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5 February 2013
Phoenix Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Federal Prison for Assaults on Grand Canyon RangersRead the Press Release
PHOENIX – On Feb. 4, 2013, Anthony Keith Swint, 43, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt to 33 months in federal prison. Swint was found guilty by a federal jury in Prescott, Ariz. on Sept. 28, 2012, of two counts of assault on a federal officer.
Swint was driving a tractor-trailer that got stuck near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, near the Bright Angel Trial. Swint caused a disturbance with Xanterra employees who were trying to help him unlock his brakes and get back on the road. The employees called park rangers to assist them, and Swint’s anger escalated as he cursed at the rangers and ignored their orders for him to stay in the cab. As the rangers were trying to detain Swint, he kicked one ranger, causing the ranger to fall to the ground. Later, as several rangers were escorting Swint into a booking facility, he bit a ranger’s hand. Evidence at trial showed that Swint had a lengthy criminal history, which included a prior incident of assault in Michigan in 2004.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the National Park Service. The prosecution was handled by Jennifer E. Green and Tracy Van Buskirk, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-12-8080-PCT-PGR
RELEASE NUMBER: 2013-013_SwintFor more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Pharmacist Sentenced for Illegally Distributing OxycodoneRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida - United States District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington sentenced Ihab "Steve" Barsoum (42, Lutz) yesterday to 17 years in federal prison for illegally distributing Oxycodone. On August 21, 2012, a federal jury found Barsoum guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, and five counts of distributing Oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice. In addition, Barsoum’s DEA registration number, his Florida pharmacy license, $40,000 in cash, and two BMWs were also forfeited.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Barsoum was involved in a conspiracy, from at least 2007, where he dispensed hundreds of Oxycodone pills. The pills were dispensed to customers passing fraudulent prescriptions and sometimes to customers who had no prescriptions at all. Customers came to his pharmacy several times a week, did not show Barsoum any identification, and presented him with prescriptions in various different names at one time.
Starting in 2011, Barsoum sold thousands of pills to a confidential source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Barsoum instructed the confidential source on how to write the medical information on prescriptions that Barsoum knew were fraudulent. He also provided the confidential source with the name and DEA registration number of a real doctor to use for the fraudulent prescriptions. Evidence showed that Barsoum fraudulently documented his files to represent that he had verified, with that same doctor, that the prescriptions were valid and the medication could be dispensed.
In all, Barsoum is responsible for distributing more than 50,000 Oxycodone pills without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shauna S. Hale.
Pedro Fernandez-garcia Pleads Guilty to Illegal Re-entryRead the Press Release
PEDRO FERNANDEZ-GARCIA, age 40, a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty in federal court today before U. S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance to a one-count indictment charging him with illegal re-entry by a removed alien, announced U. S. Attorney Dana Boente.
According to court documents, FERNANDEZ admitted to being an alien who had previously been removed from the United States, was found in the United States, in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana on December 5, 2012, without having obtained consent from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States.
The indictment charging FERNANDEZ with illegal re-entry also included a notice of sentencing enhancement based on his prior felony conviction. With the enhancement, the charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of ten years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing for the defendant is scheduled for May 15, 2013 at 9:30 A.M.The case was investigated by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Enforcement and Removal Operations. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Robert Weir.
(Download Factual Basis )
Pay to Play: Former Madison County Treasurer Guilty of Structuring Property Tax Sales to Reward Campaign ContributorsRead the Press Release
The former treasurer of Madison County, Illinois, pled guilty in US District Court on February 5, 2013, to violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Fred Bathon, 58, was convicted of structuring Madison County property tax sales in a way that increased prices and rewarded campaign contributors.
The charges allege that at Illinois tax lien auctions, investors bid to purchase tax lien certificates issued against delinquent tax payers. Investors are supposed to compete to purchase these tax liens by bidding on the interest rate the property owner will be required to pay prior to redeeming the tax lien filed on the owner's property. The bid opens at no more than the statutory maximum of 18% and through a competitive bidding process can be driven as low as 0 percent. The bidder offering the least penalty percentage rate, i.e., the bidder who is willing to allow the owner to redeem his property for the smallest penalty, is allowed to purchase the tax lien. As such, competitive bidding benefits financially distressed homeowners by reducing the amount of money that they have to pay to save their home from foreclosure; however, that same system reduces the profit made by tax buyers. Tax buyers prefer to receive high interest rates, which correspond to higher profits.
It was revealed in Court today that for the tax sales conducted in 2005-2008, Bathon structured the tax sales in a way that eliminated competitive bidding and allowed the tax buyers to engage in price fixing by only bidding the statutory maximum interest rate of 18%. In addition to awarding properties at non-competitive interest rates, Bathon also used a seating chart to ensure that his largest campaign contributors were recognized by the auctioneer as the winning bidder.
By 2007 and 2008, the bid rigging and price fixing was so pervasive that distressed homeowners were charged the statutory maximum interest rate on nearly every property tax lien sold. During the tax auction occurring November 14-15, 2007, 2,549 out of 2,574 property tax liens were awarded to bidders for the statutory maximum interest rate of 18%, which represented 99.03% of the property tax liens auctioned. During the tax auction occurring November 13-14, 2008, 2,290 out of 2,364 property tax liens were awarded to bidders for the statutory maximum interest rate of 18%, which represented 96.86% of the property tax liens auctioned.
US Attorney Wigginton said, “This crime exploited financially-distressed homeowners who were at risk of losing their homes for the financial gain of political contributors. This type of pay-to-play politics is intolerable and will be aggressively prosecuted. It is time that those involved in politics learn that public office is a public trust that should never be manipulated to reward friends and supporters. I want to make it clear that not only is this particular investigation far from finished, but that I will continue to investigate violators wherever they are found. Note that today’s charge is a charge of conspiracy. By its very nature, conspiracy involves more than one person.”
A violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum. However, the United States Sentencing Guidelines must be applied to the case and considered by the Court during sentencing. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 17, 2013.
Under Illinois law, Bathon will also forfeit his entire public pension as a result of his conviction. The Illinois Pension Code provides that “[n]one of the benefits herein provided for shall be paid to any person who is convicted of any felony relating to or arising out of or in connection with his or her service as a member.” This provision of Illinois law is oftentimes referred to as the “Ryan Rule,” following the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision in Ryan v. Bd. of Trustees of Gen. Assembly Ret. Sys., 236 Ill. 2d 315, 924 N.E.2d 970 (2010), which determined former Governor George Ryan forfeited all of his public pension benefits following his conviction on federal corruption charges. The state pension forfeiture provision reaches all public pension benefits, including those earned while serving in public positions with no connection or nexus to the federal conviction.
The investigation was conducted through the Metro East Public Corruption Task Force by agents from the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Steven D. Weinhoeft and Norman R. Smith.
Northern California Real Estate Investor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure AuctionsRead the Press Release
A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.
Felony charges were filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco against Gilbert Chung of Burlingame, Calif. Chung is the 27th individual to plead guilty or agree to plead guilty as a result of the department’s ongoing antitrust investigations into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.
According to court documents, Chung conspired with others not to bid against one another, but instead to designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, Calif. Chung was also charged with conspiring to use the mail to carry out schemes to fraudulently acquire title to selected properties sold at public auctions, to make and receive payoffs and to divert to co-conspirators money that would have otherwise gone to mortgage holders and others.
The department said Chung conspired with others to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and San Mateo counties beginning as early as January 2010 and continuing until about December 2010.
“The conspirators went to great lengths to suppress competition and prices at these foreclosure auctions,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division will continue to vigorously enforce the antitrust laws and to prosecute those who violate them at the expense of distressed homeowners.”
The department said that the primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and restrain competition and to conceal payoffs in order to obtain selected real estate offered at San Francisco and San Mateo County public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at these auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner.
"Today’s charges are another example of our resolve to bring to justice those who engaged in fraudulent bid rigging and anticompetitive practices at foreclosure auctions,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the San Francisco Field Office. “We continue our partnership with the Antitrust Division in aggressively pursuing individuals who participate in these criminal acts.”
A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for the Sherman Act charges may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim if either amount is greater than $1 million. A count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The government can also seek to forfeit the proceeds earned from participating in the conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
The charges today are the latest filed by the department in its ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, Calif. These investigations are being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office at 415-436-6660, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.
Today’s charges are part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
**The fraud charge(s) referenced in this press release were
subsequently dismissed on the government’s motion.**
Newington Man Admits Stealing Firearms from Colebrook ResidenceRead the Press Release
February 5, 2013David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL KENNEDY, also known as “Chavo,” 25, of Newington, pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford to one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 9, 2011, KENNEDY and Edward N. Ortiz, also known as “Heavy,” of New Britain, entered a residence in Colebrook and stole 12 firearms. The investigation has revealed that the majority of the stolen firearms were later sold to others, including street-level drug dealers.
Prior to May 2011, KENNEDY had been convicted of multiple felony offenses, including possession of narcotics, robbery, larceny and violation of a protection order.
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.
KENNEDY is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Robert N. Chatigny on April 30, 2013, at which time KENNEDY faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,00.
KENNEDY is currently detained in state custody on unrelated charges.
On September 27, 2012, Ortiz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal firearms and possess stolen firearms, and one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon. He awaits sentencing and is also detained.
This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Connecticut State Police and the New Britain Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan S. Freimann.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Nedra Bell Charged with Defrauding Louisiana Road Home Program and Making False Statements to an Agency of the United StatesRead the Press Release
NEDRA BELL, age 40, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was charged in a two-count bill of information filed yesterday for theft of government funds and making false statements to an agency of the United States, announced U. S. Attorney Dana J. Boente.
According to the Bill of Information, BELL applied for a Louisiana Road Home grant for property she was renting from her brother at the time of Hurricane Katrina. BELL applied for the grant on behalf of her brother, falsely stating that he was residing in the property at the time of Hurricane Katrina. As a result of her false statements in her application, BELL fraudulently received approximately $54,372 from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), an agency and department of the United States.
BELL is also charged with one count of making false statements to a federal agency on a re-certification application and HUD Income Questionnaire to the Housing Authority of New Orleans (“HANO”) for HUD rental subsidized housing under its Section 8 program. BELL denied that she received self-employment income or owned property, when in truth and in fact, she received income from her business as a hair stylist and owned property.
If convicted, BELL faces a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years, a $250,000 fine, restitution to the HUD, three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $200 special assessment.
U. S. Attorney Boente reiterated that the Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Julia K. Evans.(Download Bill of Information )
Mother and Son Indicted on Heroin and Drug House ChargesRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today that Deborah A. Perkins and Douglas W. Oliver have been indicted by a grand jury for Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin, Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, and Maintaining Drug-Involved Premises. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of the residence at 20 Kassing Drive in Fairview Heights, IL, which Perkins owns.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is 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.
U.S. Attorney Wigginton stated, “My Office is determined to continue its anti-heroin initiative with every legal means we have. That includes, when appropriate, seeking the forfeiture of real property which has been used to facilitate heroin trafficking.”
Perkins, 65, and her son, Oliver, 46, were arrested on January 21, 2013, following the filing of a criminal complaint. After a bond hearing on January 25, 2013, Perkins and Oliver were ordered detained (held without bond) pending trial. A trial date has not yet been set.
According to the indictment filed on February 5, 2013, Perkins and Oliver are alleged to have conspired to distribute heroin between 2010, and 2013. The indictment alleges that the two distributed “in excess of one kilogram of heroin” during that time period. (A “kilogram” is equal to 2.2 pounds.) The indictment further alleges that Perkins and Oliver possessed heroin for distribution on January 21, 2013, the day of their arrest. Finally, the indictment alleges that Perkins and Oliver maintained a drug house at 20 Kassing Drive, Fairview Heights, for the purpose of distributing and using heroin between 2004, and 2013.
Perkins and Oliver also face pending state charges for Concealment of a Death. Those charges involve the death of Jessica M. Williams in the spring of 2012. Police discovered Williams’ body in Washington Park, IL several weeks after her death.
The investigation which resulted in the arrest and indictment of Perkins and Oliver was conducted by Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Fairview Heights, IL Police Department. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Robert L. Garrison for trial.
Maryland Man Convicted for Armed Robberies of Apple Delivery DriversRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Khalil Kenyon Blackman, 31, of District Heights, Md. was convicted yesterday of conspiring to commit three armed robberies of truck drivers who were delivering Apple products to area stores.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ken Cuccinelli, II, Attorney General of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Lt. Colonel James A. Morris, Acting Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after a bench trial before United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Blackman was convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, and brandishing a firearm, which carries a mandatory minimum of seven years and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for April 26, 2013.
According to court records and evidence at trial, Blackman and others conspired to carry out three armed robberies of delivery truck drivers hauling Apple products. On Feb. 11, 2011, Blackman and his co-conspirators robbed a delivery truck driver in Prince George’s County, Md. Thereafter, Blackman took the majority of the products and sold them to another person and then distributed the proceeds among his conspirators. Blackman also conspired with others to carry out two other robberies – on June 15, 2011 in Fairfax County, Va. and on October 30, 2011 in Prince George’s County, Md. – and sold the stolen products from these robberies to others for the benefit of the conspirators. The total loss to Apple was more than $130,000.
The investigation was conducted by FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Fairfax County Police Department. Virginia Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant United States Attorney Marc J. Birnbaum and Assistant United States Attorney Adam B. Schwartz 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.Man Who Robbed New Haven Bank Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
February 5, 2013David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DOUGLAS HUTCHINGS, 41, of New Haven, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 108 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for bank robbery.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 8, 2012, HUTCHINGS entered the TD Bank located at 466 Foxon Boulevard in New Haven, approached a teller and handed her a note stating “Please just the money No gets hurt.”
After the teller provided HUTCHINGS with $7,444 in U.S. currency, HUTCHINGS ran out of the bank and entered the driver’s side of a minivan. He then drove away at a high rate of speed and engaged New Haven Police officers in a chase that ended when the minivan crashed in the vicinity of Hallock Street and Colombus Avenue in New Haven. HUTCHINGS was apprehended a short distance from the accident scene.
HUTCHINGS has been detained since his arrest on March 8, 2012. On August 6, 2012, he pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery.
HUTCHINGS’s extensive criminal history includes convictions for manslaughter, assault, larceny and arson.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony E. Kaplan.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Man Sentenced in Federal Court to Ten Years imprisonment for Failure to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
United States Attorney James L. Santelle announced today that on January 31, 2013, Charles W. Adams (age:46), formerly of Spencer, Indiana, was sentenced in federal district court to 120 months imprisonment - the maximum sentence - for the crime of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. Chief Judge William C. Griesbach also ordered that Adams serve a lifetime of supervised release following his release from federal prison and continue to register as a sex offender.
Adams was indicted in federal court for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender following his December 1, 2010 arrest in Winnebago County on sexual assault charges. Adams has entered a not guilty plea to the Winnebago County state sexual assault charge, case number 10CF754, and has a jury trial scheduled for March 25, 2013. Adams was also charged in Winnebago County case number 11CF563 with two felony counts of Capturing an Image of Nudity Without Consent. He proceeded to trial on the latter two offenses, was found guilty, and will be sentenced on February 28, 2013.
In filings with the federal court, the government argued the pending sexual assault charge served to enhance the seriousness of Adams’ failure to register as a sex offender offense, as did his prior convictions for sexual offenses. Chief Judge Griesbach agreed and ultimately sentenced Adams to the statutory maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. The failure to register as a sex offender statute requires qualifying sex offenders to advise law enforcement of any location where they reside, work, or attend school. The indictment filed against Adams alleged that between October 2010 and the time of his arrest in December 2010, he traveled interstate and knowingly failed to register and update his registration.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Marshal Service with the assistance of the Neenah Police Department The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William J. Roach.
# # # #Lexington Business Owner Pleads Gulty to Filing False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Lexington, Mo., business owner has pleaded guilty in federal court to filing a false income tax return.
Christopher Huffman, 49, of Lexington, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, to the charge contained in an April 3, 2012 federal indictment.
Huffman is the owner of IG Construction, an asphalt and tree-trimming business formerly known as Interstate General Contractors. By pleading guilty today, Huffman admitted that he engaged in a scheme to falsely under-report the gross receipts for his business on his tax returns for tax years 2006-2008 in order to significantly reduce his income tax liability.
Huffman claimed business expenses almost equal to his gross receipts, so that his reported income was low enough to claim the earned income tax credit. The earned income tax credit is a refundable tax credit intended for workers earning a low to moderate income, which results in a tax refund for those whose credit exceeds the amount of taxes owed.
For tax years 2006 - 2008, while claiming he earned less than $20,000 per year, Huffman lived in and owned a house which he valued at $1.6 million and which had approximately 4,000 square feet, a 13-car garage, an in-ground pool/lake, and a volleyball court. Huffman bought a 2007 Cadillac Escalade, two classic Chevrolet Camaros, and two Harley Davidson motorcycles during this time.
In 2007, Huffman claimed in a loan application that he had $10,700 in cash and received a salary of $65,000, and listed his net worth at $2.4 million. In 2008, Huffman claimed in another loan application that he received a salary of $100,000 and that his net worth was almost $3 million.
Huffman admitted that, as a result of his fraud scheme, he caused a tax loss to the government of at least $300,000. However, the government intends to present evidence at Huffman's sentencing hearing that the tax loss actually exceeds $400,000.
Under federal statutes, Huffman is subject to a sentence of up to three years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $100,000 and an order of restitution. 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 Kate Mahoney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Lewiston Man Pleads Guilty to Burglary in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
COEUR D'ALENE – Stefan Hiebert, 20, of Lewiston, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Coeur d’Alene to burglary, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, on two separate occasions in March 2012, Hiebert, an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe, burglarized a barn located on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, with the intent to steal elk and deer antlers and sheds he knew to be inside. Hiebert stole approximately 30 antlers and sheds with an estimated value of $10,000.
The federal charge of burglary carries a mandatory minimum sentence of at least one year up to a maximum of ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for April 29, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down<br /> South Florida Tax Return PreparersRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has sued two Miami tax return preparers, seeking to bar them from preparing federal tax returns for others. The civil injunction suit alleges that Marlen Monzon, her son Yanko Rodriguez, and their Miami business, Tri Stars Multiservices Corporation, claim bogus deductions and credits on customers’ federal tax returns.
Monzon and Rodriguez allegedly included fabricated claims for business expenses on customers’ tax returns even though the customers have no business. According to the complaint, these fabricated expenses offset the customer’s wage income and improperly lower the customer’s reported taxable income. This generates (or increases) a refund, and often qualifies customers for credits to which they are not entitled. The complaint alleges that the Internal Revenue Service has examined 498 tax returns for tax years 2008 through 2011, and found that nearly every return claimed that the customer operated a nonexistent business and reported a business loss. This allegedly reduced the customers’ reported tax liability by an average of $7,031 per return, for a total of $3,494,336 in lost revenue.
According to the complaint, in 2008, the IRS assessed penalties against Monzon in the amount of $43,000 based on her preparation of tax returns claiming bogus Fuel Tax Credits. The complaint alleges that, rather than claiming bogus Fuel Tax Credits, Monzon now simply reports bogus gasoline expenses related to nonexistent businesses on her customers’ tax returns.
In the past 10 years the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of tax-return preparers and tax-fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Website .
Related Materials:
Rodriguez Complaint
Indictment Charges Former Prison Guard with SmugglingRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Dion Reid, 35, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by indictment with two counts of honest services fraud and two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that Reid, a former corrections officers employed by the Philadelphia Prison System, conspired and agreed with a prisoner inside the prison to smuggle in marijuana, Xanax pills, tobacco, and cellular telephones.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 50 years imprisonment, three years supervised release, a $1 million fine, and a $400 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the City Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Axelrod.
Click here to view the indictment
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525Hunterdon County, N.J., Landscaper Admits Under-Reporting $1.38M in IncomeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hunterdon County man who owns and operates P.H. Robinson Design and Landscaping Company Inc. (“P.H. Design”) today admitted under-reporting $1.38 million in money paid to his business by customers, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Paul Robinson, 45, of High Bridge, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an Information charging him with one count of filing a false tax return.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Robinson owned and operated P.H. Design, a landscaping business located in Scotch Plains, N.J. Despite maintaining several different bank accounts into which he deposited P.H. Design customer monies, Robinson only provided his accountant with records for one bank account. Robinson caused false corporate returns to be filed for P.H. Design for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, and caused false personal returns to be filed for 2006, 2007, and 2008. Under terms of the plea agreement, Robinson admitted to causing tax losses of $200,000 and $400,000.
On the false filing count, Robinson faces a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a fine of $100,000. Sentencing is scheduled for May 15, 2013.
Fishman credited special agents with IRS - Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Mack of the Healthcare and Government Fraud Unit in Newark.
13-062
Defense counsel: John P. McDonald Esq., Somerville, N.J.
Robinson Information
Grand Forks Man Sentenced for Transporting Two Juveniles for the Purpose of Engaging in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Feb. 5, 2013, Gregory Joseph Frohlich of Grand Forks, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson on a charge of transportation of minors.
Judge Erickson sentenced Frohlich to 14 years’ imprisonment to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Frohlich was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim's Fund. Restitution will be determined at a later date. Frohlich was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
Frohlich, 56, pleaded guilty on Oct. 5. 2012, to transporting two mentally disabled girls from Grand Forks, N.D. to Thief River Falls, Minn., for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with the juveniles. Investigation by the Grand Forks Police Department revealed that Frohlich engaged in illegal sexual conduct with the girls for almost two years, beginning when the girls were just 13 years of age.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the Grand Forks Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl prosecuted the case.This case was brought as a 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 (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, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.Goodwin Charges Former Chase Bank Executive with EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin charged a former Charleston-based Chase Bank executive yesterday with embezzlement by a bank employee. According to a court document filed on Feb. 4, Mark McCoy, 46, of Charleston, W.Va., was charged with embezzling thousands of dollars from Chase Bank.
McCoy was employed as the vice president of private client banking services at the bank’s Charleston branch from September 2008 until June 2012. According to an information filed yesterday, during his employment at Chase Bank, McCoy embezzled thousands of dollars of funds belonging to Chase Bank.
McCoy faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Meredith George Thomas is in charge of the prosecution.
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Freeburg Man Sentenced for Enticement of A Minor and Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
A Freeburg man, Clayton R. Collins, 35, plead guilty and was sentenced in federal district court to 25 years in prison on February 4, 2013, on a five-count indictment charging him with Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity, Transportation of Child Pornography, Receipt of Child Pornography, Possession of Child Pornography, and Receipt of Obscene Matter, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Following his prison sentence, Collins will be on federal supervised release for the remainder of his life and will also be required to register as a sex offender. Collins has been in custody since his arrest on June 15, 2012.
A factual stipulation filed with the Court revealed that in September, 2011, Collins began communicating with a 13-year-old female through an Internet social networking website. Collins used this website and subsequent text messages to induce the 13-year-old female to engage in sexual intercourse. Collins had sexual intercourse with the minor on four separate occasions between September 28, 2011 and October 16, 2011. During a forensic examination of Collins’ computer, numerous images containing child pornography were recovered. These images included 101 images of another identified 13-year-old female engaged in sexually explicit conduct whom Collins had also met through a social networking website. These images had been transported and received through Collins’ cellular phone and computer. Additional files recovered from Collins’ computer included numerous video and image files containing depictions of bestiality.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 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.”
This investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service Southern Illinois Cyber-Crime Unit and the Illinois State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ali Summers.
Frank Xavier Manyen and Julie Ann Rozell Plead Guilty in U.S. Federal CourtRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on February 5, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, FRANK XAVIER MANYEN, a 32-year-old resident of Laurel, and JULIE ANN ROZELL, a 38-year-old resident of Billings, pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine. Sentencing has been set for May 8, 2013. They are currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica T. Fehr, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In October of 2010, the FBI Safe Streets Task Force (BSSSTF) received information about a large scale methamphetamine distribution organization operating in Yellowstone County.
In the spring of 2011, law enforcement began performing electronic surveillance on C.M., an individual living in Billings. Investigators discovered that C.M., D.M. and A.H. began supplying the larger methamphetamine organization in late 2010 with methamphetamine after the prior source of supply had a run in with law enforcement. C.M., D.M. and A.H., had several distributors that sold the methamphetamine for the organization. One of the distributors was ROZELL. ROZELL admitted to distributing approximately four pounds of methamphetamine for the organization. One of her distributors was MANYEN.
During the investigation law enforcement learned that MANYEN was a distributor of methamphetamine for ROZELL from approximately March 2011, and continuing thereafter until late January 2012. MANYEN worked with another individual to distribute the methamphetamine obtained from ROZELL - an individual named H.M. MANYEN and H.M. together distributed the methamphetamine they obtained from ROZELL in the greater Billings area. MANYEN and H.M. obtained approximately 700 grams of methamphetamine from ROZELL, which they in turn distributed to their own customers.
MANYEN faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 5 years and could be sentenced to 40 years, a $5,000,000 fine, and 5 years supervised release.
ROZELL faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 10 years and could be sentenced to life, a $10,000,000 fine, and 5 years supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the Billings Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force.
Fourteen Defendants Charged in Separate Stolen Identity Refund SchemesRead the Press Release
Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force Continues to Charge More Cases
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Richard Weber, Chief, IRS-Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Office, Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Michael B. Steinbach, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Antonio J. Gomez, Acting Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division, Guy Fallen, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-CI, St. Paul Field Office, Steven Steinberg, Chief, Aventura Police Department, Larry Gomer, Chief, North Miami Beach Police Department, and J.D. Patterson, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department, announced the filing of federal charges against 14 defendants in six separate cases, in which thousands of stolen identities were used to submit millions of dollars in fraudulent tax refund claims. The cases announced today reaffirm the joint federal and local commitment, first announced in October 2012, to crack down on stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) and its perpetrators.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Florida had the highest rate of identity theft in the United States in 2011. Florida’s rate of 178 complaints per 100,000 residents – the highest in the United States – is dwarfed by the Miami rate of 324.1 complaints per 100,000 residents. Moreover, a September 2012 report by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) determined that Florida has the highest rate of stolen identity refund fraud in the United States. The City of Miami’s per capita number of false returns based on identity theft was 46 times the national average, and its per capita SIRF fraud dollar value was more than 70 times the national average.
On October 10, 2012, to combat the rising tide of SIRF scams, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with its federal and local law enforcement partners, established the South Florida Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force (Strike Force). The members of the Strike Force include IRS-CI, U.S. Secret Service, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, City of Aventura Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, North Miami Beach Police Department, and the SSA-OIG.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “Identity theft tax refund fraud has spread through South Florida like a virus. Since the creation of the Strike Force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged 113 defendants responsible for approximately $92 million in stolen identity refund fraud. We will continue to crack down on identity thieves who are lining their pockets with our tax dollars by stealing the personal identification information of others.”
“Identity theft is a serious crime that victimizes honest taxpayers and causes immense hardship,” said Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “Today’s actions should serve as a warning that we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s office to hold accountable those individuals who undermine our income tax system by filing false claims for refunds.”
Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Paula Reid stated, “The U.S. Secret Service will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Internal Revenue Service, and our law enforcement partners in the south Florida region to combat this crime that is impacting the lives of so many innocent people. Together, we will strive to identify offenders; but, most importantly, safeguard our communities against this harsh violation that is compromising the financial status of so many hardworking, honest efforts.”
“Using stolen identities to fraudulently claim income tax refunds is a growing epidemic in Florida. In the City of Miami alone, the per capita number of false returns from identity theft was 46 times the national average,” said Michael B. Steinbach, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Miami. “The FBI is actively targeting these fraudsters who seek illicit gains by victimizing hard-working taxpayers.”
Antonio J. Gomez, Acting Inspector in Charge for U.S. Postal Inspection Service stated, “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is going to continue to collaborate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners at every level to protect the American taxpayer from this type of predatory crime and to ensure that the U.S. Postal Service is not used as a conduit for this type of criminal activity.”
Director J.D. Patterson from the Miami-Dade Police Department stated, “The continued partnership between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies proves to be an effective measure against wide-spread crime epidemics such as; Identity theft tax refund fraud.”
The cases announced today include:
1. United States v. Nael Dawud Sammour, Case No. 13-60024-CR- Dimitrouleas
Defendant Nael Dawud Sammour was indicted on eight counts of theft of public money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 641, and two counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1028A, for his role in attempting to negotiate 75 fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury tax refund checks totaling $750,369.45. According to the charges, unknown individuals used stolen identification information, including the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of unsuspecting taxpayers, to fraudulently apply for and receive tax refunds to which they were not entitled. Thereafter, defendant Sammour obtained many of these fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury tax refund checks and transferred these checks, along with counterfeit driver’s licenses and Social Security cards, to undercover IRS agents posing as check cashers. When the defendant was arrested, law enforcement located and seized $30,128.24. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton.
2. United States v. Shalamar Major and Tanisha Wright, Case No. 13-60018-CR-Rosenbaum
Defendant Shalamar Major was indicted on one count of conspiracy to file false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 286, and one count of unlawful disclosure of HIPAA-protected medical information, in violation of 42 U.S.C. 1320d-6(a)(3) and (b)(3). Co-defendant Tanisha Wright was indicted on one count of access device fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1029, one count of theft of mail, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1708, one count of conspiracy to file false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 286, three counts of identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1028, three counts of theft of public money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 641, and three counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1028A.
According to the indictment, defendant Major was a scheduler at the Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Boca Raton, Florida. As a scheduler, Major had access to the personal identification information of Boca Raton Regional Hospital patients, including their names, dates of birth, and social security numbers. In exchange for the promise of future payments, Major provided Wright with stolen personal identifying information of numerous Boca Raton Regional Hospital patients. After receiving the stolen identification information, Wright used the information to electronically file federal income tax returns in the victims’ names and to claim tax refunds to which she was not entitled. Wright directed the IRS to direct-deposit the refunds onto pre-paid reloadable debit cards that were already in her possession. Thereafter, Wright would use the debit cards to make withdrawals at local ATMs or would use the debit cards to make purchases at various local businesses. Once Wright cashed out the fraudulently obtained refund debit cards, she split the proceeds with Major. In total, 57 returns were identified as having been fraudulently filed, seeking $306,720 in federal tax refunds.
3. United States v. Christopher and Jeffrey Rosier, Case No. 13-60020-CR-Scola
Defendant Christopher Rosier was indicted on four counts of identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1028, one count of access device fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1029, one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1028A, and one count of conspiracy to file false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 286. Codefendant Jeffrey Rosier was indicted on one count of conspiracy to file false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 286.
According to the indictment, defendant Christopher Rosier obtained personal identification information of numerous individuals, including their names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, and used this information to electronically file federal income tax returns in the victims’ names, seeking tax refunds to which he was not entitled. Defendant Christopher Rosier directed the IRS to direct-deposit the tax refunds onto pre-paid reloadable debit cards that were either already in his possession or were mailed to various local addresses that he controlled. Once the debit cards were received, defendant Jeffrey Rosier would cash the debit cards by making withdrawals at local ATMs and would split the proceeds with defendant Christopher Rosier. In total, defendant’s Rosier attempted $53,976 in fraudulent tax refunds, yet was only successfully in obtaining $36,732 in unlawful tax dollars. Additionally, law enforcement seized $8,660.00 in U.S. currency, as well as a laptop computer and a 2007 Infiniti G35 from the defendants.
4. United States v. Jahed Movlayazdanpahi, Case No. 13-20057-CR-Cooke
Defendant Jahed Movlayazdanpahi, 29, of Miramar, was charged in a three count indictment for his participation in an identity theft tax refund scheme. According to the indictment, the defendant received stolen tax refunds to which he was not entitled. The indictment charges the defendant with theft of public money and property. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John R. Byrne.
5. United States v. Fednol Pierre and Jeanson Pata, Case No. 13-60005-CR-Cohn
Two defendants were charged in 13 count indictment for their participation in an identity theft tax refund scheme. Charged in the indictment were Fednol Pierre, 34, of Miami, and Jeanson Pata, 31, of West Palm Beach. The indictment charges Pierre with theft of government money and aggravated identity theft. It also charges Pata with theft of government money or property and false statement to a federal agency. According to the indictment, Pierre used stolen personal identification information to steal six tax refund payments, totaling $52,535.87. The indictment further alleges that Pata participated in the theft of two of these payments, totaling $14,078, and made a false statement to the United States Secret Service during the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Coats.
6. United States v. Douglas Michael Young, et al., Case No. 12-CR-20767-CR-Dimitrouleas
Last week, five defendants pled guilty in U.S. v. Douglas Michael Young, et al., Case. No. 12-CR-20767, for their involvement in a tax fraud conspiracy. On January 29, 2013, defendants Jeffrey Andre Young, Jr., 31, of Miami, and Joseph Bshara, 27, of Miami Shores, each pled guilty to one count of theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft. On that same date, Siham Benabdallah, 23, of Miami Shores, pled guilty to one count of theft of government property. Jeffrey Andre Young, Jr., Joseph Bshara, and Siham Benabdallah were involved in cashing tax refund checks from one of two tax preparation companies, either Young Professional Services, Inc., or Supreme Tax, both owned and operated by co-defendants Douglas Michael Young and Nicole Young. In total, these defendants chased checks totaling $37,749.44.
On February 1, 2013, Douglas Michael Young, a/k/a “Douglas Pierre,”41, Nicole Young, a/k/a “Nicole Pierre,” a/k/a “Nicole Pierre Smith,” 42, both of Miramar, each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal government property, one count of theft of government property, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Defendant Douglas Michael Young and his wife, Nicole Young, owned and operated two tax preparation companies, Supreme Tax and Young Professional Services, Inc. The Youngs would obtain identification information from unknowing victims and use their identification information to file fraudulent tax refund claims. The Youngs charged the unknowing victims a “fee” for their purported tax preparation service, which would be deducted from their refund check. The Youngs would deposit the “fees” into bank accounts they controlled. The remainder of the refunds would be converted into personal checks that would be deposited into bank accounts controlled by co-defendants Ernest V. Charles, Joseph Bshara, and Siham Benabdallah. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Lunkenheimer.
An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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.
Former Title Agent and Broker Convicted in Miami<br /> for Role in Reverse Mortgage SchemeRead the Press Release
A Miami title agent and former mortgage broker was found guilty late yesterday, Feb. 4, 2013, for her role in a “reverse mortgage” fraud scheme in connection with a loan worth more than $400,000, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida.
After a six-day jury trial before the Honorable Richard W. Goldberg, sitting by designation in the Southern District of Florida, a federal jury convicted Yesenia Pouparina (aka Yesenia Campos), 40, of four counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud for her role in securing a fraudulent Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), commonly referred to as a reverse mortgage loan, and making false representations related to the occupancy of the property and its subsequent “short sale.” A HECM is a federally insured loan that enables older Americans to withdraw equity from a home so they can remain independent and financially secure. The jury also found that three bank accounts controlled by the defendant, which were seized by the government during the course of the investigation, should be forfeited.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Pouparina, a licensed title agent in the state of Florida, devised a scheme to obtain a reverse mortgage loan on her own property in the name of her mother, an individual who failed to meet the requirements of the HECM program. Pouparina submitted to a lending institution a false loan application and doctored records in support of that application, misrepresenting her mother’s eligibility to participate in the HECM program. Pouparina acted as the title agent for the loan and disbursed the loan proceeds directly to her own personal bank accounts. Pouparina also enriched herself by collecting fees generated by the loan, and also profited by using the loan proceeds in connection with her business as a “hard money lender” in other mortgage deals.
Judge Goldberg ordered Pouparina to surrender to the U.S. Marshals on Feb. 20, 2013. At sentencing, currently scheduled for May 9, 2013, Pouparina faces a maximum potential penalty per count of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the net gain or loss from the offense.
This case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Trial Attorneys Sandra L. Moser and Mary Ann McCarthy of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
This conviction is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Former Payette Man Sentenced to 37 Years for Conspiracy, Arson and TheftRead the Press Release
Defendants Used Molotov Cocktails to Destroy Government Vehicles and
Building in Payette, IdahoBOISE – Donovan James Bolen, 23, of Fruitland, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Boise to 444 months in prison for carrying and using explosive devises during and in relation to a federal crime of violence; conspiracy to maliciously use explosive materials; conspiracy to maliciously damage federal property; and theft of firearms, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Bolen to serve five years of supervised release and pay $162,124.87 in restitution to the victims, Western Core Door, Inc. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A federal jury convicted Bolen on October 16, 2012. During the five day trial, the jury heard evidence that on May 27, 2011, Bolen and co-defendant David Joseph Vonbargen schemed to set fires in Payette, Idaho, to divert law enforcement while they broke into the World’s Largest Pawn Shop and stole firearms. The jury found Bolen guilty of using Molotov cocktails to set fire to two U.S. Department of Agriculture vehicles and a lumber warehouse belonging to Western Core Door, Inc., in Payette, and then burglarized and stole 12 firearms, including rifles, revolvers, and pistols, from the World’s Largest Pawnshop in Fruitland. The fire at Western Core Door, Inc., took firefighters approximately 16 hours to get under control. The firefighters were able to contain the fire and prevent it from destroying nearby residences, whose siding melted from the heat of the fire.
Judge Winmill found that Bolen attempted to obstruct justice after his arrest, by attempting to get a witness to lie to the police about his involvement, and by convincing his girlfriend to destroy evidence of his involvement. Bolen has previously been convicted of 14 crimes, with his first arrest at age six and first criminal conviction at age ten.
Vonbargen, 50, of Fruitland, is scheduled for a competency hearing before Judge Winmill on March 25, 2013, at the federal courthouse in Boise. No trial date has been set.
“Mr. Bolen’s conduct merited a lengthy sentence,” said Olson. “His use of Molotov cocktails to divert the attention of law enforcement was unconscionable, endangered the lives of first responders, and destroyed the property of innocent victims. Such conduct will not be tolerated. I applaud the cooperative efforts of state, local and federal law enforcement agencies in this case.”
The case was investigated by the Fruitland Police Department, the Payette Police Department, the Payette County Sheriff's Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Idaho State Fire Marshal.
Former Middlefield Resident Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
February 5, 2013David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RICHARD C. POUPART, 53, formerly of Middlefield, Conn., and Newport, Maine, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 240 months of imprisonment, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for possessing child pornography. The penalties in this matter were enhanced based on POUPART’s previous conviction for sexual assault of a minor.
“This defendant has a history of sexually assaulting minors, and this significant sentence will protect children from future harm,” stated U.S. Attorney Fein. “I commend the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Shelton and Milford Police Departments for their expert investigation of this matter.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, in September 2007, members of the Shelton Police Department executed a state search warrant at POUPART’s Middlefield residence and seized computers, zip drives, compact discs and other electronic storage media. Subsequent forensic examination of the seized items revealed images and videos of child pornography, including images that POUPART took of one of his minor female relatives in 2003.
On June 17, 1991, POUPART was convicted in Vermont state court of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
On July 15, 2009, in Connecticut Superior Court in Derby, POUPART was convicted of two counts of sexual assault in the fourth degree. The two victims in that case were POUPART’s minor female relatives, and the conduct occurred in 2006 and 2007.
POUPART has been detained in federal custody since August 6, 2010. On May 25, 2012, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.
This matter was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Shelton Police Department and the Milford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anastasia King and Neeraj Patel.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722 [email protected]Florida Resident Sentenced in Pill ConspiracyRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistWHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - A 32 year old Deland, Florida, resident was sentenced on February 4, 2013, in United States District Court in Wheeling by Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr. for her role in a Florida to West Virginia pill ring.
United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that: DANA K. DEEM was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. DEEM entered a plea of guilty on November 28, 2012, to “Conspiracy to Distribute Schedule II Controlled Substances” from March of 2012 to September 12, 2012, in Moundsville. DEEM was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution.
In a joint investigation, involving the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, the DEA, United State Postal Service, and the West Virginia State Police, beginning in the spring of
2012, agents received information that ROUPE’s apartment in Marshall County was being used to distribute pills being brought to West Virginia from Florida typically via rental vehicles. During the investigation, two traffic stops occurred during which $5,500 in drug proceeds were seized which will be forfeited to the United States as proceeds from the drug activity.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John C. Parr.
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Unapproved Cancer DrugsRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that Martin Paul Bean, III, pled guilty before United States Magistrate Judge David Bartick to conspiring to import unapproved foreign oncology drugs and sell them to doctors throughout the United States.
As part of his guilty plea, Bean admitted that between 2005 and 2011, he operated a business from his residence in Boca Raton, Florida, that sold over $7 million of prescription oncology drugs (for the treatment of cancer) to doctors throughout the United States. Bean ordered the drugs from various foreign sources, including companies in Pakistan, Indian and Turkey, and directed the drugs to be shipped in bulk directly to Oberlin Medical Supply in San Diego.
In pleading guilty, Bean acknowledged that he did business as GlobalRxStore, and marketed the drugs via an Internet website and through "blast faxes" sent to doctors’' offices. GlobalRxStore operated a call center in Winnipeg, Canada, where orders from doctors in the United States were accepted by telephone, facsimile and electronic mail. Bean admitted that the GlobalRxStore website falsely stated that it was lawful to import the drugs from abroad and that such drugs could be sold and used in the United States. Bean further admitted that he falsely advised doctors that GlobalRxStore's association with Oberlin Medical Supply somehow made his conduct legitimate. The drugs sold by Bean and GlobalRxStore were prescription drugs, including drugs marketed in the United States under the names Gemzar7, Taxotere7, Eloxatin7, Zometa7 and Kytril7. As Bean acknowledged he was aware, such drugs were intended for sale in markets outside the United States, and could not be lawfully imported, marketed or used in the United States.
Bean admitted that over the course of the conspiracy, he received $865,000 in proceeds from the sale of the unapproved foreign oncology drugs. As part of the plea agreement, Bean forfeited a 2004 Jaguar XJ he purchased with proceeds received from the illegal sale of drugs through GlobalRxStore.
Bean further admitted that on June 20, 2011, he caused a package containing Zoldria to be delivered to a doctor in Lawndale, California. Zoldria is manufactured in India and sold in that country, and although its manufacturer represents that it contains the same active ingredient as Zometa7, it is not approved for use in the United States.
Bean’s guilty plea is subject to final acceptance by United States District Court Judge William Q. Hayes. Bean is scheduled to be sentenced on May 6, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Hayes.
This case is related to United States v. Maher Idriss, Criminal Case No. 12cr1775-WQH. On March 8, 2012, Maher Idriss pled guilty to conspiring to import merchandise contrary to law. At the time of his plea, Idriss admitted that between May 1, 2006, and May 5, 2011, he operated Oberlin Medical Supply and conspired with the owners and operators of GlobalRxStore to import and distribute unapproved oncology drugs not intended for sale in the United States. Idriss admitted that he and the owners of Global were all aware that it was unlawful to import these drugs. For example, after unapproved drugs to be shipped to Oberlin were seized by federal authorities in transit, Idriss discussed the seizures and the unlawful nature of the importation with Bean and other owner of Global. Idriss is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Hayes on May 20, 2013 at 9:00 a.m.
The Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act ("FDCA"), is intended to assure, among other things, that all drugs manufactured and distributed within the United States are safely manufactured, made from appropriate ingredients, and properly labeled. Pursuant to the terms of the FDCA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (" FDA") regulate the manufacture, processing, labeling, and distribution of all drugs shipped and received in interstate commerce, including the wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. Under the FDCA, anyone manufacturing, preparing, compounding, or processing prescription drugs for sale and use in the United States must annually register with the FDA as a drug establishment, and provide a list to the FDA of the drugs which they manufacture for commercial distribution, and a copy of all labeling. This registration requirement applies equally to drug establishments located outside of the United States that import their drugs into the United States. Under the FDCA, a drug is deemed misbranded if it was manufactured at any domestic or foreign establishment and that drug was not annually listed with the FDA by the establishment as one of the drugs which was manufactured for commercial distribution in the United States at that location.
Under the FDCA, no person may offer for sale in the United States any drug not approved by the FDA. The approval process addresses the chemical composition of the drug, the drug's safety and effectiveness, and elements of the drug's distribution, such as the methods used in, and the facilities and controls used for, the manufacture, processing, and packing of the drug, as well as the labeling to be used for the drug. The approval process is specific to each manufacturer and each product and its labeling. 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 drugs.
Any prescription drug whose labeling fails to bear the words "Rx only" is deemed to be misbranded. Moreover, all wording required by the FDCA to appear on drug labels and labeling sold in the continental U.S. must be in the English language. It is unlawful for anyone other than the manufacturer of a drug manufactured in the United States and exported to import that same drug back into the United States.
Criminal Case No. 12cr3734-WQH DEFENDANT Martin Paul Bean, III SUMMARY OF CHARGEConspiracy, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371
Criminal Case No. 12cr1775-WQH DEFENDANT Maher Idriss SUMMARY OF CHARGE Importation Contrary of Law, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 545
Maximum Penalties: 5 years in custody, $250,000 fine, restitution and forfeiture.
Maximum Penalty: 20 years in custody and/or $250,000 fine INVESTIGATING AGENCIESFood and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Postal Inspection ServiceFamily Members Sentenced in $1.9 Million Dollar Stolen Identity Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - Several family members were sentenced Friday in the Middle District of Alabama for their involvement in a $1.9 million dollar stolen identity refund fraud scheme, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Barbara Murry, Veronica Temple, and Yolanda Moses each received a sentence of 57 months of incarceration and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,908,659. Douglas Murry received a sentence of 24 months of incarceration and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $142,038. Almetta Johnson received a sentence of eight months home detention. Lee Moses, Jeffrey Temple, and Courtney Johnson each received a sentence of probation.
On April 25, 2012, Barbara Murry, Douglas Murry, Yolanda Moses, Lee Moses, Veronica Temple, Jeffrey Temple, Almetta Johnson, and Courtney Johnson were charged in a multi-count indictment by a federal grand jury on a variety of charges relating to an identity theft and tax fraud scheme. According to court documents, between January 2006 and April 2012, the defendants and their co-conspirators directed over 900 false tax refunds claiming in excess of $1.9 million to several bank accounts controlled by the defendants and their co-conspirators. The conspiracy consisted of two parts. First, the defendants received false tax refunds into their bank accounts and provided a portion of the funds to the third-party preparers. None of the defendants obtained the identities or prepared the tax returns in this part of the conspiracy.
According to court documents, the second part of the conspiracy centered on B & B Weaving Shop and B & B Tax Service. Barbara Murry owned and operated B & B Weaving Shop, located in Montgomery, Alabama. B& B Weaving Shop was located in the same building as B & B Tax Service. Barbara Murry’s daughters, Yolanda Moses and Veronica Temple, ran B & B Tax Service. Veronica Temple and her sister, Yolanda Moses, obtained stolen identities from multiple sources. Veronica Temple, Yolanda Moses, and others filed false tax returns from both B & B Tax Service and their homes and directed the tax refunds to numerous bank accounts controlled by the defendants and their co-conspirators. Veronica Temple, Yolanda Moses, and Barbara Murry recruited individuals, including Douglas Murry, to open bank accounts in furtherance of the scheme. Many of the identity victims were 16 and 17 year-old minors.
“The Justice Department will investigate and prosecute stolen identity refund fraud crimes, whether they are committed by a single thief, or a ring of thieves,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally. “The prison sentences handed down today demonstrate that such invasions of personal privacy and theft of public monies will not be tolerated.”
“Individuals who commit identity theft and refund fraud of this magnitude deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” said Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “These individuals demonstrated a blatant disregard of the integrity of the United States tax system and caused immeasurable hardship to innocent victims. IRS Criminal Investigation remains committed to the pursuit of identity theft and, together with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we will hold those who engage in similar conduct accountable.”
Assistant Attorney General Keneally commended the efforts of special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jason H. Poole and Michael Boteler, and Assistant United States Attorney Jared Morris, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at justice.gov/tax.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Essex County, N.J., Woman Admits Lying in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, N.J., woman today admitted to committing perjury while testifying in a federal trial, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Debora Medeiros Da Silva, 27, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to an Information charging her with knowingly making false declarations before a grand jury or court.According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Sept. 23, 2009, while appearing as a witness under oath before the federal grand jury, Da Silva testified that she witnessed Peter Ventricelli, the target of a grand jury investigation, retrieve a bag of guns from her bedroom closet, and that he later gave the bag of guns to his brother, Mark Ventricelli. Da Silva subsequently appeared as a witness under oath at the trial in the matter of United States v. Peter Ventricelli and Mark Ventricelli, where she denied ever seeing any guns in a bag.
The federal charge of knowingly making false declarations before a grand jury or court carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velazquez in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
Sentencing before Judge Hayden is scheduled for May 16, 2013.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dara Aquila Govan of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.
13-063
Defense counsel: Lorraine Gauli-Rufo Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, NewarkDa Silva Information
Enid Man to Serve 36 Months in Federal Prison for Failure to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced that WILLIAM K. ECHOLS, 28, of Enid, Oklahoma, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stephen P. Friot to serve 36 months in prison for failure to register as a sex offender. Upon his release, Echols will be under the Supervision of United States Probation Office for ten years.
After traveling with the carnival around the United States, Echols was discovered in Enid, Oklahoma, by the United States Marshals after an anonymous tip through the website TipSoft.com. Echols was subsequently indicted by the federal grand jury in April of 2012 and charged with failing to register as a sex offender. Echols was required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (Adam Walsh Act) following his 2004 conviction in Trinity County Superior Court in California for Molesting a Child. In August of 2012, Echols entered a guilty plea to the charge in the indictment of failing to register as a sex offender. The defendant also has four prior convictions for failing to register as a sex offender in Nebraska, California, and Oregon.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit .
The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Don Gifford.
Eighteen People Charged in International, $200 Million Credit Card Fraud ScamRead the Press Release
Crime Ring Invented 7,000 Fake Identities to Obtain Tens of Thousands of Credit Cards
NEWARK, N.J. – Federal agents in four states arrested 13 people today for allegedly creating thousands of phony identities to steal at least $200 million in one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
The activity described in a Complaint unsealed today describes a sprawling criminal enterprise that stretched across dozens of states and numerous countries. The defendants charged in the Complaint allegedly fabricated identities to obtain credits cards and doctored credit reports to pump up the spending and borrowing power associated with the cards. They would then borrow or spend as much as they could based on their fraudulently obtained credit history and not repay the debts, looting businesses and financial institutions of more than $200 million in confirmed losses.
This morning, hundreds of law enforcement officers from the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service arrested 13 defendants and searched 13 locations in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. All of the defendants are charged with one count of bank fraud. The defendants are scheduled to appear later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court.
“This type of fraud increases the costs of doing business for every American consumer, every day,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Through their greed and their arrogance, the individuals arrested today and their conspirators allegedly harmed not only the credit card issuers, but everyone who deals with increased interest rates and fees because of the money sucked out of the system by criminals acting in fraud rings like this one.”
“The criminal activity described in today’s complaint highlights the activity of an extensive, sophisticated, organized scheme, executed against U.S. financial institutions, which, in turn, effects every citizen of the United States,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Velazquez said. “This elaborate network utilized thousands of false identities, fraudulent bank accounts , fake companies, and collusive merchants, to defraud financial institutions of hundreds of millions of dollars, in order to facilitate extravagant lifestyles they could otherwise not afford. The arrests today are the result of the relentless and tenacious work of the United States Attorney’s Office, U.S. Postal Inspection, U.S. Secret Service, the Social Security Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and numerous financial institutions.”
According to documents filed in this case:
The defendants and their conspirators stole hundreds of millions of dollars through a scheme repeated thousands of times to create more than 7,000 false identities and fraudulently obtain tens of thousands of credit cards (the “Fraud Cards”). The scheme involved a three-step process in which the defendants would:
- “Make up” a false identity by creating fraudulent identification documents and a fraudulent credit profile with the major credit bureaus.
- “Pump up” the credit of the false identity by providing false information about that identity’s creditworthiness to the credit bureaus. Believing the furnished information to be accurate, the credit bureaus would incorporate this material into the false identity’s credit report, making it appear that the false identity had excellent credit.
- “Run up” large loans using the false identity. The higher the fraudulent credit score, the larger the loans that the defendants could obtain. These loans were never repaid, and the defendants reaped the profits.
The Sham Companies
The enormous size and scope of the Criminal Fraud Enterprise required the defendants and others to construct an elaborate network of false identities. Across the country, the defendants and their co-conspirators maintained more than 1,800 “drop addresses,” including houses, apartments, and post office boxes, which they used as the mailing addresses of the false identities.
They created dozens of sham companies that did little or no legitimate business, obtained credit card terminals for the companies and then ran up charges on the Fraud Cards. To accept payments in the form of credit cards, a business must establish a merchant account with an entity known as a merchant processor. The merchant processor provides the business with equipment to process credit cards, receives payments from credit card companies for credit cards run at the business, and deposits those payments, minus a fee, into the business’ bank account. When the merchant processors shut down accounts operated by the conspirators for fraud, they would apply for new terminals and create new companies.
The Sham Companies also served as “furnishers,” providing the credit bureaus with false information about the credit history of numerous false identities of people who purportedly worked at or owned the Sham Companies.
Tradelines
The defendants used sophisticated methods – including a network of black-market businesses called “tradelines” providers – to commit fraud.
Tradelines come in two varieties: primary tradelines and authorized user tradelines. Primary tradelines are lines of credit in a credit history. If a credit card user has primary tradelines in good standing, it can have a significant impact on the user’s credit score, enabling the user to borrow more from credit card issuers. The defendants, however, trafficked in fraudulent primary tradelines.
A second kind of tradeline is the “authorized user” tradeline, where a credit card holder adds another, so-called “authorized user,” to a credit card account. This raises the credit score of the authorized user, who inherits some of the primary user’s credit history.
Some defendants created and sold fake lines of credit for false identities made up by other defendants. These fraudulent primary tradelines were then used to increase the credit limits on Fraud Cards, so that the defendants could reap even larger profits. Defendants used the authorized user tradelines to create new identities.
Complicit Businesses
The defendats also relied upon complicit businesses, including several jewelry stores in the Jersey City, N.J., area, to extract money from the Fraud Cards. The complicit businesses would allow the defendants to conduct sham transactions on the Fraud Cards and would then receive the proceeds from the credit card companies and split them with the other conspirators. These complicit businesses maintained multiple credit card merchant processing accounts at the same time. By operating dozens of accounts, these businesses furthered the conspiracy by allowing more fraudulent transactions to be processed before the merchant processors shut down the account. The proceeds from these merchant terminals were deposited into various business checking accounts, and the money was paid out to the owners of the complicit businesses, along with other defendants and conspirators.
Lavish spendingThe conspiracy generated enormous profits for the defendants – even though they spent millions of dollars sustaining the elaborate network of drop addresses and running credit reports on the thousands of false identities. Records of the New York and New Jersey Departments of Labor reveal that many of the defendants have no reported legitimate employment in the last five years. Nonetheless, the defendants used the proceeds of the criminal enterprise to buy luxury automobiles, electronics, spa treatments, expensive clothing and millions of dollars in gold. They also stockpiled large sums of cash. Law enforcement discovered approximately $70,000 in cash in the oven of one defendant.
The defendants also moved millions of dollars through accounts under their control, and wired millions of dollars overseas. An analysis of 169 bank accounts of the defendants, sham companies, and complicit businesses has identified $60 million dollars in proceeds that flowed through the accounts, much of it withdrawn in cash. The conspirators wired millions of dollars to Pakistan, India, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Romania, China and Japan. Due to the massive scope of the conspiracy, which involved over 25,000 fraudulent credit cards, loss calculations are ongoing. Final figures may grow beyond the present confirmed losses of more than $200 million.
The investigation that produced today’s arrests involved cyber crime investigators from the FBI and has been ongoing for more than 18 months. It previously resulted in the arrest of four other individuals and the seizure of more than $2 million in gold from a jewelry store in Jersey City.
The bank fraud count with which the defendants are charged is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI’s Cyber Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velazquez, for the investigation leading to today’s arrests, as well as postal inspectors under the direction of Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Marie Kelokates and the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Mottola. He also thanked the U.S. Social Security Administration for its role in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erez Liebermann, chief of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property section of the Economic Crimes Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel V. Shapiro of the General Crimes Unit, Zach Intrater of the Economic Crimes Unit, and Barbara Ward of the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendants:Name
Age
Residence
59
Iselin, N.J.
Muhammad Shafiq
38
Bellerose, N.Y.
Ijaz Butt
53
Hicksville, N.Y.
Qaiser Khan
48
Valley Stream, N.Y.
Shafique Ahmed
52
Floral Park, N.Y.
Habib Chaudhry
45
Valley Stream, N.Y.
Raghbir Singh
57
Hicksville, N.Y.
Muhammad Naveed
35
Flushing, N.Y.
Khawaja Ikram
40
Staten Island, N.Y.
Nasreen Akhtar
37
Jersey City, N.J.
Mohammad Khan
48
Staten Island, N.Y.
Azhar Ikram
39
Howard Beach, N.Y.
Shahid Raza, a/k/a “Abid Mian”
44
Valley Stream, N.Y.
Vernina Adams
31
Philadelphia, Pa.
Sat Verma
60
Iselin, N.J.
Vijay Verma
45
Iselin, N.J.
Tarsem Lal
74
Iselin, N.J.
Vinod Dadlani
49
Lyndhurst, N.J.
13-061
Qureshi, Babar, et al., Complaint
Eight Individuals Sentenced During the Month of January for Federal Supervised Release ViolationsRead the Press Release
1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs SpecialistWHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that during the month of January, 2013, eight individuals had their supervised release revoked for violating terms and conditions imposed by the United States District Court.
WHEELING DIVISION REVOCATIONS
(Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr.)
NICOLE RAE LEE, age 43, of Wheeling, was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day imprisonment for possession and use of cocaine, drug paraphernalia and alcohol and associating with a convicted felon without her probation officer’s approval. LEE was originally sentenced on March 22, 2007, to 24 months imprisonment and 6 years of supervised release for the distribution of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a protected location. In 2008, LEE’s sentence was reduced to 18 months pursuant to the crack re-sentencing guidelines. On May 18, 2009, LEE’s supervised release was revoked for violations and she was sentenced to
7 months imprisonment and 65 months of supervised release. LEE was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution.The United States was represented at the Wheeling revocation hearings by Assistant
United States Attorney John C. Parr.CLARKSBURG DIVISION REVOCATIONS (Judge Irene M. Keeley)
ANTONIO COTTINGHAM, age 26, of Fairmont, West Virginia, was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment for a charge and arrest in Marion County for conspiracy to commit a felony (delivery of crack cocaine). NOTTINGHAM was originally sentenced on May 16, 2007, to 70 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for the distribution of crack cocaine and again on May 20, 2011, to 8 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for escape from custody. COTTINGHAM was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution.SAMANTHA LORETTA, age 26, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was sentenced to 18 months for testing positive for the use of narcotics and failure to notify probation officer of her arrest in Harrison County for shoplifting. LORETTA was originally sentenced on November
7, 2007, to 57 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release. LORETTA was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution.MATTHEW W. HAYES, age 28, of Rivesville, West Virginia, was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment to be followed by 36 months of supervised release for testing positive for the use of narcotics and failure to be truthful with his probation officer. HAYES was originally sentenced on February 28, 2011, to 3 years probation for the distribution of heroin. HAYES was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution.
DANIEL LEE STEVENS, age 46, of Mannington, West Virginia, was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment for testing positive for the use of narcotics on two separate occasions. STEVENS was originally sentenced on September 4, 2007, to 5 years probation for being a felon in possession of a firearm. STEVENS, who is free on bond, will self-report to the designated Federal institution.
MICHAEL JOSEPH GOODWIN, age 27 of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was sentenced to 30 days imprisonment for failure to report for drug testing, failure to obtain GED during his term of supervised release and testing positive for use of opiates. GOODWIN was originally sentenced on May 9, 2008, to 27 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for the distribution of crack cocaine. GOODWIN, who is free on bond, will self-report to the designated Federal institution.
The United States was represented at the Clarksburg revocation hearings by Assistant
United States Attorney Zelda E. Wesley, Andrew R. Cogar and Stephen D. Warner.MARTINSBURG DIVISION REVOCATIONS (Judge Gina M. Groh)
ANGELA SUE HODGE, age 37, of Kanawha County, West Virginia, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for falsifying a drug screen and use of narcotics. HODGE was originally sentenced on March 30, 2010, to 18 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for the distribution of crack cocaine. HODGE was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution.TIMOTHY DOUGLAS IMPERIO, age 31, of Mineral County, West Virginia, was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment to be followed by 30 months of supervised release for failure to file reports with his probation officer, failure to maintain employment, failure to notify probation officer of change in employment status; and, being untruthful to the probation officer. IMPERIO was originally sentenced on July 13, 2009, to 30 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for perjury. IMPERIO was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal institution.
The United States was represented at the Martinsburg revocation hearings by Assistant
United States Attorney Paul T. Camilletti.The United States Probation Office carries out probation and pretrial services functions throughout the Northern District of West Virginia. With locations in Wheeling, Clarksburg, Martinsburg, and Elkins, the office works to assist the federal courts in the fair administration of justice, to protect the community, and to bring about long-term positive change in individuals under supervision. Jeff Givens is the Chief Probation Officer for the Northern District.
East St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
On February 4, 2013, Akai J. Aikens, a twenty-nine year old East St. Louis, Illinois, man pled guilty in Federal District Court, in East St. Louis, to Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Previously Convicted Felon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Aikens is scheduled for sentencing on May 10, 2013, at which at which time he faces a maximum potential sentence of 10 years’ in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, not more than 3 years’ of supervised release after his prison term, and a mandatory special assessment of $100. Aikens also agreed to the forfeiture of the firearm.
Court proceedings revealed that on October 5, 2012, a law enforcement officer on patrol in East St. Louis, IL, observed a vehicle traveling through the city with large objects hanging from the rearview mirror obstructing the driver’s view. The officer activated emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop. The vehicle abruptly turned into a parking lot at a bar and car wash with the seat passenger exiting the vehicle, running behind the building. The officer yelled out for the passenger to come back or the police dog would be sent. Aikens emerged and was asked if he hid a gun behind the building. He denied doing so. On instinct, the officer released the patrol dog to conduct an “article search” around the car wash. Moments later the dog assumed a “down position” near a firearm lying in the grass behind the car wash. Prior to October 5, 2012, Aikens had been convicted of a crime that was punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Illinois State Police.
This case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak for prosecution.
Dublin Woman Charged with Filing False Claims with IRSRead the Press Release
OAKLAND, Calif. – Denise LaShawn Reed, aka Brooke Nicholson, aka Lauren Roberts, aka Denise Berry, aka Savana Jones, aka Neyce Roberts was arrested yesterday morning on charges related to a false tax refund scheme, United States Attorney Melinda Haag and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Jose M. Martinez announced.
According to the indictment, between January 2009 and February 2010, Reed, of Dublin, Calif., presented claims to the IRS for refunds of taxes that she knew to be false, fictitious and fraudulent. Reed made the claims by preparing and presenting U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, in the names of other individuals. Reed, who knew she was not entitled to the requested refunds, was charged with 14 counts of filing false claims for refunds of taxes totaling $97,002.
Reed made her initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu, in Oakland, and was release on a $50,000 bond. Her next scheduled court appearance is Feb. 14, 2013.
The maximum penalty for each count of filing false claims, in violation of Title 18, United States 287, is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Cynthia Stier is the Assistant United States Attorney who is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Please note, an indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
In response to these types of cases, the Justice Department’s Tax Division issued a new directive to further the efforts of the Tax Division and help U.S. Attorneys’ Offices respond quickly and effectively to the challenges in stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) cases. To further this goal, Tax Division Directive 144, which took effect on Oct. 1, 2012, was issued to streamline the process for prosecuting these offenses.
(Reed indictment )
Distribution of Cocaine Base AKA Crack CocaineRead the Press Release
Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that two defendants from Eatonton, Georgia, Frank Eugene Mathis, age 37, and Shellany Omar Denham, age 29, entered pleas of guilty to Distribution of Cocaine Base a/k/a Crack Cocaine, in violation of Title 21 United States Code Section 841(a)(1) and 18 United States Code Section 2, before the Honorable C. Ashley Royal, United States District Court, Macon, Georgia. Sentencing has been set for April 24, 2013.Frank Eugene Mathis pled guilty to distributing more than 28 grams of cocaine base a/k/a crack cocaine. In addition, Mathis pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).
This case was investigated by Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Lt. Harry Luke and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Hub Jordan. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Verda Colvin.
For additional information please contact Sue McKinney, Public Affairs Specialist at (478) 621-2602.
Devils Lake Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug ChargeRead the Press Release
FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Feb. 5, 2013, Ashley Lenoir of Devils Lake, N.D., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to a charge of distribution of a controlled substance.
Lenoir, 32, pleaded guilty to selling methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation. The incident occurred on Aug. 15, 2011.
The charge of distribution of a controlled substance carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Sentencing for Lenoir has been scheduled for April 29, 2013, in U.S. District Court in Fargo, N.D., at 1:30 p.m
Assistant U.S. Attorney Janice M. Morley is prosecuting the case.
Department of Justice Sues Standard & Poor’s for Fraud in Rating Mortgage-Backed Securities in the Years Leading up to the Financial CrisisRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services alleging that S&P engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in structured financial products known as Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) and Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs). The lawsuit alleges that investors, many of them federally insured financial institutions, lost billions of dollars on CDOs for which S&P issued inflated ratings that misrepresented the securities’ true credit risks. The complaint also alleges that S&P falsely represented that its ratings were objective, independent, and uninfluenced by S&P’s relationships with investment banks when, in actuality, S&P’s desire for increased revenue and market share led it to favor the interests of these banks over investors.
“Put simply, this alleged conduct is egregious – and it goes to the very heart of the recent financial crisis,” said Attorney General Holder. “Today’s action is an important step forward in our ongoing efforts to investigate – and – punish the conduct that is believed to have contributed to the worst economic crisis in recent history. It is just the latest example of the critical work that the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force is making possible.”
Attorney General Eric Holder was joined in announcing the filing of the civil complaint by Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Stuart F. Delery, and U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California André Birotte Jr. Also joining the Department of Justice in making this announcement were the attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa and Mississippi, who have filed or will file civil fraud lawsuits against S&P alleging similar misconduct in the rating of structured financial products. Additional state attorneys general are expected to make similar filings today.
“Many investors, financial analysts and the general public expected S&P to be a fair and impartial umpire in issuing credit ratings, but the evidence we have uncovered tells a different story,” said Acting Associate Attorney General West. “Our investigation revealed that, despite their representations to the contrary, S&P’s concerns about market share, revenues and profits drove them to issue inflated ratings, thereby misleading the public and defrauding investors. In so doing, we believe that S&P played an important role in helping to bring our economy to the brink of collapse.”
Today’s action was filed in the Central District of California, home to the now defunct Western Federal Corporate Credit Union (WesCorp), which was the largest corporate credit union in the country. Following the 2008 financial crisis, WesCorp collapsed after suffering massive losses on RMBS and CDOs rated by S&P.
“Significant harm was caused by S&P’s alleged conduct in the Central District of California,” said U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Birotte. “Across the seven counties in my district, we had huge numbers of homeowners who took out subprime mortgage loans, many of which were made by some of the country’s most aggressive lenders only because they later could be securitized into debt instruments that were given flawed ‘AAA’ ratings by S&P. This led to an untold number of foreclosures in my district. In addition, institutional investors located in my district, such as WesCorp, suffered massive losses after putting billions of dollars into RMBS and CDOs that received flawed and inflated ratings from S&P.”
The complaint, which names McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and its subsidiary, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (collectively S&P) as defendants, seeks civil penalties under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) based on three forms of alleged fraud by S&P: (1) mail fraud affecting federally insured financial institutions in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341; (2) wire fraud affecting federally insured financial institutions in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; and (3) financial institution fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. FIRREA authorizes the Attorney General to seek civil penalties up to the amount of the losses suffered as a result of the alleged violations. To date, the government has identified more than $5 billion in losses suffered by federally insured financial institutions in connection with the failure of CDOs rated by S&P from March to October 2007.
“The fraud underpinning the crisis took many different forms, and for that reason, so must our response,” said Stuart F. Delery, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Department’s Civil Division. “As today’s filing demonstrates, the Department of Justice is committed to using every available legal tool to bring to justice those responsible for the financial crisis.”
According to the complaint, S&P publicly represented that its ratings of RMBS and CDOs were objective, independent and uninfluenced by the potential conflict of interest posed by S&P being selected to rate securities by the investment banks that sold those securities. Contrary to these representations, from 2004 to 2007, the government alleges, S&P was so concerned with the possibility of losing market share and profits that it limited, adjusted and delayed updates to the ratings criteria and analytical models it used to assess the credit risks posed by RMBS and CDOs. According to the complaint, S&P weakened those criteria and models from what S&P’s own analysts believed was necessary to make them more accurate. The complaint also alleges that, from at least March to October 2007, and because of this same desire to increase market share and profits, S&P issued inflated ratings on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of CDOs. At the time, according to the allegations in the complaint, S&P knew that the quality of non-prime RMBS was severely impaired, and that the ratings on those mortgage bonds would not hold. The government alleges that S&P failed to account for this impairment in the CDO ratings it was assigning on a daily basis. As a result, nearly every CDO rated by S&P during this time period failed, causing investors to lose billions of dollars.
The underlying federal investigation, code-named “Alchemy,” that led to the filing of this complaint was initiated in November 2009 in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov
Due to public interest in this case, the Department of Justice is releasing documents that may not be in an accessible format. If you have a disability and the format of any material on the site interferes with your ability to access some information, please email the Department of Justice webmaster at [email protected] or contact Adora Andy at 202.514.2007. To enable us to respond in a manner that will be of most help to you, please indicate the nature of the accessibility problem, your preferred format (electronic format (ASCII, etc.), standard print, large print, etc.), the web address of the requested material, and your full contact information so we can reach you if questions arise while fulfilling your request.
Portable Document Format (PDF) files may be viewed with a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.Related Materials:
Standard & Poor's Complaint
Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Press Conference Announcing Lawsuit Against S&P
Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West Speaks at the Press Conference Announcing Lawsuit Against S&P
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Stuart F. Delery Speaks at the Press Conference Announcing Lawsuit Against S&PCrystal Beach Woman Arresting for Defrauding FEMA in the Wake of Hurricane IkeRead the Press Release
GALVESTON, Texas – Whitney Rohacek, 26, of Crystal Beach, has been was arrested following the return of an indictment charging her with fraud in connection with a major disaster and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
Rohacek was arrested this afternoon without incident. She made her appearance just moments ago before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Froeschner, at which time she was permitted to be released upon posting $10,000 bond.
The four-count sealed indictment was returned Jan. 30, 2013, and unsealed upon her arrest today. The indictment alleges she submitted a false bill of sale for a travel trailer that contained a forged signature, as well as fraudulent title documents and receipts in order to obtain disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
If convicted of fraud in connection with a major disaster or emergency, Rohacek faces a maximum punishment of up to 30 years in prison, as well as a possible $250,000 fine. The aggravated identity theft charge also carries another possible fine of $250,000 and a two-year-term of imprisonment, upon conviction, which must be served consecutively to any other prison term imposed.
The investigation leading to the charges in this case was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Leuchtmann is prosecuting this case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.Crosby Felon Indicted for Possessing A Pistol and DrugsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS—A federal indictment filed yesterday charges a 32-year-old felon from the northern Minnesota community of Crosby with possessing a .40-caliber, semi-automatic pistol along with approximately 30 grams of methamphetamine and crack cocaine. Zachari Allen Kozar was specifically charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and crack cocaine, and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug-trafficking crime.
According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, authorities began observing Kozar in the fall of 2012 as part of a drug trafficking investigation. Then, on December 26, 2012, officers stopped Kozar for a traffic violation while he was in Baxter, Minnesota. During that stop, Kozar allegedly became agitated when a drug-sniffing canine was brought to the scene. After the dog alerted to a controlled substance, police spotted a clear plastic baggie with crystal-like content, along with a handgun, under the vehicle’s front passenger seat. Police subsequently executed a search warrant on the vehicle, finding the loaded .40-caliber Steyr firearm in a nylon gun holster, a second .40 caliber magazine, a plastic baggy containing approximately 2.8 grams of crack cocaine, as well as ten baggies of various amounts of methamphetamine and crack cocaine, totaling approximately 32.1 grams. Kozar was arrested shortly after the initial traffic stop, and $896 in U.S. currency was found on his person.Because he is a felon, Kozar is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition at any time. His prior convictions in St. Louis County include two counts of theft of a motor vehicle (1999), fleeing police in a motor vehicle (1999 and 2004), third-degree burglary (1999), damage to property (1999), escape from custody (2001), fifth-degree drug possession (2004 and two counts in 2008), and third-degree drug possession (2009) . Because some of these convictions constitute crimes of violence, Kozar is subject to the federal Armed Career Criminal Act. That act mandates a minimum of 15 years in prison for anyone subsequently convicted in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition.
If convicted, Kozar faces a potential maximum penalty of life in prison for being a felon in possession, 20 years for drug possession, and a possible consecutive five-year to life sentence for carrying and using a firearm during or in relation to a drug trafficking crime. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen A. Slaughter.An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.
Corpus Christi Man Pleads Guilty to Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A man accused of robbing a Texas Champion Bank through use of force and intimidation has been convicted of bank robbery, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Nicholas Vernon Tolmie, 52, of Corpus Christi, entered a plea just a short time ago before Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey.
Tolmie was indicted in January 2013. As part of his plea today, Tolmie admitted he robbed the Texas Champion Bank located on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi on July 11, 2012, and again on Nov. 19, 2012. In both robberies, Tolmie presented threatening notes to bank tellers demanding money.
Tolmie was arrested on Nov. 19, 2012, after Corpus Christi Police officers responded to the bank to investigate the robbery. Officers searched the area and found discarded clothes in an abandoned building matching the clothes worn during the robbery.
The investigation revealed that a man had recently fled the building and entered a nearby restaurant. Officers located Tolmie in that restaurant and he was subsequently detained. Tolmie had the cash from the robbery concealed in his boots and admitted it came from the bank robbery. Tolmie was later identified by an eyewitness and fingerprint evidence as having also committed the July 11, 2012, robbery. Tolmie later admitted he committed both bank robberies.
Tolmie has been in custody without a bond since his arrest on Nov. 19, 2012. Judge Rainey has set sentencing for May 20, 2013, at 10:30 a.m., at which time Tolmie faces up to 20 years imprisonment as well as a possible $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sam Brown IV.
Church Rock, N.M., Man Pleads Guilty to Second Degree Murder Charge Involving Death of a Navajo ManRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE –Danny Dan Don Brown, 25, a member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Church Rock, N.M., pled guilty this morning to a second degree murder charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Brown and co-defendant, Melvyn Lee Morgan, 29, a member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Gallup, N.M., were charged in a criminal complaint on Dec. 4, 2011, for the Dec. 3, 2011 murder of Robert L. Smith, also a member of the Navajo Nation. According to the complaint, the murder occurred in Church Rock, which is within the Navajo Indian Reservation. Brown and Morgan were arrested on Dec. 27, 2011, and have been in federal custody since that time. The two were indicted on Jan. 24, 2012, and charged with second degree murder.
According to court records, late on the night of Dec. 3, 2011, Brown, Morgan and the victim had a fight after drinking alcohol. During the fight, Brown and Morgan repeatedly kicked and punched the victim, who died as a result of injuries he sustained.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Brown faces a sentence of not less than 12 years and not more than 15 years in prison. Brown remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
Morgan has entered a not guilty plea to the indictment. The charges in the indictment as to Morgan are only accusations and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI with assistance from the Crownpoint Division of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.
Cherokee County Individuals Arrested on Federal Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public AffairsTYLER, Texas - U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that 11 individuals are in custody following a lengthy investigation into drug trafficking in the Eastern District of Texas.
On Feb. 5, 2013, a combined task force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies began arresting individuals named in a federal indictment returned by a grand jury on Jan. 23, 2013. The indictment charges the following individuals with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine:
Javier Colmenero Loyola, 46
James Franklin Carpenter, 59
Bobby Joe Whiteley, 42
Brandon Wesley Kimble, 28
Christopher Trent O'Neal, 27
Toby Hill Coslett, aka "Crazy," 41
Jeffrey Rainey, aka "Pee Wee," 49
Stile Parker Denton, 48
Morris Edward Stone, 43
James Adrien Craig, aka "Ace," 37
Christine Marie Hamer, 35The defendants will appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. If convicted, the defendants each face a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison.
A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. ####
This indictment is the result of a joint investigation by the Tyler office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Police Department and members of the Safe Streets Task Force. Numerous additional agencies participated in today’s arrests including DEA, ATF, HSI, the US Marshals Service, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Texas Rangers Special Operations Group, and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Moore.Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
A man who sexually exploited and extorted minors pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Lucas Robinson, age 23, from Cedar Rapids, was convicted of one count of sexual exploitation of children, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of extortion.At the plea hearing, Robinson admitted that, between 2009 and 2012, he used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced minor females to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of this conduct. He admitted he threatened to distribute sexually explicit depictions of minors so they would send him more sexually explicit depictions of themselves, so they would talk to him when he wanted, and so at least one minor would engage in sexual activity with him.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Robinson remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Robinson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 42 years’ imprisonment, $750,000 in fines, a $300 special assessment, and supervised release for 5 years to life following his imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.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.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 12-0089.
Cary Man Sentenced for CarjackingRead the Press Release
RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today, United States District Judge Louise Flanagan sentenced MICHAEL DONNELL LEONARD for weapons offenses stemming from a carjacking. LEONARD, 50, of Cary, North Carolina, received 262 months imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release.
On March 29, 2012, LEONARD entered a business in Raleigh, North Carolina, looking for his estranged girlfriend. He pulled a pistol on other employees of the center, and demanded the victim come to him. LEONARD held the gun against the woman as he forced her out of the building and to her car, and they drove off. A short while later, Raleigh Police located the vehicle at a gas station in Raleigh. When LEONARD and the woman emerged from the station, LEONARD was apprehended. A Lorcin .380 semi-automatic pistol was recovered.
USA Walker commented, “We are thankful this incident ended without physical injury to those threatened by this defendant, and hope the significant sentence meted out today will provide encouragement to all victims of domestic violence.”
Investigation of the cases was conducted by the Raleigh Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today, United States District Judge Louise Flanagan sentenced MICHAEL DONNELL LEONARD for weapons offenses stemming from a carjacking. LEONARD, 50, of Cary, North Carolina, received 262 months imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release.
On March 29, 2012, LEONARD entered a business in Raleigh, North Carolina, looking for his estranged girlfriend. He pulled a pistol on other employees of the center, and demanded the victim come to him. LEONARD held the gun against the woman as he forced her out of the building and to her car, and they drove off. A short while later, Raleigh Police located the vehicle at a gas station in Raleigh. When LEONARD and the woman emerged from the station, LEONARD was apprehended. A Lorcin .380 semi-automatic pistol was recovered.
USA Walker commented, “We are thankful this incident ended without physical injury to those threatened by this defendant, and hope the significant sentence meted out today will provide encouragement to all victims of domestic violence.”
Investigation of the cases was conducted by the Raleigh Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Businessman Eddy Zai Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison, Ordered to Repay $23 Million for Credit Union FraudRead the Press Release
Local businessman A. Eddy Zai was sentenced to more than seven years in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $23 million after he previously pleaded guilty to nine counts related to his participation in a fraud against St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union, law enforcement officials said.
“Mr. Zai held himself out to the community as a successful entrepreneur, when in reality he was part of a conspiracy that resulted in one of the largest credit union collapses in history,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
“Eddy Zai’s sentence and restitution amount reflect his extensive involvement in bribing loan officials, submitting false documentation and obtaining millions of dollars in loans for numerous non-operational businesses managed by him,” said Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland office. “The FBI will continue to seek justice for victims of the SPCFCU collapse and any other financial fraud scheme where trust and faith have been unwittingly placed.”
Darryl Williams, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations’ Cincinnati Office, said: “Honest and law abiding citizens are fed up with those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money. Let these convictions stand as a warning to those who victimize the public that whether you are the main perpetrator of a fraud, or merely assist in its facilitation, the law will hold all guilty parties accountable."
Zai, 44, of Pepper Pike, pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank bribery, two counts of bank fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of bribery and two counts of making false statements of financial institutions.
U.S. District Judge John Adams sentenced Zai to 87 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay more than $23 million in restitution.
Zai conspired with others, including Anthony Raguz, the former Chief Operating Officer of the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union (SPCFCU), to submit false loan documents to the credit union, defraud the credit union of approximately $16.7 million, and pay bribes and kickbacks to Raguz for using his position at the credit union to approve numerous loans to Zai and the entities and nominee companies he controlled, according to court documents.
The conduct took place from December 2003 through March 2010, according to court documents.
SPCFCU, located in Eastlake, was placed into conservatorship by the National Credit Union Administration on April 23, 2010. One week later, the NCUA liquidated SPFCFU and discontinued its operations after determining the credit union was insolvent. At that time, SPCFCU served about 5,400 members and was believed to have assets of approximated $239 million.At the time, Zai owned, operated and controlled The Cleveland Group, LLC (aka the Cleveland Group of Companies) and its many related entities, which included: Cleveland Flooring & Designs, Ltd.; Alpina, Inc.; Cleveland Development Group, LLC; The Cleveland Group, Environmental, LLC; Cleveland Real Estate Group, Inc.; The Cleveland Group Real Estate Division; The Cleveland Group, Excavating Division; Cleveland Management Group, Inc.; The Cleveland Group, Construction Division; The Cleveland Group, Consulting Division; The Cleveland Group, Ltd.; 417, Ltd.; 417 Limited; and Sutton Park, Ltd.
Certain of these entities were created primarily to operate as a “safe haven” for credit union proceeds, while others performed little or no legitimate business despite having loan proceeds intented for Zai’s “business” ventures, according to court documents.Zai engaged in a scheme to defraud the credit union by, among other things, submitting loan documents for and receiving loan proceeds on behalf of companies that ceased operations. He continued to seek and obtain loan proceeds in the name of non-operating entities even after he directed that no loan payments be made to the credit union. This scheme to defraud the credit union resulted in an approximately $13.7 million loss, according to court documents.
Zai submitted numerous false loan documents to the credit union between March 2008 and July 2009 in order to influence the credit union’s decision to approve loans to the companies he controlled.
Zai gave Raguz numerous cash payments, usually in the form of $100 bills concealed in envelopes and hand-delivered to Raguz at the credit union’s offices, and totaling more than approximately $5,000. The payments were made to both induce Raguz to approve additional fraudulent loan applications and to reward Raguz for having previously approved false loan applications, according to court documents.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan following an investigation by the Cleveland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.
Buckingham Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Marijuana Charge from June 2000Read the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – James Benjiman Baynor, Jr., 61, of Buckingham, Va., was sentenced today to 36months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. The conviction is based on Baynor’s indictment in June 2000.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Robert Brisolari, Acting Special Agent in Charge for Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s Washington Field Division; and Col. K.L. Wright, Chesapeake Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.
Baynorpled guilty on Sept. 27, 2012. According to court documents, in June 2000, Baynor maintained a marijuana grow operation at his place of business on Queen City Road in Chesapeake, VirginiaDetectives served a search warrant and recovered 174 growing marijuana plants, 990 grams of cut marijuana, a small quantity of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia, including scales, hydroponic grow lights, electrical wires and numerous small film containers. Baynor fled the Tidewater area after learning of a federal indictment and was not located until July 2012, when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Buckingham County, Va. Initially Baynor provided the Buckingham County law enforcement officials with a false name, but their check with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) revealed Baynor’s true identity and located the arrest warrant that had outstanding since 2000.
This case was investigated by the DEA’s Washington Field Office and the Chesapeake Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Laura P. Tayman prosecuted 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.Brandon Royce Clark Sentenced to 100 Months for Possession of AmmunitionRead the Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Brandon Royce Clark, 23, of Morristown, Tenn., was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville, Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District Judge, presiding, to serve 100 months in prison for the felony offense of possession of ammunition by a previously convicted felon.
Upon his release from prison, Clark will be subject to supervised release under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years. There is no parole in the federal system.
Clark pleaded guilty in June 2012, to possessing ammunition after having been previously convicted of a felony offense. Federal law prohibits any person, previously convicted of any offense which carries a potential penalty exceeding one year of incarceration, from thereafter possessing a firearm or ammunition
Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to indictment and subsequent conviction of Clark included the Morristown Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U. S. Attorney J. Gregory Bowman represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crimes face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community faces.
Bonners Ferry Man Sentenced for Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
COEUR D'ALENE – Christopher M. Doyle, 25, of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 36 months in prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Doyle to serve four years of supervised release and pay restitution of $1,163.29. He pleaded guilty to the charges on November 6, 2012.
According to the plea agreement, Doyle admitted that on April 6, 2010, while employed at Ace's Elder Care, a nursing home, he stole two checks belonging to an elderly patient residing in the facility. Both checks were drawn on the victim’s bank account. Doyle admitted that he forged the victim’s name on the signature line and made it payable to his girlfriend in the amount of $500. Doyle then deposited the check into his girlfriend's bank account using an ATM. According to the plea agreement, Doyle’s image was captured showing him depositing the check at the ATM. On April 22, 2010, during an interview with a U.S. Postal Inspector, Doyle admitted that he stole the victim’s checks while working at the nursing home and deposited them into his girlfriend's bank account.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Alabama Woman Pleads Guilty in A Stolen Identity Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama - Larreka Jackson pleaded guilty yesterday to her role in a multi-million dollar conspiracy to use stolen identities to obtain tax refunds, announced George L. Beck, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.
On August 15, 2012, a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, returned a 25-count indictment charging Larreka Jackson for conspiring to file false tax returns using stolen identities, filing false claims, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment, Jackson operated a tax preparation business called It’s Tax Time in Montgomery, Ala. Jackson used It’s Tax Time as a front to file false tax returns using stolen identities. Jackson unlawfully obtained the names and Social Security numbers of actual persons and filed false tax returns using those names. Jackson directed the fraudulent tax refund to bank accounts controlled by her and her co-conspirators.
The case was investigated by special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Jason H. Poole and Michael Boteler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at justice.gov/tax.
PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617Acadiana Outreach Case Manager Pleads Guilty to Involvement in OWI Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La.: United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that former Acadiana Outreach Center case manager, Elaine Crump, 59, of Lafayette, pleaded guilty to a one-count Bill of Information charging her with Misprision of a Felony, that is, failure to report a bribery scheme.
This plea is related to the bribery investigation in which individuals within the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office accepted bribes in return for their participation in the facilitation of “immediate 894 pleas.”
The Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 894 provides a procedure by which a person can initially plead guilty to a crime with the understanding that the conviction will be set aside if the person successfully completes certain requirements imposed during a probationary period, including community service.
Crump made the following admissions in her factual stipulations entered during the guilty plea hearings in open court before Magistrate Judge Patrick J. Hanna today: In September of 2007, Crump began working at Acadiana Outreach as an intake specialist. In 2009, she was promoted to the position of case manager. In early 2010, Crump was approached by a former Acadiana Outreach case manager who she had worked with from September of 2007 to October of 2009. The case manager confessed to Crump that she had been creating false Acadiana Outreach community service certificates while employed as a case manager. The certificates purported to confirm that individuals had completed court-mandated community service when, in fact, they had not done so. Because she was no longer employed by Acadiana Outreach, the former case manager asked Crump to assist her with continuing the fraud.
The former case manager proposed to Crump that she, the former case manager, would continue preparing fraudulent Acadiana Outreach certificates on official letterhead, and in exchange for payments, Crump would allow her, the former case manager, to forge Crump’s signature on the fraudulent certificates. Crump agreed to the former case manager’s proposal, even though she understood that the certificates would falsely certify that the listed individual had completed the mandated community service, and that the certificates would be filed in the court record of the 15 Judicial District criminal th proceedings. Thereafter, Crump began receiving regular payments from the former case manager ranging from $25 to $100 in cash. Crump understood that the former case manager was being paid by another individual who was obtaining the false certificates from the former case manager and causing them to be filed into the court record.
In an effort to avoid detection, the former case manager would provide Crump with the names of the individuals for whom the former case manager had prepared false certificates and the number of completed community service hours reflected on the fraudulent certificates. This enabled Crump to falsely verify the accuracy of the certificates if questioned by employees of Acadiana Outreach or courthouse staff.
In September of 2011, shortly after Crump was laid off from Acadiana Outreach, the former case manager proposed to Crump that she, the former case manager, continue creating additional fraudulent certificates and forging Crump’s name on them, but backdating the documents to a period in which Crump was employed by Acadiana Outreach. Crump agreed and continued to receive payments from the former case worker.
At sentencing, Crump faces a term of imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of not more than three years, following confinement.
“Those involved in this bribery scheme have put their own interests above that of the criminal justice system,” Finley said. “Crump’s work at the Outreach Center was an important part of the 894 process and was designed to help people and assist in protecting the public, not to help facilitate Crump’s greed. My office and the FBI will continue to investigate and prosecute corruption in the Western District of Louisiana.”
The FBI is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Willis are prosecuting the case.
4 February 2013
Wood County Man Sentenced to Prison Time for Violating Federal Sex Offender Registration LawRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin today announced that a Wood County man was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for failing to update his sex offender registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Randall K. Taylor, 48, Rockport, Wood County, W.Va., previously pleaded guilty in October 2012.
On February 8, 1991, Taylor was convicted in the Court of Common Pleas, Franklin County, Ohio of gross sexual imposition with specification. As a result of his felony conviction, Taylor was required to register as a sex offender. On June 22, 2011, Taylor registered as a sex offender in the state of Ohio.
An investigation conducted by the United States Marshals Service in the Southern District of West Virginia revealed that Taylor traveled in interstate commerce to Rockport, Wood County, West Virginia, where he resided from September 2011 through May 17, 2012. Taylor admitted that subsequent to his travel to West Virginia, he was required to update his sex offender registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The investigation further revealed that Taylor failed to update his sex offender registration as required by law.The United States Marshals Service and the West Virginia State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Johnston handled the prosecution. The sentence was imposed by United States District Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/wvs/PSCpage.html. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and follow the link named “Resources.”