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Friday 2 August 2024
Monona County, Iowa Kidnapper and Gunman Sent to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A Monona County, Iowa man was sentenced today, August 2, 2024, to 16 years in federal prison.
Allen Jones, age 35, from Ute, Iowa received the prison term after a March 19, 2024, guilty plea to kidnapping.
Evidence in the case revealed on July 7, 2023, Jones called his employer and stated his car would not start and that he needed a ride to work. Jones supervisor instructed a co-worker to pick up Jones at his residence. When the co-worker pulled into the driveway, Jones lured the co-worker into the garage, pointed a loaded shotgun at him, and said we are “going for a ride.” Jones held his victim at gunpoint, forced him into his (Jones’s) car, and ordered him to drive to a near-by casino. Jones told his victim that he planned “to shoot up the casino” and use the victim as a human shield.
On the way to the casino, Jones instructed the victim to change course, because he wanted to confront a former girlfriend before he committed the mass-shooting. Near Mapleton, Iowa, Jones further directed his victim to stop at a gas station, go into the store, and buy him food and beer. Jones warned his victim not to try to escape. The victim entered the store, selected some items, held them up to the window for Jones to see, but then set the items down and fled out of the back of the store. The victim ran alongside a storage unit, across a field, struggled across the Maple River, crossed another field, and ran onto an airfield where the victim found help.
When law enforcement arrived, they learned Jones had left the gas station on foot. Jones was located and arrested. On his person Monona County Sherriff’s Deputies located methamphetamine and in the truck they located the loaded shotgun. A subsequent search of Jones’ home revealed additional firearms, ammunition, various prescription pills, methamphetamine, and other items of contraband.
Jones has a lengthy criminal history including a 2013 federal conviction for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon and a history of marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine use.
Jones was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Jones was sentenced to 192 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Jones is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Iowa Department of Public Safety-Iowa State Patrol, Monona County Sherriff’s Office, and the United States Department of Justice-Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-4048.
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Missouri Woman Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Pandemic Loan FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Thursday sentenced a woman who fraudulently obtained $135,622 in pandemic loans for herself and helped others get hundreds of thousands more to 41 months in prison and ordered her to repay the money.
Edna E. McGowan-Baker engaged in a scheme between May 2020 and September 2021 to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which were intended to aid small businesses in paying and retaining employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
McGowan-Baker applied for seven PPP loans for five different companies in her name, only two of which were in operation. On the loan applications, McGowan-Baker falsified the companies’ payroll, number of employees and annual income to inflate the amount of PPP loan money she could receive. She also submitted fraudulent tax forms with the applications. McGowan-Baker certified on the applications that she would use the loans for payroll and other authorized expenses but used the money for her own bills and to make personal purchases and payments to others. She also submitted fraudulent applications for PPP loan forgiveness, falsely stating that she used the loans for authorized expenses.
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow an an FBI special agent said McGowan-Baker also prepared and submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications for others in exchange for a cut of the loans that they received, taking “advantage of this once-in-a-generation crisis,” Clow said in a sentencing memo.
McGowan-Baker, 48, pleaded guilty in March in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud. She was ordered Thursday to repay $149,194, representing the fraudulent loans she received, interest and loan processing fees.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information about pandemic fraud should call the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or report via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Mexican National Sentenced to 11 years in Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking and Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Pedro Huerta Ramon, 39, of Mexico, was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and unlawfully reentering the United States after prior deportation.
Evidence presented in court revealed that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) became aware of Pedro Huerta Ramon in 2018, after receiving information that Ramon was a high-level cocaine distributor operating in Lexington County. As a result of this investigation, Ramon was arrested and convicted for trafficking cocaine in 2019. Ramon was unlawfully present in the United States and after his conviction, he was deported to Mexico in November 2019.
In 2023, DEA agents received information that Ramon was back in the United States and trafficking kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine imported from Mexico. The investigation revealed Ramon unlawfully returned to the United States in December 2020. Law enforcement developed and used a confidential informant to conduct a series of controlled purchases from Ramon. Ramon sold over a kilogram of pure methamphetamine to the confidential informant and a search of his residence resulted in the seizure of one kilogram of cocaine.
Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson sentenced Ramon to 135 months imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariyana Gore is prosecuting the case.
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Lynn Man Convicted of Drug and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lynn man was convicted today following a five-day jury trial in federal court in Boston in connection with drug and firearm charges.
Jose Perez, 27, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Chief U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor scheduled sentencing for Nov. 1, 2024. In January 2023, Perez was arrested and charged along with co-defendant Henry Del Rio.
“Mr. Perez put the community at risk with dangerous controlled substances and an illegal firearm. With drugs and guns threatening many civilians’ livelihoods, this case demonstrates our commitment to protecting our communities from any and all threats they may face,” said Acting United States Joshua S. Levy. “Keeping our neighborhoods safe is the very essence of the work of our office, and we will not rest in pursuit of that mission.”
“Illegally possessing a firearm while trafficking in illegal drugs fuels the violence in our communities,” said James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division. “I commend the Lexington Police Department and the United States Attorney's Office for holding Mr. Perez accountable.”
In December 2022, local police officers attempted to stop a vehicle for traffic violations that Perez was driving. Instead of pulling over, Perez accelerated and engaged in a high-speed escape attempt, traveling more than 85 miles per hour on residential streets. Eventually, Perez’s car lost control and collided with another vehicle, stopping Perez. When Perez exited the vehicle, a Glock 34X 9mm semi-automatic handgun dropped to the ground. Perez subsequently tried to escape on foot. After Perez and Del Rio ran from authorities and were apprehended, Perez was found with $2,000 cash in his pockets; two bags that were determined to contain cocaine and 44 smaller, individually wrapped bags of fentanyl were found in Del Rio’s flight path. A search of the vehicle yielded a third bag of cocaine.
Given Perez’s status as a felon, he is barred from possessing a firearm.
Del Rio pleaded guilty in April 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3, 2024.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substance provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years, up to life, of supervised release and a fine of up to $1,000,000. The charge of felon in possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and ATF SAC Ferguson made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lexington, Chelsea and MBTA Police Departments and Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mike Crowley, Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit, and Sarah Hoefle of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.
Lodge Grass man sentenced to four years in prison for trafficking meth in large-scale investigation centered on Crow Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Lodge Grass man who trafficked methamphetamine as part of large-scale, multi-state operation that was centered on the Crow Indian Reservation was sentenced today to four years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Morgan Luke Hugs, 34, pleaded guilty in April to possession with intent to distribute meth.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that federal law enforcement, in collaborative effort with local and tribal law enforcement, engaged in a large-scale, multiple-state narcotics trafficking investigation centered on multiple properties on the Crow Indian Reservation. The properties, including one referred to as Spear Siding, were a source of supply of meth for both the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations. Hugs was one of the individuals affiliated with the investigation and was considered a mid-level dealer.
The government further alleged that from about January 2022 until March 2023, Hugs was receiving meth from Spear Siding and distributing it to others on the Crow Reservation. Hugs received meth from two main co-conspirators involved with the investigation, sold ounce quantities and used other people to help him conduct sales. Hugs also acted as a protector/enforcer for another co-conspirator and would use stolen guns to help pay off his drug debt to others at Spear Siding. In addition, law enforcement obtained meth from Hugs in a controlled purchase in Hardin in November 2022.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI conducted the investigation.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.
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Lander man arraigned on drug trafficking and firearm offensesRead the Press Release
Jason Trimmer, 47, of Lander, Wyoming, was arraigned on August 1, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. Trimmer pleaded not guilty. A trial has been set for Oct. 7, before U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson.
The Safe Trails Task Force, led by the FBI, executed a search warrant on Trimmer’s residence and seized more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, over 32 grams of fentanyl, and 14 firearms. This task force investigates drug trafficking on the Wind River Indian Reservation, and in surrounding communities, with an emphasis on stopping the distribution of fentanyl. In addition to the FBI, task force members include the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, the Riverton Police Department, and the Lander Police Department.
If convicted, Trimmer faces 10 years to life imprisonment plus five years of consecutive imprisonment if found guilty of being in possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted, he will serve no less than five years to life of supervised release and may be fined up to $11.5 million on top of the $400 assessment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy W. Gist.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Case No. 24-CR-00118
KC Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Purchase of Firearm Found After Mass Shooting at Super Bowl RallyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A second Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to the illegal straw purchase of a firearm recovered at the scene of the mass shooting at Union Station during the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory on Feb. 14, 2024.
Chaelyn Hendrick Groves, 20, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of conspiracy to make false statements in the acquisition of a firearm. Co-defendant Ronnel Dewayne Williams, Jr., 22, pleaded guilty to the same charge on Wednesday, July 31.
Both Groves and Williams admitted they participated in the criminal conspiracy from Nov. 25, 2023, to Feb. 21, 2024. Williams made false statements to a licensed firearms dealer on Nov. 25, 2023, claiming he was the actual buyer of a Stag Arms lower receiver, which was intended to deceive the dealer into making the sale to Williams. Firearm receivers, or frames, house the firing mechanism and other internal parts of a firearm. The receiver can be loaded and fired, or built into a complete firearm by adding components. By federal definition, a receiver is a firearm and is the only controlled component of a firearm.
Groves and Williams admitted that Williams was not the true buyer of the firearm, but was purchasing the firearm for Groves, who was not of lawful age to purchase the firearm himself. Williams provided the firearm to Groves on the same day of the purchase. Groves then obtained a 300-blackout barrel and affixed it to the Stag Arms lower receiver.
Law enforcement officers recovered the firearm on Feb. 14, 2024, in the area of 30 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, Mo., following the mass shooting incident.
Groves and Williams also admitted that, between Feb. 16 and Feb. 21, 2024, they provided materially false statements to federal law enforcement officers regarding the acquisition and disposition of the Stag Arms lower receiver.
Under federal statutes, Groves and Williams each is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jess Michaelsen. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
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.
Justice Department Sues TikTok and Parent Company ByteDance for Widespread Violations of Children’s Privacy LawsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against TikTok Inc., ByteDance Ltd., and their affiliates (together, TikTok) for violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and its implementing regulations (COPPA) in connection with the popular TikTok app.
COPPA prohibits website operators from knowingly collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under the age of 13, unless they provide notice to and obtain consent from those children’s parents. It also requires website operators to delete personal information collected from children at their parents’ request. In 2019, the government sued TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly, for COPPA violations, and since then the defendants have been subject to a court order requiring them to undertake specific measures to comply with COPPA.
According to the complaint, from 2019 to the present, TikTok knowingly permitted children to create regular TikTok accounts and to create, view, and share short-form videos and messages with adults and others on the regular TikTok platform. The defendants collected and retained a wide variety of personal information from these children without notifying or obtaining consent from their parents. Even for accounts that were created in “Kids Mode” (a pared-back version of TikTok intended for children under 13), the defendants unlawfully collected and retained children’s email addresses and other types of personal information. Further, when parents discovered their children’s accounts and asked the defendants to delete the accounts and information in them, the defendants frequently failed to honor those requests. The defendants also had deficient and ineffectual internal policies and processes for identifying and deleting TikTok accounts created by children.
The defendants engaged in the above-described conduct despite being subject to a court order barring them from violating COPPA and imposing measures designed to ensure their compliance. TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. The defendants’ COPPA violations have resulted in millions of children under 13 using the regular TikTok app, subjecting them to extensive data collection and allowing them to interact with adult users and access adult content. The complaint seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief.
“The Department is deeply concerned that TikTok has continued to collect and retain children’s personal information despite a court order barring such conduct,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “With this action, the Department seeks to ensure that TikTok honors its obligation to protect children’s privacy rights and parents’ efforts to protect their children.”
“The Justice Department is committed to upholding parents’ ability to protect their children’s privacy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children’s private information without any parental consent or control.”
“TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC will continue to use the full scope of its authorities to protect children online — especially as firms deploy increasingly sophisticated digital tools to surveil kids and profit from their data.”
The United States is represented in this action by Assistant Directors Rachael L. Doud and Zachary A. Dietert, and Trial Attorneys Ben Cornfeld and Marcus P. Smith, of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. Jonathan W. Ware, Iris Micklavzina, Sarah Choi, and Michael Sherling represent the FTC.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
The claims made in a complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence. Certain allegations in the complaint linked to below are redacted due to defendants’ request that the government file these allegations under seal while the Court considers defendants’ intended motion to seal. The court’s ruling on defendants’ motion will determine whether and to what extent these allegations in the complaint become public.
ComplaintJury Convicts Two for Conspiring to Traffic Counterfeit Levi’sRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 2, 2024
SAN DIEGO – After a three-day trial, a federal jury has convicted Marin Morales-Espinoza and Francisco Alvarado-Ramirez of conspiracy to traffic counterfeit Levi’s jeans labels, tags, rivets and buttons to make counterfeit Levi’s jeans.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Morales paid people to smuggle counterfeit Levi’s pieces and parts into the United States from Mexico at the Calexico Port of Entry. Another co-conspirator paid Morales to drive the pieces to his home in Los Angeles. That co-conspirator brought the pieces to Alvarado at his factory in the Garment District to make the counterfeit Levi’s jeans.
Tens of thousands of counterfeit Levi’s tags, buttons and rivets were seized at the Port of Entry. Over 2,000 completed counterfeit Levi’s jeans were seized from Alvarado’s factory. These fake Levi’s were sold at local swap meets by other co-conspirators. These are photos of the counterfeit parts:
The Senior Director of Global Brand Protection for Levi Strauss & Co. testified that none of the co-conspirators worked for Levi’s. He walked the jury through the seized merchandise to explain how they were not genuine Levi’s products.
“Counterfeit goods fool consumers and hurt retailers by diluting the value of a product and its trademark,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “This case demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to protecting consumers and retailers from fraud.”
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced November 1, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanie Pierson and Sarah Akhtar, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Sanniti.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 23cr1356-JO
Marin Morales-Espinoza Age: 63 Calexico, CA
Francisco Alvarado-Ramirez Age: 50 Los Angeles, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Traffic in Counterfeit Goods and Labels – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2320
Trafficking in Counterfeit Labels – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2320(a)(2)
Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2320(a)(1)
Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $2 million fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Homeland Security Investigations
Jefferson Parish Man Indicted for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that HENRY MICHAEL ROBIN (“ROBIN”), age 29, a resident of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, was indicted today for Receipt of Materials Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1). ROBIN faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of up to three years and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, on July 16, 2024, Homeland Security Special Agents executed a search warrant at ROBIN’S residence and found that ROBIN had electronically received and possessed images of a minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Apache Junction Arizona Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Mark A. Miller of the Narcotics Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Illinois Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Transfer Obscene Material to a MinorRead the Press Release
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on August 1, 2024, Terrence E. Fabino (Age: 61) of Lake County, Illinois, was sentenced to serve 120 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to a charge of attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1470.
According to the court documents, Fabino engaged in online communications with an individual he believed to be a minor located in Northeast Wisconsin. Fabino requested sexually explicit images from the minor and also sent an obscene image of himself taken in a commuter train bathroom to the minor, who was actually an undercover law enforcement officer.
At sentencing, Senior United States District Court Judge William C. Griesbach noted the serious nature of the offense and the need to protect the community, particularly minors, from Fabino’s actions. After serving his prison sentence, Fabino will spend three years on supervised release and will be required to register as a sexual offender under state and federal law.
This case was investigated by the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
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 U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Human Smuggling Coordinator Sentenced to Six Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jesus Alexandro Sanchez-Armenta, 23, of Phoenix, was sentenced last month by United States District Judge Diane J. Humetewa to 72 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised released. Sanchez-Armenta pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit on February 22, 2024.
Sanchez-Armenta coordinated and/or recruited his co-conspirators, through social media sites, including Snapchat, to pick up undocumented noncitizens (UNCs) in Southern Arizona and to transport them further into the United States for profit. Sanchez-Armenta provided his co-conspirators with instructions on how and where to pick up the UNCs. Either he or another member of the conspiracy would provide the co-conspirators with GPS coordinates for where to pick up the UNCs, and then provided them with transportation routes designed to circumvent detection by law enforcement.
Homeland Security Investigations–Casa Grande and Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol–Tucson Sector conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Zander, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-23-0259-PHX-DJH
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-106_Sanchez-Armenta# # #
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.Houston custom home builder charged with misusing construction fundsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A criminal information has been filed against a 39-year-old Houstonian on a charge of wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Brett Michael Detamore is set to make his initial appearance in federal court Aug. 12 at 2 p.m.
According to the information, Detamore operated as a custom home builder under Detamore Development LLC. The charges allege he fraudulently obtained at least $1.5 million for his personal use by misusing funds intended for the construction of private residences.
Detamore allegedly submitted false and fraudulent invoices to banks holding construction loans for single-family residences he had been contracted to build. The false invoices caused the banks to send funds to bank accounts Detamore controlled, according to the allegations. Detamore then allegedly used the funds for his personal benefit.
The charges include a notice of forfeiture for any funds or property obtained as a result of the scheme.
If convicted, Detamore faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine as well as full restitution to the victim home owners.
The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the West University Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Lansden and Suzanne Elmilady are prosecuting the case.
A criminal information is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Hot Springs Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
HOT SPRINGS - A Hot Springs man was sentenced yesterday to 240 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on one count of Possession with the Intent to Distribute of More Than Fifty Grams of Actual Methamphetamine. The Honorable Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Hot Springs.
According to court documents, on March 15, 2023, Special Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Hot Springs Police Department, Special Investigations Division, conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle being operated by Stacy Childs, age 33, after Childs delivered fentanyl to another individual. A search of the vehicle yielded a total of 3,416.15 grams, or approximately 7.53 pounds, of pure methamphetamine, the bulk of which was concealed in a compartment underneath the center console of the vehicle. Childs was arrested on a Federal Complaint and later indicted by a Grand Jury seated in the Western District of Arkansas.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hot Springs Police Department, Special Investigations Division, investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Achorn prosecuted the case.
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.
Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov.
Honduran National Sentenced for Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – WILLIAM LEONELL LOPEZ (“LOPEZ”), age 37, a native of Honduras, was sentenced on August 1, 2024, after previously pleading guilty to illegal reentry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. He was sentenced to time served. He had been incarcerated since September of 2023.
According to court documents, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (“JPSO”) detectives provided biographical information for LOPEZ to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Specifically, JPSO detectives provided the name, date of birth, and a picture of LOPEZ, enabling ICE to verify that he is Honduran, who had been previously removed from the United States to Honduras on June 19, 2009. On September 5, 2023, LOPEZ was arrested in River Ridge, LA.
Extensive database checks indicated that LOPEZ re-entered the United States without permission, inspection, or parole by an immigration officer and without the express consent of the United States Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for readmission to the United States and was encountered in the Eastern District of Louisiana by law enforcement.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr. of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Great Falls woman sentenced to prison for embezzling from employerRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — A woman who admitted embezzling money from her employer, a tire and service center in Vaughn, was sentenced on Thursday to 10 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $95,001 restitution, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
The defendant, Jennifer Sue Whiteford, 48, pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
The government alleged in court documents that Whiteford worked as a bookkeeper for Darryl’s Tire and Service Center, located near Vaughn. From about 2017 and continuing through June 2022, Whiteford stole money from the business to pay for personal expenses without DTSC’s authorization. Whiteford wrote checks to herself from the business accounts and then changed the names of the payees in the accounting software to make it look like the embezzled funds were going to pay legitimate business expenses. In addition, Whiteford skimmed cash deposits from the company by taking cash that was supposed to be deposited into DTSC’s bank account and instead deposited the cash into her personal account. In total, Whiteford embezzled between $88,000 and $139,000 from the company.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The FBI conducted the investigation.
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Former nurse practitioner in Butte admits health care fraud; received nearly $600,000 in false claimsRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — A former nurse practitioner in Butte admitted on Thursday to prescribing controlled substances despite having a suspended license and to falsely billing an insurance company approximately $61 million for vitamin B-12 injections in which she received nearly $600,000 for the false claims, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
The defendant, Tristan Ashley Svejkovsky, 40, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and to use of a registration number issued to another person. Svejkovsky faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the health care fraud charge and a maximum of four years in prison, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release on the charge of using the registration of another person.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Sentencing was set for Dec. 12 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Svejkovsky was released pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that Svejkovsky was a nurse practitioner whose license was suspended by the Montana Board of Nursing on April 1, 2022. Svejkovsky continued to prescribe controlled substances using her own name and Drug Enforcement Administration registration number until June 8, 2022. The DEA contacted Svejkovsky through her attorney, and she agreed to voluntarily surrender her DEA registration. However, Svejkovsky continued to prescribe controlled substances using the name and DEA registration number of a friend who also was nurse practitioner. Svejkovsky misrepresented to her friend that her nursing license was on probation, not suspended, and that she would not use her friend’s information to prescribe drugs. In fact, Svejkovsky used her friend’s name and DEA registration number for at least 12 prescriptions of controlled substances.
The government further alleged that Svejkovsky billed Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana for vitamin B-12 injections that did not occur. In August 2021, Svejkovsky started falsely increasing the number of units of a standard vitamin B-12 injection from one unit to 1,000 units. This increased the corresponding payment from the insurance company for each injection from roughly $4.88 to $4,880. After her license was suspended, Svejkovsky started submitting numerous such claims each month to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana by backdating claims to supposedly before her license was suspended. This conduct continued through May 2022, when Svejkovsky submitted four claims, this time claiming $15 million per vitamin B-12 injection to a new patient. Svejkovsky never gave that patient any vitamin injections, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana did not pay those claims. In total, Svejkovsky billed the insurance company at least $61,995,000 for false vitamin B-12 injections and received at least $593,583 from those false claims.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The DEA and FBI conducted the investigation.
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Former Union President Sent to Federal Prison for EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
A former union president who misspent over $30,000 in union funds was sentenced on July 25, 2024, to eight months in federal prison. Brock A. Willson, also known as Brock A. Cligrow, age 43, received the prison term after a January 25, 2024, guilty plea to one count of bank fraud.
In a plea agreement and at hearings in the case, it was established that, from no later than about March 2020, and continuing through at least October 2021, Willson served in various capacities as a local labor union’s president, business manager/financial secretary, and coordinator of its joint apprenticeship training committee. By virtue of his high-level positions within the union, Willson had access to its bank accounts. From the bank accounts, the labor organization entrusted defendant with making authorized payments for certain authorized expenses, including its training committee. Willson abused his position of trust at the union to cause the local bank to make payments for his own personal expenses, including but not limited to payments on his personal vehicle loan and purchases at department stores. Willson ultimately agreed to repay over $30,000 in misspent union funds.
Willson has a criminal history, including a prior felony conviction for serious injury by vehicle and reckless driving. While on pretrial release, federal probation officers found a firearm and ammunition in the residence in which Willson was residing at the time. Willson was jailed for over a month because of that incident in late 2023.
Willson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Willson was sentenced to 8 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $30,280.98 in restitution to the labor union and its insurer.
Willson must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“While the vast majority of union officials do their work diligently and without incident, unfortunately criminal violations do occur. When they do, it is the union and its members that are the victims. Brock Willson embezzled funds from a local union that should have been used for its members’ benefit,” said Christiane Abendroth, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. “OLMS is committed to hold accountable anyone who unlawfully exploits their position for financial gain at the expense of their fellow union members.”
United States Attorney Timothy Duax stated, “We appreciate the hard work done by OLMS in helping hold Mr. Willson accountable for his crime. Willson took advantage of the people he was supposed to serve. There is a price to be paid for such conduct, and Mr. Willson will pay that price while in prison.”
Willson was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons at a date yet to be set. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. The Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department also assisted in the investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-67.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Former Gladwyne Entrepreneur Charged with Bilking Investors Out of Millions of Dollars, Forging Documents, and Obstructing JusticeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that an indictment was unsealed against Josh S. Verne, 47, formerly of Gladwyne, PA, now a resident of Fort Lauderdale, FL, charging him with 28 separate federal crimes, including securities fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, witness retaliation, and witness intimidation.
According to the indictment, Verne carried out a series of schemes from at least in or about 2017 to 2020, through which he defrauded dozens of investors, prospective investors, employees, and business partners out of millions of dollars, forged documents, and obstructed justice by threatening, intimidating, and retaliating against others in connection with the federal criminal investigation.
The indictment alleges that Verne held himself out as a wealthy and successful businessman, entrepreneur, and investor, and that he carried out his fraudulent activities through a series of limited liability companies, of which he was the chief executive and over which he maintained control. It is alleged that, among other things, Verne falsely represented his prior business successes, falsely represented his personal net worth, falsely represented his own investments, and falsely represented the financial health of his companies and investments, in order to induce others to invest in or provide loans to him or his companies. For instance, according to the indictment, Verne provided an investor with a forged Goldman Sachs statement that showed family investment holdings for Verne of more than $50 million, when, in fact, Verne did not have an investment account at Goldman Sachs in his own name or in his family’s names, much less an account with a market value of more than $50 million.
It is further alleged that Verne misused business and investor funds to repay prior debts and to finance an affluent lifestyle he could not afford, such as personal expenses related to renovations to his showcase vacation property on the Jersey shore, travel on private jets, contributions to political candidates, personal charitable contributions, and country club payments. According to the indictment, in order to delay and prevent discovery by law enforcement of his own misconduct, Verne later sent bank and FedEx confirmations purporting to confirm delivery of funds to investors to whom he had promised repayment; the bank and FedEx confirmations were false and fraudulent.
The indictment further alleges that Verne stole the identity of a former employee from his company, forging the employee’s signature on a sales agreement to disguise an unauthorized sale of the employee’s shares of stock. According to the indictment, Verne obtained $150,000 from the unauthorized sale and used those funds to make payments to himself and to a prior investor.
Finally, the indictment alleges that, after Verne met with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and learned details about the investigation, Verne obstructed justice by contacting the former employee and threatening to divulge false, embarrassing information about him because the employee provided information to law enforcement.
Verne was arrested today in Fort Lauderdale. He is expected to appear in federal court in Philadelphia next week for an arraignment.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 532 years in prison (including a mandatory minimum of two years in prison to run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment), three years of supervised release, a $21,250,000 fine, and a $2,800 special assessment.
If you, your family member, or anyone that you know believes they may have been a victim of these crimes and would like to report the information, please contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 215-418-4000 and reference “Josh S. Verne.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul G. Shapiro and Jerome M. Maiatico. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Philadelphia Regional Office investigated civil securities fraud charges against Verne, which are pending.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Des Peres Alderman Sentenced to 5 Years of Probation, Ordered to Repay $292,000 for EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former alderman in Des Peres, Missouri was sentenced on Thursday to five years of probation and ordered to repay $292,305 that he embezzled from clients.
John Pound, 81, pleaded guilty in March in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three counts of wire fraud. Pound admitted that from 2010 through June 30, 2020, he embezzled from two clients of his real estate management company, Commercial Realty Management Inc.
Pound’s company provided real estate management services to the owners of a commercial property on North Euclid Avenue in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Pound maintained bank accounts and paid bills on behalf of the owners. But he took significantly larger management fees, kept larger commissions and charged higher hourly rates than he was authorized to take. Pound prepared annual budgets which misrepresented the monthly management fee and concealed the inflated fees he was collecting. From 2006 through June 30, 2020, Pound paid himself $220,000 in commission payments that he had not legitimately earned. From Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2019, Pound made about 132 entries in QuickBooks falsely identifying a third-party payee when the money went to Pound.
Pound resigned from his elected position as an alderman in Des Peres, Missouri after his guilty plea.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll prosecuted the case.
Former Boston Police Sergeant Sentenced for Overtime Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former Boston Police Sergeant was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with an investigation of overtime fraud at the Boston Police Department’s (BPD) evidence warehouse.
Gerard O’Brien, 66, of Braintree, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to two years of supervised release with six months to be served in home detention. O’Brien was also ordered to pay $25,930 in restitution and a $5,000 fine. In June 2021, O’Brien pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds.
From at least December 2016 through February 2019, O’Brien submitted false and fraudulent overtime slips for overtime shifts that he did not work at the evidence warehouse. The “purge” overtime was a 4 – 8 p.m. weekday shift intended to dispose of old, unneeded evidence. “Kiosk” overtime involved driving to each police district in Boston one Saturday a month to collect old prescription drugs to be burned.
For the “purge” shift, O’Brien claimed to have worked from 4 – 8 p.m., but he and other members of the unit, routinely left at 6 p.m., or earlier. For the “kiosk” shift, O’Brien submitted overtime slips claiming to have worked eight-and-one-half hours, when in fact he and other members of the unit, only worked three-to-four hours of those shifts. As a supervisor, O’Brien endorsed fraudulent overtime slips submitted by the officers at the warehouse for those shifts.
Between December 2016 and February 2019, O’Brien personally collected approximately $25,930 for overtime hours he did not work.
To date, over a dozen Boston Police officers have been charged in connection with committing overtime fraud at the Boston Police Department’s evidence warehouse. O’Brien is the seventh officer to be sentenced.
From 2015 through 2019, BPD received annual benefits from the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Justice in excess of $10,000, which were funded pursuant to numerous federal grants.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohan, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Russell W. Cunningham Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
Foreign national sentenced for transporting over 15 kilograms of cocaine from Texas to VirginiaRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Mexican national was sentenced today to four years and four months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
According to court documents, on Nov. 15, 2023, Jesus Alejandro Ibarra-Morales, 30, had crossed into the United States at the Veteran's International Bridge-Los Tomates Port of Entry at Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, using his border crossing card, and driving a Chevrolet Suburban with Mexico license plates. Ibarra-Morales then picked up two car dollies, the axles of which were packed with 15 bricks of cocaine, with a total weight of over 15 kilograms.
Law enforcement agents received information that a shipment of narcotics was being transported from Texas to Richmond, Virginia, and on Nov. 27, 2023, agents learned that the Suburban was near the drop location in Richmond. Agents stopped the vehicle and identified Ibarra-Morales as the driver. A drug detection canine alerted to the presence of illegal controlled substances on the car dollies and a search of the axles resulted in the recovery of the cocaine.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia L. Norman prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-24.
Florida Man Sentenced to More Than Three Years in Prison for Defrauding Biochemical Company and Diverting Products to China Using Falsified Export DocumentsRead the Press Release
A Taiwanese national, Pen Yu, 51, was sentenced today to three years and eight months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $100,000, the proceeds of the wire fraud.
Yu pleaded guilty on May 2. Co-conspirator Gregory Muñoz pleaded guilty on May 9, and co-conspirator Jonathan Thyng pleaded guilty on July 23.
According to court documents, beginning in at least July 2016 and continuing through at least May 2023, Yu ordered biochemical products from MilliporeSigma, a subsidiary of multinational science and technology company Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, with help from Muñoz, a MilliporeSigma salesperson, by falsely representing that Yu was affiliated with a biology research lab at a large Florida university. This fictitious affiliation led MilliporeSigma to provide Yu over $4.9 million worth of discounts and other benefits, such as free overnight shipping, not available to the public. Yu gave Muñoz thousands of dollars in gift cards for facilitating these fraudulent discounted orders. When the products arrived at the university stockroom, a stockroom employee diverted the products to Yu, who repackaged them and shipped them to China. To avoid scrutiny, Yu made false statements about the value and contents of these shipments in export documents.
This scheme continued until MilliporeSigma compliance personnel identified certain orders as suspicious, prompting the company to retain outside counsel who voluntarily disclosed the misconduct to the Department of Justice’s National Security Division only a week later. MilliporeSigma made the disclosure well before its counsel had completed their investigation and understood the full nature and extent of the scheme. MilliporeSigma offered exceptional cooperation to the prosecution team, including by proactively identifying and producing documents to the Department that established probable cause to search residences and electronic devices of culpable individuals. MilliporeSigma’s cooperation allowed investigators to quickly identify the individuals responsible for the scheme, including Yu, Muñoz and Thyng, and secure their felony guilty pleas.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge John Johnson for the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry Security (BIS) Miami Field Office and Colonel Kelly Frushour of the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group.
The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, BIS and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Marcet for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the cases.
Five-Year Sentence for District Man Who Used a Firearm During a Drug Crime While He Was Under Investigation for a StabbingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Darnell Lamont Savoy, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today today to 60 months in prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, which was revealed during the investigation into an October 2022 stabbing. The stabbing occurred while Savoy was on pre-trial release -- over the federal government’s written and oral objections -- in connection with the December 2018 shooting of a 14-year-old boy in Northeast.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Savoy pleaded guilty on April 17, 2024, to use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly. In addition to the five-year prison sentence, Judge Kelly today ordered Savoy to serve four years of supervised release.
Despite the federal government’s written and oral objections, in 2021, Savoy was released from custody while awaiting trial in Superior Court on charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and related offenses stemming from the 2018 shooting.
According to court documents, months later, on October 11, 2022, Savoy allegedly stabbed a person during an argument and fled the scene. Investigators tracked Savoy to the 3900 block of Southern Avenue, SE. On the morning of October 21, 2022, MPD officers and FBI agents executed a search warrant at an apartment unit where Savoy was staying with a woman and a 3-year-old child. During the search, law enforcement found a plastic bag containing 4.55 grams of an off-white powder, a digital scale with white powder residue, a red cut straw with white powder residue, and a two-pack of naloxone. The powder and the residues tested positive for fentanyl.
In a blue jacket that contained Savoy’s ID and credit card, investigators discovered 27 zip baggies with an off-white powder weighing a total of 7.3 grams, 29 blue pills stamped M30, 16 red zip baggies containing an off-white powder weighing nearly 5 grams, and $473 in U.S. currency. The powders tested positive for fentanyl.
In a hall closet, on top of a dryer, officers discovered a loaded, unregistered, semi-automatic Glock 30, loaded with 24 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition. DNA testing linked Savoy to the firearm. The fentanyl recovered during the search warrant was found in a common area of the apartment that the three-year-old had access to, which could have led to the death or serious injury of the child.
On March 29, 2024, Savoy and two co-defendants -- Jamal Matthews and Stefon Freshley -- pleaded guilty in Superior Court to their roles in the December 28, 2018, shooting of a father and son in the Clay Terrace neighborhood. Savoy was driving as Matthews fired 30 shots into an SUV in which the father and son were sitting. The boy was shot nine times, including in the head, abdomen, chest, and back. The father sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and hand. The three men are scheduled to be sentenced for those offenses on August 30.
The federal case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Long and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Stempel. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Hart and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Rasalam.
The shooting of the boy and his father was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberley Nielsen and Sharon Donovan.
23cr0178
Five U.S.-Based Defendants Charged with Money-Laundering Conspiracy That Facilitated Foreign Sextortion SchemeRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced the unsealing of a federal indictment charging five U.S.-based defendants with conspiring to commit money laundering that facilitated the previously announced foreign sextortion scheme resulting in the death of Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old high school student from Marquette, Michigan.
“Every day Americans fall victim to financial scams, including sextortion, romance scams, and consumer fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Senior citizens, children, and teenagers are especially vulnerable. The result of these crimes can be devastating, as the death of Jordan DeMay makes painfully clear. Today’s charges send a loud and clear message that we will chase down everyone who enables these crimes, including the U.S.-based money launderers.”
In November 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan charged three Nigerian nationals in a sextortion scheme that resulted in the death of Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old high school student from Marquette, Michigan, and targeted more than 100 other victims. Two of the three defendants in that case were extradited to the United States in August 2023 and pled guilty in April 2024.
The indictment announced today is a separate-but-related case that charges the following five U.S.-based defendants with a single count of Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering:
- Johnathan Demetrius Green, 32, Stone Mountain, Georgia
- Jarell Daivon Williams, 31, McDonough, Georgia
- Dinsimore Guyton Robinson, 30, Huntsville, Alabama
- Kendall Ormond London, Jr., 32, Lithonia, Georgia
- Brian Keith Coldmon, Jr., 30, Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Money laundering is a federal crime that covers financial transactions involving the proceeds of criminal activity, where the goal is often to conceal the criminal nature of those proceeds. The government alleges that the defendants knowingly agreed to conduct, or attempt to conduct, financial transactions involving the proceeds of a crime, knowing that the transactions were designed to conceal some aspect of the underlying crime. The charge in this case carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
As Samuel and Samson Ogoshi have admitted in their plea agreements, the Nigerian-based sextortionists devised a fraudulent scheme where they pretended to be a young woman in social media accounts and encouraged teenage boys and young men to engage in sexually explicit conduct and produce images of that conduct. Once the victims produced and sent those images, the sextortionists used those images to blackmail their victims for money, threatening to send the images to others, including families, friends, and classmates of the victims. The sextortionists instructed their victims to send money to designated financial accounts through various cash applications.
The indictment in today’s related case alleges that the defendants – the U.S.-based money launderers – controlled these designated financial accounts. They would keep a portion of the victims’ funds – typically 20% – and then convert the rest into bitcoin. The defendants would then send the bitcoin to an unindicted Nigerian co-conspirator, whom they referred to as “The Plug.” The Plug would keep a portion of the bitcoin funds, and send the remainder to Samuel Ogoshi, Samson Ogoshi, Ezekiel Robert, and other sextortionists. The indictment alleges that the U.S.-based defendants laundered at least $178,658 in funds representing the proceeds of the sextortion scheme.
Among these alleged financial transactions conducted by the U.S-based defendants was a transaction that involved an individual identified as “Victim 1” in the indictment. With the permission of his parents, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is sharing that Victim 1 was Jordan DeMay. On March 25, 2022, Jordan DeMay sent $300 through a cash application to Defendant Johnathan Green. Green transferred a portion of those funds into another cash application and purchased bitcoin, which he sent to the Plug. The Plug kept a portion of those funds and sent the remainder to the sextortionists.
FBI arrested the defendants on Thursday, August 1, 2024 and each defendant appeared in federal court yesterday for their initial appearance. We anticipate these defendants will be scheduled for an arraignment in Grand Rapids before Judge Jonker in the coming weeks.
“The five defendants who allegedly conspired to aid Nigerian sextortionists through money laundering participated in the financial manipulation of vulnerable and young victims,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “The FBI continues to spread awareness about financial sextortion and will continue to work with our partners at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria and the U.S. Attorney's Office.”
In the related case, United States v. Samuel Ogoshi et al., the Court is scheduled to sentence Samuel Ogoshi, 22, and Samson Ogoshi, 20, of Lagos, Nigeria at the federal courthouse in Marquette, Michigan, on September 5, 2024. The details of the sentencing, including live access to the audio by Zoom or a video of the proceeding at the federal courthouse in Grand Rapids, are provided in the attached Notice filed by the Court.
The FBI is investigating this case and AUSA Davin Reust is prosecuting it.
The charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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Green Et Al. - IndictmentFinal defendant arrested in 41-person drug trafficking scheme enters guilty pleaRead the Press Release
Seattle – The final defendant of 41 arrested in an extensive drug trafficking investigation, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and unlawfully possessing a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Kendle Rashen Hawkins, 34, of Goodyear, Arizona, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on November 8, 2024. Because of the quantity of drugs involved, Hawkins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
According to records filed in the case, Hawkins was identified as a participant in the drug trafficking ring who brought large quantities of controlled substances—which he concealed in compartments in rental vehicles—from Phoenix to Seattle. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant to track his cell phone and saw the phone traveling from Phoenix to Sacramento and then up Interstate 5 towards Seattle. Using the location data, investigators were able to locate Hawkins as he came into Washington State as a passenger in a car he rented. Agents had the car stopped for speeding in Lewis County. After a drug detection dog alerted to the presence of drugs in the car, agents obtained a warrant to search it. Inside the vehicle, they found about 50,000 fentanyl pills weighing more than 4.8 kilograms, five firearms, two silencers, and a high-capacity drum magazine. Each of the firearms was purchased in Arizona within the previous two weeks by a man later prosecuted in Arizona for dealing firearms without a license.
The arrest of Hawkins came midway through a larger investigation into drug trafficking in the Seattle region. This joint investigation by the FBI and the Seattle Police Department resulted in charges against 41 individuals, most of whom were arrested in a takedown in April 2021 or another in June 2021.
Over more than two years of the investigation, law enforcement seized 121 firearms, including stolen firearms and ghost guns; more than 16 kilograms of cocaine; more than 5.5 kilograms of fentanyl; nearly 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine; and smaller quantities of heroin, MDMA, oxycodone, and other pills. Investigators also seized hundreds of marijuana plants from an illegal grow operation and hundreds of kilograms of marijuana that were being illegally processed and distributed.
In addition to the drugs, investigators seized nearly $1 million in cash that was proceeds from drug trafficking, a pill press used for manufacturing counterfeit pills, dozens of firearm magazines, and innumerable rounds of ammunition, and six sets of body armor.
The sentences for those indicted in this case range from time served to more than eight years in prison.
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 www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The investigation was led by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force with key participation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Seattle Police Gang and Narcotics Units, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin H. Becker and Lyndsie Schmalz.
Felon Sentenced to 63 Months for Illegally Possessing AmmunitionRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Derbie Michel, age 33, formerly of Troy, New York, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for illegally possessing ammunition as a convicted felon.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
In previously pleading guilty, Michel, who has three prior felony convictions, admitted that he possessed five rounds of ammunition on October 15, 2022. According to court documents filed by the Government, Michel threw these rounds of ammunition from a car while fleeing from members of the Troy Police Department on October 15, 2022. He also threw a privately made firearm, or “ghost gun,” from the car during the same pursuit.
In imposing the sentence, Senior United States District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. found that Michel recklessly endangered others by instructing the driver of the car to engage in the car chase and later obstructed justice by making materially false statements about that conduct in connection with his sentencing. Judge Scullin also ordered Michel to serve a 3-year term of supervised release upon Michel’s release from prison.
The FBI’s Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes FBI Special Agents and members of state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Troy Police Department, investigated the case. The U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua R. Rosenthal and Allen J. Vickey prosecuted the case.
Federal Court Permanently Prohibits Ohio Physician from Prescribing Opioids and Imposes $4.7M Judgment for Alleged Unlawful Opioid DistributionRead the Press Release
A federal court prohibited a Sandusky, Ohio-area physician from prescribing opioids and other controlled substances and ordered him to pay $4.7 million in a case alleging violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).
In a civil complaint filed in August 2018, the United States alleged that Dr. Gregory Gerber, MD, who operated an office in Sandusky, unlawfully issued prescriptions without a legitimate medical basis for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the CSA and the FCA. The complaint alleged that one patient died from an overdose of fentanyl patches prescribed by Gerber. The complaint further alleged that Gerber received kickback payments from a drug manufacturer as part of a scheme to unlawfully prescribe Subsys, a powerful opioid drug containing fentanyl, in violation of the FCA.
“Medical professionals who knowingly facilitate the abuse of opioids violate their legal obligations,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will pursue justice against anyone who seeks to profit from unlawfully prescribing opioids.”
“All doctors must follow the law when prescribing opioids — their patients, and the public more generally, rely on such compliance,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “Gerber’s patients trusted him. But instead of safeguarding that trust, Gerber accepted payments from a drug company in exchange for prescribing dangerous, addictive drugs and wrote thousands of prescriptions that were not for a legitimate medical purpose. Our office will use all available tools — civil and criminal — to fight the opioid epidemic and protect patients and their families so that doctors like Gerber do not profit from abusing our healthcare system.”
“Dr. Gerber betrayed the trust placed in him and willfully violated his oath to protect the public and the provisions of the Controlled Substance Act,” said Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)'s Detroit Field Division. “His reckless behavior contributed to the opioid crisis gripping the nation and brought suffering to many communities in northern Ohio. This ruling will hopefully deter other medical practitioners who are inclined to put profit over patient health and safety.”
“Health care professionals who exploit opioid addiction for financial gain do so at the risk of endangering their patients and undermining critical public health efforts to address the opioid epidemic,” said Deputy Inspector General Christian J. Schrank of Investigations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to work to ensure that bad actors are held accountable for such schemes in order to protect both patients and taxpayers.”
“Ignoring the law by distributing prescriptions to opioids for illicit profit harms the communities that physicians are meant to help,” said Executive Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch. “The FBI is glad that Gerber will not be able to prescribe controlled substances ever again.”
Gerber agreed to a consent judgment to settle the allegations in the complaint. The order entered by the court permanently prohibits Gerber from prescribing opioids or other controlled substances, permanently prohibits him from managing, owning or controlling any entity that dispenses controlled substances and requires Gerber to pay approximately $4.7 million under the FCA. Gerber was also sentenced in March to 42 months in prison and one year of home confinement in a related criminal case brought by the United States Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick entered the judgment and permanent injunction in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. In August 2018, Judge Helmick issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting Gerber from prescribing opioids or other controlled substances.
The DEA, FBI, HHS-OIG, Ohio Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy and State Medical Board of Ohio investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia Fitzgerald and Angelita Cruz Bridges for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Scott B. Dahlquist of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch handled the case.
The claims made in the complaint are allegations that the United States would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence if the case proceeded to trial.
Consent DecreeFederal Court Permanently Prohibits Ohio Physician from Prescribing Opioids and Imposes $4.7M Judgment for Alleged Unlawful Opioid DistributionRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – A federal court prohibited a Sandusky, Ohio-area physician from prescribing opioids and other controlled substances and ordered him to pay $4.7 million in a case alleging violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).
In a civil complaint filed in August 2018, the United States alleged that Gregory Gerber, MD, age 59, of Port Clinton, Ohio, who operated an office in Sandusky, unlawfully issued prescriptions without a legitimate medical basis for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the CSA and the FCA. The complaint alleged that one patient died from an overdose of fentanyl patches prescribed by Gerber. The complaint further alleged that Gerber received kickback payments from a drug manufacturer as part of a scheme to unlawfully prescribe Subsys, a powerful opioid drug containing fentanyl, in violation of the FCA.
“Medical professionals who knowingly facilitate the abuse of opioids violate their legal obligations,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will pursue justice against anyone who seeks to profit from unlawfully prescribing opioids.”
“All doctors must follow the law when prescribing opioids — their patients, and the public more generally, rely on such compliance,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “Gerber’s patients trusted him. But instead of safeguarding that trust, Gerber accepted payments from a drug company in exchange for prescribing dangerous, addictive drugs and wrote thousands of prescriptions that were not for a legitimate medical purpose. Our office will use all available tools — civil and criminal — to fight the opioid epidemic and protect patients and their families so that doctors like Gerber do not profit from abusing our healthcare system.”
“Dr. Gerber betrayed the trust placed in him and willfully violated his oath to protect the public and the provisions of the Controlled Substance Act,” said Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s Detroit Field Division. “His reckless behavior contributed to the opioid crisis gripping the nation and brought suffering to many communities in northern Ohio. This ruling will hopefully deter other medical practitioners who are inclined to put profit over patient health and safety.”
“Health care professionals who exploit opioid addiction for financial gain do so at the risk of endangering their patients and undermining critical public health efforts to address the opioid epidemic,” said Deputy Inspector General Christian J. Schrank of Investigations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to work to ensure that bad actors are held accountable for such schemes in order to protect both patients and taxpayers.”
“Ignoring the law by distributing prescriptions to opioids for illicit profit harms the communities that physicians are meant to help,” said Executive Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch. “The FBI is glad that Gerber will not be able to prescribe controlled substances ever again.”
Gerber agreed to a consent judgment to settle the allegations in the complaint. The order entered by the court permanently prohibits Gerber from prescribing opioids or other controlled substances, permanently prohibits him from managing, owning or controlling any entity that dispenses controlled substances and requires Gerber to pay approximately $4.7 million under the FCA. Gerber was also sentenced in March to 42 months in prison and one year of home confinement in a related criminal case brought by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick entered the judgment and permanent injunction in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. In August 2018, Judge Helmick issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting Gerber from prescribing opioids or other controlled substances.
The DEA, FBI, HHS-OIG, Ohio Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy and State Medical Board of Ohio investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia Fitzgerald and Angelita Cruz Bridges for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Scott B. Dahlquist of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch handled the case.
The claims made in the complaint are allegations that the United States would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence if the case proceeded to trial.
View Consent Decree
Fayetteville Crip Gangster Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Fayetteville Crip gang member was sentenced to 77 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a felon after being found with several guns. On November 29, 2023, Demarco McLucas, age 22, pled guilty to the charge.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, on February 22, 2023, detectives with the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD) located McLucas at a Fayetteville residence to serve an outstanding warrant. When they arrived, they found McLucas in the residence and a subsequent search of the property resulted in the seizure of a stolen, loaded, .40 caliber handgun with a high-capacity magazine, two other loaded, high-capacity magazines, additional ammunition, marijuana, cocaine, and drug packaging material. They also found photos and videos of McLucas holding several guns, including an AR-15 style rifle with a high-capacity magazine and other firearms with suspected machine gun conversion devices. A handgun in his possession was linked by NIBIN testing to shell casings found at several shooting crime scenes in the Fayetteville area.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Fayetteville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Stephany and Jermaine Sellers prosecuted the case.
The conviction is a result of the ongoing Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) initiative which is a collaborative effort with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, working with the community, to identify and address the most significant drivers of violent crime. VCAP involves focused and strategic enforcement, and interagency coordination and intelligence-led policing.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-CR-206-BO-RJ-1.
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Dothan Man Sentenced to 120 Months in Federal Prison Following Federal Gun ConvictionRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama – Today, United States Attorney Jonathan S. Ross announced that Tarrence Lee Wright, 33, from Dothan, Alabama, received a sentence of 120 months in prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. There is no parole in the federal system. The sentencing occurred on July 31, 2024.
According to the federal indictment and other court records, on July 24, 2023, law enforcement conducted a welfare check at a Dothan residence. No one responded when the officers initially knocked on the door. Eventually, law enforcement found Wright inside the home. Wright had a handgun with him. Wright has a previous felony conviction and is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Officers also witnessed signs of potential domestic violence against a female victim.
The Dothan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case, which Assistant United States Attorneys Joel H. Feil and Justin L. Jones prosecuted.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Kades Statement After Airline Group IAG Abandons Acquisition of Air EuropaRead the Press Release
The Justice Department issued the following statement from Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Kades of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division after International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (IAG) announced that it would abandon its proposed acquisition of sole control of Air Europa Holding S.L. (Air Europa):
“The Antitrust Division is committed to protecting competition in the airlines industry. As a result of this abandonment, travelers between the United States and Europe will benefit from an industry rivalry that lowers prices, boosts quality and promotes choice. I am grateful to our enforcement partner, the European Commission, for its close and constructive collaboration with our staff on this important matter to safeguard competition.”
IAG, headquartered in the United Kingdom, is the parent company of Iberian, Vueling and British Airways, among other air carriers. Air Europa is headquartered in Spain.
Cincinnati Man Sentenced for Role in Conspiracy to Sell Machine GunsRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, Ky. – A Cincinnati man, Isaiah M. Smith, 24, was sentenced on Friday, by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, to 72 months in prison, for possession and transfer of a machine gun.
In pleading guilty, Smith admitted to collaborating with Demarco Sturgeon and Denico Hudson to possess and transfer numerous machine gun conversion devices. Smith also admitted to manufacturing the plastic conversion devices in Ohio, and to selling many of them to Sturgeon in Kentucky. Sturgeon then sold the bulk of them to Hudson, who would pay for them with money and drugs, and the two of them distributed the devices to members of two violent gangs in Cincinnati. Members of these gangs were connected to drug trafficking and numerous shootings.
Smith further admitted to distributing over 25 machine gun conversion devices, from 2022 to 2023. Specifically, on April 4, 2023, law enforcement conducted a search of Smith’s residence and seized a machine gun conversion device, as well as a loaded handgun. Smith confirmed that he had manufactured and distributed over 80 machine gun conversion devices and assisted agents in seizing the printers and computers he used to make them.
Sturgeon was previously sentenced to 130 months and five years of supervised release; Hudson was sentenced to 108 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
“Machine gun conversion devices are incredibly dangerous, and an acute threat to the safety of our communities,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Worse yet, they are more prevalent than ever. By themselves, these devices are illegal machine guns; and when used, they are capable of rapid and appalling damage. We simply must do everything we can to combat this alarming trend, prioritize the effort to eliminate these devices, and prosecute those who illegally make, possess, and sell them.”
“Machine gun conversion devices are a significant threat to our communities. Law enforcement in Kentucky and across the United States are encountering them with alarming frequency,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Shawn Morrow of the Louisville Division. “These conversion devices, which can fire hundreds of rounds of ammunition a minute, are illegal and incredibly dangerous, especially in the hands of gang members and drug dealers. ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prioritize these investigations with our local partners to shutdown supply channels and keep these deadly devices off our streets.”
Under federal law, Smith and his co-defendants must serve 85 percent of their prison sentences. Upon his release from prison, Smith will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office three years.
U.S. Attorney Shier; SAC Morrow; Director Scott Hardcorn, Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force; and Chief Teresa Theetge, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by ATF, Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, and Cincinnati Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
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Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing FentanylRead the Press Release
A man who distributed fentanyl in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was sentenced today to more than eight years in federal prison.
Colby Joseph Manley, age 26, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 8, 2024 guilty plea to four counts of distribution and aiding and abetting the distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of distribution of a controlled substance.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that, in April 2022, Manley distributed an amount of fentanyl to another person, which caused the person to suffer an overdose and die. Following the overdose, on six separate occasions between December 2022 and February 2023, under cover law enforcement officers purchased pills containing fentanyl from Manley.
Manley was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Manley was sentenced to 98 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Manley is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Johnson County Drug Task Force and the Cedar Rapids Police Department. The Johnson County Drug Task Force consists of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa
City Police Department, the Coralville Police Department, the North Liberty Police Department, the University of Iowa Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-41.
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Casper man receives 200 months in prison for multiple drug and firearm offenses, including possession of a machinegunRead the Press Release
Albert Rueben Gaines, 31, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced to 200 months’ imprisonment for felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a machinegun.
According to court documents, in January 2023, DCI agents began receiving information that Gaines was involved in the use and distribution of controlled substances throughout the state of Wyoming. In June of 2023, several incidents occurred that led to the arrest of Gaines and the seizure of 11 guns, multiple rounds and calibers of ammunition and magazines, approximately 50 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 62 grams (600 pills) of fentanyl, and approximately $11,000 in cash. Amongst the 11 seized firearms, law enforcement seized a Glock, model 17 that had been modified with a Glock switch conversion device. The Glock switch converted the semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic machine gun.
Gaines was indicted on July 19, 2023 and pleaded guilty on April 14. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence on July 31. This crime was investigated by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and the Casper Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Timothy J. Forwood.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office takes the illegal possession of firearms very seriously. Tracking down the sale, use, and possession of machine gun conversion devices is one of our top priorities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Eric Heimann. “Possession of these extremely dangerous devices is against federal law and our office will continue to vigorously prosecute these violations.”
“I would like to recognize the outstanding work and continued cooperative relationship between our office, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the Casper Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Brad Reinhart, V41 Special Agent/Team Leader, Central Enforcement Team, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
“Gaines, a previously convicted felon, was found in possession of multiple firearms, including stolen ones, firearm parts, and a machine gun,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Brent Beavers. “While armed he was also trafficking meth and fentanyl into the Casper community. This violent criminal will now serve more than 16 years in federal prison due to the incredible collaborative work of the Casper Police Department, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, and the ATF Cheyenne Field Office.”
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. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN
California Man Sentenced to 188 Months for Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa –A California man was sentenced on July 30, 2024, to 188 months in federal prison for Conspiracy to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine and Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, between October 2020 and July 2022, Jose Antonio Reyes, 35, conspired with others to send large amounts of methamphetamine from California to Muscatine, Iowa for distribution. Reyes mailed two packages containing pound quantities of methamphetamine to co-conspirators in Muscatine.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Reyes will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Inspection Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Muscatine County Drug Task Force.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute 113 Grams of FentanylRead the Press Release
Gulfport, MS – A Compton, California man pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 113 grams of fentanyl.
According to court documents, Jayma Nettles, 46, was identified as being a member of a drug-trafficking organization in California that was sending packages of narcotics to Mississippi dating back to 2019. The overall investigation yielded 5,766 grams of pure methamphetamine, 236 grams of fentanyl, 84.2 grams of cocaine, and 7.8 kilograms of marijuana that were shipped to the Gulf Coast. Jayma Nettles was responsible for sending 113 grams of fentanyl to the Coast in October of 2022.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. The DEA reports that two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, and one kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people. More facts on fentanyl can be found at https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl and https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl.
Nettles pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 20, 2024, and faces up to 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (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 that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Assistant Special Agent in Anessa Daniels-McCaw of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose is prosecuting the case.
Burlington Man Sentenced to 150 Months for Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa –A Burlington man was sentenced on July 30, 2024, to 150 months in federal prison for Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, between October 2022 and October 2023, Michael Bernard Hicks Jr., 27, distributed over three kilograms of methamphetamine in the southeast Iowa area to confidential informants and undercover officers. All of Hicks’ distributions of methamphetamine were carried out while he was on probation for a state of Iowa conviction for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Hicks will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force and Iowa Department of Safety Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Billings man sentenced on firearms crime after armed patrols on sidewalk in an elementary school zoneRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Billings man who conducted armed patrols on the sidewalk in his neighborhood, which is across the street from a public elementary school and in a school zone, was sentenced today to three years of probation for a firearms conviction, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Gabriel Cowan Metcalf, 50, pleaded guilty in March to unlawful possession of a firearm in a school zone, as charged in an indictment.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
In a plea agreement, the parties jointly recommended that a probationary sentence was appropriate.
“Almost one year ago, just as the school year was scheduled to begin, Broadwater Elementary School was busy taking proactive measures to protect kids from Metcalf and so were our law enforcement partners. Despite multiple attempts to explain to Metcalf that he was in violation of federal law, he continued his habit of armed patrols around his neighborhood and in a school zone. As we prepare for another year of school, the parents and children of Billings schools should know we will do whatever it takes to keep kids safe, as shown by our actions in this case,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.
The government alleged in court documents that in August 2023, multiple individuals observed Metcalf walking in the vicinity of Broadwater Elementary School while carrying a firearm. Metcalf was observed in multiple public areas, including walking down the sidewalk, crossing the street, and walking down a city alley, all within 1,000 feet of the elementary school. Metcalf’s residence is on Broadwater Avenue and is directly across the street from the school.
On Aug. 17, 2023, law enforcement officers spoke to Metcalf, who admitted to following cars while carrying a firearm, walking to the nearby business and escorting his mother down the street to her shop while carrying a firearm. Metcalf further told officers he patrolled daily and usually went around the block once or twice a week, but that lately he had done it several times a day. On Aug. 22, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Metcalf’s residence and seized a 20-gauge shotgun and six rounds of ammunition. The shotgun was the firearm Metcalf described as using to patrol.
Metcalf’s conduct prompted the school to lock down, put up tarping, erect a temporary fence, change where children walked and request increased police presence. When confronted with information that he was scaring parents and school authorities, Metcalf would not stop.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Billings Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.
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.
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Bethlehem Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography and Related OffensesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Harold Daleus, Jr., 49, of Bethlehem, PA, was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release by United States District Judge John M. Gallagher for production of child pornography and related offenses.
For years, Daleus wired money to the Philippines, in exchange for live access to the sexual abuse of children. Daleus paid Filipino child sex traffickers over $24,000, in order to view the live transmissions of children being sexually abused at his direction.
In December 2022, Homeland Security Investigations seized Daleus’ electronic devices from his home and identified dozens of videos and images depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of prepubescent children. The defendant was indicted in August 2023 and subsequently pleaded guilty to production of child pornography, the use of the internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
Homeland Security Investigations worked with law enforcement in the Philippines to secure convictions abroad of the involved child sex traffickers.
“Harold Daleus paid for the ongoing sexual abuse of numerous children, providing explicit instructions for the vile acts that he wanted to watch in real time,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Whether they’re here at home or half a world away, we must protect our vulnerable young kids from exploitation by predators and traffickers. This sentence ensures accountability for Daleus and some measure of justice for those he victimized.”
“HSI’s global reach, cybercrime expertise and dedication to protecting children in the U.S. and abroad has enabled us to bring this dangerous predator to justice,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia Nathan R. Abel. “Our partnership with the tremendous prosecutors of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania continues to produce results for the American public and protect innocent children around the world.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Allentown Resident Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Priya T. De Souza and Tatum Wilson.
Belknap County Fugitive Anthony Clark Arrested in South BostonRead the Press Release
CONCORD – An inmate of the Belknap County jail who fled from a hospital where he was receiving medical treatment was arrested by the U.S. Marshals this morning in South Boston, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Anthony Clark, 41, was charged by complaint on August 1, 2024, with one count of violating the Fugitive Felon Act. Clark was arrested in South Boston this morning and will appear in federal court in Concord at noon today.
According to the charging documents, Clark was an inmate at the Belknap County jail on pretrial detention. He was facing trial on state charges, including assault, domestic violence, strangulation, witness tampering, and violating a protective order. In July 2024, he was released on conditions to the Concord Hospital in Laconia, New Hampshire, for medical procedures. Clark had an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor his location.
At approximately 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 28, the Laconia Police Department received a call from a concerned citizen who found an ankle bracelet on High Street near the Concord Hospital. Law enforcement confirmed that the bracelet belonged to Clark. Footage from Concord Hospital confirmed that Clark fled the area of the hospital at around 1 a.m. that day. When the ankle bracelet was removed from Clark there was a tamper alert, but it had gone undetected.
The U.S. Marshals arrested Clark. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case.
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Beckley Man Sentenced to Prison for Fentanyl CrimeRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Derrick Lee Hodge, 35, of Beckley, was sentenced today to two years and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of fentanyl.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 1, 2023, Hodge sold a controlled substance containing fentanyl to a confidential informant at a Beckley hotel where Hodge was staying. Hodge admitted to the transaction and further admitted to selling controlled substances containing fentanyl to a confidential informant on January 26 and January 31, 2023, in Beckley.
On February 2, 2023, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hodge’s Beckley hotel room. Officers seized a small bag containing cocaine, a set of digital scales with purple residue, plastic bags, $347 and a Ruger Model EC9S 9mm semi-automatic handgun during the search. Hodge admitted that he was distributing drugs out of the hotel room and possessed the seized firearm.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit. The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit consists of officers from the West Virginia State Police, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, and the Beckley Police Department.
United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Isabell prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-cr-139.
Attorney Pleads Guilty to Attempted Bombing Near the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Christopher Rodriguez, 45, of Panama City, Fla., pleaded guilty today to a three-count superseding information charging him in the September 2023 attempted bombing outside the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington, D.C., and a November 2022 bombing of a sculpture depicting communist leaders Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong in San Antonio, Tex.
The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves of the District of Columbia and Special Agent in Charge Craig B. Kailimai of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington Field Division.
Rodriguez, a licensed Florida attorney, pleaded guilty today to damaging property occupied by a foreign government, explosive materials—malicious damage to federal property, and receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm (destructive device).
According to court documents, on September 23-24, 2023, Rodriguez drove from his home in Panama City, Fla., to Northern Virginia with a rifle and 15 pounds of explosive material. En route, he stopped in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville, Va., to buy a black backpack, nitrile gloves, and a burner cell phone. On September 24, he parked his car in Arlington, Va., and used the burner phone to arrange for a taxi to drive him to within a few blocks of the Chinese Embassy. Sometime between midnight and 3:00 a.m. near the back wall of the Embassy in Northwest Washington, Rodriguez placed the black backpack filled with explosives next to a streetlight. Rodriguez then attempted to detonate the explosives by shooting at the backpack with a rifle. Rodriguez missed his target, and the device failed to detonate. Law enforcement officers later recovered the backpack containing explosive material, three shell casings, and bullet fragmentations from the ground along the outer perimeter wall of the Chinese Embassy. Impact marks were found on the Embassy wall near the bullet fragments behind the backpack.
Also according to court documents, DNA obtained from the black backpack was found to be consistent with DNA evidence obtained from a previous arrest of Rodriguez in June 2021 in California. During the California incident, Rodriguez possessed three firearms and apparent explosive material consistent with the explosives used during the Chinese Embassy attack. DNA evidence obtained from Rodriguez pursuant to a buccal swab warrant later confirmed this DNA match.
Between November 5 and 7, 2022, according to court documents, Rodriguez rented a vehicle in Pensacola, Fla., and drove to San Antonio, Tex. At approximately 2:25 a.m. on November 7, Rodriguez scaled an eight-foot fence to enter a courtyard on the 300 block of West Commerce Street, San Antonio. Inside the courtyard, he placed two canisters of explosive materials at the base of a satirical steel sculpture titled “Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin’s Head.” At about 2:30 a.m. on November 7, Rodriguez used a rifle to shoot at the canisters at the base of the statue, causing an explosion that caused significant damage to the Miss Mao sculpture.
The ATF arrested Rodriguez on November 4, 2023, in Lafayette, La. He has been held since that date.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Washington Field Division. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Florida, the Western District of Louisiana, and the Western District of Texas; the ATF’s Tampa, New Orleans, and Houston Field Divisions; the FBI’s Washington and San Antonio Field Offices; the San Antonio Field Office of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Secret Service, Uniformed Division and Foreign Missions Detective Unit; the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security; and the Metropolitan Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jolie F. Zimmerman and Stuart D. Allen. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maeghan Mikorski and Kelly Stephenson and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McCarthy.
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Arkansas Man Found Guilty of Conspiracy to Distribute More than 400 Grams of FentanylRead the Press Release
FAYETTEVILLE – A federal jury convicted a Newport, Arkansas man yesterday of Conspiracy to Distribute more than 400 grams of a Mixture or Substance Containing Fentanyl.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) initiated an investigation into a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing fentanyl pills in Fayetteville, Arkansas from May to June 2023. The investigation identified Claude Dukes, Jr., age 42, of Newport, Arkansas, as the source of supply for fentanyl being distributed by co-conspirator, Justin Alexander Ellis, age 36, of Fayetteville. The pills distributed by this group contained fentanyl made or pressed to look like M-30 Oxycontin prescription pills. Dukes was found to be responsible for over 400 grams of fentanyl distributed in the conspiracy through his own conduct and the conduct of co-conspirators.
Duke is scheduled to be sentenced on a later date. Conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl is punishable by a minimum term of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum of life. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Justin Ellis pleaded guilty to Distribution of Fentanyl on February 28, 2024, and is awaiting a sentencing date. Distribution of Fentanyl is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case and were assisted by the following agencies: Benton County Drug Unit, Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Rogers Police Department, Bentonville Police Department, Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Arkansas Department of Corrections Division of Community Corrections, and the Newport, Arkansas Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sydney Stanley, Kevin Eaton, and Dustin Roberts prosecuted 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.
Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov.
Argyle Fire Chief sentenced to prison for federal violations, ordered to pay over half-million in restitutionRead the Press Release
PLANO, Texas – The former Argyle Fire Chief has been sentenced for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Troy Mac Hohenberger, 65, pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges related to misuse and theft of funds from the Argyle Fire District, Inc. operating account, along with making false statements to the Department of Labor and was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III on August 1, 2024. He was also ordered to pay $509,807.50 in restitution to the Argyle Fire District, Inc., and to forfeit $28,048.34.
According to information presented in court, Hohenberger stole money from the operating account of the Argyle Fire District, Inc., (which received federal funds in the form of Medicare reimbursements) and used over $490,000 of those funds to pay personal credit card bills. Those personal credit card expenses included cash advances at casinos, payments related to a family member’s business in Hawaii, and other personal uses. The evidence also showed that Hohenberger failed to fund firefighter retirement accounts in the time required by federal regulations, embezzled or stole the funds, and made false statements related to the ERISA-qualified firefighter retirement plan on a form submitted to the Department of Labor. Hohenberger was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2022.
“Today’s sentence sends a message that my office takes seriously crimes related to the misuse, theft, and embezzlement of retirement- and pension-plan assets, particularly when such offenses are committed by fiduciaries, like the defendant, who are charged with protecting the assets of employee benefit plans,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. “Because the defendant chose personal gain over his fiduciary responsibilities, he will now spend significant time in prison. We appreciate the diligence and partnership of the FBI and the Department of Labor in investigating these offenses and bringing the evidence of these crimes to light.”
“Financial fraud is not a victimless crime. The defendant didn't just embezzle federal funds. He took money that was meant to fund the retirement accounts of his colleagues and selfishly spent it on himself,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough. “Thank you to our partners at the Department of Labor and the U.S. Attorney's Office for helping us hold this individual accountable for his crimes.”
Deborah Perry, Dallas Regional Director of the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration said, " I hope this sends a clear message to all who sponsor or transact business with employee benefit plans that the federal government will aggressively pursue those who commit crimes against employees and retirees of private-sector pension and health plans."
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Department of Labor – EBSA.
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Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy Commemorates the Two-Year Anniversary of the Human Trafficking and Civil Rights UnitRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two years ago today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts formally announced the creation of the Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Unit (HTCRU). This specialized team – comprised of federal prosecutors, victim witness specialists and support personnel – is dedicated to protecting human rights and holding perpetrators of human trafficking accountable.
Since its establishment, HTCRU has become a leader within the Department of Justice in terms of prosecuting individuals who engage in human trafficking.
“Today marks the two-year anniversary of the HTCRU, a unit that, I am sorry to say, has been a huge success because it has revealed how serious and widespread a problem human trafficking is in our communities. Commercial sexual exploitation of children and vulnerable adults has no place in the District of Massachusetts. The dedicated team in this unit has worked tirelessly to eradicate these harms and atrocities while also tackling allegations of excessive police force, hate crimes, and labor trafficking," said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Our office is determined to hold traffickers liable for their deplorable crimes.”
Over the last two years, in close collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement partners, our Office has prosecuted over 20 cases with numerous defendants. For example, in U.S. v. Stavros Papantoniadis, the defendant was convicted at trial for forced labor charges. He was found guilty of forcing or attempting to force six victims to work for him while physically and mentally abusing them. The defendant also targeted immigrants who he could exploit due to their vulnerability. Additionally, Jimall Brown, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release after being convicted of sex trafficking a minor and two adults, while collecting all of the proceeds for himself and others.
This Unit has targeted not just traffickers but also the purchasers of sex who fuel the demand for exploited victims of sex trafficking. Our office has charged sex buyers federally where possible, such as in our recent prosecutions of US v. David Cannon / US v. Misael Medina / US v. Dmitri McKenzie, all for attempting to purchase sex with minors. In cases where there is not federal jurisdiction, we have worked to make state referrals to ensure that these sex buyers are held accountable.
The HTCRU coordinates trainings, including survivor-led trainings to identify trends in the community while learning how the office can improve work with victims. Labor trafficking training has been provided to both federal employees and state inspectors to recognize key indicators of exploitation. This team also works with local and state law enforcement agencies, as well as non-government organizations, to hold predators accountable and protect survivors’ rights.
If you or someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, please call your local police department or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or contact [email protected].
60 Year Prison Term for Man Who Shot and Killed a Man in Northeast D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Eric Davis, 61, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 60 years in prison for the July 2021 shooting of Theodore “Bino” Riley in the Kingman Park neighborhood. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
A Superior Court jury found Davis guilty of first-degree murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence or dangerous offense on May 2, 2024, before the Honorable Michael O’Keefe.
According to evidence presented during the trial, on July 19, 2021, at around 7:33 p.m., Davis was captured on surveillance walking with the victim, Theodore Riley, to an alley adjacent to 1608 Gales Street Northeast. Once in the alley, Davis shot Mr. Riley once in the head. The defendant then quickly walked out of the south end of the alley and fled while attempting to change his outward appearance by putting on a long-sleeved shirt over the short-sleeved shirt he had been wearing. Mr. Riley was found in the alley face-down with a single .45 caliber casing at his feet. Davis was arrested on September 22, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted and tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen Gibbons and Saman Danai of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Thursday 1 August 2024
법무부 장애인 유권자들의 접근성을 향상하기 위해 로스앤젤레스 카운티와 역사적 협정 체결Read the Press Release
법무부는 해당 카운티가 장애인이 접근할 수 있는 시설을 투표 장소로 선정하고 사용하지 않음으로써 장애인 유권자의 동등한 투표 프로그램, 서비스 및 활동에 참여할 기회를 거부하여 미국 장애인법(Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA)을 위반했다는 혐의로 제기된 소송을 해결하기 위한 목적으로 로스앤젤레스 카운티와 역사적인 합의에 도달했음을 오늘 발표했습니다.
“장애인은 투표 제도에 온전히 참여할 권리를 가집니다.” 법무부 민권부의 Kristen Clarke 법무차관이 말했습니다. “법무부는 장애인 유권자를 포함하여 모든 적격 유권자가 선거 과정에 참여할 권리를 보호하기 위해 노력하고 있습니다. 이 협정은 지금 전국의 공무원들을 대상으로 투표 과정상 접근성 보장의 필요성과 관련한 메시지를 전달해야 합니다.”
“투표권은 민주주의에 필수적이며 모든 유권자의 권리를 보호해야 합니다.” 캘리포니아 중부 지구의 Martin Estrada 검사가 말했습니다. “장애인 유권자는 이웃, 친구와 함께 직접, 비공개로 그리고 독립적으로 투표할 동등한 기회를 누릴 자격이 있습니다. 우리는 법무부와 협력하여 장애를 가진 각 개인의 동등한 접근성을 보장하려는 로스앤젤레스 카운티의 노력을 칭찬하고자 합니다.”
이 소송은 2023년 6월, 장기간의 조사에 의해 해당 카운티가 지역 내 직접 투표 프로그램 참여에서 장애인들을 배제한 것으로 밝혀짐에 따라 제기되었습니다. 미국 캘리포니아 중부 지구 검찰청은 2016년 6월, 2020년 3월, 2020년 11월, 2022년 11월 선거에서 수백 곳의 투표소를 조사했으며 그중 대부분이 가파른 경사로, 도로와 입구 출입문 사이의 갑작스러운 높이 변화, 접근 가능한 주차 공간의 부족 등 건축상의 장애물을 보유하고 있는 것으로 드러났습니다. 이러한 장애물은 이동 및 시야가 제한된 장애인이 투표 센터에 안전하게 접근하여 직접 투표하는 데 방해가 됩니다. 이 소송에서는 특정 투표 센터에 길가 투표의 가능 여부를 알리는 표지판이 없거나, 유권자가 길가 투표에 도움을 받고자 선거 직원에게 연락할 수 있는 충분한 수단을 제공하지 못하여 해당 카운티의 길가 투표 프로그램의 접근성이 충분치 못했음을 주장하기도 했습니다.
오늘 이른 시간에 제출된 합의서는 장애인 유권자의 접근성을 높일 것입니다. 이 합의에 의해 로스앤젤레스 카운티는 3년간 장소 선정 정책 및 절차 수립에 대해 독립적인 접근성 전문가와 협력하여, 해당 카운티가 임시 개선 조치를 통해 접근성 있거나 접근성을 향상할 수 있는 투표 센터 장소를 선택할 수 있도록 할 것입니다. 해당 카운티에서는 전문가 및 부서와 협력하여 전문가의 권장 사항을 시행하기로 합의했습니다. 전문가는 연 2회 카운티와 부서에 보고서를 제출할 것입니다.
로스앤젤레스 카운티는 500개 이상의 지역구와 약 430만 명의 등록 유권자를 보유한 국내 최대의 선거 관할구입니다.
로스앤젤레스 카운티 조사는 법무부의 ADA 투표 이니셔티브의 일환으로, 이는 전국 장애인의 투표권을 보호하는 데 중점을 두고 있습니다. 투표 및 선거에 관한 더 자세한 정보는 법무부 웹사이트, www.justice.gov/voting에서 확인하실 수 있습니다. 민권부에 관한 더 자세한 정보는 www.justice.gov/crt를 방문하시기 바랍니다. ADA에 관한 더 자세한 정보는 법무부의 무료 ADA 정보 전화, 1-800-514-0301로 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) 전화하거나 www.ada.gov를 방문하시기 바랍니다. 장애로 인한 차별을 받으신 경우, www.civilrights.justice.gov에서 보고서를 제출해 주시기 바랍니다. 차관 및 민권 섹션 부장 Richard Park와 캘리포니아 중부 지구 차관 Katherine Hikida, Matthew Barragan, Margaret Chen, Alexandra Young이 법무부 민권부의 장애 권리 섹션과 협력하여 이 문제를 처리했습니다.
지난달은 1990년 7월 26일 George H.W. Bush 대통령이 법률에 서명한 ADA의 34주년이 되는 달이었습니다. ADA는 장애인을 위한 세계 최초의 종합 민권법이었습니다. ADA의 34주년을 기념하면서 우리는 ADA의 유용성을 인정하는 시간을 가지는 동시에 장애인을 위한 형평성, 포용성, 접근성이라는 지속적 목표를 달성하기 위해 아직 해야 할 일이 남아 있다는 사실을 인식합니다.
司法部與洛杉磯縣簽訂歷史性協議，提升身心障礙選民的投票便利性Read the Press Release
司法部今日宣佈，已與洛杉磯縣達成一項具有里程碑意義的協定，旨在解決針對洛杉磯縣提起的訴訟。該訴訟指控洛杉磯縣違反了《美國身心障礙者法案》(Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA)，未能選擇和使用身心障礙者可進入的設施作為投票站，剝奪了身心障礙選民平等參與洛杉磯縣投票計畫、服務和活動的機會。
「身心障礙選民應當享有完全平等的投票權，」司法部民權司助理司長 Kristen Clarke 說道。「司法部致力於保障包括身心障礙選民在內的所有合格選民參與選舉過程的權利。這項協議應向全國官員們傳達了一個資訊，即確保投票過程的便利性是當務之急。」
「投票權是我們民主體系的核心，必須保障所有選民都能行使這一權利，」 加州中區聯邦檢察官 Martin Estrada 表示。「身心障礙選民應享有與鄰居和朋友同等的平等、直接、私密和獨立投票的機會。我們對洛杉磯縣與司法部的合作表示讚賞，他們共同努力確保身心障礙者的平等投票機會。」
該訴訟於 2023 年 6 月提起，此前進行了長時間的調查，發現洛杉磯縣剝奪了身心障礙者參與現場投票計畫的權利。在 2016 年 6 月、2020 年 3月、11 月以及 2022 年 11月 的選舉期間，美國加州中區檢察官辦公室對數百個投票站進行了調查，發現多數網站存在建築障礙，如過陡的坡道、不平坦的人行道和入口，以及缺乏便捷的停車設施。這些障礙妨礙了行動不便者和視障人士安全到達投票點並親自參與投票。該訴訟還指出，洛杉磯縣的路邊投票計畫無法使用，由於一些投票中心未設置明確指示路邊投票計畫可用的標識，或未提供足夠途徑讓選民聯繫選舉工作人員以獲得路邊投票的協助。
今天早些時候提交至法院的和解協議旨在提升身心障礙選民的投票便利性。根據協定條款，洛杉磯縣將與獨立無障礙專家合作三年，審查選址政策和程式，確保選定的投票中心提供無障礙設施，或在投票期間通過臨時措施提升其便利性。洛杉磯縣同意與專家和司法部合作，執行專家的建議。專家將每半年向洛杉磯縣和司法部提交一次調查結果報告。
洛杉磯縣有 500 多個行政選區和約 430 萬登記選民，是美國最大的選區。
洛杉磯縣的調查屬於司法部 ADA 投票倡議的一部分，旨在保障全國身心障礙者的投票權。欲瞭解有關投票和選舉的詳細資訊，請造訪司法部網站www.justice.gov/voting。欲瞭解有關民權司的詳細資訊，請造訪 www.justice.gov/crt。欲瞭解有關 ADA 的詳細資訊，請致電司法部的免費 ADA 資訊熱線 1-800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) 或造訪 www.ada.gov。如果您認為自己因身心障礙遭受歧視，請造訪 www.civilrights.justice.gov 進行線上舉報。美國助理檢察官兼民權科科長 Richard Park 以及加州中區的其他美國助理檢察官 Katherine Hikida、Matthew Barragan、Margaret Chen 和 Alexandra Young 負責此案，並與司法部民權司身心殘障者權利科協調。
上個月是 ADA 頒佈的第 34 周年紀念日，該法案由 George H.W. Bush 總統于 1990 年 7 月 26 日簽署生效。ADA 是全球首部全面保障身心障礙者民事權利的法律。在紀念 ADA 頒佈 34 周年之際，我們不僅要認識到 ADA 帶來的益處，同時也要認識到，要實現身心障礙者的公平、包容和便利性的長期目標，我們仍需不斷努力。
司法部与洛杉矶县签订历史性协议，提升残疾选民的投票便利性Read the Press Release
司法部今日宣布，已与洛杉矶县达成一项具有里程碑意义的协议，旨在解决针对洛杉矶县提起的诉讼。该诉讼指控洛杉矶县违反了《美国残疾人法案》(Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA)，未能选择和使用残疾人士可进入的设施作为投票站，剥夺了残疾选民平等参与洛杉矶县投票计划、服务和活动的机会。
“残疾选民应当享有完全平等的投票权，”司法部民权司助理司长 Kristen Clarke 说道。“司法部致力于保障包括残疾选民在内的所有合格选民参与选举过程的权利。这项协议应向全国官员们传达了一个信息，即确保投票过程的便利性是当务之急。”
“投票权是我们民主体系的核心，必须保障所有选民都能行使这一权利，” 加州中区联邦检察官 Martin Estrada 表示。“残疾选民应享有与邻居和朋友同等的平等、直接、私密和独立投票的机会。我们对洛杉矶县与司法部的合作表示赞赏，他们共同努力确保残疾人的平等投票机会。”
该诉讼于 2023 年 6 月提起，此前进行了长时间的调查，发现洛杉矶县剥夺了残疾人参与现场投票计划的权利。在 2016 年 6 月、2020 年 3 月、11 月以及 2022 年 11 月的选举期间，美国加州中区检察官办公室对数百个投票站进行了调查，发现多数站点存在建筑障碍，如过陡的坡道、不平坦的人行道和入口，以及缺乏便捷的停车设施。这些障碍妨碍了行动不便者和视障人士安全到达投票点并亲自参与投票。该诉讼还指出，洛杉矶县的路边投票计划无法使用，由于一些投票中心未设置明确指示路边投票计划可用的标识，或未提供足够途径让选民联系选举工作人员以获得路边投票的协助。
今天早些时候提交至法院的和解协议旨在提升残疾选民的投票便利性。根据协议条款，洛杉矶县将与独立无障碍专家合作三年，审查选址政策和程序，确保选定的投票中心提供无障碍设施，或在投票期间通过临时措施提升其便利性。洛杉矶县同意与专家和司法部合作，执行专家的建议。专家将每半年向洛杉矶县和司法部提交一次调查结果报告。
洛杉矶县有 500 多个行政选区和约 430 万登记选民，是美国最大的选区。
洛杉矶县的调查属于司法部 ADA 投票倡议的一部分，旨在保障全国残疾人的投票权。欲了解更多有关投票和选举的信息，请访问司法部网站 www.justice.gov/voting。欲了解更多有关民权司的信息，请访问 www.justice.gov/crt。欲了解有关 ADA 的更多信息，请致电司法部的免费 ADA 信息热线 1-800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) 或访问 www.ada.gov。如果您认为自己因残疾遭受歧视，请访问 www.civilrights.justice.gov 进行在线举报。美国助理检察官兼民权科科长 Richard Park 以及加州中区的其他美国助理检察官 Katherine Hikida、Matthew Barragan、Margaret Chen 和 Alexandra Young 负责此案，并与司法部民权司残疾权利科协调。
上个月是 ADA 颁布的第 34 周年纪念日，该法案由 George H.W. Bush 总统于 1990 年 7 月 26 日签署生效。ADA 是全球首部全面保障残疾人民事权利的法律。在纪念 ADA 颁布 34 周年之际，我们不仅要认识到 ADA 带来的益处，同时也要认识到，要实现残疾人的公平、包容和便利性的长期目标，我们仍需不断努力。