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21 August 2013
Nigerian National Sentenced for Resisting Deportation OrdersRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Emmanuel Nwankwo, 54, of Nigeria, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to 24 months in prison for impeding or hampering his deportation.
On May 21, 2013, after a two-day trial, a jury found Nwankwo guilty for impeding or hampering his deportation. Witness testimony and documents admitted into evidence at trial revealed that U.S. Immigration Enforcement Agents brought Nwankwo to the Alexandria International Airport on December 11, 2012 and attempted to put him on a commercial flight. The defendant began yelling and physically resisting officers, which prevented him from boarding the flight because of airline and Transportation Security Administration policies.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth D. Reeg and Cytheria D. Jernigan prosecuted the case.
New York Woman Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy FraudRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Patricia Bonavito pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in San Francisco to giving false statements in a bankruptcy proceeding, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
In pleading guilty, Bonavito admitted to making numerous false statements, under the penalty of perjury, in furtherance of a bankruptcy petition through which she sought relief of $308,249 in debts. She admitted to knowingly making these false statements concerning matters material to the determination of whether the Bankruptcy Court should forgive her debt. The false statements included the following: she denied that anyone owed her any money, when in fact someone owed her a 50% interest in a $150,000 promissory note; she denied having any other income or transferring any property during the two years prior to filing her bankruptcy petition, when in fact she had received more than $500,000 from the sale of properties in San Francisco and New York; she denied that her name was on any real property not listed on her original petition, when in fact she purchased a property in New York for $385,000 shortly after filing for bankruptcy in San Francisco; and she denied giving any money to friends or relatives in the year prior to filing, when in fact she had transferred $200,000 to her daughter just months before filing.
Bonavito, 59, formerly of San Francisco and currently from New York City, was indicted by a federal Grand Jury on April 17, 2013. She was charged with eight counts of false statements in bankruptcy proceedings, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152(3), and one count of false testimony under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152(2). Under the plea agreement, Bonavito pleaded guilty to four counts of false statements in bankruptcy proceedings.
Bonavito’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 12, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. before The Honorable William H. Alsup, U.S. District Court Judge, in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of false statements in bankruptcy proceedings, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152(3), is 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Hallie Hoffman is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Elizabeth Garcia. The prosecution is the result of a 20-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with substantial assistance from the United States Bankruptcy Trustee.
New York Man Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Federal Prison for Access Device FraudRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida - Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Senior District Judge G. Kendall Sharp sentenced Richard Middleton (36, New York) today to five years and ten months in federal prison for possession of device -making equipment and possession of a false identification implement. Middleton pleaded guilty on May 29, 2013.
According to documents, on August 20, 2011, deputies from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on a room that Middleton occupied at a timeshare resort in Kissimmee. Inside the room deputies recovered equipment used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards and false identification documents, including a credit card embosser, a foil press “tipping” machine, card making devices, MasterCard hologram stickers, blank plastic cards and holograms typically used in genuine state issued identification cards and driver licenses, more than 1,000 blank American Express and Visa credit cards, and a laptop computer. A forensic review of the laptop revealed evidence indicating its use in the charged crimes.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.
New Orleans Man, Jahvar Hooks, Charged with Making Threatening Phone CallsRead the Press Release
JAHVAR HOOKS, age 30, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby today after being charged by criminal complaint with making threatening telephone calls in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(e), announced U.S. Attorney Dana Boente.
According to the criminal complaint, from August 12, 2013 through August 19, 2013, HOOKS made in excess of 40 telephonic bomb threats. Victims of these threatening phone calls include the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court and the New Orleans Municipal/Traffic Court along with schools, hotels, casinos, and other government buildings. In an interview with officers of the New Orleans Police Department, HOOKS admitted to making the threatening telephone calls.
If convicted, the maximum penalty as to each charge is ten (10) years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a three (3) year term of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Boente reiterated that a criminal complaint is merely a charge, which matter must be presented to a federal grand jury and thereafter, that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory M. Kennedy.
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Musician and Record Producer Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud for Soliciting and Accepting Investments for Fraudulent ProjectsRead the Press Release
A Vancouver, Washington musician and record producer pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to wire fraud in connection with schemes to lure investors in non-existent music projects, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. KASEY ANDERSON, 33, admits in his plea agreement that he defrauded investors who believed they were investing in legitimate albums and concerts, including projects featuring major recording artists and celebrities. ANDERSON is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton on November 22, 2013.
According to the facts set forth in the plea agreement, ANDERSON admitted that between 2009 and 2011, he induced more than $500,000 in investments for a number of projects, including a compilation album and concert series featuring well-known artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and R.E.M. ANDERSON also sought investors for his own album and tours, and the record of another musician. As part of the solicitation for the compilation album, ANDERSON represented that a portion of the proceeds from the record would support the legal defense fund for the “West Memphis Three,” three men convicted of murder in Arkansas in 1994, who had garnered significant attention and support from people who believed in their innocence. ANDERSON claimed to have agreements signed by various music stars and a family member of one of the West Memphis Three. No such agreements existed. ANDERSON created fake email accounts for prominent music industry members and sent emails from those accounts to further convince investors his project was legitimate. ANDERSON also forged statements from a music-distribution company purporting to show that the project had earned $1.7 million from advance sales.In addition to the “West Memphis Three” project, ANDERSON solicited investors for three other music-related projects using forged documents and false representations. ANDERSON solicited investors to fund an album of his music, and provided false paperwork indicating that thousands of copies of the album had been sold, earning more than $1.4 million in royalties. In fact the album had earned less than $10,000 in royalties. ANDERSON provided other forged documents indicating he had earned royalties in connection with an album by an unrelated artist, when in fact the album had been released by another record label years earlier, and that a 2011 concert tour had earned more than $200,000. ANDERSON also sent investors forged bank account statements showing balances of hundreds of thousands of dollars more than existed in the accounts.
In all, ANDERSON took in nearly $526,000 from more than 30 investors. ANDERSON has repaid $160,258, leaving more than $365,580 in loss for investors. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Bates and Andrew Friedman.
Mortgage Broker Sentenced to 7½ Years in Prison for Fraud Scheme, Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa - A Beaver County resident has been sentenced in federal court to 78 months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, on his conviction of conspiracy and money laundering, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Jeffrey Garbinski, 45. Judge Bissoon also ordered Garbinski to pay approximately $3 million in restitution, including $350,000 he defrauded from his own parents.
According to information presented to the court, Garbinski owned and operated the Closing Company of PA ("Closing Company"), which closed residential real estate transactions. Sabrina Spetz was an attorney who closed many of the transactions at issue. Garbinski also operated a mortgage broker business called Main Street Mortgage Services, which did business as Asset Mortgage and Financial Services, Inc., and he was a title insurance agent.
Closing companies have trust accounts. What is supposed to happen is that the money from the lenders funding the loans goes into the trust account. At or shortly after the closing, those funds are disbursed consistent with the lender's instructions and the settlement statements. Most significantly with regard to this case, is that liabilities associated with the collateral are supposed to be paid immediately. Thus, the liens related to the property are paid and the lender stands in first lien position.
Rather than immediately paying the liabilities, Garbinski, with Spetz's knowledge and assistance, siphoned money from the company for years to support his lifestyle and for other business ventures. He would then use the money from the next transactions to pay the liabilities from the previous transactions. He paid the monthly mortgage payments on the outstanding mortgages that should have already been paid to avoid discovery of his fraud. Eventually, the liabilities grew so large that Garbinski was no longer able to pay the liabilities and he filed for bankruptcy.
Although Garbinski committed this scheme regarding customers of the Closing Company, he also committed this scheme with his own personal residence. Dollar Bank funded a $600,000 loan to Garbinski arranged through his mortgage broker business and closed by the Closing Company, and funded by Dollar Bank. Basically, the loan through Dollar Bank was a typical refinance transaction in which all of the liabilities associated with the collateral, which was Garbinski's personal residence, were supposed to be paid off. Garbinski submitted a loan application that failed to report two significant mortgages on the property, and he also arranged to submit fraudulent title search records that did not reveal the two mortgages. Long after the loan closed, Dollar Bank discovered that they were in third lien position rather than first lien position.
Ultimately, the title insurance companies paid substantial claims because of this fraud. The Closing Company was a representative of Stewart Title Guaranty Company and Fidelity National Title Insurance Company ("Fidelity"). Fidelity conducted an audit of the Closing Company of PA pursuant to the title insurance contract between Fidelity and the Closing Company. As part of that audit, Fidelity requested and obtained from Spetz bank statements that did not show the fraudulent withdrawals because the statements had been altered by Spetz at Garbinski's direction.
In terms of the money laundering, an owner of a home sought to refinance a loan through Northwest Savings Bank. Because of concerns that Northwest had with Garbinski, Northwest refused to let the Closing Company close the transaction, and demanded that Fidelity close the transaction. Fidelity, however, was unaware of the transaction and did not close the loan. In order to make it appear that Fidelity was involved in closing the loan, the settlement statement was fabricated and provided to Northwest. The settlement statement falsely represented that Fidelity closed the transaction. In addition, Garbinski created a letter with wiring information for what was represented to be the trust account for Fidelity. In fact, the account number is for the Closing Company. The loan closed on Feb. 24, 2010, and the loan was funded through a wire transfer from Northwest Savings Bank to the Citizens Bank account of the Closing Company. That money was supposed to have been used to pay off a liability associated with the collateral.
On Feb. 25, 2010, Garbinski withdrew $38,316 in cash from that account. Bank surveillance pictures showed Garbinski making the withdraw. On that same day, Garbinski deposited $37,500 of that cash into the Clearview Federal Credit Union account of JAG Management LP, which was basically a shell company that Garbinski owned.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Mortgage Fraud Task Force conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Garbinski. The Mortgage Fraud Task Force is comprised of investigators from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and others involved in the mortgage industry. Federal law enforcement agencies participating in the Mortgage Task Force include the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations; the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and the United States Secret Service. Other Mortgage Fraud Task Force members include the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office; the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, Bureau of Consumer Protection; the Pennsylvania Department of Banking; the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation; and the United States Trustee's Office.
Mescalero Apache Man Sentenced to Thirty-Three Months in Federal Prison for Assault ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Paul Francis Hicks, 50, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., was sentenced in Las Cruces federal court this morning to 33 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release for his assault convictions.
Hicks was arrested in March 2012, on a complaint alleging assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. He subsequently was indicted on the same two charges.
Hicks pleaded guilty in Dec. 2012, to assaulting a Mescalero Apache woman by slashing her hand with a large hunting knife at the Mescalero Tribal Offices on March 1, 2012. As a result of the assault, the victim suffered tendon and nerve damage that required surgery to repair. Hicks entered his guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.
Court filings reflect that on March 1, 2012, Hicks provoked an argument with the victim, who worked at the Mescalero Tribal Offices. During the argument, Hicks drew a 12-inch hunting knife out of his jacket and threatened to kill the victim. When Hicks attempted to slash the victim’s face, the victim attempted to defend herself by blocking the knife with her left hand. In so doing, the victim sustained a large laceration across the palm of her left hand.
Although Hicks fled from the scene of the assault, he was apprehended by BIA police officers later that day and was taken into tribal custody, where he remained until he was arrested on federal charges on March 20, 2012.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordon of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.Long Island Physician to Pay U.S. $388,000 to Settle <br /> False Claims Act Allegations Related to Overbilling MedicareRead the Press Release
Richard S. Obedian, a Long Island, N.Y., orthopedic surgeon, will pay the government $388,000 to settle allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare for minimally invasive spine procedures, the Justice Department announced today.
Allegedly, throughout 2005, Obedian knowingly submitted improper claims to Medicare for a procedure known as kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive procedure used to treat compression fractures of the spine that often are due to osteoporosis. Prior to 2006, Medicare billing rules required the use of a specific billing code to denote the performance of a kyphoplasty procedure. Those same rules precluded the use of other codes assigned to more invasive and complicated, and therefore more expensive, surgeries. The government alleged that Obedian knowingly circumvented lower payment rates for kyphoplasty procedures performed throughout 2005 by using incorrect billing codes assigned to more complicated surgeries, thereby inflating his Medicare reimbursements.
“We expect physicians who participate in federal health care programs to bill for their services accurately and honestly,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. “Neither the Department of Justice nor the taxpayers will tolerate those who knowingly overbill federal health care programs.”“We will continue to vigorously enforce the False Claims Act for the protection of the taxpayers and the United States government,” said William J. Hochul, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York.
“The Obedian settlement vividly illustrates the role of dynamic law enforcement partnerships in the battle to protect Medicare from those who would bill inappropriately,” said Thomas O’Donnell, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, New York region. “Our office continues working to ensure that taxpayer money is spent wisely.”
“This resolution is a prime example of CMS’ successful partnership with the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice to carry out our mission to prevent and detect Medicare fraud and protect the Medicare Trust Fund,” said Peter Budett, Deputy Administrator and Director, Center for Program Integrity in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $14.8 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $10.8 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This settlement was the result of a coordinated effort among the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. The settlement is part of the Department’s broader investigation into kyphoplasty billing practices among hospitals, which has resulted in settlements with more than 100 hospitals totaling approximately $75 million to resolve allegations that they mischarged Medicare for kyphoplasty procedures. In addition, the government previously settled with Medtronic Spine LLC, the corporate successor to Kyphon Inc., for $75 million to settle allegations that the company defrauded Medicare by counseling hospital providers to perform kyphoplasty procedures as inpatient rather than outpatient procedures.
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.Last Defendant Sentenced in Largest Jefferson County Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
– Cocaine supply tied to the Mexican Drug Cartel
– Involved the sale of 100 kilos of cocaine per month and resulted in 26 arrested and successfully prosecutedLOUISVILLE, Ky. – The last of 26 defendants charged in the largest Jefferson County, Kentucky drug trafficking organization was sentenced in United States District Court this week, by Senior Judge Charles R. Simpson III, for his role in the distribution of cocaine, brought into the United States through a Mexican drug cartel, to metro Louisville for distribution, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
“This final sentencing brings to a close the successful prosecution of a dangerous network of drug dealers,” stated U.S. Attorney Hale. “This exemplifies what can be accomplished when law enforcement collaborates across jurisdictional lines,” concluded U.S. Attorney Hale.
“This closes the book on one of the most significant drug trafficking organizations in the Louisville area. The McCarthy organization, including its out-of-state pipeline of devastating drugs into Kentucky, has been completely dismantled,” said Robert Corso, DEA Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Division, which covers the state of Kentucky.
All 26 defendants either pleaded guilty to charges or were found guilty at trial. Kerry Dickerson of Louisville, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison this week, by Judge Simpson, for his role in the syndicates’ sale and distribution of cocaine.
During the investigation and prosecution of this drug trafficking organization, more than 20 assault style rifles, 37 kilos of cocaine, and $4 million cash were seized and presented as evidence. According to evidence presented during the prosecution of the 26 defendants, including the trial of Abel Flores and Ramon Flores the United States proved that hundreds of kilos of cocaine were brought into the United States through a Mexican drug cartel, to Jefferson County, Kentucky for distribution in the Louisville area through drug trafficking organizer Michael McCarthy. Further, the United States proved that the Flores brothers, who operated out of California, supplied the cocaine through a cross-country distribution network originating in southern California and involved 24 co-defendants, living in and around the Louisville area. This courier system returned between one and four million dollars to the Flores brothers each month. The conspiracy began in August 2007 and ran through May 10, 2010.
The United States presented evidence obtained through wire tapped phone recordings, controlled calls, jail calls, defendant witnesses in the Bureau of Prisons, defendant witnesses in Marshal custody, numerous law enforcement witnesses from different agencies, and experts from the Metro Louisville Police Fingerprint Lab, the DEA and an expert from the T-Mobile law enforcement compliance division to discuss the geo location information gathered from defendant phones in real time. The United States also presented documents relating to phone records, hotel records and airline records.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Scott Davis and Robert B. Bonar and was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Louisville Division Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Louisville Field Division, and Metro Louisville Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana and Kentucky State Police.
Lapwai Man Sentenced in Federal Court for AssaultRead the Press Release
COEUR D'ALENE – Paris Channing Leighton, 41, of Lapwai, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Coeur d’Alene to 12 months plus one day in prison for assault resulting in serious bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Leighton to serve three years of supervised release, perform 60 hours of community service, and pay $164 in restitution to the victim. Leighton pleaded guilty to the charge on April 3, 2013.
According to court statements, Leighton admitted that on May 18, 2012, he punched or kicked his girlfriend at their residence in Lapwai. The victim was taken to the hospital where a CT scan revealed that Leighton had caused the victim to suffer facial fractures.
The case was investigated by the Nez Perce Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Kent Man Pleads Guilty to Importing and Selling more than $500,000 in Counterfeit Luxury Vehicle AccessoriesRead the Press Release
A Kent, Washington man who sold more than $500,000 in counterfeit luxury vehicle parts and accessories pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to trafficking in counterfeit goods, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. GUOXIONG XIAN, 34, faces up to ten years in prison and a $2 million fine when sentenced by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on November 22, 2013.
According to the plea agreement signed today, XIAN owns 3 Ways LLC, a company selling auto parts over the internet. XIAN primarily sold automobile accessories such as license plate frames, marque license plates, automobile logos and other decorative items for high-end automobiles. The automobile accessories XIAN sold did not impact the operational characteristics of any automobiles. In his plea agreement XIAN admits he imported the parts from China and that they were counterfeit parts bearing trademarks that belong to companies such as BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Nissan and others. From November 2008, through April 2013, XIAN sold approximately $538,000 worth of counterfeit automobile accessories. In January 2013, XIAN sold various counterfeit car accessories to an undercover agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). XIAN sold them knowing they were marked with counterfeit trademarks.
Prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of no more than 18 months in prison. XIAN has agreed to make restitution to the following companies: BMW/Mini - $256,066; Mercedes-Benz - $109,620; Nissan/Infiniti - $13,361; Toyota/Lexus/Scion - $35,304; Suzuki - $26,054; Volkswagen/Audi - $20,434; Honda - $8,433 Yamaha - $6,218.03; Dodge/Chrysler/ Jeep - $13,326; General Motors Corporation- $20,075. Ten other car companies are owed amounts less than $6,000.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman Barbosa.
Kamiah Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing AmmunitionRead the Press Release
COEUR D’ALENE – James Reuben Norton Blackeagle, 30, of Kamiah, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to unlawfully possessing ammunition, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Blackeagle was indicted by a federal jury on May 21, 2013.
According to the plea agreement, Blackeagle admitted that on February 28, 2013, he possessed ammunition within his residence and vehicle. Blackeagle was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to a previous conviction in 2007 for possession of a destructive device. Blackeagle will forfeit the ammunition he unlawfully possessed.
The charge of unlawfully possessing ammunition is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for November 12, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Nez Perce Tribal Police Department.
The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
KC Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to False ClaimRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to presenting a false tax claim.
Chanita Cotton, 44, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan to the charge contained in a Nov. 27, 2012, federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Cotton admitted that she prepared 23 false and fraudulent income tax returns that resulted in more than $90,000 in refunds. Cotton received a significant portion of those refunds.
Cotton prepared federal income tax returns for her friends, family, clients and others without providing any information on the returns that would identify her as the preparer. During the tax years 2007 through 2010, Cotton prepared returns for clients that included false income amounts in order to earn refunds through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for amounts higher than they were legally owed. The EITC is a refundable tax credit intended for workers earning a low to moderate income, which results in a tax refund for those whose credit exceeds the amount of taxes owed.
Cotton abused the EITC by including falsified household help income to inflate her clients’ income amounts and earn the maximum EITC. Household help income is earned by working in someone’s home, e.g. babysitting, house cleaning, nursing. Household employers do not need to provide their employees with Forms W-2 if the earned incomes fall below a certain threshold.
Under federal statutes, Cotton is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Gregg R. Coonrod. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.Judge Sentences Pittsburgh Man to Prison for Possessing Counterfeit CashRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A Pittsburgh man has been sentenced in federal court to one month imprisonment with three years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal counterfeit laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Dustin Mathis, 30.
According to information presented to the court, Mathis did possess and conceal falsely made, forged, counterfeited and altered obligations of the United States, that is, approximately $1,840 in counterfeited Federal Reserves Notes, with the intent to defraud.
Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the U.S. Secret Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Mathis.
Jicarilla Apache Man Sentenced to Twelve Years in Federal Prison for Aggravated Child Sexual Abuse ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Gary Sidney Vicenti, 53, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., was sentenced today to 12 years in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release for his aggravated child sexual abuse conviction. Vicenti will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
Vicenti’s sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and Police Chief Kendall P. Vicenti of the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department.
Vicenti was arrested in Nov. 2012, on a criminal complaint alleging that he sexually abused a child under the age of 12 in summer 2011 on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. In May 2013, Vicenti entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with aggravated sexual abuse and admitted sexually abusing the child victim by inappropriately touching the victim. Vicenti also admitted that his criminal conduct occurred on June 1, 2011, in the Jicarilla Apache Reservation.
The case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano A. Torrez as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Jamaican National Sentenced to Prison for Passport FraudRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KEVIN DEAN BROWN, 43, a citizen of Jamaica last residing in Mount Vernon, N.Y., was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to eight months of imprisonment for passport fraud.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 30, 2006, BROWN used the name and identity documents of a U.S. citizen when filing an application for a U.S. passport at a post office in Hamden. A U.S. passport was issued to BROWN in November 2006.
BROWN has been detained since his arrest on April 4, 2013. On May 29, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement in an application for a U.S. passport.
BROWN faces deportation proceedings when he completes his prison term.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, with the assistance of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Deborah R. Slater.
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CHICAGO — A Oregon man who engaged in interstate sex-trafficking of two adult women and a teenage girl from the West Coast to the Midwest was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison. The defendant, ERIK SHAMSUD-DIN, 46, was sentenced after a hearing at which the minor victim, now 23, testified in U.S. District Court.
Shamsud-din, who pleaded guilty in May to interstate prostitution, was sentenced to 180 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve. He must serve at least 85 percent of his federal sentence before he is eligible for release and there is no parole in the federal prison system. The sentence resolved federal charges against Shamsud-din in Oregon and northern Illinois. Shamsud-din previously served a 112-month sentence after a 1991 conviction for rape and prostituting two teenage girls.
Shamsud-din “was a predator who targeted vulnerable women, including a minor, sent them out to have sex with strangers, and took all the money they made for himself,” the government argued in seeking the 20-years sentence.
According to court records, in late 2006, Shamsud-din was engaged in prostituting two adult women in California when he met Victim A, a 16-year-old homeless runaway, and he began prostituting her as well. Shamsud-din and his victims left California and traveled to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, where he engaged in prostituting them, before traveling in late January 2007 from Texas to Illinois to further engage in prostitution. On Jan. 27, 2007, Skokie police responded to a fight between the minor and an adult victim. The minor was rescued and Shamsud-din was arrested, which later resulted in the federal charges in Chicago.
The investigation was conducted by the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation after Shamsud-din was arrested in 2007 by the Skokie Police Department. The sentence was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Schneider and Heather McShain.
Indictment: Manhattan Doctor's Office Manager Unlawfully Distributed OxycodoneRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A woman who worked as an office manager for a Manhattan physician has been indicted on federal charges of unlawfully distributing oxycodone, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Sarah Harding-Huffine, 29, Manhattan, Kan., is charged with one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and one count of unlawfully distributing controlled substances. The indictment alleges Harding-Huffine used blank, pre-signed prescription forms to issue prescriptions for oxycodone, a Schedule II pain reliever.
Harding-Huffine worked for Dr. Michael P. Schuster at the New Medical Group PC, New Medical Group, Advisor’s Medical and Manhattan Pain and Spine located at 1135 Westport Drive in Manhattan. Schuster was indicted in May on charges of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and unlawfully distributing controlled substances.
Harding-Huffine was not a licensed health care provider and was not authorized to distribute controlled substances to Schuster’s patients. The indictment alleges she used blank prescription forms signed by Schuster to issue controlled substances. The indictment alleges 31 instances in which Harding-Huffine issued prescriptions for oxycodone while Schuster was out of the office traveling to other countries including Russia, South Africa, Canada, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Israel and Paraguay.
If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on each count. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway is prosecuting.
OTHER INDICTMENTSJames A. Greer, 41, Topeka, Kan., is charged with one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in March and June 2012 in Shawnee County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of distributing child pornography and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the possession charged. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney is prosecuting.
Ki Nekyo McClinton, 29, Topeka, Kan., is charged with one count of failing to register as required under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The crime is alleged to have occurred in June and July 2013 in Shawnee County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney is prosecuting.
Majed Hussein Atieh, a U.S. citizen who resides in the Kingdom of Jordan, 51, is charged with two counts of falsely claiming to be a resident of Leawood, Kan., when purchasing firearms from a store in Kansas. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in December 2011 and October 2012 in
Overland Park, Kan.If convicted he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting.
Urbano Garcia, 27, is charged with failing to appear for sentencing on a federal drug charge. He was scheduled to appear June 1, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Topeka.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.
Lucas Villarreal, 22, is charged with failing to appear for sentencing on a federal drug charge. He was scheduled to appear Aug. 29, 2013, for sentencing in U.S. District Court in Topeka.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.
Donald Lee Cohee, 25, Topeka, Kan., is charged with one count of failing to register as required under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The crime is alleged to have occurred from May to August 2013 in Shawnee County, Kan.If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney is prosecuting.
Richard Serafin, 44, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Aug. 15, 2013, in Cloud County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.Hogsett Announces Arrest of Indianapolis Man on Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that David Simpkins, age 25, of Indianapolis, has been charged with producing child pornography involving two young victims. Hogsett said the filing of formal charges comes as his office has launched Operation Community Watch, a new effort which aims to reduce the abuse of Hoosier children through innovative investigative techniques and aggressive prosecution.
“This case represents the kind of collaborative, cross-country investigation that Operation Community Watch is designed to foster,” Hogsett said. “What began as a tip to law enforcement in Boston ended over the weekend with the arrest of this defendant, and the end of his alleged abusive acts against these young victims.”
According to charging documents released today, agents with Homeland Security Investigation in Boston recently discovered a series of images depicting child pornography. Working with Indianapolis-based Homeland Security Investigation special agents, as well as a Carmel police detective assigned to the Hamilton County Metropolitan Crimes Against Children Task Force, those images were traced to Indianapolis. Evidence was allegedly discovered that indicated the images at some point had been distributed by defendant Simpkins.
Subsequent investigation allegedly revealed that two local victims are depicted in these images. The victims are very young children, both under the age of three, and the images indicate the abusive acts took place at a home in Indianapolis where the defendant had on occasion acted as a babysitter for the victims. On August 17, 2013, representatives from the local Homeland Security Investigation Task Force located Simpkins in Muncie, at which time he was arrested and federally charged.
According to Senior Litigation Counsel Steven D. DeBrota, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Simpkins faces decades in prison if he is convicted. In addition, Simpkins also could be sentenced to years of supervised release at the end of his prison term, as well as lifetime registration as a sexual offender.
This arrest comes as Hogsett has announced a comprehensive crackdown on child exploitation in Indiana. Just last year, he launched “Operation Community Watch,” which will allow prosecutors and investigators to use cutting-edge techniques to identify and charge people in Hoosier communities who are engaged in the receipt and trafficking of child pornography materials. In this case, these efforts were facilitated by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a larger nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Hogsett pointed out that in the last Project Safe Childhood reporting year, the Office prosecuted 52 defendants, an increase of 37% over the prior year, and 49 defendants were convicted and sentenced. These are all-time records for the Office.
The greatest measure of the PSC program’s impact, however, is the identification and rescue of child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. Over the last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office successfully identified more than 120 child victims, including minors in Indiana, numerous places in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and other countries around the world.
Led nationally by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Informations, indictments, and criminal complaints are only a charge and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Hogsett Announces Arrest of Evansville-area Postal Worker on Child Exploitation ChargesRead the Press Release
EVANSVILLE – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Floyd M. Thompson, age 59, of Evansville, has been charged with possession and receiving child pornography. The United States Postal Service has confirmed that Thompson started working at the Elberfeld office in 2005 and was recently named postmaster. Hogsett said the filing of formal charges comes as his office has launched Operation Community Watch, a new effort which aims to reduce the abuse of Hoosier children through innovative investigative techniques and aggressive prosecution.
“Through Operation Community Watch, this office and our law enforcement partners are unwavering in our resolve to find and prosecute those who exploit our children,” Hogsett said. “As this case shows, you are not anonymous online – if you engage in this behavior, you will be identified and you will be prosecuted.”
According to charging documents, law enforcement first began their investigation in June 2013, when an undercover member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Southern Indiana Child Exploitation Task Force connected with a computer that was allegedly sharing sexuallyexplicit images depicting young children. After downloading a number of these files from the user, investigators traced the online activity to a home in Evansville.
As a result of this information, a federal search warrant was executed on August 13 at the Evansville home of defendant Thompson. Federal agents interviewed Thompson and took his computer equipment into custody. A preliminary forensic examination of these computers allegedly revealed thousands of images and videos of child pornography depicting young girls between the ages of 3 and 12 years old.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Shellenbarger, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Thompson faces up to twenty years in federal prison if he is convicted. In addition, the defendant also could be sentenced to a lifetime term of supervised release at the end of his prison term, as well as registration as a sexual offender.
This arrest comes as Hogsett has announced a comprehensive crackdown on child exploitation in Indiana. Just last year, he launched “Operation Community Watch,” which will allow prosecutors and investigators to use cutting-edge techniques to identify and charge people in Hoosier communities who are engaged in the receipt and trafficking of child pornography materials. In this case, these efforts were facilitated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Evansville Police Department.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a larger nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Hogsett pointed out that in the last Project Safe Childhood reporting year, the Office prosecuted 52 defendants, an increase of 37% over the prior year, and 49 defendants were convicted and sentenced. These are all-time records for the Office.
The greatest measure of the PSC program’s impact, however, is the identification and rescue of child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. Over the last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office successfully identified more than 120 child victims, including minors in Indiana, numerous places in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and other countries around the world.
Led nationally by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Informations, indictments, and criminal complaints are only a charge and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Harrisburg Man Indicted for Crack Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District Pennsylvania announced that a federal grand jury in Harrisburg returned an indictment charging James O. Payne, age 32, of Harrisburg, with crack cocaine trafficking.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Payne distributed crack cocaine in Harrisburg and elsewhere from 2011 to February 2013. An investigation by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Dauphin County Criminal Investigation Division, the Dauphin County Office Probation and Parole, and the Harrisburg Bureau of Police, revealed his pattern of drug trafficking in the area.
Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Consiglio.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is life imprisonment and a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
* * * *Fulton County Investment Advisor Convicted of 21 Counts of FraudRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Robert G. Bard, age 47, of Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania, was convicted in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania of 21 counts of fraud-related offenses after a seven-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo. No date was set for sentencing.
Bard was a registered investment advisor and was the owner and operator of Vision Specialist Group (VSG) between December 2004 and August 2009. The jury convicted Bard of defrauding numerous investors by, among other things, misrepresenting the value and make-up of their investment portfolios. Bard executed the scheme by creating phony account statements which significantly inflated the value of the investors’ accounts and included securities that were not owned by the investor. Bard created the phony account statements to conceal over $3 million in losses his clients sustained between 2006 and 2009 as a result of risky and speculative stocks he purchased on their behalf.
Bard also failed to inform his clients that he was terminated from his prior employment as a stock broker for forging customer signatures on financial documents, had received a lifetime ban from the National Association of Securities Dealers and had declared personal bankruptcy in 2005.
Bard faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on the securities fraud charge, up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each of the 14 wire fraud charges, up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each of the three mail fraud charges, up to 30 years’ imprisonment on the bank fraud charge and up to five years’ imprisonment on the false statements charge, as well as substantial fines and penalties when he is sentenced. Bard was previously held liable for a civil penalty of $2.5 million as well as disgorgement of $450,000 in profits in connection with a prior civil proceeding brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Senior Litigation Counsel Bruce Brandler handled the prosecution.
Fourth Man Admits Involvement in Murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas Jr.Read the Press Release
SAN DIEGO - A 28-year-old Mexican national entered a guilty plea today in federal court in connection with the July 2009 murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, Jr., admitting he was one of three gunmen who lured the agent into a trap to steal his night-vision goggles and then fatally shot him during a struggle.
Marcos Rodríguez-Perez was arrested by Mexican authorities on April 11, 2011, in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico and was extradited from Mexico on October 13, 2011, escorted by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Rodríguez-Perez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and kidnaping, robbery of personal property of the United States, and use and carrying of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 58 years in prison.
According to the plea agreement, Rodríguez-Perez admitted that on July 23, 2009, he and four others - Jose Juan Chacon-Morales, Jose Luis Ramirez-Dorantes, Christian Daniel Castro Alvarez, and Emilio Samyn Gonzales-Arenazas - traveled by car and foot to a remote area on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border near Campo, California. All five were carrying firearms and, once at the border, entered into an agreement to rob a U.S. Border Patrol agent of his night vision device.
As Agent Rosas, in uniform and performing his official duties, responded to the area, the defendant entered the U.S. with Castro-Alvarez and Gonzales-Arenazas through a hole in the border fence, while Chacon-Morales and Ramirez-Dorantes remained in Mexico and stood watch. After Agent Rosas exited his vehicle, the defendant, Castro-Alvarez, and Gonzales-Arenazas detained Agent Rosas at gunpoint.
Agent Rosas resisted, and during the ensuing struggle, the defendant, Castro-Alvarez and Gonzales-Arenazas fired multiple shots at Agent Rosas, killing him. The three men “stole Agent Rosas's bag, firearm, handcuffs, and night vision device, among other things…and fled back to Mexico,” the plea agreement said. They rejoined Chacon-Morales and Ramirez-Dorantes, and all five fled the area.
To date, three defendants besides Rodríguez-Perez have pleaded guilty: Christian Daniel Castro-Alvarez was sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment; Emilio Samyn Gonzalez-Arenazas and Jose Ramirez-Dorantes are scheduled to be sentenced in November. Jose Juan Chacon-Morales remains a fugitive.
Rodriguez-Perez pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge M. James Lorenz. Sentencing was set for November 14, 2013, at 2:00 p.m.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“ICE-HSI”) are jointly investigating Agent Rosas’ murder.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No. 10CR1793-L-3 Marcos Rodriguez-Perez SUMMARY OF CHARGESConspiracy - Title18, United States Code, Section 371; Robbery of personal property of the United States - Title 18, United States Code, Section 2112; Use and carrying of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence - Title18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)
INVESTIGATING AGENCIESFederal Bureau of Investigation
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security InvestigationsFormer Postmaster Pleads Guilty to Stealing Postal FundsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court, the former postmaster of the Marble Post Office in Itasca County pleaded guilty to stealing funds from the office. On August 20, 2013, Jill Marie Rousse, age 39, of Calumet, pleaded guilty to one count of misappropriation of postal funds. Rousse, who was indicted on June 10, 2013, entered her plea before United States District Judge Ann D. Montgomery.
In her plea agreement, Rousse admitted that between August 2011 and October 2012, she stole money from the post office by either taking cash from the cash drawer or issuing money orders in her own name. Rousse also admittedly falsified reports regarding the sale of money orders and postage in order to conceal her theft. An audit of the post office identified shortages totaling $9,031.43 in cash and stamps.
For her crime, Rousse faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Judge Montgomery will determine her sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled. This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service-Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lola Velazquez-Aguilu.Former Postal Service Employee Sentenced for Stealing MailRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.– U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Dale Richmond, 59, of Williamson, N.Y., who was convicted of mail theft and mail tampering, was sentenced today to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay a $7,500 fine by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer. In addition, the defendant was ordered to make restitution to the victims of his crime in the amount of $7,807.25.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who handled the case, stated that Richmond worked as a mechanic for the United States Postal Service in the Rochester Logistics and Distribution Center. While working there, the defendant rifled through mail looking for scrap gold, jewelry, rare coins and other small items of value. Richmond stole and then sold the items at a local pawn shop for more than $30,000.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Lapina.Former Navy Sailor Convicted of Attempted EspionageRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Robert Patrick Hoffman II, 40, of Virginia Beach, Va., was convicted today by a federal jury of attempting to provide classified information to individuals who he believed to be representatives of the Russian Federation.
Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John P. Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Charles T. May, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement.
Hoffman faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on December 2, 2103.
Hoffman was indicted on May 8, 2013, in a one-count superseding indictment charging him with attempted espionage. According to court records and the evidence at trial, Hoffman is a U.S. citizen born in Buffalo, N.Y., who served for 20 years in the U.S. Navy until his retirement on Nov. 1, 2011. While serving in the Navy, Hoffman held security clearances that granted him access to classified and national defense information relating to programs and operations in which he participated. Even though he repeatedly signed agreements to not disclose that sensitive information, on Oct. 21, 2012, he passed classified information to what he believed to be the Russian Federation. Hoffman in fact, delivered the information to the FBI, which was conducting an undercover operation.
This case was investigated by the FBI and NCIS. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Krask and Alan M. Salsbury, and Trial Attorney Heather M. Schmidt of the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Former Navy Sailor Convicted of Attempted EspionageRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Robert Patrick Hoffman II, 40, of Virginia Beach, Va., was convicted today by a federal jury of attempting to provide classified information to individuals who he believed to be representatives of the Russian Federation.
Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John P. Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Charles T. May, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement.
Hoffman faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on December 2, 2103.
Hoffman was indicted on May 8, 2013, in a one-count superseding indictment charging him with attempted espionage. According to court records and the evidence at trial, Hoffman is a U.S. citizen born in Buffalo, N.Y., who served for 20 years in the U.S. Navy until his retirement on Nov. 1, 2011. While serving in the Navy, Hoffman held security clearances that granted him access to classified and national defense information relating to programs and operations in which he participated. Even though he repeatedly signed agreements to not disclose that sensitive information, on Oct. 21, 2012, he passed classified information to what he believed to be the Russian Federation. Hoffman in fact, delivered the information to the FBI, which was conducting an undercover operation.
This case was investigated by the FBI and NCIS. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Krask and Alan M. Salsbury, and Trial Attorney Heather M. Schmidt of the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Former Marine Sentenced to 54 Months in Federal Prison and Ordered to Pay Nearly $41,000 in Restitution for Running Elaborate Fraud Scheme to Obtain Financial Help to Play on PGA TourRead the Press Release
Defendant Concocted Convincing Story That He Was a Wounded Combat Veteran
DALLAS — Michael Duye Campbell, 30, was sentenced this afternoon, by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis, to 54 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $40,993 in restitution for running a fraudulent scheme to obtain financial assistance so that he could play professional golf, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña.
Campbell pleaded guilty in March 2013 to one count of mail fraud. According to documents filed in the case, Campbell served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2000 to 2004; he never deployed overseas and was never injured, severely or otherwise, in combat. Nonetheless, he began representing himself as a Marine combat veteran who had suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
As part of his elaborate scheme, Campbell falsely told others that while on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq, his unit was attacked when an improvised explosive device (IED), or bomb, detonated. He told others that members of his unit died in the explosion and that he awoke from his serious injuries months later at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He claimed that he couldn’t speak, and that when he did regain his speech, he stuttered. He also claimed that he suffered short-term memory loss from his TBI.
Campbell told numerous individuals that his doctor suggested that he take up golf to help with his rehabilitation for his combat injuries. Campbell also created a website and obtained a promotional video recording to further his scheme — all to obtain financial help to play in the PGA.
Campbell was convincing in his story. He met famous people who supported charity golf tournaments for wounded warriors and convinced them to write stories on his behalf and provide him access to expensive golf schools and golf courses. All of this provided Campbell with opportunities to continue his scheme, defraud others and afford him opportunities to search out endorsement contracts for golf apparel and equipment.
In fact, it was during this process that Campbell learned of the Troops First Foundation and Operation Proper Exit. These charities provide opportunities for severely-injured service members to return to the location where they sustained their injury and, instead of being medically evacuated, provide them the opportunity to walk to the aircraft and climb the ramp. Campbell participated in Operation Proper Exit VIII, co-sponsored by the USO, in December 2010. He was flown from DFW to Dubai and then provided military transportation for the remainder of the trip. Even though Campbell was neither a combat veteran nor a wounded warrior, he made the trip, which cost thousands of dollars.
Campbell deceived other charities including Operation Homefront and Counter Valor by making continued material false statements in furtherance of his scheme to defraud. He obtained many things of value from them including automobile payments, automobile insurance payments, utilities, room and board, transportation, living expenses and golf tournament entry fees. Likewise, Campbell deceived Vola LLC (an athletic apparel and footwear company located in Richardson, Texas) and Golf Technology Xtreme, Inc. (GTX) (a manufacturer of golf clubs), by obtaining, and attempting to obtain golf clothing, equipment, money and other things of value from them.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham.
Former Manager of Local Title Company Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – ELIZABETH GLOSEMEYER, St. Louis County, pled guilty to raiding the company’s escrow account to fund operations during the time she was the manager of Lenders Guarantee Title Company of St. Louis.
According to court documents, the escrow account consisted of clients’ money and was to be used only for clients’ real estate transactions. Glosemeyer doctored financial records to cover up her raiding of the escrow account from Lenders’ underwriters. In the summer of 2012, an audit uncovered Glosemeyer’s scheme and Lenders went out of business soon thereafter. Due to the deficit in the escrow account Glosemeyer created, at least one transaction in excess of $200,000 had to be closed with the underwriters’ funds. She appeared before United States District Judge Rodney W. Sippel. Sentencing has been set for November 15, 2013.
Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, a $250,000 fine or both. Restitution is also mandatory. 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 the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.Former Judge Abel Limas Gets 72 Months in Prison for Taking BribesRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Former 404th State District Judge Abel Corral Limas has been ordered to prison following his conviction for racketeering, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Limas pleaded guilty March 31, 2011.
Today, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Limas a total sentence of 72 months in federal prison. At the hearing, additional testimony was presented concerning the impact suffered by victims with one victim testifying there was “outrage and shock at the magnitude of the corruption.” Limas admitted to the court that his conduct was “not a mistake, it was intentional” and he had destroyed the public’s view of the local judiciary. Limas was further ordered to pay restitution of approximately $6,777,270.50 and will serve a term of three years of supervised release following completion of the prison sentence. An additional amount of $257,300 was ordered forfeited as proceeds derived from the offense.
“It critical to our court system that justice is administered fairly and without any undue influence,” said Magidson. “This case and the sentencing today serves as a reminder that this behavior will not be tolerated in the Southern District of Texas. We will continue our efforts against public corruption and will pursue prosecution in these matters when identified to us by our partner law enforcement agencies.”
Limas, 57, a life-long resident of Brownsville, practiced criminal and family law in south Texas during the late ‘80s and the ‘90s before assuming the judgeship of the 404th District in 2000. Limas served as judge for eight years - retiring in December 2008. Thereafter, he was associated with the law firm of Rosenthal & Watson, an Austin firm, as “of counsel.”
At the time of his guilty plea, Limas admitted his part in use of the office of judge of the 404th District Court as a criminal enterprise to enrich himself and others through extortion. Limas accepted money and other consideration from attorneys in civil cases pending in his court in return for favorable pre-trial rulings in certain cases, including a case involving a helicopter crash at South Padre Island in February 2008. Limas specifically admitted to receiving $8,000 in May 2008, a payment described as eight “golf balls,” for favorable rulings.
Evidence also showed Limas participated in a series of meetings with attorneys Marc Garrett Rosenthal and Jim Solis in the summer of 2008 during which they planned and negotiated the terms of Limas’ employment as an “of counsel” attorney with the firm. During those meetings, Rosenthal promised Limas an advance of at least $100,000 as well as a percentage of attorneys’ fees earned in the helicopter crash case in return for favorable rulings on the case. Limas’ employment arrangements were confirmed in calls on Aug. 28, 2008, between Limas and his wife and son. Limas was expecting to be “cut in” on 10% of the settlement/judgment of the helicopter crash case pending in his court and the $100,000 advance. On Dec. 31, 2008, Limas received a check for $50,000 payable from the Rosenthal & Watson Law Firm. On Jan. 2, 2009, Limas received a check for $50,000 from Solis.
In October 2009, the helicopter case settled for approximately $14 million and Limas received approximately $85,000 from the Rosenthal & Watson Law Firm approximately two months later.
To date, a total of eight defendants have entered guilty pleas to related violations in the FBI’s four-year public corruption investigation, including Jose Santiago “Jim” Solis, former Texas State Representative; local attorney Jose “Joe” Valle; former Cameron County District Attorney’s Office investigator Jaime Munivez; Jose Manuel “Meme” Longoria; Armando Pena and his wife, Karina. Three others - attorneys Ray Roman Marchan, Marc Garrett Rosenthal and former Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos were found guilty of public corruption-related charges involving their association with Limas after separate jury trials. Marchan was previously sentenced to 42 months imprisonment, which was vacated upon his death. Solis was sentenced Aug. 2, 2013, to 47 months, while Rosenthal and Villalobos will be sentenced Sept. 23 and Oct. 15, 2013, respectively.
Limas was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The investigation has been conducted by the FBI with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Brownsville Police Departmentand Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. Southern District of Texas Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) Michael Wynne and Oscar Ponce are prosecuting this case. The cases against Villalobos and Rosenthal are being prosecuted under the direction of the Western District of Texas by AUSAs Wynne and Greg Surovic.
Former Joplin Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud Related to Tornado BenefitsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Joplin, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a wire fraud conspiracy following the May 22, 2011 tornado.
John L. Williams, 31, of Memphis, Tenn., formerly of Joplin, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the charge contained in a June 11, 2013, federal indictment.
According to today’s plea agreement, Williams engaged in a conspiracy to defraud the Economic Security Corporation of Southwest Area in Joplin. The not-for-profit corporation administered a rental assistance program, the Missouri Housing Trust Fund Disaster Relief Program. This program disbursed funds to landlords who rented to clients who had been displaced by natural disasters, including the May 22, 2011 tornado that struck Joplin.
Williams, who was not a landlord or property manager of Economic Security Corporation clients, conspired with others to submit fraudulent applications for rental assistance. Williams assisted in the scheme by serving as a purported landlord on two fraudulent applications for rental assistance, and also by accompanying other check recipients to the bank to cash their checks, in order to collect the proceeds of the fraud.
The Economic Security Corporation issued two rental assistance checks to Williams totaling $3,050. The total financial loss from the wire fraud conspiracy totaled $8,565.
Under federal statutes, Williams is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Disaster Fraud Hotline
Anyone with information about disaster fraud related to the Joplin tornado should call the National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721, the Joplin Police Department at 417-623-3131, or the FBI’s Joplin office at 417-206-5700.
Former Finance Director of the Flood Team LLC Sentenced on Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – RUTH JACKSON was sentenced to 34 months in prison for embezzling over $50,000 by diverting checks and funds payable to The Flood Team, LLC. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $50,000.
The Flood Team LLC provides remediation and restoration services related to water damage. In August 2011, Ruth Jackson was hired as Director of Finance for the business. In that capacity, Jackson had responsibility for a variety of matters relating to the books, records and finances of The Flood Team LLC. Jackson's responsibilities included paying bills, preparing deposits and managing various bank accounts.
According to court documents, Jackson secretly kept an old corporate account open and hidden from the owner of the business. Between November 2011 and late April 2012, Jackson embezzled over $50,000 by diverting checks and funds payable to The Flood Team LLC into the secret account, then wrote checks to herself which she cashed at various locations in the area.
Jackson, St. Louis, MO, pled guilty in January to one felony count of bank fraud. She appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge John Ross.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Sunset Hills Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney John Bodenhausen handled the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.Former Chairman and Ceo of Skagit County Community Bank Pleads Guilty in Connection with False Information Provided to Bank RegulatorsRead the Press Release
The former Chairman and CEO of Summit Bank, a Skagit County community bank, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to Making a False Entry in a Report of an Insured Bank, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. JAMES E. BISHOP, 70, of Mount Vernon, Washington pleaded guilty to a criminal charge filed last week. In his plea agreement BISHOP admits that between 2009 and 2011, BISHOP and his son, who was the bank president, concealed from regulators the mounting number of loans that were in default. Summit bank was ultimately closed by state regulators and sold in May 2011. Under the terms of the plea agreement, BISHOP must be sentenced to a term of imprisonment between 12 and 41 months or both sides can withdraw from the plea agreement. Sentencing is scheduled before Chief U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman on November 15, 2013.
“Our economy depends on every bank following the rules. Banking rules protect individual depositors as well as our financial system,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “These defendants – both experienced bankers – took a myriad of steps to hide the true financial condition of Summit Bank from federal and state regulators.”
According to the records filed in the case, in 2005 JAMES E. BISHOP became CEO of Summit Bank and Chairman of Summit Bank’s Board of Directors. His son, James E. Bishop II, served as President of the bank, and both were significant shareholders in the bank. James E. Bishop II has also been charged in the case. The younger BISHOP served as president of Summit Bank from 2005-2011. According to the statement of facts in the plea agreement, the bank was required to file various reports with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) disclosing the loans the bank had made and the status of the loans. In his plea agreement BISHOP admits that between 2009 and 2011, he caused the bank to undertake financial transactions related to past due loans, which concealed the overdue loans in the quarterly reports that went to the FDIC, essentially hiding millions of dollars in loans that were past due, and causing the bank to appear financially healthier than it actually was. For example in one report on June 30, 2010, the Bank reported past due loans of approximately $6 million in outstanding loans, payments on which were past due for 30 or more days. In truth, the bank had at least $13 million in outstanding loans, payments on which were past due for 30 or more days.
“When we put our money in a bank, we also place our trust in those who operate it,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Laura M. Laughlin of the FBI Seattle office. “The FBI is committed to working with our partners to bring to justice those who would violate that trust.”
“We are pleased to join our law enforcement colleagues and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in announcing this guilty plea,” said Wade Walters, Special Agent in Charge of the Western Region FDIC Office of Inspector General. “We are committed to ensuring the integrity of the banking industry and are especially concerned when bank insiders abuse their positions of trust and attempt to deceive the regulators. It is fitting punishment that Mr. Bishop will be imprisoned, fined, and prohibited from participation in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution going forward.”
As part of a civil enforcement agreement entered with the FDIC, which is incorporated into the plea agreement, BISHOP will pay $300,000 to the FDIC and agree to a lifetime prohibition from participating in the conduct of the affairs of any federally insured financial institution.
James E. Bishop II is scheduled for a plea hearing on September 5, 2013.
The case was investigated by the FDIC Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG) and the FBI.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Diggs.Former Camp Pendleton Marine Captain Pleads Guilty to FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that a former U. S. Marine Captain admitted to submitting tens of thousands of dollars in false lodging receipts to the Marine Corps and the Department of Veterans Affairs from 2009 to 2011. At the time, Captain Shawn A. Joyce was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
As detailed in his plea agreement, Joyce had initially been discharged from active duty in October 2008, entered the Marine Corps reserves, and thereafter sought and obtained orders placing him back on active duty at Camp Pendleton. Under certain circumstances, reservists who are called to active duty become eligible for a housing reimbursement benefit during the term of their active duty, in addition to the basic allowance for housing that they receive. Joyce exploited this housing reimbursement benefit by falsely claiming reimbursement for rent that he never paid. Specifically, in 2009 and 2010, Joyce falsely claimed to be paying rent up to $4,030 per month for an address in Solana Beach. In 2011, Joyce falsely claimed to be paying rent of $3,700 per month for an address in Fountain Valley.
In order to conceal and disguise the fraud, Joyce submitted false rental receipts to the Marine Corps and created a fake email address in the name of his former landlord at the Solana Beach address. This email address was then used without his former landlord’s knowledge or consent to facilitate the fraud.
In his plea agreement, Joyce also admitted to devising a separate scheme to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs of tens of thousands of dollars. Under federal law, a servicemember receiving VA disability benefits is not entitled to simultaneously receive active duty compensation. To avoid this type of “double payment,” service members (who receives VA disability benefits) are required to advice the VA when they receive orders placing them on active duty. Despite this regulation, Joyce failed to advise the VA and continued to receive VA disability benefits to which he was not entitled. Compounding the loss, Joyce contacted the VA from time to time trying to increase the amount of his improper disability payments.
Joyce pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud. He acknowledged defrauding the Defense Department of $48,740 (count one) and the VA of $41,862 (count two). In his plea agreement, Joyce agrees to pay restitution in the full amount of the losses.
United States Attorney Duffy stated, “With our nation’s military budget being strained to the breaking point, fraud that drains funds needed by the U. S. Marine Corps and our veterans, will not be tolerated.”
“The Office of Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs aggressively investigates fraudulent receipt of VA benefits in order to preserve these benefits for those entitled to them,” said VA Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Quentin Aucoin.
The case has been assigned to U. S. District Judge John A. Houston. The next scheduled court appearance is November 18, 2013 for sentencing.asdf
DEFENDANT Case Number: 13cr3063-JAH Shawn A. Joyce SUMMARY OF CHARGESCount 1: Wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 - Maximum penalties: 20 years in prison, $250,000 fine, term of supervised release of three years, restitution, forfeiture, and $100 special assessment.
Count 2: Wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 - Maximum penalties: 20 years in prison, $250,000 fine, term of supervised release of three years, restitution, forfeiture, and $100 special assessment.
INVESTIGATING AGENCIESDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General
Naval Criminal Investigative ServiceFormer Camden Town Manager Pleads Guilty to Mail FraudRead the Press Release
Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware and Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt announced that former Camden Town Manager James O. Plumley, III, age 62, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail fraud before United States District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews. Plumley’s guilty plea stems from his role in a kickback scheme that he orchestrated to unlawfully defraud the State of Delaware of over $200,000 in years 2004 through 2008. Plumley’s partner in the scheme – William P. Mahon, of W.P. Mahon, Inc., a contractor in Wilmington – also pleaded guilty today.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shawn A. Weede and Jennifer L. Hall. For further information, please contact Public Information Officer Kimberlynn Reeves at (302) 573-6277, ext. 16287.
From facts disclosed at the plea hearing, Plumley was employed at Roofing Resources, Inc., in 2004 through 2008 and was responsible for assisting the State of Delaware’s Division of Facilities Management (“DFM”) select qualified contractors to repair and maintain roofs at state-owned facilities. Plumley used this position to steer roofing contracts to Mahon. In return and at Plumley’s direction, Mahon inflated his project bids by a specified amount, which he later deposited into Plumley’s checking account as a kickback after the DFM paid him for the job. Over the course of the scheme, the FBI was able to identify $204,000 in kickbacks that Plumley received from Mahon – money that Plumley and Mahon agreed to repay to the State of Delaware pursuant to their plea agreements.
This case was made possible through substantial cooperation by the Camden Police Department – including Chief of Police William E. Bryson and Captain Gary Melvin – who conducted the initial investigation of Plumley and provided the FBI with a strong foundation for its case here.
Former Bookkeeper for Spencer, W.va.-based Oil and Gas Company Admits to Major Embezzlement SchemeRead the Press Release
Rosalie Seabolt stole more than $800,000 from Kimco, Inc.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. –A former bookkeeper for a Spencer-based oil and gas company who admitted embezzling more than $800,000 from her employer pleaded guilty today to a federal charge, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Rosalie J. Seabolt, 59, of Spencer, W.Va., pleaded guilty to mail fraud before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. in Charleston. Seabolt was employed at Kimco, Inc. and its related company, Roy G. Hildreth and Son, Inc. (“Hildreth”), for more than 25 years. During her employment at Kimco, Seabolt eventually became the company’s bookkeeper.
U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said, “Having nearly a million dollars wiped out of a bank account can create distress for practically any business, but it's especially significant to a small business. That's why my office has focused on investigating and prosecuting cases like these, to protect small businesses and to send a clear message that such conduct will not be tolerated in this district."
From approximately September 9, 2000 and continuing through December 24, 2012, during her employment at Kimco, Seabolt wrote numerous unauthorized checks to herself from the company’s bank account. During the scheme, Seabolt deposited and cashed these checks at her personal credit union. To prevent Kimco from discovering the unauthorized checks, Seabolt misleadingly indicated in Kimco’s books that the unauthorized checks were made to Hildreth as a business expense.
From at least 2000 through 2012, Poca Valley Bank mailed monthly bank statements to Kimco that included check images. Seabolt, who was in charge of reviewing the monthly bank statements, altered the statements by covering up the check images that revealed unauthorized checks she had written to herself. Also during the scheme, Seabolt destroyed portions of original bank statements the company had received from the bank.
On January 10, 2013, Seabolt told police that she had defrauded Kimco. In total, Seabolt took approximately $815,693.27 of monies from the company.
Seabolt faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced on November 21, 2013.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Meredith George Thomas is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia’s Business Protection Initiative. U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced the Business Protection Initiative in November 2010. Business protection is a primary initiative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office that focuses on prosecuting individuals who defraud West Virginia businesses.
Former Albuquerque Fireman Sentenced to Thirty Months in Federal Prison for Structuring Drug Trafficking ProceedsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Steve Chavez, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction for structuring currency transactions to avoid a reporting requirement. The court also ordered Chavez, who was a fireman with the Albuquerque Fire Department at the time he committed the offense, to forfeit the sum of $182,000 to the United States.
Chavez’s sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit of the El Paso Field Division of the DEA, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and Dawn Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation.
Chavez was arrested in Jan. 2012, on a 29-count federal indictment charging him and 14 co-defendants with drug trafficking, money laundering and currency structuring offenses. The indictment charged Chavez and his 14 co-defendants with participating in a drug trafficking organization led by Homer Varela (Varela DTO) that distributed cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in New Mexico between May 2011 and January 2012. The indictment also charged Chavez with currency structuring and using a communications device to facilitate drug trafficking crimes. The indictment included provisions seeking forfeiture of property constituting, or derived from proceeds obtained from the defendants’ illegal drug trafficking and financial crimes.
In April 2013, Chavez pleaded guilty to a currency structuring charge and admitted that between July 2011 and Aug. 2011, he structured currency transactions for the purpose of avoiding federal reporting requirements for deposits and withdrawals involving more than $10,000. According to his plea agreement, Chavez committed this crime by making 37 cash deposits and withdrawals over a 55-day period as part of a pattern of illegal activity. In his plea agreement, Chavez admitted that the purpose of his structured deposits and withdrawals was to avoid reporting requirements and thus conceal his association with Varela and his support of the Varela DTO. Chavez also admitted brokering cocaine transactions for the Varela DTO and “cleaning” its drug money by structuring financial transactions. According to the plea agreement, in Nov. 2011, Chavez attempted to broker a 20 kilogram cocaine transaction for the Varela DTO. Chavez has been in federal custody since April 2013.
In Jan. 2013, Varela pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder money and money laundering. In July 2013, Varela was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.
An additional six of Chavez’s co-defendants have entered guilty pleas. Another six co-defendants have entered not guilty pleas to the indictment and are pending trial. The 14th co-defendant, Manuel Villa-Mayorquin, has not been apprehended and is considered a fugitive. The charges in the indictment against the seven co-defendants who have not pleaded guilty are only accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The indictment in this case was the result of a multi-agency investigation into a major drug trafficking and money laundering organization operating out of the Albuquerque metropolitan area that was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) program. OCDETF is a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.This case was investigated by DEA, IRS and FBI with support from the New Mexico State Police, the Albuquerque Police Department and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by the OCDETF & Gangs Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Former Accounting Firm Partner Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Stealing Nearly $4 Million in Client PaymentsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CRAIG B. HABER, a former partner of a global accounting firm, pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to stealing nearly $4 million in client payments intended for the firm. HABER pled guilty before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Craig Haber committed a flagrant fraud against his accounting firm and its clients by directing millions of dollars in payments intended for the firm to his personal bank accounts. With his plea today, he joins the ranks of disgraced financial professionals who put their own interests before the organizations and clients they were supposed to serve.”
According to the Complaint, the Information, and statements made in court:
From 1993 through July 2012, HABER was a partner at a global accounting firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, that provided a variety of auditing, accounting, and tax preparation services to businesses and individuals in the United States and abroad (the “Accounting Firm”). HABER worked at the Accounting Firm’s office in New York, New York, and provided tax preparation and advisory services.
The Accounting Firm’s bills to clients ordinarily included payment instructions directing clients to pay the firm by wire transfer or by sending checks to its headquarters in Chicago. However, on multiple occasions from 2004 through July 2012, HABER instead provided instructions to his clients directing them to send checks to him at the Accounting Firm’s New York, New York office.
Upon receiving those checks, HABER deposited a number of them into a bank account that he had opened in the name of a sham business whose name was very similar to the name of the Accounting Firm. After depositing the clients’ checks into that account, HABER then transferred the money from that account to two personal bank accounts which he used to pay various personal expenses, including mortgage payments for his residence in New York, New York.
HABER stole a total of nearly $4 million in client payments.
HABER, 59, of New York, New York, pled guilty to one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Castel on December 13, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Facciponti is in charge of the prosecution.
Haber, Craig Information
Federal Jury Convicts Truck Driver in Undocumented Person Transportation CaseRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – Miguel A. Granadeno, of Carthage, Mo., has been convicted of conspiracy to transport and the transportation of undocumented persons, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. The verdict was returned less than an hour ago following a three-day trial.
During trial, the jury heard testimony that on April 18, 2013, Granadeno was caught at the I-35 Border Patrol Checkpoint north of Laredo with six undocumented persons hidden in his tractor. Four were found stuffed inside a storage compartment under the bed in the sleeper area of the tractor, one was crunched in a small closet above a refrigerator and the last person was lying in a cavity the length of the tractor above the driver’s head.
The undocumented persons were illegally crossed into the United States outside of McAllen and taken to a house where a number of people were staying, according to evidence presented in court. On April 18, 2013, the six people were driven from the McAllen area to a Walmart in Laredo where Granadeno met them and hid them in various places throughout his tractor. He then drove to the checkpoint.
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña, who presided over the trial, will set sentencing at a later date. At that time, Granadeno faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000. Granadeno was taken into custody following the verdict where he will remain pending sentencing.
The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in conjunction with the U.S. Border Patrol. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher S. Coker and Elizabeth R. Rabe prosecuted the case.
Fairview Heights Man Pleads Guilty in Heroin Case Involving Overdose Deaths and Courthouse FigureRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today that Douglas W. Oliver, 47, of Fairview Heights, IL, pled guilty on August 21, 2013 to charges of Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin, Possession With Intent to Distribute Heroin, and Maintaining Drug-Involved Premises.
Oliver is scheduled to be sentenced in United States District Court in East St. Louis, IL, on December 13, 2013. Deborah Perkins, Oliver’s mother and codefendant, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2013. Perkins pled guilty on August 1, 2013.
Oliver and his mother, Perkins, have also agreed to forfeit the residence they once shared at 20 Kassing Drive in Fairview Heights, IL.
During his change of plea hearing, Oliver acknowledged that he had given heroin to both Jesse Williams and Jennifer Herling shortly before each died.
Williams visited Oliver at 20 Kassing Drive on an unknown date in March 2012. Oliver and Perkins have both admitted that Williams died after ingesting heroin in their home, and that they arranged for her body to be transported to East St. Louis, where police discovered her remains approximately two weeks after her death. Williams, also known as “Jesse James,” was 30 years old when she died.
Williams visited Oliver at 20 Kassing Drive on an unknown date in March 2012. Oliver and Perkins have both admitted that Williams died after ingesting heroin in their home, and that they arranged for her body to be transported to East St. Louis, where police discovered her remains approximately two weeks after her death. Williams, also known as “Jesse James,” was 30 years old when she died.
Herling died of a heroin overdose while visiting Oliver at 20 Kassing Drive during the night of September 28-29, 2012. Herling was 20 years old when she died.
A Stipulation of Facts filed at the time of Oliver’s plea indicates his dealings with a person identified in the St. Clair County Courthouse investigation.
When Oliver is sentenced, he will face a sentence of not less than 20 years’ imprisonment and a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment.
The investigation which resulted in the convictions of Oliver and Perkins was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fairview Heights Police Department, the Madison and St. Clair County Sheriff’s Departments,MEGSI, and by many other local law enforcement agencies.
The case is assigned to United States Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton and Assistant United States Attorney Robert L. Garrison.
Dresden Businessman Indicted for Distribution and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jackson, TN – Craig Elliot Woodward, 48, of Dresden, TN, was indicted today by a federal grand jury for one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III.
# # # #
The indictment alleges that on or about January 4, 2013, Woodward, the owner of Clockwork Screen Printing and Graphics in Dresden, knowingly distributed computer image files using a computer connected to the internet. These image files depicted a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The indictment further alleges that on or about May 5, 2013, Woodward possessed two laptop computer containing image files of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some of the children depicted in the files were less than 12 years old.
If convicted, Woodward faces up to 20 years in prison for each count and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. Following his sentence, Woodward could be under supervised release for the rest of his life.
The case was investigated by the FBI office in Jackson, the Dresden Police Department, the Martin Police Department and the Cookesville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Ireland is representing the government.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
District Man Sentenced to 67 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
For Shooting That Killed One Teenager
And Wounded Another in Northwest Washington
-Attack Took Place on Memorial Day of 2011-WASHINGTON - Eugene A. Kelly, 28, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 67 years in prison on charges of first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and related offenses stemming from the shooting of two teenagers in Northwest Washington on Memorial Day of 2011, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Kelly was found guilty of the charges in April 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr.
“This case is a tragic reminder of the senseless cycle of violence that is far too common in our city,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “In a foolish attempt to avenge his brother’s murder, Eugene Kelly shot two innocent fifteen-year-old boys, killing one of them. Kelly’s inexplicable decision to kill a child did nothing to bring back his brother or to honor his brother’s memory. That terrible decision will instead result in Kelly spending the rest of his life behind bars. We hope that this lengthy sentence sends the message that there is nothing good that comes from perpetuating the cycle of violence.”
According to the government’s evidence, on May 30, 2011, at about 10:15 p.m., the victims, two 15-year-old boys, were walking home in the 1400 block of New Jersey Avenue NW. As they were walking, Kelly opened fire and shot both teenagers. Isaiah Harris was killed by a single gunshot wound to his body. The surviving victim was shot in the leg.
Just before the shooting, Kelly, who was riding a small trick bike, had stopped to talk to a neighborhood acquaintance. The defendant mentioned his brother’s 2008 murder, and stated his belief that someone from the nearby 5th and O Streets neighborhood was responsible. Kelly announced that someone was going to pay for his brother’s murder, and said that he was going to retrieve a gun. He then retrieved a gun by a nearby dumpster and rode east on P Street toward New Jersey Avenue. Seconds later, the defendant fired multiple times, targeting the two teens.
The victims did not know Kelly and had no knowledge of or involvement in the 2008 murder of his brother. They were simply walking from the area of 5th and O Streets NW.
During a search warrant of the defendant’s home two days later, law enforcement officers found a small trick bike that matched the witnesses’ descriptions of the bike used by the shooter, as well as ammunition consistent with the type used in the murder. In addition, an FBI expert in historical cell site analysis determined that the defendant’s phone was used in the vicinity of the murder within 15 minutes of the murder.
Finally, on Sept. 14, 2011, a guard at the District of Columbia Jail found a note taken from an inmate during a routine morning check. The note, signed by Kelly with his jail identification number, provided a witness’s name and address, and identified members of the witness’s family. A handwriting expert from the FBI concluded that Kelly wrote the note.In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, which were involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case. U.S. Attorney Machen also expressed appreciation to Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Ethel Noble, Victim /Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, Supervisory Litigation Technology Specialist Joseph Calvarese, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ortwein, who indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer A. Kerkhoff and Holly R. Shick, who tried the case.
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District Man Sentenced to 67 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
For Shooting That Killed One Teenager
And Wounded Another in Northwest Washington
-Attack Took Place on Memorial Day of 2011-WASHINGTON - Eugene A. Kelly, 28, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 67 years in prison on charges of first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and related offenses stemming from the shooting of two teenagers in Northwest Washington on Memorial Day of 2011, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Kelly was found guilty of the charges in April 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr.
“This case is a tragic reminder of the senseless cycle of violence that is far too common in our city,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “In a foolish attempt to avenge his brother’s murder, Eugene Kelly shot two innocent fifteen-year-old boys, killing one of them. Kelly’s inexplicable decision to kill a child did nothing to bring back his brother or to honor his brother’s memory. That terrible decision will instead result in Kelly spending the rest of his life behind bars. We hope that this lengthy sentence sends the message that there is nothing good that comes from perpetuating the cycle of violence.”
According to the government’s evidence, on May 30, 2011, at about 10:15 p.m., the victims, two 15-year-old boys, were walking home in the 1400 block of New Jersey Avenue NW. As they were walking, Kelly opened fire and shot both teenagers. Isaiah Harris was killed by a single gunshot wound to his body. The surviving victim was shot in the leg.
Just before the shooting, Kelly, who was riding a small trick bike, had stopped to talk to a neighborhood acquaintance. The defendant mentioned his brother’s 2008 murder, and stated his belief that someone from the nearby 5th and O Streets neighborhood was responsible. Kelly announced that someone was going to pay for his brother’s murder, and said that he was going to retrieve a gun. He then retrieved a gun by a nearby dumpster and rode east on P Street toward New Jersey Avenue. Seconds later, the defendant fired multiple times, targeting the two teens.
The victims did not know Kelly and had no knowledge of or involvement in the 2008 murder of his brother. They were simply walking from the area of 5th and O Streets NW.
During a search warrant of the defendant’s home two days later, law enforcement officers found a small trick bike that matched the witnesses’ descriptions of the bike used by the shooter, as well as ammunition consistent with the type used in the murder. In addition, an FBI expert in historical cell site analysis determined that the defendant’s phone was used in the vicinity of the murder within 15 minutes of the murder.
Finally, on Sept. 14, 2011, a guard at the District of Columbia Jail found a note taken from an inmate during a routine morning check. The note, signed by Kelly with his jail identification number, provided a witness’s name and address, and identified members of the witness’s family. A handwriting expert from the FBI concluded that Kelly wrote the note.In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, which were involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case. U.S. Attorney Machen also expressed appreciation to Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Ethel Noble, Victim /Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, Supervisory Litigation Technology Specialist Joseph Calvarese, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ortwein, who indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer A. Kerkhoff and Holly R. Shick, who tried the case.
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Des Moines Man Sentenced to 90 Months in Prison for Mortgage FraudRead the Press Release
Des Moines, IA – On August 19, 2013, Paul Kramer, age 43, of Granger, Iowa, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge James E. Gritzner to 90 months in prison for wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Judge Gritzner also sentenced Kramer to five years of supervised release following incarceration.
From 2006 through 2009, Kramer knowingly used his mortgage company, Kramer Mortgage, and his real estate closing company, Iowa Closing and Escrow, to defraud multiple lenders out of over $1 million. Kramer executed the fraud, in part, in connection with a real estate development company, LDF. Kramer and the members of LDF, including Lane Anderson, orchestrated straw sales of thirteen properties to another LDF member, Shannon Flickinger. LDF was the true buyer but LDF could not qualify for financing for the purchase of the properties because the company already had too much debt. Flickinger was used as a straw buyer to obtain the financing to purchase the additional homes. At Kramer’s direction and with Kramer’s oversight Kramer Mortgage submitted loan applications in which Flickinger was named as the buyer despite the fact that Kramer knew that LDF was the true buyer. With Kramer’s knowledge, Flickinger’s income was grossly inflated in the applications in order to qualify him for the loans. After Flickinger’s fraudulent loan applications were approved, the straw sales were closed at Kramer’s mortgage company with Kramer’s knowledge. Kramer closed the sales despite the fact that Flickinger paid no down payments for any of the properties, contrary to the documentation that was provided to the lenders.
Kramer defrauded one particular bank by intentionally concealing the sales of properties that had been pledged to the bank as collateral for a $4 million line of credit for Kramer. After the sales of multiple properties in which the proceeds were owed to the bank, Kramer kept the proceeds and used them to pay his own personal or business expenses. Kramer also pledged several properties to more than one bank, without the banks’ knowledge, to obtain additional loans. Kramer’s activities resulted in the primary bank suffering significant losses and also left many homeowners unable to sell or refinance their homes because they did not have clear title to their properties. Some homeowners were threatened with foreclosure due to Kramer’s activities.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Defendants Sentenced in Tax Refund Conspiracy CaseRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Today, Shaunthina Daniel Rushing was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 56 months in federal prison, following her guilty plea in March 2013 to one count of conspiracy to file false claims. Her co-conspirator, Tommy Dean Turner, was sentenced in June 2013 to 36 months in federal prison; he pleaded guilty in February 2013 to the same offense. In addition, Judge Solis ordered that Rushing and Turner pay, jointly and severally, $365,626 in restitution. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
According to factual resumes filed in the cases, Rushing and Turner conspired together and with others to file approximately 50 fraudulent tax returns that resulted in more than $400,000 in false claims. The returns included Forms 5405, representing that the taxpayers were entitled to claim a First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit (FTHTC) under the provisions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
That refundable tax credit could be claimed if a person purchased a main home in the U.S. after April 8, 2008, and before December 1, 2009, and if the person (and spouse, if married) did not own any other main home during the previous three years of the date of purchase. Qualifying taxpayers who purchased a home between January 1, 2009, and December 1, 2009, could claim up to $8,000 as the FTHBC.
Rushing and Turner admitted, according to the factual resumes filed in the case, that they caused bank accounts to be opened to receive the fraudulent tax refund checks, obtained and disbursed the proceeds among themselves and others and maintained detailed records and logs that identified the fraudulent tax returns, the money received and the disbursement of proceeds.
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Nicholas Bunch and DOJ Trial Attorney Robert Kemins prosecuted.
Controller of Stamford Company Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison for Embezzlng More Than $3.4 MillionRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that THOMAS J. TUREY, 64, of Norwalk, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 54 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for embezzling more than $3.4 million from his employer.
According to court documents and statements made in court, TUREY served as the controller for a market research company located in Stamford. As controller, TUREY’s responsibilities included aggregating the company’s monthly revenue and expense results, managing the company’s accounts receivable, performing financial analysis and reporting, and overseeing the company’s bookkeeper. TUREY also was responsible for the company’s general ledger and was in charge of conducting the company’s bank reconciliations. Between August 2005 and January 2013, TUREY embezzled approximately $3,462,435 from the company by writing checks to himself and to a fictitious entity for his personal benefit, and depositing those funds into bank accounts he controlled. TUREY made numerous false entries in the company’s books and records to conceal this scheme.
The majority of the embezzled funds were subsequently transferred into TUREY’s online brokerage account.
On May 23, 2013, TUREY pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
Judge Hall ordered TUREY to pay full restitution to the victim company.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul A. Murphy.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Conspirators Sentenced to 84 Months and 55 Months for Fraud Conspiracy in the “birth of Innocence” Movie ProjectRead the Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated today that this week the two men convicted of conspiring to commit fraud in connection with the “Birth of Innocence” movie project were sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge Christina Reiss, in Rutland. On August 19, Louis J. Soteriou, 56 of Middlebury, Connecticut, was sentenced to prison for 84 months. On August 21, Malcolm (“Mac”) Parker, 56 of Addison, Vermont, who cooperated with the criminal investigation, was sentenced to prison for 55 months. Both men were allowed to self-report to prison on a date set by the Court.
In papers filed with the Court the United States explained that for the decade ending in 2009, Parker raised more than $28 million from hundreds of people by leading them to believe they were investing in Parker’s production of a movie entitled “Birth of Innocence.” Less than $1 million of that money was spent toward the creation of a movie, which remains unfinished. In contrast, approximately $4 million was sent to Soteriou who spent large sums of money on various luxuries, including more than $100,000 on hotel stays in Telluride, Colorado. Parker supplied Soteriou with this money despite telling investors it would be used toward the movie production. In Court the government estimated that Parker received approximately one-fourth the amount of criminal proceeds received by Soteriou.
The federal criminal investigation was conducted by agents from the Internal Revenue Service, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. United States Attorney Tristram Coffin also recognized the significant work that was done to discover and stop this fraud in late 2009 by the State of Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (then known as the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities, and Health Care Administration).
Soteriou was represented by Stephen Barth, Esq. Parker was reprsented by John Pacht, Esq.
Collin County Men Guilty in Foreclosure Rescue/Drug Distribution SchemeRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsSHERMAN, Texas – Two Collin County, Texas men have pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a combination foreclosure rescue and drug distribution scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.
Jarrod Williams, 34, and Julius Williams, 43, both of McKinney, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos L. Mazzant.According to information presented in court, from February 2007 to June 2012, Jarrod Williams, Julius Williams, and co-defendant, Charles Williams, controlled and operated Applied Investment Strategies, Inc. (AIS), which marketed itself as a foreclosure rescue service offering assistance to homeowners at risk of foreclosure. However, once a homeowner detained AIS, the defendants fraudulently used the customer’s personal identification information to prepare and send false military orders to banks and lending institutions in order to claim relief from foreclosure under the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act. AIS would then lease out the home and collect rental payments for AIS’ benefit. The scheme involved approximately 38 homes throughout North Texas and also extended to interfering in the repossession of automobiles. After at least one of the fraudulently-acquired properties was vacated, Charles Williams, Christopher Carter and Sean Harrell turned it into a marijuana grow operation that housed approximately 1,300 marijuana plants that were intended for distribution. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on July 11, 2012, charging the defendants with federal violations.
Jarrod Williams and Julius Williams both face up to five years in federal prison at sentencing. Charles Williams, 38, of McKinney, pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, 2012, to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. He faces up to 20 years on the fraud charges and between 10 years and life on the drug charge. Sean Harrell, 37, of Dallas, pleaded guilty on Aug. 7, 2013, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and faces from 10 years to life at sentencing. Sentencing dates have not been set.
Christopher Carter, 33, of Leicester, England, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison on Apr. 12, 2013, for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shamoil T. Shipchandler.
Coeur D'Alene Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
COEUR D’ALENE – Kalum McPhedran, 29, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to unlawfully possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. McPhedran was indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene on February 20, 2013.
According to the plea agreement, McPhedran admitted that on January 15, 2013, he unlawfully possessed a Remington 12 gauge shotgun, knowing that he was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a previous conviction in 2010 for possession of a controlled substance. McPhedran will forfeit the firearm he unlawfully possessed.
The charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for November 13, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
The case was investigated by the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force (NIVCTF). NIVCTF members include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, Bonner County Sheriff's Office, Coeur d'Alene Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, and Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police. The NIVCTF investigates a myriad of violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping, felonious assault and drug trafficking.
The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
Calvin Carter Sentenced to 106 Months in Federal Prison for Cocaine and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On Aug. 20, 2013, Calvin Carter, 31, of Atlanta, Ga., was sentenced to serve 106 months in prison, by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge. Upon his release from prison, Carter will be subject to supervised release under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for six years.
Carter pleaded guilty in August 2012 to possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of the trafficking of cocaine. Because he possessed a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, he faced a minimum 60 month sentence, up to life, in prison for the firearm charge alone.
The investigation which led to the indictment and subsequent conviction of Carter was initiated by members of the Johnson City Police Department. During a traffic stop, Carter was found to be in possession of over 27 grams of crack cocaine. In addition, officers located a loaded Smith & Wesson .44 magnum revolver. Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration also assisted in the case.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Regalia represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community faces.