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15 August 2013
Colorado River Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Federal Prison for Second-degree MurderRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Aug. 14, 2013, Loren Kaysang Tahbo, 33, of Parker, Ariz., and a member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell to 265 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and restitution. Tahbo pleaded guilty on Jan. 23, 2013, to second-degree murder.
On Aug. 10, 2012, Tahbo stabbed and ultimately killed a man on the Colorado River Indian reservation. Tahbo left the scene of the murder, stole the victim’s car, crashed the car into a canal, and later fled on foot to a woman’s home where tribal police apprehended him.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado River Indian Tribes Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Jennifer E. Green, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-12-01773-PHX-DGC
RELEASE NUMBER: 2013-065_TahboFor more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Collin County Antique Automobile Dealer Sentenced for Bank Fraud and Money Laundering ViolationsRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsSHERMAN, Texas – A 58-year-old Prosper, Texas business owner has been sentenced to prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Ricky Prince pleaded guilty on Sep. 6, 2012, to bank fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to a total of 36 months in federal prison on Aug. 13, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone. Prince was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,461,807.27. .
According to information presented in court, from March 2007 to August 2010, Prince owned and operated North Texas Muscle Cars, Inc., specializing in antique automobile sales, in McKinney, Texas. During this time, Prince submitted materially false personal finance statements and income tax returns to financial institutions to secure credit for himself and North Texas Muscle Cars, Inc. To further the scheme, Prince included antique automobiles such as a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1974 Pantera Detomasoy, a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle and a 1938 Ford Custom Street Rod, that were never purchased. As a result of the fraudulent activity, the financial institutions incurred actual losses totaling approximately $1,347,472.
Prince was ordered to report to prison on Sep. 27, 2013 to begin serving his sentence.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Blake.
Chambers SentencedRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – Acting United States Attorney J. Walter Green announced that another public official has been sentenced in Operation Blighted Officials. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson today sentenced RICHARD L. CHAMBERS, SR., age 68, of LaPlace, Louisiana, to 30 months imprisonment, 1 year of supervised release following imprisonment, a fine of $10,500, and forfeiture of $11,341. The defendant was sentenced after having pled guilty to racketeering based on his corrupt activity while Deputy Commissioner for the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
Today’s sentence results from the defendant’s involvement in two corrupt schemes in 2009 and 2010 while serving as Deputy Commissioner for the Louisiana Department of Insurance. In the first scheme, the defendant used his official position to steer insurance business from municipalities and other entities to an insurance agent in exchange for a split of the commissions. The defendant created the scheme and estimated that it would generate between $200,000 and $4,000,000 in commissions. In the second scheme, the defendant took $5,000 in cash bribes to use his official position to fraudulently secure $500,000 in private investor funding for a conceptual trash can cleaning product.
Acting U.S. Attorney Green stated: “This office, together with our federal, state, and local partners, will continue to aggressively pursue corrupt public officials who line their own pockets at the expense of the public trust. Such corruption undermines the dedicated and honest work performed by the vast majority of our public servants and will not be tolerated. Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of public corruption, while also appropriately crediting a defendant who accepts responsibility and substantially cooperates with the investigation.”
This matter is part of Operation Blighted Officials, a long-running public corruption investigation conducted primarily by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson who serves as the Senior Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.
Status of Other Operation Blighted Officials Defendants
George L. Grace, Sr.: In March 2012, the former Mayor of St. Gabriel, Louisiana, was convicted by a federal jury following a six week trial of violating RICO, engaging in honest services wire and mail fraud, bribery, obstruction of justice, making false statements, and use of an interstate facility in aid of racketeering. U.S. District Judge Maurice Hicks sentenced Grace to 22 years imprisonment.
Thomas A. Nelson, Jr.: In June 2011, the former Mayor of New Roads, Louisiana, was convicted by a federal jury following a two and a half week trial of violating RICO, engaging in honest services wire fraud, using an interstate facility in aid of racketeering, and making false statements to the FBI. Chief Judge Jackson sentenced Nelson to 11 years imprisonment.
Maurice Brown: In February 2011, the former Mayor of White Castle, Louisiana, was convicted by a federal jury following a two week trial of violating RICO, engaging in honest services wire and mail fraud, and use of an interstate facility in aid of racketeering. Chief Judge Jackson sentenced Brown to 10 years imprisonment.
Frederick W. Smith: In October 2011, the Chief of Police for Port Allen, Louisiana, was convicted by a federal jury following a two week trial of 11 counts of violating RICO, engaging in honest services wire and mail fraud, and using an interstate facility in aid of racketeering. Chief Judge Jackson sentenced Smith to 7.5 years imprisonment.
Derek Lewis: In July 2011, the former Mayor of Port Allen, Louisiana, pled guilty to violating RICO and agreed to cooperate with authorities. Chief Judge Jackson sentenced Lewis to 40 months imprisonment.
Johnny Johnson: In July 2010, the former member of the Port Allen City Council pled guilty to using an interstate facility in aid of racketeering and agreed to cooperate with authorities. Chief Judge Jackson sentenced Johnson to two years probation, with a condition of having to spend 6 months in a half-way house.
Bullhead Man Sentenced for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Bullhead, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury was sentenced on August 12, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Morgan Bagola, age 21, was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Bagola was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 19, 2012. He pled guilty to the above charge on April 29, 2013.
The charge stems from an incident wherein Bagola, on or about December 11, 2011, used a bat to break several windows of a home. Bagola then fought with one of the other persons present. As a result of the struggle and Bagola’s use of the bat, the victim suffered serious bodily injury, including a broken ankle, laceration on his head, and a large welt on his back.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.
Bagola was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.Bucket List Bandit Sentenced to 135 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Erie, PA – A former resident of Pensacola, Florida, has been sentenced in federal court to
135 months in prison and ordered to make restitution to the banks involved on his conviction of bank robbery, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.Chief United States District Judge Sean M. McLaughlin imposed the sentence on Michael
Eugene Brewster.According to information presented to the court, between June 21, 2012 and September 10, 2012, Brewster robbed eleven banks across the nation. In the course of the bank robbery spree
Brewster used a similar method of operation and entered each bank, without being disguised, wore similar clothes, carried a dark leather notebook, presented demand notes containing similar threatening language to each of the victim tellers and left the scene driving a 2009 black SUV, which Brewster had stolen in Pensacola, Florida.In his last bank robbery in Erie, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 2012, Brewster entered the Huntington National Bank, located at 2185 West 12th Street and presented a demand note, claiming that he had a gun and that the teller had one minute to comply. Brewster then claimed to the teller that he had cancer and did not care what happened. Brewster obtained bank proceeds and fled the area in a black SUV. Bank surveillance images and from area surveillance cameras clearly depicted Brewster and the vehicle he used.
Comparing the Erie Huntington Bank surveillance photographs with those from the ten other bank robberies that had occurred throughout the United States confirmed that each robbery had been committed by the same person. On September 12, 2012, the FBI received a tip that the bank robber depicted in the surveillance photographs was Brewster. A review of Brewster's Florida driver's license confirmed Brewster's identity as the bank robber. In addition, evidence disclosed that an arrest warrant had been issued for Brewster alleging that he had stolen a black Chevy Captiva SUV in Pensacola, Florida, on June 11, 2012. Once Brewster's identity had been established in the Erie, Pennsylvania robbery, the FBI and law enforcement partners in the jurisdictions of the other ten bank robberies confirmed his identity in those cases as well.
Brewster entered the Chase Bank at 5250 Wadsworth Boulevard in Arvada, Colorado, on
June 21, 2012, the Chase Bank at 1484 South Milton Road in Flagstaff, Arizona, on June 27, 2012; and the Ireland Bank at 486 Yellowstone Avenue in Pocatello, Idaho, on July 6, 2012, and obtained federally insured funds after presented a threatening note demanding money. In Roy, Utah, on July
6, 2012, Brewster entered the Wells Fargo Bank located at 5603 South 1900 West, and obtained money after presenting a threatening demand note claiming that he had only four months to live.
In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on July 20, 1012, Brewster entered a Bank of America at 1209
Silas Creek Parkway and presented a threatening demand note indicating that he had nothing to lose and threatening to come back after the teller if any silent alarm was activated. Brewster obtained no money from the Wells Fargo Bank. Then, at the Regions Bank at 360 West State Road 436 in
Altamonte Springs, Florida, on July 27, 2012, the BB&T bank at 2120 Gunbarrel Road in
Chattanooga, Tennessee, on August 3, 2012; the PNC bank at 2217 West Market Street in
Bloomington, Illinois, on August 17, 2012; the Lamdmark Bank at 202 North Stadium Boulevard in
Colombia, Missouri, on August 29, 2012; and the Lindell Bank at 4521 Highway K in O'Fallon, Missouri, on August 30, 2012, Brewster obtained money after presenting threatening demand notes, including a claim that he was armed with a gun.On September 13, 2012, a police officer with the Roland Police Department in Roland, Oklahoma, conducted a traffic stop of a black, 2009 Chevy Captiva vehicle and identified Brewster as the driver and sole occupant. A fake Utah license plate had been affixed to the vehicle. A computer check of Brewster's name revealed Brewster's outstanding arrest warrant in Pensacola, Florida, for allegedly stealing the Chevy Captiva vehicle. Brewster was then taken into custody and was found to be in possession of money from the Erie, Pennsylvania, Huntington bank robbery.
Among other items located in the Captiva vehicle was a handgun, money from the Erie, Pennsylvania Huntington Bank robbery, the clothing worn by Brewster in the bank robberies as depicted in the surveillance photographs and the leather notebook carried by Brewster into the banks he robbed. Brewster was then arrested on the Erie, Pennsylvania, arrest warrant and he was returned to the Western District of Pennsylvania to face federal prosecution.Prior to imposing sentence, Judge McLaughlin commented on the fact that Brewster's claim of a terminal disease was untrue and stated that, "The impetus for the crimes was simply greed, not grief."
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation in each of the jurisdictions, the Erie Bureau of Police, the Arvada Police Department, the Flagstaff Police
Department, the Pocatello Police Department, the Roy City Police Department, the Winston-Salem
Police Department, the Altamonte Springs Police Department, the Chattanooga Police Department, the Bloomington Police Department, the Columbia Police Department, the O'Fallon Police
Department and the Roland Police Department for the investigations leading to the successful prosecution of Brewster.Bucket List Bandit Sentenced to 135 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Erie, PA – A former resident of Pensacola, Florida, has been sentenced in federal court to
135 months in prison and ordered to make restitution to the banks involved on his conviction of bank robbery, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.Chief United States District Judge Sean M. McLaughlin imposed the sentence on Michael
Eugene Brewster.According to information presented to the court, between June 21, 2012 and September 10, 2012, Brewster robbed eleven banks across the nation. In the course of the bank robbery spree
Brewster used a similar method of operation and entered each bank, without being disguised, wore similar clothes, carried a dark leather notebook, presented demand notes containing similar threatening language to each of the victim tellers and left the scene driving a 2009 black SUV, which Brewster had stolen in Pensacola, Florida.In his last bank robbery in Erie, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 2012, Brewster entered the Huntington National Bank, located at 2185 West 12th Street and presented a demand note, claiming that he had a gun and that the teller had one minute to comply. Brewster then claimed to the teller that he had cancer and did not care what happened. Brewster obtained bank proceeds and fled the area in a black SUV. Bank surveillance images and from area surveillance cameras clearly depicted Brewster and the vehicle he used.
Comparing the Erie Huntington Bank surveillance photographs with those from the ten other bank robberies that had occurred throughout the United States confirmed that each robbery had been committed by the same person. On September 12, 2012, the FBI received a tip that the bank robber depicted in the surveillance photographs was Brewster. A review of Brewster's Florida driver's license confirmed Brewster's identity as the bank robber. In addition, evidence disclosed that an arrest warrant had been issued for Brewster alleging that he had stolen a black Chevy Captiva SUV in Pensacola, Florida, on June 11, 2012. Once Brewster's identity had been established in the Erie, Pennsylvania robbery, the FBI and law enforcement partners in the jurisdictions of the other ten bank robberies confirmed his identity in those cases as well.
Brewster entered the Chase Bank at 5250 Wadsworth Boulevard in Arvada, Colorado, on
June 21, 2012, the Chase Bank at 1484 South Milton Road in Flagstaff, Arizona, on June 27, 2012; and the Ireland Bank at 486 Yellowstone Avenue in Pocatello, Idaho, on July 6, 2012, and obtained federally insured funds after presented a threatening note demanding money. In Roy, Utah, on July
6, 2012, Brewster entered the Wells Fargo Bank located at 5603 South 1900 West, and obtained money after presenting a threatening demand note claiming that he had only four months to live.
In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on July 20, 1012, Brewster entered a Bank of America at 1209
Silas Creek Parkway and presented a threatening demand note indicating that he had nothing to lose and threatening to come back after the teller if any silent alarm was activated. Brewster obtained no money from the Wells Fargo Bank. Then, at the Regions Bank at 360 West State Road 436 in
Altamonte Springs, Florida, on July 27, 2012, the BB&T bank at 2120 Gunbarrel Road in
Chattanooga, Tennessee, on August 3, 2012; the PNC bank at 2217 West Market Street in
Bloomington, Illinois, on August 17, 2012; the Lamdmark Bank at 202 North Stadium Boulevard in
Colombia, Missouri, on August 29, 2012; and the Lindell Bank at 4521 Highway K in O'Fallon, Missouri, on August 30, 2012, Brewster obtained money after presenting threatening demand notes, including a claim that he was armed with a gun.On September 13, 2012, a police officer with the Roland Police Department in Roland, Oklahoma, conducted a traffic stop of a black, 2009 Chevy Captiva vehicle and identified Brewster as the driver and sole occupant. A fake Utah license plate had been affixed to the vehicle. A computer check of Brewster's name revealed Brewster's outstanding arrest warrant in Pensacola, Florida, for allegedly stealing the Chevy Captiva vehicle. Brewster was then taken into custody and was found to be in possession of money from the Erie, Pennsylvania, Huntington bank robbery.
Among other items located in the Captiva vehicle was a handgun, money from the Erie, Pennsylvania Huntington Bank robbery, the clothing worn by Brewster in the bank robberies as depicted in the surveillance photographs and the leather notebook carried by Brewster into the banks he robbed. Brewster was then arrested on the Erie, Pennsylvania, arrest warrant and he was returned to the Western District of Pennsylvania to face federal prosecution.Prior to imposing sentence, Judge McLaughlin commented on the fact that Brewster's claim of a terminal disease was untrue and stated that, "The impetus for the crimes was simply greed, not grief."
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation in each of the jurisdictions, the Erie Bureau of Police, the Arvada Police Department, the Flagstaff Police
Department, the Pocatello Police Department, the Roy City Police Department, the Winston-Salem
Police Department, the Altamonte Springs Police Department, the Chattanooga Police Department, the Bloomington Police Department, the Columbia Police Department, the O'Fallon Police
Department and the Roland Police Department for the investigations leading to the successful prosecution of Brewster.Brownstown Man Sentenced for Theft of United States Mail Fom Postal EmployeeRead the Press Release
Admitted Snatching Package from Postal Employee Instead of Paying
A Brownstown, Illinois, man, convicted of Theft of United States Mail, was sentenced in United States District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois, on August 15, 2013, to 6 months of incarceration, 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution to the United States Postal Service, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Greggory L. Carroll, 26, pled guilty to the charges on April 22, 2013. Carroll admitted that on April 24, 2012, he entered the United States Post Office in Brownsville, Illinois, to pick up a package containing bath salts. He further admitted that he grabbed the package from the hands of a postal employee and ran from the building when he did not have money to pay for the “Cash on Delivery” shipment.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranley R. Killian.
Bank Teller Sentenced for Embezzling from Customer AccountsRead the Press Release
Stole $144,908 from Elderly Bank Customers and a Restaurant’s Account, Failing to Pay at Least $30,000 in Taxes Owed on the Embezzled Funds
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Irene Quansah, age 37, of Germantown, Maryland, today to two years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for embezzlement and income tax evasion. Judge Grimm also entered an order that Quansah forfeit and pay restitution of $144,908.33 to the victim bank and $30,000 to the IRS.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Kelly of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.
“Ms. Quansah’s embezzlement scheme to steal from her employer’s customer bank accounts was illegal and her act of deliberately underreporting her embezzlement income on her federal tax returns is unlawful,” said Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington DC Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those that abuse their positions of trust and steal from innocent victims. Today’s sentencing is a reminder that there are detrimental consequences for this type of criminal behavior.”
According to her plea, from November 2010 to July 2012 Quansah used her position as a teller coordinator at a bank to fraudulently withdraw funds from customers’ accounts and fail to deposit customer funds.
Specifically, on at least 100 occasions Quansah removed cash from cash deposits made by a restaurant at an ATM, stealing a total of $35,696.29. On December 28, 2010, she withdrew $10,000 from the account of an elderly woman, returning the money from funds drawn off of her teller vault only after the customer complained to bank officials about the unauthorized withdrawal. On five occasions from December 2010 to April 2011, Quansah withdrew a total of $11,550 from another elderly woman’s account, falsely noting that the fraudulent withdrawals were done at the customer’s request.
In February 2011, the daughter of a third elderly woman presented savings bonds to Quansah to redeem and deposit the proceeds into the elderly mother’s account. Quansah told the daughter that she needed to leave the bonds with her so that Quansah could redeem them over the next few months. Quansah, however, deposited only a portion of the proceeds of the bonds into the customer’s account, stealing at least $9,975.48. Similarly, in September 2011 Quansah was asked to redeem savings bonds valued at $25,179.48 and deposit the proceeds into another elderly woman’s account, but Quansah deposited only $13,342.92, retaining the remainder for her own benefit.
On nine occasions from September 2011 to March 2012, Quansah stole a total of $65,850 from an elderly couple’s account, again falsely noting that the withdrawals were made at the couple’s request. After the elderly man complained to bank officials about these unauthorized withdrawals, Quansah refunded the account using funds drawn off of a friend’s line of credit. About an hour later, Quansah debited her teller vault to repay her friend’s line of credit.
On August 1, 2012 the bank made a surprise cash audit of Quansah’s cash drawer and teller vault which revealed a shortage of $87,900. Quansah admitted to taking the money.
The total amount Quansah embezzled was $144,908.33. She did not report any of the embezzled funds to the IRS on her tax returns and thus owed between $30,000 and $80,000 for underreporting her income.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein praised Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christen A. Sproule and Kelly O'Connell Hayes, who prosecuted the case.
Avon Man Sentenced in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Timothy P. Glavin, 32, of Avon, N.Y., who was convicted of production of child pornography, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who handled the case, stated that the defendant used a minor under the age of 13 to produce images of that minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. In August 2012, the images were discovered on the defendant's cell phone by his wife who reported the images to the Livingston County Sheriff's Office.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Undersheriff James Szczesniak, and the Livingston County District Attorney's Office under the direction of Greg McCaffrey.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.Attorney General Recognizes Eastern District of Texas EmployeesRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsWASHINGTON – An Eastern District of Texas prosecution team was one of 154 members of the Department of Justice recognized by Attorney General Eric Holder and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director H. Marshall Jarrett with a 2013 Director’s Award.
On Aug.15, 2013, U.S. Attorney John M. Bales recognized Deputy Criminal Chief/Assistant U.S. Attorney in Charge of the Plano Office Shamoil T. Shipchandler, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher A. Eason, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard J. Johnson in a ceremony at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Plano.
In personalized letters to the recipients, Attorney General Holder told the three lawyers, “You and your team are responsible for the successful prosecution of the largest mortgage fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas to date, and one of the largest in Texas history. Forty defendants conspired to defraud lending institutions by convincing them to approve mortgage loans for residential properties with fraudulently inflated values. Your dedication to this case led to 37 of 40 defendants pleading guilty, successful verdicts in two trials, sentences of up to 120 months’ imprisonment, restitution orders totaling more than $100 million, and forfeitures in excess of $11 million.”
The complex mortgage fraud scheme was led by defendant John Barry, and included title attorneys, escrow officers, real estate agents, loan officers, appraisers, property flippers, and straw buyers. The scheme involved over 114 residential properties in cities throughout Texas, including Allen, Arlington, Cedar Hill, Coppell, Corinth, Cypress, Dallas, Flower Mound, Fort Worth, Frisco, Granbury, Heath, Highland Village, Houston, Keller, Lantana, Lewisville, Little Elm, Lubbock, Magnolia, McKinney, Plano, Roanoke, Southlake, spring, the Woodlands, and Willis. Shipchandler served as lead counsel during the investigation and early prosecution of the case and as a member of the trial team. Johnson led the trial team for the two trials and Eason served as co-counsel and played a crucial role in streamlining the evidence in the massive case.
“Each day the members of the U.S. Attorneys’ community go to work for the citizens of this country with one goal in mind – to do everything they can to protect the rights of all Americans,” said EOUSA Director Jarrett. “I am continually humbled by their resiliency, dedication, and unparalleled work ethic to accomplish this noble mission. Today’s awardees exemplify what it truly means to be a patriot and it is an honor to recognize them for their extraordinary service.”
“The Director’s Awards presented today were earned by individuals who toiled hundreds of hours, not for any notion of individual glory, but because they are driven to serve and to be instruments of justice where wrongdoing has occurred. Just as importantly, in a case like the Barry investigation, the entire office pitched in to a significant degree making it possible for the individual Assistant United States Attorney’s to be successful. I am so proud of Shamoil, Chris and Jay who represent the finest principles in prosecution; they are fair, persistent and highly skilled,” said U.S. Attorney Bales.Arrest and Indictment of Seventy-Five Individuals for Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, P.R. - On August 16, 2013 a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned 73 separate Indictments charging three doctors, Wildo Vargas, Rafael Miguez Balseiro, and Erica Rivera Castro; one non-attorney representative, Samuel Torres Crespo, a retired Social Security employee; and 71 other social security claimants for fraud in the application process of Social Security Administration (SSA) disability insurance benefits in Puerto Rico, announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez Vélez.
For the past two years the FBI and SSA-OIG have jointly investigated fraud in claims for SSA disability insurance benefits. Analysis conducted by SSA of the volume of pending, processed, and approved claims suggested that Puerto Rico is one of the top districts in the country for the commission of this type of fraud. The investigation focused on historical claimants, whose claims were medically supported by suspect physicians.
The SSA is responsible for the implementation of the Disability Insurance Benefits Program. The SSA provides cash benefits to workers with severe, long-term disabilities, who have worked in SSA covered employment for the required length of time. Spouses and dependent children of disabled workers may also be eligible to receive benefits.
Pursuant to SSA regulations, a claimant must prove to SSA that he or she is disabled by furnishing medical and other evidence with the application. The application and supporting evidence would then be evaluated by SSA to determine the claimant’s medical impairments and determine the effect of the impairment on the claimant’s ability to work on a sustained basis.
Samuel Torres Crespo would complete an SSA disability insurance application for a claimant in a manner calculated to justify a non-existent medical disability, in order to improperly deceive and persuade the SSA to award the claimant retroactive and future disability benefit payments. Torres Crespo charged and collected a fee equal to 25% of the retroactive lump sum payment made by the SSA, but not to exceed $6,000.00 dollars. The government has civilly forfeited approximately $1.7 million dollars and other valuables from Torres Crespo.
The doctors, Wildo Vargas, Rafael Miguez Balseiro, and Erica Rivera Castro, would evaluate, treat, and diagnose the claimants in a manner calculated to justify a non-existent disability in order to improperly deceive and persuade the SSA to award the claimants with retroactive and future disability benefit payments. The doctors would receive between $150.00 to $500.00 dollars for the submission of their medical reports to SSA.
The defendants who illegally received the benefits are Myrna M. Santos Rivera, Nevelline Tirado Gomez, Mayra L. Pantoja Carrelo, Obette Santiago Maldonado, Julio A. Crespo Crespo, Arnaldo Pino Hernandez, Jose Perez, Carmen L. Gonzalez, Olvin Rosado Ballester, Arlivone Rodriguez Rivera, Carlos Colon Gonzalez, Liz D. Vega Mena, Joanna Rodriguez, Lynette Figueroa Vazquez, Gerardo Torres Lopez, Aixa Prado Serrano, Joel Pabón Hernandez, Glorivette Montalvo Guzman, Ruth Adan, Lizbeth M. Martinez Velez, Juan J. Malpica Nieves, Victor R. Santiago, Carmen Noriega, Carmen R. Cortes Nieves, David Rodriguez Colon, Alex E. Morales Quijano, Cynthia E. Rivera Mejías, Ismael Rivera Figueroa, Enrique Torruella, Jismel A. Lozada Pabon, Jaime M. Santiago Piñeiro, Nancy Melendez Crespo, Madelyn Molina Valentin, Benny Bonet Rivera, Jose L. Orta Rivera, Jorge L. Morales Melendez, Hector L. Rodriguez Marrero, Luz D. Figueroa Diaz, Eduardo Serrano Quintero, Lissette Vidot Santiago, Victor O. Rodriguez Arroyo, Francisco L. Cintron Otero, Aurora Millet Millet, Neftalí Vazquez Erazo, Misael Ramirez, Jose L. Lozada Maldonado, Angel F. Declet, Maribel Matos Soto, Adelmis Rosario Hernandez, Nydia E. Rivera Rodriguez, Brenda I Rivera Rivera, Elsie Padilla Caban, Manuel Tirado Maldonado, Miguel Rivera Ayala, Luis R. Santiago Rodriguez, Juan C. Colon Casanova, Juan Arocho De Jesus, Adahid Galàn Figueroa, Norma Calderon Ortiz, Leinette Bravo Maldonado, Alberto L. Pagan Rosario, Ruben Ortiz Rodriguez, Julio C. Baquero Torres, Doreli Pagan Castro, Sonia Candelario Castro, Carmen M Torres Hernandez, Luis Pastrana Pastrana, Maribel Varela Fuentes, Javier F. Declet Carrasquillo, Sandra I. Rios Serrano, and Hector L. Rodriguez Rodriguez. All the defendants are facing forfeiture allegations totaling more than $900,000.00 dollars.
“These 75 individuals are charged with defrauding the Social Security Administration by making false claims for social security benefits,” said United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. “The Department of Justice is committed to investigate and prosecute those who engage in these types fraudulent schemes,” stated Rodríguez-Vélez.
Special Agent-in-Charge Edward J. Ryan of the Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations of the Social Security Administration stated “This fraud conspiracy scheme involving unscrupulous medical professionals, a non-attorney representative, and SSA disability claimants has been exposed and those involved are being brought to justice. It was only after an extensive analysis of medical source documentation in voluminous SSA files that SSA and OIG identified the fraudulent pattern investigated by SSA OIG, the FBI San Juan Office, and the Puerto Rico Police Department. This intensive and complex investigative work consisted of numerous interviews, hundreds of surveillances, and other investigative activities that I cannot detail. The evidence was provided to the U.S. Attorney’s Office which culminated in the arrests this morning. However, our cooperative investigative work in this conspiracy continues. OIG will continue to work with our partners to protect the integrity of the Social Security Trust Fund.”
The case was investigated by the Social Security-OIG with the collaboration of the FBI. The case was indicted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Dominguez.
Alabama State Employee Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stolen Identity Refund FraudRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - Chequlia Motley of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison yesterday for conspiracy and aggravated identity theft, Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama George L. Beck, Jr., announced. Motley had previously pleaded guilty to those charges in May.
According to Motley’s plea agreement, she was a former state employee who stole identities from state databases and sold them to co-conspirators. As the sentencing hearing showed, Motley had previously worked for the Alabama State Employees’ Insurance Board and stole the personal information of over 100 state workers and their family members from the databases maintained by the Board. She provided this information to Veronica Temple, Yolanda Moses, and Barbara Murry, who used the stolen identities to file false tax returns that fraudulently requested tax refunds from the IRS. Temple, Moses, and Murry were previously convicted and each sentenced to 57 months in prison in February.
In addition to the sentence of imprisonment, Motley was ordered to pay $179,946 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
The case was investigated by agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Michael Boteler and Jason Poole of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama and, in particular, Assistant United States Attorney Todd Brown.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at justice.gov/tax.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Additional Charge Filed Against Pulaski County Sheriff’s Deputy for Federal Civil Rights ViolationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky David J. Hale and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels announced that Steven Molen, a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on one count of violating the civil rights of a victim by using excessive force in August 2008.
The indictment alleges that on August 24, 2008, in Russell County, Kentucky, located in the Western District of Kentucky, Molen, age 48, assaulted a victim identified in the indictment as “C.F.,” resulting in bodily injury.
On June 27, 2013, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Kentucky indicted Molen on two other counts of violating the civil rights of different victims by using excessive force in 2009 and 2011.
The investigation was conducted by the Louisville division of the FBI. The cases against Molen will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Judd from the Western District of Kentucky, Assistant United States Attorneys Pat Molloy and Ron Walker from the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Trial Attorney Ali Ahmad from the Civil Rights Division.
The indictment of a person by a Grand Jury is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
57 People Linked to Drug Trafficking Organizations That Smuggled Narcotics from Mexico in PVC Pipes Charged in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES -- A federal drug task force today arrested 18 people linked to three drug trafficking organizations that smuggled narcotics from Mexico in PVC pipes typically hidden in the axles of commercial trucks that ended up at truck yards located in South Los Angeles and southern Los Angeles County.
The 18 defendants arrested this morning are among 57 people charged in two indictments and one criminal complaint filed in United States District Court. Authorities continue to search for the remaining defendants. During the course of an investigation that started in early 2011, authorities seized more than 2,400 pounds of methamphetamine, 30 kilograms of cocaine, 16 kilograms of white heroin, 20 kilograms of brown heroin, and more than $1.2 million in suspected narcotics proceeds, and recovered 18 firearms. This morning’s enforcement resulted in the seizure of an additional 7 pounds of methamphetamine, 3 firearms, four vehicles, approximately $50,000 in cash and an operational methamphetamine laboratory.
“As the means and methods that drug trafficking organizations use evolve, so will law enforcement evolve to meet the challenge,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “The allegations here describe a wide-ranging conspiracy to exploit aspects of our nation’s trucking and transportation system and funnel enormous amounts of dangerous narcotics into this country. The arrests we announce today dismantle that conspiracy and disrupt this threat to public safety.”
The investigations that led to this morning’s takedown were conducted by the Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)/Southern California Drug Task Force, a federally funded group comprised of federal and local law enforcement agencies to include the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Internal Revenue Service -Criminal Investigation and in coordination with the Azusa Police Department, South Gate Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Whittier Police Department.
“Through the cooperation of federal, state and local law enforcement, thousands of pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin have been seized, with a combined street value in the tens of millions of dollars,” said Anthony Williams, DEA Special Agent in Charge. “These drugs were en-route to our communities and neighborhoods. Today’s arrests have taken those responsible for distributing these dangerous drugs off our streets to face justice in federal court.”
“The criminal networks targeted in this case exploited one of the nation’s busiest transportation corridors to mask the movement of staggering amounts of contraband - the volume of methamphetamine being smuggled by these organizations is virtually unprecedented,” said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles. “Today, as a result of our collective enforcement efforts, we’ve literally knocked the wheels off of a highly sophisticated drug distribution scheme that had ties to at least five states.”
The investigation initially looked into a drug trafficking organization run by the Mexico-based Miguel Angel Molinero-Castro. The Molinero organization used truck yards in South Gate and Wilmington to receive large quantities of controlled substances hidden in PVC pipes that were further concealed in tractor trailer axles.
According to the criminal complaint that charged Molinero and 37 others related his alleged drug trafficking ring, Molinero arranged for narcotics to be transported via truck from Mexico to Nogales, Arizona, where co-conspirators would take control of the shipments. The narcotics were then transported either to other distributors in Arizona or to the Los Angeles area.
The criminal complaint charges 38 defendants with two counts: conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
A related indictment charges eight defendants involved in another drug distribution ring that also allegedly smuggled narcotics from Mexico into the United States inside PVC pipes hidden inside truck axles.
An indictment in a third case charges eight defendants in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. This case concerns narcotics smuggled from Mexico in PVC pipes and distributed from a truck yard in South Gate.
Additional agencies that provided substantial assistance during this investigation and this morning’s takedown include. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Los Angeles-SRT; the Azusa Police Department; DEA Offices in Bakersfield and Ventura, the Ventura County Combined Agency Team (VCAT), the California Highway Patrol; the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, California Multi-Jurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team; LA IMPACT, and the Anaheim Police Department.
Release No. 13-105
16 People Sentenced to Lengthy Terms for Drug Trafficking and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – Several members of a large scale drug trafficking and money laundering organization operating out of the Zapata area from approximately 2006 through 2011 have received significant federal prison sentences, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
The sentences were imposed in Laredo federal court by U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña yesterday and Tuesday of this week.
The convictions and sentences were the result of a more than three-year investigation into a drug trafficking and money laundering organization based out of Zapata. The organization was led by Pedro Navarro Jr., 38, of Zapata, who received a sentence of 364 months in federal prison.
The others primarily worked for Navarro and were responsible for transporting drugs and/or large amounts of cash which represented the proceeds of drug sales for Navarro or helping others to do so. These 15 defendants, 14 of whom are residents of various places in the Zapata area, were sentenced to varying terms as outlined below.
Alex Navarro, 23: 131 months
Andres Quintero-Ortiz, 48: 127 months
Servando Guerrero Jr., 38: 174 months
Sandalio Ramos, 44: 224 months
Rene Davila, 31: 93 months
Leonel Rodriguez, 43: 240 months
Juan Luis Rivera, 31: 131 months
Jorge Grajeda Jr., 30: 46 months
Juan Antonio Valadez Sr., 55: 63 months
Jose Luis Gonzalez-Chapa, 24: 93 months
Judith Zamora, 27: 93 months
Claudia Medrano, 28: 108 months
Leonides Navarro, 23: 87 months
Maria Micaela Berrones, 25: 58 months
James Clinton Crabtree (of Immokalee, Fla.), 30: 33 monthsThe members of these conspiracies would primarily transport drugs which had been brought into the United States from Mexico from Zapata to other parts of the United States. The drugs would typically be smuggled into the United States in small boats which crossed Falcon Lake at night from Mexico into Zapata. The boats then docked at a house maintained by Navarro on the shores of Falcon Lake where the drugs were unloaded and stored before being transported. Navarro and his co-conspirators subsequently transported these drugs from Zapata to other parts of Texas and beyond, to include the South Florida area. The members of the conspiracy also would then bring the proceeds from the sales of these drugs back to the Zapata area and ultimately into Mexico in order to promote the continuation of the drug trafficking activities. This investigation ultimately led to the conviction of Navarro and the others as well as the seizure of more than five kilograms of methamphetamine and 6,000 kilograms of marijuana.
Over the course of the conspiracy, evidence further showed the members of conspiracy were also responsible for generating proceeds from that activity in the amount of at least $18 million.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Department of Public Safety and Webb County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Arthur R. Jones is prosecuting.
14 August 2013
Wyoming Couple Sentenced to A Total of 17 Years’ Prison on Oxycodone Distribution and Money Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
Couple received thousands of pain pills by mail from Florida; deposited more than $300,000 in bank as payment
BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Wyoming County couple was sentenced to a total of 17 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and money laundering charges, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Christopher Brooks, 36, was sentenced to ten years in prison. Brooks’ co-defendant and wife Jennifer Brooks, 29, both of Glen Fork, Wyoming County, was sentenced to seven years in prison. The sentences were handed down today by United States District Judge Irene C. Berger in Beckley. Both defendants previously pleaded guilty in February.
From at least March 2010 until April 27, 2012, Mr. and Ms. Brooks received packages by mail containing oxycodone from a known individual located in Tampa, Fla. Mr. and Ms. Brooks received at least 130 express mail packages containing approximately 17,000 30-milligram oxycodone tablets between October 15, 2010 and April 27, 2012. Mr. and Ms. Brooks deposited at least $300,000 cash into bank accounts that were owned and controlled by a known individual in exchange for the oxycodone tablets.
In a related matter, Keith Keiffer, 32, of Calvin, Nicholas County, was sentenced last month to four years in federal prison for his role in an oxycodone distribution and money laundering scheme. During the scheme, Keiffer received at least 15 express mail packages that contained a total of approximately 1,400 30-milligram oxycodone tablets from an individual located in Tampa, Fla. In exchange for the oxycodone tablets, Keiffer deposited at least $30,000 into bank accounts that were owned and controlled by his pill source of supply.
The Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn handled the prosecutions.
The cases were prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.
Winthrop Insurance Advisor Sentenced to over Eight Years for Investment Fraud SchemeSeven Million Dollar Loss over 10-year PeriodRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A Winthrop man was sentenced late yesterday in federal court for his role in a $7 million fraud scheme that centered on steering clients into investments in “life settlements.”
United States District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton sentenced Joseph Gennaco, 68, of Winthrop and Jupiter, Fla., to 100 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for 27 counts of mail and wire fraud. He was ordered to pay $7 million in restitution to 40 victims. In February 2013, Gennaco pleaded guilty to all counts in the indictment. Gennaco has been held in custody since November 2011, when his bail was revoked because, among other things, he continued to defraud people even after he had been charged.
From 2001 through 2011, Gennaco defrauded customers of his insurance business by claiming that their money would be invested in various insurance-based instruments. Instead Gennaco diverted the customers’ funds for his own personal and business purposes. Gennaco operated in the name of several entities, including Gennaco & Associates, Oceanview Financial Services, GCT Trust, and Crescent Management Group. Gennaco told investors that their funds would be invested in one or more life insurance policies - or “life settlements” - and that the investments would be repaid with a “guaranteed” profit from the sale of those policies. In reality, Gennaco took investors’ funds for his own uses, allowed insurance policies to lapse by failing to pay the premiums, and failed to repay investors when he sold policies that had been purchased as investments. By continually reassuring investors that their money was safe, and by offering a variety of phony excuses for the delay in repaying investors, Gennaco strung along many of his victims for years.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Kevin M. Niland, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service in Boston; and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley’s office; Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Securities Division; the Commonwealth’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, Division of Insurance; and the United States Trustee’s Office in Boston also provided assistance in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
Winston County Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Arson at Poultry Company OfficeRead the Press Release
TUSCALOOSA – A federal judge today sentenced a Northwest Alabama man to five years in prison for a December fire at a Marshall Durbin office building in Haleyville, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey L. Fulton.
U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced CHARLES WILLIAM HEAVNER JR., 43, of Hackleburg, on one count of maliciously damaging the Marshall Durbin Field Operations Office with fire on Dec. 4. Heavner pleaded guilty to the charge in April. Heavner must pay the poultry company $500 in restitution. He will remain on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.
According to Heavner's plea agreement and other court documents, the arson took place as follows:
Marshal Durban had not provided baby chicks for Heavner to raise because of maintenance problems with the chicken housing facilities on his farm. Heavner was angry about that decision on the morning of Dec. 4 and had threatened physical violence against the company's broiler manager, Joe Bolding. Bolding called an employee at the operations office, warned her of Heavner's threats and told her to lock the office door. As she did so, she saw Heavner pull into the parking lot, take an orange five-gallon bucket and a walking cane from his truck and approach the building with liquid sloshing out of the bucket. She told him he could not come in, but after she locked the door, he tried to kick it in.
Employees outside the office building who were called to help arrived to find the front of the building on fire. They used fire extinguishers to put out the flames. The orange bucket was recovered in the back of a company truck parked near the building and Heavner's cane and a cigarette lighter were found beside the building. Traces of gasoline were discovered in the bucket.
Heavner fled and was later arrested in Oklahoma.
The ATF, Alabama State Fire Marshal, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Winston County Sheriff's Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael W. Whisonant Sr. prosecuted the case.
Victims of Largest Fraud Case Prosecuted in Southern District of Georgia Receive over $27 Million in RestitutionRead the Press Release
AUGUSTA, GA – Carl Lamont Brandon, 39, of Augusta, Georgia, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury after a 1-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall for possessing a firearm as a felon on October 8, 2012.
United States Attorney Edward Tarver said, “Through Project CeaseFire, the United States Attorney’s Office will continue to vigorously enforce federal firearms laws to rid the streets of violent felons who carry guns. Felons who possess firearms can expect to be returned to prison, and serve federal time without the possibility of parole.”
Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Brandon led police on a high speed chase down Bobby Jones Expressway and through parking lots after Columbia County deputies were dispatched to respond to a possible shoplifting offense committed by Brandon at a nearby Wal-Mart. Upon being cornered by the deputies, Brandon surrendered to authorities and officers found a loaded firearm concealed in a CD case in Brandon’s car. Brandon was on parole at the time of the incident.
Brandon’s prior felonies include an Aggravated Battery and a Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime, which resulted after Brandon shot a Richmond County deputy in 1990. His other violent felony convictions include Criminal Attempt to Commit Armed Robbery, Armed Robbery, and Aggravated Assault.
If deemed to be an Armed Career Criminal, Brandon faces a mandatory minimum sentenced of 15 years to Life, a fine of up to $250,000, and 5 years of supervised release. Brandon remains in custody pending his sentence. A sentencing date will be scheduled following completion of a presentence investigation and report.
The case was investigated by Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted under Project Ceasefire, a joint federal, state and local firearms initiative involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ATF and various local police departments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy C. Greenwood prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Upper Marlboro Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Transporting A 17 Year Old Girl to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Defendant Took Teenager to Sex Parties
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Troy Walker, a/k/a ‘Caveman,” age 48, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, today to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for transporting a minor with the intent to engage in prostitution. Judge Messitte also ordered that upon his release from prison, Walker must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, Walker met a 17 year old girl in March of 2012 through a friend who worked at parties hosted by Walker. Walker asked the victim to work for him at a party he was hosting. Walker hosted parties through a company called Quest For Fire. These parties were advertised as sex parties or “gang bangs” on the internet. Interested individuals would text Walker at the cell phone number listed in the ad and Walker would text back the party’s location. Guests paid for entry to a residence which would allow them to engage in sexual acts with girls provided by Walker.
In August 2012, Walker rented an apartment for the victim and had her engage in sex acts with guests at his parties. The victim’s photo was also posted in ads for the parties on the internet. Walker provided transportation for the victim to the sex parties, which included transportation from Washington, D.C. to Maryland. According to the victim, Walker assaulted her several times.
The victim worked for Walker at the parties hosted in Prince George’s County from April 1 to September 15, 2012, while she was 17 years old.
The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), which was created in 2010 to combat child prostitution, and includes members from10 state and federal law enforcement agencies. The Task Force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution.
MCETF partners with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_human.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney LisaMarie Freitas of the U.S. Justice Department, Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristi O’Malley, who prosecuted the case.
U.S., U.K. Authorities Seize Cocaine Worth over $24 Million in CaribbeanRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Today, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment against three defendants charged with drug trafficking, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The Coast Guard, British Royal Navy and U.S. law enforcement partners interdicted a multi-engine “go-fast” vessel bearing no indicators of nationality with three suspected smugglers onboard during an at-sea interdiction Friday in the Caribbean Sea; seizing 721.53 kilograms of cocaine, worth an estimated street value of more than $24 million.
The interdiction was a result of an international, multi-agency law enforcement effort in support of Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard, Operation Martillo (a joint, interagency, 15-nation collaborative counter narcotic effort), and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF).
“Our collective aggressive efforts involving international, federal and local enforcement authorities continue to yield positive results,” said Rear Admiral Jake Korn, commander of the Coast Guard Seventh District. “We stand united in our unwavering commitment to protect the citizens of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands from the threats that come from the sea by interdicting these major drug shipments as far from shore as possible and bringing those responsible to justice.”
Joint Interagency Task Force South relayed to Coast Guard Seventh District and Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center watchstanders that the crew of a patrolling U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) P-3 fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft detected a suspicious 30-foot go-fast vessel Friday afternoon. The vessel was spotted with three suspected smugglers onboard using a tarp in an effort to conceal their position.
Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Sapelo to assist with the interdiction of the go-fast, while the Royal Navy’s HMS Lancaster frigate, on patrol in the Caribbean Sea with a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team (LEDET) onboard, also responded.
The CBP aircraft maintained constant aerial surveillance of the go-fast as the HMS Lancaster arrived on scene. Once on scene, the HMS Lancaster launched their Lynx helicopter and high-speed pursuit boat to interdict the go-fast. The suspected smugglers threw a package overboard into the water upon noticing the presence of law enforcement authorities. The package was recovered by the HMS Lancaster’s pursuit boat crew.
A Coast Guard LEDET boarding team, with the assistance of HMS Lancaster crewmembers, boarded the suspect vessel, detained the three men onboard and seized 22 bales of suspected contraband in plain view. Law enforcement personnel took a representative sample from the suspected contraband and conducted a narcotics identification kit field test which revealed positive results for the presence of cocaine.The crew of the HMS Lancaster detained the three suspected smugglers and contraband onboard the HMS Lancaster before transferring custody of the contraband and suspected smugglers to the Coast Guard for transport to Puerto Rico for prosecution.
On Sunday, the crew of the Sapelo transported the detainees and the cocaine to CBP officers, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agents in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The Caribbean Corridor Strike Force is leading a criminal investigation into the case.
“These arrests and multi-kilogram seizure are a clear indication of the success of the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force Initiative,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “Along with our domestic and international law enforcement partners, we will continue to bring our resources to bear to ensure that drug traffickers and their associates are brought to justice for the damage they inflict on our communities.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlos R. Cardona and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelley Tiffany. If convicted, the defendants could face from 10 years up to life in prison.
Since September 2012, the Coast Guard has seized 20,500 kilograms of cocaine and 8,500 pounds of marijuana during 22 law enforcement interdictions under Operation Unified Resolve, in partnership with regional law enforcement authorities in the Caribbean. The wholesale value for these seizures is worth an estimated $690.3 million.
The Coast Guard’s efforts under Operation Unified Resolve contribute to the interagency results being achieved each and every day locally under Operation Caribbean Guard, which coordinates efforts between the Coast Guard, its DHS, Commonwealth and Territorial law enforcement partners, who are working diligently to deter, detect and disrupt illicit maritime trafficking to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
CCSF is an initiative of the U.S. Attorney's Office created to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations operating in the Caribbean. CCSF is part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) that investigates South American-based drug trafficking organizations responsible for the movement of multi-kilogram quantities of narcotics using the Caribbean as a transshipment point for further distribution to the United States. The initiative is composed of HSI, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, the Coast Guard, CBP and PRPD's Joint Forces for Rapid Action.
The Coast Guard Cutter Sapelo is a 110-foot island class patrol boat homeported in San Juan, PR.
The HMS Lancaster is a British Royal Navy Duke-class Type 23 frigate, which has played a primary role in major drugs seizures in the Caribbean.The Coast Guard’s efforts under Operation Unified Resolve contribute to the interagency results being achieved each and every day locally under Operation Caribbean Guard, which coordinates efforts between the Coast Guard, its DHS, Commonwealth and Territorial law enforcement partners, who are working diligently to deter; detect, and disrupt illicit maritime trafficking to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
CCSF is an initiative of the U.S. Attorney's Office created to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations operating in the Caribbean. CCSF is part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) that investigates South American-based drug trafficking organizations responsible for the movement of multi-kilogram quantities of narcotics using the Caribbean as a transshipment point for further distribution to the United States. The initiative is composed of Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigations, the US Coast Guard, Customs Border Protection, Puerto Rico Police Department Joint Forces for Rapid Action and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
Two Idaho Men Sentenced to Prison for Asbestos ViolationsRead the Press Release
Bradley Eberhart, 51, of Garden Valley, Idaho, and Douglas Greiner, 53, of Eagle, Idaho, were sentenced this week in federal court for violating the asbestos work practice standards of the Clean Air Act, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Wendy J. Olson, U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho.
U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Eberhart on Monday to six months in prison plus six months of home confinement, followed by six months of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, and restitution of $3.98 million, in joint and several liability. Greiner was also sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home confinement, to be followed by six months of supervised release. The amount of restitution by Greiner will be the subject of further briefing by the parties.
Both defendants previously pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2013.
Boise-based Owyhee Construction Inc., was the successful bidder on a $2.1 million waterline renovation project in Orofino, Idaho, a rural community in north central Idaho. Greiner was the project superintendent and Eberhart was the onsite supervisor of the project. The contract documents warned Owyhee Construction that the company may encounter up to 5,000 linear feet of cement asbestos pipe (CAP) during the renovation. CAP is a non-friable form of asbestos that is encapsulated in a cement matrix. When the CAP is broken or crushed by heavy equipment or subjected to cutting and grinding by machinery it becomes subject to regulation because of the threat to public health from airborne fibers.
Eberhart and Greiner failed to properly supervise the renovation. Eberhart supervised employees who were not properly trained in asbestos work and were not properly outfitted with protective gear while cutting CAP with saws. While working in the trenches to replace pipe, workers would remove CAP from the trenches, crush it and then place it back in the trenches. Large quantities of CAP were also removed from the trenches and ended up as fill material on sixteen properties around Orofino. Greiner pleaded guilty to orchestrating one of the disposals. The EPA cleanup cost just under $4 million.
“These prison sentences reflect the serious consequences of the failure of these defendants to comply with EPA’s regulations that protect public health from asbestos, a human carcinogen,” said Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Such criminal acts endanger workers and the community and can, as demonstrated here, cost the federal government millions of dollars to cleanup. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute these crimes.”“This case demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement and the Department of Justice to ensure the health of our residents,” said U.S. Attorney Olson. “Threats to the environment and to public health may not be readily apparent from a construction project. Renovation projects like these often generate dust with fine asbestos particles that may have the potential to cause serious health and environmental problems if safety precautions are not taken. The full extent of injury from airborne asbestos may not be noticed or diagnosed for years. It is important that companies, their foremen and their operators comply with environmental laws to avoid serious harm.”
“These two Defendants carelessly subjected Orofino residents to asbestos exposure,” said Tyler Amon, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Seattle. “In the course of their enterprise, they also created sixteen separate asbestos disposal sites that threatened the community, jeopardized workers and cost taxpayers $4 million to cleanup. Today’s sentence sends a clear message: if you risk people’s lives to save time and money, you will pay the price.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Marc Haws from the District of Idaho and Senior Trial Attorney J. Ronald Sutcliffe of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Two Idaho Men Sentenced to Prison for Asbestos ViolationsRead the Press Release
Waterline Renovation Project Led to $3,980,000 Cleanup
BOISE – Bradley Eberhart, 51, of Garden Valley, Idaho, and Douglas Greiner, 53, of Eagle, Idaho, were sentenced this week in federal court for violating the asbestos work practice standards of the Clean Air Act, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Wendy J. Olson, United States Attorney for the District of Idaho.
U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Eberhart on Monday to six months in prison plus six months of home confinement, followed by six months of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, and restitution of $3.98 million, in joint and several liability. Greiner was also sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home confinement, to be followed by six months of supervised release. The amount of restitution by Greiner will be the subject of further briefing by the parties.
In imposing sentence on Eberhart, Judge Lodge told the defendants, “You don’t put the company ahead of what is right or ahead of people.”
Both defendants previously pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2013.
Boise-based Owyhee Construction Inc., was the successful bidder on a $2.1 million waterline renovation project in Orofino, Idaho, a rural community in north central Idaho. Greiner was the project superintendent and Eberhart was the onsite supervisor of the project. The contract documents warned Owyhee Construction that the company may encounter up to 5,000 linear feet of cement asbestos pipe (CAP) during the renovation. CAP is a non-friable form of asbestos that is encapsulated in a cement matrix. When the CAP is broken or crushed by heavy equipment or subjected to cutting and grinding by machinery it becomes subject to regulation because of the threat to public health from airborne fibers.
Eberhart and Greiner failed to properly supervise the renovation. Eberhart supervised employees who were not properly trained in asbestos work and were not properly outfitted with protective gear while cutting CAP with saws. While working in the trenches to replace pipe, workers would remove CAP from the trenches, crush it and then place it back in the trenches. Large quantities of CAP were also removed from the trenches and ended up as fill material on sixteen properties around Orofino. Greiner pleaded guilty to orchestrating one of the disposals. The EPA cleanup cost just under $4 million.
“These prison sentences reflect the serious consequences of the failure of these defendants to comply with EPA’s regulations that protect public health from asbestos, a human carcinogen,” said Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Such criminal acts endanger workers and the community and can, as demonstrated here, cost the federal government millions of dollars to cleanup. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute these crimes.”
“This case demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement and the Department of Justice to ensure the health of our residents,” said U.S. Attorney Olson. “Threats to the environment and to public health may not be readily apparent from a construction project. Renovation projects like these often generate dust with fine asbestos particles that may have the potential to cause serious health and environmental problems if safety precautions are not taken. The full extent of injury from airborne asbestos may not be noticed or diagnosed for years. It is important that companies, their foremen and their operators comply with environmental laws to avoid serious harm.”
“These two Defendants carelessly subjected Orofino residents to asbestos exposure,” said Tyler Amon, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Seattle. “In the course of their enterprise, they also created sixteen separate asbestos disposal sites that threatened the community, jeopardized workers and cost taxpayers $4 million to cleanup. Today’s sentence sends a clear message: if you risk people’s lives to save time and money, you will pay the price.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Marc Haws from the District of Idaho and Senior Trial Attorney J. Ronald Sutcliffe of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Twin Falls Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
BOISE – Brock Tyler Beutler, 23, of Twin Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to a federal indictment charging him with one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to court documents, officers with the Twin Falls Police Department found a handgun with an obliterated serial number in Beutler’s waistband during a traffic stop on February 5, 2013. When asked about the obliterated serial number on the firearm, Beutler admitted to filing off the serial number so that it could not be traced. Beutler was also in possession of a small amount of methamphetamine.
The charge of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number is punishable by up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Beutler agreed to forfeit the firearm he unlawfully possessed.
Sentencing is set for November 4, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge, at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The case was investigated by the Twin Falls Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
Three Indicted for $780,000 Food Stamp Fraud from Store in ClevelandRead the Press Release
Three men were indicted today on charges that they engaged in a decade-long conspiracy to defraud the food stamp and Women, Infants and Children programs out of more than $780,000 by trading the vouchers for cash and restricted items such as beer and cigarettes from a store in Cleveland, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Ahmad (“Tony”) Damra, 31, of Macedonia, his brother, Mahmoud (“Moe”) Damrah, 26, of Cleveland, and Mohammad D. Mohammad, 41, of Strongsville, were each indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud, three counts of food stamp fraud and unlawful redemption of food stamps, and one count of Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) fraud.
“The food stamp program has provided nutritious food to thousands of hungry families over the years,” Dettelbach said. “We will continue to work to recover money stolen from the program and eradicate waste, fraud and abuse of government programs.”
The indictment charges that between 2002 and 2011, the defendants and others conspired to commit over $780,000 in food stamp and WIC program fraud through the use of the East 143rd Food Market, located at 3249 East 143rd Street in Cleveland.
Mohammad owned, operated and managed the store. He obtained a food stamp license in 1997, which, except for a two-year period beginning in September 1998, remained in effect through 2004, according to the indictment.
In 2005, he obtained a food stamp license for the market using the business Rashiqa, Inc., which listed Mohammad’s mother as president. Mohammad placed the business in the name of another person to conceal his ownership because his prior conviction for aggravated arson precluded his participation in the food stamp program, according to the indictment.
Also in 2005, Mohammad obtained a WIC program authorization under Rashiqa, Inc., according to the indictment.
Ahmad Damra started working at the market in 2002, first as a clerk and then as manager. Mahmoud Damrah started working as a clerk at the store in 2008, according to the indictment.
The investigation revealed that the defendants and others used their business to exchange customer food stamps and WIC coupons for cash and other unauthorized items, including beer and cigarettes. The men also purchased customer food stamp cards and used them at other grocery locations to purchase inventory for the market and for their own personal use, according to the indictment.
The indictment was presented to the Grand Jury by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christos N. Georgalis, Vasile Katsaros, and James Morford after an investigation by agents of the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General-Investigations.
If convicted, defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to the case, including the defendants’ prior criminal record, if any, the defendants’ role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Texas Couple Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Related ChargesRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. -- Jennifer Griswold a/k/a Jennifer Lynn McDaniel a/k/a Jennifer Dubois, age 37, of Channelview, Texas, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to failing to report and concealing wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen. Griswold’s husband, Dustin Griswold, 34, of Coldspring, Texas, pled guilty on August 7, 2013 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
In 2009, Dustin Griswold searched for and found businesses on the internet that were seeking shipping or transportation services. He contacted a business in Connecticut and represented himself and his fraudulent company, Harmoni Shipping, as a large multi-truck, multi-driver transportation company with the ability to transport national and international loads. Mr. Griswold agreed to ship products for the business, requiring payment on a weekly or otherwise frequent basis.
After receiving orders from the business to ship its products, Mr. Griswold contracted with United Parcel Service (“UPS”) Freight based in Richmond, Virginia, to transport the shipments for the customer. UPS Freight transported the shipments and sent the bills to the Griswolds for payment. The Griswolds never paid UPS Freight for their services, even though they were paid by their customer to ship the products. Over a two month period, the Griswolds collected thousands of dollars from businesses who hired them to ship their goods, while incurring with UPS Freight a $782,000 bill which was never paid. During the fraud, Jennifer Griswold made false statements to UPS Freight, claiming that a check had been mailed to UPS Freight and that a $29,000 wire payment was being made to UPS Freight, when in fact no payments of any kind were sent to UPS freight.
Dustin and Jennifer Griswold will be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Walter J. Gex III on November 6, 2013. The maximum penalty for Dustin Griswold’s charge of conspiracy is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for Jennifer Griswold’s charge of misprision of a felony is three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Gulfport Office, Texas Department of Public Safety – Criminal Investigations Division, and Vermont State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mike Hurst and Mary Helen Wall are prosecuting the case.If you believe you have been a victim of fraud from a person or an organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of storm victims, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud toll free at:
(866) 720-5721
You can also fax information to:
(225) 334-4707
or e-mail it to:
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Sussex County, N.J., Man Admits Luring Teen to Pennsylvania for Criminal Sexual Activity, Downloading Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Sussex County, N.J., man today admitted luring a teenage boy to Pennsylvania for sex, as well as downloading and receiving child pornography on his home computer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Robert Mucha, 57, of Newton, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to one count of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and one count of receiving child pornography.
Mucha was arrested in his home on July 26, 2012. He was charged at the time with a single count of possessing child pornography and has been detained by law enforcement since then.
According to documents filed and statements made in court:In October 2010, Mucha convinced a teenage boy to travel from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to spend the day with him and then sleep over at Mucha’s apartment in Stroudsberg, Pa. After he was arrested in July 2012, Mucha admitted to sexual contact with the teenager.
Prior to his arrest, Mucha worked as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician in Andover, N.J. He also previously taught band and Bugle Corps to teenagers in Belleville, N.J. and Lakewood, N.J.The count of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity to which Mucha pleaded guilty is punishable by a minimum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for Nov. 19, 2013.
Today’s guilty plea is part of Operation Holitna, an ongoing HSI-led investigation that originated in Boston. U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and the HSI Boston office.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or its online tip form at http://www.ice.gov/tips. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Bruck of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
13-337Defense counsel: Assistant Federal Public Defender Carol Gillen Esq., Newark
Mucha Information
State Contractor Charged in Manhattan Federal Court for Defrauding the New York State Department of Health Out of over $700,000 in Funding for Low-Income Cancer ScreeningRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Thomas P. DiNapoli, the New York State Comptroller, today announced charges against JOSEPH L. JUNKOVIC for allegedly engaging in a scheme to defraud the New York State Department of Health (“NYSDOH”) out of more than $700,000 dedicated to providing cancer screening services to low-income New Yorkers. JUNKOVIC allegedly used a not-for-profit corporation that he controlled, Cancer Service Network, Inc. (“CSN”), to obtain more than $25 million in federal and state funding to administer cancer screening services, and then billed the NYSDOH for thousands of hours that he did not in fact work. He was arrested at his residence this morning and will be presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis this afternoon.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “By diverting over $700,000 intended for low-income New Yorkers to his own pocket, Joseph Junkovic allegedly cheated the Department of Health and cynically exploited individuals in need of potentially lifesaving services. We intend to continue our work with Comptroller DiNapoli’s office – whose audit was instrumental to uncovering this alleged fraud. We will not tolerate abuse of government funding and are committed to rooting out and prosecuting the perpetrators of such fraud.”
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli: “As alleged, Mr. Junkovic willfully exploited impoverished clients to finance his globe-trotting, gambling and lavish shopping sprees. Working with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, we were able to expose this scam and plan to restore more than $700,000 to state coffers. We will continue to work together to fight public corruption and hold wrongdoers accountable.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
From April 2008 through September 2011, JUNKOVIC used CSN to obtain more than 18 separate contracts with NYSDOH, totaling more than $25 million, to provide cancer screening services for indigent New Yorkers. The $25 million was funded in part by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. CSN, however, was merely a pass-through organization run out of JUNKOVIC’s home in the Bronx, and JUNKOVIC directed the monies CSN received from NYSDOH to administer the cancer screening programs to his personal consulting company, JLJ Consulting Group, Ltd. (“JLJ”). In billing NYSDOH for his services, JUNKOVIC submitted separate invoices for each contract listing the total number of hours he claimed to have worked each month. When added together, JUNKOVIC frequently billed NYSDOH for well over 600 hours per month – more than 140 hours per week – for his purported services, even while he was frequently on vacation, spending thousands of dollars at various casinos, or making purchases at high-end clothing stores.
For some months, JUNKOVIC claimed he had worked so many hours on multiple contracts simultaneously that he was billing a total of more than 24 hours a day for his services. On other occasions, JUNKOVIC claimed he worked hundreds of hours while he was overseas. For example, for the month of August 2010, CSN billed NYSDOH for more than 590 hours of JUNKOVIC’s time, even though travel and bank records show that JUNKOVIC traveled to Vienna, Austria, on August 6, 2010 and did not return until August 30, 2010. Overall, the Comptroller’s Office, which performed an audit of JUNKOVIC’s invoices to NYSDOH, conservatively estimates that from April 2008 through May 2011, JUNKOVIC defrauded NYSDOH’s cancer services program out of more than $700,000.
JUNKOVIC, 48, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of theft of U.S. government property, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative and audit work of the Office of the New York State Comptroller.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Goldstein is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. v. Joseph Junkovic Complaint
Shiprock Woman Sentenced to 110 Months in Prison for Voluntary Manslaughter ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Pamela Navasie, 42, an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 110 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for her voluntary manslaughter conviction.
Navasie was arrested on Jan. 11, 2011, and charged with killing a 65-year-old Navajo woman at the victim’s Shiprock residence. Navasie has been in federal custody since her arrest.
On Jan. 11, 2013, Navasie pleaded guilty to a felony information charging her with voluntary manslaughter and admitted stabbing the victim in the neck and causing the victim’s death. Navasie admitted stabbing the victim in the heat of passion while the two women were quarreling.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Barth.
Savannah Residents Arrested in Connection with Two Seperate Bomb ThreatsRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA – HAROLD CHILDERS, 36, and LAVONTAY GATSON, 20, both of Savannah, were arrested on federal charges last week on charges arising from two separate bomb threats. CHILDERS was charged with making a false statement to FBI agents in connection with a September 18, 2012 bomb threat at Southern States Phosphates on East President Street in Savannah. GATSON was charged with telephoning a Wal-Mart in Savannah and making a bomb threat on March 2, 2013.
The charge against CHILDERS carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. GATSON’S charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S. Attorney Ed Tarver emphasized that a criminal complaint is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the Government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Both arrests arose out of investigations by the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Charlie Bourne is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Recidivist Sex Offender SentencedRead the Press Release
Used computer to solicit sex with a minorGREENSBORO, N.C. – A Burlington man was sentenced today to 300 months in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor, announced United States Attorney Ripley Rand.
William Todd Flowers, 37, of Burlington, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on April 9, 2013, to one count of online coercion and enticement of a person under 18 for criminal sexual activity, an offense punishable by no less than 15 years imprisonment. He was sentenced by United States District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder to 300 months imprisonment followed by lifetime supervised release. Flowers was also ordered to forfeit a cell phone and a vehicle used in the offense.
“This case is yet another example of the power of effective partnership between federal, state, and local authorities,” stated United States Attorney Rand. “We will continue to work together to make the internet a safe place for children, and to make sure that those who are intent on using the internet and other technology to abuse children are punished accordingly.”
The offense was committed between June 15, 2012, and October 12, 2012, using a social networking site. Flowers’ activity was reported by that site to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who relayed the information to the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office. At the time of the offense, Flowers was a registered sex offender and on state probation for felony solicitation of a child by computer, having been convicted in Alamance County in 2010.
This case was investigated by members of the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, including the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anand P. Ramaswamy.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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.Prisoner at Fci Danbury Admits Assaulting Another InmateRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that YVONNE DAVIS, 62, a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Danbury, pleaded guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Warren W. Eginton in Bridgeport to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 25, 2012, DAVIS assaulted another FCI Danbury inmate with a ballpoint pen that had been broken so as to have a sharp edge on it. The victim suffered a laceration to the back of her arm that was five to six inches long and one-half inch deep. The wound required 24 stitches to close.
Judge Eginton has scheduled sentencing for November 6, 2013, at which time DAVIS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
DAVIS is currently serving a 37-month sentence after having been convicted in the Northern District of Texas of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Pine Hill, N.M., Man Sentenced to 87 Months in Federal Prison for Assault ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Charlie Cohoe, 33, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Pine Hill, N.M., was sentenced on Aug. 8, 2013, to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his federal assault conviction.
Cohoe was arrested on Jan. 25, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The criminal complaint alleged that, on Jan. 18, 2013, Cohoe repeatedly stabbed and slashed another Navajo man who had agreed to drive Cohoe to a friend’s residence. The assault occurred in Cibola County within the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation.
On April 10, 2013, Cohoe pled guilty to a felony information, charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon, and admitted assaulting the victim with a knife, causing life-threatening injuries that required surgery. The victim’s face also was disfigured as a result of the assault.
The case was investigated by the Ramah Navajo Police Department with assistance from the New Mexico State Police, the Grants Police Department and the Cibola County Sheriff’s Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.
Pennsylvania Couple Admits Using Stolen Identities to Scam Student Loan Money from Online UniversitiesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An East Stroudsburg, Pa., couple admitted today to fraudulently obtaining at least $272,247 in student loan proceeds from Liberty University and American Public University by using stolen identities to have the money directed to addresses where they could intercept it, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Stephanie Mitchell, 36, and Ronzell Mitchell, 37, pleaded guilty to separate informations charging each with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. They entered their guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From approximately Aug. 19, 2010, through March 21, 2012, the Mitchells fraudulently obtained U.S. Department of Education (ED) funds and converted them to personal use. Stephanie Mitchell regularly used a box at a UPS Store located in Montvale, N.J., that was opened using the name and driver’s license of another person. The pair then contacted online universities Liberty and American and posed as students for whom student loans had been issued, causing the proceeds of numerous credit balance checks and debit cards to be redirected to the UPS Store and a vacant house located in Stroudsburg, Pa.
During their guilty plea proceedings, Stephanie and Ronzell Mitchell admitted several specific instances in which they redirected student loans intended for others to addresses they controlled. Through this method, the Mitchells obtained approximately $272,247 in ED funds to which they were not entitled.
The count to which the Mitchells pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss caused by their offenses. Sentencing is currently scheduled for Nov. 18, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the ED Office of the Inspector General, Northeastern Regional Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Hickey; inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria Kelokates, and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of James Mottola, Special Agent in Charge of the Newark Field Office, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah J. Gannett of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark.13-339
Defense counsel: Ronzell Michell: Paul Brickfield Esq., River Edge, N.J.
Stephanie Mitchell: Susan Cassell Esq., Ridgewood, N.J.Mitchell, Ronzell Information
Mitchell, Stephanie InformationPROJECT FUTURE TWO-A-DAYS VISITS WHEELING CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH Sexual Assault Center Director Offers Advice to StudentsRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-7725 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistFollow us on Twitter @NDWVnews
WHEELING, WV- The Project Future Two-a-Days program visited another high school on Wednesday, as student-athletes from Wheeling Central Catholic heard about dangerous drugs and the impact that sexual assault has upon a victim.
United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld, II, led the presentation with assistance from Linda Reeves, the Executive Director of the Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Help Center. The crowd also heard from special guest Clayton Fitzsimmons, whose law firm represents the victim of a sexual assault that occurred last year in Ohio.
Reeves explained why it’s important for her organization to be a part of this initiative.
“We’ve partnered with Project Future Two-a-Days in order to raise awareness about rape and sexual violence among teens and adolescents,” said Reeves. “My staff and I can help to define what sexual violence is and to educate teens about what to do if faced with a situation where they or someone else is a victim or witness to sexual violence.”
Fitzsimmons shared with the crowd the challenges faced by survivors of sexual assault.
“Sexual assault has a profound and permanent impact on victims and their families,” said Fitzsimmons. “It’s important for young people to remember that one bad decision can have implications that last a lifetime for those who have been harmed.”
Head Football Coach Mike Young of Wheeling Central was thankful that the program came to his school.
“We appreciate the interest taken by the U.S. Attorney’s office in teaching our students these important lessons,” said Young, who also serves as athletic director at Central. “Sometimes young people need to hear the message from someone other than a parent or teacher and so when federal prosecutors offer to come in and speak we take advantage of the opportunity.”
According to Reeves, the Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Help Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing assistance to the community in dealing with the crime of sexual assault. Services include crisis intervention, advocacy, support services, individual and group counseling, and community education. The Center primarily serves Wetzel, Brooke, Marshall, Ohio and Hancock counties in West Virginia. In Ohio, Jefferson and Belmont counties are served. The Center does not refuse services to anyone regardless of where they reside, and all victim services are provided free of charge.
Project Future Two-a-Days combines the issues of dangerous drugs, sexual assault awareness, and social media responsibility into one presentation for male and female teens. High schools and colleges that are interested in the program are encouraged to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 304-234-0100 to schedule a presentation. These efforts will continue into the fall and will be available to all students within the Northern District of West Virginia, regardless of whether they are involved in athletics.
Ocean Park, Washington Woman Sentenced for Wire FraudRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – Lisa Mottaghi, 46, of Ocean Park, Washington, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ancer L. Haggerty to 33 months in prison for the crime of wire fraud involving a “sweetheart swindle” of a retired widower from St. Helens, Oregon. In addition to her sentence, the Court ordered Mottaghi to serve three years of supervised release following her release from prison and to repay $649,536 in restitution.
“Schemes like this devastate innocent victims and their families. It is especially cruel when fraudsters target senior citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “This conviction demonstrates what happens to those who abuse vulnerable citizens in our community.”
At the sentencing hearing, the government laid out for the Court Mottaghi’s scheme to defraud. In June of 2005, Lisa Mottaghi began borrowing significant sums of money from Gerald Voorhees, a 74-year old widowed retiree from Saint Helens, after developing a relationship of trust with him. By 2009, Voorhees told Mottaghi that he would not loan her any more money.
Shortly thereafter, Voorhees was contacted by email by Tonia Jorgenson, a woman identifying herself as the sister of Mottaghi. Jorgensen told Voorhees about her stable life (albeit with a sick husband) and promised to repay the debts of her sister. However, not long after the first email, Jorgenson wrote Voorhees again with the terrible news of her husband’s death and the fact that her ability to repay the debts of her sister would be delayed due to family interference in the settling of the estate. To make matters worse, she soon claimed her own finances were compromised as a result of her husband’s death and she too needed the financial help of Voorhees. The truth, in fact, was that Jorgenson did not exist. She was the fraudulent creation of Mottaghi.
Writing as her sister, Mottaghi began a two-year scheme to defraud Voorhees. With a tale of loss and vulnerability, Mottaghi created a character designed to elicit compassion and sympathy from him. Over a short period of time, Mottaghi manufactured, in the name of Jorgenson, a fraudulent romance complicated by health concerns and legally-created delays in her access to great wealth, all non-existent or false in every regard.
Voorhees paid the defendant, acting as Jorgenson, nearly $650,000. So strongly did Voorhees believe the lies that Mottaghi told him as Jorgenson, that even after his own family intervened in 2011 to restrict his ability to get access to his own money (information he shared with the defendant), he continued to find ways to give her money. Even knowing that Voorhees no longer had the ability to control his own finances, Mottaghi solicited $2,500 with the lie that if she didn’t get the money, she would lose future contact with her grandson; a grandson that, of course, she didn’t have. Voorhees took out a loan on his car and gave her the $2,500. None of the nearly $650,000 has been recovered.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Portland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug.
Newark, N.J., Man Pleads Guilty to CarjackingRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man today admitted his role in a shotgun carjacking in Little Falls, N.J., on Oct. 30, 2011, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Hanzah Darby, 24, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of theft of a motor vehicle by force, violence, and intimidation and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: During his guilty plea proceeding, Darby admitted that on Oct. 30, 2011, he and another individual were in the Little Falls area when they spotted a parked 2008 BMW 335 with passengers inside. Darby and his conspirator – who allegedly brandished a shotgun – approached the car and ordered the occupants out of the vehicle at gunpoint.
Ivan Lee, 25, of Newark, is charged with Darby in the indictment, and the charges against him remain pending.
Darby and Lee then took the car and fled the area. Law enforcement officers recovered the car in Newark on Nov. 7, 2011. Darby was standing next to it at the time.
The carjacking charge to which Darby pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison. The firearm charge carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. Each of the two counts also carries a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for Nov. 18, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, officers of the Little Falls Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Dmuchowski; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Rick Fuentes; and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Kearney of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
As for Lee, the charges and allegations contained in the indictment against him are merely allegations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
13-338
Defense counsel: Timothy Donohue Esq., West Orange, N.J.
Darby, Hanzah et al. IndictmentNew York Man Sentenced to 42 Months for Passing Counterfeit $100 Bills at Connecticut StoresRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SHAUN WHITEHEAD, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to 42 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for using counterfeit U.S. currency to purchase items at five Connecticut stores.
On April 10, 2013, a jury found WHITEHEAD guilty of five counts of passing counterfeit obligations.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, in January and February 2011, WHITEHEAD used counterfeit $100 bills to purchase iPads and Bose headsets from retail stores in Windsor, Waterford, Lisbon, South Windsor and Naugatuck.
WHITEHEAD has been detained since March 9, 2011, when he was arrested in Massachusetts on a state larceny charge. He has been in federal custody since August 24, 2012.
This matter was investigated by the United States Secret Service, with the assistance of the police departments of Windsor, Waterford, South Windsor, Naugatuck and North Attleboro (Mass.), and the Connecticut State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Felice Duffy and Ray Miller.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Narcotics, Firearms Charges Filed Against Youngstown ManRead the Press Release
A six-count indictment was returned charging a Youngstown man with narcotics and firearms crimes, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Emmett T. Perkins, III, 47, was charged with being a felon in possession of firearms, distribution of heroin and possession of machine guns not registered to him.
Count 1 charges that on or about July 20, 2012, Perkins possessed an AMT, model Backup, .380 caliber pistol, despite previous convictions for trafficking in crack cocaine, domestic violence, intimidation of a crime victim or witness and aggravated assault.
Counts 2 and 4 of the indictment charge Perkins with distributing less than 100 grams of heroin on or about July 20, 2012, and less than 100 grams of heroin on or about August 3, 2012.
Count 3 charges that on or about August 3, 2012, Perkins possessed a Taurus, model 689, .357 caliber pistol, after he had been previously convicted of the charges listed above.
Count 5 charges that on or about October 3, 2012, Perkins possessed a Ceska Zbrojovka, model VZ26, 7.62 x 25mm machinegun, and a Carl Gustav, Swedish K, model 45, 9mm machinegun, after being convicted of the above-listed crimes.
Count 6 charges that on or about October 3, 2012, Perkins possessed a Ceska Zbrojovka, model VZ26, 7.62 x 25mm machinegun; a Carl Gustav, Swedish K, model 45, 9mm machinegun; and a German, MP-40 Type, 9mm machinegun, said firearms not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by law.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Youngstown Field Office and the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Toepfer.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Middletown, Missouri, Bank Manager Sentenced on Embezzlement ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – CANDIDA S. LEHNEN was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $90,000 from the American Bank of Missouri while working as a bank branch manager. In addition to the prison sentence, she was ordered to pay more than $90,000 in restitution. Following her term of imprisonment, Lehnen will be required to serve five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, between 2010 and November 2012, Lehnen stole funds by fraudulently processing checks and including false information on transaction forms to reduce the likelihood of her scheme being detected by the bank’s financial controls. Other parts of her embezzlement scheme included using altered debit tickets to obtain funds and closing the account of a deceased account holder and withdrawing the funds. Lehnen typically targeted accounts that she believed had a history of inactivity.
Lehnen, Middletown, MO, pled guilty in May to one felony count of embezzlement by a bank officer. She appeared today in St. Louis for sentencing before Senior United States District Judge E. Richard Webber.
This case was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney John Bodenhausen is handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.Medical Worker Infected Kansas Patients with Hepatitis C, Faces at Least 30 Years in Prison After Pleading GuiltyRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A traveling medical worker has admitted infecting six patients in Kansas with Hepatitis C, including one who died, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
David M. Kwiatkowski, 34, a former employee of Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kan., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire to seven counts of tampering with a consumer product and seven counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud. At the same time, he agreed to have charges filed against him in Kansas – one count of tampering with a consumer product and one count of obtaining controlled substances by fraud – transferred to New Hampshire and he pleaded guilty to them as well. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 3, 2013, by a federal judge in New Hampshire.
In his plea, Kwiatkowski admitted exposing patients in Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Arizona, Georgia and New Hampshire to Hepatitis C, a blood-borne viral disease that is transmitted by exposure to infected blood. The disease, which can cause liver damage and other health problems, can be deadly. Kwiatkowski transmitted the virus by stealing fentanyl, which is a medication for pain, injecting the drug into his body, refilling a syringe with saline, and allowing the contents of the saline-filled syringe, which was tainted with Hepatitis C virus, to be injected into patients. In his plea, he admitted swapping syringes at least 20 times while he worked in Kansas.
Kwiatkowski was a radiologic technician who worked at several health care facilities in Michigan between 2003 and 2007. In November 2007, he became a “traveler,” working through placement agencies and taking short-term positions at various medical facilities. In May 2010 he worked at Hays Medical Center. While he was working there, a physician told him he had Hepatitis C. At least six patients who where treated at Hays during the time he worked there were found to be infected with a strain of Hepatitis C that has been genetically linked to the strain with which he is infected. One of the patients underwent cardiac catheterization on June 7 and July 12, 2010. A medical examiner has concluded that Hepatitis C played a role in contributing to that patient’s death.
As a result of Kwiatkowski’s actions, public health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a massive public health investigation. Public health authorities recommended that more than 11,000 people be tested for possible Hepatitis C infection,
Kwiatkowski will be sentenced by a federal judge in New Hampshire on both the New Hampshire and the Kansas charges. Based on the plea agreement, he faces a penalty of no less than 30 years and no more than 40 years in federal prison.
Grissom commended the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire, especially Assistant United States Attorney John Farley, the FBI, the Office of Criminal Investigations of the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway for their work on the case.
Media Consultant IndictedRead the Press Release
BATON ROUGE, LA – Acting United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that a Federal Grand Jury returned an indictment charging RAYMOND CHRISTOPHER REGGIE, 51, of Mandeville, Louisiana with five counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1957.
According to the indictment, REGGIE was the owner and operator of an advertising firm that purchased and managed advertising for various car dealerships in southeast Louisiana. During the period January 2009 through July 2012, REGGIE executed a scheme to defraud the car dealerships for which he worked by submitting fictitious advertising expenses for payment by the dealerships. REGGIE falsely represented to the accounts payable administrators of the car dealerships that the advertising expenses were for services actually furnished. Once the dealerships issued payments for the bogus expenses, REGGIE diverted the payments to his personal use and enjoyment. As a result of REGGIE’S submission of fictitious advertising expenses for payment, the car dealerships issued 129 checks totaling approximately $1,144,767 for advertising services which had not been received by the dealerships. REGGIE diverted all of the fraudulently obtained funds to a bank account which he controlled. Once the funds were wired into Reggie’s bank account, he conducted multiple monetary transactions with the proceeds of his fraudulent activities.
If convicted, REGGIE faces up to 30 years imprisonment for each of the five counts of bank fraud and up to ten years imprisonment for each of the six counts of money laundering. REGGIE also faces fines of up to $2,750,000 and a term of five years of supervised release.
The Indictment also notifies REGGIE that should he be convicted, he must forfeit property, real or personal, which constitutes, or is derived from proceeds traceable to his wire fraud including, but not limited to at least $1,144,767, as well as all property, real or personal, involved in the money laundering offenses, or any property traceable to such property, including but not limited to at least $230,615.67, said amount being the value of the property involved in the money laundering offenses.
Acting United States Attorney Green stated, “Anyone who steals from their clients just to enrich themselves will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office.”
IRS Special Agent-in-Charge Gabriel Grchan stated, “This indictment is an example of the complex, white-collar cases our agency has a reputation for investigating. IRS-Criminal Investigations will continue to investigate individuals who engage in illegal schemes to steal money from others. Activities that involve money laundering will not be tolerated by anyone.”
NOTE: An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that probable cause exists to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty at trial.
Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Sexually Assaulting A Minor on Ft. Meade Military BaseRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles sentenced Daheem Bryant-Royal, age 23, of Ft. Meade, Maryland, today to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for sexual abuse of a minor that occurred on the Ft. Meade military base on September 4, 2011. Judge Quarles also ordered that upon his release from prison, Bryant-Royal must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Major General David Quantock, Provost Marshal General of the Army and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.
On December 18, 2012, a federal jury convicted Bryant-Royal of raping a minor female at a home on the Ft. Meade military base, which is exclusive federal jurisdiction. According to the evidence presented at Bryant-Royal’s four day trial, the victim was staying at a residence on Ft. Meade. After attending a party the victim became heavily intoxicated. Witnesses testified that Bryant-Royal entered the bathroom where the victim was taken after she became ill, and sexually assaulted her.
The victim immediately reported the rape to her friends, who drove her home. The victim immediately informed her parents and law enforcement officials about the sexual assault and was admitted into a hospital, where a Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) was performed. The results of the examination, which were introduced into evidence during trial, indicate that she was sexually assaulted and DNA evidence recovered from the victim was determined to match Bryant-Royal’s DNA.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command at Ft. Meade for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Rachel M. Yasser and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine L. Duey of the U.S. Justice Department, Criminal Division, who prosecuted the case.Laredo Resident Sentenced in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – Robert Allen Montgomery, 46, has been ordered to federal prison following his convictions of receiving and possessing child pornography, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Montgomery was convicted on both counts as charged after a bench trial on April 19, 2013.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen handed Montgomery a sentence of 96 months in federal prison. Additional information was presented, including statements from the mother of one of the identified victims. In handing down the sentence, Judge Kazen took into consideration the number of images, the youth of the victims depicted in the images and the type of abuses depicted in the images found on Montgomery’s Blackberry. Judge Kazen further noted Montgomery needed drug treatment and mental health help while incarcerated and after being released from federal custody. Montgomery was further ordered serve 15 years of supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time was ordered not to work with, live near or have any direct contact with any minor without prior approval by the U.S. Probation Office. He was also ordered not to access the Internet or any sexually explicit materials involving minors. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
On May 3, 2012, the Laredo Police Department (LPD) conducted a traffic stop on Montgomery, at which time officers discovered a small amount of cocaine and arrested him for possession of controlled substance. When the officers searched Montgomery’s phone after his arrest, they found images of child pornography. A total of approximately 180 images of child pornography were eventually found on the phone.
Montgomery will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and LPD and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonah Lee.
Kentucky Resident Charged with Tax Evasion and Other Tax Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, jointly announced today that James S. Faller II, of Russell Springs, Ky., was indicted by a federal grand jury in Bowling Green, Ky. Faller, a consultant and private investigator, is charged in an eleven count indictment with obstructing the internal revenue laws, evading his individual income taxes, making and subscribing to a false form that he filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and failing to file his individual income tax returns.
The indictment alleges that Faller obstructed the IRS’s ability to collect payment of a substantial penalty he owed to the government and the IRS’s ability to identify his income from 2006 through 2009. According to the indictment, Faller evaded the payment of a $216,000 penalty related to unpaid employment taxes of Call Center Communications Inc., of which Faller was the president. In addition, Faller was charged with evading his individual income taxes from 2006 through 2009. He allegedly failed to report more than $960,000 of income during this four-year period and committed various affirmative acts of evasion.
Faller faces a maximum punishment of three years in prison for the charge of obstructing the internal revenue laws; five years for each count of evading his individual income taxes; three years for making and subscribing to a false form that he filed with the IRS; and one year for each count of failing to file his individual income tax returns. He faces a maximum fine of $100,000 on each count of failing to file his income tax returns and $250,000 for each of the other counts. An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case resulted from an investigation by special agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Tax Division Trial Attorney Thomas Voracek and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Gentry are prosecuting the case.
Justice Department Settles Immigration-related Discrimination Claim Against SOS Employment GroupRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today reached an agreement with SOS Employment Group, based in Salt Lake City resolving claims that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The department’s investigation confirmed allegations made by a work-authorized individual that SOS Employment Group had, at both initial hire and when subsequently re-verifying the refugee’s employment authorization, rejected the employee’s valid driver’s license and unrestricted Social Security card and required him to produce a Department of Homeland Security Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The department’s investigation further determined that SOS Employment’s documentary demands were based on the individual’s status as a non-U.S. citizen. The anti-discrimination provision of the INA, prohibits employers from using discriminatory documentary policies, procedures or requirements based on citizenship status or national origin when initially determining or subsequently re-verifying an employee’s authorization for employment.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, SOS Employment Group has agreed to pay $9,157.50 in back pay to the victim and $1,200 in civil penalties to the United States, undergo Justice Department training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of one year.
“The INA’s anti-discrimination provision requires that the statute’s employment eligibility verification requirements be implemented in a nondiscriminatory manner without regard to citizenship status or national origin,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights. “The Civil Rights Division is fully committed to vigorously enforcing this important component of the INA.”
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired), call the OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired), sign up for a no-cost webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php , email [email protected] or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc
Justice Department Settles Immigration-related Discrimination Claim Against Forever 21Read the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Forever 21 resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it rejected a work-authorized individual’s Department of Homeland Security-issued Employment Authorization Document (EAD), and required her to produce a Permanent Resident Card (commonly known as a “Green Card”) as a condition of employment. The individual, who was employment-authorized as an applicant for permanent residence, was unable to work following the rejection of her EAD. The anti-discrimination provision of the INA prohibits employers from discriminating in the employment eligibility verification process by demanding specific documents or rejecting acceptable documents based on citizenship status or national origin.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Forever 21 has agreed to pay $1705.50 in back pay to the individual and $280 in civil penalties to the United States, undergo Justice Department training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of one year.
“The INA’s anti-discrimination provision requires that the INA’s employment eligibility verification requirements be implemented in a nondiscriminatory manner without regard to citizenship status or national origin,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights. “The Civil Rights Division is fully committed to vigorously enforcing the anti-discrimination provision’s protections against discriminatory documentary practices.”
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired), call the OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired), sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php , email [email protected] or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc
Justice Department Files Lawsuit in Delaware Against Regal Contractors LLC Et Al., to Enforce the Employment Rights of Air Force Reserve MemberRead the Press Release
The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Charles M. Oberly III announced today the filing of a lawsuit alleging that Regal Contractors LLC, Regal Builders LLC and Noble Pond Homes willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by terminating U.S. Air Force Reserve Member Lon Fluman following his return from required military training with his reserve unit.Fluman is a Senior Airman with the U.S. Air Force Reserve serving with the 712th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Dover Air Force Base. According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Delaware, Fluman was scheduled for reserve military duty to begin on Sept. 3, 2012 but was rescheduled on short notice to start one day later. Subsequently, Fluman served weekend reserve duty in early December of 2012. Following his second duty, the defendants terminated Fluman from his position as a maintenance technician. Although Fluman satisfied USERRA’s notification requirements before departing for his military leaves, according to the complaint, the defendants terminated Fluman anyway, claiming the notice provided was not sufficient.
USERRA explicitly protects the rights of members of the uniformed services to retain their employment following absences due to military service obligations. “Congress enacted USERRA to protect our men and women in uniform from experiencing this kind of injustice,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing federal laws that protect the employment rights of our servicemembers.”
“Members of the Air Force Reserve sacrifice time away from their jobs to serve their country,” said U.S. Attorney Oberly. “USERRA ensures that they are not discriminated against and that their employment rights are protected.”
This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The case is being handled by the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, who work collaboratively with the Department of Labor to protect the jobs and benefits of National Guard and Reserve servicemembers upon their return to civilian life.
Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department website: w ww.servicemembers.gov and www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp, as well as on the Labor Department’s website at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.
Justice Department Announces Charges Filed Against Two Derivatives Traders in Connection with Multi-Billion Dollar Trading Loss at JPMorgan Chase & CompanyRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara and Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office George Venizelos announced the unsealing of criminal complaints against Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout for their alleged participation in a conspiracy to hide the true extent of losses in a credit derivatives trading portfolio maintained by the Chief Investment Office (CIO) of JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPMorgan). Martin-Artajo served as a Managing Director and Head of Credit and Equity Trading for the CIO, and Grout was a Vice President and derivatives trader in the CIO.
“Our financial system has been hurt in recent years not just by risky bets gone bad, but also, in some cases, by criminal wrongdoing,” said Attorney General Holder. “We will not stop pursuing those who violate the public trust and compromise the integrity of our markets. I applaud U.S. Attorney Bharara, his colleagues in the Southern District of New York, and all of our partners on the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force for their longstanding commitment to combating all forms of financial fraud. And I pledge that we will continue to move both fairly and aggressively to bring the perpetrators of financial crimes to justice.”
“As alleged, the defendants, Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout, deliberately and repeatedly lied about the fair value of billions of dollars in assets on JPMorgan's books in order to cover up massive losses that mounted month after month at the beginning of 2012, which ultimately led JPMorgan to restate its losses by $660 million,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “The defendants’ alleged lies misled investors, regulators, and the public, and they constituted federal crimes. As has already been conceded, this was not a tempest in a teapot, but rather a perfect storm of individual misconduct and inadequate internal controls. The difficulty inherent in precisely valuing certain kinds of financial positions does not give people a license to lie or mislead to cover up losses; it does not confer a license to create false books and records or to make false public filings. And that goes double for handsomely-paid executives at a public company whose actions can roil markets and upend the economy.”
“The complaints tell a story of a group of traders who got in over their heads, and to get out, doubled down on a series of risky positions,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos. “In the first quarter of 2012, boom turned to bust, as the defendants, concerned about losing control to other traders at the bank, fudged the numbers on their daily book, and in some cases completely made them up. It brought a whole new meaning to cooking the books.”
In a separate action, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced civil charges against Martin-Artajo and Grout.According to the allegations in the criminal complaints unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
JPMorgan’s CIO, is a component of the bank’s Corporate/Private Equity line of business, which, according to the bank, exists to manage the bank’s excess deposits – approximately $350 billion in 2012. Since approximately 2007, the CIO’s investments have included a so-called Synthetic Credit Portfolio (SCP), which consists of indices and tranches of indices of credit default swaps (CDS). A credit default swap is essentially an insurance contract on an underlying credit risk, such as corporate bonds. CDS indices are collections of CDSs that are traded as one unit, while CDS tranches are portions of those indices, usually sliced up by riskiness.
Under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and according to JPMorgan policy, CDS traders were required to value the securities in their portfolios on a daily basis. Those values, or “marks,” became part of the bank’s daily books and records. Because CDS indices and tranches are not traded over an exchange, traders are required to look to various data points in order to value their securities, such as actual transaction prices, price quotations from market makers, and values provided by independent services (such as Totem and MarkIT). JPMorgan’s accounting policy, which used the same methodology employed by the independent services, provided that the “starting point for the valuation of a derivatives portfolio is mid-market,” meaning the mid-point between the price at which market-makers were willing to buy or sell a security. Through about January 2012, CIO traders generally marked the securities in the SCP approximately to this mid-point, which they sometimes referred to as the “crude mid.”
The SCP was extremely profitable for JPMorgan – it produced approximately $2 billion in gross revenues since its inception – but in the first quarter of 2012, the SCP began to sustain consistent and considerable losses. From at least March 2012, Martin-Artajo and Grout conspired to artificially manipulate the SCP marks to disguise those losses. They did so, among other reasons, to avoid losing control of the SCP to other traders at JPMorgan.
Although Martin-Artajo pressured his traders, including Grout, to “defend the positions” in early 2012 by executing trades at favorable prices, the SCP lost approximately $130 million in January 2012 and approximately $88 million in February 2012. In March 2012, when the market moved even more aggressively against the CIO’s positions, Martin-Artajo specifically instructed Grout and the head SCP trader, Bruno Iksil (who has entered a non-prosecution agreement), not to report losses in the SCP unless they were tied to some identifiable market event, such as a bankruptcy filing by a company whose bonds were in the CDS index. Martin-Artajo explained that “New York” – meaning, among others, JPMorgan’s Chief Investment Officer – did not want to see losses attributable to market volatility.
By mid-March 2012, Grout was explicitly and admittedly “not marking at mids.” He maintained a spreadsheet that kept track of the difference between the price that Grout recorded in JPMorgan’s books and records, on the one hand, and the “crude mids,” on the other. By March 15, 2012, according to Grout’s spreadsheet, the difference had grown to approximately $292 million. In a recorded on-line chat the same day, Grout explained that he was trying to keep the marks for most of the SCP’s positions “relatively realistic,” with the marks for one particular security “put aside.” That is, Grout mispriced that one particular security, of which the SCP held billions of dollars’ worth, by the full $292 million. The following day, Iksil told Martin-Artajo that the difference had grown to $300 million, and “I reckon we get to 400 [million] difference very soon.” In a separate conversation, Iksil remarked to Grout that “I don’t know where he [Martin-Artajo] wants to stop, but it’s getting idiotic.”
In the days that followed, Grout at times ignored Iksil’s instructions on how to mark the positions, and instead, followed Martin-Artajo’s mandate to continue to hide the losses. By March 20, 2012, Iksil insisted that Grout show a significant loss: $40 million for the day. In a recorded call, Martin-Aartajo excoriated Iksil, finally emphasizing, “I didn’t want to show the P&L [the profit and loss].” Throughout the remainder of March 2012, while Iksil continued to try to insist that Martin-Artajo acknowledge the reality of the losses, Grout, at Martin-Artajo’s instructions, continued to hide them. As of March 30, 2012 – the last day of the first quarter of 2012 – Grout continued to fraudulently understate the SCP’s losses. These incorrect figures in the SCP were not only integrated into JPMorgan’s books and records, but also – as Martin-Artajo and Grout were well aware – into the bank’s quarterly financial filing for the first quarter of 2012 with the SEC.
During the course of the mis-marking scheme carried out by Martin-Artajo and Grout, the CIO’s Valuation Control Group (VCG) was supposed to serve as an independent check on the valuations assigned by traders to the securities that the traders were marking at month-end. The VCG, however, was effectively only staffed by one person and did not perform any independent review of the valuations. Instead, the VCG tolerated valuations outside of the bid-offer spread as presented by Martin-Artajo and other CIO traders.
In Aug. 2012, after Martin-Artajo and Grout were stripped of their responsibilities over the SCP and their scheme was discovered, JPMorgan restated its first quarter 2012 earnings, and recognized an additional loss of $660 million in net revenue attributable to the mis-marking of the SCP. JPMorgan announced that it was restating its earnings because it had lost confidence in the “integrity” of the marks submitted by Grout, at Martin-Artajo’s direction.
Martin-Artajo, 49, a Spanish citizen, and Grout, 35, a French citizen, are charged in one count of conspiracy; one count of falsifying the books and records of JPMorgan; one count of wire fraud; and one count of causing false statements to be made in JPMorgan’s filings with the SEC. They each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy count, and 20 years in prison on each of the three remaining counts in the complaints, and a fine of the greater of $5,000,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss as to certain of the offenses.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which Mr. Bharara serves as a Co-Chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations.The case was investigated by the FBI. The SEC and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs were also involved.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eugene Ingoglia and Matthew L. Schwartz are in charge of the prosecutions.
The charges contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Jury Convicts KC Man of Attempted Armed Bank Robbery after Shoot-out with Bank Guard, Federal AgentRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was convicted in federal court today of attempting to rob Blue Ridge Bank and Trust at gunpoint, after being foiled by a bank guard and a federal agent who was a customer at the bank.
Eric L. Smith, 34, of Kansas City, was found guilty of attempted armed bank robbery, using a firearm during a violent crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Smith attempted to rob Blue Ridge Bank and Trust, 6202 Raytown Trafficway, Raytown, Mo., on June 23, 2012. Smith entered the bank and pointed a firearm at a security guard who was seated in the lobby. Smith walked straight to the guard, still pointing the firearm at him, and demanded that the guard give him his weapon. Smith fled from the bank without taking any money when the guard fired three rounds from his 9mm Glock handgun in Smith’s direction. A bullet fired from the guard’s gun shattered the glass in one of the doors through which Smith exited the bank.
The only customer in the bank, a federal agent who was dressed in plain clothes, drew his weapon, pointed it at Smith and pursued Smith out of the bank along with the guard. Smith stopped in the parking lot and turned and fired one shot toward the bank, guard and federal agent. Smith continued running through the parking lot and around the western corner of the strip mall. Smith ran to ared four-door sedan he had parked behind the mall and sped away.
An anonymous tipster saw a surveillance photo of Smith and called the Crime Stoppers TIP Hotline on June 26, 2012. The caller reported that Smith had a bandaged right hand since Saturday but no hand injury on Friday night. The tip led law enforcement officers to the home of Smith’s mother, where he was staying. Smith was at home and was arrested on outstanding warrants.
When agents searched the house, they found a loaded .40-caliber Ruger under a cushion of the couch. The Ruger matched the firearm used by Smith in the attempted bank robbery. The brand of ammunition found in the firearm matched the live round and the shell casing found in the parking lot of Blue Ridge Bank and Trust. Additionally, a forensic expert determined that the .40-caliber shell casing recovered from the parking lot was fired from the Ruger found under the couch cushion. The Ruger contained live rounds of ammunition that matched the shell casing and bullet recovered from the crime scene. Law enforcement officers also identified a Ford four-door sedan parked at the residence that matches the vehicle in which the robber fled.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Smith has two prior felony convictions for aggravated robbery.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for about two hours before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips, ending a trial that began Monday, Aug. 12, 2013.
Under federal statutes, Smith is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 45 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $750,000. 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 Christina Y. Tabor and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah A. Castle. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.