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9 April 2013
Pedophile Sentenced to 6 ½ Years in Federal Prison on Child Porn ConvictionRead the Press Release
Wood County man admits collecting child pornography
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – “We’ve taken another pedophile off the streets,” U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced, in the wake of a Wood County man’s federal sentencing on child pornography charges. Terry David McVey, 60, of Parkersburg, W.Va., was sentenced on April 8 to six and a half years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. The sentence was handed down by Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers in Huntington.
McVey admitted he collected at least 300 but fewer than 600 pictures of children having sex or performing sexual acts. The child pornography was found on McVey’s computer after he downloaded it from the Internet. McVey previously pleaded guilty to the federal charge in December 2012.
“April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month,” U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said. “This sentencing is yet another reminder that sexual exploitation remains a terribly serious problem in West Virginia and around the country.”
Goodwin continued, “People who download, possess and trade child pornography perpetuate the abuse and exploitation of children. I will be relentless in prosecuting them.”
The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Wood County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada handled the prosecution.
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 http://www.justice.gov/usao/wvs/PSCpage.html.
Peabody Man Charged with Using Stolen Identities of A Florida Company’s EmployeesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Peabody man was charged yesterday with heading an identity fraud conspiracy that used identities stolen from employees of a Florida company to fraudulently obtain $368,000 in credit at large chain retail stores.
William G. Dodge, 45, of Peabody, was charged in a criminal complaint with access device fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
The complaint alleges that Dodge claimed to have given the employee of a Florida company $3,000 for a list of her coworkers’ identity information, such as their names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and salaries. From June 2012 through February 2013, Dodge headed a conspiracy of individuals who obtained false identity cards that looked like Massachusetts drivers’ licenses and bore the co-conspirators’ pictures but the Florida company employees’ personal information. With these false identity cards, Dodge and the co-conspirators posed as the Florida company’s employees at large chain retail stores. In a typical fraudulent transaction, a conspirator would pose as the employee, pretend that he or she had left his store credit card at home, and ask the store personnel to provide the employee’s store credit card number. If the identity victim did not have an account with the store, the conspirator would use the false identity card to apply for a new credit account in the identity victim’s name. Upon obtaining a credit card number, the conspirator would use the account to purchase gift cards and other items such as electronics that they could resell. The store would lose the money, because the co-conspirators did not intend to pay the credit bill.Dodge was originally arrested in December 2012, right after committing about $1,200 in identity fraud at a Peabody department store. Then in February 2013, Dodge was tailed to a Framingham electronics store, where he committed another $3,100 in identity fraud and then was arrested by police. The complaint alleges that Dodge and a co-conspirator were caught with dozens of false identity cards, that the conspiracy as a whole victimized at least 89 identity victims in 30 states, with losses of at least $368,000. The complaint also alleges that Dodge personally used the identities of at least 46 victims to commit at least $183,000 in identity fraud, and that he took 50 percent of the other conspirators’ cut.
On the charge of access device fraud, the maximum penalty under the statute is 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, forfeiture, restitution and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss. On the charge of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, the maximum penalty under the statute is five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, forfeiture, restitution and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss. On the charge of aggravated identity theft, the mandatory sentence under the statute is two years in prison, which would be served after any other prison sentence, followed by one year of supervised release, forfeiture, restitution, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by the Peabody Police Department, Framingham Police Department, and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. The U.S. Attorney’s Office thanks the Florida company for cooperating during the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott L. Garland of Ortiz’s Cybercrime Unit.
The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Oklahoma Man Sentenced for Unlawful Sale of Eagle FeathersRead the Press Release
WICHITA, KAN. An Oklahoma man was sentenced Wednesday to a year on federal probation for selling feathers from eagles and hawks covered by a federal law protecting migratory birds, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Brian K. Stoner, 33, Ponca City, Okla., pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of violating the federal Lacey Act regarding the commercialization of illegally taken wildlife. In his plea, he admitted that on Feb. 26, 2009, he was in Lawrence, Kan., where he met with an agent of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who was working undercover. Stoner offered to sell the agent parts of a Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), a Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and a Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway). Stoner also offered to sell the agent a Native American dance bustle made of rough-legged hawk and ferruginous hawk feathers (Buteo lagopus and Buteo regalis).
While Native Americans are allowed under proper circumstances to have such feathers, the commercialization of such is never allowed. Federal law (Title 16, United States Code, Section 703) prohibits taking, killing or possessing migratory birds.
Feathers seized in the case will be sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Eagle Repository in Colorado. The repository provides eagle feathers to Native Americans for use in Indian religious and cultural ceremonies.
For more information, see:
http://www.fws.gov/le/national-eagle-repository.html
Grissom commended the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot for their work on the case.
Nogales Woman Sentenced to 46 Months Prison for Defrauding EmployerRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. On April 8, 2013, Rosa Maria Gutierrez, 55, of Nogales, Ariz. was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Buryto 46 months in prison. Gutierrez pleaded guilty on Nov. 28, 2012, to 25 counts of wire fraud
Gutierrez worked for Chamberlain Group, Inc. from December 2005 through March 2011. Chamberlain Group, Inc., headquartered in Elmhurst, Ill., is a manufacturer of residential and commercial door operators, access control products and gate operators. Gutierrez worked at both the Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Ariz. facilities that assembled access control products. In 2004, Gutierrez was promoted to the position of Accounts Payable Supervisor. She was one of two employees who were authorized to create a vendor account, from which vendors were paid. Gutierrez misused her position to create a false vendor account, and fraudulently billed Chamberlain for fictitious services and goods. In fact, the money was paid directly to her bank account and no services were performed. She submitted 105 false claims for $1,260,930.60 before her crimes were detected.
After Gutierrez completes her prison term, she will be monitored on supervised release for 36 months. She was ordered to pay restitution totaling $ 1,862,254.41, of which, $663,953.81 is to be paid to Chamberlain Group, Inc. for her theft and the costs of the internal investigation. Gutierrez was ordered to make restitution of $1,198,300.60 to American Insurance Company, Chamberlain’s insurance carrier. Judge Bury ordered forfeiture of $1,260,930.60. Gutierrez will be prohibited from occupations in which she has access to other people’s money. Gutierrez was taken into custody immediately following the sentencing hearing.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Sandra M. Hansen, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.
CASE NUMBER: CR-12-0512 DCB(BGM)
RELEASE NUMBER: 2013-028_Gutierrrez# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/New Jersey Return Preparer Pleads Guilty to Corruptly Endeavoring to Obstruct the IRS and Preparing False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
Eric Majette, 52, a tax return preparer and owner and operator of the Berrisford Group, located in Somerville, N.J., pleaded guilty today to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue laws and to preparing a false tax return, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.
On Jan. 17, 2013, a federal grand jury sitting in Trenton, N.J., returned a superseding indictment, charging Eric Majette with twenty-nine counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns for clients and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue laws. According to the superseding indictment, Majette prepared false tax returns for clients by inflating itemized deductions and credits such as charitable contributions, unreimbursed employee expenses, and energy credits. In addition, when his clients were audited, Majette submitted false charitable contribution receipts to the IRS to support the fraudulent returns that he prepared.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Sept. 24, 2013. The case was investigated by special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Tino M. Lisella and Robert C. Kennedy of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.
New Jersey Man Added to Multi-Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
Mark Murphy, 47, of Williamstown, NJ, was charged today by Information with participating in a mortgage fraud conspiracy involving more than 100 Philadelphia properties and more than $20 million in fraudulent loan proceeds, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Murphy is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit loan and wire fraud, and one count of loan fraud. The information also seeks the criminal forfeiture of over $324,000 from Murphy.
Murphy is the fifth defendant charged in this district with participating in a massive mortgage fraud conspiracy that operated between May 2004 and February 2009, primarily in the West Philadelphia section of the city of Philadelphia, involving KREW Settlement Services. KREW is a Philadelphia real estate settlement company that is alleged to have been at the center of the conspiracy. Murphy is alleged to have directly participated in securing a $324,000 mortgage loan from Washington Mutual Bank on 4930 Kingsessing Avenue in Philadelphia based on the submission of a false loan application and other false documents. The information alleges that other co-conspirators helped prepare the false supporting documentation, including false appraisal and false tax returns for Murphy, and failed to record Washington Mutual Bank’s mortgage.
The four co-conspirators charged in this district with participating in the same mortgage fraud conspiracy involving KREW are: Willie G. Manley Jr., Eric Ponder, Rashika J. Moon, and Dontaya S. Devore. According to the information, co-conspirator Willie G. Manley, charged elsewhere, was an accountant who created false income documents, such as W-2 forms, paystubs, and Form 1040 income tax returns, which were submitted to lenders. Co-conspirator Eric Ponder, charged elsewhere, is alleged to have held himself out as a real estate developer and helped cause the submission of numerous fraudulent loan applications that resulted in mortgages being unwittingly issued by various banks by, making false statements on loan applications in his own name and helping secure mortgages in the names of others by recruiting “straw buyers” whose identity and fraudulent information was used to obtain the loans. Ponder is also alleged to have submitted false invoices for construction work never performed on the properties in order to justify payments to him from the settlement proceeds of loans in the names of the straw buyers.
The conspiracy also included grossly inflated appraisals, false title insurance policies, false receipts for home repairs that were never performed, and straw buyers who knowingly allowed their names and identities to be used to purchase the properties and defraud the banks.
If convicted, Murphy faces a maximum possible sentence 35 years imprisonment, 5 years supervised release, a fine of $1,250,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transactions, and a $200 special assessmentThe case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.
Click here to view the indictment
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525New Haven Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Collecting and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL MARTARANO, 34, of New Haven, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for trading child pornography on the Internet.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between June 2007 and April 2009, MARTARANO traded and bartered child pornography with other individuals over the Internet through the use of an online instant messaging program, and later via a peer-to-peer filing sharing program.
On July 2, 2009, law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant at MARTARANO’s residence and seized a desktop computer, a laptop computer and an external hard drive. Subsequent forensic examination of the seized items revealed approximately 5,100 images and videos of child pornography.
MARTARANO was arrested on August 3, 2010. On December 11, 2012, he pleaded guilty to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. He is currently detained.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force and the New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anastasia E. King and Neeraj N. Patel.
The Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which is housed at the main FBI office in New Haven, investigates crimes against children occurring over the Internet, and provides computer forensic review services for participating agencies. For more information about the Task Force, or to report child exploitation crimes, please contact the FBI at 203-777-6311.
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]New Haven Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Federal Prison for Distributing HeroinRead the Press Release
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSHUWA DIAZ, also known as “Fot,” 22, of New Haven, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing heroin.
DIAZ is one of 108 individuals charged as a result of “Operation Bloodline,” a joint law enforcement investigation targeting narcotics trafficking and gang violence in the Dwight-Kensington and Fair Haven sections of New Haven. Led by the DEA New Haven Task Force and the New Haven and Hamden Police Departments, the year-long investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps on numerous telephones, extensive physical surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, execution of search warrants and seizures of narcotics and firearms. The investigation revealed that DIAZ conspired with others to purchase and redistribute heroin.
DIAZ is currently in state custody serving concurrent sentences for violation of probation and criminal possession of a firearm. His maximum release date is December 1, 2013.
Judge Burns ordered DIAZ to begin serving his 78-month federal sentence after his release from state custody.
This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia and Meriden Police Departments. The United States Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, Parole and Community Services and the Milford, Hartford, New Britain, North Branford and Stratford Police Departments have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys S. Dave Vatti and Marc Silverman.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Miami County Man Sentenced for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Miami County was sentenced Monday to 12 months house arrest and five years on probation for failing to pay income taxes on money he made as a consultant in Iraq, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Gregory S. Light, 43, Louisburg, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. In his plea, he admitted that while he was a lieutenant colonel in the Kansas Army National Guard he was deployed to Iraq. After his deployment ended, he returned to Iraq to work as a subcontractor with his own company, Lighthouse Consulting.
One contractor wired him a monthly salary and another paid him in cash. Light reported on his tax returns only the salary that was wired to him. With the cash compensation, he bought postal money orders to bring back to the United States when he returned approximately once every three months. He stored the money orders in a safe deposit box and cashed them a little at a time so the bank would not file a report on the transaction.
All told, he failed to report $313,781 in income and failed to pay $81,886 he owed in income taxes.
Grissom commended the Internal Revenue Service, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Army Criminal Investigative Division (CID), the Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Smith for their work on the case.
McKinney, Texas, Man Faces 10 Years in Federal Prison for Trying to Meet A 14-Year-Old Girl at A Local Mall for SexRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Rodney Allen Thompson, 44, of McKinney, Texas, appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver and pleaded guilty to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor. He faces a 10-year federal prison sentence, up to a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Thompson has been in custody since his arrest in December 2012. A sentencing date was not set. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
According to documents filed in the case, Thompson admits that in December 2012, he communicated with “Jane Doe,” an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, whom he friended via Yahoo! Messenger. Jane Doe was in reality an officer with the Garland Police Department, acting in an undercover capacity. Thompson admitted that he communicated with Jane Doe in a sexually explicit manner, indicating that he wanted to engage in sexual activity with her. Using his computer and cell phone, Thompson ultimately persuaded, or attempted to persuade, Jane Doe to meet him at a mall in Garland to engage in illegal sexual activity with him. He also admitted that he sent Jane Doe, via webcam, an obscene video of himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct. On December 13, 2012, Thompson drove to meet Jane Doe at the mall, as they had arranged, and was arrested.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
The investigation is being conducted by the Garland Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.
Maryland Man Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Cocaine-Evidence at Trial Included Nearly 30 Kilograms of Cocaine, Found in A Storage Locker-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – William M. Bowman, 34, formerly of Bowie, Md., was sentenced today to 45 years in prison for conspiring to distribute large quantities of cocaine in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Bowman and two others - Gezo G. Edwards, 39, and Henry B. Williams, 32 - were found guilty of the drug conspiracy charge in November 2012 following a five-week trial in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. In addition, Bowman was found guilty of possession of a firearm during the commission of narcotics offenses. The three defendants were among 14 people indicted in 2011, following one of the largest recent seizures of cocaine in the area.
The Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Bowman this afternoon. Williams, of Glenn Dale, Md., was sentenced in February 2013 to a 51-month prison term. No sentencing date has been set for Edwards, of Silver Spring, Md. The government will be seeking a sentence of life imprisonment for Edwards at the time of his sentencing.
Last year, following the guilty verdict, the matter entered a second phase before the jury which determined that Edwards must forfeit assets that were the proceeds of or facilitated his drug trafficking activities. Specifically, the jury determined that over $366,000 in seized cash and a Rolex watch were among proceeds of the drug conspiracy or facilitated the drug dealing. Separately, Bowman did not contest the seizure of over $200,000 in additional money and a $9,400 diamond engagement ring that were recovered from his house at the time of his arrest.
In sentencing Bowman to 45 years, Judge Kollar-Kotelly stated that the Court had no choice but to impose this mandatory-minimum sentence. However, she noted that the sentence was appropriate in light of the fact that Bowman was an upper-level manager in a significant drug trafficking organization that infused multi-kilogram amounts of cocaine into the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the fact that the defendant possessed two .40 caliber pistols, an assault rifle, and body armor, and in light of the defendant’s significant criminal history. The court further ordered that Bowman pay $500 in special court assessments and that the 45-year sentence was to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.
“William Bowman was responsible for importing millions of dollars of cocaine from California for distribution on the streets of Washington, D.C.,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “His conviction cut off a major source of supply of crack cocaine. This sentence reflects the strength of our commitment to preventing drug traffickers from flooding our neighborhoods with narcotics that fuel violence and addiction.”
“Today, justice was served as Mr. Bowman was sentenced for his participation in a large and dangerous drug trafficking organization,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “He will now pay the price for his activities, and our communities will be a safer place thanks to the diligent work of law enforcement and prosecutors.”
“This sentencing is a victory for our communities, as this large seizure of drugs would have had a devastating impact on neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. and Maryland,” said Chief Lanier. “The Metropolitan Police Department’s Narcotics and Special Investigations Division, along with our FBI partners, and the US Attorney’s Office have demonstrated once again that we will disrupt the trafficking of drugs, pursue criminals, and bring them to justice.”
The indictments in the case, returned in April 2011, followed a 15-month investigation by the FBI and MPD into people suspected of acting as wholesale distributors of cocaine in the metropolitan area. The investigation determined that from January 2009 through April 2011, the defendants and others maintained a drug trafficking organization that supplied distribution amounts of cocaine and crack cocaine to dealers in the District of Columbia and Maryland.
The investigation revealed that Bowman and Edwards obtained large quantities of cocaine from sources in the Los Angeles area, which they transported back to the Washington, D.C. area for redistribution to wholesale traffickers, including Williams.
In April 2011, investigators learned that members of the defendants’ organization had arranged for a large shipment of cocaine to the area, and that they were storing it in a storage facility in Hyattsville, Md. After obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement searched the locker and recovered 29.5 kilograms of cocaine, nearly 2 kilograms of crack cocaine, several firearms, including an assault rifle, and packaging material, which included wrappings with cocaine residue that indicated that at least 60 additional kilograms of cocaine had passed through the storage facility and onto the streets of the Metropolitan Washington area. The cocaine had an estimated wholesale value of $1 million and an estimated street value of more than $3 million.
All told, 11 people have pled guilty to charges in the investigation. Bowman, Edwards and Williams were the only defendants to stand trial.
The prosecution grew out of the efforts of the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a multi-agency team that conducts comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The principal mission of the nationwide program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Chief Lanier commended the work of the FBI and MPD members of the task force who investigated the case. They also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, the FBI’s Baltimore Division, and the Prince George’s County and Montgomery County police departments, which provided assistance. They cited the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialists Jeanette Litz, Jeremy Stoller, Regan Gibson, and Starla Stolk, and Litigation Support Specialist Ron Royal.
Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Debra Long-Doyle and Steven B. Wasserman of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, and Zia M. Faruqui, of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, who are prosecuting the case.
13-126Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Proposed Bankruptcy Court Settlement with Ambac for over $100 Million to Resolve Credit Default Swap Contract Dispute LawsuitsRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that a proposed settlement between the United States and AMBAC FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. (“AMBAC”), AMBAC ASSURANCE CORPORATION (“AAC”), the OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF UNSECURED CREDITORS OF AMBAC FINANCIAL GROUP, INC., the SEGREGATED ACCOUNT OF AMBAC ASSURANCE CORPORATION (the “Segregated Account”), the REHABILITATOR OF THE SEGREGATED ACCOUNT, and the WISCONSIN OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INSURANCE (“OCI”) was submitted to U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Shelley Chapman for approval. AMBAC, as debtor in a Chapter 11 proceeding pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (“Bankruptcy Court”), yesterday filed a motion in that court seeking approval of a proposed settlement with the United States that would resolve a dispute arising out of the tax accounting methods used by AMBAC to account for the credit default swap (“CDS”) contract losses it purportedly sustained in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. If approved, the settlement will require AMBAC and AAC to pay the Government $101.9 million, with the possibility of future additional payments of up to $14.9 million. Under the proposed settlement, AMBAC also agrees to reduce its net operating losses attributable to the CDS contracts at issue by $1 billion.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The proposed settlement reflects an extensive investigation into Ambac's reported financial losses and accounting methods in the wake of the financial crisis, and, if approved, will result in a significant recovery of Treasury funds. The settlement will also prevent Ambac from taking $1 billion in future offsets against its income and thus potentially reducing its tax burden by several hundred million dollars, a reduction to which it is not entitled.”
According to the allegations set forth in court filings submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York:
AMBAC is the New York-based holding company for the financial guaranty insurance company, AAC. Between 2005 and 2008, AAC entered into a number of CDS contracts with financial institution counterparties. Under the CDS contracts, AMBAC agreed to compensate the counterparties in the event of a loan default or other credit event related to their asset-backed securities investments in exchange for a periodic payment. Instead of reporting the income from the payments AMBAC received pursuant to the CDS contracts to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) right away, AMBAC deferred the recognition of income until the end of the contracts, using the “wait and see” method of accounting for federal income tax purposes. Later, in the face of the economic downturn in 2008, AMBAC – without the consent of the IRS – then adopted an “impairment” method of accounting for its CDS losses on its federal income tax returns, which resulted in AMBAC reporting billions of dollars of CDS-related losses against its income between 2007 and 2009. AMBAC used the reported losses to obtain tentative tax refunds from the IRS of approximately $700 million, and sought to carry forward billions of dollars in additional losses to deduct against any income it would receive in the future. However, AMBAC was prohibited from changing its method of accounting for its CDS contracts because the accounting method AMBAC unilaterally changed to did not clearly reflect its income as required by law.
The proposed settlement would resolve more than two years of litigation related to AMBAC’s tax liabilities that had been proceeding simultaneously in the Bankruptcy Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the Wisconsin state courts. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, AMBAC and AAC will pay the Government $101.9 million and reduce the amount of CDS-related net operating losses that can be carried forward for future tax years by $1 billion. To the extent that AAC utilizes any of the remaining CDS-related net operating losses in the future, AMBAC would make additional payments to the Government of up to approximately $14.9 million.
Mr. Bharara also praised the work of the attorneys in the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division who handled related litigation involving AAC in the District of Wisconsin and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. DOJ Tax Division attorneys Robert Kovacev, Hilarie Snyder and Anthony Sheehan are in charge of the Wisconsin and Seventh Circuit cases.
In the Southern District of New York, the cases are being handled by the Tax and Bankruptcy Unit of the Office’s Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel P. Filor, Ellen London, and Carina H. Schoenberger are in charge of the litigation.
Man Pleads Guilty to Endangering ChildRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court, a 21-year-old man pleaded guilty to endangering a child while on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. On April 8, 2013, Travis Aaron Rosebear, no known address, pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment. Rosebear, who was indicted on December 3, 2012, entered his plea before United States District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis.
In his plea agreement, Rosebear admitted that sometime between December 31, 2011, and January 3, 2012, he fractured the arm of a 15-month-old girl. Rosebear was the caretaker for the baby and five other children while their parents were periodically away from the residence. Rosebear also admitted carrying the baby by one arm, swinging her down a hallway after becoming frustrated, causing the fracture. In addition, the baby suffered a bruise on the back of her head.
For his crime, Rosebear faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison. Judge Davis will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled. This case is the result of an investigation by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad.Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Mail Processing Clerk Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Stealing Cash and Gift Cards Out of Mail, Assaulting AgentsRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
COLUMBUS -- Terrence R. McLean, 38, of Westerville was sentenced in U.S .District Court to 18 months in prison for stealing cash and gift cards from mail he was responsible for processing at the U.S. Postal Service’s Processing and Distribution Center in Columbus, and for assaulting the officers who arrested him..
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Robert LaPina, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, (USPS OIG) announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.
McLean operated a mail sorting machine at the distribution center. On June 29, 2012 USPS OIG special agents watched him separate, cut and tear open colored envelopes while he was at the machine. The USPS OIG special agents saw him remove the contents of the envelopes and place mail in his sock and down the front of his pants.
“McLean targeted greeting cards for his theft scheme since they often contained money or gift cards,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Squires wrote in a memorandum filed with the court prior to sentencing.
USPS OIG special agents approached him as he was leaving the building, identified themselves and told McLean he was under arrest. McLean punched, bit and struck the agents with a coffee mug and cooler. The agents were taken to a nearby hospital and treated for their injuries.
Agents searched McLean and recovered 71 first class letters including 65 that he had stuffed down the front of his pants in his underwear. They found gift cards in his wallet and his work apron and $341 in cash.
“There are two sets of victims in this case,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said. “The USPS OIG Special Agents who were injured during the arrest and the people who mailed greeting cards and entrusted money and property to the U.S. Mail. The Postal Service Inspector General is to be commended for a quick response after detecting indicators of the theft and thorough investigation.”
McLean pleaded guilty on December 20, 2012 to 71 counts of mail theft by an employee, 12 counts of receipt of stolen mail and two counts of assault on a federal officer.
“The majority of postal employees are hard-working public servants dedicated to moving mail to its proper destination,” U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge LaPina said. “Unfortunately, McLean decided to betray the public’s trust and steal from postal customers, and also violently assault USPS OIG special agents when they attempted to stop him. Today’s sentence demonstrates that USPS OIG special agents take these cases seriously, and that postal employees who steal mail are throwing away their careers and could end up in jail.”
McLean was also ordered to pay restitution of $2,640.02 to the victims including payback of worker compensation of $2,286.92 for medical bills.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by USPS OIG special agents, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Squires, who represented the United States in the case.
London Cattle Company Accused of Selling Animals That Tested Positive for DrugsRead the Press Release
LONDON, KY - A London cattle company was indicted for falsifying records related to an investigation into selling animals containing medical drugs in their system.
Williams Cattle Company and its treasurer, 47-year-old Pamela Collette, were indicted Monday for falsification of records related to a federal investigation and creating false documents.
According to the indictment, the Food and Drug Administration investigated Williams Cattle for violating a court ordered injunction, which instructs the company not to purchase or sell cattle for slaughter that may contain drug medication residue.
Collette allegedly falsified weekly reports that were supposed to be sent to buyers verifying that the animals sold were drug free, in an attempt to influence the outcome of the investigation. She is also alleged to have created false documents that appeared to be prepared by a company that sold animals to Williams Cattle, when in fact the company had not generated the documents.
As part of the injunction, which was filed in 2006, if Williams Cattle Company sells animals with medical drugs in their system, it is required to notify the buyers. Additionally, the injunction obligates Williams Cattle to identify the potential cause for the medical drugs in the animals and to refrain from purchasing animals from sellers who supply cattle that contains medical drugs.
Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Special Agent in Charge Antoinette V. Henry, of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations jointly announced the indictment.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations. The indictment was presented to the grand jury by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Sam Dotson.
Collette is set to appear in federal court for an arraignment on April 24. If convicted she faces a maximum of five years in prison on each charge and a $250,000 fine. The company is also subject to the $250,000 fine for each count.
The indictment of a person by a grand jury is an accusation only, and that person is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Lincoln Man Sentenced for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Christopher Espinoza, 37, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on April 9, 2013, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to seven years in prison by Senior United States District Judge Richard G. Kopf, for receipt of child pornography. After his release from prison, Espinoza will be required to serve a five year term of supervised release, and be registered as a sex offender.
In April 2012, members of the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant at the residence of Espinoza. A laptop belonging to Espinoza was seized, and an examination of the laptop found numerous videos and over 500 images of child pornography.
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.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department.
Lincoln Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that on April 9, 2013, Kenneth Caldwell, 29, of Lincoln, was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine between January of 2010 and September, 2012. Caldwell’s sentence was ordered to be run concurrently with a state sentence of 20-40 months imposed on February 1, 2012, in Lancaster County District Court. Following the prison term, Caldwell will serve five years on supervised release. Caldwell was held responsible for the distribution of at least 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Lincoln area.
The matter was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force, which includes officers of the Lincoln Police Department, the Lancaster County Sheriff=s Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department.
Leader of Cape Cod Cocaine and Heroin Ring Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
BOSTON - One of the leaders of a drug trafficking organization operating on Cape Cod was sentenced yesterday to serve 25 years in federal prison.
Yesterday United States District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, sentenced Russell Rose, a/k/a “Double R,” a/k/a Baby Russell, 31, of Randolph, to 25 years in federal prison. Rose, along with Kelvin Frye, a/k/a “Kelvin Andrews,” a/k/a “Brian Wright,” a/k/a “Cool Kel,” a/k/a “Cool Cal,” 29, of East Wareham, was convicted in December by a jury of participating in a longstanding, entrenched conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin in Falmouth, Mashpee, Bourne, and surrounding areas on Cape Cod.
Rose and Frye were the leaders of an organization responsible for distributing large quantities of cocaine and heroin on Cape Cod between 2008 and 2010. Fifteen members of the conspiracy were convicted in federal court; a sixteenth member of the conspiracy died while awaiting trial.
Law enforcement agents began investigating members of the organization in March 2008, during which time there were court authorized interceptions of seven cellular telephones used by alleged members of the organization. Based upon evidence obtained during hundreds of intercepted calls, agents determined that Rose and Frye were the leaders of the organization, that they had various sources of supply for cocaine and heroin, and that they directed others to distribute the drugs for them. During the course of the investigation, approximately two kilograms of cocaine and more than 300 grams of heroin were seized.
In 2002, Rose was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison for drug trafficking. He was released from federal prison in March 2008, and immediately resumed distributing cocaine. Rose began arranging to purchase kilograms of cocaine that he, Frye, and others then processed and distributed.
Rose was responsible for the distribution of at least nine kilograms of cocaine, along with smaller quantities of heroin and marijuana. Evidence at trial further established that other members of the conspiracy were responsible for receiving and distributing even more cocaine and heroin, and that members of the conspiracy had attempted to smuggle heroin to Anthony Vaughn, a member of the organization who was serving a federal prison in Pollack, Louisiana. In addition, the organization had been provided access to empty units at a vacation resort in Falmouth, where they stored and processed drugs, and that Rose had stored various firearms above the resort’s management offices.
To date, four other members of the conspiracy have been sentenced: Omay Ford, a/k/a “Papa Doc,” 42, of Boston, was sentenced to 180 months; Adalberto Graciani, a/k/a “Berto,” 39, of Marstons Mills, was sentenced to 120 months; Kyle Hicks, a/k/a “Sleepy,” a/k/a “Sleep,” 31, of Marstons Mills was sentenced to 120 months; and Jeremy Wobecky, 38, of Falmouth, was sentenced to 44 months.
United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office; Kevin Niland, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; John J. Arvantis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Boston Field Division; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe; Chief Edward Dunne of the Falmouth Police Department; Chief Rodney Collins of the Mashpee Police Department; Chief Dennis R. Woodside of the Bourne Police Department; Chief Brian E. Stewart of the Scituate Police Department; Chief Russell W. Jenkins of the Braintree Police Department; Chief Paul MacDonald of the Barnstable Police Department; Sheriff James M. Cummings of Barnstable County; and Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald, Jr. of Plymouth County made the announcement today.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David J. D’Addio and James E. Arnold of Ortiz’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Kirtland, N.M., Man Pleads Guilty to Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of ViolenceRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Harold Pete, 29, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Kirtland, N.M., pled guilty this morning to discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Pete was arrested on Jan. 1, 2013, and was charged in criminal complaint with assault with a dangerous weapon, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, and aggravated burglary. According to the criminal complaint, on Dec. 30, 2012, Pete used a shotgun to force his way into his estranged wife’s residence in Ojo Amarillo, which is in the Navajo Indian Reservation. Once inside the residence, Pete assaulted his wife and another Navajo woman by striking them with the shotgun.
During this morning’s proceedings, Pete entered a guilty plea to a criminal information charging him with the use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to an assault with a dangerous weapon. In his plea agreement, Pete admitted discharging a firearm during an assault on Dec. 30, 2012. Pete admitted firing a shotgun at the door of his estranged wife’s residence and discharging the shotgun again after he was inside the residence. At the time, two women, including his estranged wife, and four minor children were in the residence.
Pete has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Pete faces a minimum term of ten years in prison followed by not more than five years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Adams.
The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women, and seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal onsultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Kewa Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Abuse ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Calvin Tenorio, Sr., 65, a member and resident of Kewa Pueblo, pleaded guilty earlier today to an indictment charging him with abusive sexual contact of minor less than 12 years of age. Tenorio entered his guilty plea without the benefit of any plea agreement.
Tenorio was arrested on Jan. 10, 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging him with abusive sexual contact with a minor and subsequently was indicted on that same charge. According to the indictment, Tenorio sexually assaulted a child who had not attained the age of 12 years on Nov. 28, 2012, by touching the child’s clothed genitals.
Court records reflect that a member of the child’s family reported the sexual assault to Kewa Pueblo officials on Nov. 28, 2012, and the Pueblo officials promptly referred the report to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Office of Justice Services, Southern Pueblos Agency, for investigation. After preliminary investigation, the BIA arrested Tenorio on tribal charges and he remained in tribal custody until his arrest on this federal case, and referred the matter to the FBI for further investigation.
Today, Tenorio entered a guilty plea to the indictment and admitted sexually assaulting a child less than 12 years of age in a residence located in Kewa Pueblo. Tenorio remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled. Tenorio faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison followed by up to five years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque and Santa Fe offices of the FBI and the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA, Office of Justice Services, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Justice Department Settles Sex Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit Against the City of Millbrook, AlabamaRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the city of Millbrook, Ala., that, if approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, will resolve the department’s complaint alleging sex discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. The complaint, which was filed along with a proposed consent decree, alleges that Millbrook discriminated against Kristen Spraggins, a female officer employed by the Millbrook Police Department, by subjecting her to harassment and disparate treatment based on her sex, and then terminating her in retaliation for her opposition to the discrimination.
Spraggins began employment with Millbrook as patrol officer in January 2008 and, at the time, was Millbrook’s only female police officer. According to the complaint, Spraggins received excellent performance evaluations from her superiors in the Millbrook Police Department until she rejected unwanted sexual advances by a co-worker and reported those advances to her superiors. The complaint alleges that Millbrook violated Title VII by failing to take effective disciplinary action against the co-worker who harassed her, a male sergeant, and instead subjecting Spraggins to unwarranted disciplinary actions. The complaint further alleges that Millbrook eventually terminated Spraggins from employment with the Police Department in retaliation for her pursuing internal complaints with the department about the sexual harassment and because she filed a charge of sex discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Under the terms of the consent decree, Millbrook must pay Spraggins compensatory damages as part of the settlement with the department. The consent decree also provides for injunctive relief requiring Millbrook to revise and enforce its policies and procedures that prohibit sex discrimination and retaliation, and to train its officers and other employees on the prevention of sex discrimination and retaliation.
“The Justice Department is committed to the vigorous enforcement of all federal civil rights laws under its jurisdiction, including Title VII’s prohibition against harassment and retaliation in the workplace,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. “This lawsuit should send a clear message that the Department will take necessary action to eliminate and remedy the effects of unlawful harassment in our public sector workplaces.”
The enforcement of Title VII and other federal employment discrimination laws is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and its work is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.
Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Property Management CompanyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today reached an agreement with Milestone Management Company, a nationwide residential property management firm headquartered in Dallas, resolving claims that the staffing company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
In a charge filed with the department, a lawful permanent resident alleged that after working for Milestone for three years, the company improperly demanded that he produce an unexpired lawful permanent resident card, despite the fact that he had presented proper work authorization documentation at the time of hire. The company discharged the worker when he was unable to present the document. The department’s investigation revealed that Milestone had also improperly reverified the documentation of other lawful permanent residents when their documentation expired and that it did not reverify expired documentation of U.S. citizens. The anti-discrimination provision generally prohibits treating employees differently in the employment eligibility verification and reverification processes based on citizenship or national origin unless required by law.
In response to the Justice Department’s investigation, Milestone immediately reinstated the charging party and provided full backpay for his six weeks of lost wages. Milestone cooperated with the department’s requests for information regarding its employment authorization verification processes throughout the investigation, and took proactive steps in collaboration with the department to provide corrective training for Milestone employees before the investigation had been concluded.
Under the terms of the agreement, Milestone agreed to pay $20,000 in civil penalties to the United States, undergo Justice Department training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of three years. The case settled prior to the Justice Department filing a complaint in this matter.
“We commend Milestone’s full cooperation with the Department’s investigation of this matter, and its proactive efforts to ensure that all of its employees responsible for completing Form I-9 are fully aware of their obligations under the INA’s antidiscrimination provisions,” said Gregory B. Friel, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2525, TDD for hearing impaired), call the OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), sign up for a no-cost webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php , email [email protected] or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.
Justice Department Highlights Tax Division’s Enforcement ResultsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – With the annual tax filing deadline approaching on April 15, the Justice Department today announced highlights of its work during the past year to defend and enforce the nation’s tax laws. The Tax Division has worked together with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to carry out their combined tax enforcement missions in several critical areas, including prosecuting tax fraud and evasion, halting the spread of abusive tax shelters, tracking down tax cheats who use offshore accounts, and combating stolen identity refund fraud. Previously, the division announced that it has shut down more than 30 fraudulent tax preparers over the past six months.
The Tax Division’s primary purpose is to enforce the nation’s tax laws fully, fairly, and consistently, through both criminal and civil litigation. Some of the division’s accomplishments from the past fiscal year (FY 2012) include:
· Favorable outcomes were achieved in over 95 percent of all civil and criminal cases litigated by the Tax Division.
· The division authorized 938 grand jury investigations and 1,751 prosecutions of individual defendants.
· Division prosecutors obtained 127 indictments and 137 convictions. Those figures do not include additional criminal tax prosecutions handled exclusively by U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide.
· The division collected over $290 million through affirmative civil litigation and retained over $1.1 billion through defensive tax refund and other litigation.
· Taking into account the tax dollars collected and refunds not paid as a result of our successful litigation efforts, over the past five fiscal years (FY 2008-2012), the division’s attorneys have returned to the Federal Treasury an average of $14 for each dollar invested.
“As honest taxpayers prepare to meet their filing obligations by April 15, they should know that we are committed to enforcing the tax laws against those who would cheat on their responsibilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally. “The department will continue to use all available law enforcement tools to recover tax revenue and to punish tax offenders.”
“The IRS and Department of Justice have made significant strides in recent months to combat tax fraud, identity theft, and offshore tax evasion,” said IRS Acting Commissioner Steven T. Miller. “We appreciate the Justice Department’s strong support and cooperation to protect the interests of the nation’s taxpayers.”
Prosecuting Tax Offenses
The Tax Division has supervisory authority over all criminal conduct involving federal tax laws. The Division has always maintained as a central focus the investigation and prosecution of tax crimes, including tax evasion, failure to file returns, submission of false tax returns, and other conduct designed to violate federal tax laws. Tax Division attorneys are also particularly adept at prosecuting tax defiers—those individuals who purposefully refuse to comply with the tax laws and use frivolous arguments to support their positions.
Some of the Tax Division’s criminal tax prosecution highlights from the past year include:
· April 2013 - Jeffrey Charles of Grimstead, Va., was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution for conspiracy, aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, and filing a false tax return.
· March 2013 - Tyrone Thompson, a Georgia tax return preparer, was sentenced to 137 months in prison and ordered to pay $516,363 in restitution for conspiracy and filing fraudulent tax returns in order to receive tax refunds to which he was not entitled.
· March 2013 - Timothy Turner, the self-proclaimed “president” of the so-called sovereign citizen group “Republic for the United States of America” (RuSA), was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States, attempting to pay taxes with fictitious financial instruments, attempting to obstruct and impede the IRS, failing to file a 2009 federal income tax return, and falsely testifying under oath.
· January 2013 - Michael Wayne Davis, II, of Raleigh, N.C., formerly of Eagle, Idaho, was sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution for wire fraud and filing a false tax return. Davis formerly owned Xpress Flex Inc., a Boise-based company that administered employee-benefit plans, and Payroll America, a Boise payroll services company.
· October 2012 - James Norman Turek, former president of a Lexington, Ky., based company, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for securities fraud and tax fraud. The evidence showed that Turek, through his company, Plasticon International Inc., defrauded thousands of investors nationwide out of more than $18 million, and that he filed false tax returns by failing to report approximately $12 million.
· June 2012 - Richard Stewart of Mitchellville, Md., was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay $5,414,647 in restitution for failing to pay over employment taxes in connection with his ownership of Montgomery Mechanical Services.
Halting the Spread of Tax Shelters
The Tax Division plays a critical role in the government's efforts to combat abusive tax shelters.These cases involve more than a billion dollars in tax revenue, and affect billions more owed by other taxpayers.In recent years, the division’s civil litigators at both the trial and appellate levels have won important victories in cases involving tax shelters with names such as Son of BOSS, BLIPS, CARDS, DAD and SILO/LILO.
Some of the division’s successes this year include:
· February 2013 - the division prevailed in a tax shelter case involving $1 billion in phony tax deductions claimed by a major U.S. corporation as a result of two abusive tax shelter transactions. In United States v. Chemtech Royalty Associates, L.P., the federal district court in Baton Rouge, La., following a lengthy trial, determined that the shelter transactions lacked economic substance and that the partnership at issue should be disregarded because it had no purpose other than to create tax benefits. In addition to rejecting the purported tax benefits from these transactions, the court also imposed penalties.
· February 2013 - the division’s appellate section successfully defended a favorable Tax Court ruling in Crispin v. Commissioner, a case involving the CARDS tax shelter. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld both the denial of the claimed tax benefits and the imposition of a 40 percent gross-valuation-misstatement penalty.
· January 2013 - the division’s appellate section secured a reversal of the lone trial court decision that had upheld the purported tax benefits generated by the “lease-in/lease-out” (LILO) tax shelter, in Consolidated Edison Co. v. United States, a case decided by the Federal Circuit.
Investigating Offshore Evasion
The Tax Division continues to play a leading role in investigations and prosecutions involving the use of foreign tax havens. According to a 2008 Senate report, the use of secret offshore accounts to evade U.S. taxes costs the Treasury at least $100 billion annually. The Division is committed to investigating offshore tax evasion around the globe. The division’s current offshore program began in 2008, with the investigation of UBS, which resulted in the 2009 UBS deferred prosecution agreement . Since 2008, the division has charged a total of 30 banking professionals and 62 account holders, which charges have so far resulted in three convictions after trial and 55 guilty pleas, including 16 guilty pleas this year alone.
In January, 2013, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York secured the guilty plea of Wegelin Bank, the oldest private bank in Switzerland, and the first foreign bank to plead guilty to felony tax charges. Appearing on behalf of the bank, managing partner Otto Bruderer admitted that the bank had conspired to defraud the United States by helping U.S. account holders hide assets from the IRS in undeclared accounts. In the same month, the federal district court in New York entered an order authorizing the IRS to issue a “John Doe” summons seeking records of Wegelin’s United States correspondent account at UBS, which will allow the United States to determine the identity of U.S. taxpayers who may hold accounts at Wegelin and other banks based in Switzerland to evade federal income taxes. In the past year, the Division has charged 8 banking professionals and 11 account holders in connection with investigations into offshore banks located in India, Israel, and Switzerland.
Some highlights from the division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices includes:
· March 2013 - Zvi Sperling, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with loans secured by funds in undeclared bank accounts in Israel. As part of the plea, Sperling admitted to failing to report over $380,000 in income and agreed to pay a civil penalty of 50 percent on his share of the high balance in the Israeli accounts, which at one point was $4 million.
· January 2013 - Mary Estelle Curran of Palm Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return for 2006 and 2007 and admitted that she had maintained an undeclared account at UBS. The plea agreement included a penalty of over $21.6 million for failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs).
· August 2012 - Arvind Ahuja, a Wisconsin neurosurgeon who maintained an undeclared account at HSBC India, was convicted following a jury trial of filing a false 2009 income tax return and failing to file an FBAR.
Combating Identity Theft
The Tax Division, in conjunction with the IRS and U.S. Attorneys nationwide, has made a high priority the investigation and prosecution of individuals who engage in stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF). The division is targeting individuals involved in all stages of these schemes, including those who illegally obtain the Social Security numbers and other personal identifying information, those who file the false returns with the IRS, those who knowingly facilitate cashing the checks or otherwise obtaining the refunds, and those who mastermind or promote these scams.
Some highlights of the Tax Division’s success prosecuting perpetrators of identity theft over the past year include:
· March 2013 - Mary Bennett of Elmore County, Ala., was sentenced to 75 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft. Her two co-conspirators were sentenced to 24 and 18 months in prison.
· February 2013 - Antoinette Djonret of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced to 144 months in prison and ordered to pay almost $1.3 million in restitution. Djonret and her co-conspirators filed over 1,000 false tax returns, establishing an elaborate network for laundering the refund money, and recruiting a number of individuals to purchase prepaid debit cards for use in the scheme.
· January 2013 - Masood Chotani, a CPA and tax return preparer from Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States for his role in a scheme in which he misappropriated employer identification numbers from his client files and provided information to co-conspirators who then filed over 250 fraudulent returns claiming more than $2 million in refunds. The refunds were deposited in foreign bank accounts. His co-conspirators are currently serving 30- and 37-month prison terms.
· November 2012 - Andrew J. Watts, a Barbados national, was sentenced in Chicago to 114 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of just under $1.7 million for devising and executing a SIRF scheme in which he filed over 470 false federal income tax returns, claiming fraudulent refunds in excess of $120 million.
· May 2012 - Veronica Dale was sentenced to 27 years and 10 months in prison, and her co-conspirator, Alchico Grant, was sentenced to 25 years and 10 months in prison, for their roles as the leaders of a Montgomery, Ala., SIRF ring. They were also ordered to pay over $2.8 million in restitution to the IRS. Using the stolen identities of Medicare beneficiaries, Dale and Grant filed over 500 fraudulent refund claims, and then recruited others to set up a bank account in the name of a business into which more than $1.5 million in fraudulently obtained refunds were deposited.
Return Preparer Fraud
Corrupt accountants and fraudulent tax return preparers present a serious law enforcement concern. Some accountants and return preparers dupe unwitting clients into filing fraudulent returns, while others serve as willing “enablers,” providing a veneer of legitimacy for clients predisposed to cheat. The division’s civil injunction program, now more than 10 years old, continues to be an effective way to quickly shut down fraudulent return preparers and illegal tax-scheme promoters – especially during filing season – thereby reducing the harm to the public while potential criminal investigations are ongoing. In March, the Tax Division announced recent successes in its civil injunction program including more than 30 injunctions entered against both large-scale tax return preparation franchises and smaller, independent return preparers and promoters across the country in recent months.
Hiding income offshore, identity theft, and return preparer fraud are all part of the IRS’s “ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams.” More information about the Tax Division’s civil and criminal enforcement efforts in these and other areas is available on the Justice Department website. For more on the Dirty Dozen Tax Scams, see the IRS website and the IRS YouTube Channel.
Jefferson County Man Guilty of Child Pornography ViolationsRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsBEAUMONT, Texas – A 24-year-old Beaumont man has pleaded guilty to child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Michael Brandan Griffith pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography today before U.S. District Judge Keith F. Giblin.According to information presented in court, on Jan. 20, 2012, federal and local agents executed a search warrant at Griffith’s residence in Beaumont, Texas. Several computers and digital storage devices were seized during the search and found to contain more approximately 111 images and 59 videos of child pornography. Some of the material included prepubescent children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
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.
Griffith faces up to 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is being investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the Beaumont Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher T. Tortorice.Holyoke Woman Pleads Guilty to Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A Holyoke resident pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Springfield to defrauding MassHealth by billing for personal care attendant services that were never provided.
Miosottis Gonzalez, 25, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Three other individuals involved in the conspiracy, including Gonzalez’s aunt and uncle, previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced earlier this month.
Gonzalez engaged in a scheme to defraud the state’s Personal Care Attendant (PCA) Program, which is funded by MassHealth, the Commonwealth’s Medicaid Program, and assists individuals with permanent or chronic disabilities to keep their independence, stay in the community and manage their own personal care. The disabled individual is responsible for recruiting, hiring, scheduling, training, and, if necessary, firing his or her PCA and track the work performed by the PCA on bi-weekly time sheets.
Gonzalez recruited friends to provide identification documents which were used to bill MassHealth for PCA services that were never provided. She also signed and submitted false time sheets in her own name to obtain payment for services she never provided.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Susan J. Waddell, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement today. The case was investigated by HHS-OIG with the assistance of the Massachusetts Auditor’s Office, Bureau of Special Investigations, and the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Medicaid Fraud Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Goodwin, of Ortiz’s Springfield branch office.
Hastings Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court, a 24-year-old Hastings man pleaded guilty to producing child pornography. Mark Matthew Cortes pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography. Cortes, who was indicted on December 3, 2012, entered his plea before United States District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery.
In his plea agreement, Cortes admitted that in November 2011, he knowingly persuaded a minor under the age of 12 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of such conduct on his cellular telephone. Cortes also admitted that he transferred the images from his phone to his computer, and then distributed them to another person. In addition, Cortes admitted that he committed a sexual act with the victim during the production.
For his crime, Cortes faces a potential maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Judge Montgomery will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Minnesota Child Exploitation Task Force, which is sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Steinkamp.
Production of child pornography is against the law. In addition to prosecuting these cases, the Justice Department is funding a study focused on the correlation between involvement in child pornography and hands-on sexual abuse of children. A 2008 study (The Butner Study) published in the Journal of Family Violence found that up to 80 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for possession, receipt, or distribution of child pornography also admitted to hands-on sexual abuse of children, ranging from touching to rape.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney offices and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “resources.”Hartford Crack Dealer Sentenced to Three Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that KEWAN WOODSON, also known as “Piggy” and “Pig,” 20, of Hartford, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from “Operation Vinefield,” a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force targeting narcotics trafficking and gang violence in Hartford’s North End. As a result of the nine-month investigation, 38 individuals were charged with various offenses related to the distribution of crack cocaine and the unlawful possession and dealing of firearms in and around Hartford.
According to court documents and statements made in court, WOODSON sold crack cocaine in the Enfield Street area of Hartford.During the investigation, intercepted calls over a court-authorized wiretap indicated that WOODSON may have been targeted by a rival group operating in the Garden Street area of Hartford. On January 10, 2012, four men were shot in front of a residence at 117-119 Enfield Street. Images from fixed surveillance cameras revealed that two shooters arrived on the scene by foot and shot into a crowd with a rifle and a shotgun. WOODSON was in the area before the shooting, but left moments before the gunmen arrived. At the time, WOODSON was the subject of an ongoing unrelated investigation into a shooting incident in the summer of 2010. Hartford Police detectives obtained a warrant for WOODSON and arrested him that day to remove him as a target of further violence.
On April 11, 2012, WOODSON pleaded guilty in state court to attempted assault in the first degree and carrying a pistol without a permit. He was sentenced to three years of incarceration and seven years of special parole.
On December 6, 2012, WOODSON pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).
Judge Hall ordered WOODSON to begin serving his 36-month federal sentenced after he completes his state sentence.
This matter has been investigated by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, the Connecticut State Police, the Hartford Police Department, and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
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Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Four Mt. Vernon Residents Indicted on Methamphetamine Related ChargesRead the Press Release
Michael D. Cole, 53, Shelly R. Myogeto, 35, Julia A. Snow, 51, and Gregory S. Minor, 33, all of Mt. Vernon, IL, were indicted on March 21, 2013, on methamphetamine related charges in an Indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Benton, Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.
All four defendants were indicted in Count 1, which charges that from on or about June 2010, until on or about September 19, 2012, in Jefferson County, Cole, Myogeto, Snow, and Minor, conspired to knowingly and intentionally manufacture more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
Count 2 charges that from on or about April 4, 2010, to on or about August 8, 2012, in Jefferson County, Cole did knowingly and intentionally possess pseudoephedrine, knowing and having reasonable cause to believe that the pseudoephedrine would be used to manufacture methamphetamine. Count 4 charges that on June 29, 2012, in Jefferson County, Myogeto did knowingly and intentionally distribute methamphetamine. Count 5 charges that from on or about June 15, 2010, to on or about February 20, 2013, in Jefferson County, Minor did knowingly and intentionally possess pseudoephedrine, knowing and having reasonable cause to believe that the pseudoephedrine would be used to manufacture methamphetamine. Count 6 charges that from on or about July 15, 2010, to on or about December 22, 2012, in Jefferson County, Snow did knowingly and intentionally possess pseudoephedrine, knowing and having reasonable cause to believe that the pseudoephedrine would be used to manufacture methamphetamine. Count 3 of this indictment pertains to another individual who has not yet been arrested.
With respect to Count 1, each defendant faces 5-40 imprisonment, up to a $5,000,000 fine, and no less than 4 years supervised release to follow incarceration.
With respect to Count 2, Cole faces up to 20 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and no more than 3 years supervised release to follow his incarceration.
With respect to Count 4, Myogeto faces up to 20 years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and no less than 3 years supervised release to follow her incarceration.
With respect to Count 5, Minor faces up to 20 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and no more than 3 years supervised release to follow his incarceration.
With respect to Count 6, Snow faces up to 20 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and no more than 3 years supervised release to follow her incarceration.
An Indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Joint Narcotics Unit of the Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney George Norwood.
Former Senior Employee Sentenced for Defrauding Mortgage CompanyRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A North Andover man was sentenced today in federal court for financial institution fraud and interstate transporting of stolen property.
Francis X. Sullivan, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel to time served, to be followed by three years of supervised release, of which six months will be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring. Sullivan was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $98,720.78 and a $200 special assessment. Sullivan pleaded guilty on Jan. 8, 2013 to one count of financial institution fraud and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.
Between March and December 2010, Sullivan, a vice president of finance for a real estate financing company (“PRC”), took $113,821 by: making 44 withdrawals from 11 PRC bank accounts totaling $105,608.76; approving his own payroll advances, expense reports for training not taken, and other “miscellaneous” payments to himself in nine transactions totaling $6,777.02; and forging an endorsement of a pension check that was intended for the widow of a former PRC employee. Sullivan deposited the $1,435 check in his personal account.
For one of these unauthorized transactions, Sullivan traveled from Massachusetts to Plaistow, New Hampshire with a check for $5,500 made against PRC and deposited a portion of the money in his own account and took the rest in cash.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard Deslauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office made the announcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
Former Scranton Area Title Company Agent Agrees to Plead Guilty to Mail FraudRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Christine Tufts, age 43, of Virginia, has agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud. Tufts was indicted by a federal grand jury in Scranton on August 14, 2012.
According to U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith, Tufts was the owner of Foremost Settlement Services, Inc., which had an office in Moosic, PA. Tufts was an agent of First American Title Insurance Company. The indictment charged that from 2006 to 2008, Tufts issued title insurance on behalf of First American to clients who owned properties in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties. The clients took out mortgages to pay off prior mortgages or other loans.
Tufts allegedly falsely represented to First American that the proceeds of the mortgage funds were being used to pay off the prior mortgages or other loans when, in fact, she allegedly kept the money for herself.
The plea agreement was filed with the court on April 5. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Richard P. Conaboy.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the prosecution is assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lorna Graham.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Former President of Union Pleads Guilty to Accepting Kickbacks Embezzled from Union Welfare FundRead the Press Release
Earlier today, Hector Lopez, the former president of the Metal Polishers Union (Local 8A-28A) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Local 8A-28A welfare fund, pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and tax evasion. The guilty plea proceeding was held before United States District Judge Allyne R. Ross, at the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York.
The defendant admitted to engaging in several schemes to obtain money from the union welfare fund, including:
(1) accepting kickbacks from the third-party administrator of the welfare fund in exchange for ensuring the continued retention of that administrator,
(2) accepting kickbacks from the employer trustee of the local’s welfare fund (“the employer trustee”) in exchange for authorizing the welfare fund to pay inflated invoices for a union hall renovation, and
(3) accepting a kickback from the employer trustee in exchange for rigging the bidding process to ensure that a sprinkler installation job was awarded to a company controlled by the employer trustee.
“As a union official, Lopez was charged with looking out for the welfare of his members. Instead, he put himself first and brazenly stole money that was intended to pay for healthcare expenses of union members and their beneficiaries,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Our office is committed to combating union corruption and safeguarding union funds.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, New York; the Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards, New York; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, New York; and the Employee Benefits Security Administration, New York, for their assistance in this investigation.
When sentenced, Lopez faces a maximum of 25 years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Charles Kleinberg and Marisa Megur Seifan.
The Defendant:
Name: HECTOR LOPEZ
Age: 54
Residence: Oakland, NJFormer Massachusetts State Representative SentencedRead the Press Release
BOSTON - A former Massachusetts State Representative was sentenced today in federal court for civil rights violations after his role in submitting fraudulent absentee ballot applications and casting invalid ballots in multiple elections in 2009 and 2010.
Stephen Smith, 57, of Everett, was sentenced by Magistrate Judge Leo T. Sorokin to four months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release and a $20,000 fine. Smith was ordered to report to prison on May 21, 2013. On Dec. 20, 2012, Smith pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Smith was called to resign his position in the Massachusetts House of Representatives effective Jan. 1, 2013, and is not allowed to seek elected office for five years.Smith, as the Representative of the 28th Middlesex District, cast invalid absentee ballots in support of his races for public office for voters who were ineligible or otherwise unaware of ballots being cast in their names. Smith submitted fraudulent Massachusetts Official Absentee Applications, which resulted in the issuance of absentee ballots. He obtained many of the absentee ballots and cause them to be delivered to the ineligible voters, who would then cast votes despite lacking any eligibility to do so, or Smith would cast the ballots himself.
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 prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.
Former Hickory, N.C. Resident Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering OffensesRead the Press Release
STATESVILLE, N.C. – A former Hickory, N.C. resident was sentenced to 65 months in prison on Monday, April 8, 2013, for wire fraud and money laundering offenses, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Voorhees also ordered Andrew Geiger, 48, of South Amboy, N.J., to serve two years of supervised release following his prison term.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joins U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement.
In March 2012, Geiger pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering for carrying out an eight-year scheme to defraud his employer, Bernhardt Furniture Company, Inc. (“Bernhardt”) of over $563,000. The stolen money represented a 41% increase in the legitimate compensation he received from Bernhardt in the same time period.
According to filed court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, from approximately June 1996 until January 2008, Geiger was employed by Bernhardt as the Director of Manufacturing, Casegoods-Bernhardt Contract Division. In that capacity, Geiger had the authority to negotiate and enter into contracts with third party manufacturers on behalf of Bernhardt. Court records show that in approximately December 1999, Geiger negotiated an agreement with a Canadian company for the manufacture of an office furniture line for Bernhardt and negotiated an agreement to pay the Canadian company a rate of 34% of the product’s list price.
Court documents indicate that shortly after thereafter, and unbeknownst to Bernhardt, Geiger created a company, Furniture Works International (“FWI”), and directed the Canadian manufacturer to ship the office furniture products to FWI. In reality, FWI was a sham entity that was owned and controlled by Geiger and utilized solely to advance his fraud scheme. Court records show that in fraudulent communications, Geiger told the Canadian manufacturer that the product would be sent to FWI so it could be “re-packaged.” According to filed documents, Geiger falsely advised the Canadian company that Bernhardt had authorized an increase in its payment from 34% to 39%, with the additional difference being paid to FWI and then later funneled to Geiger. To further his scheme, Geiger caused the Canadian company to receive bogus correspondence from FWI asserting, among other things, Bernhardt approved FWI’s involvement in the transaction and that Bernhardt approved the payment of FWI’s fee to be paid from the proceeds of the Bernhardt’s payment to the Canadian company. Moreover, beginning in approximately October 2006, Geiger directed all shipments directly to Bernhardt’s factory in Lenoir but he still collected the bogus fees through FWI. Geiger’s fraud scheme was discovered by Bernhardt when he left the company for another position in the furniture industry, court records show.
In pronouncing the sentence, Judge Voorhees noted the “very egregious nature of the offense” and ordered Geiger to pay restitution to Bernhardt in the amount of $563,164.
Geiger was ordered to self-report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was handled by the FBI. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark T. Odulio and Maria K. Vento, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Former Executive Director of Brooklyn Not-For-Profit Sentenced for Contempt of CourtRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CHRISTIANA M. FISHER, the former Executive Director of Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, Inc. (“RBSCC”), was sentenced today to one year of probation for permitting materially false documents about her compensation to be produced by RBSCC in response to a federal grand jury subpoena. FISHER previously pled guilty to one count of criminal contempt and was sentenced today by U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV.
According to the Information, the plea agreement, and statements made in court:
In September 2010, while FISHER was serving as the Executive Director of RBSCC, a not-for-profit corporation located in Brooklyn, New York, RBSCC received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The grand jury subpoena requested documents related to a significant increase in FISHER’s compensation. FISHER was aware of board documents and tax filings that inaccurately stated that RBSCC’s board of directors had approved increases to her salary, and that the board did so based on an analysis of compensation paid to executive directors at comparable not-for-profit corporations.
FISHER participated in the process of producing documents in response to the grand jury subpoena. During that process, FISHER allowed the false board documents and tax filings to be provided to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and this Office, and she understood that those documents misrepresented material facts. She also understood that allowing those documents to be produced would mislead the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in violation of the law governing the grand jury subpoena.
In addition to the sentence of probation, FISHER, 57, of Queens, New York, was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and a mandatory $10 special assessment. She also has forfeited the amount of $170,659, which represents the amount RBSCC paid to her pursuant to the false board documents.
Mr. Bharara thanked the FBI and the New York City Department of Investigation for their assistance in this investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Carrie H. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution.
Former Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General <br /> Special Agent in Charge Indicted in Texas for Role in Records Falsification SchemeRead the Press Release
A former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG) special agent in charge and another special agent were indicted in the Southern District of Texas late yesterday for their roles in a scheme to falsify records and to obstruct an internal field office inspection, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez of the FBI San Antonio Field Office.
The indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Brownsville, Texas, charges Eugenio Pedraza, 49, of McAllen, Texas, with six counts of falsification of records in federal investigations, five counts of obstructing an agency proceeding, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy. The indictment also charges Marco Rodriguez, 40, of Mission, Texas, with two counts of falsification of records in federal investigations, two counts of obstructing an agency proceeding and one count of conspiracy.
DHS-OIG is the principal component within DHS with the responsibility to investigate alleged criminal activity by DHS employees, including corruption affecting the integrity of U.S. borders.
According to the indictment, in September 2011, DHS-OIG conducted an internal inspection of its McAllen Field Office to evaluate whether its internal investigative standards and policies were being followed. At that time, Pedraza was the special agent in charge of the McAllen Field Office, and Rodriguez was a special agent stationed there. According to the indictment, in anticipation of the inspection, Pedraza allegedly directed Rodriguez and other DHS-OIG employees to engage in a scheme to falsify documents in open criminal investigative case files, including numerous investigations in which DHS employees were suspected of participating in the unlawful smuggling of undocumented aliens and/or narcotics into the United States.
More specifically, the indictment charges that at Pedraza’s direction, DHS-OIG employees allegedly created and placed into these investigative files backdated memoranda of activity that falsely reflected investigative activity by agents that had not occurred; backdated case review worksheets that falsely reflected supervisory case reviews that Pedraza had not conducted with his subordinate agents; and backdated, unsent letters that were signed by Pedraza and purported to inform the FBI of the opening of a DHS-OIG investigation.
According to the indictment, the scheme’s purpose was to conceal severe lapses in DHS-OIG’s investigative standards from individuals conducting an internal field office inspection. The scheme was allegedly devised to conceal Pedraza’s failure to ensure that investigations were being conducted promptly and thoroughly, his failure to provide his subordinates with adequate training and supervision, and his failure to ensure that the FBI was being timely notified of DHS-OIG’s investigations.The indictment also charges Pedraza with allegedly directing two DHS-OIG employees to falsify memoranda of activity on additional occasions, and with obstructing justice by removing the falsified supervisory case review sheets that he had created from DHS-OIG files after becoming aware of the FBI and grand jury investigation into his conduct.
In a related case, on Jan. 17, 2013, Wayne Ball, a former DHS-OIG special agent, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas before U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to one count of a multi-object conspiracy to falsify records in federal investigations and to obstruct an agency proceeding for his participation in the scheme. Ball is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31, 2013.
The charge of falsification of records in federal investigations carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of obstructing an agency proceeding carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The charge of obstruction of justice carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Each of these charges carry a maximum fine of $250,000.
An indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Eric L. Gibson and Timothy J. Kelly of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by agents of the FBI, San Antonio Division.
Former Bolivar Clinic Physician Pleads Guilty to Illegally Dispensing NarcoticsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former physician at a Bolivar, Mo., health clinic has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally distributing prescription drugs.
Nolan Denny Crisp, 75, of Half Way, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush on Monday, April 8, 2013 to the charge contained in a July 24, 2012 federal indictment.
“This former physician abused his position by handing out illegal prescriptions to so-called patients, including a girlfriend and clients he met in the parking lot,” said Dickinson. “His conduct was not only illegal, but as the federal investigation concluded, reckless, dangerous and life-threatening.”
Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Michael Kaste stated, “There is an expectation and trust of those within the health care profession, a trust that should not be compromised. There is no tolerance when medical professionals abuse their position to exploit patients and capitalize on those with addictions.”
Crisp was employed at Pomme de Terre Wellness Center (also known as the Bolivar Family Wellness Clinic and Northwoods Psychiatric Services, Inc.) in Bolivar from June 2009 through Nov. 10, 2010 to provide pain management and other services to patients.
By pleading guilty today, Crisp admitted that he wrote prescriptions for OxyContin, Oxycodone Hydrochloride, and Oxycodone-Aspirin for a purported patient with whom he was involved in a sexual relationship. The prescriptions were illegal because they were not in the usual course of professional practices and for a person who had no legitimate medical need for the prescriptions.
Current and former clinic employees expressed concerns about Crisp’s prescription-writing practices. For example, clinic staff noticed Crisp meeting people in the parking lot and giving them prescriptions, even though they were not being seen in the clinic. The clinic was getting so many patients claiming that their prescriptions were lost or stolen that they began requiring a police report. A nurse practitioner said word got out that Crisp was generous with narcotics prescriptions, and she would see patients parked across the street in a church parking lot waiting for him so they could get prescriptions. She also said that sometimes the clinic nurses would run a drug screen that revealed the patient was not taking the drugs being prescribed; they informed Crisp, but he continued writing prescriptions for the patient.
The federal investigation included reviewing overdose reports from Citizens Memorial Hospital, Crisp’s appointment schedule for the clinic, Crisp’s Medicaid billing records while he was at the clinic, information regarding prescriptions written by Crisp and filled at six major pharmacies in Bolivar, and information from the Polk County Coroner. During the period that Crisp worked at the clinic, there were 96 overdose incidents at the hospital, 29 of whom were connected to his care. During that same period, six of the patients who died from overdoses were connected to his care.
The government retained an internal medicine physician specializing in pain management to review patient files. The physician was provided with charts for certain patients who were known to be drug abusers or who had overdosed. In the physician’s report, he provided background regarding the standard of care for the use of controlled substances in the treatment of pain. He also provided a detailed analysis of Crisp’s treatment of 20 patients. For the 20 patients, his opinion was that Crisp’s treatment was reckless, dangerous, life-threatening, and inconsistent with sound medical practice.
Under federal statutes, Crisp is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $1 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tom Larson and Cindi Woolery. It was investigated by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bolivar, Mo., Police Department and the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Effingham Man Indicted on Gun Related ChargesRead the Press Release
Ivan Joe Golladay, 33, of Effingham, IL, was indicted on April 2, 2013, on gun related charges in an Indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Benton, Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.
Golladay was indicted on two charges. Count 1 charges that on November 9, 2012, in Effingham County, Golladay was a convicted felon in possession of a .22 caliber revolver. Count 2 charges that on November 13, 2012, in Effingham County, Golladay was a convicted felon in possession of a 12 gauge shotgun.
With respect to each Count, Golladay faces up to 10 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and no more than 3 years supervised release to follow his incarceration.
An Indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Effingham Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney George Norwood.
Easton Man Involved in Mortgage Fraud Scheme Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced that FRED STEVENS, 56, of Easton, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a Fairfield County mortgage fraud scheme. STEVENS also was ordered to serve three months in home confinement after his release from prison, and to pay a $7,500 fine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, STEVENS, a mortgage broker based in Westport, participated in a mortgage fraud scheme with William A. Trudeau, Jr. and others. As part of the scheme, Trudeau and his co-conspirators submitted false mortgage loan applications to financial institutions to obtain mortgages on various properties in Fairfield County in order to develop and sell the properties for profit, and to pay off debts owed to “hard money” lenders from whom they had previously obtained high interest loans. The mortgage applications, which included false income information and omitted the mortgage applicants’ true indebtedness, caused the financial institutions to issue mortgage loans on properties that Trudeau and his co-conspirators would not have otherwise been qualified to purchase, allowing the applicants to qualify for mortgages that far exceeded their ability to repay the loans.
STEVENS submitted eight fraudulent mortgage applications on behalf of Trudeau and others in exchange for $130,142.38 in fees, and mortgage lenders lost approximately $2 million as a result of this scheme.
STEVENS has been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,070,000.
On November 25, 2008, STEVENS pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud.
STEVENS testified extensively at Trudeau’s trial. On October 9, 2012, a jury found Trudeau guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud, and one count of wire fraud. On February 12, 2013, he was sentenced to 188 months of imprisonment.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rahul Kale and Christopher Schmeisser.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
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(203) 821-3722 [email protected]East Orange, N.J., Construction Official Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for ExtortionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A longtime construction official in the property maintenance department of the City of East Orange, N.J., was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for extorting money from a property owner in exchange for the official’s assistance in city government matters, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Kim Davis, 46, of New York and formerly of Newark, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to Count Two of an Indictment charging him with extortion under color of official right, for accepting a $5,000 corrupt payment in exchange for official action. Judge Walls imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements in court:
Davis was a certified technical assistant to construction officials in the building division of the property maintenance department of East Orange. The building division is responsible for the enforcement of the N.J. Uniform Construction Code and the approval of all applications for construction, alterations and renovations of buildings within the city.
Davis and an inspector in the code and enforcement division of the property maintenance department – referred to in the Indictment as “Coconspirator One” and identified in court proceedings as Billie Muhammad – conspired in 2007 to advise an East Orange property owner – referred to in the Indictment as Individual One that Davis would provide Individual One, in exchange for a $5,000 cash payment, the requisite permits and certificates from the building department to build a new residence.
On Sept. 7, 2007, Davis met with Individual One and accepted a $5,000 cash payment in exchange for Davis’ official assistance in expediting the process of obtaining the requisite permits and certificates.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Walls sentenced Davis to 1 year of supervised release and fined him $1,000.
On Jan. 21, 2010, Billie Muhammad pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with attempted extortion under color of official right.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, for the investigation leading to today’s sentence.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vikas Khanna and Barbara Llanes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Patrick McMahon Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, NewarkDrug Trafficker recieves 19 year prison sentence for two cocaine conspiraciesRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a cocaine trafficker who had been indicted for involvement in two separate cases for sending cocaine to Alaska in recent years was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Anchorage.
Derneval Rodnell Dimmer, 36, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess, to 228 months in prison, to be followed by ten years of supervised release. Dimmer, who used a host of aliases including “Jabba,” “Pedro Dimmer,” “Ronnell Dimmer,” and “Pedro Wood,” has at times lived in Anchorage, but more recently resided in Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Sayers-Fay, who prosecuted the cases, Dimmer’s drug trafficking crimes are among the most serious encountered in Alaska. In his plea agreement, Dimmer admitted that he has been engaged in shipping cocaine to Alaska since at least 2009. As part of that conspiracy, in September 2009, Dimmer dispatched three individuals to Anchorage with eleven kilograms of cocaine concealed in their checked luggage. All three were prosecuted, but Dimmer’s responsibility as the drug source did not become clear until his fingerprints were later discovered on one of the cocaine-laden boxes. For his actions culminating in the 2009 interception of the eleven kilograms of cocaine, Dimmer pled guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute cocaine.
While federal agents were endeavoring to find and arrest him on the 2009 case, Dimmer shipped additional kilograms of cocaine to Alaska. In early May 2012, Dimmer shipped two separate packages containing a total of approximately 8.5 kilograms of cocaine from Burbank, California, to Alaska. Law enforcement intercepted one of those packages, removed the cocaine, and subsequently delivered the altered contents to the target who turned out to be Dimmer’s cousin, Quincy Hernandez, who resided in Alaska. After performing the “controlled delivery” of the sham package to an Anchorage residence, law enforcement found the second box of cocaine that Dimmer had sent to Hernandez from Burbank. Dimmer concealed the kilograms of cocaine sent from Burbank in rather unique retro-looking Crosley Stereo “5 in 1” sound systems that contained kilograms of cocaine. For these subsequent actions, Dimmer pled guilty to one count in a distinct case of conspiring to distribute cocaine. Hernandez pled guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine and his sentencing is pending.
In sentencing Dimmer to nineteen years in prison and ten years of supervised release, Judge Burgess noted Dimmer’s prior criminal history, which included a shooting and a domestic violence conviction, as well as Dimmer’s admission that he obstructed justice by attempting to influence the testimony of witnesses. Judge Burgess emphasized that the sentence imposed, including the ten-year period of supervised release that will follow the nineteen-year prison term, was designed to provide long-term protection of the public.
Ms. Loeffler commends the Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation of this case, with which the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force also assisted.District Men Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder While Armed and Other Charges in 2008 Shooting in Southeast Washington-Early-Morning Gunfire Killed A Woman, Wounded A Man-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Robert Walker and Rodney White, both 24 and from Washington, D.C., were found guilty by a jury today of first-degree murder while armed and other offenses stemming from a shooting at an apartment complex in 2008 in which a woman was killed and a man was wounded, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Walker and White, who also is known as Rodney Whiting, were found guilty of 11 counts each following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In addition to the murder charge, the jury convicted them of four counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and weapons offenses. The Honorable Lynn Leibovitz scheduled sentencing for June 14, 2013.
The shooting took place on May 5, 2008 in the Benning Park Apartment complex in the 4800 block of G Street SE. The gunfire killed Jasmine McCray, 23.
At trial, the government’s evidence showed that on May 5, 2008, at approximately 3 a.m., Ms. McCray was with her boyfriend and several other men, including Levern Butler, in the “Down Bottom” portion of the Benning Park Apartment complex parking lot. They and others had just come back from the Le Pearl nightclub in Capitol Heights, Md., where an altercation occurred between Butler and another man, Kenneth Hinton. Hinton was at the nightclub with Walker and White and others from the “Up Top” portion of Benning Park.
Both Butler and Hinton were kicked out of Le Pearl and were seen afterwards by others as being very upset about the fight. Walker and White, along with Hinton, went back to the “Up Top” portion of Benning Park and armed themselves with guns. Then they went to the “Down Bottom” part of Benning Park, and began to fire upon the group including Ms. McCray.
As the shooting commenced, Ms. McCray was hit in the head and went down. She died a short time later, having also suffered from being run over by a car that was driven by one of the other men, who accidentally ran her over while trying to flee from the parking lot. Ms. McCray was part of a group including four other people, including a man who was shot in the hand.
Hinton died in a traffic accident about a week after the shooting. Walker and White were arrested in 2009.
In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his appreciation to the officers, detectives and mobile crime scene personnel who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Phaylyn Hunt, Antoinette Sakamsa, and Meridith McGarrity; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Intelligence/Security Specialist Lawrence Grasso; Victim/Witness Specialists Wanda Queen and M. LaVerne Forrest, and Supervisory Victim/Witness Specialist Michael Hailey.
Finally, he commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Glynn and Eric Gallun, who investigated and indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Gorman and Veronica Sanchez, who investigated and prosecuted the case at trial.
13-125District Man Sentenced to 32-Year Prison Term in Kidnapping and Killing of 18-Year-Old Latisha Frazier- After Murder, Defendant Disposed of the Victim’s Body in Dumpster-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Brian Gaither, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 32-year prison term on a charge of first-degree murder in the kidnapping and murder of 18-year-old Latisha Frazier, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Gaither pled guilty in November 2012 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to the charge of first-degree murder, days before he was to go on trial. He was sentenced by the Honorable William M. Jackson. Upon completion of his prison term, Gaither will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to a statement of facts signed by the defendant and submitted to the Court, Gaither was one of the leaders of a group of six young men and women who took part in the murder of Ms. Frazier.
On Aug. 1, 2010, Gaither and others decided that they would invite Ms. Frazier to an apartment in the 1700 block of Trenton Place SE to “teach her a lesson” because they suspected – with little evidence – that she had stolen $900 from one of them. During a discussion, they developed a plan to lure Ms. Frazier to a small bedroom, where they would beat her.
The next day, the group gathered at the residence to carry out the plan. Ms. Frazier, as planned, was invited to the residence and, upon her arrival, she was led to the bedroom. The group proceeded to strike Ms. Frazier. The females started to beat Ms. Frazier and she cried for them to stop. Gaither then joined in the attack, punching, kicking, and stomping on Ms. Frazier, and beating her until she was unconscious. The group decided to bind Ms. Frazier with tape around her wrists and ankles and then put her in a closet. At that time, Ms. Frazier was still alive. As she began to moan from the closet, Gaither returned to the bedroom and choked her. Later that day, someone checked on Ms. Frazier and reported to the group that the victim was dead.
Upon learning that Ms. Frazier had died, Gaither took part in a discussion about what to do with her body. The next day, he and others carried the body to a bathtub, where he and others attempted to dismember it. The defendant then placed Ms. Frazier’s body into a large plastic crate, which he threw into a dumpster in the 1700 block of Trenton Place SE.
Ms. Frazier’s body was never recovered and is believed to be in one of two landfills in rural Virginia.
Gaither is among a number of people arrested in this case and has been in custody since January 2011. A co-defendant, Johnnie Sweet, 19, is scheduled to stand trial on April 22, 2013.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), including detectives from the Major Case/Cold Case Squad and the Seventh District. He also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Larry Grasso of the Criminal Intelligence Unit, Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, and Paralegal Specialists Kwasi Fields, Phaylyn Hunt, and Angela Lawrence. Finally, he thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Melinda Williams, who prosecuted the case.
13-124Coventry Man Sentenced to Federal Prison in International Conspiracy to Import and Distribute Anabolic Steroids and Prescription DrugsRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Edmond Paolucci, 54, of Coventry, RI, was sentenced today to 33 months in federal prison for his participation in an international conspiracy to import and distribute prescription drugs and anabolic steroids, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Mark Dragonetti, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigation.
U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Paolucci to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Paolucci pleaded guilty on November 28, 2012, to one count each of conspiracy to distribute steroids, possession with the intent to distribute steroids, distribution of a misbranded drug, and two counts of money laundering.
Patrick Cunningham, 44, of Cranston, a co-defendant in this matter, pleaded guilty on March 12, 2013, to one count each of conspiracy to distribute steroids and distribution of a misbranded drug. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28, 2013.
At the time of his guilty plea, Paolucci admitted to the court that he participated in a conspiracy to repackage the illegal drugs and sell them under various names and labels to consumers who placed orders via the Internet. A significant portion of the proceeds realized from the sale of the illegal drugs was laundered back to individuals in Israel.
According to information presented to the court, an investigation by the Rhode Island FDA Task Force revealed that from at least November 2009 until November 2011, Mr. Paolucci served as a U.S. confederate of an Israeli-based, international drug distribution ring that was also responsible for the manufacture and sale of prescription drugs, including drugs bearing the underground brand names Sciroxx and Xsorox in the United States and elsewhere.
According to information presented to the court, various misbranded prescription drugs as well as bulk quantities of pills and injectable oil-based drugs were shipped from Israel, Turkey and Bulgaria to postal boxes in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Through his co-conspirators in Rhode Island, including Patrick Cunningham, Mr. Paolucci used an underground laboratory to repackage the drugs into retail-size pill packets and 10 ml vials, bearing Sciroxx and Xsorox labels that he then shipped to customers in the United States who had made purchases on websites operated by Mr. Paolucci and his Israeli co-conspirators. A significant portion of the proceeds from the sale of the misbranded drugs was sent back to co-conspirators in Israel.
According to information presented to the court, records obtained from money transfer service companies showed that from February 2009 to September 2011 Mr. Paolucci transferred in excess of $76,000 in proceeds from steroid and prescription drug sales to individuals in Israel.The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard B. Myrus.
A task force led by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, conducted the investigation. The task force partnerships include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Rhode Island State Police, North Providence Police, East Providence Police, and the Rhode Island National Guard.
United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Mark Dragonetti, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigation, acknowledged the assistance of international counterparts at the Israel Ministry of Health, Division of Enforcement and Inspection, and Jerusalem Customs and VAT who provided significant assistance in the investigation of this matter.
Contact: 401-709-5357
[email protected]Clinical Laboratory President and New Jersey Doctor, Others Charged with Company in Multimillion-Dollar Cash for Referral SchemeRead the Press Release
Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC and Employees Allegedly Bribed
Physicians to Refer Blood Samples and Order Unnecessary TestsNEWARK, N.J. – Federal agents arrested the president and part-owner of Parsippany, N.J.-based Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), a New Jersey physician and two other BLS employees this morning on charges they participated in a long-running scheme to bribe doctors to refer patient blood samples to BLS and to order unnecessary tests, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in profit for the company. The charges were announced today by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
BLS president David Nicoll, 39, of Mountain Lakes, N.J.; Scott Nicoll, 32, of Wayne, N.J., a senior BLS employee and David Nicoll’s brother; and Craig Nordman, 34, of Whippany, N.J., a BLS employee and the CEO of Advantech Sales LLC – an entity used by BLS to make illegal payments – are charged in a federal Complaint with conspiring to bribe physicians over a period of several years. BLS is also charged with the conspiracy.
Frank Santangelo, 43, of Boonton, N.J., a New Jersey physician with offices in Montville and Wayne, is charged in the Complaint for allegedly accepting bribes to refer patients to BLS and violating his duty of fidelity to his patients. Santangelo allegedly received more than $700,000 in bribe payments from BLS and sent the company more than $4.2 million in blood referrals.
The defendants are scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court.
“People depend on their doctors to make medical decisions about care based solely on medical need,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “When doctors order extra tests or choose particular labs in exchange for cash, they abandon their obligation to their patients and to all of us who support our nation’s health care system. No patients should have to worry that their doctors’ loyalty and judgment have been bought by a salesman trying to make a buck.”
“The FBI views health care fraud as a severe crime problem that affects every American,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford. “Fraud and abuse take critical resources out of our health care system, and contribute to the rising cost of health care for everyone. Today’s arrests are the result of a long term, multi-agency investigation into a complex health care fraud scheme, requiring substantial investigative resources. The FBI, with its law enforcement partners, will continue to provide a significant amount of expert resources to investigate these crimes.”
“Kickbacks have no place in the healthcare industry. Financial inducements only cloud medical judgment. This elaborate kickback scheme had one goal, and that is greed,” said Tom O’Donnell, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Federal and state taxpayers, and vulnerable patients, deserve better.”
According to the Complaint unsealed today:
Between 2006 and 2013, BLS and entities it funded paid millions of dollars to physicians to induce them to refer patient blood samples to BLS. From these referrals, BLS received at least tens of millions of dollars from private health insurance companies and Medicare.
Numerous physicians were bribed under the guise of lease, service, and/or consulting agreements. Under the lease and service agreements, between 2006 and 2009, physicians were frequently paid thousands of dollars a month by BLS for space in medical offices that BLS did not need or actually use and to perform routine blood drawing services that had little real dollar value.
In a text message referenced in the Complaint, David Nicoll wrote to Santangelo about the status of their referral agreement, stating that BLS “really can’t afford the 40-50,000 [dollars] a month if the girls aren’t going to be drawing any blood,” to which Santangelo responded by stating, “U no u can count on me!” and “I never let u down!”
When the state of New Jersey sought to address the problem of laboratories using lease agreements to bribe physicians for referrals – effectively prohibiting all leases between blood laboratories and physicians in 2010 – BLS, David Nicoll, Scott Nicoll, and Nordman funded and used at least half a dozen entities to disguise bribe payments to physicians.
In one example from the Complaint, a physician was paid $1,500 per month by Nordman – who identified himself as both a BLS employee and the CEO of Advantech – for spending less than two minutes each month filling out a one-page questionnaire asking how often sales representatives visited the physician’s office, which insurance companies were in-network for the physician and which out-of-network insurance companies did the physician bill. In reality, the payments were to refer patients’ blood samples to BLS.
Various recorded conversations are also detailed in the Complaint, including one in which Nordman urges another physician to order “more tests,” stating “that’s where it really is. I mean if we get 10 bloods for $1,000 as opposed to 10 bloods for $4,000 or 5 bloods for $4,000 obviously there’s more. We get paid a percentage obviously.” In a second conversation, Scott Nicoll tells this same physician, “I would like to be able to get you you know around 1,500 [dollars] a month if I can but I need we would either need more tests or more patients or something along those lines . . . you’re doing about a $1,000 a bag per patient . . . if we could, we could somehow get that up in the two’s then I’m looking at making 4,000 and I have no problem paying you know 1,500 [dollars] for it.”Over the course of the charged conspiracy, BLS has made more than $200 million from the testing of blood specimens and related services. David Nicoll received more than $33 million in distributions from BLS during that same time period, during which he also spent millions on personal items: more than $5 million on high-end and collectible automobiles, including approximately $580,000 for a Yenko Nova and approximately $365,000 for a Yenko Chevelle, approximately $300,000 for a Ferrari and approximately $291,000 for a Corvette; more than $700,000 to purchase a Manhattan apartment for a female companion; $600,000 on private jet charters; $392,000 on tickets to sporting events; $216,000 at electronics stores; and $154,000 at a gentleman’s club and restaurant.
“It is alleged in today’s Complaint that the president and other employees of BLS bribed physicians to refer patients to their lab and order unnecessary lab tests, reaping millions of dollars, all in the name of greed,” stated Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Newark Field office. “Medical tests should only be run when medically necessary, not so someone can buy exotic cars and charter private jets. This type of health care fraud will not be tolerated and IRS-Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously investigate these crimes to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
“Postal Inspectors, along with other law enforcement agents, unraveled a sophisticated false billing scheme that resulted in millions of dollars in losses,” said Acting Inspector in Charge Maria Kelokates, Newark Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “Postal Inspectors will continue to aggressively pursue investigations in which the U.S. Mail is used to facilitate a crime.”
David Nicoll, Scott Nicoll and Nordman are charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Federal Travel Act. Santangelo is charged in two counts – with substantive violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Federal Travel Act, for allegedly using the interstate mails in aid of commercial bribery. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison on each of the counts with which they are charged. Each count also carries a maximum $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. BLS is also charged with the conspiracy, and faces a maximum potential penalty of five years of probation and a $500,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ford; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge O’Donnell; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kitchen, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Kelokates.The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Jampol and Deputy Chief Jacob T. Elberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
The charges and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.13-159
BLS et al. Complaint
Clay County Man Indicted on Methamphetamine Related ChargesRead the Press Release
Derek L. Cosner, 32, of Mason, IL, was indicted on April 2, 2013, on methamphetamine related charges in an Indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Benton, Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.
Cosner was indicted on two charges. Count 1 charges that from February 2011, until on or about February 7, 2013, in Clay County, Cosner conspired with others known and unknown to the grand jury to manufacture more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. Count 2 charges that from February 1-7, 2013, Cosner knowingly and intentionally possessed equipment, chemicals, products, or materials, knowing the items would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.
With respect to Count 1, Cosner faces 5-40 years in prison, up to a $5,000,000 fine, and no less than 4 years supervised release to follow his incarceration. With respect to Count 2, Cosner faces up to 10 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and no more than 3 years supervised release to follow his incarceration.
An Indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Flora Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force.
The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney George Norwood.
Clarksburg Resident Enters Pleas to Crack Cocaine Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
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(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistFollow us on Twitter @NDWVnews
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - A 29-year old Clarksburg, West Virginia, resident entered pleas of guilty in United States District Court in Clarksburg on April 8, 2013, 2012, before Judge Irene M. Keeley.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that:
TROY ANTJUAN CLAYTON a/k/a “NY” a/k/a “PASTOR,” entered pleas of guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute More than 28 Grams of Crack Cocaine”, six counts of “Distribution of Crack Cocaine within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location,” one count of “Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premise” to store, distribute and use crack cocaine, and one count of “Distribution of Crack Cocaine.” CLAYTON, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces 5 to 40 years imprisonment and a $2,000,000 fine on the conspiracy charge; 1 to 40 years imprisonment and a $2,000,000 fine on each of the distributions within 1,000 feet of a protected location charge; 20 years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine on the drug-involved premise charge; and, 20 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine on the distribution charge.
The case was prosecuted by Criminal Chief Shawn A. Morgan and was investigated by the Harrison County Drug Task Force consisting of officers from the Clarksburg Police Department, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and the Bridgeport Police Department.
Clarion County Man, 31, Facing Federal Charges in Teen's AbductionRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Clarion County, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of interstate transportation of a minor for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual activity and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The two-count indictment named Joshua D. Baker, 31, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment, on or about March 28, 2013, Baker knowingly transported across state lines a minor female known to the grand jury as A.S., who had not attained the age of 18, with the intent of engaging in sexual activity with the minor.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of life imprisonment, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Shaun E. Sweeney is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation 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.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Charlotte Man Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison for Identity Theft CrimesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Monday, April 8, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Jonquease Lydell Walker, 24, of Charlotte, to 42 months in prison on identity theft related charges, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Walker was also ordered to serve five years under court supervision following his prison term and to pay restitution in the amount of $48,736.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Keith Fixel, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
According to filed court documents and court proceedings, from 2008 through 2011 Walker engaged in an identity theft fraud scheme in which he used credit cards accounts of identity theft victims to fraudulently purchase goods and to obtain U.S. currency. Court documents show that Walker obtained personally identifiable information (“PII”) – including names, dates of birth and social security numbers – of six victims of identity theft, and used – or attempted to use – the PII to, among other things, gain access to the victims’ pre-existing credit card accounts, to receive replacement cards or to open new credit card accounts in the names of the ID theft victims.
Court records indicate that Walker contacted multiple credit card issuers and used the victims’ PII to convince the issuers he was the legitimate credit card account holder. Walker then caused the issuers to issue duplicate credit cards in the names of the ID victims, or to add Walker to the account as an authorized user and to issue credit cards in Walker’s name, or variations of Walker’s name. Walker then used the fraudulently acquired credit cards to purchase goods and obtained U.S. currency for a total value exceeding $50,000.
Walker pleaded guilty in September 2011 to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He has been in local federal custody since May 2011and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of Parole.
The investigation was handled by the USPIS, with assistance from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. This prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom O’Malley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
If you believe that your personal information was compromised, there are numerous resources available online that can help you understand what steps to take to protect yourself against identify theft. This includes:
• A detailed list of resources from 11 different federal agencies, available at: http://idtheft.gov/takeaction.html • A guide from the Federal Trade Commission on what to do if your personal information has been compromised, but not yet misused: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft • Information on the different types of identity theft and additional resources available at: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theftCasselberry Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Aggravated Sexual Assault on Cruise ShipRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida - U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. sentenced Casey Dickerson (32, Casselberry) yesterday to 20 years in federal prison for committing aggravated sexual abuse and sexual abuse of a minor while on a cruise ship. Dickerson was also ordered to serve 15 years of supervised release and to pay $977 in restitution to the minor victim of his crimes.
Dickerson was convicted by a federal jury on December 14, 2012. According to evidence presented at trial, Dickerson engaged in the aggravated sexual assault of a 15-year-old on a cruise ship. Dickerson and two minor males forcibly assaulted the victim on August 19, 2012, in a cabin on the ship. Dickerson was arrested on a federal charge later that day.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
Career Criminal from Tohajilee to Serve Forty Years in Federal Prison for Covictions Arising Out of June 2011 Crime SpreeRead the Press Release
ALBQUERQUE – Jerome Yazzie, 37, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Tohajiilee, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 480 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his convictions on aggravated burglary, robbery, kidnapping and firearms charges. Yazzie’s sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and John Billison, Director of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.
Yazzie sentence was enhanced based on his status as a career criminal. According to court filings, Yazzie has thirteen prior adult convictions including two prior violent felonies in federal court and tribal convictions for offenses ranging from auto burglary to aggravated battery. Yazzie also was ordered to pay $422.20 in restitution to the victims of his crimes.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Gonzales said, “The lengthy sentence imposed on Yazzie appropriately penalizes him for a long list of federal felonies committed in a single night and the terror he inflicted on his innocent victims. Yazzie has long been a menace to the community of Tohajiilee, and I commend the FBI and the Navajo Division of Public Safety for making Tohajiilee safer by making sure that Yazzie spends the next 40 years of his life in prison.”
A federal jury convicted Yazzie on Oct. 18, 2012, on a seven-count indictment charging him with two counts of aggravated burglary, one count of robbery, one count of kidnapping, two counts of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The evidence at trial established that, in the early hours of June 3, 2011, Yazzie forced two his teenagers to accompany him as he engaged in a crime spree that included burglarizing two residences in Tohajiilee at gunpoint, committing a robbery, kidnapping a young man, and discharging his firearm.
Yazzie, who was armed with a loaded shotgun, went to the first residence, which was occupied by a teenager and a young man, and kicked open the door. After bursting into the residence, he discharged his shotgun and ordered the two teenagers who accompanied him to restrain the teenager and the young man, while he burglarized the residence and robbed the teenager and young man of items in their possession.
Yazzie continued to the second residence, which was occupied by a couple and their infant. Knowing that the couple would not voluntarily let him into their home because he unsuccessfully had attempted to gain entry earlier that day, Yazzie attempted to trick the couple by having the young man from the first residence lure them into opening the door. Yazzie released the young man from his restraints, forced him to walk to the second residence at gunpoint, and demanded that he convince the couple to open the door. When the couple refused to open the door, Yazzie attempted unsuccessfully to force his way into the residence. Yazzie then walked the young man back to the first residence and, after restraining him again, Yazzie returned to the second residence. During Yazzie’s absence, the couple took their infant and fled from their home. Upon his return, Yazzie forced his way into the second residence and ransacked the place, stealing cash, an X-box, a computer and other electronics.
“It is the FBI’s priority to protect all the communities throughout the state of New Mexico. In this case, a part of the Navajo Nation is safer with the sentencing of Mr. Yazzie, who has been found responsible for a string of violent acts in the Tohajiilee community,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Lee. “Today’s sentencing is a testament to the hard work of the FBI Special Agents who investigated this case, with the assistance of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, specifically the uniform division in Tohajiilee, the Navajo Nation Prosecutor’s Office in Tohajiilee and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The FBI and its law enforcement partners will continue to work together to ensure the safety and security of all New Mexico communities, to include the pueblos and reservations.”
“I am proud of the outstanding work that the tribal officers and criminal investigators of the Navajo Nation perform every day to safeguard the Navajo people,” said Director Billison. “Working with our partners at the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office better enables us to hold serious repeat offenders like Jerome Yazzie accountable, resulting in safer communities for the Navajo people."
The case was investigated by the Albuquerque Division of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark T. Baker and Jack E. Burkhead.