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Thursday 12 September 2013
Desert Hot Springs Man Who Allegedly Escaped from Custody Faces New Charges Related to Pipe Bombs Found in Coachella ValleyRead the Press Release
Grand Jury Indicts Fugitive for Possessing 6 Pipe Bombs Found in Palm Springs
RIVERSIDE, California – Federal authorities are seeking the public’s help in apprehending a man who was indicted this week on federal charges of illegally possessing pipe bombs that were strewn about residential neighborhoods in Palm Springs last year.
Edward Allen Costa, 48, was indicted yesterday on six counts of possessing unregistered destructive devices (pipe bombs) and one count of escape from custody. Costa, who pleaded guilty last year to being a felon in possession of a firearm, allegedly walked away from a “halfway house” in Rubidoux last month.
The indictment alleges that Costa illegally possessed six pipes bombs that were left in various locations in Palm Springs from May 8 through May 12 last year. Costa was initially charged in relation to the pipe bombs in a criminal complaint filed in June 2012, but those charges were dismissed to allow additional investigation. When that complaint was dismissed, Costa was charged in another case being a convicted felon in possession of a .357-magnum revolver, as well as 106 rounds of ammunition.
Costa pleaded guilty late last year to the felon-in-possession charge, and he was sentenced in January by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips to one year and one day in federal prison. By August, the Bureau of Prisons had assigned Costa to a residential re-entry center in Rubidoux. According to court documents, Costa signed out of the facility in order to go to a state-run employment office, but he never returned. Costa was initially charged with escape in a criminal complaint filed in federal court on August 16.
Special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had continued to investigate the case involving the pipe bombs. That investigation concluded yesterday when a federal grand jury in Riverside returned the seven-count indictment against Costa.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
The charge of possession of an unregistered destructed device carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The escape charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Costa is currently a fugitive being sought by federal authorities. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is encouraged to contact the FBI at this 24-hour number: 888-CANT HIDE (888-226-8443)
The case against Costa was investigated by the FBI and the ATF, which received substantial assistance from the Palm Springs Police Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Also, the United States Marshals Service has provided substantial assistance in the effort to locate and arrest Costa.
Release No. 13-115
Deltona Felon Sentenced to More Than Twenty One Years in Prison for Possession of A Firearm During A Cocaine SaleRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL - U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr., yesterday sentenced Edwin Vidal Torres (31, Deltona) to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. Based upon his lengthy criminal history, which included offenses involving violence, firearms, and drug trafficking, Torres was designated a career offender. He pleaded guilty to the charges on June 4, 2013.
According to court documents, on April 18, 2013, Torres possessed a firearm during the sale of cocaine. Immediately following the sale, agents arrested Torres with 19 ounces of cocaine, a digital scale, $3,793 in cash, and a revolver. Following his arrest, Torres admitted that he carried the firearm during drug deals involving more than nine ounces of cocaine. He also stated that he carried the firearm to protect his drugs, drug money, as well as himself during his drug transactions.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Volusia Bureau of Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Irick.
Davenport Woman Sentenced to One Year and One Day of Imprisonment for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, IA – On September 12, 2013, Kelly Taylor, age 51, of Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced to one year and one day of imprisonment for bank fraud, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Chief United States District Judge James E. Gritzner also sentenced Taylor to a five year term of supervised release, following the term of imprisonment.
Beginning in August 2012, and continuing until January 2013, Kelly Taylor executed a scheme to defraud Scott Schools Credit Union (“SSCU”). Taylor and her husband had been longstanding clients of SSCU and had a personal checking account at the credit union. On August 28, 2013, Taylor opened a business account at SSCU for the business owned and operated by Taylor and her husband.
After opening the business account at SSCU Taylor immediately wrote $430,000 worth of checks drawn on the account and deposited the checks into her personal account. Taylor knew that she did not have sufficient funds in the business account to cover the checks. Several days later, Taylor wrote $430,000 worth of checks drawn on her personal account and deposited the checks into her business account. Taylor knew that she did not have sufficient funds in her personal account to cover the checks.
Taylor continued to write checks between the business account and her personal account in close succession in order to take advantage of the time required for the bank to process the checks. By operating in this manner Taylor was able to make it appear as if there were sufficient funds in her two accounts to cover large checks and debits despite the fact that the true balances in both accounts were grossly insufficient. Taylor knew that she did not have sufficient funds in her accounts to cover the checks drawn on the accounts and she continued to kite insufficient funds checks between the accounts in order to deceive the credit union until her accounts were closed in January 2013.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
(Download Press Release )
Colorado Corporation Settles Allegations of Trade Secret Theft in the Eastern District of TexasRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsPLANO, Texas – A Colorado corporation has agreed to settle allegations of trade secret theft in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.
ADA-ES, Inc., and ADA Environmental Solutions, LLC, (collectively, “ADA”), entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office accepting responsibility for their actions, pledging to continue a culture of corporate compliance, and continuing to make payments to the victim corporation from whom confidential information had been acquired.
Between approximately 2000 and 2006, ADA and another corporation agreed to jointly develop, test, and market a product known as activated carbon in North America; activated carbon was, and is, used to remove mercury emissions from waste gas created through the manufacturing process of certain industrial products. According to the non-prosecution agreement, ADA inappropriately maintained the confidential information that it had been provided by its partner corporation.
The agreement between ADA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office requires ADA to provide training programs and compliance checks designed to ensure that proper safeguards are in place to protect confidential information, and provide periodic progress reports to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. On its own, and prior to the government’s investigation, ADA employed general counsel to oversee these efforts. The agreement also requires that ADA abide by the terms of a settlement agreement between it and the partner corporation, which required a $40.5 million payment to the partner corporation as well as a running royalty on ADA’s sale of activated carbon until 2018.
“Information is akin to currency in the modern world. Like individuals, corporations that acquire protected information have a duty to guard its confidentiality,” said U.S. Attorney Bales. “We intend to be vigilant to ensure that the acquisition and use of such information is handled appropriately.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and negotiated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shamoil T. Shipchandler and J. Kevin McClendon.Clarks Summit Man Charged with Threatening the PresidentRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a federal grand jury in Scranton on Tuesday charged a Clarks Summit man with threatening to kill the President of the United States.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Nicholas Savino, age 42, allegedly sent an e-mail to the White House on August 16, 2013, that read: “President Obama the Anti-Christ. As a result of breaking the constitution you will stand down or be shot dead.”
The indictment also charges Savino with transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce.
The charges stem from an investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Clarks Summit Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is five years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Chief Executive Officer of Superior Discount Coins Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Gold Coin Investors Out of over $2.4 MillionRead the Press Release
DENVER – James P. Burg, age 62, formerly of Fairplay, Colorado, pled guilty before U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane today to one count of mail fraud and one count of failing to file an income tax return, federal law enforcement authorities announced. Burg, who is free on bond, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kane on December 17, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. Burg was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on November 5, 2012. The indictment remained sealed until his arrest in California on November 29, 2012.
According to the indictment as well as the plea agreement, beginning on or about October 1, 2007, and continuing through and including on or about January 12, 2012, in Colorado and elsewhere, James P. Burg devised and intended to devise a scheme to defraud customers that ordered coins from a business known as Superior Discount Coins and Gold Run Investments and for obtaining money from those customers by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. Burg took and received $2,464,099 from customers that ordered coins and he failed to deliver the coins as promised.
As part of the scheme, Burg represented that he was the Chief Executive Officer of a company known as Superior Discount Coins (“SDC”) and that SDC was in the business of selling coins. Burg also conducted business using a company known as Gold Run Investments (“GRI”) and represented that GRI was in the business of selling coins. At times, Burg operated GRI using the alias “Tim Burke”. Burg advertised and solicited customers through radio advertisements and over the internet using websites he controlled, including; www.superiordiscountcoins.com, www.yourcoinbroker.com, and www.goldruninvestments.net
Burg misrepresented and promised customers that if they ordered coins from SDC or GRI and paid him for those coins, he would deliver the coins to them or to accounts designated by them. He sent, and caused to be sent to customers that ordered coins from SDC or GRI invoices stating amounts of money owed for the coins and, in some cases, providing information about a bank account to which the customers should transfer their money to purchase the coins.
A substantial portion of the money Burg received from customers was not used to purchase coins for such customers but instead he converted the money to his own use and benefit. Burg refused to refund money to customers in several instances where the customers requested a return of their money after he failed to deliver coins as originally promised. To prevent the scheme’s detection, Burg sometimes filled customers’ orders for coins only after such customers threatened to take legal action or report him to law enforcement authorities. Burg used one customer’s payment for coins to refund funds to another customer.
For calendar years 2003 through 2009, Burg failed to file income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service as required by law. These returns were required to be filed with the IRS on April 15 following the subsequent above mentioned years. The investigation determined during the above years Burg generated gross income over 1.3 million dollars for which he failed to pay income taxes on the income.
Mail fraud carries a penalty of not more than 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 per count. Failing to file a tax return carries a penalty of not more than 1 year in federal prison and a fine of up to $25,000 per count.
This case was investigated by special agents with IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff.
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Catholic Priest Sentenced to 50 Years for Producing Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Roman Catholic priest was sentenced in federal court today for producing child pornography.
“This sexual predator victimized five young children over a period of almost six years,” Dickinson said. “He violated his religious vows, betrayed the trust of his parishioners and shocked the entire community. He deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison for his deliberate, planned and chronic child sexual abuse. Today’s sentence of 50 years without parole, a virtual life sentence, is a just outcome to protect our children and our community from this predator priest.”
Shawn Ratigan, 47, of Independence, Mo., a diocesan priest and former pastor or assistant pastor in several area parishes, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 50 years in federal prison without parole. Ratigan was the parish pastor at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Kansas City, Mo., and worked at St. Mary’s Church in St. Joseph, Mo., and St. Joseph’s Church in Easton, Mo. More recently, he served as chaplain to the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Eucharist in Independence.
On Aug. 2, 2012, Ratigan pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child pornography. Each of those counts involved the sexual exploitation of a separate child victim. Ratigan admitted that he exploited five child victims to produce sexually explicit pictures of them. The victims ranged in age from two years old to 12 years old at the time of the offenses.
The exploitation occurred at several locations over a six-year period of time. Ratigan, at the time a Catholic priest, carried out some of these victimizations in and around a church. Others he carried out in trusted environments under the noses of the victims’ parents.
Victim Jane Doe #1
Ratigan admitted that he exploited a 6-year-old child, identified as Jane Doe #1, to produce an image of child pornography between June 11 and 12, 2005.
According to court documents, Ratigan again took photos of this victim with his cell phone in April 2011 and downloaded them to his computer while he was living at the Vincentian House. Ratigan surreptitiously took photographs of the crotch area of the child when she visited him at the Vincentian House on Easter Sunday (April 24, 2011).
Victim Jane Doe #2
Ratigan admitted that he took pictures as he exploited a 2-year-old child, identified as Jane Doe #2, to produce child pornography on May 17, 2006. These photographs were taken in the choir loft of St. Joseph’s Church in Easton.
Victim Jane Doe #3
Ratigan admitted that he took pornographic pictures of his exploitation of a 5-year-old child, identified as Jane Doe #3, between Sept. 1 and Nov. 1, 2007. Ratigan had sexual contact with this victim.
Victim Jane Doe #4
Ratigan admitted that he attempted to produce child pornography by taking close-up shots of the crotch area of the bathing suit of a 7-year-old victim, identified as Jane Doe #4, without her knowledge on July 6, 2009.
Victim Jane Doe #5
Ratigan admitted that he pulled down the pants of a child victim, identified as Jane Doe #5, while she was sleeping at her home and took pornographic pictures. This occurred between Aug. 1, 2008, and Sept. 1, 2009, while the victim was eight and nine years old.
Additional Photos
In addition to the specific offenses to which Ratigan pleaded guilty, a review of his cell phone after it was confiscated by police indicates that Ratigan also took surreptitious non-sexual photos of prepubescent girls on several occasions. In addition to the Easter Sunday photos of Jane Doe #1, Ratigan took photos of young girls in bathing suits as early as February or March 2011 and at a grocery store in April 2011. During this time period, a few members of Ratigan’s family caught him with a camera, which he had used to take pictures of a girls’ gymnastics program as it was being shown on television.
Ratigan was under written contract with his bishop during the time not to have any contact with minors, not to take pictures of minors and not to possess a computer. Ratigan nevertheless had multiple contacts with children, such as attending a St. Patrick’s Day Parade, attending a birthday party for a child at the child’s house and accessing Facebook sites. Ratigan took hundreds, if not thousands, of non-sexual photos of prepubescent girls.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Burien Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A registered sex offender with a prior conviction for child molestation was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison for receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. CHARLES GLENN PERKINS, 53, pleaded guilty in June 2013 following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez recommended that PERKINS be placed at a prison with sex offender treatment and imposed a 15 year term of supervised release following his prison sentence.
PERKINS was identified by law enforcement in the current case when he tried to enter Canada on December 29, 2012 and was denied entry due to his prior convictions for sex offenses. PERKINS is a registered sex offender in Washington State having previously been convicted of child molestation offenses in Kitsap County in 1987 and 1990. The Canadian Border agents sent PERKINS’s laptop for screening and investigators noted two pictures of nude children. Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations obtained a search warrant for PERKINS’s Burien residence. A review of his digital media revealed that he had received and possessed approximately 610 images and 10 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
PERKINS was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
The case was investigated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jerrod Patterson.
Bergen County Resident Pleads Guilty to His Role in in A Large-scale Identity Theft Ring and Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, N.J., man today admitted his role in a large-scale and sophisticated identity theft scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Matthew J. Kang, 44, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an Information charging him with conspiracy to unlawfully produce identification documents and false identification documents (Count One), conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions and bank fraud (Count Two), aggravated identity theft (Count Three), conspiracy to commit bank fraud (Count Four), and tax evasion (Count Five).
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:Kang, an independent loan broker, conspired with Sang-Hyun Park, a/k/a “Jimmy,” and others to obtain a Social Security card beginning with the prefix “586.” These 586 Social Security cards were issued by the United States to individuals, usually from China, who were employed in American territories, such as Guam. Park was the leader of a criminal organization, identified in court papers as “the Park criminal enterprise,” headquartered in Bergen County, that obtained, brokered, and sold identity documents to customers for the purpose of committing credit card fraud, bank fraud, tax fraud, and other crimes. Park pleaded guilty on Jan. 9, 2012, related to his role in the enterprise and is pending sentencing.
The Park criminal enterprise engaged in the fraudulent “build up” of credit scores associated with the Chinese identities. They did so by adding the Chinese identity as an authorized user to the credit card accounts of various conspirators who received a fee for this service – members of the enterprise’s credit build-up teams. By attaching the Chinese identities to these existing credit card accounts, the teams increased the credit scores associated with the Chinese identities. The members of the build-up teams knew neither the real person to whom the identity belonged nor virtually any of the customers who had purchased the identities.
After building the credit scores associated with these identities, Park and his conspirators directed, coached, and assisted his customers to open bank accounts and obtain credit cards. Park and his conspirators then used these accounts and credit cards to commit fraud. Park relied on several collusive merchants who possessed credit card processing, or swipe, machines. For a fee, known as a “kkang fee,” these collusive merchants charged the fraudulently obtained credit cards, although no transaction took place. After receiving the money into their merchant accounts from the credit card related to these fraudulent transactions, the collusive merchants gave the money to Park and his conspirators, minus their “kkang fee.”
Kang admitted that he obtained and brokered 586 Social Security card and counterfeit driver’s licenses through Park for others. Kang further admitted that as a member of a “build-up” team, he fraudulently established credit histories and scores for customers using these 586 identities. Kang and his conspirators used these fraudulently obtained identities to obtain credit cards and to obtain bank loans. Kang also admitted that he brokered numerous commercial loans through false statements and documents. Kang and his conspirators caused more than $4 million in financial losses.
Kang admitted that he committed tax evasion by receiving income, including commission and fees from loans he had brokered, funneling this income through his corporate accounts, and then using these funds for personal expenses. Kang admitted that around April 15, 2008, he filed an individual income tax return for tax year 2007 that declared that his taxable income for calendar year 2007 was $73,741. Kang admitted that this return failed to include $74,647 in additional taxable income that he had received in 2007, thus having an additional tax of $28,705 due the United States.
Kang faces the following statutory maximums: five years in prison (Count One); 30 years in prison (Count Two and Four); two years in prison, mandatory minimum (Count Three), and five years’ imprisonment (Count Five). Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2014. He was arrested on Sept. 16, 2010, and released on $250,000 bail.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark; IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen; the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees; and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor John L. Molinelli and the Office’s Chief of Detectives Steven Cucciniello, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Moscato of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit and Jane Yoon of the Healthcare and Government Fraud Unit in Newark.
As for other members of the Park Criminal Enterprise, the charges and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
13-365
Defense Counsel: Edward J. Dauber Esq. and Thomas B. Slocum Esq., NewarkBend Resident Pleads Guilty to Stealing More Than $320,000 Through Fraudulent Refund SchemeRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore. –Mark Timothy Ellis, 38, of Bend, Oregon, pled guilty on September 11, 2013, to making a fraudulent claim to the United States and to filing a false lien against a federal employee. As part of his plea agreement, Ellis admitted that he made a false claim to the United States when he filed a false federal tax return and obtained a $327,062 refund based on that false return. Ellis also admitted that he filed a false lien against the federal law enforcement officer who was investigating the false tax return as a means of retaliation and intimidation.
Sentencing is set for January 7, 2014, at 9 a.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken. The maximum penalty for making a false claim is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for filing a false lien is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford.
Australian Research Analyst Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Insider Trading ChargesRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that TRENT MARTIN, a former research analyst at an international financial services firm, pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to charges arising from his involvement in an insider trading scheme. The scheme involved the misappropriation of material, non-public information (“Inside Information”) concerning IBM’s acquisition of a software company, SPSS, Inc., in 2009. MARTIN was arrested on these charges in Hong Kong in December 2012 and extradited to the United States in March 2013. He pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr., pursuant to a cooperation agreement.
According to the Indictment to which MARTIN pled guilty, statements made during the plea proceeding, and other court documents:
The Inside Information concerning IBM’s acquisition of SPSS originated from a corporate lawyer who was part of the legal team that represented IBM in the transaction (“Attorney-1”) in 2009. On May 31, 2009, Attorney-1 shared Inside Information concerning the transaction, including the names of the parties and the fact that IBM was going to acquire SPSS for a significant premium over SPSS’s market price, with his close friend, MARTIN. The information was shared in confidence. Based on their longstanding history of sharing confidences, Attorney-1 expected that MARTIN would not share the information or use it to trade.
However, thereafter, MARTIN bought SPSS common stock based on the Inside Information he was given by Attorney-1 and, in turn, shared the tip with his roommate, Thomas Conradt, who worked as a stock broker at a securities trading firm (“Securities Trading Firm-1”). Conradt bought SPSS common stock and tipped David J. Weishaus, his co-worker at Securities Trading Firm-1. Weishaus allegedly bought call option contracts in SPSS based on the Inside Information. In addition, it is alleged that Conradt and Weishaus tipped their co-workers at Securities Trading Firm-1 (“CC-1 and CC-2”), who also bought SPSS call option contracts based on the Inside Information.
On July 23, 2009, MARTIN told Attorney-1 that he had purchased SPSS common stock and call options on the basis of the Inside Information that Attorney-1 had disclosed to him.
When IBM announced its acquisition of SPSS on July 28, 2009, the share price of SPSS common stock rose by 41% in one day, from the prior day’s closing price of $35.09 per share to a closing price of $49.45 per share. Thereafter, MARTIN, Conradt, Weishaus, CC-1, and CC-2 sold their SPSS positions, yielding profits of $7,900, $2,538, $129,290, $629,954, and $254,360, respectively, for a total profit in excess of $1 million.
In the fall of 2010, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) had begun investigating insider trading in SPSS, MARTIN told Attorney-1 that he had profited approximately $8,000 from the Inside Information concerning IBM’s acquisition of SPSS and had disclosed it to his roommate, Conradt, before the transaction was publicly announced. MARTIN also told Attorney-1 that MARTIN believed Conradt had taken a large position in SPSS before the announcement and had, in turn, shared the Inside Information with others.
MARTIN, 34, of Sydney, Australia, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. As part of his plea agreement, MARTIN agreed to forfeit his share of the proceeds obtained from the offense. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Carter on March 14, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.
Conradt pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud on April 3, 2013. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.
The charges against Weishaus remain pending and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Weishaus is next scheduled to appear before Judge Carter on October 3, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and noted that the investigation is continuing.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which Mr. Bharara serves as a Co-Chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. The task force was established to wage an aggressive,
coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20
federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition
of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases
against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For
more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Zach and David B. Massey are in charge of the prosecution.
U.S. v. Trent Martin Indictment
Arkansas Man Sentenced for Texarkana Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsTEXARKANA, Texas – A 49-year-old Cove, Arkansas man has been sentenced to federal prison for bank robbery in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.
Joe Elva Whisenant pleaded guilty on June 20, 2013, to two bank robberies and was sentenced to 77 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider. Whisenant was also ordered to pay restitution of $23,153.
According to information presented in court, on July 24, 2012, Whisenant entered the lobby of the Wells Fargo Bank branch in Texarkana, Texas, and placed a black zippered bag on the counter in front of the teller and handed the teller a note demanding money. Whisenant then fled the bank with approximately $738. A short time later, he was arrested while driving a moped. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Aug. 1, 2012, charging Whisenant with bank robbery.After Whisenant was arrested for the Wells Fargo robbery in Texas, law enforcement officers were able to obtain evidence connecting Whisenant to the Nov. 28, 2011, robbery of the Bancorp South Bank branch in Texarkana, Arkansas. Whisenant robbed the Arkansas bank of $23,153. A federal grand in the Western District of Arkansas returned an indictment on Jan. 13, 2013, charging Whisenant in that bank robbery. On Feb. 28, 2013, the case was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Texas.
These cases were investigated by the FBI, the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department, the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texarkana, Arkansas, Police Department. These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allen Hurst and Jonathan D. Ross.
Anchorage Man sentenced to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of heroin in prisonRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska -U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that an Anchorage man was sentenced in federal court to 120 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possessing heroin while in prison.
Michael Dean Miller, 31, of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason to 120 months in prison, to be followed by a five year term of supervised release. Miller previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Judge Gleason also sentenced Miller to a concurrent 18 month prison term for his possession of contraband in prison. According to court documents, Miller was found in possession of heroin after being arrested in April 2013.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Courter, who prosecuted the case, Miller worked with two other individuals to sell more than forty grams of actual methamphetamine over an estimated six month period in 2012. The conspiracy culminated in a deal where the conspirators attempted to trade methamphetamine for fully automatic weapons. Additionally, Miller sold drugs on his own, a fact that he admitted to as part of his guilty plea.
In sentencing Miller, Judge Gleason noted that selling methamphetamine is a serious offense and that an individual who sells methamphetamine is harming many people in our community. Judge Gleason also noted that deterrence was important in these cases, as was the need to protect the public from people who sell dangerous drugs like methamphetamine.
Ms. Loeffler commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their investigation of this case.Alejandro Garcia Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court to 17 Years and Six Months in Prison for the Beating Deaths of Ben and Bernice NovackRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Janet DiFiore, the Westchester County District Attorney, announced that ALEJANDRO GARCIA was sentenced today in White Plains federal court to 17 years and six month in prison by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas in connection with his conviction on charges related to the 2009 beating deaths of Ben Novack and his mother, Bernice Novack.
In June 2010, GARCIA pled guilty to an Information charging him with Interstate Domestic Violence resulting in the death of Ben Novack. In accordance with his plea agreement, GARCIA was sentenced in connection with that crime and also in connection with his admitted participation in the assault upon Bernice Novack that resulted in her death. GARCIA was a cooperating witness who testified for the Government in the June 2012 trial of Narcisa Veliz Novack and Cristobal Veliz. Novack and Veliz, siblings, were convicted following the trial for their roles in engineering and executing the schemes resulting in the beating deaths of Ben Novack (Novack’s husband) and Bernice Novack (her mother-in-law). GARCIA was hired by Veliz as a hit man in both homicides. Both Novack and Veliz were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
According to the trial evidence and other information in the public record:
Ben and Bernice Novack were members of the family that built the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Ben Novack, who was 52 at the time of his death, owned Novack Enterprises, Inc., which did business as Convention Concepts Unlimited, a company that organized and oversaw conventions held by various businesses. Bernice Novack, who was 86 at the time of her death, was the secretary of Novack Enterprises, Inc.
On April 4, 2009, after being recruited by Veliz for the job, GARCIA surprised Bernice Novack as she started to get out of her car in the garage of her home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and hit her in the head and mouth with a monkey wrench. She died of her wounds shortly thereafter.
In July 2009, Veliz arranged for GARCIA and another man, Joel Gonzalez, to travel from Florida to the Rye Town Hilton in Rye Brook, New York, where Ben Novack was staying with his wife while his company oversaw a convention at the hotel. Early on the morning of July 12, 2009, Narcisa Veliz Novack let the two men into the Novacks’ room, where Garcia and Gonzalez then attacked her husband in his bed and on the floor, striking him with dumbbells and using a box-cutter to cut his eyes. The hit men silenced his screams with a pillow given to them by his wife, tied him up, and used duct tape to cover his mouth. Ben Novack died of asphyxiation and blunt force trauma.
Gonzalez, also a cooperating witness who testified at the June 2012 trial of Novack and Veliz, was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison. Two getaway drivers in the Ben Novack homicide, Denis Ramirez (Veliz’s son-in-law) and Francisco Picado (Ramirez’s cousin), also pled guilty and testified as cooperating witnesses at the trial. Ramirez and Picado were both sentenced to time served.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Karas ordered GARCIA, 36, originally of Nicaragua, to forfeit $25,500, the amount of money he was paid for his role in both homicides.
Mr. Bharara thanked Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore and the prosecutors and investigators from her office for their cooperative work in this investigation and prosecution. He also praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rye Brook Police Department, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott B. Jacobson, Andrew S. Dember, Jeffrey Alberts, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry Perrone of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, cross-designated for this case, are in charge of the prosecution.
Air Force Nco Indicted for Sexually Exploiting Toddlers and Children to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury indicted William S. Gazafi, age 44, of Lusby, Maryland, yesterday on six counts of sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography.The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Brigadier General Kevin J. Jacobsen, Commander Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
According to the indictment and criminal complaint, on August 15, 2013, Gazafi engaged in a chat on a website dedicated to incest discussions with an undercover officer. During the chat, Gazafi discussed his sexual interest in children and advised that he had been drugging and molesting several children, including an infant. During the chat, Gazafi allegedly sent seven images to the undercover officer, three of which were child pornography he claimed he created. The FBI identified Gazafi and he was arrested carrying multiple digital media items. A forensic examination of those items revealed videos and images that Gazafi produced of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These images and videos included one child as young as five months old. The images also depict children bound and handcuffed while sleeping. Gazafi is a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force working at Andrews Air Force Base.
Gazafi faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison followed by up to lifetime of supervised release. Gafazi was arrested on the criminal complaint on September 3, 2013 and remains detained. Gazafi is expected to have his initial appearance on the indictment in federal court in Greenbelt early next week.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Calvert County Sheriff's Office and Calvert County State's Attorney's Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney LisaMarie Freitas of the U.S. Justice Department, Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Sullivan, who are prosecuting the case.
Wednesday 11 September 2013
Wisconsin Man Pleads Guilty to Anonymous Attack on Koch IndustriesRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - A Wisconsin man has pleaded guilty to taking part in a cyber-attack on Koch Industries in Wichita sponsored by a group known as Anonymous, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Eric J. Rosol, 37, Black Creek, Wis., pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of accessing a protected computer. In his plea, he admitted that on Feb. 28, 2011, he took part in a denial of service attack on the Web page of Koch Industries, Kochind.com. From Wisconsin, he used software called a Low Orbit Ion Cannon Code, which was loaded on his computer. He took part in the attack for approximately one minute. The attack, which was organized by a computer hacking group known as Anonymous caused Kochind.com to go offline for approximately 15 minutes.
Koch Industries had hired a consulting group to protect its Web sites at a cost of approximately $183,000. The parties agree that the cost attributed to the defendant’s attack is less than $5,000.
Sentencing is set for Dec. 2. He faces a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison, a fine of up to $100,000 and restitution in an amount to be determined by the judge. Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger for their work on the case.Wilkes-Barre Man Charged with Distributing HeroinRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a grand jury in Scranton returned an indictment Tuesday charging James King, age 47, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, for possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, King was arrested in April 2013 in connection with a drug sale in Kingston, PA.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Todd K. Hinkley.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Wichita Store Owner Charged with Distributing Synthetic MarijuanaRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. - The owner of a head shop in Wichita has been indicted on federal charges of distributing synthetic marijuana, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Brett Welch, 55, Hutchinson, Kan., owner of Mystic Planet at 2610 S. Seneca in Wichita, is charged with 13 counts of distributing a synthetic version of marijuana, which is a controlled substance. In addition he is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The indictment alleges Welch sold synthetic marijuana to undercover buyers on April 17, April 19, April 24, April 26, May 1, May 10, May 29, June 14, July 2, July 17, July 18 and Aug. 7, 2013, in Wichita, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on each drug count; and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each of the other two counts. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith is prosecuting.OTHER INDICTMENTS
Jose E. Piceno, 33, Newman, Calif., and Mayra J. Piceno, 33, Newman, Calif., are charged in a superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, 44 counts of money laundering, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of distribution of methamphetamine. The crimes are alleged to have occurred at various times from April 25 to Oct. 31, 2011, in Sedgwick County, Kan.
If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $500,000 on each of the drug counts, and a penalty of not less than 10 years and a fine up to $4 million on each of the drug charges. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett is prosecuting.
Marisela Ramirez, 24, and Jorge Rodriguez-Maciel, 44, are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. In addition Ramirez is charged with attempting to flush $3,880 in U.S. currency through the U.S. Marshals Service’s cellblock toilet and one count of attempting to damage property belonging to the U.S. Marshals Service. The drug conspiracy is alleged to have taken place beginning at a date unknown and continuing through June 19, 2013, in Johnson County, Kan. The other crimes are alleged to have occurred Aug. 27, 2013, in Wyandotte County.
If convicted, they face a penalty of not less than 10 years and a fine up to $4 million on the conspiracy charge. Ramirez faces a maximum penalty of six months and a fine up to $10,000 on the misdemeanor charge of flushing the currency and a maximum penalty of a year and a fine up to $200,000 on the misdemeanor charge of trying to government property. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett is prosecuting.
Adan Gonzalez-Bello, 31, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found Aug. 28, 2013, in Sedgwick County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Juana Tapia-Duque, 35, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. She was found Aug. 20, 2013, in Sedgwick County, Kan. She was found Aug. 20, 2013, in Sedgwick County, Kan.
If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Stacy L. Fisher, 40, Wichita, Kan., and Ashley C. Fisher, 30, Wichita, are charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction; one count of unlawful possession of ammunition after a felony conviction; and one count of possession of a firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Feb. 28, 2013, in Wichita, Kan.
If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $1 million on the drug charge; a maximum penalty of`10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of possession a firearm or ammunition after a felony conviction; and a penalty of not less than five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.
Juan Ramon Castro-Izunza, 38, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by an alien not lawfully in the United States. The crime is alleged to have occurred Aug. 23, 2013, in Wichita, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.West Seneca Woman Sentenced on Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Caroline Stuchal, 40, of West Seneca, N.Y., who was convicted of possession of half a kilogram of cocaine with the intent to distribute, was sentenced to 36 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce, who handled the case, stated that in November 2010, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the Winchester Grill on Harlem Road in West Seneca. Officers seized more than 500 grams of cocaine which the defendant admitted that her husband, co-defendant Vincent Stuchal, was giving to her to distribute to customers at Chuggers, a West Seneca bar.
Stuchal was arrested in June 2011 along with her husband Vincent who was convicted of the same charge on August 27, 2012 and is awaiting sentencing.
Caroline Stuchal was remanded back into the custody of New York State to face sentencing on charges of attempted possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian P. Boetig, Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell, New York Field Division, and the West Seneca Police Department, under the direction of Chief Daniel Denz.Webster Plating Company; General Manager Sentenced for Violating the Clean Water ActRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Maracle Industrial Finishing, located at 39 Commercial Street, Webster N.Y., and General Manager Jon Maltese, 60, of Canandaigua, N.Y., were sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer for violating the Clean Water Act. The corporation was sentenced to three years probation and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, while General Manager Jon Maltese was also placed on probation for three years, ordered to pay a $4,000 fine, and ordered to complete 80 hours of community service.
In addition, Thomas Maracle, President of Maracle Finishing, was ordered to establish a company-wide environmental compliance program, which includes training employees about the Clean Water Act. Maracle and his successors will be responsible for ensuring and certifying that the company remains in compliance with that plan.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who handled the case, stated that Maracle Industrial Finishing worked with phosphorus and chromium products used in the metal and powder production industry. The company operates out of an industrial building in Webster which has an area with dipping tanks and a painting area. The dipping tanks are filled with various chemical solutions and parts are dipped into each one in sequence. The parts are then rinsed with other cleaning agents over the tanks. The tanks sit atop a drain system which empties into a holding pit where the material is stored for later disposal. The pit contains a sump pump which is connected directly to the outside sewer line, and this sewer connects directly to the Webster Publically Owned Treatment Works (POTW), which in turn connects to Lake Ontario, a navigable waterway of the United States.
Maracle operated under a Zero Discharge Permit that was issued by the Town of Webster beginning in January 2010. Under the permit, Maracle Finishing was not allowed to discharge any process wastewater, only sanitary waste (i.e. - water coming from sinks, toilets, and showers). Maracle Finishing and John Maltese violated this Zero Discharge Permit by repeatedly discharging process wastewater into the sewer system from the facility.
Concerning the investigation, water samples taken from Maracle Finishing in late 2011 tested positive for a wide array of process waste-water, including volatile and semi-volatile organics. Officials obtained samples taken from a sewer directly outside Maracle which connected the building to the POTW. These showed that not only was Maracle discharging process waste-water, which violated their Zero Discharge Permit, but also that some of the waste-water itself posed an explosive hazard due to its low flashpoint. Lab analysis of the waste-water showed a 40.3 degree Celsius flashpoint in violation of POTW limits. The Village of Webster POTW doesn't take any waste-water discharges below a 60 degree Celsius flashpoint because the lower flashpoint has an increased risk of explosion or fire at lower temperatures and is more dangerous.
Webster officials and investigators with the Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation went to Maracle on several occasions to check for discharges at the sewer outside the company. A manhole directly outside Maracle permitted easy inspection of water leaving the facility and entering the POTW system. At virtually every visit, officials were able to see process waste-water leaving Maracle's building and flowing into the POTW in violation of the Zero Discharge Permit. They confronted General Manager John Maltese, who always denied discharging anything other than bathroom water. However, during several of these visits they saw a sump pump running in plain sight which was discharging process waste-water from the holding pit area. Workers interviewed during the investigation confirmed that Maltese would order them to turn the discharge pumps on to drain the chemicals in the holding pit.
The EPA executed a federal search warrant in March 2012 and conducted extensive testing and analysis. Dye testing was performed to confirm that the material from the holding pit was the same material as that being discharged into the POTW line outside. Samples from the dipping tanks, holding pit, and paint area were also obtained and tested.
"As the judge in this case noted, these crimes could have been avoided had the defendant not attempted to cut corners," said U.S. Attorney Hochul. "This office will continue to utilize the federal environmental laws to protect the community and prevent individuals or companies from putting profit ahead of people."
The sentencings are the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Vernesa Jones-Allen, Investigators of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, BECI, under the direction of Lieutenant Richard Thomas, and the Village of Webster Department of Public Works, under the direction of Superintendent Jake Swingly.U.S. Attorney Announces Successful Prosecution of Crack Cocaine Distribution Ring Operating Out of Christian County, KentuckyRead the Press Release
PADUCAH, Ky. – David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, today announced the sentencing of the fifth and final defendant charged in a 20 count federal grand jury indictment with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine in Christian County, Kentucky.
The five defendants are among more than 50 defendants charged federally since 2010, as a result of an ongoing and successful investigation and prosecution of persistent drug and violent crime offenders in the Hopkinsville, Ky., community. These arrests, by federal agents working with local law enforcement agencies, have removed crack cocaine and illegal firearms from the community.
“This is another tremendous example of what can be accomplished with a collaborative law enforcement strategy,” stated U.S. Attorney David J. Hale. “The federal partnership with the Hopkinsville Police Department, Christian County Sheriff’s Office and the Christian County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is getting results and contributing to a safer community.”
According to documents presented in court, the drug trafficking conspiracy operated for nearly three years from November 5, 2008 until August 25, 2011 in Christian County. Defendant Geremy Montriez Long, age 33, of Christian County, was sentenced in U. S. District Court, by Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell yesterday, to 63 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Long pleaded guilty on July 10, 2012, to all charges filed against him in the indictment including distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, hydrochloride cocaine, and marijuana, conspiracy, and to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
The following defendants were charged in this cocaine distribution ring and were sentenced by Senior Judge Russell: Antonio Detrex Ware, on November 7, 2012, to 70 months in prison; Herbert Lamonte Forte, on March 4, 2013, to 92 months in prison; Corey Terrell Sivils, on October 16, 2012, to 12 months; and Coleman Anthony Henderson, on November 7, 2012, to 46 months. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Larry Fentress and was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with assistance from the Western Kentucky Gun Crime Task Force. The task force included investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Hopkinsville Police Department, and the Christian County Sheriff’s Department.
Two Individuals Indicted and Arrested for Bank Robbery and Use of A Firearm During the Comission of A CrimeRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, P.R. – On September 5, a Federal Grand Jury returned a two-count indictment charging Rafael R. Navedo Jr., aka “Pisi”and Amir Adorno-Guishar of Bank robbery and the use of a firearm during the commission of the crime, announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. Both individuals were arrested by agents from the Police of Puerto Rico’s Bank Robbery Unit and the FBI. The indictment was unsealed yesterday evening after the arrest of Adorno-Guishar.
On August 22, the defendants aiding and abetting each other, by force, violence and intimidation did take from the person and presence of another, money belonging to and in the care, custody, control, management, and possession of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Vieques Branch, the deposits of which were then insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and in committing such offense, the defendants did assault and put in jeopardy the life of another person by the use of a firearm. The total amount robbed was $25,210.00. The next hearing is the arraignment and detention hearing of Amir Adorno-Guishar scheduled for September 13, 2013, at 2:00pm.
If convicted, defendants face up to 25 years for the bank robbery charge, and a minimum of 7 years up to life in prison for the armed robbery charge, and fines up to $250,000.00. The case was investigated by the FBI and Police of Puerto Rico’s Bank Robbery Unit and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa D. Bonano-Rodríguez.Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Two Indicted on Counterfeit ChargesRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a grand jury in Scranton returned an indictment Tuesday charging Aric T. Branch, age 34, Queens, New York and Crystal Sunshine Smith, age 35, Holbrook, New York, with conspiracy to pass, receive, and deal in counterfeit United States Federal Reserve Notes. Branch and Smith are also charged with aiding and abetting each other in the passing, receiving, and dealing in counterfeit notes.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, in May 2013, Branch and Smith traveled from New York to Dickson City, Pennsylvania for the purpose of passing the counterfeit notes at various retailers located in Dickson City, including J.C. Penney and Target Department Stores.
The case was jointly investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Dickson City Police Department.
Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 45 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Two Doctors and A Salesman Admit Roles in Bribes-For-Test Referrals Scheme Involving New Jersey Clinical LaboratoryRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two New Jersey doctors and a company salesman pleaded guilty today to their roles in a long-running bribes-for-test referrals scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, N.J., its president, and numerous associates, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Angelo Calabrese, 56, of Pine Brook, N.J., Paul Ostergaard, 72, of Pompton Plains, N.J., and David McCann, 45, of Lyndhurst, N.J., all pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.
Calabrese, a doctor with an office in North Arlington, N.J., pleaded guilty to an information charging him with violating the Travel Act and admitted accepting more than $130,000 in bribes to refer at least $600,000 in lab business to BLS. Ostergaard, a doctor with an office in Pompton Plains, N.J., pleaded guilty to an information charging him with violating the Travel Act, and admitted accepting more than $50,000 in bribes to refer at least $150,000 in lab business to BLS. McCann pleaded guilty to an information charging him with conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Travel Act and admitted paying thousands of dollars in cash to doctors on behalf of BLS.
With today’s guilty pleas, 17 people have now pleaded guilty in connection with the sophisticated BLS bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved the payment of millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies.
“We are continuing to pursue those defendants, including doctors, who put personal profits ahead of patient care,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Patients need to be confident that their doctors are recommending providers who are best qualified to perform medically necessary tests. Those doctors who recommended providers in return for payoffs should know we are coming after them.”
“As is evident in the pleas entered today, and the investigation into the illegal activity of Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services, the FBI Newark takes very seriously the allegations of health care fraud, bribes and kickbacks,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford said. “This investigation and prosecution remains ongoing and those medical professionals that decided to make medical referrals in exchange for bribes are expected to be brought to justice. These pleas today are a direct result of the joint efforts of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
According to documents filed in this and other cases and statements made in court:
Calabrese received more than $130,000 from BLS between 2010 and 2013 through a sham consulting agreement and a sham rental agreement, which combined to pay Calabrese more than $4,500 per month in bribes from BLS. Craig Nordman, 34, of Whippany, N.J., a BLS employee and the CEO of Advantech Sales LLC – one of several entities used by BLS to make illegal payments – who pleaded guilty in June to his role in the scheme, made many of the payments to Calabrese on behalf of BLS.
Ostergaard received more than $50,000 from BLS between 2006 and 2009 through a sham lease agreement and a sham service agreement. William Dailey, 42, of Wall, N.J., a BLS salesman who pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme in May, negotiated the sham agreements on behalf of BLS, with the knowledge and approval of BLS’s president, David Nicoll, 39, of Mountain Lakes, N.J. Ostergaard admitted today that while he was being bribed to make referrals to BLS, he noticed that BLS was adding tests that Ostergaard had not ordered for his patients, but stayed silent about the added tests.
McCann paid thousands of dollars in cash on a monthly basis between December 2011 and April 2013 to numerous physicians on behalf of BLS in exchange for the doctors’ referral of blood specimens to BLS.
On April 9, 2013, federal agents arrested David Nicoll, Scott Nicoll, 32, of Wayne, N.J., a senior BLS employee and David Nicoll’s brother, and Nordman. They were charged by federal complaint with the bribery conspiracy, along with the BLS company and Frank Santangelo, 43, of Boonton, N.J. In June, David and Scott Nicoll, Nordman, and four other associates of BLS pleaded guilty to charges related to their involvement. Santangelo, a doctor, pleaded guilty last month to charges relating to his role in the scheme. So far, 11 employees or associates of BLS, and six physicians have pleaded guilty to their roles in the bribery scheme.
“Offering slush fund payments for medical referrals, ultimately paid for by taxpayers, can have absolutely no place in our health care system,” Thomas O’Donnell, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services region including New Jersey, said. “Such schemes will continue to be vigorously investigated and prosecuted, and these criminals will be brought to justice.”
The bribery count to which Calabrese and Ostergaard pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. McCann faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the bribery conspiracy charge. Sentencing for all three defendants is scheduled for March 13, 2014.Calabrese and Ostergaard have also agreed to forfeit $334,000 and $53,900, respectively. The investigation has so far recovered more than $3 million through forfeiture.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ford; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge O’Donnell; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, with the ongoing investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Minish, Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven, and Jacob T. Elberg, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
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Defense counsel:
Calabrese: Julian Wilsey Esq., Livingston, N.J.
Ostergaard: Justin Walder Esq. and Kevin Buchan Esq., Roseland, N.J.
McCann: Benjamin Choi Esq. and Joseph Horn, Esq., Rutherford, N.J.
Calabrese Information
Ostergaard Information
McCann InformationTexas Mexican Mafia General ConvictedRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - Eric Gomez, aka Valla, 37, of San Antonio, a general in the Texas Mexican Mafia Prison Gang, has entered a plea of guilty to his role in the distribution of heroin, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Gomez was charged along with 25 members or associates of the notorious Texas Mexican Mafia (TMM) prison gang with trafficking in heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine as well as firearms violations, distributing explosive materials and violent crimes in aid of racketeering in October 2012. Court records showed the TMM gang made money by trafficking heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine and by selling firearms.
The TMM formed in the early 1980s in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. During a four-year-period from 2008 through October 2012, the TMM procured illegal drugs and distributed the drugs to numerous associates involved in drug trafficking in order to carry out the business of the gang. Gang members also sold numerous assault rifles and other guns to FBI sources as well as detonation cord. Gomez himself facilitated the sale of 5.5 kilograms of heroin to a FBI confidential source from December 2011-January 2013.
Today’s plea is one of several that have already occurred in the case. Among those who have entered pleas of guilty include Robert Arechiga, 35, Francisco Galvan, 46, Alexander Garcia, 40, George Maldonado, 46, Carlos Romero, 31, Juan Sarmientos, 46, all of Houston; Valentin Ayala-Gutierrez, 53, Gilbert Gonzalez, 42, Jose Cerda, 27, and Enrique Bravo, 39, all of San Antonio; Ruben Esparza, 35, of Robstown; Jorge Montemayor, 37, and Michael Villarreal, 33, both of Baytown; Alvin Valadez, 42, of Seguin; and Ernesto Villarreal, 36, of Corpus Christi.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas, who has accepted all the guilty pleas in the case, has set sentencing for Gomez for Dec. 2, 2013, at 2:00 p.m., at which time he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment up to a possibility of life as well as a $10 million fine. The others are set for sentencing at various times in early 2014.
Gomez will remain in custody pending sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Office of Inspector General, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, police departments in Baytown and Houston and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorneys Tim S. Braley and Mark Donnelly are prosecuting the case.
St. Paul Felon Sentenced for Possessing A .22-caliber RevolverRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court, a 26-year-old St. Paul felon was sentenced for possessing a .22-caliber revolver. United States District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced Christopher Lee Rousseau to 180 months in prison on one count of being an armed career criminal in possession of a firearm. Rousseau was indicted on January 15, 2013, and pleaded guilty on May 16, 2013.
In his plea agreement, Rousseau admitted that on December 3, 2012, he possessed the revolver. It was hidden in the center console of the GMC Jimmy he was driving at the time he was stopped by authorities. A law enforcement affidavit filed in the current case states that at approximately 12:30 a.m. on December 3, 2012, officers stopped Rousseau for a traffic violation near the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and Warner Road. He was subsequently arrested for driving after cancellation of his license. During a search of Rousseau’s person, police found two rounds of ammunition and $385. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of the gun.
Because he is a felon, Rousseau is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition at any time. His prior convictions in Ramsey County include aiding and abetting second-degree burglary (2010) and fleeing police in a motor vehicle (2011). In addition, Rousseau was convicted in Pine County for fleeing police in a motor vehicle (2007) and, in Dakota County, for third-degree burglary (2010).
Since those felony convictions were for violent crimes, Rousseau was subject to the federal armed career criminal statute in the current federal case. That statute mandates a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison upon conviction. Given that the federal criminal justice system does not have parole, offenders serve virtually their entire sentence behind bars.
This case was the result of an investigation by the St. Paul Police Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lola Velazquez-Aguilu.Shreveport Couple Pleads Guilty to Importing Illegal Drugs into the United States While on A CruiseRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Robert W. Scogin, 52, and Peggy S. Scogin, 55, both of Shreveport, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. to importing 9,000 pills illegally into the United States.According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Robert Scogin and Peggy Scogin admitted to importing codeine and dihydrocodeine aboard a cruise ship returning to the United States. United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) determined that the co-defendants purchased approximately 9,000 pills of Schedule II, III and IV narcotics in Belize. Upon reentering the United States, they intended to use the drugs for personal use as well as to sell them to others. Their plan was discovered when some of the pills were found in a locker used by Robert Scogin at his job. After being interviewed by law enforcement, the couple confessed and told investigators that they were able to get the pills on the ship by wrapping them in dirty clothes and hiding them in their luggage to avoid detection.
“Smuggling drugs into the United States is a serious crime,” Finley stated. “Selling prescription drugs without knowing what they really are and without knowing how they will affect the person buying them in an illegal market is extremely dangerous. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect public safety by prosecuting those who illegally import and sell prescription drugs.”
"Homeland Security Investigations special agents in Shreveport along with the Shreveport Police Department Narcotics Unit worked long hours to dismantle this smuggling operation, recover dangerous foreign manufactured narcotics, and bring this investigation to a conclusion,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI New Orleans Raymond R. Parmer Jr. “Stopping the flow of illegal drugs is a priority for HSI, and we will continue to focus resources on this important effort.”
The defendants face up to 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and five years of supervised release. A sentencing date of January 16, 2014 was set.
United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations and the Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg is prosecuting the case.
Sewickley Woman Sentenced to Probation for Participating in ID Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Sewickley, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to two years probation on her conviction of identity theft, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose imposed the sentence on Anastacia Benedict, 24.
According to the information presented to the court, Benedict, a participant in an identity theft scheme, attempted to use unauthorized retail store charge cards to make purchases of merchandise.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Western Pennsylvania Financial Crimes Task Force (WPFCTF) conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution in this case. The WPFCTF was established in February 1995 as a collaborative, multi-agency effort to effectively combat financial crimes, including identity fraud, in Western Pennsylvania. Partners in this effort are the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Homeland Security, the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, the Allegheny County Police Department, the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Pennsylvania State Police.
San Antonio Area Convicted Felon Detained Pending Trial on Federal Firearm Possession ChargeRead the Press Release
Felon-In-Possession Charge Stems From the Illegal Sale of Firearms During an Austin Gun Show
In San Antonio, 65-year-old Manuel “Manny” Rodriguez of Spring Branch, TX, will remain in federal custody pending trial for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Melvin D. King, Houston Division.
A federal criminal complaint filed last week alleges that during a gun show in Austin on August 18, 2013, Rodriguez was in possession of an Intratec AB-10 9mm pistol which he later sold to an undercover officer for $650.00. The complaint further states that Rodriguez served 47 months in federal prison based on a 2002 conviction in the Central District of California for possession of a machine gun and dealing firearms without a ATF license.
Based upon the criminal complaint, ATF agents on Friday arrested Rodriguez and executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence where they seized a total of 76 firearms and approximately $15,000 in U.S. Currency. The seized firearms included numerous AR-15 and AK-47 assault rifles.
This afternoon, United States Magistrate Judge John Primomo ordered Rodriguez held without bond. Rodriguez faces ten years in federal prison upon conviction.
This continuing investigation is being conducted by ATF special agents in Austin and San Antonio together with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. Assistant United States Attorney Jay Hulings is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
A criminal complaint is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Rochester Man Sentenced in Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that LaPrece Lawhorn, 26, of Rochester, N.Y., who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, was sentenced to 180 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Marangola and Jennifer Noto, who handled the case, stated that the defendant participated in a drug trafficking organization responsible for the distribution of large amounts of cocaine and cocaine base in the Rochester area. Lawhorn was involved in manufacturing and distributing the cocaine base. The defendant was one of 10 defendants arrested in connection with this drug investigation. All 10 defendants have been convicted. Lawhorn is the fourth defendant to be sentenced.
The sentencing was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Scott Heagney and investigators of the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Sheppard.Rapid City Man Sentenced for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Distribution of Child Pornography was sentenced on September 9, 2013, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
The case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.
Gary Scott Whiting, age 49, was sentenced to 84 months of imprisonment, 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Between May and July 2012, in Rapid City, Whiting knowingly distributed pornographic material through a shared computer program. All eight videos possessed and distributed by Whiting contained images of young boys, clearly under the age of 18, engaged in various sexual acts. He pled guilty on May 3, 2013.Pest Control Company and Its Owner Charged with Unlawful Application of Pesticides and FalsificationRead the Press Release
A pest control services company and its owner have been charged today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia with conspiracy, unlawful use of pesticides, false statements, falsification of records and mail fraud, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Michael J. Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
Steven A. Murray, 54, of Pelham, Ala., and his company, Bio-Tech Management Inc., were charged in a felony indictment with one count of conspiracy, 10 counts of making false statements, 20 counts of falsifying records, 10 counts of mail fraud and 10 counts of unlawful use of a pesticide.
The indictment alleges that from October 2005 to June 2009, Steven Murray and Bio-Tech repeatedly misapplied the registered pesticide Termidor SC in nursing homes in the state of Georgia and falsified documents to conceal the unlawful use. The indictment further alleges that Murray and Bio-Tech sent invoices through the U.S. Mail to their nursing home clients to solicit payment for the unlawful pesticide applications.According to the indictment, Steve Murray and Bio-Tech provided monthly pest control services to nursing homes in Georgia by spraying pesticides in and around their clients’ facilities. The indictment alleges that, at the direction of Murray, Bio-Tech employees routinely applied the pesticide Termidor indoors more than twice a year, contrary to the manufacturer’s label instructions. The indictment further alleges that after the Georgia Department of Agriculture made inquiries regarding Bio-Tech’s misuse of Termidor and other pesticides, Murray directed several of his Bio-Tech employees to alter company service reports with the intent to obstruct an investigation.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations require that all pesticides be registered, properly labeled, and applied as specified by manufacturer’s labeling to protect public health and the environment.
A criminal indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual or company charged by criminal indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The falsifying records and mail fraud charge carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine per count. The false statements charges each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
These cases are being investigated by Special Agents of the EPA’s Criminal Investigations Division in Atlanta and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard J. Powers and Adam C. Cullman of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Crimes Section.Pest Control Company and Its Owner Charged with Unlawful Application of Pesticides and FalsificationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A pest control services company and its owner have been charged today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia with conspiracy, unlawful use of pesticides, false statements, falsification of records and mail fraud, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Michael J. Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
Steven A. Murray, 54, of Pelham, Ala., and his company, Bio-Tech Management Inc., were charged in a felony indictment with one count of conspiracy, 10 counts of making false statements, 20 counts of falsifying records, 10 counts of mail fraud and 10 counts of unlawful use of a pesticide.The indictment alleges that from October 2005 to June 2009, Steven Murray and Bio-Tech repeatedly misapplied the registered pesticide Termidor SC in nursing homes in the state of Georgia and falsified documents to conceal the unlawful use. The indictment further alleges that Murray and Bio-Tech sent invoices through the U.S. Mail to their nursing home clients to solicit payment for the unlawful pesticide applications.
According to the indictment, Steve Murray and Bio-Tech provided monthly pest control services to nursing homes in Georgia by spraying pesticides in and around their clients’ facilities. The indictment alleges that, at the direction of Murray, Bio-Tech employees routinely applied the pesticide Termidor indoors more than twice a year, contrary to the manufacturer’s label instructions. The indictment further alleges that after the Georgia Department of Agriculture made inquiries regarding Bio-Tech’s misuse of Termidor and other pesticides, Murray directed several of his Bio-Tech employees to alter company service reports with the intent to obstruct an investigation.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations require that all pesticides be registered, properly labeled, and applied as specified by manufacturer’s labeling to protect public health and the environment.
A criminal indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual or company charged by criminal indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The falsifying records and mail fraud charge carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine per count. The false statements charges each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT 202-514-2007.
These cases are being investigated by Special Agents of the EPA’s Criminal Investigations Division in Atlanta and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard J. Powers and Adam C. Cullman of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Crimes Section.Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Sue McKinney, Public Affairs Specialist, United States Attorney's Office at (478) 621-2602.
North Texas Men Guilty of Federal Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsTYLER, Texas – Two North Texas men have pleaded guilty to federal firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Colten David Barrow, 22, of Quinlan, Texas, and Craig Marcus Cooper, 42, of Farmersville, Texas, each pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. Barrow pleaded guilty to attempting to sell a machinegun and Cooper pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a machinegun.
According to information presented in court, on Jan. 31, 2012, Barrow and Cooper traveled together to Duke’s Truck Stop on Highway 64 in Van Zandt County, Texas to meet an individual interested in buying the machinegun. The defendants intended to sell the firearm to the individual for $10,000. However, the buyer was actually an undercover federal agent. The defendants were detained and the 9 mm, fully automatic machine gun with an attached silencer was seized. Further investigation revealed Cooper was a felon having been previously convicted of felony criminal mischief in Collin County, Texas in 2011. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Mar. 27, 2013, charging the defendants with firearms violations.Barrow and Cooper each face up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set. A third defendant is awaiting trial.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Project Safe Neighborhoods is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, ammunition and body armor, and improving the safety of residents in the Eastern District of Texas. Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.New York Man Admits to Participating in Seven Armed Robberies of Electronics Stores in New Jersey and New YorkRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Long Island, N.Y., man admitted today to participating in seven armed robberies of electronics stores in New Jersey and New York, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Leonard Arrington, 27, of Roslyn Heights, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Arrington was arrested on May 22, 2013, originally charged in an indictment in connection with the Oct. 2, 2012, robbery of a Woodbridge, N.J., T-Mobile store. He has been in custody since his arrest.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between May 30, 2012, and Oct. 2, 2012, Arrington conspired with others to commit a series of gunpoint electronics store robberies during which he and accomplices stole merchandise for illegal resale. Typically, store employees were threatened at gunpoint and restrained during the robberies.
In pleading guilty to the gun charge, Arrington admitted that on Oct. 2, 2012, he entered a T-Mobile store in Woodbridge, brandishing a firearm, along with another man. After locking the front door, the men took the employees to the back of the store and tied them up, then stole approximately 40 cell phones. One of the robbers then called the getaway driver, who drove them away in a Land Rover. Accomplices delivered the stolen phones to a cell phone store in Brooklyn.
In all, Arrington admitted to participating in the following robberies:
Date
Bank
LocationRadio Shack
New Rochelle, N.Y.
June 11, 2012
T-Mobile Store
Hempstead, N.Y.
June 18, 2012
Radio Shack
Westbury, N.Y.
June 20, 2012
T-Mobile Store
West Hempstead, N.Y.
June 21, 2012
Radio Shack
Rockville Center, N.Y.
September 20, 2012
T-Mobile Store
Linden, N.J.
October 2, 2012
T-Mobile Store
Woodbridge, N.J.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The firearm charge carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must run consecutively to one another and to any other prison term. Each count also carries a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation. He also thanked the Linden and Woodbridge Police Departments in New Jersey, as well as the New York City and Nassau County Police Departments and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in New York for their excellent work in this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Osmar J. Benvenuto and Nicholas P. Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division.
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Defense counsel: Dennis Cleary Esq., Newark, N.J.Arrington Superseding Information
Monroe County Woman Sentenced to Prison ForRead the Press Release
Federal Cocaine Trafficking And Money Laundering ChargesThe United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Monroe County woman was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Edwin M. Kosik to serve 48 months in prison on the charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Denisse Camilo-Cepeda, age 32, formerly of Stroudsburg, Monroe County, admitted to participating in a conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine and to commit money laundering in the Monroe County and Northampton County areas in 2011.
Previously, Camilo-Cepeda’s husband, Dickson Gutierrez, age 37, formerly of Stroudsburg, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for his participation in the same cocaine trafficking conspiracy.
As part of their plea agreements, Gutierrez and Camilo-Cepeda also agreed to forfeit to the United States two properties in the Dominican Republic which they purchased with the proceeds of cocaine trafficking activity. Camilo-Cepeda also faces deportation proceedings.
In addition to the prison term, Senior Judge Kosik also ordered that Camilo-Cepeda be supervised by a probation officer for five years following her prison sentence if she is not deported.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Stroud Area Regional Police Department and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.
****Mission Woman Pleads Guilty to Wire FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Clarice Brave, age 51, of Mission, South Dakota, appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on September 9, 2013, and pled guilty to the Indictment that charged her with Wire Fraud.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The charge stems from the timeframe between August 1, 2012, and September 24, 2012, when Brave devised a rolling deposit scheme to obtain money from the Family Dollar store in Mission. Brave took cash out of store deposit bags for personal use and delayed taking deposits to the bank until she had enough cash from successive days to replace the money she previously took. When Family Dollar management began to suspect Brave was rolling deposits, Brave was required to fax deposit tickets, the deposit log, and the store’s daily cash receipt totals to the Family Dollar’s Loss Prevention Director in Shawnee, Kansas, on a daily basis. On September 21, 2012, Brave was able to get a teller to issue five deposit tickets from the bank without depositing any cash into Family Dollar’s bank account. She then faxed the fraudulently obtained deposit tickets from Mission to Shawnee, Kansas, in an attempt to conceal the rolling deposit scheme.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie H. Ruettgers.
A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date was set for November 25, 2013.
Brave was released on conditions pending sentencing.Minnesota Man Sentenced for Failure to Pay Child SupportRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Cambridge, Minnesota, man charged with Failure to Pay Child Support was sentenced on September 9, 2013, by U.S. District Court Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Kenneth B. Kleppen, age 42, was sentenced to 5 years of unsupervised probation, a $100.00 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, and child support restitution in the amount of $54,778.41.
Kleppen was indicted for failing to pay over $47,720.00 in past due child support by a federal grand jury on January 8, 2013. In 1999, the defendant had a relationship with a woman which resulted in the birth of a child on January 23, 2000. The relationship with the mother ended in 2000, and on June 30, 2000, an order was filed with the Third Judicial Circuit Court, Codington County, South Dakota, ordering the defendant to pay a total of $2,447.90 in arrearages and attorney fees. Furthermore, he was ordered to pay on-going child support in monthly payments of $353. On November 22, 2004, the child support order was modified, and the defendant was ordered to pay a monthly amount of $550.
From January 2010 until October 2010, the mother entered into an agreement with the child’s maternal grandmother giving the grandmother temporary guardianship. As a result, the mother and the defendant were required to pay the grandmother for support of the child. Although the mother paid her portion, the defendant never made a payment. Subsequently, the defendant owes $5,500 in arrears to the maternal grandmother. Kleppen pled guilty to the charge on September 9, 2013.
This case was investigated the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Wright prosecuted the case. The defendant was released from custody.Mexican Drug Cartel Working with Members of Mexican Mennonite Community Indicted for Large Scale Marijuana TraffickingRead the Press Release
DENVER – A federal grand jury in Denver returned a nine-count indictment charging seven individuals with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, a Schedule I Controlled Substance, and use of a communications device (phone) to facilitate drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Barbra Roach announced. The grand jury returned the indictment on August 6, 2013. One of the seven defendants, Abraham Friesen-Remple, was arrested on August 20, 2013 in the Santa Teresa Point of Entry in New Mexico. He appeared in federal court yesterday, September 10, 2013, for a detention hearing. A U.S. Magistrate Judge ordered Friesen-Remple to be held without bond pending a resolution of the case.
According to court records and testimony presented during Friesen-Remple’s detention hearing, the defendants worked with a Mexican Drug Cartel, trafficking thousands of kilograms of marijuana first by putting the drugs in the gas tanks of cars, and later putting the drugs inside large farm equipment. At the beginning of the conspiracy the vehicles crossed the Mexican border and drove to Colorado Springs, where the marijuana was off-loaded at an auto-body repair shop. Drivers then took the marijuana to various places across the country.
After the individual who ran the Colorado Springs auto body shop was arrested, the organization decided to move the marijuana trafficking from Colorado Springs to North Carolina. Trucks carrying farm equipment continued to transport the marijuana throughout the United States. Many of those charged are members of the Mexican Mennonite community.
Those indicted by the grand jury are:
Eduardo Tellez-Ponce
Ulises Castillo-Meraz
Abraham Friesen-Remple
Enrique Harms-Groening
David Loewen
Juan Reimer
Pedro Dyke-FriesenLaw enforcement are searching for the other six defendants in this case, all of whom are considered fugitives and many of which are believed to be outside the United States.
“This case involves smuggling literally tons of marijuana into the United States from Mexico, with Mexican Cartel involvement,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “International trafficking of drugs, particularly with organized crime involvement, is a top priority of federal law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The fact that this case involves marijuana in no way reduces its status as a high priority matter, consistent with recent guidance from the Department of Justice on marijuana enforcement issues.”
“The Drug Enforcement Administration continues to fulfill its mission by investigating and dismantling high level drug trafficking organizations,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Barbra Roach. “Marijuana traffickers continue to pose a significant threat to our young people and our communities.”
If convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, the defendants face not less than 10 years, and not more than life in prison, as well as a $10,000,000 fine. If convicted of use of a communications facility (telephone) for drug trafficking, those charged with that offense face not more than 4 years in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), including the Denver, Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs offices.
The defendants are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Podolak and Michele Korver.
The allegations contained in the indictment are charges, and the defendant are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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McLaughlin Woman Charged with LarcenyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury.
Rhea Archambault, age 53, was indicted on August 21, 2013, for Larceny. Archambault appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on September 10, 2013, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 5 years of imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, an additional 2 years of supervised release upon revocation, and a mandatory $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge stems from the alleged writing of several checks from a stolen checkbook in March of 2013. The charge is merely an accusation, and Archambault is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Morley is prosecuting the case.
Archambault was released on bond pending trial. A trial date has not been set.McLaughlin Man Sentenced for Assault with Intent to Commit MurderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault with Intent to Commit Murder was sentenced on September 9, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Farrell was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Ross Dean Farrell, age 21, was sentenced to 121 months of imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Farrell was indicted for the above charge by a federal grand jury on October 16, 2012, and pled guilty on May 28, 2013.
The charge stems from an incident occurring on October 8, 2012, in which Farrell was socializing with the victim and others at his home. At some point in the evening, the victim went to sleep on a mattress on the floor. Farrell, outraged by a perceived slight he had received from either the victim or another person, found the victim and pulled him off the mattress onto the cement floor and proceeded to repeatedly stomp the victim on the head and face with his feet.
At the time of the attack, Farrell intended to kill the victim, as shown by the severity of the attack. The victim suffered major injuries, including severe head trauma which required emergency surgeries and had to be placed in a medically induced coma.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.Maryland Man Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for Failing to Register as A Sex OffenderDefendant Worked at Multiple Churches in the District of ColumbiaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Gary Darrell Mabry, 34, of Baltimore, Md., was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for failing to register as a sex offender at a time when he was working at three churches in the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Michael Hughes, U.S. Marshal for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Mabry pled guilty in May 2013 to the federal offense of failing to register as a sex offender. He was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the Honorable Beryl A. Howell. Upon completion of his prison term, Mabry will be placed on five years of supervised release. During that time, he must comply with all sex offender registration requirements, undergo sex offender assessment and treatment, and abide by limitations regarding contact with minors.
Mabry has three prior convictions in Maryland and the District of Columbia for sex offenses involving minor victims, ages 13 and 14, which require him to register as a sex offender. He was required by law to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction where he resides, where he is an employee, whether compensated or not, and where he is a student.
According to the government’s evidence, from March 2009 until his arrest Feb. 26, 2013, Mabry had registered as a sex offender in Maryland, stating that is where he lived and worked. Specifically, he informed the Maryland registry that he was a self-employed freelance musician and he provided his home address as the employment address.
In fact, between March 2009 and October 2012, Mabry worked at three different churches in the District of Columbia, all in music-related positions, without registering that employment with the D.C. sex offender registry or the Maryland sex offender registry.
As part of an overall strategy to combat child exploitation, the U.S. Marshals Service launched a nationwide operation to target sex offenders who knowingly fail to comply with their sex offender registration requirements. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the U.S. Marshals Service, to assist the states in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders.
In announcing today’s sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and U.S. Marshal Hughes praised the members of the D.C. Superior Court Sex Offender Investigations Section of the U.S. Marshals Service, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cassidy Kesler Pinegar and Sarah McClellan, who prosecuted the case.
13-311Luzerne County Man Charged with Receiving and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 38-year-old Luzerne County resident was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of receiving and distributing child pornography.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the defendant, Michael Shaw, allegedly downloaded and traded child pornography during 2012 until June 5, 2013.
The charge against Shaw resulted from an investigation by special agents and task force officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigators from the Pennsylvania State Police, detectives from the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, and local police.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the mandatory minimum sentence is five years imprisonment. The maximum penalty under the federal statute is 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Local Police Departments Receive Funds from Dismantled Internet PharmacyRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsPLANO, Texas – The federal government provided nearly $1 million in forfeiture proceeds to local police departments for their assistance in dismantling a wide-scale Internet-based pharmacy, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
U.S. Attorney Bales presented checks totaling $897,352.26 to the following agencies at a ceremony on Sep. 10, 2013, at the U.S. Attorney’s Office:
Rowlett Police Department $597,142.74
Duncanville Police Department 139,702.37
Mesquite Police Department 102,786.40
Irving Police Department 25,118.07
Dallas Police Department 22,454.05
Texas Joint Counterdrug Task Force 10,148.63The Alton Bay, New Hampshire Police Department also received $27,812.74 in forfeiture proceeds from this case.
The forfeiture funds are the result of the investigation and conviction of New Yorker David Allen Vogel. In the summer of 2010, Vogel was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Texas of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of money laundering. On Jan. 7, 2011, Vogel was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a money judgment in the amount of $24,743,000 and forfeiture of $4,376,471.39, which had already been seized from six separate bank accounts. These funds represent the final distribution of equitable sharing funds in this case. In addition to the funds noted above, these agencies have already received significant additional forfeiture funds in this case.
Vogel, the owner and operator of Madison Pain Clinic, conspired with others to operate an Internet-based pharmacy through which they distributed millions of hydrocodone pills and other controlled substances without a valid prescription. Vogel used proceeds from the illegal enterprise to purchase a multi-million dollar condominium in Trump Towers in New York City and rare coins, including a $36,000 penny. Vogel’s co-defendants were also convicted and received federal prison sentences.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorneys Stevan Buys, Maureen Smith and Kevin Collins.Little Eagle Man Sentenced for Child AbuseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Little Eagle, South Dakota, man convicted of Child Abuse was sentenced on September 9, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Tyson J. Keepseagle, age 26, was sentenced to 10 months of imprisonment, 2 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Keepseagle was indicted by a federal grand jury in November of 2012. He pled guilty to Count I of the Indictment on May 20, 2013.
The conviction stems from an incident on or around March 2, 2012, when Keepseagle was living with the victim’ s mother in Little Eagle. The victim’s mother was cooking dinner while Keepseagle was downstairs with the children. When the victim’s mother went downstairs, she saw Keepseagle holding down the victim with one hand covering her mouth and his other hand containing a fist full of the child’s hair. The victim’s mother immediately leapt on Keepseagle to get him off the victim. Keepseagle then pinned the victim’s mother on the ground and began punching her.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Morley prosecuted the case.
Keepseagle was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.Lehigh County Man Charged with Receiving and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 33-year-old Bethlehem resident was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of receiving and distributing child pornography.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the defendant, Stephen Puza III, allegedly downloaded and shared child pornography during July 2011 through September 23, 2011. Puza allegedly committed the offense while residing in Lehighton, Carbon County.
The charge against Puza resulted from an investigation by special agents and task force officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and Lehighton Borough Police.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the mandatory minimum sentence is five years imprisonment. The maximum penalty under the federal statute is 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Lebanon Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Coercing a Minor to Become a Sex SlaveRead the Press Release
Human Trafficking Rescue Project
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lebanon, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for using the Internet to groom and entice a minor girl into illegal sexual conduct that led to years of sadomasochistic abuse, and two of his customers were sentenced for their roles in the sex trafficking conspiracy.
“This courageous young woman, who confronted her tormentors in court today, is getting justice for the horrific suffering and enslavement she endured at the hands of these sexual sadists,” Dickinson said. “Today’s tough sentences should erase any lingering perception that the brutal sexual torture inflicted on this young victim was in any way consensual. Now the tables are turned, as she continues her healing process while they are confined in prison for many years to come.”
Edward Bagley, Sr., also known as “Master Ed,” 46, of Lebanon, Bradley Cook, also known as "PutHer2GoodUse," 34, of Kirkwood, Mo., and Dennis Henry, 53, of Wheatland, Mo., were sentenced in separate hearings before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple. Bagley was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Cook was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Henry was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
The court also ordered that $738,250 in total restitution must be paid to the victim. Each defendant is individually liable for $123,041, or one-sixth of the total amount. As part of the agreement obtained by the government, Cook was required to pay $123,041 in restitution at the time of his sentencing.
Following their prison terms, Bagley, Cook and Henry will be on supervised release for the rest of their lives. Among the terms of supervision ordered by the court, they must adhere to a 10:30 p.m. curfew and are prohibited from any contact with the victim, the government’s attorneys and the agents involved in the case.
Bagley, Cook and Henry are among six co-defendants who pleaded guilty in this case. The remaining three co-defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013. This case marked the first time nationwide that the customers, or “Johns,” have been convicted under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in a sex trafficking case in which the victim was an adult. This is also the first human trafficking conviction in which the customers were prosecuted in a case that involved an actual victim rather than an undercover sting operation.
On Jan. 15, 2013, Bagley pleaded guilty to enticing a minor into illegal sexual conduct and prostitution. Bagley met the female victim (identified in court documents as FV) in 2002, when she was 16 years old and dating his teenage son. FV visited his trailer residence in Lebanon on numerous occasions. During FV’s visits to Bagley’s residence, he showed her images and videos of pornography on the Internet and downloaded from the Internet, including images and videos of bondage and sadomasochistic conduct. Bagley admitted that he provided FV with controlled substances. He taught her about bondage and sadomasochistic activities. His wife, co-defendant Marilyn Bagley, 48, modeled stripper and bondage clothing for FV. The Bagleys told FV that she would love being a “slave” for him. Bagley began a sexual relationship with FV prior to her seventeenth birthday.
FV viewed Edward Bagley as her boyfriend and moved into the Bagleys’ residence in 2003. They provided FV her own room and clothes, and promised her a great life.
Over the course of the next six years, Edward Bagley executed sadistic acts of torture on FV, including sewing her vagina closed, whipping and flogging her body, penetrating her breasts with needles and skewers, suffocating her with plastic bags, strangling her with rope, locking her in a dog cage, and electrocuting FV’s sexual organs with devices which produced electrical voltage. Edward Bagley photographed and videotaped many of the acts he performed on her. FV would be punished if she did not do as instructed.
Cook pleaded guilty on Dec. 20, 2011, to participating in a conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. From 2006 to 2009, Cook watched the victim being sexually abused and tortured in live online sessions and as depicted in photos and videos that he downloaded from the Internet. Cook admitted that he traveled to Lebanon on multiple occasions during that time to engage in sessions of sexual acts and torture with the victim. In exchange, Cook paid the victim=s Amaster@ for these sessions with such items as computer hard drives that contained images and videos of bondage, domination, sadism and masochism, which he had downloaded from the Internet.
Cook also admitted he was aware of other men who engaged in sexual acts and torture with the victim. He witnessed the victim being whipped and locked in a dog cage, as well as being tied up and shocked with multiple electrical devices. Cook described the abuse suffered by the victim as the Amost extreme@ he had ever seen.
Henry, formerly the postmaster of Nevada, Mo., pleaded guilty on March 24, 2011, to participating in the conspiracy. Henry also pleaded guilty to transporting the victim across state lines for sexual activity.
Henry admitted that he engaged in sex with the victim, and participated in torture sessions with FV that would last for hours. Henry saw pictures of FV=s vagina sewn shut, which he was told was a form of punishment. Henry also admitted that he visited FV at a Lebanon strip club where she was forced to work.
Marilyn Bagley pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2012, to her role in the conspiracy. Marilyn Bagley admittedly knew that other individuals came to the residence to engage in sexual conduct and sadistic acts on FV. They provided bondage pornography, meat, cigarettes, and cash, among other items, in exchange for the sessions involving sexual conduct and sadistic acts on FV.
Under the terms of her binding plea agreement, Marilyn Bagley will receive a sentence of probation. The government stated in court that Marilyn Bagley is considered in a separate category from the other defendants in this case because she was a victim of extensive physical and emotional abuse for over 25 years prior to her criminal conduct and participation in the conspiracy. Her participation in the criminal conduct resulted in the abuse being redirected away from her and to the victim.
Co-defendant Michael Stokes, also known as “The Rodent,” 65, of Lebanon, pleaded guilty on Jan. 5, 2012, to participating in the conspiracy.
Stokes became familiar with FV in 2006 when he received pictures of her over the Internet in which she was naked with whip marks over her body. Stokes was told that the victim was a slave for “life” who was tortured for hours at a time and was required to do “everything and anything” she was told. After a few weeks of chatting online, the plea agreement says, a co-conspirator brought the victim to Stokes’ house so she could do a “demo” for him. When they arrived at Stokes’ residence, bringing a duffle bag of torture devices with them, FV was instructed to “put on a show for us.” FV was naked, wearing only dog collars and ankle collars with locks. Stokes was asked whether he wanted to have sex with her. Stokes said “yes” and he had sex with FV.
Stokes was stunned that “someone had that much control over someone” and “had never seen anything like it.”
Stokes began visiting the residence where FV was being held. During his first visit, he was shown a photo of FV’s vaginal opening sewn shut and told this was done to demonstrate “what was expected of her.” FV was present for these statements and remained silent. FV never talked back or spoke up. FV never offered herself to Stokes and only acted on command.
Stokes visited the residence eight to 12 times. During these visits, he would receive sexual acts or be allowed to watch or participate in torturing FV. When he visited he brought steaks, hamburgers, jackets, personalized playing cards, lighters, cigarettes, and cash. Among other things, he witnessed FV being tortured with a crank phone, with electricity shot through devices clamped to her vaginal and anal openings.
Stokes began assisting in promoting FV at the strip clubs. Stokes took photos of FV around to the clubs to promote her there. Stokes gave $1,000 so that FV could be taken for a sexual bondage photo shoot in California for Taboo magazine. Stokes then took a copy of the magazine to promote her at the clubs. The photos in Taboo magazine were extremely mild and did not depict any of the cruel sessions Stokes had witnessed at the residence.
In 2009, Stokes was warned that there was an FBI investigation involving his conduct with FV. Stokes went on his computer and deleted hundreds of photos, his contacts with other females online, pictures of FV that he saved, and destroyed his copies of Taboo magazine and the sexual devices that he had acquired.Under federal statutes, Stokes is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution.
Co-defendant James Noel, 47, of Springfield, pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, 2011, to participating in the conspiracy. Noel admitted that he was one of the customers who sexually abused and tortured FV. Noel watched the victim being tortured and sometimes operated torture devices himself beginning in 2006, when she was approximately 20 years old. For example, Noel knew that FV hated being electrocuted with a crank phone (which was wired inside FV=s vaginal and anal openings and to her toes), which he described as "extremely painful," but he used it on her anyway.
Under federal statutes, Noel is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cynthia L. Cordes, Paul Becker and John Cowles with assistance from the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division's Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. It was investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Human Trafficking Rescue Project.Lebanon Man and Vice Lord Leader Convicted of Drug Conspiracy and Related Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Trial Results in Conviction of Last of 17 Defendants
Sterling Rivers a/k/a “little Real”26, of Lebanon, Tennessee was found guilty by a federal jury yesterday, of engaging in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of crack cocaine and cocaine, as part of his involvement in a criminal street gang called the Unknown Vice Lords, announced David Rivera, Acting U. S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. Because the jury could not reach a decision on one count related to possessing a firearm during a drug crime, another trial is scheduled for November 19, 2013.
Rivers was indicted with 16 other individuals in September 2011 following a nearly two year investigation into a national street gang, the Vice Lords, operating in Wilson and Putnam County, Tennessee and beyond. Rivers fled following his indictment and was arrested in October 2011 as a fugitive in Texas.“This verdict is just another example of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners’ tireless commitment to combating criminal street gangs in the Middle Tennessee area,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “This and other recent convictions of gang members should send a clear and convincing message that violent gang activity in this district will be met with the necessary resources required to eliminate such activity and to hold those accountable who choose to inflict violence upon our communities.”
The verdict followed a two-week trial, during which Rivers represented himself. Proof at trial established that Rivers was engaged in organizing the Vice Lords Gang throughout the state of Tennessee and had been involved in an array of violent crime, including the robbery of another drug dealer and the shooting of another individual. Rivers is the last defendant to be tried in this case and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Fifteen co-defendants have pleaded guilty and Monique “Money” Smith was tried and convicted in October 2012 and was sentenced to life, plus five years in prison.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Lebanon Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Braden H. Boucek and Brent Hannafan.
Lansing Home Health Business Owner Sentenced to Prison for Obstructing the Irs by Evading Payment and Falsifying Quarterly Tax Returns Totalling over $250,000.00Read the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles announced today that George Adatsi, age 49, of Lansing, Michigan, was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment after pleading guilty to a felony tax offense of obstructing the IRS. U.S. Attorney Miles was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. States District Judge Janet T. Neff also imposed restitution of $204,406.00; a fine of $4,000.00; and one year of supervised release following imprisonment. Adatsi was the owner of two companies, Health Staffers, Inc. (HSI) and Health Staffers of Michigan, Inc. (HSMI) that employed nurses and home health aides who provided health care services in private homes and nursing homes. During the 2001 through 2003 tax years, Adatsi failed to pay over to the IRS the Social Security and Medicare (commonly referred to as “FICA”) taxes withheld from the employees of HSI. Adatsi admitted that he did not forward to the IRS $121,214 of FICA taxes withheld from his employees from 2001 through 2003 and that he later intentionally hid assets from the IRS to avoid payment of this amount.
Adatsi further admitted that from 2004 through 2008 he filed false Form 941 Quarterly Federal Tax Returns that under reported HSMI’s gross wages paid to its employees and, consequently, under reported both the income taxes and FICA taxes withheld from the HSMI employees. Adatsi acknowledged that the total of the underreported employment taxes was an additional $129,929.
“Adatsi grossly under reported the wages of his employees. He hid assets from the IRS and claimed he did not have the money to pay the taxes which he had already collected from his employees,” said Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez. “The law is clear on the issue of employers’ responsibility to accurately report and forward withholding taxes and to deal honestly with the IRS.”
The investigation of this case was conducted by the IRS, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Beckering.
END
Kirkwood Woman Sentenced on Tax Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – NANCY CICERO was sentenced to 33 months in prison on multiple fraud charges for filing false tax returns, claiming over $3 million in refunds, for four years beginning in 2005.
According to testimony presented at trial, tax on certain bonds must be paid as interest accrues. Debt issuers such as banks, creditors and lenders provide a yearly form to their bond holders called a 1099-Original Issue Discount (OID). The form shows the OID income, as well as the federal income tax that was withheld on the OID income. To report tax liability on the interest earned, the bond holders submit the OID form to the IRS, along with income tax returns. According to testimony presented at trial, Cicero claimed false income tax refunds by submitting income tax returns to which she attached false and fictitious 1099-OID forms for the taxable years 2005-2008. On her 1040s for those years, Cicero claimed a refund amount based upon the false federal income tax withholdings that were reported on her false 1099-OIDs. In total, Cicero represented that financial institutions withheld over $3 million in taxes on her 1099-OID forms, thus claiming a refund of over $3 million."Today's sentence demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protecting the interests of law-abiding taxpayers," said Sybil Smith, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. "We will continue to investigate the criminals who engage in such brazen and fraudulent conduct, ensuring that the only citizens who receive tax refunds are those who are entitled to them."
Cicero, Kirkwood, MO, was convicted in May of four felony counts of filing false claims with the IRS. She appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge John A. Ross.this case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Dianna Collins and Reginald Harris prosecuted the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.