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16 October 2024
Two charged with conspiracy to traffic firearmsRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A Texas man and a Mexican national have been indicted for allegedly attempting to purchase firearms in the United States to bring across the border into Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
A federal grand jury has now returned a three-count indictment against Jorge Alberto Morales-Calvo, 25, Mexico, and Homero Arteaga Jr., 45, Mission.
Originally charged by criminal complaint and in custody, they are expected to appear for their arraignment before a U.S. magistrate judge in the near future.
In September, Morales-Calvo and Arteaga allegedly went to Zapata to purchase a .50 caliber rifle and a FN Five-Seven pistol. The charges allege they were given a bag containing $16,850 in counterfeit U.S. currency to purchase the firearms.
According to the complaint, Morales-Calvo and Arteaga arrived in a black pickup truck at the predetermined meeting point, at which time Arteaga inspected the firearms. After retrieving the counterfeit money for the transaction, Arteaga allegedly grabbed the case holding the firearms and attempted to place them in the bed of the truck.
The charges allege Morales-Calvo noticed authorities and attempted to flee and left Arteaga behind. Law enforcement quickly apprehended both men, according to the complaint.
The firearms were intended for ultimate delivery in Mexico, according to the charges.
If convicted of the conspiracy, both men face up to 15 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Arteaga and Morales-Calvo are also charges with felon in possession of a firearm and alien in possession of a firearm, respectively, and face an additional 10 years in federal prison, upon conviction.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety and Border Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew P. Hakala-Finch is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Two Sudanese Nationals Indicted for Alleged Role in Anonymous Sudan Cyberattacks on Hospitals, Government Facilities, and Other Critical Infrastructure in Los Angeles and Around the WorldRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury indictment unsealed today charges two Sudanese nationals with operating and controlling Anonymous Sudan, an online cybercriminal group responsible for tens of thousands of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against critical infrastructure, corporate networks, and government agencies in the United States and around the world.
In March 2024, pursuant to court-authorized seizure warrants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI seized and disabled Anonymous Sudan’s powerful DDoS tool, which the group allegedly used to perform DDoS attacks, and sold as a service to other criminal actors.
Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer, 22, and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer, 27, were both charged with one count of conspiracy to damage protected computers. Ahmed Salah was also charged with three counts of damaging protected computers.
“Anonymous Sudan sought to maximize havoc and destruction against governments and businesses around the world by perpetrating tens of thousands of cyberattacks,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “This group’s attacks were callous and brazen—the defendants went so far as to attack hospitals providing emergency and urgent care to patients. My office is committed to safeguarding our nation’s infrastructure and the people who use it, and we will hold cyber criminals accountable for the grave harm they cause.”
“The FBI’s seizure of this powerful DDoS tool successfully disabled the attack platform that caused widespread damage and disruptions to critical infrastructure and networks around the world,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “With the FBI’s mix of unique authorities, capabilities, and partnerships, there is no limit to our reach when it comes to combating all forms of cybercrime and defending global cybersecurity.”
“These charges and the results of this investigation, made possible through law enforcement and private sector partnerships, have an immeasurable impact on the security of networks in the U.S. and of its allies, and demonstrates the resolve of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) to safeguard the Department of Defense from evolving cyber threats,” said Kenneth A. DeChellis, DCIS Cyber Field Office, Special Agent in Charge. “Cybercriminals need to understand that if they target America’s warfighters, they will face consequences.”
According to the indictment and a criminal complaint also unsealed today, since early 2023, the Anonymous Sudan actors and their customers have used the group’s Distributed Cloud Attack Tool (DCAT) to conduct destructive DDoS attacks and publicly claim credit for them. In approximately one year of operation, Anonymous Sudan’s DDoS tool was used to launch over 35,000 DDoS attacks, including at least 70 targeting computers in the greater Los Angeles area.
Victims of the attacks include sensitive government and critical infrastructure targets within the United States and around the world, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the FBI, the State Department, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and government websites for the state of Alabama. Victims also included major U.S. technology platforms, including Microsoft Corp. and Riot Games Inc., and network service providers. The attacks resulted in reported network outages affecting thousands of customers.
Anonymous Sudan’s DDoS attacks, which at times lasted several days, caused damage to the victims’ websites and networks, often rendering them inaccessible or inoperable, resulting in significant damages. For example, Anonymous Sudan’s DDoS attacks shuttered the emergency department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, causing incoming patients to be redirected to other medical facilities for approximately eight hours. Anonymous Sudan’s attacks have caused more than $10 million in damages to U.S. victims.
The March 2024 disruption of Anonymous Sudan’s DCAT tool, called variously “Godzilla,” “Skynet,” and “InfraShutdown,” was accomplished through the court-authorized seizure of its key components. Specifically, the warrants authorized the seizures of computer servers that launched and controlled the DDoS attacks, computer servers that relayed attack commands to a broader network of attack computers, and accounts containing the source code for the DDoS tools used by Anonymous Sudan.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted of all charges, Ahmed Salah would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison, and Alaa Salah would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
The investigation of Anonymous Sudan was conducted by the FBI’s Anchorage Field Office, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service Computer Investigations and Forensics Division.
Assistant United States Attorneys Cameron L. Schroeder and Aaron Frumkin of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section are prosecuting this case, with substantial assistance from Trial Attorney Greg Nicosia of the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Schroeder and Frumkin, along with Assistant United States Attorney James Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture Section, also obtained the seizure warrants for computer servers constituting Anonymous Sudan’s DCAT tool.
The DOJ Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s International Operations Division and Behavioral Analysis Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska aided in this investigation.
These law enforcement actions were taken as part of Operation PowerOFF, an ongoing, coordinated effort among international law enforcement agencies aimed at dismantling criminal DDoS-for-hire infrastructure worldwide, and holding accountable the administrators and users of these illegal services. Akamai SIRT, Amazon Web Services, Cloudflare, Crowdstrike, DigitalOcean, Flashpoint, Google, Microsoft, PayPal, SpyCloud and other private sector entities provided assistance in this matter.
redacted_ahmed_complaint_v.2.pdf indictment_embargo.pdfTwo Men Sentenced on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
ANNISTON, Ala. – Two men have been sentenced on drug charges , announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven L. Hofer.
U.S. District Court Judge Corey Maze sentenced Anthony Scott Coffee, 44, of Anniston, to 150 months in prison and Torey Lacarr Hudson, 29, of Anniston, to 120 months in prison for distribution of methamphetamine. According to court documents, in September 2023, Coffee and Hudson distributed 107.9 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent in Anniston, Alabama.
At the time of the offense, Coffee was on probation for convictions in Calhoun County Circuit Court for kidnapping first degree and attempted murder, and he had a history of domestic violence. Hudson was on probation for a murder conviction in Calhoun County Circuit Court.
DEA investigated the case along with the 7th Judicial Major Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Brittany Byrd prosecuted the case.
Two CPAs Sentenced in Billion-Dollar Syndicated Conservation Easement Tax SchemeRead the Press Release
Two accountants were each sentenced today to 20 months in prison for their roles in the promotion and sale of abusive syndicated conservation easement tax shelters.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Victor Smith was a CPA and founding partner of an Atlanta-based accounting firm. Beginning at least in 2014 and through at least 2019, Smith promoted and sold tax deductions to his wealthy clients in the form of units in illegal syndicated conservation easement tax shelters organized and created by co-defendants Jack Fisher, James Sinnott and others. Smith, along with his firm, sold approximately $14 million in false tax deductions to their clients, causing a tax loss to the IRS of about $4.8 million. He earned $491,400 in commissions from Fisher and Sinnott for his role in the scheme.
William Tomasello was a CPA at another accounting firm who, at least in 2015 and through at least 2019, also promoted and sold units to his wealthy clients in these same syndicated conservation easement tax shelters. Tomasello sold approximately $8.5 million in false deductions, causing a tax loss of about $2.3 million. He earned approximately $525,072 in commissions.
The scheme entailed the creation of partnerships that would purchase land and land-owning companies and then donate conservation easements over that land or the land itself. Appraisers would value the land and the partnerships would then claim a charitable contribution tax deduction based on the appraised value of the conservation easement, resulting in tax deductions flowing to the wealthy clients who purchased units in the partnership. Many of these clients joined the tax shelters after the donation of the interest in land and after the close of the relevant tax year.
Smith and Tomasello both knew that, contrary to law, these syndicated conservation easement tax shelters lacked economic substance and that their wealthy clients participated in these sham investments only to obtain a tax deduction and received only a tax benefit for their participation in the tax shelters. For example, a client who purchased units in a partnership had to “vote” ostensibly on what to do with the partnership’s land. However, Smith and Tomasello knew that the “vote” held by the partnerships each year was just optics and that the land invariably would be donated largely as a conservation easement. Smith and Tomasello also knowingly instructed and caused their clients to falsely backdate documents — such as subscription agreements and checks — related to the illegal tax shelters.
In addition to their prison sentences, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. for the Northern District of Georgia ordered Smith to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $4,878,990.90 in restitution. Judge Batten ordered Tomasello to serve three years of supervised release, to perform 120 hours of community service and to pay $2,386,816.04 in restitution.
Seven additional defendants have previously pleaded guilty to criminal conduct related to the syndicated conservation easement tax shelter scheme of Fisher and Sinnott (who were convicted after trial). These other defendants include appraiser Walter Douglas “Terry” Roberts, accountant Stein Agee, CPA Corey Agee, CPA Ralph Anderson, CPA James Benkoil, CPA Herbert Lewis and CPA and Attorney Randall Lenz.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia and IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Guy Ficco made the announcement. They also thanked U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina for her office’s assistance.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing, Parker Tobin, Jessica Kraft and Nicholas J. Schilling Jr. of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.
Toronto man pleads guilty to firearms trafficking conspiracyRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Jeshua Lion Myers a/k/a Dually, 29, a citizen of Canada, the United States, and the Bahamas, residing in Toronto, Canada, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler, who is handling the case, stated that in December 2023, Myers told an undercover law enforcement officer that he could travel to Florida to acquire firearms from various stores and websites, and then arranged to bring those firearms to the Western District of New York with the belief that the undercover officer could illegally smuggle those firearms into Canada to a co-conspirator. On December 20, 2023, Myers met with the undercover officer in Buffalo and provided 19 firearms in exchange for $33,000. Several of the firearms were semi-automatic firearms capable of accepting a high-capacity magazine. Myers also provided assorted magazines, including high-capacity magazines, ammunition, and other weapons components. On February 13, 2024, Myers provided approximately 110 additional firearms to undercover law enforcement officers.
The plea is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations Border Enforcement Security Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller, New York Field Division, and the Ontario Provincial Police. Additional Assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations, Miami, Florida.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 21, 2025, before Judge Sinatra.
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Tokio, ND Woman Indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter and Child Neglect in Indian countryRead the Press Release
Fargo – United States Attorney Mac Schneider announced that on October 16, 2024, Tierra Lynn Scott, age 30 from Tokio, ND, made her initial appearance and was arraigned in federal court. The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota unsealed an Indictment revealing that a federal grand jury indicted Scott for Involuntary Manslaughter and three counts of Child Neglect in Indian country. Scott was detained and trial has been scheduled for December 10, 2024.
The Indictment in this case is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
On August 17, 2024, law enforcement responded to a residence in Fort Totten, North Dakota, where an adult male was later pronounced dead. The investigation revealed the man had been struck and run over by a motor vehicle driven by Scott. The indictment alleges Scott was under the influence of intoxicating liquor and in possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia and Scott was backing and otherwise driving recklessly, and without due care for the rights and safety of others. The investigation further revealed Scott had three minor children in the vehicle with her at the time.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lori H. Conroy.
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Ten Defendants Indicted in Connection with a Massachusetts-Based Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
CONCORD – Ten defendants have been indicted in connection with a Methuen and Lawrence-based organization trafficking narcotics to New Hampshire, U.S Attorney Jane Young announces.
Today, law enforcement officers arrested seven defendants in New Hampshire and Massachusetts on charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, namely, fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and crack cocaine. The defendants are scheduled to appear in federal court at various times this week and next week.
The following defendants have been indicted in connection with this drug trafficking organization:
- Michael Martinez, age 33, of the Dominican Republic; he has not yet been arrested.
- Donaida Gonzalez, aka Yijana Rodriguez, age 52, of Methuen, MA; she is in custody.
- Diana Bautista-Arias, aka Alba Cruz-Solano, age 43, of Lawrence, MA; she is in custody.
- Eddy Balbuena-Gomez, age 30, of Lawrence, MA; he is in custody.
- Redondo Dore, age 28, of Berlin, NH; he is in custody.
- Trevor Mackenzie, age 33, of Rochester, NH; he is in custody.
- Katie Curtis, age 38, of Rochester, NH; she is in custody.
- Tabitha O’Brien, age 44, of Rochester, NH; she is in custody.
- Craig Grant, age 41, of Somersworth, NH; he has not yet been arrested.
- Jamie Bonner, age 42, of Somersworth, NH; she has not yet been arrested.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Michael Martinez and Redondo Dore are facing mandatory minimum penalties of 10 years based on their involvement in the conspiracy. Katie Curtis is also facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years based on her involvement in the conspiracy. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshal Service, the Strafford County Sheriff’s Office, the Massachusetts State Police, the Keene Police Department, the Salem Police Department, the Berlin Police Department, the Londonderry Police Department, the Nashua Police Department, the Concord Police Department, the New Hampshire State Police, the Lawrence Police Department, and the Methuen Police Department provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron Gingrande and Jarad Hodes are prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Stroudsburg Man Sentenced to 25 Years’ Imprisonment for Production of Images Containing the Sexual Exploitation of A ChildRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Christopher Horsfield, age 50, formerly of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced August 23, 2024, by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion to serve a term of 25 years’ imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release for producing images containing the sexual exploitation of a child.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, between November 2022 and August 2023, Horsfield acquired, created, and distributed child pornography—some of which Horsfield personally created with minor victims. Law enforcement discovered the abuse while investigating a report of inappropriate contact between a minor and another individual, finding communications between Horsfield and the individual on the individual’s phone that included videos depicting Horsfield engaging in the sexual exploitation of a minor. Subsequent investigation determined that Horsfield possessed 2,125 images and 218 videos of child pornography on his phone.
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.
The case was investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police, Stroudsburg Area Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Williams and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Varley prosecuted the case.
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Stilwell Resident Sentenced for Possessing A Firearm in Furtherance of Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Nakiah Twobear Eagle, age 27, of Stilwell, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for one count of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office.
On March 25, 2024, Eagle pleaded guilty to the federal firearms offense. According to investigators, on August 30, 2022, an Adair County Sheriff’s Office Investigator conducting a routine traffic stop discovered Eagle to be in possession of a loaded .22 caliber semiautomatic pistol, along with 732.8 grams of methamphetamine, which Eagle intended for distribution. Eagle knowingly possessed the firearm in furtherance of his trafficking of methamphetamine.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the sentencing hearing. Eagle will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Geizura represented the United States.
Sixteen Hells Angels & Red Devils Motorcycle Gang Members Face Charges Related to Violent Racketeering EnterpriseRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed in the Eastern District of North Carolina charging 16 members of two outlaw motorcycle gangs — the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) and the Red Devils Motorcycle Club (RDMC) — for their alleged roles in a criminal enterprise engaging in violent criminal activity in and around Raleigh and Fayetteville, North Carolina. The RDMC is the main support club nationwide for the HAMC.
Five of the defendants are charged with murder in aid of racketeering for allegedly killing a member of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club (PMC), a rival gang, on Jan. 1, 2023, in Raleigh. Two additional defendants are charged with accessory after the fact for their alleged actions following that murder.
Eight defendants are charged with attempted murder in aid of racketeering and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering for their alleged roles in a July 22, 2023, violent assault of PMC members in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen restaurant in Wade, North Carolina.
And one defendant is charged with obstruction for allegedly attempting to dissuade a witness from assisting the criminal investigation of this case.
“According to the indictment, these defendants were leaders, organizers, and members of the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club and committed multiple crimes to advance their positions in this violent gang,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The gang’s alleged violent acts included the murder of a rival gang member on a public street, and the assault and attempted murder of other rival gang members in a restaurant parking lot. This indictment demonstrates that, along with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, the Criminal Division is committed to holding accountable those responsible for acts of violence that terrorize local communities.”
“Two years ago we launched a Violent Crime Action Plan to partner with local law enforcement to identify the individuals and groups driving violence in North Carolina, especially criminal enterprises that support and encourage violence by their members,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “We’ll keep pursuing cases like this one, charging violent crimes in aid of racketeering, to expose patterns of violence and hold gang members and those who enable them accountable.”
“Outlaw motorcycle gangs are notorious for lawless and violent behavior,” said Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Charlotte Field Division. “These criminal organizations are allegedly responsible for a long list of illegal activities, including firearms trafficking, assault, and homicide, and operate with absolutely no regard for the safety of law enforcement or the community. ATF is proud to stand with our law enforcement partners and be part of an effort to disrupt and disband such a violent and dangerous network.”
“I am proud to stand with my federal, state, and local partners in investigating and disrupting violent organizations which demonstrate a blatant disregard for life and will pursue any method to advance their criminal enterprise in our great city,” said Chief Estella Patterson of the Raleigh Police Department. “The Raleigh Police Department and our community will not tolerate destructive behavior and will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to identify those responsible to ensure they are held accountable. I am grateful to U.S. Attorney Michael Easley and his team for their continued dedication and steadfast commitment to public safety. I also thank the ATF, the Fayetteville Police Department, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office for their strong partnership in these cases.”
“Operation Broken Halo has been an ongoing investigation with the Fayetteville Police Department and the ATF into an alleged criminal enterprise connected to an outlaw motorcycle gang,” said Chief Kemberle Braden of the Fayetteville Police Department. “Through collaboration and partnership with the ATF and other supporting agencies, we were able to successfully bring charges against numerous members of this outlaw motorcycle gang and their supporting clubs. The Fayetteville Police Department remains committed to our partnership with federal, state, and local agencies to remove violent criminals from our community.”
“I want to make it clear: violent activity is not tolerated in Cumberland County,” said Sheriff Ennis W. Wright of the Cumberland County Sherriff’s Office. “The Sheriff's Office is 100% committed to maintaining a safe and peaceful community. We thoroughly investigate all tips, and it’s vital for the community to continue to report what they see because we cannot do it alone. We are grateful for our partnerships with the community, the Justice Department, and federal and local law enforcement agencies. Together, we do and will continue to make a difference.”
Most of the charges are being brought under the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Activity (VICAR) statute, which makes it illegal to commit certain violent crimes for the purpose of joining, maintaining one’s position with, or moving up in rank within the enterprise. The violent crimes included in this statute include murder, kidnapping, maiming, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and threatening to commit a crime of violence.
The indictment alleges that all 16 defendants are members or associates of the HAMC, a violent outlaw motorcycle group that allegedly uses violence, threats, and intimidation to carry out its perceived mission and enforce its rules. According to the indictment, RDMC members are subservient to the HAMC and provide support by acting as a source of recruitment for the HAMC and carrying out violent acts to further the HAMC’s interests.
The indictment alleges that HAMC members are under a standing order to attack, injure, and kill members of the PMC. The indictment also alleges that HAMC members commonly commit physical assaults, including murder, threats to injure, and intimidation to keep witnesses to their criminal conduct silent.
The indictment charges the following offenses:
Vidaul Rashaad Reed, 31, also known as Hootie, Anthony Edward Cheever, 34, also known as Rowdy, David William Stephens, 26, also known as 007, Martinus Jermaine Starks, 43, also known as Tee, and Tyler Scott Grissom, 31, also known as Snow, are all allegedly members of the RDMC and are each charged with one count of murder in aid of racketeering and one count of discharge of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence and, in doing so, causing death related to the alleged murder of a member of the PMC on Jan. 1, 2023. Murder in aid of racketeering carries a mandatory life sentence, if convicted.
Christopher Dylan Manor, 28, and Robert Scott Brown, 62, are both charged with accessory after the fact to the Jan. 1, 2023, murder. As alleged, Manor was a member of the RDMC at the time of the alleged offense and Brown is a member of the HAMC. Each faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, if convicted.
Jason Lee Hathaway, 47, Fred Joseph Prosperi, 42, also known as Freddy and Snow Boy, William Scott Gardner, 33, also known as Big Will, Terry Lewis Akins Jr., 51, J.R. Nevarez Darr, 31, Darrell Dewayne Strickland Jr., 26, William Franklin Beasley, 64, and David Lee Woodall, 45, are charged with attempted murder in aid of racketeering and assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering related to the alleged attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon of members of the PMC on July 22, 2023, in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen restaurant in Wade, North Carolina. They were all allegedly members of the HAMC at the time of the offense. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty 30 years in prison.
Jonathan Michael Robarge, 40, is charged with tampering with a witness, victim or informant by harassment. Robarge allegedly has ties to both the HAMC and the RDMC. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty three years in prison.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The ATF, Raleigh and Fayetteville Police Departments, and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Alyssa Levey-Weinstein and Deputy Chief Kelly Pearson of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly L. Sandling and Robert Dodson for the Eastern District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.
This investigation was an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Six More Defendants Plead Guilty in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Benefit SchemeRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – Six defendants indicted in May 2024 for conspiring to defraud the United States, to commit program fraud, and to commit mail fraud in connection to a scheme involving the filing of fraudulent claims for pandemic unemployment benefits, pled guilty yesterday in federal court.
Josef Ludwig Brown, 43, of Tazewell, Virginia; Crystal Samantha Shaw, 39, of Raven, Virginia; Jonathan Scott Webb, 40, of Raven, Virginia; Christopher Kirk Webb, 39, of Raven, Virginia; and Stephanie Amber Barton, 30, of Cedar Bluff, Virginia, all pled guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with emergency benefits, while Haleigh McKenzie Wolfe, 30, of Cedar Bluff, Virginia, entered a guilty plea to defrauding the United States in connection with emergency benefits.
According to court documents, between March 2020 and September 2021, these co-defendants conspired with others to file fraudulent claims and recertifications for pandemic unemployment benefits via the Virginia Employment Commission website while they were incarcerated in jails throughout the Western District of Virginia. Due to their incarceration status, these defendants were ineligible for pandemic unemployment benefits. Brown, one of the lead defendants in this investigation, admitted he solicited other co-conspirators while he was incarcerated to obtain their personal identifying information to provide to Shaw, another lead defendant, for her use in filing fraudulent claims and recertifications for unemployment benefits. In total, among the 17 defendants charged in this conspiracy, the Virginia Employment Commission paid out over $340,000 in fraudulent pandemic relief benefits.
Earlier this year, Brian Edward Addair, Clinton Michael Altizer, Cara Camille Bailey, Jeramy Blake Farmer, Joseph Frederick Hass, Daniel Wayne Horton, Jessica Dawn Lester, and Terrance Brooks Vilacha pled guilty to related fraud charges.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, Brian D. Miller, Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares made the announcement.
As part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Task Force, this investigation was conducted by the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. The PRAC’s 20-member Inspectors General identify major risks that cross program and agency boundaries to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the more than $5 trillion in COVID-19 spending.
Agencies that assisted with this investigation include the Dickenson County Sheriff’s Office, the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Department of Labor, and the Virginia Employment Commission.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Suzanne Kerney-Quillen, a Senior Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Stone are prosecuting the case for the United States.
Senior Promoter in Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme Sentenced to 240 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that on October 15, 2024, JUAN TACURI, a senior promoter in the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme known as Forcount (and later known as Weltsys) was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 240 months in prison by United States District Judge Analisa Torres. The Forcount scheme spanned the globe, ensnared thousands of victim-investors (“Victims”), and in the United States principally targeted Spanish-speaking populations. TACURI was one of the scheme’s most successful promoters and reaped millions of dollars from his participation in the fraud, which he spent on Florida real estate and luxury goods, among other things. Over 20 Victims appeared before the Court to give victim impact statements.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Juan Tacuri may have claimed to be involved in cutting- edge cryptocurrency investing, but, in reality, he was running one of the oldest tricks in the book: a Ponzi scheme. Tacuri was one of the most prolific promoters of the Forcount Ponzi scheme, taking in millions of dollars from working class victims. Instead of using victims’ funds as promised, he instead spent it on himself. Today’s sentence should serve as a stark reminder that, in the long run, fraud does not pay.”
According to the Indictment, public filings, and statements made in court:
Forcount was a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company that promised to earn its victim-investors (“Victims”) profits in exchange for their purchase of purported cryptocurrency-related investment products. The founders and promoters of the scheme, such as TACURI, falsely promised their Victims, among other things, that profits from the company’s cryptocurrency trading and mining would result in guaranteed daily returns on Victims’ investments and the doubling of those investments within six months. In reality, Forcount was not engaging in cryptocurrency trading or mining, and the founder and promoters of the scheme were using Victim funds to pay other Victims, to further promote the schemes, and to enrich themselves.
TACURI traveled throughout the United States where he and others hosted lavish expos and small community presentations aimed at luring Victims to invest in the schemes, including in the Southern District of New York. During larger-scale events, TACURI would present Forcount’s investment products and compensation plan, encourage Victims to invest as a means of achieving financial freedom, and boast about the amount of money he was earning, including by wearing designer clothing to such events. The atmosphere of these events was festive and designed to generate excitement about the schemes.
Victims invested in the Forcount scheme by purchasing investment products from promoters, such as TACURI, using cash, checks, wire transfers, and actual cryptocurrency. Following a Victim’s investment, they would be provided with access to an online portal where they could monitor their purported returns. While Victims saw “profits” accumulate on the scheme’s online portal, most Victims were unable to withdraw any of these so-called profits and ultimately lost their entire investments. By contrast, Forcount’s promoters, like TACURI, siphoned off, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars in Victim funds, which they withdrew as cash, spent on promotional expenses for the schemes, and used for personal expenditures such as luxury goods and real estate.
At least as early as in or about April 2018, Victims who attempted to withdraw money from their online portal accounts had difficulty doing so and, when they complained to promoters, such as TACURI, they were met with excuses, delays, and hidden fees, if they were able to make any withdrawals at all. Despite these complaints, Forcount’s promoters, including TACURI, continued to promote the fraudulent scheme and accept Victims’ investments. As complaints mounted Forcount began offering proprietary crypto-tokens for sale as a means of injecting liquidity into the scheme. TACURI claimed that these tokens, known as “Mindexcoin,” would eventually be worth a significant amount of money when they were accepted by companies for payment for goods and services. This was false. In reality, they were essentially worthless and resulted in further financial loss to Victims. By in or about 2021, the scheme had stopped making payments to Victims and their chief promoters, including TACURI, stopped promoting the schemes, and, in some instances, stopped responding to Victims’ complaints altogether.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, TACURI, 46, of Greenacres, Florida, was sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $3,610,718.67 and all right and title to a home in Florida that he purchased in part with Forcount Victim funds. TACURI was also ordered to pay at least $3,610,718.67 in restitution.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations. Mr. Williams also thanked the New York City Police Department, the New York City Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Insurance Fraud, Property, and Casualty in the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services of the Florida Department of Financial Services, and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation for their assistance. Mr. Williams also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Brazilian Federal Police for their assistance.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A. Gianforti and Michael D. Maimin are in charge of the prosecution.
If you believe that you have been victimized by the Forcount/Weltsys Ponzi scheme, please send an email to [email protected].
Rolla Sex Offender Sentenced to 190 Months in Prison for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a sex offender who sent child sexual abuse material to others to 190 months in prison.
Torrey Jaymes McAlpin, 37, of Rolla, will be on supervised release for life after his release from prison.
McAlpin was caught after the social media app Kik submitted a CyberTip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about someone who uploaded four videos and five images containing child sexual abuse material in chat messages. The messages were traced to McAlpin, who was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse involving a child in Kentucky in 2013. McAlpin was found guilty of failing to register as a sex offender in Tennessee in 2018.
Investigators found evidence that McAlpin had sent multiple images and videos containing child sexual abuse material to other Kik users in June of 2021.
McAlpin pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in July to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of failure to register as a sex offender.
The Phelps County Sheriff’s Department and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Chapman prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Rhode Island Businesswoman Admits to Failing to Pay More Than $1.2 Million Dollars in Payroll and Individual TaxesRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI – The president of a Rhode Island electrical service business today admitted to a federal judge that she failed to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) more than $1.2 million dollars in payroll taxes deducted from employees’ paychecks, and in individual income taxes when she falsely claimed on joint individual tax returns that employment taxes were withheld and paid to the IRS, when, in fact, no such payments were made to the IRS, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Gail M. Hynson, 59, president of Hynson Electrical Services, Inc. pleaded guilty to ten counts of failure to account for and pay over payroll taxes and three counts of filing a false tax return. She is scheduled to be sentenced on January 14, 2025. The defendant’s sentences will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“This defendant made a conscious choice to try and divert her payroll tax obligations as a business owner into her own pockets,” remarked U.S. Attorney Cunha. “Crimes like this impact not just the workers whose employer payroll taxes went unpaid, but all of our communities, which suffer when the taxes that benefit the common good go unpaid. Today’s conviction should send the clear message that this office will hold tax cheats accountable.”
“Gail Hynson chose to steal from the IRS to enrich herself, when she failed to pay over the taxes she withheld from her own employees.” said IRS CI Special Agent in Charge Harry T Chavis Jr. "Based on Hynson’s actions, her employees could have been at risk to pay their payroll taxes twice, until her egregious activity was uncovered -- first through their withholdings, that were stolen by Hynson, and second when they filed their income taxes and had no withholdings reported. However, if, as here, the IRS discovers that an employer withheld these payroll taxes (also known as "trust-fund taxes"), but failed to pay them over to the government, the employee is credited with having paid the taxes, and the government may not require any additional payment from the employee."
As reflected in charging documents and information presented to the court, from 2016 to 2020, Hynson Electrical Services, Inc. employed approximately 13 employees. Beginning in the 3rd quarter of 2018, and continuing through the 4th quarter of 2020, the business withheld employment taxes from its employees’ paychecks, to include federal income taxes, and Medicare and Social Security taxes, but never turned the funds over to the IRS. Additionally, during that time, the company failed to file Employer Quarterly Federal Income Tax Returns with the government.
Acting in her capacity as company bookkeeper, Gail Hynson created W2s for her and her husband for tax years 2017, 2018, and 2020. Information contained on the W2s, and incorporated on their personal joint tax returns, reflected that a total of $18,418 in employment taxes had been withheld from their paychecks and paid to the IRS, when in fact she knew that no money had been paid over to the government.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ly T. Chin.
The matter was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
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Raytheon Company to Pay over $950M in Connection with Defective Pricing, Foreign Bribery, and Export Control SchemesRead the Press Release
Raytheon Company (Raytheon) — a subsidiary of Arlington, Virginia-based defense contractor RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation) — will pay over $950 million to resolve the Justice Department’s investigations into: (i) a major government fraud scheme involving defective pricing on certain government contracts and (ii) violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its implementing regulations, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
Raytheon will enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with a criminal information filed today in the District of Massachusetts charging Raytheon with two counts of major fraud against the United States. As part of that resolution, Raytheon admitted to engaging in two separate schemes to defraud the Department of Defense (DOD) in connection with the provision of defense articles and services, including PATRIOT missile systems and a radar system.
Separately, Raytheon entered into a three-year DPA in connection with a criminal information unsealed today in the Eastern District of New York charging Raytheon with two counts: conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provision of the FCPA for a scheme to bribe a government official in Qatar and conspiracy to violate the AECA for willfully failing to disclose the bribes in export licensing applications with the Department of State as required by part 130 of ITAR.
Both agreements require that Raytheon retain an independent compliance monitor for three years, enhance its internal compliance program, report evidence of additional misconduct to the Justice Department, and cooperate in any ongoing or future criminal investigations.
Raytheon also reached a separate False Claims Act settlement with the department relating to the defective pricing schemes. The Justice Department’s FCPA and ITAR resolution is coordinated with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In addition, the Justice Department’s resolutions ensure that the appropriate federal agencies can proceed with determining whether Raytheon or any other individuals or entities associated with the company should be suspended or debarred as federal contractors. Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), when more than one agency has an interest in an entity’s potential suspension or debarment, the FAR requires that the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC) identify the lead agency for conducting governmentwide suspension or debarment proceedings. In connection with this resolution, the Justice Department has referred Raytheon’s factual admissions to the appropriate officials within the DOD to initiate the process with the ISDC to identify which federal agency will take the lead in such administrative proceedings, which occur independently of the Justice Department’s criminal and civil resolutions.
“Raytheon engaged in criminal schemes to defraud the U.S. government in connection with contracts for critical military systems and to win business through bribery in Qatar,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin Driscoll of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Such corrupt and fraudulent conduct, especially by a publicly traded U.S. defense contractor, erodes public trust and harms the DOD, businesses that play by the rules, and American taxpayers. Today’s resolutions, with criminal and civil recoveries totaling nearly $1 billion, reflect the Criminal Division’s ability to tackle the most significant and complex white-collar cases across multiple subject matters.”
“Government contractors have an obligation to be fully transparent about their cost and pricing data when they seek an award of a sole source contract,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to holding accountable those contractors that knowingly misrepresent their cost and pricing data or otherwise violate their legal obligations when negotiating or performing contracts with the United States.”
“International corruption in military and defense sales is a violation of our national security laws as well as an anti-bribery offense,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Raytheon willfully failed to disclose bribes made in connection with contracts that required export licenses. Today’s resolution should serve as a stark warning to companies that violate the law when selling sensitive military technology overseas.”
“Over the course of several years, Raytheon employees bribed a high-level Qatari military official to obtain lucrative defense contracts and concealed the bribe payments by falsifying documents to the government, in violation of laws including those designed to protect our national security,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “We will continue to pursue justice against corruption, and as this agreement establishes, enforce meaningful consequences, reforms and monitorship to ensure this misconduct is not repeated.”
“Through deliberate and deceptive actions, Raytheon not only defrauded the U.S. government — it compromised the integrity of our defense procurement process,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “Our office is committed to holding accountable those who prioritize profits over national security and clear legal obligations. This case underscores our unwavering commitment to pursuing justice, particularly when taxpayer dollars and DOD operations are at stake. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to ensure that this type of misconduct is fully exposed and addressed with serious consequences.”
“Investigating procurement fraud impacting DOD contracts is a top priority for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the law enforcement arm of the DOD Office of Inspector General,” said Inspector General Robert Storch of DOD. “When DOD contractors fail to provide truthful pricing data and overcharge the government, they undermine the integrity of the DOD procurement process and harm critical DOD programs. The DCIS will continue to work with its law enforcement partners and the Justice Department to ensure DOD contractors that engage in defective pricing schemes are held accountable for their actions. The Defense Contract Audit Agency’s (DCAA’s) Operations Investigative Support Division provided valuable expertise during this investigation.”
“The Raytheon Company set out to intentionally defraud the U.S. government,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division (CID). “This agreement highlights the importance of integrity when it comes to government contracting. The FBI, with its law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate these types of crimes that waste taxpayer dollars and prosecute all those who are intent on cooking up these major fraud schemes.”
“Raytheon Corporation engaged in a systematic and deliberate conspiracy that knowingly and willfully violated U.S. fraud and export laws,” said Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. “Raytheon’s bribery of government officials, specifically those involved in the procurement of U.S. military technology, posed a national security threat to both the United States and its allies. As this investigation reflects, national security continues to be a top priority for HSI New York. The global threats facing the United States have never been greater, and HSI New York is committed to working with our federal and international partners to ensure that sensitive U.S. technologies are not unlawfully and fraudulently acquired.”
The Defective Pricing Case
The Criminal Resolution
According to admissions and court documents filed in the District of Massachusetts, from 2012 through 2013 and again from 2017 through 2018, Raytheon employees provided false and fraudulent information to the DOD during contract negotiations concerning two contracts with the United States for the benefit of a foreign partner — one to purchase PATRIOT missile systems and the other to operate and maintain a radar system. In both instances, Raytheon employees provided false and fraudulent information to DOD in order to mislead DOD into awarding the two contracts at inflated prices. These schemes to defraud caused the DOD to pay Raytheon over $111 million more than Raytheon should have been paid on the contracts.
Under the terms of the DPA, Raytheon will pay a criminal monetary penalty of $146,787,972, pay $111,203,009 in victim compensation, and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years. The Justice Department has agreed to credit the victim compensation amount against restitution Raytheon pays to the Civil Division in its related, parallel False Claims Act proceeding.
Pursuant to the DPA, in addition to the independent compliance monitor, Raytheon and RTX have agreed to continue to implement a compliance and ethics program at Raytheon designed to prevent and detect fraudulent conduct throughout its operations. Raytheon and RTX have also agreed to continue to cooperate with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts in any ongoing or future criminal investigations.
The Justice Department reached this resolution with Raytheon based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offense conduct, which involved two separate schemes to defraud the U.S. government. Raytheon received credit for its affirmative acceptance of responsibility and cooperation with the department’s investigation, which included (i) facilitating interviews with current and former employees; (ii) providing information obtained through its internal investigation, which allowed the department to preserve and obtain evidence as part of its own independent investigation; (iii) making detailed presentations to the department; (iv) proactively identifying key documents in the voluminous materials collected and produced; (v) engaging experts to conduct financial analyses; and (vi) demonstrating its willingness to disclose all relevant facts by analyzing whether the crime-fraud exception applied to certain potentially privileged documents and releasing the documents that it deemed fell within the exception. However, in the initial phases of the investigation prior to March 2022, Raytheon’s cooperation was limited by unreasonably slow document productions.
Raytheon also engaged in timely remedial measures, including (i) terminating certain employees who were responsible for the misconduct; (ii) establishing a broad defective pricing awareness campaign; (iii) developing and implementing policies, procedures, and controls relating to defective pricing compliance; and (iv) engaging additional resources with appropriate expertise to evaluate and test the new policies, procedures, and controls relating to defective pricing compliance.
In light of these considerations, as well as Raytheon’s prior history, the criminal penalty calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines reflects a 25% reduction off the 10th percentile above the low end of the otherwise applicable guidelines fine range.
The False Claims Act Settlement
Raytheon also entered into a civil False Claims Act settlement to resolve allegations that it provided untruthful certified cost or pricing data when negotiating prices with the DOD for numerous government contracts and double billed on a weapons maintenance contract.
Under the False Claims Act settlement, which is the second largest government procurement fraud recovery under the Act, Raytheon will pay $428 million for knowingly failing to provide truthful certified cost and pricing data during negotiations on numerous government contracts between 2009 and 2020, in violation of the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA). Congress enacted TINA in 1962 to help level the playing field in sole source contracts — where there is no price competition — by making sure that government negotiators have access to the cost or pricing data that the offeror used when developing its proposal. As part of the settlement, Raytheon admitted that it failed to disclose cost or pricing data, as required by TINA, regarding its labor and material costs to supply weapon systems to DOD.
Raytheon also admitted that by misrepresenting its costs during contract negotiations it overcharged the United States on these contracts and received profits in excess of the negotiated profit rates. Further, Raytheon admitted that it failed to disclose truthful cost or pricing data on a contract to staff a radar station. Raytheon also admitted that it billed the same costs twice on a DOD contract.
As part of the civil resolution, Raytheon received credit under the Justice Department’s guidelines for taking disclosure, cooperation, and remediation into account in False Claims Act cases for cooperation provided by RTX. That cooperation included conducting and disclosing the results of an internal investigation, disclosing relevant facts and material not known to the government but relevant to its investigation, providing the department with inculpatory evidence, conducting a damages analysis, identifying and separating individuals responsible for or involved in the misconduct, admitting liability and accepting responsibility for the misconduct, and improving its compliance programs.
“The Defense Department greatly appreciates the Justice Department’s outstanding efforts culminating in this significant recovery,” said Principal Director of Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy John Tenaglia of DOD. “The price we pay for equipment and services absolutely matters. The more we pay, the less combat capability we can deliver for our nation’s warfighters. This Justice Department recovery both restores funding that will be used to acquire more capability while also serving as a strong deterrent to all companies that might seek to deny DOD contracting officers the factual information they require to negotiate contracts at fair and reasonable prices.”
The civil settlement includes the resolution of a lawsuit filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The qui tam lawsuit was filed by Karen Atesoglu, a former Raytheon employee, and is captioned United States ex rel. Atesoglu v. Raytheon Technologies Corporation, 21-CV-10690-PBS (DMA). Ms. Atesoglu will receive $4.2 million as her share of the settlement.
The FCPA Case
According to admissions and court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York, between approximately 2012 and 2016, Raytheon, through certain of its employees and agents, engaged in a scheme to bribe a high-level official at the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF), a branch of Qatar’s Armed Forces (QAF) that was primarily responsible for the conduct of air warfare, in order to assist Raytheon in obtaining and retaining business from the QEAF and QAF. Raytheon entered into and made payments on sham subcontracts for air defense operations-related studies in order to corruptly obtain the QEAF official’s assistance in securing certain air defense contracts. Raytheon also entered into a teaming agreement with a Qatari entity in order to corruptly obtain the QEAF official’s assistance in directly awarding a potential contract to Raytheon to build a joint operations center that would interface with Qatar’s several military branches.
Under the terms of the DPA, Raytheon will pay a criminal monetary penalty of $230.4 million, pay forfeiture of $36,696,068, and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years. In addition, as part of the resolution of the SEC’s parallel investigation, Raytheon will pay approximately $49.1 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a civil penalty of $75 million ($22.5 million of which will be credited against the criminal monetary penalty). The Justice Department has agreed to credit approximately $7.4 million of the disgorgement Raytheon pays to the SEC against the criminal forfeiture.
As part of the DPA, Raytheon and RTX have agreed to continue to cooperate with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in any ongoing or future criminal investigations. In addition to the independent compliance monitor, Raytheon and RTX have agreed to continue to enhance Raytheon’s compliance program.
The Justice Department reached this resolution with Raytheon based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offense. Raytheon received credit for its affirmative acceptance of responsibility and cooperation with the department’s investigation, which included (i) providing information obtained through its internal investigation, which allowed the government to preserve and obtain evidence as part of its own independent investigation; (ii) facilitating interviews with current and former employees; (iii) making detailed factual presentations to the government; (iv) proactively disclosing certain evidence of which the government was previously unaware and identifying key documents in materials it produced; and (v) engaging experts to conduct financial analyses. However, in the initial phases of the investigation, prior to in or around 2022, Raytheon was at times slow to respond to the government’s requests and failed to provide relevant information in its possession.
Raytheon also engaged in timely remedial measures, including (i) recalibrating third party review and approval processes to lower company risk tolerance; (ii) implementing enhanced controls over sales intermediary payments; (iii) hiring empowered subject matter experts to oversee its anti-corruption compliance program and third party management; (iv) implementing data analytics to improve third party monitoring; and (v) developing a multipronged communications strategy to enhance ethics and compliance training and communications.
In light of these considerations, as well as Raytheon’s prior history, the criminal penalty calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines reflects a 20% reduction off the 20th percentile above the low end of the otherwise applicable guidelines fine range.
The ITAR Case
According to admissions and court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York, between approximately 2012 and 2016, Raytheon, through certain of its employees and agents, engaged in a scheme to willfully violate the AECA and ITAR Part 130 by failing to disclose to the State Department, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, fees and commissions paid in connection with two Qatar-related contracts — specifically, the bribes Raytheon paid to the high-level QEAF official through sham subcontracts.
The Justice Department reached this resolution with Raytheon based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offense. Raytheon received credit for its cooperation with the department’s investigation, which included (i) gathering evidence of interest to the government and proactively identifying key documents related to willful ITAR-related misconduct; (ii) making factual presentations concerning the ITAR-related misconduct; and (iii) facilitating witness interviews and expediting the government’s ability to meet with witnesses. Raytheon did not receive full credit for its cooperation because in the initial phase of the investigation, before the National Security Division joined the investigation, it failed to provide information relevant to the ITAR violations beyond what was requested in the FCPA investigation.
Raytheon also received credit for remediation, which included, in addition to the remediation described above in connection with the FCPA case, (i) hiring additional empowered subject matter experts in legal and compliance; (ii) developing a multipronged communications strategy to enhance ethics and compliance training and communications; and (iii) making enhancements to its ITAR-related compliance program.
In light of these considerations, the ITAR-related financial penalty of $21,904,850 includes a cooperation and remediation credit of 20% off the otherwise applicable penalty.
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DCIS, Army Criminal Investigation Division, FBI, and Air Force Office of Special Investigations are investigating the criminal defective pricing case. Senior Auditor Glen Hughes from DCAA’s Office of Investigative Support Division assisted in the civil investigation of the False Claims Act Matter. HSI and the FBI’s International Corruption Unit are investigating the FCPA and ITAR case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted in the investigation for the FCPA and ITAR case.
Assistant Chief Kyle Hankey, Acting Assistant Chief Laura Connelly, and Trial Attorney Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian LaMacchia and Benjamin Saltzman for the District of Massachusetts are prosecuting the criminal defective pricing case.
Attorneys Art J. Coulter, Patrick Klein, and Jared S. Wiesner of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian LaMacchia for the District of Massachusetts are prosecuting the False Claims Act matter.
Acting Assistant Chief Katherine Raut and Trial Attorney Elina A. Rubin-Smith of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Trial Attorneys Christine Bonomo and Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Pitluck, Hiral Mehta, and Jessica Weigel for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the FCPA and ITAR case.
The Justice Department also expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided by the State Department and the legal offices of the Army, Air Force, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Contract Management Agency, and Department of Navy.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act.
View the Executed Civil False Claims Act Settlement Agreement here.
Raytheon Company to Pay over $950 Million in Connection with Foreign Bribery, Export Control and Defective Pricing SchemesRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Raytheon Company (Raytheon), a subsidiary of Arlington, Virginia-based defense contractor RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation), entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Department of Justice in connection with a criminal information unsealed today in the Eastern District of New York charging Raytheon with two counts: conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for engaging in a scheme to bribe a government official in Qatar and conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) by willfully failing to disclose the bribes in export licensing applications with the Department of State.
Separately, Raytheon will enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with a criminal information filed today in the District of Massachusetts charging Raytheon with two counts of major fraud against the United States. As part of that resolution, Raytheon admitted to engaging in two separate schemes to defraud the Department of Defense (DOD) in connection with the provision of defense articles and services, including PATRIOT missile systems and a radar system.
Both agreements require that Raytheon retain an independent compliance monitor for three years, enhance its internal compliance program, report evidence of additional misconduct to the Justice Department, and cooperate in any ongoing or future criminal investigations.
Raytheon also reached a separate False Claims Act settlement with the department relating to the defective pricing schemes. The Justice Department’s FCPA and ITAR resolution is coordinated with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In addition, the Justice Department’s resolutions ensure that the appropriate federal agencies can proceed with determining whether Raytheon or any other individuals or entities associated with the company should be suspended or debarred as federal contractors. Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), when more than one agency has an interest in an entity’s potential suspension or debarment, the FAR requires that the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC) identify the lead agency for conducting government-wide suspension or debarment proceedings. In connection with this resolution, the Justice Department has referred Raytheon’s factual admissions to the appropriate officials within the Department of Defense to initiate the process with the ISDC to identify which federal agency will take the lead in such administrative proceedings, which occur independently of the Justice Department’s criminal and civil resolutions.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Kevin Driscoll, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin Driscoll of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Chad Yarbrough, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigative Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and William S. Walker, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York, announced the resolution.
“Over the course of several years, Raytheon employees bribed a high-level Qatari military official to obtain lucrative defense contracts and concealed the bribe payments by falsifying documents to the government, in violation of laws including those designed to protect our national security,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “We will continue to pursue justice against corruption, and as this agreement establishes, enforce meaningful consequences, reforms and monitorship to ensure this misconduct is not repeated.”
Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of State for their work on the case.
“Raytheon engaged in criminal schemes to defraud the U.S. government in connection with contracts for critical military systems and to win business through bribery in Qatar,” stated Deputy Assistant Attorney General Driscoll. “Such corrupt and fraudulent conduct, especially by a publicly traded U.S. defense contractor, erodes public trust and harms the Department of Defense, businesses that play by the rules, and American taxpayers. Today’s resolutions, with criminal and civil penalties totaling nearly $1 billion, reflect the Criminal Division’s ability to tackle the most significant and complex white-collar cases across multiple subject matters.”
“International corruption in military and defense sales is a violation of our national security laws as well as an anti-bribery offense,” stated Assistant Attorney General Olsen. “Raytheon willfully failed to disclose bribes made in connection with contracts that required export licenses. Today’s resolution should serve as a stark warning to companies that violate the law when selling sensitive military technology overseas.”
“The Raytheon Company set out to intentionally defraud the U.S. government,” stated FBI Assistant Director Yarbrough. “This agreement highlights the importance of integrity when it comes to government contracting. The FBI, with its law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate these types of crimes that waste taxpayer dollars and prosecute all those who are intent on cooking up these major fraud schemes.”
“Raytheon Corporation engaged in a systematic and deliberate conspiracy that knowingly and willfully violated U.S. fraud and export laws,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Walker. “Raytheon’s bribery of government officials, specifically those involved in the procurement of U.S. military technology, posed a national security threat to both the U.S. and its allies. As this investigation reflects, national security continues to be a top priority for HSI New York. The global threats facing the U.S. have never been greater, and HSI New York is committed to working with our federal and international partners to assure sensitive U.S. technologies are not unlawfully and fraudulently acquired.”
The FCPA Case
According to admissions and court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York, between approximately 2012 and 2016, Raytheon, through certain of its employees and agents, engaged in a scheme to bribe a high-level official at the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF), a branch of Qatar’s Armed Forces (QAF) that was primarily responsible for the conduct of air warfare, to assist Raytheon in obtaining and retaining business from the QEAF and QAF. Raytheon entered into and made payments on sham contracts for air defense operations-related studies to corruptly obtain the Qatari official’s assistance in securing certain air defense contracts. Raytheon also entered into a teaming agreement with a Qatari entity to corruptly obtain the Qatari official’s assistance in directly awarding a contract to Raytheon, without a competitive bid, to build a joint operations center that would interface with Qatar’s several military branches.
Under the terms of the DPA, Raytheon will pay a criminal monetary penalty of over $252.3 million, criminal forfeiture of over $36.6 million and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years. In addition, as part of the resolution of the SEC’s parallel investigation, Raytheon will pay approximately $49.1 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a civil penalty of $75 million, $22.5 million of which will be credited against the criminal monetary penalty. The Department has agreed to credit approximately $7.4 million of the disgorgement Raytheon pays to the SEC against the criminal forfeiture.
As part of the DPA, Raytheon and RTX have agreed to continue to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section in any ongoing or future criminal investigations relating to this and other conduct. In addition, Raytheon and RTX have agreed to continue to enhance Raytheon’s compliance program.
The Department reached this resolution with Raytheon based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offense. Raytheon received credit for its cooperation with the Department’s investigation, which included:
- Providing information obtained through its internal investigation, which allowed the government to preserve and obtain evidence as part of its own independent investigation;
- Facilitating interviews with current and former employees;
- Making detailed factual presentations to the government;
- Proactively disclosing certain evidence of which the government was previously unaware and identifying key documents in materials it produced; and
- Engaging experts to conduct financial analyses.
Raytheon also engaged in timely remedial measures, including:
- Recalibrating third party review and approval processes to lower company risk tolerance;
- Implementing enhanced controls over sales intermediary payments;
- Hiring empowered subject matter experts to oversee its anti-corruption compliance program and third party management;
- Implementing data analytics to improve third party monitoring; and
- Developing a multipronged communications strategy to enhance ethics and compliance training and communications.
However, in determining the appropriate cooperation credit, the government also took into account the fact that, in the initial phases of the investigation, prior to in or around 2022, Raytheon was at times slow to respond to the government’s requests and failed to provide relevant information in its possession; for example, Raytheon withheld relevant, material information from the government and gave incomplete and misleading presentations regarding the nature and scope of a relevant third-party intermediary relationship.
In light of these considerations, as well as Raytheon’s prior history, which includes three prior civil or regulatory enforcement actions: (i) a 2013 consent agreement with the U.S. State Department concerning civil ITAR and Arms Export Control Act violations, in connection with which Raytheon agreed to hire an independent special compliance officer to oversee the four-year consent decree while at the same time engaging in the conduct described in the DPA; (ii) a civil settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 concerning payments to clean up contamination sites; and (iii) a resolution with the SEC in 2006 concerning false and misleading disclosures and improper accounting practices, the criminal penalty calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines reflects a 20% reduction off the twentieth percentile above the low end of the otherwise applicable Guidelines fine range.
The ITAR Case
According to admissions and court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York, between approximately 2012 and 2016, Raytheon, through certain of its employees and agents, engaged in a scheme to willfully violate the AECA and ITAR Part 130 by failing to disclose to the United States Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, fees and commissions paid in connection with two Qatar-related contracts – specifically, the bribes Raytheon paid to the high-level QEAF official through sham subcontracts.
The Department reached this resolution with Raytheon based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offense. Raytheon received credit for its cooperation with the Department’s investigation, which included:
- Gathering evidence of interest to the government and proactively identifying key documents related to willful ITAR-related misconduct;
- Making factual presentations concerning the ITAR-related misconduct; and
- Facilitating witness interviews and expediting the government’s ability to meet with witnesses.
Raytheon also received credit for remediation, which included, in addition to the remediation described above in connection with the FCPA case:
- Hiring additional empowered subject matter experts in legal and compliance;
- Developing a multipronged communications strategy to enhance ethics and compliance training and communications; and
- Making enhancements to its ITAR-related compliance program.
Raytheon did not receive full credit for its cooperation because in the initial phase of the investigation, it failed to provide information relevant to the ITAR violations beyond what was requested in the FCPA investigation.
In light of these considerations, the ITAR-related financial penalty of $21,904,850 includes a cooperation and remediation credit of 20 percent off the otherwise applicable penalty.
The Defective Pricing Case
According to admissions and court documents filed in the District of Massachusetts, from 2012 through 2013 and again from 2017 through 2018, Raytheon employees provided false and fraudulent information to the DOD during contract negotiations concerning two contracts with the United States for the benefit of a foreign partner — one to purchase PATRIOT missile systems and the other to operate and maintain a radar system. In both instances, Raytheon employees provided false and fraudulent information to DOD in order to mislead DOD into awarding the two contracts at inflated prices. These schemes to defraud caused the DOD to pay Raytheon over $111 million more than Raytheon should have been paid on the contracts.
Under the terms of the DPA, Raytheon will pay a criminal monetary penalty of $146,787,972, pay $111,203,009in victim compensation, and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years. The Justice Department has agreed to credit the victim compensation amount against restitution Raytheon pays to the Civil Division in its related, parallel False Claims Act proceeding.
Pursuant to the DPA, in addition to the independent compliance monitor, Raytheon and RTX have agreed to continue to implement a compliance and ethics program at Raytheon designed to prevent and detect fraudulent conduct throughout its operations. Raytheon and RTX have also agreed to continue to cooperate with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts in any ongoing or future criminal investigations.
The Justice Department reached this resolution with Raytheon based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offense conduct, which involved two separate schemes to defraud the U.S. government. Raytheon received credit for its affirmative acceptance of responsibility and cooperation with the department’s investigation, which included (i) facilitating interviews with current and former employees; (ii) providing information obtained through its internal investigation, which allowed the department to preserve and obtain evidence as part of its own independent investigation; (iii) making detailed presentations to the department; (iv) proactively identifying key documents in the voluminous materials collected and produced; (v) engaging experts to conduct financial analyses; and (vi) demonstrating its willingness to disclose all relevant facts by analyzing whether the crime-fraud exception applied to certain potentially privileged documents and releasing the documents that it deemed fell within the exception. However, in the initial phases of the investigation prior to March 2022, Raytheon’s cooperation was limited by unreasonably slow document productions.
Raytheon also engaged in timely remedial measures, including (i) terminating certain employees who were responsible for the misconduct; (ii) establishing a broad defective pricing awareness campaign; (iii) developing and implementing policies, procedures, and controls relating to defective pricing compliance; and (iv) engaging additional resources with appropriate expertise to evaluate and test the new policies, procedures, and controls relating to defective pricing compliance.
In light of these considerations, as well as Raytheon’s prior history, the criminal penalty calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines reflects a 25% reduction off the tenth percentile above the low end of the otherwise applicable guidelines fine range.
The False Claims Act Settlement
Raytheon also entered into a civil False Claims Act settlement to resolve allegations that it provided untruthful certified cost or pricing data when negotiating prices with the DOD for numerous government contracts and double billed on a weapons maintenance contract.
Under the False Claims Act settlement, which is the second largest government procurement fraud recovery under the Act, Raytheon will pay $428 million for knowingly failing to provide truthful certified cost and pricing data during negotiations on numerous government contracts between 2009 and 2020, in violation of the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA). Congress enacted TINA in 1962 to help level the playing field in sole source contracts — where there is no price competition — by making sure that government negotiators have access to the cost or pricing data that the offeror used when developing its proposal. As part of the settlement, Raytheon admitted that it failed to disclose cost or pricing data, as required by TINA, regarding its labor and material costs to supply weapon systems to DOD.
Raytheon also admitted that by misrepresenting its costs during contract negotiations it overcharged the United States on these contracts and received profits in excess of the negotiated profit rates. Further, Raytheon admitted that it failed to disclose truthful cost or pricing data on a contract to staff a radar station. Raytheon also admitted that it billed the same costs twice on a DOD contract.As part of the civil resolution, Raytheon received credit under the Justice Department’s guidelines for taking disclosure, cooperation, and remediation into account in False Claims Act cases for cooperation provided by RTX. That cooperation included conducting and disclosing the results of an internal investigation, disclosing relevant facts and material not known to the government but relevant to its investigation, providing the department with inculpatory evidence, conducting a damages analysis, identifying and separating individuals responsible for or involved in the misconduct, admitting liability and accepting responsibility for the misconduct, and improving its compliance programs.
The civil settlement includes the resolution of a lawsuit filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The qui tam lawsuit was filed by Karen Atesoglu, a former Raytheon employee, and is captioned United States ex rel. Atesoglu v. Raytheon Technologies Corporation, 21-CV-10690-PBS (D. Mass.). Ms. Atesoglu will receive $4.2 million as her share of the settlement.
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In July 2022, Mr. Peace was selected as the Chairperson of the White Collar Fraud subcommittee for the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC). As the leader of the subcommittee, Mr. Peace plays a key role in making recommendations to the AGAC to facilitate the prevention, investigation and prosecution of various financially motivated, non-violent crimes including the FCPA.
The FCPA and ITAR investigation was conducted by HSI and the FBI’s International Corruption Unit. The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section, the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Assistant United States Attorneys David Pitluck, Hiral Mehta and Jessica Weigel are prosecuting the case with Acting Assistant Chief Katherine Raut and Trial Attorney Elina A. Rubin-Smith of the Fraud Section, and Trial Attorneys Christine Bonomo and Leslie Esbrook of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, with assistance from Eastern District of New York Paralegal Specialist Liam McNett.
The Defendant:
THE RAYTHEON COMPANY
Waltham, MassachusettsE.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 24-CR-399 (RER)
Raytheon Agrees to Pay over $950 Million in Connection with Defective Pricing, Foreign Bribery and Export Control SchemesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Raytheon Company (Raytheon), a subsidiary of RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corporation) in Arlington, Va., has agreed to pay over $950 million to resolve the government’s investigations into a major government fraud scheme involving defective pricing on certain government contracts and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its implementing regulations, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced today that Raytheon will pay over $574 million to resolve criminal civil liability for overcharging government contracts. Raytheon has entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with a criminal Information filed today in the District of Massachusetts charging Raytheon with two counts of major fraud against the United States. Raytheon has agreed to pay $147 million to resolve the criminal allegations. Today’s settlement with the District of Massachusetts also resolves civil allegations that Raytheon provided untruthful certified cost or pricing data when negotiating prices with the DOD for numerous government contracts and double billed DOD on a weapons maintenance contract. Raytheon has agreed to pay $428 million, the second largest government procurement fraud recovery under the False Claims Act, to resolve the civil allegations. Under both resolutions, Raytheon will pay a total of $574.7 million. Under the terms of the DPA, Raytheon will pay $146.7 million in a criminal monetary penalty, $111.2 million in victim compensation and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.
Separately, Raytheon entered into a three-year DPA in connection with a criminal information unsealed today in the Eastern District of New York charging Raytheon with two counts: conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provision of the FCPA for a scheme to bribe a government official in Qatar and conspiracy to violate the AECA for willfully failing to disclose the bribes in export licensing applications with the Department of State as required by Part 130 of ITAR.
The agreements in Boston the District of Massachusetts and the Eastern District of New York require that Raytheon retain an independent compliance monitor for three years, enhance its internal compliance program, report evidence of additional misconduct to the Justice Department, and cooperate in any ongoing or future criminal investigations.
Raytheon also reached a separate False Claims Act settlement with the department relating to the defective pricing schemes. The Justice Department’s FCPA and ITAR resolution is coordinated with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In addition, the Justice Department’s resolutions ensure that the appropriate federal agencies can proceed with determining whether Raytheon or any other individuals or entities associated with the company should be suspended or debarred as federal contractors. Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), when more than one agency has an interest in an entity’s potential suspension or debarment, the FAR requires that the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC) identify the lead agency for conducting governmentwide suspension or debarment proceedings. In connection with this resolution, the Justice Department has referred Raytheon’s factual admissions to the appropriate officials within the DOD to initiate the process with the ISDC to identify which federal agency will take the lead in such administrative proceedings, which occur independently of the Justice Department’s criminal and civil resolutions.
“Through deliberate and deceptive actions, Raytheon not only defrauded the U.S. government – it compromised the integrity of our defense procurement process,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Our office is committed to holding accountable those who prioritize profits over national security and clear legal obligations. This case underscores our unwavering commitment to pursuing justice, particularly when taxpayer dollars and DOD operations are at stake. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to ensure that this type of misconduct is fully exposed and addressed with serious consequences.”
“Raytheon engaged in criminal schemes to defraud the U.S. government in connection with contracts for critical military systems and to win business through bribery in Qatar,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin Driscoll of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Such corrupt and fraudulent conduct, especially by a publicly traded U.S. defense contractor, erodes public trust and harms the Department of Defense, businesses that play by the rules, and American taxpayers. Today’s resolutions, with criminal and civil penalties totaling nearly $1 billion, reflect the Criminal Division’s ability to tackle the most significant and complex white-collar cases across multiple subject matters.”
“Government contractors have an obligation to be fully transparent about their cost and pricing data when they seek an award of a sole source contract,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will use all available tools to hold accountable contractors that knowingly provide inflated pricing information or otherwise violate their legal obligations when negotiating or performing contracts with the United States.”
“Investigating procurement fraud impacting DOD contracts is a top priority for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the law enforcement arm of the DOD Office of Inspector General,” said Inspector General Robert Storch for the Department of Defense. “When DOD contractors fail to provide truthful pricing data and overcharge the government, they undermine the integrity of the DOD procurement process and harm critical DOD programs. The DCIS will continue to work with its law enforcement partners and the Department of Justice to ensure DOD contractors that engage in defective pricing schemes are held accountable for their actions. The Defense Contract Audit Agency's Operations Investigative Support Division provided valuable expertise during this investigation.”
“We rely on private contractors to help build our unparalleled defense technology, not to pull the wool over our eyes by convincing the government to shell out tens of millions more than what their technology is actually worth,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Boston Division. “Today’s settlement holds Raytheon both criminally and financially responsible for doing just that, using fraud and deceit to gouge American taxpayers to boost its company’s bottom line. The FBI and our partners will not hesitate to investigate any entity that sets out to undermine the principles of fair and free competition to defraud the federal government and waste precious tax dollars.”
“This recovery exemplifies the commitment of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division to ensure that contracts supporting our warfighters are executed effectively and fairly, guaranteeing our armed forces remain unmatched in capability and lethality,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Keith K. Kelly, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s (CID) Fraud Field Office. “Army CID applauds the efforts of our partners in this investigation and recovery. We will continue to work tirelessly to defend our defense procurement enterprise against any party which would seek financial advantage to the detriment of our men and women in uniform.”
“Any attempt to defraud the government also degrades our military’s ability to invest in the capabilities needed to protect our nation,” said Special Agent Jason Hein of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) Director of Procurement Fraud. “The AFOSI procurement fraud team is committed to working with our partners to protect the procurement process and the government funds entrusted to the Department of the Air Force.”
According to admissions and court documents filed in the District of Massachusetts, Raytheon employees provided false and misleading information to the DOD during contract negotiations concerning two contracts with the United States for the benefit of a foreign partner, one to purchase PATRIOT missile systems and the other to operate and maintain a radar station. In both instances, Raytheon employees provided false and deceptive information to DOD in order to mislead DOD into awarding the two contracts at inflated prices. These schemes to defraud caused the DOD to pay Raytheon $111.2 million more than Raytheon should have been paid on the contracts.
Raytheon cooperated with the investigation and engaged in remedial measures, including, terminating employees who remained at the company that were responsible for the misconduct; establishing a broad defective pricing awareness campaign; developing and implementing policies, procedures and controls relating to defective pricing compliance; and engaging additional resources with appropriate expertise to evaluate and test the new policies, procedures and controls relating to defective pricing compliance.
Pursuant to the DPA, Raytheon has also agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for a period of three years, and Raytheon and RTX have agreed to continue to implement a compliance and ethics program at Raytheon designed to prevent and detect fraudulent conduct throughout its operations. Raytheon and RTX also agreed to continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice in any ongoing or future criminal investigations by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section or the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Under the False Claims Act settlement Raytheon will pay $428 million for knowingly failing to provide truthful certified cost and pricing data during negotiations on numerous government contracts between 2009 and 2020, in violation of the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA). Congress enacted TINA in 1962 to help level the playing field in sole source contracts, where there is no price competition, by making sure that government negotiators have access to the cost or pricing data that the offeror used when developing its proposal. As part of the settlement, Raytheon admitted that it failed to disclose cost or pricing data, as required by TINA, regarding its labor and material costs to supply weapons systems to DOD, and that it failed to disclose cost or pricing data, as required by TINA, regarding its labor costs to staff a radar station. As a result, Raytheon overcharged the United States and received profits in excess of the negotiated profit rates. Raytheon also admitted it billed the same costs twice on a maintenance contract for the DOD.The DOD’s Principal Director of Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy, Mr. John Tenaglia said, “The Defense Department greatly appreciates DOJ’s outstanding efforts culminating in this significant recovery. The price we pay for equipment and services absolutely matters. The more we pay, the less combat capability we can deliver for our nation’s warfighters. This DOJ recovery both restores funding that will be used to acquire more capability while also serving as a strong deterrent to all companies that might seek to deny DOD contracting officers with factual information they require to negotiate contracts at fair and reasonable prices.”
“During the course of a Truth in Negotiations audit, DCAA’s auditors found indicators of suspected irregular conduct and elevated these concerns to the Department of Defense Inspector General and the Department of Justice. DCAA’s Investigative Support team assisted on the case and provided valuable insight into the calculations of the damages to the Government. Preventing fraud and ensuring a fair and reasonable price for products is everyone’s job and DCAA is a valuable member of the team required to investigate and prosecute those who seek to defraud the government,” said Terri L. Dilly, Director, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA).
The civil settlement includes a resolution of a lawsuit filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the Government’s recovery. The qui tam lawsuit was filed by a former Raytheon employee, and is captioned United States ex rel. Atesoglu v. v. Raytheon Technologies Corporation, 21-CV-10690-PBS (D. Mass.). The whistleblower will receive $4.2 million as her share of the settlement.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian LaMacchia and Benjamin Saltzman of the District of Massachusetts and Assistant Chief Kyle Hankey, Acting Assistant Chief Laura Connelly and Trial Attorney Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by DCIS, Army-CID, FBI and Air Force OSI.
The civil investigation was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian LaMacchia of the District of Massachusetts, along with Trial Attorneys Art J. Coulter, Patrick Klein and Jared S. Wiesner of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section.
Press Release by U.S. Attorney Relating to November 2024 General ElectionRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Mac D. Heavener, III will lead the efforts of the Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5, 2024, election. AUSA Heavener has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the Office’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (865) 544-0751.
“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election,” said United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III. “Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process. AUSA/DEO Mac Heavener will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at the following telephone numbers: (423) 823-5009 or (423) 218-6652.”
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
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Preliminary Injunction Entered in Justice Department Suit to Stop Alabama’s Systematic Removal of Voters from Registration RollsRead the Press Release
A federal court in the Northern District of Alabama has entered an order requiring the State of Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State to cease a recently-implemented program to remove voters from Alabama’s voting rolls between now and the Nov. 5 general election. The court further ordered the State to issue guidance to all counties in Alabama to immediately restore deactivated voters unless those voters requested removal or are subject to removal for other reasons.
“This action sends a clear message that the Justice Department will work to ensure that the rights of eligible voters are protected,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The National Voter Registration Act’s 90 day Quiet Period Provision is an important safeguard to prevent erroneous eleventh-hour efforts that stand to disenfranchise eligible voters. The Justice Department remains steadfast in our resolve to protect voters from unlawful removal from the registration rolls and to ensure that states comply with the mandate of federal law.”
The department filed a lawsuit against the State of Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State on Sept. 27 alleging that the Alabama Secretary of State’s voter list maintenance program announced on Aug. 13 violated Section 8(c)(2) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) by conducting a program intending to systematically remove voters within 90 days of a federal election. The court’s order requires the State of Alabama to facilitate a remedial mailing to each registrant inactivated as part of the voter removal process who has not submitted a request to be removed from the voter rolls and alert these voters that their voter status has since been reactivated.
The injunction also requires the state to work with country registrars to ensure that affected voters are notified that their inclusion in the state’s wayward removal program does not establish their ineligibility to vote or subject them to criminal prosecution for registering to vote or for voting. The injunction further requires the State to facilitate a remedial mailing to each registrant inactivated as part of the voter removal process who did submit a voter removal request advising them that if they are a U.S. citizen and otherwise meet voter qualifications, they have the right to vote. Finally, the court ordered the State to inform the Alabama Attorney General in writing that voters were inaccurately referred to the Attorney General for criminal investigation.
Individuals who are eligible voters and believe that they may have been wrongly removed from the voter rolls as a result of Alabama’s – or any other state’s – systematic removal process should contact the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section through the internet reporting portal at www.civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931. More information about voting and elections, including guidance documents on the NVRA and other statutes, is available at www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the NVRA and other federal voting laws at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted at www.civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
Pikesville Man Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal Prison as Part of A Large Scale Drug Conspiracy Operating in and Around BaltimoreRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher sentenced Ronald White, age 56, of Pikesville, Maryland, to eleven years in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for a drug conspiracy and distribution charges related to his supplying cocaine, crack cocaine and fentanyl to drug traffickers operating in West and Northwest Baltimore as well as money laundering charges.
The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Commissioner Richard Worley of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, in April 2020, investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration began a drug investigation in West and Northwest Baltimore. During the investigation, White was identified as a source of supply to members of the Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) and was believed to also be involved in the laundering of drug proceeds obtained from the distribution of controlled dangerous substances. Specifically, in March and April 2021, White engaged in at least seven large cash transactions. These transactions included over $1,346,000 in drug proceeds that were to be laundered.
As part of his guilty plea, White admitted that he maintained stash houses to store his drug proceeds totaling approximately $549,000. From one of the stash locations investigators recovered equipment used to package narcotics including: a hydraulic kilogram press, digital scales, and a powder commonly used as a cutting agent for heroin and fentanyl. Investigators also recovered the following narcotics: 242 grams of cocaine base, 43 grams of cocaine, 3724 grams of cocaine separately packaged, and 3975 grams of fentanyl. White’s vehicle was searched and officers recovered an additional 150 grams of fentanyl.
White admitted that it was reasonably foreseeable and within the scope of the conspiracy that he or other members of the conspiracy would distribute at least 1200 grams but less than 4 kilograms grams of fentanyl, as well as quantities of cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin in furtherance of the conspiracy.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the Baltimore Strike Force is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle violent drug trafficking, money laundering, and transnational criminal organizations to reduce drug-related and/or gang violence in the Baltimore metropolitan and surrounding areas. The Baltimore Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Secret Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore Police Department, the Baltimore Sheriff’s Office, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Maryland Transportation Authority, and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. The prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.
U.S. Attorney Barron commended the DEA and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys LaRai Everett, James O’Donohue and Stanton Lawyer who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Piedmont Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Piedmont, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on October 10, 2024.
Corbin Mudlin, age 31, was sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Mudlin was indicted for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person by a federal grand jury in February of 2024. He pleaded guilty on July 1, 2024.
In January of 2024, a Rapid City Police Officer observed Mudlin walking in Rapid City and knew that Mudlin had an active warrant for his arrest. The officer contacted Mudlin and arrested him on his active warrant. At the time he was arrested, Mudlin had a SIG Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistol in his waistband with an extended magazine containing 20 rounds of ammunition. Mudlin knew he was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a 2016 felony conviction.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
Mudlin was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Par Funding Principal and Former CFO Pleads Guilty to Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Joseph Cole Barleta (aka “Joe Cole”), 41, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney on one count of racketeering conspiracy, in connection with his role in the operation of a fraudulent investment vehicle known as Complete Business Solutions Group Inc. d/b/a Par Funding (“Par Funding”), which is alleged to have generated over $100 million in illegal proceeds for Barleta and its other principals, to the detriment of Par Funding’s numerous investors, many who live in the Philadelphia region.
According to a second superseding indictment filed in February, Barleta and codefendants Joseph LaForte, James LaForte, and others, were part of an association-in-fact RICO enterprise that conspired to commit a number of predicate crimes, including crimes related to the fleecing of Par Funding’s many investors. Barleta’s admitted role in the conspiracy related to the securities and wire fraud components of the enterprise.
Joe LaForte and James LaForte pleaded guilty last month to racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and related crimes.
Joe LaForte is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13, 2025.
James LaForte and Joseph Cole Barleta are both scheduled to be sentenced on February 20, 2025.
Per the terms of Barleta’s plea agreement, the government is seeking a sentence of imprisonment of up to eight years, although the Court has discretion to impose a higher or lower sentence.
This case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and Pennsylvania State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew T. Newcomer, Samuel S. Dalke, Eric D. Gill, and Patrick J. Murray, as well as former Assistant United States Attorney Alexandra M. Lastowski. The SEC in Florida investigated and litigated the civil securities fraud charges, which formed the basis of a portion of the criminal prosecution.
Owner of local ‘Raining Cash’ tax company pleads guilty to causing $1.2M in lossesRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A local tax preparer pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to aiding in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns.
Ali Kasimu Alston, 48, of Columbus, offered his guilty plea during an arraignment today.
According to court documents, from at least 2015 through at least 2022, Alston owned and operated a tax return preparation business in Columbus named Overtime Ventures, LLC that did business as Raining Cash Tax Service.
Alston admitted to systematically falsifying client tax returns to maximize refunds from the IRS. He filed Schedule Cs with fake businesses to maximize tax credits. For example, one false tax return for calendar year 2021 reported false losses for a home healthcare company that did not exist. The false business losses reduced the client’s taxable income, thereby decreasing the tax due and increasing the client’s claimed tax refund.
The defendant also attempted to bribe one of his former employees with $4,000 in cash to provide false information to law enforcement, which he knew at the time was investigating his tax preparation business.
Alston was charged by a bill of information in September 2024. As part of his conviction, he will pay more than $1.2 million in restitution to the IRS. Alston will be sentenced at a future hearing.
Aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return is a federal crime punishable by up to three years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Cincinnati Field Office, announced the guilty plea offered today before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King. Assistant United States Attorney David J. Twombly is representing the United States in this case.
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Osceola Man Sentenced to 84 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Randolph Ramey, 33 years old, of Osceola, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Cristal C. Brisco after pleading guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Ramey was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, in August 2023, Ramey broke into a business in Mishawaka and was detained while inside. When police arrived and arrested Ramey, they recovered a loaded 9mm firearm from his pocket along with several knives, a rope, bolt cutters, a lock pick kit, and a second loaded magazine for the firearm. Ramey had previously been convicted of a felony offense, and as such, was prohibited from possessing the firearm or ammunition in this case.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the Mishawaka Police Department, the South Bend Police Department, and the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lydia T. Lucius.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Ohio Man Who Concealed Croatian War Crime Charge Sentenced to Prison for Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
An Ohio man was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for possessing a green card he illegally obtained by concealing that he had been charged with a war crime in Croatia prior to immigrating to the United States.
According to court documents, Jugoslav Vidic, 56, of Parma Heights, in applying to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States, falsely stated that he had never been charged with breaking any law even though he knew he had been charged in Croatia with a war crime against the civilian population. Vidic also falsely stated that his only past military service was in the Yugoslav Army from 1988 to 1989, when, in fact, he fought with the Serb Army of Krajina and its predecessors during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995. As a result of these materially false statements, Vidic was approved for lawful permanent resident status and received a green card.
“Jugoslav Vidic lied about war crimes charged against him in an attempt to escape his past and live in the United States unlawfully,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Thanks to the dedication of prosecutors, law enforcement, and our international partners, Vidic will serve prison time in the United States followed by his removal. His sentence demonstrates that human rights violators will not be allowed to hide from their crimes in the United States.”
“Vidic committed serious human rights violations and was convicted of war crimes in Croatia as a result. Yet, he lied to U.S. immigration officials about his conviction and participation in a violent military force to claim refugee status and obtain a green card — becoming a permanent legal resident of our country — when he was not eligible to do so,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “Those who run away from violent crimes they commit elsewhere in the world and then enter our country by brazenly lying about their past will be held to account, as yesterday’s sentence demonstrates. Vidic’s deceitful actions are detestable, and unfairly hurt people in need who legitimately seek refuge to flee real harms in their home countries.”
“Our communities here in Ohio and across the United States are not safe havens for war criminals to escape accountability in their home countries,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “It is my hope that this sentencing provides some measure of solace to the victims’ families with the knowledge that despite the passage of time, the United States will seek justice.”
“Jugoslav Vidic intentionally circumvented the laws of the United States by lying on his green card application about his war crimes conviction in Croatia,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “This case should serve as a warning to others that the FBI will work with our law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable those like Vidic who seek to violate U.S. law by fraud of any kind.”
“Jugoslav Vidic knowingly avoided the truth of his past to enjoy the freedoms and liberties of the United States for over two and a half decades,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen of the FBI Cleveland Field Office. “Yesterday’s sentence underscores the work of the FBI and its local, state, federal, and international partners and sends a clear message that people in the United States who take part in war crimes, regardless of when or where they occurred, or by masking their involvement, will be identified, investigated, and prosecuted.”
Vidic admitted in his plea agreement that he was charged with a war crime in Croatia in 1994 and convicted in absentia in 1998. The Croatian court found that during an attack by ethnic Serb forces in Petrinja, Croatia, on Sept. 16, 1991, Vidic cut off the arm of civilian Stjepan Komes, who died afterward. Vidic further admitted that he knew about the Croatian charges when he immigrated to the United States as a refugee in 1999, applied to become a lawful permanent resident in 2000, and was interviewed by U.S. immigration officials and received his green card in 2005.
Vidic pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an alien registration receipt card knowing it had been procured through materially false statements. As part of the plea agreement, Vidic agreed to the entry of a judicial order of removal from the United States.
HSI and the FBI investigated the case with coordination provided by the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, including the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit. The Justice Department thanks the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice and Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia, which were both instrumental in furthering the investigation.
Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Shepherd and Jerome J. Teresinski for the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.
Members of the public who have information about human rights violators or immigration fraud in the United States are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or through the FBI online tip form, or HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or through the ICE online tip form. All are staffed around the clock, and tips may be provided anonymously.
November 2024 General ElectionRead the Press Release
HAMMOND- United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) David E. Hollar will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5, 2024, general election. AUSA Hollar has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Northern District of Indiana, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson stated that: “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA/DEO Hollar will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public through the following telephone number: 219-937-5500.”
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 317-595-4000.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by phone at 800-253-3931.
United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
North Texas tax preparer sentenced to federal prison for tax fraud schemeRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – A Terrell man has been sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay restitution for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Toronto Henderson, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid, assist, counsel or advise in tax fraud and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle on October 16, 2024. Henderson was also ordered to pay $373,230.00 in restitution.
According to information presented in court, Henderson was an owner of two tax return preparer businesses. Henderson recruited tax preparers to work at the businesses to prepare and file income tax returns for clients. Henderson, or others at his instruction, personally trained the preparers. As part of the training, preparers were instructed on how to complete tax returns for clients. Henderson and others created a scheme to defraud the United States by instructing the tax preparers to create, among other things, fraudulent Schedule Cs on personal income tax returns. The Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business, is designed to permit a taxpayer to report income received and expenses incurred from operating a business. At Henderson’s instruction, and the instruction of others known to Henderson, preparers used taxpayer information unrelated to operation of any business or created fictitious and false information with respect to operation of a business, so that the taxpayer could claim business losses to which the taxpayer was not entitled. This scheme permitted the taxpayer to receive a refund to which the taxpayer was not entitled. The tax returns, including the fraudulent Schedule Cs, were filed by Henderson or employees working at his instruction. The tax preparation businesses were paid a fee by the clients for preparing and filing the returns. The offense resulted in a total tax loss of $373,230.00.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Jackson.
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North Dakota Felon Indicted for Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A North Dakota felon has been indicted on conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, beginning in February 2023 and continuing through approximately April 21, 2023, Jake Noland Northern, a.k.a. “Jake Noal Northern,” 45, knowingly and willingly conspired with others to distribute fentanyl in Minnesota and surrounding areas.
Northern was indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. On October 8, 2024, he made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko and was subsequently ordered detained pending trial.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Pipestone County Sheriff’s Office, the Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren O. Roso and Allen S. Slaughter are prosecuting the case.
Nigerian National Sentenced to Prison for Role in Business Email Compromise SchemeRead the Press Release
TOLULOPE SAMUEL BODUNDE, 33, a citizen of Nigeria residing in Newark, New Jersey, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a business email compromise scheme that operated out of multiple countries, including the United States.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Bodunde participated in a business email compromise scheme masterminded by his co-conspirator, Okechuckwu Valentine Osuji. Osuji and his co-conspirators targeted specific individuals and businesses by masquerading as trustworthy entities in electronic communications to obtain money. They utilized unwitting and witting “money mules” to receive fraud proceeds in their bank accounts, and then transferred those funds to accounts under the control of Osuji and his co-conspirators. Over the course of the scheme’s years-long operation, numerous victims were tricked into transferring funds into bank accounts the victims believed were under the control of legitimate recipients of the funds as part of normal business operations, when in reality, the bank accounts were controlled by Osuji and his co-conspirators. The victims included a Connecticut-based financial company, a Colorado-based lending company, an Alaska-based nonprofit performing arts organization, a New York-based food and beverage company, and others.
Bodunde’s role in the scheme included the exploitation of elderly women through romance scams to serve as unwitting money mules.
Judge Meyer ordered Bodunde to pay restitution totaling $494,939 to three victims of this scheme.
Bodunde was arrested on August 7, 2020. On February 16, 2024, he pleaded guilty wire fraud. He is required to report to prison on November 19.
On May 1, 2024, a jury found Osuji, also a citizen of Nigeria, guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud, and identity theft offenses stemming from this scheme. He is detained while awaiting sentencing.
A third alleged co-coconspirator is pending extradition proceedings.
This case has been investigated by the FBI New Haven Field Office and the Stamford Police Department. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, Royal Malaysia Police, and Malaysian Attorney General’s Chambers have provided valuable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel and Trial Attorney Lydia Lichlyter of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case.
To learn more about business email compromise scams, please visit www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/business-email-compromise and www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2023/PSA230609.
New Jersey Owner of Check Casher and Money Serivce Business Admits Filing More Than $325 Million in False Currency Transaction Reports, Operating and Aiding and Abetting an Unlicensed Money Transmitting BusinessRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – The New Jersey owner of Galaxia International Inc., a check casher and money service business, admitted filing more than $325 million in false currency transaction reports and operating and aiding and abetting an unlicensed money transmitting business, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Ali Hassanein, 68, of Kearny, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb in Camden federal court on Oct. 15, 2024, to an information charging him with conspiracy to cause a financial institution to file false currency transaction reports and operating and aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business.
“The Bank Secrecy Act imposes important requirements on financial institutions, including by requiring them and their executives to file accurate reports with the government concerning certain currency transactions. These requirements play a vital role in helping law enforcement prevent, detect, and stop illicit activity. Ali Hassanein admitted that he and Galaxia flouted these requirements, which undermined the financial system and made Galaxia an easy target for bad actors. My office will continue to work to ensure that financial institutions who shirk their obligations and facilitate illicit activity are held accountable.”
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2019 through February 2023, Hassanein owned and operated Galaxia International Services Inc. (Galaxia), a check casher and money service business that operated in New Jersey and other states. Under the Bank Secrecy Act and related regulations, Galaxia was required to file currency transaction reports (CTRs) for transactions involving more than $10,000 in currency. CTRs are required to list, among other things, the location of the transactions and the names of the people and entities physically conducting the transactions. Hassanein conducted more than $325 million in reportable check cashing transactions for a conspirator in exchange for a fee. But Hassanein caused Galaxia to file thousands of CTRs for those transactions that contained material misstatements and omissions. For example, the CTRs falsely stated that all of the transactions had occurred at Galaxia’s East Orange, New Jersey, location – where Galaxia had a license to conduct check cashing transactions – when in fact they had occurred in Jersey City, New Jersey, or Kearny, New Jersey, where Galaxia was not licensed to conduct check cashing transactions. All of the CTRs failed to list the conspirator as the conductor of the transactions. Hassanein also aided and abetted the conspirator’s operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business
The charges of conspiring to cause a financial institution to file false currency transaction reports and operating and aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business each carry a statutory maximum prison sentence of five years and a statutory maximum fine of the greatest of $250,000, twice the gross amount of any pecuniary gain that any persons derived from the offense, or twice the gross amount of any pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for April 2, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark; special agents and task force officers with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III in New York; and special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, New York Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Morristown Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marko Pesce and Fatime Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit and Peter A. Laserna of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit in Newark.
hassanein.information.pdfNashville Woman Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Illegally Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Nashville woman was sentenced to 63 months in prison for possessing two firearms as a previously convicted felon.
According to court documents, Ashley Allen, 35, was arrested by Thomasville police on March 29, 2023, following a traffic stop where she was found to be in possession of two firearms. Allen has multiple prior felony convictions, including a conviction for aggravated assault. As a convicted felon, Allen is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Allen was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm and pled guilty to the charge. United States District Court Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Allen to 63 months in prison followed by a 3-year term of supervised release for illegally possessing the firearms.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Thomasville Police Department investigated the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica S. Terrill prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Mother and Son Sentenced for Illegally Importing Endangered WildlifeRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Raymond Anthony Rabago Montoya, 23, of Phoenix, was sentenced on October 2, 2024, by United States District Judge Dominic W. Lanza to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $3,000 to the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. His co-defendant and mother, Griselda Guadalupe Montoya-Gastelum, 50, of Sonora, Mexico, was previously sentenced by Judge Lanza on July 8, 2024, to 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Montoya-Gastelum pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the Lacey Act on April 25, 2024, and Rabago Montoya pleaded guilty to the same offense on April 26, 2024.
Defendants coordinated the illegal importation of exotic and protected wildlife from Mexico, including tigers, panthers, monkeys, and exotic parrots, into the United States, concealed through ports of entry, for financial gain. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began investigating the defendants in August 2022 after receiving a report from a person who believed that the four exotic parrots they had purchased from Rabago Montoya had been illegally imported. This report and further investigation led to the January 2023 execution of a search warrant at the home of Carlos Castro, where a tiger cub, an alligator, 12 snapping turtles, 6 tortoises, and boxes of other reptiles were found. Snapchat messages revealed that Montoya-Gastelum and Castro discussed illegal exotic animal sales and trades. Castro was subsequently convicted of Unlawful Sale of Wildlife in the Arizona Superior Court, Maricopa County.
After federal agents observed advertisements for the sale of spider monkeys on Facebook, they conducted two undercover purchases of monkeys from the defendants for $6,000 each, one in April and one in May 2023. In June and August 2023, Rabago Montoya was encountered by law enforcement with dozens of endangered parrots concealed in his vehicle, many of which were deceased. Defendants were indicted on September 12, 2023, and arrested the following day.
“Once again we see Arizonans profiting from the concealment of contraband through the Nogales and Lukeville Ports of Entry,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “Here, in lieu of controlled substances we have mistreated protected animals: and the sentences imposed send strong messages both of deterrence and of the importance of robust environmental protections.”
“Wildlife trafficking is illegal and immoral, as countless animals that are taken from the wild are smuggled across borders in inhumane conditions,” said Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. “In the case of spider monkeys, many trafficked animals perish due to inadequate care, while those that survive face a life of captivity. We hope this case emphasizes that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and our partners will continue to ensure that those engaged in wildlife trafficking are brought to justice.”
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border Patrol, and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stuart Zander and Lisa Jennis, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-23-01305-PHX-DWL
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-138_Montoya et al.# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Missouri woman pleads guilty in PPP Loan fraudRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Missouri woman pleaded guilty to charges related to criminal conduct connected to a federal government program intended to help small business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to court documents, Venester Fayne, 57, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
In May 2020, Fayne applied to the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) on behalf of a company she controlled. She admitted that to receive the PPP loans, she submitted fraudulent federal income tax documents with false information about the amount of the company’s gross sales. The documents had never been filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Federal law requires borrowers to use PPP funds only for certain qualified expenses. Fayne spent most of the money she received on personal expenses like jewelry and other luxury items.
In addition to the PPP loans, Fayne fraudulently obtained an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EDIL) loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration for a total of $600,284 in fraudulent PPP and EIDL loans.
Fayne is scheduled to be sentenced on February 18, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The U.S. Secret Service is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting the case.
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Milwaukee lawyer sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment for failure to pay taxesRead the Press Release
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on October 15, 2024, Eric E. Lenzen (44), was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for willful failure to pay $2,462,705.50 in taxes. Lenzen previously pled guilty to two counts of misdemeanor failure to pay taxes.
According to court records, Lenzen, a Milwaukee attorney who worked as a partner at two prominent law firms, failed to pay income taxes between 2016 and 2021. Lenzen failed to pay the taxes he owed even though he was earning a lucrative salary and funding a lavish lifestyle that included spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on private plane travel, jewelry, and extensive home remodels, as well as golf clubs.
At the sentencing hearing, United States Magistrate Judge William E. Duffin described Lenzen’s conduct as “exceptionally aggravated.” Judge Duffin highlighted the many opportunities that Lenzen had been given to pay his debt to the government and the steps Lenzen instead took to “thwart the government’s attempts to recover” the taxes due. Judge Duffin explained that a sentence of incarceration was warranted, particularly given Lenzen’s status as an attorney, explaining that “when a crime is committed by an attorney, it undermines respect for the law and the legal profession.”
In addition to serving a 16-month term of imprisonment, Lenzen was ordered to pay $2,462,705.50 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, plus penalties and interest.
“Individuals who seek to line their own pockets and willfully fail to pay their taxes cause harm to every individual and business that plays by the rules,” said U.S. Attorney Haantsad. “I commend everyone involved in seeking to hold Mr. Lenzen accountable for his actions.”
“The sentencing of Eric Lenzen is a critical reminder that no one is above the law, including those who are entrusted to uphold it,” said Robert J. Kuszynski, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office. “Legal professionals hold a unique position in our society, and with that position comes an obligation to act with integrity and accountability. When attorneys neglect their duty to pay taxes, they not only violate the law but also undermine the very trust that forms the foundation of our legal system. It is imperative that all legal professionals adhere to their ethical obligations, not only to ensure their own accountability but also to reinforce the principles of justice and fairness that we rely on. IRS Criminal Investigation remains committed to enforcing the law and holding accountable those who fail to meet their legal and financial responsibilities.”
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie F. Stewart.
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Maryland Man Sentenced for Wire Fraud and Theft of Government PropertyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced William Rich, age 44, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, to one year of home confinement, followed by two years of supervised release, for wire fraud and theft of government property.
The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Kim R. Lampkins, Special Agent in Charge, Mid Atlantic Field Office, United States Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”).
In June 2024, at the conclusion of a four-day trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict convicting Rich of wire fraud and theft of government property. He was charged with fraudulently obtaining more than $750,000 in veteran disability benefits by falsely claiming that he was paralyzed.
Evidence at trial established Rich intentionally misrepresented his physical condition during VA disability compensation and pension exams and in other communications with the VA in pursuit of VA disability benefits. Rich claimed that he was paralyzed and unable to walk. As a result, Rich received more than $750,000 in VA benefits that he was not entitled to including special monthly compensation, caregiver-assistance compensation, and medical equipment.
Rich served in the United States Army from September 1998 to February 2007, after sustaining injuries on August 23, 2005, during a bombing in Baqubah, Iraq. Rich’s injuries included temporary paralysis. Rich then applied to the VA’s disability compensation program, and according to the evidence presented at trial, approximately six weeks after Rich’s injuries, he made substantial progress toward recovery and was no longer paralyzed. A subsequent medical report, indicated that Rich was able to perform certain essential daily activities with
“complete independence” or “modified independence.” However, Rich was granted permanent disability from VA largely based on an exam conducted on October 11, 2007, where he reported paralysis in his lower extremities and that he was confined to a wheelchair.In 2018, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) launched a proactive investigation of disabled veteran files and learned that Rich’s conduct was inconsistent with his purported physical condition. For more than two years, VA OIG Special Agents (SAs) investigated Rich, including conducting video surveillance. Footage presented at trial showed Rich walking, going up and down stairs, entering and exiting vehicles, lifting, bending, and carrying items—all without visible limitation or assistance of a medical device, including a wheelchair.
Throughout the course of their surveillance, the only time agents observed Rich using a wheelchair was when he attended VA medical appointments. Between March 2019 and February 2021, VA OIG investigators observed Rich standing and loading his wheelchair into the trunk of his car before VA medical appointments, using a wheelchair at VA appointments, wheeling himself from a VA medical appointment to his car, and then standing to load his wheelchair back into his car. A review of Rich’s publicly available social media accounts revealed multiple images of Rich standing, with no indication that he was wheelchair bound, including an image Rich took of himself standing in front of a mirror at a gym, as well as videos of Rich lifting weights.
In addition to receiving more than $8,000 in monthly disability benefits from the VA, Rich also received grants from the VA for “Automobile and Adaptive Equipment,” and “Specially Adapted Housing.” Rich used funds intended for the purchase of a specially adapted vehicle to buy a BMW 645ci luxury sports coupe.
U.S. Attorney Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kertisha Dixon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen McGuinn, who prosecuted the case. Mr. Barron also thanked former lead Special Agent Brian Maddox, currently a Special Agent with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Patrick Prewitt, Senior Special Agent and National Fleet Manager, with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge of Traveling to Engage in Illicit Sexual ConductRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Nathaniel Lamar Nelson Scott, 36, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Scott pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The Honorable Dabney L. Friedrich scheduled a sentencing hearing for January 28, 2025.
According to the government’s evidence, in May 2024, Scott began communicating via an encrypted messaging application with a man he met on a fetish website. Scott believed the man to be a pedophile who was sexually abusing his six-year-old daughter. Unbeknownst to Scott, the man was an undercover officer with the MPD–FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. Over the next several days, Scott engaged in graphic conversations about sexually abusing the child. On June 5, 2024, Scott arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the child. He traveled from Maryland to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C., and was arrested. Scott has remained in custody since his arrest.
Scott faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The statutory sentences for federal offenses are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes. Any sentence will be determined by the Court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. In addition, Scott will be required to register as a sex offender following any prison term.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and MPD’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney.
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Maryland Man Charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to IsisRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Michael Sam Teekaye, Jr., age 21, of Hanover, Maryland has been charged by criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B. The defendant has been detained since his arrest on October 14, 2024, and had an initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Erin Aslan on October 15, 2024.
The charges were announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, between March and April 2023, Teekaye had multiple conversations with an Undercover Officer (“UCO”) in which he told the UCO that he wanted to travel to Africa to join and fight for ISIS. Teekaye also told the UCO that his “plan B” was to carry out an attack in the United States against people who support Israel. On three occasions in May and June 2024, Teekaye purchased ammunition and range time at a shooting range in Severn, Maryland, which he later told the UCO was partly in order to “train.” In July 2024, Teekaye attempted to purchase a Kalashnikov K-9 9mm rifle, but the purchase was denied because Teekaye was on probation in a state criminal case.
In conversations with the UCO between August and October 2024, Teekaye told the UCO that he was in contact with a Somali ISIS fighter regarding his plans to travel to Somalia to join ISIS. Teekaye explained that he would fly first to Turkey, then travel to Ethiopia and cross the border into Somalia. Teekaye sent the UCO screenshots of an Ethiopian e-Visa he had obtained from the ISIS fighter. On October 4, 2024, Teekaye told the UCO that he received airline tickets from the ISIS fighter. He also sent the UCO screenshots of his travel itinerary showing that he would depart from Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) on October 14, 2024 and fly to Istanbul, Turkey with a layover in London.
On October 10, 2024, Teekaye sent the UCO a photo of himself wearing a black mask and holding a large machete, along with the caption “Abdullah the islamophobe slayer.” On October 11, 2024, the UCO asked whether Teekaye was “sure” he wanted to join ISIS. Teekaye responded, “I am sure I did a lot of research and had to accept something’s [sic] that they are the only group that has the most true and sincere intentions.”
On October 14, 2024, FBI agents arrested Teekaye at BWI after he had checked in for his flight and proceeded through security. Following his arrest, Teekaye made the following unprovoked statements, among others: “I’ll just get out in 20 years and do something here. Okay? Okay? It will never stop. Jihad will never stop. . . . I’ll be like 40 when I get out, then I’ll just do it. I don’t care. It will never stop. Jihad will never stop. I’ll come and I’ll kill your soldiers. I’ll kill you, and I’ll kill . . . .” While making these statements, Teekaye began kicking one of the arresting agents.
A complaint is not a finding of guilt. All defendants charged by complaint are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceeding. If convicted, Teekaye faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office for its outstanding work in the investigation and praised the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force along with the FBI’s Newark and Richmond Field Offices, and the New York City Police Department (NYPD), for their valuable assistance. Mr. Barron would like to thank the NYPD's Intelligence Division under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner, Assistant Chief John Hart, and Deputy Chief Fernando Guimaraes. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina Hoffman and P. Michael Cunningham, who are prosecuting this case. Mr. Barron also thanked the Department of Justice’s National Security Division for their assistance.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach. To report a Maryland-based hate crime, contact the FBI Baltimore field office at (410) 265-8080 or www.tips.fbi.gov.# # #
Marion County Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Matthew Allen Gahan (25, Summerfield) to 20 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child sexual abuse material. Gahan will also be required to register as a sex offender. He entered a guilty plea on June 13, 2024.
According to court records, between May 13 and 25, 2023, Gahan spoke with a minor living outside of the United States. Gahan coerced the minor to participate in video calls in which the minor engaged in sexual activity at Gahan’s direction. Gahan recorded these calls without the minor’s knowledge. On September 13, 2023, the FBI executed a search warrant at Gahan’s home and found multiple videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of young boys. Agents also discovered that Gahan had used the dark web to distribute and receive child sexual abuse material.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk.
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 Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Man Who Concealed Croatian War Crime Charge Sentenced to Prison for Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – An Ohio man was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for possessing a green card he illegally obtained by concealing that he had been charged with a war crime in Croatia prior to immigrating to the United States.
According to court documents, Jugoslav Vidic, 56, of Parma Heights, in applying to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States, falsely stated that he had never been charged with breaking any law even though he knew he had been charged in Croatia with a war crime against the civilian population. Vidic also falsely stated that his only past military service was in the Yugoslav Army from 1988 to 1989, when, in fact, he fought with the Serb Army of Krajina and its predecessors during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995. As a result of these materially false statements, Vidic was approved for lawful permanent resident status and received a green card.
“Jugoslav Vidic lied about war crimes charged against him in an attempt to escape his past and live in the United States unlawfully,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Thanks to the dedication of prosecutors, law enforcement, and our international partners, Vidic will serve prison time in the United States followed by his removal. His sentence demonstrates that human rights violators will not be allowed to hide from their crimes in the United States.”
“Vidic committed serious human rights violations and was convicted of war crimes in Croatia as a result. Yet, he lied to U.S. immigration officials about his conviction and participation in a violent military force to claim refugee status and obtain a green card — becoming a permanent legal resident of our country — when he was not eligible to do so,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “Those who run away from violent crimes they commit elsewhere in the world and then enter our country by brazenly lying about their past will be held to account, as yesterday’s sentence demonstrates. Vidic’s deceitful actions are detestable, and unfairly hurt people in need who legitimately seek refuge to flee real harms in their home countries.”
“Our communities here in Ohio and across the U.S. are not safe havens for war criminals to escape accountability in their home countries,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “It is my hope that this sentencing provides some measure of solace to the victims’ families with the knowledge that despite the passage of time, the U.S. will seek justice.”
“Jugoslav Vidic intentionally circumvented the laws of the United States by lying on his green card application about his war crimes conviction in Croatia,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “This case should serve as a warning to others that the FBI will work with our law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable those like Vidic who seek to violate U.S. law by fraud of any kind.”
“Jugoslav Vidic knowingly avoided the truth of his past to enjoy the freedoms and liberties of the United States for over two and a half decades,” said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen. “Yesterday’s sentence underscores the work of the FBI and its local, state, federal, and international partners and sends a clear message that people in the United States who take part in war crimes, regardless of when or where they occurred, or by masking their involvement, will be identified, investigated, and prosecuted.”
Vidic admitted in his plea agreement that he was charged with a war crime in Croatia in 1994 and convicted in absentia in 1998. The Croatian court found that during an attack by ethnic Serb forces in Petrinja, Croatia, on Sept. 16, 1991, Vidic cut off the arm of civilian Stjepan Komes, who died afterward. Vidic further admitted that he knew about the Croatian charges when he immigrated to the United States as a refugee in 1999, applied to become a lawful permanent resident in 2000, and was interviewed by U.S. immigration officials and received his green card in 2005.
Vidic pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an alien registration receipt card knowing it had been procured through materially false statements. As part of the plea agreement, Vidic agreed to the entry of a judicial order of removal from the United States.
HSI and the FBI investigated the case with coordination provided by the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, including the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit. The Justice Department thanks the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia, which were both instrumental in furthering the investigation.
Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Shepherd and Jerome J. Teresinski for the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.
Members of the public who have information about human rights violators or immigration fraud in the United States are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or through the FBI online tip form, or HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or through the ICE online tip form. All are staffed around the clock, and tips may be provided anonymously.
Man Convicted of Murder-for-Hire after Paying Undercover Agent to Commit KillingRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Yesterday, during a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Makram Khashman, 58, of Boynton Beach, Fla., pled guilty to murder-for-hire after paying a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) undercover agent (UC) posing as a hitman to commit the murder.
As part of his guilty plea, Khashman admitted he met with the UC on Feb. 29, and told the UC that the victim had put Khashman and his family out on the street by taking over a million dollars from him and a business worth around three million. Khashman said he did not care how the victim was killed and negotiated a price of $5,000 for the murder. Khashman added that the UC could keep the cash the UC took from the murdered victim. Khashman agreed to provide half the payment and details about the victim at a later meeting.
On March 19, Khashman met with the UC a second time, bringing the initial $2,500 payment for the murder. Khashman spelled out the victim’s first and last name and provided details regarding the victim’s pattern of life, including the victim’s cars and work schedule. Khashman told the UC about a secluded location that the victim frequented. Khashman agreed that the final payment for the murder would be due when the UC provided photographic evidence that the victim had been killed. Khashman was later arrested, and the intended victim suffered no physical harm.
Khasman is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 7, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., by U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith. Khashman faces up to 10 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the ATF Miami Field Division made the announcement.
ATF Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Corey O’Neal and Camille Smith are prosecuting it.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-60053.
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Maine Man Sentenced to over 10 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A member of a nationwide drug trafficking ring was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for drug trafficking charges. During the investigation, over 160 pounds of pure methamphetamine, as well as an AK-47, a Glock with no serial number, two loaded Smith & Wesson handguns and over 4,200 rounds of ammunition were seized. An illegal marijuana grow operation with hundreds of marijuana plants was also dismantled.
Emil Dzabiev, 44, of Scarborough, Maine, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 121 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In June 2024, Dzabiev pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Dzabiev was arrested and charged along with seven others in July 2021 and was subsequently charged in a superseding indictment that added an additional three defendants in September 2021.
In late 2020, Reshat Alkayisi was identified as a large-scale methamphetamine trafficker, who distributed multi-pound quantities to customers throughout the New England area. Dzabiev was identified as one of Alkayisi’s regular customers who routinely purchased methamphetamine and redistributed it in Maine. In May 2021, Dzabiev was stopped after a meeting with Alkayisi and found in possession of approximately 455 grams of 100% pure methamphetamine in his vehicle.
Alkayisi pleaded guilty in April 2024 and in September 2024 sentenced to 23 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Dzabiev is the 8th defendant to be sentenced in the case. All remaining defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Department of Correction; Norfolk County Sherriff’s Office; and the Concord, Hudson, Peabody, Reading, Watertown and Waltham Police Departments. Assistance was also provided by the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alathea Porter and Katherine Ferguson of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Macon Woman Who Assisted in Bibb County Jail Break Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
MACON, Ga. – A Macon resident who assisted a convicted felon and others to escape the Bibb County LEC in 2023 was sentenced to prison today.
Janecia Green, 31, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal on Oct. 16, three times more than the top of Green’s federal sentencing guidelines range. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Janecia Green put our entire community at risk when she chose to help Johnifer Barnwell and several other dangerous convicted felons escape from the Bibb County Jail,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “This sentencing illustrates the serious consequences facing those who help criminals evade justice.”
“We are thankful no one was hurt when Janecia Green broke the law and helped Johnifer Barnwell and others escape,” said Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Robert Gibbs of FBI Atlanta’s Macon office. “The FBI hopes the sentence sends a strong message to others that those who try to aid prisoners continue to break the law will be brought to justice.”
“The sentence handed down on Janecia Green illustrates the severe penalty for assisting a convicted felon and others in escaping the Bibb County Jail,” said Bibb Sheriff David Davis. “We can be grateful for the investigative work of the Bibb Investigators and our federal partners in bringing this individual to justice.”
According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Barnwell was tried and convicted on Oct. 2, 2023, of armed drug trafficking and was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) to await sentencing. Barnwell was housed at the Bibb County LEC, a facility contracted by USMS to house federal inmates.
Barnwell escaped from the Bibb County LEC on Oct. 16, with the assistance of several individuals, including Green. Green purchased a four-pound mallet and a Mayhew Guardian 2-3/4x9” Handguard Electrician Chisel from Home Depot on Oct. 13, 2023. She gave the items to Christian “Twin” Williams, an associate of Barnwell’s, who arranged to smuggle them inside the Bibb County LEC perimeter. The mallet and chisel were then used to create an opening in the jail wall, and Barnwell and three other prisoners escaped.
Barnwell was captured in Augusta, Georgia, on Nov. 12, 2023, by FBI and Bibb County Sheriff’s Office deputies. He was alone in the house and was allegedly in possession of an AK-47 rifle with a loaded magazine; a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with 14 rounds; a .45 caliber pistol with a loaded magazine; an extended capacity magazine; a drum magazine; and 40 kilograms of suspected narcotics, the results of which are pending the completion of laboratory testing. To date, the results show Barnwell was in alleged possession of more than 23,000 grams of methamphetamine and more than 3,200 grams of fentanyl.
The case was investigated by FBI, USMS and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odom prosecuted the case for the Government.
Líderes de un peligroso cartel de drogas mexicano, responsables de violencia extrema, acusados de delitos de tráfico internacional de drogas y uso de armas de fuegoRead the Press Release
Hoy en el Distrito de Columbia se hizo pública una acusación formal que señala a líderes de la violenta organización de narcotráfico, conocida como Los Zetas, y su organización sucesora, el Cartel del Noreste (CDN), de participar en una empresa criminal continua; asociación ilícita para traficar drogas; delitos de armas de fuego; y asociación ilícita para lavado de dinero internacional.
Según la acusación, Miguel Treviño Morales, de 51 años, y su hermano, Omar Treviño Morales, de 48 años, también conocidos respectivamente como Z-40 y Z-42, presuntamente asumieron el control de Los Zetas después de más de una década de ser miembros de la violenta organización de narcotráfico. Los Zetas anteriormente sirvieron como un brazo armado militarista para el Cartel del Golfo para mantener el control de las rutas de narcotráfico en todo México. Desde que se convirtieron en líderes de Los Zetas en 2012, que luego renombraron como Cartel del Noreste, se alega que los acusados han continuado su historia y patrón de utilizar violencia extrema para controlar grandes extensiones del norte de México, incluso por la frontera con EE. UU. Según las denuncias en la acusación formal, Miguel y Omar Treviño Morales fueron encarcelados en México en 2013 y 2015, respectivamente, pero continuaron controlando el CDN por diversos medios, entre ellos la colocación de varios familiares para dirigir las operaciones en su representación. Se alega que Miguel y Omar Treviño Morales son personalmente responsables de cometer decenas de asesinatos y de dirigir asesinatos, secuestros y actos de tortura por parte de miembros de Los Zetas y CDN para promover y proteger las actividades de narcotráfico del Cartel y enriquecer a sus miembros.
De ser condenados, los acusados enfrentan una pena máxima de cadena perpetua. Un juez de un tribunal de distrito federal determinará la sentencia correspondiente tras considerar las Pautas de Sentencia de EE. UU. y otros factores legales.
“Como se alega en la acusación formal, los acusados dirigieron una organización de narcotráfico transnacional que fue responsable de cometer violencia extrema y de traficar enormes cantidades de narcóticos a Estados Unidos,” dijo Nicole Argentieri, vicefiscal general adjunta principal, jefa de la División Penal del Departamento de Justicia. “El Departamento de Justicia se compromete a responsabilizar a los líderes de carteles, como los acusados, por envenenar comunidades estadounidenses y alimentar la violencia aquí y en el extranjero. También estamos comprometidos a colaborar con nuestros colegas nacionales e internacionales en este esfuerzo y agradecemos a nuestros colegas, las autoridades mexicanas de procuración de justicia, por su continua colaboración en este caso.”
“Esta formulación complementaria de cargos reitera el compromiso del Departamento de Justicia de perseguir a los líderes de los carteles de drogas más peligrosos del mundo, sin importar el tiempo que lleve,” dijo Breon Peace, fiscal de EE. UU. para el Distrito Este de Nueva York. “Los prolíficos crímenes y actos extremos de violencia de los acusados han convulsionado al Distrito Este de Nueva York y a todo el país, y anticipamos responsabilizar a los acusados en un tribunal de justicia de EE. UU.”
“Durante décadas, estas personas han controlado una de las organizaciones de drogas más violentas de México, cometiendo y dirigiendo la comisión de atrocidades horribles contra nuestros vecinos, el pueblo de México, y también en Estados Unidos,” dijo Jaime Esparza, el fiscal de EE. UU. para el Distrito Oeste de Texas. “Nada es más importante que llevar ante la justicia a individuos peligrosos como estos. Esperamos trabajar con el gobierno de México para llevar a estos brutales líderes del Cartel ante la justicia por los numerosos crímenes que han cometido.”
“La Oficina de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional (HSI) se une a nuestros colegas en la lucha contra organizaciones criminales transnacionales para proteger a nuestros ciudadanos de las acciones ilegales de estas,” dijo Katrina W. Berger, directora ejecutiva asociada de HSI. “El daño causado por el cartel de Los Zetas va mucho más allá de nuestras fronteras, perjudicando comunidades y arruinando vidas aquí en Estados Unidos.”
“Durante décadas, Los Zetas operaron como una de las organizaciones de narcotráfico más violentas en Estados Unidos y México bajo la dirección de los hermanos Miguel (Zeta 40) y Omar (Zeta 42) Treviño Morales. La DEA no ha flaqueado nunca en la lucha global contra este brutal y despiadado cartel, que prosperó a raíz de la devastación que causaron en las comunidades estadounidenses,” dijo Daniel C. Comeaux, el agente especial a cargo de la División de Houston de la DEA. “A través de innumerables investigaciones, la DEA ha llevado ante la justicia a miembros de alto rango de esta organización destructiva. Estas últimas acusaciones formales continuarán debilitando a esta violenta organización y la forzarán a dejar el control que han ejercido a lo largo de la frontera suroeste de Estados Unidos.”
La División de Houston de la DEA lideró esta investigación con la asistencia de la Oficina de la DEA en Ciudad de México. La Oficina de HSI Nueva York contribuyó sustancialmente a la investigación, al igual que las siguientes: DEA San Antonio, DEA Eagle Pass, DEA Del Río, DEA Laredo, DEA Nueva York, la Oficina Regional del FBI en Washington, FBI El Paso, FBI San Antonio, FBI Laredo, FBI Del Río, HSI San Antonio, HSI Del Río, HSI Laredo, el Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Texas, los Rangers de Texas, el Departamento de Policía de San Antonio, la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Bexar [Texas], la Oficina de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos (ATF) San Antonio, ATF Laredo, Investigación Criminal del IRS (IRS-CI) San Antonio, IRS-CI Waco y la Patrulla Fronteriza de EE. UU.
La Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales del Departamento de Justicia y la Oficina de Operaciones de Cumplimiento de la División Criminal proporcionaron asistencia significativa en este caso.
Los fiscales litigantes Kirk Handrich y Tara Arndt de la Unidad de Narcóticos y Drogas Peligrosas de la División Penal, numerosos fiscales del Distrito Oeste de Texas y el fiscal adjunto de EE. UU. Andrew Wang para el Distrito Este de Nueva York están procesando el caso.
Este caso es parte de una operación de la Fuerza Especial de Lucha contra la Droga y la Delincuencia Organizada (OCDETF). La OCDETF identifica, interrumpe y desmantela a los narcotraficantes de más alto nivel, lavadores de dinero, pandillas y organizaciones criminales transnacionales que amenazan a Estados Unidos, utilizando un enfoque multiinstitucional, liderado por fiscales e informado por datos de inteligencia.
Una acusación formal es tan solo una denuncia. Todos los acusados se presumen inocentes hasta que se demuestre su culpabilidad más allá de toda duda razonable en un tribunal de justicia.
Local men charged with distributing fentanyl resulting in the death of twoRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 24-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to remain in custody for trafficking fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Antonio Curo has now appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan, at which time the court found him to be a danger to the community and a flight risk and ordered he remain in custody pending further criminal proceedings.
The indictment, returned Sept. 18, alleges Curo was a member of an ongoing 13-month conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl resulting in death. According to records filed in the case, he recruited and directed accomplices and exercised decision making authority over the distribution of fentanyl during the conspiracy. He set the prices for the pills; negotiated, planned and organized their sale; prepared them for shipment; mailed parcels containing pills to individuals across the country; received payments; and claimed a right to the majority share of the drug proceeds, according to the allegations.
“Fentanyl is the greatest drug threat of our time, killing young people at catastrophic rates and devastating families in communities across the United States,” said Hamdani. “Curo allegedly used modern day methods and traditional means--social media and the mail--to help market and distribute his deadly fentanyl stock to victims near and far. Today’s announcement is a step towards achieving justice and closure for the families of the victims in this case.”
In December 2023, Curo allegedly distributed fentanyl that resulted in the death of a 24-year-old male in Connecticut. The victim had ordered pills via a social media and instant messaging service, according to records, and Curo sent them through the mail. The victim’s girlfriend allegedly saw him receive the package and ingest the pills before he died.
Records revealed he was also linked to shipments sent in January to Vermont and Iowa. A 16-year old juvenile residing in Vermont had allegedly purchased and received approximately 30 pills in a glass bottle. The pills were determined to be alprazolam. This individual did not ingest any of the substances.
Authorities also identified the intended recipient of the Iowa parcel who had ordered what she thought was Oxycodone through the mail, according to court records. Authorities allegedly tested the pills and found they actually contained fentanyl with a net weight of 5.1 grams. She alleges she was not aware the pills she ordered contained fentanyl.
Also in January, Curo again distributed fentanyl that resulted in the death of another, according to the charges. On Jan. 19, a 16-year-old female allegedly died after consuming pills that contained fentanyl. Curo had directly provided the pills to her, according to the allegations.
The victim’s father had found her deceased in her room with an imprinted “M-30” pill in a small, orange plastic bag next to her body, according to records. Lab testing confirmed the pill allegedly contained fentanyl.
Records also indicate a trip Curo paid for occurred from an address near the minor victim’s residence to an address near the his residence on the day before the minor victim died.
At the hearing, the court heard that Curo was aware of the deaths and that he knew he was selling fentanyl.
Curo is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death or serious bodily injury as well as six substantive counts of distribution of fentanyl from August 2023 through April 2024. He is also charged with a conspiracy to distribute and distribution of alaprazolam commonly known as “Xanax.”
At the time of his arrest, he also had several pills in his possession, according to the charges.
If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years imprisonment and up to life as well as a maximum $10 million possible fine.
Mikalob Hill, 24, Houston, is also charged in relation to the case. He allegedly picked up several parcels containing fentanyl at Curo’s direction and rented his mailbox to him. He faces one count of possession with intent to distribute alprazolam and faces up to five years in prison, upon conviction.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and Homeland Security Investigations in Houston conducted the investigation with the assistance of the USPIS in Vermont and Iowa and USPIS – Office of Inspector General, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force, Houston Police Department and Harris County Sherriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anibal J. Alaniz and Casey N. MacDonald are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Leaders of Dangerous Mexican Drug Cartel Responsible for Extreme Violence Charged with International Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Note: View the fifth superseding indictment here.
An indictment was unsealed in the District of Columbia charging leaders of the violent drug trafficking organization known as Los Zetas, and its successor organization, Cartel del Noreste (CDN), with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise; drug trafficking conspiracy; firearms offenses; and international money laundering conspiracy.
According to the indictment, Miguel Trevino Morales, 51, also known as Z-40, and his brother, Omar Trevino Morales, 48, also known as Z-42, allegedly assumed control of Los Zetas after more than a decade as members of the violent drug trafficking organization. Los Zetas previously served as an armed militaristic wing for the Gulf Cartel to maintain control of drug trafficking routes throughout Mexico. Since becoming leaders of Los Zetas in 2012, which they later renamed the Cartel del Noreste, the defendants have allegedly continued its history and pattern of using extreme violence to control large swaths of Northern Mexico, including along the U.S. border. Based on allegations in the indictment, Miguel and Omar Trevino Morales were incarcerated in Mexico in 2013 and 2015, respectively, but continued to control the CDN through various means, including by installing various family members to run operations at their behest. Miguel and Omar Trevino Morales are alleged to be personally responsible for committing dozens of murders and for directing assassinations, kidnappings, and acts of torture by Los Zetas and CDN members to promote and protect the Cartel’s drug trafficking activities and enrich its members.
“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants ran a transnational drug trafficking organization that was responsible for committing extreme violence and trafficking massive quantities of narcotics into the United States,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Justice Department is committed to holding cartel leaders like the defendants accountable for poisoning American communities and fueling violence here and abroad. We are also committed to working with our domestic and international colleagues in this effort, and we are grateful to our Mexican law enforcement partners for their ongoing collaboration in this case.”
“This superseding indictment underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to pursuing the leaders of the world’s most dangerous drug cartels, no matter how long it takes,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “The defendants’ prolific crimes and extreme acts of violence have wreaked havoc in the Eastern District of New York and across the country, and we look forward to holding the defendants accountable in a U.S. court of law.”
“For decades, these individuals have controlled one of the most violent drug organizations in Mexico, committing and directing the commission of horrible atrocities against our neighbors, the people of Mexico, and also in the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “Nothing is more important than bringing dangerous individuals like this to justice. We look forward to working with the government of Mexico in bringing these brutal Cartel leaders to justice for the numerous crimes they have committed.”
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) stands with our partners in the fight against transnational criminal organizations to protect our citizens from their unlawful actions,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger. “The harm caused by the Los Zetas cartel reaches well beyond our borders, hurting communities and ruining lives here in the United States.”
“For decades, Los Zetas operated as one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in the United States and Mexico under the direction of brothers Miguel (Zeta 40) and Omar Trevino Morales (Zeta 42),” said Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Houston Field Division. “The DEA has never wavered from the global fight against this vicious, ruthless cartel which thrived on the devastation they imparted on American communities. Through countless investigations, DEA brought high-ranking members of this destructive organization to justice. These latest indictments will continue to cripple this violent organization and force them to release the stranglehold they have exerted along the southwest border of the United States.”
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The DEA Houston Division investigated the case, with assistance from the DEA Mexico City Country Office. HSI New York contributed substantially to the investigation, as did the following: DEA San Antonio Division, DEA Eagle Pass Division, DEA Del Rio Division, DEA Laredo Division, DEA New York Division, FBI Washington Field Office, FBI El Paso Field Office, FBI San Antonio Field Office, FBI Laredo Field Office, FBI Del Rio Field Office, HSI San Antonio, HSI Del Rio, HSI Laredo, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, San Antonio Police Department, Bexar County Sherriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) San Antonio Field Division, ATF Laredo Field Division, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) San Antonio, IRS-CI Waco, and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations provided significant assistance in this case.
Trial Attorneys Kirk Handrich and Tara Arndt of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, numerous prosecutors for the Western District of Texas, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wang for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Leader of Cross-State Drug Trafficking Network Convicted at Trial of Conspiring to Distribute, Distributing, and Possessing with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Heroin, and CocaineRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – After deliberating for approximately three hours, a federal jury found Qureem Overton guilty of conspiring to distribute at least 40 grams of fentanyl and quantities of heroin and cocaine, as well as of distributing or possessing with intent to distribute those substances, between January 2017 and June 2020, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Overton, 43, who previously resided in Butler and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was convicted on October 11, 2024, at the conclusion of a five-day jury trial. United States District Judge Robert J. Colville presided over the trial, and scheduled Overton’s sentencing for February 25, 2025.
According to evidence established during trial, Overton was the leader of a Philadelphia-to-Butler pipeline for fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. He has prior Pennsylvania state convictions in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas for drug trafficking, robbery, and aggravated assault that resulted in state prison sentences.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jacqueline C. Brown and Craig W. Haller are prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Pennsylvania State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Butler County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force led the investigation that resulted in the prosecution of Overton.
Leader of Anchorage drug trafficking conspiracy gets 20 years for trafficking fentanyl, methRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The leader of an Anchorage drug trafficking conspiracy was sentenced today to 20 years in prison and five years’ supervised release for dealing fentanyl and methamphetamine in Anchorage.
According to court documents, in 2022, Nigel Ivory, 29, of Anchorage, was released from prison after serving a federal sentence and began selling drugs in and around the Anchorage area.
During the investigation, officials conducted three controlled purchases of drugs from Ivory between October 2022 and March 2023. During the first controlled purchase in October 2022, Ivory sold over 111 grams of methamphetamine and 98 fentanyl pills for $3,800. In January 2023, Ivory sold 282 fentanyl pills for $1,950. In March 2023, Ivory sold over 276 grams of methamphetamine and 487 fentanyl pills for $5,000.
In February 2023, officials seized over $55,000 in cash that Ivory attempted to transport from Anchorage to Fort Wayne, Indiana, on a commercial flight. Ivory attempted to smuggle the cash by hiding it inside three tennis shoes in a checked bag. The cash had trace amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl on it. Later that month, officials also seized over 180 fentanyl pills from a co-conspirator during a traffic stop. Investigators uncovered text messages from Ivory directing the co-conspirator to hide the fentanyl pills from police.
On June 22, 2023, officials simultaneously executed search warrants for two residences associated with Ivory, one of which was Ivory’s primary address. At 6:30 a.m., agents announced their presence outside Ivory’s residence. Ivory and a co-defendant did not come outside and surrender until 7:00 a.m. Upon searching the residence, agents recovered over $18,000 in U.S. currency, a money counter, drug packaging material, over 160 fentanyl pills, some of which were partially dissolved and scattered in a toilet bowl, two firearms and ammunition.
In April and May 2023, law enforcement seized three additional packages, each containing more than a kilogram of fentanyl pills, from co-conspirators in the case, in which Ivory was involved in trafficking. The following co-conspirators were also charged in this case:
- Brandon Beltz, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl on Aug. 13, 2024, and is awaiting sentencing.
- Jack Breitenstein died of an apparent fentanyl overdose after spending nine months on pretrial release and the charges against him were dismissed on April 11, 2024.
- Wilanda Jackson, 23, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and is awaiting trial.
- Don’Tia Nikolai, 21, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and is awaiting trial.
As a result of the investigation, the defendant is accountable for 5.3 kilograms of fentanyl and over 380 grams of methamphetamine. Ivory pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl in April 2024.
“Fatal drug overdoses rose over 44% this past year, with the majority involving fentanyl, posing a grave threat to Alaskans,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. “Keeping fentanyl out of our communities is a top priority, and we urge the public to report any drug trafficking activities to law enforcement. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those who conspire to traffic dangerous drugs in our state.”
“Mr. Ivory callously trafficked massive quantities of deadly fentanyl pills into and throughout Alaska, poisoning our communities and destroying lives in the process,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Zachary Pomerantz of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “This investigation, worked alongside our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, represents one of highest fentanyl seizures known in Alaska, underscoring the FBI’s commitment to disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking organizations that threaten the safety of our communities.”
“Your Alaska State Troopers will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to hold anyone that traffics dangerous drugs such as fentanyl accountable for their actions,” stated Alaska State Troopers Colonel Maurice Hughes. “I hope that this significant prison sentence serves as a deterrent to those that are peddling drugs in our state. To those trafficking dangerous drugs in Alaska, know that law enforcement will catch up to you, arrest you, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
The FBI Anchorage Field Office, Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Schroeder prosecuted the case.
UPDATE: This release has been updated to include the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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Lancaster Man Arrested on Charges that He Used Drone to Fly Fentanyl, Including to Customer Who Later Died from OverdoseRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An Antelope Valley man was arrested today on a nine-count federal grand jury indictment charging him with using a drone to drop off fentanyl and other narcotics to buyers, one of whom died of a fatal overdose of the powerful synthetic opioid last year.
Christopher Patrick Laney, 34, a.k.a. “Crany,” of Lancaster, is charged with one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, four counts of knowingly and willfully operating an unregistered aircraft in furtherance of a felony narcotics crime, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Laney is expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
According to the indictment that a grand jury returned on September 17 and was unsealed today, Laney on January 17, 2023, used an unmanned aircraft system, commonly referred to as a “drone” – which had not been registered with the Federal Aviation Administration – to transport fentanyl from his house to a nearby church parking lot. Laney distributed the fentanyl to a third party that provided it to the victim, identified in the indictment as “J.K.”, who was found dead the next day after she suffered a fatal drug overdose.
As captured on video footage taken by the drone, Laney used the same unregistered drone to transport and distribute narcotics on at least three other occasions in December 2022 and January 2023. In February 2023, Laney also possessed methamphetamine and fentanyl at his residence, and knowingly possessed multiple firearms – including an AR-15-style rifle lacking a serial number, commonly referred to as a “ghost gun,” and two 9mm semiautomatic ghost-gun pistols, inside of his room.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted of all charges, Laney would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the United States Customs and Border Protection’s Center for Air and Marine Drone Exploitation are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Kyle W. Kahan of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section is prosecuting this case.
La Pryor Man Convicted of Three Counts for Human Smuggling-related CrimesRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – A federal jury convicted a La Pryor man for one count of conspiracy to kidnap and two counts related to harboring illegal aliens causing serious bodily injury and placing the life of a person in jeopardy.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Joshua Lee Balderas, 33, and other conspirators transported and harbored a group of seven undocumented noncitizens in March 2022. Balderas initially transported the group from La Pryor to San Antonio, where the group was held captive in hotel rooms and ransomed to their families for thousands of dollars each. One of the migrant victims’ family members was forced to pay $7,000 for her release. Balderas and one of his co-conspirators frequently brandished guns in the hotel rooms to ensure compliance from the migrants, and Balderas sexually assaulted one of the migrants.
Balderas is scheduled to be sentenced in February 2025. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the harboring charges and up to life in prison for the kidnapping charge.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
Homeland Security Investigations and the San Antonio Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Brown and Adrian Rosales are prosecuting the case.
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Kansas Man Sentenced for Issuing Race-Based Death Threats to Multiple Black PeopleRead the Press Release
A Kansas man was sentenced today to 80 months in prison for threatening multiple Black people in and around the Wichita area, and for interfering with the housing rights of a white woman because he believed that she was dating and associating with Black people.
Austin Schoemann, 31, of Wichita, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with federally protected activities, two counts of interstate threats and one count of interference with housing. In connection with the plea, Schoemann admitted that, in July 2022, he brandished a firearm and used racial slurs in order to threaten two Black juveniles while they were entering a QuikTrip gasoline station, and that he also used his firearm to threaten a Black adult who intervened to support the juveniles. Schoemann also acknowledged that, from January 2022 through August 2022, he interfered with the federally protected housing rights of a white woman by making threats to hurt or kill any Black people who visited her home. Schoemann further admitted that he sent videos and messages to the woman’s family members and others in which he repeatedly threatened to shoot and kill Black people.
“Racially-motivated threats of violence cannot be tolerated in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “For months, this defendant made threats to a woman and her family that he would shoot and kill any Black person who visited the woman’s home. After that campaign of terror, the defendant called two Black children racist slurs, and threatened the children and a Black woman with a gun when they happened to cross paths at a convenience store. This case should make clear that the Justice Department will not rest in bringing the perpetrators of racially-motivated hate crimes to justice.”
“Perpetrators of hate crimes inflict pain upon victims in furtherance of a larger goal of breeding fear and divisiveness within our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas. “The Justice Department is standing against racial violence and threats of racial violence by prosecuting offenders, but we need the public’s help. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas encourages those who are victims of or witnesses to hate crimes to report these incidents to law enforcement.”
The FBI Kansas City Field Office and Wichita Police investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith for the District of Kansas and Trial Attorneys Thomas Johnson and Erin Monju of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.