction was also entered against Rodney L. Metzler, Gretchen A. Metzler, Rodney T. Metzler and Lee M. Metzler, all of whom have ownership in the firms. The permanent injunction is designed to prevent the distribution of foods that contain excessive drug residue.
The Pennsylvania firms, Metzler & Sons LLC and Pleasant View Farms Inc., own and operate several farms that sell cows for slaughter and for use as food. As set forth in the complaint filed on Dec. 18, 2013, inspections by United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and laboratory analyses performed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicated that the defendants sold for slaughter for use as food dairy cows and bob veal calves that contained excessive and illegal residues of drugs in their edible tissues. According to the complaint, these inspections revealed that the defendants delivered adulterated food into interstate commerce in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). As set forth in the complaint, the defendants received numerous warnings from both FDA and USDA that their conduct violated the law, and despite these warnings, the defendants continued to hold animals that they sold for slaughter as food in a manner that may have rendered the animals’ edible tissues injurious to the public health.
As set forth in the complaint, levels of new animal drugs in the edible tissues of animals in amounts above the tolerances established in federal regulations pose a significant public healthrisk. For example, consumers of edible animal tissues who are susceptible to antibiotics may experience severe allergic reactions as a result of ingesting food containing out-of-tolerance
antibiotic levels. Furthermore, food containing above-tolerance antibiotic levels contributes to the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in those who eat or handle food containing residues of such drugs.
The complaint filed by the United States asked the court to permanently enjoin the firms and individual defendants from violating the FDCA. The permanent injunction entered by the court requires the firms and individual defendants to take a wide range of actions to correct their violations and ensure that they do not happen again. Among other actions, the firms must establish and implement a written record-keeping system for every animal receiving drugs to prevent the firms from selling or distributing any animals whose edible tissues contain new animal drugs in amounts above the levels permitted by law. The firms must also establish and implement a system that ensures that their use of new animal drugs conforms to the uses approved by the FDA or, for new animal drugs used in an extra-label manner, to the lawful written order of a licensed veterinarian.
“Foods that contain excessive levels of antibiotics and other drugs pose a significant risk to the public health,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Along with our partners at HHS, FDA and USDA, the Department of Justice is committed to making sure that the food on our tables is safe to eat.”
FDA recently said that it is implementing a voluntary plan with industry to phase out the use of certain antibiotics for enhanced food production. For more information on this, you can visit the FDA website at http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm378100.htm .
Assistant Attorney General Delery thanked the FDA for referring this matter to the Department of Justice. Roger Gural, Trial Attorney at the Consumer Protection Branch of the Justice Department, in conjunction with Assistant U.S. Attorney David Lew in the Western District of Pennsylvania, and Christopher Fanelli, Assistant Chief Counsel for Enforcement of the Food and Drug Division, Department of Health and Human Services, brought this case on behalf of the United States.Clark County Defendant Faces Federal Charges of Credit Card, Wire FraudRead the Press Release
NEW ALBANY – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Jennifer D. Jekel, age 27, of Marysville, has been indicted by a federal grand jury with one count of access device fraud and four counts of wire fraud. This follows an investigation by the United States Secret Service and the New Albany Police Department.
“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 seek to enrich themselves by embracing a culture of corruption.”
The indictment alleges that between March 1, 2011 and October 10, 2011, Jekel fraudulently caused Fifth Third Bank to issue new credit cards linked to her employer without her employer’s knowledge and consent. She also allegedly had the bank increase the credit limits on existing credit card accounts. The defendant then allegedly used the credit cards and account numbers to make personal purchases with a total value of approximately $114,000.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Jekel faces up to ten years in federal prison on the access device fraud count and up to twenty years in federal prison on each of the wire fraud counts. She also faces years of federally-supervised release at the end of her prison term. An initial hearing is scheduled for Friday, December 27, before Magistrate Judge Michael Naville.
An Indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
ATTACHMENT:2013-099_RuralMetro_Settlement Agreement (PDF)Read the Press Release
RURAL/METRO TO PAY $2.8 MILLION TO RESOLVE FALSE CLAIMS ALLEGATIONS
PHOENIX – Rural/Metro Corporation, a Delaware corporation that through its subsidiaries and affiliates provides private ambulance and fire protection services in Arizona and approximately 20 other states, has agreed to pay the United States $2,802,112 to resolve civil allegations that various Rural/Metro ambulance companies violated the federal False Claims Act by submitting false bills to Medicare.
“The need to protect federal funds, including the Medicare trust fund, from fraud, waste, and abuse has never been greater,” said U.S. Attorney John S. Leonardo. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to use the False Claims Act to pursue entities and individuals who improperly profit from federal dollars at the expense of the public. This settlement agreement is a substantial recovery for taxpayers and sends a clear message that the federal government will not stand idly by when its programs lose money due to false claims for payment.”The settlement agreement resolves allegations that from Jan. 1, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2011, various ambulance companies owned and operated by Rural/Metro—including SW General Inc., dba Southwest Ambulance; Southwest Ambulance of Casa Grande Inc., dba SWARA; and Southwest Ambulance of Tucson Inc., dba Kords Ambulance—billed Medicare for transporting patients from one hospital to another on an emergency basis when, in fact, the calls were not emergencies. The United States alleged that as a result of these false and “upcoded” claims, Medicare paid substantially more for the ambulance services than was warranted. The settlement is neither an admission of liability by Rural/Metro, nor is it a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.
Individuals with information regarding fraud, waste, or abuse related to Medicare or other federal programs are encouraged to file a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office through the office’s website, http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/, or by calling (602) 514-7500.
RELEASE NUMBER: 2013-099_Rural/Metro
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
24 December 2013
Two Founders of S3 Partners Convicted in $21 Million Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
SAN JOSE – Yesterday a federal jury convicted two of the founders of S3 Partners on investment fraud related charges, United States Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson announced.
Evidence at trial showed that from 2006 to 2009, Melvin Russell “Rusty” Shields, 44, of Granite Falls, N. Car., Michael Sims, 59, of Gilroy, Calif., and the third S3 Partner founder, Sam Stafford, 57, of Campbell, Calif. (who pleaded guilty prior to trial) defrauded individual investors in the Northern District of California and elsewhere in connection with various real estate development projects. The three defendants conducted their business as “S3 Partners” out of a variety of locations including San Jose and Campbell; Hickory, N. Car.; and Valrico, Flor.
Shields, Sims, and Stafford engaged in investment fraud targeting elderly investors, encouraging them to cash out their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and wire the proceeds to the S3 Partners for the purchase of shares in an S3 Partners-controlled company or to invest in other S3 projects. The defendants falsely represented to investors that they would receive predictable high rates returns (as high as 12-15% per year), with minimal to no risk of investing, and that investor money would go to a particular project. Shields and Stafford fraudulently obtained millions of dollars from banks by submitting forged and fraudulent invoices and loan closing documents. Shields, Sims, and Stafford collectively obtained more than $21 million from investors and banks and converted a substantial portion of those funds for their personal benefit, their personal business ventures, and other unauthorized purposes. Their conduct resulted in a near-total loss to investors.
The jury convicted Shields on 32 of the 39 counts in the superseding indictment, including finding him guilty of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, 14 counts of wire fraud, 7 counts of bank fraud, 7 counts of making a false statement to a bank, and 3 counts of securities fraud. The jury acquitted Shields as to the remaining counts in the superseding indictment. The jury convicted Sims of 2 counts of wire fraud and acquitted him on the remaining counts in the superseding indictment. Stafford, pleaded guilty on October 17, 2013, to having conspired with Shields and Sims to commit wire, mail, and bank fraud.
Shields and Sims are scheduled to be sentenced on April 14, 2013, before the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte, United States District Court Judge, in San Jose. Stafford’s sentencing is scheduled for March 17, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. before the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte in San Jose. Shields, Sims, and Stafford have been out of custody on home electronic monitoring since their May 2012 arrest.
The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, bank fraud, and making a false statement to a bank, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349, 1341 and 1014, is 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000, plus restitution. The maximum statutory penalty for wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78j(b) and 78ff; and 17 C.F.R. Section 240.10b-5-securities fraud, is 20 years in prison and a fine of $5 million, plus restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Fazioli and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lucey prosecuted the case with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Lakisha Holliman and Legal Assistant Laurie Worthen. This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(S3 superseding indictment )
Omaha Man Sentenced for Interstate Prostitution Enterprise ConspiracyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Christopher J. Tierney was sentenced on December 23, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp to a term of probation of three years. Mr. Tierney was also ordered to pay a fine of $15,000.00. Mr. Tierney pled guilty on August 19, 2013, to one count of conspiracy to use facilities in interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, that is, a business enterprise involving prostitution, and to induce travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in prostitution.
Starting in approximately April of 2008 and continuing to January of 2012 Tierney assisted in the operation of three “spas” in Omaha, Nebraska. The spas had different names over time, but were frequently referred to as the 93rd Street Spa, the 72nd Street Spa and the It Works Spa. Each spa was, in fact, a front for prostitution
Tierney provided computer and electronic services for the spas. He set up a spa website accessible over the internet. The website advertised available services and contact information. He also upgraded the website to include a “Members Only” section. Established customers of the spas could access a “Members Only” section of the website to read about the female workers providing services and view provocative pictures of them. Tierney conducted “photo shoots” of workers for inclusion in the “Members Only” section of the website. The website also allowed customers to communicate with the spas by e-mail and to set up appointments online. Tierney also participated in “sessions” with workers during which he received sex acts in exchange for money.
In addition to setting up the website for the spas, Tierney set up and maintained surveillance cameras at the 93rd Street Spa and later at the 72nd Street Spa. Using those cameras and the internet, Tierney and others could remotely monitor what was occurring inside and outside the 72nd Street Spa.
Tierney also created and upgraded a computerized record keeping and management system, entitled “Spa Manager.” The Spa Manager system generated text messages to workers’ cell phones to notify them of appointments for which they had been scheduled. The Spa Manager system also tracked various data related to the spas’ operation.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Omaha Police Department and the Internal Revenue Service, under the auspices of the Child Exploitation Task Force, which also includes the Council Bluffs Police Department, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the La Vista Police Department, the Mills County Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska State Patrol.New York Man Provided Contraband to Federal InmateRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Newark, New York pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of providing contraband in a federal prison, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Mirelis Lopez, 32, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on February 3, 2013, Lopez provided a quantity of marijuana to an inmate at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for April 28, 2014. The law provides for a total sentence of 5 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Officers of the McKean Federal Correctional Institution conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Lopez.
National Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Organization in Sandy Springs DismantledRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Jiles and Shannon Johnson, a husband and wife who owned the now closed KC Pit BBQ Restaurant in Sandy Springs, Ga., and Matthew Ware, the accountant for the restaurant, have been sentenced to federal prison.
“Businesses and professionals who use legitimate organizations to filter laundered drug proceeds denigrate legitimate earnings while destroying the jobs of those who work in those businesses,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Illegal drugs lure many into that lifestyle with offers of big money, easily made. In the end, what really happens is lives are destroyed, businesses close, and the dealers go to jail. We will continue working to remove harmful drugs from our streets.”
“All of the defendants in this case are deserving of the sentences handed down. Several of these individuals masked themselves as legitimate businessmen, while everyone lined their pockets with excessive profits gained from drug trafficking,” said Harry S. Sommers, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “These sentences should serve as a clear reminder to those business operators who facilitate fraud and money laundering schemes, that while you think you may be flying under the radar, you are not. It’s just a matter of time before you get caught and brought to justice. I express gratitude to the law enforcement partners who helped make this case a success.”
George Frazier, Assistant Postal Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office stated, “This investigation was an excellent example of a partnership between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies across the country, working together to bring down a nationwide organized drug ring. I fully commend the hard work and countless hours put forth by all of the law enforcement agencies involved, which resulted in bringing these individuals in this case to justice.”
“We are proud to have worked with our law enforcement partners in disrupting this organization’s money laundering ability, the trafficking of drugs and the commission of crimes against our community,” stated Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “Pretending to operate legitimate businesses will not thwart law enforcement’s efforts in determining the true nature of the businesses and the crimes they promote.”
“This case goes to show the success of task force investigations, where local police detective’s team up with our federal counterparts and share our resources, experience and knowledge to bring down criminal enterprises. This is a great example of the effectiveness of working together to reach a common goal, which is the protection of our community,” said Police Chief Kenneth DeSimone, Sandy Springs Police Department.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: This large scale drug trafficking and money laundering organization coordinated (1) the distribution of thousands of kilograms of cocaine imported from Mexico and transported from California to Kansas City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., and (2) the laundering of millions of dollars in drug proceeds in Georgia. The organization coordinated its efforts through the KC PIT BBQ Restaurant in Sandy Springs, with the assistance of other businesses and professionals.
In 2003, Jiles and Shannon Johnson were the owners of the KC PIT BBQ Restaurant. Jiles Johnson was also a commercial truck driver. To supplement his restaurant income, he began driving kilograms of cocaine from California to Philadelphia on behalf of Mark Walker. Mark Walker was a Philadelphia cocaine distributor with access to street-level dealers, including his brother Sidney Walker, Ronald Martin, Lloyd Ellis and others. Johnson also supplied cocaine to Kansas City and Washington D.C.
As Johnson and Walker generated cash from cocaine sales, they purchased real estate in Georgia through Linda Tong, a local real estate broker. Tong made “structured” deposits of over $500,000 into bank accounts. “Structuring” occurs when a person breaks down over $10,000 in cash into smaller deposits under $10,000 to avoid the filing of a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) by a financial institution. The Johnsons invested over three million dollars in real estate holdings, including an 80 acre motorcycle racetrack in Twiggs County.
Matthew Ware, the accountant for the KC PIT BBQ Restaurant, accepted bags of cash in excess of $10,000 from Jiles Johnson. Ware provided the cash to some of his accounting firm’s clients and they repaid him with checks made payable to Johnson and his businesses. When the cash volume increased, Ware connected Johnson to another client, financial planner Jacques Degaule, to assist with the laundering. Degaule traveled to banks in Georgia, Missouri, Pennsylvania and New Jersey where he deposited over seven million dollars. No IRS 8300 Forms were filed, which are required when a trade or business receives cash over $10,000. The Johnsons used these laundered funds to underwrite their investments and their restaurant’s operations. Evan Francis, a local car broker, coordinated the delivery of loads of cocaine, solicited customers, and structurally deposited cash. Schawn Lemon Wortham laundered Mark Walker’s funds while he remained incarcerated.
The cocaine originated from Mexico and was supplied from California by Jose Gastelum and Lorenzo Vargas. When Johnson experienced financial losses, Gastelum and Vargas collateralized his drug debt on behalf of the source of supply by taking ownership interests in his restaurant and racetrack. Ware, the accountant, assisted them in the process.
The organization unraveled in 2010 when Thallas Amie, Lavern Simon and Jiles Johnson attempted to deliver 35 kilograms of cocaine to Philadelphia. The cocaine was intercepted by law enforcement which ultimately led to the organization’s dismantlement.
All sentenced defendants entered guilty pleas except for the accountant, Ware, who was convicted after a jury trial in January 2013. The sentencing’s were before United States District Judge Richard W. Story, as were other members of the organization who were sentenced for their respective roles as follows:
- Jiles Delwin Johnson, 47, of Sandy Springs, Ga., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and one count of money laundering conspiracy in the Northern District of Georgia, and one count of distribution of cocaine in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. On December 19, 2013, Mr. Johnson was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
- Mark Lamont Walker, 46, of Cumming, Ga., and Philadelphia, Penn., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and one count of money laundering conspiracy. On September 3, 2013, Mr. Walker was sentenced to eight years, six months in federal prison to run consecutively to an existing nine year sentence he received in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Combined, Mr. Walker’s sentence was 17 years, six months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
- Jose Marcial Gastelum, 33, of Chula Vista, Ca., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. On May 16, 2013, Mr. Gastelum was sentenced to 12 years, three months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
- Lorenzo Vargas, 32, of Fullerton, Ca., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. On October 13, 2011, Mr. Vargas was sentenced to ten years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
- Sidney Walker, 45, of Huntington, Penn., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and one count of money laundering conspiracy. On December 20, 2013, Mr. Walker was sentenced to 11 years and three months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
- Ronald Martin, 67, of Philadelphia, Penn., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. On November 26, 2013, Mr. Martin was sentenced to six years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Mr. Martin received no credit against his imposed sentence for time previously served.
- Lloyd Ellis, 43, of Philadelphia, Penn., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. On October 10, 2013, Mr. Ellis was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
- Evan Francis, 48, of Lawrenceville, Ga., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and one count of money laundering conspiracy. On September 3, 2013, Mr. Francis was sentenced to ten years, one month in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
- Thallas Amie, 32, of Sandy Springs, Ga., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. On September 4, 2013, Mr. Amie was sentenced to six years, six months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
- Laverne Simon, 54, of Forest Park, Ga., entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. On September 4, 2013, Mr. Simon was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
- Matthew Ware, 57, of Tucker, Ga., was convicted after a jury trial in January 2013, on one count of money laundering conspiracy. On October 29, 2013, Mr. Ware was sentenced to six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
- Jacques Degaule, 52, of Atlanta, Ga., entered a guilty plea to two counts of interstate transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises. On September 4, 2013, Mr. Degaule was sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release. Mr. Degaule received no credit against his sentence for time previously served.
- Shannon Renee Johnson, 46, of Sandy Springs, Ga., entered a guilty plea to one count of money laundering conspiracy. On December 19, 2013, Ms. Johnson was sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
- Schwan Lemon-Wortham, 52, of Sandy Springs, Ga., entered a guilty plea to one count of money laundering conspiracy. On November 26, 2013, Ms. Wortham was sentenced to two years, six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
- Linda Tong, 68, of Alpharetta, Ga., entered a guilty plea to one count of Structuring. On September 4, 2013, Ms. Tong was sentenced to three years of probation with the special condition of ten months home detention.
In addition, related cases were filed against defendants in the Western District of Missouri, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Southern District of New York.
The investigation and prosecution of this case was a coordinated effort with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), and the Sandy Springs Police Department through the Atlanta-Carolinas HIDTA High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. Other agencies that assisted in the investigation include the United States Marshal Service; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Philadelphia; Gwinnett County District Attorney=s Office; Gwinnett County Police Department; Georgia Bureau of Investigation; Georgia Department of Corrections; Forsyth County Sheriff=s Office; Atlanta Police Department; Heard County Sheriff=s Office; New Mexico State Police, Arkansas State Police; Los Angeles Police Department; Philadelphia Police Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Other United States Attorney=s Offices that assisted in this investigation include: the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; Southern District of New York; District of Massachusetts; Eastern District of Missouri; Southern District of California; Southern District of Florida; and the Western District of Arkansas.
Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Smith, C. Brock Brockington, R. Scott Ferber and G. Jeffery Viscomi prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Missouri Man Sentenced for Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
Jeremi J. Blake, 20, of Jennings, Missouri, was sentenced in federal district court on December 20, 2013, to 15 months in prison, to be followed by three years supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a $150 fine, for unlawful possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Facts presented in court revealed that on or about June 20, 2013, Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI) officers encountered Blake loitering outside a business in East St. Louis, Illinois, wearing a hoodie sweatshirt on a day the temperature exceeded 90 degrees with high humidity, exhibiting suspicious behavior in an area notorious for gun violence and open air drug sales. When Blake was approached by one of the officers and asked if he was armed, Blake responded, “yeah, I got a gun for protection.” A firearm was removed from Blake’s waistband and secured. Blake has a prior felony conviction in Missouri involving unlawful use of a weapon.
This investigation was conducted by Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI). The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Neal C. Hong.
Judges Sentences Inmate Caught Speeding Away from Federal Prison CampRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - An inmate at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court to 2 months in jail on his conviction for escape after conviction, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Locksley Brian Millwood, 37. The sentence was imposed to run consecutively to the sentence Millwood is currently serving.
According to information presented to the court, on August 21, 2013, Millwood escaped from the McKean Federal Prison Camp. He was returned to the prison within a few hours after his escape, when he was found in a vehicle that was stopped for speeding by the Bradford Township Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended Officers of the McKean Federal Correctional Institution and the Bradford Township Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Millwood.
Judge Sentences Inmate to 4 Additional Months in Prison for Possessing ContrabandRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - An inmate at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court to 4 months in jail on his conviction for possession of contraband in prison, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Pedro Kline, 25. The sentence was imposed to run consecutively to the sentence Kline is currently serving.
According to information presented to the court, from on or about May 11, 2013 to on or about May 13, 2013, Kline was in possession of contraband, namely, marijuana.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended Officers of the McKean Federal Correctional Institution for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Kline.
Federal Inmate in Possession of A Cell Phone Sentenced to 3 More Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - An inmate at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court to 3 months in jail on his conviction for possession of contraband in prison, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Ameet Kotak, 27. The sentence was imposed to run consecutively to the sentence Kotak is currently serving.
According to information presented to the court, on or about June 28, 2013, Kotak was in possession of contraband, namely, a cell phone.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Federal Inmate Gets 3 More Months in Prison for Possessing MarijuanaRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - An inmate at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court to 3 months in jail on his conviction for possession of contraband in prison, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Jason Cruz, 36. The sentence was imposed to run consecutively to the sentence Cruz is currently serving.
According to information presented to the court, on February 3, 2013, a visitor provided a quantity of marijuana to Jason Cruz, an inmate at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended Officers of the McKean Federal Correctional Institution for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Cruz.
Federal Grand Jury in Fort Wayne Returns IndictmentRead the Press Release
Hammond South Bend Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana - The United States Attorney's Office announced that a Grand Jury sitting in Fort Wayne, Indiana, returned the following Indictment on November 20, 2013: Daniel Perry, 24, of Fairmount, Indiana, is charged in a two Indictment with receipt of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors on or about June 11, 2012, and knowingly possessing visual depictions of minor(s) engaged in sexually explicit conduct on or about January 24, 2013. The Indictment also seeks the forfeiture of computers and hard drives. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Wayne Police Department. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley J. Miller Lowery.
The United States Attorney's Office emphasized that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.Federal Court Shuts Down Montgomery-Area Tax PrepaperRead the Press Release
Alabama Preparer Allegedly Falsified Tax Returns at Cost of Millions to U.S. Treasury
Montgomery, Alabama - A federal court in Montgomery, Alabama, permanently barred Kenya Hendrix Adams from preparing tax returns for others, announced George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. The permanent injunction order was signed by Judge Mark E. Fuller of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
The order also requires Adams to turn over to the United States copies of all returns or claims for refund that she prepared after January 1, 2008, and to notify each person for whom she prepared returns since that date. The order authorizes the United States to monitor Adams’ compliance with the terms of the order.
The government’s complaint alleged that Adams repeatedly prepared federal tax returns that understated her clients’ federal tax liabilities. According to the complaint, Adams did so by falsely claiming or inflating tax credits or fabricating deductions. The suit alleges that the harm to the United States Treasury as a result of her conduct could be in the millions of dollars.
“These fraudulent tax preparers create a horrible problem in this area,” stated U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr. “What they are doing must be stopped and I applaud the IRS for taking the steps to shut them down.”
Claiming bogus tax refunds is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams. In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of tax fraud promoters and unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website. For more information about choosing a tax return preparer, see the IRS website and the IRS YouTube Channel.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
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Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Federal Court Shuts Down Montgomery Area Tax PreparerRead the Press Release
A federal court in Montgomery, Ala., permanently barred Kenya Hendrix Adams from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The permanent injunction order was signed by U.S. District Court Judge Mark E. Fuller of the Middle District of Alabama.
The order, filed on Dec. 20, 2013, also requires Adams to turn over to the United States copies of all returns or claims for refund that she prepared after Jan. 1, 2008, and to notify each person for whom she prepared returns since that date. The order authorizes the United States to monitor Adams’ compliance with the terms of the order.The government’s complaint alleged that Adams repeatedly prepared federal tax returns that understated her clients’ federal tax liabilities. According to the complaint, Adams did so by falsely claiming or inflating tax credits or fabricating deductions. The suit alleges that the harm to the United States Treasury as a result of her conduct could be in the millions of dollars.
“These fraudulent tax preparers create a horrible problem in this area,” said U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. of the Middle District of Alabama. “What these people are doing must be stopped. I applaud the IRS for taking the steps to shut down those fraudulent tax preparers.”
Claiming bogus tax refunds is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams. In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of tax fraud promoters and unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website . For more information about choosing a tax return preparer, see the IRS website and the IRS YouTube Channel .District Woman Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder in June 2012 Slaying of Next-Door Neighbor-Victim Was Stabbed in Presence of Her Six-Year-Old Child-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON Cydrisse Alvin, 33, of Washington, D.C. has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder while armed for the June 2012 stabbing of her next-door neighbor, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Alvin was found guilty by a jury on Dec. 19, 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck scheduled sentencing for Feb. 21, 2014. Alvin faces a potential sentence of 60 years in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, on June 4, 2012, at about 9 a.m., Alvin knocked on the door of the victim, 28-year-old Amber Kent, her next-door neighbor and former friend. Ms. Kent answered the door in her pajamas. Within seconds, Alvin entered and stabbed Ms. Kent three times – once in the chest and twice in the back. The murder happened in the presence of Ms. Kent’s six-year-old daughter.
After stabbing Ms. Kent, Alvin quickly fled the scene and was apprehended hours later.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Marian Russell, Fern Rhedrick, Phil Aronson, Ethel Noble, Sharon Newman, and Mia Beamon; Litigation Technology Specialist Joshua Ellen; Investigative Analyst Sharon Johnson, and David Foster and Tamara Ince of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen recognized the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Worm, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
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