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Wednesday 3 April 2024
City of Jackson to Receive Additional Assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice to Improve Investigations of Violent Crimes Committed with FirearmsRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – The City of Jackson, Mississippi will receive additional federal assistance to investigate violent crimes committed with firearms.
Specifically, this month the DOJ’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) New Orleans Field will be deploying a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) mobile unit to Jackson that will assist law enforcement agencies in Jackson and throughout the Southern District of Mississippi with investigating crimes committed with firearms. Members of the media were invited to observe a demonstration of the mobile unit in Jackson today.
Additionally, DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded a $675,000 grant to Jackson in 2022 as part of ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative. This grant, which will be spent over several years, is being used to improve Jackson’s access to NIBIN to investigate the use of firearms in multiple shootings and provide other tools to improve investigations of violent crimes committed with firearms.
NIBIN is a database of bullet casings recovered from crime scenes across the United States. Used casings have distinctive markings from the gun they were fired from, similar to a fingerprint. Investigators can check the database to see if the casings recovered from a crime scene were fired from a gun that may have been used in another crime. Through the database, one weapon could theoretically be linked to crimes across several cities and states. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. ATF maintains and operates NIBIN’s infrastructure at no charge to law enforcement partners.
More information about ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Centers can be found here: https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/fact-sheet/fact-sheet-crime-gun-intelligence-centers-cgic.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee, Special Agent in Charge Joshua E. Jackson of the ATF, Chief Joseph Wade of the Jackson Police Department, and Chief Bo Luckey of the Capitol Police made the announcement.
Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug CrimeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Willie Charles Sanders, also known as “Disco,” 51, of Charleston, pleaded guilty yesterday, April 2, 2024, to distribution of methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 23, 2022, Sanders sold a quantity of methamphetamine to a confidential informant at Sanders’ Charleston residence.
Sanders is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least 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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Charleston Police Department.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Troy D. Adams 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. 2:23-cr-164.
Carjacker Sent to Prison for 10 YearsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Basil Thomas, 21, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a carjacking and robbery that he committed in Northeast Washington D.C. last year, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.
On September 6, 2023, Thomas pleaded guilty in Superior Court to carjacking, robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm. On March 25, 2024, Superior Court Judge Erik Christian sentenced the defendant to 84 months in prison for carjacking, consecutive to 36 months in prison for robbery; with concurrent sentences of 60 months in prison for possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and 36 months in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm, pursuant to the parties’ plea agreement
According to the government’s evidence, with which the defendant agreed at his plea hearing, on March 3, 2023, at approximately 5:35 p.m., the defendant approached his first victim, put a gun to his neck, and demanded his car keys. The victim reluctantly handed Thomas the keys to his Lexus SUV. Thomas drove that Lexus a short distance away before parking it so he could attempt a second armed carjacking. At approximately, 5:45 p.m., Thomas approached a Toyota SUV that was parked and running in a parking lot near where Thomas parked the Lexus. The second victim was sitting in the passenger seat of his Toyota when Thomas pointed a gun at him through the driver’s side window. Thomas then got in the Toyota, put the gun against the second victim’s head and demanded he get out. When the victim refused, a struggle ensued over the gun and Thomas was shot in the leg.
Thomas fled after being shot, but police were able to identify him and link him to both offenses after he went to a nearby hospital for treatment for his wound. Although the first victim could not identify his assailant, the second victim was able to positively identify him. Police also located the first victim’s Lexus near the second carjacking location. And after the second victim reported the attempted carjacking, police recovered Thomas’s gun and surveillance footage that showed his attempt to carjack the second victim.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Kubo and Alec Levy.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Gulfport, MS – A Compton, California man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
According to court documents, Booker Washington, 52, was identified as being a member of a drug-trafficking organization in California that was sending packages of narcotics to Mississippi dating back to 2019. The investigation yielded 5,766 grams of pure methamphetamine, 236 grams of fentanyl, 84.2 grams of cocaine, and 7.8 kilograms of marijuana that were shipped to the Gulf Coast.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. The DEA reports that two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, and one kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people. More facts on fentanyl can be found at https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl and https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl.
Washington pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 15, 2024, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Steven L. Hofer of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor- led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Bronx Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting MinorRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Bronx, N.Y. man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography, as well as traveling with the intent to engage in illicit conduct with the minor victim.
Markell Greene, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 24 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In October 2023, Greene pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit conduct.
“It is hard to find the words to capture how horrific and reprehensible Mr. Greene’s conduct was here. Through social media he targeted a 12-year-old girl and then he proceeded to entice her to send him sexually explicit photos and videos. And as if that was not bad enough, he then travelled from New York to rape this child while he was recording his deviant behavior on Snapchat. It does not get much more despicable and depraved than that. Thanks to the bravery of this victim, Mr. Greene will be behind bars for many years and not able to terrorize other young girls,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy.
“Markell Greene is a monster, and no sentence will ever wipe away the untold heartache, pain, anxiety, and fear that he inflicted upon this young child and her family,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “That said, today’s sentence does remove a dangerous predator from our community for a significant amount of time, and highlights the FBI’s ongoing commitment to ensure that sexual predators are held accountable for their crimes. Our Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force will continue to do what it can to prevent children from being sexually abused and exploited.”
Greene persuaded, enticed and coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. Additionally, on or about Feb. 14, 2022, Greene traveled in interstate commerce with a motivating purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with the minor victim.
In late 2021, Greene sent an unsolicited Snapchat message to the then-12-year-old minor victim, who believed Greene to be approximately 16 years old. Over the course of several months, Greene manipulated the minor victim into sending sexually explicit photos and videos of herself at his request. Greene also directed the minor victim to brag about her age during the sexually explicit videos.
In February 2022, Greene persuaded the minor victim to meet him in-person at a parking lot in Arlington. On Feb. 14, 2022, Greene arrived to the agreed upon meet up in an SUV, picked up the minor victim and parked the car in an adjacent parking lot. There, Greene raped the minor victim and forced her to engage in oral, vaginal and anal sex, which he recorded on Snapchat.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Arlington, Mass. and New York City Police Departments; the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Billings man sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for armed meth, fentanyl trafficking in Billings communityRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Billings man who admitted to drug trafficking and firearms crimes after law enforcement more than a pound of methamphetamine, fentanyl pills and a loaded gun in his motel room was sentenced today to 16 years and three months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Robert Earl Biggs, 49, of Billings, pleaded guilty in November 2023 to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that in 2022, the Billings Police Department Street Crimes Unit learned through an investigation that Biggs was staying in a local motel and using others to distribute drugs for him. One of his distributors told officers that she had seen four to five pounds of meth and approximately 4,000 fentanyl pills in Biggs’ room a few days prior. The investigation ultimately led to officers detaining Biggs and searching his motel room. Law enforcement located fentanyl pills, more than a pound of meth, a black bag containing $5,860 and a loaded firearm in the room. Co-defendant Brandi Davitt was sentenced in January to four years in prison for her conviction in the case, while co-defendant Leota Beartusk-Martinez pleaded guilty to a trafficking crime and is awaiting sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin M. Rubich prosecuted the case. The Billings Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force conducted the investigation.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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Bergen County Tax Preparer Charged in COVID-19 Employment Tax Credit SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK N.J. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a Bergen County, New Jersey, tax preparer with fraudulently seeking more than $150 million from the IRS by filing more than 1,600 false tax returns for himself and his clients that claimed COVID-19-related employment tax credits, U.S. Attorney Phillip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced.
Leon Haynes of Teaneck, New Jersey, is charged with 55 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, five counts of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of tax evasion. Haynes was previously charged by complaint in relation to the same scheme.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger“As alleged in the indictment, Haynes filed over 1,600 phony tax forms seeking more than $150 million dollars in refunds to which he and his clients were not entitled. He allegedly took advantage of programs earmarked for struggling small businesses who needed financial relief during the COVID 19 pandemic and used them to generate illicit profits for himself. Combatting pandemic fraud in all of its forms is a top priority for this office and our law enforcement partners.”
“This is precisely the type of conduct IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners are committed to deterring,” Jenifer L. Piovesan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS – Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, said. “The defendant’s alleged abuse of a program designed for those in need is appalling. Today’s indictment sends a clear message that we are committed to protecting the integrity of our tax system and relief programs.”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, Congress authorized an employee retention tax credit that an eligible small business could use to reduce the employment tax it owed to the IRS, also known as the “employee retention credit” or ERC.
Congress also authorized a credit that a business could take against employment taxes to reimburse businesses for the wages paid to employees who were on sick or family leave and could not work because of COVID-19. This “paid sick and family leave credit” was equal to the wages the business paid the employees during their leave.
As charged in the indictment, from November 2020 to May 2023, Haynes repeatedly exploited these programs that were intended to help small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Acting as a tax preparer, Haynes allegedly filed more than 1,600 false employment tax returns with the IRS claiming COVID-related tax credits on behalf of himself and his clients.
Haynes allegedly falsely told his clients that the government was giving out COVID-relief money for businesses and that they were eligible for it simply because they had a business. Haynes allegedly submitted forms to the IRS on behalf of his client’s businesses, often without consulting his clients, that grossly overstated the number of employees and the amount of wages paid to fraudulently claim these COVID-related tax credits. Haynes allegedly submitted similarly false forms for four of his own companies.
According to the indictment, based on these and other misrepresentations, Haynes fraudulently sought more than $150 million in tax refunds on behalf of his companies and numerous other businesses in his clients’ names.
The IRS allegedly disbursed at least $40 million in tax refunds to Haynes’ clients based on the false tax forms that Haynes filed. Haynes allegedly collected a percentage of the tax refunds the client received from the IRS as a fee. At Haynes’ request, many clients allegedly paid him those fees in cash. Haynes allegedly did not report on his or his businesses’ tax returns some of the income he received from clients as his share of the fraudulent obtained tax refunds. The IRS also allegedly directly mailed Haynes multiple tax refund checks totaling approximately $1.43 million based on false claims he submitted relating to his businesses.
Each count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false returns carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine; each mail fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; both tax evasion counts carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; and the count of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two year term of imprisonment to run consecutively to any other sentence imposed by the court.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan; special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Sharon MacDermott, and postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark and Trial Attorney Samuel Bean of the U.S. Justice Department’s Tax Division.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.
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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
haynes.indictment.pdfBellingham, Washington man sentenced to eight years in prison for dealing fentanyl while carrying firearmsRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 42-year-old Bellingham, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to eight years in prison for drug distribution and illegal firearms possession announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Adam Wisniewski is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced in a case involving fentanyl distribution in Whatcom and Skagit Counties. Wisniewski pleaded guilty in February 2024 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and two counts of illegally possessing firearms.
At today’s sentencing hearing Judge Lauren King noted Wisniewski’s criminal history saying, his life “had been somewhat of a revolving door of offenses and imprisonment.” Judge King recommended the Bureau of Prisons residential drug treatment program for Wisniewski to treat his addiction.
In April 2022, investigators initially saw drug ring leader Enoc Martinez Lopez, aka “Victor,” 28, of Marysville, Washington, meeting with Wisniewski, at the Silver Reef Casino in Whatcom County. Wisniewski was later arrested with more than 1,000 fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder and a firearm. Wisniewski was arrested a second time in June 2022 with two firearms and more fentanyl pills.
In the course of the investigation law enforcement seized: 11.5 kilos of fentanyl pills, 2.8 kilos of fentanyl powder, 5.7 kilos of cocaine, 1.6 kilos of heroin and 8.7 kilos of crystal meth, more than $186,000 in cash and nine firearms.
In asking for an eight-year prison sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs wrote to the court, “Of particular concern is Wisniewski’s possession of firearms. After being caught by law enforcement with a gun, Wisniewski rearmed himself and – two months later – was in possession of two more firearms. As the Probation Officer notes, the combination of drugs and guns is especially deadly and Wisniewski’s persistence in possessing firearms is extremely concerning.”
The leader of the drug ring, Enoc Martinez Lopez, was sentenced to eight years in prison; Casey Landis, 41, of Bellingham, a drug distributor, was sentenced to seven years in prison. Drug distributor Jesse Witteveen was sentenced to six years in prison; drug trafficking associate Anthony Gunderson was sentenced to 41 months in prison.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bellingham Resident Office (DEA), working with the Whatcom County Drug and Gang Task Force, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, the Skagit County Interlocal Drug Enforcement Unit, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington State Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, the CBP Air & Marine Operations, the Lummi Police Department, the Everson Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Announces Surge of Resources to Fight Violent Crime in Three Additional CitiesRead the Press Release
Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced that the Justice Department is adding three new cities to its Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), building on the successful model launched in Houston, Texas, in September 2022, and expanded to Memphis, Tennessee, in November 2023. The VCI surges law enforcement tools and resources to target gangs and other violent groups that are threatening the safety and security of communities in cities across the nation.
As the Attorney General noted in his remarks this morning in Chicago, today’s announcement comes as the Justice Department is working to replicate the successes that communities across the country have seen in driving down the violent crime that spiked during the pandemic. That includes cities like Detroit, where 2023 marked the fewest homicides in 57 years; Baltimore, where there was a 20% reduction in homicides in 2023 and a 7% reduction in non-fatal shootings; New Orleans, where 2023 marked a 25% decline in homicides; Philadelphia, where there was a 20% reduction in homicides in 2023; and Chicago, where homicides decreased by 13% in 2023.
“The Justice Department will not rest until every person, in every neighborhood, in every community is safe from violent crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The FBI reports that last year we saw a significant decrease in overall violent crime across the country compared to the previous year—including an over 13% decline in homicides. That is the largest one-year decline in homicides in 50 years. The Justice Department is not easing up on our efforts to reduce violent crime. In fact, today, we are doubling down. In Houston and Memphis, we launched a Violent Crime Initiative that brought prosecutors from the Department’s Criminal Division to work closely with prosecutors already on the ground to target those responsible for the greatest violence. Today, we are launching the next phase of our Violent Crime Initiative in St. Louis, Missouri; Jackson, Mississippi; and Hartford, Connecticut.”
“No matter where violent crime occurs, it leaves a devastating impact on victims and communities,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI, as part of the Violent Crime Initiative, is renewing our focus on violent crime in three additional cities and surging tools and resources to make our streets safer. Every day, our field offices work to tear down violent criminals and gangs and this initiative will only serve to magnify their successes.”
“Violent crime demands our urgent attention,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Through our Violent Crime Initiative, the Criminal Division works in partnership with local U.S. Attorneys and federal and state law enforcement to use data to focus on the worst of the worst violent offenders, to engage with the communities in which we work, and to make our neighborhoods safer. As our work in Houston and Memphis has shown, together we can make a difference.”
To focus the Justice Department’s resources on communities most in need, the Criminal Division has identified St. Louis, Missouri; Jackson, Mississippi; and Hartford, Connecticut, as the next VCI cities. The VCI utilizes prosecutors from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section—the nation’s foremost experts in racketeering prosecutions—to work alongside prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, as well as dedicated investigative agents, analysts, and forensic experts from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Through the VCI, the Criminal Division also works with community leaders in each city to best understand citizens’ concerns and to work to support them. Since the start of Houston VCI, Houston saw reductions of 9% in violent crime and 20% in homicides. In Memphis, when compared to 2023, official counts of murders, robberies, and aggravated assaults have decreased since the VCI has been operational.
“We have long had a focus in the Eastern District of Missouri on violent crime and complex criminal conspiracies, and the addition of two experienced prosecutors will allow us to expand that,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming for the Eastern District of Missouri. “We look forward to working with them to make the St. Louis region safer.”
“As a resident of Jackson, I know it is a great place to live and work, but it also suffers from violent crime that is largely driven by a small number of violent individuals and gangs,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi. “I am excited to have experts from the Justice Department join with federal, state, and local law enforcement here in Jackson to help us investigate and prosecute these sources of violent crime.”
“This office and our federal law enforcement partners have a long and successful history of working with the Hartford Police Department and our state counterparts to make our capital city safer,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery for the District of Connecticut. “We welcome these additional Justice Department resources, which supplement our efforts to focus on the groups and individuals in Hartford that are chiefly responsible for Hartford’s gun violence and prosecute offenders to the full extent of federal law.”
“With crime rates down in so many places in 2023, now is not the time to back off. Now is the time to double and triple down on strategies that have been shown to work,” said ATF Director Steven Dettelbach. “ATF’s expertise in Crime Gun Intelligence allows our agents—and our law enforcement partners—to follow the crime gun. This leads to more impactful arrests both of those who are actually doing the shooting and those unlawfully supplying the shooters with their guns. By combining this intelligence and data with traditional techniques, ATF produces evidence-driven cases on the most dangerous offenders. We are proud to work with all our partners on this important initiative in cities around the country.”
“Drug-related crimes and violence continue to have a significant impact on our communities and demand a new approach,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “Two years ago, DEA implemented Operation Overdrive, a data-driven, intelligence led approach to identifying and dismantling criminal drug networks doing the most harm in communities, including in St. Louis, Missouri; Hartford, Connecticut; and Jackson, Mississippi. This approach allows us to map the threats and shift our resources so that our drug enforcement efforts will have the greatest impact in our communities. Expanding the Violent Crime Initiative further extends our potential to successfully investigate and prosecute criminals by harnessing the full potential of state, local, and federal partnerships.”
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Announces Surge of Resources to Fight Violent Crime in Three Additional CitiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced that the Justice Department is adding three new cities to its Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), building on the successful model launched in Houston, Texas, in September 2022, and expanded to Memphis, Tennessee, in November 2023. The VCI surges law enforcement tools and resources to target gangs and other violent groups that are threatening the safety and security of communities in cities across the nation.
As the Attorney General noted in his remarks this morning in Chicago, today’s announcement comes as the Justice Department is working to replicate the successes that communities across the country have seen in driving down the violent crime that spiked during the pandemic. That includes cities like Detroit, where 2023 marked the fewest homicides in 57 years; Baltimore, where there was a 20% reduction in homicides in 2023 and a 7% reduction in non-fatal shootings; New Orleans, where 2023 marked a 25% decline in homicides; Philadelphia, where there was a 20% reduction in homicides in 2023; and Chicago, where homicides decreased by 13% in 2023.
“The Justice Department will not rest until every person, in every neighborhood, in every community is safe from violent crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The FBI reports that last year we saw a significant decrease in overall violent crime across the country compared to the previous year—including an over 13% decline in homicides. That is the largest one-year decline in homicides in 50 years. The Justice Department is not easing up on our efforts to reduce violent crime. In fact, today, we are doubling down. In Houston and Memphis, we launched a Violent Crime Initiative that brought prosecutors from the Department’s Criminal Division to work closely with prosecutors already on the ground to target those responsible for the greatest violence. Today, we are launching the next phase of our Violent Crime Initiative in St. Louis, Missouri; Jackson, Mississippi; and Hartford, Connecticut.”
“No matter where violent crime occurs, it leaves a devastating impact on victims and communities,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI, as part of the Violent Crime Initiative, is renewing our focus on violent crime in three additional cities and surging tools and resources to make our streets safer. Every day, our field offices work to tear down violent criminals and gangs and this initiative will only serve to magnify their successes.”
“Violent crime demands our urgent attention,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Through our Violent Crime Initiative, the Criminal Division works in partnership with local U.S. Attorneys and federal and state law enforcement to use data to focus on the worst of the worst violent offenders, to engage with the communities in which we work, and to make our neighborhoods safer. As our work in Houston and Memphis has shown, together we can make a difference.”
To focus the Justice Department’s resources on communities most in need, the Criminal Division has identified St. Louis, Missouri; Jackson, Mississippi; and Hartford, Connecticut, as the next VCI cities. The VCI utilizes prosecutors from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section—the nation’s foremost experts in racketeering prosecutions—to work alongside prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, as well as dedicated investigative agents, analysts, and forensic experts from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Through the VCI, the Criminal Division also works with community leaders in each city to best understand citizens’ concerns and to work to support them. Since the start of Houston VCI, Houston saw reductions of 9% in violent crime and 20% in homicides. In Memphis, when compared to 2023, official counts of murders, robberies, and aggravated assaults have decreased since the VCI has been operational.
“We have long had a focus in the Eastern District of Missouri on violent crime and complex criminal conspiracies, and the addition of two experienced prosecutors will allow us to expand that,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming for the Eastern District of Missouri. “We look forward to working with them to make the St. Louis region safer.”
“As a resident of Jackson, I know it is a great place to live and work, but it also suffers from violent crime that is largely driven by a small number of violent individuals and gangs,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi. “I am excited to have experts from the Justice Department join with federal, state, and local law enforcement here in Jackson to help us investigate and prosecute these sources of violent crime.”
“This office and our federal law enforcement partners have a long and successful history of working with the Hartford Police Department and our state counterparts to make our capital city safer,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery for the District of Connecticut. “We welcome these additional Justice Department resources, which supplement our efforts to focus on the groups and individuals in Hartford that are chiefly responsible for Hartford’s gun violence and prosecute offenders to the full extent of federal law.”
“With crime rates down in so many places in 2023, now is not the time to back off. Now is the time to double and triple down on strategies that have been shown to work,” said ATF Director Steven Dettelbach. “ATF’s expertise in Crime Gun Intelligence allows our agents—and our law enforcement partners—to follow the crime gun. This leads to more impactful arrests both of those who are actually doing the shooting and those unlawfully supplying the shooters with their guns. By combining this intelligence and data with traditional techniques, ATF produces evidence-driven cases on the most dangerous offenders. We are proud to work with all our partners on this important initiative in cities around the country.”
“Drug-related crimes and violence continue to have a significant impact on our communities and demand a new approach,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “Two years ago, DEA implemented Operation Overdrive, a data-driven, intelligence led approach to identifying and dismantling criminal drug networks doing the most harm in communities, including in St. Louis, Missouri; Hartford, Connecticut; and Jackson, Mississippi. This approach allows us to map the threats and shift our resources so that our drug enforcement efforts will have the greatest impact in our communities. Expanding the Violent Crime Initiative further extends our potential to successfully investigate and prosecute criminals by harnessing the full potential of state, local, and federal partnerships.”
Arnold Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine ChargesRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – On April 2, 2024, a resident of Arnold, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Milton Paschal, 44, pleaded guilty to Counts One and Eight of the Superseding Indictment before United States Senior District Judge Kim R. Gibson.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from in and around August 2018 to March 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Paschal conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine. Additionally, in and around December 2023, Paschal distributed and possessed with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine. Paschal was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining cocaine that he distributed to others.
Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for August 1, 2024. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Paschal. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Alabama Man Arrested on Federal Dog Fighting and Firearms Charges; Seventy-Eight Dogs Rescued and “Destructive Device” RecoveredRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal grand jury indicted an Alabama man on charges of illegally possessing dogs for fighting purposes and illegally possessing three firearms subsequent to a felony conviction.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama unsealed the indictment in conjunction with the arrest today of Carlton Lenard Adams, 51, of Bessemer and Adger. According to court documents filed in this case, Adams maintained a stock of 78 fighting dogs at three properties – two in Bessemer and one in Adger – and all were rescued by federal authorities.
Agents also recovered tools and supplies used in the training and keeping of dogs used for fighting. This included modified treadmills to hold dogs in place for dog fight conditioning, injectable veterinary steroids, suture materials and syringes, skin staplers, a homemade breeding stand used to immobilize female dogs who are too aggressive to mate naturally and a break stick device used to break the bite hold of a dog during specified intervals in a dog fight.
The defendant was further found to possess two pistols and a semi-automatic shotgun known colloquially as a “Street Sweeper.” The latter is considered as not just a firearm but a “destructive device” under federal law.
The dogs were rescued and cared for by a program administered by the U.S. Marshals Service. Following a separate, successful civil forfeiture action brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the dogs did not have to be returned to the defendant, but could instead be rehabilitated and evaluated for possible adoption.
If convicted, Adams faces penalties up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each firearms charge and up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count of animal fighting charges. Under federal law, it is illegal to fight animals and to possess, train, transport, deliver, receive, buy or sell animals intended for use in an animal fighting venture.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona of the Northern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, FBI and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency are investigating the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Rummage for the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Austin Shutt for the Northern District of Alabama handled the civil forfeiture case, which ensured that the dogs did not have to be returned to the defendant.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Alabama Man Arrested on Federal Dog Fighting and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury indicted an Alabama man on charges of illegally possessing dogs for fighting purposes and illegally possessing three firearms subsequent to a felony conviction.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama unsealed the indictment in conjunction with the arrest today of Carlton Lenard Adams, 51, of Bessemer and Adger. According to court documents filed in this case, Adams maintained a stock of 78 fighting dogs at three properties – two in Bessemer and one in Adger – and all were rescued by federal authorities.
Agents also recovered tools and supplies used in the training and keeping of dogs used for fighting. This included modified treadmills to hold dogs in place for dog fight conditioning, injectable veterinary steroids, suture materials and syringes, skin staplers, a homemade breeding stand used to immobilize female dogs who are too aggressive to mate naturally and a break stick device used to break the bite hold of a dog during specified intervals in a dog fight.
The defendant was further found to possess two pistols and a semi-automatic shotgun known colloquially as a “Street Sweeper.” The latter is considered as not just a firearm but a “destructive device” under federal law.
The dogs were rescued and cared for by a program administered by the U.S. Marshals Service. Following a separate, successful civil forfeiture action brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the dogs did not have to be returned to the defendant, but could instead be rehabilitated and evaluated for possible adoption.
If convicted, Adams faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each firearms charge. He also faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count of animal fighting charges. Under federal law, it is illegal to fight animals and to possess, train, transport, deliver, receive, buy or sell animals intended for use in an animal fighting venture.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, FBI and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency are investigating the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Rummage for the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Austin Shutt for the Northern District of Alabama handled the civil forfeiture case, which ensured that the dogs did not have to be returned to the defendant.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Ada Resident Sentenced for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Amya Elise Walker, age 20, of Ada, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for one count of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country.
The charge arose from investigations by the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
On September 25, 2023, Walker pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on May 13, 2023, Walker violently attacked an elderly woman at an Ada residence, leaving the victim with multiple bruises and lacerations requiring medical care.
The crime occurred in Pontotoc County, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Walker will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Gross represented the United States.
Tuesday 2 April 2024
Woman Sentenced for Voter Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
An Iowa woman was sentenced today to four months in prison, four months of home confinement, and two years of supervised release for a voter fraud scheme she perpetrated during the Iowa 2020 primary and general elections.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Kim Phuong Taylor, age 50, of Sioux City perpetrated a scheme to generate votes in the June 2020 primary election and November 2020 general election. Taylor’s husband was an unsuccessful candidate for Iowa’s 4th U.S. Congressional District in the primary election, and subsequently a successful candidate for Woodbury County Supervisor in the 2020 general election. Taylor submitted or caused others to submit dozens of voter registrations, absentee ballot request forms, and absentee ballots containing false information. For example, although many of these documents required the signer to affirm that he or she was the person named in them, Taylor signed them for voters without their permission and told others that they could sign on behalf of relatives who were not present.
A federal jury convicted Taylor in November 2023 of 26 counts of providing false information in registering and voting, three counts of fraudulent registration, and 23 counts of fraudulent voting.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Timothy T. Duax for the Northern District of Iowa; Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel of the FBI Omaha Field Office; and Acting Inspector in Charge Brad Mahs of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Denver Division made the announcement.
The FBI Omaha Field Office and USPIS Denver Division investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Timmons for the Northern District of Iowa prosecuted the case.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-4004.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Wheeling Grand Jury Returns Multiple Firearms IndictmentsRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – A federal grand jury has returned three indictments, charging West Virginia residents with federal firearms violations.
Robert Hypes, age 56, of Moundsville, West Virginia, was indicted for unlawful possession of a firearm. According to reports, officers were called to Hypes’ home on a domestic incident and found a revolver and two rifles during a search. Hypes was previously convicted of a felony in Nicolas County, West Virginia, prohibiting him from having firearms.
Timothy Nottingham, age 49, of Middlebourne, West Virginia, is charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. According to the indictment, Nottingham is prohibited from having firearms because of prior felony convictions of burglary and grand larceny in Tyler and Marshall Counties. He was arrested with a .38 caliber revolver in Tyler County.
Talon D. Feucht, age 29, of New Martinsville, West Virginia, is facing one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. According to the indictment, Feucht, prohibited from having firearms because of a prior felony conviction in Maine, had a .38 caliber revolver in Marshall County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton Reid is prosecuting the Hypes and Feucht cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Conklin is prosecuting the Nottingham case.
The cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the Hypes case. The Tyler County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the Nottingham investigation. The Moundsville Police Department assisted in the Feucht case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Washington Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Second-Degree Murder and Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
Yakima, Washington - Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Silaz Elijah James, age 19, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of Second-Degree Murder and one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke imposed a sentence of 240 months imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release as well as $6,620 in restitution.
According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, on April 13, 2022, James, who is an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation, got into an argument with his victim about money. As James walked out of the house in Toppenish, where the argument took place, he turned and fired a single shot from a pistol. The shot stuck the victim in the chest, killing her. James then got into a vehicle with two other people. As the driver of the vehicle pulled away, James fired two additional shots at people standing outside the home. Neither of those shots stuck anyone.
On April 7, 2023, the Court granted the United States’s motion to transfer James’s case from juvenile to adult status. On January 9, 2024, James, who was 17 at the time of the offense, pleaded guilty.
“This case is tragic in every way. A young lady’s life was taken and Mr. James will spend the next several years in federal prison. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragic and senseless crime. No sentence will ever erase the tragic loss of the life of the victim,” stated U.S. Attorney Waldref. “I am grateful to the FBI and the Yakama Nation Tribal Police as well as the Assistant United States Attorneys from my office who worked to see this case through and seek justice on behalf of the young life that was taken.”
“Mr. James’s decisions ended the life of one person and put other innocent bystanders in immediate danger.” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “His actions demonstrated a disregard for the lives of people around him. Our hope is that the victim’s loved ones find some solace with today’s sentence.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Yakama Nation Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Murphy.
Three Mexican Nationals Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Charge in Scheme to Distribute More Than 1 Million Fentanyl PillsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – Three Mexican men, who last year were arrested in El Monte with more than 1 million fentanyl pills, each pleaded guilty today to a federal narcotics charge.
At a hearing today before United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., the following three defendants – all from Sinaloa, Mexico – pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl:
- Florencio Camacho Allan, 29;
- Gerardo Gaxiola Patiño, 30; and
- Alex Valdez Oroz, 26.
According to their plea agreements, from September 2022 to March 2023, the defendants conspired with each other and others to knowingly distribute fentanyl. Prior to March 7, 2023, a Mexico-based drug broker arranged a deal with a buyer to sell approximately 2 million fentanyl pills. The deal was to occur in the Los Angeles area and the buyer agreed to pay approximately 75 cents per pill. As part of the deal, the buyer also agreed to first purchase a sample “box” of approximately 10,000 fentanyl pills at the same price.
On March 7, 2023, the drug broker coordinated a meeting between Allan and the buyer to occur that day at a Denny’s restaurant in El Segundo to buy the sample fentanyl pills. Later that day, Allan, Patiño, and Oroz arrived in a white car at the Denny’s. While Oroz waited in the driver’s seat of the car, Allan and Patiño met the buyer and the buyer’s associate inside the restaurant, where they discussed the plan to sell approximately 1 million more fentanyl pills later that day, and the sale of another 1 million fentanyl pills the next day.
After the meeting, Allan, Patiño, the buyer and the associate went to the white car, where Patiño retrieved a black bag, containing approximately 10,082 fentanyl pills, weighing approximately 1.1 kilograms (2.5 pounds), out of the white car and handed it to the buyer in exchange for $7,500. The three defendants then drove away.
Later that day, Allan confirmed with one of the buyers that they had possession of the larger set of pills and – via a WhatsApp video call – showed one buyer the pills, which appeared to be in the car’s trunk. They agreed to do the 1-million fentanyl pill deal in a Holiday Inn parking lot.
At the Holiday Inn, law enforcement detained Allan and Oroz in the parking lot. Officers also found and detained Patiño, who was inside the Holiday Inn lobby bathroom.
Inside the white car, law enforcement found at least three duffle bags in the trunk and back seat, each containing bundles of fentanyl pills. In total, the defendants knowingly possessed with intent to distribute approximately 1,016,270 fentanyl pills, weighing approximately 109.3 kilograms (241 pounds).
Judge Blumenfeld scheduled an August 13 sentencing hearing, at which time each defendant will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this matter as part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program with Homeland Security Investigations, the Hawthorne Police Department, the Fullerton Police Department, the El Monte Police Department, and the California National Guard providing assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney K. Afia Bondero of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.
St. Louis Man Caught with Gun and Drugs After Chase Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a man who was caught after a police chase with a fully automatic Glock handgun and cocaine base to 10 years in prison.
Anthony Wooten, 41, of St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty on Jan. 2, 2024, to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and admitted being caught with the gun and drugs.
On May 30, 2023, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers initiated a traffic stop of a Hyundai Veloster near the intersection of Goodfellow Boulevard and Natural Bridge Avenue. Wooten initially stopped, but sped away when officers got out to approach him. He drove at high speeds through residential neighborhoods, and at one point drove up on a curb to avoid spike stripes, endangering both residents and officers. Next to the driver’s seat, Wooten had a .40-caliber Glock pistol that was equipped with a conversion device, commonly referred to as a Glock switch, that converted it into a fully automatic weapon. The Glock had an extended magazine loaded with 21 rounds of ammunition and Wooten had a second, drum-style magazine loaded with 41 rounds. He also had more than 20 grams of cocaine base.
The chase ended in the 5900 block of Hamilton Terrace. Wooten ran inside an apartment and refused to come out. He later fled to another unit inside the same building before surrendering.
In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin pointed out Wooten’s extensive criminal history, including a 2001 conviction for first-degree assault and armed criminal action after he shot someone six times. He fled from police in 2010 and was caught with a firearm in 2012. In 2017, he escaped from a halfway house and was on supervised release in that case when he fled from police again.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Supplying the Fentanyl that Killed 19-Year-OldRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry on Tuesday sentenced a man who supplied the fentanyl that killed a 19-year-old in Jefferson County, Missouri to 22 years in prison.
Judge Perry also ordered William Edward Martin, 23, to pay restitution to the victim’s family for her funeral expenses.On June 23, 2022, Martin met the 19-year-old victim in the parking lot of a Walgreens in Arnold, Missouri. She got into the black BMW he was driving, and Martin gave her fentanyl. A short time later, he took the incapacitated teen and concealed her upside down in the backseat of her locked car.
After the victim failed to come home, her father began searching for her. He found her dead in her car early the next morning.
Martin would later admit that he could have called 911 or brought the victim to the hospital. In text messages, he discussed the strength of the fentanyl he was selling and the overdose danger it posed. He also continued to sell fentanyl after the victim’s death.
Arnold police spotted the BMW during the death investigation. The driver, Tanisha Payne, said she’d dropped Martin off at a gas station. Officers found a safe inside the car that contained fentanyl, hallucinogens, prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia. They caught Martin behind a supermarket with a loaded pistol.
Martin pleaded guilty in November U.S. District Court in St. Louis to four felonies: conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl with a resulting death, distribution of fentanyl and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also admitted selling fentanyl to others.
"This investigation was particularly tough as nothing could be more tragic than a parent finding their child dead," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, head of Drug Enforcement Administration operations in Eastern Missouri. "Illicit fentanyl is the worst drug DEA has encountered. The damage it caused to this family cannot be repaired by sending this defendant to prison, but DEA hopes it sends a message to other fentanyl dealers that we will do everything we can to make sure they face the same penalties."
Steven “Lemon” Littler, 34, and Jacqueline Williamson, 34, admitted supplying fentanyl to Martin and Payne. Littler had been selling the drug to Martin for several months, Martin’s plea says. Littler also warned Martin of the potency of his fentanyl, calling it “deadly strong” and “dangerous.”
When Williamson was arrested, investigators found fentanyl, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in her St. Louis home. Payne, now 23, also had fentanyl and drug paraphernalia when she was arrested.
Littler pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl and is serving a 210-month prison sentence. Williamson, who pleaded guilty to a fentanyl distribution charge, was sentenced to 72 months. Payne, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, was sentenced to time served.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Arnold Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service and the St. Louis County Police Department.
Sharon Resident Pleads Guilty to Cocaine, Heroin and Fentanyl Trafficking ViolationsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Sharon, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of trafficking cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Nicholas Ostheimer, 26, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon to (1) conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and 100 grams or more of heroin between June 2020 and June 2021; (2) distributing cocaine on November 18, 2020; and (3) possessing 500 grams or more of cocaine and a quantity of cocaine base on June 17, 2021.
Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for July 30, 2024. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin C. Dobkin and Craig W. Haller are prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Pennsylvania State Police, Lawrence County Drug Task Force, Mercer County Drug Task Force, New Castle Police Department, Sharon Police Department, Hermitage Police Department, and Farrell Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Ostheimer.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Rockland Man Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Rockland man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Donald J. Caruso, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to six years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. In November 2023, Caruso pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
In early November 2022, Caruso used an online encrypted communication platform to send an undercover agent multiple links to videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. On Nov. 7, 2022, a laptop hard drive was seized from Caruso’s residence and his cell phone was seized from Caruso’s person. Between both devices, hundreds of images and over three thousand videos depicting CSAM were recovered. The minors depicted in those CSAM files ranged in age from approximately less than one year old to approximately 11 years old. Caruso admitted to using on-line applications to send, receive and download child pornography using his cell phone and laptop. Forensic analysis of the devices also revealed numerous chat conversations between Caruso and others, including a user who purported to be 15 years old, and the chats appeared to be primarily sexual in nature and discussed the exchange of CSAM files. In total, 217 series victims have been identified in this case.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigation’s in New England; Rockland Chief of Police Nicholas Zeoli; and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Recipient of Child Pornography Sentenced to Six Years in Prison, 10 Years of Supervised ReleaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Donte Mintz, 30, of Southeast Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for receiving numerous images and videos of child pornography, some of which depicted the rape and torture of real children as young as toddlers.
The sentence, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Mintz pleaded guilty to attempted receipt of child pornography on June 14, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb. Judge Cobb accepted the guilty plea on April 2, 2024. In addition to the prison term, Judge Cobb ordered Mintz to serve 10 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender. Restitution to Mintz’s victims is to be determined at a later date.
According to court documents, Mintz possessed, received, and distributed child pornography. Specifically, in October 2020, an employee from Dropbox reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that there was suspected child sex abuse material (CSAM) found uploaded to Dropbox servers from Mintz’s account. On November 11, 2020, an employee working for the messaging application, KIK, reported to NCMEC that suspected CSAM had been found on its servers as well. KIK reported the user of two KIK accounts – both utilized by Mintz – sent the CSAM to other users through the chat feature of the application at the end of 2020.
On Thursday, July 8, 2021, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Mintz’s apartment in Southeast Washington, D.C. During an interview on this same date, Mintz admitted to sharing, uploading, and viewing child sex abuse material. A review of Mintz’s cellular phones and laptop revealed thousands of files containing CSAM, including more than 230 known and identified victims. Mintz was a member of many online communities where he exchanged and discussed sexual abuse material. He then saved his child sexual abuse material to a Dropbox account and to electronic devices that he could access anywhere.
This case was investigated by detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division, Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, the Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Forman and Jocelyn Bond, as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Buckner.
Providence Man Sentenced to Six Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking FentanylRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI – A Providence man who arranged for more than a half-dozen substantial-sized deliveries of fentanyl to another person has been sentenced to six years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Hector Diaz, 30, pleaded guilty on November 28, 2023, to a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and to a charge of distribution of fentanyl. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., to 72 months of incarceration to be followed by four years of federal supervised release.
According to information presented to the court, on at least seven occasions beginning in late November 2021, Diaz either personally delivered fentanyl to an individual known to the FBI Rhode Island Safe Streets Task Force or arranged for another person to deliver fentanyl at his behest to that same person. Deliveries of fentanyl ranged from 25.03 grams to 99.08 grams. Each delivery of fentanyl was monitored by members of the FBI Rhode Island Safe Streets Task Force and the drugs were quickly seized by a member of law enforcement.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey A. Erickson.
The FBI Rhode Island Safe Streets Task Force is comprised of members of the FBI, Central Falls Police Department, Woonsocket Police Department, Pawtucket Police Department, West Warwick Police Department, Cranston Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service.
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Providence Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Arranging the Sale of a Firearm and Methamphetamine While Incarcerated in Rhode Island State PrisonRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI – A Providence man who continued to direct and run his established drug trafficking business on the streets of Providence, and who attempted to arrange the illegal sale of a firearm he illegally possessed, all while incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) on unrelated charges, has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Ronald M. Kramer, 39, pleaded guilty on August 16, 2023, to charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to 78 months of incarceration to be followed by four years of federal supervised release.
At the time of his guilty plea, Kramer admitted to a federal judge that, while confined at the ACI in February 2021, he learned of an individual outside of the prison who might be interested in purchasing a firearm that Kramer illegally possessed and was trying to get rid of. Kramer provided the information to his then-girlfriend, who arranged to meet with the potential buyer to sell him the firearm. Subsequently, at Kramer’s direction, the woman also made two deliveries of methamphetamine pills, totaling more than 244 grams, to the buyer of the firearm.
The person who took possession of the firearm and the drugs was, in fact, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) undercover agent.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.
The matter was investigated by ATF, with the assistance of the Providence Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
United States Attorney Cunha thanks the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Marshals Service, Rhode Island State Police, and the Pawtucket, Providence, Cranston, and North Providence Police Departments for their assistance in the investigation of this case.
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Philadelphia Man Pleads Guilty to Murder in a Case Involving Two Carjackings of Food Delivery DriversRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that John Nusslein, 19, of Philadelphia, PA, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit carjacking, one count of carjacking resulting in death, and one count of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury.
Nusslein was charged by indictment in June 2022 with these offenses, in connection with a series of carjackings of food delivery drivers in Northeast Philadelphia during November and December of 2021.
According to the indictment, the defendant and others committed two carjackings during the course of the conspiracy that took place between November 29, 2021, and December 29, 2021. The incidents detailed are as follows:
- On December 2, 2021, Nusslein and two others placed a food delivery order to an address on the 3000 block of Teesdale Street in Philadelphia, as a ruse to lure their intended victim to that location. At approximately 7:00 p.m., when C.C., a food delivery driver, arrived at that location, Nusslein, Person 1, and Person 2 approached C.C. and struck him repeatedly to facilitate the taking of C.C.’s vehicle, a 2004 Toyota Camry. Nusslein, Person 1, and Person 2 then fled the area in C.C.’s stolen Toyota Camry. C.C. was later taken to the hospital by first responders. On December 21, 2021, C.C. succumbed to his injuries and the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the cause of death was the assault that C.C. sustained during the carjacking.
- On December 16, 2021, Nusslein and Person 1 placed a food delivery order to an address on the 9000 block of Hilspach Street in Philadelphia, as a ruse to lure their intended victim to that location. At approximately 9:10 p.m., when W.Z., a food delivery driver, arrived at that location, Nusslein and Person 1 approached W.Z., pointed a firearm at him, demanded his money, and struck him to facilitate the taking of W.Z.’s vehicle, a 2015 Infiniti QX5. Nusslein and Person 1 then fled the area in W.Z.’s stolen Infiniti QX5.
“The fact that these carjackers specifically lured two innocent people trying to make a living is despicable,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “That Nusslein and the others so brutally beat one driver that his injuries proved fatal is horrific. We and our partners on the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force simply won’t permit violent offenders like Nusslein to victimize people with impunity. They will be prosecuted, and they will go to prison for a very long time.”“Carjacking is a serious federal crime with lengthy prison sentences. This case also demonstrates that carjacking is a deadly dangerous crime,” said Eric J. DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Philadelphia Field Division. “ATF Philadelphia Field Division is working diligently with our partners in the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force, sharing the ATF’s unique forensic and investigative tools to ensure justice for the victims and to make our communities safer through federal prosecution.”
“This case is a tragic reminder that carjackings can have deadly consequences,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. “The senseless assault on these food delivery drivers is appalling and unacceptable. I commend the outstanding collaboration between the Philadelphia Police Department, the ATF, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for their work in bringing this case to justice. Our carjacking task force remains vigilant in investigating these crimes and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the safety of Philadelphians.”
Nusslein is set to be sentenced on July 31, 2024, before United States District Court Judge John M. Younge, and faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
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.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren E. Stram and Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Eckert.
Oncology Practice, Physicians, and Reference Laboratory to Pay over $4 Million to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
Oncology San Antonio, PA and its affiliated physicians have agreed to pay $1.3 million, and CorePath Laboratories, PA has agreed to pay $2,746,275.22 plus accrued interest, in civil settlements with the United States and the State of Texas to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act.
The United States alleged that Oncology San Antonio, a hematology and oncology practice, entered an unlawful kickback arrangement with CorePath Laboratories, a San Antonio-based diagnostic reference laboratory, in August 2016. CorePath Laboratories provided in-office bone marrow biopsy services at Oncology San Antonio practice locations and performed subsequent diagnostic testing on the biopsies. According to the United States, CorePath Laboratories agreed to pay $115 for each biopsy referred by Oncology San Antonio and its physicians. The payments for each referred biopsy were paid to the private practice entities of three Oncology San Antonio physicians.
The United States contended that the payments for referrals of biopsies constituted kickbacks within the meaning of the Anti-Kickback Statute and that the terms of the written agreement between Oncology San Antonio and CorePath Laboratories failed to meet any statutory safe harbor. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by a federal health care program, such as Medicare, Medicaid, or TRICARE. Claims submitted in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute may give rise to liability under the False Claims Act.
The civil settlement with Oncology San Antonio and its physicians also resolves allegations that Dr. Jayasree Rao, through Oncology San Antonio and her own oncology and hematology practice entity, provided medically unnecessary tests, services, and treatments to Medicare, TRICARE, and Texas Medicaid beneficiaries in the San Antonio Metro Area, and billed the federal healthcare programs for the medically unnecessary tests, services and treatments.
“Illegal financial incentives to physicians undermine the integrity of our healthcare system and impair the objective judgment of the community’s healthcare professionals,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza. “These settlements demonstrate my office’s commitment to protect federal healthcare programs against such violations, as well as other efforts to defraud these programs.”
Dr. Rao and her practice entity also entered a three-year Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
“Violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute involving oncology services can waste scarce federal health care program funds and corrupt the medical decision-making process,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). "Individuals who participate in the federal health care system are required to obey laws meant to preserve both the integrity of program funds and the provision of appropriate, quality services to patients."
“The TRICARE Program is vital to the health and well-being of our warfighters, retirees, and their families,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Greg Shilling of the Southwest Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General. “Today's settlement announcement highlights the steadfast commitment of DCIS and our investigative partners to holding accountable those who seek to enrich themselves by jeopardizing the healthcare of TRICARE beneficiaries and defrauding American taxpayers.”
The civil settlement with Oncology San Antonio and its physicians also resolves claims brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Dr. Slavisa Gasic, a physician formerly employed by Dr. Rao. The qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act permit private parties to file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a share of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned Unites States and Texas. ex rel. Gasic v. Oncology San Antonio, P.A., and Jayasree N. Rao, M.D., No. SA-16-CV-001140-XR (W.D. Tex.).
This matter was investigated through the coordinated efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas; the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services San Antonio Field Office; the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service San Antonio Resident Agency; and the Office of the Attorney General of Texas Civil Medicaid Fraud Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Van De Walle negotiated the settlements on behalf of the government.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Omaha Nonprofit Director Sentenced to 4 Months in Prison for Wire FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that on April 2, 2024, Brenda K. Banks, 61, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced in federal court in Omaha for wire fraud. United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Banks to 4 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After her release from prison, Banks will be required to complete a 3-year term of supervised release, of which she is required to serve the first 8 months on home confinement. Banks was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $83,087.01 and was fined an additional $5,000.00.
In 2018 and 2019, Banks, then-Executive Director of Angels on Wheels (AOW), submitted fraudulently altered documents to the Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET) to receive grant disbursements. These grants were awarded to AOW, a charitable nonprofit organization, to manage electronic collection and recycling events. Banks submitted applications and other documents to the NET to obtain the grant disbursements from the NET for two grants totaling $220,234. The NET required Banks to submit documentation, such as invoices or images of checks, prior to the distribution of any grant funds. In order to receive reimbursement for purported grant expenses, Banks repeatedly submitted false documents, to include altered check images and fictitious invoices, to the NET. For example, Banks fraudulently altered images of checks by whiting out the names of the individuals or companies that the checks had been paid to and writing names of other entities or organizations. Banks then presented the images of the altered checks to the NET. The NET relied upon Banks’s fraudulent submission of documents to award the grants, and to disburse funds in furtherance of the grants.
Similarly, during the same period, Banks submitted applications and other documents to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) to receive disbursements of funds from three additional grants for litter reduction & recycling totaling $184,141. As she did with the grants awarded by the NET, Banks submitted false documents, to include falsified check images, fictitious invoices, and unsupported payroll reports, to the NDEE. The NDEE relied upon Banks’s fraudulent submission of documents to award the grants, and to disburse funds in furtherance of the grants.
Both the NET and NDEE are funded through the Nebraska Lottery and grants are made available for the completion of projects for the public good. In their respective agreements with grantees, grantees must not provide false or misleading information regarding actual documented expenses incurred during the application process or quarterly reporting process. In the case of each of the five grants awarded, Banks sought reimbursement for the full amount of the grant funds at least in part through her submission of altered and fabricated evidence of expenses.
Additionally, on April 27, 2020, Banks applied to Great Western Bank for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of Angels on Wheels. As part of Angels on Wheels application to receive the PPP loan, Banks submitted a Board Resolution that falsely represented that AOW’s Board met on April 22, 2020, and that all of AOW’s Board members were present at a meeting and voted for Banks to be appointed as the individual who was authorized to apply for the loan on behalf of AOW. In fact, AOW’s Board of Directors held no such meeting and was not aware that Banks had applied for a PPP loan for AOW. On May 11, 2020, $60,420 of PPP loan funds were disbursed and deposited into the Great Western Bank account that Banks had opened using the fraudulent Board minutes. The PPP loan was later forgiven by Great Western Bank, though no funds were repaid.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Omaha Man Sentenced for Unlawful Firearm PossessionRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Jimmie D. Windham, III, 28, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced April 2, 2024, in federal court in Omaha for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Windham to 48 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Windham’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.
On June 5, 2021, Omaha Police Department (OPD) gang unit officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle occupied by three males, one of whom had a warrant for his arrest. This led officers to seizing cell phones and ultimately searching them pursuant to a court authorized search warrant.A forensic investigation of one of the phones revealed several videos and photographs showing Windham possessing a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun. In videos, Windham is seen pointing the firearm at the camera and ejecting live ammunition from the gun. At one point, a partial serial number can be seen, which officers used to trace the firearm to its owner who revealed the firearm to have been stolen several months earlier. Investigators utilized metadata of the photographs and videos to find exact date and location where photographs were taken, revealing Windham to have been in Omaha, Nebraska during the time he possessed the firearm.
Windham has the following prior felony convictions: Terroristic Threats and Witness Tampering (January 9, 2017), both in the District Court of Douglas County, Nebraska and Unlawful User of a Controlled Substance in Possession of a Firearm (October 27, 2015), in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive and the Omaha Police Department.
Olympia, Washington, resident pleads guilty to threatening federal worker and agrees to hate-crime enhancementRead the Press Release
Tacoma – A 42-year-old Thurston County resident pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to making a threat against a Black federal employee at the Social Security office in Olympia, Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Steven L. Veres was initially charged in July 2023, and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle on June 25, 2024.
According to records filed in the case, on February 16, 2023, Veres and a companion went to the Olympia Social Security Office seeking a replacement Social Security card. When a Black Social Security employee told Veres that Veres lacked the proper paperwork to obtain a new Social Security card, Veres became irate, threatening to assault and, per some witnesses, kill the worker. Veres also repeatedly yelled racial slurs at the employee.
Veres pleaded guilty to Influencing a Federal Official by Threat. He also agreed to the application of the United States Sentencing Guidelines’ hate-crimes enhancement, which increases his offense level by three levels because he targeted the victim because of the victim’s perceived race or color.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, both sides will ask for a sentence of 30 months in prison. If the court accepts the plea agreement at the sentencing hearing, the recommendation will bind the Court.
As part of the plea agreement, Grays Harbor County will dismiss an unrelated prosecution against Veres for attempting to elude a police officer.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Protective Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Will Dreher, Jocelyn Cooney, and Elyne Vaught in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Oklahoma Chiropractic Clinic, Owner, and Referring Physicians Pay $465,000 to Settle Federal False Claims Act and Kickback AllegationsRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Croas 1 LLC d/b/a Chiropractic Associates (“Chiropractic Associates”) and Scott Kirkpatrick, D.C. (“Dr. Kirkpatrick”), paid $365,000 to resolve allegations that they wrongfully paid physicians to induce referrals of durable medical equipment (“DME”), resulting in the submission of false claims to the Medicare program, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester. In separate agreements Cash Biddle, D.O. (“Dr. Biddle”), and Chad Keeney, D.O. (“Dr. Keeney”), each paid $50,000 to resolve allegations they received remuneration from Chiropractic Associates and/or Dr. Kirkpatrick for the purpose of inducing referrals of Medicare DME orders.
Chiropractic Associates was an Oklahoma limited liability company that provided chiropractic, medical, and DME services in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Dr. Kirkpatrick is a chiropractic physician licensed to practice in the State of Oklahoma and was the sole member of Chiropractic Associates. Dr. Biddle and Dr. Keeney are osteopathic physicians licensed to practice in the State of Oklahoma.
The United States alleges that from October 2017 through July 2021, Chiropractic Associates and Dr. Kirkpatrick violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b (“AKS”) and/or the Physician Self-Referral Law (commonly referred to as the “Stark Law”) by paying remuneration to referring providers for the purpose of inducing referrals of Medicare DME orders. The United States also alleges that Dr. Biddle and Dr. Keeney received such remuneration at certain times.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs. The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, prohibits a DME supplier from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians with whom the DME supplier has an improper financial arrangement, including the payment of compensation that exceeds the fair market value of the services actually provided by the physician. Both the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law are intended to ensure that physicians’ medical judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives and instead are based on the best interests of their patients. Claims submitted under the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law violate the False Claims Act.
To resolve these allegations, Chiropractic Associates and Dr. Kirkpatrick paid $365,000 to the United States, and Dr. Biddle and Dr. Keeney each paid $50,000.
In reaching this settlement, Chiropractic Associates, Dr. Kirkpatrick, Dr. Biddle, and Dr. Keeney did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions about the legitimacy of the claims. The agreements allow the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda R. Johnson and Ronald R. Gallegos prosecuted the case. Investigative assistance was provided by HHS-OIG and HHS-OIG Office of Audit Services.
North Port Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Firearm from Firearms DealerRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that James Michael O’Brien (48, North Port) has pleaded guilty to theft of a firearm from a firearms dealer. O’Brien faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. He has also agreed to forfeit the stolen firearm. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, on January 17, 2024, O’Brien entered a federal firearms dealer in Charlotte County, concealed a pistol that was on display, and left the store without paying for it. When confronted by ATF personnel later that night about the firearm theft, O’Brien had the stolen pistol on his person.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.
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 out 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 first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
New York Man Pleads Not Guilty to Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on April 2, 2024, Jose Merino-Lopez, 28, of Latham, New York, pleaded not guilty to a two-count indictment that charges him with using a facility of interstate and foreign commerce to entice, persuade, and coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity for which a person could be held criminally liable, and with traveling interstate with a motivating purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with another person. At today’s arraignment, United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle ordered Merino-Lopez to be detained during pretrial proceedings.
According to court records and proceedings, in approximately July 2023, Merino-Lopez began communicating with a 14-year-old minor female victim (MV1) from Colchester, Vermont using various social media platforms. Merino-Lopez was living in New York when the communications with MV1 took place. On September 9, 2023, Merino-Lopez traveled from New York to Vermont, where he engaged in sexual intercourse with MV1 in a park in Colchester, Vermont.
United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of the Colchester Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson is handling the prosecution of Merino-Lopez. Merino-Lopez is represented by Assistant Federal Defender Steven L. Barth.
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.
New Rochelle Man Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Prison for Assaulting an FBI Task Force Officer and Related Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DARREN SMITH was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern to 230 months in prison for assaulting a Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Task Force Officer and related offenses. SMITH was previously convicted after a jury trial on September 12, 2022, of assaulting a federal officer, discharging a firearm in relation to his assault of a federal officer, and unlawfully possessing a firearm.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “This Office stands shoulder to shoulder with our partners in law enforcement when they come under attack. We will stop at nothing to ensure that those who seek to harm them face justice.”
According to the Indictment, public court filings, evidence presented at trial, and statements made in court:
On September 25, 2020, after officers of the Yonkers Police Department (“YPD”) initiated a lawful stop of the car SMITH was driving, SMITH sped away and led law enforcement officers on a car chase and then foot pursuit through the crowded streets of downtown Yonkers, holding a loaded handgun and refusing multiple law enforcement orders to stop and put down the gun. An FBI Task Force Officer assigned to the FBI’s Westchester-based Safe Streets Task Force was among the law enforcement who responded and pursued SMITH. Eventually, the Task Force Officer and members of the YPD brought SMITH to the ground. While they attempted to restrain SMITH, who still refused to let go of the gun, SMITH fired five shots into the crowded Getty Square area of Yonkers in close proximity to members of law enforcement and bystanders, including a woman pushing a stroller with a baby. While firing his gun, SMITH attempted to turn the gun back towards members of law enforcement, including the Task Force Officer, who were on top of him and trying to restrain him. A photograph of SMITH on foot running with his gun is shown below:
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In addition to the prison term, SMITH, 27, of New Rochelle, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and the Yonkers Police Department. The FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force is comprised of special agents and task force officers from the FBI; U.S. Probation; New York State Police; New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision; Westchester County District Attorney’s Office; Putnam County Sheriff’s Office; Rockland District Attorney’s Office; and the New York City, Westchester County, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Greenburgh, White Plains, Peekskill, Ramapo, and Clarkstown Police Departments.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shiva H. Logarajah, Kevin T. Sullivan, and Celia V. Cohen are in charge of the prosecution.
Missouri man sentenced for bank robbery in KansasRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Missouri man was sentenced to 100 months in prison for bank robbery.
A federal jury had convicted Richard Ruston, 54, of Independence, Missouri, for robbing a bank in Shawnee, Kansas, in July 2022.
According to court documents, Ruston entered First Interstate Bank on Shawnee Mission Parkway wearing a red bandana covering his face and neck, a dark bandana covering the top of his head, a long-sleeve shirt with a snake-skin pattern, sunglasses, and gloves. He approached a bank teller, lifted his shirt, displayed a firearm in his waistband, and said to her, “Put the money on the counter, do it now, do it now.” Fearing for her safety, the teller complied with the demand. Ruston took the money and fled the scene.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Shawnee, Kansas Police Department, with valuable assistance from the Merriam, Kansas Police Department, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, and Liberty, Missouri Police Department, investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Krug prosecuted the case.
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Missouri Man Admits Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A Warren County, Missouri man on Tuesday admitted possessing hundreds of images containing child sexual abuse material on phones and a laptop.
Jacob D. Beauchamp, 45, of Wright City, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Beauchamp admitted possessing 146 images containing child sexual abuse material on his Apple iPhone, about 1,800 on his Samsung phone and numerous images on a screensaver that was running on his laptop. The investigation was sparked by a minor female who said Beauchamp sexually abused her and recorded that abuse. Beauchamp denied that in his plea agreement.
Beauchamp is scheduled to be sentenced July 17. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000, or both prison and a fine.
The Wright City Police Department and the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Minneapolis Man Charged with Bombing a Minneapolis Hair SalonRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been charged with maliciously damaging a Minneapolis hair salon by means of an explosive device, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on November 20, 2022, at approximately 2:49 AM, an explosive device detonated at a hair salon located in Minneapolis, causing damage to the exterior and interior of the business. A Ring video camera recording from the salon showed an adult male, later identified as Michael Allen Francisco, 59, placing the explosive device on the window of the salon. Francisco fled the area in a vehicle before the device detonated.
According to court documents, on November 6, 2023, almost one year later, video footage captured Francisco vandalizing the same hair salon. Francisco threw a landscaping rock through the window of the salon, causing the window to break, before fleeing the scene. Investigators were able to collect DNA and other evidence that connected Francisco to both incidents. On March 28, 2024, officers and agents executed a search warrant at Francisco’s residence. Law enforcement recovered the jacket Francisco was wearing on November 6, 2023, during the brick incident; multiple explosive components including suspected energetic powders and fuses; a .32 caliber Iver Johnson Cadet revolver, with ammunition; and methamphetamine. Francisco has a prior felony conviction, prohibiting him from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
The indictment charges Francisco with one count of maliciously damaging a building engaged in interstate commerce by means of an explosive device. Francisco made his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge David T. Schultz. He was ordered to remain in custody pending a formal detention hearing scheduled for April 8, 2024.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley M. Endicott is prosecuting the case.
A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Michigan City Woman Sentenced to 144 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Angelica Ortiz, 37 years old, of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to distribution of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Ortiz was sentenced to 144 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, in the fall of 2022 Ortiz and co-defendant, Kyle Kirkland, distributed methamphetamine to multiple individuals in Michigan City.
Co-defendant Kirkland was sentenced in October 2023 to 137 months of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration including the DEA North Central Laboratory with assistance from the LaPorte County Drug Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katelan McKenzie Doyle.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Miami cryptocurrency exchanger sentenced to prison for running unlicensed money transmitter businessRead the Press Release
MIAMI – A Miami-based digital currency exchanger was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that converted cryptocurrency drug proceeds into cash.
Raul Rodriguez, aka raultiovigia, 44, of Miami, Florida, was in the business of converting cash into bitcoin and other digital currency, and vice versa, in exchange for a fee. Rodriguez provided these services to the public through an online digital currency exchange platform known as “LocalBitcoins.com.”
Rodriguez exchanged at least $5,047,462 in digital currency from 2016 through 2022; during the first two years of that period, he was the highest-volume trader of digital currency on the LocalBitcoins.com platform in the State of Florida.
In addition to the 57-month prison term, Rodriguez will be on supervised release for three years, and was ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $5,047,462.
In March 2013, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) publicly announced that an administrator or exchanger of a virtual currency, such as Bitcoin, was required to register with the Secretary of the Treasury as a money transmitting business.
Despite these requirements, Rodriguez operated an unregistered and unlicensed money transmitting business for over five years. Rodriguez’s clients included a convicted drug trafficker and a professional money launderer.
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 Office, announced the sentence.
IRS-CI Miami investigated the case with assistance from the FBI, Miami Field Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone handled 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-20474.
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Mexican National Sentenced to 20 Years After Officers Seize 144 Pounds of Meth Hidden in Car TiresRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today after law enforcement officers seized 144 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside automobile wheels in his shed.
Jorge A. Rodriguez-Gonzalez, 42, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 20 years in federal prison without parole.
On Aug. 30, 2023, Rodriguez-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
A confidential source told Independence, Mo., police detectives that he/she purchased methamphetamine from Rodriguez-Gonzalez. On Oct. 11, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Rodriguez-Gonzalez’s residence. Officers seized an H&R Pardner Pump 20-gauge shotgun and a TGI Knox 7.62x39-caliber AK-style rifle from the bedroom.
Inside a detached shed, officers found a set of four Toyota wheels and tires. Because the tires seemed extremely heavy, detectives cut one open and found a metal compartment attached to the inside of the wheel. The metal compartment was then cut open and found to contain methamphetamine.
Each wheel and tire was dismantled by investigators, who found methamphetamine inside each of the four tires. Investigators found a total of 144 pounds of methamphetamine in the four tires.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Marion Man Sentenced to 50 Months in Federal Prison for Receiving A Firearm While Under Felony InformationRead the Press Release
HELENA-WEST HELENA—Demarcus Parker will spend the next 50 months in federal prison for receiving a firearm while under felony information. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down today by United States District Judge D. P. Marshall, Jr.
Judge Marshall sentenced Parker to 50 months imprisonment, which is more than twice the sentencing guideline range of 15 to 21 months. Parker was also sentenced to three years of supervised release to follow his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.
On April 5, 2023, Parker, 31, of Marion, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of knowingly possessing a stolen firearm and one count of receiving a firearm while under a felony information. On July 25, 2023, Parker pleaded guilty to receipt of a firearm while under felony information.
On May 14, 2018, in the Circuit Court of Crittenden County, Parker was charged by felony information with several felonies, including capital murder, unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, criminal attempt capital murder, and forgery. On December 11, 2019, Parker was released on bond for those felony offenses. Parker was accused of murdering an off-duty Forrest City police officer, who was hit with a stray bullet in a gang-related shootout. Parker was then convicted of murder following a jury trial. That conviction was ultimately overturned on procedural grounds in March 2023.
On Friday, January 17, 2020, at approximately 6:24 p.m., West Memphis Police Department officers observed a white 2007 Cadillac Escalade, driven by Parker, commit a traffic violation. After stopping the vehicle, officers located a loaded firearm under the center console of the Escalade. Parker admitted he was in possession of the firearm and knew that felony charges were pending against him at the time Parker received this firearm. An investigation revealed that the firearm was stolen out of Denton, Texas, in 2017.
“Today, the man who an Arkansas jury found guilty for the April 28, 2018, murder of Forrest City Police Officer Oliver Johnson, but whose conviction for that murder was later dismissed on procedural grounds, has now been held accountable and punished for the subsequent offense of receiving a firearm while knowingly facing a pending charge of murder. Mr. Parker has an extremely violent criminal past, and his behavior reflects no respect for the law. Importantly, due to the work by prosecutors in our office and the ATF Memphis Field Office, Mr. Parker has been in continuous custody since before the mandate was issued to release Mr. Parker on May 4, 2023, by the Arkansas Supreme Court,” said Ross.
“Although today’s conviction was for a completely separate offense that happened 19 months after Officer Johnson’s murder, as soon as our office learned on March 16, 2023, that the Arkansas Supreme Court had announced its decision to dismiss the murder conviction, in order to protect the public from Mr. Parker for as long as possible, we resolved to bring any appropriate federal charges before the Arkansas Supreme Court’s final mandate would take effect,” U.S. Attorney Ross said.
“We did this by securing an indictment from a federal grand jury on April 5, 2023, against Mr. Parker for his receipt of a firearm while under a felony information. This case highlights the importance of working with our state and local partners to focus on prosecuting the most dangerous and violent offenders when no other options are available to the State of Arkansas. In an act of blatant disregard for human life, this defendant brutally murdered a Forrest City police officer in front of the officer’s family. Today’s sentence solidifies an intolerance to this senseless act of murder and the protection of the community from villains such as this defendant.
“Today’s sentencing means Demarcus Parker will not pose a risk to anyone else in the community,” said ATF Nashville Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson. “Protecting the lives of our law enforcement partners, like Officer Oliver Johnson, and the safety of our communities is one of the cornerstones of what our agency seeks to accomplish every day. This sentence highlights ATF’s commitment to protecting the public through vigorous enforcement of the federal firearms laws by identifying, arresting, and presenting for prosecution the perpetrators responsible for violent crimes committed in our communities.”
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the assistance of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for the Second Judicial District. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie Peters.
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Lead Property Manager Admits Conspiracy to Committ Wire Fraud in $470,000 Kickback Scheme Involving Jersey City Condo ComplexRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A New Jersey man today admitted conspiring with two others in a kickback scheme to defraud the owner of a condominium complex in Jersey City of $470,000, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Ranaldo Bennett, 56, of Jersey City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Bennett’s conspirators, Nathaniel Obedos and Jonathan Smith, pleaded guilty before Judge Williams on July 6, 2023, and Feb. 8, 2024, respectively, and are awaiting sentencing.
According to the publicly filed documents and statements made in Court:
From November 2018 through October 2020, Bennett conspired with Smith and Obedos to engage in a kickback scheme to defraud the owner of the condominium complex. Bennett was the complex’s lead property manager and Smith was its superintendent. Bennett and Smith steered repair and maintenance work to Obedos and his company in exchange for kickbacks from Obedos. Bennett and Smith falsified invoices that grossly inflated the value of Obedos’s work. Relying on those fake invoices, the complex paid Obedos the inflated prices, and Obedos then used the excess money to pay Bennett and Smith kickbacks. The complex paid Obedos and his company over $1 million for work that was actually valued at $500,000. Obedos used the overpayments to pay $440,000 in kickbacks to Bennett and approximately $30,000 in kickbacks to Smith.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years. The charge also carries a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Bennett’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 7, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blake Coppotelli of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.
bennett.information.pdfLaredo resident charged with possession of machine gunRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 27-year-old man has been indicted for possession of a machine gun, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
A federal grand jury has now returned a one-count indictment against Francisco Isaias Rodriguez. He is expected to appear for his arraignment before a U.S. magistrate judge in the near future.
The criminal complaint alleges on March 12, a member of law enforcement attempted to stop a truck for a traffic infraction. Rodriguez allegedly exited the truck seconds before the stop and fled from the scene on foot.
It is alleged during the subsequent chase, Rodriguez resisted arrest, ignored commands from authorities and allegedly threw a small bag he carried around his shoulder over a fence and into a backyard.
Law enforcement later recovered the bag from the backyard which allegedly contained a Glock 9-millimeter pistol equipped with a machine gun conversion device, commonly known as a “switch.”
According to the complaint, this device altered the function of the firearm to shoot more than one round with a single pull of the trigger, making the firearm a fully-automatic weapon. The bag also allegedly contained an extended magazine with 40 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition.
If convicted, Rodriguez faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Laredo Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Bajew is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is the largest anti-crime task force in the country. 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 on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Justice Department to Monitor Polls in Wisconsin for Compliance with Federal Voting Rights LawsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department has announced that it is monitoring today’s election in the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws.
The Civil Rights Division enforces the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot. The division regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with the federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country. In addition, the division also deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, the Civil Rights Acts and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.
Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
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Justice Department Sues Utah Prison System for Discrimination Based on Gender DysphoriaRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the State of Utah, including the Utah Department of Corrections (UDOC), alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for discriminating against an incarcerated transgender woman on the basis of her disability, gender dysphoria. The department’s complaint alleges that UDOC failed to provide the complainant equal access to health care services after she repeatedly requested hormone therapy, and also failed to make reasonable modifications to its policies and practices to treat her gender dysphoria. Before filing this lawsuit, the department gave UDOC written notice of its findings and an outline of remedial measures necessary to address them.
Gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition marked by clinically significant distress caused by an incongruence between the sex an individual is assigned at birth and their gender identity. Left untreated, individuals with gender dysphoria can experience serious adverse mental health outcomes.
“People with gender dysphoria, including those held in jails and prisons, are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and are entitled to equal access to medical care just like anyone else with a disability,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Delays or refusals to provide medical treatment for people with gender dysphoria can cause irreparable harm, including debilitating distress, depression, attempts at self-treatment and even death by suicide. The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting the rights of all people with disabilities in our country, including those who experience gender dysphoria – and those rights are not given up at the jailhouse door.”
The department’s complaint alleges that UDOC imposes unnecessary barriers to treatment for incarcerated individuals with gender dysphoria that are not required for other health conditions, and unnecessarily delayed the complainant’s treatment. The complaint also alleges that UDOC failed to grant the complainant’s requests for reasonable modifications, including permitting her to purchase female clothing and personal items in the commissary, modifying pat search policies and appropriately assessing her housing requests to avoid discrimination on the basis of gender dysphoria. As a result, her gender dysphoria worsened during her incarceration at UDOC. Twenty-two months after entering custody, she performed dangerous self-surgery and removed her own testicles.
The department’s lawsuit is part of its broader efforts to combat discrimination against individuals with gender dysphoria. These include the Civil Rights Division’s recently filed statement of interest clarifying that gender dysphoria can be a covered disability under the ADA and explaining that correctional institutions violate the Eighth Amendment when they categorically refuse to provide medically necessary gender-affirming care to incarcerated individuals with gender dysphoria and a challenge to Tennessee’s SB1 which makes it unlawful to provide or offer to provide certain types of medical care for transgender minors with diagnosed gender dysphoria.
The Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section is handling this matter in collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) or visit www.ada.gov.
Justice Department Sues Business Operating in Four States and Its Owners to Stop Tax Preparation FraudRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a civil injunction suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas seeking to permanently bar Mayuen K. Ajak, Yier B. Deng, Bol C. Guot, Gabriel M. Kuot and Golden D4 Heart Tax Services LLC from owning or operating a tax preparation business and preparing tax returns. The complaint also requests that the court require the defendants to disgorge the return preparation fees they obtained by preparing allegedly false or fraudulent tax returns.
According to the complaint, Ajak, Deng, Guot and Kuot incorporated Golden D4 Heart Tax Services LLC in Texas in 2018. They currently operate tax preparation stores in Texas, Missouri, Nebraska and Arizona under the name Golden Heart Tax Services LLC.
The complaint alleges that the defendants, as well as those acting in concert with the defendants or at their direction, prepared and filed tax returns to falsely increase customers’ refunds. The defendants profit through high and often undisclosed preparation fees, at the expense of customers and the Treasury. According to the complaint, the IRS estimates the harm to the United States in the form of underreported income and unpaid taxes from the defendants’ misconduct could exceed $10 million.
The complaint describes the various schemes the defendants, and those acting on their behalf, utilized to make unlawful claims on customers’ tax returns and to overstate their refunds, including:
• Falsely claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit;
• Fabricating businesses and related business income and expenses;
• Claiming false fuel tax credits;
• Claiming fabricated COVID-19-related tax credits; and
• Claiming false education credits.
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 guidance on the credentials and qualifications that taxpayers should seek from their return preparer.
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.
U.S. v. Ajak et al Filed Complaint.pdfJustice Department Seeks Injunction against Washington Tax Return Preparer for Allegedly Filing Tax Returns with False ClaimsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed a complaint today in the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington against Donald J. Taylor, a former IRS revenue agent and registered enrolled agent, who left the IRS in 2008 to work as a paid tax return preparer in Kennewick, Washington. The civil complaint seeks to bar Taylor from owning or operating a tax return preparation business and preparing federal income tax returns for others. The United States also seeks an order requiring Taylor to disgorge to the United States his ill-gotten tax preparation fees.
The complaint alleges that Taylor filed tax returns for customers that were riddled with errors, fabrications and fraudulent entries. The United States alleges Taylor’s main scheme involved taking advantage of the differences between running a business as a sole proprietorship and an S corporation. A sole proprietor is someone who owns an unincorporated business by themselves and reports any income and expenses on Schedule C Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship) of their individual tax returns. S corporations are corporations no different from any other corporation under state law that are not subject to federal income tax at the corporate level. An S corporation reports income, deductions and loss on a separate corporate tax return and then issues a Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) to the shareholder, who reports items of income, deduction, loss or credit on their own tax return.
As the complaint asserts, Taylor prepared false corporate and individual income tax returns by abusing the S corporation requirements under the Internal Revenue Code to reduce customers’ overall tax liabilities. According to the complaint, Taylor did this (1) by fabricating businesses and related business expenses or willfully or recklessly claiming false or unsubstantiated business deductions; (2) taking deductions for employee paid expenses and employer reimbursements without an accountable plan or reimbursement policy, which is against IRS regulations and (3) unreasonably decreasing the amount of wages employee-shareholder customers receive and correspondingly increasing the amount of S corporation distributions made to them to reduce their tax liability.
By repeatedly understating customers’ tax liabilities, the complaint alleges that Taylor caused the United States harm of an estimated $42 million dollars in lost tax revenue between 2017 and 2020.
According to the complaint, Taylor’s conduct is more serious because he continued his abusive actions despite being previously penalized twice by the IRS for recklessly or willfully understating customers’ liabilities from 2007 through 2010.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
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 tips on choosing a tax professional as a small business taxpayer.
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.
USA v. Taylor Complaint.pdfJustice Department Secures Agreement with Security Services Company to Resolve Immigration-Related Discrimination ClaimsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with Securitas Security Services USA Inc. (Securitas), a protective services company with locations throughout the United States. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that certain Securitas locations violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against non-U.S. citizens when checking their permission to work in the United States.
“Employers cannot restrict the types of documents workers can use to prove their permission to work,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department continues to ensure that all workers, regardless of citizenship, immigration status or national origin, are allowed to present valid documents of their choice to prove their permission to work.”
The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) determined that from at least Feb. 3, 2020, to Dec. 20, 2021, Securitas’ East Bay area locations, located in the cities of Concord and Fremont, California, routinely required lawful permanent residents to present a specific immigration document when checking their permission to work. In addition, the department determined that, between Feb. 3, 2020, and June 23, 2022, the company made similar document demands of other non-citizens with permission to work.
Under the terms of the settlement, Securitas will pay $100,000 in civil penalties to the United States and establish a backpay fund of $75,000 to compensate victims of the company’s discriminatory practices, including those who were fired or lost work because they could not comply with the company’s discriminatory document demands. Securitas has also agreed to train its personnel on the INA’s requirements, review its employment policies and be subject to monitoring by the department.
Federal law allows all workers to choose which valid, legally acceptable documentation to present to prove their identity and permission to work, regardless of citizenship status, immigration status or national origin. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from asking for specific or unnecessary documents because of a worker’s citizenship status, immigration status or national origin. Indeed, many non-U.S. citizens, including lawful permanent residents, are eligible for several of the same types of documents to prove their permission to work as U.S. citizens are (for example, a state ID or driver’s license and an unrestricted Social Security card). Employers must allow workers to present whatever acceptable documentation the workers choose and cannot reject valid documentation that reasonably appears to be genuine.
IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee, unfair documentary practices and retaliation and intimidation.
Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination when verifying someone’s permission to work on IER’s website. Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify), or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email [email protected]; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe for email updates from IER.
Johnstown Man Sentenced to More than Three Years in Prison for Crack Cocaine ViolationsRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to 41 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States Senior District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Shawn Howard, 49.
According to information presented to the Court, from in and around June 2021 to July 2021 in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Howard conspired to distribute and possessed with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base, in the form commonly known as crack. Howard was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of crack cocaine that he distributed to others.
Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Howard. Additional agencies participating in the investigation included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, Cambria County District Attorney’s Office, Indiana County District Attorney’s Office, Cambria County Sheriff’s Office, Cambria Township Police Department, Indiana Borough Police Department, Johnstown Police Department, Upper Yoder Township Police Department, Richland Police Department, Ferndale Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Intercontinental Terminals Company to Pay over $6.6 Million for Injuries to Natural Resources Resulting from a Fire at Its Facility Near HoustonRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that Intercontinental Terminals Company LLC (ITC) has agreed to pay over $6.6 million to federal and state natural resource trustees to resolve claims for natural resource damages resulting from a 2019 fire at ITC’s Deer Park terminal facility near Houston that released hazardous chemicals.
A complaint filed concurrently with the proposed consent decree seeks money damages and costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The fire resulted in the release of hundreds of thousands of barrels-worth of petrochemical products and firefighting water and foam into Tucker Bayou and surrounding waterways, including the Houston Ship Channel.
Designated federal and state trustees determined that the hazardous substances released from ITC’s facility caused significant injuries to ecological resources and services, including birds and marsh and riparian habitat areas. In addition, the hazardous chemicals released into air and water resulted in lost recreational opportunities in the Deer Park area, including temporary closures of multiple state, county and city parks and the Lynchburg Ferry, as well as the cancelation of an annual historical reenactment at San Jacinto State Park.
The settlement will be used to compensate the public for natural resource injuries, reimburse trustee agencies for the costs of assessment and fund the restoration planning and oversight process that will guide how restoration will be conducted. After a process that will include an opportunity for public comment, the trustees will use the cash payment to implement natural resource restoration projects to address ecological injuries and enhance recreational use to address lost human use of the injured resources. ITC previously paid about $1 million to reimburse federal and state trustees for their prior assessment costs.
“The 2019 fire at ITC’s Deer Park facility released a significant amount of hazardous substances that injured the Houston Ship Channel,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s settlement will enable restoration work to improve the environment in the channel and other affected waterways in the area and to enhance recreational opportunities for Texas residents and visitors.”
“This settlement will help repair, in part, the devastating environmental damage caused by the release of hazardous substances from ITC’s Deer Park facility,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “I am committed to the restoration of clean waterways and a diverse ecosystem to benefit the residents of Deer Park.”
“NOAA is pleased to have worked cooperatively with industry and our co-trustees to reach an agreement to restore coastal waterways and communities impacted by this catastrophic event,” said Assistant Administrator Nicole LeBoeuf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Ocean Service. “Clean and resilient waterways are vital to coastal communities and this restoration will especially benefit those who have been disproportionately impacted by pollution.”
“I’m pleased we were able to secure this natural resource damages settlement after the serious destruction caused by the fire at Deer Park,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “This fire burned for three days, spewing hazardous chemicals into our air, water, and land. Texas’s environmental enforcement suit against ITC is still pending. All companies operating in our state must take the utmost precaution to prevent any such disaster from harming our citizens and our environment.”
The designated federal trustees are NOAA and the Department of the Interior through the Fish and Wildlife Service. The state trustees are the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas General Land Office.
The federal and state trustees worked with ITC to perform the injury assessment. The Trustees will continue working together to develop and adopt a restoration plan that will be published for public comment.
In an earlier related CERCLA enforcement action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Justice Department secured an administrative settlement with ITC for $5.25 million to reimburse the United States for costs in responding to the releases from the fire at ITC’s facility.
For more information about the ITC tank fire, see darrp.noaa.gov/oil-spills/itc-tank-fire.
Attorneys from the Justice Department’s Environmental Enforcement Section and the Texas Office of the Attorney General are handling the case on behalf of the federal and state trustees.
The proposed consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree and information on how to submit a public comment is available on the Justice Department’s website: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.