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18 October 2013
Real Estate Broker and a Loan Officer Sentenced to Federal Prison for Mortgage Fraud ConvictionsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A real estate broker and a loan officer, both from Albuquerque, N.M., will be serving federal prison sentences for their wire fraud convictions, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI.
Keith Michael Courtney, 31, was sentenced on Oct. 9, 2013, to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. His co-defendant Jason Johns, 40, was sentenced yesterday to five months in prison followed by five months of home detention and three years of supervised release. Courtney and Johns also were ordered jointly to pay $493,230.88 in restitution and a $1.6 million money judgment to the United States.
Courtney and Johns were indicted in Nov. 2011, on wire fraud charges. The three-count indictment alleged that between Nov. 2006 and Sept. 2007, Courtney and Johns schemed to defraud mortgage lenders by using straw buyers to apply for residential mortgage loans. At the time of the offenses charged, Courtney was part owner of Black Diamond Construction Company (BDCC), Veritas Mortgage Company and Polaris Realty, all of which maintained offices in Albuquerque. Johns was a loan officer with Veritas Mortgage Company.
In Feb. 2012, Johns pled guilty to the indictment. Johns admitted participating in the unlawful scheme alleged in the indictment which resulted in three wire transfers of funds in the aggregate amount of $1,601,775.84 by mortgage lenders based on false and fraudulent representations made in connection with the sale of two residences built by Courtney’s business.Courtney was found guilty by a jury on the three counts of the indictment on March 28, 2013, after a four-day trial. The evidence at trial showed that Courtney’s company, BDCC, built two houses, one in Albuquerque and the other in Santa Fe. After the houses were completed, Courtney and Johns solicited straw buyers to purchase the houses, using the names and credit histories of the straw buyers to obtain financing from Plaza Home Mortgage Company and Lehman Brothers Bank. The loan applications falsely stated that the borrowers were buying the houses as primary residences, when in fact they had no intention of ever living in the houses. The straw buyers put no money into the transactions, did not make the mortgage payments, and were to receive $5,000.00 once the houses were resold. They were told that Courtney would make the mortgage payments until the houses were resold.
As a result of the false loan applications, which did not inform the lenders that the borrowers were straw borrowers, Plaza Home Mortgage Company wired two loans for $660,772.50 and $99,250.00 in connection with the Albuquerque house. Lehman Brothers Bank wired $641,803.34 for a loan in connection with the Santa Fe house. Courtney obtained loans in the aggregate amount of $1,601,775.84 from the two mortgage lenders based on the fraudulent transactions. Courtney made mortgage payments on each property for a time after the transactions closed but ultimately stopped making payments on both, at which point the houses went into foreclosure. The mortgage companies suffered losses as a result.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque Division of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary L. Higgins.Press Releases for the U.S. Attorney's Office During the Government ShutdownRead the Press Release
During the government shutdown, press releases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana, were limited. Today, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announces the following results from matters occurring from October 1, 2013 through October 17, 2013.MOTHER, DAUGHTER SENTENCED FOR CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT BANK ROBBERIES
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Evie Bowin Herrin, 58, of Kirbyville, Texas, and her daughter Amelia Darci Crew, 31, of Cleveland, Texas, were sentenced on October 3, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi for conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Herrin received 86 months in prison, and Crew received 51 months in prison. They both received three years of supervised release. Herrin was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $17,730 restitution. They pleaded guilty June 27, 2013.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, the defendants admitted to stealing $17,730 from banks in Louisiana and Texas. Herrin admitted to entering three banks wearing a disguise. After entering the banks, Herrin would point what looked like a handgun at a teller and present the teller with a note saying to hand over strapped bundles of 100 and 20 dollar bills or she would shoot the bank employees. Herrin left each bank in a car driven by Crew. The robberies occurred on February 13, 2012 at an Iberia Bank in Kinder, La., February 28, 2012 at a Citizens National Bank in Henderson, Texas, and March 15, 2012 at a MidSouth Bank in Sulphur, La.
The FBI and the Kinder, Sulphur, and Henderson, Texas police departments investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph T. Mickel prosecuted the case.
FORT POLK MAN SENTENCED FOR ABUSIVE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A MINOR
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Antwon M. Sewell, 20, of Fort Polk, La., was sentenced on October 3, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi, to 15 months in prison with five years of supervised release for committing abusive sexual contact with two minors. Sewell pleaded guilty June 13, 2013.
According to evidence presented in court, Sewell was at a party taking place at an unoccupied residence on the Fort Polk Military base on July 18, 2012. While at the party, he had sexual contact with a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old girl at different times that night. He admitted to providing alcohol to the minors attending the party.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.MEXICAN NATIONAL SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL RE-ENTRY, FAILURE TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER
SHREVEPORT, La. – Carlos Galvan-Lopez, 43, of Mexico, was sentenced on October 3, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Maurice Hicks Jr. to 50 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States and failing to register as a sex offender. The defendant is subject to deportation upon release. He pleaded guilty on June 3, 2013.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, the Hidalgo, Texas, Sheriff’s Office arrested Galvan-Lopez on December 18, 1995 for aggravated sexual assault. He served time in prison and was deported on December 21, 2010. He was arrested in Shreveport at his place of employment on April 19, 2013, after it was discovered that he had illegally returned to the United States and had not registered as a sex offender.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg prosecuted the case.
FORMER MONROE RESIDENT SENTENCED TO 15 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR STEALING MORE THAN $100,000 FROM CREDIT CARD COMPANY
MONROE, La. – Durar Mohammed Judeh, 48, of Tupelo, Miss., was sentenced on October 7, 2013 by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James to 15 months in prison and five years of supervised release for bank fraud. He was also ordered to pay $101,280 in restitution. He pleaded guilty May 29, 2013.
In April 2008, Chase Bankcard Services alerted the U.S. Postal Inspection Service that nine credit cards listed for addresses in Monroe had been opened fraudulently. Judeh admitted to using a relative’s personal information to open the accounts and deposited money into an account he controlled, using the cards to steal more than $101,280.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.
MOREHOUSE PARISH WOMAN SENTENCED TO 12 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR STEALING FROM BANK CUSTOMERS
MONROE, La. – Vickie Lenoir, 48, of Mer Rouge, La., was sentenced on October 7, 2013, by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James, to 12 months in prison and five years of supervised release for embezzling money from customers at the Capital One bank where she worked. She was also ordered to pay $95,673 in restitution. Lenoir pleaded guilty May 14, 2013.
According to evidence presented in court, from December 2008 until October 2012, Lenoir admitted to embezzling more than $95,673 from seven customer accounts at a Bastrop, La., Capital One Bank where she was employed. The missing money was reported after customers began noticing unusual activity in their accounts.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Cytheria Jernigan prosecuted the case.
FORT POLK MAN SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SECOND DEGREE MURDER, ATTEMPTED MURDER
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Marcus Patterson Carey, 28, of Canton, Ohio, was sentenced on October 8, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi, to 30 years in prison for second degree murder and 20 years in prison for attempted second degree murder with both sentences to be served concurrently. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release. Carey pleaded guilty on June 12, 2013.
Carey admitted that on June 19, 2010, he killed a Fort Polk soldier by striking him with a hammer and stabbing him multiple times. He also admitted to attempting to kill a former soldier by striking that person with a hammer and stabbing that person multiple times as well.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the FBI conducted the investigation. United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.
JURY CONVICTS OPELOUSAS MAN FOR POSSESSING AND RECEIVING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Defendant was a former child psychiatrist
LAFAYETTE, La. – A federal jury found former child psychiatrist Gary Jefferson Byrd, 71, of Opelousas, La., guilty on October 8, 2013 of possessing and receiving child pornography. United States District Judge Richard T. Haik presided over the trial.
Following a two-day trial, a jury found Byrd guilty of one count of possession of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography after deliberating for 40 minutes. Based on witness testimony and documents admitted into evidence, from February 2008 to April 2011, Byrd ordered 44 compact discs containing videos of child pornography from a Canadian company. United States Postal Inspectors executed a search warrant on Byrd’s home and found stacks of compact discs containing thousands of images of child pornography that Byrd had downloaded from the Internet. He also printed hundreds of images of child pornography that he kept in files next to his bed.
Byrd was previously convicted in 1992 by a federal jury of possessing child pornography and served 10 years in prison for that crime. Prior to his conviction, his employment was as a child psychiatrist.
Because of Byrd’s prior child pornography conviction, he faces 5 years to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possession of child pornography, and he also faces 15 years to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for receiving child pornography. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice launched nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute 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 U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be submitted anonymously.The U.S. Postal Service Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker is prosecuting the case.
Press Releases for the U.S. Attorney's Office During the Government ShutdownRead the Press Release
During the government shutdown, press releases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana, were limited. Today, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announces the following results from matters occurring from October 1, 2013 through October 17, 2013.MOTHER, DAUGHTER SENTENCED FOR CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT BANK ROBBERIES
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Evie Bowin Herrin, 58, of Kirbyville, Texas, and her daughter Amelia Darci Crew, 31, of Cleveland, Texas, were sentenced on October 3, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi for conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Herrin received 86 months in prison, and Crew received 51 months in prison. They both received three years of supervised release. Herrin was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $17,730 restitution. They pleaded guilty June 27, 2013.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, the defendants admitted to stealing $17,730 from banks in Louisiana and Texas. Herrin admitted to entering three banks wearing a disguise. After entering the banks, Herrin would point what looked like a handgun at a teller and present the teller with a note saying to hand over strapped bundles of 100 and 20 dollar bills or she would shoot the bank employees. Herrin left each bank in a car driven by Crew. The robberies occurred on February 13, 2012 at an Iberia Bank in Kinder, La., February 28, 2012 at a Citizens National Bank in Henderson, Texas, and March 15, 2012 at a MidSouth Bank in Sulphur, La.
The FBI, and the Kinder, Sulphur and Henderson, Texas police departments investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph T. Mickel prosecuted the case.
FORT POLK MAN SENTENCED FOR ABUSIVE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A MINOR
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Antwon M. Sewell, 20, of Fort Polk, La., was sentenced on October 3, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi to 15 months in prison with five years of supervised release for committing abusive sexual contact with two minors. Sewell pleaded guilty June 13, 2013.
According to evidence presented in court, Sewell was at a party taking place at an unoccupied residence on the Fort Polk Military base on July 18, 2012. While at the party, he had sexual contact with a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old girl at different times that night. He admitted to providing alcohol to the minors attending the party.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.MEXICAN NATIONAL SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL RE-ENTRY, FAILURE TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER
SHREVEPORT, La. – Carlos Galvan-Lopez, 43, of Mexico, was sentenced on October 3, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Maurice Hicks Jr. to 50 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States and failing to register as a sex offender. The defendant is subject to deportation upon release. He pleaded guilty on June 3, 2013.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, the Hidalgo, Texas, Sheriff’s Office arrested Galvan-Lopez on December 18, 1995 for aggravated sexual assault. He served time in prison and was deported on December 21, 2010. He was arrested in Shreveport at his place of employment on April 19, 2013, after it was discovered that he had illegally returned to the United States and had not registered as a sex offender.
Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg prosecuted the case.
FORMER MONROE RESIDENT SENTENCED TO 15 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR STEALING MORE THAN $100,000 FROM CREDIT CARD COMPANY
MONROE, La. – Durar Mohammed Judeh, 48, of Tupelo, Miss., was sentenced on October 7, 2013 by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James, to 15 months in prison and five years of supervised release for bank fraud. He was also ordered to pay $101,280 in restitution. He pleaded guilty May 29, 2013.
In April 2008, Chase Bankcard Services alerted the U.S. Postal Inspection Service that nine credit cards listed for addresses in Monroe had been opened fraudulently. Judeh admitted to using a relative’s personal information to open the accounts and deposited money into an account he controlled, using the cards to steal more than $101,280.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.
MOREHOUSE PARISH WOMAN SENTENCED TO 12 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR STEALING FROM BANK CUSTOMERS
MONROE, La. – Vickie Lenoir, 48, of Mer Rouge, La., was sentenced on October 7, 2013, by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James to 12 months in prison and five years of supervised release for embezzling money from customers at the Capital One bank where she worked. She was also ordered to pay $95,673 in restitution. Lenoir pleaded guilty May 14, 2013.
According to evidence presented in court, from December 2008 until October 2012, Lenoir admitted to embezzling more than $95,673 from seven customer accounts at a Bastrop, La., Capital One Bank where she was employed. The missing money was reported after customers began noticing unusual activity in their accounts.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Cytheria Jernigan prosecuted the case.
FORT POLK MAN SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SECOND DEGREE MURDER, ATTEMPTED MURDER
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Marcus Patterson Carey, 28, of Canton, Ohio, was sentenced on October 8, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi, to 30 years in prison for second degree murder and 20 years in prison for attempted second degree murder with both sentences to be served concurrently. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release. Carey pleaded guilty on June 12, 2013.
Carey admitted that on June 19, 2010, he killed a Fort Polk soldier by striking him with a hammer and stabbing him multiple times. He also admitted to attempting to kill a former soldier by striking that person with a hammer and stabbing that person multiple times as well.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the FBI conducted the investigation. United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.
JURY CONVICTS OPELOUSAS MAN FOR POSSESSING AND RECEIVING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Defendant was a former child psychiatrist
LAFAYETTE, La. – A federal jury found former child psychiatrist Gary Jefferson Byrd, 71, of Opelousas, La., guilty on October 8, 2013 of possessing and receiving child pornography. United States District Judge Richard T. Haik presided over the trial.
Following a two-day trial, a jury found Byrd guilty of one count of possession of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography after deliberating for 40 minutes. Based on witness testimony and documents admitted into evidence, from February 2008 to April 2011, Byrd ordered 44 compact discs containing videos of child pornography from a Canadian company. United States Postal Inspectors executed a search warrant on Byrd’s home and found stacks of compact discs containing thousands of images of child pornography that Byrd had downloaded from the Internet. He also printed hundreds of images of child pornography that he kept in files next to his bed.
Byrd was previously convicted in 1992 by a federal jury of possessing child pornography and served 10 years in prison for that crime. Prior to his conviction, his employment was as a child psychiatrist.
Because of Byrd’s prior child pornography conviction, he faces 5 years to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possession of child pornography, and he also faces 15 years to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for receiving child pornography. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice launched nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute 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 U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be submitted anonymously.The U.S. Postal Service Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker is prosecuting the case.
Press ReleaseRead the Press Release
ANNANDALE ACCOUNTANT SENTENCED TO 36 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR TAX FRAUD AND MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS TO THE GOVERNMENTALEXANDRIA, Va. – Mohammad T. Al-Suqi, 55, of Annandale, Va., was sentenced today to 36 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for preparing and filing false tax returns and making false statements to federal agents when interviewed about the activities. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge James C. Cacheris.
Al-Suqi was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 25, 2013, and was convicted of nineteen counts of aiding the preparation of a false income tax return, two counts of filing his own false income tax returns, and one count of making false statements to federal agents following a jury trial on July 12, 2013.
According to court records and evidence at trial, the defendant owned and operated the tax preparation businesses Ideal Accounting Solution and Mass Accounting and Tax Corp. in Falls Church, Va. For the tax years 2007 through 2010, the defendant prepared and filed on behalf of his taxpayer clients federal income tax returns that contained materially false and fraudulent information, including false itemized deductions on Schedule A and fraudulent education credits on Form 8863, all of which resulted in large federal income tax refunds for the taxpayers and at least $4 million in losses to the IRS. For his part, the defendant received fees of between $100 and $250 per return and prepared thousands of federal income tax returns during the relevant time period.
As part of the government’s investigation, the defendant also prepared a fraudulent tax return in 2011 for an undercover IRS agent posing as a taxpayer. The episode, which was recorded by the undercover agent and presented to the jury at trial, showed the defendant falsifying expenses and deductions in order to produce an income tax refund and indicating that his success as a tax preparer was associated with his ability to manufacture large refunds for his clients.
The defendant also included false and fraudulent expenses and credits on his own 2008 and 2009 federal income tax returns. In 2013, after the IRS revoked his ability to file electronic tax returns, the defendant continued to prepare and electronically file tax returns using an electronic filing number assigned to his wife, and the defendant lied to IRS agents when he was questioned about the activities.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jasmine H. Yoon and Paul J. Nathanson and former Assistant United States Attorney Charles F. Connolly prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Pittsburgh Couple Sentenced to Probation and Community Service in Computer Hacking CaseRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh couple have been sentenced in federal court today on their conviction of recklessly damaging a computer and password trafficking, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Jonathan Cunningham, 29, and Alyson Cunningham, 26. Each were sentenced to 3 years probation; each to pay restitution of $2,445.96 to the victim law firm; 300 hours community service; computer monitoring; and must notify any employer of this conviction.
According to information presented to the court, on Nov. 28, 2011, Alyson Cunningham had been fired from law firm located in Pittsburgh, PA referred to as "VG," In retaliation for the firing, Matthew West, acting at Alyson and Jonathan Cunningham's encouragement, logged into VG servers using an internal company password provided to him by Alyson Cunningham over Facebook. West utilized a VPN proxy server located in Germany to use the password to access VG servers, so as to shield his identity. Once West accessed the server, he installed software on the server which could be used to capture passwords of anyone on the firm=s network.
On Nov. 29, 2011, West sent a partner at VG law firm an email from the account [email protected] that stated that the firm's web servers had been compromised, and that their backup files had been copied and deleted. This email, which was used to notify the victim company of the hack caused by the usage of the illegally trafficked password, electronically traveled from West's computer in PA, to Google's servers in California, before arriving back at VG's server in PA. The email further stated that "we are not interested in ruining your business, but routinely checking that business is fair and just. Our motive is to solely capture and record 100% of Pittsburgh business records and operations and protect it or use it against you as we could if Anonymous had a reason and needed to." Anonymous is a loosely connected network of computer hacker/activists who are known to intrude upon computer networks for political purposes.
According to the victim company, neither Alyson Cunningham, Johnathan Cunningham, or Matthew West had authority to access their computer server, nor did they have authority to place malware onto VG's servers.
Internet chats indicate that Jonathan Cunningham was actively communicating with West during the hack into VG's servers, providing instruction and suggestions, including suggesting the use of specific VPN servers. When IM chatting with West on the night of the hack, Jonathan Cunningham and Alyson Cunningham alternated in their use of Alyson=s Skype account when communicating with West about the hack.
Assistant United States Attorney James T. Kitchen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of the Cunninghams.
Pill Dealers Sentenced to Prison on Federal Oxycodone ChargesRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A man and woman were sentenced to federal prison on Oct. 17 on federal oxycodone charges, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Christy Stevens, of Charleston, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison. Stevens, 34, previously pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. Stevens’ co-defendant, Terry Martin, 21, of Detroit, was also sentenced on Thursday to one year and four months in prison for aiding and abetting the possession of oxycodone with intent to distribute. On July 6, 2011, police conducted a traffic stop of Stevens’ vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, police observed a large amount of cash inside Stevens’ purse. Stevens agreed to provide a statement to police regarding the source of the cash. After being advised of her Miranda rights, Stevens told police that the $8,000 in her purse were proceeds from illegal pill transactions.
Stevens provided additional information to police about a delivery of pills she was expecting from two acquaintances. The next day, Martin and a third individual were arrested outside of Stevens’ residence after police seized approximately 60 oxycodone pills from Martin’s associate. Martin admitted that he travelled with his associate from Detroit to Charleston and intended to deliver oxycodone pills to Stevens.
Stevens also told police that for eight months, she received oxycodone pills from a source of supply located in Detroit. After obtaining the pills from her source of supply, she sold the 30-milligram oxycodone pills in and around Charleston and also took a portion of the pills for her personal use.The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney John Frail handled the prosecutions. The sentences were imposed by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
The cases were prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.
Pierce County Deputy Sheriff Arrested on Drug Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
Brunswick, GA - Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy Randy Strickland, 55, was arrested on federal charges yesterday for his role in the trafficking of methamphetamine. Strickland had his initial appearance today in federal court in Brunswick, Georgia before United States Magistrate Judge James E. Graham, where he was ordered detained without a bond.
According to papers filed with the District Court, Deputy Strickland allegedly agreed to act as “security” for individuals he believed were dealing meth, by acting as the lookout. Strickland’s drug activities allegedly occurred while he was in uniform and while he was driving his police vehicle. When Pierce County Sheriff Ramsey Bennett received information about Strickland’s apparent criminal activities, he immediately requested federal law enforcement assistance.
United States Attorney Edward Tarver stated, "Police corruption leaves a permanent stain on the good work of our law enforcement community. Make no mistake that defendants who violate the trust of this community, law enforcement or otherwise, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“This defendant took an oath to uphold the law and protect the citizens of Pierce County,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Shaefer. “Instead, he is alleged to have betrayed the community he swore to protect. Corrupt officers unfortunately tarnish the badge worn proudly by the committed men and women of law enforcement. The success of this investigation would not have been possible without the dynamic level of law enforcement cooperation.”
“The result of this arrest demonstrates the strong relationships HSI has established with our federal and local partners,” says HSI Special Agent in Charge Brock D. Nicholson, Atlanta, Georgia. “It is a disappointing day when we have to arrest a law enforcement officer in a position of public trust, but maintaining the integrity of our law enforcement system is of upmost importance.”Mark F. Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, “Public corruption matters in general continue to be the FBI’s highest investigative priorities due to the potential it has to erode public trust. When those corrupt and illegal activities involve a law enforcement official operating within the color of law, the FBI will address them with a greater sense of urgency. While these cases constitute a serious breach of trust by the official or officer involved, the public should be reminded that the vast majority of those working within the criminal justice system are dedicated to their sworn oaths of office. Furthermore, the public should be reassured that the FBI remains committed to working vigorously with our federal, state and local partners to investigate such matters and hold these individuals committing such crimes accountable for their actions.”
Pierce County Sheriff Ramsey Bennett said, “This is a situation where there are no winners. This gives the Office of the Sheriff a black eye and erodes the confidence of the public in law enforcement. As Sheriff, I will not tolerate this type of conduct. I want to reassure the public that we will police ourselves as well as the general public.”
The present charge against Strickland carries a maximum prison sentence of 40 years, and a fine up to $5,000,000. Mr. Tarver emphasized that a criminal complaint is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government's burden to prove guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.This case was investigated by ATF, HSI, FBI and local law enforcement. Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Gilluly and Tania Groover are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United states Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Philadelphia Man Charged with Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Shaun Terrell Mays, 33, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged yesterday, by Information, with two counts of unauthorized use of one or more access devices, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of bank fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
Mays faces a maximum sentence of 88 years in prison, including a two year mandatory term, a five year period of supervised release, a fine of up to $3.5 million, and an $800 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.
Click here to view the indictment
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Philadelphia Man Charged in Sex Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Adrian Palmer, 43, of Philadelphia, PA, is charged by Indictment, unsealed today, with conspiring in the sex trafficking of girls under the age of 18. Palmer is charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of sex trafficking of minors, and one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Palmer was arrested last night.
According to the indictment, between June 1, 2012 and June 14, 2012, Palmer, who worked as a security guard at a Days Inn motel on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia, provided protection and assistance to sex traffickers operating at the motel in exchange for a daily fee. Craig Johnson, indicted elsewhere, who was the operator of the sex trafficking venture, recruited young females to work as prostitutes. Johnson paid Palmer between $60 and $100 a day in exchange for advice about Johnson’s sex trafficking organization, including Johnson’s Backpage.com advertisements. Palmer also allegedly provided Johnson with clients for the sex trafficking business and provided protection for Johnson so that law enforcement authorities would not be alerted to the sex trafficking operation. It is further alleged that in August 2013, Palmer accepted $100 from a confidential witness in exchange for protecting him from law enforcement so he could engage in the sex trafficking of a (fictitious) 16-year-old minor.
If convicted of all charges, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison with a maximum of 30 years, a fine of up to $750,000, up to a lifetime period of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle L. Morgan.
Click here to view the indictment
An Indictment or Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Palm Beach County Resident Convicted for Receipt, Distribution and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that Hernandez Banks, 23, of Palm Beach, was convicted yesterday on all three counts of receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography, after a six day trial before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra.
This case stemmed from an undercover investigation into child pornography distributers who use LimeWire, a peer to peer software application. In August 2011, FBI-Houston conducted and undercover investigation that identified Banks transmitting child pornography from his West Palm Beach home using LimeWire. The FBI-West Palm Beach seized two computers from Banks’ home. The FBI analyzed the computers at their laboratory and discovered over 100 videos and images of child pornography.
Banks faces a mandatory minimum term of five years and up to a maximum term of twenty years in prison on the receipt and distribution counts. Banks faces a maximum term of ten years in prison on the possession count. Sentencing is scheduled for January 27, 2014 before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra in West Palm Beach, Florida.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and is 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.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lothrop Morris.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Operators of Michigan Adult Day Care Centers Convicted in $3.2 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Detroit today convicted the owner and the program coordinator of two Flint, Mich., adult day care centers for their participation in a $3.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan; Acting Special Agent in Charge John Robert Shoup of the FBI Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Detroit Office made the announcement.
Glenn English, 53, was found guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and seven counts of health care fraud for directing a psychotherapy fraud scheme through New Century Adult Day Program Services LLC and New Century Adult Day Treatment Inc. (collectively known as New Century).
Richard Hogan, 67, an unlicensed social worker who worked as a program coordinator at New Century, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The defendants were charged in a superseding indictment returned Dec. 11, 2012. Another individual charged in the superseding indictment, Donald Berry, awaits trial at a later date.
According to evidence presented at trial, English owned and operated New Century as an adult day care center through which he billed Medicare for individual and group psychotherapy services. As shown at trial, New Century brought in mentally disabled residents of Flint-area adult foster care homes (AFCs), as well as people seeking narcotic drugs, and used their names to bill Medicare for psychotherapy that was not provided. The evidence showed that English and Hogan lured drug seekers to New Century with the promise that they could see a doctor there who would prescribe for them the narcotics they wanted if they signed up for the psychotherapy program. New Century used the signatures and Medicare information of these AFC residents and drug seekers to claim that it was providing them psychotherapy, when in fact it was not.
The evidence also showed that English directed New Century employees to fabricate patient records to give the false impression that psychotherapy was being provided. Social workers and untrained employees wrote fake progress notes for therapy sessions that never occurred. Further, English and New Century employees directed New Century clients to pre-sign sign-in sheets for months at a time, and used these signatures to claim to Medicare they had provided services. On multiple occasions, New Century billed Medicare as if its social workers had provided over 24 hours of care in a single day.From March 2010 through April 2012, New Century billed approximately $3.2 million and received more than $988,000 from Medicare.
The health care fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison; each count of health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2014.
The investigation was led by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Ohio Twp. Man Sentenced to Prison, Ordered to Pay $3.6 M for Defrauding Banks and Laundering MoneyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh man has been sentenced in federal court to 54 months in prison and five years of supervised release on his conviction of bank fraud and money laundering, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David Cercone imposed the sentence on Peter Cicero, 41. The sentence also included a restitution order of approximately $3.6 million.
According to information presented to the court, Cicero participated in several fraud schemes. Cicero defrauded Community Bank in connection with the $1.8 million loan made to fund Cicero's $3.3 million purchase of certain companies associated with closing real estate transactions. Cicero defrauded Community Bank by overstating the true sales price of the companies, falsely representing that sources outside of the closing companies would make substantial payment toward the purchase of the companies, when, in fact, Cicero took money from the very companies that he was purchasing to fund the purchase thereby defrauding Community Bank and his business partner.
In separate schemes, Cicero caused the submission of fraudulent loan applications and other documents to lenders to obtain loan collateralized by real estate. The false representations to secure loans included overstating income, understating liabilities, and failing to pay liabilities associated with the collateral servicing the loan. He also directed an individual to remove a lien from a title report. Several of the loans were in the names of his elderly in-laws, and were obtained by Cicero without the authorization of the in-laws. Cicero committed money laundering by causing a wire transfer of some of the proceeds of the mortgage fraud scheme to an account at Mars National Bank.
Cicero also committed bankruptcy fraud by concealing money and jewelry in connection with his bankruptcy filings, and access device fraud by using a credit card of his employer without authorization. Cicero’s fraud scheme funded an extravagant lifestyle that included fancy cars, including a Bentley and Ferrari, private school for his children, and an upscale home.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Cercone stated that Cicero’s crimes had a devastating impact on a number of individuals' lives.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Western Pennsylvania Mortgage Fraud Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Cicero.
Oakton Man Sentenced to 88 Months’ Imprisonment for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Michael Cronin, 50, of Oakton, Va., was sentenced today to 88 months in prison for receipt of child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Scot R. Rittenberg of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III sentenced the defendant.
Cronin pleaded guiltyon July 19, 2013. According to court documents, undercover agents discovered Cronin using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to share child pornography images and videos. A search warrant was executed and Cronin’s computers were found to contain over 2,000 child pornography files. A large portion of these files were images or videos of known children.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with support from the Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Special Assistant United States Attorney Alicia J. Yass, a Trial Attorney with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Oakton Man Sentenced to 88 Months' Imprisonment for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Michael Cronin, 50, of Oakton, Va., was sentenced today to 88 months in prison for receipt of child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Scot R. Rittenberg of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III sentenced the defendant.
Cronin pleaded guiltyon July 19, 2013. According to court documents, undercover agents discovered Cronin using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to share child pornography images and videos. A search warrant was executed and Cronin’s computers were found to contain over 2,000 child pornography files. A large portion of these files were images or videos of known children.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with support from the Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Special Assistant United States Attorney Alicia J. Yass, a Trial Attorney with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Northampton County Man ArrestedRead the Press Release
Michael Beer, 36, of Roseto, PA, was arrested last night by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with support from the Pennsylvania State Police, for possession of a destructive device. Beer will have an initial appearance today at 1:30 pm in federal court.
According to the criminal complaint, Beer’s relative called police after discovering what was believed to be a pipe bomb in the basement of a house on Shisler Street, in Philadelphia, where Beer had previously resided. The Philadelphia Police Department’s Bomb Disposal Unit, ATF and FBI all responded to the scene. A total of six devices were removed and the area was secured.
The potential penalty for possession of a destructive device is up to 10 years in prison. The government has 30 days to file an indictment.
The case is being investigated by ATF and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marianne Cox.UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Nine Individuals, Four Businesses Indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute Synthetic DrugsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that three Columbia, Mo., siblings are among nine individuals and four businesses indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana, commonly referred to as K2.
Matthew Ashby Hawkins, 38, his brother, Patrick Ross Hawkins, 31, and his sister, Molly Jane Carmichael, 36, all of Columbia, Alexander Vladimir McMillin, 29, of Columbia, Kent Allen Holtz, 42, of Kaiser, Mo., Chadwick James Schlicht, 43, of Osage Beach, Mo., Charles Sterling Austin, Jr., 61, of St. Charles, Mo., Scott Wesley Hanson, 47, of Versailles, Mo., Thomas Lee McCormack, 28, of Jefferson City, Mo., and four businesses – Dynamic Scents, LLC, and Order Refill, LLC, Columbia business owned by Matthew and Patrick Hawkins, Carmichael and McMillin, Puff N Stuff, a retail business in Eldon, Mo., and Mozark Products, LLC, in Jefferson City – were charged in a six-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City on Oct. 2, 2013. The indictment was unsealed on Oct. 10, 2013, upon the arrests and initial court appearances of several defendants.
The federal indictment alleges that all of the defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue, also known as synthetic marijuana or K2, between Dec. 7, 2011, and Oct. 2, 2013. K2 is a mixture of plant material that has been sprayed or mixed with a synthetic chemical compound similar to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. K2 products are often labeled as “incense,” but in reality are intended for human consumption as a drug.
The indictment also charges McMillin, Matthew Hawkins, Patrick Hawkins, Carmichael, Austin, Dynamic Scents, Order Refill, Puff N Snuff and Mozark Products with participating in a money-laundering conspiracy from Dec. 7, 2011, to Oct. 2, 2013. According to the indictment, they conspired to engage in financial transactions that involved the proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy.
In addition to the two conspiracies, the indictment charges McMillin with one count of distributing a controlled substance analogue and one count of possessing a controlled substance analogue with the intent to distribute. Hanson and McCormack are also each charged with one count of possessing a controlled substance analogue with the intent to distribute.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require the defendants to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged conspiracies, or used to facilitate the alleged conspiracies, including $423,327 seized from Puff N Suff’s bank account, $177,398 seized from Order Refill’s bank account, $14,215 seized from Mozark Products’ bank account, $82,149 seized from McMillin, $55,175 seized from Hanson and a 2004 Hummer H2 seized from Hanson.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Berry. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the MUSTANG Task Force, the LANEG Drug Task Force, the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Morgan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Camden County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Camdenton, Mo., Police Department.
Nebraska Man Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Federal Prison for Transporting Pcp and Codeine on Amtrak TrainRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Rayvell Vann, 46, of Omaha, Neb., was sentenced this afternoon to 15 years months in prison followed by at least eight years of supervised release for his drug trafficking conviction, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steve C. Yarbrough and Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit of the DEA’s El Paso Field Division.
Vann was arrested in Albuquerque, N.M., on April 9, 2012, on drug trafficking charges in a criminal complaint. Vann subsequently was indicted and charged with (1) possession of more than 100 grams of phencyclidine (PCP) with intent to distribute, and (2) possession of codeine with intent to distribute. On March 13, 2013, a jury found him guilty on both counts of the indictment.
According to the evidence at trial, on April 9, 2012, a DEA special agent, who was conducting an interdiction investigation at the AmTrak station in Albuquerque, approached Vann, who was a passenger on a train traveling from Los Angeles, Calif., to Omaha. After identifying himself as a law enforcement officer, the agent requested and received Vann’s consent to talk to him. During the recorded conversation, Vann said that he had traveled by plane to Los Angeles from Kansas City two weeks earlier and was returning from his travels.
Vann, who was traveling with one bag and a briefcase, let the agent search his bag which contained only a pink gift-wrapped box and a child’s dress despite Vann’s claim to have been in Los Angeles for two weeks. Vann initially claimed that the box contained a birthday gift for his aunt but could not provide his aunt’s birth date. Later, Vann admitted that the box contained illegal drugs, codeine cough syrup and Oxycotin, a prescription painkiller. The agent then arrested Vann and obtained a search warrant for the box.
When the box was opened, the agents quickly realized that it did not contain only codeine and painkillers because of the foam packaging inside the box and the pungent odor of ether that was released when they cut the foam. Recognizing the odor as PCP and finding 16 ounces of PCP in the box, the agents arranged for a bio-hazard expert to take possession of the PCP. When the agents interviewed Vann, he expressed surprise that the box contained PCP; he admitted purchasing PCP, codeine and Oxycotin while in Los Angeles, but claimed to have sent the PCP to Omaha by an expedited courier service.
This case was investigated by the Interdiction Unit of the DEA’s Albuquerque office which focuses on disrupting the flow of narcotics, weapons, and the proceeds of illegal activities as they are smuggled into, or through, New Mexico in passenger buses, passenger trains, commercial vehicles and automobiles. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Norman Cairns.
National Respiratory Services, LLC Ordered to Pay Restitution in the Amount of $2 Million for FDA Violations and Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
– Company received more than $2 million in payments from Medicare for misbranded, adulterated and contaminated inhalation medications
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – National Respiratory Services, LLC (NRS) was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2 million, by U.S. Senior District Judge Charles R. Simpson, III, for committing health care fraud, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
According to the plea agreement, between June 2006 and June 2008, Christopher Keegan, while owner and majority shareholder of NRS, along with Johnny Perry, then vice-president of NRS, and others caused compounded medications to be sent to patients, through interstate commerce, which were adulterated and misbranded, in violation of the Food Drug & Cosmetic Act. NRS provided compounded medications to patients, but led both Medicare and the patients’ doctors to believe that the pharmaceutical company was providing non-compounded medications (FDA approved-commercially manufactured).
“The conduct of National Respiratory Services and the individual defendants involved in this scheme was a fraud not only against Medicare, but upon patients and their doctors,” United States Attorney Hale. “Misbranding the potency of medication puts patients at risk without their, or their doctors’, knowledge. Today’s proceeding ends a dangerous practice.”
The drugs provided by NRS were misbranded inhalation drugs in that they contained false and misleading labeling that misrepresented the strength and potency of their active ingredients or the type of drug actually provided. Further, NRS through Keegan, Perry and others, then submitted to Medicare false and fraudulent billings which indicated that the medications they were providing to patients were non-compounded and FDA-approved when they were not. The total loss of this activity is $2,030,343.11.
Compounded medications are not FDA approved, but FDA regulations permit pharmacists to make compounded drugs, including prescription drugs, in limited amounts and under narrow circumstances, for particular patients, and at the direction of a physician when other available drugs cannot be prescribed.
Johnny Perry pleaded guilty to four counts of a felony Indictment and received a sentence of three years probation with 8 months home incarceration. Perry was ordered to pay restitution of $2,030,343.11, to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, jointly and severally with other co-defendants.
Former NRS pharmacists Leo Parrino and Linda Schmidt pleaded guilty to introducing compounded inhalation drugs that bore false and misleading labelling and represented them to be of greater strength and potency than they actually were. Parrino pleaded guilty to the charge on September 8, 2011 and was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge James D. Moyer to one year probation and restitution in the amount of $14,098.24. Schmidt was sentenced to one year probation and restitution in the amount of $20,000.00.
Co-defendant James Rives, a former minority shareholder of NRS, pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor Information and agreed to a restitution payment of $75,996.85. As a result of the plea agreement, the United States will not pursue felony charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud against Rives for the activity he engaged in during the period of 2006 through 2008 while defendant Rives was associated with NRS.
Christopher Keegan pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor Information and agreed to a restitution payment of $2,030,343.11 to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, jointly and severally with other co-defendants.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lettricea Jefferson-Webb, and investigated by the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Mother, Daughter Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Evie Bowin Herrin, 58, of Kirbyville, Texas, and her daughter Amelia Darci Crew, 31, of Cleveland, Texas, were sentenced on October 3, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi for conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Herrin received 86 months in prison, and Crew received 51 months in prison. They both received three years of supervised release. Herrin was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $17,730 restitution. They pleaded guilty June 27, 2013.According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, the defendants admitted to stealing $17,730 from banks in Louisiana and Texas. Herrin admitted to entering three banks wearing a disguise. After entering the banks, Herrin would point what looked like a handgun at a teller and present the teller with a note saying to hand over strapped bundles of 100 and 20 dollar bills or she would shoot the bank employees. Herrin left each bank in a car driven by Crew. The robberies occurred on February 13, 2012 at an Iberia Bank in Kinder, La., February 28, 2012 at a Citizens National Bank in Henderson, Texas, and March 15, 2012 at a MidSouth Bank in Sulphur, La.
The FBI and the Kinder, Sulphur and Henderson, Texas police departments investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph T. Mickel prosecuted the case.
Morehouse Parish Woman Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Stealing from bank customersRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Vickie Lenoir, 48, of Mer Rouge, La., was sentenced on October 7, 2013, by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James, to 12 months in prison and five years of supervised release for embezzling money from customers at the Capital One bank where she worked. She was also ordered to pay $95,673 in restitution. Lenoir pleaded guilty May 14, 2013.According to evidence presented in court, from December 2008 until October 2012, Lenoir admitted to embezzling more than $95,673 from seven customer accounts at a Bastrop, La., Capital One Bank where she was employed. The missing money was reported after customers began noticing unusual activity in their accounts.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Cytheria Jernigan prosecuted the case.
Missouri Man Charged with Attempted Arson of Planned Parenthood FacilityRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that Jedediah Stout, 30, of Joplin, Mo., was charged today in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., with the attempted arson of a Planned Parenthood facility.
As stated in the complaint affidavit, on Oct. 3, 2013, and Oct. 4, 2013, Stout made consecutive attempts to set fire to the Planned Parenthood facility in Joplin. In both instances he threw items containing an accelerant onto the roof of the facility, and then ignited material attached to the accelerant. Stout will have his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Oct. 21, 2013.
Today’s charge is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobaco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Joplin Police Department. Prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Kelleher in conjunction with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Mexican National Sentenced for Illegal Reentry, Failure to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Carlos Galvan-Lopez, 43, of Mexico, was sentenced on October 3, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Maurice Hicks, Jr., to 50 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States and failing to register as a sex offender. The defendant is subject to deportation upon release. He pleaded guilty on June 3, 2013.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, the Hidalgo, Texas, Sheriff’s Office arrested Galvan-Lopez on December 18, 1995 for aggravated sexual assault. He served time in prison and was deported on December 21, 2010. He was arrested in Shreveport at his place of employment on April 19, 2013, after it was discovered that he had illegally returned to the United States and had not registered as a sex offender.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg prosecuted the case.
Maryland Man Sentenced to More Than 30 Years in Prison for 2010 Killing Inside Downtown Office Building-Defendant Later Disposed of Body in Frederick County, Md.-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Marvin Palencia, 37, of Hyattsville, Md., was sentenced on Oct. 11, 2013 to a total of 31 years and four months in prison on charges stemming from the slaying of a man in a downtown office building, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced
Palencia was found guilty by a jury in June 2013 of first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, carrying a pistol without a license, and tampering with evidence. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable John Ramsey Johnson.
According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 11, 2010, Palencia shot the victim, Jacobo Vazquez, 36, in the chest and in the back of the head in the laundry room of a ten-story office building in the 100 block of Constitution Avenue NW, where both of the men worked. Palencia was angry because Mr. Vazquez was in a relationship with the defendant’s wife. Palencia and his wife were separated but he hoped for reconciliation.
Prior to the murder, Valencia shared with several people how upset he was with Mr. Vazquez. He also threatened Mr. Vazquez about one week before the murder – telling him that he better not see him at work anymore. Over the course of the next week, Palencia purchased a firearm illegally and verified Mr. Vazquez’s work schedule with his superior.
The government’s evidence showed that Palencia carefully planned out the timing and location of the murder by using his knowledge of the building and the various employee schedules. After killing Mr. Vazquez, Palencia put the body in a cardboard box, wrapped the box in duct tape, plastic, and a cord, and then dumped the body on the side of the road on Interstate 70 in Frederick County, Md. However, in his haste to wrap the box, he unknowingly attached his work identification card to the box. Palencia was arrested Nov. 20, 2010 and has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives, officers and evidence technicians who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Maryland State Police, the Maryland State Highway Department and the Maryland State Medical Examiner’s Office. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Marian Russell and Kalisha Johnson-Clark; Intern Matt Lamb, and Litigation Technology Specialists Kimberly Smith and Thomas “Ron” Royal. He thanked Assistant U.S Attorney Seth B. Waxman, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Miller, who investigated the case and secured the indictment.
Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Cannon and Kevin Flynn, who prosecuted the case at trial.
13-351Maryland Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Broad Daylight Kidnapping and Assault-Defendant Abducted Girlfriend After High-Speed Chase-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Christopher Devese, 23, of Capitol Heights, Md., was sentenced on Oct. 11, 2013 to five years in prison for abducting his pregnant girlfriend from a gas station, robbing her and then assaulting her, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Devese pled guilty in July 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, robbery, and felony contempt. The plea was contingent upon the approval of the Honorable John Ramsey Johnson, who accepted it and sentenced Devese. Upon completion of his prison term, Devese will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on April 27, 2013, at about 12:30 p.m., Devese chased his girlfriend, the victim, in a car from Capitol Heights, Md., into the District of Columbia, as she sped through red lights trying to get away from him. The victim, who had called 911 for help while being pursued by Devese, was finally cornered in a gas station parking lot in the 4900 block of South Dakota Avenue NE. Devese smashed the car window to get into the car and pulled his girlfriend out. He then put her into his car and drove her to an unknown alley in the District of Columbia, where he repeatedly assaulted her, including beating her in the stomach with his casted fist. During the assault, he also robbed the victim of her cell phone, which police recovered from him when he was arrested. Devese then drove the victim back to Capitol Heights, Md., where he assaulted her again before his mother came to the victim’s aid.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit and the FBI/MPD Violent Crimes Task Force. He also praised those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Lezlie Richardson, Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key, and Intern Lucie Enns. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Mervin A. Bourne, Jr., who investigated and indicted the case.
13-349Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition of A Leader of A Colombian Drug Trafficking Organization and Three Other International Narcotics TraffickersRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), today announced the extraditions of four defendants charged with international narcotics trafficking offenses: ERICSON VARGAS CARDONA, extradited from Colombia on charges of conspiring to traffic in cocaine and using weapons, including machine guns, assault rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades, in furtherance of the cocaine trafficking conspiracy; DIEGO VALLEJO-REYES, extradited from Colombia on charges of conspiring to traffic in cocaine; and RICARDO QUINTERO and JESUS DOMINGUEZ GALLARDO, extradited from Mexico on charges of conspiring to traffic in methamphetamine and cocaine.
VARGAS CARDONA and VALLEJO-REYES both arrived in the Southern District of New York on October 16, 2013 and were separately presented and arraigned before Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn yesterday. QUINTERO and DOMINGUEZ GALLARDO arrived in the Southern District of New York on October 11, 2013 and were presented and arraigned before Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein on October 12, 2013 and ordered detained.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, what these four defendants had in common was the criminal intent and wherewithal to import large quantities of cocaine into the United States. Now, having been successfully extradited, they themselves are in the United States. These cases demonstrate the resolve of the DEA and this Office to bring before the bar of American justice those who pour cocaine and other illegal drugs into the flow of American commerce.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell said: “Ricardo Quintero-Muett and Jesus Dominguez-Gallardo are now on American soil to face justice for their roles in sending hundreds of pounds of narcotics into the United States. This three year multi-national drug investigation has brought to justice two key distributors for the Mexican La Familia Michoacan Drug Cartel for their alleged conspiracy in trafficking over one ton of methamphetamine and hundreds of pounds of cocaine, heroin and marijuana into the United States and into our communities, while making millions of dollars poisoning Americans. The United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York, the NY Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, and our global DEA offices have worked tirelessly to bring both defendants to justice in the country they poisoned. I commend the DEA’s Special Operations Division, San Diego Field Division, Carlsbad Resident Office, Mexico Country Office, Tijuana Resident Office, Los Angeles Field Division, Bogota Colombia Country Office, Interpol, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and the San Diego District Attorney’s Office.”
VARGAS CARDONA
As alleged in the Indictment previously unsealed in Manhattan federal court and documents publicly filed in Colombia in extradition proceedings:
From approximately 2000 to August 2012, VARGAS CARDONA was a member of La Oficina de Envigado (“Oficina”) a Colombia-based narcotics trafficking organization that served as a debt-collection agency for narcotics traffickers, by means including violence, invested in shipments of narcotics, and manufactured cocaine. Oficina distributed thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to locations worldwide, including the United States. As a member of Oficina, VARGAS CARDONA, among other things, engaged in debt collection activities, established a cocaine laboratory, and participated in acts of violence on behalf of Oficina. In approximately 2008, VARGAS CARDONA assumed control of Oficina. While a member and as a leader of Oficina, he conspired with others to export and to distribute cocaine, and possessed firearms in furtherance of that crime, including semiautomatic assault weapons, machineguns and destructive devices – including rocket-propelled grenades and grenade launchers – and carried explosive devices, including electric and manual detonators.
VALLEJO-REYES
As alleged in the Indictment previously unsealed in Manhattan federal court and documents publicly filed in Colombia in extradition proceedings:
Beginning in at least 2011, VALLEJO-REYES and his co-defendant Elver Hernan Roa-Avila conspired to transport thousands of kilograms of cocaine using numerous airplanes, including airplanes registered in the United States, from Colombia and Venezuela to points in Central America, particularly Honduras, and the Caribbean and, on occasion, to Africa. The airplanes typically were loaded at and departed from clandestine airstrips located in the Apure region of Venezuela. In addition, in September and October 2012, VALLEJO and Roa-Avila conspired to sell approximately 339 kilograms of cocaine in Bogota, Colombia, which the defendants understood would be imported to the United States and distributed. In connection with this conspiracy, 339-kilograms of cocaine supplied by VALLEJO-REYES and Roa-Avila were seized by law enforcement authorities in Colombia.
QUINTERO and DOMINGUEZ GALLARDO
As alleged in the Indictment previously unsealed in Manhattan federal court and documents publicly filed in connection with Mexican extradition proceedings:
QUINTERO and DOMINGUEZ GALLARDO were members of a drug trafficking organization affiliated with the La Familia Michoacana cartel, a violent drug trafficking organization based in the state of Michoacan in southwestern Mexico. The cartel has imported vast quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States from Mexico, and utilizes violence, including assault, murder and kidnaping, to support its narcotics trafficking activities. In that capacity, QUINTERO and DOMINGUEZ GALLARDO were responsible for the transport of large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Michoacan, Mexico, into Tijuana, Mexico, and ultimately across the United States border into California, primarily by secreting those narcotics in concealed compartments contained within vehicles. In the course of the investigation, law enforcement agents seized hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine belonging to the organization.
QUINTERO, 39, and DOMINGUEZ GALLARDO, 44, have each been charged with conspiring to import methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States and conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, knowing that those substances would be imported into the United States (Count One). The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty.
VARGAS CARDONA, 40, has been charged with conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States (Count One); conspiracy to distribute cocaine (Count Two); possessing and discharging M50 machineguns, AUG assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and grenade launchers, submachine guns, shotguns, and other firearms, some of which were equipped with silencers, in furtherance of the conspiracy to import cocaine (Count Three); and carrying explosive compounds, grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, and electric and manual detonators during the commission of the conspiracy to import cocaine (Count Four). Counts One and Two carry a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. Count Three carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years in prison, to run consecutively to any other penalty imposed. Count Four carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, to run consecutively to any other penalty imposed. The total mandatory minimum sentence VARGAS CARDONA faces if convicted of all four counts is 50 years in prison. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Harold Baer.
VALLEJO-REYES, 56, has been charged with conspiring to import cocaine and to possess cocaine on board a U.S.-registered aircraft with the intent to distribute it (Count One) and with distributing cocaine knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States (Counts Two and Three). Each count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr.
Roa-Avila remains in the custody of Colombian authorities.
The arrests and transfers of the defendants were the result of the close cooperative efforts of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; DEA’s New York Field Office; DEA’s New York Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Strike Force; DEA’s Special Operations Division; DEA’s San Diego Field Division, Carlsbad Resident Office; DEA’s Tijuana, Mexico Country Office; DEA’s Bogota, Colombia Country Office; DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division; Interpol; the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs; and the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. The DEA’s New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers of the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the New York City Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Police, the U. S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshal Service, New York National Guard, Office of Foreign Assets Control and the New York Department of Taxation and Finance. The Strike Force is partially funded by the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which is a federally funded crime fighting initiative. Mr. Bharara thanked Colombia’s Cuerpo Técnico de Investigación, a division of La Fiscalía General de la Nación, and the Mexican Military Forces from the 28th Battalion and the Policia Estatal Preventiva for their assistance in this investigation.
These prosecutions are being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Edward Y. Kim and Michael Ferrara are in charge of the prosecution of VARGAS CARDONA. Assistant United States Attorneys Edward Y. Kim, Michael D. Lockard, and Adam Fee are in charge of the prosecution of VALLEJO-REYES. Assistants Jenna Dabbs and Aimee Hector are in charge of the prosecution of QUINTERO and DOMINGUEZ GALLARDO.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. Ericson Vargas Cardona Indictment
U.S. v. Rafael Antonio Garavito-Garcia and Gustavo Perez-Garcia S5 Indictment
U.S. v. Diego Vellejo-Reyes and Elver Hernan Roa-Avila S5 IndictmentManager of Tukwila Motel Pleads Guilty to Maintaining a Drug Involved PremisesRead the Press Release
A Burien man entered a guilty plea today in the case involving the seizure of three Tukwila, Washington motels that were operated as havens for drug dealing and sex crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. LAKHVIR PAWAR, 41, was the manager of the Boulevard Motel on International Boulevard in Tukwila. In his plea agreement, PAWAR admits to profiting from drug sales at the motel. Under the terms of the plea agreement, PAWAR will forfeit his interest in the motel and in about $90,000 seized in August 2013 when the motel and two others were seized and shut down by federal authorities. Under the terms of the agreement, if any of PAWAR’s relatives challenge the forfeiture, prosecutors can withdraw from the plea agreement. Prosecutors will recommend a prison term of not more than a year and a day in prison, and will recommend that PAWAR be barred from owning or managing motels and from working at any motel owned or managed by his family during three years of supervised release. Judge John C. Coughenour is not bound by the recommendation and can impose up to the 20 year maximum when PAWAR is sentenced before the court on February 28, 2014.
According to the plea agreement, PAWAR admits that between 2003 and 2013, he was the primary manager at the Boulevard Motel. Between 2007 and 2013, there were 33 drug related incidents, 27 assaults and 11 robberies at the motel. During that time period, PAWAR knew drugs were being sold at the motel and profited from the drug activity. PAWAR directed customers to the rooms where drugs were sold, first taking a fee from the customers. PAWAR also charged those distributing drugs higher rent than other people renting rooms at the motel.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors agree not to seek forfeiture of two other motels owned by PAWAR and his relatives: the Everspring Inn on Aurora Avenue North in Seattle and the Rodeway Inn in SeaTac, Washington. However, the agreement states that should there be new evidence of similar illegal conduct at those motels, the government is not precluded from taking action including forfeiture.
The investigation, search and seizure operation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Tukwila Police Department. Many additional agencies assisted the investigation, including the U.S. Marshals Service; Department of Homeland Security; Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General; Washington State Patrol; Seattle, Auburn, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, and Port of Seattle Police Departments; Valley SWAT Team; King County Sheriff’s Office; Washington State Department of Corrections; and Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).
The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Arnold, Jill Otake and Richard Cohen.
Man Charged with Assaulting A Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that a grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Dominic A. Times, age 29, with assault on a federal officer.
The indictment alleges that Times assaulted a correctional officer at the Elkton, Ohio, Federal Correctional Institution on January, 13, 2013.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Bell, following an investigation by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Long Island Man Arrested for Attempting to Join Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Conspiring to Commit Murder OverseasRead the Press Release
A five-count indictment was unsealed today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Marcos Alonso Zea, also known as “Ali Zea,” an American citizen and resident of Brentwood, New York, with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, attempting to provide material support to terrorists, attempting to provide material support to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as Ansar al-Sharia (AQAP/AAS), and obstruction and attempted obstruction of justice.1 Zea was arrested earlier this morning at his home on Long Island and is scheduled to be arraigned later today before United States Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division; George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).
As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, beginning in the fall of 2011, Zea conspired with others to travel overseas in order to wage violent jihad on the perceived enemies of Islam, which included the secular government in Yemen. In furtherance of the conspiracy, on January 4, 2012, Zea flew from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in Queens, New York, to London, England, en route to Yemen in an attempt to join and fight alongside members of AQAP/AAS, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization that has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks against the United States, including the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of a Detroit-bound passenger plane.
As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, Zea was intercepted by customs officials in the United Kingdom (UK) in transit to Yemen and returned to the United States. Despite being prevented from traveling to Yemen, Zea continued his participation in the terrorist conspiracy. Specifically, Zea encouraged and supported his co-conspirator, Justin Kaliebe, who also was plotting to travel to Yemen to fight jihad. In August 2012, in a covertly recorded conversation between Zea and Kaliebe, Zea bragged about his lies to UK authorities when he was detained, instructed Kaliebe regarding methods to evade electronic surveillance by law enforcement authorities, and discussed Kaliebe’s plans to fight jihad. On January 21, 2013, Kaliebe attempted to travel from New York to Yemen for the purpose of joining AQAP/AAS, but was arrested at JFK by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the NYPD’s Intelligence Division.2 Several days before Kaliebe attempted to travel to Yemen to join AQAQ/AAS, Zea gave Kaliebe money to support his trip. During this meeting, which was covertly recorded, Zea stated “I just hope, my story, my, the event that happened to me will help you guys move forward, inspire you.”
In April 2013, after learning that he was under investigation by the JTTF, Zea directed an associate to erase the hard drive on Zea’s home computer, and provided the associate two additional hard drives that Zea had used previously, which he also requested be destroyed. Despite Zea’s efforts to thwart the investigation, the JTTF obtained the hard drives and conducted a forensic examination, which revealed an assortment of violent Islamic extremist materials. For example, the drives contained issues of Inspire magazine, an AQAP/AAS publication that promotes violent jihad, containing articles such as “Which is Better: Martyrdom or Victory?” “Why did I choose al Qaeda?” “What to Expect in Jihad?” and an interview with “Shaykh Abu Hurairah, The Military Commander of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.” The electronic media also included a video, disseminated by the propaganda wing of al-Qaeda in Iraq, depicting the detonation of an explosive device on a vehicle carrying western military personnel. In addition, investigators recovered a semi-automatic rifle that Zea had given to an acquaintance shortly before he departed for Yemen.
“Despite being born and raised in the United States, Zea allegedly betrayed his country and attempted to travel to Yemen in order to join a terrorist organization and commit murder,” stated U.S. Attorney Lynch. “When that plan was thwarted, Zea continued to support terrorism by assisting his co-conspirator’s efforts to travel to Yemen to fight violent jihad. When the defendant sensed investigators from the JTTF closing in, he engaged in a desperate effort to cover his tracks by attempting to destroy evidence – a tactic that only confirmed his violent aims. This case clearly demonstrates how the FBI and the NYPD, along with their partners on the JTTF and overseas, work diligently and effectively to counter the efforts of al-Qaeda’s affiliates and their supporters.” Ms. Lynch also expressed her grateful appreciation to the FBI, NYPD, Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Nassau County Police Department, the Suffolk County Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police Department for their work on the investigation.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos stated, “Inspired by terrorist propaganda, Mr. Zea allegedly traveled abroad in 2012 in a vain attempt to reach Yemen, join Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and fight violent jihad. When his attempt failed, Zea turned to financing and inspiring another Long Island man’s commitment to global terror. And when Zea learned he was under investigation, he feverishly attempted to destroy the incriminating evidence.”
NYPD Commissioner Kelly stated, “Aspirants with lethal intent who seek terror training abroad are of paramount concern. Fortunately, like Kaliebe before him, Zea was stopped due to the close cooperation between the NYPD and FBI.”
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth D. DuCharme, John J. Durham, and Michael P. Canty, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Kelli Andrews of the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice.
The Defendant
MARCOS ALONSO ZEA (a/k/a “Ali Zea”)
Age: 25
Brentwood, New York_____________________________
1 The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
2Kaliebe subsequently pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and one count of attempting to provide material support to AQAP/AAS. Kaliebe is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2013, by United States District Judge Arthur D. Spatt in United States District Court in Central Islip.
Lexington, Missouri, Resident Found Guilty of Robbing the Great Western Bank of Hamburg, IowaRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - On October 18, 2013, Nathan Wayne Smith, a 47 year-old resident of Lexington, Missouri, was found guilty in federal court of robbing the Great Western Bank of Hamburg, Iowa, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. The trial was presided over by United States District Court Chief Judge James E. Gritzner. Sentencing has been set for January 29, 2014. Bank robbery carries a potential sentence of up to twenty years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and restitution.
The evidence produced at trial showed that Smith traveled from his home in Lexington, Missouri, to Hamburg, Iowa, arriving at the Great Western Bank around 9:30 a.m. on June 11, 2012. Smith approached a teller in the bank, placed a plastic bag on the counter in front of the teller, and told the teller to fill the bag with money. After obtaining the money from the teller, Smith ran from the bank.
Smith was identified as the party responsible after he was stopped by the Buckner, Missouri, Police Department later in the day on June 11, 2012. Buckner, Missouri, is approximately 150 miles south and east of Hamburg, Iowa.
The investigation was conducted by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckner, Missouri, Police Department, the Lexington, Missouri, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Leader of Large-Scale Cambria County Drug Distribution Organization Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Carrolltown, Pa., pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
George M. Lowmaster, 43, pleaded guilty to four counts before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from Sept. 30, 2010, to May 9, 2011, Lowmaster conspired to manufacture and distribute more than 1,000 marijuana plants. From March 2008, to May 9, 2011, he conspired to commit money laundering to hide the proceeds from the sale of his organization's drug distribution. Also, on July 23, 2008, and Aug. 21, 2010, he distributed less than 500 grams of cocaine on each occasion.
Following today's plea, U.S. Attorney Hickton said, "Almost two years ago, Cambria County District Attorney Kelly Callihan and I announced the Indictment of George Lowmaster and a number of other individuals. As you recall, Mr. Lowmaster led the largest and most extensive drug distribution organization ever dismantled in the Johnstown area.
"Today, I am pleased to announce the guilty plea of George Lowmaster. Mr. Lowmaster's plea brings to completion what has been a comprehensive and lengthy prosecution. Twenty-five other individuals have also pleaded guilty for their participation in Mr. Lowmaster’s organization.
"I want to commend the law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation for their cooperation, hard work and dedication. Even more, their efforts demonstrate the success that can be achieved when we work together. I pledge to continue to devote all available office resources to address the problems facing the Johnstown community."
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Feb. 19, 2014, at 10 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of twenty years to life in prison, a fine of $24,500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr., is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
A joint task force, headed by the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of George Lowmaster. Other agencies participating on the task force include the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; Pennsylvania State Police; the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office; the Cambria County District Attorney's Office; the Carrolltown Police Department; the Patton Police Department; the Ebensburg Police Department; the Portage Police Department and the Paint Township Police Department.
Justice Department Sues to Shut Down Mississippi Tax Return Preparer for Alledgedly Overstating Tax RefundsRead the Press Release
The United States has requested that the federal district court in Jackson, Miss., permanently bar Danee Aikens from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.
According to the complaint, Aikens prepares federal income tax returns under the name “Comprotax Service” from an office in Durant, Miss. The complaint alleges that Aikens prepared returns that overstated income, including by reporting fictitious household help income, in order to increase the amount of her customers' claim to the Earned Income Tax Credit.
The complaint further alleges that Aikens prepared returns that falsely claimed a refundable education credit on behalf of her clients.
As alleged in the complaint, the loss to the government from Aikens’ return preparation from 2009 through 2012 could exceed $7 million.
Return preparer fraud is one of the Internal Revenue Service's Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2013 which can be viewed at www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Releases-the-Dirty-Dozen-Tax-Scams-for-2013 . In the past ten years the Justice Department's Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax-return preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website at www.justice.gov/tax/taxpress2013.htm .
Related Materials:
United States v. Danee Aikens
Complaint for Permanent Injunction
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Arapahoe, Colo., Sheriff’s Office to Resolve Immigration-Related Unfair Employment PracticesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the Arapahoe County, Colo. Office of the Sheriff resolving allegations that the Office of the Sheriff violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The investigation was initiated based on information obtained in the course of a lawsuit filed by a former employee against the Sheriff’s Office alleging discriminatory termination. The Department’s investigation established that the Office of the Sheriff improperly restricted law enforcement positions to U.S. citizens notwithstanding the fact that no law, regulation, executive order or government contract authorized it to restrict employment in this manner. The former employee who filed the lawsuit was in fact a U.S. citizen and had documentation that showed her work authorization but not her citizenship. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits certain discriminatory hiring practices against work-authorized individuals and permits employers to limit jobs to U.S. citizens only where the employer is required to do so by law, regulation, executive order, or government contract.
Under the settlement agreement, the Office of the Sheriff’s employment eligibility verification practices will be subject to monitoring by the Justice Department and reporting requirements for a period of three years. The Sheriff’s Office also agreed to pay $500 in civil penalties to the United States. The Office of the Sheriff had already addressed the identified victim’s back pay claims through an earlier agreement based on her private lawsuit. In addition, the Office of the Sheriff informed other affected non-U.S. citizen applicants that they could re-apply for available law enforcement positions. The Sheriff’s Office denied that it committed any violation of the anti-discrimination provision but fully cooperated with the investigation and agreed to revise its hiring policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.
“Employers must ensure that their hiring practices do not violate the anti-discrimination provision of the INA,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Any restrictions in hiring based on citizenship status must be pursuant to requirements established by law or government contract, not internal policies. The Office of the Sheriff’s cooperation and its efforts to reach out to non-citizens affected by its past policies reflect its commitment to address the issues raised in this investigation in a meaningful manner.”
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2525, TTY for hearing impaired), call the OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-362-2735, TTY for hearing impaired), sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php , email [email protected] or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc .
Jury Convicts Opelousas Man for Possessing and Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a federal jury found former child psychiatrist Gary Jefferson Byrd, 71, of Opelousas, La., guilty on October 8, 2013 of possessing and receiving child pornography. United States District Judge Richard T. Haik presided over the trial.
Following a two-day trial, a jury found Byrd guilty of one count of possession of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography after deliberating for 40 minutes. Based on witness testimony and documents admitted into evidence, from February 2008 to April 2011, Byrd ordered 44 compact discs containing videos of child pornography from a Canadian company. United States Postal Inspectors executed a search warrant on Byrd’s home and found stacks of compact discs containing thousands of images of child pornography that Byrd had downloaded from the Internet. He also printed hundreds of images of child pornography that he kept in files next to his bed.
Byrd was previously convicted in 1992 by a federal jury of possessing child pornography and served 10 years in prison for that crime. Prior to his conviction, his employment was as a child psychiatrist.
Because of Byrd’s prior child pornography conviction, he faces 5 years to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possession of child pornography, and he also faces 15 years to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for receiving child pornography. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice launched nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute 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 U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) DHS-2ICE. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp. Tips may be submitted anonymously.The U.S. Postal Service Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker is prosecuting the case.
Juneau Man indicted by Federal Grand Jury for retaliation against a witnessRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Juneau man was indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage, Alaska, for retaliation against a witness.
Mason T. Baker, 21, of Juneau, Alaska, was arraigned yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie C. Longenbaugh, in a one-count indictment on the charge of retaliating against a witness. Baker pled not guilty and was ordered detained pending trial.
According to the indictment, on July 3, 2013, Baker assaulted Individual A causing him/her bodily injury, in order to retaliate against Individual A for providing testimony in the trial of United States v. Richard Corum.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt, who is prosecuting this case, indicated that the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alaska State Troopers conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment: Wichita Chiropractor Defrauded Health InsurersRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A federal indictment charging a Wichita chiropractor in a $1.3 million health care fraud scheme was unsealed today, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom. The chiropractor surrendered his license today.
Jeffrey D. Fenn, 32, Wichita, Kansas, was charged with six counts of health care fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of illegally obtaining controlled drugs, sixteen counts of money laundering and one count of tax evasion.
The indictment alleges that beginning in March 2011 Fenn devised and executed a scheme to defraud health care benefit programs of more than $1.3 million through his businesses, including Wichita Health and Wellness, Fenn Chiropractic, P.A. and Wichita Pain Associates, P.A. Fenn submitted false claims to Medicare, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas and Coventry Health Care of Kansas, Inc., and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
The indictment alleges Fenn was responsible for submitting false claims for health care services including:
- Nerve block injections where none were performed.
- Fine needle aspirations where none were performed.
- Nerve conduction tests when the tests were not performed by properly certified personnel.
- Services ostensibly provided by physicians when they were not present at the clinic.
- Services that were medically unnecessary.
Fenn developed what he called an “integrated practice,” hiring physicians, advanced registered nurse practitioners and physical therapists and ostensibly having them perform procedures he was not qualified to perform. He misrepresented to the Kansas Board of Healing Arts that medical doctors had an ownership in his clinic. He used the names of physicians he employed to submit false claims for services.
The tax evasion count alleges he overstated his business deductions for 2011 by $367,800. He claimed business deductions for what were in fact personal expenses. For example, $9,400 he claimed for purchasing a server actually was used to make a down payment on a residential lot in Wichita. The $15,100 he claimed for advertising actually was used to make a down payment on a ski boat.
Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
- Health care fraud: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
- Aggravated identity theft: A mandatory two years to run consecutively to the underlying sentence on each count.
- Illegally obtaining controlled drugs: A maximum penalty of four years and a fine up to $250,000.
- Money laundering: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
- Tax evasion: A maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $100,000.
Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, the FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Food and Drug Administration and the Internal Revenue Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway is prosecuting.
Health Care Center Nursing Supervisor Arrested and Charged with Selling Hydrocodone and Other Pain KillersRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul announced today that Catherine Vitello, 40, of Elma, N.Y., was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of hydrocodone, fentanyl and alprazolam. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Alsup, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant is the Director of Nursing at the St. Catherine Laboure Health Care Center in Buffalo. According to the complaint, the defendant sold un-used prescription drugs from her office. These controlled substances included hydrocodone, fentanyl, oxycontin, morphine, and clonazepam. On two separate occasions in October 2013, Vitello sold hydrocodone, fentanyl and alprazolam to a confidential source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“Today’s charges involve a health care professional who, instead of being a healer, acted as a drug dealer,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Just last week, a jury convicted a local physician of writing over 10,000 illegal prescriptions. Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in this country and we will continue to do our part to prosecute those who contribute to that epidemic.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Crowell stated, “Over the past five years, emergency room visits involving the misuse or abuse of pharmaceutical drugs have doubled. Today’s arrests focused on a pharmaceutical drug dealer who led a double life disguised as the Director of Nursing at St. Catherine Laboure Health Care Center. Supplying unused prescription drugs from her office, Catherine Vitello fueled the drug threat to our community and profited over $60,000 in the last year. We allege she distributed diverted prescription drugs on the streets of Buffalo with no concern for public health. I commend the men and women in the DEA Buffalo Resident Office and the Lackawanna Police Department for their diligence in this investigation and doing all they can do to protect our families from this dangerous threat.”
The defendant will make an initial appearance at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy
The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office, the Lackawanna Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Michel, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.Guilty Plea Entered by Two More Individuals Charged in Plot to Conceal and Dispose of Assets in Connection with Rothstein CaseRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. DePalma, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced that defendants Eddy Marin, 50, and Patrick Daoud, 54, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to charges related to obstruction of justice. Marin pled guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(k). Daoud pled guilty to obstruction of justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(c). Sentencing has been scheduled for February 3, 2014 for both men.
According to the documents filed with the court, former Ft. Lauderdale attorney Scott W. Rothstein, who was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A. (RRA), used the funds obtained from the operation of a Ponzi scheme to purchase tens of millions of dollars of real estate, vehicles, vessels, business interests, luxury watches, jewelry and sports memorabilia for himself, his wife, Kimberly Rothstein, and others. As part of his plea agreement, Scott W. Rothstein agreed to forfeit to the government all assets acquired with funds derived through the aforesaid Ponzi scheme. On November 9, 2009, agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, went to the Rothstein residence, where Kimberly Rothstein assisted the agents in retrieving what was believed to be all of the available cash, jewelry and luxury watches which had previously been purchased by Scott W. Rothstein with proceeds derived from the Ponzi scheme. However, according to court documents, before, during and after the aforesaid seizure by federal agents on November 9, 2009, Kimberly Rothstein, Stacie Weisman, and attorney Scott F. Saidel knowingly took action to conceal certain items of jewelry, valued in excess of one million dollars, for the purpose of preventing the government from exercising its authority to take such property into its lawful custody and control. Thereafter, Kimberly Rothstein and Stacie Weisman sold and attempted to sell a portion of this jewelry to and through various persons, including Eddy Marin and Patrick Daoud.
The documents further allege that, in connection with civil proceedings instituted by the Trustee in bankruptcy for RRA, both defendants took steps to obstruct justice by concealing the true location of certain items of jewelry in order to prevent its availability for use in the bankruptcy proceedings. It is further alleged that, as part of their obstructive conduct, Marin and Daoud committed perjury during depositions in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence LaVecchio, Jeffrey Kaplan, Paul Schwartz and Evelyn Sheehan.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Greenwich Doctor Pays $300,000 to Settle Allegations Under the False Claims ActRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JUN XU, M.D., and his professional corporation, REHABILITATON MEDICINE AND ACUPUNCTURE CENTER M.D., LLC., of Riverside, Conn., have entered into a civil settlement with the government in which they will pay $300,000 to resolve allegations that XU violated the False Claims Act.
Acting U.S. Attorney Daly explained that the allegations against Dr. Xu involve fraudulent billing to Medicare for physical therapy services. The government alleges that Dr. Xu submitted claims to Medicare for physical therapy services that were medically unnecessary and/or not performed in accordance with Medicare requirements. Specifically, the government alleges that Dr. Xu billed Medicare for one-on-one physical therapy services when the physical therapist was, in fact, providing group therapy, and that he submitted claims to Medicare for therapy services that were rendered by massage therapists.
Medicare regulations explicitly state “the services of…massage therapists…may not be billed as therapy services.”
To resolve their liability under the False Claims Act, Dr. Xu and his professional corporation paid $300,000 in order to reimburse the Medicare programs for conduct occurring during the time period January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2009.
“Health care providers that overcharge Medicare drain critical funds from the Medicare program and increase health care costs,” Acting U.S. Attorney Daly stated. “The U.S. Attorney’s office is committed to vigorously pursuing physicians and other health care providers who submit fraudulent claims to federal health care programs. Providers who submit false claims to the government face serious monetary and administrative sanctions.”
Under the False Claims Act, the government can recover up to three times its actual damages, plus penalties of $5,500 to $11,000 for each false claim.
In entering into the settlement agreement, Dr. Xu and his professional corporation did not admit liability.
This case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anne F. Thidemann, with the assistance of Auditor Kevin A. Saunders.
Acting U.S. Attorney Daly encourages individuals who suspect health care fraud to report it by calling the Health Care Fraud Task Force at (203) 777-6311 or 1-800-HHS-TIPS.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Greater Harrison Drug Task Force Investigation Leads to Two Searches and Arrest of Former Stonewood ResidentRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-7725 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistFollow us on Twitter @NDWVnews
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that an investigation by the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crime Task Force has led to searches of a Stonewood residence and a Bridgeport motel and the arrest of a former Stonewood, West Virginia, resident.
In February of 2013, the residence in Stonewood was searched, pursuant to a Federal search, and officers recovered heroin and money.
On October 11, 2013, after distributing heroin to a confidential informant, MATTHEW VANHORN, age 27, was arrested. Pursuant to the arrest, Room 435 at the Wingate Hotel in Bridgeport, where VANHORN had been residing since July of 2013, was searched. During the search of the hotel room, officers recovered $4,121 in US currency, multiple bundles of heroin totaling approximately 90 grams, a Nokia cellphone, two bottles of Advil containing empty heroin bags, two pocket books containing various paraphernalia, multiple empty bags of heroin, Samsung cell phone, LG cellphone, I-pad and debit cards. During the execution of the search warrant at the motel, two children were present and in close proximity to empty heroin baggies and packaged heroin.
VANHORN appeared before Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull on October 18, 2013, and was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal.
Georgia Resident Indicted on Cross-Burning ChargesRead the Press Release
Savannah, GA - Gene Hoyt Vandiver, 34, of Richmond Hill, Georgia, was indicted earlier this month by a federal grand jury sitting in Savannah on charges related to the burning of a cross in his neighbor's yard. Vandiver was charged with one count of interfering with housing rights and with one count of arson. Vandiver had his initial appearance in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge G.R. Smith on October 10, 2013.
According to information presented in court, Vandiver, who is white, allegedly burned a cross in the yard of his neighbor, whom Vandiver believed to be African-American. Vandiver also left a sign in his neighbor’s yard with a racial slur and a hand-drawn picture of a person being lynched.
United States Attorney Edward Tarver stated, "Cross-burning remains a vicious symbol of hate and no one should have to suffer the fear and intimidation caused by such a cruel act. My office will work diligently with our law enforcement partners to prosecute criminal civil rights violations of any form."
The interfering with housing rights charge against Vandiver carries a 10-year maximum prison sentence; the arson charge carries a 10-year consecutive prison sentence. Mr. Tarver emphasized that an indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Richmond Hill Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Tania Groover and Greg Gilluly are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Frank Vennes Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Lying to Investors About Petters’ Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court in St. Paul, Frank Elroy Vennes, Jr. was sentenced to 180 months in prison in connection with fraudulently raising money from individuals and through hedge funds for investment in Petters Company, Inc. (“PCI”). Vennes was a long-time associate of Thomas J. Petters, the Minnseota businessman who was convicted in 2009 of orchestrating a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme. United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle sentenced Vennes, age 56, of Stuart, Florida, on one count of securities fraud and one count of money laundering. On July 11, 2011, Vennes was charged in a second superseding indictment, and on February 1, 2013, he pleaded guilty to those charges.
From 1995 through September of 2008, Vennes, individually and through his company, Metro Gem, obtained money from others for investment in PCI notes. He also assisted in the formation of hedge funds, known as the Arrowhead Funds, to help raise additional funds for that same purpose. Beginning in 2001 and proceeding through September 24, 2008, he aided and abetted individuals associated with the Arrowhead Funds in making fraudulent misrepresentations to investors regarding investments in PCI.
PCI was owned and operated by Tom Petters, who operated the Ponzi scheme by representing that money invested in PCI promissory notes would finance the purchase of electronics and other consumer merchandise. Purportedly, PCI would resell that merchandise for a profit to certain “big box” retailers, including Sam’s Club and Costco. In truth, however, no merchandise was bought or resold. Instead, Petters diverted hundreds of millions of dollars for his own benefit and the benefit of his co-conspirators. Petters’ Ponzi scheme unraveled in 2008, when federal agents executed search warrants at his business office and other locations.
Beginning in 2000, Vennes worked to form hedge funds to solicit investors in PCI, including Arrowhead Capital Partners II, L.P. and Arrowhead Capital Finance, Ltd., collectively known as the Arrowhead Funds, and Palm Beach Finance Partners, L.P. and Palm Beach Finance II, Ltd., collectively known as the Palm Beach Funds. Because he had a federal criminal record, having been previously convicted on federal narcotics, firearms, and money laundering charges, he had difficulty obtaining funding on his own. As a result, he worked through the Arrowhead Funds and the Palm Beach Funds when trying to solicit money from banks and institutional investors.
From 1999 through September 2008, all paperwork and communication between PCI and the Arrowhead Funds and Palm Beach Funds went through Vennes or one of his employees. At the same time, Vennes received “commissions” from Petters for brokering deals involving both Funds. His commissions were based on the amount of money he raised for Petters and PCI. Between 2001 and 2008, Vennes received more than $100 million in commissions.
During that same time period, Vennes knew that those acting on his behalf were making material misrepresentations and omissions to investors in the Arrowhead and Palm Beach Funds and did nothing to correct the situation. Investors were told, for example, that whenever a retailer purchased consumer electronics or other goods from PCI, those products were paid for by the retailer with funds directly deposited into a bank account under the control of a management company. Thus, investors were falsely assured that all PCI transactions were, in fact, taking place, and all money was secure. However, Vennes, among others, was well aware that no payments were ever received from retailers and, instead, came from PCI alone. Furthermore, investors were never informed of Vennes’ criminal record or his involvement in the Arrowhead and Palm Beach Funds’ transactions. And, finally, they were kept unaware that in late 2007 and early 2008, the PCI notes held by the Arrowhead and Palm Beach Funds were delinquent and were approaching default.
On October 11, 2013, Vennes’s co-defendant in this case, James Nathan Fry, age 60, of Orono, Minnesota, was sentenced to 210 months in prison on five counts of securities fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and three counts of making a false statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during its investigation of investments in PCI by hedge funds under the management of Fry’s company, Arrowhead Capital Management. Fry was convicted on June 12, 2013.
On October 25, 2013, sentencing is scheduled for the investment managers of the Palm Beach Funds, who have pleaded guilty to committing fraud in connection to this scheme by making material misrepresentations to investors in their hedge funds concerning investments in PCI. David William Harrold, age 54, of Del Ray Beach, Florida, and Bruce Francis Prevost, age 53, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, await sentencing, each on four counts of securities fraud.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy C. Rank, Kimberly A. Svendsen, and Robert M. Lewis.
This law enforcement action is in part sponsored by the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive attack on financial crimes. It includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement, who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force hopes to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and, with state and local partners, investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.The task force and the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office want to remind people to protect themselves from securities fraud. For more information, visit http://www.stopfraud.gov/protect-securities.html.
Four additional People Indicted in Federal Court for Participating in Nationwide Timeshare Telemarketing Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
United States Attorney James L. Santelle of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that a federal grand jury recently returned indictments against Tina M. Baalman (age: 28), Jason D. Schultz (age: 36), and Jessica M. Gilbert (age: 24) of Green Bay, Wisconsin, as well as Jessica Weinhart (nee Hensen) (age: 30) of Neenah, Wisconsin. Each defendant is charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud. Each is also subject to enhanced penalties under the “Senior Citizens Against Marketing Scams” or SCAMS Act. In total, eight individuals have now been indicted for their role in the conspiracy. Mark S. Parks, Mindy L. Parks, Eileen M. Goltz, and Ashley M. Conant currently face trial for their role in the matter.
As to each defendant, the maximum penalties are not more than twenty years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, a $100 special assessment, and a maximum three year term of supervised release. Additionally, if it is shown that ten individuals over age 55 were victimized as a result of the defendants’ actions, an additional term of imprisonment of up to ten years must be added to the underlying sentence. According to documents filed in the case, the defendants are accused of participating in the operation of a fraudulent timeshare resale scheme in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which resulted in over fourteen hundred (1,400) victims from all fifty states and Canada being defrauded of over $2.3 million. The defendants operated from 2007 to 2011 under several different names, including: Integrated Advertising Solutions, National Timeshare Resales, Administrative Timeshare Resales, and Midwest Timeshares. Victims were told that interested buyers were prepared to purchase their existing timeshares in exchange for upfront “administrative fees” ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars depending on how much the telemarketers believed they could collect. Many of the victims are elderly and had previously been victimized by similar schemes. This case was a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Door County Sheriff’s Office, Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office, the Better Business Bureau, and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove each of them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. # # # # #Four Assailants Sentenced for Robbery of Three Teenage Victims-Victims Were Forced into A Wooded Area at Night-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Four teenagers have been sentenced to prison terms for their roles in the armed robbery of three teenage victims earlier this year in a wooded area of Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
The defendants, who pled guilty to charges in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, include Emmannuel Avent, 19; Daron Brown, 18; Stephon Christian, 18, and Diquan Lucas, 16. All are from Washington, D.C. Avent pled guilty to a charge of robbery and the others to attempted robbery. The Honorable Stuart G. Nash sentenced Christian on Oct. 11, 2013 to 12 months of incarceration. Avent, Brown, and Lucas were sentenced last month to terms of incarceration of 36 months, 12 months, and 9 months, respectively.
At the plea hearing, the defendants admitted that on March 30, 2013, at approximately 11:40 p.m., Avent, while wearing a ski mask, approached the victims - 14, 15, and 17 - from behind in the 4300 block of Hunt Place NE , saying, “Everybody walk into the woods. If anybody tries to run, he’s going to get shot.” Avent then pulled up his shirt to reveal a black-handled object in his waistband. The victims complied and walked into a wooded area nearby.
Once in the woods, Avent demanded that the victims empty their pockets. The victims turned over a cell phone and $20. As Avent collected these items, Brown, Christian, and Lucas entered the woods from a different direction. Brown and Lucas also were wearing ski masks. Brown, Christian, and Lucas told the victims to give up their tennis shoes. As they gave their shoes to the defendants, Brown checked their pockets for additional proceeds.
After the robbery, Avent told the victims to get on the ground, put their jackets over their heads, and count to 100. The victims complied, and the defendants fled the scene of the robbery together. The victims ran out into a nearby roadway, flagged down a police vehicle, and provided a description of the robbery suspects to the police. Another police vehicle stopped the defendants a short distance away in an alley near Gault Place NE. The police searched the alley and recovered the victims’ shoes, as well as a cell phone belonging to one of the victims. The police also recovered two ski masks in a search of Avent, one ski mask in a search of Lucas, and one ski mask and a black-handled knife on the ground near where the defendants had been stopped.
In announcing the sentencings, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives and officers who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Richard Cheatham. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Schrader, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
13-350Fort Polk Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual Contact with A MinorRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Antwon M. Sewell, 20, of Fort Polk, La., was sentenced on October 3, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi, to 15 months in prison with five years of supervised release for committing abusive sexual contact with two minors. Sewell pleaded guilty June 13, 2013.
According to evidence presented in court, Sewell was at a party taking place at an unoccupied residence on the Fort Polk Military base on July 18, 2012. While at the party, he had sexual contact with a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old girl at different times that night. He admitted to providing alcohol to the minors attending the party.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.Fort Polk Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Second Degree Murder, Attempted MurderRead the Press Release
LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Marcus Patterson Carey, 28, of Canton, Ohio, was sentenced on October 8, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi, to 30 years in prison for second degree murder and 20 years in prison for attempted second degree murder with both sentences to be served concurrently. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release. Carey pleaded guilty on June 12, 2013.
Carey admitted that on June 19, 2010, he killed a Fort Polk soldier by striking him with a hammer and stabbing him multiple times. He also admitted to attempting to kill a former soldier by striking that person with a hammer and stabbing that person multiple times as well.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the FBI conducted the investigation. United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.
Former Youth Minister Sentenced to 48 Months in Federal Prison on Obscenity ConvictionRead the Press Release
Defendant Worked at Churches in Levelland and Lubbock
LUBBOCK, Texas—Trevor Jacob Fortner, 25, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 48 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in July 2013 to one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. Judge Cummings ordered that Fortner surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on November 22, 2013. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Most recently, Fortner was a youth minister at a church in Levelland, Texas; he has also worked in the graphics department of a church in Lubbock.
According to documents filed in the case, on May 7, 2013, Fortner responded to an online personal advertisement that had been posted by an undercover officer with the Lubbock Police Department (LPD). Posing as a 15-year-old girl, the undercover officer responded to Fortner’s initial contact. During ensuing emails and text conversations between Fortner and the undercover officer, Fortner repeatedly affirmed that he understood the girl’s age.
During these text conversations, Fortner discussed meeting the minor girl and described the kind of sexual activity he wished to engage in with her. He asked her to send him “kinky pics” and “dirty pics,” and on May 7, 2013, he sent her a sexually explicit photograph of himself. The following day, Fortner was interviewed by LPD officers and he admitted communicating with a 15-year-old girl and sending her a photograph of himself, which he acknowledged was obscene.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, the LPD and the LPD’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda R. Burch prosecuted.
Former Turnberry Controller Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for $6 Million EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The former controller for the company that owned or developed the Residences at MGM, Town Square shopping center, Turnberry Place, Turnberry Towers, and the Stirling Club in Las Vegas, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay approximately $5.6 million in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Hope Ippoliti, 52, of Las Vegas, who pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro. Ippoliti was permitted to self-report to federal prison by Jan. 14, 2014.
“This was a significant amount of money that was embezzled over an almost five-year period,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Ms. Ippoliti victimized not only Turnberry Associates in the amount of $5.6 million, but caused irreparable harm and financial damage to the many victims and business entities employed and supported by Turnberry Associates.”
Ippoliti worked as the Western Regional Controller for Turnberry West Realty, a subsidiary of Turnberry Associates, LLC. In that capacity, Ippoliti had signatory authority and access to certain Turnberry bank accounts. From about May 17, 2007, to about Jan. 12, 2012, Ippoliti and a co-defendant, Rocco Lazazzaro, conspired to steal from Turnberry Associates and its affiliates. Ippoliti created fund transfer requests containing false information that the funds were intended for business-related purposes when she and Lazazzaro actually intended to withdraw the funds for personal use. Ippoliti faxed or emailed the fund transfer requests from Nevada to Turnberry Associates in Florida to cause the transfer of funds into Bank of America accounts over which she had signatory authority. Ippoliti and Lazazzaro deposited and cashed checks and cashier’s checks drawn on Bank of America bank accounts belonging to Turnberry Associates and its affiliates. The total losses to Turnberry Associates and its affiliates were $5.6 million.
Lazazzaro, who had a lengthy criminal history, was sentenced on Aug. 22 to 51 months in prison.
The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina M. Brown.
Today's announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Former State Social Service Supervisor Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison in Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Michael Bowman, age 61, of Baltimore, today to 33 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud in connection with a scheme to use personal identifying information of individual bank accounts holders to defraud banks. Bowman also paid restitution of $35,283.70.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Brian Murphy of the United States Secret Service – Baltimore Field Office; and Inspector General William E. Johnson, Jr. of the Maryland Department of Human Resources.
According to his plea agreement, Bowman was a supervisor for the Maryland Department of Social Services. In September 2011, Bowman’s work email account was flagged for suspicious activity. An email contained an attachment which listed numerous names, bank account numbers and other personal identifying information. Bowman admitted to law enforcement agents that he was lonely and had sought companionship online. Bowman met a man named “Steve” on a networking site in October 2010, who claimed to live in London, to be recently single and to be interested in Bowman. Steve promised to move in with Bowman in Baltimore if Bowman helped provide him with money, including funds to purportedly repair a house that Steve’s father left him upon his father’s death.During the fraud scheme, which extended from October 2010 to September 2011, Steve also introduced Bowman to his friend “David.” Bowman never met Steve or David in person. Bowman was sent account numbers and personal identifying information of bank account holders which Bowman used to impersonate the individual victims. Once Bowman had gained access to the individual victim’s accounts, Bowman obtained account balance information, allowing the co-conspirators to link the individual victims’ account to accounts Bowman opened at banks. The co-conspirators then initiated wire transfers from the victim accounts, through Bowman’s accounts, to third party accounts controlled by Steve, David and others.
Over the course of the fraud scheme, Bowman accessed at least 88 individual accounts, resulting in an intended loss totaling $513,942.96. The only actual loss to a bank from the scheme was in the amount of $35,283.70.
Bowman also wired approximately $10,000 of his own money to Steve and David in small increments. He also participated in a scheme to traffic in counterfeit MoneyGram money orders, whereby he purchased a $1 MoneyGram money order at a grocery store, scanned it and emailed the scanned image to David. Bowman then received approximately 100 forged MoneyGram money orders in the mail, all in the amount of $997. At David’s request, Bowman mailed some of those money orders to a co-conspirator. MoneyGram suffered no actual loss from the scheme.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the U.S. Secret Service and Maryland Department of Human Resources - OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein praised Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul K. Nitze, who prosecuted the case.
Former Pittsburgh Police Chief Diverted Office Funds, Failed to File Federal Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH – Former Pittsburgh Police Chief Nathan E. Harper pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy and willful failure to file income tax returns, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today. Harper, 60 of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty to five counts before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon.
"This case is about greed and the theft of taxpayer money for private gain," stated U.S. Attorney Hickton. "Public officials, especially those who serve in law enforcement, have a responsibility to make governmental decisions in the best interests of the citizens, not themselves."
FBI Special Agent in Charge Gary Douglas Perdue added, "Investigating public corruption remains one of the FBI’s highest priorities. We will continue to pursue public officials who violate Federal law."
"Each of us is responsible for filing correct and accurate tax returns," said Special Agent in Charge Akeia Conner. "No public official gets a free pass to ignore the tax laws, and IRS Criminal Investigation works diligently to ensure that everyone pays their fair share."
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Harper was the Chief of the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. From 2009 to 2012, he caused at least $70,628.92 in checks and cash received by the Special Events Office of the Department to be diverted to two unofficial accounts at the Greater Pittsburgh Police Federal Credit Union. Using Visa Debit cards, Harper obtained more than $31,000 in ATM withdrawals and debit purchases, all for his personal benefit. Harper also failed to file federal tax returns for the years 2008 through 2011. The total tax loss for all four years was $22,427.
Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for Feb. 25, 2014, at 10 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of nine years in prison, a fine of $650,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued Mr. Harper on bond.
Assistant United States Attorneys Robert S. Cessar and Lee J. Karl are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
Former Monroe Resident Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Stealing More Than $100,000 from Credit Card CompanyRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Durar Mohammed Judeh, 48, of Tupelo, Miss., was sentenced on October 7, 2013 by U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. James, to 15 months in prison and five years of supervised release for bank fraud. He was also ordered to pay $101,280 in restitution. He pleaded guilty May 29, 2013.
In April 2008, Chase Bankcard Services alerted the U.S. Postal Inspection Service that nine credit cards listed for addresses in Monroe had been opened fraudulently. Judeh admitted to using a relative’s personal information to open the accounts and deposited money into an account he controlled, using the cards to steal more than $101,280.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.