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24 July 2013
Woman Sentenced for Interstate Transportation to Promote ProstitutionRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Jessica Alamina, age 27 of St. Robert, Missouri, was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment by United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon for transporting an individual with intent to promote prostitution. Following her release from incarceration, she will serve 3 years of supervised release. She will also forfeit to the United States $580 in United States currency, numerous cell phones, a camera, and computer equipment.
In late May of 2012, Ms. Alamina transported a young woman from Illinois to Missouri. After they arrived in Missouri, Ms. Alamina took photographs of the young woman. Ms. Alamina included the photographs in online advertisements she placed for locations in Missouri. The female had “dates” with customers who responded to the advertisements, during which the female engaged in prostitution.
Then in early June of 2012, Ms. Alamina transported the young woman from Missouri to Omaha, Nebraska. One purpose of the trip was for the young woman to engage in prostitution in the Omaha area. Ms. Alamina posted advertisements for the young woman in the “Escorts” section of Backpage.com for Omaha, Nebraska. The young woman had “dates” with customers who responded to the advertisements, during which she engaged in prostitution. The female provided money from the “dates” to Ms. Alamina.
This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the auspices of the Child Exploitation Task Force, which also includes the Council Bluffs Police Department, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the La Vista Police Department, the Mills County Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska State Patrol.Williamsville Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Synthetic MarijuanaRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Fawzi Al-Arashi, 34, of Williamsville, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who is handling the case, stated that the investigation began in early 2012 when the Los Angeles Field Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) notified the DEA's Buffalo Field Office of a suspected synthetic marijuana shipment destined for Buffalo. The package was delivered to the defendant at 3407 Delaware Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda, home of "Town Tobacco."
Subsequent investigation revealed that Al-Arashi sold synthetic marijuana, also known as "Spice," under such names as "Strawberry Flavored Potpourri," "Tiger Shack," "Atomic," "G-20," and "California Dreams" out of "Town Tobacco" on Delaware Avenue in Tonawanda, and most recently at "Welcome Welcome" on Main St. in North Tonawanda.
Throughout the investigation, police received numerous complaints regarding the stores. One woman called and stated that her son was in the Erie County Medical Center Psychiatric Ward after using synthetic marijuana that he bought at "Town Tobacco."
On July 25, 2012, authorities executed a search warrant at a warehouse leased to the defendant where he stored the synthetic marijuana, and found some 75 pounds of the products, which were typically sold in small sealed packets.
As part of the plea agreement, Al-Arashi has agreed to forfeit more than $290,000 seized from various of his bank accounts as well as a 2012 Toyota Tundra.“The public needs to be warned anytime a product such as this appears in our community," said U.S. Attorney Hochul. "In the case of synthetic marijuana, not only are the chemicals dangerous, they are illegal. Parents should also be aware that the packages containing these substances may be designed in such a manner as to appeal to children.”
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division; the New York State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET), under the direction of Major Wayne C. Olson, the Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief Anthony Palombo, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police, under the direction of Chief George Gast, the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey, and the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack.White Swan Man Sentenced to 84 Months Imprisonment for Assaulting Woman with ShoeRead the Press Release
Spokane – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Chet Arlie Moses, age 28, of White Swan, Washington, was sentenced on July 23, 2013 after pleading guilty in March, 2013 to committing an Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. United States District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Moses to an 84-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision upon release from Federal prison. Judge Rice also ordered Moses to pay nearly $4,000 in restitution to a Toppenish, Washington hospital and a health services organization.
According to information disclosed at the change of plea and sentencing hearings: On November 9, 2012, Moses, a member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and the female-victim had a verbal argument. The argument escalated and Moses began beating the female-victim with his fists and a shoe. Moses told the female-victim that he was going to kill her family. The female-victim was able to extricate herself from the scene and immediately contacted the Yakama Tribal Police Department. Tribal Police officers responded and observed that the female-victim was covered in blood. She was transported to the Toppenish Community Hospital where she was provided medical assistance. Thereafter, Detectives with the Yakama Tribal Police contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Together, the law enforcement officers obtained a search warrant for Moses' residence located in White Swan, Washington. At the residence, the law enforcement officers observed a pool of dried blood on a blanket and also discovered a shoe with blood on the sole. Law enforcement officers later interviewed Moses and he confessed that he had assaulted the female-victim.
Michael C. Ormsby said, "Individuals like Chet Moses who commit serious assaults will be prosecuted aggressively and will face lengthy prison sentences. The United States Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Yakama Tribal Police Department, have a no tolerance for individuals who engage in such criminal conduct."
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Yakama Nation Tribal Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Tom Hanlon, an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Washington.
12-CR-2088-TOR
Volusia County Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida - U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell yesterday sentenced Christopher Holladay (37, Deland) to 15 years in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Holladay pleaded guilty on April 30, 2013.
According to his plea agreement, Holladay, a previously convicted felon, sold a stolen Remington rifle to an undercover officer and a confidential informant for $350 on August 2, 2012. The rifle had been stolen the day before in a residential burglary. Later that month, a deputy with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office stopped a vehicle being driven by Holladay. A drug detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle. In a subsequent search of the vehicle, investigators found marijuana and methamphetamine.
Holladay has ten prior state felony convictions, including drug possession, conspiracy to traffic in methamphetamine, grand theft, robbery, burglary, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, resisting an officer with violence, accessory after the fact, and failure of a career offender to properly register. As a previously convicted felon, Holladay is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. As a result of his prior criminal record, Holladay qualified for enhanced sentencing as an Armed Career Criminal under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
It is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Julie Torres, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
United States Returns Stolen Antique Books to the National Library of SwedenRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the return to the National Library of Sweden of two antique books that were stolen from the Library in the 1990s. The books, which were once part of the collections of Swedish royalty, contain early depictions of interior areas of the United States, including the Mississippi River, by explorers.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “These two books, which offered the world some of the first glimpses of the extraordinary American landscape and people, were wrongfully taken from the National Library of Sweden, only to end up in the land depicted in their pages more than 300 years ago. With their odyssey now complete, we are proud to be part of returning these priceless artifacts to their rightful owners, and we hope this recovery will prompt others to return antique books in their possession that were stolen from the Library.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos said: “Treasured pieces of a country’s heritage have value far beyond their price on the open market. Some things are not for sale – or shouldn’t be. Anders Burius stole dozens of rare books from the National Library of Sweden, sold them, confessed to the thefts, and committed suicide. He cannot be prosecuted. But the FBI has a role in serving the interests of justice beyond arresting criminals. We are happy to have assisted in returning a part of Sweden’s cultural wealth.”
According to the Stipulation filed in Manhattan federal court and other documents in the public record:
The two books being returned are part of a group of at least 56 rare or one-of-a-kind books that were stolen from the National Library of Sweden’s collection by Anders Burius (“Burius”), a former employee of the Library, between 1995 and 2004. After stealing the books, Burius consigned or sold the books to Ketterer Kunst (“Ketterer”), an auction house in Germany. In 2004, Burius confessed to the book thefts and admitted to Swedish law enforcement officials that he had sold and/or consigned the books to Ketterer under the alias “Carl/Karl Fields.” Shortly after confessing to the thefts, Burius committed suicide. Swedish authorities subsequently received information that 13 of the stolen books had been sold by Ketterer to individuals and/or entities in the United States.
On November 16, 1998, Stephan Loewentheil, the owner of 19th Century Shop Rare Books in Baltimore, Maryland, purchased, without knowledge of the theft, two of the books that Burius had stolen from the National Library of Sweden. Those two books were a Louis Hennepin book entitled “Description de la Louisiane, nouvellement decouverte au sud-ouest de la Nouvelle-France, par ordre du roi; avec la carte du pays, les moeurs et la maniere de vivre des sauvages,” printed in Paris in 1683 by Sebastien Hure (the “Louis Hennepin book”), and a Henry Lewis book entitled “Das illustrirte Mississippithal, dargestellt in 80 nach der Natur aufgenommenen Ansichten vom Wasserfalle zu S:t Anthony an bis zum Golf von Mexico…,” printed in Dusseldorf between 1854-58 by Arntz & Comp (the “Henry Lewis book”).
The Louis Hennepin book, which documents the author’s exploration of the upper Mississippi River in 1680, is known for its map, which has the first-ever printed record of Louisiana, and for the first descriptions of Niagara Falls and the Falls of Saint Anthony. The book once belonged to King Gustav IV and was incorporated into the Library in 1796. The Henry Lewis book contains hand-colored lithographs and texts from the author’s exploration of the Mississippi River between the years 1846-1849. The book belongs to the collection of King Charles XV that was incorporated into the Library in 1873.
Loewentheil, after being contacted by the FBI about the theft of the Louis Hennepin book and the Henry Lewis book from the National Library of Sweden, voluntarily re-obtained both books and agreed to return them to the Library. On July 12, 2013, Loewentheil and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York entered into a stipulation, pursuant to which Loewentheil consented to tender the Louis Hennepin book and the Henry Lewis book to the FBI, to allow for the return of these books to the National Library of Sweden. The stipulation was so ordered by the United States District Court on July 17, 2013. The Louis Hennepin book and the Henry Lewis book were returned to representatives of the National Library of Sweden earlier today at a repatriation ceremony held at the United States Attorney’s Office in New York.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI in this matter, and its ongoing efforts to find and repatriate stolen property.
Gunilla Herdenberg, the CEO of the National Library of Sweden, said: “On behalf of the Kingdom of Sweden as well as the international library community, I am very grateful to the U.S. Government and to Stephan Loewentheil for all their efforts. I am very happy to bring these books back to Sweden and to make them available for the public and for research again.”
This matter is being handled by the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Magdo and Sarah E. Paul are in charge of the case.
National Library of Sweden Stipulation and Order
United States Reaches Agreement with Arcadia, California, School District to Resolve Sex Discrimination AllegationsRead the Press Release
The United States entered into a settlement agreement with the Arcadia Unified School District in Arcadia, Calif., to resolve an investigation into allegations of discrimination against a transgender student based on the student’s sex. Under the agreement, approved by the district’s school board unanimously last night, the school district will take a number of steps to ensure that the student, whose gender identity is male and who has consistently and uniformly presented as a boy at school and in all other aspects of his life for several years, will be treated like other male students while attending school in the district.
The agreement, joined by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which participated in the investigation, resolves a complaint filed in October 2011. The complaint alleged that the district had prohibited the student from accessing facilities consistent with his male gender identity, including restrooms and locker rooms at school, as well as sex-specific overnight accommodations at a school-sponsored trip, because he is transgender. The United States investigated this complaint under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Both Title IX and Title IV prohibit discrimination against students based on sex.
Under the settlement agreement, the district will:
• work with a consultant to support and assist the district in creating a safe, nondiscriminatory learning environment for students who are transgender or do not conform to gender stereotypes;
• amend its policies and procedures to reflect that gender-based discrimination, including discrimination based on a student’s gender identity, transgender status, and nonconformity with gender stereotypes, is a form of discrimination based on sex; and
• train administrators and faculty on preventing gender-based discrimination and creating a nondiscriminatory school environment for transgender students.
Additionally, the district will take a number of steps to treat the student like all other male students in the education programs and activities offered by the district. The district-wide provisions of the agreement will be in place until the end of the 2015-2016 school year. The student-specific provisions of the agreement will be in place as long as the student is enrolled in the district.
“All students, including transgender students, have the right to attend school free from discrimination based on their sex,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We commend the district for taking affirmative steps to ensure that this student and his peers can continue to learn and thrive in a safe and nondiscriminatory environment.”
“Our commitment to civil rights enforcement runs deep and nowhere is that commitment more meaningful than in our schools,” said André Birotte, Jr., United States Attorney for the Central District of California. “This agreement helps ensure continued advancement towards equal rights under the law for all students.”
In recent years, the Justice Department and the Department of Education resolved a number of cases involving gender-based harassment in public schools. In 2012, the departments entered into a consent decree addressing harassment against students who do not conform to gender stereotypes in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, Minn. In 2011, the departments entered into an agreement with the Tehachapi Unified School District, Calif., to resolve a similar complaint of harassment against a gay student who did not conform to gender stereotypes.
Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 each prohibit harassment based on sex. The enforcement of Title IV and Title IX are top priorities of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt .
Two Sentenced for Distribution of A Controlled Substance and Possession with Intent to Distribute A Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a man and a woman from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, were sentenced on July 22, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Lena Flying By, age 46, charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, was sentenced to 1 week of imprisonment, a $1,000 fine, 2 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Earl Grindstone, age 28, charged with Distribution of a Controlled Substance, was sentenced to 1 month of imprisonment, a $1,000 fine, 2 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Flying By and Grindstone were indicted by a federal grand jury on February 13, 2013. The charges stem from an incident occurring between September 1, 2012, and September 2, 2012, when Cheyenne River law enforcement conducted a vehicle stop and learned from the driver that he had purchased marijuana from a residence in Eagle Butte. After obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement searched the residence and found marijuana along with other drug paraphernalia. Flying By admitted to aiding and abetting the selling of marijuana in her home and Grindstone admitted to selling marijuana.
A third defendant, Terry Flying By, also of Eagle Butte, convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, will be sentenced on August 19, 2013.
The investigation was conducted by Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.
Flying By is to self-report by August 5, 2013, to serve her one-week sentence and Grindstone was to self-report on July 23, 2013, to start serving his one-month sentence.Two Plead Guilty to Making False Statements in HUD Mortgage Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
Both Defendants to Pay Restitution of Nearly $43,000
POCATELLO – Darin John Henecke, 37, of Pocatello, Idaho, and Karen DeWall Shaw, 59, of Chubbuck, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a misdemeanor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. The charge is punishable by up to one year in prison or five years’ probation, a maximum fine of $100,000, and up to one year of supervised release.
According to plea agreements filed in the case, on March 13, 2009, Henecke obtained a residential loan to finance the purchase of a residence in Eagle, Idaho. The loan application submitted in support of the loan falsely represented that his co-borrower had employment income of $2,400 per month, when in fact she had no income. The lender relied upon this information in funding the loan, which was guaranteed by HUD. Shortly after the loan was funded, it went into default and foreclosure, causing HUD to sustain a loss. When interviewed by investigators, Henecke admitted that he knew false employment information was submitted to obtain the loan. He agreed to pay restitution of $42,905.
Shaw admitted during an interview with investigators in April 2011, that she assisted in the fraud by providing false employment information in order for the borrowers to qualify for the loan. According to the plea agreement, false documents included payroll checks, check stubs, a general employment contract, and employee confidentiality agreement. Shaw also agreed to pay $42,905 in restitution.
Henecke and Shaw are scheduled to be sentenced on September 25, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG).
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.
Two More Arrested in Ongoing Probe of Armed Phone Store Robberies in Paramus and Woodbridge, N.J.Read the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – FBI special agents arrested two men in Brooklyn, N.Y., this morning in connection with armed robberies of T-Mobile stores in Paramus and Woodbridge, N.J., U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Unique Randolph, 26, and Sulayman Graham, 30, both of Brooklyn, are charged in separate criminal complaints with one count each of committing a Hobbs Act robbery. Randolph is also charged with one count of using a firearm in furtherance of that robbery. Both defendants are scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court.
According to the two criminal complaints unsealed today and other documents filed in connection with this case:
The FBI has been investigating a series of armed robberies in Bergen, Middlesex and Union Counties, as well as other locations, between May 2012 and January 2013 – including armed robberies of T-Mobile stores in Linden, Woodbridge and Paramus, N.J. Four other N.Y. men – Terrell McQueen, Leonard Arrington, Carl Williams and Eric Williams (no relation) – were previously arrested and indicted in connection with this investigation. The charges against those four defendants remain pending.
On Jan. 16, 2013, Randolph and another man entered the T-Mobile store in Paramus, N.J. After tying up two employees and a customer and forcing them to lie on the floor, the men forced a third employee, at gunpoint, to fill two laundry bags with more than 70 cell phones. Afterward, the men left the employee tied up on the floor with the others.
During the robbery, a UPS employee walked into the store and was forced at gunpoint to join the restrained group.
On Oct. 2, 2012, Arrington entered a T-Mobile store in Woodbridge, carrying a gun, along with another man. After locking the front door, the men took the employees to the back of the store and tied them up, then stole approximately 40 cell phones. One of the robbers then called the getaway driver, Graham, who drove them away in a Land Rover. McQueen, Eric Williams and others delivered the stolen phones to the same Brooklyn store.
The charges of Hobbs Act robbery carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, which must run consecutively to one another and to any other prison term. Each of the counts also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation leading to the arrest and charges. He also thanked the Linden and Woodbridge Police Departments in New Jersey, as well as the New York City and Nassau County Police Departments and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in New York for their excellent work in this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Osmar J. Benvenuto and Nicholas P. Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.The charges and allegations contained in the complaints and indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
13-307Graham Complaint
Randolph ComplaintTwo Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOISE – Co-defendants Michael Duschka, 37, and Shannon Stewart, 42, both of Boise, were sentenced today in federal court by Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Duschka was sentenced to 68 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to the charge on March 7, 2013. Stewart was sentenced to 32 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty on February 27, 2013.
According to information presented in court, Duschka and Stewart conspired and agreed to sell methamphetamine to a confidential informant. On March 1, 2012, Duschka and Stewart met with the confidential informant to distribute methamphetamine and sold the individual approximately four grams of methamphetamine. Duschka is already serving a state sentence for distributing methamphetamine.
The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boise Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Caldwell Police Department, Nampa Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Idaho Department of Correction.
The case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.
Two Individuals Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal FundsRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, PR – Today Daniel Erazo-Burgos and Brenda Velàzquez-Corchado, former procurement officials with the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PR DOE) were sentenced to 18 and 30 months of imprisonment respectively for conspiracy to commit a violation of Title 18 USC Section 666(a)(1)(B), Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal funds, announced United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez.
Daniel Erazo-Burgos, was the Procurement Supervisor of the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PR DOE), was sentenced by United Stated District Chief Judge Aida Delgado-Colón to 18 months in prison. He had pleaded guilty on August 29, 2012. Erazo-Burgos was supervising and coordinating the PRDOE procurement officers in the Caguas and Ponce regions in their compliance with all necessary and appropriate procedures related to the processing of purchase orders. Defendant accepted cash and goods from other co-defendants in return for his assistance in the expeditious processing of invoices for payment on contracts awarded to the co-defendants by PRDOE.
Defendant Velàzquez-Corchado was the sole defendant remaining of a 13 person indictment filed against various PR DOE officials, which included the Chief Procurement Officer of the PR DOE Luis Conde-Rosa, and various company officials doing business with the Department. Velàzquez-Corchado was found guilty on April 19, 2013; United States District Court Senior Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez presided the trial. The jury found that between January 2008 through February 2010, the defendant conspired with others to corruptly solicit, demand, give and accept things of value, goods and cash, intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with a transaction and a series of transactions. The evidence presented at trial showed that approximately $2,900,000.00 dollars in contracts were awarded to companies where the defendant received over $25,000 in bribes, which included cash and goods.
“These individuals defrauded education programs, with the assistance of public employees who abused their positions for personal gain,” said United States Attorney, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who engage in corrupt acts which directly affect federal programs and the availability of these funds for its intended recipients,” stated Rodríguez-Vélez.The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julia Díaz-Rex and Héctor Ramírez. The investigation was led by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General (DOE-OIG), with the collaboration of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Comptroller’s Office in Puerto Rico.
Tucson Man Sentenced to 135 Months for Defrauding over 1,600 PeopleRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – On July 23, 2013, Anthony Mark Boscarino, 47, of Tucson, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson to 135 months. Boscarino pleaded guilty January 23 and February 27, 2013 to 43 crimes including fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
Boscarino was involved in multiple frauds using his internet sports handicapping site which operated under several names including Mike’s Lock Club. He solicited victims to invest in gambling junkets to Las Vegas, in an oil well project in Louisiana, in Collateralized Mortgage Obligations and several other scams. He was ordered to pay restitution of $6.5 million to the 1,685 victims of his fraudulent activity and $1.3 million in unpaid taxes for 2009. The court also ordered a $4.8 million money judgment against him and forfeited several of his cars and bank accounts.
The investigation in this case was conducted by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division. The prosecution was handled by Wallace H. Kleindienst and John R. Evans, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.
CASE NUMBER: CR- 10-01942-PCT-CKJ
RELEASE NUMBER: 2013-058_BoscarinoFor more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Three North Miami Residents Charged with Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns and Receiving over $1.8 Million in Fraudulent RefundsRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael J. DePalma, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Ronald Verrocchio, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, announced the filing of an indictment charging defendants Gerald Duverger, 34, and Jean Louis, 40, both of North Miami, with filing false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims and with wire fraud. A separate indictment was filed charging Jeaneno Florent, 37, also of North Miami, with filing false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims. Defendants Duverger and Louis were arraigned today in federal court in Miami before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber at 10:00 a.m. Defendant Florent will be arraigned at a later date.
Defendant Louis is charged with one count and defendants Duverger and Florent are each charged with two counts of filing false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287. Defendants Duverger and Louis are each charged with one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
According to the charging documents, in 2012, the USSS received information that two large tax refund checks had been paid on tax returns filed by Duverger and Florent. With respect to Duverger, the tax return fraudulently indicated that Duverger made $8 million in wages from Capitol Records, Inc. and was entitled to a refund of approximately $613,043. The Department of Treasury sent the tax refund to a bank account controlled by Duverger.
As further alleged in the charging documents, in January 2013, a tax return was submitted in the name of Louis claiming over $9 million in wages from Warner Bros Distribution Corporation and seeking a refund of approximately $600,281. On July 3, 2013, the Department of Treasury sent the tax refund of approximately $603,883 to Louis’ bank account.
If convicted, the defendants face a possible maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison for each count of filing false, fictitious and fraudulent claims and 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud.
Mr. Ferrer thanked IRS-CI, USPIS, USSS, and Miami Beach Police Department for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger.
An indictment is only an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Three Former UBS Executives Sentenced to Serve Time in Prison for Frauds Involving Contracts Related to the Investment of Municipal Bond ProceedsRead the Press Release
Three former financial services executives were sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for their participation in frauds related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts, the Department of Justice announced.
Peter Ghavami, Gary Heinz and Michael Welty, all former UBS AG executives, were convicted on Aug. 31, 2012, after a five-week trial for their roles in the frauds. They were sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood. Ghavami was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison and to pay a $1 million criminal fine; Heinz was sentenced to serve 27 months in prison and to pay a $400,000 criminal fine; and Welty was sentenced to serve 16 months in prison and to pay a $300,000 criminal fine.
“For years, these executives corrupted the competitive bidding process and defrauded municipalities across the country for important public works projects,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “The division will continue to prosecute those who subvert and corrupt competitive markets for personal profit.”
According to evidence presented at trial, while employed at UBS, Ghavami, Heinz and Welty participated in multiple fraud conspiracies and schemes with various financial institutions and with a broker, at various time periods from as early as March 2001 until at least November 2006. These financial institutions, or providers, offered a type of contract – known as an investment agreement – to state, county and local governments and agencies, and not-for-profit entities, throughout the United States. The public entities were seeking to invest money from a variety of sources, primarily the proceeds of municipal bonds that they had issued to raise money for, among other things, public projects. Public entities typically hire a broker to assist them in investing their money and to conduct a competitive bidding process to determine the winning provider.
At trial, the Department of Justice showed that while acting as providers, Ghavami, Heinz and Welty conspired with other providers and with a broker to corrupt the bidding process for more than a dozen investment agreements in order to increase the number and profitability of the agreements awarded to UBS. At other times, while acting as brokers, Ghavami, Heinz, Welty and their co-conspirators arranged for UBS to receive kickbacks in exchange for manipulating the bidding process and steering investment agreements to certain providers. Ghavami, Heinz and Welty deprived the municipalities of competitive interest rates for the investment of tax-exempt bond proceeds that were to be used by municipalities to refinance outstanding debt and for various public works projects, such as for building or repairing schools, hospitals and roads. Evidence at trial established that they cost municipalities around the country and the U.S. Treasury millions of dolla rs.During the trial, the government presented specific evidence relating to 26 corrupted bids, including 76 recorded conversations made by the co-conspirator financial institutions. Among the issuers and not-for-profit entities whose agreements or contracts were subject to the defendants’ schemes were the commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation, the Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation of Rhode Island, the Hospital Authority of Forsyth County, Ga., and the RWJ Health Care Corp. at Hamilton in New Jersey.
“The charges against these individuals outline a deceptive scheme to subvert competition in the marketplace. Those who engage in this type of criminal activity not only stand to defraud public entities, but erode the public’s trust in the competitive bidding process,” said George Venizelos, Acting Director in Charge of the FBI in New York. “The sentences announced today remind the public that the FBI will continue to work with the Antitrust Division to ensure the integrity of competitive bidding in public finance.”
“Those who manipulate the competitive bidding system to benefit themselves will be held accountable for their criminal activity,” said Richard Weber, Chief, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “The defendants conspired with others to corrupt the bidding process for more than a dozen investment agreements in order to increase the profitability of the agreements awarded to UBS. Quite simply, they enriched themselves at the expense of the towns and cities that needed the money for important public works projects such as building and repairing schools, hospitals and roads. IRS-CI is committed to using our financial expertise to uncover this kind of corruption.”
Ghavami was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of substantive wire fraud. Heinz was found guilty on three counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of substantive wire fraud. Welty was found guilty on three counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
A total of 20 individuals have been charged as a result of the department’s ongoing municipal bonds investigation, and 19 have been convicted or pleaded guilty. Another individual awaits trial. Additionally, one company, Rubin/Chambers, Dunhill Insurance Services Inc. has pleaded guilty.The sentences announced today resulted from an ongoing investigation conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York and Chicago Offices, the FBI and the IRS-CI. The division is coordinating its investigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Today’s charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging and related offenses in any financial markets should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Office at 212-335-8000, the FBI at 212-384-5000 or IRS-CI at 212-436-1761, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.Three Charged with Sex Trafficking at Wichita Massage ParlorsRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A man and two women have been charged with sex trafficking in Asian massage parlors in Wichita, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Gary H. Kidgell, 44, Waltham, Mass., is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to transport a person in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution.
Yan Zhang, 49, Wichita, Kan., is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and three counts of sex trafficking.
Xiuqing Tian, 42, Framingham, Mass., is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to transport a person in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution.The three defendants were named in a criminal complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Wichita. An affidavit in support of the complaint included the following allegations: – The investigation began in 2010 when the Wichita Police Department began monitoring an internet Web site that provided a forum for patrons of sexually oriented businesses to post descriptions of their experiences and to discuss sexual acts and the costs.
– Some posts indicated individuals had received sexual acts in exchange for money at AG Spa at 2260 N. Ridge Road, Suite 150, in Wichita and Sun Chi Spa at 1030 E. 1st in Wichita.
– Police received complaints from citizens about a disturbance in the early morning hours at AG Spa. On May 20, 2010, police responded to a disturbance at AG Spa and found six persons involved in a fight including Gary Kidgell, the owner of AG Spa, Xiuqing Tian, an employee of the spa and Yan Zhang, as well as other persons.
– Kidgell and Zhang were married. Zhang was arrested in July 2013 for prostitution.
– Police officers working undercover confirmed that Asian female workers offered sex acts for money.
– Police served a search warrant and obtained a notebook containing handwritten Chinese-English translations for phrases commonly used in a massage spa, as well as sexually explicit phrases including, “Did you bring a condom?” They also seized written copy in Chinese for advertisements in newspapers in New York, Chicago and San Francisco offering “massage parlor hiring” in Kansas.
– Police interviewed Asian female workers who offered and performed sex acts for money. In those interviews they learned that Asian women came to Wichita to work in the massage parlors because they were told they would make a lot of money. Once in Wichita they found the work was hard and they did not earn as much as they expected. Some of them were told never to leave the business because the area around the stores was dangerous. Some of the women said they were allowed to keep money they made by performing sex acts.Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties: – Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking: A fine up to $250,000 and imprisonment of any term of years.
– Conspiracy to transport a person in interstate commerce for prostitution: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
– Sex trafficking: Not less than 15 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Tampa Man Pleads Guilty to Stolen Identity Refund FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida - Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Marterrance Q. Holloway (33, Tampa) pleaded guilty today to aggravated identity theft and access device fraud charges, in addition to charges that he conspired with others to defraud the United States Treasury. Holloway faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy charge, ten years on the fraud charge, and a consecutive two-year prison sentence on the aggravated identity theft charge. As part of the plea, Holloway also agreed to forfeit two 2010 Chevrolet Camaros, a 2011 Dodge Charger, a 2005 Dodge Magnum, a motor scooter, an Apple iPad, cash and assorted jewelry -- all of which were purchased with the proceeds of his fraud. The net proceeds of the forfeited items will be credited towards any future forfeiture money judgment. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
On April 17, 2013, Holloway's co-defendant, Maurice Larry, pleaded guilty to similar charges. Larry is scheduled for sentencing on September 23, 2013, at 10:30 A.M. before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich.
According to Holloway's plea agreement, he and Larry filed fraudulent tax returns from the Howard Johnson Hotel on 50th Street in Tampa. A room at the hotel was purchased in Larry's name. In the hotel room were four computers that were used to electronically file fraudulent tax returns in the names of deceased individuals. Also located in the room were pages from an internet website, along with ledgers and lists of stolen names, dates of birth and social security numbers. Some of the names included specific codes to be used for electronic filing purposes or notes about whether a tax return had been either accepted or rejected. Multiple "Turbo Tax" reloadable debit cards were found in the hotel room, along with ATM receipts for cash withdrawals, and approximately $3,700 in cash. Both Holloway and Larry admitted to filing fraudulent tax returns while staying at the hotel.
Approximately one year later, Holloway used a fraudulent debit card at a local bank ATM machine. The debit card was loaded with the proceeds of a fraudulently filed tax return in the amount of over $9,800.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the United States Secret Service and the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen.
Superior, Wisconsin, Woman Sentenced for Assaulting Another Woman in Retaliation for Being A Government WitnessRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court, a 23-year-old inmate was sentenced for retaliating against another inmate for being a government witness in a drug-trafficking trial. On July 23, 2013, United States District Court Judge David S. Doty sentenced Veronique Zsa zsa Antique Muckle to 121 months in prison on one count of federal witness retaliation. Muckle was indicted on September 11, 2012, and was convicted on April 12, 2013.
According to the indictment and evidence presented at trial, Muckle assaulted Angelique Michelle Vos on August 14, 2012, following Vos’ return to the Sherburne County Jail, after Vos testified as a government witness during a narcotics trial of Lawrence Lalonde Colton. Muckle, Vos, and more than three dozen others pleaded guilty for their roles in a large-scale drug-trafficking organization that transported prescription pills and heroin from Detroit to the Twin Ports region in Minnesota. In September 2011, the organization was brought down after it was investigated by the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”).
Beginning on August 12, 2012, Colton was on trial for his role in the drug-trafficking activity. At the time, Muckle and Vos were held separately in the Sherburne County Jail. Muckle was already sentenced to 52 months in prison for her participation in the original drug conspiracy, and was awaiting placement in the federal prison system. When Vos returned from federal court on August 14, 2012, Muckle ran from a segregated area of the facility and violently attacked Vos for testifying against Colton earlier that day. Colton was later convicted.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office, the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, the Duluth Police Department, and the ATF. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allen A. Slaughter and Amber M. Brennan.Stamford Resident Sentenced to Federal Prison for Trafficking CocaineRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DIMITRIOS KARIPIDIS, 54, a citizen of Greece last residing in Stamford, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Warren W. Eginton in Bridgeport to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking cocaine.
This matter stems from a year-long investigation headed by the DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and Norwalk Police Department into the trafficking of oxycodone, cocaine and marijuana in Fairfield County. In February 2012, KARIPIDIS was intercepted over a court-authorized wiretap engaging in discussions involving the illegal distribution of cocaine.
Sixteen individuals have been charged as a result of this investigation.
KARIPIDIS has been detained since his arrest on June 12, 2012. On May 1, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
KARIPIDIS faces deportation proceedings at the conclusion of his sentence.
This matter is being investigated by the DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and the Norwalk Police Department, with assistance provided by the Connecticut State Police and the Bridgeport, Stamford and Stratford Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Markle and Vanessa Richards.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]St. Louis Man Sentenced to 10 Years on Carjacking and Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Leon Jackson was sentenced to 120 months in prison involving the October 2010 armed carjacking in the City of St. Louis.
According to the facts filed with the court, on October 22, 2010, an individual was parked in front on his business in the 4100 block of Lee, in the City of St. Louis. He was sitting in his Dodge Durango when Jackson approached, pointed a semi-automatic weapon at him, demanded the keys to the vehicle or he would be killed. The victim and Jackson began to struggle over the firearm, and the victim eventually gave him the keys to the vehicle. While Jackson was driving away from the scene, the victim pulled his own firearm and shot at Jackson. During the struggle the victim sustained cuts above his eye and on the hand. A short time later Jackson was arrested in the Durango and was later identified by the victim as the individual who stole his vehicle.
LEON JACKSON, St. Louis, MO, pled guilty in April to one felony count of carjacking and one felony count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of crime of violence. He appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Rodney W. Sippel.
This case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Mehan handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
St. Francis Man Charged with LarcenyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that John Swift, age 65, of St. Francis, South Dakota, appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on July 23, 2013, and pled guilty to Larceny.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 5 years in custody, a $250,000 fine, or both; 3 years of supervised release; and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction stems from incidents that took place between August 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010, when Swift took money and property from the St. Francis Volunteer Fire Department to which he was not entitled.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie H. Ruettgers.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date was set for October 7, 2013. The defendant was released on bond pending sentencing.South African Charged with Failure to Depart U.S. and Assault on Federal EmployeeRead the Press Release
A grand jury returned a four-count superseding indictment charging Ziyaya Mtola, 39, with two counts of failure to depart the United States and two counts of assault on a federal employee, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment alleges that Mtola is an alien and a citizen of the Republic of South Africa who physically resisted efforts to remove him from the United States pursuant to an order of removal on March 29, 2013, and April 22, 2013, physically injuring two immigration agents on the latter date.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Tripi, following investigation by agents of the Enforcement and Removal Operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.
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.
Sentences for July 18 - 19, 2013Read the Press Release
Christopher Lee Swartwood, 35, of Cody, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on July 19, 2013, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Swartwood was arrested in Powell, Wyoming. He received 84 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment. This case was investigated by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local law enforcement in Park County, Wyoming.
Gary William Mitchell, aka Robert Lavern Ackerly, Jr., aka Hoo Bushi, aka Kanzenmohar Ninjokunshi Mitchell, 58, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl on July 18, 2013, on one count of identity theft, one count of social security fraud, one count of making a false statement and one count of use of a false passport. Mitchell was arrested in Casper, Wyoming. He received eight months imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $400.00 special assessment and restitution to the U.S. Social Security Administration in the amount of $25,196.50. This case was investigated by the Casper Police Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Rosebud Woman Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute MarijuanaRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, woman convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana was sentenced on July 23, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Patricia Pacheco, age 23, was sentenced to time served, a $1,000 fine, two years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Pacheco was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 22, 2012, and pled guilty to Count II of the Indictment on April 2, 2013.
The charge stems from an incident on March 21, 2012, wherein Pacheco’s vehicle and residence were searched. Controlled substances, including marijuana and methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia were found.
The investigation was conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Law Enforcement and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.Republic Man Indicted for Producing Child Porn, Sharing Child Porn over the InternetRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Republic, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for producing child pornography and for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Dustin E. James, 30, of Republic, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, July 23, 2013.
The federal indictment alleges that James used a minor, identified as “Jane Doe,” to produce child pornography between July 1, 2012, and April 24, 2013. The indictment also alleges that James received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between Jan. 1, 2011, and April 24, 2013.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Republic, Mo., Police Department.Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Philadelphia Woman Sentenced for Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Edith Warren, a/k/a “Jourdon Warren-McPherson,” “Jourdon Edith Reed,” “Jourdon Edith Warren-McPherson,” “Edith Reed,” and “Jourdon Edith Warren,” 56, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to nine months in prison followed by six months of home confinement for a scheme to defraud the government. Warren was collecting Supplemental Security Income and welfare benefits she was not entitled to receive. She pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds and one count of Social Security fraud.
Warren concealed her work activity under a second Social Security number, as well as her ownership of two homes, and her marital status. She filed for and received Supplemental Security Income, medical assistance, benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and cash assistance benefits. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Gene E. K. Pratter ordered restitution to the Social Security Administration of $42,360, to the Department of Health and Human Services of $88,970, and to the U.S. Department of Agriculture of $11,024, as well as three years of supervised release with 50 hours of community service per year.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Philadelphia Money Launderer Pleads Guilty in Connection with $13 Million Brooklyn Medicare/Medicaid Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Leonid Zalkind, 36, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering before U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon of the Eastern District of New York. At sentencing, scheduled for December 2, 2013, Zalkind faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch; Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas O’Donnell of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
According to court documents, from 2010 to 2012, Zalkind operated numerous shell companies and bank accounts through which he laundered the proceeds of health care fraud from the Brooklyn clinic Cropsey Medical Care PLLC (“Cropsey Medical”). Zalkind conspired with others to accept checks from Cropsey Medical, which were made payable to various shell companies Zalkind controlled. These checks did not represent payment for any legitimate service at or for Cropsey Medical, but rather were written to launder Cropsey Medical’s fraudulently obtained health care proceeds. Zalkind admitted at the plea proceeding that he deposited such checks into bank accounts he controlled, intending these transactions to hide and disguise the fact that these funds were proceeds of a crime. He admitted that he knew these funds were proceeds of illegal activity.
The proceeds of checks Zalkind negotiated and cashed were given to the owners and operators of Cropsey Medical, at which point they were used to pay illegal cash kickbacks to Cropsey Medical’s purported patients. According to court documents, from approximately November 2009 to October 2012, Cropsey Medical submitted more than $13 million in claims to Medicare and Medicaid, seeking reimbursement for a wide variety of fraudulent medical services and procedures, including physician office visits, physical therapy and diagnostic tests.
Eight individuals, including a doctor, owners/operators and employees of Cropsey Medical clinics, along with other individuals who paid and received kickbacks to induce the transportation and referral of patients to the clinic, as well as individuals who laundered funds for Cropsey Medical, await trial before Judge Nina Gershon. Trial has not yet been scheduled.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sarah M. Hall and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shannon Jones and Ilene Jaroslaw of the Eastern District of New York. The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS.
The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Philadelphia Money Launderer Pleads Guilty <br /> in Connection with Brooklyn Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Philadelphia resident pleaded guilty today for his role as a money launderer in a $13 million health care fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch of the Eastern District of New York; George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, FBI’s New York Field Office; and Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas O’Donnell of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
Leonid Zalkind, 36, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering before U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon of the Eastern District of New York. At sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 2, 2013, Zalkind faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
According to court documents, from 2010 to 2012, Zalkind operated numerous shell companies and bank accounts through which he laundered the proceeds of health care fraud from Brooklyn clinic Cropsey Medical Care PLLC. Zalkind conspired with others to accept checks from Cropsey Medical, which were made payable to various shell companies Zalkind controlled. These checks did not represent payment for any legitimate service at, or by, Cropsey Medical, but rather were written to launder Cropsey Medical’s fraudulently obtained health care proceeds. Zalkind admitted at the plea proceeding that he deposited such checks into bank accounts he controlled, intending these transactions to hide and disguise the fact that these funds were proceeds of a crime. He admitted that he knew these funds were proceeds of illegal activity.
The proceeds of checks Zalkind negotiated and cashed were given to the owners and operators of Cropsey Medical and were used to pay illegal cash kickbacks to Cropsey Medical’s purported patients. According to court documents, from approximately November 2009 to October 2012, Cropsey Medical submitted more than $13 million in claims to Medicare and Medicaid, seeking reimbursement for a wide variety of fraudulent medical services and procedures, including physician office visits, physical therapy and diagnostic tests.
Eight individuals await trial, including a doctor, owners and employees of Cropsey Medical clinics and other individuals who paid and received kickbacks to induce the referral and transportation of patients to the clinic, as well as individuals who laundered funds for Cropsey Medical. Trial has not yet been scheduled.
The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, and supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sarah M. Hall and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shannon Jones and Ilene Jaroslaw of the Eastern District of New York.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Pediatric Oncologist Charged with Receiving Child PornRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Christopher E. Pelloski, MD, 39, of Upper Arlington, Ohio, turned himself in to law enforcement authorities today after a federal complaint was filed charging him with downloading child pornography.
Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott and Upper Arlington Police Chief Brian Quinn announced the federal charges today.
Pelloski was a radiation oncologist at the James Cancer Hospital of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus, where he also held the title as the Director of the Pediatric Radiation Oncology Program.
The Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) executed a search warrant at Pelloski's residence on July 16, 2013 and found evidence indicating that Pelloski had downloaded sexually explicit videos of children. Investigators will conduct additional forensic analysis on Pelloski's computers.
"A criminal complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt," U.S. Attorney Stewart said. "The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."
The complaint charges Pelloski with one count of receipt of child pornography which is punishable by a sentence ranging from five to 20 years in prison. Pelloski will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King at 3:30p.m. today at the Kinneary Federal Courthouse, 85 Marconi Boulevard.
"Our ICAC investigators are highly trained and have technology at their disposal to fully go after these destroyers of innocence," said Sheriff Zach Scott. "This suspect's actions are reprehensible and make no mistake that going after predators like these is a priority. Congratulations to the ICAC unit and to all involved in finding justice for the victims."
Chief Brian Quinn of the Upper Arlington Police Department said, "This type of criminal activity can impact any community, it's especially difficult when it involves someone we all have confidence and trust in. This investigation reinforces the importance of pooling our resources to better address the problem of computer facilitated crimes against children as well as highlight the importance of internet safety education for parents and children."
The Franklin County ICAC Task Force is a multi-agency effort dedicated to the fight against computer facilitated crimes against children. Since the task force began in 2009, over 400 arrests have been made and dozens of child victims of sex abuse and exploitation have been identified and rescued.
The following agencies are members:
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
Upper Arlington Police Department
Grove City Police Department
Columbus Police Department
Grandview Heights Police Department
Whitehall Police Department
Hilliard Police Department
Westerville Police Department
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Secret Service
Ohio ICAC
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio
Franklin County Prosecutor's OfficeThis case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obsencity Section (DEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims.
Parmelee Man Charged with Aggravated Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Parmelee, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Aggravated Sexual Abuse.
Daryl Plumman, age 20, was indicted on May 15, 2013. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on July 24, 2013, and pled not guilty to the indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in custody, a $250,000 fine, or both; life of supervised release; and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge is merely an accusation and Plumman is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie H. Ruettgers is prosecuting the case.
Plumman was detained pending trial. A trial date has not been set.Owner of California Medical Equipment Supply Company <br /> Found Guilty of $11 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The daughter of a church pastor and owner of a California-based durable medical equipment (DME) supply company was found guilty by a jury of Medicare fraud charges for her role in a Medicare fraud scheme that resulted in over $11 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California; Special Agent in Charge Glenn R. Ferry of the Los Angeles Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); Assistant Director in Charge Bill Lewis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Joseph Fendrick of the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse made the announcement.
Obiageli Agbu, 26, of Carson, Calif., was found guilty on July 19, 2013, of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and eight counts of health care fraud following a two-week trial.
The evidence introduced at trial showed that Agbu owned Ibon Inc., a fraudulent DME supply company that she operated from a nondescript office building in Carson. Agbu’s father and co-defendant, Charles Agbu, a church pastor who pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud and money laundering charges in December 2012, ran a fraudulent DME supply company called Bonfee Inc. from the same office building that housed Ibon. The trial evidence showed that from Ibon and Bonfee, Agbu, her father and others working with them submitted more than $11 million in fraudulent claims from Ibon and Bonfee to Medicare for expensive, high-end power wheelchairs, hospital beds, braces and other DME that customers either did not need or receive.
According to evidence at trial, Agbu and her father purchased the power wheelchairs wholesale for approximately $900 per wheelchair, but they billed the wheelchairs to Medicare at $4,000 to $5,000 per power wheelchair. These power wheelchairs were a type of medical equipment of last resort reserved for people with severe mobility limitations and could cause harm if the wheelchairs were supplied to people who did not have a legitimate medical need for them.
Agbu and her father paid kickbacks to street-level patient recruiters or “marketers” who would find senior citizens with Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits and cajole the seniors into agreeing to accept power wheelchairs and other DME that the seniors did not need. The seniors were directed to doctors who received cash kickbacks of $200 to $1,000 to write fraudulent prescriptions and other Medicare-specific documents conspirators used at Bonfee and Ibon to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare.
As a result of this scheme, between July 2005 and February 2011, Agbu, her father and those working with them submitted approximately $11,094,918 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and received approximately $5,788,725 on those claims.
At sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 17, 2013, Agbu faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of conviction. Agbu’s father is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 15, 2013. Agbu’s other co-defendants – Dr. Juan Van Putten, Dr. Emmanuel Ayodele, Alejandro Maciel and Candalaira Estrada – have each pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud charges and are scheduled for sentencing in September and October 2013.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the California Department of Justice. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jonathan T. Baum and Alexander Porter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, with assistance from Trial Attorney William Kanellis.
The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Owner of Local Tax Preparation Franchise Pleads Guilty to Tax Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Jimi Clark, owner of a Mo' Money Tax franchise, admitted to falsely claiming educational tax credits on 47 returns. The American Opportunity Credit (AO Credit) allows certain taxpayers with educational expenses to take a refundable credit on their income taxes. He had been scheduled to proceed to trial this morning.
Jimi Clark admitted to overseeing the preparation of tax returns at his franchise, addressed specific questions about returns as they arose and generally supervised all preparers working in his franchise, including his co-defendants, Justin Buford, Leslie Chaney, Ray Reed and Mary Taylor.
The defendants were trained on educational tax credits, including the American Opportunity Credit (AO Credit). Clark abused the AO Credit program at the Mo' Money franchise during the 2009 filing season to attract and keep clients. The office filed at least 47 returns with false and inflated AO Credit line items. On the vast majority of the line items on which AO Credits were claimed on the false returns, Clark and his preparers claimed exactly $3,765 in qualified education expenses. Out of 494 tax returns prepared for the 2009 tax year at Clark’s franchise, more than half, 288 returns, claimed AO credits. On each of the 47 returns, the taxpayers did not incur the educational expenses claimed and were, therefore, not entitled to the AO credits. Defendants Chaney, Reed and Buford went so far as to false claim educational expenses on their personal 2009 returns. The tax loss to the United States on just the 47 returns listed in the indictment exceeds $50,000. The tax loss for all 288 returns on which educational credits were claimed for the office in 2009 exceeds $300,000.
JIMI CLARK, Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit tax fraud and aiding and abetting the preparation of false tax returns. His sentencing is scheduled for November 19, 2013. Clark appeared before U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig.
Co-defendants JUSTIN BUFORD, Memphis, Tennessee; LESLIE CHANEY, St. Louis; MARY TAYLOR, Memphis, Tennessee; and RAY REED, St. Louis, previously pled guilty to related charges and await sentencing.
These charges carry maximum penalties up to five year in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges. Restitution to the United States is also mandatory.This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Norwalk Man Involved in Illegal Sports Bookmaking Operation Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that FRANK POTOLICCHIO, JR., 34, of Norwalk, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to four months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his involvement in an illegal sports bookmaking operation. POTOLICCHIO also was ordered to forfeit $100,000.
According to court documents and statements made in court, after a long-term investigation led by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Stamford Police Department, POTOLICCHIO and 19 other individuals were charged with various offenses related to their involvement in an illegal Internet sports bookmaking operation and illegal card gambling clubs in Stamford and Hamden that were controlled by the Gambino Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra.
The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, revealed that POTOLICCHIO was involved in a large-scale sports bookmaking operation in which gamblers placed bets with offshore Internet sports-gambling websites, particularly www.44wager.com based in Costa Rica.
FBI analysis of the sports-betting web site utilized by the co-defendants has determined that the total gross revenues of the Stamford-based gambling operation were nearly $1.7 million from October 2010 to June 2011.
On February 13, 2013, POTOLICCHIO pleaded guilty to one count of operating an illegal gambling business.
This matter is being investigated by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Stamford Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department and the Connecticut State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Hal Chen and Peter Jongbloed.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]New Philadelphia Man Indicted for False Identification CrimesRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Julio Tzip-Yac, aka Bush, age 30, of New Philadelphia, Ohio, charging one count of possession of document-making implements and four counts of fraudulent identification documents, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The first count alleges that from on or about June 27, 2013, the defendant was in possession of a computer, two identification card printers, and other equipment which was capable of producing counterfeit alien registration cards, Social Security cards and state driver’s licenses.
The remaining counts allege that on various dates in 2012 and 2013, Tzip-Yac, transferred matched sets of false alien registration cards, Social Security cards, and driver’s licenses.
The indictment is a result of a joint investigation conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Tripi.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
New Orleans Man, William Stevenson, Sentenced for Role in Heroin and Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WILLIAM STEVENSON, age 26, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced today by U. S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr., to 140 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of 1 kilogram or more of heroin and 500 grams or more of cocaine hydrochloride and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Duval imposed 5 years of supervisory release following the term of imprisonment, during which time the defendant will be under federal supervision and risks an additional term of imprisonment should he violate any terms of his supervised release.
According to the court documents, in 2009, agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigated STEVENSON for distributing heroin in the B.W. Cooper housing development. The investigation revealed that STEVENSON conspired with Texas residents, LANDRY GRANDISON, TROY POCHE, and CASSANDRA BATISTE to have wholesale quantities of heroin sent to New Orleans where he would cut the heroin for distribution to dealers who sold to addicts in the housing development. STEVENSON regularly supplied heroin to at least seven lower-level distributors working in shifts at his direction. STEVENSON’s heroin was packaged in 18–20 gram bundles and physically distributed by another individual whom STEVENSON employed to cut the heroin and mule it to the distributors in the projects.
At the conclusion of the investigation, agents with the DEA conducted searches of STEVENSON’s residences. On December 16, 2009, DEA agents searched STEVENSON’s apartment at 3648 Loyola Drive in Kenner and found 500.9 grams of heroin and 281.4 grams of cocaine hydrochloride and drug trafficking paraphernalia. Agents also found $77,900.00 in cash and two firearms. At the search of STEVENSON’s New Orleans residence at 1328 Jackson Avenue, agents found 229.9 grams of heroin and 41.7 grams of cocaine hydrochloride along with drug trafficking paraphernalia and $987.00 in cash. As part of his plea, STEVESON admitted that he distributed or that it was reasonably foreseeable to him that his co-conspirators distributed at least 3 kilograms but not more than 10 kilograms of heroin and at least 500 grams but not more than 2 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride.
The case was investigated by DEA in collaboration with the Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force (HIDTA) and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is an important program which targets the most significant drug trafficking organizations within the United States, as well as those outside of the United States borders that impact drug trafficking within the United States. The HIDTA Task Force is led by DEA and includes a team of dedicated investigators from the New Orleans Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.
Also assisting in the enforcement operations were the Louisiana State Police, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Kenner Police Department, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Internal Revenue Service.
New Orleans Man, Hoxie Marcelin, Sentenced for Narcotics ViolationRead the Press Release
HOXIE MARCELIN, age 39, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced today in federal court by U. S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman to 115 months in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, announced U. S. Attorney Dana J. Boente. This 115 month sentence represented the top of the recommended sentencing guidelines. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Feldman ordered that MARCELIN be placed on 4 years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment, during which time the defendant will be under federal supervision and risks an additional term of imprisonment should he violate any terms of his supervised release.
According to court documents, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) received information that illegal drugs were being sold from a residence located at 2312 First Street in
New Orleans. NOPD officers were advised that a female, approximately 30 years of age, was selling crack cocaine from the front door of the residence. After receiving this information, officers conducted a “controlled buy” of crack cocaine from the First Street address.After the controlled buy, officers obtained a search warrant for the residence. Prior to execution of the search warrant, officers conducted surveillance and observed the female, and a male, later identified as HOXIE MARCELIN, exit from the residence and depart in separate vehicles. Shortly thereafter, officers conducted a stop of each vehicle. Officers found 31 individually wrapped pieces of crack cocaine in MARCELIN’s rear pocket along with $230.00 in cash. MARCELIN also had a set of keys to the First Street residence.
Officers then returned and conducted a search of the First Street residence. Officers found a knotted plastic bag containing slabs and pieces of crack cocaine inside a coffee maker along with razor blades and plastic sandwich baggies. Additionally, there were pieces of mail and personal items belonging to MARCELIN inside the residence.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rick Veters of the Drug Unit.
New Jersey Doctor Faces New Charges He Took Kickbacks, Failed to File TaxesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against a Livingston, N.J., physician with medical practices in Verona and East Orange, N.J., for allegedly conspiring to receive thousands of dollars in cash kickbacks in exchange for referrals and for failing to file tax returns on nearly $1 million in income, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Yash Khanna, 71, a family physician and the owner and operator of Family Medicine & Pediatrics, LLC, in East Orange, and West Essex Medical Group, PA, in Verona, is charged in the six-count superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to violate the federal health care Anti-Kickback Statute, two separate counts alleging substantive violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and three counts of willfully failing to file a federal tax return.
Khanna was originally arrested on a complaint in December 2011 and indicted in May 2012 on one count of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute in relation to a two-year scheme to receive cash kickbacks in exchange for his diagnostic testing referrals to Orange, N.J.-based Orange Community MRI. The new charges allege a conspiracy lasting at least three years and that he failed to file tax returns for approximately $1 million in income – including the kickback income – from 2008 through 2010.
According to the superseding indictment:
From at least as early as 2009 through December 2011, Khanna conspired with Orange MRI to solicit and receive cash kickbacks from the facility in return for referring patients for diagnostic tests such as MRIs and CAT scans. Khanna and Orange MRI representatives negotiated the value of kickbacks that Orange MRI would pay him per test he referred, and they were paid for a period of at least three years.
Specifically, Khanna and Orange MRI’s executive director agreed Khanna would be paid $50 for every MRI referral of a Medicare or Medicaid patient and $75 for every MRI referral of a patient with private health insurance.
Khanna also failed to file federal tax returns for 2008, 2009, and 2010, even though he earned considerable income – including illegal income – during that time period: approximately $381,000 in 2008, $400,000 in 2009 and $214,000 in 2010.
The conspiracy and kickback charges each carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the loss caused by the offense. The tax charges each carry a maximum potential penalty of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine, or twice the loss caused by the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas O’Donnell, and IRS-Criminal investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott B. McBride and Deputy Chief Joseph G. Mack of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit.
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Defense counsel: Christopher L. Patella Esq.; Bayonne, N.J.
Khanna Superseding Indictment
Michigan Physical Therapist Assistant/home Health Agency Owner <br /> Pleads Guilty for Role in Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A greater Detroit-area physical therapist assistant – who was also an owner of a home health agency and a patient recruiter – pleaded guilty today for his role in a $22 million home health care fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan; Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley III of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
Syed Shah, 51, of West Bloomfield, Mich., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. At sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 19, 2013, Shah faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
According to information contained in plea documents, Shah, a licensed physical therapist assistant, admitted that beginning in or around October 2008 and continuing through approximately September 2012, he conspired with others to commit health care fraud by billing Medicare for home health care services that were not actually rendered and/or not medically necessary. Shah admitted that he began working in approximately October 2008 for Prestige Home Health Services, Inc., a home health agency located in Troy, Mich., owned by alleged co-conspirators. His co-conspirators at Prestige paid him kickbacks in exchange for his obtaining the information of Medicare beneficiaries, which the co-conspirators then used to bill Medicare for services that were not provided and/or were not medically necessary. Shah and his co-conspirators then created fictitious therapy files appearing to document physical therapy services provided to Medicare beneficiaries, when in fact no such services had been provided and/or were not medically necessary. Shah admitted that his role in creating the fictitious therapy files was to sign documents and progress notes indicating he had provided physical therapy services to particular Medicare beneficiaries, when in fact he had not. Shah admitted to knowing that the documents he falsified were used to support false claims billed to Medicare by his co-conspirators at Prestige.
In his plea, Shah also acknowledged that in approximately August 2009, he became an owner of Royal Home Health Care, Inc., a home health agency located in Troy, Mich., along with other co-conspirators. He and his co-conspirators at Royal billed Medicare for home health visits that never occurred and were not medically necessary. Shah and his co-conspirators paid kickbacks to Shah and other patient recruiters in exchange for Medicare beneficiary information, which was then used to bill Medicare for services that were not provided and/or were not medically necessary. Shah admitted that he and his co-conspirators created fictitious therapy files, reflecting services that had not been provided and/or were not medically necessary. He knew the documents he falsified would be used to support false claims by Royal to Medicare for home health services.
Shah submitted or caused the submission of claims to Medicare for services that were not medically necessary and/or not provided, which in turn caused Medicare to pay approximately $5,925,843. According to the indictment, two additional home health agencies were involved in the alleged conspiracy. In total, the four home health agencies at the center of the indictment received more than $22 million from the Medicare program.
This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and IRS Criminal Investigation, brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, and supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Niall M. O’Donnell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.Mescalero Apache Man Sentenced to Thirty-Seven Months in Federal Prison for Unlawful Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Gary Raymond Ahidley, Jr., 28, a member and resident of the Mescalero Apache Nation, was sentenced this morning in Las Cruces federal court to 37 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and DuWayne W. Honahni, Sr., Special Agent in Charge of District IV of BIA’s Office of Justice Services.
Ahidley pleaded guilty on April 11, 2013, to unlawfully possessing a firearm in Nov. 2010, in Otero County, N.M. At the time, Ahidley was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted on federal assault charges in Feb. 2007 and ordered to serve a 41 month prison sentence.
During his plea hearing, Ahidley admitted possessing a Luger 9 mm handgun in Nov. 2010. Court records reflect that BIA agents learned about the firearm in Dec. 2010 from a Mescalero woman who reported that Ahidley had assaulted her on Nov. 30, 2010. Based on information provided by the victim, the BIA agents were able to retrieve the weapon from a residence on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mick I.R. Gutierrez and Marisa A. Lizarraga of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Member of Violent Jewelry Theft Ring SentencedRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Jose Rivero-Garcia, 53, from Colombia, was sentenced today to thirty-seven months in prison for his participation in a violent and highly sophisticated jewelry theft ring that operated out of Richmond, Va.
Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Carl J. Vasilko, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division made the announcement following sentencing by District Court Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen.
According to court documents, co-defendant Alexander Cuadros-Garcia, 37, from Colombia, led the organized criminal group that stole more than $4.6 million in jewelry from victims in Virginia and at least four other states, including New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Maryland. In March 2012, Cuadros-Garcia and Rivero-Garcia were charged along with six other members of the Richmond-based ring that regularly conducted lengthy surveillance on jewelry stores to identify vulnerable individuals and then follow their targets back to the individuals’ hotel or home.
In most of the robberies, several men would suddenly appear as the victims approached or entered their car, punch out the car’s windows, threaten the victims at knife-point and steal the victims’ merchandise. In addition, the robbers would puncture the victims’ car tires and steal their cell phone to reduce the chance of pursuit or apprehension. After a successful robbery, members of the ring would travel to New York to sell the merchandise to businessmen, who coordinated re-selling the stolen property or melting it down for future use.
Co-defendants Cuadros-Garcia, Leonardo Ortiz, Raul Antonio Escobar-Martinez, Luis Carlos Muchado, William Leandro Herrera-Bohorquez, Lucesita Argueta, and Juanita Diaz previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the theft ring. Escobar-Martinez and Herrera-Bohorquez were sentenced on March 7 and March 14, 2013, respectively, to serve 87 months in prison.
The investigation of this case was led by the ATF’s Washington Field Division, with the assistance of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the police departments in Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, Henrico County, Chesterfield, Prince William County and Fairfax County in Virginia, along with the Virginia State Police; the Baltimore County, Md., Police Department; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the New York City Police Department; and the police departments in Rutherford, N.J., and Gwinnett County, Ga.; and the Morris County, N.J. Prosecutor’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Jerome M. Maiatico of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Mary Agnes Leider Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on July 24, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, MARY AGNES LEIDER, a 25-year-old resident of Crow Agency and an enrolled member of the Crow Tribe of Indians, pled guilty to second degree murder. Sentencing has been set for October 22, 2013. She is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica T. Fehr and Lori Harper Suek, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On December 3, 2012, at approximately 4:06 a.m., 911 operators from the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office began receiving phone calls that they identified as coming from the area of mile marker 11 on Highway 313, south of Hardin. Operators dispatched law enforcement and an ambulance in response.
When they arrived at the scene, law enforcement found LEIDER and her brother, A.L., sitting off to the side of the road, crying uncontrollably. LEIDER told law enforcement that her baby was "gone", and had been hit by a vehicle. As additional law enforcement officers arrived, there was another 911 call that dispatched additional law enforcement to mile marker 19, Highway 313, to respond to another 911 emergency call regarding a deceased 3-year-old child. Upon arrival at the scene, law enforcement were met by G.D. and her son, W.L. G.D. is the mother of LEIDER, A.L., and W.L. G.D. took an officer to her car, where the officer found a 3-year-old female. The child was examined and appeared to already be deceased. The child was identified as LEIDER's daughter.
Later on that day, law enforcement interviewed G.D. She advised that her daughter, LEIDER, and her two sons had been out partying during the evening of December 2, 2012, and had taken the victim with them. G.D. reported that she had repeatedly called and text-messaged her children in order to have LEIDER come home with the victim, but LEIDER refused. Early in the morning hours of December 3, 2012, G.D. reported that she left to find LEIDER and the victim, and was traveling towards Hardin. As she was traveling north on Highway 313, she saw LEIDER's pickup traveling towards her. Both vehicles stopped, and G.D. saw that LEIDER's pickup was being driven by W.L. W.L. told Ms. Denny that something was wrong with the victim - LEIDER's three-year-old daughter. G.D. saw the victim in the back seat, and realized she was not breathing and not responsive. W.L. told G.D. that LEIDER had thrown the victim from the pickup. When G.D. picked the victim up, she saw blood coming from the back of her head. She called an ambulance and put the victim in her car.
W.L. was interviewed by law enforcement and reported that he was driving LEIDER's pickup early in the morning on December 3, 2012. W.L. reported that LEIDER was seated in the front passenger's seat, with the victim on her lap. At the time, the victim was quiet, but awake. While they were driving south towards St. Xavier, LEIDER opened the front passenger door with her right hand, and threw the victim out of the moving pickup. W.L. and the reconstructionist from the Montana Highway Patrol estimated the truck was traveling between 45 and 51 miles per hour at the time the victim was thrown from the truck. W.L. stopped as fast as he could, and threw LEIDER out of the truck with A.L. W.L. went back down the road behind the truck to where the victim was lying in the roadway. W.L. reported that he knew she was dead, but carried her back to the truck and placed her in the back seat. He began driving towards home, leaving LEIDER and his brother A.L. by mile marker 11 where they were ultimately found by law enforcement a short time later.
Following the arrival of law enforcement at the scene, LEIDER was taken to Hardin Memorial Hospital to have her blood drawn, and for treatment for abrasions to her face. Her blood alcohol level was found to be over a .24 when analyzed by the FBI Laboratory. While there, she alternated between saying, "I killed my baby" and claiming that the group had a car accident and that was how the victim had died. When questioned by law enforcement, LEIDER admitted that she had been driving around and drinking with her brothers, but claimed that she hit her face on the dashboard and could not recall how the victim was killed. LEIDER's pickup was impounded and towed to a law enforcement facility for analysis. The right front passenger door was analyzed by a professional mechanic and it was found that the door functioned properly.
An autopsy was conducted of the victim. Following the autopsy, the victim's probable cause of death was determined to be severe head injuries caused when thrown from a moving motor vehicle.
The crime occurred within the exterior boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation.
LEIDER faces possible penalties of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and 5 years supervised release.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Martin Lee Roman Nose Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on February 24, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, MARTIN LEE ROMAN NOSE, a 23-year-old resident of Ashland and an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 24 months
Special Assessment: $100
Restitution: $231
Supervised Release: 7 years
ROMAN NOSE was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to sexual abuse of a minor.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On October 27, 2011, ROMAN NOSE and his girlfriend came across the 15-year-old victim and took her to their apartment. All three were drinking during the walk to the apartment and at the apartment. At some point, ROMAN NOSE and his girlfriend started to fight. ROMAN NOSE eventually locked her out of the apartment.
ROMAN NOSE and the victim were left alone in the apartment. ROMAN NOSE followed the victim into a bedroom, drank with her, and then sexually abused her.
ROMAN NOSE was interviewed twice. He initially denied sexually abusing the victim. However later he admitted that he did, but recanted again saying that he only made the admission because he believed it was what the agents wanted him to say.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ROMAN NOSE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ROMAN NOSE does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Destroy Las Vegas Children’s Autism Facility by ArsonRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to maliciously attempting to destroy a local children’s autism learning facility by fire and explosive devices, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Samuel Powers, 24, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, July 23, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro to one count of arson of property and one count of possession of unregistered firearms, specifically Molotov cocktails. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 1, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. Powers, who is in federal custody on the charges, faces five to 20 years in prison on the arson charge and not more than 10 years in prison on the firearms charge, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. The government and the defendant agreed to a binding recommendation of a sentence of 10 years in prison.
According to the plea agreement, on April 15, 2013, Powers knowingly and maliciously damaged a building which housed several commercial businesses, including Sport Social, an autism facility, located at 7055 Windy Street in Las Vegas. Powers forcibly entered Sport Social with three Molotov cocktails and a gasoline container, and poured gasoline and set multiple fires inside the business. The fires caused at least $50,000 in damage to the structure and its contents. Powers also possessed two more unignited Molotov cocktails inside his vehicle at the scene of the fire. When Powers set the fires, he knew or had cause to believe that persons were inside a neighboring business, thereby creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to those persons.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Clark County Fire Department, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina M. Brown.Lebanon Sex Offender Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Lebanon, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender was indicted by a federal grand jury for receiving child pornography over the Internet.
Wayne Harlan Files, 76, of Lebanon, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, July 23, 2013.
The federal indictment alleges that Files received child pornography over the Internet between Nov. 1, 2011, and Feb. 1, 2012. Files is a registered sex offender due to a 1993 conviction for forcible sodomy. Under federal statutes, a conviction would therefore result in a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to 40 years in federal prison without parole.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Lebanon, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Las Cruces Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – William Edward Jenne, 23, of Las Cruces, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in Las Cruces federal court to possession of a visual depiction of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Jenne was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents on Dec. 4, 2012, on a criminal complaint alleging federal child pornography charges. According to court filings, the investigation leading to Jenne’s arrest was initiated in mid-Nov. 2012, when an officer of the Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) who was working online in an undercover capacity connected with an IP Address that was sharing files that appeared to contain child pornography. After determining that the IP Address was subscribed to Jenne, HSI and LCPD executed a search warrant at Jenne’s residence and seized computers and computer-related media. During an interview, Jenne admitted that the computers and computer-related media contained child pornography.
During today’s hearing, Jenne pleaded guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of child pornography in Dona Ana County, N.M. Jenne admitted that from Aug. 2012 to Dec. 2012, he knowingly possessed child pornography.
Jenne was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after entering his guilty plea and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Jenne faces a maximum ten years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Jenne also will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of HSI and the LCPD and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Laguna Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sex Abuse ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jason Mooney, 36, a member and resident of Laguna Pueblo pleaded guilty this morning to an aggravated sexual abuse charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Mooney will be sentenced to ten years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Mooney also will be required to register as a sex offender.
Mooney’s guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, DuWayne W. Honahni, Sr., Special Agent in Charge of District IV of BIA’s Office of Justice Services, and Chief Michelle F. Ray of the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department.
Mooney was arrested on June 12, 2008, based on a criminal complaint alleging that he sexually abused a child between the age of 12 and 16 years. In July 2008, Mooney was indicted on aggravated sexual abuse charges. Proceedings in the case were delayed by competency proceedings.
In his plea agreement, Mooney admitted that sexually abusing a minor child on a date between July 2003 and July 2004. He further admitted that his unlawful conduct occurred on Laguna Pueblo.
Mooney has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Laguna Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Lafayette Businessman Buswell Pleads Guilty to Charges in Two Separate CasesRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Richard Joseph Buswell, 44, of Lafayette, pleaded guilty to charges in two separate cases related to his involvement in two separate business ventures.
BUSWELL PLEADS GUILTY TO DRUG DISTRIBUTION CHARGE IN
CURIOUS GOODS CASEBuswell pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick J. Hanna to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue. Buswell faces 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $1 million fine, and restitution. A sentencing date of May 16, 2014 was set.
Co-defendants Boyd Barrow, 44, of Canton, Ga.; Thomas William Malone Jr., 45, of Roswell, Ga.; and Drew T. Green, 38, of Roswell, Ga.; pleaded guilty in September 2012 to Count One of the Superceding Indictment, which is to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue. Joshua Espinoza, 49, of Marietta, Ga., pleaded guilty to Count One of the Superceding Indictment in November 2012. The remaining co-defendants who did not plead guilty are Alexander Derrick Reece, 40, of Gainesville, Fla.; Daniel James Stanford, 54, of Lafayette, La.; Daniel Paul Francis, 42, of Dawsonville, Ga.; and Barry L. Domingue, 52, of Carencro, La. Trial date has been set for March 31, 2014.
The DEA, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the IRS, and the Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Luke Walker and J. Collin Sims are prosecuting the case.
BUSWELL PLEADS GUILTY TO CHARGE IN SCHEME THAT COST INVESTORS MILLIONS
Buswell also pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik to a securities fraud case in which he orchestrated an investment scheme that the government contends cost clients $8 million. Buswell faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution for the wire fraud count. A sentencing date was not set.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly P. Uebinger and Howard C. Parker are prosecuting the case.
Kyle Woman Sentenced for Possessing Vodka on the Pine Ridge Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Kyle, South Dakota, woman convicted of intoxicants possessed unlawfully in Indian country was sentenced on July 24, 2013, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy.
Donna Janis, age 51, was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $25 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Janis was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 18, 2012, for intoxicants possessed unlawfully in Indian country. Janis was arrested on November 7, 2012, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for assisting two other individuals in transporting 72 bottles of vodka onto the reservation. Janis pled guilty to the charge on May 15, 2013.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen prosecuted the case.Kinloch, Missouri Fire Protection District Chief Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – The Fire Chief for the Kinloch Fire Protection District, Darran Kelley, pled guilty to charges involving his unauthorized use of more than $140,000 of District funds from January 2007 to January 11, 2013. He also pled guilty to making a false statement relative to his receipt of Social Security disability payments, which resulted in overpayments to him of approximately $120,000. Kelley has been the District Fire Chief since 2002.
According to court documents, the Kinloch Fire Protection District maintained a District banking account for the receipt and disbursement of District funds. From January 2007 through January 2013, the District received approximately $160,361 in tax revenues from St. Louis County, Missouri. The City of Kinloch also distributed city funds to the District’s bank account for payroll and operations of the District. It was a part of Kelley’s scheme that on one or more occasions he made unauthorized cash withdrawals from the District’s bank account for his own personal use, including for the purchase of various personal items and for gambling at several casinos in the St. Louis area, that were unrelated to the legitimate operations of the District. It was a further part of Kelley’s scheme that on one or more occasions he made unauthorized transfers of funds from the District’s bank account to pay for charges on his own personal Mastercard credit card, which were unrelated to the legitimate operations of the District.
In June 2010, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded the District a grant of $237,500 to cover 95% of the $250,000 total cost of a fire engine, based upon an application submitted by Kelley. The City of Kinloch also distributed $15,000 of city funds to the District to cover the District's responsibility to pay 5% of the cost of the fire engine. Some of these funds were later used by Kelley to purchase personal items and for gambling at several casinos. During April 2011, it was widely reported by the St. Louis area media that the District was unable to pay the insurance premium due on the newly purchased fire engine. The premium then due was reported to be approximately $2,322. Numerous private citizens saw the media reports and made donations to the District to pay for the insurance premium, which donations totaled well in excess of the premium then due. Kelley paid the insurer $2,322, and the remaining donated funds were retained in the District's bank account and later used by Kelley to purchase personal items and for gambling at several area casinos. While Kelley engaged in the unauthorized use of District funds, there were substantial outstanding bills from AmerenUE for electric service, American Water for water service, to AT&T for telephone and communications services and to North Central County Fire Alarm System for dispatch services, radios and pagers. Many of these bills went unpaid as a result of his alleged criminal conduct and some of the necessary services were reduced or cut off due to non-payment.
Beginning on August 15, 2000, Kelley began receiving monthly disability benefit payments through the Social Security Administration pursuant to his application for benefits relative to a personal medical condition. Following his initial application, and in order for the Social Security Administration to determine his continued eligibility for disability benefits, he was required to immediately report any work and income, and to periodically verify his continued disability and report any work on Continuing Disability Review Reports. Kelley failed to truthfully report his work for the Kinloch Fire Protection District, and his income from that work to the Social Security Administration. On July 26, 2011, Kelley made a false statement on his Continuing Disability Review Report by stating that he had not worked since April 1, 2006, the date of his last medical disability decision, when in fact, he had been working as the paid Chief of the Kinloch Fire Protection District during that period of time. Kelley was paid a salary of approximately $640 every two weeks until December, 2011.
DARRAN KELLEY, Ferguson, MO, pled guilty to three felony counts of wire fraud, one felony count of federal program theft and one felony count of making false statements, before United States District Judge Catherine D. Perry. Sentencing has been set for October 16, 2013.
Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000; federal program theft carries a maximum of 10 years prison and/or fines up to $250,000; and false statement carries a maximum of five years prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the St. Louis County Police Department and Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.Jury Verdict Imposes Death Penalty on Ronell WilsonRead the Press Release
Following a five-week sentencing proceeding, a federal jury in Brooklyn today returned a verdict imposing the death penalty on Ronell Wilson for the murders of two New York City Police Department Detectives, Rodney J. Andrews and James Nemorin.
The verdict was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Anarumo, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in New York, Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), and Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr.
In March of 2003, the NYPD Firearms Investigation Unit began an investigation of the Stapleton Crew (the “Crew”), a violent criminal enterprise whose members terrorized the borough of Staten Island for several years. On March 3, 2003, Detective Nemorin, posing as an international gun trafficker, purchased a firearm from a member of the Crew. Several days later, on March 10, 2003, Detective Nemorin and Detective Andrews, who also was working in an undercover capacity, arranged to purchase another gun from members of the Crew. On this occasion, however, members of the Stapleton Crew, including Wilson, decided to rob the officers rather than sell them another gun. In furtherance of this plan, Wilson and an associate met with the undercover officers in the vicinity of the Stapleton Houses in Staten Island. Wilson instructed the officers to drive him to a second location in Staten Island, where he received a .44 caliber revolver from other Crew associates. Later, Wilson, who had detected that the undercover detectives were police officers, used that revolver to murder both detectives, execution-style, and steal their car. When Wilson was apprehended by local police several days later, lyrics to a rap song boasting about the murders were found in his pocket.
In 2006, a federal jury found Wilson guilty of committing numerous crimes in connection with the Crew, including the murders of Detectives Nemorin and Andrews, and imposed the death penalty. In 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed Wilson’s conviction, but vacated the death sentence and remanded the case for re-sentencing. As a result of today’s verdict, Wilson will receive the death penalty.
“Ten years ago, on a deserted Staten Island Street, Ronell Wilson ruthlessly executed Detectives Andrews and Nemorin, two husbands, two fathers, two heroes. Their deaths were a tragedy, not just for their families, but for all of New York City. Today, a jury of his peers looked at Ronell Wilson, everything he did and all that he is, and rendered justice. We hope that the verdict brings some measure of closure to the victims’ families, the men and women of the New York City Police Department, and to the communities Detectives Nemorin and Andrews served so well,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the ATF, the NYPD and Richmond County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this case.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James G. McGovern and Celia Cohen.
The Defendant
RONELL WILSON
Age: 31Jury Finds Former Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Guilty of EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Peter Y. Kim, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General, Eastern Region, today announced that a federal jury in New Haven has found MICHAEL THOMAS, 45, the former Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, guilty of embezzling from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. The trial before United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton began on July 22 and the jury returned its verdict after deliberating for less than two hours.
“Mr. Thomas abused his position as Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation by charging over $100,000 in unauthorized personal expenses to the Nation,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Daly. “These fraudulent expenses continued even after they were discovered and he was told to stop. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting corrupt officials at all levels of government – federal, state, local and tribal. I thank the FBI and the Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General for their work in uncovering this misuse of federal funds.”
“Mr. Thomas’ systematic theft of tribal and federal monies to support a lifestyle of excess is egregious,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Mertz. “Today’s verdict underscores the importance of investigating and prosecuting the blatant misappropriation of federal dollars, especially during these austere fiscal times.”
“This case is a reflection of the Inspector General’s continued involvement in Indian Country and our dedication to insure the integrity of all U.S. Department of the Interior funded programs,” stated DOI-OIG Special Agent in Charge Kim.
According to the evidence at trial, between October 2007 and April 2009, THOMAS used an American Express card that was issued to him by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (“MPTN”) to be used for official MPTN government purposes to make more than $100,000 in unauthorized personal expenses. THOMAS used the card to pay for monthly satellite television service for his home, to pay for satellite radio service for his vehicle, to purchase personal computers, to pay for mobile phone service for other individuals, and to pay for a car service to transport his mother to kidney dialysis treatments. THOMAS knew that the expenses were personal, and that his use of the credit card was in violation of a Tribal Council Resolution.
The jury found THOMAS guilty of one count of theft from an Indian tribal organization and two counts of theft from an Indian tribal government receiving federal funds.
Judge Arterton has scheduled sentencing for October 22, 2013, at which time THOMAS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 25 years and a fine of up to $750,000. THOMAS also faces forfeiture of $102,393.34 and two personal computers.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Department of Interior – Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher Mattei and Douglas Morabito.
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