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Monday 1 July 2024
Fort Belknap man admits stabbing woman on Fort Belknap Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A Fort Belknap man accused of stabbing a woman multiple times during an argument admitted to an assault charge today, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Leon Boyd Messerly, 63, pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon. Messerly faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Nov. 2. Messerly was detained pending further proceedings.
In court documents, the government alleged that on July 13, 2023 in their home on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Messerly and the victim, identified as Jane Doe, got into a fight. Jane Doe stated that Messerly was angry at her for not protecting his son and punched her in the face. Messerly also grabbed a chef’s knife and stabbed Jane Doe multiple times in her neck, back and left arm. Messerly then went to a friend’s house and told the friend that he had stabbed Jane Doe. The friend checked on Jane Doe, saw her with stab wounds and drove her to the emergency room. Jane Doe was transported to a hospital in Great Falls where she underwent multiple surgeries.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI and Fort Belknap Police Department conducted the investigation.
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Former Security Supervisor at Reentry Center Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse of InmateRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Morris Gary Hibbitt, 51, of Avondale, pleaded guilty on June 17, 2024, before United States Magistrate Judge John Z. Boyle to the felony charge of sexual abuse of an inmate.
On September 9, 2024, Chief United States District Judge G. Murray Snow will sentence Hibbitt.
At the time of the offense, Hibbitt worked as a Security Supervisor for Behavioral Systems Southwest (BSS), a residential reentry center in Phoenix. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) contracts with BSS to help inmates reenter the community when they complete their prison terms. Inmate wards at BSS remain in official detention and under the custodial authority of the BOP.
On May 21, 2023, while on duty as the Security Supervisor at BSS, Hibbitt sexually abused a female inmate under his supervision.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Kristen Brook, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-24-00993-PHX-GMS
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-085_Hibbitt# # #
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.Former New Orleans Police Officer Charged in Insurance Fraud and Bribery SchemesRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS - The United States Attorney’s Office announced that CHRISTIAN CONRAD CLAUS, age 55, has been indicted on one count of Wire Fraud, one count of Mail Fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit those crimes, one count of Use of a Facility in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit that crime, and one count of Making a False Statement to a Federal Agent.
The indictment alleges that in 2019, CLAUS, then a NOPD police officer, conspired with a New Orleans homeowner and a Nevada art appraiser to submit a fraudulent insurance claim on the homeowner’s property. It is alleged that the claim reported that valuable paintings were stolen from the insured’s house, when in truth, the paintings were neither valuable nor stolen. The indictment also alleges that the homeowner agreed, in exchange for CLAUS using his police position to further the scheme, to share the insurance proceeds with CLAUS and to provide CLAUS with assistance in obtaining employment positions.
The fraud and fraud conspiracy charges are each punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. The bribery, bribery conspiracy, and false statement charges are each punishable by up to five years imprisonment. Sentencing for each count, if there is a conviction, may include a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release following imprisonment.
The homeowner, Fouad K. Zeton, and the appraiser, Michael Jon Schofield, previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The United States Attorney’s Office reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the defendant’s guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chandra Menon of the Public Integrity Unit, is in charge of the prosecution.
Former Defense Department Employee Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Government in Fake Invoices SchemeRead the Press Release
A California woman pleaded guilty today to devising a multi-year scheme to defraud the U.S. government by submitting fake invoices for supplies that were never purchased and converting the stolen funds for her personal use.
According to court documents, Zelene Charles, 42, of Monterey, a then-civilian employee of the Department of Defense, at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, perpetrated a scheme to defraud the U.S. government by creating fake purchase requests and invoices for government purchases from both fictitious and legitimate business entities. The items listed in these invoices were never actually purchased or received by the government. Between December 2016 and April 2020, Charles placed approximately 185 fraudulent charges, causing a total loss to the government of $624,250. To conceal that she was the recipient of the stolen funds, Charles frequently renamed the business names associated with intermediary accounts and, in total, used at least 78 different account names.
Charles pleaded guilty to wire fraud and theft of government money and property. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge and 10 years in prison for the theft charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Charles also agreed to pay $624,500 in restitution and forfeit numerous stolen government computers and tablets as part of her plea.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California; Special Agent in Charge Bryan Denny of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Western Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Keith K. Kelly of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s (Army-CID) Fraud Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Shawn Dionida of the Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG) Western Region; and Special Agent in Charge Terry Pfeifer of the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG) Western Division made the announcement.
The DCIS Western Field Office, Army-CID Fraud Field Office, USDA-OIG Western Region, and GSA-OIG Western Division are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne C. Hsieh for the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case.
Former Baltimore Police Officer Sentenced to Two and A Half Years for Illegal Drug and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – On June 28, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Steven Umberto Angelini, of Baltimore, Maryland, to two and a half years in federal prison and other conditions, including drug treatment, for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and oxycodone and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Special Agent in Charge William DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore, and Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, Angelini was a member of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) and from January 2022 through May 2022, Angelini and Co-Conspirator 1 conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and oxycodone. During the conspiracy Angelini twice also offered to go to the Baltimore City Police Department (“BPD”) Homicide Unit to obtain information about an investigation involving Co-Conspirator 1’s supplier who had been murdered.
Angelini also provided Co-Conspirator 1 with law enforcement sensitive information on the case and some pictures, which were available to BPD employees through mass email dissemination.
According to his plea agreement, Angelini’s offer to obtain the video for Co-Conspirator 1 was made with the sole objective to persuade Co-Conspirator 1 to provide him with cocaine.
Angelini also offered to sell Co-Conspirator 1 a privately made firearm, also known as a “ghost gun,” in exchange for cash and narcotics.
In April 2022, Angelini provided 20 oxycodone pills to Co-Conspirator 1. Later in April 2022, Angelini texted Co-Conspirator 1 that he was at a gun shop and stated that he wanted to purchase cocaine from Co-Conspirator 1. Angelini then offered to purchase ammunition and firearms accessories for Co-Conspirator 1 in exchange for cocaine. Angelini purchased a magazine for the privately made firearm he sold to Co-Conspirator 1, as well as ammunition, including hollow-point ammunition, which he provided to Co-Conspirator 1 later that night in exchange for cocaine.
Further, Angelini admitted that in May 2022, after visiting a Rosedale, Maryland pain clinic and filling a prescription for oxycodone pills, he called Co-Conspirator 1 and notified him that he had the pills available for sale. They negotiated that Co-Conspirator 1 would give Angelini cash and cocaine in exchange for the oxycodone.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, HSI and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Goo, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Foreign national charged with selling counterfeit drugsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - An Indian national is set to appear for his detention hearing on charges related to his alleged sale and shipment of counterfeit cancer pharmaceuticals into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Authorities arrested Sanjay Kumar, 43, Bihar, India, June 26. He is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray at 10 a.m.
According to the complaint, Kumar arranged to have shipped counterfeit versions of Keytruda, an oncology pharmaceutical Merck and Co. manufactures, to individuals in the United States on several occasions. He also allegedly did the same with counterfeit versions of other oncology pharmaceuticals.
Kumar is charged with conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods (drugs). If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison as well as a possible $1 million fine.
Homeland Security Investigations and Food and Drug Administrations conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorneys Jeff Pearlman and Bryce Rosenbower of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Federal jury finds Anchorage man guilty of cyberstalkingRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal jury convicted an Anchorage man Friday after a five-day trial for cyberstalking a woman over four years.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between 2016 and 2020, Rolando Hernandez-Zemora, 40, stalked the victim using location tracking applications, text messages, and video calls, and other means in order to try and control her life.
In 2020, the harassment extended to some of the victim’s work colleagues and family members and included threats of violence. Hernandez-Zemora’s harassment of the victim continued even after she obtained a protective order. As a result of his threats, the victim’s workplace went into lockdown for multiple days from late April to early May 2020. Hernandez-Zemora was arrested at the end of May 2020 after he evaded the police for two days.
“I want to commend the victim for her bravery in coming forward, and we hope this conviction is the first step in closure and justice for those impacted by this case,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker. “Mr. Hernandez-Zemora is a serious danger to the community, demonstrated by his desire to harm the victim, her colleagues and her family. My office will continue to seek justice against perpetrators who choose to threaten violence.”
“The defendant’s disturbing pattern of conduct involved threats of violence and cyberstalking harassment, which caused substantial fear of harm and emotional distress,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “This type of conduct will not be tolerated. Today’s verdict underscores our commitment to hold accountable those who commit such crimes.”
The FBI Anchorage Field Office and Anchorage Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Ivers and Seth Beausang are prosecuting the case.
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Federal Jury Convicts Airman for Attempting to Engage in Sex Acts with Purported 14-Year-OldRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Jonathan Howard Kuykendall (39, Tampa) guilty of one count of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Kuykendall faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing is scheduled for September 19, 2024.
According to evidence presented at trial, in June 2022, Kuykendall was a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. During that time, Kuykendall began messaging someone named “Ms. Glitter” online. Within the first few messages, Ms. Glitter told Kuykendall that she was 14 years old and lived on the base with her single mother. During the next two weeks, Kuykendall groomed Ms. Glitter, gradually introducing sexual topics to her. He began by talking about cuddling with her and kissing her. From there, he began sending her graphic descriptions of various sex acts that he wished to perform with her as well as numerous adult pornography images.
All of this continued until June 24, 2022, when Kuykendall, thinking Ms. Glitter’s mom was not home, agreed to come to her house on MacDill Air Force Base. Kuykendall drove to Ms. Glitter’s house, took several male sexual enhancement pills, and approached the home’s backdoor. Kuykendall learned Ms. Glitter was actually an undercover federal agent conducting a proactive Internet Crimes Against Children operation. He was arrested on scene.
This case was investigated by the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 340 at MacDill Air Force Base, the 6th Security Forces Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base, and Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Karyna Valdes and Daniel J. Marcet.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Essex County Man Admits Stealing Federal Benefits Meant for Missing Girlfriend’s Disabled SonRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man admitted his role in embezzling federal benefits meant for the disabled child of his former girlfriend shortly after she went missing, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Asmar Earp, 37, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark federal court on June 26, 2024, to three counts of an indictment charging him with two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Earp was in a romantic relationship and shared a house in Newark with V.W. Through a program administered by Social Security Administration, V.W. received monthly payments on behalf of her disabled minor son, who was not capable of managing these benefits on his own. On Dec. 24, 2017, V.W. went missing and her whereabouts remain unknown. Six days after V.W.’s disappearance, Earp fraudulently gained control of V.W.’s son’s benefits by changing the PIN code on the debit card used to access those funds. In March and April 2018, Earp also fraudulently used V.W.’s name, date of birth, and Social Security number to receive a replacement debit card to continue accessing and using V.W.’s son’s benefits. From December 2017 through February 2020, Earp and others acting at his direction repeatedly and fraudulently took the money intended to help V.W.’s son and used it on themselves.
Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain of the defendant, whichever is greatest. The count of aggravated identity theft carries a statutory mandatory penalty of two years in prison, which run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross loss to the victim or gain of the defendant, whichever is greatest.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Bradley Parker of the New York Boston Field Division, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the leadership of Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Rosenblum of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
earp.indictment.pdfDistrict Man Pleads Guilty to Armed CarjackingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – James Borum, 21, of Washington, DC, pleaded guilty today to armed carjacking in connection with several armed carjackings that occurred in January of 2021, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Borum pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of armed carjacking. Sentencing is scheduled for August 30, 2024, before Judge Lynn Leibovitz. Armed carjacking carries a mandatory minimum term of 15 years of incarceration.
According to the government’s evidence, on January 12, 2021, just after midnight, Borum and other individuals approached the victim as he was standing in front of his home in Northwest DC. The defendant and his accomplices, at least one of whom was armed with a firearm, pointed a firearm at the victim and demanded the keys to the victim’s car. Borum and his accomplices then took the keys to the victim’s car and fled from the area in that car.
At approximately 1:00 a.m., officers with the Metropolitan Police Department observed the victim’s vehicle speeding in the 2600 block of Benning Road, NE. Police requested air support from MPD’s helicopter, Falcon-1, which tracked the victim’s vehicle, following it to the 3400 block of Rhode Island Avenue. As the victim’s vehicle approached the traffic circle located at 1 Municipal Place in Mount Rainier, Maryland, the vehicle struck a utility pole and flipped upside down. Borum exited and ran from the vehicle before being stopped by MPD officers.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Helfand and Richard Carlton.
Davenport Man Sentenced to 156 Months in Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute DrugsRead the Press Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Davenport man was sentenced to 156 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Domonique Deshawn Parrow, 38, was identified by law enforcement as a cocaine and cocaine base distributor, which he distributed directly out of his residence for at least three years. When law enforcement executed a search warrant at Parrow’s residence, they found cocaine and cocaine base packaged for resale, a firearm, and money. In total, Parrow was responsible for the distribution of at least 3.2 kilograms of cocaine during the conspiracy.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Parrow will be required to serve three 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 Davenport Police Department.
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.
Danbury Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Vanessa R. Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that BILL G. MAKROS, 57, of Danbury, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to tax evasion.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Makros owned and operated a tree service business known as Budget Tree and Stump Removal Service, LLC. From 2016 through 2020, Makros concealed his income by receiving customer payments in the form of checks made payable to “cash” or to him personally, and by depositing the checks into bank accounts other than his business bank account. At times, he also cashed check payments and did not deposit the cash into any business or personal accounts. For the 2016 through 2020 tax years, Makros failed to file his federal individual tax returns, and failed to pay $140,694 in taxes on approximately $517,000 in net profits.
In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Makros applied for pandemic relief loans and, as part of that process, submitted IRS Schedule C forms for his business that purported to be part of his tax returns for 2019 and 2020, even though he had not filed tax returns with the IRS for those years.
Judge Oliver scheduled sentencing for September 27, 2024, at which time Makros faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. Makros is released on a personal recognizance bond pending sentencing.
This investigation is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia King.
Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jereal J. Booker, 24, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to a federal firearms offense stemming from his possession of a loaded firearm in March 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Booker pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. The Honorable Richard J. Leon scheduled sentencing for October 1, 2024.
According to court papers, on March 21, 2023, an MPD officer observed Booker walking outside a convenience store in a manner that suggested he was carrying a firearm in the front of his pants. An employee of the store then told the officer that he had seen Booker adjusting a firearm in the front of his pants, and he showed the officer surveillance footage that corroborated his account. When the officer attempted to stop Booker in the 4600 block of Livingston Road Southeast, Booker broke into headlong flight. While fleeing the police, Booker discarded the firearm in some bushes before allowing himself to be apprehended. Nearby construction workers who had witnessed the chase alerted the officers to look in the bushes. They did so and recovered a .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun loaded with one chambered round and ten rounds in its magazine. DNA testing later linked the firearm to Booker.
Booker was arrested on March 21, 2023, and remains detained pending sentencing.
Federal law prohibits Booker from possessing a firearm because he has previously been convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, including a 2023 conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and a 2021 conviction for attempted carjacking in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. Booker was on probation for both convictions at the time of this offense.
Booker faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence imposed in this case will be determined by the court after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney.
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Charter schools founder & superintendent pleads guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraudRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Central Ohio man who founded and served as the superintendent of two Columbus charter schools pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to conspiring to commit bank fraud.
Abdirizak Y. Farah, 59, admitted to fraudulently using school funds to help purchase his New Albany home.
Farah founded Focus Learning Academy of Northern Columbus (FLANC) on Dublin Granville Road in 2007. The school serves approximately 700 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Focus Learning Academy of Central Columbus (FLACC) on Cleveland Avenue was founded in 2020 and serves Pre-K through third grade students.
Farah was also employed as a senior policy advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
According to court documents, in August 2020, Farah purchased a $900,000 home on Lambton Park Road in New Albany. On Aug. 12, two days before his original closing date, Farah requested a $265,000 wire from a Focus Learning bank account to another person and stated the purpose was for “learning materials.”
That same day, Farah submitted a letter to the bank handling his real estate closing, stating he received $260,000 in gifted funds that were unrelated to the real estate transaction.
The next day, on Aug. 13, the person who received the wired funds in turn wired $260,000 to the title company handling the closing.
In the following days, several FLANC vendors made payments totaling approximately $265,000 to the person who assisted Farah, and that money was returned to FLANC.
As part of his plea, Farah will forfeit $265,000 to the United States.
“The role of IRS Criminal Investigation becomes even more important in complex financial investigations that can take time to unravel," said Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Cincinnati Field Office. "Federal tax laws are normally violated in these types of cases which add additional jail time to sentences. As we often see, the victims are not only American taxpayers, but also individuals and businesses who suffer financial harm.”
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud is a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; James Izzard, Deputy Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) Office of Investigations; and Karen Wingerd, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) announced the guilty plea offered today before U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney David J. Twombly is representing the United States in this case.
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Bridger Mother and Son Convicted of Second-Degree Murder and Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Theodora Belt, age 47, and Bailey Belt, age 23, both from Bridger, South Dakota, of Second-Degree Murder, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. Bailey Belt was convicted of additional Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury charges involving a different victim, following a four-day jury trial in federal district court in Pierre, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on June 28, 2024.
Theodora Belt faces a maximum penalty of up to life in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Bailey Belt faces a maximum penalty of up to life in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and a $500 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
Both defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in June of 2023.
The convictions stem from an incident that occurred on May 27, 2023, in Bridger, within the Cheyenne River Reservation. Theodora and Bailey Belt were at the victims’ home socializing. An argument began between the parties and the defendants assaulted victim #1 by punching, kicking, and beating him with a shovel. As victim #1 lay on the ground outside the home he was run over with Theodora’s car, ultimately killing him. In addition, Bailey Belt struck victim #2 in the head with a shovel, causing him to be life-flighted to Rapid City for medical treatment, where he survived.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Troy R. Morley and Brian J. Murphy prosecuted the case.
The defendants were immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Birmingham Man Sentenced to More than Five Years for Unlawfully Possessing U.S. Postal Service Key and Possession of Stolen MailRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A federal judge sentenced a Birmingham man on charges of possession of stolen mail and unlawful possession of U.S. Postal Service (USPS) keys, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector-in-Charge Scott D. Fix, Houston Division.
U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco sentenced Derrell Allen Matthews, 27, to 63 months in prison. In February, Matthews pleaded guilty to conspiracy, paying a bribe to a public official, possession of U.S. Postal Service keys, stolen or reproduced, bank fraud and possession of stolen mail.
U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco previously sentenced two other defendants involved in the scheme:
Keaundria Janae Gresham, 30, of Pleasant Grove, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for conspiracy, public official accepting a bribe and possession of U.S. Postal Service keys, stolen, or reproduced.
Steven Cornelius Hudson, Jr, 34, of Bessemer, was sentenced to 36 months of probation for possession of stolen mail. According to Hudson’s plea agreement, Matthews paid him to drive him around.
According to court documents, between August 2022 and April 2023, Matthews used stolen USPS keys to steal mail from several blue collection boxes in Hoover, Alabama. Matthews purchased the USPS keys from Greshman. Greshman was employed by the United States Postal Service as a letter carrier and was assigned to a U.S. Post Office in Birmingham. She used her position to provide unauthorized USPS keys to Matthews. In October 2022, Matthews was found in possession of a USPS key, stolen checks, counterfeit checks, blank checks, stock printers and more than 350 stolen, altered, or counterfeit checks totaling over $1 million dollars. Between October 2021 and May 2023, Matthews deposited altered or counterfeit checks by ATM or mobile deposit into co-conspirator’s bank accounts. Matthews took a portion of the deposited amount for himself and left a portion in the account or paid the person by other means.
In April 2023, postal inspectors and Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies observed Matthews open two blue collection boxes at the Meadowbrook Post Office. Matthews removed mail from the boxes and put it in the front seat of his vehicle. Deputies conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver, Hudson, Jr. and the passenger, Matthews, were arrested.
If you like to report United States Postal Service mail theft or other crimes committed through or towards the United States Postal Service, please contact the United States Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 or https://www.uspis.gov/report.
U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel McBrayer prosecuted the case.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights ActRead the Press Release
The Justice Department issued the following statement today from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:
“The Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed into law 60 years ago today, gave the Justice Department some of its most important tools to protect Americans from discrimination, including at school, in the workplace, in voting, and in places of public accommodation.
Today, we remember the generations of Americans who risked their lives – and the many who sacrificed their lives – in the struggle to claim the rights guaranteed to Black Americans, and to all Americans, under the Constitution.
We recognize the continued dedication of our partners in the civil rights community who are the inheritors of that legacy.
And we honor the public servants across the Justice Department who have worked to fulfill the promise of the Civil Rights Act over the past six decades and continue to do so today.
Before signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law 60 years ago, President Lyndon Baines Johnson addressed the American people, saying, ‘the Civil Rights Act is a challenge to all of us to work in our communities and our States, in our homes and in our hearts, to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country.’
Today, as we mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, the Justice Department renews our commitment to meeting that challenge.”
Atlantic County Man Admits Committing Spree of Armed Robberies, Armed Carjacking, Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Essex County, New Jersey, man admitted committing a spree of robberies and a carjacking, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Deion Nance, 28, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton on June 27, 2024, to a five-count information charging him with two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of carjacking, and two counts of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Nance admitted that on Dec. 30, 2020, he used a firearm to steal a 2016 Toyota Corolla from the occupant of the vehicle. He pointed a handgun at the victim, pulled the victim out of their vehicle and pushed the firearm into her face. He got into the driver's seat and drove away in the victim’s car.
Nance admitted that on Jan. 4, 2021, he robbed two restaurants. At the first restaurant, he pointed a loaded firearm at a restaurant employee and demanded money. The employee gave Nance $176. That same day, he attempted to rob a restaurant by threatening an employee and pointing a firearm at the employee.
The count of carjacking is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison; Hobbs Act Robbery is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence is punishable by a maximum of life in prison. Each firearms offense carries a statutory minimum prison sentence of five years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term imposed. All counts are also punishable by a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited law enforcement from the Newark and Harrison police departments, and special agents and task force officers with the FBI Newark Field Division, under the direction of James E. Dennehy, with the investigations leading to the plea hearing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Linares of the Organized Crime and Gangs unit in Newark.
nance.information.pdf
Sunday 30 June 2024
Owner of Online Luxury Baby Boutique Found Guilty on 31 Counts of Defrauding COVID-19 Relief ProgramsRead the Press Release
DENVER – The U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado announced that a jury found a former Colorado resident guilty of 31 counts of defrauding the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of nearly half a million dollars.
Shambrica Washington, 39, now a resident of Parker, Texas, was found guilty on 31 counts including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and false claims offenses.
According to facts established at trial, Washington, obtained loans from the Small Business Administration for two Economic Injury Disaster Loans and from JPMorgan Chase for two PPP loans for a total of $485,749.00 between March of 2020 and July of 2020. During that time Washington obtained the loans under two business names, including Tiny Toes and Tiaras, an online luxury baby boutique. To obtain the fraudulent loans, Washington misrepresented how many people were employed by her businesses and the businesses’ wages, revenues, and costs of operation. She used the funds to purchase a car, a custom-built home, pay for elective surgery, and pay credit card debt and other bills with the money. She then applied for millions of dollars in additional loans, grants, and tax credits, including by applying for advance tax credits from the Internal Revenue Service and a $6 million grant through a Small Business Administration program intended for shuttered concert venues.
“The defendant in this case fraudulently took money from American taxpayers for her own personal benefit,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matthew Kirsch. “Our office and the Department of Justice will continue to seek out and prosecute individuals who took advantage of programs meant to help those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“CARES Act funds were meant to provide direct economic assistance to American workers and businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “This defendant fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars under this program to buy homes, vehicles, and elective surgery. The FBI will continue to pursue such criminal opportunists and hold them accountable.”
“The defendant was found guilty of taking advantage of programs designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of American workers, families, and small businesses,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Andy Tsui. “IRS-CI has been involved in investigating fraudulent activities tied to CARES Act funds since its inception and our special agents will continue to track down individuals who stole money intended for those whose lives were upended by the pandemic.”
United States District Court Judge William J. Martinez presided over the trial. IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI Denver Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Craig Fansler and Taylor Glogiewicz handled the prosecution.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
On July 11, 2023, the Attorney General selected the District of Colorado’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of five national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. The Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. Additional information regarding the Strike Force may be found at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-results-nationwide-covid-19-fraud-enforcement-action.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Saturday 29 June 2024
Troy Man Pleads Guilty to Unemployment Insurance FraudRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK –Todd Ward, a/k/a “Fats,” age 45, of Troy, New York, pled guilty earlier this week to conspiring to defraud the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) by obtaining unemployment insurance benefits under the name of another person, including benefits funded by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge, Northeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG).
Ward admitted that he provided Carl J. DiVeglia III with the personal identifying information of another individual, which DiVeglia used to file a false claim via the NYSDOL website. Ward further admitted that as a result of the fraudulent applications submitted by DiVeglia, the NYSDOL paid out $152,086 in unemployment insurance benefits. As part of his plea agreement, Ward agreed to pay $152,086 in restitution to the State of New York. DiVeglia previously pled guilty to fraudulently obtaining $1.6 million in unemployment insurance benefits as part of the scheme. Ward’s three co-defendants, his brother Christopher Ward, Rocco Resciniti, and Jamaine Myers, have all pled guilty to related offenses.
Ward faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years when he is sentenced on November 14, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby.
The FBI and USDOL-OIG are investigating this case, with assistance from the NYSDOL Office of Special Investigations, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph S. Hartunian and Joshua R. Rosenthal are prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Friday 28 June 2024
Worcester Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Drug Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Worcester man pleaded guilty yesterday for his involvement in a cocaine distribution conspiracy.
Luis Torres, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and one count of use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug felony. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Sept. 17, 2024. In December 2022, Torres was indicated by a federal grand jury.
Torres conspired with others to coordinate delivery of a package sent from Puerto Rico known by him to contain 4 to 6 kilograms of cocaine and to take possession of the cocaine with the intent to distribute it. In June 2022, law enforcement intercepted the package and executed a controlled delivery during which another individual accepted the package while Torres sat in a car nearby. Torres was arrested at the scene and $26,480 in cash from the car in which Torres was being driven was recovered. Torres admitted he received cash as an advance payment for one of the kilos of cocaine.
The charge of conspiring to distribute five hundred or more grams of cocaine provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. The charge of using a communications facility to facilitate a drug felony provides for up to four years incarceration, a fine up to $250,000 and supervised release of up to one year. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and John E. Mawn, Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Brown of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Woman Sentenced to Nine Years for Sex Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Texas woman was sentenced on June 25, 2024 for conspiring to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.
According to court documents, in 2021 and 2022, Patricia Hart, 25, and her boyfriend and co-defendant, Gregory Massey, 30, forced two adult victims to engage in commercial sex. Massey and Hart advertised the victims for commercial sex on websites, kept the money the victims made from commercial sex transactions, required the victims to meet a minimum dollar threshold from commercial sex every day, and restricted the victims’ access to food. Massey also tracked the geolocation data on the victims’ phones so that they could not leave his control and used violence to accomplish the scheme. After Massey was arrested in state court, Hart continued the conspiracy by carrying out Massey’s demands via jail calls. Specifically, Massey told Hart to fire off a few rounds of a firearm to scare a victim into compliance.
Hart was sentenced on June 25, 2024 in federal court. Judge Wendy Vitter sentenced Hart to nine years imprisonment, followed by fifteen years of supervised release. She also agreed to pay $21,600 in restitution. As a result of her plea, Hart must also participate in the sex offender registration and notification program.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana made the announcement.
Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Louisiana State Police investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Melissa E. Bücher of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria M. Carboni for the Eastern District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.
Wilmington Blood Gang Member Sentenced to 10 Years After Ditching a Stolen, Loaded Gun on a Daycare PlaygroundRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Wilmington man was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for possession of a stolen, loaded firearm, which was apprehended after he dropped it in the playground of a daycare when he was fleeing from police. On February 21, 2024, Shaquille Gregg, age 29, pled guilty to the charge. The sentence imposed is the statutory maximum for this crime.
“This Blood gang member received the maximum time behind bars after ditching a stolen gun on a daycare playground while he ran to dodge arrest,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Officers should be commended for their work apprehending the defendant, and their quick action finding the gun before a toddler could. This case came from our Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) partnership with local law enforcement to stop armed Wilmington-based gang members in their tracks.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, on January 26, 2022, an officer with the Wilmington Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in which Gregg was the passenger. Once the vehicle stopped, Gregg fled from the vehicle on foot. After a brief foot chase, officers were able to apprehend Gregg. Officers retraced the path of Gregg’s flight from law enforcement and located a stolen Smith and Wesson pistol in the fenced in playground area of a daycare. Subsequent testing revealed the presence of Gregg’s DNA on the firearm.
In 2014, Gregg, a member of the Double-II Bloods, shot a man in the face and back after he questioned his gang affiliation. When officers arrested Gregg for the shooting, they located him at his residence asleep with his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter and a loaded, 9mm pistol under his pillow. In 2015, Gregg was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon for this conduct in New Hanover County Superior Court and was sentenced to 75 – 102 months in prison.
Gregg also has prior convictions for possession with intent to sell and deliver heroin, carrying a concealed gun, and two federal convictions for distribution of a quantity of heroin. Gregg has been validated as a member of the Bloods street gang by the North Carolina Department of Corrections.
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 FBI’s Coastal Carolina Safe Street’s Gang Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Wilmington Police Department, and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Special Assistant United States Attorney William Van Trigt prosecuted the case. Van Trigt is a prosecutor with the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office assigned to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal violent crimes and other criminal matters. This has been made possible by a grant funded by New Hanover County.
The conviction is a result of the ongoing VCAP initiative which is 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. 7:22-cr-00123BO-001.
West Monroe Man Charged in Federal Court in Connection with the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement ActionRead the Press Release
MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that criminal charges have been filed against a West Monroe man in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud Medicare. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action.
Michael L. Riggins, 61, of West Monroe, Louisiana, was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud for his role in a durable medical equipment (“DME”) scheme. As alleged in the indictment, Riggins was the owner of Bluewater Healthcare (“Bluewater”), a DME supply company in West Monroe, Louisiana. It is alleged that from 2018 to 2023, Riggins paid for doctors’ orders for pneumatic compression devices (“PCDs”), a type of DME, and tricked doctors into signing DME orders and certificates of medical necessity in order to bill for the expensive and medically unnecessary DME. In total, Riggins submitted over $3.8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for supplying PCDs and was reimbursed over $1.8 million.
These charges are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 147 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in the submission of over $2.5 billion in alleged false billings. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled to line their own pockets, and the Government, in connection with the enforcement action, seized over $150 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets.
The Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, Northeast, and Texas Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California, District of Connecticut, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan, Southern District of Mississippi, District of Montana, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of North Carolina, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Rhode Island, Middle District of Tennessee, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Tennessee, Eastern District of Virginia, and Southern District of West Virginia; and the State Attorney Generals’ Offices for California, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and South Dakota are prosecuting the cases in the National Enforcement Action, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Western District of Louisiana in particular, worked with the Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) to investigate and prosecute the cases filed during the enforcement period.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Flanagan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorneys Samantha Usher and Kelly Z. Walters of the Gulf Coast Strike Force.
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Washington felon sentenced for illegally purchasing ammunition in VirginiaRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Washington man was sentenced yesterday to a year and six months in prison for illegally acquiring ammunition after a previous felony firearm conviction.
According to court documents, April 13, 2023, Kiyel Tyquello Kearney, aka “KhiGlock,” and “Glock,” 20, was convicted in the Circuit Court of Prince George’s County, Maryland, of unlawful possession of a loaded handgun in a vehicle. Approximately three weeks following his Maryland conviction, on May 3, 2023, Kearney traveled to Arlington and purchased ammunition from a federally licensed gun store. As a previously convicted felon, Kearney could not legally possess firearms or ammunition.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel K. Amzallag 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. 1:24-cr-4.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Two Indictments of Healthcare Fraud Related ChargesRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier, IV has announced criminal charges against two separate defendants, in connection with alleged schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid, and to fraudulently prescribe controlled substances. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Justice Department’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. The charges stem from one scheme to cause claims for prescription drugs to be submitted, despite knowing the drugs were never dispensed to pharmacy customers, and another scheme to use the name and DEA registration number of another provider, without that provider’s knowledge, in order to issue prescriptions.
“When government healthcare programs are fraudulently deprived of critical resources and powerful drugs are illegally prescribed, it creates real damage,” said United States Attorney Shier. “It steals taxpayer money, and it enables the devastating cycle of drug abuse in fester in our communities. Simply having a professional license cannot be a shield from the consequences of this type of criminal conduct.”
“It does not matter if you are a trafficker in a drug cartel or a corporate executive or medical professional employed by a health care company, if you profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in danger for the sake of profits.”
The charges announced today by U.S Attorney Shier are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 147 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in the submission of over $2.5 billion in alleged false billings. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled to line their own pockets, and the government, in connection with the enforcement action, seized over $150 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets.
The Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, Northeast, and Texas Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California, District of Connecticut, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan, Southern District of Mississippi, District of Montana, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of North Carolina, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Rhode Island, Middle District of Tennessee, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Tennessee, Eastern District of Virginia, and Southern District of West Virginia; and the State Attorney Generals’ Offices for California, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and South Dakota are prosecuting the cases in the National Enforcement Action, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team. Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website.
The Eastern District of Kentucky worked with the following law enforcement organizations to investigate and prosecute the cases filed during the enforcement period: the DEA; the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement and Professional Practices Branch; the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy; and the IRS.
The following individuals have been charged in the Eastern District of Kentucky:
Stephanie Collins, 57, of Corbin, Kentucky, was charged by information with health care fraud in connection with a scheme to bill Medicare and Medicaid for prescription drugs that were never dispensed by her pharmacy. As alleged, between January 2014 and June 2020, Collins, the owner of Stephanie’s Down Home Pharmacy, knowingly and willfully caused claims for prescription drugs to be submitted to those health care programs despite knowing that the drugs at issue were never dispensed to pharmacy customers, and obtained approximately $730,000 as a result of the scheme. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Smith.
Don V. Bryson, 69, of Oil Springs, Kentucky, was charged by information with a conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances by using the name and DEA registration number of another physician. As alleged, Bryson was a physician who had surrendered his medical license following a Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure investigation into his prescribing practices. Bryson continued to work as a “medical consultant” at a clinic in Paintsville, Kentucky owned by a co-conspirator, which utilized locum tenens providers to issue controlled substance prescriptions. In September 2021, Bryson agreed with the clinic owner to use the name and DEA registration number of a locum tenens provider no longer affiliated with the clinic, without that provider’s knowledge, in order to issue approximately 79 hydrocodone prescriptions, totaling approximately 6,915 hydrocodone pills. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Smith.
A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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U.S. Attorney Breon Peace Announces New Leadership for Criminal Division and Long Island DivisionRead the Press Release
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced today the appointment of Alixandra E. Smith as the Office’s Chief of the Criminal Division as well as John J. Durham as Chief of the Long Island Division and Chief of the Criminal Section of the Long Island Division. Additionally, in September 2023, Richard K. Hayes was named the Office’s Chief of the Civil Division.
“I make these announcements with tremendous pride and excitement. Alix, John and Rich are brilliant legal minds with vast expertise in serving the Office, through both impressive casework and leadership positions. I have the utmost confidence they will continue to do what they do best – inspire and lead their teams in the pursuit of equal justice,” stated U.S. Attorney Peace.
Alixandra E. Smith
Ms. Smith joined the Office in 2012 and has served in the General Crimes, Organized Crime and Gangs, and Business and Securities Fraud (BSF) Sections, and as a Deputy Chief of BSF, Chief of BSF and a Criminal Division Deputy Chief. Among other roles, Ms. Smith is Vice Chair of the Criminal Division Hiring Committee, Chair of the Office’s e-Litigation Committee and co-teaches the EDNY Prosecution Externship at New York University Law School. Ms. Smith is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Prior to joining the Office, she worked as an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and at Jenner & Block LLP, and clerked for the Honorable Faith Hochberg, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, as well as the Honorable Julio Fuentes, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
During her time in the Office, Alix has investigated and prosecuted significant white-collar cases. She co-led the investigation and prosecution of United States v. Shkreli and Greebel, in which the defendants were charged with orchestrating four interrelated schemes to defraud investors in two hedge funds of more than $7 million, to steal more than $10 million from a public company and to manipulate the price and trading volume of the public company’s stock. Both defendants were convicted following back-to-back six-week and 11-week trials in 2017, and Alix successfully argued both appeals. In several cases related to United States v. Odebrecht and United States v. Braskem, Alix led the Office’s team which, along with the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section (Fraud Section), prosecuted two Brazilian-based petrochemical companies that paid almost a billion dollars in bribes to government officials in at least 12 countries in order to win business. Both companies pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and agreed to pay a combined penalty of at least $3.2 billion to resolve charges in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland. A number of individuals were also convicted for their roles in the bribery scheme, including Braskem’s Chief Executive Officer. In United States v. AmerisourceBergen, Alix led the criminal prosecution of the second-largest drug distributor in the United States, which ultimately paid a combined total of $885 million to resolve civil and criminal liability stemming from its distribution, over a period of ten years, of millions of syringes of oncology drugs to immunocompromised cancer patients nationwide that were prepared under insanitary conditions and contaminated. The criminal case was resolved with a $260 million penalty, and a subsidiary of the company pleaded guilty to a criminal violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. And in United States v. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and related cases, which were prosecuted in conjunction with the Fraud Section and the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Alix led the Office’s team in the prosecution of investment bank Goldman Sachs (Goldman), its subsidiary and individuals, who were charged for their roles in a scheme to pay $1.6 billion in bribes to government officials and launder billions of dollars in criminal proceeds. The case was resolved when Goldman’s subsidiary pled guilty to a FCPA violation, Goldman entered a DPA and paid $2.9 billion in criminal penalties as part of a global resolution with eight different foreign and domestic authorities, and a Goldman banker was convicted of FCPA and money laundering charges after a nine-week trial.
In addition, Ms. Smith has investigated and prosecuted important violent crimes cases, including United States v. Rivera et al, in which the leader and co-founder of the TF Mafia gang were each convicted of, among other crimes, racketeering, murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, sex trafficking of children and firearms offenses following an 11-week trial; and United States v. Lopez. et al., in which four MS-13 members were convicted of murdering a fellow MS-13 gang member whom they suspected of being a cooperating witness.
Among other awards, Ms. Smith is the recipient of the Attorney General’s John Marshall Award for the Trial of Litigation, the Harry L. Stimson Medal, the Assistant Attorney General’s (AAG) Award for Exceptional Service, the AAG Award for Distinguished Service and the EOUSA Director’s Award.
John J. Durham
Mr. Durham joined the Office in October 2005 and has served in the General Crimes Section and Long Island Criminal Section. Mr. Durham has been appointed to several leadership positions in the Office and the Department of Justice, including Deputy Chief for the Long Island Criminal Section, the Office’s Capital Case Coordinator, the Attorney General’s Review Committee on Capital Cases and Chair of the MS-13 Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force. In August 2019, Mr. Durham was appointed to serve as the Director of Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV), a Department of Justice initiative to combat La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), where he spearheaded indictments against MS-13’s highest-ranking international leaders. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1998 and from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 2001. Mr. Durham clerked for United States District Judge Stephen C. Robinson in the Southern District of New York.
During his time in the Office, Mr. Durham has investigated, prosecuted and supervised a broad range of federal offenses, including racketeering, murders, terrorism, civil rights, obstruction of justice, armed robberies, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, firearms and public corruption. Most significantly, he has directed the Office’s efforts to dismantle the operations of MS-13 in the EDNY, as well as nationally and internationally. In a series of EDNY indictments, he has led teams of AUSAs and investigators that have arrested and convicted hundreds of MS-13 leaders, members and associates, including charges related to more than 65 murders committed in this district between January 2008 and the present. United States v. Amaya-Sanchez, et al.; United States v. Acosta, et al.; United States v. Cerna, et al.; United States v. Alvarenga et al.; and United States v. Prado et al. As the Director of JTFV, Mr. Durham led a team of AUSAs and law enforcement officers from across the country and secured significant indictments against MS-13’s command and control structure across the United States, Central America and Mexico, including the first use of national security charges against MS-13 leaders. United States v. Henriquez, et al. (EDNY); United States v. Arevalo-Chavez, et al. (EDNY); United States v. Carias, et al. (SDNY); and United States v. Melgar-Diaz, et al. (EDVA). In addition to his work combatting MS-13, Mr. Durham has prosecuted defendants who attempted to travel to Yemen for the purpose of joining al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and fighting jihad against United States allies (United States v. Kaliebe/Zea), and members of numerous other violent criminal organizations, including the Bloods, 18th Street gang, Crips, Salvadorans With Pride and violent narcotics trafficking and robbery crews based in the district. Finally, in addition to his violent crime work, Mr. Durham has prosecuted a number of significant and sensitive public corruption and civil rights matters, including the former Chief of Department for the Suffolk County Police Department (United States v. Burke, et al.), the former Suffolk County District Attorney and former Chief of Investigations and Chief of the Government Corruption Bureau for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office (United States v. Spota and McPartland), a then-sitting Nassau County Legislator (United States v. Corbin), a New York City Police Department sergeant (United States v. Green) and a Food and Drug Administration official (United States v. Oliver, et al.).
Among other awards, Mr. Durham is the recipient of the Charles E. Rose Award; Henry L. Stimson Medal; EOUSA Director’s Award for Superior Performance; National Association of Former United States Attorneys, Exceptional Service Award; and several Federal Law Enforcement Foundation Awards.
Richard K. Hayes
Mr. Hayes joined in the Office’s Civil Division in 1991, and since then has litigated nearly every type of case. He had been a Deputy Chief of the Civil Division since 2012 with overall supervisory responsibility for the Division’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement, Civil Rights, Drug and Listed Chemical, Environmental and Health Care Fraud practices. Prior to serving as Deputy Chief, Mr. Hayes was the Office’s Chief of Affirmative Civil Enforcement. Mr. Hayes graduated from Fordham University School of Law, where he was on the Moot Court Editorial Board and a member of the Fordham Urban Law Journal. He received his B.A. in History and Political Science summa cum laude from Fordham University and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Mr. Hayes has handled some of the largest matters with the Office and the Department of Justice stemming from the Financial Crisis. These included the 2012 $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement, which resolved federal and state claims against the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers. In addition to recovering damages incurred by the Federal Housing Administration, the settlement provided for billions of dollars in homeowner relief nationwide. Mr. Hayes also originated and led the Office’s Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) practice, a component of the Department of Justice’s RMBS Working Group. This entailed building teams that at one point comprised more than sixty AUSAs, other attorneys and professional staff which investigated banks that underwrote hundreds of billions of dollars in failed RMBS. Ultimately, six banks and several individuals paid more than $11 billion in penalties and provided $6.6 billion in consumer relief to resolve claims under the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act. All told, the Office has received over $20 billion in credit for financial crisis era cases that Mr. Hayes handled and supervised.
In addition to his financial fraud work, Mr. Hayes has obtained monetary and injunctive relief in a wide range of matters. For example, in United States v. Staten Island University Hospital, he led an investigation of multiple Medicare and Medicaid billing schemes and negotiated an $89 million global settlement of civil fraud claims. In United States v. Lawrence Aviation Industries, Mr. Hayes and his team members obtained a $48 million judgment after trial in a Superfund cost recovery and penalty case. And, in United States v. Local 14 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, he filed and resolved civil RICO claims, securing appointment of a court-ordered monitorship over the mob-infiltrated union.
Mr. Hayes is a two-time recipient of the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, a two-time recipient of the Director’s Award for Superior Performance, and a recipient of the Henry L. Stimson Medal for outstanding performance as an Assistant United States Attorney.
U.S. Army Research Biologist Pleads Guilty to Engaging in A Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Jason Edmonds, age 45 of North East, Maryland pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of bribery relating to a bribery scheme at the Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Special Agent in Charge William DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, and Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
According to the guilty plea, Edmonds was employed by the United States Army as a Research Biologist at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (“CCDC”) Chemical Biological Center (“CB Center”) located at the Aberdeen Proving Ground (“APG”). The CCDC CB Center was the nation’s principal research and development center for non-medical chemical and biological weapons defense. The CB Center developed technology in the areas of detection, protection, and decontamination.
From 2012 to 2019, Edmonds accepted cash and other financial benefits from John Conigliaro, the owner and CEO of EISCO, Inc. in exchange for favorable action on CB Center contracts. For example, in July 2013, Edmonds directed a $300,000 CB Center project to EISCO. Three months later, in October 2013, Conigliaro gave Edmonds $40,000 in cash so that Edmonds could purchase two rental real estate properties. Once Edmonds purchased the rental properties, Conigliaro paid for thousands of dollars of renovations to the rental properties.
Relative to the cash exchange, Edmonds and Conigliaro executed a “Promissory Note,” which was subsequently amended by Edmonds on June 14, 2014. In the amended “Promissory Note,” Edmonds credited himself $18,100 against the $40,000 in cash for past projects that Edmonds had directed to EISCO at the CB Center. Edmonds also wrote that Conigliaro would provide him an additional $25,000 in exchange for future projects that Edmonds would direct to EISCO.
Between December 2016 and August 2017, Edmonds directed a series of government projects to EISCO in exchange for a stream of benefits from Conigliaro, including a kitchen remodel at Edmonds’s personal residence, the purchase of a granite countertop, a kitchen sink, and new siding to his home.
In June 2020, after federal agents attempted to interview Edmonds and Conigliaro, the co-conspirators met approximately three times to discuss the investigation. During those meetings, Edmonds proposed that he and Conigliaro inform federal investigators that Edmonds had repaid Conigliaro with gold and baseball cards, knowing that it was false.
Edmonds faces a maximum of five years in federal prison for conspiring to commit bribery. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, and the Army Criminal Investigation Division for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bijon A. Mostoufi and Michael Cunningham, who are prosecuting the federal case, and Paralegal Specialist Joanna Huber.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Trio SentencedRead the Press Release
FORT WAYNE –Three individuals were sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to access device fraud, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Giovanni Mazzone, 34, of Gilbert, AZ was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release.
Lucian Neagu, 32, of Fullerton, CA was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release.
Julian Dumbrava, 36, of Baytown, TX was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, in October 2023, the above defendants possessed devices that were installed on ATMs for the purpose of stealing ATM card information.
In general, shimming devices and skimming devices are designed to obtain information from the magstripe on the back of, or the microchip implanted in, credit and debit cards. Both devices are most often accompanied by cameras that are installed on the ATM to capture a customer’s PIN number. These devices are usually placed onto or within the ATM for a limited period of time and then removed. The fraudster then creates fraudulent credit and debit cards using the PIN number and captured data which are then used to illegally obtain goods, services, and currency. TIP: When you use your card at an ATM, gas pump, or other payment keypad, it is a good practice to be mindful of anything unusual with the machine and to cover your hand as you input your PIN number.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in coordination with the Indiana State Police and the Huntington Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley Miller-Lowery.
Trillium Capital Manager Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud Scheme Involving Getty ImagesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Mashpee man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to his role in a scheme to artificially inflate the trading price of Getty Images Holdings, Inc. and attempting to cover up the scheme.
Robert Scott Murray, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for October 3, 2024.
Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (Getty) is a visual media company and supplier of images, videos and music, headquartered in Seattle. Getty’s stock is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GETY. Murray was a long-time investor who previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of multiple public companies, including Stream Global Services and 3Com. In April 2023 Murray owned approximately 300,000 GETY shares. Thereafter, Murray issued press releases and sent emails in the name of Trillium Capital LLC – a “venture investment company” located in Massachusetts of which Murray was the sole owner and manager – urging that Getty add Murray to its board of directors. Murray’s efforts to join Getty’s board of directors failed.
Murray proceeded to make false and misleading statements, including through press releases and in media interviews, with the purpose of artificially inflating the GETY trading price so that Murray could sell the GETY shares he owned at the artificially inflated price. On Friday, April 21, 2023, GETY shares closed at a trading price of $5.06 per share. On Monday, April 24, 2023, prior to the market opening, Murray caused the publication of a press release in which Trillium Capital made a proposal to acquire Getty for “$10 per share.” When the market opened, GETY shares traded at $7.88 per share, nearly 56 percent above the prior closing price. Murray then sold all the GETY shares he owned within less than one hour for approximately $1,486,467. Murray’s friend, who Murray had previously instructed to buy GETY shares, also sold shares that same morning at Murray’s direction for approximately $558,328.
On or about Dec. 6, 2023, Murray instructed his friend to delete all their text messages and to mislead law enforcement agents who had approached her by falsely telling them that they had not exchanged text messages. Murray instructed the friend that text messages are “like virginity, once you delete your virginity you ain’t getting it back.” When approached by law enforcement agents in February 2024, Murray falsely denied telling his friend to buy Getty shares.
The charge of securities fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against Murray alleging violations of the securities laws.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division made the announcement. The Securities and Exchange Commission provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
Three More Paycheck Protection Program Defendants Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Teldrin Foster, John Gaines, and Carla Jackson have been sentenced for their roles in a scheme to steal Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, a total of 23 individuals have been convicted and sentenced in connection with the fraudulent scheme.
“Foster, Gaines, and Jackson, together with 20 other defendants who have already been sentenced for their participation in this criminal scheme, took advantage of a relief program designed to keep small businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K Buchanan. “These defendants have been held accountable for depriving this program of funds desperately needed by some of the most vulnerable in our society. And their sentences send a clear message that fraud against the government will not be tolerated.”
“COVID-19 disaster relief loans were issued by the government to help businesses struggling to survive during a pandemic, not to use for personal pleasures like these defendants used them for,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will continue to hold accountable those who abused taxpayer dollars and diverted them from citizens who desperately needed them.”
“Those who took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic relief programs are realizing from these sentences that even after four years since Congress enacted them, they are still being held accountable,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents will continue investigating and forwarding for prosecution to the U.S. Attorney’s Office those who committed fraud against the government.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the second superseding indictment, and other information presented in court: From April 2020 through August 2020, Foster worked with co-defendant Darrell Thomas and others to fraudulently obtain at least 14 fraudulent loans. Each of the 14 businesses obtained a PPP loan between $700,000 and $850,000, for a total of over $11 million. The loan applications certified that: each applicant’s business was in operation on February 15, 2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid independent contractors; the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments; and the information provided in the application and in all supporting documents and forms was true and accurate in all material respects.
The PPP loan applications reported that each business maintained between 59 and 69 employees and generated approximately $295,000 to $342,000 in average monthly payroll expenses. To support these payroll figures, each business’s loan application was accompanied by an Internal Revenue Service Form 941, which employers use to report quarterly payroll taxes, for each quarter of 2019 and by a bank statement or a spreadsheet reflecting payroll expenses. In fact, none of the businesses had employees or incurred payroll expenses. The Form 941s, bank statements, and W2 payroll spreadsheets were all fabricated. Some of the supporting documents the businesses submitted were substantively identical, including the Form 941s, bank statements, and W2 payroll spreadsheets – where the reported figures were identical but purported employee names had been changed.
Gaines worked with co-defendant Thomas and others to obtain a fraudulent PPP loan in the amount of $806,710, for a Georgia business called Gaines Reservation and Travel. But that business had no employees or payroll expenses. To support the fraudulent PPP loan application, Gaines provided Thomas with fabricated bank statements for Gaines Reservation and Travel that reflected fake payroll deductions. After the PPP loan was approved, the funds were deposited into an account controlled by Gaines. Gaines later directed payments to Thomas that were disguised as payments for rent and payroll, which are approved expenses under the PPP.
Jackson laundered some of the proceeds of Gaines Reservation and Travel’s PPP loan, receiving over $300,000 of the stolen PPP funds into her business’s bank account. The funds were transferred via a check in the amount of $155,252.50 and a wire transfer in the amount of $179,985.72. The check falsely claimed that the funds were provided to Jackson as consulting fees and daily business management, and the wire transfer documentation falsely stated that the funds were for payroll services. In actuality, Jackson was assisting Gaines in concealing the stolen PPP funds from detection and seizure by federal law enforcement.
U.S. District Judge Jean-Paul “J.P.” Boulee sentenced the defendants as follows:
- Teldrin Foster, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9,606,627. On February 15, 2024, he was convicted by a jury of six counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, eight counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, fourteen counts of wire fraud, six counts of making false statements to a federally insured financial institution, and one count of money laundering.
- John Gaines, 59, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $806,710. On January 31, 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering.
- Carla Jackson, 56, of Tucker, Georgia, was sentenced to three years in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $335,238. On February 15, 2024, she was convicted by a jury of two counts of money laundering.
To date, a total of 24 individuals have been charged in connection with the fraudulent scheme. Twenty other individuals have pleaded guilty and been sentenced, while one defendant’s charges remain pending.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken, Samir Kaushal, Nathan Kitchens, and Norman Barnett of the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Three Men Facing Federal Charges in Connection to Seizure of Methamphetamine and Thousands of Fentanyl PillsRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington- Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that three men are facing federal drug charges. Osvaldo Guadalupe Soto-Orduno, Jose Roman Lizarraga Gerardo, and Jose Efrain Gonzalez Rodriguez were charged by criminal complaint with Conspiracy to Distribute 400 Grams or More of a Mixture Containing Fentanyl and 500 Grams or More of a Mixture Containing Methamphetamine.
According to the complaint, on June 26, 2024, DEA investigators identified a Toyota Corolla, believed to be used to transport drugs, travel to a house in Spokane. Investigators observed Lizarraga and Soto get out of the Toyota and enter the home. Soto was then allegedly observed carrying a black bag into the house. A short time later, investigators observed Lizarraga and Soto exit the house with the bag and leave in the Toyota.
Law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop of the Toyota. According to the complaint, Soto consented to a search of the vehicle. During the search, investigators located several large bundles of U.S. currency packaged in a manner which officers recognized as consistent with large scale drug trafficking.
The complaint further alleges that investigators later observed Gonzalez-Rodriguez and another man exit the residence carrying a black backpack and depart in an Acura sedan. A vehicle stop was conducted on the Acura. According to the complaint, investigators conducted a search of the Acura and located approximately 7,000 pills presumed to be fentanyl as well as two pounds of presumed methamphetamine inside the vehicle.
According to the complaint, investigators conducted a search of the residence and located 61,000 pills believed to be fentanyl, more than three pounds of methamphetamine, more than a pound of cocaine, a small quantity of heroin, and four firearms.
“The fentanyl epidemic is taking lives at an unprecedented pace,” stated U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref. “My office is committed to working with our with our law enforcement partners to remove large quantities of deadly drugs from the streets and to disrupt drug networks.”
This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Spokane Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement and Narcotics (RAVEN) task force and the United States Border Patrol. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy J. Ohms.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Three Baton Rouge Individuals Charged in Federal Court in Connection with the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement ActionRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced criminal charges against three individuals in connection with an alleged scheme to acquire controlled substances by fraud, to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and to defraud Medicaid. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action.
Kevan Andre Hills, age 30, Devin Tyrone Stampley, Jr., age 32, and Asia Deshan Guess, age 27, all of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were charged by indictment for their respective roles in a conspiracy to acquire and obtain controlled substances by fraud, to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, and to commit health care fraud, in the Middle District of Louisiana and elsewhere. As alleged in the indictment, beginning in or around April 2021, and continuing through at least February 2023, Hills, Stampley, Guess, and their co-conspirators fraudulently obtained controlled substances from pharmacies in the Baton Rouge area and elsewhere using at least 97 forged and fraudulent prescriptions bearing the DEA registration numbers and other identifying information of at least 12 physicians and other medical professionals without authority. It is alleged that, in April 2022, Stampley also burglarized a pharmacy in Louisiana and stole 54 different controlled substances worth approximately $10,600 from said pharmacy.
The charges are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 193 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in the submission of over $2.75 billion in alleged false billings. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled to line their own pockets, and the Government, in connection with the enforcement action, seized over $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets.
“It does not matter if you are a trafficker in a drug cartel or a corporate executive or medical professional employed by a health care company, if you profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in danger for the sake of profits.”
“Today’s charges underscore our unwavering commitment to combating health care fraud and opioid abuse, which threaten the well-being of our communities and the integrity of our health care system,” said United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. “The defendants allegedly exploited the trust placed in our health care system to unlawfully acquire and distribute controlled substances, causing harm not only to the individuals directly affected but to the entire community. We will continue to work tirelessly with our federal, state, and local partners to bring those who engage in such fraudulent activities to justice.”
“We will not tolerate fraud that preys on patients who need and deserve high quality health care,” said the Honorable Christi A. Grimm, the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “The hard work of the HHS-OIG team and our outstanding law enforcement partners makes today’s action possible. We must protect taxpayer dollars and keep Americans safe from harms to their health, privacy, and financial well-being.”
The Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, Northeast, and Texas Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California, District of Connecticut, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan, Southern District of Mississippi, District of Montana, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, Eastern District of North Carolina, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Rhode Island, Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia, and Eastern District of Wisconsin; and State Attorney Generals’ Offices for Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and South Dakota are prosecuting the cases in the National Enforcement Action, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team. Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website at https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit/2024-national-hcf-case-summaries.
The Middle District of Louisiana in particular, worked with the Department’s Criminal Division and the following law enforcement organizations to investigate and prosecute the cases filed during the enforcement period: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Louisiana State Police (LSP) Fugitive Task Force and Criminal Investigation Division.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen L. Craig of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana and Trial Attorneys Gary A. Crosby II and Samantha E. Usher of the Gulf Coast Strike Force.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tennessee Man Arrested for Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, and Making A False Claim to the IRSRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest of Clarence Christofer Ward, a/k/a Khaled Yaqud Mansur-El, on an indictment charging him with one count of wire fraud, ten counts of money laundering, and one count of making a false claim to the Internal Revenue Service. If convicted, Ward faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud offense, up to 10 years’ imprisonment for each count of money laundering, and 3 years in federal prison for the false claim offense, along with the forfeiture of at least $4,197,981, which represents the proceeds obtained from these offenses.
According to the indictment, between January 1, 2019, and February 22, 2021, Ward devised a scheme to defraud the IRS. As part of the scheme, he electronically submitted a false tax return to the IRS for a trust. Ward falsely reported that this trust had overpaid the IRS $4,159,229. He then received a $4,197,981.28 refund from the IRS based on the fraudulent representations he made on the tax return. Afterward, Ward used the refund money in transactions with title companies and a car dealership, including the purchase of four real properties in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
An indictment is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a federal criminal offense. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk.
Tareen Dermatology Agrees to Pay More Than $1.6 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Tareen Dermatology, P.A., Dr. Mohiba Tareen, and Basir Tareen, CEO (collectively, the “Defendants”) have agreed to pay the Unites States $1.63 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare and other government payors for dermatology services and treatment.
The settlement resolves allegations that the Defendants caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare and VA-administered programs in connection with Mohs surgeries, services billed as though performed under the supervision of Dr. Tareen on days she was not physically present in the clinic, office visits for which Defendants inappropriately waived beneficiary co-pays, and the use of certain skin grafts in circumstances in which their usage was not justified as billed.
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Carrie Cremin and Susanne Polzin. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of a recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States of America, et al., ex rel. Carrie Cremin and Susanne Polzin v. Tareen Dermatology P.A., Dr. Mohiba Tareen, and Dr. Basir Tareen, Case No. 19-cv-2457.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to HHS at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen E. Rau handled the matter.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on the Conviction of William WashingtonRead the Press Release
“Today, Doctor William Washington was found guilty by a unanimous jury of engaging in a widespread scheme to defraud the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefits Plan. This scam by former players — some who earned tens of millions in successful NBA careers — and health care providers caused a loss of over $5 million to the health care benefit plan. The players and doctors who engaged in this audacious scheme clearly thought it would go unnoticed — they were wrong. Washington now stands convicted of federal crimes for facilitating fraud and betraying his oath as a health care provider.”
St. Johnsbury, Vermont Man Arrested on Drug Distribution ChargesRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office stated that Dakota McAllister, 25, of St. Johnsbury, Vermont has been charged by criminal complaint with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base in May and June 2024. McAllister was arrested on the complaint during the execution of a search warrant at a residence in Lyndon, Vermont, where McAllister had been staying and from where he had been distributing drugs. McAllister’s initial appearance is scheduled for today at 3:30 p.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle in Burlington.
According to court records, in May and June 2024, over three separate transactions, McAllister twice distributed fentanyl and once cocaine base to a confidential informant, who met McAllister at the Lyndon residence to purchase the drugs. On June 27, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the Lyndon residence. In searching the Lyndon residence, law enforcement found and arrested McAllister. Among other items, law enforcement seized from the Lyndon residence multiple firearms, including multiple handguns, an assault-style pistol, and an assault rifle, as well as approximately 38 grams of suspected fentanyl and approximately 55 grams of suspected cocaine.
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that the complaint contains allegations only and that McAllister is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. McAllister faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment if convicted of the current charges in the complaint. The actual sentence, however, would be determined by the Court with guidance from the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines and the statutory sentencing factors.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts and hard work of Homeland Security Investigations, Vermont State Police, Vermont Drug Task Force, Lyndonville Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Gilman. McAllister is represented by Chandler Matson, Esq.
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.
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.
Six Block Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Possession of A Machine GunRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Trillian Mitchell (Jacksonville, 19) today pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of a machine gun. Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, on January 7, 2024, officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle traveling eastbound near Golfair Blvd. and Myrtle Ave. During the encounter, the officers smelled the odor of marijuana and conducted a probable cause search of the car. They discovered a Glock handgun beneath Mitchell’s seat. The firearm was loaded with 22 rounds of ammunition in an attached extended magazine. Additionally, a “Glock-switch” was observed on the rear of the firearm’s slide. These devices are designed to convert semi-automatic pistols into fully automatic machine guns. JSO officers also seized controlled substances found in the vehicle and on Mitchell’s person during the encounter.
The firearm was sent to the FBI laboratory for further analysis. The lab report indicated that the Glock pistol was functional and fully automatic, and Mitchell’s DNA was present on the firearm. JSO listed Mitchell as a documented Six Block gang member in the Jacksonville area.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kirwinn Mike.
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.
Sioux City Women Plead Guilty to Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Amy Parks, 57, and Brandy Binneboese, 44, both from Sioux City, Iowa pled guilty in federal court in Sioux City, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Binneboese pled guilty on June 7, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of distributing methamphetamine. Parks pled guilty on June 27, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
At the plea hearings, Binneboese and Parks admitted their involvement in a conspiracy from January 2021 through June 2023, that distributed over seven pounds of methamphetamine. Evidence showed that on three occasions in 2023, Binneboese and Parks participated in the distribution of methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement, and on an additional four occasions Parks distributed methamphetamine to that same person. On June 1, 2023, just after one of the meth transactions was completed, Binneboese was stopped by law enforcement and found with two baggies (each containing approximately 8.5 grams methamphetamine) hidden in her bra area and was further found to have $2,500 in pre-serialized buy money that had been used during the drug purchase, moments earlier, in her purse. On June 19, 2023, upon arrest of Parks, law enforcement searched her residence and seized approximately 2 ounces of methamphetamine, digital scales, drug use/distribution paraphernalia, cash, and a loaded 9mm firearm. Parks further admitted possessing the handgun in furtherance of her drug trafficking conduct, namely to protect her person and property in connection with her methamphetamine trafficking.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after presentence reports are prepared. Parks remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Binneboese remains (temporarily) on release from custody under the supervision of United States Probation. On the drug conviction, both women face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment. On the firearm conviction, Parks faces an additional mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment (consecutive to any term imposed on the drug conviction) and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and no more than three years of supervised release.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-4042. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Shenandoah Man Indicted on Wire Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A federal grand jury in Charlottesville, Virginia returned an indictment this week charging a Shenandoah, Virginia man with wire fraud for allegedly stealing over $200,000 from his former employer.
According to court documents, unsealed following the defendant’s arrest, Vernon Fisher, 66, is charged with five counts of wire fraud.
The indictment alleges that from approximately 2017 and continuing through 2021, Fisher was employed by Victim Company, a plastics company located in Elkton, Virginia. Fisher served as an accountant and controller and his responsibilities included filing taxes, running payroll, managing cash, bank deposits, and paying company bills on behalf of Victim Company.
Fisher is alleged to have engaged in a multi-year scheme involving over 300 financial transactions totaling more than $200,000 to steal from and defraud Victim Company by linking his personal bank accounts to the Victim Company bank accounts. Fisher than funneled company money to his own accounts and used it for personal expenses at Neiman Marcus, Kay Jewelers, Macys, Nordstrom, and other high-end retailers.
In addition, Fisher linked his PayPal and Cash App accounts to Victim Company’s accounts and transferred money to those accounts as well.
If convicted, Fisher faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sally J. Sullivan is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Seven Charged in Arizona as Part of the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement ActionRead the Press Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Today, United States Attorney Gary M. Restaino announced criminal charges against seven defendants in connection with alleged schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid (specifically AHCCCS, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System). The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action.
The charges in these cases stem from schemes to obtain, in the aggregate, hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent billings. For example, Rita Anagho, acting primarily though her company, Tusa Integrated Clinic LLC (“TUSA”), was charged for fraudulently billing AHCCCS approximately $69.7 million for behavioral healthcare services. ANAGHO primarily targeted AHCCCS’s American Indian Health Program (“AIHP”) and billed for services that were never provided or not provided as represented. AHCCCS provides health care services to Native Americans through AIHP, and there has been widespread fraud reported in which residential and outpatient treatment centers recruited Native Americans and other individuals to exploit the AIHP under AHCCCS. Many of the patients recruited for TUSA were Native Americans or other individuals who were enrolled in AIHP, and in some cases, patients were switched from their existing AHCCCS insurance plan to AIHP, regardless of whether the patient was Native American.
In another matter, Daud Koleosho and Adam Mutwol, acting primarily though their company, Community Hope Wellness Center LLC (“CHWC”), fraudulently billed AHCCCS approximately $57.7 million for behavioral health care services. They too primarily targeted the AIHP, billed AHCCCS for services that were never provided, and overbilled for services that were provided, all to the detriment of the AIHP.
In another case, Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King were charged for targeting elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care, for medically unnecessary wound grafts. Medicare and other health care benefit programs paid over $600 million based on the false and fraudulent claims they submitted for these vulnerable beneficiaries. Gehrke and King were arrested on June 17, 2024, at Sky Harbor International Airport as they were attempting to board a flight out of the country.
“It does not matter if you are a trafficker in a drug cartel or a corporate executive or medical professional employed by a health care company, if you profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in danger for the sake of profits.”
“These cases involve not just massive fraud to steal public funds, but also exploitation of vulnerable victims and the misappropriation of resources earmarked for Native American communities,” said U.S. Attorney Restaino. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our investigative partners will pursue justice against those who perpetrate these sorts of schemes with the utmost vigor.”
The charges announced today by U.S. Attorney Restaino are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 193 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in the submission of over $2.75 billion in alleged false billings. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled to line their own pockets, and the Government, in connection with the enforcement action, seized over $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets.
The Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, Northeast, and Texas Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California, District of Connecticut, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District to Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan, Southern District of Mississippi, District of Montana, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, Eastern District of North Carolina, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Rhode Island, Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia, and Eastern District of Wisconsin; and State Attorney Generals’ Offices for Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and South Dakota are prosecuting the cases in the National Enforcement Action, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team. Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website here.
“We will not tolerate fraud that preys on patients who need and deserve high quality health care,” said the Honorable Christi A. Grimm, the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “The hard work of the HHS-OIG team and our outstanding law enforcement partners makes today’s action possible. We must protect taxpayer dollars and keep Americans safe from harms to their health, privacy, and financial well-being.”
“Fraud against government funded health care systems not only costs taxpayers billions each year, but as we’ve seen in Arizona, deprives critical care and benefits for our most vulnerable populations,” said Brian Driscoll, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office. “People who participate in this type of fraud will continue to catch the eye of the FBI.”
The following individuals have been charged in the District of Arizona as part of this National Enforcement Action:
• Alexandra Gehrke, charged by indictment on June 18, 2024; CR-24-01040-PHX-ROS
• Jeffery King, charged by indictment on June 18, 2024; CR-24-01040-PHX-ROS
• Bethany Jameson, charged by information June 24, 2024; CR-24-01068-PHX-DWL
• Carlos Ching, charged by information June 24, 2024; CR-24-01075-PHX-MTL
• Rita Anagho, charged by indictment on June 18, 2024; CR-24-01044-PHX-MTL
• Adam Mutwol, charged by information June 25, 2024; CR-24-01097-PHX-SPL
• Daud Koleosho, charged by information June 25, 2024; CR-24-01098-PHX-MTLAlexandra Gehrke, 38, and Jeffrey King, 49, of Scottsdale, were charged by indictment with conspiracy, health care fraud, receiving kickbacks, and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare $900 million for highly expensive amniotic allografts. The defendants targeted elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care, through their companies—Apex Mobile Medical LLC, Apex Medical LLC, Viking Medical Consultants LLC, and APX Mobile Medical LLC. The defendants caused unnecessary and extremely expensive amniotic grafts to be applied to these vulnerable patients’ wounds indiscriminately, without coordination with the patients’ treating physicians, without proper treatment for infection, to superficial wounds that did not need this treatment, and in sizes excessively larger than the wound. In just sixteen months, Medicare paid the defendants more than $600 million as a result of their fraud scheme, paying on average more than a million dollars per patient for these unnecessary grafts. The defendants received more than $330 million in illegal kickbacks from the graft distributor in exchange for purchasing and ordering the grafts billed to Medicare. Significant assets were seized upon the defendants’ arrests, including luxury vehicles, gold, and bank accounts totaling more than $70 million. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Shane Butland of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Bethany Jameson, 53, of Gilbert, is charged by information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the APX scheme. As alleged in the information, Jameson was paid by Apex Mobile Medical and APX to apply medically unnecessary allografts to Medicare beneficiaries that were procured through kickbacks and bribes. Between November 2022 and August 2023, Apex Mobile Medical and APX billed Medicare over $71 million for allografts applied by Jameson. Medicare paid over $49 million based on those false and fraudulent claims. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Shane Butland of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Carlos Ching, 55, of Phoenix, is charged by information with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with the APX scheme. As alleged in the information, Ching was paid by APX to apply medically unnecessary allografts to Medicare patients that were procured through kickbacks and bribes. Between June 2023 and January 2024, APX fraudulently billed Medicare over $87 million for allografts applied by Ching. Medicare paid APX over $65 million based on those false and fraudulent claims. And from January 2024 through March 2024, Ching, through his company H3 Medical Clinic LLC, billed Medicare over $5 million for allografts that he procured through kickbacks and bribes and applied to Medicare beneficiaries without medical necessity. Medicare paid over $4 million based on those false and fraudulent claims. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Shane Butland of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Rita Anagho, 52, of San Tan Valley, was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice in connection with an alleged $69 million scheme involving a substance abuse treatment clinic in Arizona. As alleged in the indictment, Anagho owned Tusa Integrated Clinic LLC (“Tusa”), an outpatient treatment center, which was purportedly in the business of providing addiction treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. Tusa enrolled as a provider with Arizona’s Medicaid agency, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, and submitted false and fraudulent claims for services that were not provided, were not provided as billed, were so substandard that they failed to serve a treatment purpose, were not used as part of any treatment plan, and were medically unnecessary. Anagho also instructed former Tusa employees to create false therapy notes for sessions they did not conduct in 2023 after she was served with a subpoena for Tusa’s records as part of the government’s investigation of this fraud. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief James Hayes and Trial Attorney Sarah Edwards of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Adam Mutwol, 45, of Tempe, and Daud Koleosho, 44, of Gilbert, were charged by separate informations with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with an alleged $57 million substance abuse treatment fraud scheme. As alleged in the informations, Mutwol and Koleosho owned Community Hope Wellness Center LLC (“CHWC”), an outpatient treatment center, which was purportedly in the business of providing addiction treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. CHWC enrolled as a provider with Arizona Medicaid. To obtain and retain patients for CHWC whose insurance could be billed for substance abuse treatment services, Mutwol and Koleosho offered and paid kickbacks and bribes to owners of residences that housed substance abuse treatment patients, in exchange for these residence owners referring patients for treatment to CHWC. Mutwol and Koleosho submitted $57 million of false and fraudulent claims to Arizona Medicaid for treatment services that were not provided, were not provided as billed, were not provided by qualified personnel, were so substandard that they failed to serve a treatment purpose, were not part of any treatment plan, and were medically unnecessary. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney S. Babu Kaza of the Midwest Strike Force, Assistant Chief James Hayes of the National Rapid Response Strike Force, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The investigations in Arizona were conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG); and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, and the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section, are handling these prosecutions.
CASE NUMBERS: CR-24-01040-PHX-ROS
CR-24-01068-PHX-DWL
CR-24-01075-PHX-MTL
CR-24-01044-PHX-MTL
CR-24-01097-PHX-SPL
CR-24-01098-PHX-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-085_ National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action
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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.Scranton Man Sentenced to 100 Months’ Imprisonment for Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Victorious Minter, age 28, of Scranton, PA, was sentenced today to 100 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani for a firearms offense.
According to United States Attorney Karam, on January 5, 2022, Minter possessed a loaded Glock 22 .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 24 rounds in an extended magazine, after having previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison. Minter was found guilty after a four-day trial in February of 2024. During trial, evidence showed that Minter had waived the gun at another driver on the North Scranton Expressway during a road rage incident. After the other driver called 911, officers with the Scranton Police Department spotted Minter’s car and conducted a traffic stop. During that stop, the loaded pistol was discovered stuffed in the front passenger seat next to Minter’s girlfriend. Minter’s two-year-old child was also in the backseat of the car.
The matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Scranton Police Department, and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney James Buchanan prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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San Gabriel Valley Man Pleads Guilty to Sending Bomb Threat to Security Guard at Bank in El MonteRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A San Gabriel Valley man pleaded guilty today to sending a bomb threat to a security guard El Monte last year and nearly two weeks later sending a fake bomb threat to himself in an unsuccessful effort to evade detection by law enforcement.
Daniel Isaac Gonzalez, 23, of Montebello, pleaded guilty to one count of making a threat, and conveying false information, through interstate commerce to kill another person and to damage and destroy buildings by means of an explosive.
According to his plea agreement, on July 13, 2023, Gonzalez knowingly and willfully sent a bomb threat and conveyed false information via text message to the victim, a security guard at Cathay Bank in El Monte. The text message falsely stated, “I put a bomb where u work [expletive] I know where u work bank.”
On July 26, 2023, Gonzalez knowingly and willfully sent another bomb threat via text message, this time to his own work telephone while he was working at Cathay Bank in El Monte. The text message falsely stated, “This Michael you did me dirty. I put a bomb by your job guy [expletive] you and see you in hell bitch. -anonymous 909.”
Gonzalez admitted in his plea agreement that the threats and false information concerned an attempt to kill, injure, and intimidate the victim, and to unlawfully damage and destroy a building and other property by means of an explosive. He also admitted that his conduct resulted in a substantial disruption of public, governmental or business functions or services.
United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu scheduled an October 25 sentencing hearing, at which time Gonzalez, who remains free on bond, will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the El Monte Police Department investigated this case.
Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander H. Tran of the General Crimes Section and Daniel H. Weiner of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section, are prosecuting this case.
Rochester man pleads guilty to stealing mailRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.- U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Nathan Romar Arnold, 23, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to possession of United States Postal Service key, and theft of mail, which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn M. Hartford, who is handling the case, stated that on October 1 and 2, 2023, Arnold and others stole mail matter from USPS mail receptacles located near the USPS Brighton Station Post Office on N. Winton Road, the Greece Post Office on Latta Road, and the Jefferson Road Post Office. The key had been stolen from a USPS letter carrier and thereafter used to open the mail receptacles and steal the mail matter, which Arnold intended to keep for his own use and profit.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward, Boston Division, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Todd Baxter, and the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Wood.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 25, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. before Judge Geraci.
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Rochester Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison for COVID-19 Fraud, Identify Theft, and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Rochester man was sentenced today in federal court for submitting fraudulent applications for COVID-19 pandemic relief funds using stolen identities and for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Heath Gauthier, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Laplante to 145 months in federal prison and 5 years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $202,507 in restitution with $196,507 being paid to the Small Business Administration and $6,000 to two CSAM survivors.
On February 22, 2024, Gauthier pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of attempted wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of possession of child pornography.
“The defendant possessed more than one thousand images of child sex abuse material and stole people’s identities to submit numerous fraudulent applications for COVID relief funds intended for individuals and businesses who suffered financial harm as a result of the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “The defendant not only stole of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars and undermined the public confidence in pandemic relief programs, but also preyed on the most vulnerable members of society-children. The sentence imposed today sends a clear message that those who possess child sex abuse material or steal from taxpayers will be incarcerated in federal prison for long periods of time.”
“What Heath Gauthier did is disgraceful. This convicted sex offender possessed more than 1,500 images of child sexual abuse material on his computer and stole the identities of more than 10 dead people so he could blatantly defraud a government program meant to keep businesses and workers afloat during the pandemic,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Anyone who thinks exploiting children and defrauding American taxpayers is acceptable, better think twice, because the FBI and our partners stand ready to bring you to justice.”
“Today’s sentencing of Heath Gauthier demonstrates the IRS’s commitment to protecting the America people from all criminal maleficence,” said Special Agent in Charge, Harry T. Chavis Jr., IRS Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office. “Gauthier not only stole the identities of innocent people in order to misappropriate pandemic relief funds, but he also took advantage of the most innocent people, children. IRS Criminal Investigations is committed to protecting all Americans, especially the most vulnerable, from those seeking to do them harm.”
Between February 2020 and March 2021, Gauthier fraudulently applied for more than a dozen loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs. Gauthier applied for loans for non-existent companies and used the identities of more than ten deceased individuals in his applications, listing them in some applications as owners or employees of the fictitious companies. He also submitted false documents, including fabricated tax documents and counterfeit driver’s licenses to support his fraudulent applications. In total Gauthier applied for more than $1 million in CARES Act loan funds.
On February 16, 2023, investigators executed a search warrant on his residence, where they seized and later searched Gauthier’s electronic devices. During the search, investigators discovered more than 1,500 files that contained CSAM.
IRS Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Social Security Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew T. Hunter and Kasey Weiland prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
During the early part of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act included multiple relief provisions to help the millions of Americans and many small businesses adversely affected by the pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Private lenders could participate in the PPP. The loans, which were supposed to be used for payroll, were fully guaranteed by the government. If borrowers used the PPP loans for payroll and other approved expenses as intended, they could apply for loan forgiveness. The CARES Act also opened up the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. As with PPP loans, EIDL loans were supposed to be used for payroll and other business expenses such as rent and mortgage.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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Riverside County Man Who Trafficked Pound Quantities of Fentanyl and Cocaine Sentenced to 19 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Hemet man was sentenced today to 228 months in federal prison for knowingly mailing pound quantities of fentanyl and marijuana, possessing more than four pounds of fentanyl and more than 35 pounds of cocaine in his house and for illegally possessing firearms, including one so-called “ghost” machinegun lacking a serial number.
Ignacio Alcala, 38, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha.
Alcala pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of distributing fentanyl, two counts of possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.
In August 2022, Alcala knowingly mailed from a post office in Riverside to Rochester, New York, a parcel that contained approximately 1 kilogram of fentanyl. Later that month, he knowingly mailed another parcel from another post office in Riverside to New Orleans that contained approximately 2.5 kilograms of marijuana.
Law enforcement arrested Alcala at his residence in December 2022.
Inside Alcala’s residence, law enforcement seized a bag containing 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of fentanyl, along with two firearms, a .357 revolver reported stolen in 2019, and a Glock-style pistol that did not bear a legitimate serial number – commonly known as a “ghost gun” – beside a stack of children’s toys. The ghost gun had an empty large capacity magazine inserted and a Glock switch affixed to the striker plate, rendering the firearm a fully automatic machinegun pistol. Officers also found more than 16 kilograms of cocaine inside an air duct and almost half a kilogram of cocaine inside a kitchen cabinet.
“This is not a one-time incident, rather this is evidence of a serial and dangerous drug trafficker who poses a significant danger to society,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[Alcala] has contributed to the nationwide devastation by trafficking in fentanyl and using the United States Postal Service to move bulk quantities of fentanyl from Southern California to the rest of the nation.”
The United States Postal Inspection Service, in conjunction with the Riverside County Gang Impact Team, investigated this matter. The Gang Impact Team is supervised by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation and staffed by agents from the DA’s Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, and detectives and resources from the Beaumont, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Hemet, Murrieta, and Riverside Police Departments.
Assistant United States Attorney Mitchell M. Suliman of the Riverside Branch Office prosecuted this case.
Retired Georgia Soldier Sentenced to 27 Months for Cyberstalking of Co-WorkerRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Jose Castillo Hernandez, 40, of Richmond Hill, Georgia, was sentenced on Tuesday by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. On March 6, 2024, Castillo pleaded guilty to Cyberstalking.
Beginning in late 2017 through 2021, Castillo began to harass the victim - a co-worker - and the victim’s family by sending anonymous hateful messages and threats. His campaign of harassment included sending threats along with pictures of the victim to businesses patronized by the victim in multiple states. Castillo also placed a tracker on the victim’s car, and the messages escalated to detailed death threats.
The investigation was conducted by Fort Huachuca’s Criminal Investigations Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Carin C. Duryee, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR 23-CR-01636-RCC
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-084_Castillo# # #
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.Researcher at University of Montana admits falsifying records in federal investigationRead the Press Release
MISSOULA — A researcher at the University of Montana on June 27 admitted to charges of falsifying documents in a federal investigation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
The defendant, Braxton Alan Norwood, 43, of Marburg, Germany, pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with falsification of records in a federal investigation. Norwood faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and at least three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The court set sentencing for Oct. 30. Norwood was released pending further proceedings.
In a plea agreement filed in the case, the parties agree that Norwood is responsible for complete restitution and that restitution totals $165,446. If the court accepts the plea agreement at sentencing, the government will move to dismiss the indictment.
In court documents, the government alleged that Norwood was owner and CEO of Expesicor LLC, which conducted neurological disorder research at the University of Montana in Missoula. Expesicor received federal grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Norwood was designated the principal investigator, a position that directs a grant project, for federal research grants awarded to Expesicor. Between 2019 and 2021, Expesicor received $515,163 in federal grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. As further alleged, Norwood used Lab Surplus to purchase items on behalf of Expesicor. Over time, suspicions arose over Norwood’s claimed purchases, and federal agencies began an investigation. During the investigation, Norwood knowingly provided a document to case agents that included materially false information.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
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Repeat Sex Offender Convicted by Federal JuryRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Following a four-day jury trial in federal court, Steven Valder, age 34, of Syracuse, was convicted of all counts of an indictment charging him with sexual exploitation and child pornography offenses. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James made the announcement.
Valder was convicted of two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child for producing sexually explicit images of a 13-year-old boy in 2023, one count of Committing a Felony Offense Against a Minor as a Registered Sex Offender, and one count of Receipt of Child Pornography. The jury also found that Valder committed the Sexual Exploitation offenses after a prior conviction for a sex offense against a minor.
The evidence at trial showed that approximately one year after being released from prison for 2010 convictions in Cayuga County Court for Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree (forcible anal sexual conduct with a 14-year-old child), and in Federal Court for transportation and possession of child pornography, Valder sexually abused a 13-year old boy multiple times in multiple locations around the City of Syracuse and photographed that abuse, and that he received child pornography over the Internet through Russian applications he had downloaded to his phone.
Valder’s crimes were discovered after his United States Probation Officer found him in possession of an unauthorized smart phone on which the images of the child victim and internet child pornography were found.
At sentencing, scheduled for October 25, 2023, Valder faces a mandatory life sentence.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force and the New York State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Fletcher, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the Northern District of New York, prosecuted the case.
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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
Readout of the Justice Department Participation in the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement AdministratorsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department supported campus public safety and law enforcement leaders during the annual International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators Conference (IACLEA) from June 24 through June 27, in New Orleans. The conference brought together police chiefs, public safety directors, and security personnel at higher education institutions who are responsible for protecting millions of students worldwide to explore the latest trends and best practices, as well as the challenges facing institutions and communities.
Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) led a featured session, “The Road to 2030: The Next Generation of Campus Leadership,” where he discussed the present and future evolution of campus police and public safety leadership.
In his remarks, Director Dettelbach said, “It is in our DNA to support you in every effort to both prevent and respond to serious threats on and off your campuses. And we are available to talk through any questions you have about evolving threats or concerns that might be on your mind — whether that is firearm safe storage, ghost gun trends in your communities, keeping students safe off-campus in high crime areas.”
Executive Director Paul M. Cell, of the IACLEA said, “IACLEA is proud to be a partner with ATF in addressing the challenges campuses are experiencing today. Under the leadership of Director Dettelbach, the partnership has fostered training opportunities, program development, and collaboration with regional and local ATF agents with the shared mission of creating safe campus learning and living environments.”
Acting Director Justin Long of the Community Relations Service’s (CRS) and Director Hugh Clements of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) also attended. COPS representatives led a session on “Facilitated Dialogue as Conflict Response and Conflict Prevention Strategy on Campus,” that highlighted an ongoing collaboration between COPS, CRS and the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law to develop resources to help public safety agencies and communities engage in meaningful dialogue in the aftermath of critical incidents, such as police use of force, identity-based conflict, or hate crime.
COPS and ATF representatives led a panel on the recommendations from the department’s Critical Incident Review on the mass casualty incident at Robb Elementary School, a moderated panel discussion on de-escalation, as well as a session on identifying and documenting privately made firearms (PMFs).
FBI representatives led sessions on FBI’s National Domestic Communications Assistance Center’s (NDAC) resources for Law Enforcement in the digital age. NDCAC serves as a knowledge management hub for evidence collection from communications providers and devices, geolocation capabilities, and lawfully authorized electronic surveillance. The FBI also led a presentation on “Responders' Wellness & Resilience,” which focused on responders’ wellness and resiliency after active shooter and mass shooting incidents.
With the conclusion of this successful IACLEA conference, the Justice Department emphasizes the importance of partnerships with campus law enforcement and continues to closely collaborate with them to promote public safety across the country.