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26 September 2013
Federal Court Bars Kansas City, Mo., Man from Preparing Tax Returns for OthersRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that a federal district judge in Kansas City, Mo., permanently barred Mark Steven Hall from preparing federal income tax returns for others. According to the court’s civil injunction order filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, from 2006 to 2010 Hall worked as an employee or independent contractor for various accounting firms. Beginning in the 2010 tax season Hall prepared federal tax returns from his home in Kansas City.
The court found that Hall understated his customers’ tax liabilities by claiming false expenses and deductions. The court found that in some cases, Hall used a formula to claim charitable deductions without any regard to whether his customers had the necessary supporting documentation. In other instances, the court found that even where Hall’s customers provided him with documentation of charitable donations, Hall inflated those customers’ reported charitable contributions.
Similarly, the court found that although one customer provided Hall with all bank statements, invoices, ledgers, check stubs and receipts for his small business, Hall did not use those documents in preparing the return.
The court reasoned that a permanent bar on all future tax preparation was warranted because without a permanent ban, Hall “would likely find other ways to manipulate the tax system for his customers.” The court found that there was a high probability that Hall’s customers received erroneous refunds due to his conduct.
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 decade, the Justice Department's Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website at www.justice.gov/tax/taxpress2013.htm .
Related Materials:
United States v. Mark Steven Hall
OrderEric and Ryan Jensen Charged with Introducing Tainted Cantaloupe into Interstate CommerceRead the Press Release
DENVER – Eric Jensen, age 37, and Ryan Jensen, age 33, brothers who owned and operated Jensen Farms, located in Granada, Colorado, presented themselves to U.S. Marshals in Denver today, where taken into custody on federal charges brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with the Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigation, United States Attorney John Walsh and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations Special Agent in Charge Patrick Holland announced. The Information charges the brothers with introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. The defendants are scheduled to make their initial appearance this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty. At that hearing they will be advised of their rights as well as the charges pending against them.
According to the six-count Information filed under restriction on September 24, 2013, as well as other court records, Eric and Ryan Jensen allegedly introduced adulterated cantaloupe into interstate commerce. Specifically, the cantaloupe bore a poisonous bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes. The Information further states that the cantaloupe was prepared, packed and held under conditions which rendered it injurious to health.
Court documents state that the defendants set up and maintained a processing center where cantaloupes were taken from the field and transferred to a conveyor system for cleaning, cooling and packaging. The equipment should have worked in such a way that the cantaloupe would be washed with sufficient anti-bacterial solutions so that the fruit was cleaned of bacteria in the process.
In May of 2011 the Jensen brothers allegedly changed their cantaloupe cleaning system. The new system, built to clean potatoes, was installed, and was to include a catch pan to which a chlorine spray could be included to clean the fruit of bacteria. The chlorine spray, however, was never used. The defendants were aware that their cantaloupes could be contaminated with harmful bacteria if not sufficiently washed. The chlorine spray, if used, would have reduced the risk of microbial contamination of the fruit.
Investigation by the FDA and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) determined that the defendants failed to adequately clean their cantaloupe. Their actions allegedly resulted in at least six shipments of cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes being sent to 28 different states. The CDC tracked the outbreak-associated illness and determined that people living in 28 states consumed contaminated cantaloupe, resulting in 33 deaths and 147 hospitalizations. Further, one woman pregnant at the time of her outbreak-related illness had a miscarriage. Ten additional deaths not attributed to Listeriosis occurred among persons who had been infected by eating outbreak-related cantaloupe.
“As this case so tragically reminds us, food processors play a critical role in ensuring that our food is safe,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “They bear a special responsibility to ensure that the food they produce and sell is not dangerous to the public. Where they fail to live up to that responsibility, and as these charges demonstrate, this office and the Food and Drug Administration have a responsibility to act forcefully to enforce the law.”
“U.S. consumers should demand the highest standards of food safety and integrity,” said Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Holland of the FDA-Office of Criminal Investigations, Kansas City Field Office. “The filing of criminal charges in this deadly outbreak sends the message that absolute care must be taken to ensure that deadly pathogens do not enter our food supply chain.”
Both defendants have been charged with six counts of adulteration of a food and aiding and abetting. If convicted, each faces not more than one year in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 per charge.
This case was investigated by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, the Center for Disease Control and the State of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The defendants are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime Pena.
These charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Eleven Individuals Arrested in A Scheme to Fraudulently Obtain Commercial Driver’s Licenses from the New York State Department of Motor VehiclesRead the Press Release
A complaint was unsealed yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging eleven individuals with conspiracy to commit mail fraud as part of an extensive scheme to enable applicants for New York State commercial driver’s licenses to cheat on required tests. The defendants were arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. at the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York on September 25, 2013 and five defendants were detained.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Douglas Shoemaker, Regional Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation-Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), and Catherine Leahy Scott, New York State Inspector General (NYS-OIG).
As set forth in the complaint, drivers of certain commercial vehicles, such as large buses and heavy transportation trucks, must possess a New York State commercial driver’s license (CDL), which is issued by the DMV pursuant to the regulations set forth by the United States Department of Transportation. Before obtaining a CDL, all applicants must pass tests covering various subjects related to safely driving large vehicles. The DMV offers CDL exams in a written format containing multiple choice questions, or an audio format comprised of true or false questions. Both versions require applicants to fill out a paper answer sheet.
One cheating method that the defendants allegedly used was to provide applicants with a coded pencil that contained a series of dots and dashes inscribed on the sides of the pencil. These symbols reflected the correct true or false answers to the audio version of the CDL exam. Another cheating method that the defendants allegedly orchestrated enabled applicants to cheat on written CDL tests at various DMV offices in Queens, Long Island and Manhattan. Defendants employed as DMV security guards surreptitiously signaled applicants to leave the DMV offices with their uncompleted tests in hand. Other defendants then met the applicants outside the DMV offices and arranged for another defendant to complete the exams. Applicants then re-entered the DMV with the completed exams and submitted them for grading. The security guards received cash bribes for their role in the scheme.
As alleged in the complaint, the defendants charged each applicant approximately $1,500 to $2,500 for assistance in cheating on the CDL exam. Between April 2013 and September 2013, the defendants enabled over 60 people to fraudulently obtain or attempt to obtain CDLs.
“Today’s arrests demonstrate the Office’s commitment to aggressively prosecute and investigate those who compromise the public safety on our roads,” stated Ms. Lynch. “As alleged in the complaint, with their wide-spread cheating scheme the defendants enabled unqualified drivers to take to our roads and highways behind the wheel of large buses and heavy trucks. In doing so, they jeopardized the safety of other drivers, their passengers and even pedestrians. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will seek to punish those individuals who endanger the public by committing such crimes.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the New York State Attorney General’s Office; the New York City Police Department, Internal Affairs Bureau; New York County District Attorney’s Office; and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation.
“The alleged fraudulent scheme of issuing commercial driver’s licenses’ to unworthy drivers puts all of us at risk,” said HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Hayes. “These arrests today make our roads safer but also show the great lengths that people will go to circumvent the process of obtaining a commercial driver’s license by breaking the law.”
“This investigation demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that U.S. DOT’s CDL regulations fulfill their purpose of advancing safety on the roads by requiring that only qualified individuals obtain CDLs,” stated U.S. DOT-OIG Regional Special Agent-in-Charge Shoemaker. “Working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial colleagues, we will continue our vigorous efforts to prevent, detect and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law fraud schemes which adversely affect the public trust throughout New York and elsewhere.”
New York State Inspector General Scott said: “Truck drivers – many of whom are charged with transporting hazardous chemicals – are trained to drive several tons of cargo often through busy streets and highways. Bus drivers take our children to school every day. These are among the serious responsibilities of anyone who acquires a commercial driver’s license. Our investigation uncovered numerous people who paid others thousands of dollars for answers to a test they could not answer without cheating, a scheme which undermined the system designed to ensure the security of our roads and communities. I am very pleased to report today that my office along with our federal partners, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the District Attorney’s Office have shut down this operation, and we will take all steps to ensure that everyone who has gamed the system will be off the road.”
The charges contained in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment. Additionally, if convicted, the defendants may be fined up to $250,000.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Warren and Soumya Dayananda.
The Defendants:
AKMAL NARZIKULOV
Age: 28
Residence: Brooklyn, New YorkFIRDAVS MAMADALIEV
Age: 22
Residence: Brooklyn, New York
DALE HARPER
Age: 48
Residence: Bronx, New YorkJOACHIM PIERRE LOUIS
Age: 32
Residence: Brooklyn, New YorkLATOYA BOURNE
Age: 32
Residence: Brooklyn, New YorkMARIE DANIEL
Age: 47
Residence: Queens Village, New YorkLUC DESMANGLES
Age: 27
Residence: Brooklyn, New YorkBEAYEAH KARMARA
Age: 25
Residence: Staten Island, New YorkJOSE PAYANO
Age: 44
Residence: Brooklyn, New YorkTANAEL DANIEL
Age: 36
Residence: Brooklyn, New YorkINOCENTE RENE GONZALEZ-MARTINEZ
Age: 57
Residence: Bronx, New YorkEl Departamento de Justicia Realiza Acuerdo Conciliatorio con Southport Bank en Resolución de Alegatos de Discriminación en el Otorgamiento de Préstamos HipotecariosRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - El Departamento de Justicia anunció ayer que Southport Bank of Kenosha, Wis., pagará $687,000 a prestatarios de hipotecas mayoristas afroestadounidenses e hispanos como parte de un acuerdo conciliatorio en resolución de alegatos de que exhibió un patrón o una práctica de discriminación basado en raza y origen nacional.
El acuerdo conciliatorio, que está sujeto a aprobación del tribunal, fue presentado junto con la demanda del Departamento en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito del Distrito Este de Wisconsin. La demanda alega que Southport le cobró a cientos de prestatarios afroestadounidenses e hispanos cargos más altos que a prestatarios blancos en préstamos hipotecarios mayoristas, en violación de la Ley de Vivienda Justa [Fair Housing Act (FHA)] y la Ley de Igualdad de Oportunidades de Crédito [Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)]. Southport cooperó plenamente con el Departamento en la investigación de sus prácticas de otorgamiento de préstamos y aceptó realizar este acuerdo sin litigio contencioso.
La demanda se originó por una remisión en el 2012 por parte de la Corporación Federal de Seguros de Depósito [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)] a la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. Southport es regulado por la FDIC.
Los fondos del acuerdo conciliatorio se utilizará para indemnizar a las víctimas afroestadounidenses e hispanas de la supuesta discriminación por parte de Southport. Bajo el acuerdo conciliatorio propuesto, los Estados Unidos identificarán una lista de víctimas. El acuerdo conciliatrio exige que los prestatarios elegibles para indemnización sean notificados por el banco y dispone el monitoreo del proceso de indemnización por el departamento.
Southport no se dedica actualmente al negocio de los préstamos hipotecarios mayoristas para vivienda, pero el acuerdo dispone que, si volviera a dedicarse al negocio, el banco deberá implementar políticas, prácticas y monitoreo diseñados para prevenir y detectar violaciones potenciales de las normas de otorgamiento justo de préstamos.
"La discriminación basada en raza y origen nacional al otorgar crédito, inclusive por parte de prestamistas mayoristas, debe eliminarse", señaló Jocelyn Samuels, Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Interina de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. "Felicitamos a Southport por su colaboración con el Departamento de Justicia para lograr una resolución adecuada del caso".
"El Departamento de Justicia de los Estados Unidos, a través de tanto la División de Derechos Civiles como mi oficina, continúa inquebrantable en su compromiso de identificar, investigar y combatir patrones y prácticas de parcialidad racial y basada en el origen nacional en el otorgamiento y la administración de préstamos hipotecarios", señaló James L. Santelle, Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Este de Wisconsin. Como refleja el acuerdo conciliatorio de hoy, nos impulsan no solo todos los mandatos importantes de la Ley de Vivienda Justa y la Ley de Igualdad de Oportunidades de Crédito, sino también nuestro interés muy relacionado en asegurar que todos los estadounidenses tengan las mismas oportunidades económicas y opciones financieras en este aspecto tan básico de la vida—la vivienda. Me uno a la Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Interina en reconocer el liderazgo del Southport Bank of Kenosha por su cooperación para que se lograra este acuerdo conciliatorio que indemniza a miembros de nuestras comunidades afroestadounidenses e hispanas por la discriminación que sufrieron".
La coacción asociada a las leyes de otorgamiento justo de préstamos por parte del Departamento de Justicia es llevada a cabo por la Unidad de Préstamos Justos de la Sección de Vivienda y Cumplimiento de la Ley Civil de la División de Derechos Civiles. Desde que se estableció la Unidad de Préstamos Justos en febrero de 2010, ha entablado o resuelto 26 casos de préstamos bajo la FHA, la ECOA y la Ley de Alivio Civil para los Miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas [Servicemembers Civil Relief Act]. Los acuerdos conciliatorios en estos casos proveen un mínimo de $ 660 millones de dólares en asistencia monetaria para comunidades impactadas y más de 300,000 prestatarios individuales. Los informes anuales del Secretario de Justicia de EE.UU. al Congreso sujetos a ECOA destacan los logros del Departamento en el otorgamiento de préstamos justos y están disponibles en www.justice.gov/crt/publications/.
La División de Derechos Civiles, la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Este de Wisonsin y la FDIC son miembros de la Fuerza de Tarea de Coacción contra el Fraude Financiero. El Presidente Obama estableció la Fuerza de Tarea Interagencia de Coacción contra el Fraude Financiero para llevar a cabo una iniciativa enérgica, coordinada y proactiva para investigar y enjuiciar los delitos financieros. La fuerza de tarea incluye a representantes de una amplia gama de dependencias federales, autoridades reguladoras, inspectores generales y miembros de las fuerzas del orden público estatales y locales, quienes, trabajando juntos, aprovechan un poderoso espectro de recursos de coacción penal y civil. La fuerza de tarea está trabajando para mejorar la labor en todo el poder ejecutivo federal, y con asociados estatales y locales, para investigar y enjuiciar los delitos financieros importantes, asegurar un castigo justo y eficaz para quienes cometan delitos financieros, combatir la discriminación en los mercados de préstamos y financieros, y recuperar fondos para las víctimas de delitos financieros. Para obtener más información sobre la fuerza de tarea, visite www.StopFraud.gov.
Para obtener una copia de la demanda, así como información adicional sobre la labor del Departamento de Justicia para hacer valer las leyes de otorgamiento justo de préstamos, visite el portal del Departamento de Justicia en http://www.justice.gov/fairhousing.
Douglas Robert Brooks Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on September 26, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, DOUGLAS ROBERT BROOKS, a 51-year-old resident of Missoula, was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 180 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: lifetime
BROOKS was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to accessing with the intent to view child pornography.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In 2000, BROOKS was convicted of sexual assault.
On November 19, 2012, a state probation officer advised the Missoula Police Department that a confidential informant (CI) had information about BROOKS. The CI stated that BROOKS had shown him child pornography on BROOKS' computer in BROOKS' residence. A search warrant for his residence was obtained and a computer and thumb drive were seized, both of which were then forensically examined.
The examiner located files depicting pornographic images of children.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that BROOKS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, BROOKS does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Montana State Probation and Parole, the Missoula Police Department, the Bozeman Police Department, and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."
District Man Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder in Death of Girlfriend’s Four-Year-Old Son-Defendant Beat Child While Babysitting-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Peter I. Hendy, II, 33, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a charge of second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend’s four-year-old son, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Hendy pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck scheduled sentencing for Nov. 22, 2013.
According to a proffer of facts presented at today’s plea hearing, on Aug. 5, 2013, Hendy was babysitting his girlfriend’s son, Kamari Zavon Taylor, at an apartment in Northeast Washington while she went to work. Sometime around noon, he called his girlfriend and reported that he had disciplined the four-year-old boy. He told her that he had given Kamari a “body shot” and that the child’s legs were wobbly.
According to Hendy’s own admissions, he became upset when Kamari disobeyed his restriction about how far the boy could ride his scooter. According to Hendy, when he admonished the child, Kamari responded that he did not have to listen to him. Hendy admitted to punching Kamari in the mid-section four to five times, including one direct punch to the stomach.
Once back inside, according to Hendy, the child fell to the floor and could not stand. When offered food or water, Kamari declined the food but drank the water. Hendy carried the child to bed and then went outside to sell marijuana.
After an hour, he returned to the apartment. He noted that Kamari had a “blank look” on his face and appeared “spent.” Hendy then went outside again for another hour to sell marijuana. When he returned, Kamari was not breathing. Hendy called 911 at about 2:05 p.m. and reported that his girlfriend’s son was unconscious and not breathing. The 911 operator advised Hendy to give the child cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and he did.
When they arrived, members of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department found Kamari to be unconscious and unresponsive. The child was taken to Children’s National Medical Center and pronounced dead.
The District of Columbia Office of the Medical Examiner determined that Kamari died from multiple injuries to the torso. The forcefulness of the defendant’s punches caused the child’s liver to lacerate in three places. There was also bruising on his stomach, consistent with multiple fist prints. Finally, Kamari had a couple of broken ribs.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives, officers, and others who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation to the D.C. Office of the Medical Examiner for its assistance. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Kelly Blakeney, Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, Intern Brian Edgerton, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia G. Wright, who is prosecuting the case.
13-338Defendant in $15 Million Mortgage Fraud Conspiracy Convicted by Federal JuryRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Following a two-week jury trial, the 10th person charged in a Las Vegas mortgage fraud scheme that caused approximately $15 million in losses to the lenders and financial institutions, was convicted today of conspiracy and fraud charges, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Jabari L. Marshall, 36, of Las Vegas, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9, 2014. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Nine co-defendants pleaded guilty before trial. Eight of those are awaiting sentencing and one has been sentenced.
“The number of homes and dollar amount of the loans involved in this crime is staggering,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “All of the persons charged in this conspiracy have now been convicted and are facing significant prison sentences. As each of those convicted fraudsters can now attest, mortgage fraud is a very serious offense that will send you to prison.”According to the indictment and evidence presented to the jury during the trial, from about 2005 to 2007, the defendants were involved in a mortgage fraud scheme which involved the use of straw buyers and the submission of false information to financial institutions in order to obtain mortgage loans. Once the mortgage loans were approved, the defendants caused money from the loan transactions to be disbursed to their own use and benefit. The defendants typically rented the homes and re-sold them for a profit, using the same scheme. They then defaulted on the loans, causing approximately $15 million in losses to the lenders. Defendant Lloyd Gardley was considered to be the leader of the conspiracy. Lloyd Gardley, Candis Gardley, and Marshall recruited straw buyers, loan officers and others into the scheme. Marshall also provided false Social Security numbers and false documents for some of the loans. The other defendants included two loan officers, two real estate agents, an escrow assistant, an accountant, and an individual who provided false verifications of rent.
The evidence showed that the defendants used this fraudulent scheme to purchase 30 homes in Las Vegas between 2005 and 2007. The total value of the mortgages was approximately $35 million. Some of the homes were “flipped” or sold twice within short periods of time.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Pugh and Sarah E. Griswold.
This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.David Elmer Muskrat Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on September 26, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, DAVID ELMER MUSKRAT, a 35-year-old resident of Poplar and an enrolled member of a federally-recognized tribe, was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 210 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 4 years
MUSKRAT was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to second degree murder.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On September 1, 2012, MUSKRAT was driving around Poplar, which is within the exterior boundaries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, looking for "X.X.", the now-deceased victim. Along the way, he expressed to more than one person his intent to kill X.X. if he found him. MUSKRAT was coming around a corner in Poplar and spotted X.X. walking down the street. MUSKRAT accelerated his SUV into X.X. and hit him with the vehicle. X.X. died. MUSKRAT fled the scene in the SUV.
This case is one of many examples of serious felonies the Montana U.S. Attorney's Office rigorously prosecutes in Indian Country every year. It is also a living example of the power of interagency collaboration. Five agencies devoted time, effort, and resources to this case, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fort Peck Criminal Investigators, the Fort Peck Department of Law and Justice, the Poplar Police Department, and the Roosevelt County Sheriff's Office, all of which resulted in justice being achieved for the victim in this case." U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that MUSKRAT will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, MUSKRAT does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fort Peck Criminal Investigators, the Fort Peck Department of Law and Justice, the Poplar Police Department, and the Roosevelt County Sheriff's Office.
Daniel Aaron Roy Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on September 25, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, DANIEL AARON ROY, a 33-year-old resident of Missoula, was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 144 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 5 years
ROY was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In early 2013, information was obtained from two confidential informants that ROY was distributing large quantities of methamphetamine. One of the CI's indicated that he/she was aware that ROY received some type of settlement in which he obtained about $20,000 around November of 2012, and that around that same time ROY began making monthly trips, via rental vehicles, to Washington to obtain pound quantities of methamphetamine to bring back to Montana for distribution. A CI stated that ROY had a storage unit where he kept a safe and that after making methamphetamine runs, ROY would leave the bulk of his methamphetamine in the safe and return to the storage unit as needed to replenish his supply. ROY had also bragged to a CI about keeping money in his safe as "go" money in case he is stopped by the cops to allow him to get out of town. A CI further indicated that ROY kept firearms inside the storage unit and inside his trailer that were given to him as payment for a bad drug debt.
Law Enforcement issued a subpoena to a rental car agency and was able to determine that ROY had rented vehicles consistent with some of the time frames indicated by the CI.
Around January 23, 2013, information was obtained that ROY was planning on making a trip to obtain methamphetamine from a different source of supply in California. On January 25, 2013 a Montana State search warrant was obtained and a tracker was placed on a rental car prior to ROY obtaining the rental. After ROY rented the car, he traveled to his storage unit, where he removed a large black plastic storage container and placed it into the storage unit (viewed/recorded by pole camera). ROY then drove to his trailer and eventually left town in the rental car later that evening.
On February 1, 2013, via the tracker, it was determined that ROY was coming back toward Missoula. Two search warrants were applied for and granted. The first was for the vehicle ROY had rented and the second search warrant was for ROY's trailer and his storage unit.
On the morning of February 2, 2013, Missoula County Sheriff's Office Deputies conducted a traffic stop on ROY's rental vehicle on Interstate-90 in Missoula County. Following the traffic stop, the search warrants were executed on ROY's rental vehicle, storage locker, and residence. During the search of the vehicle, two safes were located in the trunk of the vehicle. The keys to these safes were on the key ring in ROY's possession along with the key to his storage unit. One safe contained approximately 452 grams of suspected methamphetamine and a Witness 40 caliber S&W handgun with a loaded magazine. The second smaller safe contained documents belonging to ROY, along with drug paraphernalia (spoon, baggies, and cut straw), 26 grams of suspected methamphetamine, and numerous pharmaceutical pills. ROY also had a small amount of suspected methamphetamine on his person. A search of the storage unit resulted in the seizure of $4,012 U.S. currency, user quantities of suspected heroin, user quantities of suspected methamphetamine, six firearms, ammunition, and user quantities of suspected marijuana. The suspected methamphetamine, scale, packaging materials, and numerous other items of drug paraphernalia were located within the black plastic container that TFOs observed ROY placing in the storage locker days before.
A search of the residence resulted in the seizure of approximately four grams of marijuana, miscellaneous packaging materials, a Bud Light hide-a-can, a digital scale, suspected marijuana, and approximately 95 grams of suspected Psilocybin (hallucinogenic mushrooms).
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ROY will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ROY does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force.
Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Sentenced to 24 Months in Federal Prison on Money Laundering ConvictionRead the Press Release
Defendant Laundered Tens of Thousands of Dollars of Supposed Drug Trafficking Proceeds
DALLAS — Patrick Robert Simon, 34, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis to 24 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in January 2013 to a criminal Information charging one count of money laundering, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Solis ordered that Simon, a criminal defense lawyer, surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on January 8, 2014.
According to documents filed in the case, during Fall 2009, Simon met with an individual to discuss this individual’s desire to put aside proceeds from his drug trafficking activities for his family’s use during his upcoming imprisonment for that drug trafficking. Simon discussed a few ways that he could create an apparently legitimate income stream for the individual’s family, and the fees that he would charge for doing it.
After numerous meetings and continued negotiations, on March 16, 2010, the individual met with Simon at Simon’s law office to transfer the cash. Simon explained the scheme. Simon stated that the individual was going to hire Simon’s firm to handle the appeal of his drug trafficking conviction. Simon stated that he would use his attorney trust fund to write a check every month to the individual’s designee. Simon explained that because it was a legal transaction, he would not have to report it. The three of them agreed that the checks would be written for $7500, unless a different amount was specified later. The individual gave $110,000 cash to Simon. Simon had a money counter on hand for the purpose of counting the cash. Simon accepted the cash and attempted to use the money counter, but the machine malfunctioned and Simon counted the cash by hand.
During the time that Simon was counting the cash, the three repeatedly discussed the individual’s participation in the drug trade and that the money being counted was from his drug trafficking activities. Simon also instructed the individual on a code to use in all future communications to discuss the scheme. For example, Simon instructed them that if they needed Simon to increase the amount of the monthly check, they were to call Simon and tell him that a specified college football team was playing well, and Simon would increase the monthly check by $1,000 (to $8,500). Similarly, if they wanted to decrease the amount of the monthly check, they were to call Simon and tell him that a specified professional football team was playing poorly, and Simon would decrease the monthly check by $1,000 (to $6,500). Since the cash delivery, and in execution of the money laundering scheme, Simon paid the individual’s designee on a monthly basis.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Dewald prosecuted.
Cresco Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing Two GunsRead the Press Release
A man who fired a shotgun out of a car window in Calmar, Iowa, pled guilty in federal court in Cedar Rapids on September 25, 2013, to unlawfully possessing the shotgun and a rifle.
Daniel Wildman, 24, from Cresco, Iowa, was convicted of one count of being a felon and an unlawful user of marijuana in possession of firearms.
In a plea agreement, Wildman admitted he drove from Ossian, Iowa, to Calmar, Iowa, in the early morning on October 12, 2012, in order to find two individuals who had confronted Wildman earlier that morning about money one of them believed Wildman owed him. Wildman found the two individuals, who were with a third person, and defendant parked his car so that the driver’s side window was facing the three people. Wildman then stuck a shotgun out the driver’s window and fired it three or four times, hitting a nearby house with bird shot. No people were hit or injured. Wildman drove away from the scene of the shooting and returned to a farm in Ossian. Police eventually caught Wildman in a nearby cornfield. Police also searched an outbuilding where Wildman was staying in his RV, finding both the shotgun Wildman fired and a 9mm rifle. In the plea agreement, Wildman admitted he was a convicted felon and an unlawful user of marijuana and he unlawfully possessed both guns.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Wildman remains detained pending sentencing. Wildman faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Calmar Police Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 13-CR-2018.
of the press release can be pasted over the following paragraphs.
Colorado Man Charged with Attempting to Interfere with the Administration of IRS LawsRead the Press Release
DENVER – Byron Thomas Warnes, age 60, of Silverthorne, Colorado, was charged by an Information in Denver yesterday, Thursday, September 25, 2013, for attempting to interfere with the administration of IRS laws, United States Attorney John Walsh and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Stephen Boyd announced. Warnes waived his right to be indicted by a federal grand jury.
According to the Information, Warnes was self-employed as a real estate agent and broker doing business under the name “Gold Mountain Realty” (“GMR”). He was also the co-founder, 50% beneficial owner and one of two principals of Aspen Ridge, LLC (“Aspen Ridge”), a Colorado limited liability company involved in real estate investment and development. One of Aspen Ridge’s real estate projects concerned the purchase in October 2005 and contemplated development of approximately 291 acres of undeveloped land commonly known as the “Pine Air Addition,” situated in and about Hot Sulphur Springs, Grand County, Colorado. Warnes and Aspen Ridge’s other principal ultimately did not develop this land but rather granted conservation easements to Grand County with respect to most of the acreage, leading to the acquisition and sale of State of Colorado tax credits associated with the granting of these easements.Beginning in or about 1994, the IRS conducted an audit examination to determine Warnes’s income and federal income tax liability for the year 1992. In February 1997, as a result of that audit, the IRS determined that Warnes owed a total of approximately $232,242 in federal taxes, interest and penalties for the 1992 year and made a tax assessment of this amount and the IRS recorded a federal tax lien for this and other federal tax assessments against Warnes.
From about January 2005, and continuing through August 2008, the exact dates being unknown, Warnes directly and through others known and unknown did corruptly endeavor to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws by:
- Cashing or converting to cashier’s checks, real estate commission checks rather than depositing them into personal or business bank accounts.
- Depositing the resulting cash and/or cashier’s check into a personal bank account for use to pay for personal expenses.
- Converting the resulting cashier’s checks into smaller blocks of cash or using them to purchase similar bank instruments in smaller denominations.
- The negotiation and conversion of these real estate commission checks, in the manner described above, such that he ultimately received cash from these real estate commission checks in sub-$10,000 amounts, thereby avoiding and circumventing bank currency reporting requirements for transactions involving more than $10,000 in cash.
- Circumventing the bank cash reporting requirements, by enlisting family members to negotiate, on his behalf, for cash checks made payable to him in amounts greater than $10,000 and providing to him in return the resulting cash, or, alternatively, using their names and social security account numbers to negotiate these checks and obtain the resulting cash.
- Deeding some of the sub-divided acres of the Pine Air Addition into the names of two of his family members.
- Filing an individual federal income tax return with the IRS for the year 2005 under-reporting by approximately $98,000 the real estate commissions that he had made for that year.
- Failing to file federal income tax returns for years subsequent to 2005, thereby failing to disclose to the IRS the income that he was receiving during those years.
“Those who interfere with the administration of the IRS and IRS laws may face criminal consequences,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.
“Interfering with the tax law or those administering tax laws is unacceptable; rest assured we will hold those accountable and bring them to justice,” said Stephen Boyd, Special Agent in Charge for IRS Criminal Investigation, Denver Field office.
Warnes was charged with one count of attempting to interfere with the administration of IRS laws. If convicted of that count he faces not more than 3 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000.
This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Harmon.
The charges contained in the information are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.####
- Cashing or converting to cashier’s checks, real estate commission checks rather than depositing them into personal or business bank accounts.
Colombian Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida - Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Camilo Torres-Martinez, aka Fritanga (41, Colombia), yesterday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import into the United States five kilograms or more of cocaine; conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, intending that it would be unlawfully imported into the United States; and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, while on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison for each count. Torres-Martinez was extradited from Colombia to the Middle District of Florida to face these charges.
According to court documents, Torres-Martinez admitted that from 2001 until June 2012, he organized and coordinated cocaine transportation operations. Torres-Martinez and his drug trafficking organization transported large quantities of cocaine in vessels dispatched off the Northern coast of Colombia. The cocaine was transported from the coast of Colombia to Honduras, for ultimate introduction into, and distribution in, the United States. The drug trafficking organization utilized speedboats and fishing vessels to transport the drugs.
On November 8, 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted a 40-foot speedboat in international waters in the Carribean Sea. Coast Guard personnel recovered a total of 2,652 kilograms of cocaine. On July 6, 2005, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted a Honduran-flagged fishing vessel, the Ocean Mistery, in international waters in the Carribean Sea. Coast Guard personnel recovered a total of 2,483 kilograms of cocaine. Both of these drug transport operations were organized by Torres-Martinez.
This case was investigated by OCDETF's Panama Express Strike Force, comprised of agents and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, and Joint Interagency Task Force South. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez.
Brandon Wade Havens Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on September 26, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, BRANDON WADE HAVENS, a 28-year-old resident of Helena, was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 180 months
Special Assessment: $200
Supervised Release: 5 years
HAVENS was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
Investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that HAVENS had runners who traveled from California to Montana. One of his runners cooperated with law enforcement and made several recorded telephone calls to HAVENS regarding the purchase of cocaine, and at HAVENS' direction, made a payment to HAVENS' bank account for past monies due for cocaine and heroin.
HAVENS was arrested on November 11, 2012 on a state warrant in Missoula. HAVENS admitted to trafficking cocaine from Washington to Montana in 2010/2011. HAVENS estimated he distributed a total of 12.5 pounds of cocaine equally to five individuals. HAVENS met another individual in California in the summer of 2011, from whom he began purchasing cocaine and heroin. HAVENS purchased cocaine from California for the last 18 months, and heroin for the last 12 months.
In the last year, HAVENS increased his quantities to 7-9 ounces of heroin, and 10-12 ounces of cocaine, every two weeks. On two occasions, HAVENS paid one of his runners $1,000 to drive the drugs from California to Montana. The amount of heroin HAVENS admitted to trafficking is well above one kilogram.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that HAVENS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, HAVENS does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Bergen County, N.J., Man Charged with Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse over the InternetRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) arrested a Bergen County man at his home this morning after discovering alleged child pornography on his computer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Joshua Babilonia, 23, of Fair Lawn, N.J., is charged by complaint with one count of distributing images of child sex abuse over the Internet. Babilonia appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court and was released on a $50,000 bond. He is subject to electronic monitoring and is to have no access to children as a condition of his release.According to the criminal complaint unsealed today:
On May 27, 2012, Babilonia distributed videos depicting child sexual abuse on the Internet via peer-to-peer file sharing software, through which other users had access. Special agents of the ICE HSI executed a search warrant on Sept. 13, 2012, at his residence in Fair Lawn, seizing digital evidence that contained numerous videos depicting child sexual abuse, including material involving prepubescent minors and sadistic or masochistic conduct. The digital evidence seized included three files previously downloaded from Babilonia by law enforcement agents working in an undercover capacity on the peer-to-peer network.
Babilonia faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a maximum $250,000 fine.U.S. Attorney Fishman thanked special agents of ICE HSI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees in Newark, for the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle M. Corcione of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
13-392Defense counsel: Assistant Federal Public Defender Patrick McMahon Esq., Newark
Babilonia, Joshua Complaint
Ben Avon Heights Man Charged with Receiving, Possessing Sexual Images of MinorsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of receipt and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The three-count indictment named Charles Appel, 71, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment, Appel, on Feb. 21, 2011, received by United States mail a video which depicted the sexual exploitation of a minor. He is further charged with possessing, on Oct. 11 and 12, 2012, images and videos on DVD’s and in computer graphics files which depicted the sexual exploitation of minors.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Bank Robber Sentenced to Federal Prison for Series of Robberies in Texas and MichiganRead the Press Release
In San Antonio, 34-year-old Michael Albert Amirante was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for robbing several banks in Texas and Michigan announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez, San Antonio Division.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered that Amirante pay $11,352 restitution to the financial institutions he robbed and be placed under supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.
In January, Amirante pleaded guilty to three counts of unarmed bank robbery. By pleading guilty, Amirante admitted that he robbed the San Antonio Federal Credit Union (SACU) branch on Bandera Road on August 30, 2012; the First Convenience Bank branch in Duncanville, TX, on April 18, 2012; and, the First Convenience Bank branch in Mesquite, TX, on May 29, 2012. Amirante also admitted to robbing the Fifth Third Bank in Lansing, MI, on December 21, 2011.
Amirante has been in federal custody since being arrested by FBI agents on August 30, 2012, following the SACU robbery. This investigation was conducted by FBI agents in San Antonio, Dallas and Lansing together with the San Antonio, Duncanville, Mesquite and Lansing Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hardy prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Gang Leader Sentenced in Houston for Role in Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) was sentenced today to serve 360 months in prison for his role in the ABT’s criminal enterprise, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.
Charles Lee Roberts, aka “Jive,” 68, of Beaumont, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas. In addition to his prison term, Roberts will serve five years of supervised release.
On May 10, 2013, Roberts pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering offenses (RICO).
According to court documents, Roberts and other ABT gang members and associates agreed to commit multiple acts of murder, robbery, arson, kidnapping and narcotics trafficking on behalf of the ABT gang. Roberts and numerous ABT gang members met on a regular basis at various locations throughout Texas to report on gang-related business, collect dues, commit disciplinary assaults against fellow gang members and discuss acts of violence against rival gang members, among other things.
Roberts admitted to being a senior leader of the ABT, trafficking in methamphetamine and heroin, and being involved in several homicides on behalf of the ABT.
According to the superseding indictment, the ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system. The gang modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s. According to the superseding indictment, previously, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy/separatism. Over time, the ABT has expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.
Court documents allege that the ABT enforced its rules and promoted discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, arson, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Members, and oftentimes associates, were required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as “direct orders.”
According to the superseding indictment, in order to be considered for ABT membership, a person must be sponsored by another gang member. Once sponsored, a prospective member must serve an unspecified term, during which he is referred to as a prospect, while his conduct is observed by the members of the ABT.
Roberts is one of 36 defendants charged with conducting racketeering activity through the ABT criminal enterprise, among other charges.
This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice–Office of Inspector General; Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Sheriff’s Office; Atascosa County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Orange County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Waller County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Alvin, Texas, Police Department; Carrollton, Texas, Police Department; Mesquite, Texas, Police Department; Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office; and the Atascosa County District Attorney’s Office.The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas.
Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Gang Leader Sentenced for Role in Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) was sentenced today to serve 360 months in prison for his role in the ABT’s criminal enterprise, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson and Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Charles Lee Roberts, aka “Jive,” 68, of Beaumont, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas. In addition to his prison term, Roberts will serve five years of supervised release.On May 10, 2013, Roberts pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering offenses (RICO).
According to court documents, Roberts and other ABT gang members and associates agreed to commit multiple acts of murder, robbery, arson, kidnapping and narcotics trafficking on behalf of the ABT gang. Roberts and numerous ABT gang members met on a regular basis at various locations throughout Texas to report on gang-related business, collect dues, commit disciplinary assaults against fellow gang members and discuss acts of violence against rival gang members, among other things.
Roberts admitted to being a senior leader of the ABT, trafficking in methamphetamine and heroin, and being involved in several homicides on behalf of the ABT.
According to the superseding indictment, the ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system. The gang modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s. According to the superseding indictment, previously, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy/separatism. Over time, the ABT has expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.
Court documents allege that the ABT enforced its rules and promoted discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, arson, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Members, and oftentimes associates, were required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as “direct orders.”
According to the superseding indictment, in order to be considered for ABT membership, a person must be sponsored by another gang member. Once sponsored, a prospective member must serve an unspecified term, during which he is referred to as a prospect, while his conduct is observed by the members of the ABT.
Roberts is one of 36 defendants charged with conducting racketeering activity through the ABT criminal enterprise, among other charges.
This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General; sheriff’s offices in Harris, Tarrant, Atascosa, Orange and Waller Counties; police departments in Alvin, Carrollton and Mesquite Texas; as well as the Montgomery and Atascosa County District Attorney’s Offices.The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas and the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.
10th Street Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Racketeering ChargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Sam Thurmond, 25, of Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, to federal Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Conspiracy (RICO Conspiracy) before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who is handling the case, stated that between 2000 and 2011, Thurmond was a member of the 10th Street Gang. As a part of his involvement in the gang, the defendant participated in the murders of Brandon MacDonald and Darinell Young who were shot and killed on April 17, 2006.On April 16, 2006, rival 7th Street Gang members were believed to have shot a 10th Street Gang member. In response, Thurmond and other 10th Street Gang members planned to retaliate. On April 17, the defendant and others obtained firearms including several shotguns, a .22 caliber rifle, a .22 caliber handgun, a .44 caliber handgun, and a .380 caliber handgun. The defendant and other 10th Street Gang members and associates then went to the area around 155 Pennsylvania Street where they believed rival 7th Street Gang members involved in the shooting were located. The 10th Street Gang members and associates, including Thurmond, began shooting at the individuals sitting on the porch, and standing near 155 Pennsylvania Street. Brandon MacDonald and Darinell Young, who were not members of the 7th Street Gang, were both shot, and both died as a result of injuries sustained during the shooting.
Thurmond is the 25th 10th Street Gang member or associate who has been convicted in connection with the investigation.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Investigators of the New York State Police under the direction of Major Michael Cerretto, the Buffalo Police Department under the direction of Commission Daniel Derenda, and Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian P. Boetig.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 12, 2014, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
25 September 2013
Wright City Man Convicted of Federal Drug Distribution ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – JAMES L. MILLINER, Wright City, Missouri, was convicted late Tuesday of conspiracy to distribute over 280 grams of crack cocaine. The two-day trial was held before United States District Judge Rodney Sippel.
According to testimony presented at trial, Milliner and his co-defendants sold large amounts of crack cocaine at an open air market in Wright City, Missouri, from 2007 through 2012. Milliner is set for sentencing December 20, 2013.
The following seven co-defendants have pled guilty to related charges and have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from probation to 136 months in prison.
- Charles E. McRoberts, Wentzville, Missouri
- Dante M. Brandt, Wright City, Missouri
- Porsheia I. Barnes, Moscow Mills, Missouri
- Christopher D. Adams, Wright City, Missouri
- Antwaun M. Nunn, Wright City, Missouri
- Cipriano M. Garcia, Moscow Mills, Missouri
- James E. Simpson, Wright City, Missouri
Two more await sentencing:
- Michael B. Rogers, Wright City, Missouri
- Halesha C. Bradshaw, Wright City, Missouri
The charge of conspiracy to distribute over 280 grams of crack cocaine carries a penalty range of 10 years to life in prison and/or fines up to $4 million. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was jointly investigated by the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, the East Central Drug Task Force, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, the Troy Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Jeannette Graviss is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.William Beavers Sentenced for Failing to Pay Taxes on Campaign and County Funds Used for Personal PurposesRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — WILLIAM BEAVERS, a former Cook County Commissioner and, before that, a longtime Chicago alderman and police officer, was sentenced today to six months in prison for obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and failing to report, and pay taxes on, all of his income. Beavers was convicted after a trial in March of concealing his under-reporting of income and underpayment of taxes on thousands of dollars that he converted to personal use from his campaign accounts, as well as from his county discretionary spending account. Between 2006 and 2008, Beavers wrote 100 checks to himself, totaling approximately $226,000, from three separate campaign accounts and used at least a portion of those funds for personal purposes, including gambling. In 2006, he used more than $68,000 from a campaign account to boost his city pension, and between 2006 and 2008, he used his $1,200 monthly county contingency account, totaling $28,800, for personal purposes without reporting any of these funds as income on his federal tax returns.
Beavers, 78, of Chicago, was also fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $30,848 in restitution to the IRS by U.S. District Judge James Zagel. Beavers was ordered to begin serving his sentence on Dec. 2, to be followed by a year of supervised release. During supervised release, the judge ordered Beavers to perform 400 hours of community service and prohibited him from gambling or visiting a casino or racetrack.
“Far from being the victim of others’ poor advice, Beavers was a victim of his own greed,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. “[H]is public claims that he was charged not because of his tax fraud, but rather as a result of government vindictiveness, were yet another effort to shift blame away from himself and point the finger at others.”
Beavers was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, representing the 4th District, in November 2006 and began serving as a commissioner a month later. Previously, he served as the 7th Ward alderman on Chicago’s City Council from 1983 until November 2006, when he was elected to the commissioner’s post.
According to the evidence at trial, Beavers had sole authority over three campaign committees that supported his political activities ― Citizens for Beavers, Friends of William Beavers, also known as Friends for William Beavers, and 7th Ward Democratic Organization. As part of the corrupt endeavor to obstruct the IRS, Beavers converted campaign funds for his own personal use, provided false information to his campaign treasurers regarding the use of these funds, and understated his income and the taxes he owed in his individual income tax returns for 2006, 2007, and 2008.
While giving Beavers credit at face value for every explanation for the use of campaign funds, no matter how implausible, the government presented evidence at trial showing that between 2006 and 2008 he failed to report income totaling at least $127,747 and failed to pay taxes on that amount totaling $40,463.
During those three years, Beavers caused his campaign committees to issue checks payable to himself and to third parties on his behalf, and he used at least part of the proceeds for personal expenses, including gambling. The checks totaled about $96,000 in 2006, $69,300 in 2007, and $61,000 in 2008, for a total of $226,300.
As part of the corrupt endeavor, Beavers concealed his personal use of campaign funds by maintaining and causing campaign workers to maintain records that falsely reflected the uses of the campaign checks, including records used to prepare semi-annual Illinois campaign finance reports known as D-2s. Beavers caused campaign workers to falsely record, on check stubs and other records, that certain campaign checks written to him and used for personal purposes were instead used for campaign expenses.
In some instances, Beavers attempted to conceal his personal use of campaign funds by telling campaign workers that checks payable to and cashed by him were for paying campaignrelated expenses, even though those expenses were not incurred by the campaign committees until months after Beavers had converted the funds. In other instances, Beavers withheld from his campaign staff any explanation of certain checks payable to him, or he caused workers to falsely record that certain checks were “void” or unused even though he had cashed them.
On Nov. 14, 2006, Beavers caused a check for $68,763.07 to be paid from Citizens for Beavers to the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, a pension plan for certain City of Chicago employees including Aldermen, to increase his monthly pension from $2,890 to $6,541. The check was for personal use and should have been, but was not, reported as income on his 2006 income tax return.
The sentence was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James C. Lee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent-in- Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Getter, Samuel B. Cole, and Carrie Hamilton.
Vern Thomas Gardipee Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on September 25, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, VERN THOMAS GARDIPEE, a 49-year-old resident of Box Elder and an enrolled member of the federally recognized Chippewa Cree Indian Tribe, was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 30 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 30 years
GARDIPEE was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to sexual abuse of a minor.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danna R. Jackson, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On April 27 and 28, 2012, GARDIPEE sexually abused a young girl. GARDIPEE got into bed with the victim and sexually abused her. The victim tried to get away from GARDIPEE and eventually got GARDIPEE to stop his advances but not until after sexual contact occurred.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that GARDIPEE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, GARDIPEE does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
U.S. Citizen Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 25 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Aid the TalibanRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ALWAR POURYAN, 38, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 25 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Taliban and conspiring to acquire anti-aircraft missiles. The case arose out of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) undercover operation in which POURYAN and a co-defendant, Oded Orbach, also a U.S. citizen, agreed to provide various military-grade weapons, including heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles, to an individual they believed to represent the Taliban. POURYAN and Orbach were convicted in August 2013 after a two-week bench trial. U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald presided over the trial and imposed today’s sentence.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “Alwar Pouryan was an American who was all too willing to do business with the Taliban – agreeing to provide that narco-terrorist organization with lethal, military-grade weapons that would have put countless innocent lives at risk. The sentence handed down today is a just and appropriate penalty for an individual who so callously sold out his country.”
According to evidence at trial and documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court:
Beginning in the fall of 2010, and continuing through their arrest on February 10, 2011, POURYAN and Orbach communicated with a confidential source (the “CS”) working with the DEA who purported to represent the Taliban. The communications occurred by telephone, via email, and in a series of audio-recorded and videotaped meetings over several months.
During meetings in Ghana, Ukraine, and Romania beginning in November 2010, POURYAN and Orbach, at different times, agreed to arrange the sale of weapons to the CS for the Taliban’s use against U.S. military forces in Afghanistan. At the meetings, POURYAN and Orbach discussed weapons specifications, pricing, and the provision of training for the various weapons, including, among others, “Stinger” surface-to-air missiles, anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers, and M-16 assault rifles. POURYAN and Orbach were informed that the surface-to-air missiles, in particular, were needed to protect Taliban heroin laboratories against attacks by U.S. helicopters. The defendants also offered to provide regular shipments of ammunition. In total, POURYAN and Orbach agreed to provide over $25 million in weapons, ammunition, and training, and expected to make over $800,000 in commissions in connection with the transaction.
The evidence also included internal e-mail and Skype communications between the defendants, which showed them discussing the various weapons requested by the purported Taliban representative, drafting price lists and payment schedules for the weapons, and creating internal budget documents that reflected the expenses and anticipated income from the weapons deal. The evidence also included emails from Orbach to third-party weapons suppliers seeking to obtain certain of the requested weapons.
Following the final meeting in Bucharest, Romania, on February 10, 2011, POURYAN and Orbach were arrested by Romanian authorities in coordination with the DEA. On April 29, 2011, the defendants were transferred by the Government of Romania to the custody of the United States to face charges in the Southern District of New York.
In addition to the prison term, POURYAN was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment.
Orbach is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Buchwald on November 1, 2013.
The charges, arrest, transfer, and prosecution of POURYAN were the result of close cooperation among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Special Operations Division of the DEA, the DEA Warsaw Country Office, the DEA Ghana Country Office, the DEA Athens Country Office, the DEA SECI (South East European Cooperative Initiative Regional Center for Combating Transborder Crime), the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the governments of Romania and Ukraine.
Mr. Bharara expressed his sincere gratitude for the work of the Romanian National Prosecutor’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Appeals, and the Romanian National Police Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian R. Everdell, Aimee Hector, and Glen A. Kopp are in charge of the prosecution.
U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz Delivers Remarks at 5th Annual U.S. Export Control ConferenceRead the Press Release
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 5th annual Massachusetts Counter-Proliferation Working Group Conference. Thank you for taking the time to be here with us today.
In December 2007, almost six years ago, a multi-agency initiative was launched in this district to combat the growing national security threat posed by illegal exports of restricted U.S. military and dual-use technology to foreign nationals and terrorist organizations. Since 2007, our Counter-Proliferation Working Group, consisting of representatives of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, have been working together to coordinate investigations and share information regarding current threats and suspicious activities regarding the transfer of sensitive U.S. technology and information through illegal means.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is one of the greatest threats our country faces today. The WMD threat is not isolated to a single country. For instance, while Iran is aggressively seeking U.S. origin goods to further its nuclear capabilities, terrorist groups are actively seeking to develop chemical weapons and obtain components for improvised explosive devices. Preventing our adversaries from obtaining U.S. export restricted technology is therefore one of our highest priorities. It is clear, however, that the government cannot guard our nation from this immense threat alone; we need the help of our business and academic partners to safeguard sensitive U.S. technology.
In addition, America faces a growing number of espionage threats, ranging from the activities of foreign intelligence services and terrorist groups, to emerging cyber-threats, to increasingly sophisticated operations to obtain trade secrets and technical data concerning U.S. military and dual-use technologies. Foreign states and terrorist organizations routinely seek arms, technology, and other materials from the United States to advance their technology capacity, weapons systems, and in some cases, weapons of mass destruction programs.
Foreign governments are aggressive in their efforts to illegally acquire U.S. technology and technical data. With each passing year, our adversaries become more creative and advanced in their methods to steal our technology. For instance, they have been observed directly targeting U.S. firms; employing commercial firms in the U.S. and third countries to acquire U.S. technology; and recruiting students, professors, and scientists to engage in technology collection.
Three months ago, President Obama called the cyber threat Aone of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.@ Private companies are invaluable to handling these threats and often act as our first line of defense. Cyber intrusions are occurring more and more frequently. While prevention is the ultimate goal, we must also focus on disruption. This requires your help and assistance.
The speakers today will be addressing a number of extremely important topics, including the importance of protecting US technology and technical data, how to comply with U.S. export laws, how to protect your technology, and the ongoing threat posed by cyberattacks.
We ask for your help and partnership in protecting our nation’s national and economic security. Please report any suspicious contacts, inquiries and cyber intrusions. Even one suspicious email or call might expose an illegal procurement network or scheme to acquire critical U.S. technology. We ask for your help in keeping our country and our military troops safe.
Once again, I thank you for your participation and continued cooperation. I hope you all find today’s conference both beneficial and interesting.
U.S. Attorney Announces Additional Sherman ProsecutorRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsSHERMAN, Texas – U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced the hiring of a federal prosecutor assigned to the Sherman office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Tatum was administered the Oath of Office by U.S. Attorney Bales, today before a small crowd of friends, family, and government officials at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sherman.
Tatum is a graduate of Texas A&M University and St. Mary’s University School of Law. Tatum began his career in 2002 as an Assistant District Attorney with the Smith County D.A.’s Office before taking a position as an Assistant Attorney General in the Texas Attorney General’s white collar crime and public integrity section. Tatum is no stranger to a federal prosecutor’s office as he has served the last couple years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Texas’ Midland office.
Tatum joins the Sherman office where he will prosecute a wide range of federal crimes including drug trafficking, white collar crime, immigration matters, violent crimes and child pornography.
The Eastern District of Texas is comprised of 43 counties stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Oklahoma/Texas border. There are 6 staffed offices located in Beaumont, Lufkin, Tyler, Texarkana, Plano and Sherman with a total of 52 federal prosecutors.
Two Executives at North Canton Company Indicted for Conspiracy to Violate Campaign Finance Laws, Obstruct JusticeRead the Press Release
A federal indictment was unsealed today charging two executives at a North Canton company with conspiring to violate campaign finance laws, conspiring to obstruct justice and committing other related crimes, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland Office.
Benjamin Suarez, 72, of Canton, and Michael Giorgio, 61, of Cuyahoga Falls, are both named in the eight-count indictment. They are charged with one count of conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws, two counts of violation of campaign finance laws, two counts of making false statements, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and one count of obstruction of justice. Suarez also faces an additional count of witness tampering. The indictment is based on allegations that Suarez, Giorgio and others funneled almost $200,000 in conduit contributions to campaigns in the 2012 election.
“This office, working with the FBI, has always and will continue to ensure that all who participate in our political process follow the rules and obey the law,” Dettelbach said. He also praised the investigation of the FBI in the case.
“Benjamin Suarez and Michael Giorgio engaged in behavior that blatantly ignored and directly circumvented clearly established campaign financing laws,” Anthony said. “The FBI is committed to fully investigate any such intentional violations of these laws, which exist to help ensure fair, honest, and transparent elections.”
Suarez is the founder and owner of a company identified in the indictment as Company A. Giorgio was Company A’s chief financial officer.According to the indictment, Suarez agreed to raise $100,000 for an Ohio candidate for the United States Senate and $100,000 for an Ohio candidate for the United States House. Suarez and Giorgio then recruited individuals who worked for or were otherwise associated with Company A to serve as conduit contributors; that is, to make contributions in their own names and those of their spouses, according to the indictment.
Giorgio, acting at Suarez’s direction, informed potential conduit contributors that the amount of their and their spouse’s contributions would be fully reimbursed by Company A, according to the indictment.
Suarez and Giorgio then directly and indirectly caused Company A to reimburse the conduit contributors, disguising the payments first as salary and then as profit sharing. Suarez and Giorgio caused the payments, including those of spouses, to be “grossed up” to cover payroll and other taxes, so the full amount of the contribution would be reimbursed, according to the indictment.
Suarez and Giorgio disguised and concealed the amount and source of the campaign contributions and identity of Company A as a contributor so that the public would be less likely to know the nature and extent of the support Company A and Suarez were providing the 2012 House campaign and 2012 Senate campaign, according to the indictment.
The indictment details 18 contributions, all made in March 2011, to a 2012 House campaign. It also details 20 contributions, all but one made in May 2011, to a 2012 Senate campaign.
Suarez and Giorgio are also accused of conspiring to obstruct justice from March 2011through this month. They allegedly did this by failing to turn over documents, records and evidence subject to federal Grand Jury subpoenas. They also caused Company A’s controller to create and distribute documents entitled “Advance on Profit Sharing” for all but one Company A employee or contractor who has been reimbursed for campaign contributions. Those documents were intended to create false the impression that the reimbursement payments that Company A previously made to the conduit contributors were actually “advances” that all along were meant to be repaid to Company A by the employees and contractors. They did this after newspaper reports detailed the suspicious contribution, according to the indictment.
According to the indictment, Suarez also sought to influence, delay and prevent witness testimony before a federal Grand Jury.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Canton Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carole S. Rendon and Rebecca Lutzko.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation is ongoing.
Three More Defendants Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Bribe New York State Assemblymember Eric StevensonRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that IGOR TSIMERMAN, ROSTISLAV BELYANSKY (“SLAVA”), and DAVID BINMAN pled guilty in proceedings yesterday and today in Manhattan federal court to conspiring to bribe New York State Assemblymember Eric Stevenson in connection with a scheme to obtain Stevenson’s assistance in drafting, proposing, and agreeing to enact legislation favorable to their business. TSIMERMAN also pled guilty to conspiring to bribe former New York State Assemblymember Nelson Castro. TSIMERMAN, SLAVA, and BINMAN were arrested in April 2013. TSIMERMAN and SLAVA pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III, and BINMAN pled guilty today before Judge Pauley.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “With these additional guilty pleas, we are holding accountable individuals who wanted the law to be for sale and the legislature to be a bazaar. This Office will continue in its work to prosecute and punish those who attempt to corrupt the legislative process in New York.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Superseding Indictment, and statements made in court:
Stevenson has served as a member of the New York State Assembly since 2011 representing District 79, which includes various neighborhoods in the Bronx. Castro is a former member of the New York State Assembly who has been cooperating in this investigation. In August 2013, pursuant to a cooperation agreement, Castro pled guilty in federal court to making false statements to law enforcement agents and also pled guilty in state court to committing perjury in connection with registering New York City residents to vote.
TSIMERMAN, SLAVA, and BINMAN, and co-defendant Igor Belyansky, are business partners who, during 2012 and 2013, were trying to open and manage adult day care centers in the Bronx, New York, including a center on Westchester Avenue (the “Westchester Avenue Center”), within Stevenson’s Assembly District, and another center on Jerome Avenue (the “Jerome Avenue Center”), within Castro’s Assembly District. In connection with their efforts to open and operate both centers, TSIMERMAN, SLAVA, and BINMAN, together with Belyansky, made cash bribe payments to Stevenson. TSIMERMAN and Belyansky also made a cash bribe payment to Castro, who was cooperating with the Government at the time.
At a January 27, 2012 meeting at a restaurant in the Bronx, TSIMERMAN and Belyansky paid Castro $12,000 in cash in exchange for Castro’s assistance in helping TSIMERMAN and Belyansky open an adult day care center in Castro’s district. Immediately following this meeting, Castro met with an individual who was working with TSIMERMAN, SLAVA, Belyansky, and BINMAN on their adult day care centers and who later began cooperating with the Government (the “CW”). Castro told the CW, in sum and substance, “Whatever [TSIMERMAN and Belyansky] need, legislatively, whatever. . . . .” The CW interrupted Castro and stated, in sum and substance, “they call me. I call you. That’s it and it’s how we work.”
At a September 7, 2012 meeting at a steakhouse in the Bronx, SLAVA and Belyansky offered to pay Stevenson $10,000 in exchange for calling Con Edison to expedite the installation of a gas line and assisting with obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy from the New York City Buildings Department at the Jerome Avenue Center, and for assistance recruiting senior citizens to attend the Westchester Avenue Center. Stevenson agreed, but when Belyansky attempted to hand him the $10,000 in cash in an envelope, Stevenson indicated that he was concerned that there might be surveillance cameras in the restaurant, so the transaction was conducted outside. After the group walked outside the restaurant, Belyansky handed Stevenson the envelope of cash, after which Stevenson stuffed the envelope into his front pants pocket and covered his front pocket with the bottom of his shirt.
On January 9, 2013, the CW told Belyansky that Stevenson wanted $10,000 for introducing legislation that would establish a temporary moratorium on the construction and/or opening of new adult day care centers (the “Moratorium Legislation”), which would have the effect of eliminating competition with the Jerome Avenue Center and the Westchester Avenue Center, thereby substantially increasing the profits earned by those two centers. Two days later, on January 11, 2013, at the Westchester Avenue Center, TSIMERMAN, SLAVA, BINMAN, and Belyansky, gave the CW $5,000 cash to be delivered to Stevenson.
At a January 31, 2013 meeting, Stevenson showed the CW a draft of the Moratorium Legislation. On February 11, 2013, Stevenson told the CW: “We got the bill [the Moratorium Legislation] back today . . . [t]he bill is done now, it’s going out to the members . . . to the committee and . . . we’re gonna . . . try to push it to get it to the floor.” On February 16, 2013, in a hotel room in Albany, SLAVA gave $5,000 in cash to the CW, which the CW gave to Stevenson after taking a $500 cut.
Stevenson introduced and sponsored Assembly Bill Number A05139, which places a temporary moratorium on the construction and/or opening of new adult day care centers within New York City, on February 20, 2013.
TSIMERMAN, 47, of Staten Island, New York, SLAVA, 43, of the Bronx, New York, and BINMAN, 52, of Glendale, New York, each pled guilty to conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release. TSIMERMAN also pled guilty to travel act conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and three years of supervised release. TSIMERMAN, SLAVA, and BINMAN further agreed to forfeit any proceeds of their crimes and pay restitution in an amount ordered by the Court. TSIMERMAN, SLAVA, and BINMAN will be sentenced by Judge Pauley on January 24, 2014, at 2:00 p.m.
On Monday, September 23, 2013, Belyansky pled guilty before Judge Pauley to conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud and conspiring to violate the travel act. Belyansky is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Pauley on January 24, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. The charges against Stevenson remain pending and are merely accusations. Stevenson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mr. Bharara expressed his appreciation for the outstanding efforts of the Bronx County District Attorney's Office, the partner in this case.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul M. Krieger and Brian A. Jacobs and Assistant District Attorney Pishoy Yacoub of the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office are in charge of the prosecution.
U.S. v. Eric Stevenson et al. S2 Indictment
Ten Defendants Indicted in Alleged $14.5 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme That Resulted in $8 Million Loss to LendersRead the Press Release
CHICAGO ― Ten defendants, including five licensed loan originators, were indicted for allegedly participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately 52 residential mortgage loans totaling at least $14.5 million from various lenders. The indictment alleges that the mortgages were obtained to finance the purchase of various properties, primarily on the west and south sides of Chicago, by straw buyers who were fraudulently qualified for loans while the defendants allegedly profited. As a result, various lenders and their successors incurred losses of at least $8 million because the mortgages were not fully recovered through subsequent sale or foreclosure.
An 11th defendant who worked as a closing agent for a title company in suburban Westchester was indicted separately as part of the same investigation.
Both indictments were returned yesterday by a federal grand jury and announced today by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Barry McLaughlin, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General.
KEITH AUSTIN, 41, of Broadview, who controlled companies called Icy Investments, Inc., and Kesha & Icy Investments, Inc., allegedly directed the fraud scheme. He was charged with six counts of wire fraud, three counts of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of obstruction of justice.
The obstruction of justice count alleges that Austin and co-defendants CESAR MARIN, 30, of Schaumburg, and MARK PETTIS, 57, of Chicago, both licensed loan originators, prepared and provided false documents in response to federal grand jury subpoenas issued last year. Marin was also charged with three counts of wire fraud, while Pettis was also charged with one count of bank fraud.
Three other licensed loan originators indicted were JOSEPH BATEAST, 40, of Bolingbrook, one count of bank fraud; ROBERT BROWN, 37, address unknown, one count of wire fraud; and CONSTANCE PAEK, 34, of Glenview, one count of wire fraud. Also charged were: WILSON TITUS, 64, of Broadview, three counts of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud; CLYDE BANKS, also known as “Charles Barksdale,” 36, address unknown, one count of wire fraud; STEVEN GAWLIK, 41, of Chicago, one count of wire fraud; and MICHAEL THILL, 54, of Park Ridge, one count of wire fraud.
The indictment also seeks forfeiture of more than $8 million from Austin, Marin, Titus, Banks, and Bateast, as well as $6,800 seized from Austin’s home during the execution of a search warrant in October 2012, and Austin’s 2007 Lexus LS460, which was seized today. BRANDIE ROBERTS, 34, of Brookfield, formerly a closing agent for a title company in Westchester, was indicted separately on two counts of wire fraud, and her indictment seeks forfeiture of at least $68,366.
All 11 defendants will be arraigned on dates yet to be determined in U.S. District Court.
Austin, Titus, Paek, Pettis, and Thill allegedly recruited property owners to sell their homes, knowing they intended to falsely inflate the sales price so they and others could obtain the proceeds of the mortgage. Austin, Titus, Banks, and Paek allegedly recruited individuals to act as straw buyers by promising that they would not have to use any of their own money, would be paid to attend closings, and would not have to make any subsequent mortgage payments.
The indictment alleges that Austin, Marin, Titus, Brown, and Paek received the proceeds of the fraudulent loans and used the funds to enrich themselves.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Yasmin N. Best and Kenneth E. Yeadon.
Each count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and restitution is mandatory. The Court may impose an alternate fine totaling twice the loss or twice the gain, whichever is greater. The aggravated identity theft count against Austin carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in prison, and the obstruction of justice count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Since 2008, more than 200 defendants have been charged in Federal Court in Chicago and Rockford with engaging in various mortgage fraud schemes involving more than 1,000 properties and approximately $300 million in potential losses, signifying the high priority that federal law enforcement officials give mortgage fraud in an effort to deter others from engaging in crimes relating to residential and commercial real estate.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which wages an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force facilitates increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhanced coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addresses discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and conducts outreach to the public, victims, and financial institutions. For more information on the task force, visit stopfraud.gov.
Indictment
Teenager Pleads Guilty to First-Degree Murder While Armed in Slaying at Woodley Park Metro Station-Defendant Is Latest of Those Charged to Plead Guilty; He Admits Stabbing 18-Year-Old Victim-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Chavez Myers, 18, pled guilty today to a charge of first-degree murder while armed in the slaying of 18-year-old Olijawon Griffin at the Woodley Park Metro station, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Ron Pavlik, Chief of the Metro Transit Police.
Myers, of District Heights, Md., entered the plea in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for a 30-year prison sentence for the crime. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck scheduled a hearing for Dec. 13, 2013. If she accepts the plea, she will sentence Myers at that time.
Myers, who was 17 at the time of the murder, is the latest defendant to plead guilty to charges in the murder and related crimes. The others include Muquan Cawthorne, 16, of Mount Ranier, Md.; Deon Jefferson, 18, of Landover, Md.; Gary Maye, 17, of Hyattsville, Md.; Immanuel Swann, 18, of Brentwood, Md., and Gary Whittaker, 20, of Hyattsville, Md. Cawthorne, Jefferson, Maye and Swann, like Myers, were under 18 at the time of the murder; the U.S. Attorney’s Office obtained their indictments after deciding to prosecute them as adults.
Cawthorne pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed, armed robbery, and a firearms offense. Jefferson pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed and armed robbery. Maye pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed, armed robbery, and robbery. Swann pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed and two counts of armed robbery. Whittaker pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy, and a firearms offense. They have been in custody since their arrests last year and are to be sentenced on Dec. 13, 2013.
According to the government’s evidence, Myers and the other defendants were part of a group of nine people who conspired on Nov. 16, 2012 and Nov. 17, 2012 to commit robberies in the District of Columbia. Plans called for robbing people of their iPhones and other items of value. The group took a Metro train on the night of Nov. 16, 2012, from the West Hyattsville, Md. station to the Gallery Place/Chinatown station in Northwest Washington. From there, they took another train to the Woodley Park Metro station to begin their crimes. Within a matter of hours, Mr. Griffin would become a victim of the group twice: once, during a robbery in the Adams Morgan area, and finally, the attack at the Metro Station that ended with his death.
“In an act of pure cowardice, 17-year-old Chavez Myers snuck up behind Olijawon Griffin as he was fighting off three of Myers’s associates and stabbed him in the heart inside the Woodley Park Metro station,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Today Myers pled guilty to first-degree murder for his crime, and five others have also recently accepted responsibility for their roles in this brutal act of violence and the armed robberies that preceded it. We hope this prosecution sends an unambiguous message to young people tempted to join their friends to carry out robberies and other acts of violence in our city: think before you act because you will be prosecuted as an adult and held responsible for the destruction your actions bring to the lives of others.”
“This was a senseless crime, in which a young man lost his life at the hands of a group of thugs who were determined to rob and steal personal items from unsuspecting victims,” said Police Chief Lanier. “The Metropolitan Police Department and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate this in our city, and these criminals will be held accountable for their actions.”
“Thanks to our strong partnership with Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office, we were able to ensure that the suspects were apprehended and would face justice,” said Metro Transit Police Chief Pavlik. “In this case, quick response and state-of-the-art digital evidence served the community well.”
According to the government’s evidence, after leaving the Metro station, Myers and the others in the group crossed the Duke Ellington Bridge to the Adams Morgan area to find targets.
The group decided to target Mr. Griffin shortly after midnight, early Nov. 17, 2012, attacking him near a gas station in the 1800 block of Adams Mill Road NW. Mr. Griffin was robbed of his Helly Hansen coat, hat, and iPhone. The nine assailants then walked back toward the Woodley Park Metro station, intending to take a train back to West Hyattsville.
Mr. Griffin and his two companions arrived at the Metro station shortly after the assailants. They approached the assailants in an attempt to get Mr. Griffin’s property back. According to the government’s evidence, the various assailants repeatedly punched, kicked and stomped one of Mr. Griffin’s companions while he was lying prone and defenseless on the floor of the station platform. Once this friend rose to his feet, the group again took him to the ground and repeatedly punched, kicked and stomped him.
Shortly after the attack on the friend ended, Myers went up to the mezzanine level of the station, where the kiosk and fare machines are located. Jefferson, Maye, Whittaker and Swann were among those who also went to the mezzanine level. Mr. Griffin had been attempting to draw the defendants to that level in an effort to get them away from his injured friend. As the confrontation continued, Myers came up from behind Mr. Griffin and stabbed Mr. Griffin, who was unarmed, once in the heart. Mr. Griffin died a short time later.
In announcing the pleas, U.S. Attorney Machen, Chief Lanier and Chief Pavlik commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the Metro Transit Police Department. They also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General, including Deputy Attorney General Andrew Fois; Jennifer White, Chief of the Juvenile Section; Barbara Chesser and Linda Monroe, Assistant Chiefs of the Juvenile Section; Assistant Attorney General Marybeth Manfreda, and former Assistant Attorney General Anthony Crispino. The District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General handled the part of this case that involved charges against some of the juveniles who were apprehended after the attack.
U.S. Attorney Machen, Chief Lanier and Chief Pavlik also acknowledged the efforts of those who provided assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Alesha Matthews, Kwasi Fields, and Ethel Noble; Criminal Investigator John Marsh; Litigation Technology Specialists Leif Hickling, Will Henderson, and Paul Howell; Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark, and former interns Ryan Lipes, Flynn Burke, and Lauren Sparks.
Finally, they thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Dillon, Kathleen A. Connolly, and Kevin F. Flynn, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
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Tarpon Springs Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Mortgage FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore yesterday sentenced Chad Allen Lazzari (45, Tarpon Springs) to 15 months in federal prison for wire fraud and making false statements to federally-insured banks. As part of Lazzari's sentence, the court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $670,982.65, the proceeds of the mortgage fraud offenses. In addition, he was also ordered to forfeit his interest in a specified cashier's check and a personal injury claim. Lazzari pleaded guilty on June 5, 2013.
According to court documents, in 2007 and 2008, Lazzari submitted and caused the submission of mortgage and home equity loan applications containing false and fraudulent statements to Regions Bank, SunTrust Bank, and Fifth Third Bank in the Middle District of Florida. In the loan applications, Lazzari fraudulently represented that he was a single man, when in fact he was married, and in some instances, submitted false income tax returns and other fraudulent documents in an effort to substantiate this claim and otherwise enhance the financial qualifications of the borrower on the loan applications. For example, on or about June 6, 2006, Lazzari purchased the residence located at 201 Fairmont Drive, Spring Hill, Florida 34610, as an investment property. In connection with purchase, he represented himself as a single man.
Slightly more than one year later, in or about August - September 2007, Lazzari prepared a fraudulent mortgage loan application in the name of his spouse, Lin Lin Liu, and submitted it to Homecomings Financial, LLC, in connection with his sale of the Fairmont Drive home to his spouse. The purpose of the sale was to avoid foreclosure of the investment property in his name. Among other things, the mortgage loan application in Lazzari's spouse’s name contained several material false statements. It did not disclose the fact that the seller and buyer were married, falsely reported that Lazzari's spouse was gainfully employed and making a sizable income, which was not true, included false statements about Lazzari's spouse's assets, and misrepresented the truth about his spouse's address. Homecomings Financial, LLC approved the fraudulent mortgage loan application in Lazzari's spouse’s then-name, Lin Lin Liu (changed shortly thereafter to Victoria Liu Lazzari). On September 7, 2007, Homecomings Financial, LLC wired $324,482.65 in mortgage loan proceeds. Lazzari's spouse never made a single mortgage payment, and the property was foreclosed upon.
On or about March 17, 2008, Lazzari submitted three different home equity loan applications (totaling $76,500), in varying amounts, to three separate banks, on a different residence. In each instance, Lazzari represented himself as single or unmarried with the intent to influence the actions of the banks on his loan applications. Lazzari failed to report to any one of the banks that he had made home equity loan applications to the other two banks, or that the Fairmont Drive home, which he had fraudulently sold to his spouse, was in foreclosure. Ultimately, Lazzari defaulted on all of these loans.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachelle DesVaux Bedke.
Superior Ambulance and Owners Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – An indictment was unsealed today charging Superior EMS Ambulance Company, operating from Huntingdon Valley, PA, its owner, Beana Bell, 31, and operator Vadim Fleshler, 32, both of Philadelphia, with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to the indictment, the case involves a scheme in which the defendants submitted more than $4.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare. The defendants were also charged with making false statements in connection with health care matters. The indictment was announced by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, Special Agent-in-Charge Nick DiGiulio with Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ed Hanko.
The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to defraud Medicare by recruiting patients who were able to walk and could travel safely by means other than ambulance and who, therefore, were not eligible for ambulance transportation under Medicare requirements. It is alleged that the defendants, and others acting on their behalf, falsified reports to make it appear that the patients needed to be transported by ambulance when the defendants knew that the patients could be transported safely by other means and that many of them walked to the ambulance for transport. It is further alleged that the defendants themselves, or through others, paid illegal kickbacks to the patients as part of the scheme. The defendants allegedly billed Medicare for these ambulance services as if those services were medically necessary and, as a result of the allegedly fraudulent billing, the Medicare program sustained losses of more than $2.4 million for this medically unnecessary method of transportation.
If convicted, the defendants face substantial terms of imprisonment, fines and are subject to criminal forfeiture proceedings with possible exclusion from participating in federal health care programs; Superior EMS Ambulance Company faces significant financial penalties, including substantial criminal fines, restitution and forfeiture obligations.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney M. Beth Leahy.
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, 215-861-8525Stuart Morgan Pattie and Jesus Heriberto Ramirez-Soto Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on September 24, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, STUART MORGAN PATTIE, age 52, and JESUS HERIBERTO RAMIREZ-SOTO, age 44, residents of Troy, were sentenced in connection with their guilty pleas to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
PATTIE was sentenced to:
Prison: 36 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 5 years
RAMIREZ-SOTO was sentenced to:
Prison: 120 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 5 years
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica A. Betley, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
PATTIE, RAMIREZ-SOTO, and Don Edward Lyle all lived in Troy. In early April 2013, undercover law enforcement agents and a confidential informant (CI) began to buy methamphetamine from RAMIREZ.
During the evening of April 5, 2013, the CI was with RAMIREZ and Lyle at RAMIREZ's home in Troy. The CI mentioned to RAMIREZ and Lyle that he had a friend who wanted to purchase methamphetamine.
The next day, on April 6, 2013, RAMIREZ called the CI and said that Lyle would be traveling to Kalispell with the methamphetamine. Later that evening, undercover agents met with Lyle in Kalispell. PATTIE also accompanied Lyle on the methamphetamine deal. The agents paid Lyle $5,400 for three ounces of methamphetamine and received an additional ounce from Lyle with the understanding that the agents still owed Lyle for the last ounce.
On April 11, 2013, the CI placed a call to RAMIREZ to set up another methamphetamine deal. RAMIREZ told the CI that he could provide the CI's friends with pounds of methamphetamine. The agents called RAMIREZ and agreed to meet on Saturday, April 13, 2013, in Havre in order to buy methamphetamine. RAMIREZ agreed to sell the agents two pounds of methamphetamine for $50,000.
That afternoon, RAMIREZ met an agent in a parking lot and said his friends would be there shortly. RAMIREZ then discussed possible future drug deals and left the parking lot. A half hour later, Lyle and PATTIE pulled up next to the agent. PATTIE got out of the car and got into the agent's car with the methamphetamine wrapped in a shirt. Agents then arrested RAMIREZ, PATTIE, and Lyle. Agents recovered more than 500 grams of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
Lyle pled guilty to federal charges.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that they will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, they do have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.
Social Security Claims Representative Charged with Two Counts of Bribery, Two Counts of ExtortionRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Montrell Levelle Arnold, 42, of Memphis, TN, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on two counts of extortion and two counts of bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III.
# # # #
According to the facts alleged in the indictment, on at least two occasions while Arnold was working as a Claims Representative for the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), he offered to “process” Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment claims for individuals in exchange for a fee. Several SSI beneficiaries agreed to pay the defendant a fee to process the benefit payments.
After the benefit payments had been electronically deposited to the beneficiary’s electronic accounts, Arnold would contact the individuals by telephone and by text message to confirm receipt of the payment and to make arrangements to obtain his “processing fee.”
If convicted, Arnold faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each extortion charge, and up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each bribery charge. In addition, Arnold may be disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust or profit with the United States.
Investigators suspect that Arnold may have taken advantage of other individuals during his employment with the SSA. If anyone has any additional information, they are urged to contact the SSA Office of the Inspector General at 855-260-6353. This case is being investigated by the United States Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leetra Harris is representing the government.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Shyann Marie Dupree Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on September 25, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, SHYANN MARIE DUPREE, a 36-year-old resident of Poplar and an enrolled member in a federally-recognized tribe, was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 18 months
Special Assessment: $100
Restitution: $11,899.97
Supervised Release: 3 years
DUPREE was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to burglary.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On April 18, 2012, DUPREE broke into a house on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation with three others when they knew the homeowner was out of town. The group stole televisions, jewelry, and other items. DUPREE admitted to entering the house and filling a suitcase with purses, while others removed televisions and placed them in a vehicle waiting outside the house. DUPREE admitted that another individual helped her sell the purses and that DUPREE used the money to buy pills.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that DUPREE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, DUPREE does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation Division and the Poplar Police Department.
Second Highest Chiropractic Medicare Biller in California Biller Pleads Guilty to Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley chiropractor, who was the second highest Medicare biller in California for chiropractic services, pled guilty yesterday to healthcare fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1347.
Between 2005 and 2012, Houshang Pavehzadeh aka “Danny Paveh” (41), owner of Sylmar Physician Medical Group, Inc. – a storefront chiropractic clinic located in a strip mall – defrauded Medicare by billing for patients he never treated.
The eleven count indictment alleges that Pavehzadeh submitted over $1.7 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and was paid a little over $1 million on these claims. As part of his guilty plea, Pavehzadeh admitted that, in an effort to conceal his fraud from Medicare auditors, he staged an early-morning car jacking outside his office and falsely reported to the Los Angeles Police Department that his patient files had been stolen.
“Those persons who seek to bilk the Medicare Program impact both our health care delivery system and the American consumer,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “Here, the defendant not only tried to bilk the system to the tune of more than $1.7 million, he also had the audacity to try and conceal his criminal activity by filing a bogus police report with the LAPD.”
“Health care fraud in and of itself is a serious offense. Not content to stop there, however, Mr. Pavehzadeh sought to conceal that crime by committing yet another -- filing a false police report,” said Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent in Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health of Human Services. “Those intent on breaking these laws should know that through the work of our special agents and auditors, OIG remains committed to seeking justice.”
Pavehzadeh faces a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release. United States District Judge Manuel L. Real is scheduled to sentence defendant on January 14, 2014.
Release No. 13-119
Schuyler County Man Sentenced on Methamphetamine ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Chad Speicher, 29, of Beaver Dams, N.Y., who was convicted of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, was sentenced to 46 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan, who handled the case, stated that the defendant, together with co-conspirators Shawn Rickard and John Barton, as well as others, conspired to manufacture methamphetamine in Millport, N.Y., from 2009 to May 18, 2011. On this date, members of the New York State Police, Schuyler County Sheriff’s Office, Schuyler County District Attorney’s Office, Village of Watkins Glen Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a state court-authorized search warrant at John Barton’s residence based on an ongoing investigation.
In a shed on Barton’s property, law enforcement officers discovered an active methamphetamine laboratory which was in the process of producing methamphetamine, as well as methamphetamine and powder substances which tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine. In the same shed, law enforcement officers also recovered multiple firearms, one of which was a handgun which officers located in Barton’s backpack, along with methamphetamine and over $8,000 in U.S. Currency. Officers also recovered marijuana from the house located on the property.
John Barton was sentenced to 180 months in prison on September 24, 2013. Shawn Rickard was sentenced to eight years in prison on September 18, 2013.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Schuyler County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Joseph Fazzary, Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), under the direction of Major Wayne C. Olson, the Schuyler County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff William Yessman, and the Watkins Glen Police Department, under the direction of Chief Thomas R. Struble.Ross Twp. Man Admits Cashing $304K of Deceased Mother’s Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A Ross Township resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of theft of government money, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Chauncey Clinton, 65, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from June 1, 1973, to April 3, 2012, Chauncey Clinton converted to his own use $304,853.00 in Social Security Title II, Old Age, Survivor’s Disability Insurance benefit payments of his mother, Clara Clinton, who died on May 7, 1973, benefits to which he knew he was not entitled.
Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for Jan. 23, 2014, at 1:30 p.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The Court released Clinton on a $10,000 unsecured bond pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Mary McKeen Houghton is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Clinton.
Rosebud Man Convicted of Assaulting and Resisting Rosebud Tribal OfficersRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Lawrence Gary, age 36, of Rosebud, South Dakota, appeared before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on September 19, 2013, and pled guilty to a Superseding Information that charged him with Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers.
The investigation was conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Ruettgers.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 1 year in custody, a $100,000 fine, restitution, and a $25 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The charge relates to an incident that occurred on July 25, 2012, when Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Officers responded to a complaint that the Defendant was driving while intoxicated. As a result, Gary was asked to step out of the car and perform sobriety tests. The officers had to pull Gary from the car and place handcuffs on him. Gary was non-compliant, spun away from the officers, and lunged toward one of the officers before being restrained again and placed in a patrol car.
A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date was set for November 25, 2013. Gary was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.Reading Man Sentenced to Seven Years for Role in Berks-Schuylkill County Drug RingRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a 24-year-old Reading man was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo to serve seven years in prison for participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Isaac Villasenor previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine and more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. The drug conspiracy operated in the Schuylkill and Berks County area between August and November of 2011.
Villasenor was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2011, as a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Two co-defendants, Jose Sandoval-Martinez and Ivan Villasenor, previously pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy. Sandoval-Martinez was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Ivan Villasenor was sentenced to six years in prison.
Judge Caputo also ordered that Isaac Villasenor be placed on five years of supervised release after serving his prison sentence.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Pike County Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 49-year-old Dingmans Ferry resident pleaded guilty Tuesday to receiving and distributing child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the defendant, Richard A. Lewis, was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2013 for using a computer to receive child pornography from a resident of Ontario, Canada, and distributing the child pornography to others during January 2013 to May 2013.
The charge against Lewis resulted from an investigation by Homeland Security Investigators and Ontario Provincial Police.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, if accepted by the court, Lewis will be sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by lifetime supervised release. He will also be subject to the sex offender registration and notification requirements of federal law.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra Associate SentencedRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Robert Ranieri, 38, of Glendora, NJ, was sentenced today to serve 12 months and one day in prison for his participation in loan sharking activities on behalf of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family.
In addition to his prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo Robreno ordered Ranieri to pay a $1,000 fine and ordered three years of supervised release.
On June 13, 2013, Ranieri pleaded guilty to conspiring with Philadelphia LCN Family capo Anthony Staino and others to make a usurious loan to an undercover FBI agent and to use threats of violence to collect payments on the loan.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. Additional assistance was provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor III and Suzanne B. Ercole of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Valuable prosecutorial assistance was provided by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Operators of Lowell Temp Agency Charged with Tax and Insurance FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Four Lowell residents who operated a temporary employment agency have been charged with running an off-the-books payroll scheme, paying employees millions of dollars, evading employment taxes and workers compensation premiums.
Margaret Mathes, 67, Boseba Prum, 47, Sam Pich, 63, and Thaworn Promket, 52, have each been charged with conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and to commit mail fraud and to violating laws against structuring monetary transactions to avoid reporting requirements. Mathes is also charged with two counts of structuring monetary transactions. Prum is also charged with 10 counts of filing false employment tax returns, six counts of mail fraud and two counts of structuring monetary transactions. Pich is also charged with 17 counts of assisting the filing of false employment tax returns, six counts of mail fraud and two counts of structuring monetary transactions. Promket is also charged with seven counts of filing false employment tax returns, six counts of mail fraud and two counts of structuring monetary transactions.
According to the indictment, the defendants are family members who together ran a temporary employment agency providing both short-term and long-term labor for client companies in the packaging and food services industries. Between 2004 and October 2008 the agency operated under the name International Temp Agency; from October 2008 through 2009 it operated under the name JP Company. Between 2004 and 2009, the defendants reported approximately $2.2 million in wages to the IRS. The indictment charges, however, that the defendants= total payroll was approximately $28 million during that period. According to the indictment, the defendants failed to withhold and pay employment taxes and worker=s compensation insurance premiums on these unreported wages.
In order to meet their outsized cash payroll without triggering the filing of currency transaction reports the defendants maintained multiple bank accounts at various institutions and cashed approximately 4,383 checks in amounts less than $10,000. The indictment also charges that defendants grossly understated their payroll in response to inquiries from their workers' compensation insurance provider, under reporting the number of clients and employees on applications for insurance and during audits conducted by the insurer. As a result, their workers compensation insurance premiums were fraudulently reduced by approximately $850,000 between 2004 through 2010.
If convicted, the maximum prison sentences that could be imposed for each count of the indictment are as follows: five years in prison for conspiracy; three years in prison for filing or procuring false tax returns; 20 years in prison for mail fraud; and 10 years in prison for structuring of financial transactions.
U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; John G. Collins, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Anthony DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling of Ortiz=s Economic Crimes Unit.
The details in the Indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.Oakland Man Sentenced to Twenty-Three Years in Prison for Robbery and CarjackingRead the Press Release
OAKLAND - Ismael Eduardo Axtle was sentenced on September 23, 2013, to 276 months in federal prison for carjacking, robbery, possession of methamphetamine for sale, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
According to the plea agreement, Axtle, 31, of Oakland, Calif., and co-defendant Patrick Fiammetta-McConnell robbed a parking garage in San Francisco and stole an Acura TL from the garage on July 27, 2011. On August 5, 2011, Axtle carjacked a BMW from a driver in San Francisco. On September 9, 2011, Axtle carried methamphetamine and a firearm in the carjacked BMW down to Turlock, in the Eastern District of California. On November 17, 2011, Axtle and unknown co-conspirators robbed a massage parlor at gunpoint in Petaluma. On November 18, 2011, Axtle carjacked a family in an SUV at gunpoint during a police chase in Oakland that involved several law enforcement agencies.
Axtle also admitted to possession of two firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in a storage locker in Oakland.
“The prosecution of this case illustrates the strong commitment the United States Attorney’s Office has in reducing violence caused by guns and the victimization of innocent people in the City of Oakland and in the Northern District of California as a whole,” stated U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag. “We will continue to combine our resources, skills, and efforts in partnership with federal and local law enforcement toward this important goal.”
“This case is indicative of how violent criminals use firearms to terrorize our citizens and subject them to danger,” stated Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Riehl. “ATF will continue to focus on the suspects who commit these heinous crimes.”
Axtle, pleaded guilty on May 14, 2013, to two counts of carjacking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119; two counts of interference with commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1); being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii).
The Honorable Saundra Brown Armstrong, United States District Court Judge, handed down the 276-month. Judge Armstrong also ordered Axtle to forfeit all firearms and ammunition, and to serve a five-year term of supervised release during which he may be searched by any federal, state, or local law enforcement officer with or without cause. Axtle’s co-defendant, Fiammetta-McConnell, has been sentenced to 157 months in federal prison for his role in the January 27, 2011, robbery and carjacking, and other unrelated crimes.
Judge Armstrong ordered Axtle to begin serving his prison sentence immediately.
Brigid Martin is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kathleen Turner. The conviction and sentence were the result of an investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Oakland Police Department, Alameda County Regional Auto Theft Task Force, California Highway Patrol, San Francisco Police Department, Petaluma Police Department, and Turlock Police Department.
(Axtle superseding information )
North Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of A Firearm by A Prohibited PersonRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Virgil Running Bear, Jr., age 40, of Bismarck, North Dakota, appeared before U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann on September 23, 2013, and pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years of imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release and an additional 2 years of supervised release upon revocation, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge stems from an incident wherein on or about December 10, 2012, the Edmunds County Sheriff’s Office was called to investigate a report of a vehicle in a ditch near Ipswich, South Dakota. The sheriff’s deputy discovered the defendant’s vehicle. After receiving Running Bear’s driver’s license and registration, the deputy learned that Running Bear had a revoked license and was on federal probation. With permission, the deputy searched Running Bear’s vehicle and found three firearms and assorted ammunition. All the weapons found in Running Bear’s possession were transported through interstate commerce and functioned as designed.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives and the Edmunds County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich is prosecuting the case.
Running Bear was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing which has been set for December 30, 2013.Newport News Man Sentenced to 105 Months for Fraud, Money Laundering, and Felon-In-Possession ConvictionsRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – James Allen Sutton, 33, of Newport News, Va., was sentenced yesterday to 105 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release, for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering, and illegally possessing a firearm as a felon.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division,Washington D.C. Field Office, and Daniel Woloszynowski, Resident Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.
Sutton previously pleaded guilty on June 10, 2013. According to court documents, in April of 2011, the Newport News Police Department received a crime stoppers tip reporting that Sutton, a convicted felon, was distributing illegal drugs. Following the tip, detectives with the Newport News Police Department executed a search warrant on Sutton’s residence. Inside Sutton’s apartment, the officers found four pounds of marijuana, a handgun, digital scales and packaging materials commonly used in the sale of marijuana.
The investigation determined that from 2006 through 2010, Sutton conspired with a Hampton business owner, Eleanor Murphy, to disguise the proceeds of his marijuana distribution business as legitimate earnings from Murphy’s construction business, Poor Boy’s Construction.
Sutton needed someone to legitimize his lifestyle, and he needed to show legitimate income in order to file tax returns, obtain mortgage loans and qualify for credit cards. Murphy, who was convicted in 2012 for her role in the conspiracy, provided Sutton with false form 1099s representing income that she never paid to Sutton. Sutton used these 1099s when he filed his own individual income tax returns, in effect, masking the drug money as legitimate income.
An in-depth financial investigation showed that Sutton used the proceeds from his drug business to make hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of expenditures related to travel, gambling, and the purchase of expensive clothing, jewelry and automobiles.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Newport News Police Department. Managing Assistant United States Attorney Howard Zlotnick 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.Newark Man Charged in 19-Count Indictment with Multiple Armed Robberies of New Jersey StoresRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury today returned a 19-count indictment against a Newark, N.J. man this morning in connection with a series of commercial establishment robberies in Union, Essex, and Bergen Counties, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Jamar Darby (a/k/a Rhino) 26, is charged with one count of conspiring to commit a Hobbs Act robbery, nine substantive counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and nine counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Darby was previously arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with committing a Hobbs Act robbery and using a firearm during a crime of violence in connection with the robbery of a Subway Restaurant in Verona.
According to the indictment and other documents filed in this case:
On May 20, 2013, Darby and two other individuals allegedly entered a Subway Restaurant in Verona wearing dark hoodies, face masks, and gloves. Darby and another individual each brandished a handgun. After Darby and another robber restrained a Subway employee with plastic zip ties, Darby and his co-conspirators emptied the cash registers and fled.
The indictment also charges Darby in connection with the following robberies between December 2012 and May 2013:
Linden Stationary
Linden
Feb. 1, 2013
Newark
Feb. 1, 2013
Shoppers Express
Belleville
Feb. 2, 2013
Krauszers
Bloomfield
Feb. 13, 2013
Pat’s Deli
Newark
Feb. 19, 2013
Smashburger
Paramus
March 16, 2013
Krauszers
Bloomfield
March 29, 2013
South Wood Discount Liquor
Linden
April 17, 2013
Darby allegedly brandished a handgun in all of the robberies, and he and his conspirators stole cash, cigarettes, and other items from their victims.
The Hobbs Act charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison for the first offense, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. For each subsequent offense, the charge of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss arising out of the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment. He also thanked the Belleville, Bloomfield, Kearny, Linden, Maplewood, Newark, Paramus, Verona and West Orange Police Departments, along with the N.J. State Police and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for their work on this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamari Buxton and Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and each defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense Counsel: Carl Herman Esq., West Orange, N.J.
Darby Indictment
New Orleans Man, Michael Larrieu, Sentenced for Failing to Register as Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
MICHAEL LARRIEU, age 25, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey to twelve months in prison for failing to register as a sex offender, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
According to documents filed in federal court, in 2007, LARRIEU pled guilty to possession of child pornography in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. LARRIEU was sentenced to forty (40) months imprisonment followed by a life time of supervised release. As a result of LARRIEU=s conviction, he was required to register pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
On February 27, 2013, LARRIEU absconded from the Volunteers of America Re-Entry Residential Center in New Orleans where he was completing an unrelated sentence. Approximately a month later, on March 25, 2013, the United States Marshals Service (“USMS”) located and arrested LARRIEU in Laredo, Texas. LARRIEU admitted to the USMS at the time of his arrest that he knew he had a duty to register as a sex offender. LARRIEU told the USMS he did not notify or request information on sex offender laws in Texas because he knew he was a fugitive and because he did not want to go back to prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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 locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Strike Force Chief, Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.
New Jersey-Based Financial Advisor Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Defrauding Elderly InvestorsRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Somerset County, N.J.-based financial advisor was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for stealing $138,000 from two elderly investors and funding his lavish lifestyle with money he claimed to be investing in conservative securities and his business, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Ralph A. Saviano, 72, of Bridgewater, N.J., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Saviano, an investment advisor who had worked in the financial industry for more than 40 years, targeted clients through his association with Centaurus Financial Inc., and later through Saviano Financial Group (SFG), from as early as July 2007 through October 2012.
During this time, Saviano had approximately 300 clients, many of whom were unsophisticated investors between the ages of 60 and 85, whom he had known for many years and who trusted his financial experience and advice. Saviano admitted he targeted clients he knew were about to receive significant amounts of cash, such as maturing certificates of deposit (CDs), and proposed that they invest those funds in low-risk investments or in his business, SFG. Saviano said he would use these “business loans” solely for business expenses.
Saviano admitted that in May 2012, an 85-year-old client gave him approximately $63,000 from a mature CD that she was told would be invested in two investment funds. Saviano accompanied the client to her bank to redeem the CD and instructed her make the proceeds from the CD payable to him. In June 2012, another of Saviano’s clients – 80 years old and suffering from cancer – gave Saviano approximately $75,000 she inherited from a recently deceased relative, making the check payable to “Cash” with the words “financial investment” in the memo field.
Instead of doing as he claimed, Saviano used the funds to repay prior “loans” from other clients in Ponzi-scheme fashion, and to pay for various personal expenses, including: at least $33,000 for granite countertops and other home improvements, $18,000 in cash payments to himself and family members, $10,000 in personal mortgage and rent payments, and thousands more in jewelry, clothing, a family vacation to Aruba and a theater donation.
At the plea hearing on June 5, 2013, Judge Wolfson entered a consent judgment and order of forfeiture in the amount of $699,926.51, which constitutes the proceeds Saviano obtained from his known investor victims as a result of his offense.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Saviano to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $699,926.51.
In a parallel investigation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 6, 2013, issued an order instituting settled administrative proceedings against Saviano. In its order, the SEC barred Saviano from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization. It also barred him from participating in any offering of a penny stock, including: acting as a promoter, finder, consultant, agent or other person who engages in activities with a broker, dealer or issuer for purposes of the issuance or trading in any penny stock, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of any penny stock.U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Aaron T. Ford in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s sentence. He also thanked the SEC’s New York office for its assistance with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Mendelsohn of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit and Evan Weitz of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit in Newark.
If you believe you are a victim of or otherwise have information concerning this alleged scheme, you are encouraged to contact the FBI at 973-792-3000.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.stopfraud.gov.
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Defense counsel: Eric R. Breslin Esq., Newark, N.J
New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting Colleague During Business Trip to the District of Columbia-Defendant and Victim Were Here for A Trade Show-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – William A. Sipper, 46, of Ramsey, N.J., pled guilty today to sexually assaulting an intoxicated business colleague while in the District of Columbia on a business trip, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Sipper pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of misdemeanor sexual abuse in an Alford plea. Under such a plea, the defendant does not admit the allegations, but agrees that the government has enough evidence to secure a conviction. In this case, Sipper contended that he did not recall what had happened at the time of the offense, but conceded that the government had sufficient evidence with which to convict him. He is scheduled to be sentenced by the Honorable Russell F. Canan on Dec. 13, 2013.
According to the government’s factual proffer, as of Nov. 12, 2010, Sipper was the chief operating officer of a beverage company. That company had hired the victim to work as a model at a trade show that was taking place in the District of Columbia. Sipper, the victim and others from the company were in the area to attend that trade show, and some of them, including Sipper and the victim, were staying at a hotel in the 1200 block of K Street NW.
After a night of eating and drinking on the part of the defendant, the victim and some of the company’s other employees, Sipper asked the victim whether she wanted to work at two upcoming trade shows in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. When she said that she did, he asked her to come to his hotel room so that he could book her airline tickets for those events. She agreed, and sat on one of the beds in Sipper’s hotel room as he booked those tickets. That was the last thing the victim remembered until she awoke to find Sipper sexually assaulting her.
When the victim finally succeeded in getting the defendant off of her, she fled to her own hotel room on another floor and called her mother and boyfriend to report what had happened. They encouraged her to call 911, which she did.
As part of the victim’s medical examination, her blood alcohol content was determined to be quite high. Initially, Sipper denied that he had engaged in any sexual contact with the victim. However, DNA testing of semen found in the victim’s underwear showed that – at each pertinent location that could be tested – there was a match with the defendant’s DNA.
In announcing today’s plea, U.S. Attorney Machen acknowledged the work of officers from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit. He also thanked those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Jason Manuel and Victim/Witness Advocate Melissa Milam. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heide Herrmann, Lindsay Suttenberg and Peter V. Taylor, who prosecuted this case; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon A. Sprague, who handled an interlocutory appeal in this case.
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