Middle District of Florida

Orlando, Florida – A federal jury has found five individuals guilty of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and more than 280 grams of “crack” cocaine. Jimmy Remy Fernetus (30, Miami), Edson Gelin (40, Orlando), Raymond Mike Ayap (Orlando, 41), Kissinger St. Fleur (36, Orlando), and Gerardson Norgaisse (33, Orlando) were found guilty of separate counts of distribution of cocaine or possession with the intent to distribute cocaine or “crack” cocaine. The jury also found Fernetus and Gelin guilty of two counts each of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Ayap, a citizen of Haiti, faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison, and potential deportation from the United States. Because of their prior felony drug offenses, the remaining individuals each face a minimum mandatory penalty of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. Fernetus and Gelin each face additional consecutive sentences for the firearms convictions. The sentencing hearings are scheduled for May 15, 2018.

 According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, these individuals were members of a drug trafficking organization with ties to Miami. Fernetus and other conspirators sold cocaine and “crack” cocaine from two houses south of downtown Orlando. Gelin, who was stopped on the Florida Turnpike by law enforcement in June 2016 while heading toward Orlando with two kilograms of cocaine, had also been selling cocaine in Orlando. Fernetus and Gelin were armed with handguns when purchases were made from the houses. Gelin also later sold cocaine from a third house in Orlando. Ayap, St. Fleur, and Norgaisse each purchased distribution amounts of cocaine or “crack” cocaine on numerous occasions during the course of the investigation. Agents recovered multiple firearms, cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and thousands of dollars in cash during searches conducted at the three houses.

Members of the Orlando organization had also been expecting to receive at least a portion of the cocaine being transported from Haiti to Miami on a 160-foot cargo ship named the Lady Philomena, which was seized from the Miami River. On March 25, 2017, 47 kilograms of cocaine were unloaded from that ship.

Eric Jean Gilles (37, Miami), Ronny Joseph (33, Orlando), and Cristobal Sotomayor-Cebollero (32, Orlando) previously pleaded guilty to charges related to this investigation and are awaiting sentencing. The cocaine trafficked into Orlando was determined to originate from Miami. Numerous others have been convicted or are awaiting trial in related cases.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Orlando Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Miami-Dade Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys E. Jackson Boggs Jr. and Shawn Napier.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Jose Luis Sanchez-Rosado (44, Volusia County) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Due to his multiple felony convictions, he qualified for an increased penalty under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Sanchez-Rosado pleaded guilty on December 1, 2017.

According to court documents, in June 2017, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives received information that Sanchez-Rosado had worked at a gun store in Deltona, handled firearms, and provided tactical training in the use of firearms for customers. Further investigation revealed that Sanchez-Rosado had possessed and pawned a 5.56-millimeter caliber rifle at a pawnshop in Orange City. Due to his prior felony convictions, Sanchez-Rosado is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by ATF and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Shecter.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Patrick W. Riley (67, Sumter County) today pleaded guilty to violating the animal fighting provisions of the federal Animal Welfare Act. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the plea agreement, in November and December 2016, Riley arranged for his dog “Rocket” to participate in animal fighting ventures in Mississippi and Texas. In furtherance of the conspiracy, he trained eight dogs to fight. Riley utilized equipment commonly used to train dogs for fighting, including treadmills, water tanks, turntables, leashes, collars, syringes, needles, intravenous solutions, enemas, laxatives, worming medications, charcoal pills, vitamins, collapsible dog rings, and scales. On March 1, 2017, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Riley’s property and seized the dogs and dog training equipment.

The federal Animal Welfare Act makes it a felony to knowingly sell, buy, possess, train, transport, deliver, or receive any animal, including dogs, for purposes of having the animal participate in an animal fighting venture. Under federal law, an animal fighting venture means “any event, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, that involves a fight conducted or to be conducted between at least two animals for purposes of sport, wagering, or entertainment.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. yesterday sentenced Joshua Alan Dunlap (38, South Carolina) to 20 years in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. The court also ordered him to forfeit an iPhone, which had been used in furtherance of the commission of the offense.

Dunlap pleaded guilty on November 20, 2017. 

According to court documents, from July 25 to July 30, 2017, Dunlap communicated with federal and state undercover agents in an attempt to set up meetings with two fictitious minors – ages 11 and 14. He expressed his intent to teach the 11-year-old about bondage, domination, submission, sadistic, and masochist conduct by having sex with her and treating her as his pet and toy. He also said that he wanted to take the girl to his “play dungeon.” Dunlap said that he intended to provide rudimentary sexual education, involving masturbation and oral sex, to the 14-year-old girl. Dunlap was in St. Johns County when he arrived at the home of the older “child.”

During the execution of a search warrant at Dunlap’s home following his arrest, agents found a room consistent with Dunlap’s description of his “play dungeon.” Suitcases containing whips, sex toys, masks, condoms, and personalized dog collars with tags that read “Joshua’s Pet” and “Joshua’s Toy,” were found inside the room, along with a 4-poster bed with chains and eyebolts on the corners.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

 

Jacksonville, FL – Ronald Combs and the Ronald Combs Healthmark Trust have agreed to pay to the government $650,000 to resolve allegations that Combs wrongfully deposited tainted compounding pharmacy proceeds into the Ronald Combs Healthmark Trust.

The United States previously settled allegations that QMedRx, a compound pharmacy in Maitland, Florida, knowingly billed federal healthcare programs for services that were not reimbursable and thus violated the False Claims Act. In the case at hand, the government contends that proceeds from QMedRx’s improper activities were deposited into the Healthmark Investment Trust and that Combs withdrew funds from the Healthmark Investment Trust and deposited them into the Ronald Combs Healthmark Trust. The government contends that Combs was not entitled to withdraw these funds, as they represented the ill-gotten gains of QMedRx’s misconduct, and the withdrawal was otherwise improper under state law.

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting TRICARE and other federal health care programs from any improper practice that harms our nation’s subsidized health programs,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “The diligence required in this case aptly demonstrates the lengths to which we will go to protect the fiscal integrity of these programs.”

“This settlement is the result of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s continuing commitment to protect the integrity of the U.S. Department of Defense health care program (TRICARE) against fraud, waste, and abuse,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office. “In partnership with the Department of Justice, DCIS will pursue all remedies to recover ill-gotten proceeds from fraudulent schemes.”

This case illustrates the government’s continued emphasis on pursuing compounding pharmacies that have defrauded federal health care programs. In the Middle District of Florida, the government has recovered almost $60 million in fines and penalties for compounding cases. In fiscal year 2017, over $700 million was recovered in affirmative civil enforcement cases.  

Today’s resolution illustrates the government’s commitment to combating improper practices that implicate the nation’s federally subsidized health care programs, using all statutory and common law remedies available to address such schemes. Tips from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

This matter was investigated by the Department of Justice and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shea Gibbons, with assistance from Assistant United States Attorney Chris Sabis in the Middle District of Tennessee.

The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. 

Ocala, Florida – A federal jury has found Tirso Hernandez-Astudillo (35, Ocala) guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life imprisonment, on each count. Hernandez-Astudillo, a citizen of Mexico in the United States illegally, also faces potential deportation. He remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing on May 17, 2018.

According to court documents, on May 24, 2017, in a parking lot in Ocala, co-defendant Simon Rodriguez-Flores (48, Ocala) sold a cooperating witness approximately 4 ounces of crystal methamphetamine. On June 2, 2017, at the same location, Rodriguez-Flores delivered 2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine to the same cooperating witness, but was arrested by agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The agents detained Hernandez-Astudillo, a passenger in Rodriguez-Flores’s car.

Immediately after the arrest, a search warrant was executed at the residence Hernandez-Astudillo shared with his cousin and co-defendant, Gilberto Astudillo-Carbajal (34, Ocala). Agents recovered items used in the manufacture and packaging of crystal methamphetamine from the home. From another trailer across the street, where Hernandez-Astudillo had been earlier in the day, agents recovered a suspicious package containing approximately one kilogram of an undetermined powdery substance. Subsequent analysis of the substance revealed that it contained fentanyl. 

Rodriguez-Flores and Astudillo-Carbajal have previously pleaded guilty and remain in custody pending sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Gainesville Resident Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, assisted by task force officers from the Gainesville Police Department, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, the Levy County Sheriff’s Office, and the Union County Sheriff’s Office. The Marion County Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team assisted in the execution of the search warrant and the arrests. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dale R. Campion.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Adam Daniel Young (27, Sarasota) with one count of receiving and two counts of possessing child pornography. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.    

According to the court filings, Young possessed more than 3,000 images and 25 videos of child pornography, including files depicting children under the age 12. Forensic evidence on his computer revealed that he had received and attempted to receive child pornography through an online file sharing program.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which is comprised of local law enforcement agencies, including the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and the Bradenton Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Jonathan Kyle Lanier (24, Leesburg) to 13 years and 5 months in federal prison for carjacking, conspiracy to commit carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. A federal jury found him guilty on November 15, 2017. 

According to court documents, on December 23, 2016, Lanier, along with his co-defendants Avery Tumer, Timotheus Reed, and Amy Scott, conspired to rob an individual of his money, other personal items, and his car by arranging a meeting at a gas station in Leesburg between the victim and Scott. The victim believed he was going to meet the woman only; however, shortly after he arrived, Lanier, Tumer, and Reed pulled the victim from his car and stole his wallet and other personal property. During the robbery, the three men wore masks and pointed firearms at the victim; Tumer later pistol-whipped the victim and took his car. All four individuals were arrested a short time later by officers from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Leesburg Police Department.

On November 30, 2017, a federal jury found Tumer and Reed guilty for their roles in this case and they are currently awaiting sentencing. Scott previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Daytona Resident Agency), the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and the Leesburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dale Campion.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Gregorio Lucas-Ramos (29) to nine years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty on October 25, 2017.

According to court documents, Lucas-Ramos is a Mexican citizen who entered the country illegally and resided in Alabama. In June 2015, an individual in Pasco County advised law enforcement that a Mexican man in Alabama, known to him as Gregorio, contacted the individual and discussed selling methamphetamine. During a series of phone calls, Lucas-Ramos arranged to deliver a half pound of methamphetamine to the individual. On June 25, 2015, Lucas-Ramos and a co-defendant, Josuel Ortiz, met the individual in a parking lot near a restaurant in Wesley Chapel. Ortiz retrieved the methamphetamine from under his vehicle and handed it to Lucas-Ramos. After Lucas-Ramos sold the methamphetamine to the individual, he said that his associate would make any future deliveries.

The next day, Lucas-Ramos and the individual working with law enforcement arranged for another delivery of methamphetamine. On July 1, 2015, Ortiz arrived at the agreed upon location, driving the same vehicle he used during the previous transaction. Ortiz and the individual drove to another location and parked their cars. Ortiz exited his vehicle and retrieved methamphetamine from a hidden compartment underneath the car. Law enforcement officers who had been surveilling the transaction then arrested Ortiz, searched his vehicle, and recovered the methamphetamine.

In total, law enforcement seized over four kilograms of high purity methamphetamine. On August 5, 2016, Ortiz, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.

This case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez and Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Leeman and Michael Sinacore.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the unsealing of an indictment charging David Lyle Morgan (53, Tampa) with two counts of bankruptcy fraud and one count of falsification of records in a bankruptcy proceeding. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. 

According to the indictment, Morgan, a licensed realtor, entered into a contract with a homeowner to sell a property in foreclosure. In order to prevent the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) from lawfully foreclosing on the homeowner’s property, Morgan engaged in a bankruptcy fraud scheme whereby he filed fraudulent bankruptcy petitions in the homeowner’s name, without the homeowner’s knowledge or consent, just prior to the scheduled foreclosure sale dates. These fraudulent bankruptcies invoked the automatic stay provision of the bankruptcy code and prevented Fannie Mae from conducting the sale and obtaining title to the property. They also allowed Morgan to continue his efforts to sell the property to obtain illegal real estate commissions.

The indictment further alleges that Morgan made false declarations on a fraudulent bankruptcy petition that he had filed in the name of the homeowner, impeding the proper administration of a bankruptcy proceeding.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General. The Office of the United States Trustee for the Middle District of Florida (Tampa Division) also provided substantial assistance. It will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Javis D. Wilson (39, Tampa) to 18 years and 4 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Wilson pleaded guilty on November 8, 2017.

According to court documents, for well over one year, Wilson sold undercover agents cocaine, ammunition, and several firearms, including a Mossberg 30-06 caliber rifle, a Lorcin Engineering .25 caliber handgun, and a Taurus International .40 caliber handgun. In total, Wilson was held responsible for the sale of 9 firearms. Wilson had reason to believe that the firearms would be trafficked to and resold in the New York area. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that a federal jury has found Devin Fabian Collins (25, St. Petersburg) guilty of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing is scheduled for May 15, 2018.

Collins was indicted on May 18, 2017.

According to evidence presented at trial, Collins drove recklessly through St. Petersburg as he was being followed by a police helicopter. After he pulled into an apartment complex, officers arrived at scene. Collins fled on foot, while tossing drugs and a gun. At the time of the incident, Collins had a prior felony conviction and therefore was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pinellas County Violence Crimes Task Force. The Violent Crimes Task Force is comprised of officers from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Clearwater Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James Preston and Callan Albritton.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging Kyle Dale Ritsema (35, Land O’ Lakes) with production, possession, and distribution of child pornography. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years and a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in federal prison for production of child pornography, 20 years in federal prison for each of two counts for distributing child pornography, and 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography.

According to the indictment, in or about March 2015, Ritsema employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct. The indictment also states that he distributed two visual depictions of child pornography on or about March 21, 2015. 

Government records indicate that Ritsema is an Assistant Principal at Cypress Creek Middle High School, in Pasco County, Florida.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.  

This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that a federal jury today found Eugene Willis (24, Orlando) guilty of carjacking and brandishing a firearm in relation to a carjacking. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of seven years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

Willis was indicted on October 26, 2016, along with two co-conspirators, Sedrick Hamilton and Justin Crumpton.

According to testimony presented at trial, on October 8, 2016, Willis, Hamilton, and Crumpton traveled from Orlando to the Tampa Bay area to commit commercial burglaries. They decided to carjack a victim of his Dodge Charger, after getting the idea from a rap song. After a high-speed chase with law enforcement, they crashed the stolen car and carjacked a second victim of her Kia Optima. The individuals crashed that vehicle as well and fled to a nearby fast food restaurant, where two employees were taken as hostages. Law enforcement ultimately took all three men into custody.

Hamilton and Crumpton previously pleaded guilty for their roles in this case and are currently awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lakeland Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Benjamin McKenzie (42, Largo) to four years in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse videos and images. He was also sentenced to a 20-year term of supervision and ordered to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

McKenzie pleaded guilty on November 28, 2017.      

According to court documents, FBI agents began an online undercover investigation to identify individuals who were using a particular anonymizing website on the “dark web” to access and download images and videos depicting child pornography. Further investigation revealed that McKenzie had accessed child pornography on this website between September 2014 and March 2015. FBI agents executed a search warrant at McKenzie’s residence and a forensic examination of his computer revealed that it contained at least 400 videos and 100 images depicting children being sexually abused, as well as evidence that McKenzie had downloaded child pornography over the Internet.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Vasty Araceli Jimenez (32, Ellenton) has pleaded guilty to theft of government money.  She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 19, 2018. 

According to the plea agreement, between 2011 and 2014, Jimenez applied for child care subsidies for her children through the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County (“ELC”). The funding for these subsidies was administered by the Office of Early Learning (“OEL”), a component of the Florida Department of Education that administered federal and state child care funds, including federal Child Care and Development Fund dollars, for the state of Florida. OEL funded various local early learning coalitions to assist families who qualified for subsidized daycare services. The subsidies were paid directly to the daycare providers.

During the relevant time period, Jimenez provided the ELC with pay stubs purportedly from her employer, the Social Security Administration. Jimenez, however, had altered the pay stubs to make it appear that her gross pay was less than it actually was. Based on these falsified pay stubs, the ELC determined that she qualified for child care subsidies. In addition, in her applications and re-certification paperwork, she failed to disclose that she was married and that her husband was part of her household, which would have affected the family’s eligibility for child care. Likewise, Jimenez failed to disclose any of her husband’s income in her ELC paperwork. These omissions resulted in Jimenez receiving child care subsidies to which she would not have otherwise been entitled. In total, Jimenez received approximately $48,895. She resigned from her position with the Social Security Administration prior to pleading guilty. 

This case was investigated by the United States Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Public Assistance Fraud, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Scruggs.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge James D. Whittemore today sentenced Albert Larry Harris, Jr. (27, Lake County) to 24 months in federal prison for accepting a bribe as a public official. He pleaded guilty on November 15, 2017.  

According to the plea agreement, Harris worked as a Correctional Officer at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex. In June 2017, he began providing inmates at the prison with contraband (drugs and tobacco products) in exchange for large cash payments. On August 22, 2017, Harris met with an undercover agent in Ocala and accepted a $5,000 bribe and 200 Suboxone strips for delivery to a federal inmate. Following the exchange, Harris was arrested.

This case was investigated by the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

Ocala, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced Timothy Whittington, Jr. (37, Kansas) to eight years in federal prison for assault with a dangerous weapon with the intent to cause bodily harm. The Court ordered the sentence to run consecutively to Whittington’s existing sentence for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, which he was serving at the time he committed the offense.

Whittington pleaded guilty on November 16, 2017.

According to court documents, on June 22, 2017, while Whittington was an inmate at the Federal Correctional Complex, he repeatedly stabbed another inmate in the arm and neck with a shank in the prison cafeteria.

“The rule of law does not stop at the prison walls,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles P. Spencer. “Inmates in federal prisons have the right to pay their debts to society without being subject to violent crimes while incarcerated, and the FBI will continue to investigate these incidents fully.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William S. Hamilton.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Jovon McClures (40, Fort Myers) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The Court also ordered him to forfeit the firearm used during the offense. He pleaded guilty on October 31, 2017.

According to court documents, on January 29, 2017, officers from the Fort Myers Police Department located a loaded firearm in McClures’s jacket pocket while investigating a loud argument in an apartment parking lot. As a previously convicted felon, McClures is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fort Myers Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety – one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that a jury has found Akbar Fard (53, formerly of Tampa) guilty of wire fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison; his sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 24, 2018.

Fard was indicted on March 22, 2017.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Fard defrauded the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Missile Defense Agency, and the United States Navy out of approximately $2.1 million. The SBIR/STTR programs support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds. Fard thwarted the fundamental purpose of these programs by using the funds to support his lifestyle instead of purchasing research materials.

“The NASA Office of Inspector General will continue to aggressively investigate those who undermine and defraud NASA programs and operations,” said Special Agent in Charge John Corbett, Central Field Office. “This jury verdict serves as a staunch reminder that such conduct will not be tolerated. The NASA OIG applauds the efforts of the entire investigative and prosecution team during this multi-year investigation, and we look forward to our continued cooperation with our law enforcement partners in the pursuit of justice.”

“This verdict demonstrates the effectiveness of investigations by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners to ensure that federal contractors do not defraud the U.S. Government and waste precious taxpayer dollars. DCIS protects the integrity of DoD programs by rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse that negatively impacts critical programs,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office.

“The Naval Criminal Investigative Service works tirelessly to identify individuals who attempt to defraud United States Naval and Marine Corps forces around the globe. This verdict reflects a joint effort with our partner agencies and the Department of Justice to bring accountability to those individuals who waste taxpayer dollars,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Wiest, NCIS Southeast Field Office.

This case was investigated by NASA’s Office of the Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas N. Palermo.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Bobby L. Ratcliffe (59) and Wanda F. Ratcliffe (55), both of Reddick, Florida, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to structure financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. Each faces up to five years in federal prison; a sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Bobby and Wanda Ratcliffe structured cash deposits and withdrawals into and out of bank accounts that they controlled. The couple often traveled to Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa to conduct the transactions. To avoid Currency Transaction Reports, which are required for currency transactions exceeding $10,000 in a single day, they made individual deposits of less than $10,000 at different credit unions, or branches of the same credit union, on the same day or over consecutive days.

In addition to structuring cash deposits, the Ratcliffes made structured cash withdrawals by writing and cashing numerous personal checks made payable to themselves. Between August 2014 and July 2015, they wrote more than 1,750 checks to themselves for cash. Although the aggregate amount of withdrawals exceeded $10,000, no individual check was greater than $10,000 on a single day. In less than a year, the couple structured more than $4.5 million. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation – Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administriation – Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frank Talbot and Bonnie Glober.

 

Naples, FL – Today, the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) for the Jacksonville District, submitted to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida a proposed consent decree that would resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act by condominium developers Lodge/Abbott Investments Associates LLC and Lodge/Abbott Associates LLC.

The Clean Water Act requires any person who plans to fill federally protected wetlands to receive a permit from the Corps. The defendants in this case did not obtain a permit from the Corps before they filled over an acre of high quality wetlands that abut and function in close proximity to the tidal waters of Wiggins Pass and the Cocohatchee River in Naples, Florida. The purpose of the fill was to create “Tower 200,” one of five towers comprising a high-end condominium development known as “Kalea Bay” in North Naples.

Under the proposed consent decree, the defendants are required to pay a $350,000 civil penalty. In addition, to offset the environmental impact of the alleged violations, the defendants have purchased approximately $54,000 in mitigation credits from a Corps-approved wetlands mitigation bank. The proposed decree also enjoins the defendants from filling any additional wetlands without first obtaining a permit or other clearance from the Corps. 

“The coastal wetlands in this case are a stone’s throw from the Gulf of Mexico and Cocohatchee River,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resource Division. “Federal law requires Corps of Engineers approval before development projects like this can take place in these protected areas. We are pleased to reach this agreement that serves the public interest in enforcing the Clean Water Act.”

“When wetlands are filled in violation of the Clean Water Act, the loss is felt not only today, but by all generations to come,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “The substantial penalty obtained in this case sends a message to anyone who fails to abide by our nation’s environmental laws that they will be held accountable.”   

“The district's enforcement staff, with DOJ assistance, is pleased to have reached an expedited resolution of this section 404 Clean Water Act violation,” said Jacksonville District Enforcement Chief Bobby Halbert for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Our regulatory enforcement program intends to continue working to deter unauthorized activities such as this, while continually maintaining the integrity of our Nation's aquatic and wetland resources.”

Compliance and enforcement are important components of the Corps’ regulatory program, as it assures that the public interest and environmental resources are protected.  The Corps’ Jacksonville District has a routine compliance inspection program throughout Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The Corps’ Jacksonville District Enforcement Section is often aided by state and federal agencies as well as groups and individuals who report suspected violations.  To address violations, the Corps is authorized to prescribe corrective action, impose fines, and/or prescribe removal of the offending fill, work, or structure.

The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval.  The consent decree will be available for viewing at https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

For more information on the Jacksonville District and the Corps’ Regulatory program, visit: http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich today sentenced former Latin Kings game member Anibal Angel Rios-Mulero (33, Tampa) to nine years and nine months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.  The Court also ordered him to forfeit the firearms and ammunition.

Rios Mulero pleaded guilty on October 16, 2017.

According to court documents, on November 12, 2015, Rios-Mulero, a convicted felon, possessed and fired a Taurus.380 caliber pistol during an altercation outside his residence. After the shooting, law enforcmeent officers went to Rios-Mulero’s house and seized a .380 caliber shell casing in the driveway, and a another .380 caliber shell casing around the sidewalk area in front of the house. Two days later, on November 14, 2015, officers searched Rios-Mulero’s house and found a loaded black Taurus .380 caliber pistol, ammunition, and 56 baggies bags of heroin packaged for distribution in the attic. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon A. Gaugush.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich today sentenced Antonio Chavez (34, Arcadia), a/k/a “Cino,” to 17 ½ years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and for possessing over 500 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it. The Court also ordered him to forfeit a Ford F250 truck that had been used to facilitate the offenses. In addition, $37,182 in cash was administratively forfeited as proceeds of the conspiracy.

Chavez pleaded guilty on May 4, 2017. His co-defendants, Johnny Carter and Adam McCumber, were previously sentenced to 15 years and 3 years and 10 months in prison, respectively.

According to court documents, Chavez was a supplier of methamphetamine in DeSoto and Manatee counties. In the fall of 2015, he arranged for the sale of methamphetamine to a confidential source on two occasions. Carter delivered the methamphetamine in the first sale, and McCumber made the delivery in the second sale. After a third deal to deliver a pound of methamphetamine in Myakka City (Manatee County) was agreed upon, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Chavez’s house in Arcadia. Inside, agents found over 700 grams of methamphetamine and $37,000 in cash.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the Lakeland Police Department, the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Plant City Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Travis Marcel Hickman (32, Bradenton) to 15 years and 1 day in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He pleaded guilty on June 13, 2017.

According to court documents, on November 17, 2017, deputies from the Manatee County Sherriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop on Hickman’s car. He fled, leading the deputies on a chase that resulted in him colliding with another vehicle in a residential neighborhood. Hickman emerged from his car with a backpack containing various narcotics, including morphine and crack cocaine. Law enforcement officers recovered a loaded .40 caliber pistol from his disabled vehicle, and a subsequent search of Hickman’s motel room revealed a loaded 9mm pistol, ammunition, and various narcotics, including opioids, cocaine, and crack cocaine. At the time, Hickman was a convicted felon and therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Tampa, Florida– United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that a federal jury has found Woodrow Pressey, Jr. (47, Bradenton) guilty of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it, and possessing five firearms and several rounds of ammunition as a convicted felon. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison.

Pressey was indicted on September 6, 2017.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on June 12, 2017, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at Pressey’s home and found crack cocaine, fentanyl, a razorblade used for cutting crack cocaine, and two digital scales in his bedroom. In a locked shed in the backyard, investigators found a .38 caliber revolver, a .357 magnum caliber revolver, a 12-gauge shotgun, a .30-06 caliber rifle, a 7.62 caliber assault rifle, five rounds of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition, five rounds of .357 magnum caliber ammunition, and two rounds of .38 caliber ammunition. Pressey had two keys in his possession that unlocked the shed.

Following his arrest, Pressey told investigators that he had been released from Florida state prison on April 29, 2017, and began selling heroin and crack cocaine two days later. He said he had hidden the firearms in the shed while he was in prison and was planning to find a buyer for the guns.

Pressey has prior felony convictions for trafficking heroin, possessing cocaine with the intent to sell it, and aggravated assault and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed “Hot Batch.” It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and it is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shauna S. Hale and Michael Gordon.  

It is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced Edrick McCary (25, Sarasota) to six years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty on October 31, 2017.

According to court documents, McCary and two of his associates traveled to a Walmart parking lot to rob a person who was scheduled to arrive with drugs that had been paid for in advance. Police, acting on information, arrived in the parking lot and approached McCary and his associates’ car. Police found three firearms in the car, including a Glock 9mm handgun and a Ruger 9mm handgun with a high-capacity magazine. McCary had previously been convicted twice in Florida for possession of cocaine. As a result of his convictions, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced Kenyatta Biafra Bellamy (48, Davenport) to 24 months in federal prison for theft of government funds. As part of his sentence, the Court also ordered him to pay $40,232.34 in restitution, the proceeds of the fraud.

Bellamy pleaded guilty on November 6, 2017.

According to court documents, Bellamy began receiving Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits in November 2011. In his application for SSI disability benefits, Bellamy stated that he had not been accused or convicted of a felony and that he was not on probation under federal or state law. He also stated that he rented his residence, maintained one checking account that contained less than $2,000, and had not received any other income. An investigation ultimately revealed that all of Bellamy’s statements were false and that he had previously been convicted of a felony and maintained bank accounts containing significant amounts of money.

Between December 2011 and October 2014, Bellamy received monthly wire transfers of $2,000 from a New York-based company that disperses pre-settlement funds. And, in October 2014, he received a final settlement check of $635,249.21. Bank statements show that Bellamy used the money that he had concealed and fraudulently obtained from the Social Security Administration to purchase residential properties in Winter Haven and Haines City. He also traveled frequently and made large cash withdrawals and purchases. Based on his fraudulent statements and submission of false documents, Bellamy received a total of $40,232.34 in federal benefits to which he was not entitled.

This case was investigated by Social Security Administration—Office of the Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

Fort Myers, FL – U.S. District Judge Sherri Polster Chappell today sentenced Andre Bernard (65, Mount Kisco, NY) to seven years and three months in federal prison for his role in a multi-state scheme to defraud biodiesel buyers and U.S. taxpayers by fraudulently selling biodiesel credits and fraudulently claiming tax credits. As part of his sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $10,500,497.92, the proceeds Bernard personally received as a result of the charged criminal conduct. Two accounts previously seized accounts worth more than $1.5 million will be credited against the money judgment.

Bernard pleaded guilty on August 2, 2017.

According to court documents, Bernard and his co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud biodiesel credit (known as “RIN” credits) buyers and U.S. taxpayers. The conspiracy involved having Gen-X Energy Group (Gen-X), headquartered in Pasco, Washington, and its subsidiary, Southern Resources and Commodities (SRC), located in Dublin, Georgia, generate fraudulent RINs and tax credits multiple times on the same material.

Bernard and his co-conspirators operated several shell companies that claimed to purchase and sell the renewable fuel. The co-conspirators also cycled the funds through these shell companies’ bank accounts to perpetuate the fraud scheme and conceal its proceeds.

From March 2013 to March 2014, the co-conspirators generated at least 60 million RINs that were based on fuel that was either never produced or was merely re-processed at the Gen-X or SRC facilities. The co-conspirators received at least $42 million from the sale of these fraudulent RINs to third parties. In addition, Gen-X received approximately $4,360,724.50 in false tax credits for this fuel.

“The successful prosecution of these fraudsters is a testament to our commitment to combat crime at every level,” said U.S. Attorney Chapa Lopez. “We will continue to support our investigative partners in dismantling such criminal schemes.”

“Today’s sentencing shows that the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute those who defraud the federal government and the American taxpayer through unlawful schemes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wood.  “We applaud the work of DOJ and EPA’s law enforcement teams that sought and obtained justice in this case.”

“Fraud against the United States and its citizens will continued to be targeted by the Secret Service,” said Resident Agent in Charge Jeff Kelly with the U.S. Secret Service. “These complex investigations are only successfully accomplished with the dedication and partnership of our partner agencies and the U.S. Attorney Office in bringing accountability.”

“We will not tolerate environmental fraud in the Renewable Fuels Program, or anywhere else.” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “This case highlights EPA's resolve in working with partners, nationally, to hold bad actors accountable."

Six of Bernard’s co-conspirators were previously sentenced for their roles in this biodiesel fraud scheme. Thomas Davanzo and Robert Fedyna were prosecuted in the Middle District of Florida and were sentenced to 10 years and 1 month imprisonment and 11 years and 3 months’ imprisonment, respectively. In the Eastern District of Washington, Scott Johnson was sentenced to 8 years and 1 month in federal prison; Donald Holmes was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months’ imprisonment; Nancy Bush-Estes received a sentence of 6 years and 1 month; and Richard Estes was sentenced to 8 years and 9 months in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Environmental Protection Agency – Criminal Investigation Division, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara C. Sweeney and Megan Kistler and Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.

WHO
Attorney General Jeff Sessions

WHAT

Attorney General Jeff Sessions will deliver remarks on efforts to combat drug trafficking and end the opioid crisis. 

WHEN

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

12:50 p.m. EST

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida

Press Room (Check-in: 32nd floor // Press will be escorted up to 35th floor)

400 N. Tampa St. 

Tampa, FL 33602

OPEN PRESS   

(Final access and Camera Preset: 12:10 p.m. EST // Final access time for print media: 12:40 p.m. EST)  

NOTE:  All media must RSVP and present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials.  The RSVP and any inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to Kelly Laco in the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 305-5219 or kelly.laco@usdoj.gov.  Please RSVP with the email address of the person(s) attending the event, so that we may reach them directly if details change. Media may begin arriving at the USAO lobby on the 32nd floor at 11:45 a.m. for a security screen. ALL gear must be in place in the press room by 12:10 p.m. EST. Note--the AG will not be taking questions upon the conclusion of his remarks. 

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced William B. Pringle, III to three years in federal prison for tax evasion. He also was ordered to pay $1,650,744 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

A federal jury found Pringle guilty on November 3, 2017.

According to evidence presented at trial, Pringle owed more than $2.1 million in federal income taxes, interest, and penalties for the years 1996 and 1998-2010.  Over a period of at least nine years, he avoided paying income taxes by hiding his substantial income and luxury assets from the IRS, and by engaging in tactics to stop the IRS from locating and seizing his assets to pay the taxes he owed. 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen L. Gable.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Tedderick Fields (40, Lake Wales) has pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false claims with the Internal Revenue Service. He faces up to five years in federal prison on each count. 

Fields was indicted on January 18, 2017, and arrested in the Southern District of Florida on June 13, 2017.

According to court documents, Fields filed false tax returns in his name from 2011 through 2013. In 2012, his false tax return resulted in the issuance of a fraudulent tax refund check in the amount of $400,000.

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the St. Lucie County Sherriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen.

Tampa, Florida –U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. has sentenced Clayton Junior Thornburg (55, Iuka, Mississippi) to 28 years in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor, transporting child pornography, and being a registered sex offender who committed another sex offense involving a minor.

Judge Moody found him guilty on November 7, 2017, following a bench trial.

According to evidence presented during the trial, between August and November 2015, Thornburg communicated online with an undercover agent who he believed was a 13-year-old girl. He repeatedly expressed explicit interest in having sex with the “child,” and he sent multiple pornographic images and videos to illustrate what “it’s like for a young girl to have sex.” Thornburg is a two-time convicted sex offender and was on probation in Illinois for possession of child pornography at the time of the offenses in this case.

“This case should reassure the public that HSI is paying close attention to the safety of our children,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “HSI special agents will continue to take child predators off our streets.”

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Anyi (“Angie”) Artica-Romero (32) and Milton Noel Romero (35), both of Orlando, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both are Honduran citizens who do not have legal status in the United States, and each faces up to 20 years in federal prison. As part of their guilty pleas, both have agreed to forfeit $812,149, the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of the offenses, and $127,624 that was seized in cash and from bank accounts.

According to the plea agreements, Artica-Romero and Noel Romero facilitated the employment in the construction industry of undocumented aliens living and working illegally in the United States. Construction contractors and subcontractors entered into an agreement with shell companies controlled by the defendants to provide workers, most of whom were undocumented aliens, for the contractors and subcontractors.

By obtaining and paying the workers through the shell companies, the contractors and subcontractors could disclaim responsibility for ensuring that (1) the workers were legally authorized to work in the United States, (2) required state and federal payroll taxes were paid, and (3) adequate workers’ compensation insurance was provided.

After creating the shell companies, Artica-Romero and Noel Romero applied for workers’ compensation insurance policies covering the period from September 2, 2015, through July 27, 2017. In the applications, they represented that the policies would cover 6 to 19 employees, and estimated annual payrolls of $100,000 to $410,800. The insurance companies issued policies with annual premiums of $20,002 to $38,860, based on the payroll information in the applications. They then “rented” the insurance policies to numerous construction contractors and subcontractors who employed hundreds of workers, causing the insurance companies to send certificates of insurance to the contractors and subcontractors as purported proof of sufficient workers’ compensation insurance.

The contractors and subcontractors wrote payroll checks to the shell companies for work performed by the workers. Artica-Romero and Noel Romero cashed the checks and distributed the cash to construction crew leaders, who then paid the workers in cash. No state or federal payroll taxes, such as for Medicare and Social Security, were deducted from the workers’ pay, in violation of Florida and federal law.

Artica-Romero and Noel Romero kept approximately 4% of the amount of each payroll check as a “rental” fee. During the scheme, they cashed payroll checks totaling $20,303,737, with the 4% fee totaling $812,149. The annual premium for a workers’ compensation insurance policy covering a payroll of $20,303,737 would have been more than $2,800,000.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Andrew Goldberg (35, Sanford) to 30 years and 5 months in federal prison for attempting to entice minors to engage in sexual activity and distributing child pornography. As part of the sentence, the Court also ordered him to serve a life term of supervision following his release from prison. 

Goldberg pleaded guilty on October 30, 2017.

According to court documents, Goldberg was the administrator of two online social networking groups that he created to distribute child pornography. The groups had over 120 members. An FBI agent acting in an undercover capacity infiltrated the groups and met Goldberg online. During their communications, Goldberg arranged to have sex with the undercover agent’s fictitious daughters, ages 9 and 11, for his birthday. Goldberg planned to meet the undercover agent and the fictional children at a restaurant. When he arrived at the restaurant, agents arrested him. Goldberg was carrying condoms and a jar of vasoline. Subsequently, the agents located 84 videos of child pornography in Goldberg’s e-mail account and 405 images of child pornography on his smartphone. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen L. Gable. 

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Dennis Lee Henning (42, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to international parental kidnapping. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, as a result of divorce proceedings that concluded on May 25, 2017, Henning was ordered to share custody of a child with his ex-wife, the child’s mother, who was named as the majority timeshare parent.  Before that divorce was final, however, Henning made Facebook posts that were critical of his ex-wife, the court system, and the United States – expressing his willingness to give up his citizenship and leave the country with his child. He also confided in a friend that, to avoid losing custody, he might run away with the child to Costa Rica or Canada. 

On May 31, 2017, without telling the child’s mother, Henning drove to Mexico with his child. Unable to locate Henning or her son, Henning’s ex-wife repeatedly called and sent him text messages, which he ignored. After Mexican authorities arrested Henning on unrelated firearms charges, his ex-wife was able to travel to Mexico, recover her child, and return to Jacksonville.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced today that Craig Harry Lipinski (49, Jacksonville) has been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with transporting and possessing child pornography. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison and a potential lifetime of supervision. 

According to the complaint, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted an undercover child exploitation investigation and determined that a host computer connected to Lipinski’s residence was sharing videos of child pornography using an online file-sharing program. On January 30, 2018, HSI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Lipinski’s residence and made contact with him. At that time, agents observed that a computer at the home was actively downloading files using the same file sharing program, including some with the terms “teen” and “young” in their titles. During an interview, Lipinski stated that he lived alone, that he had downloaded movies from the file sharing program, and that he had “probably downloaded some miscellaneous, some inappropriate stuff.” An onsite forensic examination of Lipinski’s computer revealed at least 10 files depicting child pornography, including two copies of one of the videos that had been shared on October 17, 2017, and that depicted a young child being sexually abused.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Oscar Arnelson Rodriguez-Cruz (40, Orlando) with multiple counts of wire fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. Rodriguez-Cruz is a Honduran citizen who is illegally present in the United States.

The indictment also notifies Rodriguez-Cruz that the United States intends to seek forfeiture of approximately $626,817, the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of the offenses, and of $105,461 that was seized from him on October 11, 2017.

Pursuant to the scheme alleged in the indictment, Rodriguez-Cruz facilitated the employment in the construction industry of undocumented aliens living and working illegally in the United States. Construction contractors and subcontractors entered into an agreement with a shell company Rodriguez-Cruz established to provide workers, most of whom were undocumented aliens, for the contractors and subcontractors. By obtaining and paying the workers through the shell company, the contractors and subcontractors could disclaim responsibility for ensuring that (1) the workers were legally authorized to work in the United States, (2) required state and federal payroll taxes were paid, and (3) adequate workers’ compensation insurance was provided.

The indictment further alleges that Rodriguez-Cruz registered a corporation called Gedeon Multiservices, Inc., with the State of Florida. He then applied for a workers’ compensation insurance policy for the period from November 29, 2016, through November 29, 2017, to cover five employees and an estimated annual payroll of $121,000. The insurance company issued the policy for an annual premium of $20,473.20, based on the payroll information set forth in the application. 

Rodriguez-Cruz “rented” the insurance policy to numerous construction contractors and subcontractors who employed hundreds of workers, causing the insurance company to send a certificate of insurance to the contractors and subcontractors as purported proof of sufficient workers’ compensation insurance.

The contractors and subcontractors wrote payroll checks to the shell company for work performed by the workers. Rodriguez-Cruz cashed the checks and distributed the cash to construction crew leaders, who then paid the workers in cash.  No state or federal payroll taxes, such as for Medicare and Social Security, were deducted from the workers’ pay, in violation of Florida and federal law. Rodriguez-Cruz kept approximately 4% of the amount of each payroll check as a “rental” fee. Throughout the scheme, he cashed payroll checks totaling $15,670,438, with his 4% fee totaling $626,817. The annual premium for a workers’ compensation insurance policy covering a payroll of $15,670,438 would have been more than $2,500,000. Many of the workers were undocumented aliens living and working in the United States illegally.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

Orlando, FL –U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced Eric Bishop (43, Orlando) to 17 years and 5 months in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. He pleaded guilty on September 25, 2017.  

According to court documents, between June 12 and June 21, 2017, Bishop communicated with an undercover FBI agent who was posing as the grandfather of a five-year-old autistic child. During those communications, Bishop made plans to meet and have sex with the “child.” When arrived to meet with the “child,” he was arrested.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alejandro J. Salicrup.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Andrew Aaron Kutt (46, Bradenton) to 10 years in federal prison for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it. He pleaded guilty on November 3, 2017.

According to court documents, during January and February 2017, Kutt sold fentanyl and methamphetamine to an individual inside his residence on multiple occasions. On February 24, 2017, deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Kutt’s residence and recovered various controlled substances, including more than 20 grams of crystal methamphetamine and over 4 grams of a substance containing fentanyl. Kutt admitted that all the drugs found in the home belonged to him.

This case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation entitled “Hot Batch.” The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. The investigation was conducted by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Rene Rolando Ceron-Flores (39, El Salvador) to four years in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported. He pleaded guilty on October 31, 2017. 

According to court documents, Ceron-Flores, an alien of the United States, was convicted of criminal sexual abuse of a minor in July 2014 and was deported in October 2014. In September 2017, Ceron-Flores was found to be voluntarily back in the United States illegally.

This case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Shecter.

Jacksonville, Florida– U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan today sentenced Jeremy Roldan (45, Lake City) and Gene Wakeley (43, Lake City) to five years and five months in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine. Roldan was also sentenced for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. 

Roldan pleaded guilty on June 19, 2017, and Wakeley pleaded guilty on October 20, 2017.

According to court documents, on December 13, 2016, Roldan and Wakeley sold approximately seven grams of methamphetamine to an individual in Lake City for $400. On February 1, 2017, Roldan also sold a .38 caliber revolver to an individual for $200. Roldan was previously convicted of carrying a concealed weapon, selling/distributing methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine, and cheating. As a previously convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a historical program involving the successful collaboration of law enforcement, at all levels, to reduce violent crime and making neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception (2001). In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

 

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Michael Rubino (59, Clearwater) today pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with one count of equity skimming and one count of bankruptcy fraud.  He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison for each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Rubino devised a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders holding recorded mortgage notes, as well as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) and the Federal Housing Agency (“FHA”), which guaranteed the mortgage notes. In furtherance of his scheme, Rubino searched the Pinellas County Clerk of Court records to find properties in various stages of foreclosure. He then contacted distressed homeowners who had already defaulted on their mortgages and vacated their properties. Rubino offered to take control of, manage, and rent the properties to new tenants. Rubino told the homeowners that he would use the rental income he obtained to pay the mortgages and, in some instances, pay the homeowner a portion of the rent he collected. At no time did Rubino hold any legal or equitable interest in these properties, or have authorization from the mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae, or FHA, to rent out the properties. Further, he failed to remit any of the collected rent monies to FHA, as required by law. 

Additionally, in order to prevent Fannie Mae and the mortgage lenders from lawfully foreclosing on properties secured by mortgage notes, Rubino engaged in a bankruptcy fraud scheme whereby he filed fraudulent bankruptcy petitions in the names of the distressed homeowners, without their knowledge or consent, just prior to the scheduled foreclosure sale. These fraudulent bankruptcies invoked the automatic stay provision of the bankruptcy code, preventing the mortgage note holders from conducting the foreclosure sale. The fraudulent bankruptcy petitions filed by Rubino allowed him to continue to collect rent monies to which he was not entitled.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General and the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General.  It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell today sentenced Daniel R. Kendricks (46, Bradenton) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The Court also ordered him to forfeit the firearm used in the offense. Kendricks was found guilty after a bench trial on October 31, 2017.

According to court documents, on October 17, 2016, deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office were searching a residence and discovered Kendricks sleeping on a couch in a garage. When deputies searched the garage, they discovered a loaded gun on a table next to the couch where Kendricks had been sleeping. Kendricks subsequently confessed to possessing the gun.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Callan L. Albritton.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that AmeriCare Ambulance Service, Inc. and its sister company, AmeriCare ALS, Inc. (collectively, AmeriCare), have agreed to pay approximately $5.5 million to resolve allegations that they defrauded Medicare by billing for medically unnecessary ambulance transportation services.

 

“Fraudulently billing the government for medically unnecessary ambulance transports poses a heavy drain on the Treasury, deprives federal health care programs of valuable resources, and will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Chapa Lopez. “This lawsuit and today’s settlement evidence our office’s ongoing efforts to safeguard federal health care program beneficiaries from the effects of this type of unlawful conduct.”

 

According to a complaint filed by the government last year, from January 2008 through December 2016, AmeriCare submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare and TRICARE for Basic Life Support (BLS), non-emergency ambulance transports that were not medically justified. In support of these allegations, the government cited information regarding unwarranted ambulance transports it had received from numerous AmeriCare employees, as well as audits conducted by the agencies that administer Medicare and TRICARE. The government also cited damaging testimony it had elicited under oath from members of AmeriCare’s management team during the course of the investigation. This testimony, along with the other evidence obtained by the government, revealed that AmeriCare had engaged in a systemic practice – over many years – of submitting fraudulent claims to the government falsely attesting to the medical necessity of its non-emergent, BLS ambulance transports. That proof also revealed that AmeriCare had created thousands of false reports and other documentation during this time period, in a failed effort to support this illicit practice. 

 

In addition to paying approximately $5.5 million, AmeriCare has also agreed to enter into an integrity agreement with the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

 

“Medical service providers who engage in systemic fraud at the core of their business levy an assault on federal health care programs and the American taxpayer,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “In spite of often false medical documents, the OIG and our partners will not be deterred in our efforts to root out this type of fraud and protect the American public.”

 

"This settlement demonstrates the effectiveness of investigations by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners to ensure that medical service providers do not bill for unnecessary services that divert and waste precious taxpayer dollars,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office. “DCIS protects the integrity of DoD programs by rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse that negatively impacts critical programs such as TRICARE." 

           

This settlement concludes a lawsuit originally filed by a former AmeriCare employee, Ernest Sharp. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act that permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did here. Mr. Sharp will receive roughly $1.15 million of the proceeds of the settlement with AmeriCare. 

 

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and one of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800.447.8477). 

           

The case is captioned United States, et al. ex rel. Sharp v. AmeriCare Ambulance, Case No. 8:13-cv-1171-T-33AEP. The settlement resolves the United States’ claims in that case.  The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

 

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and the HHS-OIG and the Defense Criminal Instigative Service. It was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher P. Tuite.     

 

 

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Andrew Corrigan (24, New Port Richey) to 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to commit extortion and money laundering. As part of his sentence, the Court also ordered restitution to the victims and entered a money judgment in the amount of $870,652, representing the proceeds of conspiracy.

Corrigan pleaded guilty on October 25, 2017. 

According to court documents, Corrigan and his co-defendant, David Owen, used individuals to open bank accounts (straw account owners) into which victims of tax impersonation calls deposited money. This money was extorted from the victims by falsely representing that the victims owed federal income tax to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to Canadian tax authorities, or other financial obligations. As part of the scheme, victims were threatened that if they failed to pay these obligations, either they or their family members would face arrest, prosecution, or other legal consequences. 

Provided with online access by the straw account owners, Corrigan and Owen monitored the victims’ deposits to ensure timely withdrawals by the straw account owners. In order to make the withdrawals at the bank, the defendants provided the straw account owners with the victims’ names, locations, and deposit amounts. Corrigan and Owen then directed the straw account owners to withdraw the funds in cash, and turn it over to them, often minus a payment to the straw account owner for opening the account or conducting the transaction. Victims were also directed to pay via money transfers and prepaid debit cards, which were collected and deposited by Corrigan and Owen.

Owen pleaded guilty on October 25, 2017. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2018.   

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the Largo Police Department, the Gulfport Police Department, the Toronto Police Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen.

Tampa, FL - U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced today that the Middle District of Florida (MDFL) collected $700,928,675 in criminal and civil actions in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017 (FY 2017). This represents the largest aggregate recovery amount in the district’s history. Of this amount, $34,800,537.04 was collected in local civil actions and $15,469,146.50 was collected in criminal actions. The Office’s Civil Division, led by Randy Harwell, also worked jointly with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and Department of Justice (DOJ) components in nationwide civil cases that addressed fraud schemes and illegal practices extending beyond district boundaries, recovering an additional $650,658,992.01 in these jointly handled cases. 

 

Additionally, the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Division, led by Anita Cream, recovered $18,633,392 in asset forfeiture actions last fiscal year. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes. For instance, in FY 2017, more than $9 million forfeited in the MDFL in prior years was returned to victims of the criminal offenses upon which the forfeitures were based, and more than $6.7 million was shared with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. 

 

Overall, the Justice Department collected just over $15 billion in civil and criminal actions in FY 2017. 

 

“Working in conjunction with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, our collection efforts have resulted in the recovery of funds from convicted criminals and others who have violated our nation’s laws through fraud and other means,” said U.S. Attorney Chapa Lopez. “These coordinated efforts ensure that criminals and others who commit fraud are held accountable for their offenses and, wherever possible, help victims recover from their losses.”

 

U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

 

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights, or environmental laws. In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, the Defense Health Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Education. See below for MDFL significant civil case highlights.

 

FY 2017 Criminal Cases

 

In FY 2017, the MDFL recovered $15,469,146.50 in criminal collections, primarily restitution owed by criminal defendants. Of those funds, $6,703,417.60 was collected at or before sentencing as a result of our analysis of defendants’ ability to pay. The MDFL began aggressively pursuing prejudgment collection several years ago after recognizing that it was the most effective means of collecting criminal debt. Most defendants have a minimal ability to pay restitution following their release from prison. By notifying defendants prior to sentencing of the assets that the United States believes a defendant has available to pay restitution, we increase the likelihood that restitution will be timely paid to victims and decrease the chances that a defendant will dissipate his assets before being ordered to pay restitution at sentencing.      

 

FY 2017 Civil Cases

 

Civil Healthcare Fraud

 

United States ex rel. Vinca v. Advanced Biohealing, Inc.,

Case no. 8:11-civ-176-T-30MAP (M.D. Fla.)

 

Six qui tam cases led to a nationwide investigation into the kickback practices of a manufacturer of a skin graft product used to promote healing of skin ulcers. The product has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for wound healing below diabetic patients’ knees. The relators claimed the defendant’s sales force was systematically instructed by management to pay kickbacks to physicians in the form of meals, entertainment, and other illegal remuneration to induce the purchase of the product. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs physicians were a particular focus of this illegal behavior. Working with three other U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the DOJ Civil Division, the MDFL Civil Division investigated these claims exhaustively all over the country and corroborated them. In January 2017, we partially intervened in all six cases and settled the kickback allegations for $350,000,000. This is the largest civil settlement in a case involving a medical device in the history of the False Claims Act, and the largest civil settlement of any kind in the history of our district. A number of executives and physicians have also pleaded guilty to health care fraud offenses in a parallel criminal case.

 

United States ex rel. Martin v. Life Care Centers, Inc.,

Case no. 1:08-cv-251 (M.D. Tenn.)

 

This case was one of two overlapping qui tam cases consolidated in the Middle District of Tennessee that alleged violations of the False Claims Act by a nationwide provider of rehabilitation therapy services. The relators alleged that the provider had upcoded its services and provided medically unnecessary rehabilitation to patients at its facilities all over the country, including in the MDFL. Our district joined a number of other United States Attorneys’ Offices to assist the Department of Justice Civil Frauds Section in the litigation that ensued after DOJ intervened in the case in 2012. After five years of litigation, we finalized a settlement of all claims against the provider and its principal, Forrest Preston, for $145,000,000.

 

United States ex rel. Sewall v. Freedom Health, Inc.,

Case no. 8:09-cv-1625-T-35AEP (M.D. Fla.)

 

A former management level employee of an affiliated company of the defendant Part C managed care plan filed this qui tam complaint in August 2009, alleging that the defendants had illegally dis-enrolled the plan’s most costly beneficiaries, and kept healthy beneficiaries enrolled, in violation of the federal regulations governing the plan. Moreover, he contended that Freedom Health had fraudulently induced the government to authorize an expansion of the plan’s service area by representing to Medicare that it had contracted with a costly network of medical providers that it had no intention of using. Finally, the defendants allegedly used fraud to manipulate risk adjustment data given to Medicare to determine the level of payments to the plan.

 

After pursuing an investigation into the relator’s allegations in parallel proceedings for seven years, we intervened in the qui tam case and settled the risk adjustment claims and claims associated with service area expansion for $31,695,000. An individual defendant, Sidd Pagidipati, who oversaw the plan’s service area expansion application paid an additional $750,000 to resolve personal claims against him for his role in the service area expansion allegations. This case features the largest settlement of a Medicare Advantage risk adjustment claim on record.

 

United States ex rel. Barnes v. 21st Century Oncology, Inc., et al.,

Case no. 2:13-civ-228-FtM-99DNF (M.D. Fla.)

 

A former medical assistant of a nationwide oncology provider alleged in a qui tam complaint that the defendants had fraudulently billed Medicare and TriCare for fluorescence in situ-hybridization cytology (FISH) tests used to identify genetic abnormalities too small to be seen microscopically. The relator alleged that employee physicians of the defendant systematically ordered FISH tests that were not medically necessary, and would alter medical records in order to justify ordering FISH tests. Defendant 21st Century allegedly encouraged these fraudulent practices by offering bonuses to physicians based on the number of FISH tests ordered.  

 

In 2016, we announced settlements of our claims against 21st Century Oncology for $19.75 million and our claims against two individual physicians, Dr. Robert Scapa and Dr. David Spellberg, for $250,000 and $1.5 million, respectively.  In 2017, we finalized a settlement with the last remaining individual physician in the case, Dr. Meir Daller, for $3,810,000, representing a recovery of treble damages. 

 

Southeast Orthopedics Specialists (pre-lawsuit)

 

A Jacksonville orthopedics practice was investigated in response to a direct program referral, and was determined to have engaged in a number of improper billing practices that defrauded federal health programs, including the abusive use of billing modifiers, submitting claims for medically unnecessary ultrasound guided injections, and other illicit practices. The physicians’ practice agreed to settle the government’s claims through a settlement that paid $4,488,000. 

 

United States ex rel. Gross v. Norman, Case no. 8:14-civ-978-T-33EAJ (M.D. Fla.)

 

A patient of a Tampa thyroid surgeon filed a qui tam lawsuit alleging that the surgeon had defrauded federal health programs through improper practices such as  performing pre-operative examinations on the day before or the day of surgery procedures, and charging extra fees from federal health care beneficiaries for services for which he had already received payment from the government.  Following a comprehensive investigation, we settled these civil fraud claims for $4,000,000.  

 

Civil Mortgage Fraud

 

Freedom Financial Acquisitions (pre-lawsuit)

 

A whistleblower alerted the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to allegations that this underwriter had submitted false claims to HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance program by failing to meet regulatory requirements in connection with its participation in a federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) or “reverse mortgage” program. Specifically, the defendant had failed to obtain appraisals within 30 days of reverse mortgage loans becoming due and payable, and failed to pursue foreclosure in a manner consistent with HUD regulations. Witness interviews and document review revealed other defects in Freedom Financial’s servicing of these loans, including failure to notify HUD that it was pursuing foreclosure in a timely fashion, failure to employ reasonable diligence in servicing a HECM loan after it had become due and payable, and failure to submit HECM insurance claims in a timely fashion. Freedom Financial ultimately agreed to settle claims under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) and the False Claims Act arising from these shortcomings for $89,274,944, which included credit for a voluntary disclosure that the defendant had earlier made to the FHA program in the amount of $21,000,000.

 

Olympus Zarris (pre-lawsuit)

 

The reverse mortgage practices of a Tarpon Springs condominium developer, Olympus Zarris, were investigated and were found to have violated the requirements of HUD’s regulations that govern the agency’s reverse mortgage lending program. Zarris was found to have engaged in fraudulent sales practices wherein he concealed the amounts paid to the buyers in order to artificially inflate the appraised values of condominium complex units. He recruited elderly buyers to purchase units at the inflated values and required them to immediately apply for reverse mortgages in the maximum amount possible. Zarris and his associates assisted the elderly buyers in applying for reverse mortgages, including filling out their loan applications. The proceeds of the reverse mortgages obtained through these misleading applications were then wired to a company Zarris owned at the reverse mortgage closing. Zarris agreed to resolve the government’s claims under the False Claims Act through a settlement that paid $475,000. 

 

Civil Penalties

 

McKesson (pre-lawsuit)

 

This was a coordinated, multi-district investigation by twelve United States Attorneys’ Offices into the conduct of one of the largest distributors of class II narcotics in the country. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) referred the matter for pursuit of civil penalties under the Controlled Substances Act, alleging that McKesson had failed to report suspicious orders of opiate medications at a number of its distribution centers. The Florida investigation centered upon the defendant’s activities at its Lakeland distribution center, which was found to have failed to report suspicious orders of hydromorphone to at least two Florida pharmacies. The government presented its findings concerning the nationwide conduct to McKesson, and ultimately negotiated a settlement that paid $150,000,000 in civil penalties and that will suspend McKesson’s DEA registrations for a period of two years at a number of its distribution centers. In a landmark feature of the settlement, McKesson also agreed to independent oversight of its suspicious orders reporting program by a third-party monitor.           

 

Cardinal Health (pre-lawsuit)

 

The DEA referred a civil penalty case against a major distributor of Class II narcotics, Cardinal Health, over its failure to report suspicious orders of opiate medications made by pharmacies in the central Florida area. The conduct, which was rampant during the time period running from 2009 to May 2012, gave rise to exposure to civil penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. The District of Maryland joined forces with the effort to address Cardinal Health’s failure to report suspicious orders of a similar nature in the Baltimore area, and the Southern District of New York opened an investigation into the failure by a Cardinal subsidiary, Kinray, to maintain sufficient controls over deliveries of Class II narcotics in the Manhattan area.

 

After several years of investigation, we negotiated an agreement to settle the Florida and Maryland claims for $34,000,000. The Southern District of New York settled claims against the Kinray subsidiary for an additional $10,000,000.

                                        

FY 2017 Asset Forfeiture Cases

 

United States v. Davanzo et al.

Case no. 2:15-cr-141-FtM-38MRM (M.D. Fla.)

 

Defendants Thomas Davanzo and Robert Fedyna pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies arising out of a scheme that took advantage of regulations implemented by the EPA that were intended to induce traditional petroleum producers to use renewable fuels in their products by requiring producers to purchase “Renewable Identification Numbers” from renewable fuel producers.  In October 2016, the Court entered Forfeiture Money Judgments against them in the amount of $46,360,724.50. The Court also entered preliminary orders of forfeiture for assets they had purchased with proceeds from the scheme. Collectively, this included the forfeiture of 27 bank accounts, a 43-foot Motor Yacht, 4 high end vehicles, 4 thoroughbred horses, 2 pieces of real property, gold coins, jewelry, and cash. Final Orders of Forfeiture were entered for these assets in February and March 2017. To date, we have liquidated/collected approximately $4,315,991.63 as a result of these forfeitures. Some of the assets are still for sale.

 

United States v. Idhedoise et al.

Case no. 8:15-cr-320-T-23TGW (M.D. Fla.)

 

Priscilla Ellis, Perry Cortese, and Kenietta Johnson were involved in a sophisticated fraud and money laundering network that preyed on victims throughout the world. They helped members of that network defraud victims across the United States and then laundered the funds, transferring much of it overseas. 

 

In August 2015, we obtained seizure warrants to seize numerous bank accounts involved in the scheme. Ellis, Cortese, and Johnson were indicted in September 2015 and proceeded to trial in October 2016. All three defendants were ultimately convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Following briefing and a hearing, the Court entered forfeiture money judgments against the defendants in the amount of $9,288,241.36 and preliminary orders of forfeiture forfeiting jewelry, 14 bank accounts, 3 Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and 4 pieces of real property to the United States. The net proceeds obtained from the sale of the forfeited assets will be applied to the forfeiture money judgment. The MDFL intends to seek authorization from DOJ to use the forfeited funds to pay victims.              

 

United States v. Pinon et al.

Case no. 5:14-cr-41-Oc-10PRL (M.D. Fla.)

 

Rolando Pinon and his codefendants were prosecuted for their participation in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy that lasted more than seven years and involved the distribution of well over 50 kilograms of cocaine. Pinon, the lead defendant, was a resident of San Benito, Texas, who regularly distributed cocaine to Swoll, an Ocala resident. As part of his sentence, the Court forfeited four pieces of real property, and $84,000 cash in lieu of another property from Pinon in FY 2017, for a total forfeiture amount of $752,000 (with the additional $130,500 in vehicles sold in FY 2016).          

 

         

 

 

 

 

         

 

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that a federal jury has found William Harold Wright, Jr. (56, Los Angeles, CA), a/k/a “Flat Top,” guilty of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, possessing heroin with the intent to distribute it, and possessing greater than 100 grams of heroin with the intent to distribute it. He faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 30, 2018.

Wright. was indicted on October 4, 2016.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, in April 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the St. Petersburg Police Department began investigating a heroin distribution network in Pinellas County. Law enforcement officers working in an undercover capacity conducted a series of controlled drug transactions from 2015 through 2016, purchasing from one to nine ounces of heroin in a series of transactions. Investigators later discovered that Wright had been supplying the heroin that the undercover officer had purchased. In June 2016, law enforcement officers observed Wright. and a co-conspirator retrieve a crate in St. Petersburg that had been shipped from California. The crate contained a kilogram of heroin that had been concealed in a countertop. Officers later arrested Wright.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James C. Preston and Charlie D. Connally.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Michael Eugene Williams (61, Jacksonville) to a term of life imprisonment for the commercial sex trafficking of a child, which began when the child was 3 years old. As part of his sentence, the Court also ordered restitution in the amount of $194,905.17 to the minor victim, and ordered the forfeiture of electronic devices used in the commission of the offense, including a cellular telephone, an electronic tablet, and an Internet router.

Williams pleaded guilty to the offense on June 5, 2017.

According to court documents, from at least February 25, 2016, through September 28, 2016, Williams solicited an adult woman in Texas to sexually abuse her 3-year-old daughter, take photographs of the abuse, and sell the photographs to him. An investigation of Williams began in late May 2016, when an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force detective with Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (“JSO”) received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip established that Williams was sharing child pornography. JSO obtained a search warrant for Williams’s residence and found more than 450 images and videos of child pornography on his cellular telephone. In addition, a JSO forensic examiner found text communications between Williams and an adult woman in Texas beginning in January 2016, and continuing through July 7, 2016. During this time period, there were approximately 337 messages, mostly sexual in nature, between Williams and the woman about her daughter.

Williams repeatedly requested more explicit pornographic pictures and videos of the minor for money, urging the mother to engage in sexual acts with her child and to have the child perform sexual acts on others and film the activity. Williams sent at least 19 Western Union wire transfers to the mother for the payment of visual depictions of the minor’s sexual abuse, which were funded by Williams’s retirement income from his career as a JSO officer.

Immediately, upon discovery of the depictions of sexual abuse of the then 4-year-old, Homeland Security Investigations and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office contacted Texas law enforcement officials and the child was removed from the abusive environment. In an interview with the mother, she indicated she had recently been in contact with Williams via “Kik” messenger and that she had communicated with him as recently as September 2016. On October 21, 2016, a federal search warrant was executed at Williams’s residence, where agents discovered his newly obtained cellular telephone containing additional sexually explicit videos of the 4-year-old child and messages in which Williams indicated his desire to perform sexual acts on the child.

The Texas woman pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography in federal court (Northern District of Texas). She was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison.

“This is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “Thanks to HSI special agents and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, this criminal will no longer be able to sexually abuse children.”

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (Jacksonville and Dallas), the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Cleburne Police Department (Texas). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Diosme Fernandez Hano (44, Hialeah) to 10 years and 1 month in federal prison and Reinaldo Arrastia-Cardoso (48, Hialeah) to 10 years in federal prison for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. A federal jury found Hano and Arrastia-Cardosowere guilty on October 31, 2017.

 

According to evidence presented at trial, on November 30, 2009, Hano and Arrastia-Cardoso committed an armed robbery of a Brink’s armored truck outside of the Fifth Third Bank on Daniels Parkway and Treeline Avenue in Fort Myers. Almost $1.8 million was stolen during the robbery. 

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Tampa Police Department, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey F. Michelland and Simon R. Eth.