Middle District of Florida

Ft. Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Brown Laster, Jr. (37, Tampa), Jerry Browdy (44, Riverview, FL), and Wesley Petiphar (30, Davenport) each to life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. The Court also ordered Browdy to forfeit $106,060 and Petiphar to forfeit $22,400, which are traceable to the proceeds of the offense. As part of their sentences, the Court imposed a fine of $1 million for Laster and $500,000 each for Browdy and Petiphar.

 

A federal jury found the individuals guilty on July 28, 2017. 

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Laster, Browdy, and Petiphar were part of a conspiracy to ship kilograms of methamphetamine from Sacramento, California to various hotels in Florida and Georgia via Federal Express.

 

The evidence showed that, throughout 2015, the men had sent approximately 40 packages of methamphetamine through the mail per week. The packages were delivered to co-conspirators who had been recruited to wait at the hotels for the packages of methamphetamine to arrive. The packages were then delivered to local drug traffickers. In addition, witness testimony revealed that the men enforced the conspiracy through violence, including one incident where a cooperating witness had a gun placed in his mouth with such force that the gun knocked out some of his front teeth.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office (Georgia), the Placer County Sheriff’s Office (California), the Lakeland Police Department, and the Miami-Dade Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Baeza and Mike Leeman.

Ocala, Florida – United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. today sentenced Connie Moorman Willis (52, Morriston) to six years and three months in federal prison for mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, embezzlement by a bank employee, and access device (credit card) fraud. She pleaded guilty on July 14, 2017.

 

According to the plea agreement, Willis worked at SunTrust Bank as a business banker with wide-ranging authority over customer accounts. Beginning in February 2013, she stole the identities of two customers by using their personal information to create a fraudulent bank account. She had all written correspondence for this account mailed to her home address in order to keep the customers from learning of her activities. Willis subsequently transferred large amounts of money from other customers, without their permission, into this fraudulent account. She then used the stolen funds to pay for her personal expenses.    

 

Willis’s victims included customers who were elderly or in poor health. In one instance, investigators learned that Willis had opened two fraudulent credit card accounts and had taken out a $140,000 mortgage in the name of an elderly relative. She then used stolen funds to pay off the mortgage and to make payments on the fraudulent credit cards. 

 

Once Willis’s fraud was discovered, she texted one of her customers and admitted that she had “made a big mistake.” In total, Willis stole $591,545.33. 

 

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the City of Ocala Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Joshua Ryne Goldberg (22, Orange Park) today waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with attempted malicious damage and destruction by an explosive of a building. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, with a 5-year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

 

According to the

plea agreement , in the summer of 2015, the FBI and law enforcement officers from Australia began investigating the online name “AusWitness” and determined that it was Goldberg. He had come to the attention of law enforcement due in part to his postings concerning the May 3, 2015, attack by two gunman at the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest in Garland, Texas. Prior to the attack, Goldberg posted a map of the location of the contest and urged anyone in the area to attack the event. Goldberg’s posting was copied by gunman Elton Simpson, one of the two individuals killed during the May 3, 2015, attack. The FBI later located an online posting in which Goldberg took responsibility for inspiring the Garland attack, as well as two other planned attacks.

 

In late July 2015, an FBI confidential human source (CHS) began exchanging messages with Goldberg as “AusWitness” on social media. Between July and mid-August 2015, Goldberg discussed getting an individual in Melbourne, Australia to carry out a terrorist attack and to having the CHS commit a bombing in the United States. During portions of those conversations, Goldberg sent the CHS five website links containing instructions for making an explosive device, including pipe bombs and other incendiary devices. On August 20, 2015, Goldberg stated that he was thinking of pipe bombs at a large public event and later said that a pressure cooker bomb may be better. Later that month, Goldberg told the CHS that he had found the “perfect place” to target on September 11, 2015, and sent the CHS a link to a Kansas City, Missouri firefighter’s event that memorialized first responders that had been killed in the September 11th attacks. On August 27, 2015, Goldberg instructed the CHS to place the bomb near the crowd at the memorial event and to ensure it was very well hidden.

 

The following day, Goldberg provided the CHS with a list of items to use in the pressure cooker bomb, including shards of metal, nails, and broken glass. He then instructed the CHS to dip screws and other shrapnel in rat poison before putting them in the pressure cooker bomb in order to inflict more casualties. Goldberg stated he would post a video of the bombing. A forensic analysis of the bomb making information determined that it could have been used to make explosives that would cause property damage, personal injury, and/or death. 

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Members of the Jacksonville JTTF include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin C. Frein of the Middle District of Florida, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Mara Kohn of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Alfonzo Lee Churchwell, a/k/a Boo Boo  (30, Bradenton), guilty of possessing with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

         

Churchwell was indicted on October 3, 2017.

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, two days after Churchwell, who had no source of legitimate income, was released from a prior 10-year prison sentence, he posted photographs of himself with large amounts of cash. Text messages sent from his phone advertised various controlled substances for sale. At the time of his arrest, he had fentanyl in his pocket.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Natalie Hirt Adams.

Bradenton, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow, Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells announce drug trafficking charges against 34 individuals as a result of “Operation Hot Batch.” This joint law enforcement effort began in November 2016, to target drug trafficking organizations engaged in the illicit distribution of fentantyl, carfentanil, and other controlled substances. The chart below outlines the charges against each individual. 

 

“The Department of Justice is committed to combatting the opioid epidemic,” said Acting United States Attorney Muldrow. “The charges announced today demonstrate that commitment, as well as the strength of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships. Together, we will continue to use all available law enforcement tools to dismantle drug trafficking organizations.”

 

“Our goal for this investigation is to find drug traffickers who are destroying lives in this community, and hold them accountable,” said Sheriff Wells.

As a result of a committed collaboration between the DEA and its law enforcement partners, a criminal and dangerous drug trafficking organization that distributed deadly drugs such as fentanyl has been successfully dismantled,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Wright.  “Along with our partners at all levels of government, we will continue to stay committed and dedicate all our efforts and all our resources to ridding communities of this poison so that they are better able to live safe and drug free lives.”

 

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.

 

These cases were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradenton Police Department, and the Sarasota Police Department as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation known as Operation 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. 

 

These cases will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Natalie Adams, Callan Albritton, Dan Baeza, Carlton Gammons, Michael Gordon, Shauna Hale, Frank Murray, James Preston, Michael Sinacore, and Taylor Stout. 

 

Operation Hot Batch

 

Name

Age, Residence

Status

Traveous Anderson

31, Palmetto

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

George Calhoun

41, Bradenton

Charged with 3 counts of distribution of carfentanil.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Manvel L. Canady

26, Palmetto

Charged with 2 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Michael Bernard Code

36, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Gavino Corona

24, Bradenton

Charged with 2 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Shane Daniels

26, Manatee County

Pleaded guilty to 3 counts of distribution of crack; 2 counts of distribution of carfentanil; 1 count of distribution of heroin and carfentanil; 1 count of distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil; and 1 count of distribution of heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Tanikous Daughtry

39, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Ever Marie Davis

46, Bradenton

Charged with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Kwame Henri

26, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Jamey Michael Hardy

44, Bradenton

Charged with 4 counts of distribution of methamphetamine and 1 count of distribution of heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Carla Marie Hendrickson

38, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Shaunquez S. Houston

26, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, carfentanil, and methamphetamine.

Sentenced to 5 years’ probation.

Jerrell Jackson

 

29, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute carfentanil and 1 count distribution and possession with intent to distribute carfentanil; sentenced to 18 months’ probation.

David E. Johnson

36, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and 1 count of distribution of fentanyl.

Faces 20 years, up to life, in federal prison on count 1 and up to 20 years in federal prison on count 2.

Tony Marvin Johnson

34, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Andrew Aaron Kutt

46, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.

Corey Matthews

29, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute and 1 count of possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Jarvis McCants

29, Lecanto

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl.

Sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison.

Kevon Melendez

22, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil and 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Shavon Montgomery

37, Bradenton

Charged with 2 counts of distribution of crack cocaine; 1 count of distribution of heroin and fentanyl; and 1 count distribution of heroin, carfentanil, and fentanyl.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Troy J. Perkins

35, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl.

Sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.

Woodrow Pressey

46, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of possession of cocaine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute and 1 count of possessing firearms as a convicted felon.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on the narcotics charge and up to 10 years’ imprisonment on the firearm charge.

Brandon J. Randolph

29, Bradenton;

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, carfentanil, and fentanyl.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Davion Rivers

22, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of distribution of hydromorphone; 1 count of distribution of heroin, carfentanil, methamphetamine, and furanyl fentanyl; 1 count of distribution of furanyl fentanyl; and 1 count of distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and furanyl fentanyl.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Bryan Luis Lopez Rosario

27, Bradenton

Charged with 2 counts of distribution of heroin and morphine and 4 counts distribution of heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Anthony Sanchez

25, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of distributing carfentanil and 1 count of possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.

Sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.

Skyler C. Sanders

32, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, carfentanil, and fentanyl; 1 count of distribution of crack cocaine; 1 count of distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, cocaine, carfentanil, and fentanyl; 1 count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and carfentanil; and 1 count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Jateria Simmons

28, Palmetto

Charged with 2 counts of distribution of heroin and fentanyl.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Jonathan Solomon

29, Bradenton

Charged with 5 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Michael Taylor, Sr.

46, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

Sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.

Latessa Timmons

35, Bradenton

Charged with 4 counts of possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Jennifer Lynn Varvel

35, Bradenton

Charged with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Sergio Viera

26, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Sentenced to six years and one month in federal prison.

Rakim Waters

 

 

 

 

 

27, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute carfentanil; 2 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin and carfentanil; 2 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil; and 1 count distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin.

Sentenced to 48 months’ probation.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that 13 individuals have been sentenced in connection with their involvement in an international heroin distribution conspiracy. During this investigation, investigators seized approximately 6.5 kilograms of heroin, 9 firearms, and approximately $600,000 in drug proceeds.

According to court documents, during the course of the conspiracy, Felix Mejia Lagunas oversaw the importation of at least 30 kilograms of heroin into the United States from Mexico, and the subsequent transportation of the narcotics to Jesus Alberto Bermudez Caraballo in Orlando. Bermudez Caraballo provided a portion of the heroin to Jose Carlos Polanco Vasquez, Raul Vicente Espada Ortiz, and Deyvis Lee Echevarria for redistribution in the Orlando area. Angel Alexis Alicea transported the remaining amount of the heroin from Orlando to the Tampa Bay area where Jose Leonardo Jimenez, Jose Leonardo Jimenez, and Jose Antonio Crespo Negron mixed the narcotics with cutting agents, packaged it for distribution, and then provided the drugs to street level distributors Freddie, Resto, Juan Carlos Lopez, Robert Kelly, and Rachel Augustine Thomas. These street level distributors then sold the heroin in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and elsewhere.

Special Agent in Charge Eric W. Sporre of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office." “By combining federal, state and local resources, a major heroin trafficking ring was dismantled; removing large quantities of a dangerous drug off the streets.”

FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said, “The hard work of our partners at the federal, state and local level helped to bring these violent offenders to justice and get them off our streets. The sentences handed down should send a clear message to traffickers and help to make Florida safer.”         

 

“This is a perfect example of the kind of multi-agency teamwork necessary to dismantle these complex conspiracies and bring criminals to justice,” said Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan. “Our communities are safer today as a result of the work of this task force."

 

Name

Age, Residence

Term of Imprisonment

Felix Mejia Lagunas

42, California

27 years

Jose Leonardo Jimenez

29, Tampa

21 years, 10 months

Jose Carlos Polanco Vasquez

29, Orlando

12 years, 7 months

Jesus Alberto Bermudez Caraballo

29, Orlando

11 years, 3 months

Raul Vicente Espada Ortiz

40, Orlando

11 years, 3 months

Freddie Resto

59, Tampa

11 years, 3 months

Deyvis Lee Echevarria

30, Orlando

10 years, 1 month

Angel Alexis Alicea

29, Tampa

10 years, 1 month

Jose Angel Jimenez Villa

27, Tampa

10 years

Jose Antonio Crespo Negron

30, Tampa

10 years

Juan Carlos Lopez

34, Tampa

7 years

Robert Kelly

56, Tampa

4 years, 9 months

Rachel Augustine Thomas

56, St. Petersburg

2 years

These cases were investigated by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. Agencies involved in this OCDETF operation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tampa Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. They were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Sunshine Marie McEwen (43, Atlantic Beach) has pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a lifetime term of supervised release. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

 

According to court documents, on August 20, 1998, McEwen was convicted of sexual battery on a minor child in Jacksonville. After her release from state prison in September 2013, she resided in Atlantic Beach. On May 15, 2015, McEwen sold drugs to an individual in Atlantic Beach and later fled to California without updating her sex offender registration. She also failed to register in California as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. On November 28, 2015, McEwen was arrested in Palm Springs and extradited to Florida to face her drug charges. On July 6, 2016, she was convicted for selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of a church and was sentenced to 78 months in state prison.    

 

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders.

 

This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Atlantic Beach (Florida) Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Palm Springs (California) Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

 

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.

Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury found Jeanine Jeanty guilty of one count of conspiracy to steal tax refunds, five counts of theft of tax refunds, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, up to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the theft charges, and a mandatory minimum of two years in federal prison for the aggravated identity theft charges. The sentencing hearing will take place on March 16, 2018.

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Jeanty conspired with others to steal federal tax refunds by filing false tax returns using stolen personal identifying information. She also purchased fraudulently-obtained tax refund checks from others for half of the face value of the checks. In less than two years, Jeanty and her co-conspirators stole more than $2.7 million in tax refunds from the Department of the Treasury.

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen L. Gable.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Gustavo Enrique Llanos Miranda (62) and Jair Mendoza Montoya (49), both of Colombia, South America, guilty of conspiring to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and possessing with the intent to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Llanos Miranda faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. Mendoza Montoya faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. The sentencing hearings are scheduled for March 20, 2018. They were indicted on September 19, 2017.

 

According to evidence presented at trial, Llanos Miranda and Mendoza Montoya participated in a plan to smuggle more than 1,500 kilograms of cocaine on board a large oil tanker named FAT CROW. In August 2017, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) interdicted the vessel in international waters in the Caribbean Sea. After conducting an exhaustive search of the ship, the USCG found 1,504 kilograms of cocaine in a hidden compartment that the crew had constructed in the ship’s bow. Llanos Miranda and Mendoza Montoya, along with several other FAT CROW crewmembers, had participated in extensive negotiations with a drug cartel representative concerning their compensation for smuggling the cocaine and participated in loading the cocaine onto the ship. Five other crewmembers pleaded guilty to the conspiracy prior to trial. The wholesale value of the cocaine exceeds $45 million.

 

This case was investigated by agents of the Panama Express Strike Force, an OCDETF Strike Force comprised of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South. 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. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Taylor G. Stout and Carlton C. Gammons.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Prince George Kelly (36, Apollo Beach) to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. The Court also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release and to forfeit the ammunition seized in the offense.

 

Kelly pleaded guilty on September 28, 2017.

 

According to court documents, on December 16, 2016, officers with the Tampa Police Department responded to a domestic violence call. When the officers arrived at the home, Kelly was standing outside. He informed the officers that he did not have any weapons on his person and invited the officers to pat him down. When Kelly raised his arms, the officers observed the bottom of a Glock magazine sticking out of his front pants pocket. The magazine was loaded with .45 caliber ammunition. As a previously convicted felon, Kelly is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

 

This case was jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kaitlin R. O’Donnell.

 

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, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. 

Tampa, Florida – United States District Judge James D. Whittemore today sentenced Ingrid McBride Rich to four years in prison for presenting a false claim to an agency of the United States, and for obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the collection of taxes. As part of her sentence, the Court also ordered her to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $510,222.

 

Rich was found guilty by a federal jury on August 17, 2017.

 

According to evidence presented at trial, in March 2009, Rich submitted a fraudulent tax return to the IRS for tax year 2008, which resulted in her obtaining a refund check in the amount of $510,222. After obtaining the check, she deposited it into a brand new bank account, then immediately began transferring the money into various accounts, in her name and in the names of entities she owned. In an attempt to prevent the IRS from recouping the funds, Rich used cashier’s checks and at least 10 bank accounts and 4 banking institutions to hide the money. She bought nearly 100 cashier’s checks and engaged in hundreds of financial transactions over a period of nearly three years. The evidence also showed that Rich incorporated two companies in order to hide the tax refund, and hid additional money in accounts of corporations she had previously controlled.

 

Rich also sent the IRS various frivolous correspondence, including bogus money orders and tax documents, with the intent that it would impede the collection of the funds. Because of this obstruction, the IRS was only able to recoup a nominal amount of the fraudulently obtained funds.

 

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachel Jones and Adam Saltzman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington today sentenced Isidro Diaz-Sanchez (31), a Mexican national, to 30 months in federal prison for illegally reentering into the United States after deportation, and for failing to register as a sex offender. He pleaded guilty on September 28, 2017.

 

According to court documents, Diaz-Sanchez was previously deported from the United States as an aggravated felon on October 8, 2015. At the time of his deportation, he had been convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child in North Carolina, after having engaged in sexual activity and impregnating a minor child. As a result of his conviction, Diaz-Sanchez was required to register as a sex-offender and maintain his sex offender registration for a period of 30 years.

 

In January 2017, Diaz-Sanchez reentered the United States illegally and was subsequently found in the Hardee County Jail pending charges of resisting without violence and attempting to use the identification of another person. A review of the Florida Sex Offender Registry revealed that Diaz-Sanchez had failed to register as a sex offender.

 

“This criminal alien was a dangerous threat to our youth and ICE is proud to increase community safety by putting him behind bars,” said Michael W. Meade, acting field office director for the Miami Field Office of ERO.

 

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

Ocala, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury in Orlando today found Susan J. Gissy (54, Crystal River) guilty of one count of theft of government funds and two counts of concealing a material fact in connection with the receipt of workers compensation benefits.  She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the theft charge, and up to five years on each of the concealment offenses. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 5, 2017.

 

A superseding indictment was returned against Gissy on June 14, 2017.

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Gissy was employed as a rural mail carrier with the United States Postal Service. In 2011, she filed a federal workers’ compensation disability claim in connection with a lower back injury. In 2014, based in part on her misrepresentations to her treating physician regarding her back injury, Gissy received a permanent disability impairment rating.  In 2016, federal agents observed Gissy engaging in strenuous physical activity, including scuba diving, boating, and riding 12-meter-tall waterslides. Further investigation revealed that Gissy had systematically misrepresented the extent of her recovery. As a consequence, she had received over $112,000 in workers’ compensation disability benefits to which she was not entitled. Gissy had also knowingly concealed and covered up her recovery by twice filing false documentation in support of her claim.

 

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service - Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys William S. Hamilton and Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

Tampa, FL – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury today found Chris J. McDonald, Sr. (53, Riverview) guilty of conspiracy to commit theft of government property and nine related substantive counts of theft. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison for the conspiracy count and up to 10 years’ imprisonment on each theft count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.  

 

This case is related to the earlier federal prosecution of Jeanette Hevel, a former Tampa Police Department (TPD) corporal with more than 20 years’ experience who stole 13 United States Treasury tax refund checks, money orders, and a refund anticipation loan check from various locations inside TPD, including its secure evidence property room. Her unlawful conduct occurred over an approximately 9-month period beginning in September 2011. In April 2015, Hevel pleaded guilty for her conduct pursuant to a plea agreement in which she agreed to cooperate in the government’s ongoing investigation of those responsible for cashing the stolen tax refund checks. (See United States v. Jeanette Hevel, Case No. 8:15-cr-59-T-33MAP).

 

On December 9, 2015, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against McDonald and Joseph Lugo for their roles in the criminal conduct. According to the indictment and other court records, Hevel provided 9 of the 13 stolen tax refund checks to Lugo who then delivered them to Robert Sanders and McDonald. McDonald deposited the checks into one of his bank accounts and then typically returned to the bank the next business day and withdrew the funds and shared them amongst the conspirators, including Hevel. None of the conspirators knew any of the payees listed on the tax refund checks nor did they have permission from any of the payees to possess or deposit the checks.

 

In June 2017, Lugo pleaded guilty for his role in this case. Sanders pleaded guilty in 2014 and testified for the government during the trial. (See United States v. Robert Sanders, Case No. 8:14-cr-411-T-23AEP).

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay G. Trezevant and Frank Murray.

Jacksonville, FL – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced Humberto Nunez-Ocampo (38, Mexico) to 21 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after he had been deported. He pleaded guilty to the offense on September 28, 2017.

 

According to court documents and information presented at sentencing, Nunez-Ocampo was encountered by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer in July 2017, following Nunez-Ocampo’s arrest in Suwannee County for domestic battery. Further investigation revealed that Nunez-Ocampo had previously been deported in 2008, 2010, and 2012. In 2012, he received a felony conviction for leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury. Additional criminal convictions after his initial deportation included domestic battery, third-degree burglary, and fourth-degree assault.        

 

“This case highlights ICE’s commitment to getting criminal illegal aliens out of our communities,” said Michael W. Meade, acting field office director for the Miami Field Office of ERO.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, with assistance from the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal judge yesterday found Noe Blas-Jahuey (30, Mexico) guilty of illegal reentry of a deported alien. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 9, 2018.

 

Blas-Jahuey was indicted on May 19, 2016.   

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Blas-Jahuey was deported twice, once in August 2013, and again in December 2013. He reentered the United States illegally after his December 2013 deportation without receiving permission to return. Immigration authorities found Blas-Jahuey in the United States after he was arrested by local law-enforcement officers in Pinellas County for aggravated assault. He has a prior conviction for illegal reentry into the United States.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron yesterday sentenced Meinrad Kopp (55), a German citizen and resident of Switzerland, to life in federal prison and a life term of supervision for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. The Court also imposed a special assessment of $5,000, and ordered him to pay a fine of $250,000 and forfeit a cellphone, laptop computer, and camera that had been used to facilitate the offense. 

 

Kopp entered a guilty plea on September 22, 2017. 

 

According to court documents, from on or about April 26, 2017, to on or about June 16, 2017, Kopp engaged in communications via the Internet, with an undercover agent, about engaging a minor in a range of sadistic sexual activities. Kopp disclosed his intent to humiliate and inflict severe pain on the child for his sexual gratification by treating her like a dog and torturing her with certain instruments he intended to bring with him. According to Kopp, he previously had beaten an 11-year-old child using a leather belt. 

 

On June 16, 2017, Kopp traveled to Orlando and was arrested by agents working with Homeland Security Investigations. Inside his luggage, Kopp had weights, clamps, rope, tape, a bottlebrush, and a flashlight that he intended to use with the minor. He had a digital camera that he intended to use to record the acts with the child. During an interview with agents, Kopp admitted that he had traveled to Orlando for the purpose of engaging a minor in sexual activity. 

 

At sentencing, Judge Byron remarked that this was a heinous and atrocious crime, and noted that he could not imagine anything more extreme than hurting a child for an individual’s sexual gratification. He also noted that the sentence imposed was intended to deter sex tourism.

 

"Crimes against children are some of the most loathsome our HSI special agents investigate," said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. "This case should serve as warning to other child predators. We will find you, arrest you and make sure that you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Brevard 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 .

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Munia Parvin, a/k/a Zarrin Hoque (46, Sarasota), to 6 months in federal prison for obtaining U.S. citizenship through false and misleading representations to U.S. immigration authorities. She pleaded guilty on September 26, 2017. The Court also entered an order denaturalizing Parvin and stripping her of her United States citizenship; she is now subject to deportation to Bangladesh.

 

According to her plea agreement and evidence presented in court, Parvin first applied for asylum protection to remain in the United States in 1993, claiming that she had entered the United States from Bangladesh and feared persecution and arrest if she returned there. In November 1996, the INS rejected her application and ordered her to appear before an immigration judge for possible deportation proceedings. In December 1997, the immigration court allowed Parvin to depart from the United States by a set date and when she failed to do so, entered a warrant for her arrest and removal from the country.

 

While her case was still pending before the immigration court, Parvin assumed the new identity of Zarrin Hoque and filed for legal protection and permanent resident status in the United States using this new name and a different set of biographical data. In 2012, she applied for U.S. citizenship and ultimately became a U.S. citizen on June 4, 2012. In her paperwork and application for citizenship, Hoque denied the use of prior names, denied having been subject to an order of deportation, and denied lying to immigration authorities. Photographic and fingerprint evidence later established that Hoque and Parvin were the same person and that Parvin had lied on several parts of her citizenship application.

 

“When individuals lie on immigration documents, the system is severely undermined and the security of our nation is put at risk,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “Working with our USCIS partners, HSI special agents will continue to protect our immigration systems.”

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This investigation was a part of “Operation Second Look,” a nationwide initiative of the Department of Homeland Security to review the files of hundreds of persons who have been ordered deported from the United States but have not left the country as directed. The Parvin case is one of four similar investigations initiated in the Tampa Bay area. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.

 

Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces the filing of an indictment charging William Matthew Tex Price (31,  Cocoa), April Coleen Moore (24, Satellite Beach), Khagan Mushfig Oglu Nabili (24, Azerbaijan), Zafar Bakhramovich Yadigarov (26, Uzbekistan), Valriy Tsoy (33,  Kazakhstan), Maria Rogacheva (28, Russia), and Svetlana Vladimirovna Shakhramanyan (28, Azerbaijan) for their involvement in a marriage fraud ring operating out of Brevard County from 2015 to 2016. Each faces up to five years in federal prison. Price has also been charged in a separate indictment with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and faces up to 10 years in federal prison for that offense. Denis Yakovlev (40, Russia) and Meghan Toole (28, Cocoa) were previously charged and pleaded guilty for their involvement in this conspiracy.

 

According to court documents, in October 2015, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations worked with the Brevard County Clerk of the Court to investigate a significant surge in the number of aliens from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and other former Soviet countries marrying U.S. citizens in Brevard County. This led to the arrest of Yakovlev and Toole on July 13, 2016. After his arrest, Yakovlev admitted to introducing approximately 100 individuals to each other over an 18-month period for the purpose of them entering into sham marriages for immigration benefits. Yakovlev claimed that his payment typically ranged from $1,000 to $2,000 per sham marriage, and that the American citizens were paid between $10,000 and $20,000 each.

 

“These criminals conspired to circumvent and exploit our nation's immigration laws for personal financial gain,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “This undermines the very objectives of our immigration laws and services, which are based on the honesty of the people who apply for immigration benefits.”

 

Last month, Nabili and Rogacheva each pleaded guilty to one count of marriage fraud. Price pleaded guilty to two counts of marriage fraud and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Yadigarov, Tsoy, and Shakhramanyan were arrested on December 7, 2017, in the Eastern District of New York. Moore was arrested on October 15, 2016, and her trial date has been set for January 2, 2018.

 

In November 2016, Yakovlev was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for encouraging or inducing an alien to reside in the United States, and Toole was sentenced to 4 months’ imprisonment for marriage fraud.

 

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 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with assistance from the Brevard County Clerk of the Court. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina R. Downes on assignment from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Robert F. Stout (51) and Kasey N. Riley, a/k/a Kasey Stout (33), to 18 months’ imprisonment and 12 months of home detention, respectively, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and copyright infringement relating to the sale of illegal activation keys for Microsoft products. As a part of their sentences, the Court also ordered them to pay $1,480,227, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct.

 

Stout and Riley pleaded guilty on August 8, 2017.

 

According to court documents, Stout and Riley advertised Microsoft software products for sale online, using a variety of sham business names. They purchased unauthorized activation keys from various websites and then provided them, in exchange for PayPal payments, to at least 13,000 customers throughout the United States. They received at least $1.4 million from customers in exchange for the unauthorized, and often invalid, activation keys. Even after receiving customer complaints that specific activation keys were not functioning properly, Stout and Riley continued to sell them. For example, between September 2013 and June 2014, they sold one specific activation key approximately 880 times. 

 

“This investigation involved years of hard work by HSI special agents and our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “We have stopped these criminals from using intellectual property for their own illegal profit.”

 

The Better Business Bureau received at least 140 complaints from customers who had purchased the unauthorized software from the sham businesses. Over the course of two years, Stout and Riley also received - and ignored - at least four warnings from Microsoft to cease in their practices. 

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Christina R. Downes, on assignment from the Office of Principal Legal Advisor (ICE) in the Middle District of Florida, and Assistant United States Attorney Wayne A. Myers from the Northern District of New York.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced LaJoyce Caldwell Houston (51, Riverview) to two years and nine months in federal prison for receiving stolen tax refunds. The Court also ordered her to pay $61,660.52 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. Houston pleaded guilty on August 23, 2017.

 

According to court documents, in 2011 and 2012, while working at the Tampa Police Department, Houston received goods, services, money orders, and cash that were obtained with debit cards tied to accounts that had been loaded with fraudulently obtained tax refunds. The fraudulent refunds deposited in these accounts were the result of fraudulent federal income tax returns that had been filed by co-conspirator Rita Girven. Items received as a result of the fraud included a pool pump system for Houston’s home, computers, appliances, purses, jewelry, money orders, and cash, among other things. The Court also found that fraudulent tax returns were filed from Houston’s home and that online purchases were made from her residence with debit cards that had been loaded with fraudulent tax refunds.

 

In addition, in January 2012, Houston used her position at the Tampa Police Department to obtain the personally identifiable information (PII) of five individuals that Houston then provided to Girven to file fraudulent tax returns and/or obtain and access reloadable debit cards.

 

The Court ruled that the fraudulently obtained tax refunds deposited into the accounts from which LaJoyce Houston benefited totaled $284,490.41 and that Houston received more than $150,000 in goods, services, and cash from these accounts. 

 

LaJoyce Houston’s co-defendant and husband, Eric Houston, pleaded guilty on March 31, 2017, to receiving stolen government property. He was sentenced on October 25, 2017, to six months in federal prison. In a related case (8:15-cr-58-T-17EAJ), Rita Girven pleaded guilty on March 16, 2015, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. She was sentenced on November 20, 2015, to 12 years in federal prison.

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mandy Riedel and Megan Kistler.

 

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Joseph James Belmont (28, Tampa) to seven years and eight months in federal prison for possessing firearms as a convicted felon. The Court also ordered him to forfeit the guns and ammunition used in the offense. 

 

Belmont pleaded guilty on August 22, 2017.

 

According to court documents, in November 2016, officers from the Tampa Police Department (TPD) stopped Belmont for a traffic violation that led to the discovery of a loaded handgun. Approximately three months later, TPD officers found Belmont passed out behind the wheel of a car, parked on the wrong side of the street, with the engine running. They knocked on the car door, and when Belmont opened it, officers saw another loaded handgun. 

 

Belmont’s prior convictions include robbery with a weapon and delivery of a controlled substance. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory T. Nolan.

 

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, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that James Edward Langford, IV (30, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to manufacturing and possessing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes. He faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison, forfeiture of the computer media used to manufacture the counterfeit notes, and payment of restitution to any victims he defrauded.

 

According to court documents, in late July 2017, law enforcement officers received information that Langford was manufacturing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes at a hotel in Jacksonville. On July 25, 2017, U.S. Secret Service agents surveilled the hotel room and observed Langford and two others leave the room. Langford and one of the individuals discarded full trash bags by the hotel’s trash area. A search of the bags revealed several uncut sheets of wadded paper with printed images of counterfeit $20 bills.

Later that day, agents observed Langford leave the room and exit the hotel parking lot. Surveillance teams observed him driving erratically, cutting across three lanes of traffic, speeding, entering an intersection, and then making a sudden U-turn. Law enforcement initiated a traffic stop and during a search of Langford, multiple counterfeit $20 Federal Reserve notes were recovered from his wallet. A subsequent search of Langford’s hotel room revealed numerous counterfeit notes and the computer media used to manufacture them, along with chemicals commonly used to remove the ink from genuine bills during the counterfeiting process.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service - Jacksonville Field Office and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

 

21st Century Oncology Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates have agreed to pay $26 million to the government to resolve a self-disclosure relating to the submission of false attestations regarding the company’s use of electronic health records software and separate allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for certain services provided pursuant to referrals from physicians with whom they had improper financial relationships.

 

“The Justice Department is committed to zealously investigating improper financial relationships that have the potential to compromise physicians’ medical judgment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “However, we will work with companies that accept responsibility for their past compliance failures and promptly take corrective action.”

 

21st Century Oncology, which is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, owns and operates subsidiaries and affiliates throughout the United States that provide integrated cancer care.  As part of its business, 21st Century Oncology’s subsidiaries and affiliates employ physicians in specialty fields such as radiation oncology, medical oncology, and urology. 

 

The settlement announced today resolves conduct that was self-disclosed by the company regarding payments made by the government as part of the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program.  Under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, physicians who attest to their meaningful use of certified EHR technology may receive incentive payments and avoid downward adjustments to certain Medicare claims.  As part of its self-disclosure, 21st Century Oncology reported that it knowingly submitted, or caused the submission of, false attestations to CMS concerning employed physicians’ use of EHR software.  The company further reported that, in support of the attestations, its employees falsified data regarding the company’s use of EHR software, fabricated software utilization reports, and superimposed EHR vendor logos onto the reports to make them look legitimate. 

 

“This settlement represents our office’s continued commitment to ensuring compliance with important federal health care laws,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow of the Middle District of Florida.  “We appreciate that 21st Century Oncology self-reported a major fraud affecting Medicare, and we are also pleased that the company has agreed to accept financial responsibility for past compliance failures.”

 

The settlement also resolves the government’s allegations regarding violations of the physician self-referral law (commonly referred to as the “Stark Law.”)  The Stark Law prohibits an entity from submitting claims to Medicare for designated health services performed pursuant to referrals from physicians with whom the entity has a financial relationship unless certain designated exceptions apply.  The government alleged that 21st Century Oncology and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates violated the FCA by submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for services performed pursuant to referrals from physicians whose compensation did not satisfy any exception to the Stark Law.

 

The Stark Law allegations were originally brought in a lawsuit filed by Matthew Moore, 21st Century Oncology’s former Interim Vice President of Financial Planning, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Under the Act, private parties may bring suit on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.  Mr. Moore will receive $2,000,000 as his share of the recovery associated with the Stark Law allegations.

 

In addition to the civil settlement, 21st Century Oncology has entered into a new five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG), which obligates 21st Century Oncology to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms, including hiring independent review organizations to conduct annual claims and arrangements reviews. 

 

“21st Century Oncology admitted to causing violation of the meaningful use regulations in order to fund an electronic health records system, as well as falsifying records to cover up those actions,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  “Separately, the government alleged that same company, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, caused certain physicians to enter into illegal financial arrangements.  Providers engaging in similar behavior should expect attention from OIG.”   

 

The government’s resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud.  Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 900-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

 

The investigation was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the Fort Myers Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and HHS-OIG.  The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.  The case is captioned United States ex rel. Moore v. 21st Century Oncology, LLC, No. 2:16-cv-99 (M.D. Fl.).

Fort Myers, FL – 21st Century Oncology Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates have agreed to pay $26 million to the government to resolve a self-disclosure relating to the submission of false attestations regarding the company’s use of electronic health records software and separate allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for certain services provided pursuant to referrals from physicians with whom they had improper financial relationships.

 

“The Justice Department is committed to zealously investigating improper financial relationships that have the potential to compromise physicians’ medical judgment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “However, we will work with companies that accept responsibility for their past compliance failures and promptly take corrective action.”

 

21st Century Oncology, which is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, owns and operates subsidiaries and affiliates throughout the United States that provide integrated cancer care.  As part of its business, 21st Century Oncology’s subsidiaries and affiliates employ physicians in specialty fields such as radiation oncology, medical oncology, and urology. 

 

The settlement announced today resolves conduct that was self-disclosed by the company regarding payments made by the government as part of the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program.  Under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, physicians who attest to their meaningful use of certified EHR technology may receive incentive payments and avoid downward adjustments to certain Medicare claims.  As part of its self-disclosure, 21st Century Oncology reported that it knowingly submitted, or caused the submission of, false attestations to CMS concerning employed physicians’ use of EHR software.  The company further reported that, in support of the attestations, its employees falsified data regarding the company’s use of EHR software, fabricated software utilization reports, and superimposed EHR vendor logos onto the reports to make them look legitimate. 

 

“This settlement represents our office’s continued commitment to ensuring compliance with important federal health care laws,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Muldrow.  “We appreciate that 21st Century Oncology self-reported a major fraud affecting Medicare, and we are also pleased that the company has agreed to accept financial responsibility for past compliance failures.”

 

The settlement also resolves the government’s allegations regarding violations of the physician self-referral law (commonly referred to as the “Stark Law.”)  The Stark Law prohibits an entity from submitting claims to Medicare for designated health services performed pursuant to referrals from physicians with whom the entity has a financial relationship unless certain designated exceptions apply.  The government alleged that 21st Century Oncology and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates violated the FCA by submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for services performed pursuant to referrals from physicians whose compensation did not satisfy any exception to the Stark Law.

 

The Stark Law allegations were originally brought in a lawsuit filed by Matthew Moore, 21st Century Oncology’s former Interim Vice President of Financial Planning, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Under the Act, private parties may bring suit on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.  Mr. Moore will receive $2,000,000 as his share of the recovery associated with the Stark Law allegations.

 

In addition to the civil settlement, 21st Century Oncology has entered into a new five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG), which obligates 21st Century Oncology to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms, including hiring independent review organizations to conduct annual claims and arrangements reviews. 

 

“21st Century Oncology admitted to causing violation of the meaningful use regulations in order to fund an electronic health records system, as well as falsifying records to cover up those actions,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  “Separately, the government alleged that same company, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, caused certain physicians to enter into illegal financial arrangements.  Providers engaging in similar behavior should expect attention from OIG.”   

 

The government’s resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud.  Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 900-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

 

The investigation was handled by Trial Attorney Kristen Murphy from the Department of Justice Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch and Assistant United States Attorney Kyle S. Cohen from the Fort Myers Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.  The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.  The case is captioned United States ex rel. Moore v. 21st Century Oncology, LLC, No. 2:16-cv-99 (M.D. Fl.).

 

 

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Michael Moore (36, Sarasota) guilty of possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. He faces a minimum mandatory term of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 7, 2018.

         

Moore was indicted on July 18, 2017.

 

According to evidence presented at trial, on May 28, 2017, Moore had an altercation with his girlfriend during which he removed her loaded firearm from underneath the driver’s seat of her car. When Moore’s girlfriend reported him to the police for stealing her loaded firearm, he hid the weapon at a friend’s house. After his girlfriend agreed to drop the gun report against him, Moore retrieved the loaded firearm and returned it to her. As a previously convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Sarasota Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Michael Baggé-Hernández.

 

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, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

 

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza today sentenced former Florida House of Representatives member Dwayne L. Taylor (50, Daytona Beach) to 13 months in federal prison for wire fraud. The Court also ordered him to pay $62,834.55 in restitution and to serve 18 months of supervised release.

 

On August 31, 2017, a federal jury found Taylor guilty of nine counts of wire fraud. 

 

According to evidence presented at trial, during Taylor’s 2012 and 2014 re-election campaigns, he falsely reported thousands of dollars of expenditures to the State of Florida in order to conceal his misappropriation of over $60,000 in campaign funds through a series of unreported cash withdrawals, checks written to himself, and checks written to petty cash. Taylor then used the misappropriated funds for personal expenditures unrelated to his re-election campaigns. 

 

According to Florida law, all campaign contributions and expenditures must be reported to the State of Florida, and neither a candidate nor the spouse of any candidate may use funds deposited in a campaign account to defray normal living expenses for the candidate or the candidate’s family, other than expenses actually incurred for transportation, meals, and lodging during travel in the course of the campaign.

 

"Corrupt public officials undermine the integrity of our government and violate the public’s trust," said Charles P. Spencer, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division.  "This case is another example of the FBI's commitment to rooting out public corruption for the people of Florida."

 

 This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Embry J. Kidd and Roger B. Handberg.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Kyle Adam Kirby (37, Live Oak) guilty of producing, attempting to produce, possessing, and accessing child pornography.  He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to 120 years, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release. Kirby was arrested on October 28, 2015, and has remained in custody since that time. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set. 

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on October 22, 2015, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Kirby’s residence as a result of an online child exploitation investigation. At that time, Kirby was a police sergeant with the Live Oak Police Department (LOPD). That same morning, the LOPD police chief authorized the agents to inspect and search the computer located inside Kirby’s patrol car. A forensic examination of this computer revealed that it contained images depicting young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Kirby had used the patrol car computer to download, access, and possess child pornography from as early as December 24, 2014.

 

A subsequent search of an LOPD desktop computer used by Kirby revealed images depicting nude and partially undressed children in at least three different bathrooms. Kirby had used one or more concealed cameras to surreptitiously film the unsuspecting minors. He then transferred these images to the LOPD desktop computer, and later unsuccessfully attempted to delete them. Agents were able to locate folders on the computer named for several of his victims.

 

Chief Alton “Buddy” Williams from the Live Oak Police Department stated, “I have been in law enforcement for 30 years, and this has been the most difficult situation I have faced. A trusted friend, officer and protector of the public betrayed all facets of the job he swore to do. I realize that mistakes happen, but this was no mistake it was a choice, a choice that has impacted not only his agency, but his trusted friends, family, and community to include all brothers and sisters of the badge. I am appreciative of the F.B.I, the U.S Attorney’s Office and all others involved. Justice did prevail.”

 

"This case is another example of the relentless efforts of the FBI and our law enforcement partners to identify those who prey on our children," said Charles P. Spencer, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. "It is made even more egregious having been committed by someone who swore to uphold the law and protect the community. Let it be known that the FBI will stop at nothing to protect innocent victims, and seek justice for the heinous acts committed against them."

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, with the full cooperation of the Live Oak Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

 

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.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced James Arthur Van Meerten (35, Palm Bay) to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He pleaded guilty on September 7, 2017.

 

According to court documents, from February 2016 through his arrest on April 27, 2017, Van Meerten entered into an agreement with several individuals whereby he would purchase large amounts of crystal methamphetamine from an out-of-state supplier and then resell the drugs. Some of the individuals who purchased the drugs resold them to their own customers for profit. As part of this investigation, law enforcement seized more than 1.8 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine containing an average purity of 99.5%. At the time of his arrest, Van Meerten possessed a firearm while attempting to distribute a large amount of the drugs.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Palm Bay Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Shecter.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Rany Smith (48, Tampa), a/k/a “Abdelmajid Wahbi,” has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.  He faces a maximum penalty of 22 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. As part of his plea agreement, Smith is required to pay restitution to his victims and forfeit at least $93,586.65 in ill-gotten gains traceable to the offenses.   

 

According to the

plea agreement , Smith, originally from Morocco, stole the identities of other immigrants and used them to carry out a variety of fraud schemes throughout Florida. In 2016, Smith was convicted of public benefits fraud in federal court (Boston, MA) and was sentenced to probation. He then moved to Tampa and obtained employment as a manager of a local franchise using the name of another North African immigrant to hide his felony record. As a manager of the franchise, Smith put several fictitious employees on the business’s payroll and collected their wages for months. 

 

Smith pursued a similar scheme in south Florida where he was hired as a manager of a business in Delray Beach, again using a stolen identity to hide his criminal past. He then hired multiple co-conspirators who, while real employees, fraudulently received extra wages due to Smith regularly inflating their hours in the business’s time clock management system.

 

In separate scheme, Smith used a variety of other identities stolen from North African immigrants to take out lines of credit from various Florida retailers and online merchants. He then financed tens of thousands of dollars in purchases from these vendors and had the merchandise shipped to his Tampa address and to those of his co-conspirators. Smith never repaid any of these debts.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations’ National Security Division, the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K. Gerard.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Fred Joseph Turner (60, Sarasota) and Rosetta Valerie Cannata (61, Osprey) to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison for conspiring to dispense controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of medical practice, dispensing controlled substances, and conspiring to smuggle an alien into the United States. As part of the sentences, the Court also entered a $232,020 money judgment against Turner, and a $73,148 money judgment against Cannata, representing the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. A federal jury found them guilty on July 20, 2017.

 

According to court documents, from March 2011 through July 2015, Turner, an orthopedist, and Cannata, a former anesthesiologist, operated Gulfshore Pain and Wellness Centre, a pain management clinic with offices in Tampa and Punta Gorda. Turner and Cannata rarely conducted physical or diagnostic examinations of their patients and ignored results of patient drug screens when they prescribed excessive amounts of opiates, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and morphine.

 

During the investigation, several law enforcement officers entered the clinic in undercover capacities as patients. On one occasion, Turner and Cannata asked the undercover agent to smuggle a Hungarian national into the United States. In return, Turner prescribed the agent an increased amount of oxycodone and hydromorphone, and Cannata paid him $5,000 in cash. To justify the increase in prescribed medication, Turner and Cannata instructed the agent to fabricate an injury and walked him through the process of falsifying his patient history.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carlton C. Gammons and Taylor G. Stout.

 

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces the arrest and filing of a criminal complaint charging Bernandino Gawala Bolatete (69, Jacksonville) with knowingly receiving and possessing a silencer not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

 

According to the

criminal complaint , on November 27, 2017, Bolatete asked for assistance in purchasing a firearm silencer from an undercover detective from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Bolatete specified that, to avoid government scrutiny, he did not want any paperwork associated with the sale. On December 1, 2017, Bolatete took possession of a silencer after the undercover detective sold it to him for $100 and he was subsequently arrested.

 

A criminal complaint 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 Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Substantial assistance was provided by the Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican and Trial Attorney Maura White of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. 

Former U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown was sentenced to five years in prison today in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida for her role in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving a sham scholarship charity.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Charles P. Spencer of the FBI’s Jacksonville, Florida Division and Chief Don Fort of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

“Corrine Brown abused her position as a Member of Congress by defrauding charitable donors who wanted to help underprivileged young men and women receive a quality education,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “Instead of helping those deserving students, Brown used the contributions she solicited to finance a personal slush fund to support her lavish lifestyle.  The Criminal Division is committed to helping root out such fraud wherever we find it.”

“I am proud of the exceptional work of the special agents, analysts and support personnel who spent countless hours following the money trail in this case,” said Special Agent in Charge Spencer.  “Their work is some of the most complex, tedious, and significant work we do for the American public.  Rooting out public corruption is a priority for which the FBI will continue to dedicate the resources necessary to investigate, because the impact on everyday people is real.  We thank our law enforcement partners at the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, IRS-CI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts to hold Brown and her associates accountable for their inexcusable actions.”

“For years Corrine Brown banked on the slogan ‘Corrine Delivers’,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Shawn Batsch of IRS-CI.  “In this case, that’s precisely what she did: she banked entirely on herself when she delivered charitable donations to her own pockets.  Having built a lifelong reputation of helping others, she ultimately failed her constituents by fraudulently helping herself to contributions meant for underprivileged children.  She also let them down by selfishly neglecting her duty to pay an honest tax.”

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Corrigan sentenced Brown to serve 60 months in prison; Brown’s long-time Chief of Staff Elias “Ronnie” Simmons to serve 48 months in prison; and Carla Wiley, the president of the fraudulent charity, to serve 21 months in prison.

Brown, 71, of Jacksonville, was convicted by a federal jury on May 11, on 18 counts of an indictment charging her with participating in a mail and wire fraud conspiracy and scheme, concealing material facts on required financial disclosure forms, obstructing the due administration of the internal revenue laws and filing false tax returns.

Brown’s co-conspirators — Simmons, 51, of Laurel, Maryland and Wiley, 55, of Leesburg, Virginia — previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the education charity scheme on Feb. 8, and March 3, 2016, respectively.  Brown and Wiley were ordered by Judge Corrigan to forfeit $654,292.39, and Simmons was ordered to forfeit $727,964.90.  All three defendants were ordered to pay total restitution of $452,515.87 to victims of the fraud scheme.  Brown was ordered to pay an additional $62,650.99 in restitution to the IRS, and Simmons was ordered to pay an additional $91,621.38 in restitution to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Evidence at trial showed that between late 2012 and early 2016, Brown, Simmons and Wiley participated in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving One Door for Education – Amy Anderson Scholarship Fund (One Door) in which the defendants and others acting on their behalf solicited more than $800,000 in charitable donations based on false representations that the donations would be used for college scholarships and school computer drives, among other charitable causes.  Testimony by One Door donors established that Brown and her coconspirators solicited donations from individuals and corporate entities that Brown knew by virtue of her position in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Many of the donors were led to believe that One Door was a properly registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, when, in fact, it was not.

Contrary to Brown’s representations, Brown, Simmons, Wiley and others used the vast majority of One Door donations for their personal and professional benefit, including tens of thousands of dollars in cash deposits that Simmons made to Brown’s personal bank accounts, according to trial evidence.  In one instance, Simmons deposited $2,100 of One Door funds into Brown’s personal bank account the same day that Brown paid $2,057 to the IRS for taxes she owed.  In another instance, Brown and a close relative used the proceeds of a $3,000 One Door check referencing “children summer camps” in the memo line for their personal benefit.  Likewise, trial evidence showed Brown and Simmons used the outside consulting company of one of Brown’s employees to funnel One Door funds to Brown and others for their personal use.

Trial evidence also showed that more than $300,000 in One Door funds were used to pay for events hosted by Brown or held in her honor, including a golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; lavish receptions during an annual conference in Washington, D.C.; the use of a luxury box during a Beyoncé concert in Washington, D.C.; and the use of a luxury box during an NFL game in the Washington, D.C., area.  According to trial evidence, despite raising over $800,000 in donations, One Door was associated with only two scholarships totaling $1,200 that were awarded to students to cover expenses related to attending a college or university.

Additionally, trial evidence established that Brown engaged in a scheme to conceal reportable income she received from One Door, and from other sources, on annual financial disclosure forms she was required to file with the U.S. House of Representatives.  Evidence at trial further showed that Brown failed to report on her personal tax returns for tax years 2009 through 2014 income derived from over $160,000 in cash deposited into her bank accounts, and claimed false deductions for purported charitable donations to One Door, as well as to local churches and non-profit organizations in the Jacksonville area, that Brown never made.

As part of his earlier guilty plea, Simmons separately admitted that he misused his position as Brown’s chief of staff to obtain congressional employment for a close relative, who received over $735,000 in government salary payments between 2001 and early 2016 despite performing no known work for the U.S. House of Representatives.  Between 2009 and late 2015, Simmons admitted that he diverted over $80,000 of the relative’s government salary for his personal benefit, including through transfers to his personal bank accounts, payments on his personal credit cards and loan payments on his boat.

The FBI and IRS-CI investigated the case.  Former Deputy Chief Eric G. Olshan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Tysen Duva and Michael J. Coolican of the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.

Jacksonville, FL – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan today sentenced former U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown (71, Jacksonville) to 5 years in federal prison for her role in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving a fraudulent scholarship charity. She also was ordered to serve 3 years of supervised release and to pay $515,166.86 in restitution to her victims, including $62,650.99 in tax restitution.

 

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Charles P. Spencer of the FBI’s Jacksonville, Florida, Division, and Chief Don Fort of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

 

On May 11, 2017, Brown was convicted by a federal jury on 18 counts of an indictment charging her with participating in a conspiracy involving a fraudulent education charity, concealing material facts in required financial disclosure forms, obstructing the due administration of internal revenue laws, and filing false tax returns. The jury also found her guilty of violating the Ethics in Government Act by concealing certain income in required annual financial disclosure forms she had submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

 

Brown’s co-conspirators, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons (51, Laurel, Maryland), Brown’s long-time Chief of Staff, and Carla Wiley (55, Leesburg, Virginia), the president of the fraudulent charity, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the education charity scheme and were also sentenced today. Simmons was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release. Wiley was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment. Simmons and Wiley were ordered to pay $544,137.25 and $452,515.87 in restitution, respectively.

 

Evidence at trial showed that between late 2012 and early 2016, Brown participated in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving One Door for Education – Amy Anderson Scholarship Fund (One Door) in which the Brown, Simmons, Wiley, and others acting on their behalf solicited more than $800,000 in charitable donations based on false representations that the donations would be used for college scholarships and school computer drives, among other charitable causes. Testimony by One Door donors showed that Brown and her coconspirators had solicited donations from individuals and corporate entities that Brown knew by virtue of her position in the U.S. House of Representatives. Many of the donors were led to believe that One Door was a properly registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization when, in fact, it was not.

 

Contrary to Brown’s representations, Brown, Simmons, Wiley, and others used the vast majority of One Door donations for their personal and professional benefit, including tens of thousands of dollars in cash deposits that Simmons made to Brown’s personal bank accounts, according to trial evidence. Likewise, trial evidence showed that Brown and Simmons had used the outside consulting company of one of Brown’s employees to funnel One Door funds to Brown and others for their personal use. 

 

Trial evidence also showed that more than $300,000 in One Door funds had been used to pay for events hosted by Brown or held in her honor, including a golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; lavish receptions during an annual conference in Washington, D.C.; the use of a luxury box during a concert in Washington, D.C.; and the use of a luxury box during an NFL game in the Washington, D.C. area. According to trial evidence, despite raising over $800,000 in donations, One Door granted only two scholarships totaling $1,200 to cover expenses related to attending a college or university.

 

Additionally, trial evidence demonstrated that Brown had failed to disclose, among other things, the reportable income she had received from One Door and had claimed deductions on her tax returns based on false statements that she had made certain donations to One Door, as well as to local churches and non-profit organizations in the Jacksonville area.

 

The FBI and IRS-CI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Tysen Duva and Michael J. Coolican of the Middle District of Florida and former Deputy Chief Eric G. Olshan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section  prosecuted the case.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Jose Carlos Terra Izquierdo (23, Amarillo, TX) has pleaded guilty to credit card fraud. He faces an enhanced penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison and has agreed to forfeit his computer media and to pay restitution to his victims. A sentencing date has not yet been set. 

 

According to court documents, in 2016, Izquierdo was convicted of credit card fraud in the District of Nebraska. He was scheduled to turn himself in and begin his prison sentence in March 2017, but instead traveled to Florida in violation of his conditions of release. Federal authorities in Nebraska subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest. On March 2, 2017, Izquierdo was pulled over in Columbia County by the Florida Highway Patrol for an expired Texas tag. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, troopers located a credit card reader and stolen credit card information belonging to more than 50 victims. He faces the enhanced penalty as a result of his prior fraud conviction.

 

This case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol and the U.S. Secret Service - Jacksonville Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Tampa, FL – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Dr. Arthur S. Portnow, the owner and operator of Arthur S. Portnow, P.A., d/b/a Apple Medical and Cardiovascular Group, d/b/a Apple Medical Group (collectively, Dr. Portnow) has agreed to pay $1.95 million to resolve allegations that he and his practice violated the False Claims Act by knowingly seeking reimbursement for medically unnecessary ultrasound tests that were performed on Medicare beneficiaries. 

 

The government alleges that from August 2009 through August 2017, Dr. Portnow submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for the evaluation and performance of medically unnecessary carotid ultrasounds, lower extremity arterial ultrasounds, abdominal aortic ultrasounds, renal and renal artery ultrasounds, and echocardiograms. The government also alleges that Dr. Portnow falsified patient records in an effort to justify those unnecessary ultrasounds. Dr. Portnow and his practice received hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of this illicit testing. 

 

“Fraudulently billing the government for medically unnecessary tests deprives federal health care programs, like Medicare, of valuable resources,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “This settlement is evidence that our office will continue to pursue those who seek to unlawfully exploit our nation’s federal health care programs at the expense of patients and the Federal Treasury."

 

“Physicians who seek to boost their profits by charging taxpayers and patients for medically unnecessary tests will be thoroughly investigated,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.  “Working in coordination with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue health care professionals who threaten the integrity of Federal health care programs."

 

In addition to paying the $1.95 million, as part of the settlement, Dr. Portnow has also agreed to enter into an integrity agreement with the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

 

The settlement concludes a lawsuit originally filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida by a former employee (Kathleen Siwicki) of Dr. Portnow’s practice. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act that permits 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. Ms. Siwicki will receive roughly $350,000 of the proceeds of the settlement with Dr. Portnow.

 

The government’s action in this matter illustrates the 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. Siwicki v. Arthur S. Portnow, M.D., et al., Case No. 8:15-cv-987-T-27MAP. 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.

 

This 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. It was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Tuite.

 

 

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that William Danzeisen (60, Ponte Vedra Beach), a licensed podiatrist, and Sachin Brahmbhatt (37, Jacksonville), an unlicensed podiatrist, have pleaded guilty to theft of government property. Each faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The sentencing hearings have been set for January 30, 2018.

 

          According to the plea agreement, Danzeisen and Brahmbhatt owned and operated Nourish Foot Care, a medical spa and mobile podiatric service that provided podiatry services to residents of long-term care facilities across northeast Florida. They defrauded Medicare by billing for medical services not rendered by a licensed podiatrist. Since Brahmbhatt was an unlicensed podiatrist, he was unable to bill Medicare. Danzeisen billed Medicare representing that he had performed podiatry care when the care had been provided by Brahmbhatt. Since 2015, $121,537.50 in false and fraudulent claims were submitted to Medicare.

 

          This case was investigated by U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay Taylor.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich today sentenced Wayne St. Aubyn Smith (50, Parrish), a/k/a Wayne Smith El-Bey, to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for attempting to file a false lien against a federal judge. A federal jury found him guilty on July 19, 2017.

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, in May 2015, Smith filed a lawsuit against several New Jersey officials in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, claiming that his constitutional rights had been violated. However, Smith failed to pay the fee required to file a lawsuit in federal court. United States District Judge Jose L. Linares was assigned to the case. Judge Linares issued an order instructing Smith on how to file for indigent status to waive his filing fee and dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice. After several rounds of filings claiming that Judge Linares was violating his constitutional rights, Judge Linares denied Smith’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis.       

 

On December 21, 2016, Smith attempted to record three separate liens against several individuals at the Manatee County Clerk’s Office. One of the documents claimed that Judge Linares owed Smith $750,000 for violating his constitutional rights. Furthermore, Smith claimed an interest in all of Judge Linares’s real and personal property and his checking and savings accounts up to the amount of $750,000. The other two documents were liens totaling more than $1 million against the State of Florida and several New Jersey government officials. The clerk’s office refused to record the documents.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shauna S. Hale and Michael Gordon.

Ocala, FL – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Avery Leanard Tumer (23, Leesburg) guilty of carjacking, conspiracy to commit carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He faces a maximum penalty of 37 years in federal prison, including a 7-year minimum mandatory penalty for brandishing the firearm. In a separate trial, the same jury previously found Timotheus Gersom Reed (30, Leesburg) guilty of conspiracy to commit carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He faces a maximum sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment, including a 7-year minimum mandatory penalty. The sentencing hearings are scheduled for February 21, 2017.

 

According to evidence presented during the trials, on the evening of December 23, 2016, Tumer and Reed, along with co-defendants Jonathan Kyle Lanier and Amy Denise Scott, conspired to rob an individual of his money, other personal items, and his car by arranging a meeting at a remote location between the victim and Scott. The victim believed he was going to the 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; Turner later pistol-whipped the victim and took his car while Scott left in her car with Reed and Lanier.

 

Later that evening, Tumer and Scott were arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office after the victim’s car was located outside an apartment where the two had stayed together. Inside the apartment, deputies found the victim’s identification, cell phones, and debit card. Multiple firearms were recovered from the attic, where Tumer had been hiding.

 

On November 15, 2017, a separate federal jury found Lanier (24, Leesburg) guilty of carjacking, conspiracy to commit carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

 

He faces up to 37 years in federal prison, including a 7-year minimum mandatory penalty. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

 

On May 9, 2017, Scott (32, Leesburg) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit carjacking. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison; her sentencing hearing is set for December 15, 2017.

 

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

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich today sentenced Everett Taylor to eight years, six months in federal prison for theft of government funds and aggravated identify theft. The Court also ordered him to forfeit real property located in Tampa, which is traceable to the offenses. In addition, the Court entered a money judgment in the amount of $124,521, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct.   

    

Everett Taylor pleaded guilty on July 3, 2017.

 

According to court documents, Taylor and his brother, Robert Earl Taylor, were involved in a scheme to file false and fraudulent income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in order to generate large refunds. The investigation revealed that the IRS had received fraudulent tax returns and had issued refunds totaling $304,411.24 based on fraudulent tax filings in the amount of $575,884.24. Pending trial, Everett Taylor was released from detention and ordered to home confinement and electronic monitoring. In June 2015, he removed his electronic monitoring device and fled from pretrial release. He remained a fugitive until mid-2017.

 

In January 2015, Robert Earl Taylor was sentenced to eight months of home detention for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, theft of government property, and making fraudulent claims to the Department of the Treasury.

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and U.S. Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Adam M. Saltzman and Sara C. Sweeney.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington today sentenced Richmond Joseph McDonald (40, Tampa) and Shauna Maryann Boselli (25, Tampa) to life, and 40 years in federal prison, respectively, for enticement of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct. McDonald and Boselli previously pleaded guilty.

 

According to court documents, McDonald and his wife, Boselli, engaged in sexual activity with a 7-year-old girl, with the consent of her relative. McDonald and Boselli engaged in explicit conversation, via the Internet and text messages, with the minor’s relative regarding sexual acts with the child victim.

 

On July 19, 2016, the child’s relative brought the child to Tampa to meet McDonald and Boselli for the purpose of all three engaging in sex acts with the victim.  The relative took the child to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, where they met with McDonald and Boselli. After spending time at the zoo and taking the child for ice cream, McDonald and Boselli led the relative and the child to their house in Tampa.  While at the house, McDonald and Boselli sexually abused the child while the relative watched. Afterwards, the relative and the child returned to their hotel in Tampa. On July 21, 2016, McDonald and Boselli met with the relative and child at their hotel, where couple engaged in multiple sex acts with the victim.

 

Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations executed a federal search warrant at the defendants’ residence and seized numerous electronic devices and the vehicle that McDonald and Boselli had used in the commission of the offense. A forensic analysis on all of the devices revealed that McDonald was in possession of over 1,300 child-pornographic images, including images and videos of the child victim performing sex acts.

 

The victim’s relative was prosecuted in federal court, in Orlando, and was previously sentenced to 75 years in prison.

 

“These crimes are tragic and heart breaking beyond comprehension,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “Our greatest hope is that putting this predatory couple behind bars can help this young girl in her recovery process.”

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa M. Thelwell and Josephine W. Thomas.

 

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, FL – U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. today sentenced former WellCare General Counsel, Thaddeus M.S. Bereday (52, Tampa), to six months in federal prison, followed by a three-year term of supervised release that includes one year of home confinement, for making a false statement to the Florida Medicaid Program. The Court also ordered him to pay a $50,000 fine.

 

Bereday pleaded guilty on June 26, 2017.

 

A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida returned an indictment on March 2, 2011, charging five former WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (“WellCare”) executives (Todd S. Farha, Paul L. Behrens, William L. Kale, Peter E. Clay, and Bereday) with four counts of healthcare fraud, four counts of making false statements relating to healthcare matters, and conspiracy to commit those crimes and defraud the United States. In addition, Clay was charged with two counts of making false statements. The fraud counts alleged that Bereday and his co-defendants had executed and attempted to execute both a scheme to defraud the Florida Medicaid Program through Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (“AHCA”), and a scheme to obtain, by means of false and fraudulent pretenses and representations, money under the custody or control of the program.

 

WellCare operates health maintenance organizations (AHMOs@) in several states targeted to government-sponsored health care benefit programs like Medicaid. Two WellCare HMOs operating in Florida, StayWell and Healthease, contracted with the AHCA to provide Florida Medicaid Program recipients with an array of services, including behavioral health services. 

 

In 2002, the State of Florida enacted a statute requiring Florida Medicaid HMOs to expend 80% of the Medicaid premiums paid for certain behavioral health services on the provision of those services. If the HMO expended less than 80% of the premiums, the difference was required to be returned to the AHCA. The defendants in this case falsely and fraudulently schemed to submit inflated expenditure information in the company's annual reports to the AHCA in order to reduce the WellCare HMOs= contractual payback obligations for behavioral health care services.

 

A federal jury found Bereday’s co-defendants guilty on June 10, 2013. For their respective roles in the scheme, in May 2014, Judge Moody sentenced Farha to 36 months in prison; Behrens to 24 months’ imprisonment; and Kale to 1 year and 1 day in prison. Clay was sentenced to serve 5 years’ probation. The defendants appealed their convictions, which were all affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit in August 2016.

 

On May 5, 2009, the United States filed related charges in an Information and Deferred Prosecution Agreement ("DPA") against WellCare. Pursuant to that DPA, WellCare was required to pay $40 million in restitution, forfeit another $40 million to the United States, and cooperate with the government=s criminal investigation. The company complied with all of the requirements of the DPA. As a result, the Information was later dismissed by the Court following a government motion.

          

This case was investigated by U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay G. Trezevant and Cherie L. Krigsman, DOJ Senior Litigation Counsel John A. Michelich, and Special Assistant United States Attorney John Bowers.

The former general counsel of a company that operates health maintenance organizations in several states was sentenced to six months in prison today for his role in a $35 million health care fraud scheme.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Steven Muldrow of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Shimon Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Eric W. Sporre of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office and the Florida Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit made the announcement.

Thaddeus M.S. Bereday, 52, of Tampa, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James S. Moody of the Middle District of Florida, who also ordered Bereday to serve three years of supervised release that includes one year of home confinement following his prison term and to pay a fine in the amount of $50,000.  Bereday pleaded guilty on June 27, to one count of making a false statement in connection with health care matters.

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Bereday served in several positions, including as general counsel, with WellCare Health Plans Inc. (WellCare), a publicly traded corporation that operates health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in several states targeted to government-sponsored health care benefit programs such as Medicaid.  Two WellCare HMOs operating in Florida, StayWell and Healthease, contracted with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), the Florida agency that administers the Medicaid program, to provide Florida Medicaid program recipients with an array of services, including behavioral health services.

In 2002, Florida enacted a statute that required Florida Medicaid HMOs to expend 80 percent of the Medicaid premium they received for certain behavioral health services on the actual provision of those services to beneficiaries.  If the HMO expended less than 80 percent of the premium, the law required the excess funds to be returned to the Medicaid Program.   Bereday and four other defendants were charged in an indictment that alleged the ways in which the defendants falsely and fraudulently schemed to submit inflated expenditure information in the company’s annual reports to AHCA in order to reduce the WellCare HMOs’ contractual payback obligations for behavioral health care services.

As part of his guilty plea, Bereday admitted that he, along with others, knowingly and willfully caused the submission of a false expenditure report for calendar year 2006 to the Florida Medicaid Program on behalf of Healthease, a WellCare HMO that was under contract to provide health care services to Medicare beneficiaries in Florida in 2006. 

On May 5, 2009, the United States reached a resolution with WellCare on related charges.  Pursuant to a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), WellCare was required to pay $40 million in restitution, forfeit another $40 million to the United States and cooperate with the government’s criminal investigation.  The company complied with all of the requirements of the DPA.  As a result, the criminal Information was later dismissed by the Court following a government motion.

After a 13-week trial in June 2013, a jury found the four other defendants guilty for their roles in a scheme to defraud the Florida Medicaid Program of more than $35 million.  Todd S. Farha of Tampa, Florida, former WellCare chief executive officer, was convicted of two counts of health care fraud; Paul L. Behrens of Odessa, Florida, former WellCare chief financial officer, was convicted of two counts of making false statements relating to health care matters and two counts of health care fraud; William L. Kale of Oldsmar, Florida, former vice president of Harmony Behavioral Health Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of WellCare), was found guilty of two counts of health care fraud; and Peter E. Clay of Wellesley, Massachusetts, former WellCare vice president of medical economics, was found guilty of making false statements to a law enforcement officer.  In May 2014, Judge Moody sentenced Farha to 36 months in prison; Behrens to 24 months in prison; and Kale to one year and one day in prison. Clay was sentenced to serve 5 years’ probation. The defendants appealed their convictions, which were all affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit in August 2016.

 

This case was investigated by the HHS-OIG, the FBI and the Florida Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.  Senior Litigation Counsel John A. Michelich of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jay G. Trezevant and Cherie Krigsman of the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 3,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $12.5 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announced today that Pryce Elijah Demars (24, Jacksonville) has been arrested and indicted by a federal grand jury for distribution of child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison and a potential lifetime of supervision. Demars has been detained pending his trial on January 2, 2018.

 

According to court documents, on November 15, 2017, FBI agents and local police officers executed a federal search warrant at Demars’s Jacksonville residence, in connection with a child exploitation investigation into online users of a particular file-sharing program. FBI agents determined that from August 3, 2016, through April 12, 2017, Demars had distributed videos depicting young children being sexually abused to other individuals using a computer over the Internet. During an interview, Demars admitted that he had searched for child pornography on the Internet, downloaded it, and distributed it to another individual in exchange for video games and other items of value. 

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

 

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.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

Tampa, FL – Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow today announced $9,515,210 in grant funding through the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). These funds have been awarded to 10 law enforcement agencies throughout the Middle District of Florida and will allow for the hiring of 75 additional full-time law enforcement officers. CHP provides grant funding directly to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to support the hiring of additional law enforcement officers, for three years, to address specific crime problems utilizing community policing strategies.

 

“Community policing is an effective tool in reducing violent crime in our neighborhoods,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow. “We are very glad that our partner agencies will be able to hire and train additional officers to engage citizens in this collective problem solving strategy to improve public safety.”

 

Earlier today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that 179 law enforcement agencies across the nation were awarded $98,495,397 through the COPS Office’s CHP funding program. These awards will allow for the hiring of 802 additional full-time law enforcement officers.

 

The complete list of award recipients can be found here.

 

The COPS Office awards grants to hire community policing officers, develop and test innovative policing strategies, and provide training and technical assistance to community members, local government leaders, and all levels of law enforcement. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to help advance community policing.

 

 

 

Middle District of Florida 2017 COPS Hiring Program Awards

 

Agency

Number of Officers Awarded

Award Amount

City of Casselberry

3

$325,967

 

City of Fort Myers

9

$1,125,000

 

Hendry County Sheriff’s Office

4

$771,724

 

Leesburg Police Department

3

$375,000

 

Nassau County Board of County Commissioners

4

$462,239

 

Ocoee Police Department

3

$375,000

 

Orange County Sheriff’s Office

25

$1,875,000

 

City of Orlando

15

$1,875,000

 

Sanford Police Department

7

$875,000

 

City of Starke

2

$205,280

 

Total

75

$9,515,210

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found McKenzie Calixte guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government property and five counts of theft of government property. He faces a maximum of 5 years in prison on the conspiracy count and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for each of the theft counts. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 29, 2018.

 

Calixte was indicted on February 15, 2017.

 

According to evidence introduced during trial, Calixte conspired with Tanya Fox and others in a scheme involving the filing of fraudulent tax returns using identities that had been stolen from a variety of sources. Fox directed Calixte and others to open business bank accounts in the name of a fraudulent tax preparation business and to have the tax refunds deposited into those accounts. Fox then worked with Calixte and the conspirators to withdraw the funds and spend the money. As part of the scheme, Calixte incorporated a false tax preparation business, Strong Hand Accounting, Tax & Payroll Services, Inc., and opened a business bank account in that name. He had 127 fraudulent tax refunds deposited into this account totaling more than $160,000. According to trial testimony, Calixte then withdrew funds from the account to pay a co-conspirator, to pay rent for a home that he leased with Fox, and to purchase a Range Rover. 

 

Fox attempted to receive approximately $5.8 million in fraudulent tax refunds and was successful in receiving over $4 million from the United States Treasury throughout the conspiracy, which lasted over two years. A federal jury previously found her guilty and she was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

 

Calixte is the eleventh person to be found guilty as a result of this scheme.  Shanterica Smith, Gerald Williams, and Delray Duncan provided approximately 2,400 names from the Orange County Health Department to Fox, so that she and her co-conspirators could file the fraudulent tax returns. Smith was sentenced to five years in federal prison, Williams was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment, and Duncan was sentenced to a term of three years and six months in federal prison.

 

In addition, April Cuyler was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and Chianti Smith was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Marceila Jackson and Reshonda Roberts each received two years in federal prison. Shanta Thaxton was sentenced to two years’ probation, and Mariah Herron is currently awaiting sentencing. 

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn P. Napier.

Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge John Antoon, II today sentenced Luis David Huerta-Carranza (37, Mexico) to two years in federal prison for illegal re-entry into the United States. He pleaded guilty on August 31, 2017.

 

According to court documents, Huerta-Carranza was previously deported from the United States to Mexico in June 2001, September 2013, and January 2014.

 

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations will continue to focus on investigating, arresting, and removing criminal aliens from the United States,” said Michael W. Meade, acting field office director for the Miami Field Office of ERO.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kara Wick.

Ocala, FL – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Charles Wallace Ellsworth (55, Summerfield) to 10 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography. He also was ordered to serve a life term of supervised release, and to comply with all applicable state and federal sexual offender and sexual predator registration statutes, upon his release from prison. Ellsworth pleaded guilty on August 21, 2017.

According to court documents, between March 2017 and May 11, 2017, Ellsworth received images of child pornography on a file sharing network. On May 12, 2017, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at Ellsworth’s home. Forensic analyses of his computer revealed more than 100 images of child pornography, including numerous images of infants and toddlers. 

“This criminal preyed on the most vulnerable in our society, our children,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge, James C. Spero. “We have stopped this predator in his tracks, protecting countless children from his crimes.”

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Orlando Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dale R. Campion.

 

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, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Stanley Hagan, Jr. (33, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervised release. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

 

According to court documents, in 2015, convicted child sex offender Darren Dozier was released from prison and established a residence in Philadelphia. While there, he molested an 8-year-old child and produced images and videos of the abuse. On December 19, 2015, and again on August 7, 2016, Hagan engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with Dozier. During the first conversation, Dozier offered to send Hagan sexually explicit images of his victim, and Hagan accepted the offer. Dozier then sent Hagan four images depicting Dozier sexually abusing the child. On August 30, 2017, during an interview with FBI agents in Jacksonville, Hagan admitted that he had solicited and received these images from Dozier. 

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville and Philadelphia. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

 

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 - U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger has sentenced 11 individuals in connection with their involvement in a year-long methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.

 

According to court documents, between mid-2015 and mid-2016, Audrey Jenkins, along with her sons, Marcelle and George Jenkins, supplied multi-ounce quantities of highly pure crystal methamphetamine, directly or through others, to Kathy Meyer, Lena Leigh Davis, Dane Lloyd, Tina Rayos, Melinda Reeves, Layton Franklin Thomas, Shanique Morgan, and Michelle Ryder. Those individuals, in turn, distributed the methamphetamine to others in south Georgia and north Florida. Audrey Jenkins’s residence in Alma, Georgia was a central meeting and distribution point.

 

On January 9, 2016, Marcelle Jenkins was arrested on state charges in Bacon County, Georgia. While in custody, he continued to run the drug organization via cellphones that were smuggled into the jail.

 

During this investigation, law enforcement officers seized methamphetamine from a number of the defendants. Tests by the Drug Enforcement Administration laboratory determined the methamphetamine to be as much as 99% pure. 

 

Name

Age, Residence

Term of Imprisonment

Marcelle Jenkins

25, Alma, GA

22 years

Audrey Jenkins

44, Alma, GA

21 years and 8 months

George Jenkins

27, Alma, GA

12 years

Tina Rayos

44, Fernandina Beach, FL

10 years

Kathy Meyer

63, Folkston, GA

6 years

Layton Franklin Thomas

22, Folkston, GA

6 years

Michelle Ryder

43, Fernandina Beach, FL

6 years

Melinda Reeves

38, Jacksonville, FL

5 years

Lena Davis

40, Waycross, GA

4 years

Norman Dane Lloyd

45, Folkston, Georgia

3 years

Shanique Morgan

23, Alma, GA

2 years

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, and the Charlton County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie Hackenberry Duva.