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8 May 2013
Statement of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on the Convictions of Semen Domnitser, Oksana Romalis, and Luba Kramrish in Connection with Holocaust Claims Conference FraudRead the Press Release
“After half-a-day of deliberations, a jury convicted Semyon Domnitser – the highest ranking insider to participate in this unconscionable fraud against the Holocaust Claims Conference – and two co-conspirators who recruited applicants who received benefits to which they were not entitled. And with the verdicts against these three defendants, all 31 people who played roles in the theft of $57million dollars intended to benefit victims of the Nazi genocide – one of the darkest chapters in all human history – have been convicted. We said we would not stop until we brought to justice those who committed these unthinkable crimes and today our objective was accomplished.”
State of Alabama Employee Pleads Guilty to Providing Names in A Stolen Identity Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - On May 7, 2013, Chequila Motley pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to file false claims and one count of aggravated identity theft for her role in an identity theft tax refund scheme, announced George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.
According to court documents, Motley was an employee of an Alabama state government agency and as part of her employment had access to databases containing personal identification information. In August 2011, Motley conspired with Veronica Temple and Yolanda Moses to provide them with means of identification for use in the filing of false tax returns in exchange for money.
Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Motley faces between two and twelve years in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution, and a maximum fine of $750,000, or twice the loss caused by the offense. Veronica Temple and Yolanda Moses already pleaded guilty to various charges and each was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial attorneys Jason H. Poole and Michael Boteler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant United States Attorney Todd Brown are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617St. Paul Career Criminal Sentenced for Possessing A Sawed-off ShotgunRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court in St. Paul, a 31-year-old career criminal from St. Paul was sentenced for possessing a 20-gauge sawed-off shotgun. On May 7, 2013, United States District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson sentenced Michael Allen Smith to 180 months in prison on one count of being a career criminal in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. Smith was indicted on July 17, 2012, and was convicted on December 14, 2012.
The evidence presented at Smith’s three-day trial proved that on April 28, 2012, he possessed an unregistered 20-gauge shotgun with a barrel length of less than 18 inches. Because he is a felon, Smith is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms at any time. He was previously convicted of assault in the fourth degree in Washington County in both 2005 and 2006 and murder in the third degree in Ramsey County in 2001.
Since Smith’s prior offenses constitute crimes of violence, sentencing in the current federal case was subject to the federal Armed Career Criminal Act. That act mandates a minimum of 15 years in federal prison for anyone convicted in federal court of being a felon in possession of a firearm if that person also has at least three prior state or federal convictions for crimes of violence or serious drug crimes. Because the federal criminal justice system does not have parole, Smith will serve virtually the entire sentence imposed in this case behind bars.
This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Minneapolis Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Newberry.
The case was charged under Project Exile Minneapolis. That law enforcement initiative was launched on July 22, 2010, as part of a city-wide effort to reduce gun violence. Through Project Exile, the Minneapolis Police Department and the ATF work together to apprehend serial criminals for violations of gun laws. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office then teams up with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine where those offenders will most effectively be prosecuted – state or federal court. Those determinations are based on the offenders’ criminal histories and current charges, among other factors. To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has brought charges against almost two dozen serious habitual criminals through Project Exile Minneapolis.Scott Lee Hubeny Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on May 8, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, SCOTT LEE HUBENY, a 48-year-old resident of Missoula, was sentenced to a term of:
Probation: 5 years
Special Assessment: $100
Restitution: $25,200
HUBENY was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to theft of government money.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
HUBENY filed for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration ("SSA") on June 2, 1999. He was awarded monthly disability benefits beginning on January 20, 2000. As a beneficiary of SSA disability, HUBENY agreed to report employment or income changes that could affect his eligibility to receive SSA disability payments. At the time of the investigation in this case, HUBENY was receiving $1,400 per month in disability payments.
On April 4, 2011, the SSA received confidential information that HUBENY owned and operated a medical marijuana grow in Missoula and was growing marijuana both at his house and a rented warehouse. HUBENY became a medical marijuana provider under Montana law in August 2009.
On June 30, 2011, federal and state law enforcement officers searched HUBENY's house and his warehouse. They seized a total of approximately 243 marijuana plants, four pounds and 12 ounces of bulk marijuana, 5.06 ounces of Hashish, and various items of marijuana processing equipment (grow lights, digital scales, etc.).
HUBENY was interviewed the same day as the searches. HUBENY stated that he understood his SSA disability reporting requirements regarding changes in employment or income but denied earning any income in excess of $500 per year from his medical marijuana business. He said that he knew he was required to report his employment to SSA and provided no explanation for not doing so, saying only that he did not think about it because he was losing money.
HUBENY's bank records were reviewed which revealed that HUBENY deposited approximately $37,890 into his bank accounts from January 2010 through April 2011. That figure does not include HUBENY's monthly disability payments. Approximately $9,130 of that money came from 19 checks from Sharrott Creek Farms to HUBENY from January 14, 2010 through July 13, 2010. Sharrott Creek Farms is a business involved in growing and selling medical marijuana. When asked about Sharrott Creek Farms during his interview on June 30, 2011, HUBENY said he received two or three checks from that business for no more than $700 total.
HUBENY knowingly failed to disclose employment and income information to the SSA and, as a result, fraudulently received $25,200 in disability benefit payments between April 2010 and September 2011.
The investigation was conducted by the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General.
Rural Pisgah Man Sentenced on Firearm and Explosives ChargesRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – On May 8, 2013, Rodney Lee Crosby, age 31, of rural Pisgah, Iowa, was sentenced in United States District Court in Council Bluffs on charges of felon in possession of a firearm and felon in possession of explosive devices, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced Crosby to 46 months in prison on each charge, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release on each charge, with the imprisonment and supervised release on both charges to be served concurrently. Crosby was also ordered to pay a $10,000.00 fine. The Court also ordered Crosby to forfeit a Remington Arms, Model 870, 12 gauge shotgun; a Mossberg, Model 835 Ulti-Mag, 12 gauge shotgun; a savage, Model 116, 338 caliber rifle; a Remington Arms, Model 710, 30-06 caliber rifle; a Marlin Firearms, Model 39A, .22 caliber rifle; a Savage, Model 11, 243 caliber rifle; a Hipoint, Model 995, 9mm rifle; a Taurus .357 caliber revolver; 357 caliber ammunition; 30-06 caliber ammunition; .25 caliber ammunition; .22 caliber ammunition; 12 gauge shotgun shells; 16 gauge shotgun shells; and 9mm ammunition; all “improvised explosive bombs”, towit, containers, including “snuff cans” with metal lids, containing a per chlorate explosive mixture, and with functional pyrotechnic fuses, including among any others those seized from Crosby’s premises on July 2, 2011; and explosives, that is, commercial aerial display fireworks, including among others, cardboard tubing with plastic end plugs seized from Crosby’s premises on July 2, 2011. Crosby was also ordered to pay a $200.00 special assessment for the Crime Victim Fund. Crosby was taken into custody by the United States Marshal’s Service to be detained pending designation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at which he will serve his sentence.
Crosby was sentenced upon his pleas of guilty to the two charges entered on September 6, 2012. The firearm and explosives charges against Crosby arose from a July 2, 2011, domestic disturbance call to Crosby’s residence. During the call, Harrison County Sheriff’s Deputies and Iowa State Patrolmen observed several firearms and ammunition in the residence. In a subsequent search of the premises, officers found additional firearms, ammunition, explosive devices and commercial aerial display fireworks. Crosby was prohibited from possessing these, having previously been convicted of felony fraud and theft charges.
During the search, the State of Iowa Fire Marshal and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives were called, and joined the investigation. During the investigation, Crosby gave a statement regarding the fireworks manufacturing operation in which he stated that he made and sold fireworks, and that he made substantial money from the sale of the fireworks. Some of the explosives were deemed potentially dangerous, and were promptly destroyed by law enforcement personnel on the premises in which they were found.
This investigation was conducted by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, the Iowa State Patrol, the State of Iowa Fire Marshal, and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Red Lake Man Indicted for Distributing, Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—A federal indictment recently unsealed charges a 52-year-old Red Lake man with distributing and possessing images and videos containing child pornography. The indictment, which was filed on May 7, 2013, charges James Patrick Needham with one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. The indictment was unsealed prior to Needham’s initial appearance in federal court earlier today in Duluth.
The indictment alleges that on July 21, 2011, Needham possessed images and videos containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. It also alleges that on August 4, 2010, Needham distributed several images of similar material. More than 1,300 images and 100 videos were found on a computer that was seized during the execution of a search warrant at Needham’s residence on July 21, 2011.
If convicted, Needham faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for distribution of child pornography, with a mandatory minimum penalty of five years, and ten years in prison for possession of child pornography. Any sentences would be determined by a federal district court judge.This case is the result of an investigation by the Minnesota Child Exploitation Task Force, sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with cooperation from the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura M. Provinzino.
Distribution and possession of child pornography is against the law. In addition to prosecuting these cases, the Justice Department is funding a study focused on the correlation between involvement in child pornography and hands-on sexual abuse of children. A 2008 study (The Butner Study) published in the Journal of Family Violence found that up to 80 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for possession, receipt, or distribution of child pornography also admitted to hands-on sexual abuse of children, ranging from touching to rape.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), 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. Attorney offices and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “resources.”An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.
Red Lake Man Indicted for Assaulting Another with A MacheteRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Recently in federal court in St. Paul, a 19-year-old Red Lake man was indicted for assaulting another with a machete while in Redby, a community on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. On May 6, 2013, Dale Clinton White, Jr., was specifically charged with one count of assault resulting in serious bodily harm.
According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, police responded to a reported assault at a Redby residence at 4:00 p.m. on March 22, 2013. There, officers found a man in bed, unconscious, with extensive injuries to his head and arms. Documents on file with the court indicate that witnesses also reported that other people had been in the house prior to the arrival of police. Allegedly, the police then spotted one of those people, later identified as White, as he fled from a neighbor’s house, where he had left behind a machete. The victim suffered several fractures, multiple lacerations, soft tissue damage and hemorrhagic shock.
If convicted, White faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Any sentence would be determined by a federal district court judge.This case is the result of an investigation by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw.
Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.Prosecutions Continue in Illegal Entry Cases Involving Those with Prior Criminal RecordsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS -- In the District of Minnesota, court action continued this week in two separate cases regarding foreign nationals who entered the United States illegally after being deported as criminals. In each case, the individual was charged with one count of illegal re-entry after removal.
In the first case, U.S. District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle sentenced Milton Gonzalez, age 35, to 36 months in prison. Gonzalez was indicted on June 18, 2012, and pleaded guilty on July 24, 2012. In his plea agreement, Gonzalez admitted that on May 7, 2012, he was found in the U.S. after having been deported to Mexico in 2005, following a Wisconsin conviction for possession with intent to distribute amphetamine.
Most recently, Gonzalez was stopped for speeding by Prairie Island, Minnesota, tribal police and arrested on active warrants for possession and sale of counterfeit checks. He was in the Dakota County jail when he was identified as an illegal alien with a criminal record. That identification was made though the ICE’s Criminal Alien Program (“CAP”). The goal of that program is to locate criminal aliens incarcerated in federal and state prisons, as well as in local jails, and prevent them from being released into society by having them federally prosecuted for illegally re-entry. In some instances, federal prosecution occurs only after the individual has been prosecuted for the recent underlying offense.
This case was the result of an investigation by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ICE ERO”). It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin P. Johnson.
In the second case, on May 7, 2013, Noe Castro-Coj, age 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis. He was indicted on March 11, 2013. In his plea agreement, Castro-Coj admitted that on February 5, 2013, he was found in the U.S. after having been deported to Guatemala in 2003, following a 2000 Kansas conviction for kidnapping. On February 5, 2013, Castro-Coj was arrested in Steele County for violating an order for protection. On February 7, 2013, ICE was notified that he was in jail.
For his crime, Castro-Coj faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years. Judge Davis will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled. This case is the result of an investigation by the Steele County Sheriff’s Office and ICE ERO. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Dunne.
In some instances, federal prosecution occurs only after the individual has been prosecuted for the recent underlying offense. Both men will be deported after serving their federal sentences. To learn more about the CAP, visit www.ice.gov/criminal-alien-program/President of Car Dealership Sentenced to 40 Months for Money Laundering for the Gulf CartelRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL - United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. sentenced Joel Torres (41, Apopka) to 40 months in federal prison for money laundering and failing to file IRS Forms 8300 (a report required for cash purchases over $10,000). A federal jury found Torres guilty On December 3, 2012.
According to court documents, Torres, the President of JM2 Auto Sales, Inc. in Apopka, laundered narcotics proceeds for the Gulf Cartel, a drug trafficking organization based in Mexico. Torres received cash, and then sent vehicles back to members of the Cartel in Texas. He also sold vehicles to local Cartel members. During this joint investigative effort, law enforcement seized more than 6,000 pounds of marijuana, more than 70 firearms - including assault weapons, bullet proof vests, and nearly $1 million.
Torres is the eleventh person convicted as a part of this investigation. Previously, Eladio Marroquin-Medina (30, Apopka), the vice-president at JM2 Auto Sales Inc., was sentenced to 72 months imprisonment for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Apopka Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher LaForgia and Shawn Napier.
Pittsburgh Felon Charged with Violating Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - An Allegheny County man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The one-count indictment, returned on May 7, named Roger Henderson, 29.
According to the indictment, on Oct. 6, 2012, Henderson, who has prior felony convictions, possessed a firearm. Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year from possessing a firearm.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 15 years and up to life in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Eric S. Rosen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and communities to prevent, deter and prosecute gun crime.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Pakistani Citizen Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to the Pakistani Taliban- Two Co-Defendants Previously Sentenced to 40 and 36 Months in Prison -Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Pakistani citizen was sentenced today in the District of Columbia to 50 months in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), often referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Two co-defendants were sentenced for the same charge in December 2011 to 40 and 36 months in prison.
The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; John Morton, Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Miami Division.
Irfan Ul Haq, 37, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates. On Dec. 21, 2011, Judge Bates sentenced Qasim Ali, 32, to 40 months in prison, and Zahid Yousaf, 43, to 36 months in prison. On Sept. 12, 2011, each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. As part of their plea agreements, the defendants agreed to a stipulated order of removal to Pakistan upon the completion of their criminal sentences.
“Today’s sentence successfully brings to a close our prosecution of three criminals who aimed to use their human smuggling network to help a person who they believed to be a terrorist infiltrate our homeland,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “By convicting three Pakistani nationals who were operating out of Ecuador, we have demonstrated our ability to dismantle human smuggling operations throughout the world when they threaten our national security.”
“This case underscores our continuing commitment to dismantle networks that facilitate terrorist travel,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco. “I thank the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who were responsible for this successful prosecution.”
“Mr. Haq conspired with others to smuggle into the United States an individual who was believed to be a member of a foreign terrorist organization,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “Such conduct presents a serious threat to our national security, and we will continue to work closely with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to prevent human smugglers from operating at home or abroad, and to punish them for their crimes.”
“ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents will continue to use every available resource to protect the American public from terrorist organizations and individuals who support them,” said ICE Director Morton. “Today’s sentence demonstrates our international resolve to ensuring that our nation is safer and more secure. I applaud the outstanding work conducted by our HSI attaché office in Ecuador who led this extensive investigation. I would also like to commend our HSI office in Atlanta, along with our law enforcement partners in the United States and Ecuador, who assisted us in this case.”
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message: Individuals such as Ul Haq, who operate outside the law to support terror represent a threat to our safety. Ul Haq and his co-conspirators sought to smuggle men into the US and did not care if they came here to ‘blow up’ something as long as they got paid. Ul Haq in turn provided material support to the TTP. Such would-be supporters of terror will be dealt with severely under our system of laws. I commend the FBI and everyone involved in the prosecution of this case for bringing him to justice,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Gillies.
Ul Haq, Ali and Yousaf were arrested in Miami on March 13, 2011, on an indictment filed in the District of Columbia charging them with one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. Based on the defendants’ guilty pleas to terrorism conspiracy charges, the government dismissed at the sentencing hearing today the charges of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling against the defendants.
Ul Haq, Ali and Yousaf admitted that between Jan. 3, 2011, and March 10, 2011, they conspired to provide material support to the TTP in the form of false documentation and identification, knowing that the TTP engages in terrorist activity and terrorism. According to court documents, Ul Haq, Ali and Yousaf conducted a human smuggling operation in Quito, Ecuador, that attempted to smuggle an individual they believed to be a member of the TTP from Pakistan into the United States. The TTP was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department on Sept. 1, 2010.
Court documents indicate that law enforcement agents directed confidential sources to ask the defendants, who were residing in Ecuador at the time, for their assistance in smuggling a fictitious person from Pakistan to the United States. Over the course of the ensuing negotiations, the defendants were made aware that the person to be smuggled was a member of the TTP who was blacklisted in Pakistan.
According to the court documents, the defendants agreed to move this person from Pakistan into the United States, despite his purported affiliation with the TTP. Ul Haq, according to the court documents, told the confidential sources that it was “not their concern” what the men “want to do in the United States – hard labor, sweep floor, wash dishes in a hotel, or blow up. That will be up to them.” The defendants accepted payment from the confidential sources for the smuggling operation and procured a false Pakistani passport for the purported TTP member.
The investigation was conducted by the HSI attaché office in Quito, Ecuador, with the HSI office in Atlanta, the Miami Division of the FBI and the Ecuadorian National Police.
The investigation was conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.
The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. National Central Bureau of INTERPOL, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Embassy in Quito and the Government of Ecuador provided invaluable support.
The case was prosecuted jointly by prosecutors from the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Criminal Division, the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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Norwich Woman Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison for Sex Trafficking of A MinorRead the Press Release
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DANA RIVERA, 23, of Norwich, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by seven years of supervised release, for sex trafficking of a minor.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Dana Rivera and her former husband, Samuel Rivera, arranged for the prostitution of a 16-year-old girl. The Riveras posted advertisements on the Internet, took calls of prospective customers, booked hotel rooms, and transported the minor victim to and from prostitution calls in southeastern Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. In May and June 2011, the minor victim saw approximately five or six customers a day. The Riveras split the money the victim earned and gave none of it to the victim.
Dana Rivera has been detained since her arrest on November 5, 2012. On February 14, 2013, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
Samuel Rivera, 23, of Groton, pleaded guilty to the same charge on February 19, 2013, and awaits sentencing. He has been detained since his arrest on November 16, 2012.
This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Stonington Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David E. Novick.
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U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Northern California Real Estate Investor Indicted on Additional ChargeRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento today returned a superseding indictment charging Andrew B. Katakis, of Danville, Calif., with obstruction of justice related to a federal investigation into conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, Calif., the Department of Justice announced.
The remaining allegations are unchanged from the original indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury on Dec. 7, 2011. The pre-existing counts charge Katakis, Donald M. Parker, Anthony B. Joachim and W. Theodore Longley with conspiring with other unnamed co-conspirators to rig bids and commit mail fraud when purchasing selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions. Wiley C. Chandler, another real estate investor who was also charged in the original indictment, pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, 2012.
The added charge alleges that after Katakis received a letter notifying him that a federal grand jury had subpoenaed his bank account, he deleted and caused others to delete electronic records and documents related to the conspiracies. The superseding indictment alleges that Katakis also installed and caused others to install and use a software program that overwrote deleted electronic records and documents so that they could not be viewed or recovered.
“Obstruction of a grand jury investigation is a crime the Antitrust Division takes seriously,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. “We will prosecute those who subvert the competitive process, as well as those who attempt to conceal their illegal actions by destroying evidence.”
According to the superseding indictment, Katakis, Parker, Joachim, Longley and co-conspirators agreed to suppress and restrain competition by rigging bids to obtain selected properties offered at public auctions in San Joaquin County. The conspirators also devised a scheme to fraudulently acquire titles to selected properties sold at the public auctions and to divert money to co-conspirators that would have gone to the beneficiaries. The indictment alleges that the conspiracy lasted from at least September 2008 until at least October 2009.
“This superseding indictment includes allegations that, in addition to the charges previously alleged, this defendant obstructed justice,” said Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California. “The new charge arises out of a long-running investigation that has already resulted in guilty pleas by numerous other defendants who participated in the scheme charged in this case.”
Katakis, Parker, Joachim and Longley are charged with bid rigging, a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. They are also charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The government can also seek to forfeit the proceeds earned from participating in the conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The newly added obstruction of justice charge against Katakis carries a maximum sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine.
To date, 10 individuals have pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in connection with the investigation: Anthony B. Ghio, John R. Vanzetti, Theodore B. Hutz, Richard W. Northcutt, Yama Marifat, Gregory L. Jackson, Walter Daniel Olmstead, Robert Rose, Kenneth Swanger and Chandler.
The additional charge today is the latest filed by the department in its ongoing federal antitrust investigation of fraud and bidding irregularities in certain real estate auctions in San Joaquin County. The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, the FBI’s Sacramento Division, and the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office at 415-436-6660, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm, contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California at 916-554-2700 or contact the FBI’s Sacramento Division at 916-481-9110.
Today’s charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
New York Pimp Convicted in Maryland for Sex Trafficking and Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
Victims Were Sexually and Physically Assaulted, and Forced to Work as Prostitutes,
in Maryland, New York and ElsewhereBaltimore, Maryland - A federal jury today convicted Jeremy Naughton, a/k/a “Jerms Black,” age 32, of Brooklyn, New York, on charges related to sex trafficking, including transporting individuals to engage in prostitution, and using a gun during the conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
The jury verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.
“Jeremy Naughton held young women against their will, and used violence, sexual abuse and threats to compel them to work for him as prostitutes,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to evidence presented at the 14-day trial, from January 2009 to the fall of 2010, Naughton and his long-time friend, Charles Anderson, targeted female prostitutes between the ages of 19 and 28 who were working without a pimp, to force and coerce the women to work for them. They contacted women who posted ads on websites for prostitution services and arranged to meet them in hotel rooms, masquerading as a prospective client. Naughton and Anderson then assaulted and threatened the victims with a handgun and/or physical violence to force them to work for them. They stole the women’s cell phones, identification, room keys and personal computers to prevent them from communicating with others, and controlled the victims through physical assault, humiliation, confinement and threats. Naughton transported the women between Maryland, New York and other states to engage in prostitution.
For example, in the summer of 2009, Naughton enticed a woman to come to an apartment in Brooklyn, where he imprisoned her and invited others to sexually abuse her. In September of 2009, Naughton forced open the door of a woman’s hotel room, stole her cell phone and identification, and detained her while demanding that she work for him as a prostitute. In October 2009 in his apartment, Naughton displayed a handgun, struck a woman, choked her and forced her to perform sex. Between October 25 and November 11, 2009, Naughton drove two women from his apartment to Oxon Hill where he demanded that they rent hotel rooms for commercial sex. In December of 2009, Naughton violently assaulted a woman in a hotel in Montgomery County, Maryland. On February 8, 2010, Naughton forced a woman from her hotel room in Silver Spring, Maryland, forced her to stay with him at the Brooklyn apartment and sexually abused her before attempting to prostitute her from a hotel in Long Island, New York. In June 2010, Naughton intimidated another woman by snapping the neck of her dog with his hands. In September of 2010, Naughton entered another victim’s hotel room, demanded that she work for him, stole her cell phone and money, and transported her to his apartment, where he forced her to perform oral sex.
Naughton shared his apartment in Brooklyn with Anderson. According to Anderson’s plea agreement, the victims stayed in the Naughton’s room, where Anderson sometimes overheard Naughton physically assaulting them and forcing them to perform sex acts. In the spring of 2010, Anderson agreed to monitor the victims while Naughton traveled for approximately six hours in search of an additional prostitute in Maryland. Anderson helped Naughton locate victims who had escaped. He also knew that Naughton had a .9mm pistol and a larger sub-machine gun in the apartment, along with corresponding ammunition.
Naughton faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for conspiring to commit sex trafficking; a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison for each of four counts of sex trafficking; a maximum of 10 years in prison on each of six counts of transporting an individual to engage in prostitution; seven years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz has scheduled sentencing for August 15, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.
Charles Anderson, a/k/a “Chuck Corners,” a/k/a “Yowzer,” age 26, of Brooklyn, New York, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14, 2013 at 2:15 p.m.
The case was investigated by the Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force, with assistance from the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, which was formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members of both task forces include federal, state and local law enforcement. The Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force also includes victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit www.justice.gov/usao/md/Human-Trafficking/index.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI’s Baltimore, New York, and Las Vegas, Nevada offices and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Kings County (Brooklyn, NY) District Attorney’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security and the New York City Police Department for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Crooks and Paul E. Budlow, who are prosecuting the case.
New York Man Charged with Trafficking in Counterfeit MerchandiseRead the Press Release
A New York man was charged wtih trafficking in counterfeit merchandise after investigators found him with more than 1,300 counterfeit items, including handbags, sunglasses and shirts, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Man Zhang, age 30, of Woodside, New York, was named in the one-count indictment.
On or about March 27, 2013, Zhang intentionally trafficked and attempted to traffic more than 1,300 items, including 225 designer handbags, 53 designer wallets, 71 pairs of designer sunglasses, 339 hats, 349 Monster and Ed Hardy tee-shirts, and 209 bottles of designer perfume, each of which contained counterfeit marks, logos, labels and tags, according to the indictment.
The marks on the merchandise were identical to and substantially indistinguishable from marks used on genuine merchandise, and were in use and registered for such goods on the principle register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The use of such counterfeit marks was likely to cause confusion, mistake or to deceive, according to the indictment.
According to a criminal complaint previously filed in this matter, Zhang’s vehicle was stopped in Austintown, Ohio, on March 27, 2013, for a traffic violation. Upon stopping the vehicle, police officers observed numerous items in plain view inside the vehicle which appeared to be counterfeit merchandise. Zhang was arrested on outstanding state warrants and the vehicle was impounded and inventoried.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Kern of the Cleveland U.S. Attorney’s Office, following an investigation by the Cleveland Office of the Department of Homeland Security, Office Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Monte Vista Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DENVER – Timothy John Vanderwerff, age 65, of Monte Vista, Colorado, was recently sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane to serve 108 months (9 years) in federal prison for receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced. Following his 9 year prison sentence, Vanderwerff was ordered by Judge Kane to serve a lifetime of supervised release. The judge deferred making a decision on restitution. A hearing regarding restitution will be scheduled at a later date. Vanderwerff, who appeared at the hearing free on bond, was ordered to report to a Bureau of Prisons facility within 30 days of designation.
Vanderwerff was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on February 8, 2012. He pled guilty to the receipt of child pornography on August 9, 2012. He was sentenced on Monday, May 6, 2013.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, in October 2009, law enforcement officials were contact by the defendant’s sister-in-law. She told law enforcement that the defendant’s wife had found thousands of images of child pornography on the defendant’s computer, as well as pictures of child pornography printed off the internet. The wife also believed the defendant had an improper infatuation with an 11-year old neighbor. After the initial call to law enforcement, officers and agents executed a state authorized search warrant. They seized Vanderweff’s computer and the printed images of child pornography. The defendant had obtained all of his child pornography from the internet.
The computer and hard drive were submitted to the Rocky Mountain Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory for examination. The forensic examination located more than 900 files containing images of child pornography on the computer. There were approximately 292 files containing images of child pornography with prepubescent minors. There were approximately 27 files containing images of child pornography involving sadistic or masochistic conduct. There were 2 video files showing child pornography involving prepubescent minors.
The child pornography images were sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for review by the Child Victim Identification Program (CVIP). CVIP catalogues “known” child pornography images and “known” victims of child pornography, meaning those images have been previously identified by law enforcement. CVIP discovered 87 known image files of child pornography on the computer.
Simultaneous with the federal child pornography investigation, state law enforcement officers investigated allegations of improper sexual contact between the defendant and the 11-year old female neighbor. The defendant plead guilty and was convicted of the state charge of Sexual Assault on a Child - Victim Less Than 15 (years of age) in Rio Grande County, Colorado. The defendant received 90 days of jail followed by 10 years of sex offender specific probation.
“This case demonstrates the resources that law enforcement devotes to protecting children from exploitation,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “The FBI’s efforts, the Regional Forensic Lab, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children work in concert with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure those involved in child pornography are held accountable for their illegal actions.”
“The sentence handed down represents the FBI’s dedication to pursuing those intent on harming children,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle. “The identification and apprehension of child predators roaming our communities is a priority for the FBI, and this case should serve as a deterrent to those who utilize the Internet to promote the victimization of children.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Vanderwerff was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Hosley and Judith Smith.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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, PSC 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 PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."
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Minnesota Man Sentenced for Failure to Pay Child SupportRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Marshall, Minnesota man charged with Failure to Pay Legal Child Support was sentenced on May 3, 2013 by U.S. Magistrate Court Judge John E. Simko.
Larry T. Davis, age 38, was sentenced to 2 years of probation, a $10 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, and child support restitution in the amount of $12,974.00.
Davis was indicted for failing to pay over $11,774.00 by a federal grand jury on December 4, 2012. On or about January 1, 2010, a past due child support obligation was imposed on Davis by the Third Judicial Circuit Court, Brookings County, South Dakota for the benefit of his minor child. The obligation went unpaid for more than one year and was in an amount greater than $5,000. At that time, the defendant was residing in Minnesota while his minor child resided in South Dakota. From that date and continuing to the present, Davis has willfully and unlawfully failed to pay this past due child support obligation. He pled guilty to the charge on April 12, 2013.
This case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Wright prosecuted the case.
Milwaukee Man Indicted on Sex Trafficking and Forced LaborRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Milwaukee has indicted Najee C. Moore, 22, on charges of conspiracy, sex trafficking and attempted forced labor, of both minor and adult victims.
The indictment alleges that Moore engaged in the sex trafficking of two different minor victims in 2010 and 2012, respectively, and used force, fraud, and coercion to compel both adult and minor victims to engage in commercial sex acts. The indictment further charges the defendant with conspiring and attempting to compel a victim into forced labor.
The matter is being investigated by the FBI, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, Milwaukee Police Department and the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karine Moreno-Taxman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Trial Attorney Daniel H. Weiss of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the subject is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Mercer County, N.J., Man Charged with Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County, N.J., man will have his initial court appearance on child pornography charges in New Jersey after having been arrested by local authorities in Panama and returned to the United States in early April, where he was arrested by special agents from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Fredy Arbito, 31, of Hightstown, N.J., is charged by Complaint with one count of possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
As early as Jan. 28, 2013, Arbito knowingly and willfully possessed at least three images of child pornography, which were produced and transported by computer. Emails of a sexual nature allegedly sent by Arbito to a 14-year-old girl in Ecuador were traced back to an account at Arbito’s address in Hightstown.
The charge of possessing child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, in New Jersey under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Joseph Gribko of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: David Oakley Esq., Princeton, N.J.Arbito Complaint
Mercer County Drug Task Force Investigation Leads to Charges Against Farrell ManRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Farrell, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal narcotic laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The four-count indictment, returned on May 7, named Travis W. Black, 27.
According to the indictment, from in and around August 2010, and continuing thereafter to on or about Nov. 4, 2012, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Black conspired with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. Additionally, on or about Sept. 1, Oct. 29, and Oct. 31, 2010, Black distributed and possessed with the intent to distribute cocaine.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $2,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Eric S. Rosen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and the Mercer County Drug Task Force conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Members of Bloods Gang Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that three members of the Pennsylvania branch of the Almighty Renegade Gangsta (“ARG”) Bloods gang who were involved in the distribution of heroin, crack cocaine and marijuana in Columbia, Northumberland, and Luzerne Counties pleaded guilty today in federal court in Williamsport before U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner.
Renard Durant, a/k/a “Black” and “SB,” age 27, of Bloomsburg, Shelton Cochrane, II, a/k/a “Sett,” age 37, of Mt. Carmel, and Gilberto Lanzot, Jr., a/k/a “Pops,” age 32, of Wilkes-Barre, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana. Sentencing has been scheduled for August 19, 2013.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Durant and Jeffrey Tripp were initially indicted in June 2012 on charges of distribution of heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana in Northumberland and Columbia Counties.
In December 2012, a superseding indictment was returned charging Cochrane and Lanzot for their involvement. A second superseding indictment was returned in March 2013.
Durant, Cochrane, and Lanzot occupied positions of leadership within the Pennsylvania branch of the “ARG” Bloods operating in Columbia, Northumberland, and Luzerne Counties, Pennsylvania. Durant served as the leader of the local ARG Bloods, managing a network of approximately 10-15 gang members which included Cochrane, Lanzot, and Tripp, who distributed heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana from various suppliers in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and New York. From July 2011 through 2013, Durant agreed with Cochrane, Lanzot, and Tripp to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams of heroin and 112 grams of crack cocaine.
Co-defendant Jeffrey Tripp pleaded guilty in December 2012 and is scheduled for sentencing on June 11, 2013.
The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police, the Columbia County Drug Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecution of this matter has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney George J. Rocktashel.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute for each defendant is 40 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Man with Prior Felony Convictions Charged with Violating Federal Drug and Gun LawsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal firearms and narcotics laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The two-count indictment, returned on May 7, named Charles Howard, III, 32.
According to the indictment, on or about March 28, 2012, Howard, who has prior felony convictions, possessed a firearm. Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year from possessing a firearm. Also on or about March 28, 2012, Howard possessed and intended to distribute crack cocaine.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence for the firearms offense of not less than 15 years and up to life in prison, a fine of $250,000.00, or both. The law also provides for a maximum total sentence for the narcotics offense of 30 years in prison, a fine of $2,000,000.00, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan B. Ortiz is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and communities to prevent, deter and prosecute gun crime.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Liberal Man Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Liberal, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Timothy Curless, 52, of Liberal, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Curless on April 22, 2013.
Today’s indictment alleges that Curless received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between Nov. 4, 2012 and April 19, 2013.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, a law enforcement officer was conducting an undercover investigation into the distribution of child pornography by suspect(s) using file-sharing software. On two separate occasions the officer allegedly downloaded images of child pornography from Curless’s computer. Among those images, the affidavit says, were children who have not reached puberty and a child as young as three years of age. When officers executed a search warrant, the affidavit says, they learned that Curless had been using his neighbor’s wi-fi network in order to access the Internet.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture count, which would require Curless to forfeit to the government a desktop computer, two laptop computers, a hard disk drive, 69 CDs, three flash drives and two floppy disks.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Leader of an Arson Ring Was Sentenced Today to 137 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
A resident of Beverly Hills, Michigan was sentenced today to 137 years after having been found guilty of arson and other charges related to wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering, 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, Detroit Division, Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and William Hayes, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations.
Ali Darwich, 31, of Beverly Hills, Michigan, was convicted of 33 counts of wire and mail fraud, arson and money laundering following a jury trial before the Honorable Robert H. Cleland in U.S. District Court in Detroit in December 2012.
Evidence presented at trial showed that beginning in 2005, Ali Darwich, along with eight co-defendants, ran an arson for profit ring in the greater Detroit metropolitan area. Their crimes involved burning down numerous houses and businesses, committing insurance fraud, and submitting false claims for reimbursement. Specifically, Darwich, along with his co-conspirators, would purchase insurance for various dwellings, businesses and vehicles. After purchasing the insurance, Darwich and others would intentionally burn, vandalize, or flood the various properties or vehicles and then file false insurance claims seeking reimbursement for such things as structural repair, contents replacement, loss of profits and alternative living costs. One of those properties included a building located at 14909-14911 Cheyenne in Detroit Darwich set ablaze on December 30, 2008. Darwich was seen entering the house carrying a bottle of liquid. Minutes later he was seen running from the house empty handed. He was arrested after the police noticed the house going up in flames. In another incident, Darwich set a delayed fire at Warrendale Hardware located at 16041 W. Warren in Detroit. That fire resulted in more than $500,000 dollars in damage.
Darwich also placed the ownership of various properties in the names of friends and family members in order to hide their true ownership. Seven insurance companies were defrauded for over $5 million.
The eight co-conspirators were convicted by guilty pleas and were sentenced. Those include:Fatima Toufaili, 29, of Beverly Hills, Michigan
Ashak Ashaq, 43, of Warren, Michigan
Mazen Mazraani, 32, of Dearborn, Michigan
Ali Alaouie, 34, of Dearborn, Michigan
Benjamin Youhanna, 40, of Farmington Hills, Michigan
Fayez Debouk, 26, of Dearborn, Michigan
Rabhi Ali, 29, of Dearborn, Michigan
Jad Alawie, 38 of Dearborn, MichiganFBI Special Agent in Charge Foley, stated, "This guilty verdict comes as the result of countless hours of hard work by the FBI and our law enforcement partners. The FBI is committed to stopping arson for profit and ensuring criminals face severe penalties for these illegal acts."
Special Agent in Charge Martinez stated, "Ali Darwich and his associates hatched a plan to set fire to several houses, scam the insurance companies with false claims and launder the illegal proceeds in order to enrich themselves. IRS agents used their financial expertise in solving these crimes."
Special Agent in Charge Hays stated, "Today’s sentencing sends a crystal clear message that federal law enforcement will continue to aggressively target and take down criminal groups responsible for perpetuating crime and blight in metro Detroit."
Arson is a very dangerous crime that can cause loss of life,” McQuade said. “We hope that this conviction sends a strong message that individuals who commit arson for profit will be brought to justice.”
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Dearborn Police Department and the Detroit Fire Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ron Waterstreet represented the United States at trial.
Lawrence Man Charged with Extortion and Illegal Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lawrence man was charged yesterday with making extortionate.
Felix Paulino, 35, was indicted on charges of interstate extortionate threats and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. On April 2, 2013, Paulino was arrested on a criminal complaint. He is currently in federal custody.
The indictment alleges that, beginning in October of 2012 and continuing until November 2012, Paulino made threats in interstate commerce. It further alleges that on the date of his arrest, Paulino was found in possession of a firearm and ammunition after being convicted of a crime which was punishable by more than one year in prison.
The extortion charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of three years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release and a $250,000. The firearms charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for the firearms charge.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini, Chief of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against Golden Corral Restaurantfor Violation of the Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today the settlement of its lawsuit against the Golden Corral restaurant in Westland, Mich., which alleged that the owners and operators of the Golden Corral violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying service to a mother and her minor children based on the appearance of the children’s skin due to a genetic skin disorder.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, alleged that the manager of the Golden Corral restaurant demanded that Danielle Duford and her four daughters leave the restaurant based on the appearance of the children’s skin caused by a genetic skin disorder, epidermolysis bullosa, which causes blisters to form on the skin in response to minor injuries and temperature changes. Despite Duford informing the restaurant manager of her children’s disability and repeatedly emphasizing that they did not have a contagious disease, the manager required the family to immediately leave the restaurant, claiming that he had received complaints from other customers. Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, such as restaurants, from discriminating against people on the basis of disability, or their association with an individual with a disability, in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods or services offered.
Under the settlement agreement, which must still be approved by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen J. Murphy III, the defendants will pay $50,000 in damages to Duford and her children and $10,000 in civil penalties to the United States. The defendants will also develop and maintain a non-discrimination policy which covers service to customers with disabilities at the Golden Corral restaurant, and provide training to their employees on their obligations under the ADA.
“No one should be excluded from participating in the basic activities of daily living on account of fears of their disability, nor should children be shamed from going out in public,” said Eve Hill, Senior Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We are confident today’s settlement sends that message.”
“We hope that today’s settlement will help prevent discrimination based on unfounded fears by raising awareness of the duties to accommodate individuals with less common disabilities,” said Barbara L. McQuade, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan K. DeClercq in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, in collaboration with the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.
More information about the ADA is available at the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY) and via the ADA website at www.ada.gov or through contacting the U.S. Attorney’s civil rights hotline at 313-226-9151.
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against Golden Corral Restaurantfor Violation of the Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
DETROIT, MI - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced today the settlement of its lawsuit against the Golden Corral restaurant in Westland, Michigan, which alleged that the owners and operators of the Golden Corral violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying service to a mother and her minor children based on the appearance of the children’s skin due to a genetic skin disorder.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, alleged that the manager of the Golden Corral restaurant demanded that Danielle Duford and her four daughters leave the restaurant based on the appearance of the children’s skin caused by a genetic skin disorder, epidermolysis bullosa, which causes blisters to form on the skin in response to minor injuries and temperature changes. Despite Ms. Duford informing the restaurant manager of her children’s disability and repeatedly emphasizing that they did not have a contagious disease, the manager required the family to immediately leave the restaurant, claiming that he had received complaints from other customers. Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, such as restaurants, from discriminating against people on the basis of disability, or their association with an individual with a disability, in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods or services offered.
Under the settlement agreement, which must still be approved by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen J. Murphy III, the defendants will pay $50,000 in damages to Ms. Duford and her children and $10,000 in civil penalties to the United States. The defendants will also develop and maintain a non-discrimination policy which covers service to customers with disabilities at the Golden Corral restaurant, and provide training to their employees on their obligations under the ADA.
“We hope that today’s settlement will help prevent discrimination based on unfounded fears by raising awareness of the duties to accommodate individuals with less common disabilities,” said Barbara L. McQuade, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“No one should be excluded from participating in the basic activities of daily living on account of fears of their disability, nor should children be shamed from going out in public,” said Eve Hill, Senior Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We are confident today’s settlement sends that message.”
The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan K. DeClercq in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, in collaboration with the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.
More information about the ADA is available at the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY) and via the ADA website at http://www.ada.gov or through contacting the U.S. Attorney’s civil rights hotline at 313-226-9151.
Justice Department Announces Fair Housing Settlement with Oregon DeveloperRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that Oregon developer David Montagne and others affiliated with him have agreed to pay $80,000 and remove accessibility barriers at Gateway Village, a 275 unit apartment complex in Salem, Oregon, to settle a lawsuit alleging that they had violated the Fair Housing Act by building the complex with steps and other features that made it inaccessible to persons with disabilities.
Under the terms of the parties’ agreement, Montagne and the other developers, Montagne Development Company, Gateway II LLC, Dav II Investment Group LLC and William Jones, must take extensive actions to make the complex accessible to persons with disabilities. These corrective actions include removing steps from sidewalks, widening interior doorways, reducing threshold heights, replacing excessively sloped portions of sidewalks, and installing properly sloped curb ramps to allow persons with disabilities to access the sidewalks from the parking areas. In addition, these defendants will pay $48,000 to the Fair Housing Council of Oregon, whose investigation revealed the violations and which intervened in the United States’ lawsuit, and $32,000 to establish a settlement fund for the purpose of compensating disabled individuals impacted by the accessibility violations. This settlement does not resolve the entire lawsuit. The case continues against the defendant that provided design and engineering services for Gateway Village, Multi/Tech Engineering.
“The Fair Housing Act ensures that persons with disabilities do not face unnecessary barriers to access to housing of their choice and are able to make full use of that housing,” said Eric Halperin, Senior Counsel and Special Counsel for Fair Lending in the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is strongly committed to the enforcement of the fair housing laws that protect the rights of persons with disabilities to have equal opportunities to enjoy the housing of their choice.”
“Accessible housing is a fundamental protection afforded by the Fair Housing Act,” stated U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, S. Amanda Marshall. “I am committed to working with the Fair Housing Council of Oregon and our federal, state, and local partners to ensure Oregonians have accessible housing choices in accordance with federal law.”
The lawsuit, filed in September 2011, arose as a result of a complaint filed by the Fair Housing Council of Oregon with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination and referred the matter to the Justice Department.
“Having accessible features in an apartment complex is not just a legal requirement. These features are essential for people with disabilities to live their lives fully and independently,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD and the Justice Department are committed to ensuring that housing developers meet the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act.”
Individuals who are entitled to share in the settlement fund will be identified through a process established in the settlement. Persons who believe they were subjected to unlawful discrimination at Gateway Village either when they lived there or considered living there should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox # 9993 or e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected] .
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt . Individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected] , or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.
Justice Department Announces Fair Housing Settlement with Oregon DeveloperRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Justice Department announced today that Oregon developer David Montagne and others affiliated with him have agreed to pay $80,000 and remove accessibility barriers at Gateway Village, a 275 unit apartment complex in Salem, Oregon, to settle a lawsuit alleging that they had violated the Fair Housing Act by building the complex with steps and other features that made it inaccessible to persons with disabilities.
Under the terms of the parties’ agreement, Montagne and the other developers, Montagne Development Company, Gateway II LLC, Dav II Investment Group LLC and William Jones, must take extensive actions to make the complex accessible to persons with disabilities. These corrective actions include removing steps from sidewalks, widening interior doorways, reducing threshold heights, replacing excessively sloped portions of sidewalks, and installing properly sloped curb ramps to allow persons with disabilities to access the sidewalks from the parking areas. In addition, these defendants will pay $48,000 to the Fair Housing Council of Oregon, whose investigation revealed the violations and which intervened in the United States’ lawsuit, and $32,000 to establish a settlement fund for the purpose of compensating disabled individuals impacted by the accessibility violations. This settlement does not resolve the entire lawsuit. The case continues against the defendant that provided design and engineering services for Gateway Village, Multi/Tech Engineering.
“The Fair Housing Act ensures that persons with disabilities do not face unnecessary barriers to access to housing of their choice and are able to make full use of that housing,” said Eric Halperin, Senior Counsel and Special Counsel for Fair Lending in the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is strongly committed to the enforcement of the fair housing laws that protect the rights of persons with disabilities to have equal opportunities to enjoy the housing of their choice.”
“Accessible housing is a fundamental protection afforded by the Fair Housing Act,” stated U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, S. Amanda Marshall. “I am committed to working with the Fair Housing Council of Oregon and our federal, state, and local partners to ensure Oregonians have accessible housing choices in accordance with federal law.”
The lawsuit, filed in September 2011, arose as a result of a complaint filed by the Fair Housing Council of Oregon with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination and referred the matter to the Justice Department.
“Having accessible features in an apartment complex is not just a legal requirement. These features are essential for people with disabilities to live their lives fully and independently,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD and the Justice Department are committed to ensuring that housing developers meet the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act.”
"Home is our safe harbor; the place where we nurture our family and our dreams. People with disabilities deserve the same opportunities as everyone else to access a home of their choice. We believe that this settlement helps makes Gateway Apartments a more inclusive community and also helps Oregonians to understand the importance of removing physical barriers that limit the dreams of people with disabilities0." Pegge McGuire, Executive Director, Fair Housing Council of Oregon.
Individuals who are entitled to share in the settlement fund will be identified through a process established in the settlement. Persons who believe they were subjected to unlawful discrimination at Gateway Village either when they lived there or considered living there should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox # 9993 or e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected].
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected] contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.
For more information, please see the attached order Here
Judge Sentences Georgia Man to Prison for Interfering with an Air Tran Flight CrewRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A Georgia man has been sentenced in federal court to eight months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release on his conviction of violations of federal laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed the sentence on Marc Anthony Malone, 35.
According to information presented to the court, on Oct. 10, 2012, Malone was onboard Air Tran Flight 120 from Atlanta to Pittsburgh. Approximately 30 minutes into the flight, attendants on the flight noticed that he began to act erratically. At one point during the flight, Malone asked a flight crew member "Where are we?" Upon hearing that the plane was on its way to Pittsburgh, Malone stated "I need to get off now," and attempted to get to the front of the aircraft. At that point, one of the flight attendants tried to calm Malone and asked him to sit in his seat, at which point, Malone continued to leave his seat stating, "Why are you mad at me?" Shortly thereafter, Malone attempted to force his way to the front of the plane, when two flight attendants physically stopped him, and Malone yelled "F- you!" over and over. As Malone refused to comply with commands to return to his seat, he attempted to get to the front of the plane by pushing a flight attendant with his hands, knocking the attendant backward. At that time two flight attendants and five passengers wrestled Malone to the ground to restrain him and place flex cuffs on him. While Malone kicked and attempted to bite those that attempted to restrain him, Malone yelled, "I'm going to get you! When I get out of here, I can't wait to get a hold of you!" As such, Malone had to be restrained by flight crew members for the duration of the plane's landing instead of having to attended to their normal duties.
Assistant United States Attorney James T. Kitchen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Malone.
Internet Installer Who Hijacked Customer’s Internet to Steal People’s Identities in Order to File False Taxes Gets 30 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - Corey Thompson was sentenced yesterday to30 months in prison for his involvement in a sophisticated stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy, announced George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. In July 2012, Thompson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to file false claims and to one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents from the first case, in January 2012, Corey Thompson and his co-conspirators filed at least 27 fraudulent 2011 tax returns that requested a total of $91,304 in refunds. Thompson and his co-conspirators obtained the means of identification from a prison guard and from an employee at a debt collection agency.
Court documents also state that in 2011 and 2012, Thompson worked as an independent contractor for a cable company. As an independent contractor, Thompson installed cable and internet access. While installing cable and internet service at people’s houses, Thompson hijacked the internet service of customers for whom he had performed work. From his home, Thompson used his laptop and his specialized knowledge and equipment to essentially shut down the customer’s internet and then take over that customer’s internet. Thompson would then file false tax returns using the hijacked internet which made it appear as if the false tax returns were being filed by the customer. Thompson directed the tax refunds to be placed on pre-paid debit cards. The pre-paid debit cards were intercepted by the United States Postal Service.
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation and Postal Inspectors of the United States Postal Service. Trial attorneys Jason H. Poole, Justin Gelfand and Michael Boteler of the Justice Department's Tax Division and Assistant United States Attorney Jared Morris prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Informational: Federal Court ArraignmentsRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on May 7, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, the following individuals were arraigned:
MICHAEL BEARHILL, JR., a 21-year-old resident of Wolf Point, appeared on a charge of robbery. He is currently detained. If convicted of this charge, BEARHILL faces possible penalties of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by the Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation Division.
SHYANN MARIE DUPREE, a 36-year-old resident of Poplar, appeared on a charge of burglary. She is currently detained. If convicted of this charge, DUPREE faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $50,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by the Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation Division.
JESUS HERIBERTO RAMIREZ-SOTO, age 44, DON EDWARD LYLE, age 53, and STUART MORGAN PATTIE, age 52, residents of Troy, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. They are currently detained. If convicted of these charges, they each face possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and could be sentenced to life, a $10,000,000 fine, and 5 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica A. Betley is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was a cooperative effort between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.
The defendants pled not guilty to the charges.
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.
Homestead Man Charged with Illegally Possessing A FirearmRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Homestead, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The one-count indictment, returned on May 7, named Andre Dwayne Ruffin, 38.
According to the indictment, on or about April 22, 2013, Ruffin, who has prior felony convictions, including violent felony offenses, possessed a firearm. Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year from possessing firearms.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence for the offense of not less than 15 years and up to life in prison, a fine of $250,000.00, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan B. Ortiz is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and communities to prevent, deter and prosecute gun crime.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the West Mifflin Police Department and the Allegheny County Police, Homicide Section conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Health Care Clinic Director Pleads Guilty in Miami for Role in $63 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A former health care clinic director and licensed clinical psychologist pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with a health care fraud scheme involving defunct health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN), announced U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department's Criminal Division; Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office.
Alina Feas, 53, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one substantive count of health care fraud.
During the course of the conspiracy, Feas was employed as a therapist and clinical director of HCSN’s Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP). A PHP is a form of intensive treatment for severe mental illness. HCSN operated two community mental health centers in Florida and one community mental health center in North Carolina.
In her capacity as clinical director, Feas oversaw the entire clinical program and supervised therapists and other personnel at HCSN in Florida (HCSN-FL). Feas also conducted group therapy sessions when therapists were absent.
According to court documents, Feas was aware that HCSN-FL paid illegal kickbacks to owners and operators of assisted living facilities (ALF) in Miami-Dade County in exchange for patient referral information to be used to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid. Feas knew that many of the ALF referral patients were ineligible for PHP services because they suffered from either mental retardation, dementia or Alzheimer's disease, which are not effectively treated by PHP services.
Court documents reveal that Feas submitted claims to Medicare for individual therapy she purportedly provided to HCSN-FL patients using her personal Medicare provider number, knowing that HCSN-FL was simultaneously billing the same patients for PHP services. Feas continued to bill Medicare under her personal provider number while HCSN in North Carolina (HCSN-NC) simultaneously submitted false and fraudulent PHP claims.
Feas was aware that HCSN-FL personnel were fabricating patient medical records, according to court documents. Many of these medical records were created weeks or months after the patients were admitted to HCSN-FL for purported PHP treatment and were utilized to support false and fraudulent billing to government sponsored health care benefit programs, including Medicare and Florida Medicaid. During her employment at HCSN-FL, Feas signed fabricated PHP therapy notes and other medical records used to support false claims to government sponsored health care programs.
At HCSN-NC, Feas was aware that her co-conspirators were fabricating medical records to support the fraudulent claims she was causing to be submitted to Medicare. Feas was aware that a majority of the fabricated notes were created at the HCSN-FL facility for patients admitted to HCSN-NC. In some instances, Feas signed therapy notes and other medical records even though she never provided services at HCSN-NC.
According to court documents, from 2004 through 2011, HCSN billed Medicare and the Florida Medicaid program approximately $63 million for purported mental health services.
Fifteen defendants have been charged for their alleged roles in the HCSN health care fraud scheme, and 13 defendants have pleaded guilty. On April 25, 2013, Wondera Eason was convicted, following a five-day jury trial, on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud for her role in the scheme at HCSN. Alleged co-conspirator Lisset Palmero is scheduled for trial on June 3, 2013. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial.
This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Allan J. Medina and former Special Trial Attorney William J. Parente. This case is being investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division's Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
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.
Griswold, Iowa, Resident Sentenced to 180 Months for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA- On May 8, 2013, Katrina Sue Bates, a 46 year old resident of Griswold Iowa, was sentenced to 180 months imprisonment for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in and around Cass County, Iowa, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge John Jarvey also ordered Bates to serve a ten-year term of supervised release following incarceration. Bates pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) on September 30, 2012. The conviction was the result of a three year investigation into methamphetamine trafficking in and around Atlantic, Iowa. At the time of her guilty plea, Bates admitted that from July of 2009, until May of 2010, she agreed to distribute methamphetamine obtained from a South Omaha, Nebraska source to customers in the area of Atlantic, Iowa.
The investigation was conducted by the Cass County, Iowa, Sheriff's Office, Audubon County, Iowa, Sheriff's Office, Cass County, Iowa, County Attorney's Office, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
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Grand Jury Indicts Five in Large-Scale Immigration Fraud Scheme Orchestrated by Attorney Who Paid Bribes to Government OfficialsRead the Press Release
Officials with Homeland Security Agencies Allegedly Took Payments of up to $10,000
LOS ANGELES – An agent with the Department of Homeland Security and a former immigration officer surrendered to federal authorities this morning after a grand jury yesterday indicted them and three others who allegedly participated in a long-running immigration fraud scheme that was fueled by official corruption.
The conspiracy was allegedly orchestrated by a Los Angeles attorney who paid bribes as high as $10,000 to officials with several agencies in the Department of Homeland Security to help secure immigration benefits for aliens he was representing.
An 18-count superseding indictment returned yesterday afternoon outlines a wide-ranging bribery scheme in which attorney Kwang Man “John” Lee – who was previously charged in a criminal complaint and is not named in the indictment issued yesterday – used illegal tactics to procure immigration benefits for clients. Lee allegedly paid bribes to public officials to secure admission stamps and lawful permanent residency status for aliens who paid fees ranging from a few hundred dollars to well over $50,000. Lee paid bribes to government officials, with payments ranging from $50 to as much as $10,000 given to an officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Authorities have identified several dozen aliens who improperly received immigrations benefits, but that number is growing as the investigation continues.
Those named in the indictment filed yesterday are: USCIS Supervisory Officer Jesus Figueroa, 66, of Tujunga; former USCIS Officer Paul Lovingood, 71, of Newhall, who surrendered to federal authorities this morning;
James Dominguez, a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), 46, of Ventura, who surrendered to federal authorities this morning;
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Michael Anders, 53, of Torrance; and
Mirei Hofmann, 38, of Los Angeles, a native of Japan, who allegedly paid Lee tens of thousands of dollars to secure a permanent resident card.
Figueroa and Hofmann were named in an earlier indictment returned by the grand jury about a month ago. Anders and Lee, a 47-year-old resident of Los Angeles, were named in a criminal complaint filed about a month ago. All four were previously arrested and released on bond. They will be summoned into court for arraignments on the new indictment in the coming weeks.
Dominguez and Lovingood were charged for the first time in yesterday’s indictment, and both are expected to be arraigned on the indictment this afternoon in United States District Court.
The indictment alleges two conspiracies involving bribery and fraud against the United States (Figueroa, Dominguez and Lovingood are charged in one conspiracy; Anders is charged in the second). The indictment also alleges seven counts of bribery, two counts of making false statements, three counts of misuse of government seals (USCIS approval stamps), three counts of false stamps, and Hofmann is charged alone in one count of immigration fraud.
“The allegations in this case concern federal law enforcement officers selling their services and betraying their oaths to our nation so they could profit from a clandestine immigration fraud ring that allowed scores of aliens to improperly enter and reside in the United States,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “Immigration fraud subverts the orderly process of citizenship and compromises the security of the homeland. We will do everything possible to protect our system of government when it is threatened by public officials who are more concerned with private profit than upholding the law.”
The four current and former government officials named in yesterday’s indictment allegedly conducted a number of official acts to help Lee’s clients obtain immigration benefits. For example, the indictment specifically alleges that Figueroa, Dominguez and Lovingood added documents to, and removed documents from, immigration files (A-files) related to Lee’s clients. In exchange for their official acts, Lee allegedly paid the officials with cash and expensive gifts – including at least three Thailand vacations for Dominguez, computers and television sets for Lovingood, and thousands of dollars in cash for Figueroa.
"Guarding against illegal or unethical behavior by those in positions of public trust is not an option – it is an obligation we have to the people we serve,” said Joe Jeronimo, Special Agent in Charge of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, West Region. “We will move aggressively to target those who corrupt the integrity of our nation’s immigration system, particularly when the actions involve individuals sworn to safeguard that process.”
Lee, a former officer with an agency previously known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, became an attorney in 1997 and maintains offices in the Mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles. According to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint previously filed in this case, “The investigation has revealed that Lee is the middleman in a corruption ring that solicits bribes from aliens in exchange for immigration benefits, ranging from fraudulent admission stamps to citizenship. Lee appears to be the point-of-contact between government officials, whom Lee pays to procure these immigration benefits, and known and unknown co-conspirators, who refer aliens to Lee. The investigation has also revealed that Lee uses his position as a licensed attorney to facilitate the bribery conspiracy by, among other things, assisting alien bribe payors in submitting false and fraudulent immigration petitions to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.”
Criminal complaints and indictments contain allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court.
The conspiracy counts carry a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, and the bribery counts carry a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. If convicted of all counts in which they are charged, Figueroa would face a statutory maximum penalty of 80 years in federal prison; Anders would face a statutory maximum sentence of 65 years in federal prison; Lovingood would face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison; Dominguez would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison; and Hofmann would face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
The superseding indictment returned yesterday is the result of an ongoing investigation being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, which are receiving substantial assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Internal Affairs; the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Security and Integrity; and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Release No. 13-065
Georgia Men Plead Guilty to Receiving Bribes <br /> in Transportation Scheme at Local Military BaseRead the Press Release
Two former employees at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany (MCLB-Albany) have pleaded guilty to receiving bribes related to a scheme to funnel freight hauling business to a local transportation company resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to the United States government, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore for the Middle District of Georgia.
Mitchell D. Potts, 48, and Jeffrey S. Philpot, 35, both of Sylvester, Ga., each pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands in the Middle District of Georgia to one count of bribery of a public official.
During their guilty pleas, Potts, the former Traffic Office Supervisor for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) at MCLB-Albany, and Philpot, the former Lead Transportation Assistant in the Traffic Office, admitted to participating in a scheme whereby Potts and Philpot assisted Person A, the owner of several local commercial trucking companies, in obtaining trucking business from the DLA in exchange for the payment of cash and other things of value. Both defendants admitted that they took a variety of steps designed to push business to Person A and his companies, including: 1) delaying shipments for a period of hours or days, thereby reducing the time available to fulfill the shipping request and assuring that it would be awarded to a local trucking company, usually one owned by Person A; 2) “short loading” shipments awarded to Person A’s companies so that it would appear to require more trucks than necessary to move the subject freight, resulting in additional loads being awarded to Person A’s companies; 3) indicating that removable gooseneck (RGN) trailers were required for shipments, which resulted in many loads being directed to Person A’s companies because they always had RGNs available; and 4) creating “ghost shipments” where Person A billed the DLA for shipments that were never made. Both Potts and Philpot admitted that their actions led to millions of dollars of overcharges to the government.
Potts and Philpot admitted that they received cash payments from Person A when he visited the traffic office, sometimes multiple times per week. They also admitted receiving lunches provided by Person A several times a week during the relevant period and that they also received gift cards and other things of value. Potts admitted receiving approximately $209,000 in kickbacks from Person A during the roughly three-year scheme. Philpot admitted receiving approximately $523,000 in cash and other things of value from Person A during the same period.
At sentencing, Potts and Philpot each face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of not more than twice the pecuniary loss to the government. As part of their plea agreements with the United States, both Potts and Philpot have agreed to forfeit the bribe proceeds they received from the scheme, as well as to pay full restitution to the Department of Defense. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 15, 2013.
The case is being investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from the Dougherty County District Attorney’s Office Economic Crime Unit, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Logistics Agency Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and J.P. Cooney of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney K. Alan Dasher of the Middle District of Georgia.
Georgia Man Plead Guilty to Receiving Bribes in Transportation Scheme at Local Military BaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two former employees at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany (MCLB-Albany) have pleaded guilty to receiving bribes related to a scheme to funnel freight hauling business to a local transportation company resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to the United States government, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore for the Middle District of Georgia.Mitchell D. Potts, 48, and Jeffrey S. Philpot, 35, both of Sylvester, Ga., each pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands in the Middle District of Georgia to one count of bribery of a public official.
During their guilty pleas, Potts, the former Traffic Office Supervisor for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) at MCLB-Albany, and Philpot, the former Lead Transportation Assistant in the Traffic Office, admitted to participating in a scheme whereby Potts and Philpot assisted Person A, the owner of several local commercial trucking companies, in obtaining trucking business from the DLA in exchange for the payment of cash and other things of value. Both defendants admitted that they took a variety of steps designed to push business to Person A and his companies, including: 1) delaying shipments for a period of hours or days, thereby reducing the time available to fulfill the shipping request and assuring that it would be awarded to a local trucking company, usually one owned by Person A; 2) “short loading” shipments awarded to Person A’s companies so that it would appear to require more trucks than necessary to move the subject freight, resulting in additional loads being awarded to Person A’s companies; 3) indicating that removable gooseneck (RGN) trailers were required for shipments, which resulted in many loads being directed to Person A’s companies because they always had RGNs available; and 4) creating “ghost shipments” where Person A billed the DLA for shipments that were never made. Both Potts and Philpot admitted that their actions led to millions of dollars of overcharges to the government.Potts and Philpot admitted that they received cash payments from Person A when he visited the traffic office, sometimes multiple times per week. They also admitted receiving lunches provided by Person A several times a week during the relevant period and that they also received gift cards and other things of value. Potts admitted receiving approximately $209,000 in kickbacks from Person A during the roughly three-year scheme. Philpot admitted receiving approximately $523,000 in cash and other things of value from Person A during the same period.
At sentencing, Potts and Philpot each face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of not more than twice the pecuniary loss to the government. As part of their plea agreements with the United States, both Potts and Philpot have agreed to forfeit the bribe proceeds they received from the scheme, as well as to pay full restitution to the Department of Defense. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 15, 2013.
“Not only were Mr. Potts and Mr. Philpot lining their pockets with bribe money, they were stealing from the American people. I have no tolerance for this type of corruption and theft, and my office will continue to investigate this type of criminal activity, plucking bad apples from the barrel whenever we find one,” said United States Attorney Michael Moore.
The case is being investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from the Dougherty County District Attorney’s Office Economic Crime Unit, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Logistics Agency Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and J.P. Cooney of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney K. Alan Dasher of the Middle District of Georgia.
Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Sue McKinney, Public Affairs Specialist, United States Attorney’s Office at (478) 621-2601.
French Citizen Pleads Guilty to Fraud in Airplane IncidentRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Philippe Jeannard, 61, of La Rochelle, France, pleaded guilty today to one count of fraud in connection with an identification document. U.S. District Court Judge Gene E.K. Pratter has not yet scheduled a sentencing hearing. Jeannard faces an advisory sentencing guideline range of 0 to 6 months in prison plus deportation proceedings.
Jeannard boarded a commercial airplane on March 20, 2013 at Philadelphia International Airport. He possessed an Air France identification card of a former employee that he had altered with his name and photograph, and, with that fraudulent identification card, gained access to the plane’s cockpit.
The case was investigated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney K.T. Newton.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
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PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Former Wilmington Trust Officer Pleads Guilty to Bank ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Joseph Terranova, entered a guilty plea before the Honorable Gregory M. Sleet to a one count felony information charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
According to the criminal Information and plea agreement, Terranova, who was employed as Vice President/Division Manager of the Delaware Commercial Real Estate Division of Wilmington Trust Company the “Bank”) conspired to extend credit to customers of the Bank under terms inconsistent with those approved by the Bank’s Loan Committee, or under terms that would not have been approved had they been presented to Loan Committee. These included loans extended to Dover real estate developer, Michael Zimmerman, who has been charged in a separate indictment. Terranova further conspired to conceal the true financial condition of the Bank, in part by extending new loans to clients to enable these clients to keep existing loans current and by causing the Bank to misrepresent its reporting of past due and non-performing loans.
Terranova, age 45, is a resident of Newark, Delaware. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Oberly said, “Today’s guilty plea is an important step in holding responsible those individuals whose criminal conduct contributed to the failure of Wilmington Trust. The Bank was a Delaware institution and its demise came at significant cost, economically and emotionally, to the citizens of this state. We hope that in bringing these charges and securing a conviction, others will be deterred from engaging in similar conduct.”
“As a senior bank official at TARP recipient Wilmington Trust, Terranova concealed the bank's true financial condition by engaging in ‘extend and pretend’ schemes to keep loans current and to hide past-due loans from regulators and investors,” said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP). Those responsible for fraud related to TARP will be held accountable and brought to justice by SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners.”
“Bank executives engaged in fraud to deceive regulators and the public must be brought to justice for their actions,” said Mark Bialek, Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable any wrongdoers whose actions have a fraudulent impact on the supervision program of financial institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve Board.”
“The FBI is committed to ensuring banks and similar financial institutions are seen as sound and stable, said Stephen Vogt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Wilmington Office. “Those who perpetrate sophisticated fraud schemes threaten the stability of financial institutions and, with the assistance of our law enforcement partners, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Bank fraud, like all financial crimes, adds to the underground economy, erodes the integrity of our tax system and threatens the financial health of our communities,” said Akeia Conner, Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation, Philadelphia Field Office. “Pursuing individuals that intentionally abuse our financial systems is a vital component in the collaborative efforts of our Federal law enforcement team.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and the Office of Inspector General, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Kravetz and Lesley Wolf.
Terranova Information (PACER)
Former Wilcox County, Georgia, Sheriff and Others Sentenced for Assaulting InmateRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department announced that former Sheriff of Wilcox County, Ga., Stacy Bloodsworth was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting an inmate inside the Wilcox County Jail and for conspiring to cover up the assault. Four other people have also been sentenced for their roles in the same assault and cover-up. Bloodsworth’s son, Austin Bloodsworth, was sentenced to 18 months in prison; former Wilcox County inmate-trustee Willie James Caruthers was sentenced to 18 months in prison; former South Central Georgia Drug Task Force Agent Timothy King Jr. was sentenced to 6 months in prison and former Wilcox County Jailer Casey Owens was sentenced to probation.
Stacy Bloodsworth pleaded guilty on Oct. 22, 2012. During his plea hearing, Stacy Bloodsworth admitted that on July 23, 2009, while he was the sheriff, he was inside the Wilcox County Jail with several other individuals, including Austin Bloodsworth, Caruthers, King and Owens. Stacy Bloodsworth ordered three inmates out of their cells because he was angry that one of them reportedly had a cell phone, in violation of Wilcox County Jail regulations. Bloodsworth hit all three inmates, and also watched as other participants struck and kicked the inmates. After it appeared that one inmate’s jaw had been broken, Stacy Bloodsworth used a wrench in an attempt to put his broken jaw back into place. Approximately one week later, the inmate was brought to a local hospital, where his jaw had to be wired shut. The other two inmates who had been assaulted suffered lacerations, bruising and pain.
During the plea hearing, Stacy Bloodsworth further admitted that he concocted a false cover story about the assaults in order to cover up the involvement of the law enforcement officials. Specifically, Stacy Bloodsworth ordered Caruthers, Austin Bloodsworth, King and Owens that, if they were ever questioned about the incident, they should say that Caruthers and the victim got into a fight after the inmate called Caruthers a racial slur. Stacy Bloodsworth, knowing that this statement was false, also instructed Caruthers and Owens to write this false cover story in a report. In addition, in August 2010, after learning that the inmate whose jaw had been broken had hired an attorney and had initiated a lawsuit, then-Sheriff Bloodsworth met with King and Owens and again instructed them that to relay the false story about the cause of the inmate’s broken jaw. In April 2011, then-Sheriff Bloodsworth relayed the false cover story regarding the cause of inmate’s broken jaw to FBI Special Agents.
“Today’s sentence reflects that law enforcement officers who assault inmates in their custody and make false statements erode the trust of the people they have sworn to protect,” said Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting law enforcement officers who abuse their power and violate the constitutional rights of individuals in their custody.”
“We expect our law enforcement officers to protect and serve the public, but in this case the defendants did neither,” said U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Michael Moore. “The sentences handed down today bring closure to an alarming case, where those sworn to uphold the law now feel the full weight of it.”
Caruthers pleaded guilty to assaulting the inmate, and to conspiring to cover up the assault. Austin Bloodsworth and Timothy King Jr. each pleaded guilty to conspiring to cover up the assault, while Owens pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony.
This case was investigated by the FBI and was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti and Special Litigation Counsel Gerard V. Hogan of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
Former Wilcox County, Georgia, Sheriff and Others Sentenced for Assaulting InmateRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Today, the Justice Department announced that former Sheriff of Wilcox County, Ga., Stacy Bloodsworth was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting an inmate inside the Wilcox County Jail and for conspiring to cover up the assault. Four other people have also been sentenced for their roles in the same assault and cover-up. Bloodsworth’s son, Austin Bloodsworth, was sentenced to 18 months in prison; former Wilcox County inmate-trustee Willie James Caruthers was sentenced to 18 months in prison; former South Central Georgia Drug Task Force Agent Timothy King Jr. was sentenced to 6 months in prison and former Wilcox County Jailer Casey Owens was sentenced to probation.
Stacy Bloodsworth pleaded guilty on Oct. 22, 2012. During his plea hearing, Stacy Bloodsworth admitted that on July 23, 2009, while he was the sheriff, he was inside the Wilcox County Jail with several other individuals, including Austin Bloodsworth, Caruthers, King and Owens. Stacy Bloodsworth ordered three inmates out of their cells because he was angry that one of them reportedly had a cell phone, in violation of Wilcox County Jail regulations. Bloodsworth hit all three inmates, and also watched as other participants struck and kicked the inmates. After it appeared that one inmate’s jaw had been broken, Stacy Bloodsworth used a wrench in an attempt to put his broken jaw back into place. Approximately one week later, the inmate was brought to a local hospital, where his jaw had to be wired shut. The other two inmates who had been assaulted suffered lacerations, bruising and pain.
During the plea hearing, Stacy Bloodsworth further admitted that he concocted a false cover story about the assaults in order to cover up the involvement of the law enforcement officials. Specifically, Stacy Bloodsworth ordered Caruthers, Austin Bloodsworth, King and Owens that, if they were ever questioned about the incident, they should say that Caruthers and the victim got into a fight after the inmate called Caruthers a racial slur. Stacy Bloodsworth, knowing that this statement was false, also instructed Caruthers and Owens to write this false cover story in a report. In addition, in August 2010, after learning that the inmate whose jaw had been broken had hired an attorney and had initiated a lawsuit, then-Sheriff Bloodsworth met with King and Owens and again instructed them that to relay the false story about the cause of the inmate’s broken jaw. In April 2011, then-Sheriff Bloodsworth relayed the false cover story regarding the cause of inmate’s broken jaw to FBI Special Agents.
“Today’s sentence reflects that law enforcement officers who assault inmates in their custody and make false statements erode the trust of the people they have sworn to protect,” said Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting law enforcement officers who abuse their power and violate the constitutional rights of individuals in their custody.”
“We expect our law enforcement officers to protect and serve the public, but in this case the defendants did neither,” said U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Michael Moore. “The sentences handed down today bring closure to an alarming case, where those sworn to uphold the law now feel the full weight of it.”
Caruthers pleaded guilty to assaulting the inmate, and to conspiring to cover up the assault. Austin Bloodsworth and Timothy King Jr. each pleaded guilty to conspiring to cover up the assault, while Owens pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony.
This case was investigated by the FBI and was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti and Special Litigation Counsel Gerard V. Hogan of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
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Former Stockbroker Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that former stock broker CHRISTOPHER KLINE pled guilty today to participating in a scheme to provide secret bribes to a stock broker in order to induce the broker to purchase G&S Minerals, Inc. (“G&S”) common stock on behalf of his clients. KLINE, 49, a resident of York, Pennsylvania, pled guilty in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Christopher Kline violated his duty as a stockbroker, and in the process, broke the law. And for his role in the middle of a conspiracy to manipulate the market for the stock of a publicly traded company, he now stands convicted. This kind of corruption undermines confidence in the markets and cheats legitimate investors.”
According to the Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court, public court filings, and statements made during KLINE’s guilty plea proceeding:
From July 2007 through February 2008, KLINE participated in a scheme in which one of his clients, William Curtis, agreed to pay secret cash bribes to a confidential informant (“CI”) working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”). The CI posed as a financial adviser who, in exchange for receiving the bribes from Curtis, purportedly convinced “investors” to purchase the common stock of G&S that Curtis controlled. G&S was a Nevada Corporation whose common stock was publicly traded on the Pink Sheets, an inter-dealer quotation service that provides financial information for certain over-the-counter securities and issuers. One purpose of the bribes was for Curtis to sell his G&S stock, which he did through accounts managed by KLINE.
KLINE acted as the middleman between Curtis and the CI. Curtis agreed to pay the CI a kickback of 30 percent of any orders placed by the CI, and the CI in turn agreed to pay 10 percent of the kickback to KLINE for his role in the scheme. In conversations recorded by the FBI, KLINE (1) discussed with the CI specific price and volume targets for the purchases and orders placed by the CI on behalf of his “investors,” (2) facilitated the bribe payment from Curtis to the CI, and (3) was overheard collecting his 10 percent kickback.
KLINE pled guilty to one count of participating in a conspiracy to commit securities fraud and commercial bribery, and one count of securities fraud. The charges carry a maximum combined penalty of 25 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000,000. In addition, KLINE has agreed to forfeiture of the $2,000 in proceeds he obtained for his commission of the offenses. KLINE is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin on September 10, 2013, at 4:30 p.m.
Curtis, 50, a resident of Naperville, Illinois, pled guilty in October 2009, before U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti to one count of participating in a conspiracy to commit securities fraud and commercial bribery, and one count of securities fraud. In June 2010, Chief U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska sentenced Curtis to three years of probation and ordered him to pay a $200 special assessment.
The charges against KLINE are the result of a wide-ranging FBI undercover investigation of related stockbroker bribery schemes involving US-based, Canadian-based and Costa Rican-based stock promoters and stockholders. Mr. Bharara praised the work of the FBI, the Vancouver Integrated Market Enforcement Team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Vancouver Police Department, the Criminal Prosecution Assistance Group of FINRA, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for their assistance in this investigation.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which Mr. Bharara serves as a Co-Chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is 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.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney John J. O’Donnell is in charge of the prosecution.
Kline, Christopher Indictment
Former Police Sergeant Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven sentenced Jonathan Gamson (53, Tampa) today to 4 years and 9 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography. The court also ordered Gamson to forfeit a computer and external hard drive involved in the offense. Gamson pleaded guilty on February 4, 2013.According to court documents and statements made by Gamson at the sentencing hearing, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Gamson's residence on May 11, 2011. A preview of the computers at the residence, followed by further forensic analysis, confirmed that a computer contained multiple images of child pornography. At the time of the search, Gamson was employed as a sergeant with the Tampa Police Department.
Further investigation revealed that the Internet web history for a Gateway computer that had been previewed, but not seized, had been used to view multiple websites containing child pornography. On May 20, 2011, law enforcement officers executed a second search warrant to seize the Gateway computer. That computer had been moved from Gamson's home office to his garage, and the hard drive had been removed. Gamson told law enforcement agents that he had thrown the hard drive away, claiming that he was concerned about someone hacking into his computer over his open home wireless internet connection.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark E. Bini.
It is another case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Former Pilot Sentenced in Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Used Hijacked Company Names to File For Fuel Tax Refunds
ATLANTA - Former pilot Charlie Shivers, III, has been sentenced to serve over seven years in federal prison for his role in a tax fraud scheme.
“Tax fraudsters rob not only the government, but honest taxpayers who are paying their fair share,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. The defendant in this case went beyond cheating on his own taxes, to file over a hundred false returns that were totally fictitious, claiming over $35 million in fraudulent fuel tax refunds. This office is committed to putting tax fraudsters where they belong – behind bars.”“Today’s sentencing of Mr. Shivers should serve as a stark reminder to others that such greed-based criminal behavior as seen in this case comes with a cost,” stated Veronica Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation. “Individuals cannot fraudulently enrich their bank accounts at the expense of the United States Treasury and other taxpayers.”
“The United States Secret Service and our law enforcement partners work tirelessly to maintain the taxpayer’s trust in our economic system. We will continue to combine our investigative capabilities to pursue and arrest offenders who violate this trust,” said Reginald G. Moore, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, Shivers filed and caused to be filed over 100 fraudulent corporate tax returns, claiming $35 million in refunds for fuel taxes falsely claimed to have been paid on fuel purchased for off-road company vehicles. The IRS actually paid Shivers and his co-conspirators over $5.6 million from those falsely claimed tax refunds prior to his arrest in May 2012. The false claims were made in the names of hijacked corporations and shell companies, none of which used off-road vehicles or paid the fuel tax claimed for refund.
Shivers, 40, of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false claims against the United States on August 9, 2012. He was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash to 7 years in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $5,630,681.66 in restitution to the United States Treasury.
This case was jointly investigated by Special Agents of the United States Secret Service and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.Assistant United States Attorneys Gale McKenzie and Alana R. Black prosecuted 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.
Former Newark Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Section 8 FraudRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former Newark police officer admitted today that he conspired with another individual to fraudulently obtain payments under the federal public housing assistance program known as “Section 8,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Suliaman Kamara, 31, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an Information charging him with one count of agreeing with another individual to obtain Section 8 public housing benefits to which they were not entitled.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The Section 8 Program is a federal public housing assistance program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide rent subsidies to qualified low-income individuals. HUD provided federal grant money to the Newark Housing Authority (NHA) for the Section 8 Program. Under the NHA’s Section 8 Program, a tenant’s rental assistance was based upon the tenant’s anticipated family gross income. Tenants receiving Section 8 assistance from the NHA had to inform the Newark Housing Authority of all the members of the household and the annual household income.
From September 2006 to December 2011, Suliaman Kamara, then a Newark police officer, lived in Newark with another individual (S.L.) who was receiving Section 8 benefits. For most of that time they lived in a property owned by Kamara. They agreed they would not disclose to the NHA that they were living together so that Kamara’s income would not be taken into account in determining whether S.L. qualified for Section 8 benefits. Kamara and S.L. submitted fraudulent information and documents to the NHA where they failed to disclose that Kamara lived with S.L and was earning household income. Kamara and S.L. obtained more than $60,000 in Section 8 benefits to which they were not entitled.
The Information to which Kamara pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 12, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cary Rubenstein, for the investigation of this case.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara R. Llanes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Anthony Iacullo Esq., Nutley, N.J.
Kamara Information
Former Latin Kings' Gang Member sentenced to 37 months prisonRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a resident of Anchorage has been sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for his conviction of felon in possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason imposed a 37 month prison sentence on Miguel Carl Myers, 27.
According to information presented to the court by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin White Bradley, who prosecuted the case, Myers possessed a loaded Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol in April 2012. While in possession of the firearm, Myers pointed the weapon at another individual in an effort to demand payment for a heroin transaction. Myers then took several credit cards and an identification card belonging to the other individual. Myers currently has pending charges in state court for robbery in the first degree, assault in the third degree, misconduct involving weapons in the third degree, theft in the second degree, and making a false report. On December 9, 2011, Myers was convicted in state court of the felony offense of second degree theft.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Gleason noted a need to deter the defendant from further criminal conduct, along with a need to avoid disparity in sentencing. Of particular concern to the court, was the defendant’s history of multiple domestic violence assaults within the City of Anchorage. In prior state cases, Myers has strangled and assaulted women who were the mothers of his children. Myers has admitted to a prior affiliation with the Latin Kings street gang in the State of Arizona.
Ms. Loeffler commends the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Alaska State Troopers for the investigation of this case. SAUSA Bradley is a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office funded by the Municipality of Anchorage for the purpose of prosecuting gang-related and violent crime cases.
Former Holocaust Claims Conference Director and Two Recruiters Convicted in $57.3 Million Fraud on Organization That Makes Reparations to Victims of Nazi PersecutionRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SEMEN DOMNITSER, LUBA KRAMRISH, and OKSANA ROMALIS were convicted today in Manhattan federal court of fraud charges for their participation in a scheme to defraud programs administered by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. (the “Claims Conference”), which were established to aid the survivors of Nazi persecution, out of more than $57 million. DOMNITSER, a former employee of the Claims Conference, served as the Director of the relevant programs from 1999 to 2010. KRAMRISH and ROMALIS recruited applicants into the fraud. The defendants were convicted following a four-week trial before U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Griesa.
A total of 31 defendants, 10 of whom were former Claims Conference employees, have been charged in connection with the scheme. Twenty-eight of those defendants previously pled guilty. With today’s verdict, all 31 defendants now stand convicted for their roles in the fraud.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “After half-a-day of deliberations, a jury convicted Semyon Domnitser – the highest ranking insider to participate in this unconscionable fraud against the Holocaust Claims Conference – and two co-conspirators who recruited applicants who received benefits to which they were not entitled. And with the verdicts against these three defendants, all 31 people who played roles in the theft of $57 million dollars intended to benefit victims of the Nazi genocide – one of the darkest chapters in all human history – have been convicted. We said we would not stop until we brought to justice those who committed these unthinkable crimes, and today our objective was accomplished.”
According to the Superseding Indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and the evidence presented at trial:
The Claims Conference, a not-for-profit organization which provides assistance to victims of Nazi persecution, supervises and administers several funds that make reparation payments to victims of the Nazis, including “the Hardship Fund” and “the Article 2 Fund,” both of which are funded by the German government. Applications for disbursements through these funds are processed by employees of the Claims Conference’s office in Manhattan, and the employees are supposed to confirm that the applicants meet the specific criteria for payments under the funds.
As part of the charged scheme, a network of individuals systematically defrauded the Article 2 Fund and Hardship Fund programs for over a decade. The Claims Conference first suspected the fraud in November 2009, and immediately reported their suspicions to law enforcement, which conducted a wide-reaching investigation.
The Hardship Fund pays a one-time payment of approximately $3,500 to victims of Nazi persecution who evacuated the cities in which they lived and were forced to become refugees. Members of the conspiracy submitted fraudulent applications for people who were not eligible. Many of the recipients of fraudulent funds were born after World War II, and at least one person was not even Jewish. Some members of the conspiracy recruited other individuals to provide identification documents, such as passports and birth certificates, which were then fraudulently altered and submitted to corrupt insiders at the Claims Conference, who then processed those applications. When the applicants received their compensation checks, they kept a portion of the money and passed the rest back up the chain.
From the investigation to date, the Claims Conference has determined that at least 3,839 Hardship Fund applications appear to be fraudulent. These applications resulted in a loss to the Hardship Fund of approximately $12.3 million.
The Article 2 Fund makes monthly payments of approximately $400 to survivors of Nazi persecution who make less than $16,000 per year, and either lived in hiding or under a false identity for at least 18 months; lived in a Jewish ghetto for 18 months; or were incarcerated for six months in a concentration camp or a forced labor camp. The fraud involved doctored identification documents in which the applicant’s date and place of birth had been changed. The fraud also involved more sophisticated deception, including altering documents that the Claims Conference obtained from outside sources to verify a person’s persecution by the Nazis. Some of the detailed descriptions of persecution in the fraudulent Article 2 Fund applications were completely fabricated.
From the investigation to date, the Claims Conference has determined that at least 1,112 Article 2 Fund cases it processed have been determined to be fraudulent. Those cases have resulted in a loss to the Claims Conference of approximately $45 million.
DOMNITSER was an Article 2 Fund caseworker from 1994 until 1999, and as a caseworker, helped process fraudulent applications. In 1999, DOMNITSER became the Director of both the Article 2 Fund and the Hardship Fund, and continued to serve in that role until his termination in February 2010. As Director, DOMNITSER approved fraudulent applications and received thousands of dollars in payments – typically in the form of money orders – from applicants who had received money from the Funds to which they were not entitled.
KRAMRISH and ROMALIS recruited applicants and then passed materials, including identification documents, to co-conspirators employed at the Claims Conference to support fraudulent applications on their behalves. KRAMRISH and ROMALIS each received payments – in the form of cash and checks – from applicants who had received money from the Funds to which they were not entitled.
DOMNITSER, 55, of Brooklyn, New York, KRAMRISH, 58, of Toronto, Canada, and ROMALIS, 43, of Brooklyn, New York, were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of mail fraud. They each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each count, and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss on each count.
DOMNITSER, KRAMRISH, and ROMALIS are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Griesa on September 10, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”). He also thanked the Claims Conference for bringing this matter to the FBI’s attention and for its extraordinary continued cooperation in this investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Frey and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Rohr are in charge of the prosecution.
U.S. v. Domnitser, et al S1 Indictment
Former Firefighter Pleads Guilty to Production and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland - Anthony Maurice Cottle, age 23, of Owings Mills, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to sexual exploitation of a minor to produced child pornography and to possession of child pornography.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.
According to his plea agreement, in June and July 2012, Cottle, a former firefighter with the Baltimore County Fire Department, engaged in sexually explicit conduct with two minor males in order to produce visual depictions of the abuse, including two videos. Cottle produced one video that depicts the genitalia of a minor male and Cottle performing sex acts on the boy. Cottle produced a second video depicting the genitalia of another minor male. More than 600 images of child pornography were recovered from Cottle’s computer and cell phone.
In addition to the videos produced by Cottle, images of several other child victims, whom Cottle solicited to send him photos of their genitals, were found. Cottle admitted that on some occasions he used video chat to capture the image live, and on other occasions the minor would send a photograph via cellular phone.
As part of his plea agreement, Cottle must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Cottle faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison followed by up to lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography; and a maximum of 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for July 18, 2013, at 2:00 p.m.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI Baltimore, the FBI, Baltimore County Police Department, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. U.S. Attorney Rosenstein also recognized the Baltimore County Fire Department for its assistance in this case. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ayn B. Ducao, who is prosecuting the case.
Former Coast Guard Petty Officer Sentenced for Fraud, Receiving BribesRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Nathan Allen Dunn, 30, of Brookwood, Ala., was sentenced today to 87 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud and for receiving bribes in his position as a USCG Transportation Administrator. Dunn was also ordered to pay $779,549.85 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Otis E. Harris, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Chesapeake Region; and Michael P. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis.
Dunn previously pled guilty to the charges on January 4, 2013. According to court documents, Dunn, formerly an active duty U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Petty Officer, Second Class was assigned as a Transportation Administrator at the Surface Forces Logistics Center in Norfolk, Va. Dunn’s primary duty was to coordinate the shipping of large freight such as boats, trailers, generators, etc., between USCG bases located throughout the United States. Dunn was responsible for operating the Department of Defense Transportation Command (TransCom) automated system to bid out and then contract the shipments with authorized freight brokerage companies.
Dunn’s co-conspirator, Huffman Earl Monk, was the owner and operator of 12 freight brokerage companies that were headquartered in a single office in Brookwood, Ala. Most of Monk’s freight brokerage companies contracted with TransCom to ship military-related freight.
In September 2009, Monk traveled to Norfolk to meet with Dunn, who was only recently assigned as a USCG Transportation Administrator. As a result of their discussions, Dunn and Monk entered into an agreement whereby Dunn would agree to issue over-priced USCG freight contracts to Monk’s freight companies, in exchange for Monk giving bribes in the form of kickbacks as percentage of the contract profits to Dunn. Shortly after Monk and Dunn entered into their agreement, Monk began giving monetary bribes to Dunn by providing him with debit cards linked to several of Monk’s business bank accounts. In order to inflate the profits Monk and Dunn would earn from each contract, Monk encouraged Dunn to fraudulently manipulate various data entered into the TransCom computer system in order to artificially inflate the price of the shipping contracts Dunn steered to Monk’s freight companies. Dunn and Monk also engaged in creating at least six false shipping contracts for military freight shipments that did not exist, thereafter awarding the contract and profits to one or more of Monk’s companies. Since no freight was actually shipped pursuant to these false contracts, the USCG payments to Monk’s companies were all profit, resulting in Dunn receiving half of the contract award payments from Monk. Over a two-year period, Dunn received over $220,000 in bribe payments from Monk. The total loss to the United States based on these fraudulent military shipping contracts was $779,549.85.The military has recently implemented a number of internal changes to TransCom’s computer systems to enhance the integrity of the bidding and contracting process used by Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security Transportation Officers.
Judge Davis previously sentenced Huffman Monk on April 29, 2013 in Norfolk, Virginia, to a term of 63 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud and for paying bribes to Dunn. Monk was also ordered to pay a fine of $15,000 and $779,549.85 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury.
This investigation was brought as part of the Hampton Roads Procurement Fraud Initiative, a collaboration of defense investigative agencies, Inspectors General, and law enforcement dedicated to strengthening the integrity of the federal procurement system.This case was investigated by the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General, Washington Field Office, with the cooperation and assistance of the Coast Guard Surface Forces Logistics Center. Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen W. Haynie and V. Kathleen Dougherty 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.
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