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Tuesday 11 June 2024
Robert Hunter Biden Found Guilty of Three Felonies Related to the Illegal Purchase of a FirearmRead the Press Release
After a week-long trial, a federal jury in the District of Delaware found Robert Hunter Biden guilty of three felonies connected with his illegal purchase of a firearm in October 2018, including making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed firearms dealer, and possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
“This case was about the illegal choices the defendant made while in the throes of addiction — his choice to lie on a government form when he bought a gun and the choice to then possess that gun,” said Special Counsel David C. Weiss. “It was these choices and the combination of guns and drugs that made his conduct dangerous. No one in this country is above the law. However, Hunter Biden should be no more accountable than any other citizen convicted of the same conduct. The prosecution has been and will continue to be committed to this principle, and to the principles of federal prosecution in carrying out its responsibilities.”
Biden purchased a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver from a federally licensed firearms dealer on Oct. 12, 2018. When purchasing a firearm, a prospective purchaser must fill out a Firearm Transaction Record, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Form 4473, and certify that all of his or her answers on the form are true and correct.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Biden knowingly made a false written statement on the ATF Form 4473 when he certified that he was not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug or any other controlled substance. In fact, he knew that statement was false. Evidence at trial further proved that Biden knowingly made a false statement and representation to a federally licensed firearms dealer with respect to information the dealer is required to keep under federal law. Lastly, during an 11-day period between Oct. 12 and Oct. 23, 2018, Biden possessed a firearm while knowing he was an unlawful user of or addicted to any stimulant, narcotic drug or any other controlled substance, in violation of federal law.
Court documents and information for this case is located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 23-cr-00061-MN.
Riverview Man Sentenced to 13 Months’ Imprisonment for COVID-19 Relief FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Alexander Alli (39, Riverview) to 13 months in federal prison for conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with his fraudulent receipt of COVID-19 relief funds. The Court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $82,400, the proceeds of the fraud. Alli was found guilty by a jury on March 13, 2024.
According to court documents, Alli and a co-conspirator submitted a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application to the Small Business Administration (SBA). Alli falsely represented that he had a business suffering injury due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the EIDL funds would be used only for business-related purposes, as specified in the loan applications. However, Alli’s business was no longer operational at the time his EIDL application was submitted and had ceased operations prior to the start of the pandemic. While Alli certified the EIDL funds would be used for his business, the evidence showed he spent the funds fraudulently. Alli’s false and fraudulent representations caused the SBA to approve and fund a total of $82,500 in EIDL funds.
In May 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 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.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Peresie and Merrilyn E. Hoenemeyer.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Richmond felon pleads guilty after being caught illegally possessing a firearmRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man pled guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, on Feb. 13, two Richmond Police officers were approaching the 25th Street Market when they noticed three individuals, one of whom was later identified as Chavelle Lamar Lewis, 35, walking toward the market. Officers saw the men take note of them before entering the store. The officers parked and walked into the store to speak with the clerks. One of the officers noticed that Lewis appeared to have a bulge in his clothing and was walking with a slight limp.
Lewis walked out of the store without any items, and without his two friends. As Lewis was walking across the street, one of the officers recognized him from a prior traffic crash. The officer caught up with Lewis and asked how he was doing, if he remembered the officer, and whether his leg was okay, since Lewis was walking with a limp. Lewis stopped walking and engaged in conversation with the officer, saying that his leg was okay. The officer asked Lewis if he had a gun, and Lewis said “no." The officer then asked Lewis if he had a concealed permit for the gun in his pocket, and Lewis again said “no." When the officer asked Lewis what kind of firearm it was, Lewis fled.
The officer pursued until Lewis surrendered. As the officers detained Lewis, he admitted that he had a 9mm firearm in his right pocket. The officers removed and secured the firearm. Lewis has prior felony convictions, including a 2009 conviction for robbery and use or display of a firearm in commission of a felony. As a previously convicted felon, Lewis cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition.
Lewis is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3 and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Rick Edwards, Chief of Richmond Police; and Colette Wallace McEachin, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Richmond, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. accepted the plea.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Groover, an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney with the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven E. Anthony are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-55.
Reno Resident Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Coercion and Enticement of A ChildRead the Press Release
RENO – A Reno resident was sentenced Monday to the mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison to be followed by lifetime term of supervised release for coercion and enticement of a child.
According to court documents, Carlos Heringer Concha (45), between December 20, 2022 and March 2, 2023, he communicated with a 14-year-old child on Discord. The chats revealed that Concha initiated sexual conversations, requested photos from the victim, and sent photos and videos of himself to the victim. On March 2, 2023, he traveled from Reno to Truckee, Calif., in order to meet and engage in sexual intercourse with the victim. He was arrested by law enforcement. Concha was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2023, and he pleaded guilty in February 2024, to one count of coercion and enticement.
In a separate case in the Second Judicial District Court, on April 22, 2024, Concha was convicted of two counts of Luring/Attempting to Lure a Child with the Use of Computer Technology to Engage in Sexual Conduct for crimes he committed when he was on pretrial release for the federal case, and was sentenced on each count to 48 to 120 months imprisonment to run consecutive to each other. The sentence imposed in federal court was ordered to run partially consecutive to Concha’s state sentence. United States District Chief Judge Miranda M. Du ordered 84 months of his federal sentence to run consecutive to his state case.
In addition to imprisonment, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), Concha must register as a sex offender and keep the registration current.
United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.
The FBI, the Regional HEAT team, and the Truckee Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Megan Rachow prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
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Readout of Joint Task Force Alpha’s Third Anniversary MeetingRead the Press Release
Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland marked the third anniversary of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the highly successful national effort to investigate and prosecute human smuggling at the southern border, by convening senior leaders of the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and State to discuss their shared, ongoing work. Over the past three years, the work of JTFA has led to over 300 domestic and international arrests and over 240 convictions in the United States. Among other things, the meeting covered several new initiatives, including JTFA’s expansion to combat human smuggling in Colombia and Panama, which lie on either side of a region known as the Darién; a legislative proposal to increase penalties for the most prolific and dangerous human smugglers; and $8 million in rewards offers issued as part of the new Anti-Smuggling Rewards Initiative announced two weeks ago.
“Today, we are doubling down on our efforts to strike at the heart of where human smuggling networks operate,” said Attorney General Garland. “In the next phase of Joint Task Force Alpha’s work, we are expanding its regional focus, offering new financial rewards for information about key leaders of smuggling criminal organizations, and asking Congress to enact longer sentences for human smugglers. We will continue to work across the federal government to disrupt and dismantle the human smuggling networks that prey on vulnerable migrants and endanger our national security.”
“We are using every tool at our disposal to disrupt and dismantle the human smuggling networks that have spread misery throughout the Western Hemisphere,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “With today’s announcement, we are expanding our enforcement efforts to the Darién—among the most dangerous migrant crossings on Earth—and deploying rewards programs like the ones that have brought down drug kingpins to pursue human smugglers. To those who traffic human beings through the Darién, know this: the full force of the U.S. government is coming for you.”
The Darién is a roadless stretch of mountainous jungle terrain connecting southern Panama with northern Colombia that forms the sole land bridge between Central America and South America. Its treacherous landscape has witnessed a surge in human smuggling as migrants cross it on foot, often exposing themselves to mortal danger at the hands of criminal smuggling organizations to do so. Organized criminals who control the route routinely target migrants—adults and children—for violent crimes, including murder, rape, and robbery, as well as extortion. Many migrants try to circumvent the land route by taking a sea voyage, which is just as dangerous. They risk death on this path, too, facing rough seas, overcrowding, rickety boats, and insufficient life vests.
“Countering human smuggling, and the ruthless criminal organizations that perpetrate it, is a law enforcement priority and critical to our homeland security,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie Canegallo. “The Department of Homeland Security and our partners across the Biden-Harris Administration are prioritizing combatting human smuggling with the coordinated efforts and innovation that this crime demands. The steps taken today to expand the scope of Joint Task Force Alpha will lead to more arrests, indictments, and convictions of traffickers; support our efforts to dismantle transnational criminal organizations; and help protect migrants from those looking to exploit them for financial gain.”
The Attorney General was joined at today’s event by key partners in JTFA’s ongoing work, including Deputy Attorney General Monaco; Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Canegallo; Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Todd D. Robinson; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Deputy Executive Associate Director Patrick McElwain of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Deputy Chief David S. BeMiller of U.S. Border Patrol; U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas; U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas; U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico; U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona; and U.S. Attorney Tara K. McGrath for the Southern District of California.
When the Attorney General created JTFA in 2021, it focused on human smuggling organizations operating in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Since then, JTFA—led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section, in close partnership with all five southwest border U.S. Attorneys’ Offices—has brought many major human smugglers to justice in the United States, including by obtaining years- or decades-long prison sentences. Expanding JTFA to Colombia and Panama recognizes those achievements and seeks to apply that same approach—using expert investigative, prosecutorial, and intelligence resources to target and aggressively pursue, disrupt, and dismantle human smuggling and trafficking networks—to achieve accountability and deterrence, with an unwavering focus on human safety, in Colombia and Panama.
JTFA’s expansion is another example of the Justice Department’s sustained focus on prosecuting human smuggling, following last week’s joint announcement with the Departments of Homeland Security and State regarding a new Anti-Smuggling Rewards Initiative, support for enhancements to the penalties for smuggling, and other efforts.
In addition, earlier today, the Department formally transmitted to Congress a new legislative proposal to increase penalties for the most prolific and dangerous human smugglers. The proposal, titled the “Deterring Human Smuggling and Harm to Victims Act of 2024,” would amend U.S. Sentencing Guideline 2L1.1, which governs human smuggling offenses, by creating steeper penalty tiers based on the number of people smuggled by the defendant; increasing penalties when the defendant’s conduct results in injury or death to more than one person; and ensuring defendants are subject to sentencing enhancements for sexual assault and other types of prohibited sexual conduct committed during the smuggling offense, even if that conduct occurred outside U.S. jurisdiction.
The State Department also announced today the first three awards under the Anti-Smuggling Rewards Initiative. These awards, which total up to $8 million, were discussed at today’s meeting by Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Robinson. These awards focus on human smuggling operations by the Clan del Golfo in the Darién, and offer: (1) Up to $2 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of any key leader of Clan del Golfo involved in human smuggling in the Darién; (2) Up to $1 million for information leading to the disruption of financial mechanisms of the Clan del Golfo to finance, sustain, or support human smuggling operations in the Darién; and (3) Up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of any key leader of Clan del Golfo involved in human smuggling in the Darién by encouraging and inducing aliens to enter the United States resulting in death, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) and 1324(a)(1)(B)(iv). Information in response to the reward offer can be shared with HSI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection by telephone at (866) 347-2423 (toll free) or online at www.ice.gov/tips. Individuals located outside of the United States, can contact the nearest U.S. Embassy/Consulate and all identities are kept strictly confidential.
Fact Sheet
Rantoul Man Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Deliver more than 50 Grams of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Urbana, Ill. – On June 10, 2024, a Rantoul, Illinois, man Artez L. Johnson, of the 300 block of South Marshall Street was sentenced to 252 months imprisonment to be followed by 7 years of supervised release, for possessing with intent to deliver more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
In August 2023, Johnson was convicted of the offense following a federal jury trial held in front of United States District Judge Colin Bruce. At the trial, the government presented evidence establishing that on February 20, 2023, Johnson was pulled over during a traffic stop near the intersection of Maplewood and Grove Avenue in Rantoul, Illinois. Upon Johnson exiting the car, Rantoul police noticed a small bag of suspected cocaine on the driver’s seat. Officers searched the car and located approximately 330 grams of methamphetamine ice packed in three Ziplock bags in the center console. Johnson claimed ownership of the methamphetamine but claimed it was for personal use. The Government presented additional evidence that Johnson had sold methamphetamine to an individual for several months prior to Johnson’s arrest. Expert testimony was presented that 330 grams is a distribution amount, not a personal use amount.
The statutory penalties for possessing with intent to deliver more than 50 grams of methamphetamine are 10 years to life imprisonment, at least 5 years supervised release, and a fine of not more than $10 million.
The case investigation was conducted by the Rantoul Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Sullivan and Rachel Ritzer represented the government in the prosecution.
Owner of Halo Home Healthcare pleads guilty to health care fraud, tax crimesRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI - Sharon Romaine Ward, 52, formerly of West Chester, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to fraudulently billing more than $8.5 million to Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Affairs home healthcare programs between 2015 and 2021.
Ward admitted that, when she started Halo Home Healthcare in 2015, she concealed her ownership of the company because she had a prior felony conviction in 2013 for passing forged and fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone while serving as a nurse practitioner in Warren County. The conviction made her ineligible to participate in federal health care programs for ten years.
According to court documents, Halo Home Healthcare routinely overbilled federal healthcare programs, charging them for services it did not perform. In one example cited in court documents Halo continued to bill Medicaid for home health services while the patient was hospitalized. In addition, between 2017 and 2020, Halo hired over 50 employees with significant criminal histories which ordinarily should have excluded them from providing home health services, including one individual who was charged with a quadruple murder while ostensibly working for Halo.
Ward submitted at least 92,770 claims to Medicaid seeking $8,556,776.58, receiving $8,403,299.24 between 2016 and 2021. Court documents say she also failed to provide accurate information to her business tax return preparer causing false tax returns to be prepared and filed.
Ward pleaded guilty today to one count of health care fraud and one count of making a false income tax return. Health care fraud is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Filing a false income tax return is punishable by up to three years in prison. Terms of the plea agreement include a recommendation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office that the prison term does not exceed five years for the health care fraud. The court will determine an appropriate sentence under federal sentencing guidelines.
The agreement also calls for Ward to pay restitution to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Ohio Department of Medicaid in an amount to be determined at sentencing. Ward also agreed to prepare and file corrected business tax returns with the IRS and pay restitution, plus any interest and penalties. The IRS determined a tax loss of $81,617.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Health Care Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo is representing the United States in this case.
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Orthopedic Surgeon Admits Multiple Counts of Unlawful Distribution of Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey orthopedic surgeon today admitted multiple counts of illegally prescribing pain medication to his patients, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Evangelos Megariotis, 72, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal court to seven counts of a 34-count indictment charging him with dispensing Oxycodone, Oxycontin, and Oxycodone-Acetaminophen to five patients outside of the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Megariotis was a New Jersey physician specializing in orthopedic surgery and practicing in Clifton, New Jersey. From March 2017 through November 2017, Megariotis issued prescriptions for Oxycodone, Oxycontin, and Oxycodone-Acetaminophen pills to five of his patients, and did so without a legitimate medical purpose and outside of the usual course of professional practice. Oxycodone, Oxycontin, and Oxycodone-Acetaminophen – Schedule II controlled substances – have a high potential for abuse that can lead to severe psychological and physical dependence and can result in fatal overdoses.
Megariotis faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger credited special agents, diversion investigators and task force officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Mateo of the Opioid Abuse Prevention & Enforcement Unit.
megariotis.indictment.pdfOhio Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
BOISE – Gary Hastler, 67, of Delaware, Ohio, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, the investigation began when the teenaged victim disclosed to the Boise Police Department (BPD) that Hastler had sexually abused her on multiple occasions in the summer of 2022. During the investigation, BPD learned that Hastler had sexually abused another child in Ohio. While investigating the abuse in Ohio, the Delaware Police Department located explicit images of the Idaho victim on Hastler’s cellphone. BPD obtained a federal search warrant for the cellphone and confirmed that Hastler had produced sexually explicit images of the Idaho victim while at a hotel in Boise.
U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also sentenced Hastler to a lifetime term of supervised release. Hastler will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction.
“This case demonstrates the national reach of our efforts to bring to justice those who abuse and exploit children,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “The partnerships we have in Idaho are effective at identifying sex offenders, and we will track them down wherever they may be.”
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the cooperative efforts of the Boise Police Department, the Delaware Police Department, and the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force which led to charge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kassandra McGrady 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. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Terry James Cox, 40, of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 30, 2023, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Cox in Huntington. Cox admitted that he possessed approximately 5.4 grams of methamphetamine in the vehicle, and that he intended to distribute it. Cox further admitted that he also possessed a loaded North American Arms .22-caliber revolver, .22-caliber ammunition, and digital scales in the vehicle.
Cox is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Huntington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Owen Reynolds is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-4.
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Oceanside Drug Dealer Sentenced to 78 Months in Fatal Fentanyl Overdose of U.S. MarineRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – June 11, 2024
SAN DIEGO—Jesse Sanders of Oceanside was sentenced in federal court to 6.5 years in prison for selling the fentanyl powder that resulted in the fatal overdose of a 29-year-old active-duty U.S. Marine.
According to the plea agreement, Sanders admitted that she arranged a meeting with the Marine and delivered a small plastic bag of fentanyl to the victim on January 2, 2022. At approximately 3 p.m. that day, military police and emergency medical services responded to an emergency call after the victim’s wife found him unresponsive in his parked vehicle onboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. A small plastic bag with a white, powdery substance was discovered in the front console of the vehicle.
According to the government’s sentencing argument, Sanders was addicted to fentanyl, knew how deadly the drug was, and knew the dangers it posed to users; she sold the deadly fentanyl to the victim with a warning to have naloxone on hand – a medicine that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose - because the powder she was selling was strong. Within hours, the victim was found unresponsive and died from fentanyl toxicity.
Sanders has a history of narcotics-related criminality resulting from her substance abuse and drug addiction, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum. At the time she sold the deadly fentanyl powder to the victim, she was on summary probation from a San Diego Superior Court conviction and still has an additional pending felony case for robbery.
The victim received an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, a NATO International Security Assistance Force Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and multiple Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, certificates of commendation, and letters of appreciation. He was a trained combat marksmanship coach and martial arts instructor.
He was described by family as “patient, caring, and hilarious” and “lit up any room he walked into.” Two weeks prior to his death, the victim and his wife celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary.
“Fentanyl is so powerful, so toxic, so addictive, that it can snare even the toughest among us,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “Today’s outcome cannot bring back this Marine, but it reflects the consequence for peddlers dealing this poison: prison.”
“The illicit distribution and use of fentanyl in the United States poses a critical threat to our local communities, our nation’s service members, and ultimately our national security,” said Special Agent in Charge Todd Battaglia of the NCIS Marine West Field Office. “The sentencing of Ms. Sanders for her role in the tragic death of a U.S. Marine should serve as a warning to criminals that NCIS and our partners will continue to work aggressively to bring to justice those who knowingly distribute lethal narcotics to service members.”
Special Agents with the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Major Case Response Team led the investigation as part of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute the distribution of illegal drugs—fentanyl in particular—that result in overdose deaths. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service and military commanders recognize the crucial role that drug use prevention plays in avoiding disastrous consequences for servicemembers and their families.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Wang and Special Asst. U.S. Attorney Arne Bussler.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 23-cr-00270-BAS
Jesse Sanders Age: 24 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Distribution of Fentanyl – Title 18, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1)
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Newport News trio convicted for violent crime spree with multiple murdersRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal jury convicted three Newport News men yesterday on charges relating to a series of violent crimes that included several shootings and multiple murders.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, from at least Jan. 16, 2017, through November 2017, Ronzel Monte Dixie, aka Bone or Bizzy, 31; Kwaimain Shy’de Redmon, aka Kwa, 30; and Meko Montez Brown Jr., aka Gangsta or 9-Ball, 26, along with others, carried out at least seven shootings, including multiple murders, four commercial robberies, three drug robberies, stole three cars, and engaged in two high-speed chases from police. During these robberies, the men were armed with various firearms including a .22 caliber Uzi-style firearm, a 1911 handgun, a Ruger P95 9mm pistol, and a stolen P9 Khar 9mm pistol. Victims included cellphone stores, drug dealers, gas stations/convenience stores, a correctional officer, and others. During most of the robberies, the men brandished and sometimes discharged their firearms.
On Oct. 1, 2017, Dixie, Redmon, and another person robbed a drug dealer during a home invasion of her apartment. The group brandished two firearms and took drugs, currency, and the victim’s Lexus sedan.
On Oct. 12, 2017, Dixie and another person robbed a different drug dealer for bail money to secure a bond for Redmon, who had been arrested on of Oct. 11, 2017, while fleeing on foot from the Lexus automobile they had stolen during the robbery on Oct. 1, 2017.
On Oct. 16, 2017, Dixie and Redmon summoned another individual to the Hoss’s Deli in Newport News because they had a problem with someone at the bar. They followed their target, who left Hoss’s Deli on a motorcycle, and Dixie fired a Ruger P95 from the passenger window of their vehicle, resulting in the victim’s death. Following the shooting, Dixie and Redmon rummaged through the victim’s pockets and took his wallet.
Later on Oct. 16, 2017, Dixie, Redmon, and the other individual approached the Happy Shopper convenience store in Hampton as it was closing. While demanding money, the third individual shot the store owner in the face. They proceeded to look through the store owner’s van for money and anything of value. Dixie then executed a store employee by shooting him in the back of the head while he lay face down in the parking lot.
On Nov. 7, 2017, Dixie, Brown, and another individual robbed another drug dealer, taking his P9 Kahr firearm. Approximately an hour later on Nov. 7, 2017, Dixie, Brown, and the other individual robbed an authorized retailer for MetroPCS in Hampton by brandishing the stolen firearm.
On Nov. 8, 2017, Dixie, Brown, and another individual shot and killed a man at 9:20 p.m., and then shot a correctional officer at 9:31 p.m. during an attempted robbery. Dixie boasted that he killed the first man because his nickname was “Wavy 10” and he wanted 10 bodies to his name.
On Nov. 9, 2017, Brown and another individual robbed a Miller Mart convenience store in Chesapeake. Brown brandished the P9 Kahr firearm and stole money from the business.
On Nov. 10, 2017, Dixie, Brown, Redmon, and another individual stole a Cadillac in Newport News. As Brown attempted to drive the Cadillac from the parking lot, he hit another vehicle. When the driver of that vehicle followed the Cadillac, Brown shot and killed him. An hour later, Brown attempted to rob a victim who was just getting home to his apartment. During the robbery, Brown fired the P9 Kahr at the victim, but missed. The gun jammed, however, and the victim returned fire. After Dixie, Brown, Redmon, and the other individual fled the scene, Dixie used the firearm to shoot and kill a homeless person, firing multiple rounds at the victim while exclaiming, “My gun does not jam.”
On Nov. 11, 2017, Dixie, Brown, and another individual robbed another authorized retailer for MetroPCS in Newport News. A family with two young children was present at the time of the robbery. Dixie, Brown, and the other individual brandished the firearm and stole money from the business.
Dixie was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, five counts of interference with commerce by robbery, five counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, five counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and one count of use of a firearm resulting in death. Dixie faces a mandatory minimum of 38 years of incarceration and up to life in prison when sentenced on Jan. 30, 2025.
Redmon was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, two counts of interference with commerce by robbery, two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, three counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and one count of use of a firearm resulting in death. Redmon faces a mandatory minimum of 17 years of incarceration and up to life in prison when sentenced on Jan. 30, 2025.
Brown was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, three counts of interference with commerce by robbery, three counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and one count of obstruction of justice. Brown faces a mandatory minimum of 21 years of incarceration and up to life in prison when sentenced on Jan. 30, 2025.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge David J. Novak accepted the verdict.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa McKeel and Mack Coleman, along with Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Zlotnick, are prosecuting 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. 4:22-cr-74.
New Castle Resident Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl and Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of New Castle, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.Dontae Blackshear, 25, pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab to conspiring to distribute fentanyl and cocaine between May 2021 and October 2022.
Blackshear was charged as part of a drug-trafficking crew operating in Mercer and Lawrence counties in the Western District of Pennsylvania. As part of his plea agreement, Blackshear stipulated that he was responsible for conspiring to distribute 20 grams of fentanyl and 100 grams of cocaine. Blackshear has a prior state court felony drug-trafficking conviction from 2021 involving fentanyl and heroin, for which he was sentenced to one to two years in prison and was on parole when he committed the federal drug-trafficking crime.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for October 16, 2024. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $2 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based on the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant. Blackshear remains detained pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Lawrence County Drug Task Force, Mercer County Drug Task Force, New Castle Police Department, Sharon Police Department, and Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the conviction of Blackshear.
Multiple defendants prosecuted on federal firearms, drug chargesRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, GA: Newly returned indictments in the Southern District of Georgia include felony charges for illegal firearms possession and drug distribution, while additional defendants have been sentenced to federal prison or await further proceedings after pleading guilty to federal gun charges.
“Keeping guns out of the hands of those who are prohibited to possess them is vital in preventing violent crime in our community,” said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect our citizens from illegal firearms.”
The cases are prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, to reduce violent crime with measures that include targeting convicted felons who illegally possess guns.
Those indicted during the June term of the U.S. District Court Grand Jury include:
- Joshua Robert Ward, 44, and Jordan Beverly Howard, 37, both of Augusta, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Methamphetamine and Heroin; Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
- Darnell Harold Miller, 25, of Savannah, charged with two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number; and,
- Anthony Orlando Jones, 34, of Augusta, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
Also previously indicted:
- Howard Barkley, a/k/a “T-Bone,” 46, and Johnny Porter Sr., a/k/a “Unc,” 71, both of Waycross, Ga., charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine and other drug charges, while Porter also is charged with Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises.
All indicted defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendants recently adjudicated on federal firearms charges include:
- Joshua Green, 35, of Ridgeland, S.C., was sentenced to 77 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah police found Green in possession of a pistol in a closed city park.
- Isaac C. Brown, 40, of Guyton, Ga., was sentenced to time served after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Georgia Ports Authority police conducting enhanced screenings at the Garden City Terminal found a pistol inside Brown’s truck in March 2023.
- Unique Haynes, 26, of Jacksonville, Fla., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Methamphetamine, Cocaine and Fentanyl, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. A co-defendant, Eric Massey, 29, also of Jacksonville, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Illegal Use of a Communication Facility. Haynes and Massey were charged in Augusta following an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Georgia State Patrol.
- Jamario D. Owens, 24, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah police officers found Owens in possession of a handgun while investigating a reported disturbance.
- Thomas J. Fazio II, 41, of Grovetown, Ga, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of an Unregistered Firearm. In May 2023, Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection intercepted suspected firearms silencers being shipped to Fazio, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant. During a search of Fazio’s residence, investigators found multiple firearms including an illegal short-barrel assault-style rifle and an unregistered firearm silencer.
- Pedro Walker, 24, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah police officers investigating a reported disturbance found Walker had been in possession of a pistol.
The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by the Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense.
For more information from the ATF on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atfw-form-4473
Mississippi Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Drug and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss. – A Mississippi man was sentenced to 420 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Mark Anthony Robillia, 55, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on December 1, 2022, Robillia possessed five firearms and approximately 40 grams of methamphetamine, wrapped in 13 separate baggies, at his residence in Gulfport. Further investigation revealed that Robillia purchased three of the firearms and the remaining two were given to him. Robillia had been previously convicted and incarcerated for aggravated assault, being a felon in the possession of a firearm, and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. The evidence also indicated that Robillia was distributing methamphetamine from the residence.
On February 7, 2024, a federal jury convicted Robillia of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was sentenced today to the maximum statutory sentence of 420 months, 240 months for the drug charge and 180 months for the firearms charge.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Anessa Daniels-McCaw of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Gulfport Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Buckner and Lee Smith prosecuted the case.
Michigan Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Larry Williams Jr., 53, of Pontiac, Michigan, was sentenced today to seven years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 9, 2023, Williams sold approximately 1 gram of methamphetamine and a quantity of heroin to a confidential informant at a Washington Avenue location in Huntington. Williams admitted to the transaction and further admitted to selling quantities of methamphetamine and heroin to a confidential informant in Huntington on January 31, 2023, and March 16, 2023.
On March 21, 2023, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Williams’ Adams Avenue residence in Huntington and found approximately 134 grams of methamphetamine, 15 grams of heroin, 6 grams of fentanyl, and 18 grams of cocaine base, also known as “crack.” Officers also found digital scales, a drug press and approximately $292 in the residence during the search. Williams admitted to possessing and intending to distribute the controlled substances.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force and the Huntington Police Department.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Courtney L. Finney prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:23-cr-87.
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Miami Physical Therapist Assistant Sentenced to over 3 Years in Prison for $2.6 million in Fraudulent ClaimsRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Yesterday, a federal judge in Miami, sentenced Tania Cesar, a local physical therapist assistant (PTA), to 39 months in prison and three years of supervised release after a jury found her guilty of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, and five counts of healthcare fraud.
According to evidence presented during a weeklong trial last February, over a two-year period at Elite Therapy Clinic, Cesar signed over 1,500 physical therapy notes for treatments and services that she never provided to patients. Several patients testified at trial, many of whom were paid cash in exchange for visiting Elite Therapy, that they did not recognize Cesar, despite their medical records reflecting months of treatment that Cesar purportedly provided. Elite Therapy coworkers testified that Cesar only visited Elite once or twice per week for a few hours to fill out fabricated progress notes. The fraudulent treatment notes led to over $2.6 million in claims billed to Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) and other insurance companies. Trial testimony showed that the year before Cesar started committing fraud at Elite Therapy, Cesar fabricated patient therapy notes at Zion Medical Group Inc., a clinic whose owner was separately convicted for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. The sentencing record showed that the year before the Elite Therapy fraud, Cesar was fired from another medical clinic for billing for therapy that she never provided.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. found that Cesar employed sophisticated means at Elite Therapy to execute and conceal her fraud, and that she abused her special skills as a PTA. Judge Scola ordered that upon Cesar’s release from prison, she cannot work in the health care field while on supervised release, and upon request from the appropriate regulatory agency Cesar must relinquish her PTA license. Cesar was also ordered to pay $939,334.05 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Egozi and Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-CR-20259.
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Member of Violent New Haven Gang Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
JAEDYN RIVERA, also known as “Jae Honcho,” 23, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 182 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his involvement in a violent New Haven street gang, including multiple shootings.
Today’s announcement was made by Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; John P. Doyle, Jr., State’s Attorney for the New Haven Judicial District; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England; and New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in an effort to address violence in New Haven, the ATF, FBI, DEA and New Haven Police Department, working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office, have been investigating an ongoing gang war between members and associates of the Exit 8 street gang and rival gangs in the Hill section and other areas of the city. The Exit 8 gang is named after the geographic area accessed by exiting Interstate 91 at Exit 8 in New Haven. Recently, younger members of Exit 8 are identifying themselves with the word “Honcho,” which is derived from the street name of an Exit 8 member who was murdered on Quinnipiac Avenue in February 2020.
The investigation revealed that Rivera and other members of the Exit 8 gang engaged in drug trafficking, used and shared firearms, and, since June 2018, have committed at least three murders and 16 attempted murders. Exit 8 members and associates also stole vehicles, at times from outside of the state, and used those stolen vehicles when committing acts of violence. Gang members also promoted, coordinated, facilitated, and celebrated their narcotics distribution and acts of violence through text messaging and the use of social media applications and websites including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.
On January 24, 2024, Rivera pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity and he admitted that he took part in four shootings of rival gang members in May 2021. Three individuals were injured during those shootings. On May 14, 2021, one victim was shot in the leg and torso, and on May 20, 2021, one victim was shot in the leg and another victim was shot in the back.
Rivera has been detained since May 21, 2021.
This investigation is being conducted by ATF, the FBI, the DEA, the New Haven Police Department, the Hamden Police Department, and the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tara E. Levens, Rahul Kale and Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis.
This prosecution is a part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.
PSN is a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Longevity is a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities. Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Mason County Woman Sentenced to Prison for Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Jordan Lee Jobe, 30, of Leon, was sentenced today to two years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute heroin.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from about April 2022 to about September 25, 2022, Jobe and Edward Daniel Walker Jr. participated in a conspiracy to distribute heroin in the Leon area of Mason County. Jobe admitted to distributing heroin for Walker and transporting Walker to obtain heroin.
On September 25, 2022, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 64 near Hurricane of a vehicle driven by Jobe. Officers searched the vehicle and found approximately 105 grams of suspected heroin and a firearm. Jobe admitted to intending to sell the heroin.
Following the traffic stop, officers executed a search warrant that same day at a Barboursville motel room where Jobe was staying. Officer seized approximately 204 grams of suspected heroin, two firearms and $1,000 during that search. Jobe admitted to intending to sell the heroin, and further admitted that the cash was proceeds from previous drug sales.
On March 31, 2023, officers executed a search warrant at a Durham Road residence in Leon, where they arrested Jobe and Walker. Officers seized approximately 135 grams of suspected heroin found at the residence and $2,000 on Walker’s person. Jobe and Walker each admitted to intending to sell the heroin.
Walker, also known as “Jetty,” 39, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced on October 23, 2023, to six years and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police and the Drug and Violent Crime Task Force West.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Taylor prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:23-cr-40.
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Marijuana Trafficker Sentenced in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Alonso Hernandez-Hernandez, 38, of Costa Rica, was sentenced by District Judge Wilma Lewis to 57 months of incarceration and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy charges.
According to court documents, on November 7, 2022, while patrolling in international waters, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Campbell intercepted a go-fast vessel approximately 65 nautical miles south of Boca Chica, Panama. The go-fast vessel “Agamenon” had no physical flag flown and no registration documents. Onboard the vessel were Hernandez-Hernandez and Luis Orellana-Orellana and Keyran Coto-Lopez, both of Columbia, along with 1,860 kilograms of marijuana. Hernandez-Hernandez claimed Colombian nationality for the vessel. Colombian authorities, however, could neither confirm nor deny nationality. The vessel was therefore treated as one without nationality, subjecting it to the jurisdiction of the United States. On November 8, 2023, Coto-Lopez was sentenced to 46 months of incarceration, and on November 28, 2023, Orellana-Orellana was sentenced to 37 months of incarceration for the roles in the drug smuggling operation. All three face deportation after serving their prison sentences.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard and Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel H. Huston and Melissa Ortiz. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Los Estados Unidos Firma Un Memorando De Entendimiento Con La Oficina De Administración De Tribunales De Nueva York Para Garantizar El Acceso Al Tribunal De Tratamiento De Drogas Del Condado De Rockland Para Participantes Con Dominio Limitado Del InglésRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, el Fiscal Federal del Distrito Sur de Nueva York y Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Adjunta de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia, anunciaron hoy que los Estados Unidos firmó un Memorando de Entendimiento (“MOU”) con la Oficina de Administración Judicial (“OCA”) del Sistema Judicial Unificado del Estado de Nueva York, la cual soluciona su revisión del cumplimiento del Tribunal de Tratamiento de Drogas del Condado de Rockland con el Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 , que prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de raza, color y origen nacional por parte de los beneficiarios de asistencia financiera federal. La discriminación que se prohibe puede incluir el no proporcionar un acceso sustancial al idioma.
El Fiscal Federal Damian Williams dijo: “A los miembros de la comunidad no se les debe negar un acceso sustancial a los procedimientos judiciales y a los programas que ofrecen alternativas a las penas tradicionales debido a su dominio limitado del inglés. Agradecemos a la Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Rockland y a la OCA por cooperar con nosotros para garantizar que el Tribunal de Tratamiento de Drogas del Condado de Rockland esté a la disposición de todos los participantes elegibles, y esperamos que este Memorando de Entendimiento pueda servir como modelo para que todos los tribunales de este distrito garanticen un acceso sustancial a personas con dominio limitado del inglés, de conformidad con el Título VI”.
La Fiscal General Adjunta Kristen Clarke dijo: “Garantizar la igualdad de justicia ante la ley significa hacerlo de una manera que sea justa, precisa y comprensible para todos, pero eso no sucede a menos que las personas involucradas en el proceso judicial puedan comunicarse entre sí. Las personas no deberían ser penalizadas por su dominio limitado del inglés y deberían recibir los servicios de asistencia lingüística que necesitan para participar de manera justa en los procedimientos judiciales y en las capacitaciones o programas de tratamiento exigidos por el tribunal. Este acuerdo es un modelo para garantizar el acceso a los tribunales, incluidos sus programas y servicios, a todas las personas, independientemente de su dominio del inglés, y describe las acciones necesarias para eliminar las barreras para los usuarios de los tribunales con un dominio limitado del inglés”.
Según el MOU y las presentaciones y declaraciones públicas:
En enero de 2023, esta Oficina analizó una queja que alegaba que las personas con dominio limitado del inglés (“LEP”) no podían participar plenamente en el Tribunal de Tratamiento de Drogas del Condado de Rockland porque el tribunal no brindaba servicios de traducción e interpretación. Poco después, la OCA se involucró en los procedimientos de acceso lingüístico para el Tribunal de Tratamiento de Drogas del Condado de Rockland y finalmente asumió la responsabilidad del Tribunal en marzo de 2024. Esta Oficina, en colaboración con la División de Derechos Civiles, trabajó con la OCA y la Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Rockland que operaba el Tribunal de Tratamiento de Drogas antes de marzo de 2024, para identificar las reformas necesarias para garantizar que todas las personas con dominio limitado del inglés que califican para participar en el Tribunal de Tratamiento de Drogas tuvieran acceso sustancial al idioma.
Durante la revisión de este asunto, la Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Rockland y la OCA tomaron varias medidas positivas para brindar acceso sustancial a los participantes del Tribunal con dominio limitado del inglés, incluido el compromiso de brindar servicios de interpretación para todos los procedimientos judiciales, realizar actividades comunitarias con las partes interesadas del Tribunal de Tratamiento de Drogas del Condado de Rockland, e identificar un proveedor de tratamiento local para brindar servicios de tratamiento ordenados por el tribunal en español.
Según el MOU, la OCA tomará una serie de medidas adicionales para garantizar un acceso sustancial a los participantes con dominio limitado del inglés al Tribunal de Tratamiento de Drogas del Condado de Rockland. Estos pasos incluyen traducir todos los documentos al español, creole y yiddish, y a otros idiomas previa solicitud, publicitar el programa del Tribunal de Tratamiento de Drogas en estos idiomas adicionales y conseguir proveedores de tratamiento que ofrezcan programas de tratamiento de drogas ordenados por el tribunal de una manera que proporcione acceso sustancial a personas con dominio limitado del inglés, sin costo para los participantes.
La información sobre el Título VI y el dominio limitado del inglés están disponibles en www.lep.gov . El público puede denunciar posibles violaciones de los derechos civiles en el Distrito Sur de Nueva York en https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/civil-rights o en la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia en www.civilrights.justice .gov/report/ .
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El Sr. Williams agradeció a la División de Derechos Civiles, Sección de Coordinación y Cumplimiento Federal, por su colaboración para resolver este asunto.
Este caso está siendo atendido por la Unidad de Derechos Civiles de la Oficina en la División Civil. La encargada de este caso es la Fiscal Federal Adjunta Christine S. Poscablo.
Killeen Couple Sentenced for Operating Fraudulent Rideshare Company for SoldiersRead the Press Release
WACO, Texas – A Killeen man and his wife were sentenced in a federal court in Waco for defrauding a Department of the Army transportation program by using the illegally obtained personally identifiable information (PII) of more than 800 soldiers.
According to court documents, Kevin Romulus Pelayo, 45, co-owned and operated a rideshare company, Soldiers Vanpools LLC, with his wife, Cristine Furio Fredericks, 40. The company claimed to shuttle military personnel to and from Fort Hood, now known as Fort Cavazos, from Jan. 1, 2014 through June 10, 2020. Soldiers Vanpools LLC was funded by the Department of the Army’s Mass Transportation Benefit Program (MTBP).
Pelayo and Fredericks submitted the names, social security numbers, and other identifying information of active duty soldiers to the MTBP on a monthly basis from 2014 to midway through 2020, falsely claiming that the soldiers were active participants in the rideshare program.
The couple also purchased vans, SUVs and other vehicles in order to convince the MTBP that they were operating a legitimate business and transporting the riders they claimed in their scheme. Additionally, the couple spent a large portion of the millions of dollars in funds they received on real estate, personal vehicles, and other property. In total, Pelayo and Fredericks purchased 43 vehicles, 129 luxury purses and jewelry items, and 12 real properties in Bell County and Coryell County.
Pelayo was sentenced to 36 months in prison for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. Fredericks was sentenced to five years of probation for two counts engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Gloff prosecuted the case.
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Kenyan Citizen Gets 135-Month Prison Term for Advance Fee and Investment Fraud Scheme in Washington D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Paul Maucha, 59, a Kenyan national, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 135 months in prison for perpetrating an advance fee and investment scheme that defrauded numerous victims.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley of the Atlanta Field Office.
In addition to the 135-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols ordered Maucha to serve three years of supervised release; to pay a $200,000 fine, a $400 special assessment, and restitution and forfeiture both in the amount of $1,901,252.
A federal jury convicted Maucha on February 1, 2024, on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
“The defendant tricked investors into giving him money with promises of favorable financial opportunities,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves. “But instead of following through with those promises, the defendant pocketed the fees and caused investors to lose millions. This sentence holds the defendant accountable and sends a clear message to anyone considering a similar scam.”
“Investment fraud scams can be difficult to investigate and prosecute due to the interstate and transnational nature of the criminal activity. But this sentence should serve as a warning that the FBI will persistently investigate these crimes and make sure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Our success in this case is the result of a team effort, with outstanding assistance from our partners. Moving forward we will continue to pursue the collection of restitution for those harmed by the defendant.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Maucha, along with a co-conspirator, engaged in a scheme through a shell company Maucha controlled, American Eagle Services Group Inc. (AESG), to make numerous misrepresentations to victims about AESG, its assets, and its access to money and capital.
In particular, Maucha—through AESG—promised victims who were seeking loans that AESG would provide them with these loans. The victims were required to first provide AESG with an advanced fee. The company misrepresented the purpose of that fee. AESG told victims falsely that the advance fees could be refunded if AESG did not fund the loan. As proven at trial, however, Maucha and his co-conspirator knew that AESG did not have the capital to make these loans at the time the lending agreements were executed, and refunds to victims could not be assured because Maucha and his co-conspirator were splitting the fees between themselves and spending them. There was no money left to be refunded.
The FBI’s Atlanta Division investigated the case, with substantial assistance from Homeland Security Investigations.
Trial Attorneys Tian Huang and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine M. Macey for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case. Former Assistant Chief William E. Johnston of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Rothstein for the District of Columbia previously provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
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KC Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that distributed more than 20 kilograms of methamphetamine in the metropolitan area.
Keith A. Clevenger, 51, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 16 years in federal prison without parole.
On July 25, 2023, Clevenger pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Clevenger admitted that he purchased approximately 1.2 kilograms of methamphetamine from a co-conspirator.
Clevenger attempted to flee on foot from police officers during a traffic stop near the intersection of Truman and Home Road on Nov. 28, 2020. While rolling him over to frisk for weapons, officers saw a plastic baggie that contained 25.7 grams of pure methamphetamine. Officers also found a Glock .40-caliber pistol in the vehicle.
Clevenger is the 13th and final defendant to be sentenced in this case. Co-defendant Nicholas A. Taylor, 41, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on April 25, 2023, to 19 years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy. Taylor admitted that he traveled to California in June 2020 and purchased at least 52 pounds (approximately 23.6 kilograms) of methamphetamine, which was transported to Kansas City and distributed to multiple co-defendants.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Justice Department to Monitor Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance at Polling PlacesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada will inspect several polling places in Washoe and Clark Counties for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination in voting based on disability, on Nevada Primary Election Day, June 11. The office has also sent written surveys to all Nevada county election officials to determine whether polling places in those counties are ADA compliant. The purpose of this initiative is to protect the rights of voters with disabilities by ensuring that counties select and provide accessible polling places that voters with disabilities can access independently.
The Department of Justice’s guide on The Americans with Disabilities Act and Other Federal Laws Protecting the Rights of Voters with Disabilities describes the legal protections designed to allow equal access to every aspect of elections, including registration and voting, for people with disabilities.
Individuals with questions or complaints related to the ADA may call the Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 833-610-1264 (TTY) or submit a complaint through a link on the Department’s ADA website, at https://www.ada.gov/file-a-complaint/.
Learn more about the Department’s enforcement of federal civil and criminal laws related to voting at https://www.justice.gov/voting. You can also report other possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/report/ or 1-800-253-3931. You can report suspected criminal activity regarding voting to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or by filing an online complaint at tips.fbi.gov or by contacting local law enforcement.
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Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Fort Worth-Area Tax Return PreparerRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas today seeking to bar a Fort Worth, Texas-area tax return preparer from preparing federal income tax returns for others.
The complaint alleges that Ruben Gonzalez and his employees prepared over 14,000 federal income tax returns from 2021-2023 through a sole proprietorship named “Sin Barreras Income Tax.” According to the complaint, in a substantial number of these tax returns, Gonzalez and others he employed significantly overstated customers’ tax refunds by fabricating or inflating business losses, falsifying charitable donation deductions and falsely claiming energy credits and coronavirus family sick leave credits to which the customers were not entitled.
By repeatedly understating customers’ tax liabilities, the complaint alleges that Gonzalez caused the United States harm of almost $20 million in lost tax revenue from 2021-2023.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Attorneys for the Tax Division are handling the case.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
1-Gonzalez Complaint.pdfJustice Department Secures More Than 500 Prosecutions Under New Firearms Statutes Enacted by Bipartisan Safer Communities ActRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced it has charged more than 500 defendants under the new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which Congress enacted, and the President signed in June 2022. The Act is the first standalone federal statute specifically designed to target the unlawful trafficking and straw-purchasing of firearms.
“Criminals rely on illegal gun traffickers and straw purchasers to obtain the weapons they use to harm our communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department is using the new tools given to us in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to hold accountable those who fuel gun violence.”
The BSCA was passed in the wake of the tragic mass shootings — including at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Topps Grocery Store in Buffalo, New York, and a house of worship in Laguna Woods, California — that, together with the gun violence experienced in our communities every day, reverberates through our families, communities, and entire nation. As the first significant gun safety legislation in decades, the BSCA provided powerful new tools to prosecute firearms traffickers and address gun violence.
Some recent cases include charging five individuals in Texas for allegedly trafficking military grade firearms to a drug cartel in Mexico; a three year sentence in New Mexico for illegal sale of firearms, including machineguns, and the illegal possession and transfer of machineguns; and a 10 year sentence in Pennsylvania for unlawful possession, manufacturing, and trafficking of ghost guns sold as part of “hit kits.”
The new statutes, 18 U.S.C. § 933 and 932, directly prohibit straw purchasing and firearms trafficking and significantly enhance the penalties for those crimes, providing for up to 15 years in prison. Criminals and prohibited individuals seek out straw purchasers, who lie about who is actually buying the firearm, because, by necessity, straw purchasers do not have a criminal history. The stronger penalty provisions enhance deterrence, signaling to potential straw purchasers and others involved in trafficking that these are serious offenses and not mere “paperwork violations” or victimless crimes.
Although there is more to be done, reaching this milestone shows that federal prosecutors and agents, as well as our state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners throughout the United States, have been using these new authorities to take a monumental step in addressing gun violence.
Justice Department Leaders Meet to Discuss Efforts to Combat Violent Crime in St. LouisRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Justice Department officials are meeting this week with their local, state and federal counterparts, community groups and others to discuss current and planned efforts to combat violent crime in the St. Louis area, including dozens of upcoming grant opportunities.
Officials met with community groups, law enforcement officials and others in the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program yesterday at Washington University to discuss efforts to combat violent crime, including the Violent Crime Initiative. They also discussed seminars planned for next month to help community organizations, law enforcement and others apply for over 80 funding opportunities. Today, officials are training law enforcement about tools to target complex criminal organizations.
PSN is a nationwide program to address violent crime through community engagement, prevention and intervention, focused and strategic enforcement and accountability.
In the PSN meeting, U.S. Marshals Service Deputy Director Mark Pittella said, “Partnerships between federal, state, and local law enforcement, civic leaders, business owners, and local organizations are key to the overall success of law enforcement to reduce violent crime in our communities. The U.S. Marshals Service is committed to leveraging existing relationships and task force partnerships in St. Louis to focus on and apprehend specific fugitives who pose an immediate threat to public safety. Our goal is to provide communities with immediate relief from violent crime by combining our resources and authority with the resources and local knowledge of participating agencies.”
Courtesy of the U.S. Marshals Service.Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Rody and others from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division also briefed the PSN group about the Violent Crime Initiative, which relies on partnerships between the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country. The VCI has already brought three highly experienced trial attorneys from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, the nation’s foremost experts in federal racketeering law, to work with prosecutors in the Eastern District of Missouri and investigative agents, analysts, and forensic experts from law enforcement agencies.
First announced in Houston in September of 2022, the VCI model has now been expanded to St. Louis; Memphis, Tenn.; Hartford, Conn.; and Jackson, Miss.
In Houston, over 50 gang members have been indicted on charges including murder, armed robbery and drug trafficking and related crimes via more than ten separate investigations.
Rody said that although violent crime is trending downward throughout the country, it is still a chronic problem primarily driven by guns, gangs and other organized groups.
“The Violent Crime Initiative will target the ‘worst of the worst’ violent offenders using data to focus our efforts,” U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming said. Prosecutors and other law enforcement officials will be using tools like RICO and VICAR prosecutions to target the leaders and most violent members of the criminal organizations that are disproportionately driving violent crime in St. Louis and dismantle those organizations. “While arrests and prosecutions play a significant role in reducing violent crime, a variety of tools, like our PSN partnerships, are necessary to help the community,” she added.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Franks, the PSN Coordinator and Director of Community Engagement for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, also previewed a planned collaboration to offer students in the St. Louis Public Schools in-class lessons addressing conflict resolution, decision-making, gang resistance, the justice system and possible careers.
On Tuesday, Justice Department officials are holding a training to aid local law enforcement officials in bringing cases under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) and Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) statutes. Although the cases are often more complex, lengthy and resource-intensive, RICO and VICAR allow prosecutors to address the complete picture of a criminal organization’s activities. They can provide federal jurisdiction over some crimes traditionally handled by state prosecutors and result in longer sentences for violent offenders associated with these criminal organizations.
Next month, the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs will be holding two seminars about the many financial resources that are available and how to apply. One seminar will be aimed at law enforcement, hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The other, hosted by St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones’ office, will be for community organizations and other non-law enforcement groups.
There are over 80 funding opportunities, including funding for efforts to stop school violence, target crime guns, aid small and/or rural law enforcement agencies, improve outcomes for individuals with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders, buy body worn cameras, help those impacted by illicit opioids and other drugs, address rape kit backlogs, prosecute cold cases using DNA, provide forensics training, reduce law enforcement suicide, address hate crimes, stabilize adults and juveniles in crisis and reduce the injury or death of missing individuals with dementia and developmental disabilities.
The seminars are tentatively scheduled for July 9.
Justice Department Enters Agreement with the New York State Unified Court System to Resolve Title VI Language Access ReviewRead the Press Release
View the press release in Yiddish here.
The Justice Department announced today a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the New York State Court System, Office of Court Administration (OCA) to improve access to the Rockland County, New York, Drug Treatment Court for people with limited English proficiency (LEP). The department enforces Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance. Prohibited discrimination may include a failure to provide meaningful language access.
“Ensuring equal justice under law means doing so in a manner that is fair, accurate and understandable for all, but that does not happen unless people involved in the judicial process can communicate with each other,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “People should not be penalized for their limited English proficiency and should receive the language assistance services they need to fairly participate in court proceedings and court-mandated trainings or treatment programs. This agreement stands as a model for ensuring access to the courts, including their programs and services, for all people, regardless of English proficiency, and outlines the actions needed to eliminate barriers for court users with limited English proficiency.”
“Members of the community should not be denied meaningful access to court proceedings and programs offering alternatives to traditional sentencing because of their limited English proficiency,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “We thank the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office and OCA for working with us to ensure that the Rockland County Drug Treatment Court is available to all eligible participants, and we hope that this memorandum of understanding can serve as a model for all courts in this district to ensure meaningful access to persons with limited English proficiency, in compliance with Title VI.”
The Justice Department reviewed a complaint alleging that people with LEP could not participate fully in the Rockland County Drug Treatment Court because it did not provide meaningful language access. Shortly after this complaint, OCA became involved in the language access procedures for the Rockland County Drug Treatment Court and OCA ultimately assumed responsibility for the Court in March.
Together with the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office, which ran the Drug Treatment Court prior to March, OCA took several affirmative steps to provide meaningful access for all Rockland County Drug Treatment Court users with LEP during the department’s review of this matter. Among other actions, OCA committed to provide interpreter services for all court proceedings at no cost and conducted outreach to Rockland County Drug Treatment Court stakeholders about meaningful access for people with LEP.
Under the MOU, OCA will take a number of additional steps to ensure meaningful access for LEP participants in Rockland County Drug Treatment Court. These steps include translating all documents into Spanish, Creole and Yiddish, and into other languages by request, and securing treatment providers that will offer court-mandated drug treatment programs in a manner that provides meaningful access to people with LEP, at no additional cost to participants.
Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt. Information about limited English proficiency and Title VI is available at www.lep.gov. Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/report/ or with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York at www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/civil-rights.
Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud Conspiracy in Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Alan John Hanke, the sole member of IOLO Capital (IOLO), pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud for his role in misappropriating more than $8 million as part of a Ponzi scheme. As part of his plea, Hanke also stipulated that he filed a bankruptcy petition and documents in a bankruptcy proceeding to conceal the conspiracy. Hanke was indicted in February 2024. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. When sentenced, Hanke faces up to five years in prison.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), New York Field Office, and David Walker, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Tampa Field Office, announced the guilty plea.
“Hanke admitted today that he conspired to defraud clients of millions of dollars of their investments, and then tried to cover up his crime by declaring bankruptcy which was an intentional abuse of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Today’s guilty plea reaffirms my Office’s efforts to root out white-collar crime where we find it and ensure integrity in the financial markets and the court system.”
As alleged in the indictment, between November 2018 and August 2021, Hanke persuaded numerous investors, often in meetings in New York City, to invest in IOLO or related Hanke-run companies. Hanke promised investors high returns within short periods of time by investing in, among other things, “standby letters of credit,” “medium term notes,” and “high yield bonds.” He also assured investors that their investments would be insured against losses. As alleged, however, nearly all the money that the victims invested with Hanke was not recovered. The bulk of the victims’ money went to Hanke’s personal expenses, including cruises, airfare, hotels, gambling expenses, and a luxury car. Hanke also paid co-conspirators and other investors with money that he wrongfully obtained during the scheme. Hanke filed a bankruptcy petition in June 2021 in which he sought to discharge the debts that he owed to his victims. In the bankruptcy petition, Hanke disclosed that he received monthly Social Security disability payments but did not disclose the millions of dollars of income he received from his victims. Hanke also did not disclose the proceeds from the sale of an airplane, or that he used the proceeds for personal expenses, including gambling and repairs to a close relative’s home, as well as $180,000 that was withdrawn in cash.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas J. Moscow and Matthew Skurnik are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Madison Bates.
The Defendant:
ALAN JOHN HANKE
Age: 50
Crystal Lake, IllinoisE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-27 (RER)
Hip-hop Artist Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Today, hip-hop artist and music producer Rodney McClain, a/k/a “Money Rod,” a/k/a “$Rod,” 35, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in relation to his COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
As part of the plea, McClain, of Fulton County, Georgia, admitted in 2020, he caused a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application to be submitted for his company, Dreams Come True Records, LLC, a music production company with its principal place of business in North Miami Beach, Florida. The PPP application contained materially false information about Dreams Come True Records, LLC’s number of employees and payroll expenses in 2019 and 2020, including two falsified IRS tax forms submitted with the application. McClain received over $600,000 in PPP loan proceeds as a result of this fraudulent loan application, and he spent more than $100,000 of the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds on personal and other impermissible expenses.
McClain, as part of the plea, will have a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of over $113,000 entered against him, and he will forfeit his music rights, master recordings, and music compositions.
The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29, before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami. McClain faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conviction. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Division announced the plea.
IRS-CI, Miami Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily R. Stone is prosecuting this case and handling asset forfeiture.
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 September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three 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-covid-19-fraud-strike-force-teams.
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.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-20094.
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Guadalajara resident heads to prison for trying to smuggle dozens of firearms and ammunition back to MexicoRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 68-year-old resident of Guadalajara, Mexico, has been sentenced for attempting to smuggle multiple firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition on a vehicle roof rack, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Jose De Jesus Pena Dieguez pleaded guilty March 27.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Dieguez to serve 24 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that Dieguez had previously exported firearms to Mexico on several prior occasions.
On Jan. 11, Dieguez attempted to enter Mexico through the Progreso Port of Entry in a Nissan Xterra. Upon inspection, authorities noticed tampering on the screws of a compartment connected to the vehicle's roof rack. An x-ray examination also showed anomalies within the compartment.
A subsequent search revealed 16 firearms, 31 firearm magazines, assorted firearm parts and 800 rounds of ammunition.
Dieguez admitted he purchased the firearms and intended to illegally export them to Mexico.
Dieguez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Customs and Border Protection conducted the joint investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cahal P. McColgan prosecuted the case as part of the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. Integral to that effort was the reinvigoration of PSN, a two-decade old, evidence-based and community-oriented program focused on reducing violent crime. The updated PSN approach, outlined in the department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.
Fugitive High-Ranking MS-13 Leader Arrested on Terrorism ChargesRead the Press Release
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY - Yesterday afternoon, in federal court in Houston, Texas, Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios, also known as “Grenas de Stoners” and “Oso de Stoners,” a high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as “MS-13,” was ordered to be transferred in custody to the Eastern District of New York where he, together with 13 other high-ranking MS-13 leaders, are charged with directing the transnational criminal organization’s criminal activities in the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, and elsewhere over the past two decades. Lopez-Larios, who had been a fugitive for more than three years, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on June 9, 2024 when he arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. Specifically, Lopez-Larios is charged with conspiracy to provide and conceal material support to terrorists, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to finance terrorism, and narco-terrorism conspiracy. Lopez-Larios will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), Krysti Hawkins, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, and Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, HSI’s New York Field Office, announced Lopez-Larios’s arrest.
“The arrest of Lopez-Larios, who is one of the most senior leaders of MS-13 in the world, is a significant achievement for law enforcement and another crucial step in the dismantling of this international criminal enterprise,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “The defendant will soon face a reckoning in a federal courtroom on Long Island where, acting on his orders, MS-13 has spilled so much blood and turned communities into war zones.”
Mr. Peace expressed his thanks to the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and Criminal Investigative Division’s Safe Streets Gang Unit, and HSI’s National Gangs and Violent Crime Unit and New York Field Office for spearheading the MS-13 leadership investigations. Additionally, he thanked the FBI and HSI’s Houston Field Offices, and the United States Customs and Border Protection Officers at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston for the critical support provided in connection with the arrest, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the United States Marshals Service for the Southern District of Texas for coordinating the defendant’s initial appearance in Houston. Mr. Peace also thanked the numerous Department of Justice components that contributed to this indictment, including the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Executive Office.
“Now that Mr. Lopez-Larios is behind bars, he's no longer in his alleged position of power directing a reign of terror, nor enriching MS-13 and their cartel associates,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge Hawkins. “The FBI will continue to collaborate with our partners to seek justice and to find the remaining fugitives of this vicious transnational criminal enterprise.”
“Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios’ arrest represents yet another significant leader of MS-13 to be brought to justice this year. Despite his attempts to evade authorities, Lopez-Larios must now answer to criminal charges stemming from his alleged management of one of the most malicious transnational criminal organizations in existence today,” stated HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo. “Although Lopez-Larios, also known as ‘Grenas de Stoners’ to his followers, is now in custody, we recognize there is more to be done. HSI New York, working with our law enforcement partners, will not cease in our efforts to hold MS-13 accountable for their unmitigated violence in communities across New York and elsewhere.”
As set forth in the indictment and related court filings, Lopez-Larios and his co-defendants are part of MS-13’s command and control structure, consisting of the Ranfla Nacional, Ranfla en Las Calles, and Ranfla en Los Penales. They play significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations in El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, and throughout the world. In total, 27 of the highest-ranking leaders of MS-13 have been charged in the Eastern District of New York in this indictment and the related indictment of United States v. Arevalo-Chavez, et al.
As further alleged, in approximately 2002, Lopez-Larios, his co-defendants and other MS-13 leaders began establishing a highly organized, hierarchical command and control structure as a means to effectuate their decisions and enforce their orders, even while in prison. They directed acts of violence and murder in El Salvador, the United States and elsewhere, established military-style training camps for MS-13 members and obtained military weapons such as rifles, handguns, grenades, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and rocket launchers. Further, beginning in approximately 2012, Lopez-Larios and other members of the Ranfla Nacional negotiated with officials from the government of El Salvador (GOES) to obtain benefits and concessions from the government. In order to extort those benefits and concessions, MS-13 engaged in public displays of violence to threaten and intimidate civilian populations, target GOES law enforcement and military officials, and manipulate the electoral process in El Salvador.
Additionally, as alleged, the Ranfla Nacional directed the expansion of MS-13 activities around the world, including the United States and Mexico, where Lopez-Larios and other high-ranking leaders were sent to organize operations, make connections to obtain narcotics and firearms from Mexican drug cartels such as the Zetas, Gulf Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and Sinaloa Cartel, and engage in human trafficking and smuggling. The Ranfla Nacional also directed MS-13’s large membership in the United States to engage in criminal activities, such as drug trafficking and extortion to raise money to support MS-13’s terrorist activities in El Salvador and elsewhere. Lopez-Larios, who has been an MS-13 leader for approximately two decades in El Salvador, Mexico and the United States, was an original member of MS-13's Twleve Apostles of the Devil and later became a member of the Ranfla Nacional.
Finally, the Ranfla Nacional and MS-13’s transnational leadership structure is alleged to have directed members in the United States to commit acts of violence to further its goals and implement rules enabling MS-13 to entrench itself in parts of the United States, including within the Eastern District of New York where, under the defendants’ leadership and rules, MS-13 has committed murders, attempted murders, assaults, kidnappings, drug trafficking, extortion of individuals and businesses, and obstruction of justice, and has sent dues and the proceeds of criminal activity by wire transfer to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador. For example, this Office's Long Island Criminal Division has prosecuted hundreds of MS-13 leaders, members and associates for carrying out more than 70 murders in the Eastern District of New York between 2009 and the present.
Two related defendants from the Arevalo-Chavez indictment, Jorge Alexander De La Cruz, also known as “Cruger de Peatonales,” and Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, also known as “Veterano de Tribus,” remain at large. Members of the public with information concerning their whereabouts are strongly encouraged to contact the FBI’s toll-free MS-13 tip line, 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or HSI’s tip line at (866) 347-2423 or https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form. Together, FBI and HSI have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the fugitives.
These charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If convicted, Lopez-Larios faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
This case was brought by Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV), which was created to combat MS-13, led by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Durham of the EDNY, and comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of New York; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; HSI; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the USMS; the U.S. Bureau of Prisons; and the United States Agency for International Development, Office of Inspector General have been essential law enforcement partners and spearheaded JTFV’s investigations.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John J. Durham, Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci and Megan E. Farrell of the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division with the assistance of Automated Litigation Support Specialist Michael Compitello.
Newly Arrested Defendant in U.S. Custody:
CESAR HUMBERTO LOPEZ-LARIOS (“El Grenas de Stoners” and “Oso de Stoners”)
Age: 45Previously Arrested Defendant in U.S. Custody:
ELMER CANALES-RIVERA (“Crook de Hollywood”)
Age: 48FREDY IVAN JANDRES-PARADA (“Lucky de Park View” and “Lacky de Park View”)
Age: 48Fugitive Defendants:
BORROMEO ENRIQUE HENRIQUEZ (“Diablito de Hollywood”)
Age: 45EFRAIN CORTEZ (“Tigre de Park View” and “Viejo Tigre de Park View”)
Age: 54RICARDO ALBERTO DIAZ (“Rata de Leewards” and “Mousey de Leewards”)
Age: 51EDUARDO ERAZO-NOLASCO (“Colocho de Western” and “Mustage de Western”)
Age: 51EDSON SACHARY EUFEMIA (“Speedy de Park View”)
Age: 49JOSE FERNANDEZ FLORES-CUBAS (“Cola de Western”)
Age: 49LEONEL ALEXANDER LEONARDO (“El Necio de San Cocos”)
Age: 44JOSE LUIS MENDOZA-FIGUEROA (“Pavas de 7-11” and “Viejo Pavas de 7-11”)
Age: 59HUGO ARMANDO QUINTEROS-MINEROS (“Flaco de Francis”)
Age: 51SAUL ANTONIO TURCIOS (“Trece de Teclas”)
Age: 46ARISTIDES DIONISIO UMANZOR (“Sirra de Teclas”)
Age: 46E.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 20-CR-577 (JMA)
Four Additional States Join Justice Department’s Suit Against Apple for Monopolizing Smartphone MarketsRead the Press Release
The Attorneys General of Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington today joined the civil antitrust lawsuit brought by the Justice Department, 15 states and the District of Columbia against Apple in March for monopolizing multiple smartphone markets in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The department and its now expanded group of 20 co-plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in the District of New Jersey.
“We welcome the States of Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington, who join our existing coalition to restore competition in the smartphone markets that Apple has monopolized,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We look forward to litigating this important case alongside our state partners to deliver the benefits of competition to consumers, app developers, accessory makers and the American public.”
View the amended complaint here.
Founder and Former CEO of Artificial Intelligence Company Charged with Securities FraudRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging ILIT RAZ, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Joonko Diversity, Inc. (“Joonko”), with securities fraud and wire fraud for defrauding investors and misleading them about core aspects of the company she founded, including the identity and quantity of Joonko’s customers and Joonko’s revenue. On May 24, 2024, Joonko filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Ilit Raz falsely represented key aspects of her company, Joonko Diversity, Inc., and fabricated documents to support those lies in order to obtain $27 million in investments. Raz’s now-bankrupt company allegedly left victim investors with millions of dollars in losses. Entrepreneurs tempted to artificially inflate revenues to solicit investments should be warned that this Office keeps a watchful eye of funding rounds and will continue to protect market investors.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said: “Ilit Raz, the founder and former CEO of Joonko, allegedly defrauded her investors of more than $27 million by misrepresenting the esteem and scope of her clientele as well as grossly inflating the company’s revenue in forged financial statements. To garner fiscal interest in the company's innovative concept for diverse hiring practices, the defendant’s alleged recruitment methods relied on deception and mistruths rather than transparency and honesty. The FBI is dedicated to protecting our nation’s economic framework, especially from fraudulent schemes designed to ensnare stakeholders and pilfer their pockets.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
Joonko was a company that purported to offer an artificial intelligence-based product designed to help prospective employers identify and hire job candidates from diverse backgrounds. To induce prospective and existing Joonko investors to invest approximately $27 million in funding rounds in 2021 and 2022, RAZ made false claims regarding central aspects of Joonko’s business, including by falsely representing how many customers Joonko had at the time and falsely representing the identity of those customers. For example, RAZ falsely represented that Joonko’s customers included some of the world’s largest companies, including a credit card company, sports apparel brand, online travel company, and luxury fashion brand. In truth and in fact, and as RAZ knew, these companies were never Joonko customers. In addition to overstating the number of customers that Joonko had and the identity of those customers, RAZ also made false representations about Joonko’s actual and anticipated revenues.
After RAZ made false and misleading statements regarding Joonko’s customers and revenue, several investors who received those statements invested in a series of funding rounds with Joonko. Specifically, on or about June 1, 2021, several investors, including venture capital firms, invested a total of approximately $10 million in a Series A round with Joonko. On or about June 2, 2022, several investors, including venture capital firms, invested a total of approximately $17 million in a Series B round with Joonko.
In or about 2023, a Joonko investor (“Investor-1”) became suspicious about Joonko’s performance and requested certain information from Joonko, including bank statements. In response, on or about April 3, 2023, RAZ emailed Investor-1 a purported Joonko bank statement, which depicted that the company had an average balance of over $5,000,000. In truth and in fact, and as RAZ well knew, the bank records that RAZ emailed to Investor-1 were forged, and the actual bank records showed that Joonko’s true account balance was millions of dollars lower. Less than a week later, on or about April 8, 2023, RAZ emailed Investor-1 a set of purported purchase orders for Joonko customers. RAZ knew that many of the purchase orders she emailed to Investor-1 were fictitious, contained forged signatures, and were executed on behalf of purported customers that had no business relationship with Joonko.
* * *
RAZ, 38, an Israeli citizen, is charged with one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the FBI. Mr. Williams further thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which today filed a parallel civil action against RAZ.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Burnett, Peter J. Davis, and Nicholas Folly are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Fort McCoy Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Possession of Machinegun and SilencersRead the Press Release
Ocala, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Robert Edward Smith (59, Fort McCoy) has pleaded guilty to possession of unregistered National Firearms Act (NFA) weapons—a machinegun and silencers. Smith faces up to 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, special agents searched Smith’s Marion County residence on February 15, 2024, pursuant to a federal search warrant. Inside Smith’s bedroom, agents located a Sten machinegun and two silencers. None of the items were registered to Smith in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Belkis H. Crockett.
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.
Former Yukon Resident Turned International Fugitive Arrested in the United Kingdom more than 13 Years After Jury ConvictionRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced that MEHRAN KORANKI, 63, formerly of Yukon, has been extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States. In late 2010, Koranki fled the United States following his criminal conviction at trial on mail fraud and money laundering charges.
On February 2, 2010, a federal grand jury returned a 53-count Indictment against Koranki, charging him with numerous counts of mail fraud and money laundering. Between February 2005 and March 2006, Koranki owned and controlled two Oklahoma City companies which maintained, repaired, and sold computer networking components. The companies had extended warranty agreements with Nortel Networks, which allowed the businesses to receive replacements for broken or defective parts.
In November 2010, evidence presented at a jury trial indicated that Koranki’s businesses received hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment through the warranty agreement, which they then sold for a profit, in a direct violation of the agreement. After four days of testimony, the jury found Koranki guilty of 48 counts of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering.
After the jury returned the guilty verdicts, and prior to Koranki’s sentencing hearing, he fled the United States. In January 2011, Koranki sent a letter to the court that read in part, “I sincerely regret to inform you I am no longer in the United States and will not be attending the sentencing hearing.” Koranki has been a fugitive since that time.
On September 30, 2013, U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced Koranki in absentia to serve 156 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $6,010,157.90 in restitution. Click here to read the original press release on the 2013 sentencing.
In November 2015, the United States submitted to United Kingdom government officials an official request to extradite Koranki. On February 5, 2024, Koranki was arrested pursuant to an INTERPOL Red Notice, after traveling on a flight from Doha, Qatar, to Manchester, United Kingdom.
Koranki subsequently consented to extradition, and, on June 3, 2024, the U.S. Marshal’s Service transported Koranki from the United Kingdom to the United States.
“Those who seek to evade justice will eventually be apprehended and held accountable for their crimes” said U.S. Attorney Troester. “I commend the work done by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and United Kingdom authorities for their tireless efforts to bring this matter to a close.”
“No matter how far you run, or how long you hide, the U.S. Marshals Service will exhaust all available resources in returning international fugitives to face justice in the United States,” said United States Marshal Johnny L. Kuhlman. “The arrest and extradition of this defendant is further proof of the U.S. Marshals ongoing commitment to locating fugitives around the world. The bottom line is … we never stop looking.”
Today’s announcement is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the IRS Criminal Investigation. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and U.S. Marshals Service provided substantial assistance to secure Koranki’s arrest and extradition from the United Kingdom. The United States thanks United Kingdom law enforcement authorities for their valuable assistance with Koranki’s arrest and extradition. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott E. Williams prosecuted the case for the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wilson D. McGarry and Stan J. West assisted with Koranki’s extradition.
Reference is made to public filings for additional information.
Former Navy Civilian Employee Pleads Guilty to Bribery Involving Government Contracts Worth Hundreds of MillionsRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – June 11, 2024
SAN DIEGO – James Soriano of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to multiple bribery conspiracies, admitting that while he was a public official at Naval Information Warfare Center in San Diego, he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from defense contractors in the form of free meals, tickets to premier sporting events, jobs for family and friends, and other things, in exchange for helping those contractors win and maintain hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts. Soriano also pleaded guilty to filing a false 2018 tax return in connection with the bribes he accepted.
According to Soriano’s plea agreement, the defense contractors – acting through their presidents, officers, and employees – gave various things of value to Soriano, including dinners at Ruth’s Chris, Island Prime, and Providence; tickets to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, 2018 World Series, and 2019 Superbowl; and jobs for Soriano’s family and friends, including a member of Soriano’s family and Soriano’s family friend, Liberty Gutierrez, who was giving Soriano $2,000 a month from her salary at one of the companies working under a defense contract.
In return, Soriano took official action to aid his benefactors, such as allowing defense contractors to draft government documents in competitive and non-competitive procurements, submitting those documents as part of the procurement process, and advocating for their selection as defense contractors. Soriano also willfully failed to disclose the cash payments he received from Ms. Gutierrez on his federal tax returns.
According to Soriano’s plea agreement, from approximately March 2016 through at least October 2019, Soriano and a coworker, Dawnell Parker, received bribes from Philip Flores, the President and CEO of Intellipeak Solutions, Inc., a defense contractor headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Soriano also admitted that from approximately May 2015 through at least October 2019, he and Parker separately received bribes from another defense contractor, with offices in San Diego and Stafford, Virginia, who also gave him things of value, such as expensive meals, a job for his wife, and rounds of golf at private country clubs.
Further, according to Soriano’s plea agreement, from approximately June 2014 through at least October 2019, Soriano received bribes from Russell Thurston, the Vice President of Cambridge International Systems, Inc., a defense contractor headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. In return for these bribes, Soriano used various methods to steer contracts to these defense contractors and kept his contracting activities hidden from the Naval Information Warfare Center.
“The nation’s robust contracting apparatus relies on honesty and fairness,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “This guilty plea demonstrates a commitment to the integrity of the system by holding accountable a defendant who lined his own pockets at the expense of taxpayers.”
“Mr. Soriano betrayed the trust the U.S. Navy placed in him by using his position to wrongfully enrich himself and others, ultimately at the expense of the Department of Defense and the American taxpayer,” said Bryan D. Denny, Special Agent in Charge for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Western Field Office. “His guilty plea should act as a deterrent for others contemplating or attempting to misuse a position of public trust to subvert the integrity of the government’s acquisition process.”
“Mr. Soriano decided to put his own interests above U.S. Navy warfighters, trustworthy businesses, and our country’s taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office. “Protecting the integrity of the Department of the Navy’s procurement process from individuals abusing their official position to unlawfully seek personal gain remains a core function for NCIS and our partners.”
“Exploiting a position of public trust to fraudulently access federal programs for personal gain is unacceptable,” said SBA OIG’s Western Region Special Agent in Charge Weston King. “This guilty plea underscores our relentless efforts to combat corruption, protect taxpayer dollars, and maintain the integrity of SBA programs. I would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication to the pursuing justice in this case.”
“Mr. Soriano violated the trust placed in him to responsibly oversee a fair and competitive process in his role as a contracting officer,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. “Instead, Mr. Soriano selfishly exploited that trust for personal benefit, meanwhile undermining a contracting process that ensures warfighters are equipped to fight and win in a complex and ever-changing global security environment. CI is committed to working with our federal law enforcement partners to help protect our servicemembers from this sort of malign activity that diminishes national security.”
Soriano is next scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson for sentencing on September 6, 2024.
Intellipeak and Flores are charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery in 23-cr-2282-TWR. Thurston is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery in 24-cr-341-TWR.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Swan and Katherine E. A. McGrath (no relation to U.S. Attorney McGrath).
DEFENDANT Case Numbers 23-cr-2282-TWR-1 and 24-cr-341-TWR-1
James Soriano Age: 63 Las Vegas, NV
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Commit Bribery - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371
Maximum penalties (per count): Five years in prison; $250,000 fine
False Statements in Tax Returns – Title 26, U.S.C., Section 7206(1)
Maximum penalties: Three years in prison; $100,000 fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation
Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General
If you have information regarding fraud, waste, or abuse relating to Department of Defense personnel or operations, please contact the DoD Hotline at 800-424-9098.
Former Luxury Homebuilder Convicted of Defrauding the United StatesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former project manager of a now-defunct luxury home building business in West Springfield. Mass. has been convicted following a five-day jury trial of conspiring to defraud the United States.
Jason Pecoy, 44, of Wilbraham, was convicted on June 7, 2024 of two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Sept. 12, 2024.
“Jason Pecoy was convicted for his role in an elaborate scheme with his father and Kevin Kennedy to defraud the United States by concealing money and maintaining false books, all so that Kennedy could avoid taxes for the construction of two luxury homes,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Jason Pecoy decided that assisting in his father’s illegal efforts to support Kennedy’s greed was more important than following the law. This conviction is a reminder to others that criminal actions have consequences.”
“The conviction of Jason Pecoy demonstrates the IRS’s commitment to identifying and prosecuting all who choose to violate the tax laws,” said Special Agent in Charge, Harry T. Chavis Jr., Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office. “Pecoy made every effort to conceal his income from the IRS and evade paying his fair share of his taxes. Tax evasion is not a victimless crime, it impacts every American by stealing resources vital to maintaining public infrastructure and enhancing social welfare.”
Jason Pecoy was previously indicted in December 2019 along with his father, Kent Pecoy, and Kevin M. Kennedy, the former owner of a golf management company, for conspiring to defraud the United States by concealing cash payments for the construction of Kennedy’s two homes in East Longmeadow and West Dennis. The defendants were later charged in a superseding indictment in January 2020. On Dec. 11, 2023, Kennedy was convicted by a federal jury for conspiracy to defraud the United States and making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on April 24, 2024. On May 16, 2024, Kent Pecoy pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. Kent Pecoy is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20, 2024.
From 2009 through 2016, Kennedy conspired with Kent Pecoy, the owner of Kent Pecoy and Sons Construction Inc. (KPSC), and his son, Jason Pecoy, a KPSC project manager, to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service and the collection of taxes by concealing Kennedy’s cash payments for construction of the East Longmeadow and West Dennis homes. Kennedy paid the Pecoys in cash, all of which the Pecoys failed to deposit into business bank accounts, but rather distributed the cash directly to vendors and subcontractors. When they did deposit the cash, the Pecoys deposited funds in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid the filing of currency transaction reports. The evidence proved that the Pecoys created and maintained separate ledgers documenting Kennedy’s cash payments, created and maintained false contracts and cover sheets, and created false entries in KPSC’s accounting system to conceal the cash payments.
The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and IRS SAC Chavis made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Breslow and Neil L. Desroches of the Springfield Branch Office are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Eric B. Powers of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
Former Kentucky State Prison Sergeant Sentenced for Violating Civil Rights of an Inmate and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
A former Kentucky corrections sergeant, Eric L. Nantell, 48, was sentenced today to 84 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for one count of deprivation of civil rights for his failure to intervene to stop the assault of an inmate, two counts of obstruction of justice for misleading state investigators and one count of making false statements to a special agent of the FBI. Nantell was convicted after a four-day trial. Six other officers previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the assault and cover-up, and three of those officers testified for the government at trial.
“As the vicious beating of a handcuffed, leg-shackled inmate unfolded, this defendant failed to intervene to stop the assault and then abused his power by obstructing the investigation into the crime,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This cover-up scheme failed. All seven officers who participated in the brutal assault of the inmate or the coordinated cover-up that followed have been brought to justice. The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable law enforcement officials who engage in misconduct at every level, including those who carry out unlawful assaults, those who fail to intervene to stop them and those who try to cover up the violations.”
“Instead of protecting someone in his custody and care or supervising others under his command, he turned a blind eye to a brutal beating and then tried to cover it up,” said U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “That’s not law enforcement; that’s disgraceful criminal conduct. Fortunately, he now faces the consequences of his utter betrayal of responsibility and callous attempts to undermine genuine law enforcement.”
“In this case, one inmate was betrayed by no less than seven corrections officers whose basic duty was to protect the civil rights of all the inmates under their supervision,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office. “With today’s sentencing, all of the officers who took part in the assault, and those who attempted to cover-up the truth, have now been held accountable. Everyone deserves protection under the law, and the FBI is proud to work with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky to hold any officer criminally responsible for violating the civil rights of a person in his or her custody.”
According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, Nantell, who at that time was a sergeant at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (EKCC), was supervising a routine prisoner escort procedure when three officers, two of whom were members of the prison’s internal affairs department, assaulted a non-violent inmate who was lying face-down, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles and isolated in a prison shower cell. Nantell was standing at the door of the shower when the assault began, and he watched the officers repeatedly punch and kick the inmate in the head and back. After silently observing the beating for more than 20 seconds, Nantell walked away while the officers continued to beat the inmate.
Within hours of the inmate reporting the abuse, supervisors of EKCC and state detectives of the Kentucky State Police had opened an investigation. Nantell joined with other officers in a cover-up scheme to hide the truth. As part of that cover-up, he lied to officers of both agencies as well as a special agent of the FBI.
The FBI Louisville Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Dembo for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Thomas Johnson of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Melton for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
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Foreign National Sentenced for Advance Fee and Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Kenyan national was sentenced today to 11 years and three months in prison for perpetrating an advance fee and investment scheme that defrauded numerous victims.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Paul Maucha, 59, along with a co-conspirator, engaged in a scheme through a shell company Maucha controlled, American Eagle Services Group Inc. (AESG), to make numerous misrepresentations to victims about AESG, its assets, and its access to money and capital. In particular, Maucha—through AESG—promised victims who were seeking loans that AESG would provide them with these loans. The victims were required to first provide AESG with an advanced fee, but the company misrepresented the purpose of that fee. AESG told victims falsely that the advance fees could be refunded if AESG did not fund the loan. As proven at trial, however, Maucha and his co-conspirator knew that AESG did not have the capital to make these loans at the time the lending agreements were executed, and refunds to victims could not be assured because Maucha and his co-conspirator were splitting the fees between themselves and spending them, such that there was no money left to be refunded.
A federal jury convicted Maucha on Feb. 1 of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia; and Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley of the FBI Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Atlanta Field Office investigated the case, with substantial assistance from Homeland Security Investigations.
Trial Attorneys Tian Huang and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine M. Macey for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case. Former Assistant Chief William E. Johnston of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Rothstein for the District of Columbia provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
Federal Jury Finds Felon Guilty of Possessing Firearms, Ammunition, and SilencersRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Dana Hunter Calley (54, Cocoa) guilty of possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon and possessing unregistered silencers. Calley faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 9, 2024.
According to the evidence presented at trial, on September 20, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Calley’s residence and seized four guns, three silencers, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. On April 5, 2024, law enforcement executed a second search warrant on Calley’s residence and seized six silencers at various stages of production. At the time of the offenses, Calley had multiple prior felony convictions, including aggravated battery, and possessing contraband in a prison facility. As a convicted felon, Calley is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Hu and Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Del Mastro.
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.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Twenty-Six for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – A Federal grand jury has indicted 26 people in seven cases for the trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, and methamphetamine.
United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced that Quavonte Pugh, also known as “Q,” “Q Man,” and “Brother,” age 28, of Wheeling, West Virginia, and 11 others were named in a 16-count superseding indictment charging them with the operation of a fentanyl, cocaine base, and cocaine trafficking enterprise that spanned from Las Vegas, Nevada to the Ohio Valley. The indictments were the result of a comprehensive investigation that included the execution of five federal search warrants at locations in West Virginia and Ohio on March 29. During the searches, officers seized controlled substances, firearms, and cash.
The others charged in the Pugh indictment are Dalen Cage, 30, of Las Vegas, Nevada; James Galloway, 28, of Bellaire, Ohio; James Kidder, also known as “Jamey,” 47, of Martins Ferry, Ohio; Brady McKinley, 45, of Adena, Ohio; and Maria Cunningham, 46, Quamya Pugh, 25, Steven Aldridge, 26, Caviezz Cunningham, 29, Daryl Smith, 50, Tyrique Anthony Davis, 28, and Matthew Clemont, 31, all of Wheeling.
“The Pugh organization caused significant amounts of illicit drugs to be trafficked throughout the region,” said United States Attorney Ihlenfeld. “The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force worked closely with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office and together they dismantled the group and disrupted the supply of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs to the area.”
According to Ihlenfeld, the same grand jury returned six additional indictments alleging fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking, as follows:
Indictment Two: Rodrican M. Pavlick, also known as “Smooth” and “Rico”, of Cleveland, Ohio, Seanelle P. Whorton, of Benwood, West Virginia, and Josie M. Midcap, of Moundsville, West Virginia, for fentanyl trafficking in Marshall County;
Indictment Three: Lawrence “Larry” Reagan and Jennifer Ann Miller, also known as Jennifer Reagan, both of Colliers, West Virginia, for methamphetamine trafficking in Brooke County and Hancock County;
Indictment Four: Amanda Leigh Bush, James Adam Vipperman, Noah Andrew Blake, and Joseph Lee Wells, all of Moundsville, West Virginia, for methamphetamine trafficking in Marshall County;
Indictment Five: Arrests pending of two individuals for methamphetamine trafficking in Marshall County;
Indictment Six: Arrests pending of two individuals for methamphetamine trafficking in Marshall County;
Indictment Seven: Arrest pending of one individual for methamphetamine trafficking in Wetzel County.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carly Nogay and Clayton Reid and U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld are prosecuting the cases on behalf of the United States.
Investigative agencies include the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Marshall County Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office; the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office; the Wheeling Police Department; the Benwood Police Department; and the Belmont County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Farrell Resident Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Firearm ViolationsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Dimetrius Morris of Farrell, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for committing drug trafficking and firearms crimes, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Morris, 39, was sentenced by United States District Judge Robert J. Colville, who also ordered Morris to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
Morris previously pleaded guilty in this case to possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine on February 20, 2020, and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking crime. Prior to that date, Morris had been convicted in federal and state courts of several drug trafficking and weapons crimes throughout the previous 15 years, and spent nearly 10 of those years in prison serving the various sentences imposed for those crimes and corresponding supervised release/parole violations.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
The Sharon Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Farrell Police Department, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Morris.
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 of Justice 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.
Fact Sheet: Initiative to Combat Transnational Human Smuggling and Trafficking Networks Marks Third AnniversaryRead the Press Release
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) in June 2021 in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to strengthen the Justice Department’s efforts to combat prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking emanating from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico and impacting our border communities, with a particular focus on individuals and networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger those being smuggled, pose national security threats, or have links to transnational organized crime.
Since its creation in June 2021, JTFA has delivered significant results, including:
- 300+ domestic and international arrests, including against leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators;
- 240+ U.S. convictions;
- 170+ U.S. defendants sentenced, including significant jail sentences imposed;
- Substantial seizures and forfeiture of assets and contraband including hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs; and
- Multiple indictments and precedent setting extraditions of foreign leadership targets.
Over the past three years, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, DHS, and with foreign law enforcement partners, targeted those organizations who have the most impact on the United States, and coordinated significant investigations, indictments, extraditions, and successful prosecution efforts both across the Southwest border and overseas.
Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of New Mexico, District of Arizona, and Southern District of California are detailed to JTFA to pursue its mission. Dedicated personnel and support is also provided by numerous components of the Justice Department that are part of JTFA, led by the Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training; Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section; Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; Office of Enforcement Operations; Office of International Affairs; and Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, along with the Executive Office for the U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA).
JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, and Border Patrol, along with support from the FBI, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Air Marshals, and U.S. Coast Guard.
In December 2023, OCDETF announced the creation of a new strategic initiative to expand and further enhance targeting of TCOs and human smuggling and trafficking networks within its framework.
Press release announcing JTFA and readouts from national meetings
- Launch of JTFA (June 2021): Attorney General announces initiatives to combat human smuggling and trafficking and to fight corruption in Central America
- Washington, D.C. Summit (November 2021)
- San Diego Summit (June 2022)
- El Paso Summit (March 2023)
- Washington, D.C. Summit (December 2023)
Key cases
- United States v. Felipe Diego Alonzo, et al. (Western District of Texas)
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U.S. and Guatemalan law enforcement coordination results in arrest of 19 members of human smuggling network, including four Guatemalan human smugglers wanted in the United States.
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Justice Department announces first ever extraditions from Guatemala to the United States on human smuggling resulting in death charges.
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Two Guatemalan defendants residing in Texas pleaded guilty to transporting and harboring illegal migrants for financial gain and resulting in death.
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Four extradited defendants plead guilty and sentenced to nearly 70 years in prison in total.
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- United States v. Ofelia Hernandez-Salas, et al. (District of Arizona)
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Co-conspirators indicted for role in global human smuggling conspiracy.
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Prolific Mexican smuggler arrested in Mexico and extradited pursuant to U.S. request.
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United States v. Maria Mendoza-Mendoza (District of Arizona)
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First ever extradition from Honduras of prolific human smuggler.
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United States v. Erminia Serrano Piedra, et al. (Southern District of Texas
- Eight indicted and arrested in a takedown of prolific human smuggling network.
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Four indicted on charges of conspiracy to launder money.
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Lead defendant and 10 others pleaded guilty to charges related to facilitation of illegal transportation and movement of hundreds of migrants within the United States and agree to over $2 million in forfeitures.
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United States v. Allison, et al. (Eastern District of Louisiana)
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Eight defendants indicted for human smuggling and drug conspiracy offenses, and four convicted thus far, including lead defendant.
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United States v. Ronaldo Galindo Lopez-Escobar, et al. (District of New Mexico)
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Ten indicted and six arrested in investigation of the Lopez Crime Family human smuggling organization operating in Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States.
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Operation Pollos Hermanos (District of Arizona)
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Cooperation between United States and Mexico results in takedown operation to dismantle a prolific transnational human smuggling organization operating in Nogales, Sonora, along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Man pleaded guilty to operating Phoenix stash house and sentenced to 57 months in prison for conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal migrants for profit.
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Woman pleaded guilty to transporting and harboring over 100 noncitizens.
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Man pleaded guilty for role as coordinator for human smuggling organization in Nogales, Arizona.
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Coordinator sentenced to 78 months in prison for role in conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal migrants for profit and illegal reentry.
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Man sentenced to 46 months in prison for conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal migrants for profit.
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Two men sentenced to 45 months in prison for roles in smuggling noncitizens to the United States.
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- United States v. Victor Alfonso Soto Aguilar, et al. (Southern District of California)
- Two defendant boat operators pleaded guilty for maritime smuggling resulting in the death of one passenger in La Jolla and sentenced to 71 and 60 months in prison.
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United States v. Gilberto Morales (Western District of Texas)
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Jury finds defendant guilty at trial of criminal offenses, including conspiracy, transporting, and harboring noncitizens.
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United States v. Milon Miah (Southern District of Texas)
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Defendant sentenced to 46 months in prison for role in smuggling noncitizens from Mexico to United States.
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United States v. Jose Luis Avalo, et al. (District of New Mexico)
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Nine alleged human smugglers indicted in migrant smuggling organization.
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United States v. Jimenez-Bautista (Southern District of California)
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Man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a juvenile while smuggling group from Mexico to United States.
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Ex-finance manager for Kalispell firearms manufacturer admits stealing approximately $159,000 in check schemeRead the Press Release
MISSOULA —A Columbia Falls woman who managed books for a Kalispell firearm manufacturing business today admitted to stealing approximately $159,000 from the company in a check scheme, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, Teri Anne Bell, 58, pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Bell faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Oct. 8. Bell was released pending further proceedings.
In court documents, the government alleged that from May 2018 until about December 2021, Bell, while working as a finance manager for Falkor SID Inc., a firearm manufacturing and distribution business in Kalispell, stole from her employer. Bell was provided pre-signed checks to make payments to Falkor vendors and had access to Falkor’s bank account and its accounting software. In the fall of 2021, Falkor’s owners suspected Bell was stealing money from the company, and a financial audit determined that Bell completed 45 unauthorized transactions totaling $159,131 in Falkor funds. Bell wrote checks from Falkor to herself or her creditors and then edited the payments in an accounting system so that they appeared to be for legitimate business expenses. Bell used the stolen funds for personal expenses, including hotels in Las Vegas and at Quinn’s Hot Springs, payments to retail and liquor stores, collection agencies and streaming services.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla E. Painter is prosecuting the case. The FBI and Flathead County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
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Etazini Konkli Yon Pwotokòl Antant Ak Biwo Administrasyon Tribinal Yo Nan Eta Nouyòk La Ki Garanti Aksè Ak Tribinal Pou Tretman Kont Dwòg Yo Nan Konte Rockland Lan Pou Patisipan Yo Ki Genyen Yon Konpetans Limite Nan AnglèRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, Pwokirè Etazini an pou Distri Sid Nouyòk la, ak Kristen Clarke, Pwokirè Jeneral Adjwen Divizyon Dwa Sivil Depatman Jistis la, te anonse jodi a Etazini te konkli yon Pwotokòl Antant (“MOU”) ak Sistèm Tribinal Inifye Eta Nouyòk la, Biwo Administrasyon Jidisyè a (“OCA”) ki rezoud analiz li sou konfòmite Tribinal pou Tretman kont Dwòg Konte Rockland la ak Tit VI Lwa 1964 sou Dwa Sivil yo, ki entèdi diskriminasyon sou baz ras, koulè, ak orijin nasyonal nan men benefisyè asistans finansye federal. Diskriminasyon ki entèdi an gendwa gen ladann yon enkapasite pou bay yon aksè lengwistik ki enpòtan.
Pwokirè Etazini an Damian Williams te di: “Yo ta dwe refize manm kominote a yon aksè enpòtan ak pwosedi jidisyè yo e ak pwogram yo ki ofri yon altènativ ak kondanasyon tradisyonèl yo akòz konpetans limite yo nan anglè. Nou remèsye Biwo Pwokirè Distri Konte Rockland la ak OCA paske yo te travay avèk nou pou asire Tribinal pou Tretman kont Dwòg Konte Rockland lan disponib pou tout patisipan ki elijib yo, e nou espere Pwotokòl Antant sa a ka sèvi kòm modèl pou tout tribinal nan distri sa a pou asire yon aksè enpòtan pou moun ki gen konpetans limite nan anglè, nan konfòmite ak Tit VI.”
Pwokirè Jeneral Adjwen an Kristen Clarke te di: “Asire yon jistis egalit devan lalwa vle di fè sa nan yon fason ki jis, egzat ak konpreyansib pou tout moun, men sa ap rive sof si moun yo ki enplike nan pwosesis jidisyè a ka kominike youn ak lòt. Moun pa ta dwe penalize pou konpetans limite yo nan anglè yo epi yo ta dwe resevwa sèvis asistans lengwistik yo bezwen pou yo patisipe san fòs kote nan pwosedi jidisyè yo ak fòmasyon tribinal oswa pwogram tretman la mandate. Akò sa a reprezante yon modèl pou asire aksè ak tribinal yo, ansanm ak pwogram ak sèvis li yo, pou tout moun, kèlkeswa konpetans yo nan anglè, epi li esplike aksyon ki nesesè yo pou elimine baryè pou itilizatè tribinal yo ki gen yon konpetans limite nan anglè.”
Dapre Pwotokòl Antant lan ak fichye epi deklarasyon piblik yo:
An janvye 2023, Biwo sa a te revize yon plent ki te pretann moun ki gen konpetans limite yo nan anglè ("LEP") pa t kapab patisipe totalman nan Tribinal pou Tretman kont Dwòg Konte Rockland la paske tribinal la pa t bay sèvis tradiksyon ak entèpretasyon. Yon ti tan apresa, OCA te enplike l nan pwosedi aksè lengwistik yo pou Tribinal pou Tretman kont Dwòg Konte Rockland la epi li te finalman pran responsablite pou Tribinal la nan mwa mas 2024. Biwo sa a, nan kolaborasyon ak Divizyon Dwa Sivil yo, te travay avèk OCA ak Biwo Pwokirè Distri Konte Rockland la, ki t ap jere Tribinal pou Tretman kont Dwòg la anvan mas 2024, pou idantifye refòm ki nesesè yo pou asire tout moun LEP yo ki kalifye pou patisipe nan Tribinal pou Tretman kont Dwòg la te gen aksè lengwistik ki enpòtan.
Pandan revizyon dosye sa a, Biwo Pwokirè Distri Konte Rockland la ak OCA te pran plizyè mezi pozitif pou bay patisipan nan Tribinal yo ki gen LEP yon aksè enpòtan, sa gen ladan l angajman pou founi sèvis entèprèt pou tout pwosedi jidisyè yo, reyalize aktivite sansibilizasyon ak patisipan yo ki nan Tribinal pou Tretman kont Dwòg Konte Rockland la, epi idantifye yon founisè tretman lokal pou bay sèvis tretman tribinal lan mandate an panyòl.
Dapre Pwotokòl Antant lan, OCA pral pran yon kantite mezi adisyonèl pou garanti yon aksè enpòtan pou patisipan ki gen LEP yo nan Tribinal pou Tretman kont Dwòg Konte Rockland lan. Etap sa yo gen ladan yo tradiksyon tout dokiman yo an panyòl, kreyòl, ak yiddish, ak nan lòt lang sou demann, fè piblikasyon pwogram Tribinal pou Tretman kont Dwòg la nan lòt lang sa yo, epi chèche founisè tretman ki pral ofri pwogram tretman kont dwòg tribinal mandate yo nan yon fason ki bay yon aksè enpòtan ak moun ki gen LEP yo, san patisipan yo pa peye anyen.
Enfòmasyon sou Tit VI ak konpetans limite nan anglè disponib nan www.lep.gov. Manm piblik la gendwa rapòte potansyèl vyolasyon dwa sivil yo nan Distri Sid Nouyòk la nan https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/civil-rights oswa avèk Divizyon Dwa Sivil Depatman Jistis la nan www.civilrights.justice.gov/report/.
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Mesye Williams te remèsye Divizyon Dwa Sivil lan, Seksyon Kowòdinasyon ak Konfòmite Federal la, pou kolaborasyon li nan rezoud pwoblèm sa a.
Se Inite Dwa Sivil Biwo an nan Divizyon Sivil la ki ap jere dosye sa a. Asistan Pwokirè Etazini an Christine S. Poscablo se responsab dosye a.
Escaped Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Making and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Shane A. Lopez, age 29, of Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on June 10, 2024, to 22 years’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner for sexual exploitation of children and escape.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, in November 2020, Lopez was serving the remainder of his federal drug trafficking sentence at a residential rehabilitation facility in Harrisburg when he escaped. On May 21, 2021, police arrested him at a residence in Mahanoy City. Police seized his and uncovered evidence of child pornography. An investigation of his phone as well as accounts he controlled revealed that he had over a 1,000 images and videos of child pornography, including a video he made of an 18-month-old girl.
On November 20, 2023, Lopez pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of children as well as escape from a detention facility.
Judge Conner sentenced Lopez to 20 years in prison for sexual exploitation of children. He also imposed a consecutive sentence of two years in prison for the crime of escape. When he is released from prison, Lopez is to serve five years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Marshal Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Ford is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
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El Departamento de Justicia celebra un acuerdo con el Sistema Judicial Unificado del Estado de New York para resolver la revisión de acceso lingüístico al amparo del Título VIRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy un memorando de entendimiento (MOU, por sus siglas en inglés) con el Sistema Judicial del Estado de New York, la Oficina de Administración del Tribunal (OCA, por sus siglas en inglés) para mejorar el acceso al Tribunal de Tratamiento para Usuarios de Drogas del Condado de Rockland, New York, para personas con un dominio limitado del inglés (LEP, por sus siglas en inglés). El Departamento hace cumplir el Título VI de la ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 (Título VI), que prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de raza, color de piel y origen nacional por parte de beneficiarios de apoyo financiero federal. La discriminación prohibida puede incluir la falta de provisión de acceso lingüístico significativo.
«La garantía de la igualdad de justicia en virtud de la ley se asegura de una manera justa, precisa y comprensible para todos, pero eso no sucede a menos que las personas involucradas en el proceso judicial puedan comunicarse entre sí», comentó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «Las personas no deben ser penalizadas por su dominio limitado del inglés y deben recibir los servicios de apoyo lingüístico que necesitan para participar de forma justa en procedimientos judiciales y programas de formación o tratamiento exigidos por el tribunal. Este acuerdo sirve como modelo para garantizar el acceso a los tribunales, incluidos sus programas y servicios, para todas las personas, independientemente de su dominio del inglés, y detalla acciones que pueden ayudar a eliminar barreras para los usuarios de tribunales con un dominio limitado del inglés».
«No se debe negar a los miembros de la comunidad el acceso significativo a procedimientos y programas judiciales que ofrezcan alternativas a las sentencias tradicionales debido a su dominio limitado del inglés», afirmó Damian Williams, el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Sur de New York. «Agradecemos a la Fiscalía de Distrito del Condado de Rockland y a la OCA por trabajar con nosotros para garantizar que el Tribunal de Tratamiento para Usuarios de Drogas del Condado de Rockland esté disponible para todos los participantes elegibles, y esperamos que este memorando de entendimiento pueda servir como modelo para todos los tribunales de este distrito para garantizar un acceso significativo a las personas con un dominio limitado del inglés, de conformidad con el Título VI».
El Departamento de Justicia revisó una queja alegando que las personas LEP no podían participar plenamente en el Tribunal de Tratamiento para Usuarios de Drogas del Condado de Rockland porque no proporcionaba un acceso lingüístico significativo. Poco después de esta queja, la OCA se involucró en los procedimientos de acceso lingüístico para el Tribunal de Tratamiento para Usuarios de Drogas del Condado de Rockland y finalmente, la OCA asumió la responsabilidad del Tribunal en marzo.
Junto con la Fiscalía de Distrito del Condado de Rockland, que dirigió el Tribunal de Tratamiento para Usuarios de Drogas antes de marzo, la OCA tomó varias medidas afirmativas para proporcionar un acceso significativo a todos los usuarios LEP del Tribunal de Tratamiento para Usuarios de Drogas del Condado de Rockland durante la revisión de este asunto por parte del Departamento. Entre otras acciones, la OCA se comprometió a proporcionar servicios de interpretación gratuitos para todos los procedimientos judiciales y tomó acciones directas en cuanto a las partes interesadas del Tribunal de Tratamiento para Usuarios de Drogas del Condado de Rockland sobre el acceso significativo para las personas LEP.
En virtud del MOU, la OCA tomará una serie de medidas adicionales para garantizar un acceso significativo para los participantes LEP en el Tribunal de Tratamiento para Usuarios de Drogas del Condado de Rockland. Estos pasos incluyen traducir todos los documentos al español, criollo y yiddish, y a otros idiomas a pedido, y conseguir a proveedores de tratamiento que ofrecerán programas de tratamiento para usuarios de drogas exigidos por los tribunales de manera que proporcione un acceso significativo a las personas LEP, sin costo adicional para los participantes.
Hay más información sobre la División de Derechos Civiles en su sitio web en a www.justice.gov/crt. La información sobre el dominio limitado del inglés y el Título VI está disponible en www.lep.gov. Los miembros del público pueden denunciar posibles vulneraciones de los derechos civiles en www.civilrights.justice.gov/report/ o ante la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Sur de New York en www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/civil-rights.
Eight Defendants Charged with Multi-Million Dollar Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, an indictment was unsealed charging Noman Ahmed, Adnan Arshad, Rehman Diwan, Jessica Hendrickson, Jose Marte, Mohammed Saleem, Faisal Shamsi and Waqas Shamsi with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay health care kickbacks, paying health care kickbacks, and money laundering. The defendants allegedly offered and paid health care kickbacks and submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid for ambulette services to medical appointments that were not performed, or the costs were artificially inflated. The defendants were arrested today and all but Marte will be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Arlene R. Lindsay. Marte will be arraigned tomorrow.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Naomi Gruchacz, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Thomas M. Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York, (IRS-CI), and Raymond A. Tierney, Suffolk County District Attorney, announced the arrests and charges.
“As alleged, the defendants abused the trust placed in them by Medicaid by falsely and brazenly treating this essential program like a piggy bank for their own enrichment,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Their transportation scam ended today with law enforcement providing the defendants a free ride to the courthouse to face serious criminal charges. My Office will prosecute health care providers who steal from taxpayer-funded programs intended to help those in need.”
Mr. Peace also thanked the Office of the New York State Comptroller and the New York Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their assistance in the case.
“HHS-OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that individuals are held accountable if they attempt to exploit federal health care programs for their own greed,” stated HHS-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Gruchacz. “It is alleged in this case that the defendants offered illegal kickbacks and billed Medicaid improperly for millions of dollars, which can affect the availability of funds and services for others and drive up the cost of taxpayer-funded health care.”
“Healthcare fraud is not a victimless crime. The loss created by criminals bilking the system generates a gap in funding that gets filled by law-abiding citizens paying more than their fair share. This team of alleged criminals are charged with a multimillion dollar fraud involving health care kickbacks and false claims. While legitimate claimants continue to work through the Medicaid system, some of the alleged fraudsters purchased luxury vehicles and million-dollar homes. This is unacceptable, and each offender will now face justice for their actions,” stated IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Fattorusso.
“My Office remains committed to stand and work with our federal partners in combatting crime and keeping our citizens safe," stated Suffolk County District Attorney Tierney. “Those who seek to illegally profit off the backs of hardworking U.S. taxpayers will be found out and brought to justice. The defrauding of our citizens will not be tolerated.”
As set forth in court filings, the defendants owned, operated and were employees of several transportation companies. From approximately December 2020 to the present, the defendants paid illegal health care kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries so that those beneficiaries would order medical transportation services specifically from the defendants, which generally included transportation to addiction treatment centers for the beneficiaries’ purportedly necessary methadone treatment.
The defendants generally did not provide the medical transportation services ordered by the Medicaid beneficiaries. Yet in total, the defendants and their transportation companies – 668 MTK Taxi LLC, All-Star Taxi LLC, Apollo Transportation, Sunrise Taxi LLC, and Transportation Solution NY Corp. d/b/a A1 Transport – fraudulently billed Medicaid millions of dollars for these services throughout the course of the scheme. At least two claims were submitted to Medicaid for individuals who were deceased, and some claims were submitted for individuals who were hospitalized or incarcerated.
The defendants also submitted artificially inflated claims to Medicaid. Although there were numerous addiction treatment centers on Long Island the beneficiaries could have utilized, the defendants instructed them to order rides to addiction treatment centers in New York City and to list false addresses so they could obtain higher reimbursement rates from Medicaid for longer rides. The transportation companies owned or operated by the defendants billed Medicaid over $16 million for trips to just three addiction treatment centers in New York City.
The defendants Adnan Arshad and Mohammed Saleem used the illicit proceeds of the schemes to purchase approximately 15 additional transport vehicles for use in the scheme and to purchase multimillion-dollar homes and luxury vehicles.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorney Adam Toporovsky and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Milito, of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, are in charge of the prosecution with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Adam Bernard. Assistant United States Attorney Tanisha Payne of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.
The Defendants:
NOMAN AHMED
Age: 37
Port Jefferson Station, New YorkADNAN ARSHAD (also known as “Eddie”)
Age: 45
Mount Sinai, New YorkREHMAN DIWAN
Age: 24
Hicksville, New YorkJESSICA HENDRICKSON
Age: 36
Patchogue, New YorkJOSE MARTE
Age: 33
Bronx, New YorkMOHAMMED SALEEM
Age: 38
Dix Hills, New YorkFAISAL SHAMSI (also known as “Jimmy”)
Age: 49
Massapequa, New YorkWAQAS SHAMSI (also known as “Ricky”)
Age: 44
Massapequa, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-231 (JMA)