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24 July 2013
Anchorage Man sentenced to 60 months in prison for assault on a federal officerRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska-U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a man from Anchorage was sentenced here in federal court to prison for an assault on a Federal Officer.
Kyle Scott Hansen, 26, from Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced on July 23, 2013, by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason to 60 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Hansen was also ordered to pay $78,310.44 to the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson for damage he caused. Hansen had previously pled guilty to count one of an indictment charging him with assault on a federal officer.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Cavanaugh, who prosecuted the case, just after midnight on January 19, 2013, Hansen drove a blue GMC pickup truck through the Boniface Gate of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (“JBER”). When Hansen drove onto JBER, he was unauthorized to be on the facility and drove through a closed lane at the gate. Once on JBER, Hansen ignored JBER security police attempts to conduct a traffic stop and continued driving through JBER at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. When Hansen reached the Government Hill Gate, he discovered it was closed and turned around and headed back towards the Boniface Gate and in the process of turning around, he damaged one security police vehicle.
Security police set up a roadblock in an attempt to stop Hansen and at the roadblock, Hansen drove his vehicle through an opening between a vehicle and a light pole. While driving through this opening, Hansen struck a Senior Airman’s service rifle that he was holding and the rifle then struck the Senior Airman in the throat and caused him to fall down an embankment. Hansen then continued through the now closed Boniface Gate causing significant damage to the gate. Hansen was contacted and arrested later in the day in Eagle River, Alaska. His vehicle was later recovered in the Airport Heights neighborhood of Anchorage on January 20, 2013. The investigation revealed that prior to entering JBER, Hansen had consumed Coricidin D, a cold and flu medicine that Hansen used as a replacement for illegal drugs and alcohol.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Gleason was “troubled” by a “26 year old man who already has 4 prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol and one prior conviction for felony eluding”. The Judge echoed Mr. Cavanaugh’s comments that Hansen has been fortunate to have not seriously injured anyone as a result of his prior impaired driving offenses. Judge Gleason also noted that the prior sentences Hansen had received as a result of his prior alcohol/driving and felony eluding convictions, had not served sufficiently as a deterrent to future behavior, given that the incident at JBER happened so soon after he had been released from jail for his most recent conviction.
Judge Gleason recognized that “protection of the public” was one of her main sentencing goals and that, “when intoxicated; Hansen was a danger to the community and the public needs to be protected from him.”
Ms. Loeffler commended the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations at JBER and the Anchorage Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Hansen.
Alabama Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Assault of U.S. Border Patrol Agents Near Langtry, TexasRead the Press Release
Incident resulted in the deaths of two area residents and serious injury to a third
David Steiner, a 39–year-old Vinegar Bend, AL, resident faces 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to felony assault of a U.S. Border Patrol agent announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Rodolfo Karisch, Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent, U.S. Border Patrol.
Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge Collis White in Del Rio this morning, Steiner pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer by using a deadly or dangerous weapon. By pleading guilty, Steiner admitted that on May 25, 2012, he used his vehicle to charge at three Border Patrol agents near Langtry, Texas, during an attempt to avoid potential detention after fleeing from a traffic stop near Comstock, Texas.
As a result of Steiner’s actions, the agents were forced to drive off the paved roadway to avoid being struck by Steiner. Agents gave chase and the pursuit continued toward Sanderson, Texas. The pursuit ended when Steiner hit an oncoming vehicle killing two occupants and gravely injuring the driver.
Steiner, who has remained in custody since his arrest, is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:00am on December 17, 2013, before United States District Judge Alia Moses.
This case was investigated by agents with the Department of Homeland Security – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Internal Affairs with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kinney County Sheriff’s Office, Terrell County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant United States Attorney Ralph Paradiso is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
Akron Man Indicted for Heroin DistributionRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging an Akron man with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Willie L. Sanders, Jr., age 27, is accused of possessing appoximately 27.9 grams of heroin on March 21, 2013, according to the indictment.
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 investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Akron Police Department Street Narcotics Uniformed Detail (SNUD), and the Summit County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiative. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samuel A. Yannucci.
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.
23 July 2013
former Department of Defense Auditor sentenced to two years probation and $5000 fineRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska-U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that an Anchorage woman was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for violating conflict of interest laws by representing a contractor on issues she previously handled for the government.
Jodi Ann Andres, 48, of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced July 22, 2013, by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason to two years’ probation and ordered to pay a $5000 fine.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Retta-Rae Randall, who prosecuted the case, and information presented in court, Andres was an auditor with the Department of Defense’s Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) from January 2003 to September 2006. During that time, she was the primary auditor of cost proposals, labor rates and claims for the Missile Defense Agency. The Missile Defense Agency is responsible for developing, testing and fielding an integrated Ballistic Missile Defense System for the United States.
The Alaska Aerospace Corporation, formerly the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, was established in 1991 by the State of Alaska to develop a high technology aerospace industry in the state. Alaska Aerospace became a contractor for the Missile Defense Agency in 2003, when pursuant to a five year contract; Alaska Aerospace provided support for launches from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Kodiak, Alaska.
In September 2006, Andres left employment with the DCAA and began employment with Alaska Aerospace as its Controller. In July 2008 Andres represented Alaska Aerospace during communications and negotiations with the DCAA about the same Missile Defense Agency contract she had previously audited, with the intent to influence the DCAA about that contract, in violation of a lifetime restriction which barred such communications.
Ms. Loeffler commends the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, for the investigation of this case and the Defense Contract Audit Agency who referred the matter to the Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Vancouver Man Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Lying About his Ability to Conduct Lead TestingRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – Martin Glaves Kuna, 66, of Vancouver, Washington, was sentenced yesterday to 14 months in prison by the U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon after pleading guilty today to one count of wire fraud. Kuna falsely advertised and told customers that he was certified to perform lead-based paint inspections and testing in homes where children resided, when in fact, he was not properly qualified or certified by state authorities to do so.
In response to medical studies on the health hazards presented to children by lead-based paint, Congress passed the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act (“Lead Hazard Act”). The Lead Hazard Act authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to develop regulations to ensure, among other things, that individuals engaged in lead-based paint inspections and testing were properly trained and certified. Oregon’s rules for the certification of individuals and firms engaged in lead-based paint inspections and testing prohibit any person or firm to perform lead-based paint inspections and testing in target housing or child-occupied facilities without first receiving appropriate certification.
From May 2008 to September 2012, Kuna advertised his services to conduct lead-based paint inspections and testing, and indicated to individuals via the internet and in person that he was certified to do so. Kuna, however, had not received the required certification and training to inspect and test target housing or child-occupied facilities for lead-based paint despite his representations that he had. Over the course of the scheme, Kuna conducted more than ten (10) such inspections. In one instance where Kuna performed lead-based paint inspections and testing, children resided in the home and Kuna provided the home owner a false negative for the detection of lead. Evidence introduced by the government at sentencing demonstrated that the defendant failed to perform the appropriate tests to determine lead in the home. As a result, some of the children in the home experienced increased lead levels in their blood.
In January 2012, civil EPA investigators intervened in Kuna’s business activities and ordered him to stop lead-based paint inspections and testing. Despite EPA’s order, Defendant Kuna continued to advertise and perform lead-based paint inspections and testing through September 2012. In sentencing Kuna, Judge Simon declared, “Our first duty in society as adults is to protect children.” Following his findings and imposition of 14 months in prison, Judge Simon told the defendant, “The bottom line is, the actions you engaged in put children at risk. Our society just cannot allow that.”
“Protecting children and families is the guiding principle behind our work,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “This investigation and prosecution uncovered a significant public health risk. The defendant’s lies caused young children to be exposed to dangerous levels of lead. This office, along with our partners at EPA, will continue to seek criminal penalties for those who break the law and threaten the health of our children.”
“Defendant Kuna, untrained and uncertified to perform the lead-based paint inspection and testing services he sold to unsuspecting families, put children’s health in jeopardy,” said Tyler Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Seattle. “I commend the diligence of the Smith family, who by questioning the services of Mr. Kuna, started a federal investigation and prevented further exposure and injury to their children. This prosecution and conviction speaks for itself – if ‘business-as-usual’ includes exposing children to lead, you will pay the price.”
The investigation was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, and the prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Holman Kerin.
Two Women Sentenced for Nevada Medicaid Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
RENO, Nev. – Two women were sentenced today for their guilty pleas to federal health care fraud charges after they defrauded the Nevada Medicaid program of approximately $1 million, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Cassandra Little, 49, of Reno, was sentenced to 33 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $81,400 in restitution. Little pleaded guilty in March to 28 counts of health care fraud and 10 counts of money laundering.
Susan Hill, 66, of Las Vegas, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $81,400 in restitution. Hill pleaded guilty in March to one count of health care fraud and one count of money laundering.
Senior U.S. District Judge Howard D. McKibben in Reno sentenced both women, and allowed them to self-report to federal prison by Oct. 15, 2013.
“As this case demonstrates, health care fraud is a serious criminal offense with serious consequences that can land you in federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “The U.S. Department of Justice is committed to investigating and prosecuting persons who commit this type of crime.”
“Our attorneys and investigators work closely with our partners to find Medicaid violators and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law for cheating the system,” said Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto. “We hope today's prison sentence and combined restitution of approximately $81,000 sends a strong message to others who may consider stealing from taxpayers. We will not tolerate those that take advantage of the system."
According to the court records, from about January 2007 to January 2011, Hill and Little defrauded the Nevada Medicaid program of approximately $1 million by fraudulently billing for expensive therapy-related services such as psychosocial rehabilitation and basic skills training which were never provided. To execute their scheme, Hill and Little formed a company, the Hill/Little LLC, and entered into a contract with Nevada Medicaid to provide health care services to children who were eligible for Medicaid. Hill was the president of the LLC. Little, a PhD and licensed social worker, was to provide the clinical services to the children. Hill and Little then created a program to obtain aid for the parents of the children who were eligible to receive the Medicaid funding; however, the program was not authorized or allowed under their Medicaid contract with the state. Hill recruited parents and guardians to provide services to their own children following minimal training provided by Hill/Little LLC. The services were nothing more than what parents normally do without reimbursement. Hill/Little LLC then billed Medicaid approximately $8,000 per month for each child, using a billing code which was only authorized for services that could have been provided by Little, the licensed social worker. Hill/Little kept $5,000 per month for each child and paid each parent/guardian approximately $3,000. The parents/guardians reported that their children received little or no services from Hill or Little, and none of the services billed by Hill/Little from January 2007 to January 2011 were ever properly provided or authorized under Medicaid rules. Using this scheme, Hill and Little unlawfully received approximately $1 million from Medicaid for services they did not provide.
The case was investigated by the State of Nevada Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the State of Nevada Attorney General’s Office, and IRS Criminal Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Rachow and Senior Deputy Attorney General Andrew Schulke, designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, with assistance from the Nevada Attorney General’s Office.
This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
If you suspect that Medicaid Fraud may be occurring, complete and submit this form http://ag.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/agnvgov/Content/Complaints/Medicaid_Complaint_Form_Print_Handwrite.pdf,
and mail it to the Office of the Attorney General, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), 100 North Carson Street, Carson City, NV 89701. You can also call the Nevada MFCU at 775-684-1191, 702- 486-3187 or the toll free number at 1-800-266-8688.Two Shipping Firms Sentenced to Pay $10.4 Million for Obstructing Justice and Environmental Crimes for Concealing Vessel PollutionRead the Press Release
Two shipping firms based in Germany and Cyprus were sentenced today in federal court in Newark, N.J., to pay a $10.4 million penalty for felony obstruction of justice charges and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to the deliberate concealment of vessel pollution from four ships that visited ports in New Jersey, Delaware and Northern California, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in New Jersey and Delaware, the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Coast Guard announced.
Columbia Shipmanagement (Deutschland) GmbH (CSM-D), a German corporation, and Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd. (CSM-CY), a Cypriot company, were sentenced to pay a $10.4 million criminal penalty, $2.6 million of which will be directed to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund community service projects selected to help restore the coastal environment of New Jersey and Delaware hit by Hurricane Sandy. The remaining $7.8 million is designated as a criminal fine. In addition, the companies were placed on four years of probation. During probation, the companies will be subject to the terms of an environmental compliance plan that requires outside audits by an independent company and oversight by a court appointed monitor. The shipping firms admitted that four of their ships - three oil tankers and one container ship - had intentionally bypassed required pollution prevention equipment and falsified the oil record book, a required log regularly inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard. The case is the largest vessel pollution settlement in either New Jersey or Delaware.The companies previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton on March 21, 2013, to six counts involving three vessels in New Jersey and four counts involving one ship in Delaware. The counts consist of violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for failing to maintain an accurate oil record book, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The investigation into the M/T King Emerald was launched on May 7, 2012, after several crew members provided cell phone photos and other evidence to Coast Guard officers conducting a routine inspection. The King Emerald was engaged in various types of illegal discharges of bilge waste dating back to at least 2010. The defendants admitted that illegal discharges of both sludge and oily bilge waste were discharged at night off the coast of Central America, including a discharge within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Costa Rica where a national park is located. The ship’s second engineer pleaded guilty previously and was sentenced in Newark on April 3, 2013.
The Delaware investigation began in October 2012 after several crew members of the M/T Nordic Passat provided the Coast Guard with a thumb drive containing photographs and video showing how illegal discharges had been sent overboard through the ship’s sewage system. They also alleged that sludge had been put into the ship’s cargo tanks and that logs showing sludge had been incinerated onboard had been falsified. The charges involving the M/V Cape Maas stem from a whistleblower report to the Coast Guard when the ship visited the port in San Francisco. The whistleblower provided a video showing the operation of the oily water separator pumping overboard without the use of the oil content monitor to detect and prevent oil from being illegally discharged.
Violations on a fourth ship, the M/T Cape Taft, which was anchored in New York waters and destined for New Jersey, were uncovered just weeks before the March plea, after the ship disclosed problems to CSM-D. An internal investigation revealed that the ship’s oily water separator had been used improperly for some time. Instead of sensing a sample of overboard discharges, it was instead flushed with fresh water by the crew. The ship’s oil record book was revised by CSM-D to reveal 16 instances where it was false. The defendants cooperated with the investigation and provided the government with video replays of the oil content monitor showing when the crew had “tricked” the sensor with fresh water.This prosecution was made possible through the combined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard Districts 1, 5 and 11; Coast Guard Sectors New York, Delaware Bay, and San Francisco; Coast Guard Investigative Service; Coast Guard Office of Maritime and International Law; and Coast Guard Office of Investigation and Analysis.
The United States is represented by Kathleen P. O’Leary, Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Jersey; Richard Udell, Senior Counsel, and Stephen Da Ponte, Trial Attorney, of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division; and Edmond Falgowski, Assistant U.S. Attorney in Delaware. Assistance was also provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
Two Men Sentenced to Federal Prison in Heroin Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Luis Marte, 34, of Pawtucket, and Luis Fernandez, 26, of Providence, were sentenced to lengthy federal prison terms today for conspiring to possess and possessing with the intent to distribute over 800 grams of heroin, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Cranston Police Chief Marco Palombo, Jr.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi sentenced Marte to 70 months imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release; Fernandez was sentenced by Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi to 57 months imprisonment to be followed by 5 years supervised release. Marte and Fernandez pleaded guilty in April as charged in a federal indictment to one count each of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and possession with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.
According to information presented to the court, on January 3, 2013, Cranston Police patrol officers observed a vehicle bearing an expired registration plate. While following the vehicle, the officers observed the driver commit traffic violations. They followed the vehicle to an apartment complex parking lot.
According to information presented to the court, as the driver and passenger were exiting the vehicle at the apartment complex, the officers ordered them to remain inside. The driver, Luis Fernandez, returned to the vehicle while the passenger, Luis Marte, remained outside the vehicle holding a brown paper bag. As officers gave Marte commands he dropped the bag which officers quickly recovered. Inside the bag officers discovered 696.4 grams of heroin. The pair refused to divulge to the officers why they had driven to the apartment complex.
According to information presented to the court, at the Cranston police station, officers located keys on both defendants to an apartment at the complex where they were arrested. Cranston police conducted a court authorized search of the apartment where they seized an additional 111.9 grams of heroin and numerous items used in the packaging and distribution of heroin, including thousands of blue and pink “stamp” bags commonly used to package heroin.
The defendants have been detained since their arrest.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Hebert.
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Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Three Men Sentenced in International Investment Fraud and Money Laundering SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Paul Robert Gunter (64, Odessa, Florida; originally of London) to 25 years in federal prison, Simon Andrew Odoni (56, originally of Hertfordshire, UK) to 13 years, 4 months in federal prison, and Richard Sinclair Pope (55, originally of Hertfordshire, UK) to 4 years, 9 months in federal prison for their respective roles in an international investment fraud and money laundering scheme. The court also ordered all three individuals to forfeit their interests in real property and bank accounts in the U.S. and abroad, an airplane, vessels, and vehicles purchased with proceeds of the fraud scheme.
As part of the investigation, federal agents seized nearly $5 million in U.S. currency. At the sentencing hearing, the court granted the government's request to use these assets to help compensate victims for their losses. In addition, the court entered money judgments in excess of $137 million against Paul Gunter and Simon Odoni.
On April 19, 2013, Paul Gunter and Simon Odoni were found guilty by a federal jury, following a 19-day trial. Specifically, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on three counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, as well as nineteen counts of mail and wire fraud, and fourteen counts of money laundering.
Prior to trial, on March 10, 2011, Richard Pope pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Pope cooperated with the government and testified at trial.
According to the evidence and testimony presented at trial, from at least as early as July 2004 through at least March 13, 2008, Gunter, Odoni, Pope and others engaged in a sophisticated investment fraud and money laundering scheme, in which worthless stock in hijacked dormant, publicly-traded companies in the United States was sold to victim-investors, primarily in the United Kingdom. The scheme used boiler room telemarketers, mostly in Spain, who employed high pressure and misleading sales techniques. The victim-investors wired more than $127 million to Gunter's bank accounts in the Middle District of Florida. The conspirators bilked victim-investors out of another $10 million via a FOREX currency trading scheme, which also utilized the boiler rooms in Spain.
Gunter, Odoni, Pope and their co-conspirators used the victim-investors' funds to perpetuate the fraud scheme and for their own personal enrichment. Victim-investors' funds were used to buy, among other things, an airplane, two vessels, vehicles, including a Ferrari, and real property in the Caribbean islands, England, and Florida.
In a related trial that took place in May 2012, Houston lawyers Roger Lee Shoss and Nicolette Loisel were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with their participation in the corporate identity theft aspect of the scheme.
The case remains pending as to one individual, Lawrence S. Hartman, a/k/a Larry Hartman, a/k/a Larry Hart, a/k/a Lawrence Scott Hartman-Grosser (48, Costa Rica; a U.S. lawyer formerly of New York and Florida), who allegedly conspired with Gunter, Odoni, Pope and others in this case. In May 2013, Hartman was arrested on an immigration violation by Nicaraguan authorities. He was expelled and deported from Nicaragua and turned over to U.S. authorities to face the charges in this case. Hartman's apprehension and expulsion was achieved with the special assistance of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Embassy Managua, INTERPOL Washington, and the Nicaraguan National Police.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Tampa, Florida, as well as the U.S. Secret Service, Tampa, Florida and Newark, New Jersey Field Offices. The government received assistance from several other authorities, including the City of London Police, the UK's Serious Fraud Office and Norfolk Constabulary, the Spanish National Police, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission, and the British Columbia Securities Commission.
“This investment fraud and money laundering scheme stretched across continents. The three defendants sentenced today had no qualms with preying on innocent victims – many of them elderly U.K. citizens – to further their own assets,” said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Tampa. “Let today’s sentences serve as notice to other fraudsters. HSI and our law enforcement partners will investigate and ensure that you are prosecuted for your crimes.” "This case is a great example of how law enforcement partnerships work on an international scale," said John Joyce, Special Agent in Charge Tampa. "The United States Attorney’s Office, HSI and the US Secret Service worked this case with their law enforcement partners from London to investigate, prosecute and convict Mr. Gunter, Mr. Odoni and Mr. Pope. Their sentences should send a clear message to other fraudsters."
"Unfortunately, this sentencing will not repair the huge damage they caused to the lives of thousands of people who were simply looking for a safe place to invest their money, but hopefully it will bring a measure of comfort and a sense of closure to those caught up in what was fraud committed on a truly significant scale. That Pope, Gunter and Odoni have now been successfully prosecuted is thanks to trans-Atlantic law enforcement cooperation, painstakingly piecing together this crime, insuring that those involved would one day face their day of reckoning," stated City of London Police Detective Inspector Kerrie Gower.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachelle DesVaux Bedke and Kelley Howard-Allen.
Three Excelsior Springs Residents Charged with Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that an Excelsior Springs, Mo., man who called law enforcement officers to his home is among three residents charged in federal court for their roles in a conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
Glenn Allen DiFalco, 50, Anthony Trurice Grayson, 29, and Clarissa Nelson Cooper, 44, all of Excelsior Springs, were charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Monday, July 22, 2013.
The criminal complaint alleges that DiFalco, Grayson and Cooper participated in a conspiracy to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to an affidavit that was filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Grayson contacted the Ray County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday, July 16, 2013, and told officers he was being threatened by DiFalco. Grayson, who had fled from his residence, told officers that DiFalco had a gun and that he feared for his life. Officers met Grayson about a half-mile from his residence; he gave them permission to enter his house and arrest DiFalco.
As officers were speaking to Grayson, DiFalco and Cooper approached in a Dodge truck. According to the affidavit, the vehicle abruptly turned and drove away and officers began pursuing them. When DiFalco’s vehicle stopped in a dead-end cul-de-sac, the affidavit says, Cooper fled from the vehicle on foot and was chased by officers, who apprehended and arrested her. DiFalco was also arrested.
Officers searched DiFalco’s truck and found an airsoft gun and drug paraphernalia, including glass smoking pipes, syringes and a substance that was suspected to be crystal methamphetamine. DiFalco’s vehicle was so completely filled with debris and clutter, the affidavit says, that officers couldn’t adequately search it. The significant amount of items in the vehicle impeded law enforcement’s ability to recover and appropriately process the numerous items of drug paraphernalia and what was also suspected to be crystal methamphetamine. Officers therefore had DiFalco’s vehicle towed to a secured lot for further investigation.
When they searched the vehicle the next day, the affidavit says, officers found approximately 79,669, 30mg. pills (2,390 grams) of Cold Buster pseudoephedrine hydrochloride. These pills were contained in 91 one-gallon plastic bags. They found three bags containing a ground yellow powder believed to be ground up pseudoephedrine hydrochloride pills with a total weight of 736 grams. They also found smoking pipes, numerous handwritten recipes for various methods of methamphetamine manufacture, a butane torch, a bottle of iodine solution and several packs of iodine swabs, a laptop computer and three cell phones.
Officers returned to Grayson’s home following the vehicle pursuit, the affidavit says, and observed, in plain view, numerous items of drug paraphernalia commonly used to smoke and manufacture methamphetamine. During a search of Grayson’s residence, officers located coffee filters with iodine and powder residue, a bottle of 100% household lye, small baggies normally used to package drugs, glassware/cookware and Mason jars with residue (which were altered to facilitate methamphetamine manufacture), tubing, written instructions for pseudoephedrine pill conversion, glass smoking pipes, a white crystal-like unknown substance, weighing approximately 215.8 grams (not believed to be a controlled substance but some type of cutting agent), one bag of ground yellow powder, weighing approximately 88.8 grams, believed to be ground-up Cold Buster pseudoephedrine pills and a crystal-like substance in several plastic baggies, weighing approximately 53.2 grams, which field tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine. Officers also located a suspected explosive device, which was later identified as a “booby-trap” device.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint 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 Catherine Connelly. It was investigated by the Ray County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Staten Island, N.Y., Man Sentenced to 114 Months in Prison for Jewelry Store RobberyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Staten Island, N.Y., man was sentenced today to 114 months for his role in the robbery of Blue Stove Antiques in Fair Haven, N.J., on June 2, 2012, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Robert A. Fiolka, 69, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an information charging him with Hobbs Act robbery and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Judge Wolfson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Fiolka entered Blue Stove Antiques in Fair Haven at approximately 9:30 a.m., on June 2, 2012, wearing a hat and flesh-colored face mask and brandishing a handgun. Fiolka approached the store owner, pointed the handgun at him and demanded that he open the store’s safe. After the owner opened the safe, Fiolka ordered him to the ground and then proceeded to empty the safe’s contents into a satchel that he had with him. After filling the bag with the safe’s contents, Fiolka exited the store with approximately $200,000 worth of jewelry.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Fiolka to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $200,000 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentence; he also thanked the Colts Neck Police Department, Fair Haven Police Department, Old Bridge Police Department, Wall Township Police Department, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office for their roles in the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fabiana Pierre-Louis of the Criminal Division in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: John W. Mitchell Esq., New York, and Jerome A. Ballarotto Esq., TrentonSix People Charged in Connection with Large-Scale Stolen Identity Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Six people allegedly involved in an extensive scheme to obtain millions of dollars through fraudulently obtained refund checks issued by the U.S. Treasury were charged today for their involvement in the scam, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Julio C. Concepcion, 48; Angel L. Concepcion-Vasquez, 29; Jose R. Zapata, 65; and Reyes Flores-Perez, 29, all of Passaic, N.J.; and Romy E. Quezada, 22, of Lake Mary, Fla., were arrested this morning by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service. A sixth defendant, Freddy Gabino-Martinez, 24, of Passaic, remains at large. Concepcion, Concepcion-Vasquez, Gabino-Martinez, and Zapata are charged with conspiracy to steal government funds, Flores-Perez is charged with transferring false identification documents, and Quezada is charged with theft of government funds.
The four defendants arrested in New Jersey are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hammer in Newark federal court. Quezada was arrested in Florida and will make her initial appearance in Orlando federal court.
According to the criminal Complaints unsealed today:
Background on Stolen Identify Refund Fraud
Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) is a common type of fraud committed against the United States government that results in more than $2 billion a year in losses to the U.S. Treasury. SIRF schemes generally share a number of hallmarks:
- SIRF perpetrators obtain personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, from unwitting individuals, who often reside in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- SIRF perpetrators complete Form 1040 tax returns using the fraudulently obtained information and falsifying wages earned, taxes withheld, and other data, always ensuring that the fraudulent tax return generates a refund.
- They direct the U.S. Treasury Department to mail refund checks to locations that the perpetrators control or can access.
- With the fraudulently obtained refund checks in hand, SIRF perpetrators generate cash proceeds by depositing the checks into bank accounts that they control.
The Investigation
From October 2009 through December 2012, Concepcion, Concepcion-Vasquez, Gabino-Martinez, and Zapata engaged in a SIRF scheme that resulted in more than $2.5 million in losses to the U.S. Treasury. The conspirators obtained fraudulent tax refund checks, then deposited them into bank accounts that they controlled, often in the name of “dummy” corporations created to facilitate the scheme. They then transferred hundreds of dollars to others, including Concepcion’s wife, his children, and his children’s companions. Quezada is charged with depositing fraudulent treasury checks into an account that she opened and controlled, and Flores-Perez is charged with transferring fraudulent identification documents, including fake driver’s licenses and Social Security cards, used to further the SIRF scheme.
The conspiracy charge and the theft of government funds charge are punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. The transfer of fraudulent documents charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison. All charges are also punishable by a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense.U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen; postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates; special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Mottola; and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, with the investigation leading to today’s arrests and charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Bruck of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the Complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Concepcion: Paulette Pitt Esq., Perth Amboy, N.J.
Concepcion-Vasquez: Rubin Sinins Esq., Newark
Zapata: Elizabeth Smith Esq., Mendham, N.J.
Flores-Perez: John Whipple Esq., Chatham, N.J.Concepcion, Julio et al., Complaint
Flores-Perez,Reyes Complaint
Quezada, Romy ComplaintShipping Corporations Sentenced to $10.4 Million Monetary Penalty for Environmental Crimes on Four ShipsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two shipping firms based in Germany and Cyprus were sentenced today to a $10.4 million monetary penalty for felony obstruction of justice charges and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to the deliberate concealment of vessel pollution from four ships that visited ports in New Jersey, Delaware and Northern California, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in New Jersey and Delaware, the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Coast Guard announced.
Columbia Shipmanagement (Deutschland) GmbH (CSM-D), a German corporation, and Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd. (CSM-CY), a Cypriot company, were sentenced to pay a $10.4 million criminal penalty, $2.6 million of which will be directed to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund community service projects selected to help restore the coastal environment of New Jersey and Delaware hit by Hurricane Sandy. The remaining $7.8 million is designated as a criminal fine. The companies were also placed on four years of probation, during which they will be subject to the terms of an environmental compliance plan that requires outside audits by an independent company and oversight by a court-appointed monitor. The shipping firms admitted that four of their ships (three oil tankers and one container ship) had intentionally bypassed required pollution prevention equipment and falsified the oil record book, a required log regularly inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard. The case is the largest vessel pollution settlement in either New Jersey or Delaware.
The companies previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton on March 21, 2013, to six counts involving three vessels in New Jersey and four counts involving one ship in Delaware. The counts consist of violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for failing to maintain an accurate oil record book, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:The investigation into the M/T King Emerald was launched on May 7, 2012, after several crew members provided cell phone photos and other evidence to Coast Guard officers conducting a routine inspection. The King Emerald was engaged in various types of illegal discharges of bilge waste dating back to at least 2010. The defendants admitted that illegal discharges of both sludge and oily bilge waste were discharged at night off the coast of Central America, including a discharge within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Costa Rica where a national park is located. The ship’s second engineer previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Newark on April 3, 2013, to two years of probation.
The Delaware investigation began in October 2012 after several crew members of the M/T Nordic Passat provided the Coast Guard with a thumb drive containing photographs and video showing how illegal discharges had been sent overboard through the ship’s sewage system. They also alleged that sludge had been put into the ship’s cargo tanks and that logs showing sludge had been incinerated onboard had been falsified. The charges involving the M/V Cape Maas stem from a whistleblower report to the Coast Guard when the ship visited the port in San Francisco. The whistleblower provided a video showing the operation of the oily water separator pumping overboard without the use of the oil content monitor to detect and prevent oil from being illegally discharged.
Violations on a fourth ship, the M/T Cape Taft, which was anchored in New York waters and destined for New Jersey, were uncovered just weeks before the March plea, after the ship disclosed problems to CSM-D. An internal investigation revealed that the ship’s oily water separator had been used improperly for some time. Instead of sensing a sample of overboard discharges, it was instead flushed with fresh water by the crew. The ship’s oil record book was revised by CSM-D to reveal 16 instances where it was false. The defendants cooperated with the investigation and provided the government with video replays of the oil content monitor showing when the crew had “tricked” the sensor with fresh water.
This prosecution was made possible through the combined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard Districts 1, 5 and 11; Coast Guard Sectors New York, Delaware Bay, and San Francisco; Coast Guard Investigative Service; Coast Guard Office of Maritime and International Law; and Coast Guard Office of Investigation and Analysis.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen P. O’Leary in New Jersey; Senior Counsel Richard Udell and Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division; and Edmond Falgowski, Assistant U.S. Attorney in Delaware. Assistance was also provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
13-305Defense counsel: Thomas L. Mills Esq., Washington, D.C.
Seven Sentenced in Federal Court for Conspiracy to Traffic in Marijuana, Hashish and Ecstacy, Using the U.S. Mails to Faciliate Drug Trafficking and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Seven defendants have been sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire following their guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to unlawfully distribute marijuana, hashish and MDMA, commonly known as “ecstasy”, conspiracy to use the U.S. Mail to facilitate drug trafficking offenses, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, all of which occurred in the Districts of New Hampshire, Vermont, Nevada, and the Eastern District of California, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
Braedon Bellavance, 25, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 37 months in prison; his brother Shane Bellavance, 28, also of Mansfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 33 months in prison; Elton Bonneville, 24, of Beckett, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 24 months in prison; Lucas Mohr, 22, of Keene, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 21 months in prison; and James Mayer, 23, of Lyndonville, Vermont, was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Taylor Canaday, 21, of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, was sentenced to two years’ probation and Steven Lauder, 24, of Breckinridge, Colorado, was sentenced to three years’ probation. James Murray, 25, of Lyndonville, Vermont, and Brian Sawyer, 25, of Marlboro, Massachusetts are awaiting sentencing. Murray will be sentenced upon completion of the United States District Court’s LASER Docket, an intensive drug court program.
During the plea hearings, the defendants admitted that, in 2009, Braedon Bellavance and Bonneville, both students at Lyndon State College in Vermont, received high grade marijuana from sources in California via U.S. Postal Service “express mail” packages. They, in turn, sold the marijuana to buyers, including Murray and Mayer. Bonneville later moved to California and began shipping marijuana and hashish to the Bellavance brothers via USPS express mail packages. The Bellavance brothers, in turn, distributed the drugs to buyers in the Lyndonville, Vermont area and in New Hampshire, including to Mohr, Lauder-a Keene State College student-and Sawyer-a Plymouth State College student.
The Bellavance brothers moved to California in 2010, joining Bonneville in shipping marijuana and hashish, as well as ecstasy to Murray for distribution in the Lyndonville area. They also shipped marijuana to Mohr in New Hampshire. Mohr eventually joined his co-conspirators in California and shipped quantities of marijuana to Lauder and Canaday for distribution in the Keene area. Proceeds from the drug sales in New Hampshire and Vermont were returned to Bonneville and the Bellavance brothers in California via the USPS express mail service. In October, 2010, an express mail package containing $27,300 in cash intended for Braedon Bellavance was intercepted at the Ashland, New Hampshire Post Office.
In November, 2010, the DEA and USPIS intercepted two suspicious express mail packages shipped by Braedon Bellavance in California intended for Mayer in Lyndonville. The packages, containing marijuana, hashish and MDMA, were delivered to Mayer by an undercover law enforcement agent acting as a postal employee, after which a search warrant was executed at the residence.
In addition to hashish and MDMA, the investigation revealed that, from 2009 through 2011, the conspirators shipped approximately 80 kilograms of marijuana with an approximate street value over $500,000 from California to Vermont and New Hampshire.
The investigation into this conspiracy was conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the South Lake Tahoe, California Task Force, the Somersworth, New Hampshire Police Department, the University of New Hampshire Police Department, and the State of New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Cole Davis.San Antonio Agrees to $1.1 Billion Upgrade of Sewer Systems to Comply with Clean Water ActRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has agreed to make significant upgrades to reduce overflows from its sewer system and pay a $2.6 million civil penalty to resolve Clean Water Act (CWA) violations stemming from illegal discharges of raw sewage. The state of Texas is a co-plaintiff in this case and will receive half of the civil penalty.
When wastewater systems overflow, they can release raw sewage and other pollutants into local waterways, threatening water quality and contributing to beach closures and disease outbreaks. To come into compliance with the CWA, including remedial measures taken during the parties’ negotiations and the comprehensive measures required under the settlement, SAWS is expected to spend $1.1 billion to achieve compliance.
“This settlement will help protect San Antonio residents from exposure to raw sewage by committing San Antonio to make immediate, badly-needed repairs to its sewers as well as long-term improvements in the operation, management and maintenance of its system,” said Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “These improvements will benefit well over a million people living in Bexar County, with a special focus on reducing sewage overflows in communities who have suffered a historical pollution burden.”
“EPA is working with cities across the country to protect the nation’s waters from raw sewage overflows that can threaten public health,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The improvements and upgrades agreed to in this settlement will protect the people of San Antonio and the surrounding communities by reducing raw sewage in the water.”
The Justice Department, on behalf of EPA, filed a complaint against SAWS alleging that between 2006 and 2012, SAWS had approximately 2,200 illegal overflows from its sanitary sewer system that discharged approximately 23 million gallons of raw sewage into local waterways in violation of its CWA discharge permit. The cause of these overflows stems largely from system capacity problems that result in the sewer system being overwhelmed by rainfall, causing it to discharge untreated sewage combined with storm water into local waterways. EPA confirmed these violations during a 2011 field inspection and record review.As part of the settlement, SAWS will conduct system-wide assessments, identify and implement remedial measures to address problems that cause or contribute to illegal discharges found during those assessments, and initiate a capacity management, operation and maintenance program to proactively reduce sanitary sewer overflows. The plan must be fully implemented by calendar year 2025. In the early years of the CD, SAWS will take actions that will result in reduction of sanitary sewer overflows. In addition, SAWS will conduct water quality monitoring to identify potential additional sources of bacterial contamination that could be contributing to impairment of the Upper San Antonio River.
SAWS wastewater treatment plant serves approximately 1.3 million people in Bexar County, which includes the city of San Antonio. Its wastewater collection and treatment system consists of approximately 5,100 miles of gravity sewer lines, including approximately 100,000 manholes and 170 lift stations.
Keeping raw sewage and contaminated stormwater out of the waters of the United States is one of the EPA’s national top priorities. EPA’s initiative focuses on reducing sewer overflows, which can present a significant threat to human health and the environment.
The settlement will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division and is subject to a 30-day public comment period before final court approval of the consent decree. Once the consent decree has been approved and entered, SAWS will have 60 days to pay the civil penalty to the United States and the state of Texas. The proposed consent decree can be viewed online at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
More information about the settlement: http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/san-antonio-water-system-saws-settlementMore information about EPA’s national enforcement initiative: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/data/planning/initiatives/2011sewagestormwater.html
More information about Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Plans: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/integratedplans.cfm
Saline County Man Charged with Methamphetamine Related OffenseRead the Press Release
John David Clark, 48, of Harrisburg, Illinois, has been charged in an indictment in United States District Court in Benton with possessing pseudoephedrine with the intent that it be used to manufacture methamphetamine, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. The indictment, returned by a Federal Grand Jury on July 9th, alleged that the offense occurred on June 25, 2013, in Saline County.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
If convicted, Clark faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release to follow his incarceration.
Following a detention hearing held today, Clark was ordered held without bond and was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal to await further proceedings. Clark’s next scheduled court appearance is September 12th at 9:30 a.m. for a final pretrial conference.
The case was investigated by the Carmi office of the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.
Rockford Man Sentenced to 85 Months in Federal Prison for Robbery of BMO Harris Bank in RockfordRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Rockford, Ill. man was sentenced yesterday in federal court for robbing the BMO Harris Bank, N.A., 1275 Bennington Road, Rockford, Ill., on July 22, 2010. U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala sentenced Drew Yancy, 33, to 85 months in federal prison for the robbery and ordered that Yancy serve 3 years on supervised release following his release from prison, and pay restitution of $5,905 to BMO Harris Bank. Yancy will not be eligible for parole.
Yancy pled guilty to the charge on April 5, 2013. According to the written plea agreement, on July 22, 2010, Prince Williams, 27, also of Rockford, drove Yancy to Harris Bank in a stolen car where they both entered the bank. Williams stood near the front door of the bank while Yancy approached the tellers and demanded money. Yancy admitted in the plea agreement that he told a teller to give him money or he would shoot and kill her. After obtaining $5,905 from the tellers, Williams and Yancy left the bank and fled in the stolen car.
Williams, who pled guilty on April 19, 2012, to his involvement in the bank robbery, will be sentenced at a future date.
The sentencing was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chet Epperson, Chief of the Rockford Police Department; and Richard Meyers, Winnebago County Sheriff.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
Rio Grande City Man Gets 15 Years for Transporting Meth in A Shampoo BottleRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Pedro Guerra-Ruiz, 34, of Rio Grande City, has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for possession with intent to distribute approximately 1.51 kilograms of methamphetamine, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Guerra pleaded guilty April 29, 2013.
Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Guerra a total sentence of 180 months. He will be required to serve a term of five years of supervised release following completion of the prison term.
Guerra was arrested on Feb. 1, 2013, at the United States Border Patrol checkpoint in Sarita as a passenger on an El Expresso bus. Border Patrol (BP) agents boarded the bus to conduct immigration inspections of its occupants and Guerra was observed carrying a backpack which contained an conspicuously altered shampoo bottle. A BP service canine alerted to the presence of contraband in the shampoo bottle which, upon further inspection, revealed an unusually watery consistency uncharacteristic of shampoo. The substance was tested and confirmed to be methamphetamine with a weight determined to be 1.51 kilograms.
At the time of his guilty plea, Guerra admitted he had agreed to transport the methamphetamine to Houston in exchange for $1000.
Guerra will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of BP and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sam Brown IV.Rapid City Man Guilty of Illegally Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Shawn Muldoon, age 30, of Rapid City, South Dakota, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on July 19, 2013, and pled guilty to a charge of Domestic Violence Offender in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years' imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine.
In July 2012, near Rapid City, Pennington County sheriff’s deputies assisted a vehicle stuck on forest service land. The vehicle was occupied by Muldoon and others. During the vehicle search, the deputies located a 9mm handgun and ammunition owned by Muldoon, who is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a 2003 domestic violence conviction.
The investigation was conducted by the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Forest Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins.A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date will be set. The defendant was released on bond pending sentencing.
Portsmouth Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Sixty Four Months for Drug and Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
CONCORD, N.H. – Christian Jennings, 27, of Portsmouth was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 64 months in prison for possession of methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA or “Ecstasy”) and marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
During a routine traffic stop in Portsmouth on January 2, 2011, Portsmouth police officers found distribution quantities of both MDMA and marijuana and other controlled substances in Jennings’ car, more than $42,000 in cash, and drug distribution paraphernalia. At the time of the traffic stop, Jennings was carrying a fully loaded Smith & Wesson, .38 caliber revolver in the waistband of his pants. A search of Jennings’ Portsmouth home yielded three additional firearms and additional quantities of controlled substances.
This case was investigated by the Portsmouth Police Department and was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal program to reduce gun violence in New Hampshire by aggressive investigation and prosecution of firearm offenders, education of the public, and training of law enforcement officers about federal firearm laws. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.
Pensacola Man Indicted for Counterfeit “viagra” TraffickingRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida announced that Robert P. Galea, 53, of Pensacola, Florida, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he trafficked in counterfeit “Viagra” and fraudulently executed a scheme to deliver the misbranded pharmaceuticals through the United States Postal Service.
Galea made his initial appearance in federal court on July 19, 2013, on ten counts of trafficking in counterfeit drugs, selling misbranded drugs, and mail fraud. The Indictment alleges the counterfeit drugs were obtained from sources in other countries, including India.
A jury trial for Galea has been scheduled before the Honorable M. Casey Rodgers on September 9, 2013. If found guilty of trafficking in counterfeit drugs or mail fraud, Galea faces up to twenty years in prison.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg of the Northern District of Florida.
An Indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial in a court of law.
Peach Springs Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Sexual Abuse of A MinorRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – On July 22, 2013, Terry Harris Lee, 66, of Peach Springs, Ariz., an enrolled member of the Hualapai Nation Indian Tribe, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell to 180 months in federal prison, followed by a term of lifetime supervised release. Lee pleaded guilty on May 2, 2013 to sexual abuse of a minor.
According to the plea agreement, on March 18, 2012, the 12 year old victim was having a sleepover with a friend at Lee’s residence located on the Hualapai Nation Indian Reservation. Lee entered the bedroom where the victim was staying, and sexually abused the victim.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Hualapai Nation Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Christina J. Reid-Moore, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-12-8247-PCT-DGC
RELEASE NUMBER: 2013-057_LeeFor more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Oregon Woman Sentenced to 275 Months in Prison for Being an Armed Career CriminalRead the Press Release
Defendant committed four armed bank robberiesEUGENE, Ore. – Lorinda Marie Goodin, 44, a resident of Lane County, Oregon, was sentenced today by U.S. District Chief Judge Ann Aiken to 22 years and 11 months in prison for committing two armed bank robberies in Multnomah County, two armed bank robberies in Lane County, and to possessing ammunition after having been previously convicted of eight bank robberies.
Goodin pled guilty on February 20, 2013, to robbing the Bank of the West in Portland on November 8, 2011, the Clackamas County Bank in Gresham on November 14, 2011, and the Pacific Continental Bank in Eugene on August 1 and again on November 25, 2011. Goodwin wore disguises, brandished what appeared to be a large caliber pistol, and threatened to shoot or kill bank tellers during the robberies.
Goodin was arrested on December 7, 2011, by an FBI agent and Springfield police officers after she was seen driving a stolen vehicle in Springfield, Oregon. She had a large caliber toy pistol in her possession along with various disguises. During a subsequent court-authorized search of Goodin’s residence, police found numerous rounds of .22 caliber ammunition.
Goodin also pled guilty in federal court to being a felon in possession of ammunition and agreed to be sentenced as an armed career criminal. She was convicted after a jury trial in 2003 and sentenced to six years and five months in prison by U.S. District Judge Anna Brown for robbing eight banks in Multnomah, Clackamas and Marion Counties.
When pleading guilty, Goodin admitted that from August 2011 until her arrest in December 2011, she robbed 25 businesses located in Lane County, Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Wasco County and Douglas County. When committing her robberies, Goodin carried what appeared to be a large caliber pistol and threatened to shoot employees. During several of these robberies, Goodin had an accomplice.
Goodin’s guilty pleas, admissions and agreed sentence recommendation were part of her plea agreement. As part of her overall agreement, Goodin agreed that she will also plead guilty in Oregon state courts to the multiple robberies she admitted committing, and that she should receive a sentence of up to 18 years in prison for each robbery, to be served concurrently with her federal sentence.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, the Portland Police Bureau, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Eugene Police Department, Roseburg Police Department, The Dalles Police Department, Milwaukie Police Department, Gresham Police Department, and the Springfield Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank R. Papagni, Jr.Oglala Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting A WomanRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Billy Bores a Hole, age 28, of Oglala, South Dakota, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on July 19, 2013, and pled guilty to a charge of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date will be set. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years' imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine.
In March 2013, at Oglala, Bores a Hole assaulted a woman by kicking her and stabbing her in the head, neck, back, and stomach, causing life-threatening injuries.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins.Multiple Arrests in Alleged Marijuana Conspiracy Out of Starr CountyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas - A total of 12 individuals have been arrested in connection with a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana from March 1, 2012 through June 25, 2013, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. The indictment, returned June 25, 2013, was partially unsealed upon the arrests today and yesterday. It remains sealed as to those charged but not as yet in custody.
The arrests stem from a year-long Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation targeting the illegal importation and distribution of marijuana from Starr County to other locations within the United States.
Delfino Bazan, 44, of Rio Grande City and Houston, and his common law wife, Alejandrina Martinez, 43, of Houston, were arrested at their Houston residence on Monday, July 22. Both are charged with conspiring to launder proceeds from drug trafficking. Bazan is also charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana as well as several substantive drug trafficking counts. Bazan and Martinez both made their initial appearances yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Froeschner in Galveston. U.S. Magistrate Judge Froeschner ordered Bazan into custody pending a detention hearing to be held at a later date in McAllen. Martinez was permitted release upon posting bond and ordered to appear in court in McAllen on July 30, 2013.Today, nine others were taken into custody for conspiring with Bazan to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Baldemar Montalvo, 45, Enrique Montalvo, 40, Thomas Garcia, 52, Ivan D. Campos-Landa, 31, and David Ulloa Correa, 47, all of Rio Grande City; Jose Luis Palacios Jr., 37, of Mission; Edmundo Canales, 23, and Jose Luis Palacios Sr., 63, both of Edinburg; and Elee Campos Camargo, 37, of McAllen, are all charged in the overall drug conspiracy.
On July 19, 2013, Mexican citizen Sostenes Ferreira-Garcia, 50, illegally residing in Rio Grande City, was arrested by law enforcement agents in relation to this case. He made his initial appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dorina Ramos and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing on July 25, 2013, at 11:00 a.m.
All defendants, except for Martinez, are charged in the overall drug conspiracy which carries a potential range of punishment of five to 40 years and a possible $5 million fine. If convicted of conspiracy to launder drug proceeds, Baldemar Montalvo, Martinez and Bazan all face a potential punishment of up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. With the exception of Martinez, each defendant further faces one or more substantive drug trafficking charges, with amounts ranging from 14 to 1,959 kilograms in each instance. The punishment range on these charges, upon conviction, varies depending on the amount of drugs involved, from no more than five years up to a maximum of life in prison.
All those arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances before Judge Ramos on Wednesday, July 26, 2013, at which time they are expected to remain in custody pending further criminal proceedings.
The OCDETF investigation dubbed "Operation Casanova" is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Starr County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Juan F. Alanis is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of lawMan Sentenced to Prison for Mortgage Fraud CrimesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A local man who used friends and family members to serve as straw buyers to fraudulently purchase homes in the Las Vegas area so he could skim part of the loan proceeds for himself, has been sentenced to 51 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay approximately $1.3 million in restitution announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Oudom Somee, 46, currently in custody, but most recently a resident of Las Vegas, Nev., was sentenced on Monday, July 22, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du. Somee was convicted by a jury in November 2012 of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud, and eight counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, and one count of mail fraud.
Somee and his co-conspirators recruited persons with high credit scores, often friends and family members, to purchase homes in the Las Vegas area, which Somee would control. Somee told these straw purchasers that he would use their names and credit to buy the houses and that they would not have to pay the mortgages. Somee and the co-conspirators prepared the paperwork and submitted the loan applications to the financial institutions. These applications and the supporting documentation contained materially false and fraudulent information concerning the applicant’s identity, income, assets and intent to occupy the homes to ensure that the straw buyers would qualify for the mortgage loans. Somee orchestrated the transactions for the purpose of receiving cash at the closing of the transactions. The cash was disbursed either to Somee personally or to his company, Vegas Golden Investments, Inc. Somee tried to conceal his role in the scheme by using bank accounts belonging to fictitious entities and others, including his sister. Eight homes were purchased in Henderson and Las Vegas, Nev. using this scheme. The homes generally went into foreclosure after Somee made a few mortgage payments. The losses to the financial institutions were over $2.6 million.
A loan officer and escrow officer were also charged and convicted in the scheme.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel R. Schiess and Sarah E. Griswold.
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.
Livingston County Man Indicted for Manufacturing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Matthew Lewis Colston, 30, of Livingston County was indicted by a federal grand jury in Flint on charges of manufacturing child pornography, use of a facility in interstate commerce to entice a minor, and transfer of obscene matter to a minor, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Robert D. Foley III, FBI Special Agent in Charge and Kriste Kibbey Etue, Director of the Michigan State Police.
The 10-count indictment charges Colston with seven counts of manufacturing child pornography the dates of which extend over a five-month period. The indictment further alleges that for approximately one year Colston used a cellular telephone to attempt to persuade, induce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity which, under the laws of the State of Michigan, could be charged as first and/or second degree criminal sexual conduct. The indictment further charges Colston with using the same cell phone to transfer obscene material to a minor.
"These despicable crimes victimize and exploit innocent children. Through the SEMCAC task force, the FBI is committed to the arrest and prosecution of criminals who engage in such deplorable, heinous behavior,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley III; FBI Detroit Division.
“The Michigan State Police is committed to working with our federal and local law enforcement partners involved with the SEMCAC Task Force to protect children from being exploited in the State of Michigan,” said Michigan State Police Captain Monica Yesh. “The sexual assault of children and the production of child pornography are horrific crimes. The perpetrators who commit these acts of violence will be vigorously sought out and brought to justice.”
If convicted for manufacturing child pornography defendant faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. If convicted of using a phone to entice a minor, Colston faces a minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. Transferring of obscene material to a minor carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and/or a fine of up to $250,000.
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 guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by the FBI, Michigan State Police, Livingston County Prosecutor's Office and the Southeast Michigan Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Lieutenant Colonel who Served in Iraq Pleads Guilty to Criminal Conflict of Interest for Contracting SchemeRead the Press Release
A retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army who served in Iraq as a contracting officer pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tacoma today to criminal conflict of interest for using his position of authority to benefit himself to the detriment of the United States. HAROLD L. BROEK, 49, who served as Chief of Contracting at the Tikrit Regional Contracting Center in Tikrit, Iraq, established a company, Global Motion, that received contracts from an Iraqi company to which he had awarded contracts.
BROEK is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle on October 15, 2013. Criminal conflict of interest is punishable by up to five years in prison.
According to the records filed in the case, BROEK used his position of authority in the U.S. Army, his knowledge of government contracting, and his relationship with Rohit Goel and “Avalon International Limited” to contract with Goel and Avalon on government contracts. Before BROEK left Iraq in 2007, he directed his family in Washington State to form a company, Global Motion, for the purpose of receiving contracts from Goel and Avalon. While in Iraq, BROEK had entered into an illegal agreement with Goel whereby Goel would send certain government contracts, awarded by the United States to Goel and Avalon, to the new company formed by BROEK and his family. Pursuant to this arrangement, Goel agreed to award government contracts to BROEK’s new company, to pay BROEK’s new company 30% of the profit on such contracts, and to front necessary funds or finance any contract expenditures BROEK’s company would incur in purchasing goods to perform under the contracts.
Before leaving Iraq and returning to the United States, BROEK participated in awarding contracts to Avalon. Specifically, in July 2007, shortly before he left Iraq to return to Lacey, Washington, BROEK signed a waiver shortening the deadline on a contract for the purchase and delivery of line-of-sight radios. By shortening the deadline, BROEK decreased the chances that Avalon’s competitors might win the contract. Later in July 2007, one of BROEK’s subordinates in Iraq awarded a contract for line-of-sight radios, valued at $162,151.00, to Goel and Avalon. Goel, in turn, awarded the contract for line-of-sight radios to BROEK’s company, Global Motion.
In September 2007, Avalon fronted $99,978.00 to Global Motion to finance the purchase of the line-of-sight radios. To fill the line-of-sight radio contract, Global Motion spent $58,733 to purchase the radios and have them shipped to Iraq. Global Motion retained the balance of the funds from Avalon, making a profit of $29,871.90 on this deal.
According to tax returns, Global Motion made a profit in 2007 and 2008 of $52,400.16. Pursuant to the plea agreement, BROEK will make restitution payments to the United States in the amount of $52,400.16.
The case was investigated by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Reese Jennings.
Leroy Township Man Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Prison for FraudRead the Press Release
A Leroy Township man was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for fraud that occured during his employment as a project manager with The Fowler Company which cost the company nearly $1 million, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Jeffrey A. Boring, 50, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud involving schemes to defraud The Fowler Company and ESI, Inc., a company which employed Boring after his employment with The Fowler Company terminated.
U.S. Judge Sara Lioi sentenced him to 71 months in prison and ordered him to pay a total of $978,810 in restitution. Boring’s term of imprisonment was increased for obstruction after he altered documents and submitted them to the government as proposed exhibits to be used in his defense at trial.
“Perhaps with six years in federal prison, plus just under a million reasons to think about his conduct, Mr. Boring will finally get the message that crime does not pay,” Dettelbach said.
From on or about June 27, 2006, through on or about January 18, 2011, Boring, while employed as a project manager with The Fowler Company, created and approved fraudulent invoices from a company he created called Fairport Industrial Group. In addition, Boring instructed vendors, which provided materials and services for Boring’s personal purposes, to invoice the cost to Fowler, according to court documents.
From on or about August 10, 2011, through on or about February 8, 2012, Boring, while employed as a project manager at ESI, Inc., approved purchase orders and invoices for payment for product purportedly needed for ESI customer contracts. In fact, ESI paid for product needed by Boring for contracts he had through Fairport Industrial Group with the Defense Logistics Agency, according to court documents.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by Special Agent Russell G. Csaszar with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Special Agent Brandee Kemer with the Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigation Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Henry F. DeBaggis and Mark S. Bennett.
Leader of Irvington, N.J., Gang Sentenced to More Than 27 Years in Prison for Crack Cocaine Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The leader of the Irvington, N.J., Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang was sentenced to 325 months in prison today for his involvement in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Mark Manasse, a/k/a “M-Ease,” 28, of Irvington, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Jose L. Linares to one count of a superseding indictment, charging him with knowingly and intentionally conspiring to distribute 280 grams or more of the drug. Judge Linares imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Manasse was a leader of the Bloods street gang known as the Brick City Brims, who were distributing significant amounts of crack cocaine in and around the city of Irvington and elsewhere from February 2010 through April 2011. Manasse and his conspirators controlled the drug trafficking in and around the areas of 18th Street and Columbia Avenue in Irvington. Manasse maintained control of drug trafficking in these areas through the use of violence and intimidation.
Manasse and more than a dozen others were arrested on April 19, 2011, by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) along with officers of the N.J. State Police and Irvington Police Department.
During the investigation, federal agents used a confidential source who was able to infiltrate the gang. Federal agents identified two cell phones Manasse used to conduct his narcotics trafficking activity and obtained court orders authorizing interception of drug-related phone calls. The agents intercepted thousands of calls during which Manasse discussed, orchestrated and directed the distribution of drugs. The calls also showed that Manasse directed, ordered and participated in acts of violence in order to maintain and protect the drug trafficking activity of the Brick City Brims in Irvington.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Linares sentenced Manasse to five years of supervised release. As a special condition of the supervised release, Judge Linares also banned Manasse from associating with any known street gang or organized crime members.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of ICE HSI in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Col. Joseph R. Fuentes; the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Deputy Chief of Police Dwayne Mitchell, Senior Law Enforcement in Charge and Director Joseph Santiago; and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael H. Robertson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.13-304
Defense counsel: Kathleen M. Theurer Esq., Jersey City, N.J.
Krystel A. Buckland 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 23, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, KRYSTEL A. BUCKLAND, a 32-year-old resident of Billings, pled guilty to acquiring a controlled substance by subterfuge. Sentencing has been set for October 23, 2013. She is currently released on special conditions.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan P. McCarthy, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On August 19, 2012, a task force officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received a phone call from the pharmacy district manager for the K-Mart in Billings. The manager indicated that there were numerous prescription pills missing from the pharmacy department. The prescription pills first started to appear missing in February of 2012.
K-Mart then installed video cameras in the pharmacy department. On August 29, 2012, BUCKLAND, a pharmacist at the store, was seen on the video camera entering into the pharmacy after pharmacy hours and stealing numerous prescription pills. The video showed BUCKLAND taking the pills and then stuffing them into her clothing. BUCKLAND had been hired in February of 2012.
On August 31, 2012, BUCKLAND was interviewed by a DEA task force officer. She admitted that she did steal all of the prescription pills, and that she started stealing pills when she first began working at K-Mart. According to BUCKLAND, she used all of the pills herself. She indicated that she would use approximately 100 pills per day. After the interview, BUCKLAND gave consent to search her car and recovered numerous pill bottles and a small amount of pills in the vehicle.
The records from K-Mart indicate that approximately 18,000 hydrocodone and oxycodone pills were taken from the pharmacy from February of 2012 through August of 2012.
BUCKLAND faces possible penalties of 4 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Justice Department Settles with Louisiana Tech University over Inaccessible Course MaterialsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with Louisiana Tech University and the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The settlement resolves allegations that the University violated the ADA by using a version of an online learning product that was inaccessible to a blind student. The student’s lack of access to the course materials persisted nearly one month into the University quarter, at which point the student was so far behind in his coursework that he felt compelled to withdraw from the course. The settlement also resolves allegations that in a subsequent course, the same student was not provided accessible course materials for in-class discussion or exam preparation in a timely manner.
Under the settlement agreement, the university will adopt a number of disability-related policies, including the requirement to deploy learning technology, web pages and course content that is accessible in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA standard in the university setting. The university will also make existing web pages and materials created since 2010 accessible. The agreement also requires the university to train its instructors and administrators on the requirements of the ADA, and secured a total of $23,543 in damages for the student from the university and the Board.
“Emerging technologies, including internet-based learning platforms, are changing the way we learn, and we need to ensure that people with disabilities are not excluded or left behind,” said Eve L. Hill, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.
“This a positive move by Louisiana Tech University and the Board of Supervisors. Their efforts reflect a commitment to ensuring that all individuals with disabilities have full access to the University,” said Stephanie A. Finley, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana.
The ADA protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in the services, programs or activities of state and local government entities. Under Title II of the ADA, state and local governments must afford individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from aids, benefits or services provided. For more information about the ADA, call the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov.
Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Southern Illinois Tax PreparerRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has asked a federal court to bar Ronald Manis of Carbondale, Ill., from preparing tax returns for others. The civil injunction suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, alleges that Manis routinely prepares federal tax returns for individuals and corporations improperly claiming deductions that result in his customers understating their federal tax liabilities.
The government complaint also alleges that Manis prepares federal tax returns for his customers, claiming as business expenses his customers’ non-deductible personal expenses, including the cost of lavish personal vacations. According to the government complaint, Manis engages in this conduct “in a misguided attempt to mint his reputation as a uniquely skilled and knowledgeable tax return preparer.”
In September 2011, Manis pleaded guilty to willfully failing to file his own federal income tax returns for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and was initially sentenced to probation. In May 2012, his probation was revoked and he was sentenced to three months in prison. According to the government complaint, Manis was released from federal prison on July 20, 2013.
The government suit also alleges that Manis falsely represented himself as a fully licensed Certified Public Accountant to customers and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and that Manis illegally used an electronic filing number belonging to a friend to electronically file customers’ returns after the IRS denied Manis’s application for an electronic filing number.
In the past decade the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of tax return preparers and tax fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department's website.
Related Materials:
United States v. Ronald Manis
Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other Relief (PDF)
Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Southern Illinois Tax PreparerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has asked a federal court to bar Ronald Manis of Carbondale, Ill., from preparing tax returns for others. The civil injunction suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, alleges that Manis routinely prepares federal tax returns for individuals and corporations improperly claiming deductions that result in his customers understating their federal tax liabilities.
The government complaint also alleges that Manis prepares federal tax returns for his customers, claiming as business expenses his customers’ non-deductible personal expenses, including the cost of lavish personal vacations. According to the government complaint, Manis engages in this conduct “in a misguided attempt to mint his reputation as a uniquely skilled and knowledgeable tax return preparer.”
In September 2011, Manis pleaded guilty to willfully failing to file his own federal income tax returns for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and was sentenced to three months in prison. According to the government complaint, Manis was released from federal prison on July 20, 2013.
The government suit also alleges that Manis falsely represented himself as a fully licensed Certified Public Accountant to customers and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and that Manis illegally used an electronic filing number belonging to a friend to electronically file customers’ returns after the IRS denied Manis’ application for an electronic filing number.
In the past decade the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of tax return preparers and tax fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department's website.
Justice Department Obtains Comprehensive Agreement to Ensure New York City Adult Home Residents with Mental Illness Are Afforded Opportunities to Live in the CommunityRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced today that they, along with plaintiff adult home residents, entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement with the state of New York under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The settlement agreement will provide relief to thousands of people with mental illness unnecessarily segregated in 23 adult homes in New York City. Adult homes are institutional, segregated settings that house large numbers of people with mental illness.
Under the settlement agreement, New York will offer supported housing to people with mental illness currently residing in adult homes. Supported housing is apartments scattered throughout the community for which the state provides rental assistance and housing-related support services. Supported housing residents have access to community-based services and supports that promote their inclusion, independence, and full participation in community life. The settlement agreement has been filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for the court’s approval.
The Supreme Court made clear in its landmark decision Olmstead v. L.C, that people with disabilities have a civil right under the ADA to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. The state worked cooperatively with the department and private plaintiffs to negotiate a settlement that resolves the allegations that the New York mental health service system violates the ADA by relying on large, institutional adult homes instead of supported housing units that are scattered throughout the community. A state is responsible for segregation when it designs and implements a system that unnecessarily relies on institutional facilities, regardless of whether they are privately owned and operated.
“Today’s settlement agreement reaffirms the right of people with disabilities to live independently and participate in all aspects of community life,” said Eve L. Hill, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “This agreement creates opportunities for thousands of New Yorkers with mental illness to participate fully in community life, enriching local communities and ending the stigmatization of institutional life. Governor Andrew Cuomo played a crucial role in making this agreement a reality, and I commend his leadership.”
Over the next five years, New York will provide scattered-site supported housing to at least 2,000, and potentially more than 4,000, adult home residents. New York has also committed to providing people moving to supported housing with the community-based services and supports that will allow them to thrive in the community. The agreement also will ensure that adult home residents have the information they need to make an informed choice about where to live. If they choose to move to supported housing, they will participate in a person-centered, transition planning process. An independent reviewer with extensive experience in mental health systems will monitor the state’s compliance with the agreement.
Because of this agreement, people like Ilona Spiegel, one of the named plaintiffs, will get the opportunity to live independently and “become emancipated” after 15 years in an adult home. Spiegel lived independently in her own apartment until she received psychiatric treatment in a hospital in 1998. When she left the hospital, her only discharge option was to move into an adult home. In the adult home, Spiegel shares a small room with a roommate, has scheduled mealtimes and no opportunity to cook for herself, has little privacy as staff have entered her room without permission and finds living in the adult home extremely isolating. Spiegel has said that she cannot wait to live in her own apartment again and have autonomy over her life, including doing her own cooking, cleaning and shopping, have personal privacy in her home, and be free from intrusion into her personal belongings.
Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York stated: “With this agreement, thousands of New Yorkers will be able to leave the shadow of institutional living and instead live in and contribute to their communities. Because of this cooperative effort, their lives will be immeasurably better and our communities all the richer for their presence.”
The individual plaintiff adult home residents, on behalf of themselves and a class of adult home residents with mental illness, are represented by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP; Disability Advocates Inc.; Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; New York Lawyers for the Public Interest; MFY Legal Services Inc.; and Urban Justice Center.
The Civil Rights Division enforces the ADA, which authorizes the attorney general to investigate whether a state is serving individuals with disabilities in the most integrated settings appropriate to their needs. Visit www.justice.gov/crt to learn more about the Olmstead decision, the ADA, and other laws enforced by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
This agreement is due to the efforts of the following Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office staff: Alison Barkoff, Special Counsel for Olmstead Enforcement; Rebecca B. Bond, Chief of the Disability Rights Section; Sheila Foran, Special Legal Counsel; Amanda Maisels and Nicholas Lee, Trial Attorneys; Lance Simon, Contractor; and Michael J. Goldberger, Chief of Civil Rights in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Justice Department Obtains Comprehensive Agreement to Ensure New York City Adult Home Residents with Mental Illness Are Afforded Opportunities to Live in the CommunityRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON. – The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced today that they, along with plaintiff adult home residents, entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement with the state of New York under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The settlement agreement will provide relief to thousands of people with mental illness unnecessarily segregated in 23 adult homes in New York City. Adult homes are institutional, segregated settings that house large numbers of people with mental illness.
Under the settlement agreement, New York will offer supported housing to people with mental illness currently residing in adult homes. Supported housing is apartments scattered throughout the community for which the state provides rental assistance and housing-related support services. Supported housing residents have access to community-based services and supports that promote their inclusion, independence, and full participation in community life. The settlement agreement has been filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for the court’s approval.
The Supreme Court made clear in its landmark decision Olmstead v. L.C, that people with disabilities have a civil right under the ADA to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. The state worked cooperatively with the department and private plaintiffs to negotiate a settlement that resolves the allegations that the New York mental health service system violates the ADA by relying on large, institutional adult homes instead of supported housing units that are scattered throughout the community. A state is responsible for segregation when it designs and implements a system that unnecessarily relies on institutional facilities, regardless of whether they are privately owned and operated.
“Today’s settlement agreement reaffirms the right of people with disabilities to live independently and participate in all aspects of community life,” said Eve L. Hill, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “This agreement creates opportunities for thousands of New Yorkers with mental illness to participate fully in community life, enriching local communities and ending the stigmatization of institutional life. Governor Andrew Cuomo played a crucial role in making this agreement a reality, and I commend his leadership.”
Over the next five years, New York will provide scattered-site supported housing to at least 2,000, and potentially more than 4,000, adult home residents. New York has also committed to providing people moving to supported housing with the community-based services and supports that will allow them to thrive in the community. The agreement also will ensure that adult home residents have the information they need to make an informed choice about where to live. If they choose to move to supported housing, they will participate in a person-centered, transition planning process. An independent reviewer with extensive experience in mental health systems will monitor the state’s compliance with the agreement.
Because of this agreement, people like Ilona Spiegel, one of the named plaintiffs, will get the opportunity to live independently and “become emancipated” after 15 years in an adult home. Spiegel lived independently in her own apartment until she received psychiatric treatment in a hospital in 1998. When she left the hospital, her only discharge option was to move into an adult home. In the adult home, Spiegel shares a small room with a roommate, has scheduled mealtimes and no opportunity to cook for herself, has little privacy as staff have entered her room without permission and finds living in the adult home extremely isolating. Spiegel has said that she cannot wait to live in her own apartment again and have autonomy over her life, including doing her own cooking, cleaning and shopping, have personal privacy in her home, and be free from intrusion into her personal belongings.
Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York stated: “With this agreement, thousands of New Yorkers will be able to leave the shadow of institutional living and instead live in and contribute to their communities. Because of this cooperative effort, their lives will be immeasurably better and our communities all the richer for their presence.”
The individual plaintiff adult home residents, on behalf of themselves and a class of adult home residents with mental illness, are represented by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP; Disability Advocates Inc.; Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; New York Lawyers for the Public Interest; MFY Legal Services Inc.; and Urban Justice Center.
The Civil Rights Division enforces the ADA, which authorizes the attorney general to investigate whether a state is serving individuals with disabilities in the most integrated settings appropriate to their needs. Visit www.justice.gov/crt to learn more about the Olmstead decision, the ADA, and other laws enforced by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
This agreement is due to the efforts of the following Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office staff: Alison Barkoff, Special Counsel for Olmstead Enforcement; Rebecca B. Bond, Chief of the Disability Rights Section; Sheila Foran, Special Legal Counsel; Amanda Maisels and Nicholas Lee, Trial Attorneys; Lance Simon, Contractor; and Michael J. Goldberger, Chief of Civil Rights in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Joseph Daniel Bahr, Jr. 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 22, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, JOSEPH DANIEL BAHR, JR., a 42-year-old resident of Lame Deer and an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, pled guilty to attempted sexual abuse. Sentencing has been set for October 23, 2013. He is currently detained.
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 June 23, 2011, the victim and a friend stayed overnight at BAHR's home in Lame Deer, which is within the boundaries of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The victim, the friend, and BAHR were drinking that evening at BAHR's house. Between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., the victim went to sleep in BAHR's daughter's bedroom. Around 5:00 a.m. the next morning, the victim woke up with BAHR on top of her. The victim told BAHR numerous times to stop and to get off of her. Eventually, the victim was able to push BAHR off of her, get dressed, and leave BAHR's residence. Before leaving, the victim confronted BAHR about the sexual assault in the presence of the friend who was also staying at BAHR's home. BAHR admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim during this confrontation and this admission was overheard by the friend.
The victim then left the residence and went home. She told her husband about the sexual assault, immediately reported the assault to the police, and then went to the hospital for a sexual assault examination.
BAHR was interviewed by law enforcement and despite the admission made by BAHR to the victim and overheard by the friend at BAHR's house, when confronted by the victim, BAHR denied that he had sex with the victim.
BAHR faces possible penalties of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervision.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Jioio’s Restaurants Owner Pleads Guilty to Income Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Greensburg, Pa., pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of federal income tax evasion, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Jeanean C. Smith pleaded guilty to one count before Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that, as owner of Jioio's Restaurants in Latrobe and North Huntingdon, defendant engaged in the practice of "skimming" cash from restaurant sales, resulting in a total tax loss of $438,661 from the filing of false personal, corporate and payroll tax returns during the years 2006-2009.
Judge Diamond scheduled sentencing for Nov. 12, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court released the defendant on bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Leo M. Dillon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Jeanean C. Smith.
Jersey County Man Convicted of $1.2 Million Dollar Tax Evasion and Unlawful Firearms PossessionRead the Press Release
A Jersey County resident pleaded guilty to felony charges of tax evasion and possession of a firearm by a user of controlled substances on July 23, 2013, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. David Ray, 54, of Fieldon, Illinois, waived his right to face a grand jury indictment and pled guilty to charges brought directly by the US Attorney’s Office.
Documents filed in District Court established that Ray committed tax evasion by using his various businesses to pay personal expenses, by vesting ownership of personal assets in the name of his businesses, and by filing false tax returns with the IRS or refusing to file a US Individual Tax Return all together. In tax years 2005-2010, Ray concealed income from the IRS for the purpose of limiting his tax liability resulting in him avoiding $1,272,904.83 in federal income taxes that he otherwise would have been required to pay. Ray agreed to make full restitution to the IRS as a condition of his guilty plea.
Ray was also convicted for possessing firearms while being a cocaine user. Evidence presented at the plea hearing established that federal agents seized 96 firearms and more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition from Ray’s home when it was searched on February 13, 2012. In addition, agents also seized 110 grams of cocaine from Ray’s home. Ray admitted possessing the firearms as a hunter and gun collector. But he also acknowledged a serious cocaine habit, admitting that he purchased and used 3-5 ounces of cocaine every 2-3 weeks prior to his home being raided. Under federal law, drug users are categorically prohibited from possessing firearms.
Tax evasion is punishable by not more than five years in prison, and/or a $100,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release. Possession of a firearm by a user of controlled substances is punishable by not more than 10 years in prison, and/or a $250,000 fine, or both, and not more than three years of supervised release. However, the United States Sentencing Guidelines must be applied to the case and considered by the Court during sentencing. Ray will be sentenced in US District Court on November 8, 2013.
US Attorney Wigginton said, “We will zealously pursue gun crimes wherever they occur. This case was unique because it is rare to see complicated white-collar tax crime alongside gun and drug offenses. This case is a model for how state and federal agencies should partner to successfully combat diverse criminal activity. I would like to personally thank each of the agencies for working tirelessly to ensure that this case was brought to justice.”
The investigation was conducted by agents from the Internal Revenue Service / Criminal Investigations, the Jersey County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.
Idaho Falls Man Charged with Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Daniel Joseph Dalton, 37, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Pocatello for possession of sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. An initial appearance has not been set.
The indictment alleges that on or about March 14, 2011, Dalton unlawfully and knowingly possessed visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, on a desktop computer and two hard drives. The government is seeking forfeiture of the computer equipment used in the offense.
The charge of possessing sexually explicit images of minors is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and at least five years of supervised release.
The case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about 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.”
Home Builder Sentenced to Prison for Mortgage Fraud CrimesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas-area homebuilder has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution for selling houses at inflated prices in order to fraudulently obtain mortgage loans, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Paul Wagner, 59, was sentenced on Monday, July 22, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du. Wagner was convicted by a jury in October 2012 of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, and three count of wire fraud.
“Since the inception of our mortgage fraud program in the spring of 2008, over 200 persons have been charged with federal mortgage fraud crimes in Nevada,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Most of those individuals were convicted and are in prison. Wagner is the first home builder to be charged and convicted.”
Wagner was a home builder in Las Vegas for 20 years, building tract homes in the northwest part of the Las Vegas valley. From about 2007 to 2009, Wagner created a scheme to provide large cash incentives to buyers, real estate agents and others to sell his homes. The incentives included Wagner paying buyers’ mortgage payments, making large cash payments to real estate agents and others to find buyers, and paying buyers’ down payments. To pay the incentives, Wagner inflated the value of the homes by causing appraisers to create false appraisals. Wagner concealed the incentives from the lenders, who would not have made the loans had they known about his methods. Using this fraudulent scheme, Wagner sold about 85 houses from March 2007 to mid-2009. Most of the homes went into foreclosure after Wagner stopped making the mortgage payments. The losses to the financial institutions were more than $18 million.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel R. Schiess.
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.Herrin Man Sentenced for Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that on July 23, 2013, Steven J. Perry, 38, of Herrin, Illinois, was sentenced for accessing child pornography images online. Perry had earlier pled guilty to accessing the child pornography on his computer. The District Court in Benton sentenced Perry to 24 months in prison, a $500 fine, and 10 years supervised release.
“As I have often said, people who access this filth are not simply perverts looking at dirty pictures. They are, in fact, people who aid and abet the ongoing abuse and exploitation of innocent children. Prison terms are well deserved by these people.” said United States Attorney Wigginton.
The evidence at sentencing established that Perry had accessed child pornography videos of children under the age of 10. Some of the child pornography videos Perry accessed also included a minor being subjected to sadistic conduct by their abuser.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Secret Service Southern Illinois Cyber Crimes Task Force, and a number of state and local law enforcement agencies.
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.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas E. Leggans.
Hamilton County Man Charged with Illegally Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
Sonny D. Southall, 28, of McLeansboro, Illinois, was arraigned today in United States District Court in Benton on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. The indictment, returned by a Federal Grand Jury on July 9th, alleged that Southall possessed a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic pistol in White County on June 2, 2013. Prior to that date, Southall had been convicted of two felony offenses, making it illegal under federal law for him to possess firearms or ammunition.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
If convicted, Southall faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release to follow his incarceration. The firearm he illegally possessed is also subject to forfeiture to the United States.
Southall was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal to await a detention hearing at which time it will be determined whether bond will be set or if he will be ordered held without bond. That hearing was scheduled for Friday, July 26th at 10:00 a.m. in Benton.
The case was investigated by the Carmi office of the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force and the White County Sheriff’s Department with the assistance of the Illinois State Police, the Enfield Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.
Habersham County Woman Pleads Guilty to Making Pipe BombsRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Celia Alchemy Savage pleaded guilty in federal district court to making and possessing two pipe bombs found at her residence that were not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Registry, as is required by federal law.
“This defendant said she made and detonated pipe bombs as a hobby,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Making bombs out of heavy metal pipe, explosive powder, and fuses is a serious crime, not a hobby, that carries significant penalties.”“The plea today is another reminder that ATF and our law enforcement partners will hold individuals accountable for any criminal behavior, especially that which threatens the safety of innocent civilians,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Shaefer.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: Savage came to the attention of federal agents after a concerned citizen reported seeing what appeared to be explosive devices in Savage’s home. Federal agents applied for and received a search warrant to search Savage’s residence. When federal, state, and local agents executed the search warrant on May 30, 2012, they found two completed pipe bombs, firearms, small amounts of controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, and material to manufacture more explosive devices in a bedroom. Savage was present at her residence when the search warrant was executed. She admitted that she had previously manufactured approximately five to seven pipe bombs of various sizes at her residence. She described the bedroom where the pipe bombs, materials for making more explosive devices, drugs, and drug paraphernalia were found as her “lab.” She also stated that she knew that it was unlawful to manufacture explosive devices, but that she had a passion for it and considered manufacturing and detonating explosive devices to be her hobby.
Savage, 24, of Cornelia, Ga., was indicted on June 26, 2012, on one count of making two unregistered pipe bombs, one count of possessing two unregistered pipe bombs, and one count of being a prohibited person in possession of firearms. Today Savage pleaded guilty to making and possessing the pipe bombs. She could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. In addition, she could be ordered to serve up to six years of supervised release after any term of imprisonment.
In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders. In the negotiated plea agreement filed in Court today the Government and the defendant agreed to jointly recommend a calculation of the Sentencing Guidelines that could result in an advisory Sentencing Guidelines range of 57-71 months of incarceration. However, Savage retains her right to advocate at her sentencing hearing for a sentence that is below the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range.
Sentencing will be scheduled before United States District Judge Richard W. Story after a pre-sentence report is prepared.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney William L. McKinnon, Jr. is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.
Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging Fourteen Individuals with Conspiracy to Distribute Spice, Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Indictment follows arrests, search warrants in St. George last monthSALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury returned an indictment Tuesday charging 14 individuals with conspiracy to distribute spice in connection with a nationwide law enforcement operation targeting synthetic drug trafficking organizations. Nine defendants are also charged with money laundering in the indictment, which includes one conspiracy count and 10 counts of money laundering.
The indictment also includes a notice of intent to seek the forfeiture real property located in Hurricane, Heber City, and Spanish Fork; funds from several bank accounts; money orders; and vehicles.
Charged in the Utah indictment are Brian Merrill, age 28, of Hurricane; Joshua Davis, age 37, of Hurricane; Buck Andersen, age 33, of St. George; Joseph Givogre, age 42, of Washington; Gary Jolley, age 58, of St. George; Alicia Brandom, age 31, of Hurricane; Curtis McOsker, age 40, of Las Vegas, a former resident of Santa Clara; Malin Pavelka, age 34, of St. George; Jennifer Barlow, age 22, of St. George; Richard Lewis, age 61, of St. George; David Flores, age 32, of West Jordan; James Hardwick, age 27, of South Jordan; David Carter, age 33, of Spanish Fork; and Becky Young, age 36, of West Jordan.
The Utah case is a part of “Project Synergy,” a national initiative which includes cases led by DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); IRS-Criminal Investigation; and the FBI. The operation was announced in late June.
The investigation in Utah started when Illinois law enforcement officers, conducting a Spice investigation connected to a chain of smoke shops, found 9,644 packets of Spice which appeared to have been shipped to Illinois from St. George. The Spice packets were marketed under brands called “Gods of Spice” and “Blue Heaven.” Based on the information from Illinois officials, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the St. George area, including the DEA, IRS-Criminal Investigation, HSI, BLM, the Washington County Drug Task Force, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the St. George Police Department, and the Hurricane Police Department launched an investigation.
Independent of the investigation launched by the information from Illinois, HSI agents seized two packages of Spice chemicals coming into the country to co-conspirators in the case, including a shipment from China.
The indictment alleges that from about March 2011 through about June 2013, the defendants conspired with each other and with other persons to distribute spice. The money laundering counts charge several of the defendants with engaging in monetary transactions involving property derived from an unlawful activity – which in this case is conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance.
Davis, Carter, Givogre, and Flores are in custody. Andersen, Hardwick, and Jolley have been in custody since their arrest, but were released following a detention hearing Monday afternoon. Merrill, Brandom, Pavelka, Barlow, Lewis, and Young were released on conditions of supervised release following their arrest last month. McOsker has not been arrested.
Defendants in the case are scheduled for an arraignment on the indictment on Aug. 5, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert T. Braithwaite in St. George. The potential maximum penalty for the conspiracy count is 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $1 million. Each count of money laundering carries a potential 10-year penalty and a fine of $250,000.
Indictments are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.
Government Seizes Dietary Supplements Containing Unsafe Food Additive in Three StatesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice has favorably resolved three actions it filed in Arizona, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, to seize and condemn dietary supplements containing the unsafe food additive 1,3-dimethylamylamine, commonly known as DMAA, an amphetamine-like stimulant that has been linked to at least 86 adverse health events. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and federal law, the sale of DMAA in interstate commerce is illegal, and consumers should not buy or use dietary supplements containing DMAA.
“Although DMAA is sometimes found in seemingly ordinary, over-the-counter dietary supplements, it has been linked to serious health problems,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. “The FDA and the Department of Justice are dedicated to protecting Americans by getting products containing DMAA off the shelves.”
In June, in coordination with the FDA, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina and the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch filed actions in Pittsburgh; Anderson, S.C.; and Phoenix, to seize and condemn three caches of DMAA-containing products, located in warehouses owned by General Nutrition Centers Inc. (GNC). After the seizure actions were filed, GNC voluntarily agreed to destroy all DMAA-containing products remaining at the three warehouses. Subsequently, FDA personnel witnessed the destruction of DMAA-containing products located in the Pennsylvania and Arizona warehouses, and the FDA has made arrangements to witness the destruction of these products in the South Carolina warehouse. As a result of these efforts, the government has dismissed all three seizure actions.
In a related matter, the manufacturer of the dietary supplements containing DMAA, Dallas-based USPlabs LLC, recently destroyed all DMAA-containing products in its possession. USPlabs, along with at least 10 other manufacturers of DMAA-containing products, has agreed to stop producing products containing DMAA.
The Department of Defense maintains a list of products containing DMAA that may still be in the marketplace. The list is available at http://hprc-online.org/dietary-supplements/files/DMAA_List.pdf.Four Defendants Charged in Federal Court for Participating in Nationwide Timeshare Telemarketing Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
United States Attorney James L. Santelle of the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced that earlier today, a federal grand jury returned indictments against Mark S. Parks (age: 39) of Denmark, Wisconsin, Mindy L. Parks (age: 34) of Denmark, Wisconsin, Ashley M. Conant (age: 28) of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Eileen M. Goltz (age: 51) of Port Charlotte, Florida, charging each of them with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud.
Each defendant faces up to twenty years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, a $100 special assessment, and up to three years of supervised release. In addition, pursuant to the “Senior Citizens Against Marketing Scams” or SCAMS Act, if the United States proves that at least ten individuals over age 55 were victimized as a result of the conspirators’ telemarketing efforts, each defendant could face an enhanced penalty of up to ten years’ imprisonment (added to the underlying sentence for the conspiracy to defraud).
According to a criminal complaint previously filed in the case, the defendants operated a fraudulent timeshare resale scheme in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which resulted in over a thousand victims in all fifty states and Canada being defrauded of over $2,300,000. The defendants operated from 2007 to 2011 under several different names, including: Integrated Advertising Solutions, National Timeshare Resales, Administrative Timeshare Resales, and Midwest Timeshares. Victims were told that interested buyers were prepared to purchase their existing timeshares in exchange for upfront “administrative fees” ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars depending on how much the telemarketers believed they could collect. According to the complaint, many of the victims are elderly and had previously been victimized by similar schemes.
This case was a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, the Door County Sheriff’s Office, the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office, the Better Business Bureau, and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove each of them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fort Thompson Man Charged with Felon in Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury.
Bryant James Ross, age 39, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 17, 2013, for Felon in Possession of Firearm. Ross appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on July 19, 2013, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both; 3 years of supervised release, an additional 2 years of supervised release upon revocation; and a mandatory $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge is merely an accusation, and Ross is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges is prosecuting the case.
Ross was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. A trial date has not been set.Former University of rochester employee pleads guilty to fraudRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Debra Bulter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and to money laundering before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. Conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant worked as the Program Administrator for the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Rochester in Rochester. The Department of Anesthesiology provides anesthesia services to patients undergoing surgery or other procedures at Strong Memorial Hospital, Highland Hospital and other medical facilities in Rochester. A physician, known as the Chair, oversees the Anesthesiology Department's management and operations. The Program Administrator oversees administrative duties and reports to the Chair.
From 2001 through 2012, an anesthesia medical group, the “Anesthesia Medical Group,” contracted with the Department of Anesthesiology to provide anesthesiologists at medical facilities served by the Department of Anesthesiology. Between 2003 to 2008, two doctors (the “two Group doctors”) from the Anesthesia Medical Group individually contracted with the Department of Anesthesiology purportedly to provide additional administrative services to the Department of Anesthesiology.
From 2007 through 2012, the defendant participated in several schemes to defraud the Department of Anesthesiology and the Anesthesiology Medical Group. One scheme involved deceiving the Department of Anesthesiology from 2007 to 2009 into making fraudulent payments to the two Group doctors and the Anesthesia Medical Group. The Department of Anesthesiology was provided fraudulent documents, including fraudulent requisition forms and invoices, which made it appear that the two Group doctors and the Anesthesia Medical Group had provided adequate services to the Department of Anesthesiology for such payments. As a result of the fraudulent documents, the Department of Anesthesiology was deceived into paying the two Group doctors $930,000 and the Anesthesia Medical Group $530,000 to which they were not entitled. To compensate the defendant for her participation in the scheme, the Anesthesia Medical Group was deceived into paying the fraudulent money it received from the Department of Anesthesiology to a business started by the defendant, DJA Solutions, Inc.
From January 2010 to September 2012, the Department of Anesthesiology and the Anesthesia Medical Group were deceived into causing a large portion of the compensation earned by the Anesthesia Medical Group from the Department of Anesthesiology to be diverted to the two Group doctors. As a part of the scheme, the two Group doctors each executed fraudulent contracts with the Department of Anesthesiology for the fiscal years 2010 through 2013 which stated that they intended to provide additional administrative services to the Department of Anesthesiology worth more than $3,000,000. These contracts were improperly signed by the defendant on behalf of the Department of Anesthesiology and concealed from the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and the other anesthesiologists at the Anesthesia Medical Group. The two Group doctors also caused invoices in their own names to be submitted to the Department of Anesthesiology which falsely represented that they had provided the services listed on such invoices. The scheme caused the Department of Anesthesiology to divert compensation actually earned by the Anesthesia Medical Group to the two Group doctors in the total amount of $1,909,156. To compensate the defendant for her role in this scheme, the Anesthesia Medical Group was deceived into to paying the defendant’s business, DJA Solutions, LLC, more than it was entitled. For the years 2010 through 2012, DJA Solutions, LLC received $1,169,606 from the Anesthesia Medical Group.
Another of the defendant's schemes involved causing the Department of Anesthesiology to make a fraudulent and unauthorized loan to a doctor working for the Department of Anesthesiology. The defendant disguised various payments to the doctor as extra compensation earned by the doctor. The defendant did this by preparing fraudulent payroll documents, which were submitted to the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology for authorization to pay the extra compensation to the doctor. The Chair signed such forms believing that the doctor was entitled to such extra compensation and was unaware that such payments were actually an improper loan to the doctor. The total amount of the fraudulent payments to the doctor was $510,726.
From October 2012 to May 2012, the defendant also caused the Department of Anesthesiology to pay a former employee of the Department of Anesthesiology $7,168 by disguising the payments as compensation earned by the former employee, when in fact, the former employee was no longer working for the Department of Anesthesiology.
Finally, from March 2009 to June 2012, the defendant submitted expense reimbursement forms totaling $13,097.67 to the Department of Anesthesiology for expenses which she either had already been reimbursed for or were not actual business expenses.
"In a scheme such as this, American taxpayers are defrauded twice," said U.S. Attorney Hochul. "They are defrauded a first time when medicare and medicaid funding is misspent and a second time when private insurance companies are impacted which could ultimately lead to higher premiums. This case serves as an example of the need for checks and balances in any organization. All employees, even those considered to be trusted individuals, need to have their work reviewed by another person."
The plea is the culmination of an joint investigation on the part of the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Kevin Niland, Inspector in Charge, Boston Division, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service, under the direction of Toni M. Weirauch, Special Agent-In-Charge, New York Field Office.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on November 21, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.
Former Senior Executive of ArthroCare Corp. Pleads<br /> Guilty in $400 Million Securities Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A former senior executive of ArthroCare Corp., a publicly traded medical device company based in Austin, Texas, pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to defraud the company’s shareholders and members of the investing public by falsely inflating ArthroCare’s earnings, announced Acting Assistant Attorney Mythili Raman of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas. The plea was taken under seal on June 24, 2013, and unsealed late yesterday.
John Raffle, 45, of Austin, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Lane in Austin to conspiracy to commit securities, mail and wire fraud and two false statements violations. Raffle was the senior vice president of Strategic Business Units at ArthroCare, overseeing all sales and marketing staff at the company. Raffle admitted that he and other co-conspirators falsely inflated ArthroCare’s sales and revenue through a series of end-of-quarter transactions involving ArthroCare’s distributors and that he and other co-conspirators caused ArthroCare to file a Form 10-K for 2007 and Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2008 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that materially misrepresented ArthroCare’s quarterly and annual sales, revenues, expenses and earnings. As part of his plea, Raffle agreed that his conduct and the conduct of his co-conspirators caused more than $400 million in losses to shareholders.
According to court documents, Raffle and others determined the type and amount of product to be shipped to distributors – notably ArthroCare’s largest distributor, DiscoCare Inc. – based on ArthroCare’s need to meet sales forecasts, rather than the distributors’ actual orders. Raffle and others then caused ArthroCare to “park” millions of dollars worth of ArthroCare’s medical devices at its distributors at the end of each relevant quarter. ArthroCare would then report these shipments as sales in its quarterly and annual filings at the time of the shipment, enabling the company to meet or exceed internal and external earnings forecasts.
According to the superseding information, DiscoCare agreed to accept shipment of approximately $37 million of product in exchange for substantial, upfront cash commissions, extended payment terms and the ability to return product, as well as other special conditions, allowing ArthroCare to falsely inflate its revenue by tens of millions of dollars. To conceal the fact that DiscoCare owed ArthroCare a substantial amount of money on the unused inventory, Raffle and others caused ArthroCare to acquire DiscoCare on Dec. 31, 2007.
According to court documents, between December 2005 and December 2008, ArthroCare’s shareholders held more than 25 million shares of ArthroCare stock. On July 21, 2008, after ArthroCare announced publicly that it would be restating its previously reported financial results from the third quarter 2006 through the first quarter 2008 to reflect the results of an internal investigation, the price of ArthroCare shares dropped from $40.03 to $23.21 per share. The drop in ArthroCare’s share price caused an immediate loss in shareholder value of more than $400 million.
Raffle faces a maximum prison sentence of five years in prison for each charge. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled. Raffle’s co-defendant David Applegate pleaded guilty on May 9, 2013. ArthroCare’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Baker, and Chief Financial Officer, Michael Gluk, were indicted as part of the same alleged securities fraud scheme on July 16, 2013. An indictment is merely a charge, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Austin office. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Benjamin D. Singer and Trial Attorneys Henry P. Van Dyck and William Chang of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The Department recognizes the substantial assistance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.