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14 June 2013
Mesilla Park, N.M., Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony Black, 28, of Mesilla Park, N.M., pleaded guilty this afternoon to an indictment charging him with two counts of distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Black entered his guilty plea without the benefit of any plea agreement. Black’s guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso.
Black initially was charged in Nov. 2012, in a criminal complaint with the distribution of child pornography in Doña Ana County, N.M., in April 2012. According to the complaint, on Nov. 14, 2012, law enforcement officers obtained a federal search warrant for Black’s residence based on an investigation that revealed that an IP address subscribed to that residence was being used to distribute child pornography. When the officers executed the search warrant the following day, they seized a laptop computer that was used to share child pornography in April and Oct. 2012. Black subsequently was indicted in May 2013 and charged with two counts of distribution of child pornography.
During today’s plea hearing, Black pleaded guilty to both counts of the indictment. At sentencing, Black faces a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than 20 years. Black has been in federal custody since his arrest on Nov. 15, 2012 and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by HSI, the Las Cruces Police Department, the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office (NMAGO), the New Mexico State Police and the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also received support from the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, whose mission is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.Martin Lewis Sentenced to Life in Prison for His Role in Petties Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN – Martin Lewis, 35, of Memphis, TN was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Samuel H. Mays, Jr. to life in prison for his role in the Craig Petties Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO), announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III and Resident Agent-in-Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Memphis office Brian Chambers. There is no parole in the federal prison system.
On March 23, 2012, Lewis was convicted by a federal jury of racketeering conspiracy, violent crime in aid of racketeering activity, conspiracy to commit murder for hire, and money laundering. Evidence presented at trial showed Lewis was a member of a criminal racketeering enterprise, the Petties DTO, whose members conspired with cocaine traffickers in Mexico, Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and elsewhere. As part of the conspiracy, cocaine was prepared, packaged and/or stored prior to distribution to buyers in “stash houses.” Lewis and his co-conspirators used these “stash houses” to avoid detection by law enforcement authorities. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendants and their co-conspirators sorted, counted, packaged, and delivered large amounts of cash derived from the sale of controlled substances in various co-conspirators’ premises in the Western District of Tennessee and elsewhere in order to facilitate continued drug trafficking. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and the co-conspirators did kill other people who were believed to be enemies of the enterprise. Over 30 people have been charged and convicted as part of this investigation.
The evidence at trial specifically showed that Lewis worked with co-defendant Clinton Lewis and others to murder Mario McNeal, who was considered to be a threat to the DTO. Martin Lewis himself went to a Memphis restaurant where he shot and killed McNeal.
“Today’s sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole will hopefully provide a meaningful measure of comfort to the family of Mario McNeal and others victimized by the ruthless criminal acts of Martin Lewis,” said U.S. Attorney Stanton. “This case is a prime example of our unwavering commitment to hold accountable to the fullest extent of the law those who insist on creating an atmosphere of violence and sustaining fear in our neighborhoods.”
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshals Service, the Memphis Police Department, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department and the Olive
United States Attorney Edward L. Stanton III
Western District of Tennessee
Branch Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Pritchard on behalf of the government.# # # #
This case was prosecuted under the authority of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF was established in 1982 to mount a comprehensive attack against organized drug traffickers. Today, the OCDETF Program is the centerpiece of the United States Attorney General's drug strategy to reduce the availability of drugs by disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations and money laundering organizations and related criminal enterprises.Man Who Sent Threatening Communications to President and U.S. Senator While in Larimer County Jail Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
DENVER – Thomas Daniel Sanchez, age 25, of Larimer County, was sentenced earlier this week by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel to serve 84 months (7 years) in federal prison for threatening the President of the United States, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, and assaulting an FBI agent, U.S. Attorney John Walsh, FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle and U.S. Secret Service Denver Office Special Agent in Charge Bruce Ward announced. Following his prison sentence, Sanchez will then have to serve 3 years on supervised release. The defendant appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody, and was remanded at its conclusion.
Sanchez was indicted on September 1, 2011. A superseding indictment was obtained on November 30, 2011. Sanchez pled guilty to mailing a threat to kill U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, mailing a threat to kill the President of the United States, and forcibly assaulting an FBI Special Agent. He was sentenced by Judge Daniel on June 12, 2013.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on June 7, 2011, U.S. Capitol Police reported that Thomas Daniel Sanchez, an inmate at the Larimer County Detention Center, had written a letter addressed to United States Senator Michael Bennet, stating that he was in contact with a “terrorist group” with plans to kill the Senator. He also suggested that there were plans against the President. That day, two FBI Special Agents went to interview Sanchez. During the interview, Sanchez reiterated the information contained in the threatening letter. At the end of the interview, Sanchez stood up and deliberately spit in the face and eyes of one of the FBI agents. When warned not to do that again, the defendant leaned forward and threatened the agent. Perceiving the threat, the FBI agent restrained Sanchez until prison officials took control and escorted him out of the interview room.
Following the interview, Sanchez continually called the FBI Fort Collins office, reiterating various threats. He stated that he was “anti-government” and “a known terrorist.” He also claimed to have access to guns and a plane. On June 14, 2011, Sanchez was again interviewed by the FBI. He stated that he fully intended to kill the President. Sanchez continued writing letters between June and September 2011. He repeated and reaffirmed his threats. He also wrote a letter to the Secret Service threatening Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and various other government officials.
“Threatening a government official, or assaulting a federal agent, carries severe consequences,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “Threatening the life of the President of the United States, and a United States Senator, and assaulting an FBI agent results in a serious prison sentence.”
“The FBI considers threats against the President and members of Congress, and assaults on federal agents as serious criminal violations,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle. “Working with our partners, we will pursue these matters with vigor.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service (USSS).
The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Barrett.
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Leader of Credit Card “Skimming” Group Sentenced to over Six Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS –The leader of a group of Californians who were stealing information from bank card readers and ATM’s in order to make counterfeit cards, has been sentenced to 81 months in prison and ordered to pay almost $30,000 in restitution for his guilty pleas to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Jacob Villanueva, Jr., 35, of Fontana, Calif., was sentenced on Thursday, June 13, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon. Villanueva, Jr. was charged in March 2012 with conspiracy and aggravated identity theft, and he pleaded guilty in September 2012. Ten other defendants in the case also pleaded guilty. Eight have been sentenced to prison and two are awaiting sentencing. One defendant is awaiting trial.
According to the court records, beginning in about November 2009 and continuing through Nov. 4, 2011, the defendants installed skimming devices in the internal electronics of the exterior door readers at a number of JP Morgan Chase bank branches in Las Vegas in order to capture a customers’ account data when they slid their cards through the readers. The defendants also installed pinhole cameras on the ATM pin pads in order to capture customers’ ATM personal identification numbers (PINs). The defendants then used the stolen information to manufacture counterfeit credit cards, which they used for their own personal gain. The scheme was originally located in California, and the defendants relocated it to Nevada to evade law enforcement.
Villanueva, Jr. has a number of other prior convictions for controlled substances, receipt of stolen property, and domestic violence crimes, in both Nevada and California.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly M. Frayn.
This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.Judge Sentences Erie Drug Dealer to 14 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 14 years in federal prison on his conviction of violating federal drug distribution laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Chief United States District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin imposed the sentence on Harrison "Old Head" Jones, age 34.
According to information presented to the court, on April 15, 2011, Jones conspired with another individual in Erie, Pennsylvania to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than an ounce of crack cocaine in exchange for $1850.00.
Prior to imposing sentence, Chief Judge McLaughlin characterized Jones as a recidivist drug dealer, who had duped his community, family and friends into believing that he was living a law- abiding life, "creating a facade of respectability." Chief Judge McLaughlin determined that Jones was a career offender who reverted to a life of drug dealing, a crime Judge McLaughlin characterized as a catalyst for other crimes, including gun violence, in our community. According to Chief Judge McLaughlin, the sentence imposed should send a loud and clear message to others in the community inclined to distribute drugs that the penalties for repeat offenders will be severe.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the FBI's Erie Area Gang Law Enforcement (EAGLE) task force, which is comprised of members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, and the Erie Police Department, for the investigation leading to the conviction of Jones.
Jacaman Arrested AgainSon Also ChargedRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – Robert Jacaman Sr. and his son have been indicted by a federal grand jury for receipt or possession of unregistered firearm, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
The sealed indictment, returned Aug. 14, 2012, was automatically unsealed today upon the arrest of Jacaman Jr. Jacaman Sr. is expected to turn himself into federal authorities on Monday, June 17. Both are expected to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo Garcia on Monday, June 17, at 9:00 am.
The indictment, returned under seal Tuesday, June 11, 2013, alleges that on or about June 14, 2012, Jacaman Sr. and his son aided and abetted each other and did knowingly receive and possess a firearm. That firearm - a Colt, Model Match Target, .223 caliber, short-barrel rifle - was not registered to them in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, according to allegations.
Jacaman Sr. is currently under another federal indictment along with his wife, Veronica Jacaman, and three others alleging a variety of violations associated with the selling of firearms and ammunition. That 11-count indictment charges them with conspiring to provide and providing ammunition and firearm magazines for smuggling into Mexico, selling ammunition to illegal aliens and to a convicted felon and selling an assault rifle to a convicted felon. To date, one other defendant has pleaded guilty in relation to the case and another pleaded guilty to related firearms felony charges in another indictment. Jacaman Sr., his wife and two other defendants are still pending trial in that case. They face five years on that conspiracy charge, upon conviction, as well as a maximum of 10 years in prison for each of the illegal sale and illegal exportation charges. All those charges also carry as possible punishment a $250,000 fine.
For receipt or possession of unregistered firearm as charged in this indictment, Jacaman Sr. and Jr. face up to 10 years in prison and a possible $10,000 fine.
The cases are being investigated by ATF and HSI with the assistance of the Laredo Police Department. Several police officers have been cross-designated as ATF Task Force officers working directly with the federal agency, assisting in the investigation of this and other crimes. Assistant United States Attorney Homero Ramirez is prosecuting the case.An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.Informational: Federal Court ArraignmentRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on June 13, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, the following individual was arraigned:
NELSON TRAVIS ALEXANDER, a 47-year-old resident of Box Elder, appeared on a charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. He is currently detained. If convicted of this charge, ALEXANDER faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danna R. Jackson is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The defendant pled not guilty to the charge.
The charge, an indictment, information or complaint, is merely an accusation and all persons named as defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A pre-trial conference and a trial date will be set and the United States will be required to prove the allegations set forth in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.
Informational: Federal Court ArraignmentRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on June 13, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn S. Ostby, the following individual was arraigned:
VANDA KAY BISHOP, a 31-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on a charge of theft of mail. She is currently released on special conditions. If convicted of this charge, BISHOP faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica T. Fehr is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The defendant pled not guilty to the charge.
The charge, an indictment, information or complaint, is merely an accusation and all persons named as defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A pre-trial conference and a trial date will be set and the United States will be required to prove the allegations set forth in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.
Hermosa Woman Pleads Guilty to Misprision of FelonyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Doreen Amiotte, age 48, of Hermosa, South Dakota appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on June 12, 2013 and pled guilty to Misprision of Felony.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 3 years in custody, a $250,000 fine, or both; 1 years of supervised release; and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction stems from an incident that took place on November 26, 2012 when Amiotte failed to report that a federal inmate who was out on funeral furlough could not be located. The inmate absconded from the funeral between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. Amiotte did not report the escape until after 4:30 p.m.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie H. Ruettgers.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date was set for September 9, 2013. The defendant was released pending sentencing.
Hagerstown Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud for Improperly Billing Medicare and MedicaidRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - David Russo, age 62, of Hagerstown, Maryland pleaded guilty today to health care fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid by billing for prescriptions that Russo knew were not written for a legitimate medical purpose.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division.
“As prescription pharmaceutical abuse grows, so too does the resolve of DEA to investigate and uncover the illicit activities which fuel this problem,” stated Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington Field Division.
According to his plea agreement, Russo, a licensed pharmacist, owned and operated a pharmacy known as "Russo’s Rx," located at 25 North Cannon Avenue in Hagerstown. Russo admitted that from January 2009 through December 2010, he filled prescriptions for oxycodone, methadone and benzodiazepines that he knew were issued outside of the legitimate medical course and fraudulently billed Medicare and Medicaid for those prescriptions. The sheer number of prescriptions for oxycodone and methadone indicated that the prescriptions were not valid.
In addition, Russo accepted cash for Schedule II drugs when the drugs were not covered by Medicaid or Medicare. Schedule II drugs, including oxycodone and methadone, are approved for medical use and also have a very high abuse potential. They are regulated by the DEA. Another indicator that Russo knew the prescriptions were not for a legitimate medical purpose is that he "split" prescriptions, accepting an amount of cash at the time of a transaction and then accepting the remaining amount at a later time. Russo also filled two prescriptions for a Schedule II drug on the same day for the same patient but charged one to insurance and accepted cash for the other. The investigation showed that: customers would call ahead of time to ask Russo if he had oxycodone “in stock” and how much it would cost; customers traveled from out of state or in van loads to his pharmacy; and many customers were receiving the same “cocktail” prescription of oxycodone, Roxicodone and Xanax, which are well known in medicine and pharmacy as being extremely dangerous when combined because of the severe side effects and potential for addiction and abuse.
Further, Russo made gross sales of nearly $700,000 a month for several months in 2010 - a dramatic increase over previous months. He also made at least 55 cash deposits between December 1, 2009 and June 15, 2010 totaling $862,000. Russo even maintained a cash counting machine in his pharmacy.
In December 2010, the DEA executed a search warrant at Russo’s Rx and seized $39,000 in cash from the pharmacy - cash that was earned from unlawful dispensation of oxycodone, methadone and benzodiazepines. Since that date, Russo admitted that he deleted thousands of unlawful prescriptions from his prescription database. From January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010, Russo’s Rx dispensed over 700,000 dosage units of oxycodone and 117,000 dosage units for methadone for the invalid prescriptions. The vast majority of the remaining invalid prescriptions were for other schedule II narcotics and benzodiazepines. For all these prescriptions, Russo improperly billed, and received payment for, over $109,207.26 to Medicare and at least $90,939.07 to Medicaid, with a total approximate loss of $200,146.33.
As part of his plea agreement, Russo will be required to pay restitution in the full amount of the loss, and to forfeit the $39,000 in cash seized during the search of the pharmacy in 2010.
Russo faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, although Russo and government have agreed to jointly recommend a sentence of 30 months in prison. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III has scheduled sentencing for August 22, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the DEA for its work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland Division of Drug Control and the Maryland Board of Pharmacy for their assistance in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson, Thomas Corcoran and Ayn M. Ducao, who are prosecuting the case.
Fridley Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing AmmunitionRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court in St. Paul, a 22-year-old felon from Fridley pleaded guilty to possessing nine-millimeter, hollow-point ammunition. On June 13, 2013, Raphael Eric Matthews pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. Matthews, who was indicted on February 19, 2013, entered his plea before United States District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson.
In his plea agreement, Matthews admitted that on January 31, 2013, he possessed the multiple nine-millimeter, hollow-point bullets. Matthews was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation, and the ammunition was found inside the jacket Matthews was wearing. Because he is a felon, Matthews is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time. Matthews’s prior Hennepin County convictions include aggravated robbery (2007) and simple robbery (2012).
For his crimes, Matthews faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Judge Magnuson will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled. This case is the result of an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Surya Saxena.Franklin County Man Caught in Cocaine Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Waynesboro, Pa., pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Corey D. Harley, 38, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from Nov. 2011 to July 18, 2012, Harley conspired to possess and distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for Oct. 30, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr., is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Safe Streets Task Force initiative comprised of the Laurel Highlands Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pa. Attorney General's Office, the Blair County Drug Task Force, the Cambria County Drug Task Force, the Somerset County Drug Task Force, the Roaring Spring Borough Police Dept. and the Paint Township Police Dept. conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Harley.
Four Individuals Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Commit Social Security FraudRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court, a 50-year-old St. Paul woman pleaded guilty for her role in a conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). Dianne Josephine Chess specifically pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit Social Security fraud. Chess, who was indicted along with three co-defendants on November 14, 2012, entered her plea before United States District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis.
From 2001 through June 2010, Chess was employed as a service representative at a SSA branch office in St. Paul. Her responsibilities included inputting into a computerized data system information provided by applicants seeking Social Security numbers. Based on that information, the Commissioner of Social Security would assign Social Security account numbers and issue Social Security cards to eligible applicants. Chess admitted entering false information into the SSA’s computer system and processing applications based on the false information so her co-conspirators would receive Social Security account numbers and cards.
On March 11, 2013, Victor Ray Holloway, age 52, of Richfield, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of theft of public funds in connection to this scheme. In his plea agreement, Holloway, also known as Victor Young, admitted that from 2001 through June 2010, he conspired with Chess and others to deceive the SSA. In addition, Holloway admitted that on June 13, 2008, he used the fraudulently obtained Social Security account number assigned to Victor Young while applying for a Minnesota identification card, and that from 2002 through October 2012, he embezzled approximately $77,318 in unentitled Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) disability benefits.
On January 23, 2013, Larhea Lynn Nakao, age 34, of Brooklyn Park, pleaded guilty to one count of use of a false Social Security number and one count of theft of public funds. In her plea agreement, Nakao, also known as Larea Holloway, admitted that in July 2008, Victor Holloway provided her a fraudulently obtained Social Security card. Nakao also admitted that on October 24, 2010, she used that false Social Security number while applying for unemployment benefits. Moreover, from May 8, 2009, through October 2012, she failed to disclose on her Initial Information Sheet to the Metropolitan Council Housing & Redevelopment Authority that she was earning wages. As a result, she obtained $16,332 in Section 8 housing assistance payments from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) to which she was not entitled.
On January 18, 2013, Angela Grace Hinkle, age 47, of Lewisville, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of use of a false Social Security number. In her plea agreement, Hinkle, also known as Angela Grace Holloway, admitted that in June 2008, Victor Holloway provided her with a fraudulent Social Security card. In addition, Hinkle admitted that on June 21, 2008, she used that Social Security number while applying for a Minnesota identification card.
For their crimes, the four defendants face a potential maximum penalty of five years on each count. Judge Davis will determine their sentences at future hearings, yet to be scheduled.
This case is the result of an investigation by the SSA-Office of Inspector General and the HUD-Office of Inspector General, with cooperation of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Dunne.Foundational Skills for Child and Adolescent Interviews Training Held in Guam and the CNMIRead the Press Release
United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), announced that U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands sponsored the training entitled, Foundational Skills for Child and Adolescent Interviews Training, which was held in Guam on April 18, 2013, with participants from the NMI via video teleconferencing. The main speaker for the training was Karen R. Blackwell, MSW, LCSW, Child/Adolescent Forensic Interviewer, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Denver Division. Ms. Blackwell is a licensed clinical social worker and has conducted in excess of 2500 forensic interviews with children, adolescents and persons with developmental disabilities. Ms. Blackwell teaches and trains both locally, nationally and internationally and is the recipient of the prestigious “2002 Excellence in Practice Award” presented by the Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Child Welfare. Ms. Blackwell covered the topics, Understanding Child Interviewing Memory and Suggestibility; Adolesent Victims and Interview Guidelines. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco and Arlene T. Gadia, Social Services Supervisor from the DPHSS Child Protective Services spoke on Child Abuse Mandatory Reporting Requirements.
Participants at the training in Guam were from the Attorney General’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Guam Police Department, the Department of Public Health and Social Services-Child Protection Services, FBI, Healing Hearts Crisis Center, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Participants from the NMI were from the Department of Public Safety, Attorney General’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office
Fort Thompson Man Sentenced for Felon in Possession of A FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota man convicted of Felon in Possession of a Firearm was sentenced on June 12, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Samuel Redwater, age 22, was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment; 2 years of supervised release; and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Redwater was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 16, 2013 and pled guilty to the above offense on March 28, 2013. The charge stems from an incident wherein Redwater, on or about December, 19, 2012, having been previously convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, knowingly possessed a firearm which had been previously shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce.
The investigation was conducted by the South Dakota Highway Patrol, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, and the Chamberlain City Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.
Redwater was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Former Security Contractor Executives<br /> Sentenced for Illegally Obtaining More Than $31 Million<br /> Intended for Disadvantaged Small BusinessesRead the Press Release
Two executives at a Virginia-based security contracting firm were sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia for their roles in using a front company to obtain more than $31 million intended for disadvantaged small businesses as part of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Section 8(a) program. This program allows qualified small businesses to receive sole-source and competitive-bid contracts set aside for minority-owned and disadvantaged small businesses.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Inspector General Paul K. Martin; SBA Inspector General Peggy E. Gustafson; Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Special Agent in Charge of Mid-Atlantic Field Office Robert E. Craig; General Services Administration (GSA) Inspector General Brian D. Miller; and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Inspector General Charles K. Edwards made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Joseph Richards, 52, of Arlington, Va., and David Lux, 66, of Springfield, Va., were sentenced today to 27 and 15 months in prison, respectively, after pleading guilty in March 2013 to conspiracy to commit major government fraud. Both men were ordered to complete community service as part of their supervised release following their prison terms. Richards was ordered to pay $120,378 in restitution, and Lux was ordered to forfeit $115,556.
According to court documents, Richards and Lux were executives at an Arlington-based security contracting firm referred to as Company A in court records. In approximately 2001, Keith Hedman, 53, of Arlington, formed Company A, which was approved to participate in the 8(a) program based on the 8(a) eligibility of its listed president and CEO, an African-American female. When the listed president and CEO left Company A in 2003, Hedman became its sole owner, and the company was no longer 8(a)-eligible.
In 2003, Hedman created Company B, another Arlington-based security contractor, to ensure that he could continue to gain access to 8(a) contracting preferences for which Company A was no longer qualified. Prior to applying for Company B’s 8(a) status, Hedman selected an employee, Dawn Hamilton, 48, of Brownsville, Md., to serve as a figurehead owner based on her Portuguese heritage and history of social disadvantage. In reality, the new company was managed by Hedman and Company A senior leadership in violation of 8(a) rules and regulations. To deceive the SBA, the co-conspirators falsely claimed that Hamilton formed and founded the company and that she was the only member of the company’s management. Based on those misrepresentations, Company B obtained 8(a) status in 2004. From 2004 through February 2012, Hedman – not Hamilton – impermissibly exercised ultimate decision-making authority and control over Company B by directing its finances, allocation of personnel, and government contracting activities.
Richards and Lux joined the scheme in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Hedman offered Richards and Lux ownership stakes in Company B in exchange for their assistance in misleading the SBA and other U.S. government agencies, and both men accepted. Once they joined the conspiracy, Richards and Lux took a variety of actions to further the fraud against the United States. In 2008, for example, both Richards and Lux helped Company B overcome a protest by another company that accused Company A and Company B of improperly obtaining a $48 million Coast Guard contract.
From 2008 to 2010, Richards moved to Company B’s payroll to help Hedman illegally operate Company B. In 2010, Lux helped Hedman withdraw more than $1 million in cash from Company B’s accounts, which Hedman then disbursed to various conspirators, including $100,000 in cash to both Richards and Lux. Richards and Lux also assisted Hedman, Hamilton, and other co-conspirators prepare false documents, including annual reviews, to submit to SBA and other government agencies.
In total, the scheme netted government contracts valued at more than $153 million, from which Company B obtained more than $31 million in contract payments. The various conspirators netted more than $6.1 million that they were not entitled to receive from those payments.
Six other defendants have pleaded guilty in the scheme:
• Hedman is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee on June 21, 2013.
• Hamilton is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis, III on June 28, 2013.
• David Sanborn, 60, of Lexington, S.C., Company A’s former president, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S District Judge Claude M. Hilton on July 19, 2013.
• John Hertogs, 42, of Winter Springs, Fl., Company B’s former director of operations, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Hilton on July 12, 2013, for submitting a fraudulent 8(a) application for a follow-on company that Hedman and Hamilton intended to use once Company B graduated from the 8(a) program.
• Derek Matthews, 47, of Harwood, Md., former Regional Director for the National Capital Region of the Federal Protective Service, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Brinkema on July 19, 2013, for a related bribery scheme in which Hedman agreed to pay Matthews $50,000 and a percentage of new business in exchange for Matthews helping Company B obtain contracts.
• Michael Dunkel, 59, of Merritt Island, Fl., is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lee on Oct. 4, 2013, for obtaining more than $4.4 million in payments by using Company B as a pass-through company on NASA contracts.This case is being investigated by NASA Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the SBA -OIG, DCIS-OIG, GSA-OIG, and DHS-OIG, with assistance from the Defense Contract Audit Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chad Golder and Ryan Faulconer, a former Trial Attorney for the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Former Security Contractor Executives Sentenced for Illegally Obtaining More Than $31 Million Intended for Disadvantaged Small BusinessesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two former executives at a Virginia-based security contracting firm were sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia for their roles in using a front company to obtain more than $31 million intended for disadvantaged small businesses as part of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Section 8(a) program. This program allows qualified small businesses to receive sole-source and competitive-bid contracts set aside for minority-owned and disadvantaged small businesses.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Inspector General Paul K. Martin; SBA Inspector General Peggy E. Gustafson; Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Special Agent in Charge of Mid-Atlantic Field Office Robert E. Craig; General Services Administration (GSA) Inspector General Brian D. Miller; and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Inspector General Charles K. Edwards made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Joseph Richards, 52, of Arlington, Va., and David Lux, 66, of Springfield, Va., were sentenced today to 27 and 15 months in prison, respectively, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit major government fraud in March 2013. The court imposed restitution in the amount of $120,378.73 against Richards and required Lux to forfeit $115,556.96.According to court documents, Richards and Lux were executives at an Arlington-based security contractor referred to in court documents as Company A. In approximately 2001, Keith Hedman, 53, of Arlington, formed Company A, which was approved to participate in the 8(a) program based on the 8(a) eligibility of its listed president and CEO, an African-American female. When the listed president and CEO left Company A in 2003, Hedman became its sole owner, and the company was no longer 8(a)-eligible.
In 2003, Hedman created Company B, another Arlington-based security contractor, to ensure that he could continue to gain access to 8(a) contracting preferences for which Company A was no longer qualified. Prior to applying for Company B’s 8(a) status, Hedman selected an employee, Dawn Hamilton, 48, of Brownsville, Md., to serve as a figurehead owner based on her Portuguese heritage and history of social disadvantage. In reality, the new company was managed by Hedman and Company A senior leadership in violation of 8(a) rules and regulations. To deceive the SBA, the co-conspirators falsely claimed that Hamilton formed and founded the company and that she was the only member of the company’s management. Based on those misrepresentations, Company B obtained 8(a) status in 2004. From 2004 through February 2012, Hedman – not Hamilton – impermissibly exercised ultimate decision-making authority and control over Company B by directing its finances, allocation of personnel, and government contracting activities.
Richards and Lux joined the scheme in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Hedman offered Richards and Lux ownership stakes in Company B in exchange for their assistance in misleading the SBA and other U.S. government agencies, and both men accepted. Once they joined the conspiracy, Richards and Lux took a variety of actions to further the fraud against the United States. In 2008, for example, both Richards and Lux helped Company B overcome a protest by another company that accused Company A and Company B of improperly obtaining a $48 million Coast Guard contract.
From 2008 to 2010, Richards moved to Company B’s payroll to help Hedman illegally operate Company B. In 2010, Lux helped Hedman withdraw more than $1 million in cash from Company B’s accounts, which Hedman then disbursed to various conspirators, including $100,000 in cash to both Richards and Lux. Richards and Lux also assisted Hedman, Hamilton, and other co-conspirators prepare false documents, including annual reviews, to submit to SBA and other government agencies.
In total, the scheme netted government contracts valued at more than $153 million, from which Company B obtained more than $31 million in contract payments. The various conspirators netted more than $6.1 million that they were not entitled to receive from those payments.
Six other defendants have pleaded guilty in the scheme:
- Hedman is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee on June 21, 2013.
- Hamilton is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis, III on June 28, 2013.
- David Sanborn, 60, of Lexington, S.C., Company A’s former President, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S District Judge Claude M. Hilton on July 19, 2013.
- John Hertogs, 42, of Winter Springs, Fl., Company B’s former director of operations, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Hilton on July 12, 2013, for submitting a fraudulent 8(a) application for a follow-on company that Hedman and Hamilton intended to use once Company B graduated from the 8(a) program.
- Derek Matthews, 47, of Harwood, Md., former Regional Director for the National Capital Region of the Federal Protective Service, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Brinkema on July 19, 2013, for a related bribery scheme in which Hedman agreed to pay Matthews $50,000 and a percentage of new business in exchange for Matthews helping Company B obtain contracts.
- Michael Dunkel, 59, of Merritt Island, Fl., is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lee on Oct. 4, 2013, for obtaining more than $4.4 million in payments by using Company B as a pass-through company on NASA contracts.
This case is being investigated by NASA Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the SBA -OIG, DCIS-OIG, GSA-OIG, and DHS-OIG, with assistance from the Defense Contract Audit Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chad Golder and Ryan Faulconer, a former Trial Attorney for the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Former Police Chief Will Spend 11+ Years in Prison for Corrupt ActsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A former East Washington Police Chief has been sentenced in federal court to 135 months imprisonment, followed by three years supervised release on his conviction of Hobbs Act violations, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on Donald Abraham Solomon, 57.
According to information presented to the court, Solomon was the Chief of Police of East Washington Borough, in Washington County, Pa. He received payments from a purported drug dealer, who was an undercover FBI agent, to protect drug shipments and to purchase law enforcement restricted police equipment.
Assistant United States Attorneys Robert S. Cessar and Lee J. Karl prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Solomon.
Former Official of Teamsters Local 337 Indicted on ConspiracyAnd Bribery ChargesRead the Press Release
A former business agent and trustee of Teamsters Local 337 was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Detroit on bribery and conspiracy charges, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge James Vanderberg, Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and Patrick Kawa, District Supervisor, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Indicted was Michael Townsend, age 68 of Dearborn Heights, Michigan.
According to the indictment, from April 2003 through August 2008, Townsend conspired with others to prevent Teamsters Local 337 from organizing the employees of LaGrasso Brothers Produce, Inc. by creating a front company known as Sam LaGrasso Produce Company. Townsend and his co-conspirators would then use LaGrasso family members and managers of LaGrasso Brothers Produce, Inc. to pose as employees of Sam LaGrasso Produce Company and enroll them as union members of Teamsters Local 337. Townsend and his co-conspirators would then enter into collective bargaining agreements between Local 337 and Sam LaGrasso Produce Company to create the appearance that the employees of LaGrasso Brothers Produce, Inc were unionized. In exchange for his actions in preventing the unionization of employees of LaGrasso Brothers Produce, by Teamsters Local 337, Townsend took bribes in the form of cash payments from LaGrasso Brothers Produce, Inc.
"This defendant was a union official who was entrusted to help working people organize," McQuade said. "He betrayed the Teamsters and workers for his own profit. We are seeking to hold him and the company accountable for their conduct."
Townsend is facing a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
On January 10, 2013, Sam LaGrasso Produce, Inc. pleaded guilty to a one count Information charging that it made and agreed to make prohibited payments to a labor official. The company is awaiting sentencing where it faces a fine of $6,300,000 up to $12,600,000. The plea agreement contains a cooperation agreement requiring corporate officers to assist in the investigation and prosecution of others and the possibility of a reduced sentence based on that cooperation.
An indictment is only a charge and it is the government’s responsibility to prove guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by agents and officers of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations and the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David Morris and Mark Chutkow.Former New York State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. Sentenced to Five Years’ ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
Earlier today, Pedro Espada, Jr. was sentenced before Judge Frederic Block in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, to five years’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for theft of federal funds from Bronx-based non-profit healthcare clinics, and lying on his 2005 personal tax return. As part of that sentence, Judge Block ordered Espada to serve 100 hours of community service, restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $118,531, restitution to the victims of his thefts in an amount to be determined, and forfeiture of $368,088. The court remanded Espada to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons. Espada is a former New York State Senator for the 33rd Senate District in the Bronx, who served as the New York State Senate Majority Leader from 2009 to 2010.
The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Toni Weirauch, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS).
“The people of the Bronx trusted Pedro Espada, Jr. to have their best interests at heart. Instead, he abused that trust to the tune of more than half a million dollars. Under obligation to use the funds he received for the benefit of people sorely in need of quality health care, he chose instead to benefit himself and his family at their expense. Espada embezzled funds to finance his personal lifestyle and lavish gifts on friends and family members at the expense of taxpayers and underprivileged members of the Bronx community who were deprived of needed health services and medical equipment. He continued his campaign of lying and fraud on his tax returns,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Espada has finally been held to account for his crimes.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the FBI and IRS, the agencies responsible for leading the government’s investigation, and thanked the Office of New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman for its assistance.
On May 14, 2012, a federal jury in Brooklyn returned a guilty verdict against Espada on four counts of stealing from non-profit medical clinics in the Bronx that received federal funding. On October 12, 2012, Espada pled guilty to making false statements on his 2005 personal tax return and agreed not to appeal or otherwise challenge the jury’s verdict. That same day, Espada’s son and co-defendant, Pedro Gautier Espada, pled guilty to guilty to one count of stealing federal funding from non-profit medical clinics and one count of failing to file a tax return in 2009, and his sentencing has been scheduled for June 18, 2013, also before Judge Block.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos stated, “Over thirty years ago, Pedro Espada, Jr. helped establish the Soundview Health Center, but his own greed and self-dealing undermined that good work. Espada’s embezzlement of federal funds diverted money meant to serve the health needs of the people of the South Bronx. In lining his own pockets, he betrayed those people and stole from U.S. taxpayers in the process. There is a price to pay for these betrayals.”
The successful outcome of the collaborative effort in this investigation demon- strates the government’s resolve in investigating and prosecuting public corruption. Today’s sentences mark the end of a long period of criminal activity that harmed the patients of the not-for-profit clinics, who depended on the services the clinics provided and law abiding American taxpayers, who have to pick up the slack whenever others deliberately do not pay their fair share. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud of its partnership with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” stated IRS Special Agent-in-Charge Weirauch.
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Todd Kaminsky, Carolyn Pokorny and Claire Kedeshian.
The Defendants
PEDRO ESPADA, JR.
Age: 58
Mamaroneck, NYPEDRO GAUTIER ESPADA
Age: 39
Fairfield, CTE.D.N.Y. Docket No. CR-10-985 (FB)
Former GSA Property Manager Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements and Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A former assistant property manager for the General Services Administration (GSA) in Las Vegas who oversaw the federal courthouse, pleaded guilty today to making false statements to federal agents and witness tampering, announced André Birotte, Jr., United States Attorney for the Central District of California.
Steven M. Underhill, 58, of Las Vegas, Nev., entered his guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12, 2013, at 9:00 a.m.
According to the plea agreement, in about 2010, GSA’s Office of the Inspector General (GSA-OIG) initiated an investigation into alleged improprieties involving the janitorial contract for the Lloyd George Federal Courthouse in Las Vegas. The allegations included claims that Underhill, who was GSA’s Assistant Property Manager at the courthouse, had an undisclosed and improper relationship with one of the janitorial company’s employees. The allegations included claims that as a result of the janitorial employee’s decision to end her relationship with Underhill, Underhill began giving the company unsatisfactory ratings, which impacted its bid to renew the contract. In April and May 2011, when investigators interviewed Underhill about the allegations, Underhill lied to them by denying that he had a relationship with the employee and that he was living with her, when he had in fact been in a relationship with her for a number of years, and had lived with her and her mother. After Underhill’s interviews with the law enforcement investigators, Underhill told the employee to deny everything about their relationship because he would be fired. Underhill continued to contact the employee over the next 14 months by telephone and text, and threatened her with retaliation and public embarrassment if she cooperated with authorities.
Underhill faces up to five years in prison on the false statements charge and up to 20 years in prison on the witness tampering charge, as well as fines of up to $250,000 on each charge. He is free on a personal recognizance bond while awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for GSA, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn C. Newman of the District of Nevada and Lawrence S. Middleton of the Central District of California.Former Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Bribery Charge-Admits Taking Money in Return for Smuggling Drugs into D.C. Jail-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jonathan Womble, 36, a former corrections officer at the District of Columbia Jail, pled guilty today to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit bribery for accepting $400 in cash in return for smuggling drugs and other contraband into the facility, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Womble pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Reggie B. Walton ordered him detained pending sentencing on Sept. 13, 2013. The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and financial penalties.
According to the government’s evidence, the FBI received information in January 2013 that a corrections officer was providing narcotics and other contraband to an inmate at the D.C. Jail. An investigation revealed that the inmate was working with co-conspirators outside the jail to assemble, deliver, receive and distribute narcotics intended for inmates at the jail, and that they were paying an individual to get the drugs into the facility.
On Jan. 27, 2013, Womble met with one of the co-conspirators in the parking lot of a carry-out restaurant in the District of Columbia. The co-conspirator gave Womble a plastic bag, which contained a powdery substance consistent with heroin and marijuana. The bag also contained a cellphone, cellphone charger and $400 in cash. Womble understood that the cash was in exchange for him getting the drugs, cell phone and charger to the inmate in the jail. Two days later, he smuggled the items into the jail and provided them to the inmate.
Plans were subsequently made for another delivery of contraband. However, on Feb. 12, 2013, multiple bags of marijuana were discovered and intercepted inside Womble’s locker at the jail by the District of Columbia Department of Corrections and one of its K-9 dogs. The marijuana had been provided to Womble by a person who wanted it delivered to another inmate.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen and Assistant Director in Charge Parlave commended the work of the three agencies who jointly worked the case, including agents from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, an FBI task force officer from Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and investigators from the District of Columbia Department of Corrections Office of Investigative Services. Finally, they commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Lenisse Edloe, Legal Assistant Angela Lawrence, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard E. DiZinno and Christopher R. Kavanaugh, who are prosecuting the case.
13-212Federal Jury Finds Brookfield Podiatrist Guilty of Medicare FraudRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Susan J. Waddell, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General for New England, and Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal jury in Hartford has found SAMIR ZAKY, 38, of Brookfield, guilty of 14 counts of health care fraud and 14 counts of making false statements relating to health care matters. The trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello began on June 10 and the jury returned its verdict this afternoon.
“Health care fraud is a serious crime that undermines our ability to provide care to those who need it most,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Daly. “Our Office is committed to protecting Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers from all unscrupulous health care providers in Connecticut.”
“When health providers put personal greed ahead of the provision of quality patient services, they should expect intense scrutiny by law enforcement officials,” stated HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Waddell “Dr. Zaky recklessly ignored the consequences, insisting on cheating taxpayers, patients, and the Medicare program. Now he is paying the price.”
“Medicare is in place for our nation’s elderly to receive important and often vital health care services,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Mertz. “It is not for unscrupulous doctors and health care professionals to use as a personal slush fund. The FBI is committed to investigating fraud in both government-sponsored and private health insurance programs and urges anyone with information on a health care fraud to report it their local FBI office.”
According to the evidence at trial, ZAKY is a podiatrist who operated Affiliated Podiatrists, LLC in Brookfield. From August 2010 to July 2011, ZAKY submitted numerous claims to the Medicare program stating that he had performed nail avulsions, a surgical procedure that requires use of an injectable anesthetic and removes the entire border of a patient’s toenail. In fact, ZAKY had only clipped or trimmed the patient’s toenails.
Judge Covello has scheduled sentencing for September 10, 2013, at which time ZAKY faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count of health care fraud, and a maximum term of imprisonment of five years of each count of making a false statement.
The government also is seeking to forfeit more than $29,000 in cash found during a search of ZAKY’s residence in August 2010.
ZAKY has been released on bond since his arrest on November 29, 2012.
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David J. Sheldon and Christopher W. Schmeisser and Auditor Kevin Saunders.
Acting U.S. Attorney Daly encouraged individuals who suspect health care fraud to report it by calling the Health Care Fraud Task Force at 203-777-6311 or 1-800-HHS-TIPS.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Federal Indictment Charges Lane County Couple with Obtaining a Firearm for a Convicted Felon and Being Accessories to Kidnapping and Other CrimesRead the Press Release
Indictment Charges Husband and Wife with Obtaining Firearm for Charged Federal Defendant David Joseph Pedersen and Being Accessories After the Fact for Pederson and Co-Defendant Holly Ann GrigsbyPORTLAND, Ore. - A federal indictment was unsealed today charging Corey Wyatt, 28, and his wife, Kimberly Scott Wyatt, 32, of Springfield and Monroe, Oregon with conspiracy to obtain and transfer a firearm to convicted felon David Joseph Pedersen a/k/a Joey Pedersen who was prohibited from possessing a firearm, the straw purchase and transfer of that firearm, being accessories after the fact to kidnapping resulting in death, using a firearm in a crime of violence that caused death, and transportation of a stolen vehicle by assisting David Joseph Pedersen and Holly Ann Grigsby, and misprision of a felony.
Kimberly Scott Wyatt appeared before U.S.Magistrate Dennis J. Hubel for arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty to all counts of the indictment. She was detained in custody pending further review, and a trial date of August 20, 2013 was set. Defendant Corey Wyatt is currently in custody on unrelated state charges, and an arraignment before a U.S. Magistrate will be scheduled on a later date.
The attached indictment charges an alleged conspiracy that began on or about July 4, 2011, and charges the Wyatts with making a false statement to deceive a licensed firearms dealer that Kimberly Scott Wyatt was the actual purchaser of a 9mm luger pistol when, in fact, they purchased the firearm for David Joseph Pedersen who was a convicted felon who was prohibited from possessing a firearm. David Joseph Pedersen and Holly Ann Grigsby are currently pending federal charges that stem from an alleged 10-day crime spree that spanned from Everett, Washington to Eureka, California, and included four murders and the possession of that firearm and others.
The attached indictment also charges both Corey Wyatt and Kimberly Scott Wyatt with being accessories after the fact to Pedersen and Grigsby between September 27 and 28, 2011, in order to hinder and prevent their apprehension, knowing that Pedersen and Grigsby had committed crimes including kidnapping resulting in death, using a firearm in a crime of violence that caused death, and transporting a stolen vehicle. Pedersen and Grigsby are charged in a separate federal indictment with the murder, kidnapping and robbery of Pedersen’s father, David Jones “Red” Pedersen, of Everett, Washington, as well as using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence that resulted in death, and the interstate transportation of Red Pedersen’s stolen vehicle from Washington to Oregon between September 26 and 27, 2011.
If convicted, the defendants face maximum penalties for the charges ranging from three to 15 years, and up to a $250,000 fine.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant should be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
These charges stem from an investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Oregon State Police, the Everett, Washington Police Department and the Eureka, California Police Department, with assistance from the Oregon Department of Corrections, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, Lincoln County Major Crimes Team, Linn County Sheriff's Office, Benton County Sheriff's Office, Corvallis Police Department, Salem Police Department, Keizer Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Yuba County, California Sheriff's Office, Portland Police Bureau, United States Marshals Service, Tillamook County Sheriff's Office, Philomath Police Department, Lebanon Police Department, Stayton Police Department, Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, and the Oregon Department of Justice.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jane Shoemaker and Hannah Horsley are handling the prosecution of the case.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Two in Marijuana Trafficking InvestigationRead the Press Release
Investigation stems from an abandoned marijuana load discovered on Van Horn school bus last year
In Alpine, two men face federal drug trafficking charges related to the discovery of more than 480 pounds of marijuana on a Van Horn ISD school bus last year announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and DEA-El Paso Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit.
A two-count federal grand jury indictment, returned Tuesday in Pecos, TX, and unsealed following their arrests yesterday, charges 22–year-old Anthony Paredez-Juarez of Odessa, TX, and 20–year-old George Jacob Cosme-Baird of Presidio, TX, with one count of attempted possession of between 100 kilograms and 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and one count of possession with intent to distribute between 100 kilograms and 1,000 kilograms of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school, namely Presidio High School.
The indictment stems from an investigation resulting from a marijuana seizure on November 19, 2012, at a convenience store in Marfa, TX. Earlier in the day, the school bus was used to transport students from Van Horn to Presidio, TX, for a basketball game and was now en route back to Van Horn. According to authorities, the bus driver alerted U.S. Border Patrol agents, who were also at the convenience store, when he noticed several duffle bags in the bay area of the bus which not there when they departed Van Horn. The agents took possession of the duffle bags after discovering the marijuana inside.
“This case involved a particularly brazen act of using a school bus and students as cover for a drug load. These arrests and federal charges should send a message that law enforcement agencies will work together to ensure that persons involved in this type of activity are brought to justice, especially when the safety of our children is concerned. This case also shows the importance of the cooperation we receive from vigilant and honest citizens, without whose assistance we could not do our jobs,” stated DEA-El Paso Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit.
Upon conviction, each defendant faces a minimum of five years in federal prison per count. The statutory maximum sentence for conviction of the school zone related drug charge is 80 years incarceration and a $10 million fine. The statutory maximum sentence for conviction of the other drug charge is 40 years incarceration and a $5 million fine. Both defendants remain in federal custody pending the outcome of a detention hearing scheduled for 9:30am on June 19, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Dwight Goains in Alpine, TX.
This indictment resulted from an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (Alpine) together with the U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI-Alpine) and the Texas Department of Public Safety Narcotics Division (Alpine). Assistant United States Attorney James J. Miller, Jr., is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Federal Grand Jury in South Bend Returns IndictmentsRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Mary L. Hatton
www.usdoj.gov/usao/inn/ Fax: (219) 852-2770
South Bend, IN—The United States Attorney's Office announced that a Grand Jury sitting in South Bend, Indiana, returned the following Indictments on June 12, 2013:
Emilio Santana-Esquivel, 27, of Macy, Indiana, was charged in a three count Indictment with one count of falsely representing to be a United States citizen, one count of identity theft, and one count of illegal use of a false social security number.These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security – Immigration and Customs Enforcement.This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse M. Barrett.
If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. .
The United States Attorney's Office emphasized that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Edinburg, Texas Woman Indicted in Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsPLANO, Texas – A 34-year-old Edinburg, Texas woman has been indicted in a bank fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Lacie Devine was indicted on June 13, 2013 by a federal grand jury and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. If convicted, Devine faces up to 20 years in federal prison and possible restitution of $3.7 million.
According to the indictment, Devine, an escrow officer at National Escrow & Title, LLC, is alleged to have been involved in a wide-spread mortgage fraud scheme involving loan officers, recruiters, home sellers, and home buyers. The indictment alleges that Devine conspired with others to falsify home buyers’ loan applications, to falsify real estate settlement statements, and to distribute lender funds to parties that were not disclosed on the settlement statements and were not disclosed to the lenders. Devine’s scheme resulted in losses to mortgage lenders and to those that insured these mortgages, including The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).
Others who have pleaded guilty in connection with the case include Ronzell Mitchell, 36, of Edmond, OK; Christi Wyatt, 41, of Desoto, Texas; Roslyn Long, 45, of Plano; Michael Ross, 35, of Dallas; and Curtis Callier, 32, of Dallas.
This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement 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.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, HUD-Office of Inspector General, Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General, and Texas Department of Insurance-Fraud Unit. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Eason and Andy Williams.
A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Drug Dealers Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced the sentencing of Kelvin Johnson, age 35, of Donalsonville, Georgia, Carlos Johnson, age 29, of Donalsonville, Georgia, Antonio Winbush, age 30, of Leary, Georgia, and Raymond Sutton, age 38, of Albany, Georgia, on June 13, 2013, before the Honorable W. Louis Sands, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Georgia.
Carlos and Kelvin Johnson had earlier pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute both cocaine powder and cocaine base (“crack” cocaine). Carlos Johnson had also pled guilty to money laundering, as well. Winbush and Sutton had both pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
Court records reveal that the four defendants were part of a large group operating in the Seminole County, Georgia, area between 2008 and 2011 distributing multi-ounce quantities of cocaine powder and cocaine base (“crack” cocaine).
Carlos and Kelvin Johnson both received sentences of life imprisonment. Sutton was sentenced to one hundred sixty-eight months imprisonment and Winbush received a sentence of eighty-seven months in prison. All four men were also sentenced to five years supervised release and a $100.00 mandatory assessment fee per count of conviction.
“There is no parole in the federal system. These life sentences mean that Carlos and Kelvin Johnson shall never be dealing drugs in our community again. All four of these sentences should send a strong message to those who deal drugs illegally of the fate that awaits them if prosecuted in federal Court,” said United States Attorney Michael Moore.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Albany-Dougherty County Drug Unit, South Central Drug Task Force, and the Mid-South Narcotics Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Leah McEwen.
Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Sue McKinney, Public Affairs Specialist, United States Attorney's Office at (478) 621-2602.
District Men Sentenced to 60-Year Prison Terms for First-Degree Murder While Armed and Other Charges in 2008 Shooting in Southeast Washington-Early-Morning Gunfire Killed A Woman, Wounded A Man-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Robert Walker, 25, and Rodney White, 24, both from Washington, D.C., were each sentenced to 60-year prison terms today for first-degree murder while armed and other charges stemming from a shooting at an apartment complex in 2008 in which a woman was killed and a man was wounded, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Walker and White, who also is known as Rodney Whiting, were found guilty by a jury in April 2013 of 11 counts each following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In addition to the murder charge, the jury convicted them of four counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and weapons offenses. The Honorable Lynn Leibovitz sentenced them.
The shooting took place on May 5, 2008 in the Benning Park Apartment complex in the 4800 block of G Street SE. The gunfire killed Jasmine McCray, 23.
At trial, the government’s evidence showed that on May 5, 2008, at approximately 3 a.m., Ms. McCray was with her boyfriend and several other men, including Levern Butler, in the “Down Bottom” portion of the Benning Park Apartment complex parking lot. They and others had just come back from the Le Pearl nightclub in Capitol Heights, Md., where an altercation occurred between Butler and another man, Kenneth Hinton. Hinton was at the nightclub with Walker and White and others from the “Up Top” portion of Benning Park.
Both Butler and Hinton were kicked out of Le Pearl and were seen afterwards by others as being very upset about the fight. Walker and White, along with Hinton, went back to the “Up Top” portion of Benning Park and armed themselves with guns. Then they went to the “Down Bottom” part of Benning Park, and began to fire upon the group including Ms. McCray.
As the shooting commenced, Ms. McCray was hit in the head and went down. She died a short time later, having also suffered from being run over by a car that was driven by one of the other men, who accidentally ran her over while trying to flee from the parking lot. Ms. McCray was part of a group including four other people, including a man who was shot in the hand.
Hinton died in a traffic accident about a week after the shooting. Walker and White were arrested in 2009.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his appreciation to the officers, detectives and mobile crime scene personnel who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Phaylyn Hunt, Antoinette Sakamsa, and Meridith McGarrity; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Intelligence/Security Specialist Lawrence Grasso; Victim/Witness Specialists Wanda Queen and M. LaVerne Forrest, and Supervisory Victim/Witness Specialist Michael Hailey.
Finally, he commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Glynn and Eric Gallun, who investigated and indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Gorman and Veronica Sanchez, who investigated and prosecuted the case at trial.
13-209District Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Stealing Car from 87-Year-Old Woman and Related Charge-Defendant Posed as Government Employee, Sold Victim’s Car for Scrap Metal-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Thomas Williams, 41, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to eight years in prison for stealing a car from an 87-year-old woman after pretending to be a public officer of the District of Columbia and then failing to appear for a court date following his arrest in the case, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Williams was found guilty in March 2013 of four charges following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. They included second-degree theft of a senior citizen, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, false impersonation of a public official, and failure to appear. The Honorable Stuart G. Nash sentenced Williams to six years in prison for the crimes associated with the car theft, and another two years for failing to show up for a court appearance. Williams also was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution. After his prison term, Williams will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 16, 2012, Williams flagged down a tow truck driver and asked him if he was available to tow a car to a junkyard in Maryland. The tow truck driver agreed and the two men drove that morning to the home of the victim, who lives alone in Northeast Washington. Williams knocked on the front door, flashed an identification card, and told the victim that he was from the District of Columbia government and had orders to take her car, a 1996 Ford Contour that was parked in the driveway. She begged and pleaded with Williams not to take her car, saying that she was going to give it to one of her granddaughters.
Williams, however, insisted that he had to take the car and threatened to charge the victim if she did not comply. He took the keys out of her hand, hooked the car to the tow truck, and drove it to a junkyard in Maryland, where he sold the vehicle for scrap metal.
An officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) followed up on the victim’s report by checking on the car’s vehicle identification number and finding that the vehicle had been scrapped at the junkyard. The officer then went to the junkyard, reviewed the paperwork, and linked Williams to the vehicle and the crime.
Following his arrest, Williams was released by a Superior Court judge and ordered to return on a subsequent date. He did not return on that date and was eventually apprehended by the Capitol Area Regional Fugitive Task Force.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised those who worked on the case from the MPD, the U.S. Marshals Service and its Superior Court Warrant Squad, and the Capitol Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Theresa Nelson, Litigation Services Specialist Thomas Royal, and Victim Advocate Kristina Rose. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Lallas, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
13-210District Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for First-Degree Murder While Armed and Other Charges-Attack Took Place in Southeast Washington on Halloween Night 2009-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Darrell Lee, 24, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 40 years in prison on first-degree murder while armed and related firearms charges in a killing on Halloween 2009 in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Lee was found guilty by a jury in March 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna L. Beck.
According to the government’s evidence, on the evening of Oct. 31, 2009, the victim, Ashton Hunter, 19, was staying with his girlfriend in an apartment building in the 300 block of 37th Street SE. That night, he went outside, expecting to meet one of his acquaintances from his home neighborhood of 7th & O Streets NW. Mr. Hunter went outside and met with Lee, had a conversation with him, and then started to walk back into the apartment building.
As Mr. Hunter approached the building entrance, Lee followed him down the sidewalk, pulled out a gun and shot him several times in the torso. Mr. Hunter died later that night from his injuries.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his appreciation to the detectives, officers and others who worked on 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 Specialists Phaylyn Hunt and Meridith McGarrity; Information Technology Specialists Leif Hickling and Joe Calvarese; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcey Rinker;Victim/Witness Specialist Debra Cannon, and Supervisory Victim/Witness Specialist Michael Hailey. Finally, he commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Gallun, who obtained the indictment in the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Gorman and Richard DiZinno, who investigated and prosecuted the case at trial.
13-208District Man Sentenced to 11-Year Prison Term for Sexual Assault of Teenage Relative-Victim Came Forward Despite Defendant’s Warning Against Speaking Up-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A 29-year-old man was sentenced today to 11 years in prison on a charge of first-degree sexual abuse stemming from an attack he carried out earlier this year against a 13-year-old girl, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
The defendant, of Washington, D.C., is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim. He pled guilty in April 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Russell F. Canan sentenced him today. Upon completion of his prison term, the defendant will be placed on five years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for at least 10 years following his release from prison.
According to the government’s evidence, the girl is related to defendant and was at the Northwest Washington home of another relative on Jan. 9, 2013. That day, between 4 p.m. and 6:45 p.m., the defendant lured her away from other adults and sexually assaulted her. He warned her not to tell anyone what happened. The child, however, alerted her mother and the police.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the officers and detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit, who investigated the case. He also expressed appreciation to those at the U.S. Attorney’s Office who worked on the matter, including Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key and Victim/Witness Advocate Lezlie Richardson. Finally, he acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Mervin A. Bourne, Jr., who investigated and prosecuted the case.
13-213District Man Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter Charge in Northeast Washington Shooting-Defendant Shot Victim During Argument in Edgewood Terrace Area -Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Decordre Franklin, 25, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a charge stemming from a fatal shooting that took place earlier this year in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Franklin pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to voluntary manslaughter while armed in the slaying of Irving Jones. He is to be sentenced on Sept. 13, 2013 by the Honorable John Ramsey Johnson.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning of March 30, 2013, Franklin was seen in a yard at Edgewood Terrace, within the 600 block of Edgewood Street NE, carrying and playing with a handgun. Afterward, Franklin and Mr. Jones, 33, hung out together with others in the same vicinity. During that time, Mr. Jones and Franklin engaged in a brief physical altercation, which has been described by some witnesses as horseplay. After the altercation ended at approximately 2:10 a.m., Franklin then argued verbally with Mr. Jones.
While yelling at Mr. Jones, Franklin pulled out a handgun and shot him in the chest at close range. He then fled. Mr. Jones collapsed to the ground and died shortly afterward.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division, crime scene officers, and the Fifth Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim Witness Program Specialist Marcia Rinker and Paralegal Specialist Marian Russell. He also praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana L. Fulton, who prosecuted the case.
13-211Disability Doctor’s Office Manager Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court for Obstructing the Investigation of the Lirr Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MARIA RUSIN, the office manager for disability doctor Peter J. Ajemian, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to three years of probation, including six months of home detention, for obstructing the investigation of the alleged massive fraud scheme in which Long Island Railroad (“LIRR”) workers claimed to be disabled upon early retirement so that they could receive disability benefits to which they were not entitled. RUSIN pled guilty in January 2013 to one count of obstructing a health care fraud investigation before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Pitman. She was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “As Dr. Peter J. Ajemian’s office manager, Maria Rusin understood the office process through which the LIRR disability fraud scheme was carried out, but when questioned by criminal investigators about her knowledge of the scheme, she denied any and told one lie after another. Obstructing the Government’s search for the truth is a serious crime, and as Rusin now knows, it is one that carries consequences.”
According to the Complaint, the Superseding Indictments, the Superseding Informations, and statements made in other public filings and in court:
The Railroad Retirement Board (“RRB”) is an independent U.S. agency that administers benefit programs, including disability benefits, for the nation’s railroad workers and their families. A unique LIRR contract allowed employees to retire at the relatively young age of 50 – the age of eligibility has since changed to 55 – if they had been employed by the LIRR for at least 20 years. Eligible employees are entitled to receive an LIRR pension, which is a portion of the full retirement payment for which they are eligible at 65. In addition, at full retirement age (between age 60 and age 65 depending on years of service) they are eligible to receive an RRB retirement pension. For LIRR workers who retired at 50 with only an LIRR pension, they would receive less than their prior salary and substantially lower pension payments than those to which they would be entitled at full retirement age. However, LIRR employees who retired and claimed disability could receive a disability payment from the RRB on top of their LIRR pension, regardless of age. A retiree’s LIRR pension, in combination with RRB disability payments, can be roughly equivalent to the base salary earned during his or her career.
Hundreds of LIRR employees have allegedly exploited the overlap between the LIRR pension and the RRB disability program by pre-planning the date on which they would falsely declare themselves disabled so that it would coincide with their projected retirement date. These false statements, made under penalty of prosecution in disability applications, allowed LIRR employees to retire as early as age 50 with an LIRR pension, supplemented by the fraudulently obtained RRB disability annuity. From 1995 through 2011, more than 75% of LIRR employees stopped working and began receiving RRB disability benefits, whereas during this same period, only 25% of retiring Metro-North employees stopped working and began receiving RRB disability benefits.
RUSIN was the office manager for Peter J. Ajemian, a Board-certified orthopedist who was instrumental in helping LIRR retirees receive disability benefits to which they were not entitled. Between the late 1990s and 2008, Ajemian declared as disabled over 94% of the LIRR employees he saw as patients. As part of the massive fraud scheme, Ajemian prepared false documentation purporting to show the LIRR employees’ steady decline toward disability exactly at the time they pre-planned their retirement. He then provided to those LIRR employees a narrative for submission to the RRB that claimed they should receive a disability annuity. These medical narratives were completely fabricated or grossly exaggerated so that Ajemian could recommend a set of restrictions that, if legitimate, would render it impossible for the LIRR employees to continue performing their jobs. Many of the purportedly “objective” findings from the tests he conducted showed nothing more than normal degenerative changes one would expect to see in patients within the relevant age bracket. In his plea agreement, Ajemian stipulated that the total intended losses from his fraud were between $100 and $200 million, and that the actual losses suffered by victims to date total $116.5 million.
On August 30, 2010, in an interview with criminal investigators participating in the Southern District of New York’s investigation of this disability fraud scheme, RUSIN falsely denied knowing that Ajemian’s LIRR patients were retiring at the same time that they were claiming occupational disability from the RRB; falsely claimed that she was never told that an LIRR patient was planning to retire except when the patient was directed to see her to pay for a narrative; falsely claimed that this notice of an LIRR’s patient’s planned retirement usually occurred at the end of the process of seeing Ajemian; and falsely claimed that she had no understanding about how an occupational disability would affect the payout for a worker who was retiring. In fact, RUSIN had day-to-day exposure to Ajemian’s disability practice, and she fully understood how the process worked and what the financial incentives were for the LIRR employees.
In addition to her term of probation, RUSIN, 57, of Farmingdale, New York was also ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and a $100 special assessment.
Thirty-two people have been charged in connection with the LIRR disability fraud scheme, 23 of whom have now pled guilty. Two defendants have been sentenced. Peter J. Ajemian was sentenced in May 2013 to 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $116,500,000. Gary Satin was sentenced in March 2013 to 20 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $247,000. The charges against the remaining defendants are merely allegations and they are all presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mr. Bharara praised the Railroad Retirement Board Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of the Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for their outstanding work in the investigation, which he noted is ongoing. He also acknowledged the previous investigation conducted by the New York State Attorney General’s Office into these pension fraud issues.
The Office’s Complex Frauds Unit is handling the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Weddle, Daniel Tehrani, and Nicole Friedlander are in charge of the prosecution.
Denton County Man Sentenced for Firearms ArsenalRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsPLANO, Texas - A 39-year-old Lewisville, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Scott Travis Whittington pleaded guilty on Nov. 1, 2012, to possessing unregistered firearms, smuggling goods from the United States and embezzlement of government property and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison on June 13, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Richard Schell.
According to information presented in court, from January 2008 through September 2012, Whittington was in possession of two firearms that were not properly registered to him and stolen military property, specifically 27 M249 squad automatic weapon short barrels; 1,348 5.56 mm 30-round magazines; a fifty-caliber M2 machine gun barrel, two M2 machine gun tripods; five Small Arms Protective Insert plates; medic sets; approximately 61 cases of Meals Ready to Eat; and a destructive device. Whittington was also found to have illegally exported a night vision weapon sight in January 2008.
Additionally, Whittington was found to be in possession of 405,331 rounds of ammunition, 26 silencers, and 158 firearms. When questioned about the large amount of ammunition during sentencing, Whittington responded that he was, “saving up for a rainy day,” and that he thought he had, “more like 700,000 rounds of ammunition.”
Whittington was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 12, 2012.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Project Safe Neighborhoods is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, ammunition and body armor, and improving the safety of residents in the Eastern District of Texas. Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of Defense. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Batson.Delmar Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for His Involvement in A Heroin Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Albany, New York — HENRY J. RAUCHE, III, age 28, of Delmar, New York, was sentenced yesterday by Senior United States District Court Judge Lawrence E. Kahn to 78 months of imprisonment for his role in a heroin distribution conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Field Division, and Joseph Anarumo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, New York Field Division. RAUCHE, who had entered guilty pleas on July 3, 2012 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 74 grams of heroin, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment. RAUCHE was detained following his sentencing.
In May 2011, RAUCHE was part of a heroin distribution conspiracy that sought to distribute approximately $7,500 worth of heroin in the Capital District. RAUCHE also possessed a handgun and rifle that he used to protect his heroin and drug money from theft by other drug dealers.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Bethlehem Police Department.
Defendant Pleads Guilty to Framing Woman for Drug PossessionRead the Press Release
ROME, Ga. – Clifford J. Joyce has pleaded guilty to planting methamphetamine on the car of a Murray County woman for the purpose of getting her arrested.
“The defendant attempted to manipulate the criminal justice system to serve his own purpose by framing someone for drug possession,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “While the narcotics charges were ultimately dismissed, this outrageous conduct cannot stand.”“The investigation and prosecution of persons involved in public corruption are a priority of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Many of the cases such as this require partnership of local, state and federal authorities,” said GBI Director Vernon M. Keenan.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: In July 2012, a Murray County woman met with then-Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant Cochran regarding a legal matter. Thereafter, the woman alleged that during the meeting, Cochran made inappropriate sexual advances towards her.
In an effort to discredit the woman, Joyce and others participated in a scheme to frame the woman for drug possession. On or about August 12, 2012, Joyce hid a metal tin under the tire well of the woman’s car. The metal tin contained five small packets of methamphetamine.
Two days later, on August 14, 2012, Murray County Deputy Sheriff Joshua Greeson (who has since been convicted of witness tampering for lying to law enforcement officers) conducted a traffic stop of the woman’s car. During the traffic stop, Greeson searched the vehicle for drugs. Ultimately, after receiving information from Captain Michael Henderson (who has also been convicted of witness tampering), Greeson found the metal tin of methamphetamine under the tire well. After locating the drugs, Greeson and Henderson arrested the woman and the driver of the car on narcotics charges. On August 24, 2012, the charges against the woman were dismissed.
Joyce, 27, of Dalton, Ga., could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000. However, in determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 23, 2013, at 1:30 p.m., before United States District Judge Harold L. Murphy.
This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Michael Herskowitz are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.
Dallas Man Sentenced to Statutory Maximum of 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing More Than 8000 Images of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Howard Tyson, 45, of Dallas, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to the statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in March 2013 to one count of possession of child pornography. He was remanded into custody after he entered that plea. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
According to documents filed in the case, Tyson used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download child pornography from the internet onto his computer and his wife’s computer. When agents with the U.S. Secret Service executed a federal search warrant at his residence on July 26, 2011, Tyson admitted that he had been downloading child pornography for approximately one year. He said that he downloaded most of the child pornography onto his wife’s laptop computer. A forensic examination of both computers showed that the hard drives contained more than 8000 images and 20 videos of child pornography. Tyson acknowledged that some of the images were sadistic and that the images and videos were of real prepubescent and pubescent minors.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and the Plano Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.
Cigarette Trafficker Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison and Forfeits more than $115,000 and Lexus SUVRead the Press Release
The owner of a Kenmore, Washington nail and beauty salon who illegally imported and sold cigarettes was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release and will pay approximately $250,000 in tax penalties and assessments, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. HAN BUI, 45, owner of Lovely Nails and Beauty Salon on NE 181st Street, pleaded guilty February 12, 2013 to trafficking in counterfeit cigarettes. At sentencing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ordered that the tax assessments and penalties will go to the State of Washington for the taxes lost on the sale of the counterfeit cigarettes.
According to records filed in the case, HAN BUI came to the attention of law enforcement as part of a coordinated investigation of illegal cigarette imports from Vietnam. The investigation identified BUI and her husband as the highest volume illegal importers of cigarettes from Vietnam. The contraband cigarettes are sold under familiar U.S. brand names and packaging, but are manufactured in Vietnam. BUI did not pay federal excise taxes or state cigarette taxes on the cigarettes. Investigators estimate the tax loss from BUI’s illegal trafficking at more than $450,000. When a search warrant was served on her home in July 2011, she possessed more than 400,000 contraband cigarettes, along with $115,500 cash, and a Lexus SUV that she admitted was purchased with the proceeds of her cigarette trafficking. The cash and the SUV are being forfeited to the government.
In asking for a two year prison sentence prosecutors wrote to the court that “between November of 2009 and July of 2011, BUI purchased from Vietnam and arranged the importation of hundreds of thousands of contraband cigarettes in hundreds of mailed parcels….On the day her house and business were searched, Ms. Bui was in possession of more than 2,000 cartons of cigarettes…. investigators have reason to believe that because the contraband cigarettes were being sold outside of legal, regulated channels, they were ending up in the hands of minors at disproportionately high rates.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Darwin Roberts.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 125 Months for Two Bank Robberies in Florence, KYRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, KY - A Chicago man, who has several prior criminal convictions, was sentenced to 125 months in federal prison for committing two bank robberies in Boone County.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning sentenced 49 year-old Bernard Beaver Russell on Thursday and placed him on supervised release for 3 years after he completes his prison term. Judge Bunning ordered the sentence to run consecutively to a previous state court sentence of 7 ½ years for driving a stolen car and engaging in a high-speed chase after committing the bank robberies.
Russell admitted to robbing a Huntington Bank branch and a Central Bank branch in Boone County on February 9, 2012.
Russell entered his guilty plea on February 28, 2013. Under federal law, he must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Perrye Turner, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented in the case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke.
Buffalo Man Convicted on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Alejandro Navarro-Gonzalez, 31, of Buffalo, N.Y., was convicted after a jury trial of possession with intent to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and maintaining a drug involved premises. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $20,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Opanga handled the trial, stated that on March 14, 2012, law enforcement officers searched a storage unit on Transit Road in Williamsville, N.Y. The unit, rented by the defendant, contained more than one kilogram of heroin, a loaded .32 caliber semi-automatic pistol and 92 rounds of ammunition. The defendant's DNA was found on the firearm during forensic testing.
The conviction is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Frank Christiano, and the Erie County Sheriff's Department, under thd direction of Sheriff Tim Howard.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 30, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, who presided over the trial of this case.Buffalo Man Arrested, Charged with Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.–The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that Jason Berg, 23, Buffalo, N.Y., was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with committing two bank robberies. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, the defendant robbed the M&T Bank, located at 788 Tonawanda Avenue in Buffalo, on May 16, 2013 and the M&T Bank, located at 1580 Hertel Avenue in Buffalo, on June 12, 2013. The complaint further alleges that Berg passed notes to the bank tellers indicating he possessed a specific firearm and demanded specific amounts of money.
The defendant made an initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and is being detained. Berg is due back in court June 17, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. for a detention hearing.
The Criminal Complaint is the result of a joint investigation by the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.Broward Company Pleads Guilty and Is Sentenced for Illegal Trafficking of Marine LifeRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Otha Easley, Acting Special Agent in Charge, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, and David Pharo, Resident Agent in Charge U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Miami, announced that Aquatic Trading Company, Inc. (ATC), a Florida corporation based in Pompano Beach, entered a guilty plea and was sentenced yesterday in federal district court in Miami for conspiring to harvest, transport, and sell juvenile nurse sharks and angelfish, knowing the fish were taken, possessed, transported, sold, and intended to be sold in violation of the laws and regulations of the State of Florida, contrary to the federal Lacey Act, Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A), and 3373(d)(1) and (2), all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
ATC was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King, who had earlier accepted ATC’s guilty plea to the criminal charge. The company was placed on court-supervised probation for three years, ordered to pay a criminal fine of $3,000, and ordered to surrender to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and to the United States Fish & Wildlife Service all licenses, permits, and endorsements issued to or held by the company. Two co-defendants in the case, Walter R. Bloecker and Lila M. Bloecker had entered guilty pleas to the same charge before Judge King on April 18, 2013, and each been sentenced to a period of 90 days home confinement, followed by a one year term of probation.
According to the indictment and statements in court, the defendants were involved in the illegal harvest of juvenile nurse sharks (Ginglymosthoma cirratum) and a variety of oversized angelfish (Pomocanthus arcuatus, Holocanthus bermudensis, and Holocanthus ciliaris), from around as early as June 2012 through October 2012. Harvesting of the fish was arranged through telephone calls between ATC’s employees and an individual in the Florida Keys. Walter Bloecker advised the harvester that he could conceal the illegal source of the sharks by using false paperwork to make it appear the sharks had been imported from Nicaragua. Neither ATC nor the harvester held the required permits for harvesting nurse shark pups for commercial purposes. The illegally acquired sharks were, according to the indictment and admissions in court, harvested from Florida State waters in the Florida Keys and marketed by telephone to a retailer in Michigan. The sharks were shipped to the Michigan-based buyer by commercial air cargo.
Likewise, Lila and Walter Bloecker engaged in business conversations with the Michigan dealer, to arrange the sale of oversized angelfish listed on a weekly inventory sales guide mailed to potential customers. The angelfish, also harvested in the Florida Keys, were sold and shipped to Michigan.
Florida Administrative Code, Section 68B-24.005, which addresses the commercial harvest of sharks from the waters of the state, provides in relevant part that any person harvesting sharks in or from the waters of the state for commercial purposes or sells any shark harvested from such waters must possess a valid federal annual vessel permit for sharks; may only sell to a holder of a valid Atlantic shark dealer permit issued pursuant to 50 C.F.R. §635.4; and that no wholesale dealer, as defined in Florida Statutes Section 379.362(1), may purchase sharks, or any part thereof, unless in possession of a valid federal Atlantic shark dealer permit and without confirming that the seller possesses a valid Florida saltwater products license and the federal licenses and permits specified in the Code Section.
Florida Administrative Code, Section 68B-42.004, “Size Limits” provides in relevant part that in all state waters no person may harvest angelfish with a total length outside of the limits specified for the individual species, specifically a minimum of one-and-one-half inches and a maximum of eight inches for Gray angelfish (P. arcuatus) and French angelfish (P. Paru); and a minimum of one-and-three-quarters inches and a maximum of eight inches for Blue angelfish (H. bermudensis) and Queen angelfish (H. ciliaris).”
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the NOAA Office for Law Enforcement and the Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Antonia Barnes.
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.
Bridgeville Man Possessed Sexual Images and Videos of MinorsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Allegheny County pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Kenneth Lee Jones, 67, of Bridgeville, Pa., pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on July 10, 2012, Jones possessed visual depictions, namely, images and videos in computer graphics files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for Oct. 16, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Jones.
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.justice.gov/psc.
Branson Man Pleads Guilty to Foreign Labor ViolationsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Branson, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court to harboring aliens and making false statements after arranging employment contracts for dozens of foreign workers at Branson locations in violation of their visas.
Steven Howard Teel, 39, of Branson, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush on Thursday, June 13, 2013.
Teel admitted that he arranged for 78 foreign workers to enter the United States in 2009 under the H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program. These workers were supposed to work in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; however, they were hired by businesses in Branson in violation of their visas and contrary to the applications that were submitted and approved by federal authorities.
According to today’s plea agreement, Teel started a labor leasing business in 2005 with John Voisine, the owner of Santa Cruz Management, in order to recruit foreign workers to enter the United States and place those workers with various businesses as a seasonal labor force. Teel purchased the business from Voisine in January 2009.
In 2007, the plea agreement says, Santa Cruz Management began submitting documents related to the H-2B worker program to have alien workers from other countries enter the United States. Teel caused the submission of forms to the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Citizen Immigration Services that contained false information, including the number of workers needed and where the foreign workers would be employed. Those forms stated that foreign workers would be employed as landscape laborers or food and beverage assistants in the Myrtle Beach area. Instead, Teel admitted, the workers were displaced to satisfy employment contract obligations in Branson. At the time H-2B workers entered the United States, no federal approval had been granted as an H-2B employer for the Branson area.
Teel also admitted that he instructed H-2B workers (through labor recruiters located overseas) to intentionally mislead U.S. State Department and U.S. Border Patrol officials. H-2B workers were told, if questioned regarding their destination, to tell U.S. officials that they were going to receive training in Branson prior to being employed in Myrtle Beach.
As a result of illegally harboring the H-2B workers in Branson, Teel received $124,210 in revenue from local employers.
Under federal statutes, Teel is subject to a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, the Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service and Homeland Security Investigations.
Big Spring, Texas, Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Defendant Also Ordered to Pay $150,000 in Restitution to a Victim Whose Photographs Were Included in His Collection
ABILENE, Texas — Juan Jose Guerra, 51, was sentenced on Wednesday, by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis, to the statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. In addition, Judge Solis ordered that Guerra pay $150,000 in restitution to a victim whose photographs were included in his child pornography collection. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Guerra has been in federal custody since December 6, 2011. He pleaded guilty in February 2013 to one count of possession of child pornography. According to documents filed in the case, Guerra owned a computer, which he kept at his residence in Big Spring, Texas, which contained numerous images of child pornography.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Midland and Big Spring Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, was in charge of the prosecution.
Bay City Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Joshua Edmond Klosowski, 27, of Bay City, Michigan, was sentenced to a 262 month prison sentence by U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington yesterday in federal court in Bay City, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.
McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley, III, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Klosowski had previously pleaded guilty to a heroin trafficking conspiracy charge pursuant to a plea agreement. The plea agreement allowed Klosowski to avoid a potential life sentence. The 21-plus year custodial sentence was based on Klosowski’s extensive criminal history and a variety of factors taken into consideration as part of his current offense conduct.
Part of the factual basis for his guilty plea, Klosowski acknowledged that he resumed trafficking in drugs immediately upon his release from state custody in 2010 for earlier drug convictions. While still on parole for those prior offenses, Klosowski traveled to Detroit, Lansing and Saginaw to buy heroin, then returned to Bay City to sell the heroin to several customers in the Bay County area.
Klosowski was arrested on May 7, 2012, after having made a heroin purchase for himself and a customer in Saginaw, Michigan. At the time of his arrest, Klosowski was preparing to inject himself with heroin while behind the wheel of a vehicle occupied by his 10-month old son. Klosowski later admitted that he had trafficked in approximately a kilogram of heroin between his release from custody in 2010 and that May 7, 2012 arrest.
During his sentencing hearing, Klosowski told the court that his drug addiction led him to and kept him involved in drug trafficking. Judge Ludington noted that Klosowski had been convicted six times over a period of a few years, but had not completed any of the court-ordered drug treatment programs that had been made available to Klosowski as a result of those convictions. The judge observed that Klosowski’s addiction victimized not just the defendant, but so clouded Klosowski’s judgment that everyone else became disposable to the defendant, even his own son. Judge Ludington concluded the sentencing hearing by telling Klosowski that, given his current age, he will have a life to live after serving his lengthy sentence and recommending to Klosowski that he use the time in custody to prepare himself to make the best use of the life that will follow his release from custody.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Mid-Michigan Safe Streets Task Force embedded in the FBI field office located in Bay City, Michigan. The public was represented in court by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Bay City, Michigan.
Axius Ceo Roland Kaufmann Sentenced for Conspiracy to Pay Bribes in Stock SalesRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Roland Kaufmann, a Swiss citizen and CEO of Axius Inc., was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to bribe stock brokers. As required by his plea agreement, Kaufmann forfeited $290,000, with a portion to be remitted to identified victims of related criminal conduct. The court also imposed a fine of $450,000 and a $100 special assessment. Previously, on January 11, 2013, Kaufmann pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act. The sentencing proceeding was held before the Hon. John Gleeson, United States District Judge.
The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
According to court documents, Kaufmann controlled Axius, Inc., a purported holding company and business incubator located in Dubai. As part of the scheme, the defendant and his co-conspirator, Jean Pierre Neuhaus, enlisted the assistance of an individual who they believed had access to a group of corrupt stock brokers, but who was, in fact, an undercover law enforcement agent. Court documents reveal that they instructed the undercover agent to direct brokers to purchase Axius shares in return for a secret kickback of approximately 26 to 28 percent of the share price. Kaufman and Neuhaus also instructed the undercover agent as to the price the brokers should pay for the stock and that the brokers were to refrain from selling the Axius shares they purchased on behalf of their clients for a one-year period. By preventing sales of Axius stock, Kaufmann and Neuhaus intended to maintain the fraudulently inflated share price for Axius stock.
Kaufmann and Neuhaus were arrested on March 8, 2012. On October 10, 2012, Neuhaus pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and violate the Travel Act. Neuhaus was in custody from his arrest through February 15, 2013, when he was sentenced to time served and a $10,000 fine.
“Roland Kaufman sought to game the system from overseas by inflating the price of his company’s stock on U.S. capital markets,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch. “Instead of riches, he reaped prison time, as well as the forfeiture of his ill-gotten gains.” Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI New York Field Office and the IRS New York Field Office, the agencies responsible for leading the government’s investigation, and Ms. Lynch and Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance in this matter.
This prosecution was the result of efforts by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit http://www.StopFraud.gov.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilene Jaroslaw and Trial Attorney Justin Goodyear of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, with assistance from Fraud Section Trial Attorney Nathan Dimock.
The Defendant:ROLAND KAUFMANN
Age: 60Axius CEO Roland Kaufmann Sentenced for<br /> Conspiracy to Pay Bribes in Stock SalesRead the Press Release
Roland Kaufmann, CEO of Axius Inc., was sentenced today to serve 16 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to bribe purported stock brokers and manipulate the stock of a company he controlled, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch.
Kaufmann, 60, a Swiss citizen, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in the Eastern District of New York. In addition to his prison term, Kaufmann was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a fine of $450,000.
Kaufmann pleaded guilty in January 2013 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act in connection with a scheme to bribe stock brokers to purchase the common stock of a company he controlled and to manipulate its stock price. As part of his plea agreement, Kaufmann forfeited $298,740 gained through this crime.
According to court documents, Kaufmann controlled Axius, Inc., a purported holding company and business incubator located in Dubai. As part of the scheme, the defendant and his co-conspirator, Jean Pierre Neuhaus, enlisted the assistance of an individual who they believed had access to a group of corrupt stock brokers, but who was, in fact, an undercover law enforcement agent. Court documents reveal that they instructed the undercover agent to direct brokers to purchase Axius shares in return for a secret kickback of approximately 26 to 28 percent of the share price. Kaufman and Neuhaus also instructed the undercover agent as to the price the brokers should pay for the stock and that the brokers were to refrain from selling the Axius shares they purchased on behalf of their clients for a one-year period. By preventing sales of Axius stock, Kaufmann and Neuhaus intended to maintain the fraudulently inflated share price for Axius stock.
Jean Pierre Neuhaus has pleaded guilty and been sentenced for his role in the scheme.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Justin Goodyear of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilene Jaroslaw, with assistance from Fraud Section Trial Attorney Nathan Dimock. The case was investigated by the FBI New York Field Office and the Internal Revenue Service New York Field Office. The Department also recognizes the substantial assistance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
This prosecution was the result of efforts by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Arkansas Man Pleads Guilty to Failure to Pay Child SupportRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Jacob H. Lehnherr, age 38, of Little Rock, Arkansas appeared before U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier on June 10, 2013 and pled guilty to Failure to Pay Legal Child Support.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is two years imprisonment; a $250,000.00 fine; one year supervised release; one additional year of custody upon revocation; a $100.00 assessment fee; and child support restitution amount owing at the time of sentencing.
Lehnherr was ordered by the Second Judicial Circuit Court, Minnehaha County, South Dakota to pay $346.67 per month for his minor child, commencing May 1, 2001. At the time of indictment, he had made payments in June and July of 2012, but prior to that he had not made a child support payment since July of 2010.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Wright.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date was set for August 29, 2013. The defendant was released on bond pending sentencing.