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Wednesday 22 May 2013
Eagle Butte Man Sentenced for Felon in Possession of A FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota man was convicted of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and was sentenced on May 20, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Kimo Little Bird, age 31, was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment, 2 years of supervised release, $1,750 restitution to the Standing Rock Game and Fish Department for the unlawful taking of a hawk, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Little Bird was indicted by a federal grand jury in December of 2012. The conviction stems from when Little Bird was arrested for an outstanding tribal warrant. During the arrest, law enforcement found an additional firearm at the residence where the Defendant was staying. The Defendant admitted that the firearm belonged to him and that he knew he was prohibited from possessing the firearm because he had a previous felony conviction.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Morley prosecuted the case.
Little Bird was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshal.
Drug-Related Murder Charges Against Previously Charged Defendant Announced in Federal IndictmentRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, George Venizelos, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), Charles Gardner, the Commissioner of the City of Yonkers Police Department, and George N. Longworth, the Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, today announced the unsealing of a six-count superseding Indictment charging MARQUIS JACOBS with the drug-related murder of Carlos Patricio on July 28, 2011, as well as robbery, narcotics, and firearms offenses. JACOBS has been in custody since his arrest by the FBI on December 2, 2011. His case is assigned to United States District Judge Edgardo Ramos, and he is expected to be presented on May 30, 2013 in White Plains Federal Court before Judge Ramos.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “With the additional charges filed against Marquis Jacobs today, we continue the painstaking process of developing evidence against these marauding groups of alleged gang members and holding them to account. This defendant’s alleged catalogue of crimes typifies the gang warfare that is all too familiar and that we are bound and determined to extinguish.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos stated: “Today’s charges, combined with the earlier narcotics and firearms charges against Jacobs, demonstrate yet again how drugs and gun violence go hand-in-hand. The FBI is committed to working with our partners to rid our neighborhoods of the twin plagues of guns and drugs.”
City of Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner stated: “This indictment is another example of how federal and local partnerships can reduce violence in our neighborhoods. These ongoing investigations have significantly reduced crime and illegal gang activity in our City and they send a message that there is a heavy price to pay for such illegal actions. On behalf of the Mayor and the people of the City of Yonkers, we would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of N.Y., the F.B.I. New York Office, and the Westchester County Department of Public Safety for their support, cooperation and collaboration in this case.”
Westchester County Department of Public Safety Commissioner George N. Longworth stated: “The partnership among federal, county and local law enforcement is an effective tool in combating illegal narcotics trafficking and the violent crime often associated with it. I commend all the law enforcement officers involved in this drug-related murder investigation for bringing the case to a successful conclusion.”
The following allegations are based on the Indictment returned today in White Plains federal court:
On July 28, 2011, JACOBS shot and killed Patricio, a rival gang member, in Yonkers, New York. On November 28, 2011, JACOBS robbed a narcotics dealer ("Victim-1") in the vicinity of Cliff Street in Yonkers, New York. During that robbery, JACOBS brandished and discharged a firearm, shooting Victim-1 in the stomach. JACOBS also distributed crack cocaine, conspired with others to commit robberies of narcotics dealers, and carried firearms during his narcotics distribution activities.
JACOBS was initially arrested by the FBI and the Yonkers Police Department on December 2, 2011, and charged by Complaint with distributing crack cocaine. On March 27, 2012, JACOBS was charged in a seven-count superseding indictment, along with Donald McIntosh, Maurice Anderson, and Manny Dossantos, with conspiring to distribute crack cocaine, firearms offenses, and conspiring and agreeing to commit robberies of known narcotics dealers, as well as attempted robbery. McIntosh, Anderson and Dossantos have all pled guilty.
A chart containing the charges in the Superseding Indictment and the maximum penalties upon conviction is attached. The charges against JACOBS are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Indictment is the result of a long-term investigation conducted by the FBI, the City of Yonkers Police Department and the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, working with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, to combat gang violence in the City of Yonkers. As part of that investigation, in June 2012, 22 Yonkers gang members – 20 members of the Strip Boyz and two other individuals – were charged with narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses. Ten of these defendants have pled guilty. In August 2011, 66 Yonkers gang members – 47 members and associates of the Elm Street Wolves, 12 members and associates of the Cliff Street Gangsters and 7 other individuals – were charged with narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses. Four of the Elm Street Wolves were also charged with the murder of Christopher Cokley, a leading member of the Strip Boyz. Sixty-three of these defendants have pled guilty. The charges against the outstanding defendants are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI's Westchester County Violent Crime Task Force, the City of Yonkers Police Department and the Westchester County Department of Public Safety. Mr. Bharara added that the investigation is continuing.
The case is being handled by the Office's Violent Crimes Unit and the White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew Bauer and Jessica Ortiz are in charge of the prosecution.
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District Man Sentenced to 7 1/2 Years in Prison for Hold-Up of Northwest Washington Store-Gun and Other Evidence Tied Him to the Crime-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Torron Frieson, also known as Torron Frierson, 35, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 7 ½-year prison term on charges stemming from a robbery earlier this year of a liquor store and market in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
Frieson pled guilty in March 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count of robbery and two related firearms offenses. The Honorable Patricia A. Broderick sentenced him. Upon completion of his prison term, Frieson will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Feb. 7, 2013, at about 8:35 p.m., Frieson entered the M & S Liquor Store and Market in the 200 block of Upshur Street NW. He pulled a mask over his face, grabbed a bag of chips, and walked to the cashier counter. As the cashier prepared to provide change for the chip purchase, Frieson walked into the cashier’s booth, produced a long black handgun, pointed it at the cashier, and grabbed money from the register.
The cashier attempted to move the gun away from him and a physical struggle ensued. During the struggle, the cashier was struck and items in the store were broken. Frieson’s gun and car keys fell to the floor, and parts of the mask came off his face. The cashier threw the gun down an aisle and ran out the store. Frieson then retrieved the gun, and fled the scene, leaving his cell phone behind.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) determined that the defendant had been in the store to purchase beer minutes before he returned for the robbery. Officers also determined that the set of keys left behind by the defendant belonged to a Dodge Durango parked in an alley by the store. Officers found a .45-caliber cartridge stamped 45 Colt Hornady inside the store near the cashier counter. The Dodge Durango was registered to Frieson.
Pursuant to a search warrant, the Dodge Durango was searched and the beer that Frieson had purchased minutes before the robbery was inside the car. Frieson also was identified in a photo array. Frieson was arrested on Feb. 15, 2013 at a residence in Northeast Washington. Inside of one of the bedrooms at the residence was a black Ruger .45 caliber revolver with six cartridges stamped 45 Colt Hornady.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Debra McPherson, Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalia Medina, who prosecuted the case.
13-180District Man Sentenced to 3 1/2-Year Prison Term for Breaking into Northwest Washington Pizza Restaurant-Employees Tackled Mask-Wearing Defendant, Held Him Until Police Arrived-Read the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednessday, May 22, 2013WASHINGTON - Leon W. Bailey, 44, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to a prison term of 3 ½ years for breaking into a pizza restaurant and trying to take money from the cash register, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
Bailey pled guilty in March 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to second-degree burglary. He was sentenced on May 21, 2013 by the Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston. After his prison term, Bailey will be placed on three years of supervised release.According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 23, 2013, at about 4:50 p.m., Bailey, who was wearing a grey mask, entered a pizza restaurant in the 1500 block of North Capitol Street NW. An employee saw the masked man barging into the restaurant and tried to close the door to the kitchen and cash register area. Bailey, however, kicked the door and broke it open.
Once inside the cash register area, Bailey demanded money. The employee opened the cash register and Bailey began grabbing money from the drawer. When the employee realized that Bailey did not have any weapons on him, he called to his colleagues for help. The other employees rushed to the front of the store and tackled Bailey. They then struggled to hold him as he was kicking and trying to get away. The employees were able to detain Bailey until the police arrived. Police found Bailey was on the ground, with money strewn on the floor.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged the work of Victim/Witness Advocate Kristina Rose, who assisted the victims, and Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Truong, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
13-179District Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge in Theft of More Than $340,000 in Government Funds-Defendant Cashed in on Benefits in Name of Deceased Mother-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Eugene Weatherford, 60, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from the theft of more than $340,000 in government money, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Michael McGill, Special Agent in Charge from the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, and Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management.
Weatherford, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to theft of government funds. The Honorable Richard W. Roberts scheduled sentencing for Aug. 13, 2013. Weatherford faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he faces a likely range of 18 to 24 months of incarceration.
In connection with the guilty plea, Weatherford admitted that from March 1999 through June 2012, he received and negotiated U.S. Treasury checks issued in the name of his mother, who died in February 1999. These checks included retirement benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration and annuity benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
According to the government’s evidence, following his mother’s death, Weatherford continued to receive and negotiate the U.S. Treasury checks in her name by depositing them into a joint bank account that they shared. In certain instances, Weatherford signed his own name in endorsing the backs of the checks issued in his mother’s name, and in other instances, he left the endorsement blank, aside from instructions to deposit the money into the joint bank account.
Weatherford admitted that, through this scheme, he obtained approximately $255,038 in Social Security retirement benefits and $91,484 in OPM annuity benefits, for a total illicit gain of approximately $346,522.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Special Agent in Charge McGill and Inspector General McFarland commended those who investigated the case from the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General and OPM’s Office of Inspector General. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Angela Lawrence and Nicole Wattelet, Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Connelly, who assisted with forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Last, who prosecuted the case.
13-181Director of Operations for Boston Society of the New Jerusalem Arrested on Racketeering ChargesRead the Press Release
Boston - Edward J. MacKenzie, Jr., was arrested this morning after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston of racketeering, RICO conspiracy, mail fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, extortion and bribery.
MacKenzie, 54, of Weymouth, is the Director of Operations for the Boston Society of the New Jerusalem (“Church”), also known as the Church on the Hill, a position he has held from 2003 to the present. According to the indictment, MacKenzie began to systematically loot the Church of its considerable financial assets through a combination of fraud, deceit, extortion, theft and bribery. MacKenzie also allegedly intimated and threatened individuals who were employed by and did work at the Church by in part, among other things, providing them with signed copies of this 2003 autobiography, Street Soldier: My Life as an Enforcer for Whitey Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob. According to the indictment, MacKenzie admitted to a lengthy criminal history in the book.Additionally, it is alleged that in his capacity as Director of Operations, MacKenzie had authority for physical changes to the plant of the church and as such, he along with his co-conspirators, began voting to provide themselves and associates substantial financial benefits. These benefits included, but not limited to, four new vehicles; cash awards for family members; and tuition grants to family members. The indictment also alleges that MacKenzie and his co-conspirators solicited bribes and kickbacks from numerous commercial vendors for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
MacKenzie faces the maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison on each of the charges.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office; and William Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Hafer and Dustin Chao of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.
Daphne Man Convicted of Online EnticementRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Alan Preston Prine, 59, of Daphne, was convicted today by a federal jury in Mobile for attempting to entice two children for sex via the internet. Following a day of testimony, the jury deliberated for less than hour before returning a guilty verdict this morning. Prine was taken into the custody of the United States Marshals Service after the verdict.
The evidence at trial showed that Prine responded to an online personals advertisement in November of 2012, and, communicating with what he believed to be a 32-year old woman, attempted to arrange sexual encounters with the woman’s young daughters. Prine engaged in three days of conversation via e-mail with the woman, exchanging nearly 200 messages in an attempt to arrange a meeting with the girls. When Prine showed up to meet the children, he was met by state and federal law enforcement officers.
The charge carries a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment, a fine of up $250,000, and five years to lifetime supervised release. United States District Judge Callie V.S. Granade will sentence Prine on August 20, 2013 at 1:00 p.m.
The Saraland Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation and presented the case for prosecution to the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Sean P. Costello and Maria E. Murphy handled the prosecution of the case on behalf of the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Dallas Woman Charged with Financial Aid FraudRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Sussette Sheree Timmons, 30, of Dallas, was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on multiple counts of financial aid fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
The indictment alleges that Timmons applied for and received financial aid from six schools that offered distance learning programs via the Internet. Timmons allegedly never intended to use the disbursed financial aid funds for education and instead intended to embezzle, misapply, steal and obtain the funds for her own personal use.
Timmons applied for, and received financial aid from: New Mexico State University, Western New Mexico University, Ashford University, Northern New Mexico College, Coconino Community College and Pima Community College. She enrolled in classes at the schools and the awarded financial aid was applied to her tuition and fees.
As part of the financial aid, Timmons also received disbursement checks which she cashed, even though she had no intention of using those funds for authorized educational expenses and purposes. The indictment further alleges that Timmons not only did not intend to complete, but she did not complete any of the classes for which she enrolled, and she did not intend to pursue an education at the schools. When asked by the institutions to return or refund the financial aid, she refused. In 2011, when one of the schools suspended her financial aid, Timmons appealed. That school rejected her appeal, stating that she had withdrawn from 13 colleges or universities since 2009.
A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. The indictment charges Timmons with six counts of financial institution fraud. If convicted, each count carries a maximum statutory sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, restitution could be ordered.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney P.J. Meitl is in charge of the prosecution.
Dall Sheep Guide sentenced for illegal hunting in AlaskaRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Canadian man was sentenced in U. S. District Court in Fairbanks, Alaska, for the sale of two unlawfully taken and possessed Dall sheep.
Patrick J. Downey, 67, of Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada, pled guilty in May 2012, and was sentenced May 10, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline after admitting that he guided two hunts that resulted in taking under-sized Dall sheep. Downey was sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine, was placed on probation for five years, during which Downey may not hunt or guide in the United States. The charges arose from Downey’s service as a licensed Alaska assistant guide in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in 2008 and 2009. For approximately twenty years, Downey had guided hunters in the Brooks Range while employed by Master Guide-Outfitter Joe Hendricks, co-owner of Fair Chase Hunts (FCH).
According to Assistant U. S. Attorney Stephen Cooper, who prosecuted the case, the facts Downey admitted to in court showed that in 2008, he guided client Thomas McGann of Longmont, Colorado, who shot a Dall sheep mistakenly believing it was of legal size. To obscure the fact that one horn of the Dall sheep was less than the legal minimum full curl, Master Guide Joe Hendricks and Downey altered the horn by hammering it with a rock. The horns passed the required Fish and Game inspection in Fairbanks, but after further investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, agents seized the horns from McGann.
Similarly, in August 2009, Downey’s client Delbert Oney of Lockwood, Missouri, mistakenly shot a ram with under-length horns. Downey and Oney then altered the tips of both horns by hammering them on a rock to conceal their sub-legal size. The horns failed state inspection and were seized.
For his part in these and other guiding offenses, Hendricks was sentenced in U. S. District Court in Fairbanks in August 2012 to pay a fine of $125,000 and was restricted from hunting and guiding for five years. Hunting clients McGann and Oney were sentenced in February and April 2013, for transporting their unlawfully-taken Dall sheep and each paid a fine of $10,000, was restricted from hunting for one year and forfeited their sheep.
To date, this investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, has resulted in the convictions of nearly a dozen FCH guides, employees and clients. Registered guide Christopher Cassidy, co-owner of FCH, pled guilty in June 2011, to two felonies and eleven misdemeanors for guiding hunts that involved failing to salvage all edible meat of a Dall sheep, possessing an untagged grizzly bear, and guiding outside Cassidy’s authorized guide use area in ANWR.
Ms. Loeffler commends the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement for Northern Alaska, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge staff, and Alaska Wildlife Troopers for the investigation of this case.
Corrupt Colombian Government Employee and Criminal Defense Attorney Extradited in Obstruction of Justice CaseRead the Press Release
Later today, Freddy Mauricio Tellez-Buitrago and Adriana Gonzalez-Marquez will be arraigned at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, on obstruction of justice charges for stealing sensitive and confidential United States law enforcement information concerning prosecutions in the Eastern District of New York and selling that information to a narcotics trafficker. Prior to his arrest, Tellez-Buitrago was employed as an administrative services assistant at the International Affairs Office within the Attorney General’s Office in Colombia. Prior to her arrest, Gonzalez-Marquez, a former prosecutor at the Attorney General’s Office in Colombia, was practicing as a Colombian criminal defense attorney. Tellez-Buitrago and Gonzalez-Marquez were arrested in Colombia on provisional arrest warrants issued from the Eastern District of New York.1
The extradition was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York; and Brian Crowell, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York. The investigation was conducted by HSI in Bogota, with assistance provided by HSI in New York, DEA in Bogota and New York, and local law enforcement authorities in Colombia.
The defendants’ extradition resulted from an investigation which revealed that through his employment at the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, Tellez-Buitrago had specialized access to law enforcement materials, including requests from the United States government for the extradition of alleged Colombian drug traffickers. Typically, the Colombian authorities treat such extradition requests as sensitive and confidential until the arrest of the individual whose extradition is sought. Tellez-Buitrago is charged with accepting bribes from Gonzalez-Marquez in exchange for leaking documents relating to EDNY extradition requests for narcotics traffickers. Gonzalez-Marquez, in turn, allegedly sold the information to a narcotics trafficker in exchange for the equivalent of approximately 30,000 in U.S. dollars.
“These defendants used their insiders knowledge of the Colombian Attorney General’s Office to steal confidential information that put lives at risk. The extradition of the defendants highlights the success of the international cooperation between the United States and Colombia. We will continue to take every step to target individuals who attempt to compromise the judicial process by obstructing justice here and in Colombia, placing the lives of law enforcement personnel in jeopardy,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the Colombian National Police and the Colombian Attorney General’s Office for their assistance in this case.
“Gonzalez-Marquez and Tellez-Buitrago allegedly used their connections within the Colombian government to provide sensitive information to members of drug trafficking organizations. This type of criminal espionage greatly threatens our efforts to capture criminals abroad and threatens the safety of American and Colombian law enforcement officers alike,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Hayes. “HSI, working with our attachés and international and federal law enforcement partners, contributes to the disruption of drug trafficking organizations that line their pockets with millions of dollars in illicit proceeds.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Crowell stated, “Today, as the defendants in this case stepped onto American soil, Freddy Mauricio Tellez-Buitrago and Adriana Gonzalez-Marquez realized the harsh reality that there is no amount of money worth their charged criminal acts. Federal, state, local and international law enforcement united their resources to expose the defendants’ obstruction of justice and extradited them to the U.S. to face our judicial system, a system they allegedly tried to endanger by selling sensitive information and supplying it to the enemies of cops everywhere – drug traffickers.”
If convicted, Tellez-Buitrago and Gonzalez-Marquez each face a maximum sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment, criminal forfeiture, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Soumya Dayananda.
The Defendants:
ADRIANA GONZALEZ-MARQUEZ
Age: 33FREDDY MARQUEZ TELLEZ-BUITRAGO
Age: 34_____________________________
1 The charges announced today are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Convicted Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jerald Kicinski, 48, of East Bethany, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie G. Foschio, to receipt of child pornography. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who handled the case, stated that between December 2010 and December 14, 2011, the defendant received child pornography on his computer at his residence in East Bethany. These images had been transmitted to the defendant in interstate commerce via the Internet. Kicinski was previously convicted of Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree in 2002 and Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree in 1990. Both of the defendant's prior convictions involved minors.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of James C. Spero, Special Agent In Charge.Sentencing will occur in front of Chief Judge William M. Skretny. No sentencing date has been scheduled.
Cincinnati Man Sentenced to 162 Months for Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin in Northern KY and OhioRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, KY - A Cincinnati man who previously admitted to participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin was sentenced to 162 months in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning sentenced 43 year-old Lee Moore on Tuesday and also ordered him to serve 8 years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.
Moore admitted that over the course of approximately 15 months he distributed over 100 grams of heroin throughout northern Kentucky and southern Ohio. He also acknowledged transporting large amounts of a substance used to cut heroin for distribution. Moore was previously convicted of felony drug trafficking offenses in Ohio and Georgia.
Moore pleaded guilty on January 25, 2012. A co-defendant, Raymond Hill, Jr., was sentenced to 276 months in prison on May 16, 2013.
Under federal law, the defendants must serve at least 85 percent of their prison sentence.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Robert L. Corso, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Field Division, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and the Cincinnati Police Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented in the case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke.
Charlotte Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison for Possession and Transportation of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte man was sentenced to 135 months in prison today for possession and transportation of child pornography, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert Bove, 55, of Charlotte was also ordered to serve 20 years under court supervision following his prison sentence and to register as a sex offender.
Joining U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement are John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division and Rodney D. Monroe, of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
In April 2011, a federal criminal indictment charged Bove with one count of transportation and one count of possession of child pornography. According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between September 2010 and February 2011, Bove transported and possessed videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children. Bove pleaded guilty to the charges in September 2011.
According to information contained in court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, in September 2010, Bove was chatting online using the screen name “luvsyourlittlegirl” with a Sargent of the Sturgeon Bay Police Department (SBPD) in Wisconsin who was posing as a 42-year-old female. Court records indicate that during the online exchange, Bove sent the undercover officer an image of child pornography. The Wisconsin detective was able determine that “luvsyourlittlegirl” had sent the image of child pornography from a residence in Charlotte, and he forwarded the investigative materials to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. According to court records, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the residence, where they encountered Robert Bove, who admitted to police that he was “luvsyourlittlegirl” and that there was child pornography on his home computer. Filed documents indicate that law enforcement seized the computer and other electronic evidence, and a computer forensic examiner discovered videos and images of child pornography on Bove’s computer and flash drive. Court records indicate that the images and videos Bove possessed depicted children as young as toddlers engaged in sexual acts with adults.
In determining Bove’s sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. considered evidence presented at the sentencing hearing that Bove had been previously the subject of a child pornography investigation in Colorado. During that investigation, a detective in Colorado encountered Bove in a chat room where child pornography videos were being broadcasted and viewed by members of the chat room. Judge Conrad also considered chats between Bove and the undercover detective in Wisconsin, wherein Bove, posing as “luvsyourlittlegirl,” told the detective that he had seen child pornography videos in chat rooms five and six years ago, and that it was “very exciting” and “very hot.”
Bove has been in local federal custody since April 2011. He will be transferred into the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole. The case resulted from the collaborative efforts of the Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Police Department, CMPD and the FBI, all of which are members of their state Internet Crimes Against Children task forces.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Tompkins thanked the Sturgeon Bay Police Department for their assistance in this case.
The prosecution for the government of Bove was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Canton Man Sentence to More Than Six Years in Prison for Filing False Tax Returns While in PrisonRead the Press Release
Brandon Mace was sentenced to more than six years in prison for claiming false income tax refunds totaling nearly $5.5 million, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney.
Mace filed the false claims while incarcerated on state charges.
Mace pleaded guilty to the charges on February 27, 2013, before United States District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, who imposed today’s sentence. The two-count indictment against Mace charged that he prepared and filed false income tax returns for the years 2008 and 2009 claiming false tax refunds in the amounts of $207,000 and $5,292,000, respectively.
Mace, a 35-year old resident of Canton, Ohio, has been in pretrial detention since his arrest on these charges on November 20, 2012, according to court records.
Mace requested a non-prison sentence on a number of grounds, including his claim that he knew he would never receive any of the requested refunds. According to court documents and proceedings, however, the government mailed the requested 2008 refund check to Mace at a Post Office box, where he planned to retrieve it upon his scheduled release from state custody in late 2009. He did not succeed in getting the check because the Post Office returned it to the government before he could get there. The government did not issue the 2009 refund check, although Mace made efforts to obtain it beyond filing his false return. After the IRS sent Mace correspondence requesting an explanation for his lack of a supporting W-2 form, Mace replied by sending a hand-written letter containing a false excuse.
In announcing the prison sentence, Judge Gaughan cited to Mace’s extensive criminal record as a significant factor.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Perry D. Mastrocola and Assistant United States Attorney John M. Siegel, following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service -- Criminal Investigation.
Burnsville Man Indicted for Possessing with Intent to Distribute 5,480 Grams of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court, a 35-year-old Burnsville man was indicted for possessing with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of methamphetamine. Albert Morris Johnson was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 or more grams of methamphetamine, one count of distribution of 50 or more grams of methamphetamine, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of possession of a firearm with a removed, obliterated, or altered serial number.
The indictment alleges that on May 1, 2013, Johnson possessed the methamphetamine, along with two handguns -- a nine-millimeter, semi-automatic and a .40-caliber, semi-automatic firearm with an obliterated serial number. Because he is a felon, Johnson is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition at any time. He was previously convicted in Sherburne County in 2009 for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
A state law enforcement affidavit filed relative to the present case states that during the execution of a search warrant at Johnson’s residence on May 1, 2013, authorities seized approximately 12 pounds of methamphetamine in the laundry room, the two firearms noted above, more than $16,000 in cash, a digital scale, a money counter, and packaging material.Authorities also executed a search warrant at Johnson’s Burnsville-based barbershop on that same day.
If convicted, Johnson faces a potential maximum penalty of life in prison on the possession with intent count, 40 years on the distribution count, ten years on the felon in possession count, and five years on the obliterated serial number count. Any sentence would be determined by a federal district court judge.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Dakota County Drug Task Force, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Bejar and Thomas M. Hollenhorst.
To learn more about the harmful effects of methamphetamine, visit http://www.justice.gov/dea/pr/multimedia-library/publications/drug_of_abuse.pdf#page=48.An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.
Attorney and Four Clients Indicted for Conspiracy to Bribe an Immigration OfficialRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - A federal grand jury has indicted an immigration attorney and four of his clients in connection with a conspiracy to bribe an immigration official in order to obtain lawful permanent residence, employment authorization documents and green cards. The defendants are:
Kiran Dewan, age 59, of Woodbine, Maryland;
Amjad Israr, age 46, of Cheshire, Connecticut;
Mohammad Khan, age 58, of Baltimore, Maryland;
Khazar Nadar, age 55, of Catonsville, Maryland; and
Narayan Thapa, age 51, of Perry Hall, Maryland.The indictment was returned on January 8, 2013, and unsealed today upon the arrests of Dewan, Israr, Khan and Thapa.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); District Director Gregory Collett of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Baltimore District Office; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.
“Immigration attorneys hold positions of public trust and it is disturbing that anyone would defraud the very system in which they work for their own personal profit,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge in Baltimore William Winter. “Document and benefit fraud poses a significant vulnerability to our national security and exploits America's legal immigration system. Whether you are trying to illegally obtain an immigration benefit or facilitating the fraud, know this - you will be found, arrested and held accountable for your actions.”
According to the indictment, Dewan is a Maryland attorney, who held himself out as having experience handling immigration matters. Dewan operated the Law Offices of Dewan and Associates, P.C., located in Windsor Mill, Maryland. Israr, Khan and Nadar are citizens of Pakistan and Thapa is a citizen of Nepal. All were clients of Dewan. Israr and Khan were both businessmen, operating several convenience stores in Connecticut and a restaurant in Brooklyn Park, Maryland, respectively. Nadar worked at several gas stations in Maryland and Thapa worked at a Maryland restaurant. None of the clients met the requirements for lawful permanent residence, nor for employment authorization.
The five count indictment alleges that beginning in at least March 2011 Dewan obtained money from Israr, Khan, Nadar and Thapa to bribe an undercover agent to obtain lawful permanent residence, employment authorization documents and green cards. Dewan then allegedly prepared fraudulent immigration documents for his clients to sign and submit to the undercover agent. In the documents, Dewan, Israr and Khan falsely represented that Israr and Khan were married to U.S. citizens. Dewan, Nadar and Thapa falsely represented that Nadar and Thapa’s employers had sponsored them to seek lawful permanent residence.
The indictment alleges that the defendants met with the undercover HSI special agent on several occasions to create application documents for submission to USCIS. Although Dewan allegedly agreed to pay the undercover agent bribes for each client in order the obtain the requested documents, Dewan provided the undercover agent a total of $117,100 in a series of installments. Dewan kept $2,900 as his commission on a bribe payment of $36,000 that he wired to a foreign account, which purportedly belonged to the undercover agent.
The defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy and a maximum of 15 years in prison for each count of bribery. An initial appearance is scheduled today for Dewan, Khan and Thapa in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. Israr had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Connecticut, and was detained.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised HSI Baltimore, USCIS Baltimore District Office and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Harry M. Gruber and Gregory R. Bockin, who are prosecuting the case.
Attempted Crystal Meth Distribution Lands Two Mexican Men in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – Arturo Cesar Rodriguez, 30, and Josue Gonzalez-Cardenas, 39, have both been ordered to federal prison for distributing crystal methamphetamine in two separate, but similar cases, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today along with Javier Peña, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Rodriguez, of Hurapan, Michoacan, Mexico, and Gonzalez-Cardenas, of Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico, entered guilty pleas on Feb. 27, 2013.
Today, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez, who accepted the pleas, handed Gonzalez-Cardenas a total sentence of 57 months in federal prison. Following that hearing, Judge Alvarez then sentenced Rodriguez to a term of 188 months, noting that in his case, he was “critical” to the transaction.
As illegal aliens both men are expected to face deportation proceedings following release from prison.
In the first case, Gonzalez-Cardenas was indicted along with Jose Cruz Deleon-Vasquez, 47, of San Juan. On Aug. 21, 2012, local law enforcement had conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle Deleon-Vasquez was driving. A subsequent search of the vehicle lead to the discovery of a box with two bundles of crystal methamphetamine. Gonzalez-Cardenas was to receive the box with the narcotics from another associate. Deleon-Vasquez was allegedly then supposed to drive Gonzalez-Cardenas to another location for delivery of the box of crystal methamphetamine to another associate for further distribution.
A subsequent analysis of the narcotics revealed the net weight of the crystal methamphetamine was 1.971 kilograms and that the narcotics had purity level of 93.3%.
Deleon-Vasquez is considered a fugitive and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-877-WANTED2 or 1-800-336-0102. His case remains pending and he is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
In the second case, Rodriguez was stopped by law enforcement after he was observed receiving a cardboard box from another individual on Aug. 27, 2012. At that time, Rodriguez attempted to flee from the vehicle but was eventually arrested. The box was determined to contain eight bricks of crystal methamphetamine. Upon receipt of the narcotics, Rodriguez was to deliver it to an unknown associate for further distribution within the United States.
A subsequent analysis of the narcotics revealed that the net weight of the crystal methamphetamine was 8.159 kilograms and the narcotics had purity level of 98.5%
Rodriguez and Gonzalez-Cardenas will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Both cases were investigated by the DEA and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Juan Alanis.
Alleged Conspirator Arrested, Four Indicted for Armed Robberies of New Jersey T-Mobile StoresRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – FBI special agents arrested a Roslyn Heights, N.Y., man near his home this morning to face an indictment charging him and three other men with various offenses in connection with two armed robberies of T-Mobile stores in Linden and Woodbridge, N.J., U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Leonard Arrington, 27, is charged in the indictment – along with Carl Williams, 29, and Eric Williams, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y. – with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies, one count of committing a Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence. Terrell McQueen, 29, of Elizabeth, N.J., is charged in the indictment with the same offenses, as well as an additional count each of Hobbs Act robbery and using a firearm during a crime of violence.
McQueen, Carl Williams and Eric Williams (no relation) were initially arrested and charged by criminal complaint with the conspiracy and firearms counts on Feb. 14, 2013. They appeared that day before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk, who remanded them to federal custody pending trial.
Arrington is expected to appear today before Judge Falk in Newark federal court.
According to the indictment unsealed today and other documents filed in this case:
On Sept. 20, 2012, Carl Williams and another man, brandishing a firearm, walked into a T-Mobile store in Linden. They then tied up the employees in the back of the store, stole approximately 50 to 60 cell phones, and fled in a Land Rover.
McQueen, Eric Williams and other conspirators then delivered the stolen phones to a cell phone store in Brooklyn.
On Oct. 2, 2012, Arrington entered a T-Mobile store in Woodbridge, carrying a gun, along with another man. After locking the front door, the men took the employees to the back of the store and tied them up, then stole approximately 40 cell phones. One of the robbers then called the getaway driver, who drove them away in a Land Rover. McQueen, Eric Williams, and others delivered the stolen phones to the same Brooklyn store.
The charges of Hobbs Act conspiracy and robbery (Counts One, Two and Four) carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence (Counts Three and Five) carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years for the first count of conviction, and 25 years for the second count of conviction, each of which must run consecutively to one another and to any other prison term. Each of the five counts also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation leading to the arrest and charges. He also thanked the Linden and Woodbridge Police Departments in New Jersey, as well as the New York City and Nassau County Police Departments and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in New York for their excellent work in this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Osmar J. Benvenuto and Nicholas P. Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel:Terrell McQueen: Anthony J. Pope Esq., Newark
Carl Williams: Mark A. Berman Esq., River Edge, N.J.
Eric Williams: Aaron M. Goldsmith Esq., New York
Leonard Arrington: TBDMcQueen, Terrell et al. Indictment
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Five Businesses During Three-Month Crime SpreeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Julio Francia, 22, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty this morning to robbing five Albuquerque-area businesses and to carrying a firearm during a crime of violence under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Francia’s guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and Chief Ray Schultz of the Albuquerque Police Department.
According to court filings, Francia was arrested on state charges on Oct. 17, 2012, on allegations that he committed an armed robbery at a Subway Restaurant located at 8520 Montgomery Blvd. NE in Albuquerque. After Francia admitted committing a number of armed at commercial businesses in Albuquerque, including the Subway Restaurant, between Aug. 2012 and Oct. 2012, the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office charged Francia with numerous armed robbery offenses.
On Nov. 27, 2012, Francia was federally indicted and charged with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce and using a firearm during a crime of violence. The charges in the indictment arose out of the armed robbery of the Subway Restaurant on Oct. 17, 2012. On Feb. 6, 2013, Francia was transferred from state custody to federal custody to face the charges in the federal indictment and the state charges against Francia subsequently were dismissed.
During this morning’s proceedings, Francia pleaded guilty to the indictment charging him with a Hobbs Act robbery at the Subway Restaurant on Oct. 17, 2012, and using a firearm during a crime on violence on that same day. Francia also entered a guilty plea to a four-count felony information charging him with committing Hobbs Act armed robberies at the following Albuquerque businesses: (1) the Auto Zone, located at 12904 Lomas Blvd. NE, on Aug. 15, 2012; (2) the Auto Zone, located at 8820 Montgomery Blvd. NE, on Sept. 21, 2012; (3) the Taco Bell, located at 320 Eubank Blvd. NE, on Oct. 3, 2012; and (4) the Twister’s Restaurant, located at 740 Juan Tabo NE, on Oct. 4, 2012.
Francia has been in federal custody since Feb. 2012, and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be set. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Francia will be sentenced to a federal prison term of 15 to 20 years.
This case was brought as part of a law enforcement initiative launched in July 2012, by the FBI’s Violent Crimes and Major Offender Squad and the Albuquerque Police Department’s Armed Robbery Unit that targets suspects implicated in commercial armed robberies. It is part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this anti-violence initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon K. Stanford.
African Trophy Hunter Indicted for Violating Endangered Species Act and Lacey ActRead the Press Release
Charles Kokesh was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pensacola, Florida, for violating the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act by selling two African elephant tusks and for making false accounts of wildlife related to that sale, the Justice Department announced today.
The three count indictment returned yesterday alleges that Kokesh legally imported a sport-hunted African elephant trophy mount from Namibia, but thereafter illegally sold the two tusks, from New Mexico to a buyer in Florida. The sale price was approximately $8,100, to be paid in a combination of currency and guns. After the sale, Kokesh allegedly falsely described that sale, in an email to personnel at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as a shipment to an appraiser in anticipation of a donation to a non-profit entity. Kokesh similarly falsely accounted for the location and disposition of the tusks in subsequent correspondence. Each false account and record is charged under the Lacey Act.
African elephants are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Both the United States and Namibia are signatories to CITES. African elephant populations in Namibia are listed in Appendix II of CITES, which includes species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction now, but may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is strictly regulated. Since 2000, the Namibian African elephant listing has specified that the species cannot be used for commercial purposes.
The United States implements CITES through the Endangered Species Act and regulations issued thereunder. To implement the CITES prohibition against commercial use of African elephant specimens, regulations issued under the Endangered Species Act proscribe the commercial use, including sale, of sport-hunted African elephant trophies, even if the trophies are legally hunted and imported.
According to a recent report produced by CITES and partner organizations, entitled “Elephants in the Dust –The African Elephant Crisis,” populations of elephants in Africa are under severe threat as the illegal trade in ivory grows – with the number of elephants killed doubling and the amount of ivory seized tripling over the last decade. An estimated 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in 2011 to feed the illegal trade. More information is available at www.cites.org/eng/news/pr/2013/20130306_ivory.php.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The maximum penalty for the charged violation of the Endangered Species Act is up to six months in prison and a $25,000 fine. The maximum penalty for making a false statement is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.
For more information about CITES visit www.CITES.org.
African Trophy Hunter Indicted for Violating Endangered Species Act and Lacey ActRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FL – Charles Kokesh, 65, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Pensacola, Florida, for violating the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act by selling two African elephant tusks and for making false statements related to that sale. The indictment was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The three-count indictment alleges that Kokesh legally imported tusks from a sport-hunted African elephant from Namibia, but thereafter illegally sold the tusks to a buyer in Florida. The sale price was approximately $8,100, to be paid in a combination of currency and guns. After the sale, Kokesh allegedly falsely described that sale, in an email to personnel at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as a shipment to an appraiser in anticipation of a donation to a non-profit entity. Kokesh similarly falsely accounted for the location and disposition of the tusks in subsequent correspondence. Each false statement is charged under the Lacey Act.
African elephants are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (“CITES”). Both the United States and Namibia are signatories to CITES. African elephant populations in Namibia are listed in Appendix II of CITES, which includes species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction now, but may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is strictly regulated. Since 2000, the Namibian African elephant listing has specified that the species cannot be used for commercial purposes.
The United States implements CITES through the Endangered Species Act and regulations issued thereunder. To implement the CITES prohibition against commercial use of African elephant specimens, regulations issued under the Endangered Species Act proscribe the commercial use, including sale, of sport-hunted African elephant trophies, even if the trophies are legally hunted and imported.
According to a recent report produced by CITES and partner organizations, entitled “Elephants in the Dust –The African Elephant Crisis,” populations of elephants in Africa are under severe threat as the illegal trade in ivory grows – with the number of elephants killed doubling and the amount of ivory seized tripling over the last decade. An estimated 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in 2011 to feed the illegal trade. http://www.cites.org/eng/news/pr/2013/20130306_ivory.phpAn indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The maximum penalty for the charged violation of the Endangered Species Act is up to six months in prison and a $25,000 fine. The maximum penalty for making a false statement is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Today’s indictment comes as a result of an investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edwin F. Knight, of the Northern District of Florida, and Cassandra Barnum, Trial Attorney with the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resource Division.
For more information about CITES visit www.CITES.org
Adams County Drug Court Supervisor Charged with Maintaining Drug-Involved PremisesRead the Press Release
Springfield, Ill. – A supervisor of the Adams County, Ill., probation department’s drug court program, John Grotts, 59, of Ursa, Ill., has been charged in federal court by criminal complaint with maintaining a drug-involved premises.
Grotts appeared this afternoon in Springfield before U.S. Magistrate Judge Byron G. Cudmore. Grotts turned himself in to law enforcement officers this morning. The government did not seek Grotts’ detention and he was released on his own recognizance. Grotts’ next federal court appearance is scheduled on June 29, 2013.
The affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint alleges that Grotts’ residence, in the 200 block of Walker Street, was made available for use or used to manufacture or use methamphetamine and marijuana. According to the affidavit, items recovered from Grotts’ home, which he shared with a May 2012 graduate of the Adams County drug court program, during execution of a state-authorized search warrant on Apr. 26, 2013, allegedly included items related to growing marijuana indoors and items used to manufacture or use methamphetamine and marijuana, and a number of firearms.
If convicted, the statutory penalty for maintaining a drug-involved premises is up to 20 years in prison.
The charge is the result of an investigation by the West Central Illinois Task Force; the Adams County Sheriff’s Office; the Quincy Police Department; and the Illinois State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan D. Freres in cooperation with the office of Adams County State’s Attorney Jon Barnard.
Members of the public are reminded that a complaint is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Yonkers Man Pleads Guilty in White Plains Federal Court to Impersonating an FBI AgentRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that AYMAN RABADI, of Yonkers, New York, pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with wire fraud in connection with charges that he impersonated a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”). RABADI was charged in April 2013, and pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Ayman Rabadi is a serial offender who has a track record of impersonating law enforcement officials for the purpose of preying on susceptible victims and stealing their money in exchange for empty promises. He will now be held to account for his crimes.”
According to the Complaint and Information, and statements made at today’s plea proceeding in White Plains federal court:
From November 2010 until his arrest on April 18, 2013, RABADI impersonated an FBI agent, and in doing so, obtained at least $180,000 and other things of value from individuals he promised that he could provide various forms of federal assistance. RABADI was arrested shortly after he accepted $10,000 in cash from an undercover agent of the FBI who was posing as the niece of one of his victims. The money was purportedly a down payment toward the $300,000 RABADI requested in exchange for obtaining the release of the victim’s relatives from jail. He was arrested immediately after leaving the Yonkers restaurant where the payment was made, and was in possession of the $10,000.
RABADI has an extensive criminal history that includes a 2008 conviction in the state of New Jersey for the felony of theft by deception. In that case, he created the false impression that there were criminal charges pending against a victim, that RABADI was connected to law enforcement, and he could thwart the charges for $75,000.
RABADI, 52, of Yonkers, NY, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud. He will face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $380,000 when he is sentenced by Judge Karas on September 10, 2013.
Mr. Bharara praised the work of the FBI in this investigation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorney Elliott B. Jacobson is in charge of the prosecution.
Woman Guilty of Tax FraudRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Rhonda Hartmann has pleaded guilty to presenting a false tax refund claim to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today along with Lucy Cruz, special agent in charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation (CI).
On Sept. 26, 2012, a federal grand jury in Corpus Christi indicted Hartmann with three counts of making or presenting fraudulent tax refund claims to the United States for tax years 2006, 2007 and 2008. The fraudulent claims for these three years totaled $560,124.
Today, at a hearing before Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey, Hartmann admitted she filed tax returns which included fraudulent form 1099-OIDs and requested a refund of monies not actually withheld.
Judge Rainey has set sentencing for Aug. 19, 2013, at 5:30 p.m. At that time, Hartmann faces a sentence of up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
Hartmann was permitted to remain on bond pending her sentencing hearing.
The case was investigated by IRS-CI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert D. Thorpe Jr.
Wolcott Resident Pleads Guilty to Participating in Mortgage Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DANIEL MONTEIRO, 34, of Wolcott, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering stemming from a mortgage fraud scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately May to October 2007, MONTEIRO conspired with others to obtain residential mortgages through the use of false down payments and hidden referral fees. As part of the scheme, MONTEIRO referred individuals to a co-conspirator who had purchased numerous residential real estate properties, many through the use of a private lender. The individuals MONTEIRO referred were then identified on mortgage documents as having purchased properties from MONTEIRO’s co-conspirator. However, the co-conspirator purchased the bank checks that were used as down payments for each of the transactions. The co-conspirator used money obtained from the mortgages to pay private lenders and, on some occasions, referral fees to MONTEIRO.
MONTEIRO is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson on August 16, 2013, at which time MONTEIRO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of his plea agreement, MONTEIRO has agreed to forfeit $15,000.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David T. Huang and Paul H. McConnell.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Vince Lee Whiteman Found Guilty in U.S. Federal CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that on May 21, 2013, in Billings, after a federal district court trial before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, VINCE LEE WHITEMAN, a 23-year-old resident of Lame Deer and an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon and aiding and abetting assault with a dangerous weapon. A sentencing date will be scheduled at a later time. He is currently detained.
At trial, the following evidence and testimony was presented to the jury.
On the evening of July 29, 2011, the victim was with his nephew and they were drinking together. At some point they met up with WHITEMAN and then, later, met up with Zachary Knows His Gun. All four drove to Soldier Gulch Road where they parked the car and continued to drink. The victim and Knows His Gun were in the back seat of the car. WHITEMAN had a knife with him.
An argument about who was tougher led Knows His Gun to ask WHITEMAN for his knife. WHITEMAN gave him his knife. Knows His Gun then stabbed the victim in the neck. The victim fought back, which resulted in WHITEMAN joining the fight and, according to the victim and Knows His Gun, also stabbing the victim in the neck. The victim got out of the car and was able to run away. The victim identified both Knows His Gun and WHITEMAN as the assailants.
After hiding in the hills for a period of time, the victim went to a house for help.
WHITEMAN was interviewed and admitted that he gave Knows His Gun his knife, but claimed that he did not know why Knows His Gun wanted the knife. He denied stabbing or assaulting the victim and, in fact, claimed that he pulled Knows His Gun away from the victim and tried to help the victim.
Knows His Gun, the nephew, and another witness were interviewed and described the knife that WHITEMAN was carrying the day of the assault. Knows His Gun and the other witness provided law enforcement with drawings of the knife during the investigation.
WHITEMAN was arrested on tribal charges and his pants, which appeared to have blood on them, were seized. DNA analysis confirmed that the major contributor of the DNA extracted from the blood stain on WHITEMAN's pants was the victim's.
Knows His Gun pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and is serving a 37-month federal sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan P. McCarthy and Legal Intern Amanda Tiernan prosecuted the case for the United States.
WHITEMAN faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release on each count.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Unregistered Sex Offender Arrested in Cayuga CountyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announced that JIMMY L. MORSE, 34, was arrested today at a residence in Locke, New York, and charged with the federal offense of failing to register as a sex offender.1
A criminal complaint unsealed today alleges that in June of 2002 MORSE was convicted in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana of Aggravated Oral Sexual Battery against a child, and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment. MORSE was also notified that he was required to register as a sex offender until April of 2020. MORSE last complied with his registration requirements in Louisiana in 2008, and a warrant was issued for him there in 2010 as a result.
In April of 2013 the United States Marshals Service received information from authorities in Louisiana that MORSE may be living in Cayuga County, New York. After investigation, the Marshals Service determined that MORSE’s conviction would require him to register as a sex offender in New York, and that he had not registered as required.
MORSE was located today at a residence in Locke, New York and arrested on a warrant signed yesterday by Hon. Therese Wiley Dancks, United States Magistrate Judge. He made his initial appearance before her today, and has been remanded pending disposition of his case.
The charge filed against MORSE carries with it a maximum sentence of 10 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life.
MORSE’S arrest is the result of an investigation by the United States Marshals Service Sex Offender Investigation Branch, North East Region, and the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force with the assistance of the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher as part of Project Safe Childhood. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.autotrader.com/.
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1The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
U.s. Renal Care to Pay $7.3 Million to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. Renal Care, headquartered in Plano, Texas, has agreed to pay $7.3 million to resolve allegations that Dialysis Corporation of America (DCA) violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare program for more Epogen than was actually administered to dialysis patients at DCA facilities. U.S. Renal Care, which acquired DCA in June 2010, owns and operates more than 100 freestanding outpatient dialysis facilities throughout the United States. Prior to its acquisition by U.S. Renal Care, DCA was a publicly traded company based in Linthicum, Maryland.
The settlement was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division; and Special Agent in Charge Nicholas DiGiulio, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Epogen is an intravenous medication that is used to treat anemia, a common condition afflicting patients with end-stage renal disease. Epogen vials contain a small amount of medication in excess of the labeled amount, known as “overfill,” to compensate for medication that may remain in the vial after extraction and in the syringe upon administration. The United States contends that from January 2004 through May 2011, DCA billed for 10-11% overfill whenever it administered Epogen. However, because of the types of syringes DCA used, the United States alleges that DCA was not able to withdraw and administer 10-11% overfill every time it administered Epogen to patients, and thus submitted false claims to Medicare that overstated the amount of Epogen that it was actually providing.
“Medical care providers who submit false claims for services and products that were not actually delivered threaten the financial viability of the Medicare Trust Fund,” said Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.
“Today’s settlement shows that the Justice Department will aggressively pursue those health care providers who cut corners at the expense of the American taxpayers, such as by billing for items and services that were not provided,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to protect scarce Medicare dollars.”
“Health providers billing for phantom services cheat taxpayers and cheat government programs straining to pay for vitally needed care,” said Nick DiGiulio, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the region including Maryland. “We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to ensure health professionals get reimbursed only for services they actually provide.”
The claims settled by this agreement are allegations, and there has been no determination of liability.
This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover $10.2 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 are over $14.2 billion.
The allegations settled today arose from a lawsuit filed by Laura Davis against DCA under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. United States ex rel. Laura Davis v. Dialysis Corporation of America, No. 1:08-cv-2829 (D. Md.). The Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. Ms. Davis will receive $1,314,000 as part of today’s settlement.
This case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roann Nichols of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney Arthur Di Dio of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, with assistance from the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services.
U.S. Renal Care to Pay $7.3 Million<br /> to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
U.S. Renal Care, headquartered in Plano, Texas, has agreed to pay $7.3 million to resolve allegations that Dialysis Corporation of America (DCA) violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare program for more Epogen than was actually administered to dialysis patients at DCA facilities, the Justice Department announced today. U.S. Renal Care, which acquired DCA in June 2010, owns and operates more than 100 freestanding outpatient dialysis facilities throughout the United States.
Epogen is an intravenous medication that is used to treat anemia, a common condition afflicting patients with end-stage renal disease. Epogen vials contain a small amount of medication in excess of the labeled amount, known as “overfill,” to compensate for medication that may remain in the vial after extraction and in the syringe upon administration. The United States contends that from January 2004 through May 2011, DCA billed for 10-11% overfill whenever it administered Epogen. However, because of the types of syringes DCA used, the United States alleges that DCA was not able to withdraw and administer 10-11% overfill every time it administered Epogen to patients, and thus submitted false claims to Medicare that overstated the amount of Epogen that it was actually providing.
“Today’s settlement shows that the Justice Department will aggressively pursue those health care providers who cut corners at the expense of the American taxpayers, such as by billing for items and services that were not provided,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to protect scarce Medicare dollars.”
“Medical care providers who submit false claims for services and products that were not actually delivered threaten the financial viability of the Medicare Trust Fund,” said Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.
“Health providers billing for phantom services cheat taxpayers, cheat programs straining to pay for vitally needed care, and cheat patients who pay inflated copayments,” said Nick DiGiulio, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the region including Maryland. “We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to ensure health professionals get reimbursed only for services they actually provide”
This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover $10.2 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 are over $14.2 billion.
The allegations settled today arose from a lawsuit filed by Laura Davis against DCA under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. Ms. Davis will receive $1,314,000 as part of today’s settlement.
This case was handled by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland with assistance from the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The whistleblower suit is captioned United States ex rel. Laura Davis v. Dialysis Corporation of America, No. 1:08-cv-2829 (D. Md.).
Two Miami-Dade Residents Charged in Tax Preparation Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. DePalma, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced the filing of a 30-count indictment charging defendants Rigoberto Cabrera, 37, and Carlos Perez, 34, both of Miami-Dade County, in a tax preparation fraud scheme. Defendant Perez had his initial appearance on May 16, 2013 in Ft. Lauderdale before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrea M. Simonton. Defendant Cabrera is expected to make his initial appearance tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. in Ft. Lauderdale before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry S. Seltzer.
Specifically, each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 286; and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1349. Defendant Cabrera is also charged with 18 counts of making false claims to the IRS, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 287; four counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1343; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1956(h); and four counts of money laundering, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(i). Defendant Perez is charged with 11 counts of making false claims to the IRS, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 287; and two counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 1343.
According to the indictment, defendants Cabrera and Perez recruited individuals and offered to prepare their individual income tax returns with the promise that the defendants could obtain substantial tax refunds for the taxpayers. The recruited taxpayers agreed to pay Cabrera and Perez a percentage of the refunds they received. The defendants then prepared fraudulent 2008 and 2009 federal income tax returns on behalf of the recruited taxpayers, claiming tax credits or deductions to which the taxpayers were not entitled. After the taxpayers received the fraudulent refunds from the IRS, Cabrera and Perez collected a percentage of the funds from the taxpayers through checks payable to companies that the defendants controlled and shell companies.
Through this scheme, the defendants claimed approximately $1,458,905 in tax refunds from the IRS.
If convicted, the defendants face up to ten years in prison for each count of conspiracy to defraud the government, making false claims, and conspiracy to commit money laundering; and up to twenty years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Bernstein and Alejandro O. Soto.
An indictment is only an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Two Denso Corporation Executives Agree to Plead Guilty for Price Fixing and Bid Rigging on Auto Parts Installed in U.S. CarsRead the Press Release
Two DENSO Corp. executives – Yuji Suzuki and Hiroshi Watanabe – have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in international conspiracies to fix prices and rig bids of certain automotive components installed in U.S. cars, the Department of Justice announced today. The executives, both Japanese nationals, have also agreed to serve time in a U.S. prison.
Yuji Suzuki, a senior manager in DENSO’s Toyota Sales Division, has agreed to serve 16 months in a U.S. prison, to pay a $20,000 criminal fine and to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation. Hiroshi Watanabe, a group leader in DENSO’s Toyota Sales Division at the time of the offense, has agreed to serve 15 months in a U.S. prison, to pay a $20,000 criminal fine and to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation.
“The conspirators reached agreements to fix prices and allocate bids, and took measures such as using code names and meeting in secret to cover their tracks,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “Cracking down on international price-fixing cartels that target U.S. businesses and consumers has been, and will continue to be, among the top priorities for the Antitrust Division.”
According to the two-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, Suzuki, along with co-conspirators, engaged in a conspiracy to rig bids for, and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of, electronic control units and heater control panels sold to Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America Inc. in the United States and elsewhere. According to the charges, Suzuki participated in the electronic control units conspiracy from at least as early as August 2005 until at least December 2008 and participated in the heater control panels conspiracy from at least as early as July 2005 until at least December 2008.
According to a one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, Watanabe participated in a conspiracy to rig bids for, and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of, heater control panels sold to Toyota from at least as early as June 2008 and continuing until at least February 2010 in the United States and elsewhere.
In March 2012, DENSO pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $78 million criminal fine for its role in the conspiracies related to electronic control units and heater control panels.
Electronic control units are electrical components, similar to tiny computers, which are embedded throughout cars and control various electrical systems or subsystems in an automobile. For example, a body electronic control unit controls the power windows, power locks and other electronic components on the door. Heater control panels are located in the center console of a car and control the temperature inside the car.
“Those individuals who engage in price fixing and bid rigging negatively impact the automotive industry by causing vehicle buyers and makers to pay higher prices. The FBI is committed to pursuing and prosecuting these criminals,” said Robert D. Foley III, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Detroit Division.
According to the charges against Suzuki and Watanabe, they carried out the conspiracies by participating, or directing the participation of subordinate employees, in meetings and conversations to coordinate and fix prices of automotive parts installed in U.S. cars and elsewhere.
To date, nine companies and 14 executives have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty in the department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the automotive parts industry. DENSO, Nippon Seiki Ltd., Tokai Rika Co. Ltd., Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd, Yazaki Corp., G.S. Electech Inc., Fujikura Ltd., Autoliv Inc. and TRW Deutschland Holding GmbH pleaded guilty and were sentenced to pay a total of more than $809 million in criminal fines. Additionally, 12 individuals have been sentenced to pay criminal fines and to serve jail sentences ranging from a year and a day to two years each.
Suzuki and Watanabe are charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
The charges are the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by each of the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI. Today’s charges were brought by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, with the assistance of the FBI headquarters’ International Corruption Unit. Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the automotive parts industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI’s Detroit Field Office at 313-965-2323.
Related Materials:
Watanabe Information
Suzuki InformationTwo Corporate Execs Plead Guilty in $630,000 Federal Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that two top senior executives of an employment staffing agency that operated in West Virginia both pleaded guilty to federal employment tax evasion charges. Daniel Hovis, 60, president of Career Search One, Inc., pleaded guilty today to failure to pay trust fund taxes to the IRS for employees. The corporation’s vice president, Janice Hensley, 63, also pleaded guilty to failure to pay trust fund taxes to the IRS.
Hovis and Hensley together failed to pay more than $600,000 in federal employment taxes that were owed to the IRS.
Career Search One, Inc. specialized in providing employees to client businesses for a fee. The corporation’s primary bookkeeping offices were based in Charleston and Wheeling, West Virginia. Hovis and Hensley both worked out of the Charleston location.
From 2004 through the first quarter of 2010, Hovis and Hensley withheld trust fund taxes from many employees’ paychecks. The trust fund taxes were monies that were owed to the IRS. Hovis and Hensley each failed to report or pay over trust fund taxes that they had previously withheld from employees’ wages. Trust fund taxes are withheld federal income and Federal Insurance Contribution Act (“FICA”) taxes, which also include Social Security and Medicare taxes. Career Search One, Inc. failed to pay these taxes.
From 2004 through the first quarter of 2010, Hovis and Hensley failed to report and pay over approximately $630,158.94 in trust fund taxes to the IRS on behalf of Career Search One, Inc.’s employees. Hovis and Hensley used the monies to pay personal expenses. Both executives knew that the corporate funds should have been used for the payment of trust fund taxes.
Hovis and Hensley each face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when they are sentenced on September 4, 2013 by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigative Division conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Meredith George Thomas is in charge of the prosecutions.
Three Admit Conspiracy to Commit KidnappingRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that Antonio Zermeno Garcia entered a guilty plea in federal court in San Diego today to count one of an indictment charging him and co-defendants Luis Miguel Salas Rodriguez and Carlos Alberto Andrade-De La Cruz with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1201(c). Co-defendants Luis Miguel Salas Rodriguez and Carlos Alberto Andrade-De La Cruz previously entered guilty pleas to the same charge on April 26, 2013.
In connection with the entry of their guilty pleas, the defendants admitted that, in March 2012, they devised a plan to kidnap three individuals who owed them money for narcotics trafficking. They further admitted they planned to kidnap the individuals in San Diego, California and transport them to Tijuana, Mexico. Defendant Andrade-De La Cruz further admitted that he was an organizer and leader of this kidnapping conspiracy and that he illegally crossed into the United States on March 14, 2012 in 2 order to locate the first victim with the assistance of Defendants Salas Rodriguez and Zermeno Garcia.
Defendants Luis Miguel Salas Rodriguez and Carlos Alberto Andrade-De La Cruz are scheduled to appear before United States District Judge William Q. Hayes for sentencing on July 29, 2013, at 9:00 a.m.
Defendant Antonio Zermeno Garcia’s plea is subject to final acceptance by Judge Hayes at or before sentencing on August 12, 2013, at 9:00 a.m.
DEFENDANTS Criminal Case No. 12CR1244WQH Antonio Zermeno Garcia
Luis Miguel Salas Rodriguez
Carlos Alberto Andrade-De La Cruz SUMMARY OF CHARGESConspiracy to Commit Kidnapping, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1201(c) Maximum penalties: Life in Prison, $250,000 fine, $100 Special Assessment, 5 years of Supervised Release
INVESTIGATING AGENCYFederal Bureau of Investigation – Cross Border Violence Task Force
Ten Men Charged in Birmingham Area Heroin and Cocaine Trafficking RingRead the Press Release
Williams et al Indictment.pdf
Prosecutors Seek to Dismiss One Defendant from Drug Conspiracy Indictment
BIRMINGHAM – Federal agents and Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office today arrested eight men and are searching for a ninth who are charged in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that brought about $5 million worth of heroin and cocaine into the Birmingham area in less than a year, according to an indictment unsealed following the arrests.
U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr., Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot, Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Jeff Fulton announced the arrests, which resulted from a joint investigation that began in 2011 to combat large-scale narcotics trafficking in western Birmingham and Jefferson County.
The investigation focused on BILLY “Champ” WILLIAMS Jr., now charged as a large-scale heroin and cocaine distributor in western Birmingham, and his network of operators. For more than a year, the FBI gathered evidence exposing an extensive drug-trafficking operation. The investigation culminated with the Jan. 25 arrest of SAMMUEL DEWAYNE “Rosé” GULLEY, 28, of Fairfield, identified as a key member of the organization. Gulley was arrested in possession of two kilograms of nearly pure heroin following a high-speed chase with Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies. Later that night, agents seized one and a half kilograms of cocaine from a home associated with Williams and Gulley.
“In 2012, the Birmingham area found itself awash in heroin overdose deaths. A drug that no one expected to experience a rebirth began claiming the lives of young people, people in their 20s, 30s, and even their teens,” Vance said. “There were at least 78 overdose deaths in Jefferson and Shelby counties, and perhaps an equal number of cases where overdose death was averted by the swift action of emergency medical technicians” she said. “This investigation puts drug traffickers on notice that we are going to wipe out this epidemic and that criminal networks that profit from the sale of these deadly and highly addictive substances will not be tolerated. Law enforcement at all levels engaged in a highly coordinated effort in this case and we intend to employ the full force of law and justice to investigate and prosecute drug trafficking.”
“The arrests made in this investigation highlight the great work being done by the North Alabama Safe Streets Task Force and is a clear example of the determination and collaborative spirit among area law enforcement agencies to dismantle criminal enterprises that pose the most significant threat,” Schwein said.
“Asset forfeiture is a vital tool in disrupting criminal organizations by depriving them of property used or acquired through illegal activities,” Hyman-Pillot said. “We are proud to have contributed our financial expertise in order to dismantle the drug-trafficking operation that has been targeting Jefferson County citizens for the past year.”
“This case took a lot of hard work and cooperation between our agencies, and every bit of the time and effort was worth it,” Hale said. “These are the kinds of dangerous drug dealers whose dealings are literally killing people, not to mention all of the spin-off violent crime they are responsible for. I want to personally thank all involved in helping remove them from our streets. Jefferson County is a safer place with them locked away, no doubt,” he said.
“This indictment is the culmination of a lengthy investigation,” Fulton said. “This investigation is more evidence that ATF’s commitment to combating violent crime is unwavering. We will utilize every resource to make our communities safer places to live.”
The eight people arrested today on conspiracy or drug distribution charges in a 41-count April 2013 indictment were:
WILLIAMS, 40, of Midfield; WALTER “Walt T” JOHNSON, 47, and WILBERT CURTIS “Bing” DALTON JR., 41, both of Dolomite; GRADY ISAM “Shady Grady” JENKINS, 46, twin brothers DEANDRE R.“Laray” or “Tojo,” MURRELL and DEALDRE R. “Twin” MURRELL, 27, and MARION “Tuna” REYNOLDS JR., 52, all of Birmingham; and VERNON LLWELLYN “RJ” MCADORY, 38, of Bessemer.
Authorities are still searching for ABE “Cuz” JOHNSON, 49, of Birmingham.
Nine of the 10 defendants – all but Dalton -- are charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine between May 2012 and April 2013 in Jefferson County. Four counts of the indictment charge various defendants with distributing or possessing with intent to distribute either heroin or cocaine. Jenkins and Dalton are charged with distributing heroin on Nov. 28, 2012. Williams and Gulley are charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute narcotics on Jan. 25, 2013, one count for a kilogram or more of heroin and one count for 500 grams or more of cocaine. Jenkins faces one count of distributing heroin on April 9, 2013.
The remaining 36 counts charge use of a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking. The 36 counts correspond to individual phone calls made between Oct. 18, 2012, and Jan. 25, 2013. According to the indictment, all the calls involve Williams. Along with Williams, other defendants charged with drug-trafficking phone calls are: Gulley, 12 counts; Walter Johnson, five counts; Deandre Murrell and Jenkins, four counts each; Dealdre Murrell, three counts; Reynolds and Abe Johnson, two counts each; and McAdory, one count.
The drug conspiracy count carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison. The charge of possessing with intent to distribute heroin carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The charge of possessing with intent to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The charge of possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The charge of using a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
The FBI, IRS-CID and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, with assistance from ATF and the Birmingham and Hueytown police departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Dimler is prosecuting the case.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it is the government’s responsibility to prove the defendant’s guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Staten Island Man Pleads Guilty to $82 Million Check Kiting ScamRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Staten Island, New York, resident Saquib Khan, 51, waived indictment and pleaded guilty today to charges that he engaged in a bank fraud scheme that netted approximately $5 million from six New York City area banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). To implement his scheme, the defendant transferred more than $82 million among various bank accounts, using a complex web of worthless checks, which the banks initially credited, and wire transfers to cover his tracks. Khan pleaded guilty to eight counts of bank fraud and agreed to forfeit all of the proceeds of his fraud to make the banks whole. The defendant faces up to 30 years imprisonment on each count, as well as a $1,000,000 fine and restitution.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
According to court documents, from November 2012 through December 2012, Khan, a businessman who owned and operated a wholesale cigarette and grocery business, as well as delicatessens in Staten Island, wrote checks for more than $82,000,000 from various bank accounts under his control. Those accounts did not have sufficient funds to cover the checks. However, upon depositing the worthless checks, the victim banks provided immediate credit for the entire amount of the checks even though the checks had not yet cleared. To cover these worthless checks, Khan wired most of the fraudulently obtained funds from the deposit accounts back to the accounts upon which they were drawn. During each round of these ever-increasing checks and wires, Khan withdrew a portion of the money. In this manner, Khan fraudulently extracted approximately $5 million from the victim banks in less than two weeks.
“As demonstrated by the bank fraud charges and the admissions at his guilty plea, Khan’s greed was matched only by his nerve. But law enforcement promptly shut down Khan’s $82 million check-kiting scheme, and he has now been brought to justice. We are committed to protecting the integrity of our banking system and protecting the public from the effects of fraud,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “I would like to thank our partners at the FBI for their swift action and effective work on this important investigation. ”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos stated, “As alleged, and as he has admitted, Khan was a con man. Taking advantage of the banks’ policy of crediting deposited checks before they clear, he stole approximately $5 million. What the scheme likely earned him in the long run is a significant prison term.”
The defendant’s guilty plea took place this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr., at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Sentencing in this case is scheduled before United States District Judge Raymond J. Dearie on September 27, 2013.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher A. Ott.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency task force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
The Defendant:
SAQUIB KHAN
Age: 51
Staten Island, New YorkSpringfield Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Porn on his Cell PhoneRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man who was recently released after serving a prison term for possessing child pornography pleaded guilty in federal court today to downloading additional child pornography onto his cell phone.
Lattrell Anthony Morris, 29, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the charge contained in a Feb. 27, 2011 federal indictment. Morris was sentenced in 2007 to serve 70 months in federal prison for possessing child porn, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. Morris had been on supervised release for only a few months when he engaged in this criminal conduct.
Morris received a cell phone in September 2012, approximately four months after being released from federal prison. Despite Morris’s supervised release restrictions against Internet services, Morris paid $50 a month for unlimited Internet access through his cell phone.
Morris admitted that he used his cell phone daily to conduct Internet searches for child pornography. Law enforcement officers examined Morris’s cell phone and found more than 15 images of child pornography.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Morris will jointly recommend to the court a sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull II. It was investigated by the FBI, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Smith County Man Sentenced for Attempted Arson of Methadone ClinicRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsTYLER, Texas – A 55-year-old Tyler, Texas, building contractor has been sentenced for federal arson related charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Daniel Kubisty pleaded guilty on Jan. 9, 2013, to attempted arson and was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis. Kubisty was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $8,824.00.
According to information presented in court, on Mar. 19, 2012, Kubisty accepted $3,000 from Edward Jacobs to burn down a building located at 3322 E. Fifth Street in Tyler that was being used by the “Add-Life Recovery Center” methadone clinic. Kubisty and Jacobs conspired to burn down the building in order to gain a competitive advantage for the “Methadone Clinic of East Texas” which was owned by Jacobs and also had an office in Tyler, Texas. On Mar. 19, 2012 Kubisty was arrested in Tyler by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and was found to have a gasoline can, with a wick saturated in gasoline protruding from its neck, in the back of his pickup.
After Kubisty’s arrest, Jacobs feared Kubisty would testify against him and on June 1, 2012, he arranged a meeting with a man he believed he could hire to murder Kubisty in order to prevent Kubisty’s testimony. During the meeting, Jacobs offered to pay the hit-man $12,000.00 for Kubisty’s murder. ATF was monitoring the meeting and arrested Jacobs at the scene. On Dec. 18, 2012 Jacobs pleaded guilty to attempted arson and solicitation of murder for hire. He was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison on Mar. 14, 2013, and ordered to pay over $12,000 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
Shreveport/Bossier Real Estate Agents Sentenced for Predatory Home Sale PracticesRead the Press Release
SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Scott Rister, 43, of Shreveport, and William Clay Goodwin, 43, of Bossier City, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote, to serve six months in prison and two years of supervised release for mail fraud. The judge also ordered them to pay $8,150 in restitution to victims of the scheme.
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Rister and Goodwin worked together to arrange short sales of residential real estate in the Shreveport/Bossier area. They identified residential property owners whose homes were scheduled for foreclosure or in bankruptcy. Rister offered to arrange short sales for their homes and informed them that Goodwin would attempt to negotiate with the financial institution that held the mortgage to settle the outstanding mortgage. Rister also told the home owners that the home owners would not see a profit from the short sales, and added that Rister and Goodwin’s only compensation was a broker’s commission, which was typically 5 to 6 percent of the sales price. However, Rister and Goodwin included fees and liens on the HUD-1 settlement statements without the home owners’ knowledge, permission or consent. The fees and liens were listed in favor of LLCs created and owned by Rister and Goodwin.
“The defendants took advantage of those who were caught in tough financial situations,” Finley said. “They used their knowledge of the real estate industry to add extra costs without informing the customers involved of the charges. We hope this serves as a reminder to those who would exploit home owners that our office will continue to prosecute cases such as this to the fullest extent of the law.”
Rister pleaded guilty to the mail fraud count Oct. 30, 2012, and Goodwin pleaded guilty Jan. 15, 2013.The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.
Shelby County Man Sentenced for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsTYLER, Texas – A 39-year-old Center, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Danny Len Lindsey pleaded guilty on Mar. 1, 2013, to possession with intent to manufacture methamphetamine and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.
According to information presented in court, from at least Aug. 14, 2011, Lindsey possessed and distributed methamphetamine in East Texas. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Nov. 7, 2012, charging Lindsey with drug trafficking violations. Lindsey also admitted to possessing two firearms during his drug trafficking activities and must forfeit both firearms.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Panola County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Baldwin.Savannah Man Pleads Guilty to Two Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: RICO LAVON EDWARDS, 30, of Savannah, Georgia, pled guilty earlier this month before United States District Court Judge B. Avant Edenfield for his role in the armed robberies of the Savannah Postal Credit Union and of Barnett Educational Supplies.
According to evidence presented during his guilty plea hearing, on November 8, 2012, EDWARDS, along with an accomplice, committed an armed bank robbery at the Savannah Postal Credit Union, and took less than $1000 in cash. Less than two weeks later, on November 19, 2012, EDWARDS robbed Barnett Educational Supplies in Savannah, Georgia.
The armed bank robbery count to which EDWARDS pled guilty carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to 25 years in prison; a fine up to $250,000; and 5 years of supervised release. The commercial robbery count to which EDWARDS also pled guilty carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison; a fine up to $250,000; and 3 years of supervised release. EDWARDS sentencing will be scheduled after the United States Probation Office completes a presentence investigation.
The charges against EDWARDS were the result of a joint investigation conducted by the FBI and the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys J. Maria Waters and Brian Rafferty are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.
Ringleader Sentenced to Federal Prison in Connection with Fort Stockton-Based Cocaine Distribution NetworkRead the Press Release
In Pecos yesterday, 34-year-old drug trafficking organization ringleader Noe Torres Ortega was sentenced to 262 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit.
Ortega is the last of 24 indicted defendants who pleaded guilty and was sentenced for his/her role in a Fort
Stockton-based cocaine trafficking conspiracy that was responsible for the distribution of over 50 kilograms of cocaine since 2009. Sentences handed down in this case range from 262 months in federal prison to three years probation.This investigation was conducted by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration Alpine Resident Office Multi-Agency Task Force (MTF) comprised of agents from DEA, United States Border Patrol, Pecos County Sheriff's Office, Brewster County Sheriff's Office, Alpine Police Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety - Criminal Investigation Division as well as members of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Presidio and Alpine and the Fort Stockton Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Monty Kimball.
Providence Man Detained for Allegedly Trafficking Thousands of Ecstasy PillsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Christian M. Araujo, a/k/a Christian Sanchez, 46, of Providence, has been ordered detained in federal custody on a charge of possession with the intent to distribute Ecstasy. Araujo was arrested by DEA agents on May 17, 2013, after he allegedly delivered between 2,400 and 3,000 Ecstasy pills with an estimated street value of approximately $30,000 to a person posing as a drug dealer.
Araujo’s arrest was announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Division.
According to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint filed with the court, it is alleged that beginning in early April 2013, a person assisting DEA agents assigned to the DEA Worcester Tactical Division began discussions with Araujo for the delivery of significant quantities of Oxycodone and Ecstasy tablets. After at least one meeting and several telephone conversations, it is alleged that Sanchez agreed to sell a significant quantity of the pills.
According to the affidavit, on May 16, 2013, DEA agents watched as Sanchez allegedly delivered between 2,400 and 3,000 Ecstasy pills. The alleged transaction occurred in pharmacy parking lot in Pawtucket. Immediately after the alleged transaction was completed, DEA agents detained Sanchez and seized the pills.
Araujo was ordered detained in federal custody following an initial appearance on Friday before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.
The DEA Worcester Tactical Division was assisted in the investigation by the R.I. DEA Drug Task Force.
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Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Prisoner at Fci Danbury Charged with Assaulting Another InmateRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Bridgeport returned an indictment today charging YVONNE DAVIS, 61, a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Danbury, with using a dangerous weapon to assault another inmate at the facility.
The indictment alleges that DAVIS assaulted the inmate on November 25, 2012.
If convicted, DAVIS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
DAVIS is currently serving a 37-month sentence after having been convicted in the Northern District of Texas of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Acting U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
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Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Pharmacist's Plea: Kidney Dialysis Patients Received Misbranded DrugsRead the Press Release
TOPEKA, KAN. – A pharmacist from Tennessee has pleaded guilty to substituting a cheaper drug imported from China for the iron sucrose that the Federal Drug Administration has approved for kidney dialysis patients, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. The misbranded drug was administered to kidney dialysis patients in Kansas.
Robert Harshbarger, Jr., 53, Kingsport, Tenn., who was doing business as American Inhalation Medication Specialists, Inc., pleaded guilty to one count of distributing a misbranded drug and one count of health care fraud. In his plea, he admitted that as a result of the fraud kidney dialysis patients treated by Kansas Dialysis Services, L.C., received iron sucrose that had not been certified by the FDA to meet quality and safety standards.
Although there were no reports of harm to patients, the crime put patients at risk because the FDA cannot assure the safety and effectiveness of products that are not FDA approved and come from unknown sources or foreign locations.
Harshbarger admitted that health care benefit programs paid more than $848,000 for the misbranded iron sucrose he distributed from 2004 to 2009. Harshbarger misrepresented the iron sucrose drug as Venofer, which is the only iron sucrose drug approved by the FDA for both pre-dialysis and post-dialysis patients.
Harshbarger purchased iron sucrose from Chinese companies including Qingdao Shenbang Chemical Company in Qingdao, China, and Shanghai Rory Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd., in Shanghai, China. The iron sucrose from China was cheaper than purchasing Venofer.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 4. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 48 months in federal prison, restitution of approximately $848,504, a criminal fine of $25,000, and a forfeiture judgment of $425,000 to be paid prior to sentencing.
Grissom commended the Food and Drug Administration, the Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway for their work on the case.
Personal Assistant and Beneficiary Sentenced for Fraud on the Medicaid Home Services ProgramRead the Press Release
On May 21, 2013, Daniel Geary, 39, of Caseyville, IL, was sentenced in District Court in East St. Louis, IL, on one count of False Statement related to Health Care Matters, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Having been confined in county jail for four months, Daniel Geary was sentenced to time served, three (3) years of supervised release, a special assessment of $100, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $420 to the State of Illinois and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. On the same offense on April 1, 2013, Cynthia Harmon, age 40, of Alton, IL also had been sentenced to time served, two (2) years of supervised release, a special assessment of $100, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $420. Daniel Geary and Cynthia Harmon, personal assistant and beneficiary, previously pled guilty to defrauding the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Home Services Program, a Medicaid Waiver Program intended to prevent the unnecessary institutionalization of Medicaid beneficiaries who may be satisfactorily maintained at home. Both admitted to making a materially false statement in connection with the delivery of health care services by reporting on a Home Services Time Sheet sent to the Illinois Department of Human Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services, that Daniel Geary performed 44.5 hours of personal assistant work for Cynthia Harmon from February16 through March 15, 2012, even though each defendant knew that, because Harmon was incarcerated in the St. Louis County jail, the personal assistant services were not performed.
The case was investigated by agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the Illinois State Police, Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau (MFCB). This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Jude Quinley.
Penfield Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Alfredo Valentin, Jr. a/k/a Alfredo Valentine, a/k/a Fred Valentin, a/k/a Fred Vegas, 42, of Penfield, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, a maximum of life, a fine of $20,000,000 or both. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Valentin will forfeit $74,690 in U.S. currency, a firearm, and rounds of ammunition seized during the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that Valentin purchased large quantities of heroin in New York City that he transported back to Rochester. The defendant then processed, packaged, and resold the cocaine in various quantities. Valentin was arrested on January 16, 2013 while driving a rental car. He was found in possession of over 130 grams of heroin and $2,000 in U.S. currency.
During the execution of a search warrant that same day at the defendant’s residence at 491 Plank Road in Penfield, officers recovered a Hi-Point 9mm pistol with a defaced serial number, rounds of 9mm ammunition, and heroin trafficking paraphernalia. On February 13, 2013, agents seized $72,690 in Valentin’s drug proceeds during the execution of a federal search warrant at 140 Central Park in Rochester.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell, New York Field Division, with assistance provided by the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (GRANET), and the Rochester Police Department under the direction of Chief James M. Sheppard, the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge, Scott Heagney.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 5 at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Larimer.
Owner and COO of Defunct Eastern Livestock Company Sentenced in Federal Court for Committing Mail FraudRead the Press Release
– Founder Thomas Gibson sentenced to 70 months in federal prison;
– COO Michael McDonald sentenced to 57 months in federal prisonLOUISVILLE, KY – The former owner and former chief operating officer of now-bankrupt Eastern Livestock Company, LLC, were sentenced in U. S. District Court today, by Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell, for mail fraud arising from their part in a check-kiting scheme that caused the loss of millions of dollars to hundreds of businesses and individuals, including approximately 200 sellers of cattle located in Kentucky, who did business with Eastern Livestock in 2010, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
Founder and former owner, Thomas P. Gibson, age 73, of Lanesville, Indiana, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and former Chief Operating Officer Michael Steven McDonald, age 61, of Lanesville, Indiana, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for their parts in a multi-million dollar check kiting scheme. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Gibson and McDonald caused widespread damage to the livestock industry and devastating harm to numerous individual cattle farmers in Kentucky and elsewhere. Many other businesses associated with the livestock industry were also damaged by the Eastern Livestock fraud. These lengthy prison sentences hold Gibson and McDonald accountable for their federal crimes,” commented U.S. Attorney Hale. “Additionally, our seizure of $4.7 million from the defendants has preserved a significant portion of the crime proceeds, which will ultimately be distributed to victims of the fraud. Equitable disbursement of these funds to victims will be accomplished through a coordinated process involving two Eastern Livestock bankruptcy cases pending in the Southern District of Indiana, and the forfeiture action brought by my office in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky.”
Eastern Livestock was one of the largest cattle brokerage businesses in the United States, processing cattle sales and operating branch facilities in eleven states, including Kentucky, until its closure on November 2, 2010. According to the plea agreement, between August 9, 2004 and November 2, 2010, in Nelson County, Kentucky, and elsewhere, the defendants Gibson and McDonald, engaged in an extensive check-kiting fraud in order to induce Fifth Third Bank to release funds from a $32 million line of credit issued by the bank in favor of Eastern Livestock Company. The check-kiting scheme caused grossly inflated balances in accounts maintained by Eastern Livestock with the bank. To further support the fraudulent scheme, the defendants caused false and fraudulent documents to be submitted on a daily basis to Fifth Third, which contained grossly inflated accounts receivable figures. The U.S. mail and/or commercial interstate carrier service was used in the execution of the scheme in that the defendants caused checks to be issued from Eastern Livestock accounts, which were mailed to business associates who agreed that checks from their business accounts could be deposited into the Eastern Livestock account at Fifth Third, thereby temporarily inflating the account balance. Two such Eastern Livestock checks in the amounts of $94,374.48 and $98,101.93, were delivered via U. S. Postal Service to a designated address in Nelson County, Kentucky, on or about September 5, 2008. When Fifth Third closed Eastern Livestock's accounts in November 2010 because of the check-kite, Fifth Third, Wells Fargo, and hundreds of cattle sellers, auction houses, and other people who had done business with Eastern Livestock sustained losses. The cattle sellers had received Eastern Livestock checks in payment for cattle, and these checks were dishonored by Fifth Third Bank and returned when Eastern Livestock's accounts were closed. At the time, there were insufficient funds to cover the millions of dollars in outstanding Eastern Livestock checks issued by the defendants.
U.S. Attorney Hale commended the collaborative investigation involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Lesousky, Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sullivan is prosecuting the civil forfeiture claim.
Oakland Man Sentenced to 121 Months and Ordered to Pay $3.37 Million for Charity Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Keith Aaron Vann was sentenced yesterday to 121 months in prison and ordered to pay $3,377,089.64 in restitution for his role in a conspiracy to defraud three Arizona residents into donating millions of dollars to a phony charitable organization, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
After a four-day trial, a jury convicted Vann on December 17, 2012, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, a separate count of wire fraud, and three counts of money laundering. During the trial, evidence showed that Vann participated in a scheme to defraud the victims, two of whom were Arizona elementary school teachers, of over $3.3 million from their father’s estate by making false representations including, among other things, that an entity known as Global Missions was a non-profit organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); that it provided humanitarian aid worldwide, including in Africa; and that donations to Global Missions would be tax deductible. Evidence presented at trial showed that, contrary to these representations, Vann and others used donations to Global Missions to pay for personal trips, jewelry, a down payment on a luxury car, and a $1.25 million home. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Vann posed as Global Missions’ attorney, “James Preston, Esq.” Acting as Preston, Vann told the victims that he had expertise in facilitating tax deductible charitable donations with the IRS.
Vann, 42, of Oakland, California, was charged by indictment on April 16, 2008. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong . Judge Armstrong also sentenced Mr. Vann to a three-year period of supervised release. Vann was immediately remanded into custody following the sentencing hearing.
Wade M. Rhyne is the Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Legal Assistants Kathleen Turner and Janice Pagsangan, and Paralegal Noble Hughes. The prosecution is the result of a three-year investigation by the IRS, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Nine Indicted for Federal Firearm and Drug ViolationsRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida- United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces the return of indictments charging nine individuals involved in the illegal sale of firearms and narcotics in Jacksonville. Today, special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), along with detectives from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) arrested four individuals as part of an undercover law enforcement operation. The effort, dubbed "Delta Deuce," involved coordinated efforts among local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and state and federal prosecutors. Three individuals were previously taken into custody and two are still being sought by law enforcement.
Nicklas McLain (23, Calahan) was indicted on eleven felony charges involving the sale of marijuana, cocaine, and firearms from December 2012 through March 2013. McLain sold three firearms to undercover agents. McLain also has prior felony convictions for sale of cannabis and possession of cocaine. He faces a minimum sentence of five years, up to a maximum of life imprisonment. McLain was arrested on April 3, 2013, and is being detained without bond pending trial.
Edward Dooley (20, Jacksonville) was indicted on ten felony charges involving the sale of marijuana and firearms from December 2012 through February 2013. Dooley sold eight firearms to undercover agents. He also has a prior felony conviction for burglary. Dooley faces a minimum sentence of five years, up to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. He was also arrested on April 3, 2013. Dooley is serving a state sentence for violation of probation.
Jamar Powell (27, Jacksonville) was indicted on four felony charges involving the sale of crack cocaine and firearms during January 2013. Powell sold four firearms to undercover agents. Powell also has a prior felony conviction for sale of cocaine. He faces a minimum sentence of five years up to a maximum of life imprisonment. Powell was arrested on May 13, 2013, and is being detained without bond pending trial.
Omar Stovall (22, Jacksonville) was indicted on four felony charges involving the sale of marijuana and a firearm during December 2012. Stovall faces a minimum sentence of five years, up to a maximum of life imprisonment.
Leggetts Jenkins (28, Jacksonville) was indicted on three felony charges involving the sale of cocaine and a stolen firearm during February 2013. Jenkins faces a sentence of up to 50 years in federal prison.
Yessenia Terrell (20, Jacksonville) was indicted for selling crack cocaine to ATF agents during January and April 2013. He faces up to 40 years in federal prison.David Gonzalez (32, Middleburg) was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Gonzalez sold a 9mm pistol to ATF agents during January 2013. Gonzalez faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Four others are being prosecuted by the State Attorney's Office for selling narcotics.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
These cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The cases will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot.
This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill, along with Julie Torres, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
The successes of today’s activities are directly related to ATF’s “Frontline” strategy; an intelligence-driven approach to investigating federal firearms crimes. It focuses on the continuous communication, assessment, measurement, and collaboration of resources among federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.
Nigerian National Convicted for Resisting Deportation OrdersRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that Emmanuel Nwankwo, 54, of Nigeria, was found guilty by a federal jury for impeding or hampering his deportation. U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial.
Nwankwo’s trial started Monday and ended this morning with the jury returning the guilty verdict after deliberating for 14 minutes. Witness testimony and documents admitted at trial revealed that U.S. Immigration Enforcement Agents (IEA) brought the defendant to the Alexandria International Airport on Dec. 11, 2012 and attempted to put him on a commercial flight. The defendant began yelling and physically resisting officers, which prevented him from boarding the flight because of airline and Transportation Security Administration policies.
Nwankwo faces four years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release for each count. Sentencing has been set for Aug. 13, 2013.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth D. Reeg and Cytheria D. Jernigan are prosecuting the case.