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Wednesday 3 July 2013
Sheriff, Irvin F. Hingle, Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud and BriberyRead the Press Release
IRVIN F. HINGLE, a/k/a “JIFF” HINGLE, age 61, a resident of Belle Chasse, Louisiana, was sentenced today to 46 months imprisonment by U. S. District Judge Sarah R. Vance after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, announced U. S. Attorney Dana J. Boente. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Vance ordered that HINGLE be placed on two years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment, pay a $10,000 fine and a $100.00 special assessment.
According to court documents, from approximately 1992 through 2011, HINGLE was employed as the elected Sheriff of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. As the Sheriff, HINGLE was the chief law enforcement officer for Plaquemines Parish.
In 2007, the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office entered into a contract with Benetech, LLC (Benetech) to provide services relating to recovery from damages due to previous and future natural disasters. In early- to mid- 2008, on two separate occasions, HINGLE, as the Sheriff, approved Benetech’s invoices and issued checks to Benetech in connection with work purportedly done under the 2007 contract. Within weeks of HINGLE’s approvals, W. Aaron Bennett, the owner of Benetech, paid HINGLE $10,000 in cash, on two separate occasions, intending to influence him in connection with the contract between Benetech and the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office.
In addition, as the elected Sheriff, HINGLE was required to file annual campaign reports with the Louisiana Board of Ethics in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and to certify, among other things, information relating to campaign contributions and expenditures. According to court documents, in 2008, HINGLE solicited campaign contributions from contributors and instead of expending those funds for campaign-related activities, HINGLE expended them for personal use, in violation of Louisiana campaign finance laws. HINGLE and others in his campaign finalized the 2008 campaign finance report and mailed it to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in February 2009, falsely listing over $100,000 in expenditures as campaign-related when, in fact, they were for personal use.
The case was investigated by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorneys Matt Chester and Eileen Gleason.
Shaker Heights Man Indicted for Impersonating A Diplomat, Attempting to Buy House and Car with Fake DocumentsRead the Press Release
A Shaker Heights man was indicted for impersonating a diplomat and attempting to buy a house and car using fictitious financial documents, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Derek J. Bishop, 42, was named in a seven-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court. He is charged with fictitious obligations, impersonating a diplomat and wire fraud.
Bishop used fictitious Fifth Third checks in March 2013 to attempt to purchase a Nissan Armada for $54,098 from Ganley Nissan. He also tried to use fictitious checks to make payments to Verizon, AT&T, and Nationwide Insurance, according to the indictment.
Bishop falsely claimed he was a foreign diplomat of the Vatican/Postmaster General of the Divine Province in an attempt to avoid paying taxes on the vehicle and to demand his release from the Cuyahoga County Jail, according to the indictment.
Finally, Bishop used fraudulent trust documents in March 2013 to attempt to purchase property in Moreland Hills, Ohio, for more than $3.1 million. He attempted to purchase the property by providing Chicago Title Company LLC with false and fraudulent trust documents representing to be for the Bishop Family Trust, even though the trust had no assets or funds to pay the purchase price, according to the indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew W. Shepherd following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Seven Charged with Oxycodone Conspiracy in Broward County Pill Mill OperationRead the Press Release
The defendants include a Doctor, a Physician’s Assistant, and Clinic Owners/Managers
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), announced the unsealing of a federal indictment charging seven defendants for their participation in the illegal dispensing and distribution of oxycodone, among other offenses. The 20-count indictment, filed July 2, 2013, charges defendants Jason Boyd, 43, of Davie, Jason Rodriguez, 36, of Fort Lauderdale, Vijay Chowdary, M.D., 69 of Boca Raton, Harish Chowdary, P.A., 64, of Fort Lauderdale, Amanda Bozer, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, Nestor Merces, Jr., 35, of New York, and Hector Bruno, 35, of Pembroke Pines with various crimes, including conspiracy to distribute, dispense and possess controlled substances, maintaining drug-involved premises, and money laundering. Six of the defendants made their initial appearances in federal court in Fort Lauderdale and Connecticut earlier today. Defendant Hector Bruno remains a fugitive.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that Schedule II prescription painkillers, like oxycodone, cause more drug overdose deaths than cocaine and heroin combined. Oxycodone and other Schedule II drugs have a high potential for abuse and can be crushed and snorted, or dissolved and injected, to get an immediate high. This abuse can lead to addiction, overdose, and sometimes death.
The indictment alleges that from October 2010 to the present, the defendants operated Intracoastal Medical Groups, Inc. (IMG), in Broward County, as a pill mill clinic that offered patients prescriptions for oxycodone and other controlled substances without any legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional medical practice. According to the charges, individuals, including drug addicts and traffickers, seeking to buy large quantities of oxycodone and other controlled substances would travel from hundreds of miles from other states to obtain prescriptions at the defendants’ clinic. Defendant Jason Boyd operated and financed IMG until the Florida Legislature enacted legislation requiring pain management clinics to be owned by licensed physicians. At that time, ownership of IMG was transferred on paper to a physician and in March 2012, to Dr. Chowdary.
To execute the scheme, IMG employed doctors, like defendant Vijay Chowdary, who agreed to prescribe oxycodone and other controlled substances to patients without regard to medical necessity, with only a cursory physical examination of the patient, and in violation of numerous federal and state laws and DEA regulations regarding the storage and distribution of controlled substances. To accomplish the scheme, the defendants created and used a number of false documents. For example, the defendants used phony Florida identification cards to make it appear that all of IMG’s patients were residing in Florida. The defendants also made and used false MRI reports, and discarded urinalysis results that showed that patients were using cocaine and other drugs, advising the patients to return when their urine was clean. The clinic allowed and encouraged the use of “sponsors,” a practice in pill mills where an individual “sponsors” a group of patients in the clinic and pays all of the expenses associated with clinic visit in return for all or a portion of the pills prescribed.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “As this case demonstrates, federal and local law enforcement continue to stand united to tackle the pill mill epidemic that has plagued Broward County and our state. Together, we are making a positive difference, as we continue to bring down these unscrupulous doctors and drug dealers who seek to hide behind a medical license. Pill mill operators be warned: we are not done yet.”
Mark R. Trouville, DEA Special Agent in Charge stated, “This is a text book example of an illegal prescription drug trafficking organization. These rogue doctors and greedy drug dealers tried to make a pill mill look like a legitimate business. The days of profiting from these crimes have come to an end for these seven defendants. The diversion of pharmaceutical drugs remains a priority for the DEA and our law enforcement partners in South Florida. We will stay committed to ridding our communities of those who look to become rich from the diversion of powerful prescription medications.”
“I’m extremely proud of the hard work and dedication our investigators have put into building a solid case against these suspects,” Sheriff Scott Israel said. “This group is made up of drug traffickers passing themselves off as businessmen and medical patients and unscrupulous clinicians pretending to be medical professionals. They did all of this to further their criminal enterprise without concern for the people whose lives they were putting at risk.”
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute, dispense and possess oxycodone; up to 20 years for distributing, dispensing, and aiding and abetting the distribution and dispensing, of oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose; and up to 20 years for maintaining a location for the distribution of narcotics. Lastly, defendant Boyd faces up to 20 years on the money laundering charges.
Today’s case is the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute high level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.
Mr. Ferrer commended the DEA and BSO for their hard work on this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Vaglienti.
An indictment is only an accusation, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Attachment:
Indictment (PDF)
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Sentences for July 01-02, 2013Read the Press Release
Mario Demon Lee, 45, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson on July 2, 2013, for making a false statement in application of a passport. Lee was arrested in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He received 21 months imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment. This case was investigated by the Diplomatic Security Service.
Mario Moreno-Reyes, aka Mario Reyes, aka Mario Moreno, aka Mario Manuel Reyes, 53, of Mexico, was sentenced by Chief Federal District Court Nancy D. Freudenthal on July 1, 2013, for illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien into the United States. Moreno-Reyes was arrested in Gillette, Wyoming. He received 15 months imprisonment, was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment and is subject to deportation upon release from custody. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Science Applications International Corporation<br /> Agrees to Pay $5.75 Million to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has agreed to pay $5.75 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims under a contract with the General Services Administration (GSA) that it knew had been awarded in violation of federal procurement regulations. SAIC provides scientific, engineering and technical services to commercial and government customers and is headquartered in Northern Virginia.
In 2006, GSA awarded a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to SAIC for the provision of professional engineering and consulting services. Those services related to the study and evaluation of new products and emerging technologies. The United States contended that SAIC personnel provided false information to GSA contracting officials to induce them to award the BPA to SAIC. In particular, the United States alleged that SAIC caused another individual to falsely represent himself as an employee of the Senior Executive Staff of the Department of Defense and the Director of another federal agency. SAIC performed a substantial number of the task orders it received under the BPA for the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
“Federal contracts must be awarded based on full disclosure and fair dealing,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “It is completely unacceptable for taxpayer dollars to be paid under circumstances where the integrity of the contracting process has been undermined.”“This recovery illustrates the emphasis and resources we place on detection and recovery of fraud, waste and abuse in government procurement contracts – particularly those involving defense contractors and others who supply goods and services to the Department of Defense, the branches of our military, and their bases,” said Robert E. O’Neill, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.
"SAIC received a contract, awarded by GSA, based on fictitious information," said GSA Inspector General Brian D. Miller. "This deceptive scheme shows that we must be on the lookout for all forms of contract fraud."
The lawsuit against SAIC was originally filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Timothy Ferner, a retired Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, in the U.S. District court for the Middle District of Florida. The False Claims Act prohibits the submission of false claims for government money or property and allows the United States to recover treble damages and penalties for a violation. Under the Act’s whistleblower provisions, a private party may file suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. The United States may elect to intervene and take over the case, as it did here. Mr. Ferner’s share of the settlement has been determined to be $977,500.
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. The case is United States ex rel. Ferner v. SAIC, No. 8:10-cv-741-T-33-AEP (M.D. Fla.)Philadelphia Man Charged with Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
Joel Ernesto Esquerra-Cervantes, a/k/a “Luis Gonzalez-Solivan,” a/k/a “Raul Salazar-Trujillo,” a/k/a “Armando Espinoza Padilla,” 34, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by Indictment with illegal reentry after deportation, announced United States Attorney David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about April 28, 2012, Esquera-Cervantes, an alien, and native and citizen of Mexico, was found in the United States after having been deported from the United States on or about September 13, 1998, March 3, 1999, February 20, 2000, February 28, 2000, May 13, 2003, September 12, 2003, October 27, 2003, January 13, 2009, January 15, 2009 and January 24, 2009.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of two years.
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”) and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bea Witzleben.
Click here to view the indictment
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE Contact: PATTY HARTMAN
EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA Media Contact
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street 215-861-8525
Philadelphia, PA 19106COPIES OF NEWS MEMOS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT
HTTP://www.justice.gov/usao/paeUNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Oakland Man Sentenced to over Thirteen Years in Prison for Carjacking and RobberyRead the Press Release
OAKLAND - Patrick Fiammetta-McConnell was sentenced today to 157 months in federal prison for carjacking, robbery, possession of methamphetamine for sale, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag.
McConnell, 31, of Oakland, California, pleaded guilty on November 19, 2012, to carjacking, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 2119; interference with commerce by robbery, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(viii); one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
According to court documents, McConnell admitted that on July 27, 2011, he and codefendant Ismael Eduardo Axtle each used a firearm in the course of a carjacking and robbery of a San Francisco parking garage employee. Days after this incident, on August 1, 2011, McConnell was caught with a stolen vehicle and 40 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition. McConnell initially fled on foot from law enforcement officers, but was ultimately apprehended carrying several baggies of methamphetamine which he admitted he was planning to sell. Officers later found a .40 caliber handgun in the trunk of yet another stolen vehicle in McConnell’s possession.
United States District Court Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong imposed McConnell's 157-month sentence and ordered him to begin serving his time immediately. Judge Armstrong also sentenced McConnell to 4 years of supervised release to follow his term of imprisonment. Axtle pleaded guilty on May 14, 2013, to robbing the parking garage as well as other unrelated crimes, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Armstrong on July 30, 2013.
Brigid Martin of 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 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Alameda County Regional Auto Theft Task Force, California Highway Patrol, Oakland Police Department, and San Francisco Police Department.
Northern Arapaho Woman Sentenced for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Christopher A. Crofts announced today that on July 1, 2013, Phoebe Dawn Soundingsides, a 28-year-old enrolled Northern Arapaho woman from Arapahoe, Wyoming, appeared in Federal District Court for sentencing before Chief United States District Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal on a single count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Soundingsides received 42 months imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount $33,750.76 and a $100.00 special assessment. The charge stemmed from a stabbing which occurred on January 18-19, 2012, on the Wind River Indian Reservation. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and local law enforcement authorities.
North Carolina-Based Trans1 to Pay U.S. $6 Million <br /> to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
Medical device manufacturer TranS1 Inc., now known as Baxano Surgical Inc., has agreed to pay the United States $6 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that the company caused health care providers to submit false claims to Medicare and other federal health care programs for minimally-invasive spine surgeries, the Justice Department announced today.
“The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that medical device manufacturers follow the law when providing devices to beneficiaries of federal health care programs,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “It is critical that health care providers bill federal health care programs accurately and honestly for the work they perform, and it is imperative that they base their selection of medical devices on the best interests of their patients.”
The United States alleged that TranS1 knowingly caused health care providers to submit claims with incorrect diagnosis or procedure codes for minimally-invasive spine fusion surgeries using Trans1’s AxiaLIF System. That device was developed as alternative to invasive spine fusion surgeries. The United States alleges that TranS1 improperly counseled physicians and hospitals to bill for the AxiaLIF System by using incorrect and inaccurate codes intended for more invasive spine fusion surgeries. The United States alleged that, as a result, health care providers received greater reimbursement than they were entitled to for performing the minimally-invasive AxiaLIF procedures.
The United States further alleged that TranS1 knowingly paid illegal remuneration to certain physicians for participating in speaker programs and consultant meetings intended to induce them to use TranS1 products, in violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b), and thereby caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by federally-funded programs and is intended to ensure that a physician’s medical judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives and are based solely on the best interests of the patient.
In addition, the United States alleged that TranS1 promoted the sale and use of its AxiaLIF System for uses that were not approved or cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including use in certain procedures to treat complex spine deformity, and which were thus not covered by federal health care programs.
“A medical device manufacturer violates the law when it advises physicians and hospitals to report the wrong codes to federal health insurance programs in order to increase reimbursement rates,” said Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. “Health care providers are required to bill federal health care programs truthfully for the work they perform.”
As part of the settlement, TranS1 has agreed to enter into a corporate integrity agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. That agreement provides for procedures and reviews to be put in place to avoid and promptly detect conduct similar to that which gave rise to this matter.
“Using kickbacks to encourage health providers to make false payment claims will not be tolerated,” said Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “TranS1’s agreement to now comply with government health laws is an important step.”
The civil settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and obtain a portion of the government’s recovery. The civil lawsuit was filed in the District of Maryland and is captioned United States ex rel. Kevin Ryan v. TranS1, Inc. As part of today’s resolution, Mr. Ryan will receive $1,020,000 from the settlement.
This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover more than $10.7 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 are over $14.7 billion.
The settlement with TranS1 was the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland; the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division; the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General; the Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General; and the Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General.The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Nine Students from Nepal Who Attended Kansas State University Charged with Visa FraudRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – Nine students from Nepal who attended Kansas State University have been indicted on charges of visa fraud and conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
A grand jury indictment unsealed today alleges the students conspired to maintain their non-immigrant visas by making false statements that they possessed funds to pursue their proposed course of study and support themselves and their dependents. The defendants, each of whom is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and 25 counts of visa fraud, are:
Mahendra Thapa, 33 years old.
Khem Acharya, 41 years old.
Raj Kumar Dani, 37 years old.
Santosh Ghimire, 37 years old.
Lila Ballav Pandey, 41 years old.
Laxman Pokhrel, 37 years old.
Keshar Prasain, 38 years old.
Govind Paneru, 32 years old.
Narayan Chapagain, 43 years old.The indictment alleges that beginning in the fall of 2008 all nine students obtained temporary possession of financial resources for the purpose of obtaining statements from financial institutions to support their false claims that each personally had the needed funds. Each of the students temporarily obtained funds from fellow Nepalese students and deposited the funds in their bank accounts. After obtaining a notarized bank letter, they returned the funds to the other students.
If convicted, each of the defendants faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hathaway is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Navajo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault and Child Abuse ChargesRead the Press Release
Prosecution Brought as Part of a Federal Initiative to
Address the Epidemic Incidence of Violence against Native WomenALBUQUERQUE – Everett D. Williams, 24, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Nambe Pueblo, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to federal assault and child abuse charges. Williams’ guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and DuWayne W. Honahni, Sr., Special Agent in Charge of District IV of BIA’s Office of Justice Services.
Williams was arrested in March 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting his intimate partner with a hammer and causing her to sustain serious bodily injury. In April 2013, Williams was indicted and charged with one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, one count assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of child abuse. According to court filings, Williams assaulted the victim, a Kewa Pueblo woman, and endangered the health of two toddlers on Feb. 23, 2013, in a residence located on Nambe Pueblo.During today’s plea hearing, Williams entered a guilty plea to all four counts of the indictment and admitted to striking the victim in the head with a hammer and causing her serious bodily injury. The criminal complaint reflects that the victim required surgery to treat a gaping wound on her forehead. Williams also admitted that, while swinging the hammer at the victim, he missed the victim and instead struck a three-year-old child in the back. He further admitted that, while attempting to hit the victim with his fist, he struck a two-year-old child above the eye.
Williams has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Williams faces a maximum possible penalty of ten years in prison for each of the two assault charges and three years in prison for each of the child abuse charges.
This case was investigated by the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Adams. The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women, and seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Moises Chicaj-imul Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Misuse of A Permanent Resident Card and Illegal Use of A Social Security NumberRead the Press Release
MOISES CHICAJ-IMUL, age 26, a citizen of Guatemala, pled guilty in federal court today before U. S. District Judge Helen G. Berrigan to a two-count indictment charging him with fraud and misuse of a Permanent Resident Card and illegal use of a Social Security number, announced U. S. Attorney Dana Boente.
According to court documents, August 12, 2008, CHICAJ, knowingly possessed, used, and attempted to use a Permanent Resident Card, prescribed by law as evidence of authorized stay and employment in the United States, which CHICAJ knew was counterfeited. CHICAJ also admitted to falsely representing that a Social Security number had been assigned to him by the Commissioner of Social Security with intent to deceive for the purpose of completing an Employment Eligibility Verification Form.
CHICAJ faces a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen (15) years, a fine of $500,000.00 and three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
This case was investigated by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE). The prosecution is being handled by Special Assistant United States Attorney Robert Weir.
(Download Factual Basis )
Members of International Arms Smuggling Network Sentenced to Prison for Trafficking Weapons and Ammunition to GreeceRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – Four members of an international arms trafficking organization were sentenced to prison today in New Jersey for conspiring to smuggle substantial quantities of firearms and ammunition from the United States to Greece, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Dennis Meleshes, 46, and Vladimir Polivka, 58, of Las Vegas and Nick Somos, 71, of Queens, N.Y., each previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas to informations charging them with conspiracy to smuggle weapons. Vasileios Angelakis, 36, also of Queens, previously pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony.
Judge Irenas sentenced Meleshes to serve six months in prison and six months of home confinement; and Polivka, Somos and Angelakis to 24, 18 and 15 months in prison, respectively.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in Camden federal court:
Beginning in December 2011, Meleshes, Polivka and Somos orchestrated a plan to acquire a large quantity of weapons and ammunition in the United States that they intended to ship to Greece for sale on the black market. Meleshes and Polivka purchased a number of weapons – some of the money for which was provided by Angelakis – at various locations in Nevada and surrounding areas.
Meleshes and Polivka ultimately created a weapons cache that included 65 revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, an UZI machine gun, one AK-47 assault rifle and approximately 10,540 assorted rounds of ammunition. Meleshes and Polivka packed the weapons in two vehicles – an Audi A6 and a Chevrolet Caprice – one of which contained an improvised lock system, or “trap,” which was intended to prevent law enforcement from finding the cache. Polivka and another individual then drove the vehicles to a freight forwarding service in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Somos had arranged for the cars to be loaded onto cargo containers and placed on a commercial shipping line bound for Greece via Port Naples, Italy. Meleshes and Angelakis traveled to Italy in order to personally receive the shipment.
Customs officials issued a recall on the shipment and the cargo container was returned to the Port of New York/Newark in New Jersey. The weapons cache was seized on April 3, 2012. Law enforcement confirmed it contained items listed as U.S. Munitions List defense articles, which require a license to be exported out of the United States. No such license accompanied any of the firearms recovered and a search of law enforcement databases revealed that no licenses had been obtained by any of the defendants for the items.
In fact, the export documents filed in connection with the shipment did not list any of the weapons or ammunition.In all, the seized weapons and ammunition were worth more than $250,000 on the secondary market in Greece.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge Irenas sentenced Meleshes, Polivka and Somos to serve three years of supervised release and Angelakis to serve a year of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Cannon; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, led by Robert E. Perez, director of New York Field Operations; as well as detectives from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis C. Carletta of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark.13-277
Defense counsel:
Dennis Meleshes: Ryan Clark Esq., Freehold, N.J.
Vladimir Polivka: Susan C. Cassell Esq., Ridgewood, N.J.
Nick Somos: Louis Rosenthal Esq., Brooklyn
Vasileios Angelakis: Joseph Rubino Esq., West Orange, N.J.Man Pleads Guilty in Role in 2001 Arson That Killed His 15-year-old SonRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO - STEVEN HENRY KEMPER of St. Louis County, pled guilty this morning in connection with the November 16, 2001, arson of his family’s home in Florissant, Missouri. Kemper’s 15-year old son, Zachariah Andrew Kemper, was trapped in the basement and killed during the fire. Kemper pled guilty to one-count of aiding and abetting the use of fire to commit mail fraud. He appeared before United States District Court Judge Audrey G. Fleissig to enter his guilty plea.
The 2001 fire was originally the subject of state charges in which only Kemper’s wife, Sandra Bryant, was charged with felony murder by arson. During the ensuing trial, the judge declared a mistrial after ruling that certain evidence had mistakenly been shown to the jury. The Missouri Supreme Court ultimately held that because the mistrial was declared over the defense objection, state prosecutors were barred from retrying the defendant in state court because of the United States Constitution’s “double jeopardy” provision.
The federal indictment charges both Steven Kemper and his wife Sandra Kay Bryant for their involvement in the 2001 arson. Both defendants were charged with aiding and abetting the use of fire to commit mail fraud in count II of the indictment. Sandra Bryant faces a separate charge in count I of the indictment.
Although no trial date has been set, charges remain pending against Sandra Bryant. As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Sentencing has been set for October 3, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. Kemper faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life imprisonment for his crime. In determining actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was originally investigated by Saint Louis County Police Department. The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives took up the investigation after the Missouri Supreme Court decision barring the retrial by state prosecutors. The St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office also provided significant assistance.Los Gatos Man Convicted of Endangering the Safety of an AircraftRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Hasan Ibrahim was convicted by a federal jury today of attempting to place destructive substances on an airplane, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
The jury found that the defendant willfully intended to place nine different hazardous materials on a Lufthansa passenger airplane bound for Frankfurt, Germany. The hazardous materials were ultimately destined for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In related charges, the jury convicted Ibrahim of failing to properly label the packages containing the hazardous materials and failing to complete the requisite shipping papers as required by the Department of Transportation. The guilty verdict followed a six-day jury trial before the Honorable Edward M. Chen, U.S. District Court Judge.
Evidence at trial established that Ibrahim, 62, of Los Gatos, California, doing business as MechChem Corporation, ordered and shipped hazardous materials for over ten years. Many of the chemicals the defendant handled were flammable, corrosive, and highly toxic. As a result of their dangerous properties, many of the chemicals were forbidden by transport on a passenger airplane, and two chemicals in particular were forbidden by transport on any aircraft.
In all, the jury convicted Ibrahim of nine counts of attempting to place destructive substances on an aircraft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 32(a)(2); ten counts of shipping hazardous materials without the proper shipping papers and without the proper labels, in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 5124(c) and (d); one count of failing to file required export information, in violation of 13 U.S.C. § 305(a)(1); and two counts of attempting to smuggle goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 554(a).
Ibrahim remains out of custody pending the sentencing hearing.
Ibrahim’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 9, 2013, before Judge Edward M. Chen in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of attempting to place a destructive substance on an airplane in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 32(a)(2) is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Peter Axelrod and Brian Stretch are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the aid of legal assistant Bridget Kilkenny. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Customs and Border Protection, and the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security.
Last Two Bricktown Gang Members Plead GuiltyRead the Press Release
As Part of these Pleas:
Saquan Evans Admits to Killing 20 Month Old Child, Shooting Four People, Gun Possessions and Possessing Substantial Gang Paraphernalia
Ernest Hester Admits to a Shooting, Gun Possessions and a Gang Assault at a Denny’s Restaurant in SyracuseSYRACUSE, NEW YORK - United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announces that SAQUAN EVANS, age 23, and ERNEST HESTER, age 24, both residents of Syracuse, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Syracuse to an indictment which charged them and 12 others with conspiring to exploit their membership in the Bricktown Gang to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity which included multiple acts of murder, drug trafficking, and robbery. All fourteen defendants have now guilty in this matter.
As part of their pleas, EVANS and HESTER admitted that the Bricktown Gang has operated within the City of Syracuse from at least 2000 through the present and that members of the Bricktown Gang: (1) maintain a specific geographic territory within the City of Syracuse in which only gang members can sell crack cocaine, cocaine and marijuana; (2) protect that exclusive crack distribution territory with violence if necessary; (3) obtain drugs from suppliers in New York City and elsewhere; (4) project a very violent attitude and respond to violence with violence in order to preserve their stature in the gang community; (5) on occasion use hand signs, wear blue colored bandanas and have tattoos, all of which are intended to signify their gang membership; (6) use criteria such as willingness to use violence, ability to sell drugs, and familial connections to determine membership; and (7) routinely carry and use firearms in connection with their gang activity.
EVANS also admitted as part of his plea that he: (1) possessed a handgun in the 200 Block of Oakwood Avenue on March 4, 2006; (2) was involved in a shooting in the vicinity of 1300 South State Street on November 7, 2006; (3) jointly possessed a 9 mm handgun along with several co-defendants, including ERNEST HESTER, in the 200 block of Baker Avenue on November 15, 2006; (4) shot four rival gang members as they sat at a table playing cards at 321 Shirley Drive on November 7, 2012; (5) shot and killed 20 month old Rashad Walker, Jr., while intending to kill a rival gang member, on November 28, 2010; and (6) possessed substantial gang paraphernalia including a detailed gang roster, writings, drawings, photos, rap lyrics and clothing.
HESTER also admitted as part of his plea that he: (1) along with a co-defendant, shot at three people in the 500 block of West Colvin Street on April 2, 2005; (2) possessed ten bags of crack cocaine after being shot in the 100 block of Beard Avenue on October 19, 2006; (3) jointly possessed a 9 mm handgun, as noted above, that occurred on November 15, 2006; (4) jointly possessed a .45 caliber handgun and a 9 mm handgun, along with multiple co-defendants, while together in a vehicle at 1400 Erie Blvd. West on December 13, 2008; and (5) actively participated in the stabbing of four persons inside a Denny’s restaurant on Erie Blvd East on January 30, 2011.
Both EVANS and HESTER are scheduled to be sentenced in December, 2013. Each faces up to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release following any period of incarceration.
This prosecution resulted from a long-term investigation conducted by the Syracuse Gang Violence Task Force, which is comprised of agents and detectives from the following agencies: United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (Syracuse Office), the Syracuse Police Department, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department, the New York State Troopers, and the United States Marshals Service. The Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation.
Further questions or inquiries may be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney, John M. Katko, who is handling the case, at (315) 448-0672.
Large-Scale, Miami-Based Marijuana Trafficker Convicted in Manhattan Federal CourtRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that DANIEL FERNANDEZ, 35, was found guilty yesterday in Manhattan federal court of marijuana trafficking. FERNANDEZ was convicted following a two-and-a-half-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As a member of a sophisticated network of drug traffickers, Daniel Fernandez profited handsomely from many years of distributing truckloads of marijuana to the New York City area. He now stands convicted, along with more than 50 other defendants whose massive drug dealing network was stopped as a result of a successful, multi-agency law enforcement effort.”
According to the charging documents in this case and evidence presented at trial:
On August 21, 2012, this Office announced the unsealing of a 40-count Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Indictment (the “RICO Indictment”) charging nine individuals with participating in a massive racketeering organization led by Manuel Geovanny Rodriguez-Perez (the “Rodriguez Enterprise”) whose members allegedly sold massive quantities of marijuana; engaged in murders and other violent acts; transported and laundered millions of dollars; obstructed justice and committed perjury; and engaged in firearms offenses.
FERNANDEZ, a Miami-based marijuana broker, was one of Rodriguez-Perez’s principal suppliers of marijuana. From at least 2007 through October 2010, he directly supplied Rodriguez-Perez with over a ton of marijuana, which was funneled into Washington Heights, New York for distribution throughout the New York City area.
FERNANDEZ was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms and more of marijuana, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life. The charges against him arose out of a multi-year investigation titled “Operation Green Venom,” a coordinated multi-agency investigation that was led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“ICE HSI”) and first announced in October 2010. With his conviction, a total of more than 50 defendants have been convicted in United States v. Manuel Geovanny Rodriguez-Perez, et al., 10 Cr. 905 (LTS), and related cases. Those defendants include former Rock-a-fella music founder Kareem Burke, a/k/a “Biggs,” who received a sentence of 60 months in prison, and High Times Magazine editor Matthew Woodstock Stang, a/k/a “Magazine Guy,” who has not yet been sentenced. Trial of the defendants charged in the RICO Indictment is scheduled for March 2014. The charges against these remaining defendants are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of ICE HSI and the New York City Police Department. He also thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Bergen County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office; the Englewood, New Jersey, Police Department; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the City of New York Department of Investigation for their assistance. Mr. Bharara added that the investigation is continuing.
The prosecution of the cases arising from “Operation Green Venom” is being overseen by the Office’s Violent Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amie N. Ely, Sarah E. McCallum, Jessica Ortiz, and Sarah Paul are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Lockard is responsible for the forfeiture proceedings.
Justice Department Settles Immigration-related Discrimination Claim Against Alabama Employment AgencyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today reached an agreement with Stellar Staffing LLC, based in Birmingham, Ala., resolving claims that the employment agency violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The department’s independent investigation was initiated based on evidence uncovered during the investigation of a related retaliation charge filed against Stellar Staffing. The department’s investigation concluded that since at least July 2008, the company required specific documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security from non-U.S. citizens during the employment eligibility verification process, but accepted a variety of identity and work authorization documentation from U.S. citizens.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Stellar Staffing will pay $2,250 in civil penalties to the United States, undergo Justice Department training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of one year.
“The anti-discrimination provision protects work-authorized individuals from being treated differently in the hiring process based on discriminatory assumptions about their status,” said Gregory Friel, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is fully committed to vigorously enforcing the law.”
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2525, TTY for hearing impaired), call the OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-362-2735, TTY for hearing impaired), sign up for a no-cost webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php , email [email protected] or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc
Jury Convicts Former MoneyGram Agent of Telemarketing Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The United Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that following a 6-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner, a federal jury in Harrisburg convicted Itohan Agho-Allen, of Brooklyn, New York, late Tuesday, on charges of laundering money paid by victims of international telemarketing fraud schemes.
Agho-Allen was convicted of criminal conspiracy, 8 counts of wire fraud and 14 counts of money laundering. Following the verdict, Agho-Allen was taken into custody. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Agho-Allen, age 39, was an agent of Miracle Multi-Link, a MoneyGram and Western Union outlet in Brooklyn, New York and had been recruited to process money transfers received from fraud schemes including sweepstakes, loans, employment opportunities, persons-in-need and internet purchases.
Between 2002 and November 2010, money transfers originating in locations in Pennsylvania, including York, Bloomsburg, Berwick, Hazleton, Lebanon, Chambersburg, East Stroudsburg and Montoursville, were transmitted through facilities to fraud participants in Brooklyn, Spain, Romania, Canada and Nigeria. Money in excess of $7 million was obtained from hundreds of victims throughout the United States through telemarketing schemes that falsely promised financial awards and other valuable items.
At trial the Government presented evidence that Agho-Allen entered fictitious identifying information into the Moneygram or Western Union computer systems disguising the true nature of the transaction and the identities of individuals perpetrating the frauds. For doing so, Agho-Allen was paid 10-15% of each transaction.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Fawcett, the Government trial attorney, noted that, “The money launderer is crucial to the success of the international fraud scheme because she conceals from victims and law enforcement who is behind the fraud and where the money is going.”
Agho-Allen was indicted in March 2011 and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering and counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
To-date, approximately 33 former MoneyGram and Western Union agents have been prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Harrisburg. Several of them testified as Government witnesses at Agho-Allen’s trial. In addition, in November 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with MoneyGram which resulted in the forfeiture of $100 million to be used to compensate thousands of victims.
This case is part of an on-going, long-term investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in coordination with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and with cooperation from Canadian law enforcement agencies.
Prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Christy H. Fawcett.
Persons who believe they were victims of the fraud scheme should visit http://www.justice.gov/criminal/vns/caseup/ or call 1-877-282-2610 (United States Only) or 317-324-0390 (International) for instructions on how to request compensation.
Persons with information and/or complaints concerning suspected marketing fraud schemes should contact their nearest United States Post Office or 1-877-USMAIL-5.
Joseph Daniel Capehart Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on July 3, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, JOSEPH DANIEL CAPEHART, a 28-year-old resident of Miles City, pled guilty to distribution of methadone. Sentencing has been set for October 7, 2013. He is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica T. Fehr, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On October 5, 2011, Miles City Police, Custer County Sheriff's deputies and agents with Montana Division of Criminal Investigations responded to a report of a deceased female at a residence in Miles City. The deceased individual was identified as C.H., a 28-year-old white female.
Law enforcement learned that C.H. had been found unresponsive at 9:00 a.m. on October 5, 2011, in her bedroom at her home. C.H. was pronounced dead and found to have died from a self-administered, intravenous injection of methadone. Next to C.H., in her bedroom, officers found a spoon with white residue and nearby on a night stand were three other spoons containing white residue as well as a hypodermic needle and syringe. Law enforcement collected numerous items of drug paraphernalia including: a bottle of oxycodone in C.H.'s name; hypodermic syringes; a baggie containing an unknown white powder; a Samsung cell phone; unknown red pills, and more syringes.
Searches were conducted on the phones taken from the home. A phone number in one of the phones was under the contact name "Joe." The number was looked up by law enforcement and came back to CAPEHART. CAPEHART sent C.H. several text messages on October 4 and 5, 2011.
CAPEHART contacted law enforcement following C.H.'s death to report that he had information about her death. During several tape recorded interviews with law enforcement in the days following C.H.'s death, CAPEHART reported "middling" a deal between C.H. and another individual for a small amount of methadone tablets. CAPEHART initially reported the transaction occurred in the week before C.H.'s death.
CAPEHART now admits that he knew C.H. and that at one point approximately one month before her death, C.H. asked him to trade a quantity of methadone pills for oxycontin pills - C.H.'s drug of choice. Approximately one week before her death, CAPEHART reports that C.H. contacted him and asked for the methadone pills back. CAPEHART reports giving C.H. the 10 to 15 methadone, 10 milligram tablets back in the week before her death.
During the search of C.H.'s house, law enforcement found approximately 30 methadone pills in a bottle, not including the methadone pills C.H. self-injected prior to her death. The evidence is unclear if C.H. obtained additional methadone pills from a source other than CAPEHART in the days prior to her death.
CAPEHART faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Miles City Police Department, the Custer County Sheriff's Office, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.
James Douglas Cassity Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Money Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO -JAMES DOUGLAS CASSITY pled guilty today before United States District Judge Jean C. Hamilton to participating in a fraudulent scheme involving the sale of prearranged funeral contracts and misappropriation of insurance premiums. Cassity faces up to 115 months in prison for his role.
In court, Cassity admitted that beginning as early as 1992 and continuing until 2008, National Prearranged Services, Inc. (“NPS”) sold prearranged funeral contracts in several states, including Missouri, Illinois and Ohio. During that time, insurance companies affiliated with NPS, including Lincoln Memorial Life Insurance Company, issued life insurance policies related to those prearranged funeral contracts. As part of the contracts, the total price for funeral services and merchandise for an individual was agreed upon, and that price would remain constant regardless of when the funeral services and merchandise would be needed. Customers entering into prearranged funeral contracts would usually pay a single sum of money up-front to NPS either directly or through a funeral home that was also a party to the contract. NPS represented to individual customers, funeral homes and state regulators that funds paid by customers under the prearranged funeral contracts would be kept in a secure trust or insurance policy as required under state law. Cassity admitted, however, that NPS made use of funds paid by customers in ways that were inconsistent, both with its prior and continuing representations and with the applicable state laws and regulations. Cassity admitted that he benefited from the misuse of customer funds.Cassity pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud (counts 17 and 21), one count of bank fraud (count 7), one count of mail fraud (count 24), one count of money laundering (count 26) and one count of misappropriation of an insurance premium (count 48).
Cassity will be sentenced on November 7, 2013. Earlier this month, Cassity’s co-defendant Sharon Nekol Province pled guilty to six counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and misappropriation of insurance premiums arising out of the same scheme. Also today, Defendant’s co-defendant Brent Douglas Cassity pled guilty to participating in the same scheme. Cassity’s co-defendants Randall K. Sutton, Howard A. Wittner and David R. Wulf are scheduled to appear for trial starting on August 5, 2013. As is always the case, charges do not constitute proof of guilt and every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Cassity’s case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Muchnick, Charles Birmingham and Richard Finneran are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.Jacksonville Man Charged in Conspiracy to Send Money SyriaRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida - United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces the indictment of Emell Meda Meda (44, Jacksonville) charging him with one count of conspiracy to structure financial transactions, and one count of structuring financial transactions. If convicted on both counts, Meda Meda faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Meda Meda that the United States intends to forfeit $18,500, which is alleged to be traceable to the offense. Meda Meda was arrested on July 2, 2013.
According to the indictment, on or about June 10, 2009, Meda Meda instructed and paid two other individuals to each send $6,120 to a specific individual in Syria. The individuals were instructed to use their own names, as opposed to using Emell Meda Meda's name, when completing the required paperwork for the international electronic funds transfers. Thereafter, on June 12, 2009, Meda Meda instructed a third individual to use his/her own name to send $6,630 to an individual in Syria via an electronic funds transfer. On each occasion, the individuals were instructed to send the funds in this manner in order to conceal the fact that Meda Meda was the source of the money. Syria is a country classified by the U.S. Department of State as a state sponsor of terrorism.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Devereaux.
Grand Rapids Man Pleads Guilty to Transferring Firearm Used to Kill Seven PeopleRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles announced today that Michael James Allen, a 35-year-old Grand Rapids resident, pled guilty to transferring a Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistol to Roderic Dantzler, knowing that Dantzler was a convicted felon and prohibited by law from possessing a firearm. Dantzler used that firearm on July 7, 2011, to kill seven people in Grand Rapids, including two children; he then led police on a high-speed chase through highly-populated areas of Grand Rapids; and he used the pistol to take three hostages and to shoot at pursuing officers before using the gun to commit suicide.
Allen, himself a multi-convicted felon, faces up to ten years’ imprisonment. Federal law prohibits the transfer of a firearm to another person if the transferor either knows or has reasonable cause to believe the person has previously been convicted of a felony. Dantzler served three years in prison after being convicted in 2000 of felony assault with intent to do bodily harm. Dantzler had also incurred misdemeanor convictions for assault and battery, domestic violence, and malicious destruction of property. Allen’s criminal history includes a 1997 misdemeanor conviction for possession of marijuana, a 2000 misdemeanor conviction for attempted assault with a dangerous weapon, a 2000 felony conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, a 2001 felony conviction for possession with intent to deliver cocaine, a 2001 felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and a 2008 felony conviction for delivery/manufacture of marijuana.
This case is the result of a joint two-year investigation by the Grand Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The search for the person who provided the firearm to Dantzler began within hours of its recovery from the crime scene.
In a related case, on May 20, 2013, 31-year-old Joseph Michael Krul, a multi-convicted felon, pled guilty before the Honorable Robert Holmes Bell to possessing the same Glock 9mm pistol prior to its transfer to Allen. Krul’s federal felon-in-possession conviction carries a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment. His criminal history includes a 2008 felony conviction for assault with a dangerous weapon. Krul will be sentenced on October 1, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Miles praised the work of the Grand Rapids Police Department and the ATF, noting the dedication, professionalism, and countless hours of work that resulted in this successful prosecution. He also noted the importance of enforcing those laws intended to deter the illegal trafficking of firearms. “This case exemplifies the insidious nature of illegal gun trafficking that all too often leads to a tragic end. The primary purpose of the federal laws barring convicted felons from possessing firearms, and prohibiting the transfer of firearms to convicted felons, is the prevention of violent crime, such as caused the senseless death of seven innocent people on July 7, 2011. Hopefully, those intent on circumventing the federal firearms laws will get the message that we are prepared to protect the public by bringing them to justice.”
“This investigation is an example of ATF’s commitment and determination in making our communities safe. ATF’s Frontline strategy is our business model that addresses such violent gun crime. These accomplishments could not have been achieved without the collaboration and hard work of ATF, Grand Rapids Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Office”, said ATF Acting SAC Daryl McCrary.
Allen will be sentenced by the Honorable Paul L. Maloney. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
END
Former Owner/Operators of Summit Accommodators in Bend Convicted of Conspiracy to Defraud Clients and Conspiracy to Commit Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – A jury in federal court in Portland today convicted three former owner/operators of Summit Accommodators, Inc., of Bend, of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with a 10-year fraud scheme. The defendants used $75 million of client funds for undisclosed personal investments in real estate, investments in businesses in the Bend area, and loans to business associates and family members. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for October 23, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown.
“Attorneys, certified public accountants and business executives who, motivated by greed, lie to clients to gain use of their money for personal purposes are especially deserving of prosecution and punishment,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “This office and our federal and state partners will do whatever it takes to bring dishonest professionals to justice.”
After three weeks of trial and two and one-half days of deliberations the jury found CPA Mark A. Neuman and Attorney Lane D. Lyons, both of Bend, and Timothy D. Larkin, of Redmond, guilty of conspiring to defraud the clients of their former business, Summit Accommodators, Inc., by misrepresenting how they would hold and use client funds. Several thousand clients entrusted them with more than $1 billion from 1999 to 2008, when the business closed and filed for bankruptcy. Brian Stevens, another former owner/operator of Summit, previously pleaded guilty to identical charges and testified against his former partners.
Neuman and Stevens created Summit in 1991 to help customers take advantage of lawful federal income tax deferral transactions. In a typical transaction, a customer would sell income producing property, allow Summit to hold the proceeds of the sale, then buy another income producing property within 180 days. Federal income tax laws then allowed the customer to defer paying taxes on the profits from sale of the first property. Summit eventually opened affiliate offices in Texas, Washington, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and Lake Oswego, Oregon.
In 2002, Neuman and Stevens hired Larkin as Summit’s Chief Operating Officer. In 2005, Neuman and Stevens hired Lyons as Summit’s in-house counsel. In 2006, Larkin and Lyons became equal partners in Summit with Neuman and Stevens.
The trial evidence showed that although Neuman and Stevens began using their clients’ exchange funds for personal investments before 1999, they promised their clients their exchange funds would remain in Summit bank accounts and would only be used to complete their tax deferral exchanges. Neuman was responsible for creating Summit marketing brochures and Summit’s website. Both falsely promised Summit would maintain client funds in bank accounts or in government securities.
From 2004 through October 2008, Summit held between $49 million and $109 million of its customers’ money in a typical month. The defendants routinely transferred large amounts of client money to Inland Capital Corp., another company they owned and controlled. Through Inland, the conspirators used client funds for over 100 real estate projects in Central Oregon in which one or more of them had direct personal interests.
The co-conspirators hid the fraud scheme by concealing from most of Summit’s employees and from most of the owner-operators of Summit’s branch offices that the conspirators were using Summit customer money to invest in real estate and for loans to themselves and others. In February 2007, when Summit’s clients and branch owner-operators began to express concern about the safety of Summit client money, the conspirators lied by saying that all Summit client money was deposited and maintained in financial institutions or invested in highly-secured short term notes. For 10 years, the conspirators intentionally concealed from clients that they used large amounts of client money to enrich themselves.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; IRS, Criminal Investigation; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and the Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth D. Uram and Donna Maddux handled the prosecution of the case.
Former Orleans Parish Deputy, John P. Sens, Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit BriberyRead the Press Release
JOHN P. SENS, 52, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced today to 60 months imprisonment by U. S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt for conspiracy to commit bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Engelhardt ordered that SENS be placed on three years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment, pay a $100.00 special assessment, and forfeit property valued at $67,903.25.
According to court documents, SENS, the former Director of Purchasing at the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (“OPSO”), began illegally receiving things of value from two contractors, identified as Businessman A and Businessman B in court documents, in exchange for a rigged bidding system employed to steer OPSO work to Businessman A and Businessman B. In particular, from 2007 through 2011, Businessman A and Businessman B would submit bids for OPSO work in the names of their respective companies but, with the knowledge and participation of, among others, SENS, would also submit phony or fake bids for these same projects in the names of other local companies, in an effort to give the appearance of a competitive bidding process. In many cases, the phony bids would intentionally be higher than the bids from Businessman A or Businessman B and, consequently, SENS would award the work to Businessman A or Businessman B.
In exchange for this rigged bidding process, according to court documents, SENS received various things of value from Businessman A and Businessman B. For example, from 2007 through 2011, SENS received approximately $30,000 in cash from Businessman A, as well as the digging and installation of a pool at a residence owned by SENS, at no cost to him. Similarly, during this same period of time, Businessman B paid for the purchase, framing, and matting of several paintings (so-called “Blue Dog” prints) for SENS.
The case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Chester and Jon Maestri.
Former Jpd Detective Pleads Guilty to BriberyRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. -- Robert Nikita Shegog, 40, of Terry, Mississippi, pled guilty in U.S. District Court today to bribery, U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen announced.
Shegog admitted that, while employed as a Narcotics Detective with the Jackson Police Department in 2010, he advised a Hinds County criminal defendant that he would assist him in getting a sentence reduction on an outstanding drug charge if he would pay Shegog $45,000.00.
Shegog will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate on September 12, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Rushing.
###If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at:
(866) 720-5721
You can also fax information to:
(225) 334-4707
or e-mail it to:
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Former Employee of National Prearranged Services, Inc. and Lincoln Memorial Life Insurance Company Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Money Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO - BRENT DOUGLAS CASSITY pled guilty today before United States District Judge Jean C. Hamilton to participating in a fraudulent scheme involving the sale of prearranged funeral contracts and monetary transactions involving the proceeds of that scheme. Cassity faces up to five years in prison for his role.
In court Cassity admitted that beginning as early as 1992 and continuing until 2008, National Prearranged Services, Inc. ("NPS") sold prearranged funeral contracts in several states, including Tennessee and Ohio. During that time, insurance companies affiliated with NPS issued life insurance policies related to those prearranged funeral contacts. As part of the contracts, the total price for funeral services and merchandise for an individual was agreed upon, and that price would remain constant regardless of when the funeral services and merchandise would be needed. Customers entering into prearranged funeral contracts would usually pay a single sum of money up-front to NPS either directly or through a funeral home that was also a party to the contract. NPS represented to individual customers, funeral homes and state regulators that funds paid by customers under the prearranged funeral contracts would be kept in a secure trust or insurance policy as required under state law. Cassity admitted, however, that NPS made use of funds paid by customers in ways that were inconsistent both with its prior and continuing representations and with the applicable state laws and regulations.
Cassity was employed at various times by NPS and also served as a Director of Lincoln Memorial Life Insurance Company, for which NPS served as General Agent. Cassity also held numerous titles with affiliated companies, including Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, President and Director of Forever Enterprises, Inc., and President and Director of National Heritage Enterprises.Cassity pled guilty to one count of mail fraud (count 31), one count of wire fraud (count 21) and one count of money laundering (count 38). Cassity also pled guilty to willfully permitting James Douglas Cassity, whom he knew to have been convicted of a felony involving fraud or dishonesty, to exercise significant control over NPS’ affiliated insurance companies. (Count 50)
Cassity will be sentenced on November 7, 2013, at 9 a.m. Earlier this month, Cassity’s co-defendant and fellow NPS executive Sharon Nekol Province pled guilty to six counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and misappropriation of insurance premiums arising out of the same scheme. Cassity’s co-defendants, James Douglas Cassity, Randall K. Sutton, Howard A. Wittner and David R. Wulf have entered pleas of not guilty and are scheduled to appear for trial starting on August 5, 2013. As is always the case, charges do not constitute proof of guilt and every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Cassity’s case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Muchnick, Charles Birmingham and Richard Finneran are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.Former Customs and Border Protection Officer Sentenced to 12 Years for Bribery and Conspiracy to Import DrugsRead the Press Release
Former Customs and Border Protection Officer Oscar Osbaldo Ortiz-Martinez was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz to serve 144 months in federal prison for conspiring to allow drugs to be smuggled into the United States through his inspection lanes in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in bribes. Judge Moskowitz also ordered the defendant to serve 5 years of supervised release following his prison term and imposed a $22,000 fine.
Ortiz, a two-year veteran who was assigned to the Calexico Ports of Entry, was convicted by a federal jury in September 2012, of conspiracy to import controlled substances and bribery. After a trial that lasted more than a week, the jury deliberated for just three hours before returning the verdicts.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Ortiz and his accomplice, Victor Manuel Silva, Jr., believed they were working for individuals with ties to a drug trafficking organization when, in fact, they were doing business with undercover agents and federal law enforcement cooperators posing as narcotics traffickers. Ortiz accepted $22,000 in bribes and was arrested on September 23, 2010, when he showed up to collect another $30,000 bribe from the informant. Silva was arrested later that day.
At trial, the government presented audio recordings of Ortiz discussing the smuggling of narcotics through his inspection lane with co-defendant Silva and a confidential informant. In two of those conversations, Ortiz made plans to allow the informant to cross 5 - 12 kg of cocaine through his lane in exchange for $20,000 and 15 kg of methamphetamine for $30,000.
Also during those recorded conversations, Ortiz established code words for the informant to use if the computer randomly required Ortiz to send the informant to secondary inspection, and they agreed these code words would prompt the informant to abandon the vehicle and run back to Mexico. Ortiz also at one point suggested the informant use motorcycles to smuggle narcotics, because they could then cross drugs “every day.”
The verbal exchanges between Ortiz and the informant when two bribes were paid, for $2,000 and $20,000, were also audio recorded. And for the latter transaction, agents video recorded Ortiz leaving the informant’s truck with the bag of money in his hand.
Silva, the accomplice who pleaded guilty in February 2011 to conspiracy to import at least 5 kilograms of cocaine, testified at trial against Ortiz, admitting that he and Ortiz had conspired to use the informant to smuggle narcotics through Ortiz’s lane. Silva also testified that he and Ortiz wanted to make as much money as possible.
“While the overwhelming majority of border officers are doing their jobs with vigilance and integrity, we have found that some are not, and we are going to bring to justice every one of these corrupt officials who violate the public’s trust and put our borders at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy.
“Acts of corruption within the Department of Homeland Security represent a threat to our nation and undermine the honest and hardworking employees who strive to maintain the integrity of the Department,” said Dennis M. McGunagle, Special Agent-in-Charge for the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General. “Corruption will not be tolerated and those who choose to break the law will be pursued aggressively. We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for bringing these individuals to justice.”
“I commend the outstanding work by the law enforcement team of investigators and prosecutors in this important case,” said Joe Jeronimo, special agent in charge for ICE Office of Professional Responsibility. “ICE takes all allegations of criminal misconduct by DHS employees seriously, and will continue to aggressively investigate such allegations to ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Corrupt acts are a disgrace and the exact opposite of the values that form the basis of who we are,” said Pete Flores, Director of Field Operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in San Diego. “CBP is a world-class law enforcement agency and enjoys a special position of national trust as the sole border enforcement agency. The vast majority of our officers are highly skilled, hard-working professionals dedicated to our mission to protect the American public. We will actively ferret out and work to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law any employees who commit unethical or unlawful acts that violate that special trust. This case will send a strong message to the community at large that we will not tolerate corruption in our workforce.”
DEFENDANTS
Criminal Case No. 10cr3986-BTM Oscar Osbaldo Ortiz-Martinez
Victor Manuel Silva, Jr. SUMMARY OF CHARGESConspiracy to Import Controlled Substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 952, 960, and 963
Bribery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 201
INVESTIGATING AGENCIESUnited States Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General
United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Professional ResponsibilityFormer Bank Branch Manager Pleads Gulty in Federal Court to Embezzling Nearly $250,000Read the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-7725 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistFollow us on Twitter @NDWVnews
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA —United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that DEBORAH D. RADCLIFF, age 51, of Weston, West Virginia, a former branch manager of the Weston branch of Huntington National Bank entered pleas of guilty on July 3, 2013, before Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull. RADCLIFF entered pleas of guilty to one count of “Embezzlement by a Bank Employee” and one count of “Structuring.”
During the period July 1, 2011, to November 5, 2012, while serving as the branch manager, RADCLIFF embezzled and misapplied $247,249.88 from depositors’ accounts and engaged in acts of structuring to cause the bank to fail to file a Currency Transaction Report for currency transactions of $10,000 or more. To execute the scheme, RADCLIFF utilized her position as branch manager to issue or direct to be issued cashier’s checks from funds withdrawn from depositors’ accounts issued in the name of the depositor. RADCLIFF would take possession of the cashier’s check, forge the name of the depositor and cash the checks for her own personal benefit. The ages of the alleged victims ranged from 56 to 90 years, with all but one alleged victim 64 years or older. As a branch bank manager, RADCLIFF was aware of banking rules and regulations requiring banks to file reports for single financial transactions of more than $10,000. To conceal her embezzlement from the customer’s account, she would have multiple cashier’s checks issued for less than $10,000, which she would cash on different days. On one of those instances, RADCLIFF withdrew $16,407.96 from an 84- year old customer’s account on May 2, 2012, splitting the embezzlement into two separate cashier’s checks in the amount of $8,203.98, then cashed one of the checks that day and the other five days later.
RADCLIFF, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 40 years imprisonment, a $1,500,000 fine and an order of restitution of $247,249.88.
Huntington National Bank has restored all of the customers’ money to their accounts. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John C. Parr and
investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service, with
cooperation from the Huntington National Bank’s Corporate Security office.Federal Jury Finds 3 Defendants Guilty in $8 Million Food Stamp Fraud and Money Laudering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: RASHELLA REED, 41, from Riverdale, Georgia; DERRICK ROBINSON, 41, also from Riverdale; and, TORY HARDWICK, 21, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, were convicted last week after a 4-day jury trial before United States District Court Judge William T. Moore, Jr. for their roles in an $8 million fraud upon the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as the Food Stamp Program, and the Women, Infant and Children Program (WIC).
According to evidence presented during the trial, the defendants conspired to traffick over $8 million in government benefits from SNAP and the WIC program, and to launder the proceeds of their ill-gotten gains. The scheme included 13 storefronts throughout Georgia, including stores in Savannah, Augusta, Atlanta, Decatur, Macon and Columbus. Defendants Reed, Robinson and Hardwick owned or operated the Decatur, Georgia store known as “The Baby Spot.” The 13 stores amounted to “pretend” grocery stores, which were used as a front to buy over $8 million in food stamp benefits and WIC vouchers for cash. SNAP and WIC recipients were paid anywhere from $.10 to $.60 on the dollar for their benefits; the defendants and other conspirators pocketed the rest. A total of 16 defendants were charged with the scheme; the other 13 defendants pled guilty.
United States Attorney Edward J. Tarver said, “SNAP and WIC are food programs set up to help those who need help. These defendants scammed federal food programs and swindled American taxpayers. Let this case serve as notice to any would-be fraudster that if you exchange food stamps and WIC vouchers for cash, you can expect your next meal to be served from the chow-line at a federal prison.”
Karen Citizen-Wilcox, Special Agent-in-Charge of the USDA-OIG said, “The United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, remains diligent in working with federal, state, and local law enforcement and the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute individuals and entities bent on defrauding, through trafficking, Agriculture food programs that have been created to provide food purchasing power to those who would otherwise not have such purchasing power. The American taxpayer expects that the tax dollars used to fund such programs will be used for the intended purposes of the programs. The Office of Inspector General will continue its diligence in working with its law enforcement partners to pursue prosecution of individuals such as those convicted in this investigation to ensure the integrity of Agriculture programs.”
The prosecution of this case arose out of an investigation led by Special Agent Salina Walker of the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General. Assistant
United States Attorneys James D. Durham and E. Gregory Gilluly prosecuted the case for the United States.Federal Grand Jury Indicts Vaughn Watrous on Five Counts of Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A federal grand jury in Providence today returned a five-count indictment charging Vaughn Watrous, 36, formerly of Providence, with five counts of bank robbery, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Cranston Police Chief Colonel Marco Palombo, Jr., Providence Police Chief Colonel Hugh T. Clements, Jr., and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office.
The indictment alleges that between February 6 and February 14, 2013, Watrous robbed a total of five banks in Providence and Cranston. The indictment alleges that Watrous robbed four of the banks on consecutive dates.
Watrous, who will appear for arraignment in U.S. District Court at a date yet to be determined, has been detained at the ACI since his arrest by Cranston Police on February 14, 2013.
If convicted, Watrous faces statutory penalties of up to 20 years in federal prison; 3 years of supervised release; and a fine of $250,000 for each count of bank robbery.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams.
The robberies were investigated by Providence Police, Cranston Police and the FBI.
An indictmentis merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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To assist the media and the public, a glossary of federal judicial terms and procedures is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice101/Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Federal and State Prosecutors Join Louisville Metro Police to Charge Repeat, Violent Offenders in “Project Recoil”Read the Press Release
– U.S. Attorney creates new violent crime unit
– Maximizes penalties for most violent offendersLOUISVILLE, Ky. – U.S. Attorney David J. Hale was joined today by Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Thomas B. Wine, Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad, Special Agent in Charge ATF Louisville, Stuart L. Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge FBI Louisville, Perrye Turner, U.S. Marshall James E. Clark and Assistant County Attorney Ann Dyke, in the announcement of the initial results of “Project Recoil,” a coordinated review and prosecution of violent gun crime arrests in metro Louisville. The review effort includes federal and state prosecutors, agents and officers from The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Jefferson County Attorney’s Office, ATF, FBI, and LMPD’s Viper and Robbery Units.
“To the metro Louisville community, we want you to know that the police officers, federal agents, and federal and state prosecutors are working together to fight violent crime in Louisville. It is a determined and unified effort. It is a priority for each of the law enforcement agencies assembled here,” stated U.S. Attorney David J. Hale during the press conference held at the U.S. Attorney’s Louisville offices.
“There is a strong bond between the Office of United States Attorney and the Office of Commonwealth’s Attorney.. Our prosecutors have a great professional working relationship. They understand the state and federal systems and know which system gives us the best opportunity to get dangerous criminals off the streets both quickly and for as long as possible, ” stated Thomas Wine, Commonwealth’s Attorney.
“By working together, we are leveraging each other’s strengths to ensure criminals that use firearms are held accountable,” stated Chief Steve Conrad, Louisville Metro Police Department.
ATF Special Agent in Charge Stuart Lowrey said, “Through Project Recoil, ATF, Louisville Metro PD, our federal law enforcement partners, and our Federal and State prosecutors are coordinating our efforts to maximize our impact on violent crime in the Louisville Metro area. This violent crime reduction partnership plays an important role in combating violent gun crime. It allows law enforcement to share intelligence and operate with greater unity of effort, stemming the flow of crime guns and investigating and prosecuting the people who illegally possess or use firearms to commit violent crimes.”
“Project Recoil is an excellent example of law enforcement’s commitment to cooperation and collaboration, the most effective weapon against crime,” said Perrye K. Turner Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Kentucky.
This successful team approach to prosecuting violent offenders in Louisville, began five months ago, and has resulted in three federal indictments with four defendants being charged. Each week, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, and the County Attorney’s Office meet with officers from Louisville Metro Police Department’s (LMPD)Viper Unit and agents and analysts from the ATF, FBI, and U.S. Marshall’s Office. They review recent arrest reports from metro Louisville involving illegal firearms and violent crime.
Three cases developed out of Project Recoil include Troy Lamont Gaines, Jr., 22, and Shaundrell Robinson, 33, who were charged in a 22 count federal indictment on April 2, 2013. The defendants have prior felony convictions and were charged with eleven armed robberies between December 5, 2012 and January 3, 2013 in Metro Louisville. During one robbery, a shot was allegedly fired by Gaines during a struggle with a customer. These defendants face a minimum of twenty-five years for each armed robbery, under federal statutes. Dorris Trice III, 31, was charged as a multiple convicted felon by a federal grand jury in Louisville on June 19, 2013. The three count indictment includes possessing a firearm which he allegedly used during the robbery of a food mart on March 3, 2013. Yesterday, a federal grand jury in Louisville, returned a four count indictment against Lavon Crayton, 31charging him with being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon, and possession with the intent to distribute heroin, “crack” cocaine and marijuana.
In conclusion, U.S. Attorney Hale stated, “Project Recoil is one piece of a comprehensive anti-violent crime strategy which emphasizes collaboration among federal, state and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies to more effectively investigate and prosecute violent criminals in Louisville. By working together, and by including all of our community stakeholders in the broad effort to stem violent crime, we will reduce violence and its impact on our city.”
Fairmont City Man Sentenced for Role in Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Fairmont City man who pled guilty on March 29, 2013, in federal court to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine for being a member of a large cocaine distribution organization, was sentenced to prison on July 3, 2013, the United States for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Antonio O. Escobar, 27, was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. Escobar was also ordered to pay a fine of $500 and a special assessment of $200.
To date, twenty-eight other members of the organization have been convicted and sentenced. One individual who was indicted at the same time as Escobar has entered a plea of guilty and is awaiting sentencing, which is currently scheduled for July 19, 2013.
Evidence in support of the indictment was obtained in an investigation which was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. Participating agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Marshal Service, the Granite City Police Department, Fairmont City Police Department, Collinsville Police Department, Fairview Heights Police Department, Caseyville Police Department, Pontoon Beach Police Department, Park Hills (Missouri) Police Department, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, and the Illinois State Police. This case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Randy G. Massey.
Doctor Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court to over 3 Years in Prison for Distributing OxycodoneRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that FELIX RODRIGUEZ, a licensed physician in Manhattan, was sentenced to a term of 37 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas in White Plains federal court for distributing Oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “The abuse of diverted prescription pain medication is the fastest growing drug problem in our country, now killing more people than illegal street drugs like heroin and cocaine combined. We cannot tolerate the fueling of this epidemic by crooked doctors who flout their oath to care for, not harm, their patients. The sentence imposed today sends a strong message to those doctors engaged in the criminal distribution of pain killers that they too, like dealers of illegal street drugs, will feel full force of the law. We will continue to work with federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations to eradicate this nationwide problem harming so many in our communities.”
According to documents filed in White Plains federal court in this case:
From May 2010 through February 2011, RODRIGUEZ, who was a licensed physician, working out of a medical office in Manhattan, provided Oxycodone prescriptions made out in the names of various other individuals, including individuals who RODRIGUEZ never met or examined to an individual who then used these prescriptions to obtain the drugs for illegal distribution. When RODRIGUEZ wrote these prescriptions, he knew that by doing so he was violating generally accepted medical practice. Oxycodone is a powerful painkiller with a high potential for addiction and abuse.
In addition to the term of imprisonment imposed, RODRIGUEZ, 52, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative efforts of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Marshals Service, the New York State Police, the Yonkers Police Department, and the Mount Vernon Police Department.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Alberts and Abigail S. Kurland are in charge of the prosecution.
Doctor Sentenced in White Plains Federal Court to over 3 Years in Prison for Distributing OxycodoneRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that FELIX RODRIGUEZ, a licensed physician in Manhattan, was sentenced to a term of 37 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas in White Plains federal court for distributing Oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “The abuse of diverted prescription pain medication is the fastest growing drug problem in our country, now killing more people than illegal street drugs like heroin and cocaine combined. We cannot tolerate the fueling of this epidemic by crooked doctors who flout their oath to care for, not harm, their patients. The sentence imposed today sends a strong message to those doctors engaged in the criminal distribution of pain killers that they too, like dealers of illegal street drugs, will feel full force of the law. We will continue to work with federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations to eradicate this nationwide problem harming so many in our communities.”
According to documents filed in White Plains federal court in this case:
From May 2010 through February 2011, RODRIGUEZ, who was a licensed physician, working out of a medical office in Manhattan, provided Oxycodone prescriptions made out in the names of various other individuals, including individuals who RODRIGUEZ never met or examined to an individual who then used these prescriptions to obtain the drugs for illegal distribution. When RODRIGUEZ wrote these prescriptions, he knew that by doing so he was violating generally accepted medical practice. Oxycodone is a powerful painkiller with a high potential for addiction and abuse.
In addition to the term of imprisonment imposed, RODRIGUEZ, 52, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative efforts of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Marshals Service, the New York State Police, the Yonkers Police Department, and the Mount Vernon Police Department.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Alberts and Abigail S. Kurland are in charge of the prosecution.
District Man Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder While Armed in 2011 Slaying in Northwest Washington-Defendant Stabbed Victim in the Neck-Read the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wedneday, July 3, 2013WASHINGTON Devon Holmes, 30, also known as “Jamaica,” of Washington D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of second-degree murder while armed for the August 2011 slaying of a man in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck scheduled sentencing for Aug. 30, 2013. Holmes faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison
According to the evidence at trial, at about 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2011, in the area of 8th and Jefferson Streets NW, Holmes slashed the victim, Marcellus T. Bailey, 24, in the neck with a sharp object, causing a gaping wound and loss of blood. Holmes fled the scene. Mr. Bailey died a short while later. The motive for the attack is unknown. Holmes was arrested on Sept. 9, 2011, and has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen commended those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), including detectives, mobile crime technicians, and others. He also expressed appreciation for the work of Special Agent Kevin R. Horan of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST). In addition, he acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Fern Rhedrick and Mia Beamon; Litigation Support Services Specialists Jeanie Latimore-Brown, Kimberly Smith, Claudia Gutierrez, Joshua Ellen, and Joseph Calvarese; Victim/Witness Advocates Marcia Rinker and Tamara Ince; Victim/Witness Services Supervisor David Foster; Witness Security Specialists M. Laverne Forrest and Michael Hailey; Criminal Investigators Mark Crawford and Christopher Brophy, and Intelligence Research Specialists Zachary McMenamin, Sharon Johnson, and Shannon Alexis.
Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Feitel and Kathryn L. Rakoczy, who prosecuted the case at trial.
13-240Derek Tyson Bellamy Found Guilty in U.S. Federal CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that on July 2, 2013, in Billings, after a federal district court trial before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, DEREK TYSON BELLAMY, a 31-year-old resident of Billings, was found guilty of being a felon-in-possession of a firearm. Sentencing is set for October 21, 2013. He is currently detained.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan P. McCarthy prosecuted the case for the United States.
BELLAMY faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Denver Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DENVER – Jon Christopher Baker, age 33, of Denver, Colorado, was sentenced late yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane to serve 480 months (40 years) in federal prison for the distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced. This was the maximum possible sentence Baker faced. Following his prison sentence, Baker was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release. Baker appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody, and was remanded at the conclusion of the hearing.
Baker was first charged by Criminal Complaint on April 27, 2012. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 21, 2012. He pled guilty on March 8, 2013. Baker was sentenced on July 2, 2013.
According to court documents, on February 21, 2012, an FBI Special Agent working on an Innocent Images Operations Unit in Maryland in an undercover capacity came across a person using a peer-to-peer file sharing program. The person was sharing two folders containing approximately 23,865 files, or about 99.7 gigabytes. The undercover special agent downloaded approximately 14 image files directly from the person, in addition to approximately 1,016 thumbnail images, the majority of which were indicative of child pornography and erotica. The FBI launched an investigation and determine the person sharing the files had an IP address in Denver, and was named Jon C. Baker. A search of the Colorado Sex Offender Registry revealed one positive result for a Jon C. Baker, also with an address in Denver. The Maryland FBI agent then sent all reports and images to the FBI in Denver for further investigation.
The Denver FBI special agent, working in an undercover capacity, communicated with Baker via the chat feature of the peer-to-peer program. The chat resulted in the undercover agent downloading images containing child pornography from Baker. On April 27, 2012, a search warrant was executed at Baker’s apartment. Agents found a computer and a separate hard drive. A folder on the hard drive associated with the file sharing program Baker was using contained approximately 30,000 images and 1,400 videos of child pornography. Baker was then taken into custody.
Testimony at the sentencing hearing demonstrated that the defendant also solicited at least 25 minor boys online by posing as a minor girl. While posing as a minor girl, the defendant used a chat/webcam site to request that minor boys show their genitalia and/or masturbate on camera. The defendant then recorded the minor boys complying with his requests, and sent those videos to other collectors of child pornography.
The defendant had a prior conviction for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child under Colorado state law, which resulted in an increase in his sentence. The 1998 conviction came out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Baker’s prior crime occurred when he worked as a babysitter.
“Baker helped countless other people view and download child pornography,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer said. “He sexually exploited children for his own and others’ gratification. Given his prior conviction for similar conduct, Baker will be in federal prison until he’s in his 70's, and he deserves every minute of it.”
“The sentence handed down represents the FBI’s dedication to pursing those that exploit children,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle. “Our Innocent Images Task Force is committed to protecting children by identifying and prosecuting sexual predators that victimize them.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Innocent Images Task Force.
Baker was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Smith, Chief of the Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alecia Riewerts Wolak, the Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Debt Collection Employee and Son-In-Law Convicted of Sophisticated Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - Quentin Collick and Deatrice Williams were each found guilty this week of one count of conspiring to defraud the United States by filing fraudulent federal income tax returns, three counts of wire fraud, and three counts of aggravated identity theft, announced George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. Collick was also convicted of three counts of theft of public money.
Based upon the evidence introduced at trial and court filings, Williams worked for a debt collection company located in Norcross, Georgia. As an employee, Williams had access to names, social security numbers, and dates of birth of individuals who owed medical debts. Williams accessed several files and handwrote the personal information. Williams provided the stolen information to Collick.
Collick and his co-conspirator, Corey Thompson, filed the false tax returns. Corey Thompson previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in jail. In 2011 and 2012, Thompson worked as an independent contractor for a cable company. As an independent contractor, Thompson installed cable and internet access for customers. In order to perpetrate the conspiracy, Thompson used his laptop and his specialized knowledge and equipment to essentially shut down and hijack his customers’ internet service. Thompson and Collick then filed false tax returns using the customers’ hijacked internet address, which made it appear as if the false tax returns were being filed by the customer. Thompson and Collick directed the tax refunds to be placed on pre-paid debit cards. The pre-paid debit cards were intercepted by the United States Postal Service.
“These criminals not only stole innocent people’s identities, but used innocent victims’ internet service to continue this crime,” stated U.S. Attorney Beck. “Taking advantage of innocent victims will not be tolerated. Our office will continue to work to obtain justice for all victims.”
Collick and Williams currently await sentencing. Collick faces a maximum prison term of 106 years, and Williams faces a maximum prison term of 76 years.
This case was investigated by the IRS - Criminal Investigation Division and prosecuted by Tax Division Trial Attorneys Michael Boteler, Jason H. Poole and Alexander Effendi.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Convicted Killer of John Granville Designated a Terrorist; Assets FrozenRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that the U.S. State Department has designated Abd Al-Ra’Ouf Abu Zaid Mohamed Hamza under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. What this means is that all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which Hamza has any interest is blocked and any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with him.
Hamza and three co-conspirators participated in an armed attack in Khartoum, Sudan on January 1, 2008 which led to the death of U.S. Diplomat John Granville. The Buffalo native was working on democracy and governance programs while serving with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). A U.S. Embassy staff member was also killed in the attack.
Hamza and the three co-conspirators were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in a Sudanese criminal court in 2009. In 2010, the four men escaped from a maximum security prison, killing a Sudanese police officer and wounding another in the process. Shortly thereafter, Hamza was recaptured and is currently in prison in Khartoum.
"As the Office that is leading the criminal investigation into this terrible crime, this is certainly welcome news," said U.S. Attorney Hochul. "This action puts the world on notice that anyone aiding this individual will, along with the defendant, eventually be brought to justice."Cobb County Drug Traffickers Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Firearms, Drugs, Police Gear, Stun Guns, and Counterfeit Currency Recovered
ATLANTA – Ten members of a drug ring operating out of Cobb County were sentenced to prison on various federal narcotics, firearms, and immigration-related charges.
“Multiple agencies working effectively together dismantled a drug trafficking organization and removed their poisonous drugs, dangerous weapons, and counterfeit money from our streets,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Now, these defendants have traded their contraband for a combined 141 years, 4 months in federal prison.”
“Drug-related assaults, often times in the form of kidnappings, are one of the many acts of violence committed by drug traffickers seeking to carry out their ruthless mission,” said Harry S. Sommers, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. The DEA and its law enforcement counterparts are committed to protecting our citizens from drug violence and the scourge of drug abuse. These individuals will now have to pay the consequences of their actions by spending well-deserved time in prison.”
“The GBI is committed to working with our federal law enforcement counterparts to identify and bring to justice those involved in drug trafficking,” said Vernon Keenan, GBI Director.
“ATF’s involvement in securing these sentences is a prime example of the successful use of federal laws to confront, engage and eliminate criminal activity. Criminals must understand that there are serious repercussions for illegal trafficking of narcotics and illegal possession of firearms and that law enforcement will contribute all necessary time and effort to ensure criminals are brought to justice,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Shaefer.
“The prison time received by these defendants should serve as a strong warning that tough punishment awaits those who embark on a similar criminal path,” stated Veronica Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation. “These sentences are the result of hard work and a true team effort.”
“This case illustrates not just the significance of partnerships with state and federal law enforcement agencies, but it also illustrates how criminals still continue to use counterfeiting as a means to fund their criminal activity. The Secret Service and our law enforcement partners will continue to use aggressive and innovative approaches to investigate and arrest these types of criminals,” said Reginald G. Moore, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: While investigating a drug trafficking organization operating in metro-Atlanta, agents learned on February 2, 2012, that Nemias Cintora-Gonzalez had devised a plan to assault a fellow drug dealer because of an outstanding $2,700 drug debt. On that date, Nemias Cintora-Gonzalez was overheard speaking to another drug associate about his plans to have four others with him the next morning when he inflicted physical injury on the fellow drug dealer for the purpose of motivating him to repay the debt.
A few hours later, while conducting surveillance of Neimas Cintora-Gonzalez’s apartment located in Smyrna, agents observed Edgar Cintora-Gonzalez transferring two large bags from the trunk of a white Honda Accord, registered to an alias of Nemias Cintora-Gonzalez, into the trunk of a white Suzuki Verona, registered to the wife of Israel Edgardo Revera-Pacheco. At approximately 10:45 p.m. that same evening, agents executed a federal search warrant at the apartment, encountering and arresting Jorge Armando-Reyes, Nemias Cintora-Gonzalez, Edgar Cintora-Gonzalez, Victor Hugo Morales-Avila, Israel Edgardo Revera-Pacheco, and Brenda Perez.
During the search of the apartment and the Suzuki Verona, agents seized:
•thirteen handguns (including several semi-automatic firearms)
•four assault rifles
•numerous magazines and ammunition for the weapons
•methamphetamine
•cocaine
•two stun guns
•two large crowbars
•one large bolt cutter
•police gear
•a black ski mask, black turtle neck shirt, and black gloves
•over $11,000 in counterfeit U.S. Currency
•drug packaging materials
•zip ties
•two bulletproof vests
During a search of cellular telephones recovered in the apartment, agents found photographs of Armando-Reyes and Morales-Avila posing with assault weapons and police gear.
On February 23, 2012, federal agents arrested Jose Vazquez Estrada at his residence in Marietta. Estrada was a significant drug customer of Nemias Cintora-Gonzalez. During a consent search of Estrada’s apartment, agents located over 909 grams of methamphetamine on dinner plates in the kitchen.
Agents arrested Pedro Gutierrez Valdiviez on April 18, 2012, who was Estrada’s drug partner, after he attempted to sell six ounces of methamphetamine to an undercover agent in a Marietta Wal-Mart parking lot.
Maria Yobal Perez was arrested on May 16, 2012, at her Marietta residence. Yobal Perez was overheard conducting methamphetamine transactions on behalf of her husband, Alvaro Carraza Echeverria, who was serving a 30 year sentence in a Georgia state correctional facility for trafficking in methamphetamine. Echeverria was overheard brokering methamphetamine deals from the correctional facility using an illegally smuggled cellular telephone.After being indicted, eight defendants pleaded guilty, and Nemias Cintora-Gonzalez and Jorge Armando-Reyes were convicted after a jury trial. All defendants have now been sentenced by United States District Judge Orinda Evans, as described more fully below:
•Nemias Cintora-Gonzalez, 30, of Smyrna, Ga., was sentenced to 29 years, 4 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Cintora-Gonzalez was convicted on February 22, 2013, following a federal jury trial, of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully and illegally in the United States; and possession of counterfeit federal reserve notes with the intent to defraud.
•Jorge Armando-Reyes, 31, of Smyrna, Ga., was sentenced to 17 years, 6 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Armando-Reyes was convicted on February 22, 2013, following a federal jury trial, of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully and illegally in the United States; and possession of counterfeit federal reserve notes with the intent to defraud.
•Alvaro Carraza Echeverria, 50, of Marietta, Ga., was sentenced to 21 years in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Echeverria pleaded guilty on October 23, 2012, to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
•Jose Vazquez Estrada, 35, of Marietta, Ga., was sentenced to 15 years, 7 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Estrada pleaded guilty on May 25, 2012, to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine and illegal re-entry by a removed alien.
•Pedro Gutierrez Valdiviez, 48, of Marietta, Ga., was sentenced to 18 years, 9 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Valdiviez pleaded guilty on July 2, 2012, to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
•Edgar Cintora-Gonzalez, 26, of Smyrna, Ga., was sentenced to 11 years, 8 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Edgar Cintora-Gonzalez pleaded guilty on May 29, 2012, to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully and illegally in the United States.
•Israel Edgardo Revera-Pacheco, 29, of Smyrna, Ga., was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Revera-Pacheco pleaded guilty on May 4, 2012, to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully and illegally in the United States.
•Victor Hugo Morales-Avila, 35, of Smyrna, Ga., was sentenced to 9 years, 4 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Morales-Avila pleaded guilty on February 19, 2013, to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully and illegally in the United States; and illegal re-entry by a removed alien.•Maria Yobal Perez, 51, of Marietta, Ga., was sentenced to 8 years, 1 month in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Yobal Perez pleaded guilty on August 30, 2012, to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
•Brenda Perez, 31, of Marietta, Ga., was sentenced to 1 year probation. Perez pleaded guilty on May 4, 2012, to misprision of a felony (concealing and failing to report her co-defendants’ illegal drug activities.)
These cases were investigated by Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, United States Secret Service, and Internal Revenue Service.
Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Herskowitz and J. Elizabeth McBath prosecuted the cases.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.
Cloud County Man Pleads Guilty to Planning Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A Cloud County man has pleaded guilty to planning a 2008 bank robbery in Jamestown, Kan., U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Ryan Michael Steinert, 24, Concordia, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank robbery. In his plea, he admitted he conspired with co-defendant Eric Lee Strait to rob the Jamestown State Bank on Nov. 14, 2008. Strait entered the bank about 9:45 a.m. wearing a mask and brandishing a Remington, 12 gauge, pump-action shotgun. He filled a duffle bag with money and drove away.
Weeks before the robbery, Steinert conspired with Strait to plan the crime. Steinert admitted the following acts:
– Accompanying Strait as Strait stole the shotgun used in the robbery.
– Driving Strait to where the stolen car was hidden and helping to position the car prior to the robbery
– Helping wipe down the stolen vehicle to remove fingerprints and physical evidence.
– Helping Strait dispose of the shotgun after the robbery.
– Receiving a share of the stolen money.Steinert’s sentencing is set for Oct. 9. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Co-defendant Eric Lee Strait pleaded guilty to bank robbery and is set for sentencing Aug. 5.
Grissom commended the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag for their work on the case.
Cindy Lee Johnson Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on July 2, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, CINDY LEE JOHNSON, a 34-year-old resident of Clearfield, Utah, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Sentencing has been set for October 7, 2013. She is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica T. Fehr the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On January 11, 2013, JOHNSON, was detained and then arrested by law enforcement following the execution of a search warrant by Drug Enforcement agents. JOHNSON was booked and transported to jail where she was searched.
On January 12, 2013, law enforcement was advised that jail staff had located 4.1 grams of methamphetamine on JOHNSON's body during the intake search.
On February 21, 2013, jailers received information from several other inmates that there was a large quantity of methamphetamine in the female cell block. The jailers learned that JOHNSON was believed to be the person who had smuggled in the methamphetamine and was distributing it to the rest of the inmates. A strip search was conducted of JOHNSON as was a search of JOHNSON's cell. In JOHNSON's cell jailers found two golf ball sized items wrapped in electrical tape. The items were unwrapped and tested. The two golf ball sized items were methamphetamine. The methamphetamine was weighed by the DEA lab and found to have a net weight of 52.4 grams and a purity of 89.2%.
JOHNSON had smuggled the methamphetamine into the jail following her arrest in her body cavity. JOHNSON concealed the drugs from jailers and distributed the methamphetamine to other female inmates at the jail between her arrest on January 11, 2013, and February 21, 2013.
JOHNSON faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison and could be sentenced to 40 years, a $5,000,000 fine, and 4 years supervised release.
The illegal activities described in this case were in part attributable to the demand currently being noted in the areas referred to as the "Bakken Boom." The change of plea in this case is a direct result of the cooperative efforts of the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations in those communities directly affected by the population influx due to the Bakken.
Chicago Area Man Indicted on Sex Trafficking Related ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO - JAMALL BROWN was indicted on charges of transporting two female victims from Chicago to Missouri to Colorado and back for prostitution.
According to the affidavit filed with a criminal complaint on June 29, 2013, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a report of a battered victim at St. Louis University Hospital Emergency Room. The victim, Jane Doe, told officers that she met Brown through a girlfriend in a Chicago hotel room after the two of them traveled there from Kentucky. In the weeks to follow, Brown was physically assaultive and he forced her and another female, Jane Doe Two, to engage in prostitution by advertising on Backpage.com online service. After spending a few days in Chicago, the defendant transported them to St. Louis where they engaged in acts of prostitution. After a few days he transported them to Denver, then eventually back to St. Louis. On June 28th, Doe told Brown that she wanted to stop prostituting and leave. Brown severely beat her and later dropped her off at the emergency room.
Brown, Chicago, IL, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on one felony count of interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
If convicted, the maximum penalty for this charge is 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the St. Louis Metropolitan and Maplewood Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney Howard Marcus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.California Oxycodone Dealer convicted for drug conspiracy and witness tamperingRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that on July 1, 2013, after deliberating for four hours, a jury of four men and eight women found a California gang member guilty of drug conspiracy and witness tampering.
Richard Melvin Corum, a/k/a “Little Man,” 30, a resident of Sacramento, California, was tried before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess in Juneau, Alaska.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney’s James Barkeley and Jack Schmidt, who prosecuted the case, the evidence presented at trial established Corum was a source of supply of oxycodone since April 2010 through January 2011, for a large scale drug conspiracy which operated between California and Alaska. Corum, a reported member of the criminal street gang “Bloods,” supplied oxycodone pills to the drug trafficking conspiracy, who would then utilize drug couriers to transport the pills to Juneau, Alaska, for subsequent distribution. In November 2010, due to heavy law enforcement interdiction at the Seattle-Tacoma airport of drug couriers, Corum and other members of the conspiracy decided to utilize commercial package delivery services instead of drug couriers in order to evade law enforcement detection.In November 2010, Corum recruited his cousin and his girlfriend to fly to Juneau to distribute pills for the conspiracy. In early December 2010, Corum’s cousin flew to Juneau to receive packages of oxycodone for subsequent sale in the Juneau area. Members of the conspiracy in California then received the pills obtained by Corum and shipped the pills to Corum’s cousin. Corum and other members of the conspiracy would direct Corum’s cousin to local dealers in the Juneau area to distribute the pills and collect drug proceeds. Corum’s cousin then took the drug proceeds and deposited them into the new bank account of Arianna Dixon, Corum’s girlfriend, which had been opened days before Corum’s cousin travelled to Juneau as a member of the conspiracy.
Corum was indicted for drug conspiracy on February 21, 2012, and arrested by law enforcement on March 2, 2012. During this time, other members of the conspiracy had been previously arrested and prosecuted for their roles in the drug conspiracy. As a result, a number of individuals were witnesses to Corum’s involvement in the drug conspiracy and agreed to testify against him. Corum was scheduled for trial in Anchorage in June 2012, for drug conspiracy, and then learned of the identities of those who were going to testify against him through the discovery process. On June 24, 2012, Corum assaulted one of the witnesses against him at the Anchorage Jail Center with the intent to prevent the witness from testifying against him. The incident was captured on video.
Judge Burgess has scheduled sentencing for October 17, 2013, in Juneau. The law provides for a sentence up to 30 years on each count, a fine of $2,000,000 and a mandatory minimum of 6 years to life of supervised release on the drug conspiracy count and a fine of $250,000 and up to five years of supervised release on the witness tampering charge.Ms. Loeffler commended the Drug Enforcement Administration’s D-22 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations; The State of Alaska Criminal Laboratory; Port of Seattle Police Department; and the Juneau Police Department - Drug Metro Unit for the successful investigation leading to the prosecution of Corum.
Buffalo Man Sentenced on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.– U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jeremy Otrosinka, 32, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of possession and distribution of child pornography, was sentenced to 180 months in prison by U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward H. White and John E. Rogowski, who handled the case, stated that the defendant created and administered a website that was a password protected bulletin board dedicated to the discussion and sharing of child pornography. On this site, members would post links to images and videos of child pornography and post private message discussions regarding child pornography. Otrosinka also sent and received emails that attached images and a video of child pornography. During online conversations, the defendant encouraged another individual to record sexual acts with this individual’s own child.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge, Richard M. Frankel.
“What makes this case particularly egregious is that the defendant maintained a website where like minded child predators could go,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Our Office will continue to pursue child predators wherever they may be including the virtual world or real world.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.Baltimore Crack Dealer Sentenced to 12 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Kintrell Todd McEachern, age 31, of Lochearn, Maryland, today to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Judge Quarles also ordered that McEachern forfeit $13,601.50 seized during a search of his home.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to McEachern's guilty plea, on January 24, 2012, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered a total of 344.2 grams of crack cocaine and $13,601.50 in cash. McEachern was arrested outside the home and searched. Law enforcement recovered 55.8 grams of crack cocaine from McEachern.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Brooke Carey and Peter M. Nothstein, who prosecuted the case.
Aurora Man Charged with Defrauding His Beachwood Employer and Investment Clients Out of $366,000Read the Press Release
A 10-count information was filed charging an Aurora, Ohio, man with defrauding his Beachwood-based employer and its investment clients out of about $366,000, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Andrew J. Franz, age 41, was charged with three counts of mail fraud, one count of securities fraud, one count of investment adviser fraud and five counts of income tax evasion.
“This defendant betrayed the trust of his employer and his clients,” Dettelbach said. “He lined his pockets with the money that people worked a lifetime to save.”
Anthony said: “Andrew Franz enriched himself with hundreds of thousands of ill-gotten dollars by creating and carrying out various fraudulent schemes. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those that steal the hard-earned money of others.”
The first three counts of the information charge that Franz, through his employment and association with the Ruby Corporation (Ruby), a Beachwood investment company, defrauded Ruby and at least 10 of its clients by misappropriating more than $366,000 in customer funds for his own personal use and benefit.
Franz submitted quarterly fee requests to mutual fund and annuity companies for payment of investment advisory fees for Ruby’s clients’ investment accounts. Franz then caused these companies to issue checks by mail to Ruby, which checks Franz intercepted and deposited into bank accounts he maintained and controlled, and which funds he used for his own personal use and benefit, according to the information.
Franz submitted some fee requests that were for amounts not due and payable to Ruby, and some fee requests that were for amounts greater than were due and payable to Ruby. Franz also caused mutual fund and annuity companies to send some of these fraudulently obtained fee payments through the mail to his own residence, according to the information.
On some occasions, Franz deposited the funds obtained by his fraudulent fee requests into the accounts of Ruby in an attempt to conceal his fraudulent activity. Franz also contacted a mutual fund company by telephone and, misrepresenting himself as the owner of a trust, caused the mutual fund company to mail payments to Franz’s personal residence. Franz then deposited these checks into bank accounts he maintained and controlled, according to the information.
The information specifically lists three checks, drawn on the accounts of various clients of Ruby, that the Integrity Life Insurance Company sent to Franz’s personal residence between July 20, 2010 and September 7, 2010 as payment for false and fraudulent fee requests that Franz submitted.
Count 4 charges Franz with securities fraud in using and employing manipulative and deceptive devices and contrivances in connection with the purchase and sale of securities by employing devices, schemes, and artifices to defraud, and by engaging in practices which operated as a fraud on investors.
Count 5 charges Franz with investment adviser Fraud in aiding and abetting an investment adviser, namely, Ruby Corporation, in employing a scheme to defraud a client or prospective client, and engaging in a practice which operated as a fraud and deceit upon a client, through the use of the mail and instrumentalities of interstate commerce.
Counts 6 through 8 charge that Franz committed income tax evasion for calendar years 2007, 2008, 2009 by filing false and fraudulent tax returns. Counts 9 and 10 charge Franz with Income Tax Evasion for calendar years 2010 and 2011 by failing to make an income tax return as required by law, and by conducting his business affairs and personal expenditures in a manner designed to conceal his receipt and disposition of income and assets from the Internal Revenue Service. The total amount of additional tax due and owing by Franz for the tax evasion charged in Counts 6 through 10 is $245,352, according to the information.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian H. Stickan and Trial Attorney Scott M. Watson, following investigation by agents of the FBI, Cleveland Office and IRS-Criminal Investigations, Cleveland Office, with assistance of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Chicago, Illinois.
Arizona Woman Pleads Guilty to and Is Sentenced for Harboring and Concealing A Man to Prevent His ArrestRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jennifer Janice Morgan, 21, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Ganado, Ariz., N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to harboring and concealing a person for the purpose of preventing his arrest on an arrest warrant. Morgan, who has been in federal custody since her arrest on May 30, 2013, was sentenced to a year in prison, which was suspended, and a year of probation.
According to the criminal complaint, on May 21, 2013, Morgan evaded deputies of the McKinley County Sheriff’s Department as she drove from New Mexico towards Window Rock, Ariz., with a passenger who had an outstanding federal arrest warrant from the District of Arizona for violating the terms of his supervised release. As Morgan drove past the New Mexico-Arizona state line, officers of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, who had activated their vehicles’ sirens and emergency lights, took up the pursuit as Morgan continued to drive through Window Rock and towards Fort Defiance, Ariz.
The officers finally were able to stop Morgan’s vehicle in Navajo, N.M. When the officers took Morgan into tribal custody, she admitted that she and her passenger were fleeing from the officers because her passenger was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant. Morgan remained in tribal custody until her arrest on federal charges on May 30, 2013.
During today’s proceedings, Morgan entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor information charging her with harboring and concealing a person from arrest.
This case was investigated by the Window Rock office of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.
Arik Alan MacBlane Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on July 3, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, ARIK ALAN MACBLANE, a 33-year-old resident of Williston, North Dakota, pled guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and distribution. Sentencing has been set for October 7, 2013. He is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney , the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica T. Fehr, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
MACBLANE was from Lewistown. In November of 2009, MACBLANE moved to Billings to be with his girlfriend, Corina Moldrem. MACBLANE had been a methamphetamine user while living in Lewistown and continued to use the drug once he moved to Billings.
After MACBLANE returned to Billings in November of 2009, he learned that Moldrem was distributing methamphetamine and that her source was Jeri Lynn Milheim. A short time later, Milheim became MACBLANE's source for methamphetamine for further distribution. MACBLANE knew that Milheim was getting her methamphetamine from a source known as "Paco" that lived in Las Vegas, Nevada. Paco was later identified as Francisco Flores-Jorge. MACBLANE estimated he received methamphetamine from Milheim for approximately two months.
At some point Milheim and Paco had a falling out and Milheim started getting her methamphetamine from Angel and Jose Aguilar. MACBLANE paid the Aguilars between $2,000 and $2,500 each time he met with them to pay his debt. In early 2010, Angel arrived in Billings and introduced MACBLANE to Paco. After that meeting Angel and Jose both began traveling to Billings to distribute methamphetamine. MACBLANE distributed methamphetamine for Angel and Jose. A short time later, Angel and Jose then got in a fight with Paco over giving Milheim methamphetamine. At that point MACBLANE stopped getting methamphetamine from Angel and Jose.
In approximately May of 2010, Paco came back to Billings with Lee Navarro. Paco asked MACBLANE to continue to sell methamphetamine for him. MACBLANE agreed to distribute methamphetamine for Paco. Approximately two months later, Paco was in a serious car accident. Following the car accident, MACBLANE began receiving methamphetamine from Navarro directly for redistribution.
MACBLANE admitted he had customers wire him money on occasion to repay drug debts. MACBLANE admitted using his cellular telephone to communicate with Moldrem, Paco, and Navarro about drug dealing and drug debts. MACBLANE also admitted to receiving packages containing methamphetamine from Paco and Navarro at his personal residence.
The evidence would show that MACBLANE possessed with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, during his involvement in the conspiracy.
Francisco Flores-Jorge, Lee Navarro, Corina Moldrem and Jeri Lynn Milheim have all been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the offense.
MACBLANE faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and could be sentenced to life, a $4,000,000 fine, and 5 years supervised release .
The investigation was conducted by the Billings Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force.