Southern District of Alabama

MOBILE, AL— The Acting United States Attorney, Steve Butler, announces that Jenna Kathleen Fitzhugh-Thomas was sentenced in United States District Court, by Judge Callie V. Granade, on June 27, 2017 to 12 ½ years confinement for being involved and having a leadership role in a multi-state methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. On November 23, 2015, a United States Postal Inspector intercepted a postal parcel shipped from a United States Post Office located in El Segundo, California destined for Fairhope, Alabama. Mobile Police Department dedicated K-9 “ARON” alerted to the odor of narcotics emanating from the parcel. A search warrant of the package revealed 16.93 kilograms of methamphetamine with a purity of 92.8%. 

The Postal Inspector contacted the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to pursue an investigation. The DEA investigation revealed that Fitzhugh-Thomas travelled from her home in Pensacola, Florida to Southern California to obtain the 16.93 kilograms of methamphetamine from her suppliers, Fermin Alvarado Ponce and Jennifer Arlene Rosas-Saucedo, were also charged and convicted for their role in the conspiracy. Fitzhugh-Thomas arranged for Carlos Marquis Gross and Kera York to accompany her to Southern California and all three of them were captured on postal video mailing the package from El Segundo, California to Fairhope, Alabama. Gross and York were prosecuted in the conspiracy.

Further investigation revealed that Fitzhugh-Thomas had sent Michael Riker via airline to meet Rosas-Saucedo in Los Angeles, California in March 2016 and Riker received 7.8 pounds of methamphetamine from Rosas-Saucedo. Riker then transported the methamphetamine on an Amtrak train to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he planned to meet Fitzhugh-Thomas. However, the DEA and local officials intercepted arrested Fitzhugh-Thomas and Riker in New Orleans. 

In September 2016, the DEA used an informant to purchase 1 kilogram of methamphetamine from Rosas-Saucedo, which again was shipped from Southern California to the Southern District of Alabama
   
In October 2016, investigative team members of FBI Vancouver authored a federal search warrant for Rosas-Saucedo’s and Ponce’s residence in Vancouver, Washington, as well as a vehicle at the property. A search of the residence revealed eight cellular phones, $7,388.00 in United States currency and multiple notebooks containing drug ledgers. A search of the vehicle, a 2013 Dodge Ram Pickup, yielded approximately $62,000 in United States currency, a stolen handgun and approximately 4.4 pounds of methamphetamine.

The case was jointly investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Vancouver, Washington, the United States Postal Inspector in Mobile and the Mobile Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney George May prosecuted the case.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler stated, “This case represented the quintessential example of the partnership between different federal law enforcement agencies as well as the cooperation between federal and local law enforcement agencies.  I laude the efforts of law enforcement in shutting down this significant methamphetamine trafficking organization.”

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler, of the Southern District of Alabama, announces that today United States District Judge William H. Steele sentenced Jennifer Richardson Beverly, age 37, a resident of Mobile, Alabama, to serve 24 months in prison – a mandatory statutory sentence – for assuming the identity of a Florida woman, applying for a credit card using the Florida woman’s name and personal information, and then using the fraudulently obtained credit card to purchase thousands of dollars’ worth of goods and services, including sports equipment, flowers, shoes, and clothing.

The evidence at the sentencing hearing established that Beverly had an extensive criminal history, dating back to 1999, including two prior felony convictions for Forgery and Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card. Beverly’s sentence included a 1-year term of supervised release and $2,985.38 in restitution to Capital One Bank.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Mobile Police Department Financial Crimes Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donna B. Dobbins.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler, of the Southern District of Alabama, announces that today United States District Judge William H. Steele sentenced Paul Constantine Bauer, age 35, a resident of Foley, Alabama, to serve 24 months in prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to make and pass counterfeit United States currency in the Mobile and Baldwin County area. Bauer’s sentence included a 3-year term of supervised release and $997 in restitution. His sentence was imposed as a result of his guilty plea in March 2017.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Mobile Police Department Financial Crimes Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donna B. Dobbins.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces today that Jeremiah Johnson was sentenced to 157 months imprisonment.  Johnson’s sentencing followed entry of a February 2017 guilty plea to a charge of carjacking and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  United States District Court Judge William H. Steele imposed a ten year statutorily required sentence for the use of the firearm, with that sentence to run consecutively to a 37 month sentence for the carjacking offense.

During the September 4, 2016, the victim’s 2013 Chevrolet Camaro was stolen from him at gunpoint.  During the course of the carjacking an AK-47 type semi-automatic assault rifle was discharged. 
Carjacking is a violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 2119.  Discharging a firearm during and in relation to a federal crime of violence is a violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 924(c)(1)(A)(iii), which provides for a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years.  Johnson’s imprisonment will be followed by a five (5) year term of supervised release.

This case arose from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Street Task Force and the Mobile Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Bordenkircher of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama, U.S. Department of State Inspector General Steve A. Linick, and Homeland Security Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. of the New Orleans Field Office announce that lead defendant David Marzano of Zephyr Cove, Nevada, has been sentenced to 26 months in federal prison.  His prison sentence will be followed by 3 years of supervised release.  Marzano was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $815,570.00.  Marzano’s co-defendants, Laura Blair also of Zephyr Cove and Janece Burke of Deerfield, Illinois, were each sentenced to 5 years of probation.   The court order Blair to pay $815,570.00, and Burke to pay $271,856.67 in restitution.

In 2002, David Marzano pled guilty in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia to a conspiracy involving the unlawful smuggling of aliens.  The conviction stemmed from a staffing agency Marzano operated in the Atlanta area that utilized an illegal alien workforce.   For that offense, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

After getting out of prison, Marzano began using the aliases “Paul Cohen” and “David Cole,” and started a series of new staffing agencies and shell companies based in Chicago, Illinois.  At the time of his arrest Marzano was the CEO of Bullseye Jobs and the former Director of the predecessor company, Hospitality & Catering Management Services.  Marzano’s adult daughter Janece Burke, a.k.a., “Paula Delaney,” “Paula Lawton,” “Jane Moore,” and “Danielle Young,” was the President of Bullseye, and Marzano’s wife Laura Blair, a.k.a., “Jean Cox,” was the company’s Marketing Director.  Together, and with the assistance of others, these defendants engaged in a massive, nationwide fraud scheme designed to unlawfully profit from U.S. Department of State Exchange Visitor Programs.

As was set out in the Indictment, in 1961, Congress passed the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961.  The purpose of the Act was to increase mutual understanding between people in the United States and people from other countries by means of educational and cultural exchanges that assist the U.S. Department of State in furthering the foreign policy objectives of the United States. 
 
These educational and cultural exchanges are administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Exchange Visitor Program and governed by specific regulations set out in 22 C.F.R. Part 62.  Annually, more than 275,000 foreign nationals from all over the world enter the United States through one of the Exchange Visitor Programs.  These programs include the Summer Work & Travel Program (“SWT Program”) and the Intern & Training Program (“I/T Program”). 

Unlike the SWT Program, the I/T Program is limited to training, and is not an employment program.  As such, regulations specifically prohibit employers from using I/T Program participants as substitutes for ordinary employment or work purposes.  Furthermore, staffing agencies are expressly prohibited from being involved in the I/T Program.

Since the defendants were operating several staffing agencies, the only way to get organizations to sponsor I/T Program participants of the defendants’ companies was to fraudulently misrepresent the true nature of their businesses.   This was primarily done via e-mail between the defendants — who operated under numerous aliases— and sponsor organizations.  In addition, the defendants created various shell companies with names that closely resembled well-known corporations.  One such shell company was Crowne Partnership Group, which, despite representations made by the defendants, had no association with Crowne Plaza Hotels.

As a result of their fraud scheme, more than 200 foreign nationals came to the United States believing that they would be part of the Department of State’s I/T Program.  As the Court heard from victims who testified at the hearing or who submitted victim impact letters, the thousands of dollars necessary to enroll in the program and travel to the United States was a major hardship for many of the foreign victims.  They believed the investment was worth it as the training received through the I/T Program would allow them to return to their home country with much better prospects for being hired as an upper-level executive in foreign-based U.S. companies.  However, rather than receiving the high-level managerial training they expected, the victims were pawned off as cheap foreign labor to restaurants, hotels, and theme parks.  The victims were also required to live in housing arranged by the defendants’ companies.  The businesses where the victims worked paid Marzano directly, but the victims only received a small portion of the wages they earned.
 
On May 12, 2015, David Marzano and Laura Blair were arrested at Tampa International Airport.  Janece Burke was arrested that same morning in Deerfield, Illinois.  Contemporaneous with the arrests, multiple search warrants were executed in Florida and Nevada.  

On June 22, 2015, Janece Burke pled guilty to conspiring with Marzano and Blair to commit wire and mail fraud.  Thereafter, Burke began cooperating with the United States.  Laura Blair pled guilty to the conspiracy charge on April 4, 2016.  That same day, David Marzano pled guilty to the conspiracy charge, as well as a charge for substantive wire fraud, and began cooperating with the United States as well.  The extensive cooperation by both Burke and Marzano has led to various administrative and criminal actions related to other fraud schemes within the I/T Program and other State Department initiatives.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler lauded the extensive partnership between the Department of State Office of Inspector General and the Mobile Office of Homeland Security Investigations in shutting down this major fraud scheme.  “The defendants falsely and fraudulently misrepresented the nature of their businesses, which caused real harm to over two hundred victims across the world,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Butler.  “These were vulnerable victims who believed they were coming to the United States to receive high-level training, but who were unfortunately subject to a cruel bait-and-switch.  My office will continue to aggressively prosecute those who seek to defraud vulnerable victims.”

Inspector General Steve A. Linick commended the work of those involved in investigating the case from the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State. “We are proud to have played a key role in investigating and bringing to justice those who exploit U.S. Department of State programs, such as these, for personal gain.”

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ray Parmer stated, “Mail and wire fraud can have a devastating impact on victims.  In this case, people expected to come to this country legally and get training and experience.  However, the greed of these three individuals turned trusting people into cheap foreign labor.  HSI will continue to work with our partner law enforcement agencies to ensure we bring those guilty of committing these crimes to justice.”  The New Orleans Field Office, run by Special Agent in Charge Parmer, is responsible for criminal investigations in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. 

This matter was jointly investigated by the U.S. Department of State – Office of Inspector General and HSI-Mobile.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Bodnar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler, of the Southern District of Alabama, announced today that Dr. James M. Crumb, a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitative specialist currently practicing in Mobile, Alabama as Mobility Metabolism and Wellness, P.C. (MMW), and Coastal Neurological Institute, P.C. (CNI), a local neurosurgeon physician group, collectively paid $1.4 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by engaging in fraudulent schemes to maximize payment from the Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE health care programs.

“Our office will protect federal health care programs by pursuing providers who bill for medically unreasonable and unnecessary services and engage in fraudulent billing practices to seek payments to which they are not entitled,” said Acting United States Attorney Butler.  “We must prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of the Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare programs as taxpayer dollars are at stake.”

In late December 2015, the United States Attorney’s Office filed a civil lawsuit against Defendants CNI, Crumb, and MMW, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense.  The United States alleged that the Defendants knowingly billed federal health care programs for medically unreasonable and unnecessary ultrasound guidance used with routine lab blood draws, and with Botox and trigger point injections.  The United States further alleged that CNI, Crumb, and other CNI physician employees unnamed in the lawsuit, knowingly manipulated billing codes in order to circumvent safeguards implemented by Medicare’s National Correct Coding Initiative to combat improper and fraudulent duplicate claim line billing of certain procedure codes, including ultrasound guidance used with needle placement.  As a result of this billing scheme, the Defendants sometimes billed 15 to 30 identical ultrasound guidance claims for a single patient office visit.

The United States’ Second Amended Complaint separately alleged that Crumb knowingly falsified patient diagnoses in order to ensure payment by the federal health care programs.  Because those programs do not cover Botox for pain management, Crumb allegedly used diagnoses of uncommon or rare neurological movement disorders for the sole purpose of obtaining reimbursement for the administered Botox injections.  The United States further alleged that Crumb ordered inflated dosages of Botox medications paid by the Alabama Medicaid Agency that were not medically necessary and were not used on the patients for whom the medication was prescribed. 

The investigation and litigation were conducted by the Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services (OIG-HHS), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorneys Deidre Colson and Daryl Atchison handled the case on behalf of the United States.  As part of the settlement, Crumb entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with OIG-HHS, which obligates Crumb to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms and to submit his federal health care program claims to independent review for the next three years.

The FCA claims settled are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that United States District Court Judge William H. Steele sentenced Anthony O’Brien Barlow on June 15, 2017 to serve a term of imprisonment of 65 months. Barlow was convicted of illegally possessing firearms as a felon on January 4, 2017 in violation of 18 USC § 922(g)(1). The investigation revealed that the defendant attempted to sell multiple stolen firearms. The firearms illegally possessed included a Glock GMBH, .40 caliber pistol, model 27, a Lucznik, Fabryka Broni, Makarov, 9 mm pistol, model P64, a H&K, .22 caliber rifle with silencer, model MP5, and a Ruger, .223 caliber rifle, model Mini 14. The defendant entered a guilty plea before the Court on March 16, 2017.

This prosecution is part of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and related crimes. It is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Mobile Division stated, "This type of dangerous behavior can only be stopped with a joint effort. We are committed to supporting and assisting our state and local partners in making our community safe for everyone."

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Foley Police Department, the Summerdale Police Department, the Baldwin County Drug Task Force, and the Safe Streets Task Force. The case was prosecuted for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama by OCDEFT Lead Attorney, Assistant United States Attorney George F. May and Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence J. Bullard.

United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that United States District Court Senior Judge William H. Steele sentenced Jonathan Jernigan on June 6, 2017. Jernigan was sentenced to 5 years on probation and ordered to pay the total amount of loss, for wire fraud in violation of 18 USC § 1343. Jernigan, worked as the Children’s Medical Group’s financial manager, illegally used the company credit card for personal expenditures. He also illegally used the company’s bank accounts for personal gain without authorization. Jernigan’s scheme was discovered when Children’s Medical Group attempted to purchase vaccines and their credit card was declined. Children’s Medical Group began investigating their finances and discovered Jernigan’s actions.

An audit identified unauthorized charges on Jernigan’s assigned PNC Bank card. Some of the charges included expenditures of $8794; $7570: and $3340 at Diamonds Men’s Club in Mobile, Alabama. The loss is estimated to be more than $190,000.

The United States Secret Service (USSS) and the Mobile Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Baugh prosecuted the case for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that United States District Court Chief Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Jay Kimberly Ponder on June 2, 2017 to serve a term of imprisonment of 120 months followed by 5 years of supervised release for the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 USC § 846(a)(1).  Both federal and local authorities began their initial investigation of the case in 2015 and discovered that the defendant was distributing methamphetamine throughout the Mobile, Alabama region.  The defendant, who had an extensive criminal history, entered a guilty plea before the Court on December 1, 2016.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the Mobile Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence J. Bullard for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama, announces that Dr. John Patrick Couch and Dr. Xiulu Ruan were sentenced to 240 months and 252 months, respectively, in federal prison for running a massive pill mill in Mobile, Alabama.

During the sentencing hearing today, Senior Judge Callie V.S. Granade found the doctors were responsible for illegally prescribing opioids, which when converted to their marijuana equivalency, exceeded 90,000 kilograms of marijuana.  In addition, she found that both doctors perjured themselves, and that they utilized special skills to carry out their criminal enterprise.   Thereafter, several family members of deceased Dr. Couch patients spoke to the Court, as did several patients on behalf of the doctor.   Ultimately, Judge Granade sentenced Dr. Couch to 240 months, and Dr. Ruan to 252 months, in federal prison.  Dr. Ruan received a longer sentence based on Judge Granade’s finding that he was the leader of their criminal enterprise.   In addition, she ordered them to pay restitution in the following amounts:  $6,282,023.00 to Medicare, $3,649,092.97 to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama, $2,285,170.70 to Tricare, and $1,695,929.00 to United Heath Group.

Prior to the execution of multiple search warrants by the FBI and DEA on May 20, 2015, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch jointly owned and operated two pain management clinics under the name Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama (“PPSA”) as well as C&R Pharmacy.  Following an extensive joint investigation by both FBI-Mobile and DEA-Mobile, both doctors were charged with a litany of federal felony offenses, including RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act, substantive drug distribution offenses, conspiracies to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, healthcare fraud, and to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as money laundering.  All charges stemmed from the defendants’ operation of PPSA and C&R Pharmacy.
 
During the seven-week trial, which lasted from early January to late February, the United States presented evidence that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch utilized PPSA and C&R Pharmacy as a criminal enterprise to violate the Controlled Substances Act and to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of the RICO Act.  Specifically, the jury saw evidence that the defendants knowingly and willfully prescribed Schedule II and III Controlled Substances, including fentanyl, outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.  The United States argued the defendants’ motive for this illegal prescribing was their own financial self-interest.  The United States also argued that the defendants’ billing practices were systematically designed to unlawfully enrich the doctors.

Of particular importance in the trial were two brand name instant-release fentanyl drugs — Subsys and Abstral.  Both Subsys and Abstral are only FDA-indicated for breakthrough cancer pain in opioid-tolerant adult patients.  However, evidence showed that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch almost exclusively prescribed these drugs off-label for neck, back, and joint pain.  The jury found that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch received illegal kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, the manufacturer of Subsys, in exchange for the defendants prescribing massive quantities of this drug.  Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch were both among the top prescribers of Subsys in the entire United States.  Evidence showed that Dr. Ruan began donating his Insys kickback payments the day after he received a copy of a criminal complaint from the Eastern District of Michigan against Dr. Gavin Awerbuch, another prolific Subsys prescriber who had been charged with receiving kickbacks from Insys.  The United States argued that Dr. Ruan’s decision to donate his Insys money was done in an attempt to distance himself from the company.

With regard to Abstral, evidence showed that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch purchased approximately $1.6 million worth of stock in Galena Biopharma, the manufacturer of Abstral, and sought to manipulate the stock price by driving up Abstral sales.  From the third quarter of 2013 through the 2014, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch were the number one and two prescribers of Abstral in the entire United States.  During this same time period, nearly one out of every three Abstral prescriptions written in the U.S. were written by either Dr. Ruan or Dr. Couch. 

As part of their criminal enterprise, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch owned C&R Pharmacy, which was co-located with one of the PPSA clinic locations.   C&R Pharmacy would only fill prescriptions written by the doctors at PPSA, and Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch split 75% of the profits that came in from the prescription drug reimbursements.  Approximately 91% of the Subsys and Abstral prescriptions written by the defendants — which cost patients’ insurance anywhere between $1,000.00 to $24,000.00 per month — were filled at C&R Pharmacy.

In addition to C&R Pharmacy, the defendants also had a worker’s compensation dispensary, from which they directly dispensed Controlled Substances.  The jury heard evidence that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch received guaranteed monthly kickbacks from a dispensary management company — Industrial Pharmaceuticals Management (“IPM”) and later Comprehensive Rx (“CRX”) — in exchange for the defendants dispensing certain drugs with high reimbursement rates.   These monthly guaranteed amounts reached $80,000.00 per month for Dr. Ruan and $20,000.00 per month for Dr. Couch.  The millions paid in kickbacks to the defendants associated with the worker’s compensation dispensary went into private bank accounts set up by the defendants.

While there were some patients who received legitimate medical care at PPSA, the jury heard evidence that many patients rarely saw either of the doctors, and that the nurse practitioners who treated Dr. Couch’s patients were abusing drugs at the work place and then seeing patients.   In addition, the jury heard evidence that Dr. Couch knowingly permitted one of his nurse practitioners, Justin Palmer, to forge Dr. Couch’s name on prescriptions for Controlled Substances.  Palmer testified that he forged Dr. Couch’s name approximately 25,000 times while working at PPSA.

After seven-weeks of trial, 81 witnesses, and three days of deliberation, the jury reached the following verdicts:  Both doctors were convicted of (1) RICO conspiracy; (2) Conspiracy to prescribe Schedule II and III Controlled Substances outside the usual course of professional practice; (3) Conspiracy to prescribe more than 40 grams of fentanyl outside the usual course of professional practice; (4) Conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud; (5) Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; (6) Conspiracy to receive illegal kickbacks from IPM/CRX related to the workers compensation dispensary; and (7) Conspiracy to receive illegal kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing Subsys.  In addition, Dr. Ruan was convicted of both conspiracy and substantive money laundering counts.  Each doctor was also convicted of several substantive illegal drug distribution counts related to prescriptions written to particular patients.  Dr. Ruan was acquitted of one substantive charge related to prescriptions written for a patient.

Following their convictions, the defendants agreed to forfeit to the United States several houses, beach condos, and bank accounts, as well as 23 luxury cars, including multiple Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Mercedes, and Ferraris.  In addition to the forfeited property, each doctors agreed to an additional $5,000,000.00 money judgment.  The United States is currently in the process of preparing to sell at auction the forfeited vehicles and property.

Prior to trial, Justin Palmer and Bridgette Parker, both nurse practitioners for Dr. Couch, pled guilty to conspiring to prescribe Controlled Substances outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.  They have already been sentenced to federal prison for 30 months and 20 months, respectively. Christopher Manfuso, who worked for IPM and later owned CRX, pled guilty to conspiring to pay illegal kickbacks to the doctors.  He has been sentenced to 6 months home confinement and a $50,000.00 fine.  Finally, Insys Therapeutics drug rep Natalie Perhacs pled guilty to conspiring to pay illegal kickbacks associated with the prescribing of Subsys.  Perhacs currently awaits sentencing.  All four testified against the doctors at trial.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler said, “Any medical professional who chooses to place profit over patient care should heed the lengthy sentences received by Dr. Couch and Dr. Ruan.  We commend the victims’ family members who spoke so eloquently over the past two days about how the defendants’ criminal conduct impacted, and continues to impact, their lives on a daily basis.  Furthermore, thank you to our law enforcement partners at the FBI and DEA for their persistence in seeing that justice was done in this important case of national interest.  Considering that opioid abuse and trafficking is of significant concern not only to us here in south Alabama, but nationwide, our office will continue to vigorously prosecute these cases.”

“The DEA is committed to investigating and bringing to justice those who divert and traffic prescription drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Orleans Field Office.  “Opiate abuse is a major problem in Alabama and throughout the nation.  The diversion of prescription pain killers contributes to the widespread abuse of opiates and is a gateway to heroin addiction, which is devastating our local communities.   This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative law enforcement efforts in Alabama and our strong partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to aggressively pursue anyone who illicitly distributes these drugs.  The lengthy sentences received by Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch appropriately reflect the devastation they caused.   These sentences will protect the community from these convicted felons and hopefully deter other medical practitioners who are inclined to put profit over patient health and safety,” said Azzam.

FBI-Mobile Special Agent in Charge Robert Lasky stated, “The FBI is committed to the relationships with the law enforcement community that make these types of investigations possible.  We will continue to target illegal activity in the medical profession as was apparent in this case.”

This OCDETF case was jointly investigated by the DEA-Mobile and FBI-Mobile, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Bodnar and Deborah Griffin.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama, announces that Dr. John Patrick Couch has been sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for running a massive pill mill in Mobile, Alabama.

During the sentencing hearing today, Senior Judge Callie V.S. Granade found that Dr. Couch was responsible for illegally prescribing opioids, which when converted to their marijuana equivalency, exceeded 90,000 kilograms of marijuana. In addition, she found that Dr. Couch perjured himself, and that he utilized special skills to carry out his crimes. Thereafter, several family members of deceased Dr. Couch patients spoke to the Court, as did several patients on behalf of the doctor. Ultimately, Judge Granade sentenced Dr. Couch to 240 months in federal prison, and ordered him to pay restitution in the following amounts: $6,282,023.00 to Medicare, $3,649,092.97 to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama, $2,285,170.70 to Tricare, and $1,695,929.00 to United Heath Group.

Prior to the execution of multiple search warrants by the FBI and DEA on May 20, 2015, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch jointly owned and operated two pain management clinics under the name Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama (“PPSA”) as well as C&R Pharmacy. Following an extensive joint investigation by both FBI-Mobile and DEA-Mobile, both doctors were charged with a litany of federal felony offenses, including RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act, substantive drug distribution offenses, conspiracies to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, healthcare fraud, and to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as money laundering. All charges stemmed from the defendants’ operation of PPSA and C&R Pharmacy.

During the seven-week trial, which lasted from early January to late February, the United States presented evidence that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch utilized PPSA and C&R Pharmacy as a criminal enterprise to violate the Controlled Substances Act and to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of the RICO Act. Specifically, the jury saw evidence that the defendants knowingly andwillfully prescribed Schedule II and III Controlled Substances, including fentanyl, outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. The United States argued the defendants’ motive for this illegal prescribing was their own financial self-interest. The United States also argued that the defendants’ billing practices were systematically designed to unlawfully enrich the doctors.

Of particular importance in the trial were two brand name instant-release fentanyl drugs — Subsys and Abstral. Both Subsys and Abstral are only FDA-indicated for breakthrough cancer pain in opioid-tolerant adult patients. However, evidence showed that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch almost exclusively prescribed these drugs off-label for neck, back, and joint pain. The jury found that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch received illegal kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, the manufacturer of Subsys, in exchange for the defendants prescribing massive quantities of this drug. Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch were both among the top prescribers of Subsys in the entire United States. Evidence showed that Dr. Ruan began donating his Insys kickback payments the day after he received a copy of a criminal complaint from the Eastern District of Michigan against Dr. Gavin Awerbuch, another prolific Subsys prescriber who had been charged with receiving kickbacks from Insys. The United States argued that Dr. Ruan’s decision to donate his Insys money was done in an attempt to distance himself from the company.

With regard to Abstral, evidence showed that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch purchased approximately $1.6 million worth of stock in Galena Biopharma, the manufacturer of Abstral, and sought to manipulate the stock price by driving up Abstral sales. From the third quarter of 2013 through the 2014, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch were the number one and two prescribers of Abstral in the entire United States. During this same time period, nearly one out of every three Abstral prescriptions written in the U.S. were written by either Dr. Ruan or Dr. Couch.

As part of their criminal enterprise, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch owned C&R Pharmacy, which was co-located with one of the PPSA clinic locations. C&R Pharmacy would only fill prescriptions written by the doctors at PPSA, and Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch split 75% of the profits that came in from the prescription drug reimbursements. Approximately 91% of the Subsys and Abstral prescriptions written by the defendants — which cost patients’ insurance anywhere between $1,000.00 to $24,000.00 per month — were filled at C&R Pharmacy.

In addition to C&R Pharmacy, the defendants also had a worker’s compensation dispensary, from which they directly dispensed Controlled Substances. The jury heard evidence that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch received guaranteed monthly kickbacks from a dispensary management company — Industrial Pharmaceuticals Management (“IPM”) and later Comprehensive Rx (“CRX”)—in exchange for the defendants dispensing certain drugs with high reimbursement rates. These monthly guaranteed amounts reached $80,000.00 per month for Dr. Ruan and $20,000.00 per month for Dr. Couch. The millions paid in kickbacks to the defendants associated with the worker’s compensation dispensary went into private bank accounts set up by the defendants.

While there were some patients who received legitimate medical care at PPSA, the jury heard evidence that many patients rarely saw either of the doctors, and that the nurse practitioners who treated Dr. Couch’s patients were abusing drugs at the work place and then seeing patients. In addition, the jury heard evidence that Dr. Couch knowingly permitted one of his nurse practitioners, Justin Palmer, to forge Dr. Couch’s name on prescriptions for Controlled Substances. Palmer testified that he forged Dr. Couch’s name approximately 25,000 times while working at PPSA.

After seven-weeks of trial, 81 witnesses, and three days of deliberation, the jury reached the following verdicts: Both doctors were convicted of (1) RICO conspiracy; (2) Conspiracy to prescribe Schedule II and III Controlled Substances outside the usual course of professional practice; (3) Conspiracy to prescribe more than 40 grams of fentanyl outside the usual course of professional practice; (4) Conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud; (5) Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; (6) Conspiracy to receive illegal kickbacks from IPM/CRX related to the workers compensation dispensary; and (7) Conspiracy to receive illegal kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing Subsys. In addition, Dr. Ruan was convicted of both conspiracy and substantive money laundering counts. Each doctor was also convicted of several substantive illegal drug distribution counts related to prescriptions written to particular patients. Dr. Ruan was acquitted of one substantive charge related to prescriptions written for a patient.

Following their convictions, the defendants agreed to forfeit to the United States several houses, beach condos, and bank accounts, as well as 23 luxury cars, including multiple Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Mercedes, and Ferraris. In addition to the forfeited property, each doctors agreed to an additional $5,000,000.00 money judgment. The United States is currently in the process of preparing to sell at auction the forfeited vehicles and property.

Prior to trial, Justin Palmer and Bridgette Parker, both nurse practitioners for Dr. Couch, pled guilty to conspiring to prescribe Controlled Substances outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. They have already been sentenced to federal prison for 30 months and 20 months, respectively. Christopher Manfuso, who worked for IPM and later owned CRX, pled guilty to conspiring to pay illegal kickbacks to the doctors. He has been sentenced to 6 months home confinement and a $50,000.00 fine. Finally, Insys Therapeutics drug rep Natalie Perhacs pled guilty to conspiring to pay illegal kickbacks associated with the prescribing of Subsys. Perhacs currently awaits sentencing. All four testified against the doctors at trial.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler said, “Any medical professional who chooses to place profit over patient care should heed the 20-year prison sentence Dr. Couch received this afternoon. We commend the victims’ family members who spoke so eloquently today about how Dr. Couch’s criminal conduct impacted, and continues to impact, their lives on a daily basis. Furthermore, thank you to our law enforcement partners at the FBI and DEA for their persistence in seeing that justice was done in this important case of national interest.”

“The DEA is committed to investigating and bringing to justice those who divert and traffic prescription drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Orleans Field Office. “Opiate abuse is a major problem in Alabama and throughout the nation. The diversion of prescription pain killers contributes to the widespread abuse of opiates and is a gateway to heroin addiction, which is devastating our local communities. This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative law enforcement efforts in Alabama and our strong partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to aggressively pursue anyone who illicitly distributes these drugs. The lengthy sentence received by Dr. Couch appropriately reflects the devastation he caused. This sentence will protect the community from these convicted felons and hopefully deter other medical practitioners who are inclined to put profit over patient health and safety,” said Azzam.

FBI-Mobile Special Agent in Charge Robert Lasky stated, “The FBI is committed to the relationships with the law enforcement community that make these types of investigations possible. We will continue to target illegal activity in the medical profession as was apparent in this case.

This matter was jointly investigated by the DEA-Mobile and FBI-Mobile, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Bodnar and Deborah Griffin.

Co-defendant Dr. Xiulu Ruan will be sentenced on May 26, 2017.

 Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Jhordis Deshon Woods, 34, of Mobile, was sentenced today to 92 months in prison for being a felon in possession of two firearms. United States District Judge Kristi K. DuBose also sentenced Woods to five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

 In December of 2016, Woods pled guilty to possession of two firearms after having been convicted of several felonies. Woods had previously been convicted of two counts of Robbery 1st, Theft of Property 1st, Possession of Marijuana 1st, and Possession/Receipt of a Controlled Substance, in addition to numerous misdemeanor offenses. The charge arose from an investigation by the Mobile Police Department Narcotics and Vice Unit, which arranged four controlled buys of marijuana from Woods in May of 2016. A search warrant was obtained for Woods’s apartment, where police recovered two semiautomatic pistols, marijuana, and cash.

 The case was investigated by the Mobile Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Costello prosecuted the case for the United States.

 A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/

 Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that United States District Court Chief Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Thomas Jefferson Laffitte on May 19, 2017 to serve a term of imprisonment of 70 months followed by 3 years of supervised release for illegally possessing a firearm in Mobile, Alabama on July 23, 2016 in violation of 18 USC § 922(g)(1). The defendant, who had an extensive criminal history entered a guilty plea before the Court on February 15, 2017.

 This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service-Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence J. Bullard for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that George Edward Wilkinson, Jr., 25, of Bayou La Batre, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for being a felon in possession of stolen firearms. Senior United States District
Judge Callie V.S. Granade also sentenced Wilkinson to three years of supervised release following his prison sentence, and ordered that he pay a $100 special assessment.

In February, Wilkinson pled guilty to possession of two stolen firearms after having been convicted of the felony offense of burglary. In October of 2016, the Mobile County Sheriff’s
Office responded to a report of a stolen car. A responding deputy stopped Wilkinson, who was running away from the scene and matched the description of one of the subjects. In his hand was a semiautomatic pistol, which was later determined to be stolen. Wilkinson also had several debit cards belonging to the person from whom the gun had been stolen. Further investigation by the
Sheriff’s Department led to a nearby motel room, where a second stolen pistol was recovered.
Wilkinson confessed to stealing both pistols.

The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Costello prosecuted the case for the
United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s
Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/

 Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that George Ferrell was indicted for communicating a false distress to the Coast Guard.  The indictment is related to conduct that occurred in March of this year causing the Coast Guard to initiate a search. 

 The Coast Guard takes reports of maritime distress very seriously, and will launch small boats, cutters, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft at a moment’s notice when any person is in harm’s way. However, when they receive reports that are deliberate hoaxes or jokes, watch standers find it anything but funny.

Capt. Joseph Snowden, commander of Sector Mobile, says that throughout the United States the Coast Guard receives false reports every day. “The Coast Guard responds to all reports of distress with urgency,” said Snowden. “A hoax report takes time away from both Command Center search and rescue planners, as well as the crews of the cutters, boats, and aircraft that respond. It’s unfortunate that some citizens find wasted time and money funny.”

There are hefty penalties that can befall a person who is found guilty of making a false distress call, including up to six years in prison, $250,000 criminal fine, and a $5,000 civil fine. This is all in addition to reimbursements that must be made to the Coast Guard for costs of their Search-and-Rescue response.

 Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler takes these cases very seriously and will assist the United States Coast Guard in vigorously prosecuting all individuals who waste the time and assets of the Coast Guard with false distress reports.  The main concern is that these cases take Coast Guard personnel and assets away from actual search and rescue missions. 

 Special Agent Juan Joy, a Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) agent out of Mobile, Alabama, stated, “CGIS is committed to protecting the service men and women who are put in danger from these hoax reports, as well as protecting the tax payer’s money used by the USCG to save people’s lives and their property.”

Hoax distress calls are not just a matter of wasted time and money. The Coast Guard prides itself on effective and safe operations in dangerous situations; however, hoax calls put these men and women in unnecessary risk during responses. In addition, those truly in peril may find themselves waiting for rescue, as the search and rescue crews are responding to a report that proves to be a hoax.

 An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until and unless he or she is proven guilty at trial.

 Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces today that Christopher Marquis Ethridge was sentenced to 130 months imprisonment and Raymon Rashaun Black was sentenced to 23 months imprisonment.  Both sentences followed entry of guilty pleas in January 2017 to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

 Ethridge and Black’s guilty pleas included admissions that they conspired with one another and others to possess with intent to distribute cocaine within the Southern District of Alabama.  Recorded telephone calls demonstrated Black arranged a sale of one (1) ounce of cocaine on June 10, 2016, and a sale of four (4) ounces of cocaine on June 12, 2016, to a co-conspirator in the Baldwin County area.
 
On June 13, 2016, Ethridge obtained cocaine from a source to complete a drug deal arranged by Black with a co-conspirator in Baldwin County.  On June 13, 2016, a vehicle driven by Black, in which Ethridge was a backseat passenger, was stopped by Deputies of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.  During the stop, Deputies noted the smell of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and Black admitted that he had earlier smoked marijuana in the vehicle.  When Ethridge got out of the backseat a Deputy noticed a set of digital scales where Ethridge had been sitting.  During the search of the vehicle a plastic bag was recovered from under the driver’s seat.  The plastic bag contained approximately 91 grams of powder cocaine.

Based upon Ethridge’s criminal history, Career Offender status was found to be  applicable under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.  This status increased his applicable advisory sentencing guideline range.  Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance is a violation of Title 21, United States Code Section 846.  Both sentences of imprisonment will be followed by three-year terms of supervised release.

 This case arose from a long-term investigation in the Daphne/Fairhope area conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force.  This investigation has previously resulted in the indictment of five (5) other defendants on federal drug conspiracy charges.  Acting U.S. Attorney Steve Butler stated, “The partnership of federal, state, and local law enforcement in the Southern District continues its longstanding concerted efforts to assure our communities are safe from drug related crime.”  FBI Special Agent in Charge, Robert Lasky stated, ““These types of investigations are successful due to the dedication and commitment of our state and local partners who are determined to rid their jurisdictions of this type of crime.”  The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), a branch of FEMA, is hosting its annual Arson Awareness Week from May 7 to 13. This year’s theme is “Preventing Arson at Houses of Worship.” Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler for the Southern District of Alabama is encouraging our local religious communities to get involved and take measures to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of arson. The Pew Research Center recently noted that, over the past several years and nationwide, 51% of reported fire incidents at faith-based locations were determined to be arson.

The USFA hopes to reduce the odds of faith-based facilities becoming targets of arson, through educating leaders on how to identify and eliminate potential fire hazards and minimize the risk of injuries. For example, there are various activities that municipalities can host to generate arson awareness, such as Congregation Fire Safety Days where local fire departments offer fire safety training for houses of worship. The USFA also suggests that houses of worship host Clean-Up Days to identify areas on their properties that need attention and remove any potentially combustible materials from the grounds. To find out more about USFA’s recommendations, please visit https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/arson_awareness.html.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Protective Security Advisor Program (PSA) also offers assistance to houses of worship by conducting arson and security reviews, and addressing active shooter risks. For more information about these programs, please visit https://www.dhs.gov/protective-security-advisors and contact the DHS National Infrastructure Coordinating Center at (202) 282-9201 to learn about the closest PSA.

Locally, in the City of Prichard, Mayor Gardner and the City Council have proclaimed May 7 through 13 as Arson Awareness Week to stress the importance of arson prevention to their faith-based communities.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office recently reached an agreement with the Clarke County Commission to ensure that polling precincts throughout the county are in compliance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

During the general election on November 8, 2016, the office conducted a compliance review of the county’s 29 polling locations.  The review identified barriers to access at various locations.  Through a letter of resolution, the county ultimately adopted the office’s recommendations to remedy the barriers, in accordance with the requirements of the ADA.  One example is the use of temporary portable ramps to assist voters with mobility impairments.  The resolution also requires the county to develop a survey instrument to assess whether a polling location is or can be made accessible during subsequent local, state and federal elections. 

Acting United States Attorney Butler said, “I commend the members of the Clarke County Commission for their cooperation in resolving the barrier issues we uncovered at the various voting precincts around the county.  They recognize that making their polling places accessible to persons with disabilities is a critical responsibility.”

Title II of the ADA requires state and local governments to ensure that persons with disabilities can access their voting facilities. The ADA’s implementing regulations describe what makes a polling place accessible.  Furthermore, the Department of Justice’s ADA Checklist for Polling Places, found at www.ada.gov/votingchecklist.htm, provides guidance to election officials for determining whether a polling place already has the basic accessibility features needed by most voters with disabilities or can be made accessible using temporary solutions.
 
Assistant United States Attorney Suntrease Williams-Maynard is the assigned attorney on this project, which is part of a nationwide initiative spearheaded by the Department’s Civil Rights Division.
 
People interested in learning more about the requirements of the ADA may visit the website www.ada.gov or call the toll free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY).

      Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Senior United States District Court Judge Callie V.S. Granade sentenced Roy Darwood Ray, to serve a term of imprisonment of 110 months followed by 3 years of supervised release.  Ray pled guilty to illegally possessing ammunition in Mobile, Alabama on June 20, 2016 in violation of 18 USC § 922(g)(1).  Additionally, the Court ordered the defendant to serve a consecutive term of imprisonment of 24 months for violating the conditions of his supervised release.  During the sentencing hearing, the Court made a finding that the defendant’s possession of ammunition was related to two armed robberies.  The defendant, who had a lengthy criminal history, entered a guilty plea before the Court on January 19, 2017.
 
     This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive (ATF), and the Mobile Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence J. Bullard.
 

     Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that James Wesley Peterson, 32, of Kiln, Mississippi, was sentenced to 204 months (17 years) in prison for traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and committing a felony sex offense involving a minor while required to register as a sex offender. Peterson was also sentenced to lifetime supervision by the United States Probation Office following his release, mandatory registration as a sex offender, and payment of a $200 special assessment.

     Peterson was previously convicted of four counts of exploitation of children in Harrison County, Mississippi in 2004, and one count of exploitation of a child in Forrest County, Mississippi in 2011. As a result of these convictions, Peterson was required to register as a sex offender. Court documents indicate that in September of 2016, the FBI was contacted by a detective with the Fairhope Police Department about a 13-year old who had been in electronic communication with Peterson. In those communications, Peterson told the 13-year old that he wanted to engage in sexual conduct with her. Law enforcement agents took over the communications with Peterson, and according to documents filed in connection with his plea, Peterson arranged to meet the 13-year old on November 1 in Daphne. When Peterson arrived from Mississippi to meet the victim, he was arrested and confessed to arranging to meet the girl to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

     Robert Lasky, Special Agent in Charge of the Mobile Division of the FBI, said, "The FBI will always be a resource for our state and local partners when investigating these types of cases. I am very pleased with the court’s decision and thank the Fairhope Police Department for allowing us to assist them."

     This case was investigated by the Fairhope Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Costello prosecuted the case for the United States Attorney’s Office. This investigation was a 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. 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.

      A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/

 Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Christopher Nelson Beno, 53, was sentenced today in federal court on charges involving his illegal possession of a Molotov cocktail.  Under federal law, a Molotov cocktail is a device controlled by the federal laws pertaining to firearms and dangerous devices.  Beno was indicted in November of 2016 on the charge of being a convicted felon in possession of the device.  Beno pled guilty to the federal indictment in January of 2017.

 United States District Court Judge Callie V. S. Granade sentenced Beno to 30 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.  Beno will undergo treatment for drug abuse while in prison and as a condition of his supervised release.  No fine was imposed, but the judge ordered that Beno pay the $100 special mandatory assessment. 

The case was investigated by the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.
 
 A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/

 Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces today that Brian Deshon Miller was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment.  Miller’s sentencing followed entry of a January 2017 guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

 Miller’s guilty plea included his admission that between November 2015 and July 2016, he regularly arranged the purchase, distribution and payment for cocaine which he received and sold.  The conspiracy involved the distribution of various quantities of cocaine, ranging between gram and ounce quantities.  Miller was held responsible for the distribution of a quantity of cocaine between 400 and 500 grams.

Based upon his criminal history Career Offender status was found applicable to Miller under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which increased the applicable advisory sentencing guideline range.  Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance is a violation of Title 21, United States Code Section 846.  Miller’s imprisonment will be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

 This case arose from a long-term investigation in the Daphne/Fairhope area conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force. This investigation has previously resulted in the indictment of six (6) other defendants on federal drug conspiracy charges.  Acting U.S. Attorney Steve Butler stated, “We appreciate the diligent investigative work done by our federal, state and local law enforcement partners.  We share a common purpose of striving to make our communities safer for all citizens.”  FBI Special Agent in Charge, Robert Lasky stated, "These types of investigations are a perfect example of what can happen when federal, state, and local agencies come together to rid our communities of this type of behavior."  The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama. 
 

MOBILE, AL— The Acting United States Attorney, Steve Butler, announces that Graciela Mora-Demoran was sentenced in United States District Court, Senior Judge Callie V. Granade, on April 24, 2017 to fifty-one months confinement for trafficking in methamphetamine and cocaine. The sentence was structured to give the defendant credit for twenty one months already spent in state custody.

On August 20, 2015, an Alabama State Trooper stopped Mora-Demoran on I-10 in Baldwin County, Alabama. Later during the stop, K-9 “Justice” gave a positive alert to the odor of narcotics on the defendant’s vehicle and a search of the vehicle was conducted. In the cargo area of the vehicle, there were various types of Mexican food products and soft drinks. A State Trooper opened a bag containing several bottles of purported soft drink and picked up a bottle and noticed white debris floating around inside the bottle. The State Trooper noticed that the bottle picked up was not tight with pressure as when factory sealed, was filled up to the very top, and did not show any carbonation when shaken.

Aware of current trafficking trends of methamphetamines in liquid form, the bottle of soda was tested at the roadside for the presence of narcotics with a narcotics test kit. The liquid from the bottles of soda tested positive for the presence of narcotics (methamphetamines). Laboratory testing revealed that the lemonade soda containers contained 126.4 g of methamphetamine (mixture and substance) at a purity level of
56.6 % resulting in 71.5 grams of pure methamphetamine. Ginger ale bottles contained 130.3 g of methamphetamine (mixture and substance) at a purity level of 57.9 % resulting in 75.4 grams of pure methamphetamine.

Officers also discovered numerous cone shaped containers in the vehicle that contained suspected narcotics. Further testing of the cone shaped containers revealed that they contained 7.9 kilograms of cocaine.

The case was jointly investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Assistant United States Attorney George May prosecuted the case.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler stated he “appreciates and praises the efforts of the alert State Troopers who were dedicated in keeping up with the drug trafficking trends and able to foil a very clandestine manner of transporting narcotics”.

MOBILE, AL— The Acting United States Attorney, Steve Butler, announces that Jennifer Arlene Rosas-Saucedo was sentenced in United States District Court, Senior Judge Callie V. Granade, on April 24, 2017 to eighty months confinement for being involved in a multi-state methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. On November 23, 2015, a United States Postal Inspector intercepted a postal parcel shipped from a United States Post Office located in El Segundo, California destined for Fairhope, Alabama. Mobile Police Department dedicated K-9 “ARON” alerted to the odor of narcotics emanating from the parcel. A search warrant of the package revealed 16.93 kilograms of methamphetamine with a purity of 92.8%. 

The Postal Inspector contacted the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to pursue an investigation. The DEA investigation revealed that Rosas-Saucedo travelled from her home in Vancouver, Washington to Southern California to provide the 16.93 kilograms of methamphetamine to other members of the conspiracy. The other members of the conspiracy arranged to ship the package from Southern California to Fairhope, Alabama.

Further investigation revealed that another member of the conspiracy met Rosas-Saucedo in Los Angeles, California in March 2016 and received 7.8 pounds of methamphetamine from her.  The courier then transported the methamphetamine on an Amtrak train to New Orleans, Louisiana, where the DEA and local officials intercepted him. 

In September 2016, the DEA used a cooperating defendant to purchase 1 kilogram of methamphetamine from Rosas-Saucedo, which again was shipped from Southern California to the Southern District of Alabama
   
In October 2016, investigative team members of FBI Vancouver authored a federal search warrant for the defendant’s residence in Vancouver, Washington as well as a vehicle owned by another member of the conspiracy. A search of the residence revealed eight cellular phones, $7,388.00 in United States currency and multiple notebooks containing drug ledgers. A search of the vehicle, a 2013 Dodge Ram Pickup, yielded approximately $62,000 in United States currency, a stolen handgun and approximately 4.4 pounds of methamphetamine.

The case was jointly investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Vancouver, Washington, the United States Postal Inspector in Mobile and the Mobile Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney George May prosecuted the case.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler stated, “this case represented the quintessential example of the partnership between different federal law enforcement agencies as well as the cooperation between federal and local law enforcement agencies”. Butler stated, “I laud the efforts of law enforcement in shutting down this significant methamphetamine trafficking organization”.     

       Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that an armed marijuana dealer was sentenced to time served in federal court this morning.  Court documents reflect that Johnny Devon Brannon, 24, of Mobile, was charged with theft of mail, conspiracy to distribute and distribution of marijuana, and using, carrying and possessing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking felony.  Court documents also reflect that Brannon, an employee at a mail handling station, assisted by his co-defendant Steven Bernard Tate, Jr., were intercepting packages, which they believed to contain marijuana illegally shipped via the mail.  Security equipment at the facility captured images of Tate and Brannon opening packages, hiding packages of marijuana in their clothing, and leaving with it.  When confronted by authorities, both admitted their illegal activities.  The third co-defendant, Harold James Griffin, Jr., was also implicated as receiving the marijuana and assisting in its distribution.  Brannon used his vehicle to transport the marijuana from the facility to other locations, and a search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of drugs, drug paraphernalia and a handgun.  Brannon admitted he had the gun for protection because he had been robbed several times selling marijuana.  Brannon pled guilty to the charges in November of 2016.

      United States District Court Judge William H. Steele imposed a sentence in Brannon’s case of time served.  He ordered that Brannon serve a three-year term of supervised release.   He also ordered that Brannon pay the mandatory $300 in special assessments but did not impose a fine. 

     The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Postal Inspectors.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.
 
      A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Christopher Manfuso has been sentenced to six months of house arrest and ordered to immediately pay a $50,000.00 fine, for his role in the operation of the massive pill mill run by Dr. Xiulu Ruan and Dr. John Patrick Couch.
 
In October 2015, Christopher Manfuso of Fulton, Maryland pled guilty to a criminal Information and admitted to paying over $2.6 million in illegal kickbacks to Dr. Xiulu Ruan.  The kickbacks were associated with a workers compensation dispensary within Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama —the clinic owned by Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch — which was managed by a company that employed Manfuso, and later by a company he owned.

At trial, Manfuso testified that he worked for Industrial Pharmaceuticals Management (“IPM”) in 2011 when IPM contracted with Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch to manage a workers compensation dispensary within PPSA.  The contract was structured whereby IPM purchased the drugs for the dispensary upfront, deducted the cost from the amount collected in reimbursement, and then paid the doctors.  Manfuso testified that with most other doctors across the country, IPM paid a percentage of the reimbursement collected minus cost.   However, Dr. Ruan negotiated for guaranteed monthly minimum payments for himself and Dr. Couch.  Thus, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch made at least the minimum guarantee each month, even if the collected reimbursement minus the cost would not warrant that amount. 

Manfuso testified that the monthly guarantees began at $45,000.00 and $15,000.00 a month for Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch, respectively.   However, over the five-year period these illegal kickbacks were paid, Dr. Ruan’s guaranteed monthly minimum payment increased all the way to $80,000.00 per month.  Evidence at trial also showed these guaranteed monthly payments to the doctors did not go into the general PPSA business accounts.  Rather, the checks were mailed to the doctors’ homes and were deposited in their personal bank accounts.

When asked to describe the difference between a pharmacy and a workers compensation dispensary, Manfuso testified that a dispensary can provide the drugs to the patient right there in the doctor’s office.  Furthermore, the reimbursement from workers compensation companies was typically significantly higher — sometimes 100% higher — than the reimbursement rate paid by health insurance companies for the exact same drugs filled at a pharmacy.   So while Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch owned their own pharmacy as well, there was a much greater financial incentive to direct all of their workers compensation patients to the dispensary instead. 

In light of Manfuso’s substantial cooperation and testimony at trial, the United States requested a sentence 50% below the low end of his advisory sentencing guidelines range.  Based on the range determined by the Court, the sentencing recommendation was 15 months.   However, in light of Manfuso’s cooperation and other factors, Judge Granade declined to give Manfuso an in-custody sentence.  Rather, he was sentenced to three years of probation, the first six months of which are home confinement, along with a $50,000.00 fine due immediately.

Following the sentencing hearing, Acting U.S. Attorney Steve Butler stated, “As the seven-week trial of Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch clearly showed, greed was the motivating factor behind the doctors’ criminal actions.  Mr. Manfuso helped feed that greed by paying illegal kickbacks to the doctors in order to secure their dispensing business.  Such conduct is criminal and will continue to be prosecuted in this district.”

Robert Laskey, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mobile Division, stated, “The FBI will continue to use every resource available to ensure that this behavior will not be tolerated.  We will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to investigate these crimes of greed.”

Bret Hamilton, DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the State of Alabama, stated, “Mr. Manfuso was more concerned with lining pockets at any means than insuring injured patients received proper medication.   His conviction shows that no one in the medical community is immune from prosecutions and they will be held accountable for their misdeeds.”

This matter was jointly investigated by FBI-Mobile and DEA-Mobile, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Bodnar and Deborah Griffin.

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice established National Reentry Week to bring awareness to the challenges faced by formerly incarcerated persons when they reenter society. In observance of this year’s week, April 23-29, Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler for the Southern District of Alabama announces some of the current projects in which the U.S. Attorney’s Office is participating.

On April 27, the office will partner with Spring Hill College to host a “Reentry Simulation.” The simulation, open to the public, will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the college’s Mary Lou and John Barter Student Center. It will provide a glimpse into the first four weeks of life after prison, and will foster discussions about how the public and private sectors may work together to assist persons with the tools they need to successfully reenter their communities.

The office also continues its work with Project H.O.P.E. (Helping Offenders Pursue Excellence). In 2015, at the request of the Alabama Board of Pardon and Paroles, the Project HOPE Reentry Task Force was created to develop a plan to secure funding to support services aimed at reducing the recidivism rate in Alabama. Components such as employment, housing, and transportation continue to be studied in an effort to determine what types of reentry services are lacking. The plan’s objective is to reduce the Alabama recidivism rate by 50% as of 2021.

Acting U.S. Attorney Butler recognizes the positive role that reentry programs play, saying, “By providing people exiting the correctional system with access to necessities such as housing and employment, the hope is that they will become invested in their communities and will be less likely to return to a life of crime.”

To learn more about Project H.O.P.E. and stay up-to-date with reentry events in the Southern District of Alabama, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdal/programs/ex-offender-re-entry-initiative.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Thomas “Justin” Palmer has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his role in the operation of the massive pill mill run by Dr. Xiulu Ruan and Dr. John Patrick Couch.
 
Following a stint in the United States Navy, Justin Palmer began working as a registered nurse at hospitals in southern Alabama.   He then went back to school and earned a Master’s degree in nursing.  Upon completion, Palmer was hired by Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama ¬— the pain clinic co-owned and operated by Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch.   Palmer originally worked under both doctors.   However, after about six months, Palmer began to work for Dr. Couch exclusively.   While working for Dr. Couch, Palmer knowingly and intentionally conspired to prescribe various Controlled Substances outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.  This included the prescribing of Subsys and Abstral — both of which are brand name forms of instant release fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance. 
 
During the recent trial of Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch, Palmer testified that he regularly saw patients without any oversight from a doctor.  He also admitted to forging Dr. Couch’s signature on prescriptions, and estimated he did this approximately 25,000 times over a four year period.  Evidence at trial showed that both Dr. Couch and Dr. Ruan knew Palmer was forging Dr. Couch’s signature.  However, disciplinary action was never taken, and he was never reported to the nursing board.  Palmer also testified that he was a habitual intravenous drug abuser, and that he was under the influence of very powerful opioids virtually every day while he was seeing and treating patients.

Based on his substantial assistance, including his testimony in the trial against Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch, Palmer received a 50% sentence reduction recommendation from the United States.  The Court accepted this recommendation, and then sentenced Palmer to serve 30 months in federal prison for his criminal actions.

Following the sentencing hearing, Acting U.S. Attorney Steve Butler stated, “As Judge Granade observed at the sentencing hearing, Justin Palmer’s conduct was ‘beyond the pale.’  Forging a doctor’s name on a prescription is reprehensible, and even more so is the conduct of the doctors that let Palmer do this.   That said, the United States recognizes that Palmer began cooperating even before the arrest of Dr. Couch and Dr. Ruan, and that his testimony was an important part of trial.   Thus, the United States accepts the 30-month sentence handed down by the Court.”

Bret Hamilton, DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the State of Alabama, stated, “Justin Palmer had an honorable and promising career.  His patients expected him to provide them with professional medical care.  Instead of the welfare of his patients being the basis for his decision making process, his greed for financial gain and his illicit use of drugs guided him.”

In addition, Robert Laskey, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mobile Division, stated, “This type of behavior in the field of medicine cannot be tolerated by a doctor or an employee of the clinic.  The FBI will continue to vigorously investigate these cases with a sense of urgency.”

This matter was jointly investigated by DEA-Mobile and FBI-Mobile, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Bodnar and Deborah Griffin.

     Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Steven Demote King, 50, of Mobile, was sentenced to 235 months imprisonment on his conviction for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment was returned in April of 2016. The single count indictment charged that King illegally possessed a Jimenez 9 mm handgun on May 19, 2015, after he had been previously convicted of seven prior robbery first degree convictions, one prior robbery second degree conviction, one prior theft first conviction, one prior receiving stolen property conviction, and two prior escape first degree convictions. King pled guilty to the charge in June of 2016. Court documents reflect that his appointed attorney requested that he undergo an examination to determine his competency. District Court Judge Kristi K. Dubose ordered that King undergo the examination, which was conducted within the United States Bureau of Prisons. In January of 2017, Judge Dubose conducted a competency hearing and found that King was legally competent. His sentencing hearing was set for April 17.

     At that hearing, the prosecution offered testimony that King had kidnapped a Mobile woman and her three children using the handgun described in the indictment. Evidence from the hearing established that the children were eventually dropped off at a relative’s residence. King and the woman were located by Mobile police officers at an abandoned house in Prichard after they obtained an emergency court order to locate her cell phone. King was in physical possession of the gun when he was arrested. The woman was transported to a local hospital where she was treated and discharged. The prosecutor informed the judge that numerous felony charges were pending against King in Mobile County.

     Judge Dubose imposed a sentence of 235 months, to be followed by a supervised release term of 5 years. She did not order that King pay a fine, but she imposed the special mandatory assessment of $100. She also entered a forfeiture order as to the firearm used in the commission of the crime.

     The case was investigated by the Mobile Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.

     Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces today that Jamie Shantez McNeail of Mobile was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment. McNeail’s sentencing followed entry of a January 2017 guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
     McNeail’s guilty plea included his admission that between June 9 and July 1, 2016, he participated in numerous instances in which he conspired to distribute one (1) and two (2) ounce quantities of cocaine. McNeail was held responsible for the distribution of a quantity of cocaine between 400 and 500 grams.
     Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance is a violation of Title 21, United States Code Section 846. McNeail’s imprisonment will be followed by a three year term of supervised release.
     This case arose from a long-term investigation in the Daphne/Fairhope area conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Street Task Force. This investigation has previously resulted in the indictment of six (6) other defendants on federal drug conspiracy charges. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Allen J. Butler, III of Theodore, Alabama was sentenced to 9 years in prison by United States District Court Senior Judge Callie V.S. Granade for the charges of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person (a felon) and Escape.

 On November 14, 2016, Allen Butler, III plead guilty to the offense of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person (a felon) in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1) before Senior Judge Granade in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.  Upon completion of his guilty plea to that charge, Butler was ordered to remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal Service until his sentencing hearing that was to be held within 90 days.
 
 On January 6, 2017, Allen Butler was transported by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office to the University of Southern Alabama hospital in Mobile after complaining of pains from swallowing a piece of metal.  While at the hospital, Butler used a partial handcuff key to unlock his handcuffs and he fled the hospital.  A large-scale manhunt ensued that included local media networks who covered the search for Butler.

The Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force discovered information that Butler had traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, upon his escape, and was possibly back in the Mobile area.  Law enforcement officers tracked Butler to an apartment in Wilmer, Alabama.  When officers arrived, they found Butler hiding inside the residence.  Allen Butler was taken back into custody after eluding capture for nearly 5 days.

 Butler was subsequently charged with Escape, and ultimately sentenced, along with his original firearm charge, to 109 months in Federal Prison. 

 Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person (a felon) is a violation of Title 18, United States Code § 922(g) (1) and is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. Butler’s Escape charge was a violation of Title 18, United States Code § 751(A) and is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 5 years.  

 Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mobile Field Office, the United States Marshal Service, in conjunction with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Department, referred these cases for prosecution.  Officers of the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force also participated in this investigation.

These cases were prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Baugh.

An Evergreen, Alabama, teacher pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography, possession of child pornography and travel in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama.

Clarence Edward “Bud” Evers Jr., 53, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kristi DuBose of the Southern District of Alabama.  Evers was employed as a technology teacher with the Conecuh County, Alabama, Board of Education at the time of his arrest on Feb. 11, 2016, and has been in custody since that time.  Sentencing is scheduled for July 14, 2017.

According to admissions in his plea, Evers traveled annually to Thailand during the summer months. While in Thailand, Evers paid minor boys as young as thirteen years old to engage in illicit sexual conduct and took sexually explicit photographs of them.  Evers admitted that, during a 2014 trip, he photographed his victims engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  In addition, Evers admitted that he had other images and videos of child sexual exploitation on his computers and other electronic devices, as well as substantial amounts of encrypted data.

Trial Attorney Jessica Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Costello and Maria Murphy of the Southern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.  U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case with substantial assistance from CEOS’s High Technology Investigative Unit.  

This investigation was a 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Clarence Edward Evers, Jr., also known as Bud Evers, 53, of Evergreen, Alabama, pled guilty today to charges that he produced child pornography, possessed child pornography, and traveled in foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Evers pled guilty to three counts of the eleven-count indictment, and is set to be sentenced on July 14, 2017 before Chief United States District Judge Kristi K. DuBose.

Production of child pornography is punishable by imprisonment of a minimum of 15 years up to 30 years, a fine of $250,000, lifetime supervision by the United States Probation Office, and  restitution. Travel in foreign commerce with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct is punishable by a 30-year term of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, lifetime supervision, and restitution. Possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, lifetime supervision, and restitution.

Evers, previously employed as a technology teacher at Hillcrest High School in Conecuh County, admitted in documents filed as part of his guilty plea that he traveled each summer to Thailand, where he paid minor boys as young as thirteen to engage in illicit sexual conduct and that he took sexually explicit photographs of boys. One of the victims, a 15-year old boy, made a report about being paid approximately $22 by Evers to engage in sex acts with him, and witnessing Evers engage in sex acts with another boy. Evers was identified through Facebook communications he had with the boy, and a search warrant was executed at Evers’s home in Evergreen on April 1, 2015. A substantial amount of child pornography, including videos and photographs of boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct, was recovered from Evers’s home. Although Evers had encrypted many of his electronic devices, the unencrypted data showed that Evers had accessed, downloaded, and produced child pornography. Evidence collected during the investigation also showed that, for years, Evers had discussed and coordinated his travel to and within Thailand with other men interested in engaging in commercial sex acts with boys in that country.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sean P. Costello and Maria E. Murphy, and Trial Attorney Jessica Urban of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Substantial additional investigation and analysis were provided by CEOS’s High Technology Investigative Unit.

This investigation was a 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

 Acting United States Attorney Steven Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Joseph Dillon Mazingo, 30, of Bulter, Alabama, was sentenced in federal court for his illegal possession of a firearm.  The indictment alleged that Mazingo had been previously convicted of three burglaries in state court.  Mazingo pled guilty to the indictment in October of 2016. 
 
 United States District Court Judge William H. Steele imposed a sentence of 37 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.  Judge Steele did not impose a fine but ordered that Mazingo pay the special mandatory assessment of $100.  Mazingo will undergo drug treatment while in prison, and as a condition of his supervision, Mazingo will be subject to testing for drug or alcohol abuse. 

The case was investigated by the City of Butler Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.
 
 A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced today that Jasmine Hansell and her mother, Gunilla Marshall, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Callie V. S. Granade to one count of conspiring to embezzle funds from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore, Alabama.  Sentencing is scheduled for July 12, 2017. 

Hansell previously worked as a game attendant for the Wind Creek Casino in Atmore.  In this capacity, she had access to the casino's internal computer system, which managed and tracked player accounts.  A compliance audit revealed that Hansell, without the tribe’s authorization, accessed over $250,000 in “free play” credits belong to the tribe and transferred credits to her mother's player account.  According to video surveillance and computer reports, Hansell and Marshall used and benefited from free play credits at the casino.   

In March 2017, the United States Attorney charged the defendants with one count of conspiring to embezzle and steal from an Indian tribal organization in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.  The crime is punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000, three years of supervised release, a $100 mandatory special assessment, and restitution.        

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.  Assistant United States Attorney Sinan Kalayoglu is prosecuting the case.

     Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Mario Devon Norris, 40, of Mobile, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Callie V.S. Granade to 41 months in prison for the aggravated assault of five federal law enforcement agents. Following his release from prison, Norris will be subject to supervision by the United States Probation Office for three years.

     Norris pled guilty in December to a one-count indictment charging him with assaulting, resisting, and impeding federal law enforcement agents. The charge stemmed from an incident in October in Prichard, when five law enforcement agents attempted to speak with Norris about an investigation. Three of the agents were FBI Special Agents, one was an agent with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and one was an officer with the Mobile Police Department. The court record shows that Norris was located in a car at a fast-food restaurant, where the agents attempted to block his car with their cars, after activating their emergency blue lights and announcing themselves as police officers. Norris struck both of the agents’ cars in an attempt to flee, and revved the vehicle into reverse, jumped a curb, and nearly drove into oncoming traffic on Highway 45 in another attempt to flee. The agents surrounded the car Norris was driving, with their weapons drawn, wearing clearly marked police or FBI attire, vehicle blue lights flashing, and yelling “police.” Norris again revved the engine of the BMW and attempted to place the vehicle in drive, despite agents being in front of and along the driver side of the vehicle. Ultimately, Norris submitted without further escalation of the situation.

     Acting U.S. Attorney Butler said, “Every day and every night, law enforcement agents risk their own safety in the service of their communities. Our office will aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone who deliberately endangers these men and women, and undermines the safety of everyone in the Southern District of Alabama.” Robert Lasky, Special Agent in Charge of the Mobile Division of the FBI, said, “The safety and well-being of our agents and task force officers must be a priority for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We can only hope this sentencing will send a clear and concise message that this behavior will not be taken lightly.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Costello.

     Steve Butler, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, announces the successful resolution of complaints made by a person with disabilities who could not access a local restaurant. The United States Attorney’s Office recently entered into a settlement agreement with the owner and operator of Old 27 Grill in Fairhope.
     The office opened its investigation after receiving complaints that people with mobility disabilities were unable to access the restaurant. As a result of the settlement, the restaurant has agreed to add an ADA-compliant bathroom, accessible parking, tables, and routes throughout the restaurant. The restaurant also adopted policies which require providing dining assistance to persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and people with mobility disabilities. Service dog policies were also adopted. Staff training is required by the agreement.
     Acting United States Attorney Butler said, “After being notified of the investigation, the owner of Old 27 Grill eventually chose to do the appropriate thing, removing the barriers which prevented persons with disabilities from enjoying the restaurant. Not only is this required by law, but it’s also great for business. With more than 55 million persons with disabilities in our country, the restaurant has the potential for much more business.”
    This matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Holly L. Wiseman.

For more information, visit www.ada.gov or our office’s website at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/civil/cre.html”. Any person with a disability who believes they have been discriminated against in the Southern District of Alabama may contact our office at 63 South Royal Street, Suite 600, Mobile, AL 36602, telephone us at 251.441.5845 or file a complaint with the U. S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, Washington, DC 20530.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces today that Jeffrey Lavone Shaw of Fairhope was arrested on charges returned by a federal grand Jury in February 2017. The charges include Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Use of a Cellphone in furtherance of the drug activity in violation of Title 21, United States Code Sections 846 and 843(b). The statutory maximum penalty provided by law on the conspiracy charge in this case is 20 years imprisonment.
This case arose from a long-term investigation in the Daphne/Fairhope area conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Street Task Force. This investigation has previously resulted in the indictment of six (6) other defendants on drug conspiracy charges, all of whom have entered guilty pleas in federal court.
FBI Special Agent in Charge, Robert Lasky stated, "Today's arrest is a direct result of the continued cooperation between the FBI Safe Street Task Force and our state and local partners."
Acting U.S. Attorney Steve Butler stated, “The goal of law enforcement, be it federal, state or local, is to make our communities safer for all citizens. The FBI’s Safe Street Task Force and all its members work diligently to accomplish this mission.”
As in all criminal cases, the Indictment returned by the Grand Jury is only a charge and the Defendant is presumed innocent.
The case will be prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern Division of Alabama observes April 2 through 8, 2017, as National Crime Victim’s Rights Week. The office seeks to raise awareness of the citizens in our district who have been the victims of crime, including violent crime.
“Strength. Resilience. Justice.” This is the theme for the 2017 National Crime Victim’s Rights Week. Those words represent our mission to preserve and enforce victims’ rights. We seek to strengthen victims by responding to their needs, to acknowledge the resilient nature of our victim support organizations, and to pursue justice and healing for those most impacted by criminal behavior. We are committed to serving the community and ensuring that all victims receive the treatment guaranteed by the Victims’ Bill of Rights.
Various agencies have organized community events to acknowledge local crime victims and to increase awareness. For example, there will be two events on Thursday, April 6. The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office will hold its annual vigil from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Cathedral Square in downtown Mobile. The Baldwin County District Attorney’s office will host its annual “Candlelight on the Delta” vigil beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the 5 Rivers Delta Center in Spanish Fort.
Our office is grateful for the continued commitment of private and public organization, as well as all of the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in our district that protect and serve our citizens. If you or someone you know has fallen victim to a crime, please visit the Office for Victims of Crime website at VictimsConnect.org or call 855-4-VICTIM to learn about your rights and available resources.

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Bridgette Parker has been sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for her role in the operation of the massive pill mill run by Dr. Xiulu Ruan and Dr. John Patrick Couch.
 
After years of experience as an operating room nurse, Bridgette Parker went back to school and earned a Master’s degree in nursing.  Upon completion, Parker was hired as a nurse practitioner by Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama ¬— the pain clinic co-owned and operated by Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch.   Parker initially worked under Dr. Ruan until she was fired in December 2012.  That same day, Dr. Couch rehired her as a nurse practitioner under him.  While working for both doctors, Parker knowingly and intentionally conspired to prescribe various Controlled Substances outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.  This included the prescribing of Subsys and Abstral — both of which are brand name forms of instant release fentanyl, a Schedule II Controlled Substance.
 
 During the recent trial of Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch, Parker testified that she regularly saw patients on her own without oversight from either doctor.  Parker further admitted that she often went to fellow nurse practitioner and co-defendant Justin Palmer and requested that he forge Dr. Couch’s signatures on prescriptions for Controlled Substances.  In addition, Parker admitted, and other evidence corroborated, that she was abusing drugs in the office and was frequently impaired while seeing patients.

Based on her substantial assistance, including her testimony in the trial against Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch, Parker received a 50% sentence reduction recommendation from the United States.  The Court accepted this recommendation, and then sentenced Parker to serve 20 months in federal prison for her criminal actions.

Following the sentencing hearing, Acting U.S. Attorney Steve Butler stated, “The United States appreciates Ms. Parker’s substantial assistance in the prosecution of Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch.  Had she not assisted as she did, Ms. Parker would undoubtedly be spending more than 20 months in federal prison.  Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch could not have operated their criminal enterprise to the degree they did without the active assistance of Ms. Parker.”

The Drug Enforcement Agency echoed this sentiment:  “It is disheartening when trusted professionals like nurse practitioners are engaged in the diversion of controlled substances,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.  “All DEA Registrants have an obligation to ensure that medications are getting into the hands of legitimate patients.  Any registrant who violates or blatantly ignores their obligations will be held accountable.  The conviction and sentence of Bridgette Parker is a result of DEA’s continued commitment to hold accountable those who participate in illegally dispensing controlled substances in our communities.” 

In addition, Robert Laskey, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mobile Division, noted that, “Today’s sentence is a reflection of the FBI’s commitment to ensure that our nation’s healthcare system provides safe and effective care to the community that it serves.”

This matter was jointly investigated by the DEA-Mobile and FBI-Mobile, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Bodnar and Deborah Griffin.

Acting United States Attorney Steven E. Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that three members of a methamphetamine ice distribution operation were sentenced in federal court last Friday.  Kevin Espinosa, 19, of Galveston, Texas, Matthew Ramirez, 25, also of Galveston, and Miguel Trevino, 34, of Alvin, Texas, were indicted in Mobile last March for their participation in a methamphetamine ice distribution conspiracy.  All three entered guilty pleas to the conspiracy charge.

United States District Court Judge Kristi K. Dubose imposed a sentence of time served for Espinosa, finding his minimal participation, his age and cooperation in the investigation justified a departure from the advisory guideline range.  She also ordered that Espinosa serve a three year term of supervised release and pay the mandatory $100 special assessment.  In Ramirez’s case, Judge Dubose imposed a sentence of 120 months, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.  He was also ordered to pay the mandatory special assessment of $100.  In Trevino’s case, the judge imposed a sentence of 188 months, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.  The mandatory special assessment was imposed in his case as well.  No fine was imposed in any of the cases. 

The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.

Acting United States Attorney Steven E. Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced that George Ralph Leverette, Jr., 45, of Satsuma, was sentenced today in federal court on the charge of felon in possession of a firearm.  Leverette pled guilty to that charge in December of 2016.

United States District Court Judge Callie V. S. Granade imposed a sentence of 21 months imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.  Leverette was ordered to pay a special mandatory assessment of $100, and no fine was imposed. 

The case was investigated by the Saraland Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.

Steven Butler, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, announces today that Eric Day, who also serves as the Victim Witness Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office, will now serve as the office’s Public Information Officer.

Eric was born and raised in Mobile, and graduated from Toulminville High School in 1971. After serving in the U.S. Army, he received his Bachelors of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice Administration and his Masters of Education in Counseling from the University of South Alabama.

Eric started his Criminal Justice career working for the Alabama State Department of Pardons and Parole in 1975, and stayed until he was employed by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office in 1977. While there, he served as a Deputy Sheriff, Corrections Officer, Assistant Warden of the Mobile County Jail, Assistant Planning Officer, Director of the Victim Witness Program, Evaluator and Director of the Mobile County Work Release Program.

In May of 1988, Eric was hired by the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama, as the Law Enforcement /Victim Witness Coordinator.

We are honored to have Eric Day serve in the capacity, and request that all media inquiries be directed to Eric Day, who can be reached at eric.day@usdoj.gov and 251-415-7120.

The United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Alabama announces that Steve Butler is the Acting United States Attorney as of midnight, March 10th 2017. Mr. Butler is a career attorney with the Department of Justice with over 20 years of service.

Mr. Butler has spent approximately the past 14 years serving the United States Attorney Office for the Southern District of Alabama. During his time in the office he has served as the First Assistant United States Attorney (FAUSA) and Chief of the Civil Division from 2013 to present.

Prior to becoming the FAUSA and the Chief of the Civil Division, he served as the Chief of the Appellate Division from 2007 to 2013; as the Deputy Criminal Chief from 2008 to 2012; and was an Assistant United States Attorney assigned to the Criminal Division from 2003 to 2007, where he prosecuted general crimes, white collar, and public corruption. Prior to arriving at the United States Attorney’s Office in 2003, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Kristi DuBose. He also served two tours of duty in the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC.

United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama, is pleased to announce that a jury has convicted defendants Dr. Xiulu Ruan and Dr. John Patrick Couch of numerous felonies following a seven-week trial.

Prior to the execution of multiple search warrants by the FBI and DEA on May 20, 2015, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch jointly owned and operated two pain management clinics under the name Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama (“PPSA”) as well as C&R Pharmacy.  Following an extensive joint investigation by both FBI-Mobile and DEA-Mobile, both doctors were charged with a litany of federal felony offenses, including RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act, substantive drug distribution offenses, conspiracies to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, healthcare fraud, and to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as money laundering.  All charges stemmed from the defendants’ operation of PPSA and C&R Pharmacy.
 
During the seven-week trial, the United States presented evidence that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch utilized PPSA and C&R Pharmacy as a criminal enterprise to violate the Controlled Substances Act and to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of the RICO Act.  Specifically, the jury saw evidence that the defendants knowingly and willfully prescribed Schedule II and III Controlled Substances, including fentanyl, outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.  The United States argued the defendants’ motive for this illegal prescribing was their own financial self-interest.  The United States also argued that the defendants’ billing practices were systematically designed to unlawfully enrich the doctors.

Of particular importance in the trial were two brand name instant-release fentanyl drugs — Subsys and Abstral.  Both Subsys and Abstral are only FDA-indicated for breakthrough cancer pain in opioid-tolerant adult patients.  However, evidence showed that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch almost exclusively prescribed these drugs off-label for neck, back, and joint pain.  The jury found that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch received illegal kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, the manufacturer of Subsys, in exchange for the defendants prescribing massive quantities of this drug.  Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch were both among the top prescribers of Subsys in the entire United States.  Evidence showed that Dr. Ruan began donating his Insys kickback payments the day after he received a copy of a criminal complaint from the Eastern District of Michigan against Dr. Gavin Awerbuch, another prolific Subsys prescriber who had been charged with receiving kickbacks from Insys.  The United States argued that Dr. Ruan’s decision to donate his Insys money was done in an attempt to distance himself from the company.

With regard to Abstral, evidence showed that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch purchased approximately $1.6 million worth of stock in Galena Biopharma, the manufacturer of Abstral, and sought to manipulate the stock price by driving up Abstral sales.  From the third quarter of 2013 through the 2014, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch were the number one and two prescribers of Abstral in the entire United States.  During this same time period, nearly one out of every three Abstral prescriptions written in the U.S. were written by either Dr. Ruan or Dr. Couch. 

As part of their criminal enterprise, Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch owned C&R Pharmacy, which was co-located with one of the PPSA clinic locations.   C&R Pharmacy would only fill prescriptions written by the doctors at PPSA, and Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch split 75% of the profits that came in from the prescription drug reimbursements.  Approximately 91% of the Subsys and Abstral prescriptions written by the defendants — which cost patients’ insurance anywhere between $1,000.00 to $24,000.00 per month — were filled at C&R Pharmacy.

In addition to C&R Pharmacy, the defendants also had a worker’s compensation dispensary, from which they directly dispensed Controlled Substances.  The jury heard evidence that Dr. Ruan and Dr. Couch received guaranteed monthly kickbacks from a dispensary management company — Industrial Pharmaceuticals Management (“IPM”) and later Comprehensive Rx (“CRX”) — in exchange for the defendants dispensing certain drugs with high reimbursement rates.   These monthly guaranteed amounts reached $80,000.00 per month for Dr. Ruan and $20,000.00 per month for Dr. Couch.  The millions paid in kickbacks to the defendants associated with the worker’s compensation dispensary went into private bank accounts set up by the defendants.

While there were some patients who received legitimate medical care at PPSA, the jury heard evidence that many patients rarely saw either of the doctors, and that the nurse practitioners who treated Dr. Couch’s patients were abusing drugs at the work place and then seeing patients.   In addition, the jury heard evidence that Dr. Couch knowingly permitted one of his nurse practitioners, Justin Palmer, to forge Dr. Couch’s name on prescriptions for Controlled Substances.  Palmer testified that he forged Dr. Couch’s name approximately 25,000 times between January 1, 2011 and May 20, 2015.

Prior to trial, Justin Palmer and Bridgette Parker, both nurse practitioners for Dr. Couch, pled guilty to conspiring to prescribe Controlled Substances outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.  Christopher Manfuso, who worked for IPM and later owned CRX, pled guilty to conspiring to pay illegal kickbacks to the doctors.  Michael Drobot, Jr., who owned IPM at the time, also admitted to paying the defendants illegal kickbacks as part of a plea agreement in a separate case in the Central District of California.  Finally, Insys Therapeutics drug rep Natalie Perhacs pled guilty to conspiring to pay illegal kickbacks associated with the prescribing of Subsys.  Palmer, Parker, Manfuso, and Perhacs all testified during the trial.

After seven-weeks of trial, 81 witnesses, and three days of deliberation, the jury reached the following verdicts:  Both doctors were convicted of (1) RICO conspiracy; (2) Conspiracy to prescribe Schedule II and III Controlled Substances outside the usual course of professional practice; (3) Conspiracy to prescribe more than 40 grams of fentanyl outside the usual course of professional practice; (4) Conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud; (5) Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; (6) Conspiracy to receive illegal kickbacks from IPM/CRX related to the workers compensation dispensary; and (7) Conspiracy to receive illegal kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing Subsys.  Dr. Ruan was also convicted of both conspiracy and substantive money laundering counts.  Each doctor was also convicted of several substantive illegal drug distribution counts related to prescriptions written to particular patients.  Dr. Ruan was acquitted of one substantive charge related to prescriptions written for a patient.

It is believed this is the first time in United States history that a jury has convicted doctors of RICO charges related to the operation of a pill mill. 

Following their convictions, the defendants agreed to forfeit to the United States several houses, beach condos, and bank accounts, as well as 23 luxury cars, including multiple Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Mercedes, and Ferraris.  In addition to the forfeited property, each doctor agreed to an additional $5,000,000.00 money judgment. 

“We appreciate the hard work put forth by the jury as well as all the agencies responsible for this investigation.  Healthcare professionals should be held to a higher standard and a federal jury confirmed that.  This office will continue to aggressively prosecute these types of cases as they are crucial to the state of this nation’s healthcare status,” said U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown for the Southern District of Alabama.

“The abuse of prescription drugs remains a significant problem in our communities. For the health and safety of our citizens, DEA will continue to target the illegal diversion of these pharmaceuticals, which can result in the tearing apart of families and the destruction of individual lives. It is particularly egregious when the perpetrators of such illegal acts are health care professionals, like these two doctors, responsible for ensuring that potentially dangerous drugs are dispensed properly. We hope that the convictions in this case serves as a reminder to anyone who might illegally divert pharmaceuticals that they will be held accountable for the harm they cause,” said Stephen G. Azzam, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Orleans Field Division. 

“As an agency we are extremely pleased with the jury’s verdict.   This case is an example of what can be done when federal, state, and local law enforcement work together in a common goal to ensure our country’s health care professionals are following the law when prescribing pharmaceuticals with a highly addictive nature,” said Robert Laskey, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mobile Division.

 Sentencing for Dr. Couch and Dr. Ruan will take place on May 25th and 26th, respectively.  The jury finding that the amount of fentanyl illegally prescribed exceeded 40 grams means the defendants are subject to a 60-month mandatory minimum, although their guidelines are expected to be much higher.

 This matter was jointly investigated by the DEA-Mobile and FBI-Mobile, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Bodnar and Deborah Griffin.

United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Gary Ray Evans, Jr., 38, of Richton, Mississippi, was sentenced today to 151 months’ imprisonment following his plea of guilty on a federal charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine ice.  Evans was on supervised release from a prior federal drug conviction at the time of his arrest on the new charge.  Court documents reflect that Evans was discovered in a hotel room in Mobile with approximately 24 grams of methamphetamine ice.  Evans pled guilty to the new charge in June of 2016.

United States District Court Judge William H. Steele imposed the 151 month sentence, and ordered that Evans undergo drug treatment and counseling while on a three-year-term of supervised release, which will commence when he is released from his prison sentence.  Judge Steele also ordered that Evans pay  a $100 special mandatory assessments, but did not impose a fine.

The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations worked the case.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.

United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announces today that William David Hardin, Jr., 48, was sentenced today to twenty-four months of imprisonment by Senior U.S. District Judge Callie V. S. Granade for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  The judge ordered that Hardin undergo three years of supervised release upon completing his term of imprisonment, receive treatment for mental health and substance abuse, and pay a $100 mandatory special assessment.      

On August 24, 2016, Demopolis Police Department investigators arranged for the purchase of stolen property and marijuana from Hardin.  During the transaction, Hardin offered to sell a stolen .22-caliber revolver.  On September 6, 2016, investigators arranged for the purchase of a Rough Rider .22-caliber revolver from Hardin.  Investigators later executed a state search warrant at Hardin’s home and found inside a box of Winchester .22-caliber ammunition and a loaded .223-caliber magazine.  Moreover, on September 6 investigators visited the apartment of B.W. after receiving information that he was holding a Ruger 9mm pistol to sell for Hardin.  When confronted by investigators, B.W. surrendered the pistol and said that Hardin gave it to B.W. to sell on Hardin’s behalf.

Hardin is a convicted felon who is prohibited by federal law from knowingly possessing a firearm.   On October 30, 1995, Hardin was convicted of forgery in the second degree in the Circuit Court of Marengo County, Alabama. 

In September 2016, a federal grand jury for the Southern District of Alabama indicted Hardin on two counts of being a felon in possession in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).  On November 21, 2016, Hardin pleaded guilty to count two of the indictment. 

The case was investigated by the Demopolis Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory Bordenkircher.     

United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Marquis Lamambus Polite, also known as “Yogi,” of Mobile, was sentenced on February 15, 2016, for his participation in the distribution of methamphetamine ice.  Testimony at the sentencing hearing established that Polite recruited couriers to travel to Decatur, Huntsville and Pensacola to pick up large amounts of methamphetamine ice, which were brought back to Mobile for distribution.  Polite also supplied several local distributors who sold the drugs on the street.  Polite was arrested when Mobile County sheriff’s deputies received information that he was distributing methamphetamine ice at a local motel.  They followed him away from the motel and eventually stopped his vehicle when he committed a traffic violation.  He was found in possession of approximately 48 grams of methamphetamine ice at that time.  Polite had pled guilty to the charge in August of 2016.

United States District Court Judge Kristi K. Dubose imposed a sentence of imprisonment of 120 months.  She also ordered that Polite commence a three-year term of supervised release when he is discharged from incarceration.  As conditions of his supervision, Polite will be subject to testing and treatment for drug abuse.  No fine was imposed. 

The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.

United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Derek L. Winston, 39, of Irvington, was sentenced this morning in federal court to a year and a day for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.  Winston pled guilty to the charge in November of 2016.

United States District Court Judge William H. Steele imposed a sentence of a year and a day.  He also ordered that Winston will commence a three-year term of supervised release when he is discharged from incarceration.  No fine was imposed. 

The case was investigated by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Gloria Bedwell.

United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced today that Unterrio Cartrelle Tate, 22, of Mobile, Alabama, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge William H. Steele to 37 months imprisonment for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  The judge ordered that Tate pay a $100 special assessment, undergo 3 years of supervised release, and pay restitution totaling $4,994.10.                 

In July 2016, the U.S. Marshal Service – Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force was assigned a felony warrant for Tate’s arrest for a probation revocation.  On July 20, 2016, officers found Tate at a gas station in Prichard, Alabama in the driver’s seat of a vehicle.  A second occupant was in the front passenger seat.  A task force vehicle pulled in front of Tate’s car, while a second task force vehicle pulled in behind Tate’s car.  Officers gave commands to the occupants inside Tate’s car to show their hands.  Tate’s car went in reverse and struck the task force vehicle behind Tate, damaging that vehicle.  When officers got Tate out of the driver’s seat, they saw in plain view a pistol wedged between the right side of the driver’s seat and the center console.  Officers later determined there was 1 round in the pistol’s chamber at the time the gun, a .40 caliber Taurus, was seized. 

Tate is a twice convicted felon who is prohibited from knowingly possessing a firearm.  On May 19, 2014, Tate was convicted in Mobile County Circuit Court for discharging a firearm into an occupied building or vehicle and for assault in the second degree.  Tate was indicted in August 2016 by a federal grand jury for the Southern District of Alabama on 1 count of being a felon in possession.  He pleaded guilty to the offense on November 17, 2016.   

The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshal Service – Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sinan Kalayoglu.