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8 May 2013
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.
# # #Former Citizens Bank Teller Sentenced for EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former bank teller was sentenced today for committing bank fraud in connection with her embezzlement of $377,000 from Citizens Bank.
Maria DaSilva, 54, of Smithfield, Rhode Island was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns to 27 months in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release and ordered to pay $377,926 in restitution. In January 2013, DaSilva pleaded guilty to bank fraud.
From February 2008 through January 2012, while she was working as a bank teller at the North Attleboro branch of Citizens Bank, DaSilva embezzled over $375,000 from the accounts of three elderly bank customers by forging withdrawal slips on various accounts they held.
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 was investigated by the Lakeville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Sternberg of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
Former Carteret High School Vice Principal Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. - A Rahway, N.J., man who was the vice principal at Carteret High School admitted today that he possessed child pornography, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Nicholas Sysock, 53, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper in Trenton federal court to an Information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:Between May 2008 and March 2011, Sysock purchased numerous DVDs that contained video recordings of child pornography from a company in Canada. During a search of Sysock’s residence in October 2012, federal investigators found these DVDs and also found printed images featuring naked children. Sysock was arrested the same day. At the time of his arrest, Sysock was the vice principal of Carteret High School.
The charge to which Sysock pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 15, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector Maria L. Kelokates, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Eskew of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Carol Gillen Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Sysock Information
Felon Charged with Illegally Possessing Firearms, DrugsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A Penn Hills man 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 four-count indictment, returned on May 7, named Montay King, 37, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment, on or about Dec. 20, 2012, King, being a convicted felon, knowingly possessed a Yugoslavian, Model 59/66, 7.62x39mm caliber rifle, a Bulgarian, Model SLR-107FR, 7.62x39mm caliber rifle and a North American Arms, Model NAA22, .22 caliber revolver. Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year to possess a firearm. Additionally, on or about Dec. 20, 2012, King possessed with the intent to distribute a quantity of heroin, a quantity of cocaine, and a quantity of cocaine base, in the form commonly known as crack.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 70 years in prison, a fine of $3.25 million, 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 Charles A. Eberle is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Allegheny County Adult Probation, the Penn Hills Police Department, and the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Task Force conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case. This case is being prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and communities to prevent, deter and prosecute gun crime.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Federal Indictment Unsealed as R.I. State Police, Federal Agents Arrest Seven; Search Ten Businesses and Residences; Seize Cash, Vehicles and Business Records in Alleged Cigarette Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A federal grand jury indictment which names seven individuals and alleges a complex interstate contraband cigarette trafficking conspiracy responsible for the sale of more than $1.2 million dollars of contraband cigarettes in Rhode Island and the loss of more than one million dollars in tax revenue to the state was unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Providence. It is alleged that the cigarettes were bought in Virginia and sold in Rhode Island in convenience stores and other locations allegedly owned or operated by members of the conspiracy and others. The indictment also alleges that defendants engaged in other types of program fraud, including Social Security and food stamp fraud.
More than a dozen teams of federal and state law enforcement agents and officers early this morning executed federal arrest and search warrants, arresting seven individuals and searching ten locations where a significant quantity of contraband cigarettes, approximately $100,000 in cash, business records and four vehicles, all allegedly connected to the trafficking operation, were seized. The majority of cash and cigarettes seized were discovered stashed in sophisticated hides in several of the locations.
The indictment was announced by Peter F. Neronha, United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island; Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in New England; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Scott E. Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations; and William G. Squires, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General.
“United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha noted, “As alleged, today’s indictment has taken down a wide-ranging, complex interstate criminal enterprise. Members of this enterprise, often under the cloak of purportedly legitimate businesses, used any means possible to steal more than a million dollars from Rhode Island taxpayers. The means varied - cigarette smuggling and corresponding evasion of Rhode Island cigarette taxes, social security fraud, and food stamp fraud – but the result was the same.”
United States Attorney Neronha added,” I want to thank the many outstanding Rhode Island State Police Detectives and the federal agents who tirelessly investigated this matter for many, many months. Our work to defeat this type of fraud continues on many fronts. There is certainly more to come.”
Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police added, “The coordinated effort between State, Federal and local law enforcement resulted in today's arrests. The Rhode Island State Police will continue to target any organized criminal group that profits by taking advantage of a system set up to help those who truly need it. I commend all law enforcement officers, prosecutors and linguists who participated in this long-term investigation.”
The indictment charges Wissam Khalil, 40, of Central Falls, a Providence convenience store owner; his brothers Bassam Khalil, 48, and Najd Khalil, 25, of Pawtucket; Abdullah Alnahas, 36, of Cranston, a Providence convenience store owner; Bassam Kiriaki, 45, a Pawtucket accountant; and Richard Larrain, 23, of Providence, an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army Reserves, with allegedly participating in a conspiracy to possess, transport and distribute contraband cigarettes in Rhode Island.
A seventh defendant, Valeria Mendez (Khalil), 30, of Central Falls, wife of Wissam Khalil, is charged with conspiring to make and making false statements to a government official.
According to the indictment and/or information presented to the court, it is alleged that the conspiracy, which allegedly began as early as July 2011, included the creation of several “shell” corporations in Virginia and the rental of vacant retail storefronts in Virginia for the stated purpose of purchasing and reselling cigarettes in Virginia. The cigarette packages purchased included Virginia tax stamps, reflecting a Virginia tax of thirty-five cents per package.
According to information presented to the court, between July 2011 and continuing until this week, more than 30-thousand cartons (6 million) of cigarettes valued at more than $1.2 million dollars were purchased in Virginia and shipped to Rhode Island in a truck bearing Rhode Island War Veteran Plates. It is alleged that on numerous occasions the truck was driven by Richard Larrain, while wearing his United States Army uniform. It is alleged that he wore his Army uniform in an effort to gain favor and avoid law enforcement detection.
It is alleged that the cigarettes were distributed and sold in Rhode Island at or near full-retail price, including a tax payment of $3.50 per package. It is alleged that the lack of payment of the cigarette tax to the state of Rhode Island resulted in a loss of approximately $1.05 million dollars of tax revenue.
The indictment alleges that as part of the investigation, on March 30, 2013, Najd Khalil was stopped by Virginia State Police as he allegedly drove from Rhode Island to Virginia in a rental vehicle in which he allegedly concealed $30,000 in cash. It is alleged that the cash, seized by Virginia State Police, was to have been used to purchase cigarettes in Virginia for resale in Rhode Island. The indictment alleges that Bassam Kiriaki, Wissam Khalil and Richard Larrain conspired to create a false IRS Form 8300, “Report of Cash Payment over $10,000 Received in Trade of Business,” which they allegedly backdated to March 25, 2013, and provided to Virginia State Police in an effort to persuade Virginia State Police to return the $30,000.The indictment also alleges that between February 7 and February 26, 2013, Bassam and Wissam Khalil allegedly conspired to make false statements to a customer service representative of the U.S. Social Security Administration about the travel of their father. It is alleged that they conspired to make false statements that their father had not traveled outside the United States for a calendar month or thirty consecutive days since February 1, 2011. Information presented to the court alleges that the father, who collects Social Security disability benefits, had actually resided outside the United States.
It is also alleged in the indictment that Wissam Khalil and Valeria Mendez (Khalil), 31, of Central Falls, wife of Wissam Khalil, conspired to make false statements to a program specialist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service, stating that Valeria Mendez was not related to Wissam Khalil. On March 7, 2012, Valeria Mendez allegedly completed a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Application for a Providence convenience store identifying herself as the owner. She left blank questions about her relationship, if any, to the previous two owners, Wissam Khalil and his father. When questioned by a USDA program specialist, Valeria Mendez allegedly denied knowing Wissam Khalil and allegedly stated that she resided with her parents in Providence.
An indictmentis merely an allegation 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.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland
The matters charged in the indictment were investigated by the Rhode Island State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, United States Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General – Office of Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General.
United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha also acknowledged and thanked the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Attorney General, the Virginia Division of Taxation, the Rhode Island Department of Attorney General, the Rhode Island Division of Taxation – Excise Tax Compliance Unit, and the Cranston and Providence Police Departments for their assistance in this investigation.
To assist the media and the public, a glossary of federal judicial terms and procedures is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice101/Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Federal Guilty Plea from Roane Felon Who Illegally Possessed FirearmsRead the Press Release
Robert Starcher traded six stolen firearms for an SUV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Roane County man who broke into a camper van and stole several firearms pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of firearms. Robert Allen Starcher, 29, of Spencer, W.Va., entered into a guilty plea in federal court in Charleston. On January 1, 2012, Starcher broke into a camper van that was located in Walton, Roane County, W.Va., and took four rifles and two shotguns that were inside. Following the burglary, Starcher took the firearms that he had stolen from the camper, along with other stolen goods, and traded the items for an SUV.
Starcher was prohibited from possessing firearms because of multiple prior felony convictions. Starcher was convicted in September 2007 in the Circuit Court of Ritchie County of transferring stolen goods. Starcher was also convicted in January 2007 in the Circuit Court of Calhoun County of grand larceny. Starcher also had prior felony convictions in Gilmer and Braxton counties from 2006.
Starcher faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on August 15, 2013 by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.
Fayetteville Couple Sentenced for Obstructing the Tax LawsRead the Press Release
NEW BERN - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that today, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced Michael L. Thomas, 54, and his wife, Carolyn S. Thomas, 56, both of Fayetteville, North Carolina, for corruptly obstructing and impeding the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7212(a). Michael Thomas was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, followed by a one-year term of supervised release. Carolyn Thomas was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, followed by a one-year term of supervised release. Jointly, the Thomases were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $255,853.00.
The investigation revealed that in 2005, Michael and Carolyn Thomas began marketing purported “debt elimination” programs for a company based in Columbia, South Carolina, the Capital Consortium Group (CCG). From approximately 2004 to 2008, CCG perpetrated an $80 million Ponzi scheme. CCG’s three principals were indicted by a federal grand jury in South Carolina in 2008 and convicted at trial in 2009. The Thomases were among the most prominent and successful of CCG’s marketers, with upwards of 1,000 customers and high six-figure commissions in 2006 and 2007. While Michael and Carolyn Thomas were profiting from their association with CCG, they filed a false federal income tax return for tax year 2005 in which they omitted most, if not all, of their CCG commissions. Then the Thomases stopped filing tax returns altogether until March 2009, when they submitted a false amended 2005 return, a false 2006 return, and a false 2007 return. Each return significantly underreported the Thomases’ CCG commissions and claimed large tax refunds based on fraudulent Forms 1099-OID. The Thomases also filed bogus financial instruments with the IRS in purported payment of their tax debts, including false bonds with stated face values ranging from $300 million to $100 billion.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam F. Hulbig.
Everton Man Indicted for Money-laundering Scheme from Stolen Cooking OilRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Everton, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for laundering the proceeds of a scheme to sell spent cooking oil that had been stolen from restaurants and for being a felon in possession of firearms.
John Arnold, 61, of Everton, was charged in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.
Today’s indictment charges Arnold with three counts of money laundering. Arnold allegedly sold $237,036 of stolen spent cooking oil to recyclers from May 2010 through August 2011 and used the proceeds of that illegal activity to purchase several vehicles.
Spent cooking oil is the byproduct of cooking oil that restaurants used for frying foods. Restaurants have collection boxes on site in which their used cooking oil is stored. Many restaurants contract with various companies for the collection and removal of spent cooking oil. Arnold operated a spent cooking oil business under the name of J&A located on his property. This business would buy and sell spent cooking oil received from drivers who allegedly stole it from various restaurants, the indictment alleges.
According to the indictment, Arnold used $22,300 of those proceeds to purchase a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado in 2010, $18,100 to purchase a 2009 Chevrolet G3500 in 2010 and $45,100 to purchase a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado in 2011.
The indictment also charges Arnold with being a felon in possession of firearms. Arnold, who has prior felony convictions, was in possession of five firearms on Dec. 3, 2012. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Arnold allegedly was in possession of a Ruger .45-caliber revolver, a Mossberg .12-gauge shotgun, a Savage .22-caliber rifle with no serial number, a Savage .16-gauge shotgun with no serial number and an 8mm Mauser.
The indictment also contains forfeiture allegations, which would require Arnold to forfeit to the government the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado, $90,000 in cash, all of the firearms and 156 rounds of assorted ammunition.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull II. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.Englishtown, N.J., Pharmacy Burgular Admits Conspiracy to Sell Stolen OxycodoneRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Brooklyn, N.Y., man admitted today to his involvement in a plot to burglarize a pharmacy in Englishtown, N.J., and sell stolen narcotics for cash, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
James Zarbailov, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The Union Hill-Supremo Pharmacy in Englishtown was burglarized shortly after 4:00 a.m. on June 17, 2012. Zarbailov and his fellow conspirators filled 17 garbage bags and two cardboard boxes with merchandise from the pharmacy, including approximately 1,988 dosage units of methylphenidate, 500 dosage units of hydromorphone, 300 dosage units of Opana (a trade name for oxymorphone) and 3,800 dosage units of oxycodone – all Schedule II controlled substances.
The stock lost by the pharmacy was valued at approximately $350,000.
During today’s proceeding, Zarbailov admitted that he stole the drugs, and that he did so knowing they would be sold for profit.
The conspiracy to distribute oxycodone charge to which Zarbailov pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 22, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Red Bank Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, and law enforcement officers from the Marlboro Township Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Bruce E. Hall, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.13-184
Defense counsel: Sanford Talkin Esq., New York
Zarbailov Information
Englishtown, N.J., Pharmacy Burgular Admits Conspiracy to Sell Stolen OxycodoneRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Brooklyn, N.Y., man admitted today to his involvement in a plot to burglarize a pharmacy in Englishtown, N.J., and sell stolen narcotics for cash, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
James Zarbailov, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The Union Hill-Supremo Pharmacy in Englishtown was burglarized shortly after 4:00 a.m. on June 17, 2012. Zarbailov and his fellow conspirators filled 17 garbage bags and two cardboard boxes with merchandise from the pharmacy, including approximately 1,988 dosage units of methylphenidate, 500 dosage units of hydromorphone, 300 dosage units of Opana (a trade name for oxymorphone) and 3,800 dosage units of oxycodone – all Schedule II controlled substances.
The stock lost by the pharmacy was valued at approximately $350,000.
During today’s proceeding, Zarbailov admitted that he stole the drugs, and that he did so knowing they would be sold for profit.
The conspiracy to distribute oxycodone charge to which Zarbailov pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 22, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Red Bank Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, and law enforcement officers from the Marlboro Township Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Bruce E. Hall, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.13-184
Defense counsel: Sanford Talkin Esq., New York
Zarbailov Information
Eleven Indicted in Jackson Illegal Gambling RingRead the Press Release
Jackson, TN – Eleven individuals were named today in a six-count indictment as part of an illegal gambling ring operating at five locations in Jackson, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III.
According to the indictment unsealed today, the following 11 individuals have been charged with conspiracy for their roles in operating the gambling ring:Eddie C. Estes, 58, Jackson; Robert Cantrell, Sr. 72, Jackson; Lisa M. Sanders, 29, Jackson; Justin L. Sanders, age unknown, Jackson; Marcus Sturghill, Jr., 57, Jackson; Gregory A. Case, a/k/a Alan Case, 45, Jackson; Richard W. Stewart, 64, Jackson; Isaac L. Taylor, 72, Jackson; Bambi Seavers, 43, Trenton; Marjorie Williamson, 43, Jackson; Oliver Greene III, 55, Jackson.
The indictment alleges that between April 2011 through August 2012, Estes and Cantrell owned businesses around Jackson that contained hidden rooms where individuals could illegally gamble on electronic slot machines. Estes owned a building located at 107 South Royal Street in Jackson, TN. Lisa and Justin Sanders operated Breakers Billiards, a pool hall and bar at that address, and supervised the illegal gambling activities on site.
Cantrell owned a building at 303 Hale Street, Jackson, TN. Taylor operated Larry’s Sports Bar at that address and supervised the illegal gambling activities on site. Estes and Cantrell were partners in illegal gambling enterprises at three other locations. Sturghill supervised operations at 400 Airways Blvd., Jackson, TN; Case, Seavers, and Williamson managed operations at 36 Bond St., Jackson TN; and Stewart supervised operations at 98 Harts Bridge Rd., Jackson, TN.
Greene is alleged to have provided support by utilizing law enforcement contacts to run unauthorized searches of Tennessee Department of Transportation records, providing vehicle registration information, and providing information about tactics and procedures of local law enforcement. If convicted of conspiracy, each faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Estes, Cantrell, Lisa Sanders, Sturghill, Case, Stewart, Taylor, Seavers, and Greene were also charged with operating an illegal gambling business and with aiding and abetting the operation of an illegal gambling business. Each faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.
Greene was additionally charged with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is facing up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each count.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Jackson Police Department.# # # #
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.Electronic Grifter Sentenced to Three Years for Multi-Million Dollar Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Paul Bauer, 55, of Dallas, TX, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for a fraud conspiracy involving a scheme to steal approximately $4 million from a Venezuelan fishing company. Bauer pleaded guilty on March 8, 2012 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Petrese Tucker ordered Bauer to pay restitution in the amount of $936,081, and ordered three years of supervised release.
The Venezuelan fishing company, Pinto-Spinelli Group (“PSG”), had arranged for funds to be deposited in a PSG bank account in Miami, Florida in order to pay a business debt. PSG believed that Bauer and other co-conspirators would conduct a currency exchange and then deposit American dollars in PSG’s Miami bank account but, instead, the defendants transferred $4,000,000 of PSG’s funds to a bank account at Citizens Bank in Reading, Pennsylvania, controlled by a Bauer associate. The multi-million dollar financial fraud had devastating consequences for the unsuspecting victim. Using international wire transfers, Bauer and his conspirators were able to take the funds from the lawful owner almost instantaneously. Bauer diverted the funds from Venezuela, through Panama and New York, to an innocuous appearing domestic bank account in Reading, Pennsylvania. When Citizens Bank became suspicious, Bauer directed his associates to fabricate a letter to mislead Citizens Bank into releasing the funds. Again, within hours of duping Citizens Bank into releasing the funds, Bauer had successfully diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen PSG funds to Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Germany and Spain.When Bauer realized that law enforcement agents were investigating the case, he attempted to cover up his crime and mislead investigators with Homeland Security Investigations. Bauer provided false exculpatory statements when interviewed and instructed his co-conspirators to provide false exculpatory information if questioned by the agents. Fortunately, the investigating agents were not deterred by Bauer’s attempts to mislead them and ultimately were able to return more than $3 million of the stolen funds to the victim.
Bauer’s co-conspirators pleaded guilty and were each sentenced last year to five years of probation and restitution of $936,081.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Labor.UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Eight Indicted in Two Million Dollar Staged Accident ConspiracyRead the Press Release
An indictment was presented this morning in the United States Courthouse for the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip, New York, charging eight defendants with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud multiple insurance companies. Named as defendants in the indictment are Shawnn McFadden, Roshon Cooke, Daniel Osborne, Daniel Thompson, Allah Brown, Byron Dudley, Shaquana Basnight and Clifford Hawkins. According to the indictment, the defendants staged accidents and later falsely claimed that they sustained physical injuries as a result of the accidents.1 The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned later today before the Honorable A. Kathleen Tomlinson, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Keith E. Mike, Acting Inspector-in-Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department.
As alleged in the 14 count indictment, beginning in March 2009 and continuing until July 2011, the defendants rented vehicles from U-Haul International, Inc. (“U-Haul”) and drove with one or more coconspirators as passengers to locations in Kings and Nassau Counties where they either intentionally struck or were struck intentionally by vehicles driven and occupied by other coconspirators. After the accidents, the defendants and coconspirators responded to locations throughout the metropolitan area ostensibly to receive medical treatment for injuries purportedly suffered during the staged accidents. The defendants and others later filed insurance claims with U-Haul’s insurer Republic Western Insurance CompanyWest, as well as Travelers Insurance Company, Allstate Insurance Company, GMAC Insurance, GEICO, and Progressive Insurance which sought over $2 million, and the defendants obtained over $1 million in payment, for claimed injuries and medical treatment.
“As alleged, these defendants played bumper cars with the lives of unsuspecting New Yorkers, all to enrich themselves through insurance fraud. Insurance fraud through staged accidents presents a danger not only to the public health but also exacts a high cost to the public in the cost of insurance,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We and our law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue and prosecute those who seek to profit by such fraud.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the New York City Police Department and the New York State Department of Financial Services for their assistance.
Acting Postal Inspector-in-Charge Mike stated, “The arrests of these individuals for their alleged participation in a scheme to defraud insurance companies is an example of the commitment of Postal Inspectors to eliminate crime wherever it exists – keeping the mail safe and secure for the American public.”
The indictment charges all eight defendants with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, forfeiture of over a million dollars, and a $250,000 fine.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles P. Kelly.
The Defendants:
Name: SHAWN McFADDEN
Age: 31
Residence: Uniondale, NYName: ROSHON COOKE
Age: 35
Residence: Hempstead, NYName: DANIEL OSBORNE
Age: 28
Residence: Uniondale, NYName: DANIEL THOMPSON
Age: 32
Residence: Norfolk, VAName: ALLAH BROWN
Age: 27
Residence: Roosevelt, NYName: BYRON DUDLEY
Age: 28
Residence: Baldwin, NYName: SHAQUANA BASNIGHT
Age: 30
Residence: Hempstead, NYName: CLIFFORD HAWKINS
Age: 25
Residence: Baldwin, NY_____________________________
1 The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Eagle Butte Woman Pleads Guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute A Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Lena Flying By, age 46, of Eagle Butte, South Dakota appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on May 7, 2013 and pled guilty to Count II of the Indictment that charged her with Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is not more than 5 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both; a mandatory period of 2 years of supervised release and an additional year of supervised release upon revocation. Restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund may also be ordered.
The charge stems from an incident wherein Cheyenne River law enforcement conducted a vehicle stop and learned from the driver that he had purchased marijuana from a residence in Eagle Butte. After obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement searched the residence and found marijuana along with other drug paraphernalia. Flying By admitted to aiding and abetting the selling of marijuana in her home.
The investigation was conducted by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich is prosecuting the case.
Flying By was released on bond pending sentencing which has been set for July 22, 2013.
Eagle Butte Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of A Controlled SubstanceRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Earl Grindstone, age 28, of Eagle Butte, South Dakota appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on May 7, 2013 and pled guilty to Count I of the Indictment that charged him with Distribution of a Controlled Substance.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is not more than 5 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both; a mandatory period of 2 years of supervised release and an additional year of supervised release upon revocation. Restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund may also be ordered.
The charge stems from an incident wherein Cheyenne River law enforcement conducted a vehicle stop and learned from the driver that he had purchased marijuana from a residence in Eagle Butte. After obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement searched the residence and found marijuana along with other drug paraphernalia. Grindstone admitted to selling marijuana.
The investigation was conducted by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich is prosecuting the case.
Grindstone was released on bond pending sentencing which has been set for July 22, 2013.
Drug User Sentenced to Prison for Two Years for Unlawful Possession of A FirearmRead the Press Release
A marijuana user who unlawfully possessed a gun with an obliterated serial number was sentenced today to two years in federal prison.
Geromey Gilliand, age 23, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 31, 2013, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal drug user.
At the plea hearing, Gilliand admitted he was an unlawful user of marijuana on November 28, 2012, when police officers arrested him in Dubuque on an outstanding arrest warrant. During a search incident to arrest, officers found marijuana and a loaded .22 caliber pistol in Gilliand’s backpack. The serial number on the gun had been scratched off.
Gilliand was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Gilliand was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Gilliand is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department, the Dubuque Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 12-1023.
Deported Alien Charged with Re-entering U.S. IllegallyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A citizen of Mexico has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of re-entry into the United States after deportation, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The indictment, returned on May 7, named Sotero Gomez Alvarado, 35, formerly from Mexico, as the sole defendant.
According to indictment, on April 16, 2013, Alvarodo, an alien, who had been removed from the United States on Aug. 18, 2006, was found in Pittsburgh without having been given permission to re-enter the United States.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of two years 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 Shardul S. Desai is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment or information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendant Sentenced for Distributing Child Pornography and Destroying EvidenceRead the Press Release
Co-Defendant Pleads Guilty to Assisting with Destroying EvidenceEUGENE, Ore. – Timothy McCarty, 43, of Eugene, Oregon, was sentenced to 78 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release for distributing child pornography and destroying evidence. His co-defendant, Donna Giovenco, 46, also of Eugene, Oregon, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony for her role in the destruction of evidence.
According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, McCarty distributed child pornography to an undercover agent in Canada. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began an investigation, and in an attempt to identify where McCarty was living, agents interviewed his co-defendant and former roommate, Giovenco. During the interview, agents disclosed to Giovenco that McCarty was suspected of distributing child pornography. Despite advising Giovenco to keep the investigation quiet, she promptly reached out to McCarty’s family and told them agents were looking for McCarty.
At Giovenco’s request, McCarty met with her to discuss the matter. Prior to arriving at the meeting, McCarty was seen in surveillance video dumping a bag in the dumpster. After the meeting, the video shows Giovenco driving McCarty to the dumpster were he retrieves the bag and smashes it. They then drive off. The bag contained McCarty’s hard drive, which was eventually buried in an unknown location and has not been recovered.
During her change of plea, Giovenco admitted that she assisted McCarty with disposing of a hard drive believed to contain images of child pornography and other evidence of distribution of child pornography.
Sentencing for Giovenco is set for July 29, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken. The maximum sentence is three (3) years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, one (1) year of supervised release, and a $100 fee assessment.
This investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Potter.
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.”
Dawson Springs, Kentucky Felon Guilty of Possession of A Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
– Formerly convicted of two counts of 1st degree manslaughter
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A convicted felon residing in Dawson Springs, Kentucky pleaded guilty in United States District Court this week to possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
Kevin Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to a two count federal superseding indictment, returned by a federal grand jury meeting in Bowling Green, Kentucky on February 13, 2013, that charged the convicted felon with possession of ammunition, including one hundred rounds of Federal brand 12-gauge shotgun ammunition, one hundred rounds of Federal brand 20-gauge shotgun ammunition, and 20 rounds of Federal brand .30-06 shotgun ammunition. Further, Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to possession of a Ranger, 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun and eight rounds of Winchester/Western brand 12-gauge shotgun ammunition.
According to an Affidavit attached to a felony criminal complaint, Dawson Springs, Kentucky police executed a search warrant on December 19, 2011, on a residence where Fitzgerald had been residing, and during the search, officers located the Ranger, 12 gauge double-barreled shotgun and ammunition in a bedroom. In court yesterday, Fitzgerald admitted to owning the shotgun as well as the Federal brand ammunition, located on October 21, 2012 in Warren County, Kentucky.
Fitzgerald is a convicted felon, having been convicted of two counts of manslaughter in the first degree, in case number 85-CR-036 in Carroll Circuit Court, Carrollton, Kentucky, on or about July 7, 1986. He was sentenced to serve 40 years in prison.
At sentencing, Fitzgerald faces no more than 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 and three years of supervised release. Sentencing before Senior Judge Russell is scheduled for August 6, 2013, at 11:45 am in Bowling Green.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Micah R. Reyner and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Dawson Springs, Kentucky Police Department.
Crystal Lake Man Indicted in Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ROCKFORD — A Crystal Lake, Ill. man was indicted yesterday on federal charges of mail fraud. MICHAEL S. MACKAY, 46, was charged with two counts of mail fraud for his role in a “secret shopper scheme,” where victims applied to work-at-home advertisements on the Internet believing they were being hired to work as a “secret shopper” or payment processor.
According to the indictment, from September 2011 to at least May 16, 2012, Mackay was involved in a scheme to defraud victims into falsely believing that they were hired as “secret shoppers” to evaluate and report their experiences with local businesses. After applying for work, victims received a letter with at least one counterfeit negotiable instrument, such as a counterfeit money order. The victims were instructed to deposit the counterfeit negotiable instrument in their financial institution, retain a certain percentage as payment for their services, go to the nearest Western Union and wire transfer the remaining proceeds as instructed. The victims were also instructed to report their experience, believing they were hired as secret shoppers to evaluate local businesses, via email to an email address contained in the letter. The participants in the scheme received the proceeds via the wire transfers before the victims learned that the money orders were counterfeit.
During the course of the scheme, Mackay received at least $2,000,000 in counterfeit negotiable instruments in packages sent to Crystal Lake from New York, Nigeria, and Ghana. Each package contained counterfeit money orders, in amounts ranging from $900 to $2,000 each, that appeared to be issued by the United States Postal Service, American Express, Capital One Bank, Citizens National Bank of Texas, First National Bank, and Navy Federal Credit Union. Mackay received email instructions attaching a “secret shopper” letter and United States Postal Service Express mailing labels. According to the indictment, Mackay then placed a “secret shopper” letter in a United States Postal Service express mailing envelope along with at least two counterfeit money orders to at least 665 victims throughout the United States. The indictment alleges that Mackay mailed over $1,000,000 in counterfeit money orders to the victims, receiving wire transfers of at least $10,000 from his victims and others involved in the scheme as payment for his role in the scheme before the victims learned that the negotiable instruments were counterfeit.
Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 maximum fine, or an alternate fine totaling twice the loss or twice the gain, whichever is greater, a period of supervised release of up to 3 years following imprisonment, and restitution. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines, as well as restitution.
The indictment was announced today by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Pete Zegarac, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service; and Gary J. Hartwig, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago.
Members of the public are reminded that a criminal indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.
Indictment
Cromwell Man Charged with Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Colonel Danny R. Stebbins of the Connecticut State Police today announced that SAMUEL DiPROTO, 61, of Cromwell, was arrested yesterday and charged by federal criminal complaint with possession of child pornography.
The criminal complaint alleges that on March 12, 2013 and April 10, 2013, a Connecticut State Police detective assigned to the Computer Crimes Unit logged onto a publicly available Internet file sharing network and downloaded images and videos of child pornography from a computer connected to the network with an Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to DiPROTO. During a search of DiPROTO’s residence yesterday, law enforcement officers seized several items, including computers, hard drives and thumb drives.
DiPROTO was arrested yesterday at his residence after the search.
DiPROTO appeared today before United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford, who ordered DiPROTO detained pending a hearing that is scheduled for May 13.
If convicted of the charge of possession of child pornography, DiPROTO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000. The penalties in this matter are enhanced because it is alleged that the defendant possessed depictions of prepubescent minors and minors under the age of 12.
U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Couple Indicted for Sex Trafficking of A Minor and Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Arieal J. Bishop, 28, and David J. Golson, 26, have been ordered detained pending trial on charges of sex trafficking and producing child pornography, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
Bishop and Golson appeared in court in Houston today following their transportation from Arkansas where they were being held on similar federal charges. Their official cities of residence could not be immediately determined, but testimony in court today revealed one or both of them had been in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico.
The indictment, returned April 17, 2013, charges both with one count of producing child pornography and one count of trafficking of a minor for commercial sex using force, fraud or coercion. Bishop is further charged with one count of transporting a minor for the purpose of engaging in prostitution or other criminal sexual activity. The alleged crimes occurred between April and September of 2011, according to the indictment.
Testimony at the detention hearing today indicated that Bishop filmed Golson engaging in sex with a 17-year-old girl within a short time after meeting them. Bishop allegedly posted advertisements for commercial sex for both herself and the victim in Houston as well as other cities in Texas and in Louisiana. The victim allegedly traveled with Bishop to Louisiana where they met up with Golson and continued to post ads and engage in commercial sex, according to the information presented in court. The victim gave money she earned from commercial sex to Bishop who gave it to Golson.
During this investigation, Bishop and Golson, along with Bishop’s sister, were arrested in Arkansas and charged with similar sex trafficking offenses involving a different minor victim.
Today, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen W. Smith indicated that Bishop and Golson were a flight risk and detained them pending further criminal proceedings. The court considered that neither has any legitimate source of income, residence or significant ties to Houston that would assure their appearance at trial.
For the child pornography charges, they each face a minimum of 15 and up to 30 years in federal prison and up to life for sex trafficking, upon conviction. Both charges also carry as possible punishment a maximum $250,000 fine. For the transportation charge, Bishop further faces a minimum of 10 years up to life imprisonment. Upon completion of any prison term imposed, they also face a possible lifetime term of supervised release and will be required to register as sex offenders.
This case was investigated by the Houston FBI Innocence Lost Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri L. Zack.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.Cocaine and Firearm Convictions Result in 84 Month Sentence for Esgar Escamella EstrellaRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Esgar Escamella Estrella, 29, of Morristown, Tenn., was sentenced on May 7, 2013, by the Honorable Leon Jordan, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 84 months in federal prison for his convictions of participation in a cocaine conspiracy and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense in Morristown, Tenn.
In January 2012, Estrella supplied cocaine for a scheduled nine ounce transaction in Morristown. It was agreed that two ounces would be sold initially and if the cocaine was good quality, another seven ounce transaction would follow. Estrella brought a 9 mm pistol with him to the transaction. To complete the deal, Estrella, along with co-conspirators Isidoro Garcia, Martin Flores Perez and Jorge Olquin Vazquez, met an individual (who unbeknownst to them at the time was working on behalf of law enforcement) at a Morristown BP station. While Garcia personally dealt with the individual, Estrella went inside the store, leaving the firearm inside their vehicle. Law enforcement agents swiftly moved in and arrested Garcia, Perez and Vazquez. Estrella fled out the back door of the BP station and through the woods.
Later the same day, Estrella approached a residence located approximately one mile from the BP station and offered an occupant of the residence $100.00 to drive him elsewhere. Unbeknownst to Estrella, the person he solicited was an off duty police officer. Upon contacting dispatch and learning of the events, Estrella was identified and placed under arrest by the off-duty officer.
Estrella, Garcia, Perez and Vazquez are all in the United States illegally and face deportation from the United States after serving their respective sentences.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation which led to the indictment and subsequent conviction of Estrella and others include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Morristown Tennessee Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol Criminal Investigation Division and Third Judicial District Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.
United States Attorney William C. Killian stated, “We are pleased with the sentence in this case and believe it reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed. Our prosecutors and the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies working together on this case did a tremendous job.”
This case was part of the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) programs. OCDETF is the primary weapon of the United States against the highest level drug trafficking organizations operating within the United States, importing drugs into the United States, or laundering the proceeds of drug trafficking. The HIDTA program enhances and coordinates drug control efforts among local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies. The program provides agencies with coordination, equipment, technology, and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of the United States.
Funding for some of the task forces involved in this investigation also came from the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Area Task Force (HIDTA) which was created in 1998, one of 32 areas in the nation that have been designated as HIDTAs. The HIDTA Program began in 1988 when Congress authorized the Director of The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to designate areas within the United States which exhibit serious drug trafficking problems and harmfully impact other areas of the country as HIDTAs. The HIDTA Program provides additional federal resources to those areas to help eliminate or reduce drug trafficking and its harmful consequences.
Clinic Owners Sentenced for Roles in <br /> $13.3 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Miami residents Raymond Arias, 42, and his wife, Emelitza Arias, 25, have been sentenced in Detroit to 100 months and 12 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in a $13.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley III of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Chicago Regional Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Paul D. Borman of the Eastern District of Michigan.
The Ariases were also sentenced to two years of supervised release following their respective prison terms. At sentencing on May 7, 2013, the court ordered Raymond Arias to pay $5.4 million in restitution. Today at sentencing, the court ordered Emelitza Arias to pay $531,883 in restitution, jointly and severally. The defendants agreed to forfeit approximately $40,000 seized by federal agents during the investigation.
The Ariases pleaded guilty on Oct. 17, 2012, to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud. According to the plea documents, beginning in approximately 2009, Raymond Arias opened Elite Wellness where he submitted claims to Medicare for infusion therapy treatments that were never rendered. In three months, Elite Wellness submitted in excess of $10 million in claims to Medicare. Emelitza Arias joined the scheme by opening a second clinic, Carefirst Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Center, which submitted approximately $940,000 in claims to Medicare for infusion therapy treatments that were never rendered.
The case was 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 Eastern District of Michigan. This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Catherine Dick of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Ross of the Eastern District of Michigan.
Since their inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in nine districts have charged more than 1,480 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the 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.
Clinic Owners Sentenced for Roles in <br /> $13.3 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Miami residents Raymond Arias, 42, and his wife, Emelitza Arias, 25, have been sentenced in Detroit to 100 months and 12 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in a $13.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley III of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Chicago Regional Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Paul D. Borman of the Eastern District of Michigan.
The Ariases were also sentenced to two years of supervised release following their respective prison terms. At sentencing on May 7, 2013, the court ordered Raymond Arias to pay $5.4 million in restitution. Today at sentencing, the court ordered Emelitza Arias to pay $531,883 in restitution, jointly and severally. The defendants agreed to forfeit approximately $40,000 seized by federal agents during the investigation.
The Ariases pleaded guilty on Oct. 17, 2012, to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud. According to the plea documents, beginning in approximately 2009, Raymond Arias opened Elite Wellness where he submitted claims to Medicare for infusion therapy treatments that were never rendered. In three months, Elite Wellness submitted in excess of $10 million in claims to Medicare. Emelitza Arias joined the scheme by opening a second clinic, Carefirst Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Center, which submitted approximately $940,000 in claims to Medicare for infusion therapy treatments that were never rendered.
The case was 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 Eastern District of Michigan. This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Catherine Dick of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Ross of the Eastern District of Michigan.
Since their inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in nine districts have charged more than 1,480 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the 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.
Chili Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Michael V. Covello, 42, of Chili, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer, to distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Because of a prior sexual abuse conviction, distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 40 years. Possession of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 20 years. The charges also include a fine of up to $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who is handling the case, stated that in May and June of 2012, law enforcement officers discovered that the defendant was distributing images and videos of child pornography online. A search warrant was executed at the defendant's residence where officers recovered digital media, including a laptop, desktop computer and an iTouch, all of which contained child pornography. The images included prepubescent minors as depictions of violence.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Interim Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 17th, at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Larimer.
Canadian Man Sentenced for Transporting Kansas Girl for SexRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. – A Canadian man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for picking up a 12-year-old girl in El Dorado, Kan., and taking her out of state for the purpose of having sex with her, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Stewart Kenneth Cody McGill, 21, Bewdley, Ontario, pleaded guilty to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. In his plea, he admitted he drove from Canada to El Dorado, Kan., to pick up a 12-year-old girl and have sex with her. Officers later found McGill and the girl parked on a country road in Michigan. They found text messages on the girl’s cell phone in which McGill indicated he intended to have sex with her and he was aware of her age.
Grissom commended the FBI, the El Dorado Police Department, the Michigan Department of State Police and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
Buffalo Man Sentenced for Stealing Social Security BenefitsRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Joseph Packer, Jr., 64, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of theft of public money, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, to time served and two years supervised release. The defendant was ordered to wear and ankle bracelet for eight months and pay restitution in the amount of $160,101.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who handled the case, stated that in 2000, Packer failed to notify the Social Security Administration of his father's death. As a result, social security checks continued to be issued for the defendant's father until 2012. The benefits were deposited into a joint savings account shared by Packer and his father. The defendant withdrew the money and spent it. Packer stole a total of $160,101.
The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Social Security Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Edward J. Ryan, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General.
Bryan Man Heads to Federal Prison for Threats to TSURead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Dereon Tayronne Kelley, 22, of Bryan, has been ordered to prison following his convictions on all counts for communicating a bomb threat to an academic institution, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. The verdict was returned Wednesday, April 10, 2013, after two days of trial and approximately one hour of deliberation.
Today, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes, who presided over the trial, handed Kelley a sentence of 33 months. He was further ordered to pay a $300 fine and pay $15,548.93 in restitution. Kelley will also be required to serve a term of three years of supervised release following completion of the prison term.
Kelley was accused of three counts of using the Internet to convey a false threat involving an explosive device in order to intimidate individuals at Texas State University (TSU).
According to evidence and testimony presented in court, Kelley used his cell phone and “hacked” into his former girlfriend’s Yahoo email account and sent three separate emails threatening to bomb the Admission’s Office at Texas State University. Kelley’s girlfriend was a former student at TSU.
The defense attempted to convince the jury that the crime was committed by some other person. However, this assertion was contradicted by the email header and cell phone service provider records.
Kelley will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The intensive investigation was initiated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) - College Station Resident Agency, working together with the Texas A&M University Police Department. The JTTF is comprised of the FBI, Bryan Police Department, Texas A&M University Police Department, College Station Police Department, Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Secret Service and Waller County Sheriff’s Office.The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney S. Mark McIntyre and Craig Feazel.
Brody Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud, Money Laundering in Connection with Real Estatement Investment Scheme;Read the Press Release
Plea Includes 41-Month Sentencing Recommendation; $1,331,075.36 in Restitution to Victims
SALT LAKE CITY – Patrick Merrill Brody, age 47, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City in connection with a real estate investment fraud scheme.
The plea agreement includes a sentencing recommendation of 41 months and restitution of $1,331,075.36. Sentencing is scheduled for July 25, 2013 before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby. Brody, who has been in custody since his arrest in October, will be released from custody pending sentencing with a variety of special conditions in place as a part of his supervised release.
Brody was charged with conspiracy, mail and mail fraud, and money laundering in a nine-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in October 2012. The indictment alleged Brody and his wife, Laura Ann Roser, operated Art Intellect, Inc., a Utah corporation doing business as Mason Hill. The business had offices in Salt Lake City and Cape Coral, Florida. Mason Hill solicited and sold investments in real estate properties. It offered potential clients an option for investing in rental residential properties in several states. Mason Hill offered to sell investors rental properties at a low price, repair and rehabilitate them if necessary, find renters for the properties, collect rent, and maintain and manage the properties for the benefit of the investors.
The indictment alleged that once received, investors’ funds were comingled with other investors’ money, used to purchase properties for earlier investors, and used to pay operating expenses of Mason Hill as well as personal expenses for the defendants – among other things. In some instances, investors’ money was used to make Ponzi payments to earlier investors.
As a part of Wednesday plea agreement, Brody admitted that from April 2009 through early 2011 he made important business decisions for the company, hired and instructed employees, and directed the use of company proceeds.
Brody admitted that ultimately the company became a scheme that obtained money or property through fraudulent representations or promises. The fraudulent representations were made with the intent to induce clients to make investment payments to Mason Hill. Funds invested through the scheme were converted to personal use by Brody, which deprived the company of the capital necessary to complete real estate transactions as promised. Many of the clients, who invested in the scheme, did not receive any property or any other thing of value in return for their investment payments, and did not receive a refund of their payments.
As a part of the plea agreement executed Wednesday, federal prosecutors agreed to offer Roser a plea agreement that includes one misdemeanor count of failure to file a quarterly tax return. Federal prosecutors also agreed that they will not seek restitution from Roser on the charges in the indictment.The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and investigated by special agents of the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation.
Bridgeport Mayor Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today that on May 8, 2013, Max R. Schauf, 56, of Bridgeport, Illinois, pled guilty to three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice in United States District Court in Benton, Illinois.
Schauf, the Mayor of the City of Bridgeport, in Lawrence County, Illinois, was indicted along with Paul R. Kramer, of Vincennes, Indiana, on November 6, 2012, by a federal grand jury sitting in Benton, Illinois. The indictment charged Schauf with three counts of Mail Fraud and one count of Obstruction Of Justice. Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to 3 years of supervised release.
“Theft, fraud, and obstruction by one public servant tarnish the image of all those dedicated public servants who serve their communities each day with honesty and integrity,” said United States Attorney Wigginton. “The plea in this case should be a reminder that my office, along with all of its federal and state law enforcement partners, will vigorously investigate and prosecute anyone, such as Schauf, who abuses the privilege and honor of their public service.”
At his plea, Schauf admitted that from July of 2008 until March of 2011, he had engaged in a scheme to defraud the City of Bridgeport, as well as its residents, by submitting false and fraudulent invoices, contracts and bills for services and equipment. Schauf also admitted that on November 10, 2011, he had obstructed justice by telling another person to give false and misleading information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the investigation into his (Schauf’s) fraudulent activities.
Sentencing for Schauf is scheduled for Thursday, August 8, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at the United States District Court in Benton, Illinois.
Schauf’s co-defendant, Paul R. Kramer, pled guilty on March 20, 2013, to two counts of Making False Statements to the FBI and is scheduled to be sentenced in United States District Court on June 27, 2013. He faces up to 5 years of in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to 3 years of supervised release on each count.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ranley R. Killian and William E. Coonan.
Bloomington Felon Indicted for Possessing Three FirearmsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Recently in federal court in St. Paul, a 26-year-old felon from Bloomington was indicted for possessing firearms on two occasions. On May 6, 2013, William Daniel Sewell was charged with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The indictment alleges that on October 12, 2012, Sewell possessed a nine-millimeter, semi-automatic pistol and a .40-caliber pistol. Police stopped Sewell’s vehicle on a traffic violation, and saw the .40-caliber pistol on the floor by the driver’s side seat. Then, when they searched the vehicle, they found the nine-millimeter pistol in the glove compartment. In addition, the indictment states that on March 29, 2013, Sewell again possessed a nine-millimeter, semi-automatic pistol. Because he is a felon, Sewell is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition at any time. His prior convictions include second-degree burglary in Anoka County (2010) and fleeing a police officer in Hennepin County (2010).
According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, police responded to a reported fight inside a Minneapolis restaurant on March 29, 2013. At the scene, officers also checked out a nearby parking lot, where a group of men had gathered. As they approached the group, one of the men, later identified as Sewell, started to walk away. When police ordered him to stop, the man began to run, crossing traffic on Lyndale Avenue South. Officers pursued him and saw the pistol fall from his person onto the street.
If convicted, Sewell 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 Minneapolis Police Department, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie E. Allyn.
The case was charged federally through 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. Then, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office 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.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.
Blackstone Man Charged with Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A self-employed mason was charged today with filing false tax returns and cashing nearly $3 million in checks at a check cashing service and not reporting the income.
John W. Lippolis, 53, of Blackstone, Mass., was indicted on two counts of filing false tax returns and impeding the IRS.
The indictment alleges that when Lippolis, a self-employed mason, was paid by check for his services, instead of depositing the funds into a bank account, he used check cashing services to cash the checks and then reported only a fraction to the IRS. The indictment further alleges that Lippolis operated his business in cash, paid workers in cash, and requested that customers not write checks to him for amounts exceeding $10,000, which would trigger a reporting requirement for financial institutions which cashed the checks. In 2006, Lippolis cashed business checks for more than $1 million, but reported only $45,000 in gross receipts on his federal income tax return for that year. In 2007, Lippolis cashed checks totaling more than $580,000, but reported only $47,813 in gross receipts for that tax year. In other years, Lippolis did not file any income tax returns at all.
The charges of filing false tax return carry a statutory maximum penalty of three years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of impeding the IRS carries a statutory maximum penalty of three years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss, whichever is greater.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra S. Bower of Ortiz’s Economic 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.