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Wednesday 23 January 2013
Settlement Announced Resolving Federal Civil Complaint Against Chambersburg Skydiving Center, Inc.Read the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today the settlement of a federal lawsuit against Chambersburg Skydiving Center, Inc., Chambersburg, Pennsylvania filed as a result of an inquiry by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the civil Complaint, filed on November 7, 2012, claimed that Chambersburg Skydiving Center Inc. operated an aircraft in violation of the federal aviation regulations by failing to have the aircraft inspected, by failing to have annual inspections and operating the aircraft when it was not in an airworthy condition.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Chambersburg Skydiving Center, Inc. will pay $10,000 in satisfaction of all alleged violations. Additionally, Chambersburg Skydiving Center, Inc. agreed to fully cooperate with the FAA for the purpose of conducting inspections and investigations concerning compliance with federal aviation regulations.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and Chambersburg Skydiving Center, Inc. agreed that the terms of the settlement agreement were appropriate in light of the Chambersburg Skydiving Center’s status as a small business with limited financial resources and its record of no prior violations. Additionally, Chambersburg Skydiving Center, Inc. took measures to ensure the airworthiness of the aircraft once it became aware of any alleged violation including the timely repairs and inspections. The company is currently compliant with the FAA’s requirements and has agreed to cooperate with any future inspection or investigation by the FAA.
The settlement agreement is subject to the approval of U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones, III, the judge to whom the case is assigned.
This matter was litigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Judge, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Division in collaboration with the FAA’s Eastern Regional Counsel’s Office.
Rexburg Man Charged with Improper Storage and Disposal of Hazardous WasteRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Max Spatig, 71, of Rexburg, Idaho, the owner of MS Enterprises, pleaded not guilty in federal court today to charges that he knowingly stored and disposed of hazardous waste on his property, a violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Spatig was charged in a one count indictment filed in United States District Court in Pocatello on December 11, 2012.
According to the indictment, on July 8, 2010, a total of 3,478 containers of waste materials were found on Spatig’s property in Rexburg. The indictment alleges that samples taken from the containers showed the contents were hazardous waste due to ignitability and corrosivity characteristics. According to the indictment, the contents of the containers were shipped to a hazardous waste disposal facility, incurring a cost to the federal government of $498,652. Neither MS Enterprises nor Spatig had a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the storage, treatment or disposal of hazardous waste.
A trial is set for March 4, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Prior Felons from San Juan County Sentenced to Prison for Unlawful Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Two prior felons from San Juan County, N.M., were sentenced to prison time by federal judges today for being felons in possession of firearms. The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and Thomas G. Atteberry, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Nickolas Neil Anaya, 28, of Farmington, N.M., was sentenced to 63 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In a separate case, Walter White, 32, of Bloomfield, N.M., was sentenced to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Anaya was indicted on Dec. 14, 2011, and was charged with unlawfully possessing a Ruger, Vaquero model, .45 caliber revolver and ammunition in San Juan County on June 23, 2011. Anaya was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of (1) possession of a controlled substance; (2) aggravated assault; and (3) aggravated battery in the Eleventh Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico. Anaya was arrested on April 4, 2012, and has been in federal custody since that time. On Oct. 4, 2012,
Anaya pled guilty to the indictment. As part of his plea deal, Anaya was required to forfeit the firearm and ammunition that were in his possession on Dec. 14, 2011.
White was indicted on July 10, 2012, and charged with unlawfully possessing a Ruger, Model GP 100, .357 caliber revolver in San Juan County on Oct. 11, 2011. White was prohibited from possessing firearms because he previously had been convicted of (1) the unlawful taking of a vehicle; (2) burglary; (3) being a felon in possession of a firearm; (4) larceny; and (5) larceny of a firearm. White was arrested on Sept. 13, 2012, and has been in federal custody since that time. On Nov. 5, 2012, White pled guilty to the indictment and admitted possessing a firearm that he sold at the Farmer’s Market in Bloomfield on Oct. 11,
2011. As part of his plea deal, White was required to forfeit the firearms.The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Explosives and Firearms investigated both cases. It was assisted by the Farmington Police Department on the Anaya case and by the Region II Narcotics Task Force on the White case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis E. Valencia prosecuted the Anaya case and Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh prosecuted the White case.
Portsmouth Brothers Convicted of RobberiesRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. - Laquan Draper, 21, and Angelo Draper, 20, both of Portsmouth, Va., were convicted today by a federal jury on charges stemming from a series of convenience store and fast food restaurant robberies over an eight week period in the summer of 2011.
Neil H. McBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the verdicts were accepted by Senior United States District Judge Robert G. Doumar.
The Draper brothers were convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery, 12 counts of commercial robbery, and discharging a firearm during a robbery. Also, Laquan Draper was convicted of the robbery of the ABC Store on Little Creek Road in Norfolk and possession of a firearm by a felon. They were found not guilty of four related counts in the indictment.
They are facing a minimum mandatory sentence of ten (10) years and a maximum life sentence in prison when they are sentenced on May 6, 2013.
According to court records and evidence at trial, the Drapers started an eight-week robbery spree in July, 2011, spanning Norfolk to Roanoke, Va. The brothers, concealing their identities with shirts tied around their faces, entered 7-11 convenience stores with either firearms or replica firearms, jumped over the counter and took money from store employees. The men also convicted of conspiring to rob employees of twenty establishments, including numerous 7-Eleven stores, two McDonald's, a Wendy's, an ABC Store, and a Fast Auto Loans location. At one of the locations, the Got It Video in Norfolk, the Drapers and a co-conspirator shot out the locked front door, shattering the glass and entered the store to commit the robbery, holding customers and clerks at gun-point.
After a twenty-minute, multi-vehicle high speed police pursuit, the brothers were arrested in Chesapeake on August 25, 2011 after they crashed the stolen Saturn Vue they were driving into a police vehicle, injuring two Chesapeake detectives. A .22 caliber hand-gun was found in the passenger floor board of the stolen vehicle when the men were removed. Additional evidence recovered from the car was linked forensically to several of the crime scenes.
This case was investigated by the Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach Police Departments; the Appomattox County Sheriff’s Department; the Roanoke County Police and the Roanoke City Police. Assistant United States Attorney Sherrie S. Capotosto and Special Assistant United States Attorney Amy E. Cross are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Pinellas County Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison for Student Loan FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL - United States District Judge Susan Bucklew today sentenced James Isaac Boyd (40, St. Petersburg) to 9 years in federal prison for conspiring to commit student loan fraud, committing student loan fraud, and aggravated identity theft. In addition, he was ordered to pay restitution to the Department of Education in the amount of $464,269.00, and to forfeit computers and cellphones used in the commission of the offenses.
According to court documents and information presented in court, in January 2006, James I. Boyd and Shaneva Boyd formed a Florida corporation called "Graduate Assistance and Consolidations (GAC)," located in St. Petersburg Florida. James Boyd was the sole director, president and treasurer of GAC. He and co-conspirator Shaneva Boyd used GAC to carry out a student loan fraud scheme by assisting individuals who had neither a high school diploma nor a General Equivalency Degree (GED) with fraudulently enrolling for admission at St. Petersburg College (SPC), and then fraudulently applying for federal student financial aid. During the course of this scheme, James Boyd caused false statements to be made on student financial aid forms. He also directed dozens of financial aid checks for various individuals to be mailed to addresses associated with GAC. On some occasions, when the individuals named on the checks negotiated the checks, they paid James Boyd a significant percentage of the proceeds. On other occasions, James Boyd falsely and fraudulently endorsed and negotiated financial aid checks made out to putative students, without those individuals' knowledge, often depositing the checks into bank accounts he controlled. James Boyd assisted individuals with applying for fraudulent federal student financial aid (loans and grants) totaling $464,269.00.
Boyd pleaded guilty on October 23, 2012. During the hearing today, details about Boyd’s previous criminal history were discussed. His criminal history includes a prior state conviction for murder in the third degree and a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
This case was investigated by United States Department of Education, Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cherie L. Krigsman.
Pine Ridge Man SentencedRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Pine Ridge man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on January 4, 2013, by Chief U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken. Louis Michael Pacer, a/k/a Mike Pacer, age 35, was sentenced to 23 months' custody, 3 years' supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the victims' assistance fund.
Pacer conspired with others to distribute cocaine in South Dakota and elsewhere between 2007 and 2009. Pacer pled guilty to the charge on October 2, 2012.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Shattuck prosecuted the case.
Louis Michael Pacer, a/k/a Mike Pacer, was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshal.
Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Stephen Thomas of York, Penn., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for tax evasion, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Thomas to 18 months in prison and ordered him to pay $154,362 in restitution to the IRS.
On Sept. 11, 2012, Thomas pleaded guilty to attempting to evade his 2006 federal income taxes. According to court records, between 2002 and 2004, in the District of Columbia, Thomas formed multiple entities whose names contained the initials ECG, which stood for ESOP Capital Group. ECG purported to provide financial, business and other management services to companies that were interested in creating ESOPs, which are employee stock ownership plans. In or about 2005 and 2006, Thomas, through ECG, contracted to provide such services to two companies in Maine.
As part of his guilty plea, Thomas admitted that he failed to file his 2005 through 2007 individual income tax returns and failed to file 2005 through 2007 corporate income tax returns for ECG. Thomas further admitted that he engaged in a series of affirmative acts of evasion during 2005 through 2007, including concealing his income by moving earnings from the Maine companies into bank accounts in the name of his wife, withdrawing cash on a weekly basis which totaled more than $400,000, using cashier’s checks, and titling his primary residence in the name of his wife. Thomas further admitted that he failed to report at least $573,785 of income and that his tax evasion during 2005 through 2007 resulted in a tax loss to the IRS of at least $154,362.
Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, commended the efforts of a special agent of IRS-Criminal Investigation and an investigator from Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Jessica Moran and Jeffrey Bender of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.
Orthofix Vice President Sentenced for Paying Medicare KickbacksRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former vice president of sales of Orthofix, Inc. was sentenced yesterday for paying kickbacks to health care professionals.
Thomas P. Guerrieri, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel to eight months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $20,000 and to forfeit $30,000. In April 2012, Guerrieri pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks.
Guerrieri, the former Vice President of Sales of Orthofix, Inc., admitted that he paid kickbacks to two separate health care professionals, in violation of the Medicare AntiKickback Law. Between 2001 and 2010, Guerrieri worked at Orthofix, first as a regional sales director, then area vice president, and, ultimately, the vice president of sales. Orthofix manufactured and distributed bone growth stimulator medical devices. Bone growth stimulators are used to assist spinal fusions and to help heal bone fractures that did not heal properly.
Guerrieri authorized kickbacks in two separate transactions in order to induce bone growth stimulator orders from two of Orthofix’s highest-prescribing physicians. First, Guerrieri facilitated a bogus “consulting” agreement with a surgeon in New York. The surgeon was paid tens of thousands of dollars but provided little or no consulting services in return. This surgeon failed to document his services in time sheets provided to the company, even though he was paid every month. During a meeting in August 2007, the surgeon, Guerrieri, and another Orthofix employee hatched a scheme to create and backdate time sheets going back to 2006, making it appear as though the surgeon filled out these forms contemporaneously and performed legitimate consulting services. In addition, Guerrieri obtained a letter from the company’s general counsel indicating that the surgeon was compliant under his consulting agreement, which was not true.
Second, Guerrieri authorized kickbacks to pay a physician’s assistant in Rhode Island, Michael Cobb, for each bone growth stimulator he ordered. Cobb was responsible for ordering bone growth stimulators for the surgeon who employed him. For years, Orthofix paid Cobb $50-$100 for each stimulator that he ordered. In September 2008, Orthofix issued a policy expressly prohibiting any payments to anyone who works for a surgeon that prescribes Orthofix products. Guerrieri was concerned that Orthofix would lose business if it could no longer pay Cobb. Thus, Guerrieri executed a scheme where Cobb continued to be paid for each order, but the payments were made by an Orthofix vendor, making it more difficult to trace the paper trail back to Orthofix. In July 2012, Cobb was sentenced to six months in prison and six months home confinement for accepting these kickbacks in addition to forfeiture of $40,000 and a $4,000 fine.
Guerrieri also obstructed justice in connection with the government’s investigation. In the midst of the investigation, Guerrieri instructed the sales force that, if they were asked by government investigators if they manipulated Medicare Certificates of Medical Necessity (CMNs), they should lie and state that they had not done so. Manipulation of CMNs was the conduct at issue in the recent Orthofix conviction, as described below.In addition to the Guerrieri sentence, the Orthofix investigation has, to date, resulted in a number of felony charges against employees and contractors of Orthofix, including the following:
- In December 2012, Orthofix was convicted of obstruction of a federal audit, and ordered to pay $42 million in criminal fines and civil payments, and was sentenced to probation for five years;
- In January 2013, Derrick Field, a former Orthofix territory manager, was sentenced to five months of home confinement as part of a two-year probation sentence,
- In December 2011, Mitchell Salzman pleaded guilty while he was a regional manager for Orthofix;
- In May 2012, Michael McKay pleaded guilty to health care fraud while he was a territory manager for Orthofix; and
- In September 2012, Brian Racey pleaded guilty to health care fraud while he was a territory manager for Orthofix.
“Kickbacks corrupt medical decision-making and drive up health care costs for everyone,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “Corporate executives have a responsibility to ensure that profits are not prioritized over patients’ health. This prosecution sends a message that, in the District of Massachusetts, we will investigate and prosecute those who commit health care fraud.”
“Company executives know that kickback payoffs have no place in healthcare,” said Susan J. Waddell, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, New England Region. “So while Orthofix has already settled with taxpayers for more than $34 million, law enforcement will also pursue the corporate officials behind these schemes and make them pay a heavy price.”
“Orthofix corporation and its employees have recently pled guilty to a litany of felony criminal and civil charges related to illegal schemes that were purposefully designed to increase their profit,” said Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Field Division. “Like Orthofix, other health care corporations and their employees should know now that no one is immune from being held accountable for criminal and civil misconduct.”
“It is priority for DCIS to ensure the integrity of TRICARE, the Defense Department’s health care system for military members and their dependents,” said Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Resident Agent in Chage of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. “DCIS is committed to working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, HHS-OIG and our other partner agencies, to combat health care fraud, and this successful joint investigation is a result of that collaborative effort.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Field Division; and the Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service – Boston Resident Agency. It was being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Schumacher and Jeremy Sternberg of Ortiz's Health Care Fraud Unit.
Operator of Illegal Alien Employment Business in Scranton Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that an operator of an illegal alien employment business in Scranton pleaded guilty today in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Rama Putra, age 32, residing in Scranton, pleaded guilty to Count I of an indictment returned in October 2012 by a grand jury in Scranton. Count I charges Putra with conspiracy to commit money laundering, and the employment and transportation of illegal aliens. Putra was charged for committing the offenses from January 2007 through September 2012.
The indictment stemmed from a continuing joint investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Pennsylvania State Police.
The indictment alleged that Putra engaged in a conspiracy to promote and conceal the profits of a temporary employment agency known as “H&Y Staffing, Inc.” operating out of a Scranton address which recruited, employed, and transported an illegal work force. “H&Y Staffing, Inc.” provided dozens of illegal temporary employees to businesses in the Scranton area over a period of several years. Putra, in furtherance of the conspiracy, allegedly provided transportation for the illegal workers, paid the illegal work force in cash on a weekly basis, and cashed checks from local businesses at check cashing services located in Philadelphia as part of the scheme to conceal and promote the underlying criminal activity.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is five 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.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 25, 2013.
Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
Old Forge Man Pleads Guilty to Online EnticementRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that an Old Forge man pleaded guilty today in Scranton before U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo to online enticement.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Jeffrey Pettinato, age 51, was charged in a felony Information in November 2012 for committing the offenses at various times between July 2012 through August 2012. Pettinato used a computer and attempted to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is life imprisonment and a minimum of 10 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.
Pettinato will also be required to follow sexual offender registration requirements pursuant to the Adam Walsh Act. A sentencing date has been scheduled for April 30, 2013.
Smith noted that 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 internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
****North Braddock Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Allegheny County pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Charles R. Gladish, 41, of North Braddock, Pa., pleaded guilty yesterday to one count before United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on Oct. 26, 2011, Gladish possessed visual depictions, namely, photographs and videos in computer graphics files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Judge Conti scheduled sentencing for May 24, 2013, at 10 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Gladish.
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.justice.gov/psc.
New Jersey Woman Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison for Trafficking the Identities of Puerto Rican U.S. CitizensRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former resident of New Jersey was sentenced today to serve 42 months in prison for her role in trafficking the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and corresponding identity documents, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Rosa E. Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico; Director John Morton of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Postal Inspector Guy J. Cottrell of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Gentry Smith, Acting Director of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS); and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chief Richard Weber.
Martina Montero-de-Ortiz, 52, formerly of Elizabeth, N.J., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí in the District of Puerto Rico. In addition to Montero-de-Ortiz’s prison term, Judge Gelpí ordered her to forfeit $33,250 in illegal proceeds and ordered the removal of Montero-de-Ortiz from the United States to the Dominican Republic after the completion of her sentence.
On Aug. 15, 2012, Montero-de-Ortiz pleaded guilty in Puerto Rico to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain.
Montero-de-Ortiz was charged in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Puerto Rico on March 22, 2012. To date, a total of 53 individuals have been charged for their roles in the identity trafficking scheme, and 25 defendants have pleaded guilty.
Court documents allege that individuals located in the Savarona area of Caguas, Puerto Rico (Savarona suppliers), obtained Puerto Rican identities and corresponding identity documents. Other conspirators located in various cities throughout the United States (identity brokers) allegedly solicited customers and sold Social Security cards and corresponding Puerto Rico birth certificates for prices ranging from $700 to $2,500 per set. The superseding indictment alleges that identity brokers ordered the identity documents from Savarona suppliers, on behalf of the customers, by making coded telephone calls. The conspirators are charged with using text messages, money transfer services and express, priority or regular U.S. mail to complete their illicit transactions.
Court documents allege that some of the conspirators assumed a Puerto Rican identity themselves and used that identity in connection with the trafficking operation. Their customers allegedly generally obtained the identity documents to assume the identity of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and to obtain additional identification documents, such as legitimate state driver’s licenses. Some customers allegedly obtained the documents to commit financial fraud and attempted to obtain a U.S. passport.
According to court documents, various identity brokers were operating in Rockford, Ill.; DeKalb, Ill.; Aurora, Ill.; Seymour, Ind.; Columbus, Ind.; Indianapolis; Hartford, Conn.; Clewiston, Fla.; Lilburn, Ga.; Norcross, Ga.; Salisbury, Md.; Columbus, Ohio; Fairfield, Ohio; Dorchester, Mass.; Lawrence, Mass.; Salem, Mass.; Worcester, Mass.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Nebraska City, Neb.; Elizabeth, N.J.; Burlington, N.C.; Hickory, N.C.; Hazelton, Pa.; Philadelphia; Houston; Abingdon, Va.; Albertville, Ala.; and Providence, R.I.
Montero-de-Ortiz admitted that she trafficked the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and corresponding identity documents in New Jersey. Montero-de-Ortiz is the 11th defendant to be sentenced in this case.
Another defendant involved in the scheme, Vidal Contreras-Galicia, 30, formerly of Ft. Wayne, Ind., pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Gelpi to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud. As part of his plea agreement, Contreras-Galicia agreed to forfeit $3,000 in illegal proceeds as well as deportation to Mexico after serving his sentence. According to court documents, Contreras-Galicia admitted that he trafficked the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and corresponding identity documents in Indiana and that he used a Puerto Rican identity himself to commit financial fraud. At sentencing, Contreras-Galicia faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
The charges are the result of Operation Island Express, an ongoing, nationally-coordinated investigation led by the ICE-HSI Chicago Office and USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI offices in Chicago, in coordination with the ICE-HSI San Juan Office and the DSS Resident Office in Puerto Rico. The Illinois Secretary of State Police; Elgin, Ill., Police Department; Seymour, Ind., Police Department; and Indiana State Police provided substantial assistance. The ICE-HSI Assistant Attaché office in the Dominican Republic and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2) as well as various ICE, USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI offices around the country provided invaluable assistance.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James S. Yoon, Hope S. Olds, Courtney B. Schaefer and Christina Giffin of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, with the assistance of Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Jeannette Gunderson of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, and the support of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Indiana, District of Connecticut, District of Massachusetts, District of Nebraska, Middle District of North Carolina, Southern District of Ohio, District of Rhode Island, Southern District of Texas and Western District of Virginia provided substantial assistance.
Potential victims and the public may obtain information about the case at: www.justice.gov/criminal/vns/caseup/beltrerj.html. Anyone who believes their identity may have been compromised in relation to this investigation may contact the ICE toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE (1-866-347-2423) and its online tip form at www.ice.gov/tipline. Anyone who may have information about particular crimes in this case should also report it to the ICE tip line or website.
Anyone who believes that they have been a victim of identity theft, or wants information about preventing identity theft, may obtain helpful information and complaint forms on various government websites including the Federal Trade Commission ID Theft Website, www.ftc.gov/idtheft. Additional resources regarding identity theft can be found at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/pubs/ID_theft/idtheft.html; www.ssa.gov/pubs/10064.html; www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/cyber/identity_theft; and www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=186436,00.html.
Monmouth County, N.J., Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. - A Monmouth County, N.J., man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for possessing child pornography on his computer, including violent video images, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Danial Hillman, 28, of Atlantic Highlands, N.J., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano to one count of an Indictment charging him with possession of child pornography. Judge Pisano imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:As early as Dec. 6, 2010, undercover law enforcement officers downloaded videos and images of child pornography from Hillman on the Internet via peer-to-peer file sharing software. The images downloaded by federal investigators from Hillman’s shared directories included three videos of three children, all under the age of 12, being sexually abused. Law enforcement officers from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Atlantic Highlands Police Department, who executed a search warrant at Hillman’s home on April 12, 2011, seized multiple computers, one of which contained images depicting child pornography, including sadistic conduct and other violent images involving minors.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, in New Jersey under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. McLees; the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni; and the Atlantic Highlands Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerry Vasto, with the investigation leading to today's sentence.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Pisano sentenced Hillman to five years of supervised release, with computer-use monitoring. He must register as a sex offender.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Clabby of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: Charles F. Clark Esq., Freehold, N.J.Milford Woman Pleads Guilty to Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Patricia Delorenzo, age 59, of Milford, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today in Scranton to Health Care Fraud charges before U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, a criminal Information was filed in November 2012 charging Delorenzo with engaging in a scheme to defraud Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania for the period beginning May 2009 through December 2011.
The charges stem from an investigation initiated in July of 2009 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Delorenzo=s intended loss is approximately $20,000. Actual loss is $10,188.88. Delorenzo will pay restitution for the actual loss amount and forfeit her professional counseling license.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 10 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.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 26, 2013.
Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
Middlebury Man Admits Role in Bribery and Illegal Campaign Finance SchemeRead the Press Release
January 23, 2013David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced that PAUL ROGERS, 40, of Middlebury, pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven to one count of devising a scheme to bribe a public official, and one count of conspiring to make false statements to the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) and to impede the FEC’s enforcement of federal campaign finance laws. The charges stem from a scheme to direct illegal campaign contributions into the campaign of a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in August 2011, the State of Connecticut applied for a court order enjoining Roll Your Own (“RYO”) smoke shops from continuing to operate without complying with state law governing tobacco manufacturers. RYO smoke shops are retail businesses that sell loose smoking tobacco and cigarette-rolling materials and offer customers the option of paying a “rental” fee to insert the loose tobacco and the rolling materials into a RYO machine, which is capable of rapidly rolling large quantities of cigarettes. Customers did not pay a tax on the RYO cigarettes when rolled by the RYO machines, in contrast to cigarettes purchased over-the-counter.
ROGERS owned a RYO smoke shop with two locations in Waterbury. Fearing that the Connecticut General Assembly would enact legislation harmful to RYO smoke shop owners’ business interests during the 2012 legislative session, ROGERS and others engaged in scheme to direct $27,500 in conduit campaign contributions into the campaign of a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. The candidate was also a member of the Connecticut General Assembly. ROGERS and his co-conspirators recruited multiple individuals to serve as conduit contributors to the campaign. These individuals wrote checks to the campaign in their own names, and ROGERS and his co-conspirators reimbursed them with cash, thereby concealing the fact that RYO smoke shop owners were contributing to the campaign.
On approximately January 31, 2012, the Campaign Committee submitted to the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) a report of the Campaign Committee’s receipts and disbursements for the period October 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. The report falsely stated the source and amount of four $2,500 contributions that were received and deposited by the Campaign Committee during that time period.
ROGERS is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton on March 20, 2013, at which time ROGERS faces a maximum term of a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years for devising a scheme to bribe a public official, and a maximum term of imprisonment of five years for conspiring to make false statements to the FEC and to impede the FEC’s enforcement of federal campaign finance laws.
ROGERS is the third defendant to plead guilty to charges related to this scheme. On July 24, 2012, Harry Raymond “Ray” Soucy pleaded guilty to one count of devising a scheme to bribe a public official, and one count of conspiring to make false statements to the FEC and to impede the FEC’s enforcement of federal campaign finance laws. On November 2, 2012, David Moffa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to make false statements to the FEC and to impede the FEC’s enforcement of federal campaign finance laws. Soucy and Moffa also await sentencing.
Five other individuals have been charged as a result of this investigation. As to these defendants, U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher M. Mattei and Eric J. Glover.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Middle District of Georgia Grant Funds AvailableRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced today that grant funds are available to Middle District agencies through a Department of Justice solicitation.
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance is seeking applications for funding under the FY 2013 Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction Program, also known as Project Safe Neighborhoods. In FY 2013, the Middle District is eligible to apply for up to $150,000 in grant funds to be used for enforcement, deterrence and prevention of gang and gun violence.
Applications are sought from state agencies, units of local government and non-profit organizations. Interested agencies are asked to submit a detailed budget, a narrative of the strategy, and purpose to the U.S. Attorney’s Office by February 19, 2013. A Selection Committee will review the applications, meet with the applicants and choose the agencies for which the Steering Committee will solicit funding in the grant application.“In this time of ever limited resources, we are very pleased to be able to assist Middle District agencies in locating funding opportunities such as this grant,” U.S. Attorney Michael Moore stated.
Interested organizations and agencies may contact Pamela Lightsey, Law Enforcement Coordinator, at 478-621-2603 for information regarding the application process and deadline.
The Grant Announcement can be viewed at: www.bja.gov/Funding/13PSNsol.pdf
Michigan Man Indicted on Charges of Cyberstalking and Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.– U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has indicted James S. Allen, 36, of New Baltimore, MI, on 18 counts of cyberstalking and five counts of production of child pornography. The production of child pornography charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a maximum penalty of 30 years, and a $250,000 fine for each count. The cyberstalking charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that according to indictment, between April and August of 2012, the defendant utilized the internet and text messages to stalk, communicate with, and threaten 18 female victims in the Western District of New York, many of them minors, in an effort to obtain pornographic pictures of the minors. The complaint filed earlier in the case alleges that Allen contacted the victims and told them that he found naked pictures of them on the internet. The defendant then directed the victims to a specific website to view the pictures. In reality, the website was a front – or “phishing site” - by which the defendant sought to surreptitiously obtain the victim’s private e-mail address and password.
Once the targeted victim input the requested information, the victim’s personal e-mail addresses and passwords went straight to the defendant via the internet. The defendant thereafter seized control of the victim’s e-mail accounts, contacted the victims, and threatened that if they did not engage in a Skype video chat with him, he would distribute naked photos of the victims over the internet. Once a victim and the defendant logged onto Skype (the defendant utilized the screen name “shhh.shhh”), Allen demanded that the victims take their clothes off and engage in sexual conduct, with the further threat that naked pictures of them would be sent out to all of Western New York if the girl did not comply. As a result of the defendant's repeated and sustained harassment of the victims, many victims suffered substantial emotional distress.
U.S. Attorney Hochul stated that “It is appropriate that the grand jury returned this case in January, which is National Stalking Awareness Month. According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late 2011, 6.6 million people were stalked in a 12-month period and 1 in 6 women and 1 in 19 men were stalked at some point in their lifetime. These statistics certainly demonstrate that anyone can be a victim of stalking, but that women and girls are three times more likely to be stalked than men. As shown by the present case, statistics also indicate that young adults have the highest rate of stalking victimization.”
U.S. Attorney Hochul continued “another message that the public needs to recognize is that most stalking cases involve some form of technology. According to available reports, more than three-quarters of stalking victims received unwanted phone calls, voice and text messages, and one-third of victims were watched, followed, or tracked with a listening or other device. These findings underscore the critical need for the public to understand how stalkers and other criminals use technology.”
U.S. Attorney Hochul concluded “The public, in particular parents, need to continue to be vigilant is the use of both computers and cellular telephones. While modern communication and technology provide benefits to many, in the hands of criminals, the same instruments sometimes lead to potentially dangerous, even deadly situations. Keep these simple tips in mind: beware of strangers or individuals you don’t know who approach you online; do not post personal or identifying information online; and carefully monitor your accounts to prevent hacking or other related issues.”
The indictment is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Christopher M. Piehota, Special Agent in Charge and the Kenmore Police Department, under the direction of Chief Peter Breitnauer.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Mexican Citizen Encountered in Franklin County Indicted for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, announced today that a
30-year-old native and citizen of Mexico has been charged with illegal reentry into the United States.According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Miguel Angel Bautista-Valdez, age 30, a native and citizen of Mexico, in the United States illegally was charged in a one-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg today.
The indictment alleges that Bautista-Valdez, an alien who has previously been arrested, and deported from the United States on January 9, 2008, did knowingly and unlawfully reenter the United States and was apprehended in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Alice Song Hartye.
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 two 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.
Mendon Resident Sentenced for Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Boston – A Mendon man received a six month sentence of community confinement for filing a false income tax return.
David Altavilla, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman to six months of community confinement to be followed by six months of home confinement, a $10,000 fine, and $141,710 in restitution to the IRS. In October 2012, Altavilla pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return. He has already paid the restitution in full.
Altavilla operated a blog called “HOTHARDWARE.COM,” which contained contributor articles reviewing computers, computer components, and other related items. Altavilla sold advertising space on the site. For the calendar years 2006, 2007, and 2008, he under reported the total amount of gross receipts he took in from advertisers, resulting in an under reporting of his tax liability.
U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Department of Justice Tax Division and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Department of Justice Trial Attorney Sean R. Delaney.
Marvin Elcid Montes-cerrato Pleads Guilty to False Representation of A Social Security NumberRead the Press Release
MARVIN ELCID MONTES-CERRATO, age 36, a citizen of Honduras, pled guilty in federal court today before U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. to a one-count indictment charging him with illegal use of a Social Security number, announced U. S. Attorney Dana Boente.
According to court documents, on July 23, 2009, MONTES-CERRATO falsely represented that a Social Security number had been assigned to him by the Commissioner of Social Security with intent to deceive, for the purpose of obtaining a Louisiana driver’s license at a Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles located in Jefferson Parish. MONTES-CERRATO is an illegal alien who is subject to an outstanding order of removal.
MONTES-CERRATO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for May 1, 2013.The case was investigated by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office as part of the Criminal Alien Removal Initiative. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Robert Weir.
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Martin Man SentencedRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Martin man convicted of Distribution a Controlled Substance was sentenced on January 3, 2013, by Chief U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken. David Alan Gotheridge, age 55, was sentenced to 2 years' probation and a $100 special assessment to the victims' assistance fund.
On April 17, 2012, Gotheridge distributed hydrocodone with acetaminophen at Martin. Gotheridge pled guilty to the charge on October 2, 2012.
This case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, whose member agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the Martin Police Department, the Pierre Police Department, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Shattuck prosecuted the case.
Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Firing Shots at a Louisiana National Guard HelicopterRead the Press Release
Alexandria, La.: United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that James Lamar Kelly, age 62, of Sikes, La., was sentenced today to a total of 41 months in prison for his convictions on four felony counts related to his firing shots at a Louisiana Army National Guard helicopter. U. S. District Judge Dee D. Drell also sentenced Kelly to three years supervised release at the completion of his prison term and forfeiture of the firearm.
Kelly was convicted by a jury in September 2012 of three counts of endangering the safety of the pilot of a Louisiana Army National Guard helicopter in flight, committing an act of violence against the pilot, and using a deadly and dangerous weapon to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate and interfere with the pilot. Kelly was also sentenced for his conviction of theft of United States mail.
Testimony at trial showed that on August 2, 2010, the Louisiana State Police and the Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office were conducting a marijuana eradication program detail in Winn Parish. Louisiana Army National Guard (LANG) Counter-Drug Task Force helicopters based at Camp Beauregard in Pineville were assisting in this program by providing pilots and helicopters for the Louisiana State Police to conduct aerial
surveillance. The LANG Counter Drug Task Force is funded and staffed by the U.S. Department of Defense. A Louisiana State Trooper was in each helicopter to make observations of areas where it was suspected marijuana was being cultivated. At about 3:00 p.m., on Shell Road near Sikes, La., one of these helicopters was fired upon by a person on the ground. The pilot took evasive action and immediately left the area. He landed at the airport in Natchitoches and inspected the helicopter for damage. No bullet holes were noted. Neither the pilot nor the Trooper on board was injured. Soon thereafter, Louisiana State Police Troopers, Winn Parish Sheriff’s Deputies, and a Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Agent located and arrested James Lamar Kelly without incident. They also recovered the 9 mm semi-automatic handgun that Kelly used to shoot at the helicopter.While at Kelly’s house, Troopers noted a large amount of undelivered mail in various vehicles parked in Kelly’s yard. Kelly was working for a private contractor who had a contract to deliver mail to more than 160 U.S. Postal Service customers on a rural route in Winn Parish. Kelly admitted to U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General Special Agents that instead of delivering this and other mail on his route, he brought it back to his house where he kept it until he either placed it in a dumpster or burned it. Kelly admitted that he had been doing this for approximately four years. Kelly entered a guilty plea to the theft of mail charge on August 23, 2012, but went to trial on September 11, 2012 for the charges of firing shots at the helicopter.
U.S. Attorney Finley stated, “Firing shots at any aircraft are not actions to be taken lightly. Kelly’s acts endangered both those on the aircraft and those on the ground. This Army National Guard helicopter pilot was performing an important mission in assisting the State Trooper on board and State Police Troopers and Winn Parish Sheriff’s Deputies on the ground in their drug eradication program. Luckily, no one was hurt by the defendant’s dangerous and illegal conduct. Kelly’s prison sentence reflects the seriousness
of his offense.”This case was investigated by the Louisiana State Police, Region II in Alexandria, the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General Office, and the FBI. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr.
Man Sentenced to Forty Months in Federal Prison for Bank Robbery and Attempted Bank Robbery of Two Banks in Coffee CountyRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - Benjamin Michael Smith, a resident of Coffee County, Alabama, was sentenced to forty months in federal prison for federal felony charges for bank robbery and attempted bank robbery, United States Attorney George L. Beck, Jr., announced today.
In October 2012, the United States Attorney filed a felony information against Smith alleging the federal charges. During Smith’s guilty plea hearing, he admitted that on February 16, 2010, he attempted to rob Citizen’s Bank located in Coffee County. Smith also admitted that on December 5, 2011, he robbed CB&T Bank located in Coffee County.
United States District Judge Mark E. Fuller sentenced Smith to a total term of forty months in federal prison and three years of supervised release following his release from prison. Smith remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending placement by the Bureau of Prisons.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Enterprise Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jerusha T. Adams prosecuted the case.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Lincoln County Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Lincoln County man was sentenced to three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm. George Wayne Taylor, 56, of Hamlin, W.Va., admitted that on August 7, 2007, he was observed holding a shotgun at a relative’s residence located in Alkol, Lincoln County, W.Va. Taylor further admitted that at the time he possessed the firearm, he stole metal roofing from the Lincoln County residence. An individual present during the incident photographed the defendant in possession of the firearm. Taylor also admitted firing the shotgun after being photographed.
Law enforcement officers later recovered four stolen firearms and the stolen metal roofing from the defendant’s residence in Hamlin, W.Va.
Taylor was previously convicted in March 1997 in Pike County Court in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, of theft by unlawful taking of $300 or more. Taylor’s right to possess a firearm by August 8, 2007 had not been restored.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney William King handled the prosecution. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.
Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Stealing Money Intended for His Clients-Scheme Cost Victims More Than $100,000-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Deairich R. Hunter, 47, an attorney from Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from his theft of $109,830 in payments from insurance companies that were intended to settle some of his clients’ disability and personal injury claims.
The plea took place in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Debra Evans Smith, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and William P. White, Commissioner of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking.
Hunter pled guilty to a charge of theft or embezzlement in connection with health care. He is to be sentenced April 26, 2013 by the Honorable Beryl A. Howell. The charge carries a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of his plea agreement, Hunter agreed to pay $109,830 in restitution to his clients and a medical provider whose bills were to be paid out of the settlement funds.
According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, from August 1998 until April 2009, Hunter was a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and practiced law in the District of Columbia. Also during that time period, he was a member of the bar of the state of Maryland.
Between 2003 and 2009, Hunter was retained by various individuals in disability and personal injury claim disputes. Those clients generally agreed that Hunter was entitled to one-third of any recoveries regarding their settled claims. Hunter generally agreed to notify these clients of any offers of settlement and to inform clients of significant developments, among other things. In some cases, he agreed to pay his clients’ health care expenses directly from the proceeds of the recovery in their cases. However, on a number of occasions, Hunter settled such claims without notifying his clients and without authority to do so and then the defendant stole the settlement proceeds, resulting in a total loss amount from this scheme of $109,830.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Acting Assistant Director in Charge Smith, and Commissioner White commended the efforts of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking. They also praised those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Legal Assistant Donna Galindo, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney G. Saleski, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Graves, who is prosecuting the matter.
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La Jolla Oncologist and Medical Practice Plead Guilty to Dispensing Unapproved DrugsRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO - A prominent La Jolla oncologist and his corporate medical practice have pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme to import unapproved foreign cancer drugs at a deep discount, dispense them to unwitting patients, bill Medicare as if the drugs were legitimate, and pocket the profits.
In a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernard Skomal on January 15, Dr. Joel I. Bernstein entered a guilty plea to a single count of introducing an unapproved drug into interstate commerce – in this case, a cancer drug called “Mabthera” intended for market in Turkey - and administering it to patients. The approved U.S. drug with the same active ingredient is Rituxan, which is used to treat lymphomas and leukemias such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Bernstein was released pending sentencing, which is scheduled for April 16 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Skomal.
In addition, his medical practice, Dr. Joel I. Bernstein, M.D., Inc., also pleaded guilty at a hearing today before U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo to one count of Health Care fraud. According to the plea agreement with the corporation, employees of Dr. Joel I. Bernstein, M.D., Inc. purchased $3.4 million of foreign cancer drugs, knowing they had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States. From 2007 to 2011, Bernstein’s office purchased these drugs for significantly less than market value in the U.S., and then submitted claims to Medicare at the full reimbursement price. To conceal the scheme, the office fraudulently used Medicare reimbursement codes for approved cancer drugs, as Medicare does not pay for unapproved drugs.
The plea agreement for the corporation also calls for $1.7 million in restitution to Medicare, plus forfeiture of $1.2 million in profits. The corporate medical practice is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17, 2013, before Unites States District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo.
In addition, the government has also filed a False Claims Act lawsuit in District Court against Dr. Bernstein and his medical corporation for submitting false claims to the Medicare Program for these unapproved drugs. According to this civil complaint, the Medicare Program was defrauded of over $1.7 million, and under the False Claims Act, the United States can recover triple the amount of damages plus monetary penalties.
The cases involving Dr. Bernstein and his practice are the latest example of an alarming nationwide trend that potentially puts patients at risk by exposing them to foreign drugs – particularly injectable chemotherapy drugs - that are not vetted by the FDA. Agency officials have described the trend as an “epidemic of unapproved and counterfeit drugs.”
The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) currently has over 200 investigations nationwide involving schemes in which medical practices purchase foreign, unapproved drugs and dispense them to unsuspecting patients for personal financial gain.
This practice is particularly disturbing because, unlike traditional prescription drugs which are dispensed to the patient by a pharmacy, oncology drugs are typically infused into a patient without the patient ever seeing the box it came in, or any of the related labeling.
“This isn’t just about the greed of one doctor, but about the welfare of many patients,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “In a worst-case scenario, chemotherapy drugs that have not been approved by the FDA may be fake, ineffective, unsafe and dangerous. This is what motivates the Department of Justice and the FDA to be more aggressive in stopping those who would corrupt the integrity of the pharmaceutical supply chain with no regard for the well-being of patients.”
John Roth, director of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the lead agency on the case, said, "When medical professionals decide that patient safety is less important than finding a great deal on pharmaceutical products from foreign countries and unknown suppliers our nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain is at risk and patients are vulnerable. FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations will continue to investigate these cases and work closely with our regulatory counterparts in FDA and our law enforcement partners who share the same commitment to address this problem. We hope this message is heard loud and clear within the medical community-you will face criminal prosecution if you engage in this type of illegal activity."
Daphne Hearn, Special Agent in Charge of the San Diego FBI, said, “Health care fraud costs the country billions of dollars each year and undermines the security of the Medicare program. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and prosecutors to ensure the safety of the public and ensure the Medicare program will be there for those who need it most.”
Derek Benner, Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, said, “As part of this case, HSI agents and our law enforcement partners uncovered an intricate network involved in the illicit distribution and importation of unapproved drugs that were sold to doctors in the U.S. It’s disturbing to see licensed, trusted medical professionals who are willing to put their own financial gain over public health and safety. We owe it to consumers to aggressively pursue pharmaceutical fraud given the significant risk to public health.”
According to the corporation’s plea agreement, Bernstein’s employees knowingly purchased foreign drugs containing the same active ingredient as drugs sold in the United States as Abraxane, Alimta, Aloxi, Boniva, Eloxatin, Gemzar, Neulasta, Rituxan, Taxotere, Venofer and Zometa, but were intended for use in markets outside the United States and had not been approved for sale in the United States.
The medical practice, in pleading guilty, admitted that it was aware that the drugs were not approved by the FDA in part because the practice had received a Notice from the FDA in October, 2008, that a shipment of drugs had been detained because the drugs were not approved for use in the United States by the FDA. Despite this warning, Bernstein’s medical practice continued to purchase unapproved cancer drugs and inject them into patients.
The FDA regulates the introduction of pharmaceuticals into commerce. This regulation helps ensure that drugs are safely manufactured, made from appropriate ingredients and properly labeled. The approval process addresses the chemical composition of the drug, the drug’s safety and effectiveness, and the elements of the drug’s distribution, such as the methods used in the manufacture, processing and packing of the drug, as well as the labeling to be used for the drug.
Only drugs that comply with vigorous U.S. standards should be given to patients in this country. Drugs manufactured outside the United States which are not intended for use in the United States do not go through this approval process and are considered unapproved, and therefore potentially unsafe.
In the Bernstein case, investigators found no evidence the illegal drugs involved were counterfeit. The unapproved foreign medications that were seized during the investigation were tested and found to contain the appropriate level of active ingredients. Although it’s difficult to determine whether a decline in a patient’s health should be attributed to unapproved drugs or to cancer, the investigation uncovered no evidence to indicate that Bernstein’s patients were harmed by the foreign drugs he administered.
There have been numerous similar cases of illegal importation and distribution of foreign unapproved drugs in San Diego and around the United States in recent years.
In cases related to Bernstein, a Florida-based cancer-drug supplier, Martin Paul Bean III, was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Diego in September 2012 for allegedly selling more than $7 million of misbranded and unapproved prescription oncology drugs to U.S. doctors. Please see 12-cr-03734-WQH USA.
The indictment alleged that from 2005 to 2011, Bean, doing business as GlobalRxStore, ordered the misbranded and unapproved drugs from foreign countries, including Turkey, India and Pakistan, and sold them to the doctors throughout the U.S. at substantially discounted prices via a wholesale pharmacy in San Diego.
That pharmacy - Oberlin Medical Supply and Service Corp. - was owned and operated by Maher Idriss, who pleaded guilty March 8, 2012, to conspiring with Bean to supply the unapproved drugs. Idriss acknowledged that U.S. doctors paid him over $7 million for foreign-sourced unapproved oncology drugs from May 2006 to May 2011. Idriss faces up to five years in prison and restitution and has already forfeited approximately $54,000 of profits. He is scheduled for sentencing May 20, 2013. Please see 12- cr-01775-WQH.
According to the plea agreement for the Bernstein medical practice, employees ordered drugs from Oberlin, among other suppliers.
Idriss admitted that after receiving payments from the doctors, he transferred the funds to the foreign suppliers and to the GlobalRXStore owner's bank account in Canada, keeping a portion for himself.
In another related case with a San Diego connection, James Newcomb of La Jolla was sentenced in August 2012 to 24 months in prison for conspiring to distribute adulterated prescription drugs to physicians in the United States.
Newcomb admitted that he distributed unapproved prescription drugs from foreign countries to physicians located in the United States, with the assistance of persons in Canada and the United Kingdom. Please see 12-cr-00009-RWS-1. Newcomb and others marketed these illegal drugs to U.S. doctors by offering them at up to 60% off the average wholesale price of the legitimate drugs in the United States.
According to the plea agreement of Bernstein’s medical practice, employees of his office purchased unapproved oncology drugs from Newcomb’s businesses, which included Medication Brokers, Pricing Logix, Richard’s Services, Ban Dune Marketing and Warwick Healthcare Solutions. Newcomb based his operations in offices in La Jolla. La Jolla resident Sandra Behe and Dr. Abid Nisar of St. Louis, Missouri, were also convicted in the same investigation.
Elsewhere in the country, doctors, office staff and drug suppliers in Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee and California were indicted in similar schemes in 2011 and 2012. They were accused of importing misbranded cancer drugs at significantly cheaper prices, providing them to patients without disclosing the source of the drugs, and then submitting claims for reimbursement from healthcare programs.
It was the FDA’s discovery of two counterfeit drugs - Avastin, the approved blockbuster cancer drug for treatment of colorectal, lung, kidney and brain cancer, and Altuzan, the unapproved Turkish version of Avastin - that brought national media attention to the problem. The Altuzan was found to contain no active ingredient at all, and thus would provide no benefit whatsoever to patients.
The FDA, recognizing the seriousness of this illegal activity and the discovery of the counterfeit Avastin and Altuzan, took the unprecedented regulatory action of issuing letters to numerous medical practices and physicians around the country, including many that purchased unapproved cancer drugs. To date over 500 letters have been issued.
Dr. Bernstein was among those who received a letter from the FDA prior to being charged with federal crimes.
The letter to Bernstein said, in part: “Purchasing prescription drug products, such as injectable cancer medications, from foreign or unlicensed suppliers puts patients at risk of exposure to drugs that may be fake, contaminated, improperly stored and transported, ineffective, and dangerous. In virtually all cases, purchasing unapproved prescription drugs from foreign sources violates the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and is illegal.”
The letter warned of the risks of purchasing medications from foreign, unfamiliar or unlicensed suppliers and selling unapproved versions of injectable cancer medications, noting that “patients were unknowingly placed at risk when they received medications of uncertain purity, storage, handling, identity and sourcing.”
The letter also noted that importing these medications from foreign sources is a violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
“In an effort to protect the health of patients, health care providers should use only FDA-approved versions of these cancer medications,” the letter said. “Health care providers should be aware that purchasing medications from direct-to-clinic promotions that are from non-verified sources might increase the risk of receiving a potentially unsafe and ineffective product, since the products offered for sale may be unapproved, not manufactured with the quality attributes of FDA-approved products, or counterfeit.”
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No. 13cr0120-BGS Joel I. Bernstein SUMMARY OF CHARGESTitle 21, United States Code, Section 331(d), 333(a) (1) and 355(a), a misdemeanor – Introducing or causing to be introduced into interstate commerce an unapproved new drug
MAXIMUM PENALTIESOne year in prison; $100,000 fine, one year supervised release; restitution.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No. 13cr0119-CAB Dr. Joel I. Bernstein, M.D., Inc. SUMMARY OF CHARGESTitle 18, United States Code, Section 1347 – Medicare Fraud
MAXIMUM PENALTIESFive years’ supervised release; $500,000 fine; mandatory restitution.
INVESTIGATING AGENCIESThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations was the lead investigative agency in this case. Other agencies involved were the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The lead prosecutor is Melanie Pierson.
Kenneth Jones Sentenced for Federal Firearms ConvictionsRead the Press Release
KENNETH JONES, age 23, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced to 38 months of incarceration by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah S. Vance after he pleaded guilty to two counts of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente. In addition to incarceration, JONES received three (3) years of supervised release and a $200.00 special assessment
According to court documents, on August 24, 2011, JONES was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by New Orleans Police Officers for a routine traffic violation. During the police encounter, JONES was found to be in possession of a Glock, model 36, .45 caliber pistol.
Later, on December 9, 2011, when the New Orleans Police Department was executing an arrest warrant, JONES was found with a second firearm, a Beretta, model PX4Storm, .40 caliber pistol.
Court records revealed that JONES was convicted on or about January 22, 2008, for the possession with intent to distribute cocaine in Texas, a felony punishable by more than one year of incarceration. As such, JONES was prohibited from possession a firearm by both state and federal law.
The case was investigated by the FBI Violent Crime Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance of NOPD and was prosecuted by Assistant
U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera.Kansas Man Sentenced for Williston Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
BISMARCK – U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Jan. 23, 2013, Kent A. Clemens, 53, Topeka, Kan., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of bank robbery. Clemens pleaded guilty to the charge on Oct. 22, 2012.
Judge Hovland sentenced Clemens to serve three years and one month in federal prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Clemens was ordered to pay restitution of $500 and to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.
On July 18, 2012, Clemens entered the Gate City Bank in Williston and demanded money from a teller. After receiving money, Clemens fled on foot from the bank. Clemens then traveled to Topeka. On July 21, 2012, Clemens contacted the Topeka Police Department and reported the he was the person who robbed the Gate City Bank in Williston. Investigators recovered some of the money from Clemens’s sister, who advised Clemens had given the money to her after returning from North Dakota.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Williston Police Department and the Topeka Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Volk prosecuted the case.
KC Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
Project Ceasefire
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.
Thomas D. Clegg, 29, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 10 years in federal prison without parole, the statutory maximum sentence.
Clegg, who pleaded guilty on Sept. 26, 2012 to being a felon in possession of a firearm, was arrested on May 4, 2012. According to court documents, Kansas City, Mo., police officers responded to the area of I-70 and Sterling to locate a suspect and a Yellow Cab that had been taken in an earlier carjacking. The cab driver reported that his cell phone had been taken and police officers were able to ping the phone to determine its location. The officers located the victim’s cab and went into the IHOP restaurant, where they located Clegg sitting alone in a booth.
The officers asked Clegg to step out of the booth and he attempted to push past the officers and flee. Clegg struggled violently and the officers had to deploy a taser to take him into custody. Officers searched Clegg and found a loaded 9mm Taurus semi-automatic handgun in his left front pants pocket. The victim’s cell phone was recovered from Clegg and returned to the victim.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Clegg has two prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and prior felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, trafficking drugs, voluntary manslaughter, firing a weapon from a motor vehicle causing injury or death, armed criminal action and assault.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Michael Green. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Project Ceasefire
Project Ceasefire, launched in October 1999, is a cooperative initiative by federal and local law enforcement and the Kansas City Crime Commission that targets for federal prosecution persons who unlawfully use or possess firearms.Joseph Pretty on Top Sentenced in U.S. District CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on January 23, 2013, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, JOSEPH PRETTY ON TOP, a 49-year-old resident of Lodge Grass, appeared for sentencing. PRETTY ON TOP was sentenced to a term of:
Probation: 3 years
Special Assessment: $300
Restitution: $3,324
PRETTY ON TOP was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to theft by an employee of an Indian gaming establishment and theft by employee of an Indian casino.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Vincent Carroll, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On April 11, 2012, an investigation was opened after allegations that approximately $3,000 was stolen from the gaming machines at the Absaalooka Nights Casino at Crow Agency. The investigation revealed that PRETTY ON TOP, a security guard for the Absaalooka Nights Casino, had turned off the surveillance cameras to an area of the casino and, without authorization, took money out of the gaming machines in that area. PRETTY ON TOP took $681 on 3/18/2012; $1,132 on 3/20/2012; and $1,511 on 3/22/2012, for a total of $3,324. When interviewed by law enforcement, PRETTY ON TOP admitted to taking the money. Also, part of the thefts were caught on other surveillance videos.
The Absaalooka Nights Casino is a gaming establishment operated by and for, and licensed by, the Crow Tribe pursuant to an ordinance approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that PRETTY ON TOP will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, PRETTY ON TOP does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Joplin Man Pleads Guilty to Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a sex offender from Joplin, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to possessing child pornography.
David Wayne Morgan, 56, of Joplin, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to possessing child pornography. Morgan, a registered sex offender, was convicted of statutory sodomy with a 4-year-old victim in 1997.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Morgan will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
On May 1, 2012, members of the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, in conjunction with other state and federal law enforcement agencies, conducted a sexual offender registration compliance check. Law enforcement officers contacted Morgan at his residence. Morgan led the investigators into his home and immediately began disconnecting various devices from his computer system. Morgan allowed officers to search his computer and storage devices. Investigators found multiple images of child pornography on the computer.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."Inmate Who Bribed Correctional Officer to Smuggle Contraband to Him Sentenced to 15 Months’ ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that today in Scranton Senior United States District Court Judge James M. Munley sentenced Anthony Orlando Gibbs, age 37, formerly of Michigan, to 15 months’ imprisonment for bribing a correctional officer at the United States Penitentiary at Canaan to smuggle contraband into the prison.
The sentencing follows Gibbs’ guilty plea to a Criminal Information charging him with bribery of a public official. The Criminal Information noted that during the Spring and Summer of 2011, Gibbs was an inmate at USP-Canaan. The United States Penitentiary-Canaan is a high security institution housing male inmates. High security institutions, also known as United States Penitentiaries, have highly-secured perimeters featuring walls or reinforced fences, multiple- and single-occupant cell housing, the highest staff-to-inmate ratio, and close control of inmate movement.
The Criminal Information further noted that under federal law, inmates are prohibited from possessing cellular telephones. USP-Canaan is also a smoke-free environment; inmates are not allowed to purchase or possess any kind of tobacco product which is considered contraband within the institution.
The Criminal Information alleged that Gibbs paid more than $5,000 to correctional officer Donald E. Lykon to induce him to smuggle to the defendant cellular phones, marijuana, tobacco and related items within the United States Penitentiary at Canaan.
There was a plea agreement in the case which was accepted by Senior Judge Munley.
Judge Munley previously sentenced correctional officer Donald E. Lykon to 18 months’ imprisonment and his wife, Kimberly Lykon, to 5 months’ imprisonment for their roles in the scheme.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Department of Justice Office of Inspector General.Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gurganus prosecuted the case.
Informational: Federal Court ArraignmentsRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on January 23, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn S. Ostby, the following individuals were arraigned:
JERARD DAVID JO THREEFINGERS, a 23-year-old resident of Lame Deer, appeared on charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. He is currently released on special conditions. If convicted of these charges, THREEFINGERS faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
KYLE LEE FULMER, a 29-year-old resident of Ashland, appeared on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He is currently released on special conditions. If convicted of this charge, FULMER faces possible penalties of 8 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
DELBERT DEAN SPEAR, a 24-year-old resident of Crow Agency, appeared on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. He is currently detained. If convicted of this charge, SPEAR faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
KERRY LYNN VAN HAELE, a 29-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and (2) counts of possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine. He is currently detained. If convicted of these charges, VAN HAELE faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and could be sentenced to life, a $4,000,000 fine, and 8 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica T. Fehr is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Billings Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations.
The defendants pled not guilty to the charges.
The charge, an indictment, information or complaint, is merely an accusation and all persons named as defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A pre-trial conference and a trial date will be set and the United States will be required to prove the allegations set forth in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.
Hungarian Man Sentenced for Scheme Selling Vehicles over the InternetRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Hungarian man was sentenced today for conspiring to commit money-laundering and using a counterfeit passport in a scheme to sell vehicles over the Internet.
Zsolt Lendvai, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court George A. O’Toole, Jr., to two years in prison and ordered to pay $1.1 million in forfeiture and restitution to the victims. In July 2012, Lendvai pleaded guilty.
In October 2011, Lendvai, and another conspirator, Eniko Somodi, entered the United States from Hungary. While here, a conspirator identified as Z.K., provided them false passports and other identity documents and directed Lendvai and Somodi to use their new false identities to open up mailboxes and bank accounts. Other conspirators then fraudulently sold vehicles over the Internet and directed purchasers to send the purchase money to the conspiracy’s newly-opened bank accounts. Lendvai and Somodi transferred the purchase money elsewhere, often by wiring them to bank accounts in Hong Kong or elsewhere outside the U.S. More than $1 million moved through these accounts.
Sentencing for Eniko Somodi is currently scheduled for March 8, 2013.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Bruce Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Kevin Niland, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott L. Garland and Veronica Lei of Ortiz’s Cybercrimes and Asset Forfeiture Units.
Hidalgo Man Heads to Prison for Bringing Undocumented Aliens into the U.S.Read the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – Adan Garcia-Figueroa, 59, of Hidalgo, will spend a total of 70 months in federal prison following his convictions on two counts of bringing an undocumented alien into the United States and one count of illegally re-entering the United States after a prior deportation, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Garcia-Figueroa was convicted by a jury Nov. 16, 2012, following three days of trial.
Today, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane, who presided over the trial, handed Garcia-Figueroa 70 months for each of the three charged offenses including two counts of bringing aliens into the U.S. and one count of illegal re-entering the country following a prior deportation. All the sentences will be served concurrently. In handing down the sentence, Judge Crane specifically found Garcia-Figueroa obstructed the administration of justice when he testified falsely at trial. As a result of this finding, Judge Crane increased Garcia-Figueroa’s sentence. Garcia-Figueroa is also expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.
During the trial, the government presented photos, maps and witness testimony illustrating Garcia-Figueroa’s unlawful entry despite being an aggravated felon and while bringing several undocumented aliens into the United States by navigating the Rio Grande River in the shadow of the Hidalgo Port of Entry. The evidence indicated the defendant utilized a raft to bring 12-17 aliens from various Latin American countries, including El Salvador, into the United States during three successive trips across the river. Agents assigned to a Border Patrol Baymaster marine vessel apprehended Garcia-Figueroa while he attempted to flee back to Mexico and later apprehended seven additional aliens after tracking their movement from the river.
Garcia-Figueroa testified and claimed he had previously set fishing nets downstream from the Hidalgo Port of Entry. He attempted to convince the jury he was in the process of floating down several miles of the river in an inflatable raft to retrieve his nets when two border patrol boats appeared and plucked him from his raft and falsely accused him of drug trafficking. Garcia-Figueroa claimed he was the only boater on the water although he admitted to using a raft similar to the one used by the alleged alien smuggler. Garcia-Figueroa could not account for the undocumented aliens that had crossed the river at the same time and place where Garcia-Figueroa was apprehended.
Despite these claims, the government was able to offer additional evidence showing Garcia-Figueroa made numerous admissions to the other aliens as they were being transported to the Border Patrol station including offering to assist the aliens with their return to the United States following their deportation.
Garcia-Figueroa will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Border Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Grady J. Leupold prosecuted the case.
Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Firearm Possession ChargeRead the Press Release
January 23, 2013David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ALEXANDER GARAY, 36, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 22, 2012, GARAY was arrested after he engaged Hartford police officers in a car chase during which he nearly hit an officer, threw bags of heroin out of his car window and forced another individual’s vehicle off the road. A subsequent search of GARAY’s vehicle revealed a Taurus 9 millimeter pistol and an additional quantity of heroin.
The firearm GARAY possessed had been reported stolen from its legal owner in 2006.
Prior to May 2012, GARAY had been convicted of multiple felony offenses, including weapon in a motor vehicle (twice), criminal possession of a firearm, sale of hallucinogens/narcotics, possession of narcotics (twice), and stealing a firearm.
It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Judge Bryant has scheduled sentencing for March 20, 2013, at which time GARAY faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
GARAY has been detained since his arrest by Hartford Police on May 22, 2012.
This case was investigated by the Hartford Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan S. Freimann and Michelle McConaghy.
The Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, and improving the safety of residents of Connecticut’s cities.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
[email protected]Grand Prairie, Texas, Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Federal Prison for Transporting and Shipping Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DALLAS — Richard Warner, 45, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 210 months in federal prison and a 10-year term of supervised release, following his guilty plea to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Warner has been in federal custody since he entered that guilty plea on August 31, 2011.
According to documents filed in the case, Warner admits that in 2008 he was involved in trading images of child pornography over the internet. He further admits that on January 11, 2011, when FBI Special Agents knocked on the door of his Grand Prairie, Texas, residence, he agreed to speak to them about his activities involving child pornography on his computer. He acknowledged that he first became interested in child pornography in 2004-2005, he preferred thin, preteen boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and some of his child pornography images and videos also contained bondage and bestiality.
Warner allowed his computer and hard drive to be searched and indicated that in addition to numerous images and videos of child pornography, the FBI would also find stories he had written describing sadistic sexual escapades between an adult male and a minor boy. A forensic analysis conducted by the North Texas Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory on Warner’s computer and external hard drive revealed several thousand images and videos of child pornography in addition to sexual and sadistic stories about an adult male and a 10-year-old boy.
This matter was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks.
Gastonia Man Handed 6-Month Prison Sentence for Vehicle Emissions FraudRead the Press Release
Defendant Delivered Fraudulent Emissions Certificate to Undercover Agents in Exchange for Cash
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Gastonia man was sentenced late Wednesday, January 22, 2014, to serve six months in prison for producing a fraudulent vehicle emissions certificate to undercover agents, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney also sentenced Mohammed Hafeez Awan, 52, of Gastonia, to three years of supervised release, six months of which Awan will spend in home confinement. Awan was also ordered to perform 50 hours of community service and to a pay a $1,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Special Agent in Charge Maureen O’Mara of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID), Atlanta Area Office; Greg McLeod, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI); and Steven M. Watkins, Director of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles License and Theft Bureau (NC DMV License & Theft Bureau).
According to court records and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, Awan is the former owner of Prestige Car Care (Prestige), an automobile repair shop and state licensed vehicle emissions station in Charlotte. In 2005, as a result of a state investigation into illegal emissions inspections, it was determined that Awan and his employees conducted the fraudulent inspections, commonly referred to as “clean scanning,” by connecting Prestige’s emission testing equipment into a designated surrogate vehicle that would pass the state’s emission testing requirements. As a result of that investigation, the NC DMV License & Theft Bureau suspended Prestige’s safety/emissions inspection license for a period of 11 years.
According to yesterday’s sentencing hearing, in September 2011, while Awan’s shop was no longer able to conduct emissions inspections, Awan conspired with Jassim Juburi, a former employee of Central Auto Inspection & Repair in Charlotte to continue this practice. According to court documents, law enforcement agents working undercover paid Awan $150.00 in exchange for a fraudulent vehicle emissions certificate and without ever producing a vehicle to be inspected. The fraudulent emissions test and certificate were generated by Awan’s co-conspirator, Jassim Juburi, a former employee of Central Auto Inspection & Repair in Charlotte. Juburi was previously sentenced to an 18-month prison term for conducting more than 530 illegal “clean scan” inspections.
The Clean Air Act requires vehicle emission inspections in geographic regions that exceed national ambient air quality standards. According to the EPA, the Charlotte metropolitan area exceeds the 8-hour standard set for Ozone, a potent irritant that can cause lung damage and other types of respiratory problems.
In March 2012, Awan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act by conducting false vehicle emissions inspections. Awan was ordered to self-report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the EPA’s criminal investigation division, NC SBI’s Diversion and Environmental Crimes Unit, and NC DMV License & Theft Bureau, with assistance from the North Carolina Division of Air Quality, Mobile Sources Compliance Branch. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Steven R. Kaufman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Former Professor Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Westmoreland County has pleaded guilty to a charge of production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, and has been sentenced in federal court to 180 months imprisonment, to be followed by a term of supervised release to extend the remainder of his life, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Balazs Tarnai, 36, formerly of Greensburg, Pa. At the time of his arrest, Tarnai was a Professor of Special Education at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa. He holds a PhD from Penn State University.
According to information presented to the court during the guilty plea phase of the proceedings, on March 30, 2011, Tarnai knowingly received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct by computer and the United States Mail. A search of his residence and seizure of his laptop computer with valid consent revealed material depicting the sexual exploitation of prepubescent minor boys, as well as homemade videos and images of minor boys using the bathrooms in his home.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Greensburg Police Department, and the Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement, HSI - Pittsburgh, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Tarnai.
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.justice.gov/psc.
Former Postal Worker Pleads Guilty to Federal Workers Compensation FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida - United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces that Jessy Paliyath Peter (55, Lakeland) today pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and making a false statement to obtain federal employee's compensation. She faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, the Federal Employees Compensation Act, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (DOL/OWCP), provides compensation benefits to civilian employees of the United States for disabilities due to personal injuries sustained while in the performance of their official duties at the workplace. The DOL/OWCP requires disabled federal employees to complete and submit a Form EN-1032 on an annual basis. The DOL/OWCP uses the information provided by the employee on the form to determine whether the employee is still eligible to receive wage replacement income or if an adjustment in benefits is warranted.
In 2000, Peter, who was then employed as a mail clerk in Polk County, alleged that she had sustained an injury to her back. Later, she made application for and was approved to receive federal employees' compensation benefits.
From 2003 to at least December 2012, Peter worked as a sales representative for Avon, Inc. and earned commissions on her sales. From February 2009 to at least December 2012, Peter exercised regularly at Lifestyle Family Fitness Center for an average of four to five days per week, typically for one to two hours per visit. Surveillance video revealed that she routinely and actively participated in group fitness classes and exercised on weight machines, consistently exceeding her medical restrictions. Two physicians, who had previously examined Peter, viewed the surveillance video and advised that Peter had misrepresented her physical condition to them. The physicians removed all medical restrictions and cleared Peter for full duty employment.
In May 2011, Peter filed a false and fraudulent Form EN-1032. Specifically, she reported that she was not employed; reported no income of any kind; and concealed the true state of her physical health. Peter made these false statements because she did not want her DOL/OWCP wage replacement benefits to be reduced or terminated.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachelle DesVaux Bedke.
Former Postal Employee Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Stealing a Postal Money Order Purchased by a CustomerRead the Press Release
Also Set Fire to the Postmaster’s Office to Cover-up the TheftBaltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Dana Lind Nixon, age 27, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing a postal money order purchased by a customer. Nixon also set fire to the Postmaster’s office in an attempt to cover up the theft. Judge Quarles ordered Nixon to pay restitution of $4,006.29.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Postal Inspector in Charge Gary R. Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Steven L. Gerido of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; and Maryland State Fire Marshal William E. Barnard.
According to Nixon’s guilty plea, she was an employee of the United States Postal Service working as a Sales and Distribution Associate at the Belcamp, Maryland Post Office. Nixon admits that early on the morning of May 15, 2012, she set fire to the Postmaster's office in an attempt to conceal her theft of a $1,000 postal money order. The fire was quelled, although damage was estimated at approximately $5,000. The Fire Marshal determined that the fire was intentionally set and identified seven different ignition points and other indicators of arson.
In the course of investigating the arson, Postal Inspectors interviewed the Belcamp Postmaster and learned that on May 14, 2012, the Postmaster left paperwork on her desk documenting a complaint from a customer who purchased a $1,000 postal money order on May 8, 2012. The customer alleged that, upon returning home, she realized that the postal clerk, later determined to be Nixon, failed to provide her with the purchased $1,000 postal money order. Further investigation revealed that shortly after the customer purchased the money order from Nixon, Nixon cashed the money order at her own bank in her own name.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, ATF, and Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office for their work in the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Service - Office of Inspector General,. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Rachel M. Yasser, who prosecuted the case.
Former Miami Clinic Director Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison<br /> for Role in HIV Infusion Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A former Miami HIV infusion clinic director was sentenced today to serve 70 months in prison for his role in a $26.2 million HIV infusion fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Steinbach of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office.
Enrique Gonzalez, 67, formerly of Miami, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in the Southern District of Florida. In addition to his prison term, Judge Altonaga sentenced Gonzalez to serve three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $17,590,896 in restitution to HHS.On Nov. 13, 2012, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, to cause the submission of false claims, and to pay health care kickbacks, and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Gonzalez admitted that between August 2002 and March 2004, he conspired with co-defendant Ronald Harris, a Miami physician, and alleged co-conspirators to operate Physicians Med-Care and Physicians Health (together the “Physicians Clinics”), two Miami HIV infusion clinics. According to court documents, the Physicians Clinics were owned and controlled by alleged co-conspirators Carlos Benitez and his brother Luis Benitez. The Physicians Clinics purported to specialize in treating patients with HIV, but were operated for the sole purpose of committing Medicare fraud, according to court documents. Gonzalez was a director of Physicians Med-Care and, at the direction of his co-conspirators, was responsible for the finances of the Physicians Clinics.
Gonzalez admitted that he agreed with his co-conspirators to handle the finances for the Physicians Clinics, moving the money paid by the Medicare program out of the Physicians Clinics’ accounts and into accounts owned and controlled by his co-conspirators. According to court documents, Harris signed blank checks that Gonzalez used to transfer funds to various Benitez-owned entities and others, as directed by his co-conspirators. In addition, Gonzalez agreed to provide cash to various co-conspirators at the Physicians Clinics to be used to pay bribes and kickbacks to the Medicare beneficiaries in return for those beneficiaries allowing the Physicians Clinics to bill the Medicare program for HIV infusion services that were not medically necessary and often not provided.Gonzalez admitted that during his association with Physicians Med-Care, the clinic billed the Medicare program approximately $24.5 million in HIV infusion therapy claims, for which the clinic received $16.7 million in payments. Gonzalez also admitted that during his time with Physicians Health, the clinic billed Medicare approximately $1.7 million and received approximately $800,000 in payment from the Medicare program for fraudulent services.
Gonzalez was a fugitive from justice from the time of his indictment in 2008, until he was located and detained in Peru in late 2011. Gonzalez was extradited to the United States in July of 2012. Gonzalez’ daughter, Carmen Gonzalez, was indicted in a related case and is currently a fugitive.
Co-defendant Harris pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2008, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, to cause the submission of false claims and to pay health care kickbacks; one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; and three counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare program. Harris pleaded guilty in connection with his role as the medical director for the Physicians Clinics. On Nov. 4, 2008, Harris was sentenced to serve 84 months in prison for his role in the scheme.
Carlos and Luis Benitez and Thomas McKenzie were charged separately with health care fraud and money laundering crimes in an indictment unsealed on June 11, 2008. According to the separate indictment, the defendants provided the money and staff necessary to open the Physicians Clinics, the Medicare patients that the clinics needed to bill the Medicare program and transportation for the HIV patients who visited the clinics. Carlos and Luis Benitez and McKenzie were charged for their role in committing approximately $109 million in HIV infusion fraud and money laundering through the Physicians Clinics and nine other HIV infusion clinics.
On Sept. 18, 2008, McKenzie pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of submitting false claims to the Medicare program, and admitted to his role in a $119 million HIV infusion fraud scheme. On Dec. 18, 2008, McKenzie was sentenced to serve 14 years in prison.
Carlos and Luis Benitez are also fugitives. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the fugitives is urged to contact HHS-OIG fugitive reporting phone line at 888-476-4453.
The defendants who have not been convicted are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.The Physicians Med-Care and Physicians Health case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney N. Nathan Dimock of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the FBI and the DHS Office of Inspector General.
The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The Department also thanks the Peruvian National Police Interpol Unit for their assistance.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Former Humana Inc. Employee Admits to Taking Kick-Backs Totaling $2 Million Dollars in an Insurance Sales Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Former Humana Inc. sales manager, James E. Wenger, pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Louisville, Kentucky today, to charges of racketeering and bribery, in connection with his former position, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
Wenger, age 50, of Louisville, pleaded guilty to a single count federal information charging him with taking kickbacks totaling at least two million dollars while employed as part of Humana’s sales and marketing division known as the MarketPoint Organization.
According to the plea agreement, Wenger admits that in 2005, he, along with others, met at a hotel in Florida to discuss sending insurance agents to Shep Cutler, one of the larger Managing General Agencies (MGA) and Dan McNerney, one of his business partners, and also a MGA. Wenger and co-defendant Glenn Fine, another Humana employee, agreed to send insurance agents, who wanted to sell Humana Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan products, to Cutler and McNerney in exchange for Cutler sending payments to Wenger and Fine. The four agreed to split the override fees, and each would receive payments of 25%. Fine and Wenger agreed to set up fictitious businesses accounts in their wives' names. Wenger admitted he sent agents to Cutler and McNerney's MGAs, and acknowledged his wife did not provide any service in exchange for the money received from Cutler. Wenger was not authorized by Humana to enter into a kickback relationship with Cutler and McNerney. Wenger received approximately $2,000,000 for his participation in the scheme. As a result of this kickback arrangement, Humana suffered a loss to its business, and had to pay legal and other investigative costs.
At sentencing, Wenger faces a combined maximum term of five years in prison, a combined maximum fine of $250,000, and a three year period of supervised release. Wenger may also be ordered to forfeit any and all property derived from the gross proceeds of the offenses for which he has pleaded guilty. Co-defendant Glenn Fine is scheduled to make an initial appearance on February 19, 2013, in U.S. District Court located in Louisville, Kentucky.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lettricea Jefferson-Webb and is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, with assistance from Humana Inc.
Former Executive Director of Chelsea Housing Authority Charged with Falsely Reporting SalaryRead the Press Release
BOSTON - The former Executive Director of the Chelsea Housing Authority was charged today in federal court with falsely reporting his salary in annual budgets required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.
Michael E. McLaughlin, 67, of Dracut, was charged in an Information with four counts of falsifying a record in a federal agency matter with intent to impede and obstruct that matter. The Information alleges that McLaughlin knowingly concealed, falsified, made false entries, and caused such concealment and false entries, in records and documents, namely, the annual fiscal year budgets of the Chelsea Housing Authority from 2008 to 2011, and submitted them electronically to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.
The Information alleges that McLaughlin falsely stated that his budgeted annual salary was $151,945, when he knew that his actual salary for FY 2008 was at least $242,908 under his existing contract. It is further alleged that McLaughlin made the same kind of concealment of his rising salary in the ensuing three years. Specifically, in FY 2009 McLaughlin falsely reported that his budgeted annual salary was $156,503, when he knew that his actual salary was at least $267,199 under his existing contract and his total compensation was at least $292,902, as reflected in his 2008 W-2. Then in FY 2010, McLaughlin falsely reported that his budgeted annual salary was $160,415, when he knew that his actual salary was at least $275,215 under his existing contract and his total compensation was at least $324,896, as reflected in his 2009 W-2. In FY 2011 McLaughlin falsely reported that his budgeted annual salary was $160,415, when he knew that his actual salary was at least $283,471 under his existing contract and his total compensation was at least $324,896, as reflected in his 2009 W-2.
The maximum punishment under the statute is 20 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 on each count.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Cary Rubenstein, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division made the announcement today. The Massachusetts Inspector General’s Office and Massachusetts State Police also assisted in the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Theodore Merritt of the Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Beagan from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
The details contained in the Information are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Doctor at District of Columbia Jail Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting A Male Inmate in 2008-Defendant Has Pled Guilty to Similar Charges in Georgia-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Lewis Jackson, 36, of Atlanta, Ga., who formerly did contract work as a medical doctor at the District of Columbia Jail, has pled guilty to a felony charge stemming from a sexual assault of an inmate, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
Jackson, formerly of Washington, D.C., pled guilty on Jan. 22, 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of second-degree sexual abuse. He will be sentenced later this year by the Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr. Jackson faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.
According to the government’s factual proffer at the plea hearing, on Nov. 10, 2008, Jackson was working at the D.C. Jail as a medical doctor. The victim, then an inmate at the jail, was sexually assaulted by Jackson when he went to him for medical care. The victim immediately reported the matter to authorities at the D.C. Jail.
The government secured Jackson’s indictment last year after developing DNA evidence. Within weeks of Jackson’s indictment in the District of Columbia, he was indicted for similar crimes in federal court in Atlanta. In that case, Jackson pled guilty in November 2012 to federal charges stemming from the sexual abuse of three inmates at a federal penitentiary where Jackson had worked as a doctor. Jackson, who worked at the federal penitentiary from January 2011 through July 2012, admitted that he sexually abused the three inmates in October 2011. He is to be sentenced in Atlanta on Feb. 7, 2013. His sentencing in the District of Columbia will be scheduled after those proceedings.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit. He also acknowledged the efforts of Paralegal Specialist Jason Manuel and Victim Advocate Tracy Hawkins. Finally, he commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Brooker, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharon Donovan and Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case.
13-019Former Director of Broward Public Works Department, Two Contractors, and Another Charged with Offering and Accepting Bribes in Connection with County ContractsRead the Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael B. Steinbach, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Marlies T. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, announce the unsealing of a criminal complaint and the filing of an Information charging defendants Jihad El Eid, 53, formerly of Plantation, FL, and Wael El Eid, 45, formerly of Coral Springs, FL, and both currently residing in Lebanon, with bribery in connection with programs receiving federal funds, highway fraud, mail fraud, extortion under color of official right, and conspiracy to commit those offenses, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 666, 1020, 1341, 1349, 1951, and 371, respectively. Also charged are defendants Anthoneel Allen, 40, of Sunrise, FL, and James Hashim, 50, of Plantation, FL, for conspiracy to commit bribery in programs receiving federal funds, highway fraud, mail fraud, extortion under color of official right, tax fraud, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise fraud, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371. Defendants Allen and Hashim made their initial appearance in federal court this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry S. Seltzer. Both were released on a $100,000 personal surety bond. Jihad El Eid and Wael El Eid are believed to be out of the country and did not appear in court.
According to the criminal complaint and the Information, in 1998, Jihad El Eid was hired as the director of the Broward County Traffic Engineering Division (BCTED), which is responsible for constructing, repairing, and maintaining the traffic systems and signs on the roadways in Broward County. Defendant Allen owned Southeast Underground Utilities, Corp., (SUU), in Plantation, Florida, which was in the business of installing, repairing and maintaining street lights and traffic signals. Prior to 2005, SUU had no contracts with the Broward County government or any Broward County municipality. In or about 2005, Allen hired defendant Hashim as a vice president of SUU. Hashim was to work as an estimator and to help SUU obtain government contracts.
According to the criminal complaint and the Information, beginning in the fall of 2006 through 2010, at the request of Jihad El Eid, Allen and Hashim provided to Jihad El Eid more than $150,000 in cash, a 2003 Ford Taurus, and a job at SUU for Wael El Eid (a relative of Jihad El Eid). Allen and Hashim allegedly made these payments to curry favor with Jihad El Eid. In return, Jihad El Eid allegedly helped SUU obtain work on multi-million dollar projects initiated by the BCTED, including the Signalization and Street Light Installation (SSLI) contract, a contract to make installations and do repair work of the street lights and traffic equipment in Broward County; the Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS Project), a federally-funded project, which required the contractor to install an integrated traffic control system which entailed laying hundreds of thousands of feet of underground cable and conduit in order to synchronize traffic flow within Broward County; and the Video Detection Contract (VDC), which required the contractor to install video detection cameras in various intersections in Broward County in order to improve traffic flow. Jihad El Eid also assisted SUU concerning billing, specification and inspection matters that resulted in SUU being overpaid by at least $3,000,000.
According to the Information, Allen and Hashim conspired to evade paying federal income and employment taxes on bonuses and payments on the purchase of Hashim’s $1.25 million house in Plantation, Florida. The charging documents also allege that Allen filed a fraudulent application on behalf of SUU to have SUU certified as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), which resulted in SUU being awarded awarded directly or as a subcontractor approximately 25 contracts from Broward County and other state, county and local governments in the State of Florida based on its fraudulently obtained DBE status, which entitled SUU to receive in excess of $10,000,000 in government contracts.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “Corruption in the procurement process is unacceptable, especially when it affects programs receiving federal funds. It is crucial that businesses compete on a level playing field, without improper outside influences or the payment or receipt of bribes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute those who steal from programs receiving federal funds.”
“This investigation reveals how business is not to be conducted in the United States. The FBI is committed to investigating not just corrupt acts, but the individuals who are behind them,” said Michael B. Steinbach, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Division. “We encourage anyone who may have information about corruption to come forward and report it. That information is critical to our work.”
“Individuals in positions of public trust are expected to work in an ethical manner,” said Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “Accepting a bribe corrupts the system, and IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to enforce the law and hold individuals accountable who engage in this type of fraud.”
If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, defendants Jihad El Eid and Wael El Eid face a possible maximum statutory sentence of up to 20 years in prison. If convicted of the charges in the Information, defendants Allen and Hashim each face a possible statutory maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, IRS-CI, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, in connection with the investigation of this matter. Mr. Ferrer would also like to recognize the assistance provided by the Broward County Office of the County Attorney, the Broward County Professional Standards Section, the Federal Highway Administration, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the employees of the Broward County Traffic Engineering Division. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey N. Kaplan.
Attachments:
Complaint (PDF)
Information (PDF)A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Cocaine and MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
A citizen of Mexico, who was named, along with nine others in an indictment returned in August 2012, has pled guilty, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Gonzalo Nunez-Camacho, 38, a citizen of Mexico who most recently resided in West Valley City, Utah, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine; Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine; and Interstate Travel in Support of Racketeering. Nunez-Camacho also admitted the forfeiture allegation in the indictment and agreed to forfeit to the United States the amount of $532,000, in addition to the $35,738 in United States currency which was seized from him by law enforcement on June 23, 2012. In addition, Nunez-Camacho agreed to the entry of a Judicial Order of Removal, which will require that he be deported from the United States following the service of his sentence.
Nunez-Camacho is currently scheduled to be sentenced on May 10, 2013. Each of the conspiracy counts carries a potential sentence of 10 years to life in prison, a $10,000,000 fine, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years. Interstate Travel in Support of Racketeering carries a potential sentence of not more than 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and not more than 3 years supervised release. Each of the counts also carries a $100 special assessment.
Three of the ten conspirators charged in the indictment have entered pleas of guilty. Five are awaiting trial, and two remain fugitives. An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, those defendants who have not yet been convicted are presumed to be innocent of a charge and are entitled to a fair trial at which the Government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Evidence in support of the indictment was obtained in an investigation which was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. Participating agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), U.S. Marshal Service, the Granite City Police Department, Fairview Heights Police Department, the Collinsville Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County (Missouri) Police Department, the St. Charles County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Department, and the Nebraska State Patrol. This case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Randy G. Massey for prosecution.
Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A citizen of Mexico, who was named, along with nine others in an indictment returned in August 2012, has pled guilty, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Vincente Lopez, 38, a citizen of Mexico, who most recently resided in Madison, Illinois, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine. Lopez also admitted the forfeiture allegation in the indictment and agreed to forfeit to the United States the amount of $27,104. In addition, Lopez agreed to the entry of a Judicial Order of Removal, which will require that he be deported from the United States following the service of his sentence.
Lopez is currently scheduled to be sentenced on May 10, 2013, at which time he faces a potential sentence of 10 years to life in prison, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of at least 5 years, and a $100 special assessment.
Three of the ten conspirators charged in the indictment have entered pleas of guilty. Five are awaiting trial, and two remain fugitives. An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, those defendants who have not yet been convicted are presumed to be innocent of a charge and is entitled to a fair trial at which the Government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Evidence in support of the indictment was obtained in an investigation which was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. Participating agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), U.S. Marshal Service, the Granite City Police Department, Fairview Heights Police Department, the Collinsville Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County (Missouri) Police Department, the St. Charles County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Department, and the Nebraska State Patrol. This case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Randy G. Massey for prosecution.
Five Sentenced in Connection with Cigarette Smuggling Ring Operating in North and South CarolinaRead the Press Release
The Defendants Were Caught In ATF And IRS-CI Undercover Investigation Involving More Than 486,000 Cartons Of Purportedly Stolen Cigarettes Worth Over $20 Million
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Five of twelve conspirators charged with running a cigarette smuggling ring in North and South Carolina were sentenced in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 on cigarette trafficking and money laundering charges, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The smuggling ring was uncovered over the course of “Operation Burn Notice,” a multi-agency investigation into the interstate transport and sales of stolen property and money laundering in Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C. and Columbia, S.C.
Wayne L. Dixie, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division; Jeannine A. Hammett, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI); and Chief Rodney D. Monroe of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department join U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement.
Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney handed down the federal sentences ranging from 14 months to 18 years in prison:
• Kamal Zaki Qazah, 35, of Columbia, S.C., was sentenced to 18 years in prison followed by two years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit property associated with his offenses.
• Tha’er Ismail Ayyad, 48, of Kernersville, N.C., was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Ayyad, a Jordanian national, was also convicted of one count of visa fraud and will be deported upon completion of his sentence.
• Ahmed Ibrahim, age 48, of Columbia, S.C., was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
• Ziad Hashem Najjar, 47, of Greensboro, N.C., was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
• Ahmed Samy Hosney Kareem, 35, of Matthews, N.C., was sentenced to 14 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
The final defendant in the conspiracy, Nasser Kamal Alquza, 48, of Mt. Pleasant, N.C., will appear before Judge Whitney on January 30, 2014, for his final sentencing and pending forfeiture of property associated with his offenses.
According to the sentencing hearings, trial evidence and other court records:
From about August 2009 to November 2011, the co-conspirators engaged in a cigarette smuggling conspiracy that trafficked more than 486,000 cartons of cigarettes across North and South Carolina with an estimated retail value of $20 million. The co-conspirators paid more than $9.3 million in cash for cigarettes they believed to be stolen from Virginia and Tennessee, and profited by selling them to a network of retail businesses and associates willing to purchase the illegally obtained cigarettes at prices far below market value. The co-conspirators laundered their criminal proceeds through businesses owned by Kamal Qazah and Nasser Alquza in Columbia, S.C.
Kamal Zaki Qazah and Nasser Kamal Alquza were convicted of multiple counts of conspiracy on February 4, 2013, after a seven-day jury trial in federal district court in Charlotte.
The other six defendants involved in the conspiracy were previously sentenced as follows:
• Khaled Fadel Ibrahim, 50, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
• Wael Mahmoud Salem, 38, of Oakland Gardens, N.Y. was sentenced to 27 months in prison and one year of supervised release.
• Jose Calderon-Silver, 38, of New York, N.Y., was sentenced to one month in prison, six months of home confinement and one year of supervised release.
• Zafer Ramadan Kafozi, 48, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
• Hesham Rahman, 46, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
• Murad Ayyad, 33, of Charlotte, was sentenced to one year of probation.
Defendants Qazah, Alquza and Tha’er Ayyad are currently in federal custody. The remaining defendants will be ordered to self-report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins thanked ATF, IRS-CI and CMPD for their investigation of the case. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Mike Savage and Jennifer Dillon of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Federal Jury Convicts Three Men for Conspiring to Distribute MethRead the Press Release
Twelve Co-Defendants Await Sentencing
BOISE – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced that Jesus Guadalupe Sanchez a/k/a Jose Salazar, 31, a Mexican national, Michael Dennis Morris, 42, of Ontario, Oregon, and Jim Allen Loveland, 56, of Boise, Idaho, were convicted in United States District Court yesterday of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Sanchez was also convicted of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. They are scheduled to be sentenced on April 8, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.
During the six-day trial, the jury heard evidence that from early November 2011 through May 16, 2012, the defendants conspired with others, including their co-defendants, to distribute a total of approximately 11 pounds of methamphetamine in Canyon, Payette and Washington counties in Idaho.
Eleven co-defendants pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and are currently awaiting sentencing: Patrick Campbell, 36, of Boise, and Rachel Coblentz, 25, of Wrangell, Alaska, formerly of Weiser, are set for sentencing on February 1; Mario Martinez, Jr., 55, of Greenleaf, Idaho, Fabian Jordano Beltran, 23, and Jacob James Clevenger, 31, both of Weiser, on February 4; Amber Hites, 26, of Weiser, on February 26; Benjamine L. Vertner, 34, of Ontario, Kristopher Hensley, 26, of Weiser, and Johnathan E. Chapman, 27, of New Plymouth, Idaho, on February 27; Johnny A. Tambunga, 40, of Weiser, on February 28; and Dawson Lee Moore, 60, of Weiser, on March 27. Amy Maria Cavazos, 38, of Weiser, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and will be sentenced on February 1.
The charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years with the possibility of up to life in prison, a $10 million fine, and at least five years of supervised release. The charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum fine of $5 million, and not less than four years of supervised release.
“These convictions underscore federal, state and local law enforcement's commitment to aggressively prosecute drug traffickers who damage our rural communities, prey upon Idahoans and cause damage that ripples through our state,” said Olson. “Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug. The U.S. Attorney's Office and its law enforcement partners will use all lawful means to bring to justice and seek punishment for those who traffic in it.” Olson added that in 2012, the U.S. Attorney’s Office had a strong record of prosecuting methamphetamine cases – 73 defendants were sentenced collectively to a total of 6,694 months – over 557 years – in federal prison for methamphetamine crimes.
The case was investigated by the Idaho State Police.