Middle District of Florida

Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Ann C. Conway has sentenced Edward Adams (57, Sanford) to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for receipt of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve a life term of supervision following his release from prison. Adams pleaded guilty on January 28, 2015.

According to the plea agreement, in September 2014, an FBI task force officer conducted an investigation involving child pornography being shared online. The officer downloaded images depicting child pornography from a computer that was later traced to Adams. On November 10, 2014, a federal search warrant was executed at Adams’s residence and his laptop computer was seized. The forensic analyses of the computer revealed images and movies depicting child pornography. During an interview with agents, Adams admitted that he had downloaded and possessed child pornography, and that he had sexually molested a minor in 1978.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys 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.

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Bryan T. Zuzga (37, Coldwater, Michigan) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and has also agreed to pay more than $11.6 million in restitution to his victims. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, Zuzga and his two conspirators, Jenifer E. Hoffman (38, Clermont) and John C. Boschert (43, Apopka), defrauded over $11 million from more than 100 victims through investments offered in connection with a company called Assured Capital Consultants. As part of their solicitations, the conspirators represented to investors that money would be placed in a Performing Private Placement Investment, and that Boschert had connections to the trading program being used. Investors were told that their investments would be safe and that none of their money would leave the attorney escrow account that belonged to Zuzga, who was represented as being an attorney licensed in Florida. Investors were further advised that their funds would be used as collateral for a line of credit, which would then be used in trading.

None of those representations were true. Zuzga was not an attorney licensed in Florida or any other state, and the funds were not deposited into any escrow account controlled by him. Instead, the three operated a scheme in which money from later investors was paid to earlier investors. The three also used some of the money from the scheme for themselves, including purchasing residences for Hoffman and Zuzga.

In a prior civil proceeding, the United States forfeited two residences belonging to Hoffman and Zuzga, which had been purchased with proceeds from the scheme. The government obtained more than $850,000 from the sale of the properties. The proceeds from those sales were distributed to the victims of the scheme. 

Boschert pleaded guilty on October 29, 2014, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23, 2015. Hoffman has been charged with one count of conspiracy, eleven counts of wire fraud, and one count of making a false tax return. Her trial is set for July 6, 2015. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each count of conspiracy and wire fraud, and 3 years in federal prison for the false tax return.

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

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the United States Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Roger B. Handberg, James Mandolfo, and Nicole M. Andrejko.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Douglas Scheels (43, Sanford) pleaded guilty today to producing and receiving child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison for the production charge and a mandatory minimum of 5 years, up to 20 years, for the receipt charge. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, from at least June 2014, and continuing through his arrest on January 11, 2015, Scheels sought out, identified, communicated with, and sexually exploited several minor victims. He enticed two minors from his neighborhood into producing child pornography. Scheels also sought out additional minor victims from his neighborhood. Using online communications, Scheels persuaded a minor to produce and send him explicit photos, and also communicated with additional minors over the Internet for the same purpose.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sanford Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Bishop Ravenel.

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

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Jon Christopher Stoune (43, Jacksonville) has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with attempted enticement, via the Internet, of a person he believed to be a minor child for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. Stoune was arrested on April 21, 2015, in St. Augustine, Florida and remains in custody on related state charges.   

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 until, and unless, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 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.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Sylvester Banks, Jr. today pleaded guilty to theft of government funds. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, between April 2011 and March 2013, Banks received and deposited into his bank account approximately $755,900 in U.S. Treasury and other checks, which were all made payable to persons other than himself. Those checks were income tax refund checks that were the result of numerous false and fraudulently filed income tax returns. During an interview with federal agents in February 2015, Banks acknowledged that he had realized that the checks were fraudulent income tax refund proceeds, and that it was unlawful for him to have received and deposited them into his own account.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.

Orlando, Florida – Chief U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway has sentenced William A. Harvey (50, DeLand) to 16 years and 8 months in federal prison for production of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve a life term of supervision following his release from prison. Harvey pleaded guilty on March 31, 2015.

According to court documents, Harvey produced child pornography at his residence on May 5, 2014. His victim was a 16-year-old autistic girl. Harvey took several photographs of the victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The victim told someone about the incident the following day and law enforcement was contacted. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed, during which officers found a computer and an external hard drive in Harvey’s bedroom. A forensic examination of the equipment revealed 20 pornographic images of the victim. The victim had stated that Harvey had used a purple camera to take the photographs of her. That camera was also found during the execution of the search warrant.

This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the DeLand Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.

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

Ocala, FL – U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III and Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division announced today the indictment by a federal grand jury of U.S. Bureau of Prison (BOP) Correction Officers (COs) William Houghton and Eddie Rodas-Castro.

The indictment charges CO Houghton with violating the civil rights of an inmate inside the Coleman Correctional Facility in Coleman, Florida, on March 22, 2014, by striking the inmate repeatedly in the head and face, causing him injury.  The indictment also charges CO Houghton and CO Rodas-Castro with obstruction of justice by falsifying BOP reports and making false statements to federal investigators regarding the assault.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Roy Conn of the Civil Right Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Bodnar of the Middle District of Florida.

An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury today found Reginald Howard, Jr. (36, Ocala) guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. Howard was indicted on January 7, 2015.

According to the testimony and evidence presented at trial, Ocala Police Department officers were called to a disturbance at a store on November 28, 2014. Officers were told that a man was in the bathroom with a gun. Officers confronted Howard and a subsequent search revealed a loaded, 9mm handgun inside his left rear pocket.  Howard stated that he had the firearm for protection. Witnesses reported that Howard had threatened them while displaying the pistol.

Prior to the incident, Howard had been convicted for the sale of cocaine and felony fleeing and eluding law enforcement. As such, he qualifies for an enhanced sentence as an armed career criminal under federal law. At the time of the offense, Howard was under federal supervision.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Ocala Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Bryon R. Aven and Robert Bodnar.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violent crime in communities.

Orlando, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp today sentenced Male Yahaira Rivera (35, Orlando) to 15 months in federal prison for embezzlement from a federally insured credit union. She was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release, and to pay $258,000 in restitution. Rivera pleaded guilty on March 18, 2015.

According to court documents, Rivera was an Assistant Branch Manager of Fairwinds Credit Union. Over a period of about 10 months, she stole $258,000 in cash from the credit union, in 16 separate thefts, ranging in amounts from $2,000 to $40,000.  Each of the thefts involved cash that was supposed to be deposited into an ATM machine or that had been removed from an ATM machine. Rivera used more than $44,000 as a partial payment for a Porsche.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging the following persons with federal crimes involving steroid trafficking:

DAVID ARROYO, a/k/a “Big D,” (40, Orlando)

VINCENT SPERTI, (36, Lake Mary)

JOHN WALKER, (41, Lake Mary)

JEFFREY BERRIOS, (43, Lake Mary)

HUNTER RAWLS, (36, Heathrow)

JEFFREY WALKER, (22, Lake Mary)

JASON BERGSTRESSER, (26, Longwood)

CHRISTOPHER EADDY, (43, Winter Springs)

ALLISON EADDY, (32, Winter Springs)

JOHN ERBER, (41, Lake Mary)

BREA TATO, (40, Lake Mary)

GUILLERMO OTERO, (31, Deltona)

DAVID CENTENO, (29, Sanford)

STEVEN GRODEN, (36, Lake Mary)

MELISSA SPERTI, (33, Lake Mary)

ERIC BOCCARD, (41, Mount Dora)

SANTIAGO RIOS, (41, Deltona)

ROBERT GONZALEZ, (42, Orlando)

 

David Arroyo, Vincent Sperti, John Walker, Jeffrey Berrios, Hunter Rawls, Jeffrey Walker, Jason Bergstresser, Christopher Eaddy, Allison Eaddy, John Erber, Brea Tato, Eric Boccard, and Robert Gonzalez are charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. They each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

David Arroyo, Vincent Sperti, Guillermo Otero, David Centeno, Steven Groden, Melissa Sperti, and Santiago Rios are charged with conspiracy to conduct international money laundering. They each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States is seeking a money judgment in the amount of the proceeds of the drug trafficking and money laundering offenses.

According to the indictment, beginning in or about April 2012, and continuing through August 2014, the defendants operated a steroid drug trafficking conspiracy in Central Florida, primarily in Seminole County, and were responsible for shipping illegal steroids throughout the United States and internationally. The members of the conspiracy played various roles in the operation of the Internet-based, steroid-trafficking operation - some as organizers, others as manufacturers and shippers, some who sent money to China for the purchase of raw steroids, and some who picked up the proceeds of the drugs sales. The group allegedly sold all types of illegal steroids, including oral capsules and oil-based injectable steroids. The orders were made through web sites maintained in foreign countries, and the steroids were processed and sent to customers from Central Florida via United States Mail.

The indictment further alleges that members of the organization went to great lengths to disguise their participation in the receipt and distribution of illegal steroids and proceeds, including the use of fake names and false identities, the use of different postal facilities in Florida, South Carolina, and other states, and the use of Money Gram and Western Union to pick up money from the drugs sales at numerous locations throughout Central Florida.

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

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs Jr.

Jacksonville, Florida B United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that the United States has settled allegations that a Jacksonville-based home health company knowingly billed the government for millions of dollars of medically unnecessary services by submitting false claims to Medicare. The allegations resolved include liability under the False Claims Act (FCA).

The government has reached a settlement with Advanced Homecare, Inc. In reaching this settlement, the parties have resolved allegations that, from April 2009 until April 2012, Advanced Homecare created a set of “neurocare protocols” wherein the company accepted home health referrals from two neurologists – Dr. Sean Orr and one other provider. Through these protocols, the government alleges that Advanced Homecare accepted and treated patients who were not actually homebound and did not have a valid physician certification of home health need, as required by Medicare. Further, the government alleges that Advanced Homecare recklessly allowed its employees to aggressively market its home health services to this neurology practice and that those marketing employees gained direct access to the practice’s patient files, completed referral forms, and used the doctors’ signature stamps to sign orders, in order to circumvent the physician certification requirement. The government has agreed to accept $1,293,169 to resolve these allegations.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to using every tool at our disposal to prevent, deter, and prosecute health care fraud,” stated U.S. Attorney Bentley. “We will continue to bring FCA cases such as this to safeguard our taxpayer resources and to ensure the integrity of our essential federal health care programs.”

This lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Marsha Yandell, a former employee at Advanced Homecare. Under those provisions, a private party, known as a relator, can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. The relator will receive more than $200,000 as part of today’s settlement.

“Sticking taxpayers with a bill for unnecessary health care services will never be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.  “Working in close coordination with our law enforcement partners, we will tirelessly pursue health care companies that threaten the integrity of Federal health care programs.” 

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered more than $24 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $15.3 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and Assistant United States Attorneys Collette Cunningham and Jason Mehta.

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

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Heidi Y. Calonge (34) with four counts of bank fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of mail fraud. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on the bank fraud charges, and up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each wire and mail fraud charge. The indictment also notifies her that the United States is seeking a money judgment in the amount of the proceeds of the fraud. Calonge was arrested and had her initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Mark A. Pizzo yesterday. She was released on bond.

According to the indictment, Calonge was employed as the lead agent and manager of a small insurance company located in Plant City – “Express Insurance of Plant City.” In that capacity, she devised a scheme to defraud the owners out of bonus and commission checks from various insurance companies with whom the company did business. Calonge allegedly posed as the company’s owner by opening a post office box in a similar corporate name, filing corporate paperwork, registering a similar fictitious name, and opening a personal bank account in that fictitious name in order to deposit checks rightfully due and owed to the true owners of the company. The indictment further alleges that Calonge spent the fraud proceeds on personal items that benefitted herself and her family, and to open another competing insurance agency.

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

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley C. Howard-Allen.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced Ismael Rivera (29, Orlando) to 25 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography. He was also found guilty of violating the conditions of his supervised release, for which he was sentenced to serve an additional two consecutive years in prison. The Court ordered Rivera to serve a life time of supervision following his release from prison, and to forfeit the electronic device that he had used to commit the crime. Rivera pleaded guilty on March 26, 2015.

According to court documents, Rivera was convicted of receipt of child pornography on July 16, 2008, and was sentenced to seven years in federal prison. He was released on May 14, 2014, and began serving his term of supervised release.  Three months later, Rivera obtained a smartphone and began downloading child pornography from the Internet. Federal agents executed a search warrant at Rivera’s home and found 22 videos depicting the sexual abuse of girls under the age of six on his smartphone.

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

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Aaron Bicknell (28, Zephyrhills) to seven years in federal prison for receiving child pornography. The Court also ordered him to serve a life term of supervision and to register as a sex offender following his release from prison. Bicknell pleaded guilty on March 18, 2015.

According to court documents, Bicknell used an Internet file sharing program to download child pornography. After a search warrant was executed at his residence, he was found to be in possession of more than 3,500 images depicting child pornography, including more than 150 images depicting sadomasochistic conduct.

“It is disturbing that this predator had thousands of images depicting horrible crimes against children,” said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa. “HSI will continue to work with our state and local partners, like the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, making our communities safer.”

“Each one of Bicknell’s movies and photographs represents a child who has been sexually abused,” said FDLE Tampa Bay Special Agent in Charge Rick Ramirez. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate these types of cases.”

"It is critical that we continue to proactively go after these individuals because their criminal acts perpetuate the exploitation of kids and can be linked to the issue of human trafficking of children," said Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.

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 B United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces today that the United States has formally filed a lawsuit against Liberty Ambulance Services, Inc., a Jacksonville-based ambulance company. This lawsuit is brought pursuant to the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute.

In its complaint, the government describes a 10-year scheme in which Liberty Ambulance deliberately and knowingly submitted false claims to federally subsidized healthcare programs. The complaint alleges that Liberty was not only acutely aware that false claims were being submitted, but also directed that these false claims be submitted so as to maximize reimbursement. Specific training documents and manuals that Liberty Ambulance used to train its employees to falsify records are attached to the complaint. The government alleges that directives from management resulted in a culture of Liberty knowingly submitting false statements to justify medically unnecessary ambulance transports.

In addition to contending that Liberty Ambulance submitted false claims to the government, the complaint also alleges that Liberty Ambulance engaged in a systematic kickback scheme to further maximize its reimbursement from the federal government.  Liberty Ambulance, the complaint alleges, has a policy and practice of offering commercially unreasonable rates to private payors – such as hospitals, nursing homes, and the like – but not offering these same discounts and rates to the government. Liberty Ambulance offers these discounts to the private payors so that they will then provide Liberty Ambulance with exclusive access to their federal government subsidized patient population. In all, through the efforts of Liberty Ambulance, the government alleges that more than $28 million in claims were submitted to the federal healthcare programs. The vast majority of these claims were medically unnecessary, predicated on false statements, and should not have been reimbursable.

This lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Shawn Pelletier, a former employee at Liberty Ambulance. He, too, is a party to the lawsuit filed today.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of Personnel Management. It is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Mehta.

The lawsuit contains allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Carl Joseph Thomas Pisa (24, Casselberry) was arrested yesterday after selling explosive devices to an undercover agent in Winter Park. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.

According to court documents, in December 2014, an undercover task force agent (UC) with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office contacted Pisa in response to an online ad for a military simulator offered for sale. Pisa agreed to sell him the simulator. Between December 2014 and February 2015, Pisa met with the UC on several occasions to sell the UC explosives. On February 6, 2015, Pisa sold the UC 12 improvised explosive devices in a parking lot in Winter Park. During the meeting, the UC asked Pisa if the explosives could kill somebody, to which Pisa responded, “yes.” In describing the bombs, Pisa explained how ball bearings would blast out from the device in a perfect cone upon initiation. The devices were sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives laboratory for examination, where they were identified as explosive bombs and destructive devices. It was also determined that they were not properly registered to Pisa in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James D. Mandolfo.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violent crime and improve the quality of life where law enforcement efforts are focused.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Candia V. Williams with nine counts of aiding in the preparation and filing of false tax returns. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison on each count.

According to the indictment, Williams is the owner and operator of Express Tax Returns, a tax preparation business now known as “Taxonville.” In the course of preparing and filing income tax returns for individuals, Williams allegedly reported false information, including information concerning the individuals’ business income and eligibility for tax credits, in order to maximize refund amounts received.

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 Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation.  It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.

Orlando, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging Ruba Khandaqji (37, Celebration) with one count of making threats against the President of the United States. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.

According to court documents, on March 30, 2015, Khandaqji called the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and left a threatening message about hiring a hit man to kill unnamed individuals, asking that her message be passed on to the governor. The next day, investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement interviewed Khandaqji at her home. When asked if she knew why they were there, she replied, in essence, because she had threatened to kill Governor Rick Scott.

On April 1, 2015, when FDLE investigators returned to Khandaqji’s home to arrest her for threatening the governor, she reiterated her threats against him, and said that she also wanted to kill the President. Later that night, Khandaqji told a Secret Service agent that she wanted the President to be killed. 

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

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Schuster.

Fort Myers, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John E. Steele has sentenced Adam Parrish (35, Naples) to six years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and improperly using a DEA Registration Number. He pleaded guilty on February 18, 2015.

According to his plea agreement, from February 2009 through July 2012, Adam Parrish conspired with Delmer Holmes Parrish and Patricia Parrish to defraud federal health care benefit programs out of approximately $351,358. All three, along with others, used Sunshine Pharmacy and Sunshine Solutions in Naples to further their unlawful scheme to defraud the government. The co-conspirators submitted and caused claims to be submitted for reimbursement from the Medicaid, Medicare, and TRICARE programs for prescriptions that had not been filled or provided to beneficiaries and recipients, including prescriptions for patients that had not been written or authorized by any duly licensed physician. In addition, they submitted and caused claims to be submitted for beneficiaries and recipients who were deceased. In carrying out the offenses, the conspirators also used the means of identification of individuals who were enrolled in the Medicaid, Medicare, or TRICARE programs without their knowledge or consent. As a result of the scheme, the government was defrauded out of approximately $351,358.

In addition, Adam Parrish admitted that he had unlawfully used the names of three federal health care beneficiaries to commit health care fraud. He also admitted that he had used two different physicians’ DEA Registration Numbers, on three occasions, to acquire or obtain controlled substances from pharmacies in Collier County. 

Delmer Parrish and Patricia Parrish were sentenced for their role in the conspiracy in April 2014. Delmer Parrish, who was a licensed pharmacist and owner of Sunshine Pharmacy, surrendered his pharmacist license and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. Patricia Parrish, Delmer Parrish’s mother, was sentenced to house arrest for 120 days, to be followed by three years of probation. In addition, Delmer and Patricia Parrish paid $351,358.14 in restitution to the United States at the time of their sentencing.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Naples Police Department; Collier County Sheriff's Office; and the U.S. Secret Service.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David G. Lazarus.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy Corrigan today sentenced Harold Walbey, III to four years and three months in federal prison for identity theft and wire fraud. As part of his sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $110,756, the proceeds of the offenses. Walbey pleaded guilty on December 18, 2014.

According to court documents, beginning in 2010 and continuing through May 2012, Walbey, in his capacity as a correctional officer at the John E. Goode Pre-trial Detention Facility (PTDF), stole the personal identifying information of unknowing inmates that were housed at the facility. As a part of this scheme, Walbey maintained a notebook that contained 49 names, Social Security numbers, and dates of births of prisoners that were incarcerated at the PTDF. Once this information was stolen, fraudulent debit card accounts and W-2 forms were created in the inmates’ names, and fraudulent tax return were then electronically filed. From 2010 through 2012, Walbey filed tax returns in 38 different prisoners’ names, claiming more than $250,000 in fraudulent refunds. He received $110,756 in proceeds as a result of his involvement in this crime.

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Malisa Chokshi.

Fort Myers, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John E. Steele has sentenced Quinton Paul Handlon (44, Port Charlotte) to life in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography and for coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. Handlon was found guilty by a jury on October 9, 2014.

According to evidence presented at trial, Handlon sexually abused a family member over an approximately four-year period, while she was between the ages of 11 and 15. He provided the girl with money and other items in exchange for sexual activity. Handlon took sexually explicit photographs of the child, filmed her engaged in sexual activity with him, and coerced her to take photographs and videos of herself for his sexual gratification. A search warrant executed at Handlon’s residence recovered the electronic devices containing the victim’s images and videos.

This case was investigated by the Charlotte County Sherriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Unit. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tama Koss Caldarone and Stacie B. Harris.

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 – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury has found Jean Phineas Losier (41, Wellington) guilty of conspiracy to deal in counterfeit Federal Reserve notes. He faces up to five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the trial testimony and court documents, Losier began manufacturing a specific United States counterfeit note (designated by the United States Secret Service as D23548 and D23548A) in 2008. Over the ensuing years, he engaged in a substantial counterfeit relationship with co-defendant Mercury Thompson, and others, to sell and pass the counterfeit $100 and $50 notes. Losier operated alone in the manufacturing process.  Using laser printer and toner technology, and an elaborate bleaching and re-printing process, he stripped the ink from genuine $1 bills and then manufactured counterfeit $100 and $50 bills on the remaining paper.

On January 14, 2014, Secret Service agents executed search warrants at a Wellington apartment where Losier had manufactured the notes. The agents seized manufacturing devices and also located bleached genuine $1 Federal Reserve notes, chemicals and chemical residue, as well as other indicators of high volume bleaching. Detailed molds and templates, reflecting the image of genuine United States security watermarks, were located inside the residence. Losier, an artist, had etched the watermark molds.

Forensic analyses of the seized electronic media and counterfeit notes revealed Losier’s detailed manufacturing process, including images of the notes at virtually every stage of the manufacturing process. Investigators were able to forensically match the electronic devices to counterfeit $100 bills seized at various stores in the Jacksonville area during April and May 2010, including bills seized from the St. Johns Towns Center. The forensic comparison of the images also matched $4,200 of counterfeit $100 notes seized from a rental vehicle in which Thompson was present on July 12, 2012, and $10,000 in $100 counterfeit notes that another individual purchased from Losier on January 10, 2014.

According to Secret Service forensic examiners, the value of the known counterfeit notes (D23548 and D23548A) passed in the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida since late 2008 is more than $3.5 million. The known amount passed worldwide exceeds $4.3 million. After Losier’s arrest on January 14, 2014, the passing of these designated counterfeit notes ceased almost entirely.

Mercury Thompson (39, Delray Beach) previously pleaded guilty for his role in this case, and is currently awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Delray Beach Police Department, the Boynton Beach Police Department, and the Boca Raton Police Department. The United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida participated in this investigation and prosecution.  Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Coolican and A. Tysen Duva are prosecuting the Middle District of Florida case.

Losier also faces counterfeit manufacturing charges in the Southern District of Florida. After his sentencing in the Middle District of Florida, he will be transferred to the Southern District to face those charges.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Andrea Lynn McCarthy (63, Volusia County) has pleaded guilty to embezzlement from an employee benefit plan.  She faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, McCarthy is an owner of Truss Systems, LLC, a truss manufacturing business in Flagler County.  She embezzled all of the funds from the business’ corporate profit sharing plan and unlawfully used the pension funds to pay personal and other unrelated corporate expenses.  She used some of the funds to pay personal investment obligations in another unrelated company she co-owns.  The corporate profit sharing plan was a federally protected plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

In 2009, Truss Systems was having financial issues.  In order to make the company’s payroll, pay vendors, satisfy the company’s mortgage payments, and pay financial obligations of her unrelated company, McCarthy made 15 separate and illegal electronic funds transfers from the company’s profit sharing plan’s account.  This embezzlement, totaling $111,625.00, was accomplished by electronically transferring funds from the plan’s account to the company’s operating account.  McCarthy then wrote checks from the operating account to cover personal and business obligations.  She depleted the employees’ profit sharing account.

This case was investigated by United States Department of Labor. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Devereaux.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of a twenty-one count indictment charging Dr. Anda Norbergs (59, Palm Harbor) with nine counts of receiving misbranded drugs in interstate commerce and twelve counts of health care fraud. If convicted, she faces up to three years in federal prison for each count of receiving misbranded drugs and up to ten years on each count of health care fraud. The indictment also notifies Dr. Norbergs that the United States is seeking a money judgment of at least $700,000, which is alleged to be proceeds of the offense.

According to the indictment, Dr. Norbergs, a licensed physician in Florida, was the head doctor, owner, and operator of East Lake Oncology (“ELO”), a cancer treatment clinic located in Palm Harbor. Beginning in at least June 2009, she ordered, and directed others at ELO to order, drugs from foreign distributors, including Quality Specialty Products (“QSP”). The drugs sold to ELO by QSP and the other foreign distributors included drugs from foreign establishments that had not been registered with or approved by the FDA. Many of the drugs were shipped directly to ELO from a location outside the United States, usually the United Kingdom or Canada. The packaging and documents shipped with the drugs showed that they were manufactured and packaged for distribution in foreign countries.

Unbeknownst to patients, these misbranded drugs were then administered at ELO. After administering these drugs to patients, ELO submitted claims for reimbursement to Medicare and other private health care benefit programs. In submitting those claims, Dr. Norbergs falsely represented that the FDA-approved versions of the drugs had been administered, when she knew that unapproved and misbranded versions of those drugs had been given to patients. In so doing, Dr. Norbergs generated profits from the difference between the Medicare reimbursement rates for the FDA-approved drugs and the discounted prices of the misbranded versions of those drugs purchased from foreign distributors.

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

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Jackson.

Patients and/or family members of patients treated by Dr. Norbergs and East Lake Oncology who may have questions or concerns regarding medical treatment received should contact the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General for more information. A dedicated email account has been established. Please contact the case agents at: Dr.Norbergs.patients@oig.hhs.gov.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Gregory Michael McCarty (46, Green Cove Springs) to five years in federal prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. He was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervision following his release from prison, and to register as a sex offender. At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, McCarty was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to await designation to a federal facility.

According to court documents, an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Jacksonville began an undercover investigation to identify individuals in that area that had access to and/or were trading images and videos depicting child pornography over the Internet. The agent determined that a computer in the northeast Florida area was hosting images of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing program. The agent was able to download several files from this computer.  Further investigation traced the computer to McCarty’s residence in Green Cove Springs.

Law enforcement officers subsequently executed a federal search warrant at McCarty's residence and seized several computers and other electronic media.  During an interview with agents, McCarty acknowledged that he had been receiving child pornography for about two years, stating that he had some on his external drives “for a long time.” He stated, “I fell into it and never got rid of it and never quit.” McCarty further stated, “I know it was wrong, I just didn’t get rid of it and didn’t, didn’t stop doing whatever I was doing.” The forensic analyses of the seized equipment revealed that McCarty’s computer media contained at least 18 images and at least 20 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.    

This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was 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.

WASHINGTON – Assistant United States Attorney Ralph E. Hopkins and Legal Administrative Assistant Tyline Medina of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (MDFL) were two of 160 members of the Department of Justice recognized by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson at the 31st Director’s Awards Ceremony today in Washington D.C.

The MDFL was one of 31 districts represented at the ceremony which was held in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.

In her prepared remarks, Attorney General Lynch told the awardees, “Our honorees include career executives and supervisors; Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys; appellate attorneys and law enforcement officials; administrators, paralegals, and public affairs officers. These individuals, and so many others, have faced daunting and sometimes dangerous challenges. They have dedicated their leadership and their expertise, their time and their energy, to the service of their mission.  And they have remained devoted, at all times, to the high ideals and deeply-held values that animate our country and our cause."

Hopkins and Medina received one of the Department of Justice’s highest honors, the Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team, in recognition of their tremendous effort in litigating the Government’s claims in the civil health care fraud case styled United States ex rel. Baklid-Kunz v. Halifax Hospital Medical Ctr., et al., and for negotiating a landmark settlement in that case.  The settlement -- reached on the morning of trial -- paid the United States $85 million to resolve claims that the defendant violated the Stark Act through illegal relationships with physician practice groups.

United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, who attended today’s ceremony, said, “It was my honor to nominate and witness Ralph, Tyline, and the litigation team receive this prestigious award today. I am thankful for their countless hours of hard work, and I know that future enforcement efforts will be greatly assisted by the achievements of this trial team.”

In addition to Hopkins and Medina, six other members of the litigation team were recognized today.  Trial Attorneys Adam J. Schwartz and Kavitha J. Babu, Paralegal Specialist Jackeline M. Rosero, and Financial Analyst Eileen Zimmer from the DOJ Civil Division’s Fraud Section, Assistant United States Attorney Patricia M. Fitzgerald from the Northern District of Ohio, and Special Agent Robert W. Murphy from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Investigations in Jacksonville each received the Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team for their roles in this case.

EOUSA provides oversight, general executive assistance, and direction to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country. For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Timothy Larry Malden (44, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the passing of counterfeit Federal Reserve notes. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Christopher Jon Kirkland (41) and William Brinkley, Jr. (35), also of Jacksonville, pleaded guilty to the same offenses on June 5, 2014. They each face a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment. Sentencing dates have not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, in approximately August 2013, Kirkland began manufacturing counterfeit $20 and $100 Federal Reserve notes. Once he manufactured the notes, Brinkley and Malden drove Kirkland around to various businesses in Florida or Georgia to pass the counterfeit currency. They passed the notes to obtain merchandise and reloadable gift cards. They also returned fraudulently obtained merchandise in order to obtain genuine currency. From approximately August 2013, to December 2013, the three passed or attempted to pass approximately $32,600 in counterfeit currency throughout Florida and Georgia.

This case was investigated by United States Secret Service Jacksonville Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Fort Myers, Florida – United States District Judge John E. Steele today sentenced Warren Hamilton (59, Ft. Myers) to 10 years in federal prison for distributing and possessing child pornography. The Court also ordered him to pay a fine of $17,500, serve a life term of supervision, and register as a sex offender following his release from prison.  He pleaded guilty on November 18, 2014.

According to court documents, Hamilton used Internet file sharing programs to distribute and receive child pornography. After a search warrant was executed at his residence, he was found to be in possession of approximately 345,000 child pornography images, including those of children involved in bondage. At the time of his arrest, Hamilton was employed as a computer technician in Ft. Myers.

"HSI continues to work relentlessly to protect the most vulnerable members of society, our children," said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa.      

This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tama Koss Caldarone.

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

Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces today that the United States has settled allegations that a Jacksonville-based compounding pharmacy knowingly billed the government for compounding pain prescriptions that came from an improper referral source.  The allegations resolved included liability under the False Claims Act (FCA).

The government has reached a settlement with the defendant, MediMix, and the top-referring physician – Dr. Ankit Desai.  In reaching this settlement, the parties resolved allegations that, from January 1, 2009, until December 2014, Dr. Desai sent hundreds of prescriptions to MediMix.  These prescriptions were not appropriately reimbursable because Dr. Desai was married to a Senior Vice President at MediMix. Healthcare providers are generally prohibited from referring business to entities where they have a financial interest.  The government agreed to accept $3,775,458 to resolve these allegations.

Today’s settlement involved false claims submitted to the TRICARE program.  This case was developed by proactively mining health care reimbursement data.  In mining through this data, MediMix was identified as a top biller of compounding pain prescriptions.

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting TRICARE and other federal health care programs from fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Bentley.  “By bringing FCA cases such as this, we recover funds obtained through fraud and deter others from attempting similar schemes.”

"This settlement highlights another step forward by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and its law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) health care program," said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office.  "Fraud and abuse by pharmacies and medical providers which bill for compounded pain prescriptions is a significant threat to the DoD health care system.  TRICARE beneficiaries must be made aware that any medications that are not individually prescribed or dispensed by a bona fide treating physician for a specific medical condition can be ineffective or unsafe."

"This settlement is demonstrative of our joint efforts to investigate allegations of health care fraud, and is a strong example of how collaborative efforts lead to success," stated Assistant Special Agent in Charge Lawrence Koleff with the FBI Jacksonville Division.

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $24 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $15.3 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

This case was investigated by Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Program Integrity Office at the Defense Health Agency, and Assistant United States Attorney Jason Mehta.

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

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Nicodemus Darnell Jefferson (40, Jacksonville) to 16 months in federal prison for failing to register as a sex offender after traveling to Florida from Maryland.  He was also ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release following his incarceration. Jefferson pleaded guilty on March 27, 2015.   

According to court documents, Jefferson was convicted in 1998 of criminal sexual conduct with a minor in Charleston County, South Carolina. Subsequent to his conviction, and between March 17, 2014, and September 30, 2014, Jefferson traveled from Maryland to Florida, where he has since resided.  He failed to register in Florida as a sex offender as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. On September 30, 2014, Jefferson was arrested at his residence. At the time of his arrest, he acknowledged that he had been living there since June 2014. Jefferson had obtained a Florida identification card on August 4, 2014, that referenced a different Jacksonville address as his residence.

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 Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was 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 – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging Joe Eugene Loving (46) and John Thomas Humphreys (41), both of Conroe, Texas, and Paul Corbin Pennington, Jr. (27, Orange Park) with aggravated identity theft, bank fraud, false representation of a Social Security number, and manufacturing and passing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes. Each faces up to 30 years in federal prison on the bank fraud charge, 20 years on the charges of manufacturing and passing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes, 5 years for false representation of a Social Security number, and a 2-year mandatory term of imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft charge.

According to the indictment, in January 2015, Loving, Humphreys, and Pennington obtained the personal identification information of various individuals from Texas and used the information to commit bank fraud in Florida. The three also manufactured and passed counterfeit Federal Reserve notes throughout Clay County.

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

This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Green Cove Springs Police Department, and the United States Secret Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Jarvos Leonard White (25, Tampa) today pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition after a felony conviction and theft of government property.  He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, on December 15, 2014, a customer saw White drop a handgun on the floor at the Citrus Park Town Center shopping mall in Tampa. Shortly after, White was arrested as he attempted to leave the mall. In his back pocket, he had pistol with a round chambered. Ten days later, on Christmas morning, several vehicles were burglarized in the Boyette Springs subdivision in Riverview. One of the burglarized vehicles was an FBI vehicle. Among the items stolen were three firearms, ammunition, and body armor. A blood stain from within the vehicle was subsequently determined to match White’s DNA.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging Jacksonville residents Hezekiah Williams (59), Travis Jerome Ware (24), and David Lee Mitchell (53) with aggravated identity theft, attempted bank fraud, and possession of counterfeit business checks. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for each attempted bank fraud charge, up to 10 years in prison for each counterfeit charge, and a 2-year, mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for each aggravated identity theft offense. All three were arraigned on May 20, 2015, and are being detained pending trial.

According to the indictment, in November 2014, Williams, Ware, and Mitchell obtained genuine forms of identification, such as driver licenses, that contained the personal identification information of various victims. They also obtained 25 counterfeit business checks, some of which were made payable to names that corresponded to the forms of identification in their possession. They then attempted to cash the checks at financial institutions.

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

This case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol and the United States Secret Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of four indictments charging 13 individuals with various federal criminal offenses, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, failure to file an IRS Form 8300, structuring of currency transactions, conspiracy to transmit wagering information, and narcotics trafficking.  Included in the indictments is a count charging Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) Patrol Officer Michael Rounsville (46, Jacksonville) with the unauthorized use of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Database. Also charged today are Hedar Khlaf, Manuel Rodriguez, Mollie Bass, Diane Harrison, Erick Estrada-Lopez, Bruce Childs, Christian Magliano, John Amell, Ilia Mato, Vladimir Adunts, Justin Downing, and Evanc Rajta.

According to court documents, between May 2012 and January 28, 2013, multiple individuals conspired to conduct financial transactions with proceeds represented by an undercover agent to be from the distribution of ecstasy.  As part of the conspiracy, a vehicle was purchased without filing an IRS Form 8300, and wire transfers from bank accounts were structured to avoid triggering the filing of a Currency Transaction Report.  In furtherance of the conspiracy, Rounsville exceeded his authorized access to the NCIC database by performing a criminal history check on the aforementioned undercover agent.  The indictment also alleges that in January 2013, several of the individuals conspired to distribute marijuana. Amell, Mato, Adunts, and Downing have each been charged with conspiracy to transmit wagering information related to Internet gambling, and Rajta has been charged with laundering funds represented to be proceeds from the distribution of marihuana.

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

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; the United States Secret Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; the Washoe County (Nevada) Sheriff’s Office; and the Nevada Highway Patrol.  It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diidri Robinson.

This investigation, dubbed Operation Thunderstruck, is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Program, which was established in 1982 to mount a comprehensive attack against organized drug traffickers. Today, the OCDETF Program is the centerpiece of the Attorney General’s drug strategy to reduce the availability of drugs by disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, money laundering organizations, and related criminal enterprises.

Operation Thunderstruck Case Number Defendant (age) Charge Maximum Penalty 3:15-cr-70-J-34MCR Hedar Khlaf (32) Conspiracy to commit money laundering 20 years Manuel Rodriguez (31) Mollie Bass (31) Diane Harrison (57) Erick Estrada-Lopez (40)

Michael Rounsville (46)

Unauthorized computer access

5 years

 

Hedar Khlaf

Failure to file an IRS Form 8300 10 years Manuel Rodriguez Diane Harrison Structuring currency transactions 10 years Mollie Bass Bruce Childs (36) Manuel Rodriguez

Conspiracy to distribute marihuana

20 years Mollie Bass Christian Magliano (26) 3:15-cr-71-J-39MCR John Amell (55)

 

Conspiracy to transmit wagering information

 

5 years

Ilia Mato (54) 3:15-cr-72-J-39PDB Vladimir Adunts (26) Justin Downing (25) 3:15-cr-73-J-25MCR Evanc Rajta (28) Money laundering 20 years

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Myers, Florida – United States District Judge John A. Steele has sentenced Adam Moffett (32, Ft. Myers) to 10 years in federal prison for distributing and possessing child pornography. The Court also ordered him to serve a life term of supervision as a sexual offender. Moffett pleaded guilty on February 25, 2015.

According to court documents, Moffett utilized private Internet chat rooms to communicate with other individuals, distribute, and receive child pornography. After a search warrant was executed at his residence, Moffett was found to be in possession of over 600 child pornography images.

This case was investigated by the Lee County Sherriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Unit. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tama Koss Caldarone.

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 Virginia M. Hernandez Covington today sentenced Willie Streater (25, Tampa) to six years and nine months in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of his sentence, the Court entered a money judgment in the amount of $25,206, which is a portion of the proceeds traceable to the offense. Streater was also ordered to pay restitution in excess of $1 million to the IRS. He pleaded guilty on March 19, 2015.

According to court documents, Streater is a former employee of a shredding company that had a contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to shred documents at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa. Streater stole documents intended for shredding that contained the personal identifying information of U.S. veterans and sold them to multiple individuals engaged in filing fraudulent tax returns in order to steal tax refunds from the U.S. Treasury.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney.

Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced Mark Daniel DeHaven (33, Winter Garden) to eight years and one month in federal prison for receiving child pornography.

According to the plea agreement, on April 8, 2014, the Winter Garden Police Department received a report from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office about a cyber-crime tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip concerned child pornography that was being sent or attempting to be sent over the Internet. Further investigation traced the information to DeHaven’s residence. On June 10, 2014, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at DeHaven’s residence and seized several computers and electronic media. Forensic analyses of the equipment revealed that DeHaven had received images depicting children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys 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 the 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 – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Wenston DeSue (44, Bradenton) today pleaded guilty to theft of federal funds. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, from on or about January 1, 2006, until September 19, 2013, DeSue was employed as the Executive Director of the Bradenton Housing Authority (“BHA”). The BHA is a local housing authority agency of the City of Bradenton. Each year, the BHA receives $10,000 or more in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”).

An investigation by the HUD, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that between September 2010 and September 2013, DeSue was significantly absent from the BHA on a routine basis, engaged in non-BHA activities during work hours, and failed to take annual or sick leave for those absences. Despite being absent from the BHA much of the time, he accepted his regular salary. DeSue typically arrived at the BHA at least one and a half to three hours late each day, took extended multi-hour lunches, ran personal errands during the work day, and left early from the BHA – all without taking some form of leave.  In addition, he spent personal time with the BHA Project Director, Stephany West, with whom he was romantically involved. On numerous occasions, the two spent personal time together during the workday when they should have been working or on some form of leave. On some days, DeSue failed to show up to work at all, yet he still collected payment from the BHA as if he had been at work.

During the period of September 2010 through September 2012, DeSue was absent and engaged in non-BHA activities at least 30 percent of the time. He engaged in the same behavior approximately 60 percent of the time from September 2012 through September 19, 2013. In total, DeSue stole and converted to his own use $204,756.43 from the BHA by taking salary, benefits, and bonuses that he had not earned and to which he was not entitled. He stole another $71,543.60 by cashing out unused annual and sick leave, which he should have otherwise used while spending work hours attending to personal affairs. Thus, DeSue’s actions caused a total loss to the BHA of approximately $276,300.03.

Stephany West pleaded guilty to theft of federal funds on March 20, 2015, and is awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Bradenton Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer L. Peresie and Simon A. Gaugush.

Tampa, FL– U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced Matthew Anillo Mango (32, Lakeland) to 10 years in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition. This charge stemmed from the 2010 homicide of Lakeland resident Amanda Peterson. Mango pleaded guilty on June 24, 2014.

According to court documents, on September 30, 2010, at approximately 4:00 a.m., the Lakeland Police Department responded to a shooting at Peterson’s residence, where she was discovered on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to her abdomen. Peterson was transported to the hospital, but died as a result of her injuries. Peterson’s death was the result of an unintentional discharge of a firearm, which occurred during an argument between Mango and another individual. After Peterson was shot, Mango and other witnesses fled the scene.  Although the firearm that killed Peterson was not recovered, law enforcement linked the spent shell casing and a loaded magazine containing matching ammunition to Mango through fingerprints and other evidence.  At the time of the shooting, Mango was a multi-convicted felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

This case is another example of ATF’s Frontline Strategy to impact violent crime in our communities. It was investigated by ATF and the Lakeland Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Josephine W. Thomas prosecuted the case.

 

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge John E. Steele has sentenced Rafael Angel Reyes Menjivar (23, Naples) to three years in prison for possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices and for aggravated identity theft. Reyes Menjivar pleaded guilty on February 25, 2015.

According to his plea agreement, on February 5, 2013, during the execution of a search warrant by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Reyes Menjivar was found to be in possession of 101 unauthorized access devices, namely Social Security Numbers (SSN) of other individuals. He possessed these SSNs with the intent to file fraudulent income tax returns. Approximately 16 income tax returns were electronically filed with the IRS using the personal identification information of others without lawful authority. The total amount of the requested tax refunds was $64,547. Each of the tax refunds was stopped at the service center.   

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges today sentenced Michael Paul Watkins (41, Citrus Springs) to six years and six months in federal prison for possession of firearms and ammunition by a previously convicted felon.  Watkins pleaded guilty on February 26, 2015.       

According to court documents, Watkins had been previously convicted in state court on felony offenses of handling and fondling a child under the age of 16, and two escapes. As a convicted felon, he was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law. However, in early October 2014, law enforcement received information that Watkins had been using a third party to illegally purchase firearms and ammunition on his behalf. Federal agents obtained search warrants for Watkins’s home, business, and a nearby property. Upon executing the warrants, agents recovered 138 firearms, including many AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, and more than 30,000 rounds of ammunition inside his fortified home. They also discovered several fully assembled pipe bombs, along with the components to manufacture pipe bombs.  

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violent crime in communities.

Ocala, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges today sentenced Bryant Dewayne Simmons (30, Lake County) to 10 years in federal prison for the attempted possession with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.  In a separate proceeding, Simmons previously forfeited approximately $150,000, two trucks, and a handgun that were involved in the crime.  He pleaded guilty on October 16, 2014.  His co-defendant, William Foy Robinson, has also entered a guilty plea and is awaiting sentencing.

According to court documents, Simmons unwittingly met with an undercover federal agent in July 2014 to arrange a drug transaction.  Simmons believed that the agent was a drug supplier and had asked to purchase multiple kilograms of cocaine from him.  Simmons promised to buy a total of 8 kilograms of cocaine for $33,000 each.  

On July 17, 2014, Simmons and Robinson met the undercover agent in a parking lot in Lake County to complete the purchase.  While Robinson served as a lookout, the agent showed Simmons five kilograms of cocaine and promised to deliver an additional three kilograms on credit.  After Simmons retrieved approximately $150,000 in cash that he had concealed inside of two trucks, agents placed both men under arrest.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

Tampa, FL - U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III and representatives of several federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are continuing the observance of National Missing Children's Day (May 25th) by convening in Tampa today to announce an expanded national child safety campaign. Originally created in 2007 by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) as a campaign among federal, state, and local agencies to prevent, enforce, and prosecute crimes of exploitation against children, “Take 25” urged parents to take 25 minutes to talk to their children about Internet safety, prevention, and abduction. Beginning May 21, 2015, NCMEC’s expanded initiative, "Be Here for Kids,” encourages the public to get involved in the mission to find and protect children.

“Child predators are using more cunning and persuasive techniques and technologies to lure and exploit innocent children,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III. “As a community, we must educate ourselves and others to raise awareness on how to best protect our children against these threats.”

The Department of Justice is committed to the safety and well-being of our children and has placed a high priority on protecting and combating the sexual exploitation of minors. In 2006, Project Safe Childhood was launched by the Department of Justice as a unified and comprehensive strategy to combat child exploitation by combining law enforcement efforts, community action, and public awareness. It marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims. The goal of Project Safe Childhood is to reduce the sexual exploitation of children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From October 1, 2013, through April 30, 2015, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, with the close assistance of numerous federal, state, and local agencies, brought 204 Project Safe Childhood cases against 209 individuals. The charges in those cases vary by defendant, but they include conspiring to travel in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct, production of child pornography, distribution and receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. In addition, the MDFL has prosecuted numerous cases involving human trafficking, where individuals, including minors, were forced to commit commercial sex acts. These cases were brought by each of the five division offices of the Middle District of Florida.

Children of all ages are victimized through child pornography, from as young as infants and toddlers, to adolescents. About half of the victims are younger than 12 years old. NCMEC reports that 24 percent of identified victims were pubescent, and 76 percent were prepubescent. To learn more about the Be Here for Kids Campaign, visit www.BeHereForKids.org.

Law enforcement agencies participating in today’s event included representatives from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Tampa Police Department, and the Clearwater Police Department (Clearwater/Tampa Bay Area Task Force Against Human Trafficking).

 

Significant MDFL Cases

October 2013 through April 2015

Tampa Division

United States vs. Matthew William McLean. On March 23, 2014, a 14-year-old juvenile was reported missing to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement investigators learned that the juvenile had been involved in online communications (e.g. Kik messenger, Skype) with the defendant, a 25-year-old registered sex offender from Minneapolis, Minnesota. A few days earlier, McLean had purchased a Greyhound bus ticket from Minneapolis to Tampa, and on March 23rd, he purchased two bus tickets from Tampa to Brownsville, Texas, with a stop in Tallahassee. Law enforcement responded to the bus station, recovered the minor, and arrested McLean. During the trip to Tallahassee, McLean engaged in sex acts with the minor. He was sentenced to 31 years and 6 months in prison in March 2015.

United States vs. Benjamin Cuadrado. Between July 26, 2012, and March 25, 2014, Cuadrado produced, transported, received, and possessed child pornography. He used his cellular phone to produce at least 70 videos of him sexually assaulting an infant and a toddler in his care. He transported the child pornography over the Internet using his email account and an Internet messaging program. A forensic review of Cuadrado’s cellular phone revealed 250 videos and more than 4,000 images of child pornography, including files depicting pre-pubescent children and sadomasochistic conduct. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison in March 2015.

United States vs. Melvin Barber Bridgers, III. From at least December 2012, through his arrest on May 1, 2014, Bridgers used multiple Facebook accounts to pose as a young teenage girl and befriend other girls between the ages of 10 and 16 years old. After befriending the minors, he engaged in online chats with them and used manipulation, coercion, threats, and extortion to compel the minors to send him sexually graphic photographs through Facebook. Bridgers then threatened the minor victims with exposing the sexually graphic photos to their parents, or to other Internet users, in order to extort more sexually graphic photographs and videos from them. On May 1, 2014, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Bridgers’s residence and obtained computer media containing numerous chat logs with the minor victims, as well as over 28,000 images and videos containing child pornography. Law enforcement agents estimate that over a two-year period, Bridgers attempted to make contact with and sexually extort, or “sextort,” thousands of young girls on Facebook. To date, approximately 129 of Bridgers’s victims have been positively identified, making this one of the largest online child “sextortion” cases prosecuted in the United States. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison in April 2015.

United States vs. Michael C. Vella. A 16-year-old female reported to law enforcement that Vella had been forcing her to have sex with him since the middle of 2012. She also disclosed that Vella had, on at least one occasion, used his laptop computer to record their encounter. The video was recorded in a hotel room when he transported the victim to the Orlando area. At the time the arrest warrant was issued, Vella was deployed to Afghanistan as a Department of Defense contractor. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in November 2014.

Orlando Division

United States vs. Matthew C. Graziotti. Graziotti distributed 141 images and 6 videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children to an undercover FBI agent. During the execution of a search warrant, agents located thousands of child pornography images on Graziotti’s computer involving children under the age of 12. One computer folder, named “personally known,” contained sexually explicit photographs and videos of 29 children that Graziotti had sexually abused when they were under the age of 12. Graziotti stored the sexually explicit images that he produced in subfolders bearing each child’s name. He produced these images from 2010 through 2014, during which he taught elementary school in South Daytona and was the director of the school’s summer day camp program. He also coached youth sports. He was sentenced to 210 years in prison on January 26, 2015.

United States vs. Xavier Francisco Villanueva, et al. Between January 17, 2013 and January 25, 2013, Orange County gang members agreed to recruit and entice a 14-year-old girl to engage in commercial sex acts. The defendants were part of the “Nine Trey Billy Bad Ass” gang, which is affiliated with the “Bloods” street gang. Over a period of nine days, they used drugs, intimidation, and physical restraint to cause the minor to engage in prostitution with customers they solicited through the Internet. On January 25, 2013, the minor escaped from the house where she was being held captive. Xavier Francisco Villanueva a/k/a “X,” (25, Orlando) was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months in prison; Jose Carmona, a/k/a “Hood,” (21, Orlando) was sentenced to a term of 12 years and 6 months; Ashley Nicole Barnett, a/k/a “Snow,” (25, Orlando) was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment; and Keith E. Romby, II, a/k/a “PJ,” (23, Orlando) was sentenced to 8 years and 4 months in prison.

United States vs. Michael Glenn Glascock. From October 11, 2012, through October 11, 2013, Glascock used a three-year-old victim to produce visual depictions of the child engaging in sexually explicit conduct. In the fall of 2013, an undercover agent with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office responded to an online advertisement that Glascock had posted on Craigslist. The agent communicated with Glascock over the Internet and by cell phone. During these conversations, Glascock described his sexual abuse of the minor victim and expressed an interest in meeting the agent and the agent’s fictitious minor daughter. Glascock further expressed a desire to meet and engage in illegal sexual activity with the fictitious child, and he offered to allow the agent to engage in sexual activity with the minor victim. After finalizing plans to meet, agents went to Glascock’s home, where they met him and located the minor victim. The victim was taken to a medical facility and examined for sexual assault. Subsequent laboratory tests revealed the presence of Glascock’s semen on the child’s body, as well as in the child’s diaper. Glascock admitted to producing pornographic images of the minor victim, to sexually abusing the minor as depicted in some of the images, and to distributing and receiving images of child pornography over the Internet. Agents executed a search warrant at Glascock’s home and recovered his cell phones, SD cards, and the digital camera that he had used to produce some of the explicit images involving the minor victim. A forensic examination of these devices revealed that there were 24 images depicting explicit sexual conduct involving the minor victim on one of the SD cards. He was sentenced to life in prison on February 6, 2015.

United States vs. Jonathan Tyler Prive. In September and October 2013, an undercover agent with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation into an individual identified as Michael Glenn Glascock. The undercover investigation revealed that Glascock was sexually abusing a three-year-old minor victim, producing child pornography images of the minor victim, and distributing some of these images to others. Law enforcement agents eventually arrested Glascock at his residence in Brevard County, located the minor victim, and executed a search warrant at Glascock’s residence. A forensic examination of Glascock’s electronic devices and a review of his email accounts revealed emails between Prive and Glascock. In these emails, the two discussed a prior incident where Prive had sexually abused the minor victim at Glascock’s home, while Glascock was present. After discovering these emails, the undercover agent used Glascock’s email account to initiate online communications with Prive. He later communicated with the undercover agent via the Internet and arranged to meet the agent (posing as Glascock) for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity with the minor victim for a second time. Prive traveled to the street where this residence was located and was arrested. In his possession was a packet of lubricant that he had brought for his planned meeting with the minor victim. He was sentenced to 30 years and 5 months in prison in April 2015.

Jacksonville Division

United States vs. Christopher Richard Cloonan. In March 2014, an undercover officer (UC) in Washington, D.C. posted an advertisement on an online website frequented by individuals who have a sexual interest in children. Cloonan responded to the ad and expressed interest and experience in sexual activity with a child. Later, Cloonan sent the UC an email indicating that he was alone with an infant child. Attached to the email were two images that Cloonan had produced depicting an infant engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Cloonan later sent the UC an email containing two additional images that depicted the same infant. In several subsequent emails, Cloonan discussed his fantasies about sex with children. A search warrant was later executed at Cloonan’s residence, where a forensic analysis of his phone revealed that it contained at least 85 images of child pornography, most depicting infants and toddlers. Two of the images of the infant that were taken by Cloonan and sent to the UC were also present on the smart phone. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on February 27, 2015.

United States vs. Lucas Michael Chansler. From 2007 through January 2010, Chansler transmitted threatening communications to hundreds of girls over the Internet. He transmitted these threats with the intent to extort photographs and webcam videos showing the victims exposing themselves and engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Chansler pretended to be a friend, acquaintance, or admirer of the victims on various social networking websites. After gaining some measure of trust from a particular child, Chansler would invite her to engage in a live video chat and later would ask her to expose herself. Unbeknownst to the child, he was recording the video session. Chansler often enticed his victims to expose themselves by showing a streaming video of a minor male exposing himself or engaging in masturbation. If a victim did expose herself, he recorded it and then later sent it to her over the Internet. Chansler would then demand additional and more graphic images or webcam videos. He would inform the child that if she did not comply, he would post the images and videos online, or send them to her family and friends. He was sentenced to 105 years in prison in November 2014.

United States vs. Charles Hudson. On January 6, 2014, an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a residence in response to a call regarding allegations of sexual battery on a minor child. Subsequently, detectives from the JSO Sex Crimes Unit interviewed the child, who indicated that she had been sexually abused by Hudson. Two days later, detectives obtained a search warrant for Hudson’s residence. During the execution of the warrant, officers discovered numerous items of digital media, including several computers, cameras, SD cards, CDs, and DVDs. In the attic, officers recovered a backpack containing cameras, sex devices and restraints, and several pill bottles bearing Hudson’s name. Five SD cards were found inside one of the pill bottles. Subsequent forensic analyses of the five SD cards revealed approximately 90 video and image files depicting sexually explicit conduct involving Hudson. At least two of these videos, which had been produced by Hudson, depicted him and a minor child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison in March 2015.

Fort Myers

United States vs. William Graydon Roberts. Roberts began communicating with a 9-year-old girl via Skype, requesting that she send sexually explicit photos to his private email account. He also sent the minor text messages instructing her on how to upload videos to YouTube. Subsequent search warrants of Internet Service Providers revealed images of the minor by Roberts on his electronic devices. Following his arrest, he pleaded guilty to receiving pornographic images of the minor, at his request. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in March 2015.

United States vs. David Edward Judd. An FBI task force investigation into the sharing of child pornography over the Internet revealed a Fort Myers residence registered to Judd. Further investigation revealed that Judd had been downloading child pornography for years, with a preference for teenage girls. Seized computer items at the residence contained at least 8,831 images of child pornography on Judd’s computer hard drive. He subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 72 months in prison in April 2015.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Samuel Franklin Crews (32, Lake City) to seven years and eight months in federal prison for knowingly receiving images and videos of child pornography over the Internet.  He has been in custody since his arrest on December 31, 2013.

According to court documents, an FBI agent in Jacksonville began an undercover investigation to identify individuals in that area that had access to and/or were trading images and videos depicting child pornography over the Internet.  The agent determined that a computer in the Lake City area was hosting images of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing program.  The agent was able to download several videos depicting child pornography from this computer.  The subscriber information was traced to Crews’s Lake City residence.   

Law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Crews=s residence and seized his computer.  Crews told the agents, among other things, that he had come across child pornography using a file sharing program on the Internet and became “curious,” he had searched for and downloaded more child pornography using certain search terms, and he knew that viewing such material is harmful to children.  Subsequent analysis of Crews’s computer revealed that it contained 124 images and 10 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.

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

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

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Stacy Lynn Ivey (38, Bradenton) to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography.  The court also ordered him to forfeit the electronic media on which the images and videos of child pornography had been found.  Ivey pleaded guilty on March 4, 2015.

According to court documents, on July 25, 2014, an FBI Task Force Agent determined that someone using a computer with a specific Internet Protocol (IP) address was sharing suspected child pornography through a peer-to-peer file sharing program. Further investigation revealed that the computer was located at a residence in Bradenton.  Agents subsequently executed a federal search warrant at that house, finding it to be Ivey’s friend’s house.  The friend ultimately led the agents to Ivey’s home, where they found computers and other storage devices.  In addition, a child pornography video file was paused on his laptop. During an interview with agents, Ivey admitted that he had downloaded child pornography, and that he had moved child pornography from his laptop computer to CDs due to storage issues.  A forensic examination of the computers and storage devices revealed 175 images and more than 200 videos of child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Unit and the Bradenton Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam M. Saltzman.

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.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Shantrell Sharae Stephenson, Lori Ann Dilworth, and Richard Damarick Mitchell with conspiracy, submitting false claims to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), theft of government property, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each conspiracy and theft of government property count, 5 years’ imprisonment for each false claims count, and a mandatory minimum term of 2 years in prison for the aggravated identity theft count. Trial is scheduled for the July 2015 trial term.

According to the indictment, Dilworth worked at the Orange County Jail. Mitchell solicited Dilworth to steal the personal identification information of jail inmates for the purpose of providing that information to be used by Stephenson and other co-conspirators in filing false tax returns. In total, the conspirators used stolen personal information to submit over $200,000 in fraudulent tax returns to the IRS.

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 Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.

WHO:            

A. Lee Bentley, III
United States Attorney
Middle District of Florida

David Gee
Sheriff
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Micah McCombs
Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge
ICE/Homeland Security Investigations

Rick Ramirez
Special Agent in Charge
Florida Department of Law Enforcement

Daniel Slaughter
Chief of Police
Clearwater Police Department
Clearwater/Tampa Bay Area Task Force Against Human Trafficking

Assistant Chief Brian Dugan
Tampa Police Department

WHAT:          Press Conference

Enforcement and protection agencies to highlight combined efforts against child sexual predators and other predatory practices. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies will recognize National Missing Children’s Day by announcing a new national child safety campaign.

WHEN:          WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015
                        10:00 A.M. EST

WHERE:       Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel
700 N. Florida Avenue
(Meeting Room 1, Second Floor)
Tampa, FL  33602

OPEN PRESS                                      

NOTE:  All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license).  Media may begin arriving at 9:15 A.M. EST.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Todd Michael Vincent (48, Tampa) to 10 years and 10 months in federal prison for armed bank robbery. Vincent pleaded guilty to the charges on January 28, 2015.

According to court documents, between August and October 2014, Vincent robbed several bank branches, including Synovus Bank (Tampa), BB&T Bank (Seffner), and US Ameribank (Tampa). He also attempted to rob a Bank of America branch in Riverview. During several of the robberies, Vincent presented bank tellers with a note stating, “I have a gun.” On at least one occasion, he entered the bank, pointed a gun at the teller and said, “I want all of your money…I will shoot you.”

On September 11, 2014, law enforcement received a tip identifying Vincent from bank security photos, along with his possible location. After a brief chase by law enforcement, Vincent was apprehended. In his pocket was $1777.79. Along his flight path, officers recovered a bag containing $9100.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Natalie Hirt Adams and Megan Kistler.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Mark Yaffe (55, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.  He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Yaffe was vice-president and principal of National Gold, Exchange, Inc. (“NGE”), a Tampa-based company in the business of warehousing, retailing, and trading rare coins. NGE entered into a series of loan agreements with Sovereign Bank (“Sovereign”), whereby Sovereign agreed to lend up to approximately $35 million to NGE, secured by NGE’s assets. Yaffe The loan agreements limited the amount of the $35 million NGE could borrow at any given time, using a formula that considered the value of NGE’s assets, which served as collateral for the loans. To make calculation of the formula possible, NGE was required to submit a monthly “borrowing base report,” along with back-up documents, regarding the value of its assets. The loan agreements also gave Sovereign the right to perform unannounced audits of NGE to verify that NGE had sufficient collateral.

On July 10, 2009, NGE began an unannounced audit at NGE.  In connection with the audit, on July 11, 2009, Yaffe provided members of Sovereign’s audit team with a false and fraudulent borrowing base report, falsely inflating the value of NGE’s assets. In this report, he included fictitious sales to entities that he knew did not exist: $2,221,975 in false sales to Rifkin Management, Inc., (“Rifkin”) and $2,623,308 in false sales to Tudor Trust. Yaffe also submitted false invoices to Sovereign claiming to prove these fictitious sales and provided to Sovereign contact information for Rifkin and Tudor Trust that was false. An NGE employee reports that Yaffe instructed the employee to lie to Sovereign officials about the fictitious customers and sales. Yaffe then caused approximately $3,049,581 to be transferred out of two NGE bank accounts that were part of Sovereign’s collateral. Under the plea agreement, Yaffe has agreed to forfeit this amount.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by U.S. Department of Justice Trial Attorney Timothy Loper and Assistant United States Attorney Rachelle DesVaux Bedke.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Russell Lee Orr (39, Trinity) has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with eight counts of advertising for child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervision. Orr was arrested on May 21, 2015, at his residence in Trinity, Florida. Following his initial court appearance and a detention hearing later that same day, he was ordered detained.

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 until, and unless, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 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.