Middle District of Florida

Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Karey Tyrone Taylor, II (42, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. Taylor qualifies for an increased penalty under the Armed Career Criminal Act. He faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, on January 2, 2021, Taylor brandished a firearm at a woman while they were driving in adjacent lanes on East Fowler Avenue in Tampa. Units from the Tampa Police Department (TPD) subsequently located Taylor’s car at a nearby gas station. After apprehending Taylor, TPD discovered a black handgun in the driver’s side door pocket of Taylor’s car. The handgun had one round of ammunition in the chamber and 14 rounds of ammunition in an extended magazine. Taylor had previously been convicted of several felony offenses, including a conviction for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and convictions for multiple serious drug offenses, and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Risha Asokan.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Michael Paul Gillis (64, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to possessing computer media containing images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a potential lifetime term of supervised release. Gillis was arrested by FBI agents on February 2, 2022, and has been detained since that time. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

According to court documents and information provided in open court, FBI agents were investigating individuals who were using a particular online file-sharing network to receive and share child pornography. The investigation revealed that Gillis, a retired public-school teacher, had accessed this network from his residence.    

On February 2, 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Gillis’s home. Gillis, who was home at the time, admitted that he had been accessing child sexual abuse materials using the internet for at least the past 15 years, that he had viewed materials depicting children as young as 3 years old, and that he currently had “a couple hundred” contraband videos on his computer. Gillis also admitted that he viewed child sexual abuse materials while working as a teacher and would fantasize about touching children inappropriately but claimed that he never acted on it. During the execution of the search warrant, FBI personnel seized several computers belonging to Gillis that contained at least 2,000 images and 210 videos depicting infants, toddlers, and other young children being sexually abused.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown. The forfeiture of assets is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.

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 the 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 – Chief United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced James Thomas Butler II (41, Jacksonville) to 35 years in federal prison for the production, attempted production, and possession of videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of a minor child. Butler was also ordered to serve a 25-year term of supervised release. A federal jury had found Butler guilty in December 2021. Butler was arrested on October 2, 2018, and has been detained since his arrest.

In 2001, Butler was convicted of attempted capital sexual battery and lascivious molestation of minor children in Jacksonville, and since then he has been registered and designated as a sexual predator.

According to court documents and evidence and testimony admitted during the trial, on May 2, 2018, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Jacksonville where Butler and several other registered sex offenders lived. During an interview with law enforcement, FBI agents obtained a smart phone from Butler. A forensic examination of Butler’s smart phone revealed that it contained sexually explicit videos and images of a minor child that appeared to have been filmed using a camera concealed in a bedroom. Through further investigation, law enforcement was able to identify this child as well as the residence located in north Florida where the camera was concealed. On October 2, 2018, FBI agents and personnel executed a federal search warrant at this residence and discovered that Butler had installed a tiny internet-enabled camera device in an air vent in the child’s bedroom. Butler had wired this hidden camera into the house’s electrical system through the attic and was able to control this camera remotely over the internet using an app on his smart phone, collecting videos, and creating customized, lascivious screenshots of the child. A forensic review of Butler’s smart phone revealed that it contained at least 65 videos and 35 screenshots that depicted the child in various stages of undress.            

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Duval County School Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown. The forfeiture of assets is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.

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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. 

 

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced three Jacksonville men to federal prison for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Steven Ray McWhorter (49) was sentenced to 11 years and 4 months, Christopher Douglas Green (48) was sentenced to 10 years, and Kevin Joseph DeWitt (50) was sentenced 3 years and 1 month. A fourth individual, Michael Brandon Voght (28, Jacksonville), was charged in the same indictment and was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The Court also ordered McWhorter to forfeit $21,000, two firearms, and ammunition, which were used to facilitate and/or were proceeds of McWhorter’s drug trafficking activities. Each of the defendants had previously pleaded guilty.

According to court documents, from June to November 5, 2020, McWhorter, Green, and DeWitt worked together to distribute methamphetamine. Specifically, McWhorter distributed 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, while Green and Witt distributed 50 grams of more of methamphetamine. Several controlled purchases of methamphetamine were made during the investigation. In addition, law enforcement made a controlled purchase of a 12-gauge shotgun from Voght. Voght had previously been convicted of a felony and is therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Beatriz Gonzalez and Ashley Washington. The forfeiture of assets was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Henry Lee White, III (27, Orlando) to 24 years and 4 months in federal prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion and for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. As part of his sentence, the Court also ordered White to pay $87,121.98 in restitution to Victim 1 and to forfeit the electronic devices used in the commission of the offense. White had pleaded guilty on December 29, 2021.

According to court documents, from June 2020 through January 2021, White forced and coerced Victim 1 to engage in commercial sex throughout the Middle District of Florida and Georgia. White used threats of violence and physical violence to control 20-year-old Victim 1. For example, in September 2020, White transported Victim 1 to an “outcall” at an unknown apartment complex. White became upset because he thought Victim 1 was being deceptive about where she was going. White used his revolver to beat Victim 1. He then removed four of the five bullets from the revolver and played Russian Roulette with Victim 1 while holding the gun to her head and pulling the trigger. Victim 1 stated White did this about six or seven times. He then threw Victim 1’s phone at her face, causing a laceration on the center of her forehead in between her eyebrows.

During the relevant time, Victim 1 reached out to law enforcement and a local non-governmental organization for assistance. Law enforcement officers recovered Victim 1 during a joint undercover operation on January 7, 2021. At the time Victim 1 was recovered by law enforcement officers, she had an injury on her left knee that she sustained after White had thrown her to the ground in a hotel.

At the time of his arrest, White was found in possession of a chrome and burgundy semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine. The firearm had one round in the chamber and several live rounds in the magazine. White had previously been convicted of several felonies and was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law. During the course of his arrest, law enforcement officers located and seized several cellphones that had been used to communicate with commercial sex buyers and post advertisements of Victim 1 on the internet.

“This predator used intimidation, humiliation, and violence to barbarically force his victim into submission,” said acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Silliman. “Thanks to the quick action of Homeland Security Investigations, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Tampa Police Department, and Selah Freedom, Henry White III became the first federal arrest for human trafficking under the auspices of the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force which was created in 2020.”

“Human trafficking is a crime that is nothing less than modern-day slavery, and escaping the wrath of a human trafficker takes courage. I commend the survivor who spoke up, allowing the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and our law enforcement partners to bring her trafficker to justice,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “Through every undercover operation, I believe we are making a difference, one arrest at a time, and moving closer to our goal of ultimately eradicating human trafficking across Hillsborough County and the state of Florida.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

This case was brought as part of the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force of the Middle District of Florida, which is one of 13 task forces in the country to receive grant funding from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Task Force is a collaboration of local, state, and federal law enforcement agents working together with organizations to detect, investigate, and prosecute human trafficking in the Tampa Bay area. This includes trafficking of minors, forced labor, transnational sex trafficking, and sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud, or coercion. More information about the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force can be found at www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/humantrafficking. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Becky Angeles (39, Tampa) to eight years and four months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  Angeles had pleaded guilty on April 27, 2021.  

According to court documents, between September and November 2020, Angeles and her co-conspirator distributed methamphetamine to an undercover police officer on several occasions. At the time they distributed the narcotics, Angeles and her co-conspirator were both armed with loaded firearms. Both had previously been convicted of felonies and, therefore, are prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Plant City Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

Jacksonville, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Tadd Andrew Melton (33, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to attempted production of child sex abuse images. Melton faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years, and up to 30 years, in federal prison and a potential lifetime term of supervised release. Melton was arrested on July 23, 2021, and has been detained since his arrest.

According to the plea agreement, on February 2, 2021, a federal agent working in an undercover capacity entered a chat group in an online social media app that featured users with a sexual interest in children. While using a particular chat application, the federal agent assumed the persona of the mother of a 9-year-old female child. Melton contacted the undercover agent and expressed interest in receiving underwear from the “child,” molesting the “child,” and receiving child sex abuse images of the “child.” Melton detailed what type of child sex abuse images he wanted of the “child.” In addition, he also distributed a child sex abuse image to the undercover agent. Law enforcement was able to identify Melton as the user of the account chatting with the undercover agent based on his account information and investigation into his background.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington. The forfeiture of assets is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.

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 the 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 Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Jamica Nelms, Capriesha Cummings, Camille Harper, and Ashley Flournoy with conspiracy to commit tax fraud and aiding or assisting in the preparation of false income tax return documents. If convicted on all counts, each faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. 

According to the indictment, from January 2017 through April 2019, Nelms, Cummings, Flournoy, and Harper were income tax return preparers at Business #1 in St. Petersburg. The defendants conspired to defraud the United States by preparing false income tax returns for numerous Business #1 clients in order for the Internal Revenue Service to issue tax refunds in amounts in excess of what the clients were entitled to receive. In doing so, the defendants prepared fraudulent Individual Income Tax Return Forms 1040 and Schedule C forms that resulted in fraudulent Earned Income Tax Credits, fraudulent fuel tax credits, and education credits.

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 Attorneys Gregory Pizzo and Maria Guzman.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Marvin “MJ” Mitchell (36, St. Petersburg) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, and fentanyl, and possession with the intent to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, and fentanyl. Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, between approximately April and June 2019, Mitchell sold heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine from the Express Inn located in Clearwater. Mitchell used co-conspirators to distribute his product. During April, May, and June 2019, confidential informants conducted several controlled purchases from room #126 at the Express Inn. The CI’s would go to the Express Inn to purchase heroin from either Mitchell or one of his co-conspirators. In exchange for cash, they would receive small, silver aluminum foil packages containing a grayish, white powdery substance, which later tested positive for heroin, fentanyl, or both.

On June 17, 2019, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the Express Inn, rooms #126, 128, and 130, and upon entering room #130, detained Mitchell. In that room, officers found one tin foil bindle that was identical in appearance to those bindles found in room #126. Officers also found $2,219 in cash, 38 insulin syringes, and an electronic scale. Upon entry into room #126, officers detained two of Mitchell’s co-conspirators. Agents seized multiple tin foil bindles, five doses of NARCAN, used syringes, cash, and a ledger partially hidden between a headboard and the wall.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Pinellas Park Police Department, with assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pasco and Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Antonio Phillips (23, Tampa) to eight years in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. Phillips had pleaded guilty on January 25, 2022.  

According to court documents, on December 1, 2020, in Tampa, Phillips and others were inside a white Infiniti and pulled out in front of another occupied vehicle.  The occupants of the Infiniti opened fire into the other vehicle’s windshield. After the shooting, law enforcement air support tracked the Infiniti, which had fled the scene. Video surveillance captured muzzle flashes coming from the passenger side of the Infiniti where Phillips was sitting. Numerous bullet holes were observed on the other vehicle. Phillips and others fled from the Infiniti, discarded weapons, jumped over fences and across yards before they were ultimately apprehended.

Officers recovered the firearms which had been discarded by the suspects. They included a Glock 19 (9mm), an FNH (.40-caliber), and a Glock 26 (9mm), along with a 50-round drum-style magazine and trigger mounted laser. Bullet casings recovered from the scene of the shooting had been fired from the Glock 19 and Glock 26 firearms.  An empty semi-automatic magazine was recovered from the Infiniti’s driver's door pocket, and an empty black pistol holster was recovered from the back right passenger’s seat of the vehicle. Spent bullet casings were recovered from the front and back passenger’s compartments. DNA belonging to Phillips and three other men was recovered from the Glock 26.

Prior to these events, Philips had been convicted of multiple felonies and therefore is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan today sentenced Wayne Bowen (64, Jacksonville) to two years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered Bowen to reimburse various federal agencies a total of $63,773 for government benefits that he had received in connection with his identity theft scheme. Bowen had pleaded guilty on January 20, 2022.

According to court documents, in 2014, Bowen used the name, Social Security card, and military discharge papers of his estranged twin brother to apply for federally subsidized housing benefits. The specific subsidy – intended for indigent military veterans – was funded under a joint program administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Unlike his twin, Bowen is not a military veteran.

When interviewed by federal agents, Bowen admitted that he had been using his twin brother’s identity for years. He had obtained a Florida identification card using his twin’s name and had been arrested and convicted of felony offenses under his twin’s identity. Although Bowen initially told the agents that he, like his twin, had served and been honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, Bowen eventually relented and admitted that those were lies.

Due to Bowen’s fraudulent use of his twin’s identity, the VA provided him with $32,434 in medical services, HUD provided him with $18,905 in housing subsidies, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture funded $12,434 in nutritional benefits for him. Bowen’s twin has confirmed that he did not apply for any of these benefits and that he never gave Bowen permission to use his name.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture –  Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.

Ocala, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Dean Dumont (23, Inverness) today pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered National Firearms Act firearm (machinegun). Dumont faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date had not been set. Dumont had been indicted on December 7, 2021.

According to the plea agreement, Dumont unwittingly reached out to a law enforcement confidential informant in November 2021. At that time, Dumont was on state felony supervision for an unrelated matter. Dumont offered to sell the informant a fully automatic, Glock-style handgun for $900 so that Dumont could pay his court costs. Dumont then sent the informant text messages and video files confirming that the firearm had been modified into a machinegun. The informant subsequently purchased the firearm from Dumont in a video-recorded transaction. 

Law enforcement testing verified that the firearm discharged more than one round of ammunition from a single pull of the trigger. A record check confirmed that this machinegun was not registered to Dumont in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required under federal law. Investigators also determined that it was a “ghost” gun because it had been assembled from a kit, without a manufacturer serial number.

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

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.       

Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Devin Kelly (27, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Kelly faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, on July 2, 2021, Kelly and co-defendant Keyshawn Watts handled and displayed an AR-15 style rifle during an Instagram live video. One week later, investigators searched Kelly’s residence and seized a Ruger AR 556 rifle and an extended magazine loaded with 40 rounds of ammunition. Kelly admitted that the rifle seized from his residence was the rifle he had displayed in the Instagram video. Kelly, who had previously been convicted of several felony offenses, is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

Keyshawn Watts (21, Tampa) has been charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. His case is currently pending trial.

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

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Tampa Police Department, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Corrections. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Daniel Joseph Tisone (34, Naples) with wire fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, illegal monetary transactions, and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. If convicted, Tisone faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count (4 counts) and bank fraud count (6 counts), a 2-year minimum mandatory term of imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft counts (2 counts), up to 10 years in federal prison for each illegal monetary transaction count (5 counts) and for the possession of ammunition count. The indictment also notifies Tisone that the United States intends to forfeit his interest in a 2019 Tiara 34LS boat, two real properties located in Naples, a 4.02 carat solitaire engagement ring, approximately $65,645.69 seized from two bank accounts, and approximately $2,617,447.17, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense. 

According to court documents, between March 2020 and April 2021, Tisone, a convicted felon, submitted false and fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), Main Street Lending Program (MSLP), and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications to the Small Business Administration, as well as PPP and MSLP approved lenders. The loan applications contained numerous false representations, including the criminal history, average monthly payroll, number of employees, and gross revenues of the applicant, Tisone.

 In support of the fraudulent EIDL, PPP, and MSLP applications, Tisone submitted false and fictitious payroll and tax documents, as well as a fake commercial lease. Further, Tisone fraudulently used the means of identification of individuals who purported to work for Tisone’s companies, including their names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, to submit false and fraudulent payroll and payroll tax documents. Tisone also fraudulently used the means of identification of an individual, including the individual’s name, date of birth, driver license, and Social Security number, to submit a false and fraudulent EIDL application.

Tisone’s false and fraudulent representations caused the SBA, PPP, and MSLP lenders to approve and fund one MSLP, four EIDL, and five PPP loans, resulting in the deposit of more than $2.6 million into bank accounts Tisone controlled. Tisone then unlawfully used the funds for unauthorized purposes and for his own personal enrichment, including the purchase of residences in Naples, stocks and investment securities, and ammunition.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted March 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.

The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if the business spends the proceeds on these expenses within a set time-period and uses at least a certain percentage of the loan toward payroll expenses.

The EIDL program is designed to provide economic relief to small businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. EIDL proceeds can be used to cover a wide array of working capital and normal operating expenses, such as continuation of health care benefits, rent, utilities, and fixed debt payments. If an applicant also obtains a loan under the PPP, the EIDL funds cannot be used for the same purpose as the PPP funds. 

The MSLP was designed to provide support to small and medium-sized businesses and their employees across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was intended to help companies, that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the pandemic, maintain their operations and payroll until conditions normalized.

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

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR), Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Office of Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Trent Reichling and Suzanne Nebesky.

Jacksonville, Florida – Chief United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Michael Lee Aurandt (51, Jacksonville) to 12 years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse images and videos over the internet. Aurandt was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release, register as a sex offender, and pay $3,000 in restitution to a victim of his offense. Aurandt had pleaded guilty on December 21, 2021.

According to court documents, several FBI field offices began investigating Aurandt for uploading child sexual abuse materials to chat applications over the internet. In October 2020, Aurandt was observed posting videos and images depicting children being sexually abused in a chat app. The following month, Aurandt uploaded five videos containing child sex abuse materials in a chat app, which was reported to the FBI through a CyberTip submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  The FBI investigation identified Aurandt as the source of the distributions through linked internet protocol (IP) addresses.

On August 27, 2021, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Aurandt’s residence, and he was arrested later that day. Aurandt admitted to viewing and distributing child sex abuse materials using the chat app accounts previously identified by FBI. He stated he would create new accounts whenever his accounts were shut down for violating the terms of service of the chat app.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington. The forfeiture of assets was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.

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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Troy Alexander Cole (28, Fort Myers) has pleaded guilty to attempted distribution of methamphetamine and MDMA (commonly referred to as “Molly”). Cole faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, Cole worked as a correctional officer at the Charlotte Correctional Institution (CCI) in Punta Gorda. In June 2021, on three separate occasions, Cole agreed to smuggle methamphetamine or MDMA into the prison where he worked and provide the contraband to an inmate. He agreed to do so in exchange for payments of $400, $1,000, and $4,000, respectively.

On each occasion, Cole picked up a package containing what he believed were the controlled substances and then entered CCI.  Cole would then conceal the packages containing the purported controlled substances and notify the inmate that they were available for retrieval.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael V. Leeman.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Deveon Demond Jenkins (29, Ocala) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Jenkins had pleaded guilty on November 29, 2021.

According to court documents, on April 10, 2020, Jenkins was a passenger in the backseat of an automobile that Ocala Police Department officers stopped for a traffic infraction. After a K-9 signaled the presence of contraband in the car, officers searched the vehicle and discovered at Jenkins’s feet a firearm that they later determined was stolen. DNA testing and recorded jail telephone calls subsequently confirmed that Jenkins had been in possession of the firearm. Jenkins, who has 20 prior felony convictions, is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law. His numerous prior convictions for the sale of drugs qualify him as an Armed Career Criminal for sentencing purposes.

This case was investigated by the Ocala Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.       

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced David Chappell Fey (57, Belleview) and Shari Lynn Gunter (58, Ocklawaha) to life imprisonment for murdering a government witness. Fey and Gunter were found guilty by a federal jury following a joint trial in December 2021. The trial required special accommodations, with a separate jury hearing evidence for each defendant. In the end, each jury returned guilty verdicts on all four counts – distribution of methamphetamine, conspiracy to murder a government witness, murder of a government witness, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl causing death. Prior to trial, Fey pleaded guilty to an additional seven counts of distributing methamphetamine.

According to trial evidence, Fey and Gunter lived together in Summerfield, Florida, where they routinely distributed methamphetamine and other drugs. The 31-year-old victim, who was the mother of three children, was one of their customers.  The victim had agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and conducted a controlled buy of $40 worth of methamphetamine on January 19, 2016. After discovering that the victim was helping authorities, Fey and Gunter conspired to murder her to prevent her from acting as a witness against them.  Specifically, on April 5, 2016, Fey and Gunter made up a “hot shot” – a syringe containing a lethal amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine – and provided it to the victim. When the victim injected herself, she immediately collapsed. Gunter then dragged the victim outside, kicked her in the head, and placed her in the passenger seat of her car. As the victim sat helpless in the vehicle, Fey and Gunter administered a second, fatal dose of fentanyl and methamphetamine, causing her death. They then drove the victim to a cemetery in Oxford, Florida, and staged the scene to make it appear like an accidental overdose.

“The United States is currently in the midst of an unprecedented opioid epidemic. Every single day, DEA investigators, along with our local and state law enforcement partners, are working tirelessly to keep our communities safe and healthy,” said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “This sentencing highlights our commitment to our Florida communities, our efforts to bring justice to the victims and their families, and our resolution to hold these drug traffickers accountable for their actions.”

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael P. Felicetta and Tyrie K. Boyer. 

Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Elijah Howard (22, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Howard faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, Howard, a multi-convicted felon, brandished a Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine during an Instagram video on December 21, 2021. Later that same day, Tampa Police Department officers encountered Howard in possession of that same firearm during a traffic stop. Howard was detained and the firearm was recovered. Officers determined that the firearm was loaded with 34 rounds of ammunition, including a round in the chamber.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel J. Marcet.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced T’Andre McNeely (Los Angeles, CA) and Michael Carr (Los Angeles, CA) each to six years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud conspiracy relating to their participation in a large-scale international tax fraud scheme.  Both Carr and McNeely had pleaded guilty on December 28, 2021. A third conspirator, Brandon Williams, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on March 29, 2022. His sentencing is scheduled for June 23, 2022.

According to court documents, from Summer 2014 through approximately Spring 2018, Carr, McNeely, and Brandon Williams operated a scheme to defraud the United States government of more than $17 million through the filing of false and fraudulent tax returns in the names of hundreds of identity theft victims. The conspirators used sophisticated cyber means to obtain the personal data used to file the tax returns. Conspirators—including individuals located in Nigeria and Vietnam—then prepared and filed the returns quickly and in large batches. The tax returns were filed from real CPA firms across the United States, all of whom had been hacked.

Carr and McNeely were hired by a Nigeria-based conspirator to collect the proceeds of the tax fraud and send those proceeds to him in Nigeria. Carr and McNeely opened bank accounts, obtained prepaid debit cards, and provided addresses to which tax fraud proceeds could be deposited or mailed. Cards and accounts that McNeely and Carr obtained were used on thousands of false and fraudulent tax returns claiming in excess of $17 million in refunds, to which the conspirators were not entitled.

“Tax fraud is not a victimless crime, and is in fact a crime against the American people. The defendants conspired with foreign nationals to steal the identities of U.S. taxpayers, using cyber tools to breach accounting firms’ security protocols, all for the purpose of lining their pockets with ill-gotten gains” said Special Agent in Charge Mark H. Pearson. “Let this case serve as notice to criminals domestic and foreign, that our investigators are some of the best in the business, and they’re committed to protecting this country and the American public from identity theft and financial fraud.”  

This case was investigated by the Tampa and Oakland Field Offices the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the Tampa Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Special assistance was provided by the Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles Field Offices of the IRS-CI, and the Tampa Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Jones.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Patrick Silfrain (40, Winter Garden), aka “Prada,” “Haitian Pat,” Kevin Jean-Gilles (39, Orlando), aka “G,” “Cole,” “Darren Tai,” “Vincent DiPietro,” and Jean Kesnor Choisil (50, Ocoee) with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, at least 400 grams of fentanyl.  If convicted, each faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit any assets that are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense.

According to court documents, from at least May 2020 through April 2022, Silfrain, Jean-Gilles, and Choisil conspired to manufacture and distribute fentanyl-laced pills throughout the Middle District of Florida. The pills were manufactured using multiple pill presses that were owned and operated by the defendants and could each produce 5,000 pills per hour.

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

This case is the result of a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation titled “Operation Pillgrim.” This operation specifically targets counterfeit pill production in an effort to reduce fentanyl and other dangerous pills from flooding communities in central and southern Florida.

It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranganath Manthripragada.

Tampa, Florida– U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced DeAnna Marie Stinson (50, Tampa) to six years and six months in federal prison for murder-for-hire. The Court also ordered Stinson to pay $11,403.22 in restitution to the victim of the offense and a $1,000 fine. Stinson had pleaded guilty on January 19, 2022.

According to court documents, on June 24, 2021, Stinson created an account on a dark web website (“The Website”) that purported to provide murder-for-hire services to its customers. The following day, Stinson submitted an “order” requesting that a hitman be assigned to complete a “quick hit in southern Florida” to kill the spouse of Stinson’s former significant other. In the order, Stinson provided the victim’s name, address, and a photograph of the victim. Between June and July 2021, Stinson sent four additional orders and over $12,000 in bitcoin to effectuate the hit. During this time, Stinson repeatedly messaged administrators of The Website and purported hitmen requesting that the “job” be completed as soon as possible and even offered a “bonus” if the hit was completed by a specific date. When Stinson had not received a status update from administrators of The Website, on July 31, 2021, Stinson requested that the administrators “reassign the job to someone who has a history of getting jobs done” because she “need[ed] th[e] job done ASAP.”

Law enforcement agents received information regarding Stinson’s criminal activity and obtained records from her virtual currency exchange account. The records showed that Stinson had paid Bitcoin to The Website. An agent contacted Stinson while acting in an undercover capacity as a hitman for The Website. In a recorded phone call, Stinson confirmed that she wanted the victim killed and agreed to send additional money to the undercover agent via Bitcoin so that the transaction could not be traced. On September 13, 2021, Stinson sent $350 in bitcoin to the undercover agent so that the agent could purchase a revolver to commit the murder.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Miami). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

Jacksonville, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger today sentenced Juan Carlos Arteaga (58, Conroe, TX) to 3 years in federal prison for wire fraud. Arteaga had been released on bond but was remanded into custody shortly after today’s sentencing hearing. The Court also ordered Arteaga to pay $784,364 in restitution to his victims and entered a forfeiture order in the amount of $843,187, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. Arteaga had pleaded guilty on November 10, 2021.

According to court documents, from at least March 2018 through January 2019, Arteaga, a former resident of Jacksonville, held himself out as someone who could provide customers with heavily discounted travel arrangements for domestic and international travel. He acted as a travel agent for clients in Florida and throughout the United States. Despite operating as a de facto travel agent, Arteaga was not a licensed travel agent. 

Arteaga solicited friends, business contacts, acquaintances, and referrals from those individuals to purchase sham travel arrangements from him, including but not limited to domestic and international airfare, hotel rooms, and tickets to amusement parks. Arteaga used some of the funds he obtained from victims to purchase travel arrangements for others, which delayed discovery of the scheme since it appeared that the money victims had paid was being used to purchase the travel they had requested. Arteaga also used some of the proceeds from the scheme for his personal enrichment, including paying his mortgage, short term loans, credit card and cable bills, grocery purchases, nursing home expenses, and withdrawing large amounts of cash. 

Two of the victims of Arteaga’s scheme were his longtime friends P.C. and A.C. In 2018, P.C. and A.C. began talking to Arteaga about a trip around the world through Road Scholar, Explore the World by Private Jet. P.C. and A.C. had successfully booked other travel arrangements in the past with Arteaga and had vacationed with Arteaga and his wife numerous times. Arteaga said that the Road Scholar trip would cost approximately $100,000, but if P.C. and A.C. paid him by the next day, Arteaga could get them the trip for $60,000. Arteaga instructed A.C. and P.C. to pay him $20,000 broken into five check payments, and to wire the $40,000 balance to him. A.C. and P.C. wired $40,000 to Arteaga. 

In August 2018, P.C. heard from some friends that their trips with Arteaga had not been booked. A.C. then called Road Scholar and learned that their trip had not been booked. Road Scholar also advised they did not provide any discounts, including to travel agents. After discovering the trip was a sham, A.C. and P.C. confronted Arteaga, who said he had not yet booked their trip yet because he was concerned about P.C.’s health. However, neither P.C. nor A.C. had raised P.C.’s health as a reason for delaying the Road Scholar trip and they were not interested in postponing the trip.

As with other victims of his scheme, Arteaga did not use any of the funds he had received from A.C. and P.C. toward any trip with Road Scholar. Instead, he used the money to make travel arrangements for other victims and for himself, as well as to repay other travel victims.

This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington. The forfeiture was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.

Ocala, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge John Antoon II today sentenced Christopher Lawrence Leslie (25, Homosassa) to four years and four months in federal prison for possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon and for possessing a National Firearms Act (NFA) firearm (short-barreled rifle). The Court also ordered Leslie to forfeit the firearms and ammunition associated with the offenses. Leslie had been indicted on November 9, 2021, and had pleaded guilty on December 15, 2021.

According to court documents, on October 19, 2021, deputies from the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary call at a property where Leslie was residing. During the investigation, the deputies discovered Leslie, a convicted felon, in possession of three firearms—a revolver, a rifle with a scope, and a sawed-off, bolt-action rifle—as well as assorted ammunition. The bolt-action rifle had an overall length of approximately 20 inches and a barrel length of approximately 10 inches, making it an NFA firearm (short-barreled rifle). This firearm was not registered to Leslie in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by federal law. After his arrest, Leslie admitted that all of the recovered firearms and ammunition belonged to him. As a convicted felon, Leslie is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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

Tampa, FL – A Florida man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to threatening a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.

On April 19, David Hannon, 67, of Sarasota, entered a guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher P. Tuite to an information charging him with one count of threatening a federal official.

According to information presented at the guilty plea hearing, on July 16, 2019, while in Sarasota, Hannon sent an email to U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar threatening to kill her. Hannon sent the email following a televised press conference held by Representative Omar and three other U.S. Congresswomen. In his threatening email, which had a subject line that read, “[You’re] dead, you radical Muslim,” Hannon referred to Congresswoman Omar and the other Congresswomen of color as “radical rats,” and asked Congresswoman Omar if she was prepared “to die for Islam.” The email further stated that Hannon was going to shoot the Congresswomen in the head.

“Threatening to kill our elected officials, especially because of their race, ethnicity or religious beliefs, is offensive to our nation’s fundamental values,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will not hesitate to prosecute individuals who violate federal laws that prohibit violent, hate-motivated threats. All elected officials, regardless of their background, should be able to represent their communities and serve the public free from hate-motivated threats and violence.”

“No one should fear violence because of who they are or what they believe,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Unlawful threats against our elected officials are an assault against our democracy, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to seek justice in these cases.”

The case is being investigated by the FBI with assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police, and is being prosecuted by Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Claire Favorit for the Middle District of Florida.  

Tampa – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced today the first quarter results of the Middle District of Florida’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) strategy. Over the past three months, PSN prosecutors in the Middle District of Florida have prosecuted 130 defendants for federal firearms and violent crime offenses.  Those prosecutions have removed more than 300 firearms from our streets.  (See chart for case details)

            The prosecutions consist of:

• 51 individuals who have been charged with federal firearms and violent crime offenses, involving a total of 75 firearms and 1,563 auto sears;
• 52 defendants who were adjudicated guilty in firearm and violent crime cases in 2022, involving a total of 174 firearms; and
• 27 defendants who were sentenced in firearm and violent crime cases, involving a total of 86 firearms. (See chart for case details)

“Reducing violent crime is a top priority for our Office,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg. “Over the past three months, I have increased the number of prosecutors assigned to handle violent crime and firearms cases and have met with our state and local partners to better understand the issues in our communities. Through those efforts, 130 defendants have been prosecuted in federal court and more than 300 firearms have been seized from those defendants.  Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to work to make communities throughout the Middle District of Florida safer.”

PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. This evidence-based program has proven to be effective at reducing violent crime by engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders working together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in communities and developing comprehensive solutions that reduce crime. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses on prevention and intervention efforts through community engagement and problem-solving partnerships, strategic enforcement of the most violent offenders, and locally based reentry programs to reduce recidivism.

As part of its PSN strategy, each of the five divisions of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO-MDFL) have engaged in violent crime reduction strategies in 2022, including:

• Orlando – Five Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) have been assigned to exclusively prosecute violent crime, narcotics, and firearms cases. Each AUSA also serves as a liaison to a specific law enforcement agency that investigates violent crimes.
• Jacksonville – AUSAs meet weekly with fellow Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) partners (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, State Attorney’s Office - Fourth Judicial Circuit, ATF, DEA and FBI) to develop investigations. Staff members also participate in local reentry programs (Baker, Lawtey, and Columbia Correctional) and school outreach presentations.
• Ocala – AUSAs have teamed up with the State Attorney’s Office for the Fifth Judicial Circuit, ATF, DEA, FBI, the Ocala Police Department, and the Marion, Lake, and Citrus County Sheriff’s Offices to locate, seize, and prosecute individuals who unlawfully possess firearms. 
• Tampa – The number of dedicated violent crime prosecutors has increased to 11.  In addition, as part of an ongoing partnership with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, two defendants have recently been charged in a drug-related homicide case (United States v. Grable, et al).
• Ft. Myers – Relationships with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies have been enhanced through the USAO-MDFL Violent Crime Working Group in an effort to identify offenders and coordinate investigations and prosecutions involving firearms-related offenses.
• Districtwide – An increase in our proactive community outreach strategy has allowed staff to further engage community-based organizations, educational institutions, and service agencies in an effort to prevent and decrease future gun-related incidents. (See chart for specific events).

The cases identified in the linked chart have been investigated by the Apopka Police Department, the Bradenton Police Department, the Cocoa Beach Police Department, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Myers Police Department, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Lake County Police Department, the Lake Mary Police Department, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Sanford Police Department, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, the Sarasota Police Department, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Petersburg Police Department, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, the Tampa Police Department, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

An indictment or criminal complaint 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.

These cases are being prosecuted by the Assistant United States Attorneys in all five divisions throughout the Middle District of Florida. For additional information on Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit our website: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/project-safe-neighborhoods-0.

 

Charged Cases

Defendant(s)

(Age)

Charges

Minimum/Maximum Terms of Imprisonment

Firearms Seized

Fort Myers Division

Re’Shod Larry (27)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Samuel Robert Bruner (46)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

3

Otis Marchman IV (27)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Javonte Keyon Whitfield (24)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

5

Romeo Lenell Battle (24)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

These PSN cases from the Fort Myers Division are being handled by AUSAs Simon Eth and Mark Morgan

Jacksonville Division

Leonard Green (50)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Deatric Walker (42)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

 

Andrew Harp (30)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Thelonious Kirby (51)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2

Edrick Jackson (28)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2

Jeromy Washington (25)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

John Hemingway (52)

 

 

Armed Career Criminal/felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Frederick Sams (40)

 

Armed Career Criminal/felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Terry Shipman (47)

 

 

Armed Career Criminal/felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Otis Shivers (48)

 

Armed Career Criminal/felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Sabastian Amrine (20)

Brandon Bayne (25)

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5/7/10 years

Maximum Prison Term:  Life

Interference with commerce by robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

1

James Lewis (53)

False statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Kristopher Ervin (42)

Matthew Hoover (38)

Conspiracy

Maximum Prison Term: 5 years

Violation of the National Firearms Registration Act

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Structuring

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1,563 auto sears

The auto sear is a combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. 

These PSN cases from the Jacksonville Division are being handled by AUSAs Michael Coolican, Cyrus Zomorodian, Kirwinn Mike, John Cannizzaro, and Laura Taylor

Ocala Division

Tevaughn Johnson (28)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Forcibly assaulting federal officer with injury

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Timothy Eric Evans (40)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Wayne Allen Phillips, Jr.

(44)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

These PSN cases from the Ocala Division are being handled by AUSAs Tyrie K. Boyer, Hannah Nowalk, and William Hamilton

Orlando Division

Jarvis Jackson (31)

 

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Interference with commerce by robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

1

             

Kevin Deane Jones (50)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2       

 

Vincent Virgil Gibson (31)

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 Years

Maximum Prison Term: 40 Years

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 Years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

               

Mateo Alexander Arboleda Giraldo (23)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

             

These PSN cases from the Orlando Division are being handled by AUSAs Chauncey Bratt, Jen Harrington, Ranganath Manthripragada, Terry Livanos

Tampa Division

Natwan Callaway (24)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

4

                       

Bruce Dunbar (60)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

                     

Devin Kelly (27)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Victor Manuel Hernandez (22)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

15

Jamel Middleton (26)

Armed Career Criminal/felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

4

Roy Nobles (41)

Malachi Deloch (23)

Armed Career Criminal/felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Mandatory Minimum Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

4

Jhakoric Leavon Lofton (23)

 

 

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term:  5/7/10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Jy’Quale Samari Grable (20)

Aquavious Smith (19)

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term:  5/7/10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Interference with commerce by robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

0

John Anderson (38)

Interference with commerce by robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

1

(Collected out of District)

Ma’at Darius Lee (21)

Interference with commerce by robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

1

Michael Staton (30)

Margaret Lynch (35)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term:  5/7/10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

2

                    

Christian Perez Seda (36)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term:  5/7/10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Victoria Guerrero (35)

Theresa Bentancourt (19)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term:  5/7/10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

4

Jovante Thomas (40)

Santino Jimenez (39)

Troy Mctier (29)

Adrian Ashby (50)

Marquesha Isaac (36)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substance

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

1

Deoin Rashaud Brown (26)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Elijah Howard

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

These PSN cases from the Tampa Division are being handled by AUSAs Diego Novaes, Jim Preston, Mike Sinacore, Callan Albritton, Samantha Beckman, Charlie Connally, Risha Asokan, and Daniel Marcet

Total Number of

Defendants: 51

 

Total Number of Firearms: 75 and 1,563 auto sears

 

Adjudicated Cases

Defendant(s)

(Age)

Charges

Minimum/Maximum Terms of Imprisonment

Firearms Seized

Fort Myers Division

Serdarryl English (39)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Alex Winters (42)

 

Armed Career Criminal/felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years

1

Eric Maurice Brown (31)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years

2

Herman Fleming (29)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years

1

Joshua Wade McGinnis (27)

John Olvera Salinas* (19)

*Salinas pleaded guilty to the 924c charge only.

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: 40 Years

Distribution of cocaine

(3 Counts)

Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years (per count)

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance

of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

15

These PSN cases from the Fort Myers Division are being handled by AUSAs Simon Eth, Mark Morgan, Trent Reichling, and Michael Leeman 

Jacksonville Division

Charles DeYoung (45)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

                         

Christopher Dozier (41)

Brittany Cooper (32)

Interference with commerce by robbery

Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 7 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

2

Marcus Peterson (37)

Antwan Major (25)

Kimberly Walker (45)

Neal Walker (51)

Mar’quez Mickler (21)

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

5

Brett Amante (39)

Bank robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 7 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Johnny Davis (46)

Making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer

Maximum Prison Term: 5 years

0

 

These PSN cases from the Jacksonville Division are being handled by AUSAs Laura Taylor, David Mesrobian, Chip Corsmeier, and Cyrus Zomorodian

Ocala Division

Darrell Pierre Hopkins (54)

 

 

 

Making a materially false statement during the purchase of firearms

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Causing an FFL to maintain false information in its official records

Maximum Prison Term: 5 years

0

 

 

Timothy Ivory (44)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition (2 counts)

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years (per count)

2

Jeffrey Walt Boston (44)

Felon in possession of firearm

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Unlawful possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

1

Benjamin Tyree Townsel (22)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition (3 counts)

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years (per count)

Possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number

Maximum Prison Term: 5 years

3

D’Andra Lamar Miller (21)

Felon in possession of firearm

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2

These PSN cases from the Ocala Division are being handled by AUSAs Robert Bodnar, Jr, Tyrie K. Boyer

 

Orlando Division

 

Larry Burrows (26)

Use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 7 years

Maximum Prison Term:  Life

Carjacking

Maximum Prison Term: 15 years

0

       

Zachary Nichols (27)

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term:  Life

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: 40 years

2

           

Christopher Dasilva (24)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

      

Symone Stannisha Smith (32)

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: 40 years

0

Joseph Ellicott (43)

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

0

              

These PSN cases from the Orlando Division are being handled by AUSAs Chauncey Bratt, Jen Harrington, Ranganath Manthripragada, and U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg

Tampa Division

Christian Agosto (22)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

                   

Ronald White (27)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

                       

Deuntay Robertson (30)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Antonio Phillips (33)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

                      

Michael Woeber (35)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2

Michael Cottone (35)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2

Alan Williams (43)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Wilbur B. Simpson IV (23)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Ryland Hicks (41)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Richard Devine (32)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

William Houston Gates (34)

George Rundell (41)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

3

Victor Grant (40)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

0

Keon Rashawn Felton (23)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Russel Hinote (74)

Dealing firearms without a license

Maximum Prison Term: 5 years

114

Hector Kirkland (40)

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Mandatory Minimum Prison Term: 5/7/10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Robbery (2 counts)

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years (per count)

0

Keaujay Hornsby (26)

Kareem Spann (27)

Tywon Spann (25)

Eriaius Bentley (29)

Racketeering conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering

Use of a Firearm During and in Relation to/Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence—

Mandatory Minimum Prison Term: 5/7/10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Racketeering Conspiracy

Assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering

Discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Aggravated identity theft

Access device fraud

1

Uriah Waggerby (24)

Sylvanis Brice (30)

Johan Holder (25)

Kaleb James (26)

Robbery:

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

0

Nicholas Primo (34)

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

0

Travis Riley (39)

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Drug trafficking conspiracy

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

3

These PSN cases from the Tampa Division are being handled by Mike Sinacore, Charlie Connally, Diego Novaes, Callan Albritton, Jim Preston, and Simon Eth

Total Number of Defendants: 52

 

Total Number of Firearms: 174

 

Sentenced Cases

Defendant(s)

(Age)

Charges

Sentence Imposed

Firearms Seized

Fort Myers Division

Jarrett Truman (26)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 5 years in federal prison

8

Raynaldo Quiroga (38)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition; using a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; interference with commerce by robbery

Sentence Imposed: 40 years in federal prison

 

0

These PSN cases from the Fort Myers Division are being handled by AUSAs Shannon Laurie, Simon Eth, and Jesus M. Casas

 

Jacksonville Division

 

Cornelius Turner (34)

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 15 years in federal prison

1

 

Brandy Rayburn (41)

Duane McCray (44)

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking

Sentence Imposed: 5 years in federal prison (Rayburn)

Sentence Imposed: 5 years in federal prison (McCray)

1

 

Luis Hernandez (33)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 2 years and 6 months in federal prison

1

 

Bernie Mack (45)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 15 years in federal prison

1

 

Andrew Fulda (44)

Possession of a firearm by individual with a domestic violence injunction

Sentence Imposed: 3 years and 1 month in federal prison

7

Fan Yang (37)

 

Making false written statements to federally licensed firearms dealers during the purchase of two firearms; export crimes

Sentence Imposed: 4 years in federal prison

2

Jose Angel Vazquez (60)

Making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer

Sentence Imposed: 18 months in federal prison

0

These PSN cases from the Jacksonville Division were handled by AUSAs Ashley Washington, Cyrus Zomorodian, Julie Hackenberry, David Mesrobian, Laura Taylor, and Michael Coolican

Ocala Division

Manuel Jose Toro Finol (37)

Possession of a Schedule I controlled substance dimethyltryptamine (DMT)

Sentence Imposed: 1 year probation

0

Glenn Edward Davis, Jr. (36)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon; possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine

Sentence Imposed: 17 years and 6 months in federal prison

2

 

 

Tralvaster Epps aka Pooh Bear (34)

Possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession with intent to distribute marijuana, cocaine, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and 400 grams or more of fentanyl

Sentence Imposed: 10 years and 2 months in federal prison

1

 

 

Megan Bateman (31)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

Sentence Imposed: 8 months in federal prison

2

Robert Joseph Miller (46)

Possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon; possession of unregistered NFA firearms

Sentence Imposed: 10 years in federal prison

42

These PSN cases from the Ocala Division were handled by AUSAs Michael P. Felicetta, Robert Bodnar, Jr., and Tyrie K. Boyer.

Orlando Division

Davel Theodore Spady (35)

 

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Sentence Imposed: 6 years in federal prison

0

               

This PSN case from the Orlando Division was handled by AUSAs Beatriz Gonzalez.

Tampa Division

Greg Kendrick (26)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 5 years and 10 months in federal prison

3

Theodore Williams (28)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 4 years and 9 months in federal prison

1

                 

James McCormick (29)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 12 months in federal prison

1

Keon Moore (30)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition; possession with intent to distribute controlled substances

Sentence Imposed: 17 years and 6 months in federal prison

7

                    

Samuel Davis (49)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 4 years and 5 months in federal prison

1

                      

Aaron Jermaine Mosley (30)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 7 years in federal prison

2

Tareq Iraq (28)

 

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; Hobbs Act robbery

Sentence imposed: 10 years and 4 months in federal prison

0

Jeffrey Davis (24)

 

Tyee Spike (19)

 

Use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Sentence Imposed: 24 years in federal prison (Davis)

Sentence Imposed: 26 years and 3 months in federal prison (Spike)

1

Michael Snyder (31)

Interference with commerce by robbery

Sentence Imposed: 9 years in federal prison

1

Pierre Marc (35)

 

Drug trafficking conspiracy; use of a firearm during and in relation to/possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Sentence Imposed: 10 years in federal prison

1

                      

These PSN cases from the Tampa Division were handled by AUSAs Diego Novaes, Charlie Connally, Mike Gordon, Jim Preston, and Callan Albritton.

Total Number of Defendants: 27

 

Total Number of Firearms: 86

 

Outreach Activities

 

Date

Event

Number of Attendees

Division

January 25, 2022

AMI Youth Program Tampa

38

Tampa

January 27-28, 2022

COPS “Problem Solving for Public Safety Partners” training

22

Fort Myers

January 28, 2022

AMI Kids Jacksonville

19

Jacksonville

February 11, 2022

JLERP Jones High School

60

Orlando

February 16, 2022

AMI Kids Orlando

15

Orlando

February 17-18, 2022

COPS “Problem Solving for Public Safety Partners” training

24

Clearwater

February 28, 2022

Westbrooke Elementary School - Rising Stars Group

19

Orlando

March 10, 2022

Bridge to Success Academy Middle School

44

Jacksonville

March 21, 2022

Boone High School Criminal Justice Magnet

55

Orlando

March 21, 2022

Westbrooke Elementary School - Rising Stars Group

23

Orlando

March 30-31, 2022

COPS “Problem Solving for Public Safety Partners” training

31

Orlando

Total Number of Events: 11

Total Number of Attendees: 350

 

Tampa – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Cornelius “Neal” Singleton (60, Miramar) guilty of two counts of international money laundering. Singleton faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Singleton had been indicted on July 13, 2021.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on March 28, 2020, Singleton delivered more than $660,000 in cash he intended to have delivered to individuals within Colombia. In cooperation with the Colombian National Police, agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Tampa and HSI (Bogota) arranged to have the funds delivered to its intended recipients in Colombia – members of a group of suspected large-scale narcotics traffickers. After the successful delivery was made in Bogota, Colombia, in June 2020, negotiations began with Singleton for additional deliveries of cash to be delivered to Colombia. In June 2021, Singleton brought nearly $1.1 million in cash to downtown St. Petersburg to be delivered to the same individuals in Colombia. HSI agents arrested Singleton at that time.

As a result of Singleton’s arrest, HSI (Tampa) has broadened their investigation targeting multiple persons located within the United States, Colombia, and elsewhere.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa), with assistance from the Colombian National Police, the Hialeah Police Department, and the St. Petersburg Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs, Jr.

Jacksonville, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Dylan Milton Jarvis (30, Orange Park) with unlawful possession of an unregistered National Firearms Act firearm (weapon made from a shotgun). If convicted, Jarvis faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. Jarvis had been indicted on April 7, 2022. He was arrested on April 14, 2022. The indictment also notifies Jarvis that the United States intends to forfeit the weapon made from a shotgun.

According to the facts presented in court and the indictment, at approximately 5:30 pm on January 11, 2022, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) responded to calls of shots fired near Blanding Boulevard, a heavily traveled road in Orange Park. Upon making contact with Jarvis in a parking lot, the CCSO determined that Jarvis had fired three to four rounds into the ground from a 12-gauge shotgun and then discarded the firearm. The CCSO located the shotgun in the immediate vicinity of the parking lot along with multiple spent shotgun shells. Further investigation by the CCSO and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined that Jarvis previously sawed off the barrel and the stock of the 12-gauge shotgun. A record check confirmed that this weapon made from a shotgun was not registered to Jarvis in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required under federal law. 

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 Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Jacksonville Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Jacksonville, Florida – A federal jury has found Ali Akhenaten (formerly known as Darryl Oliver) guilty of five counts of tax fraud. Akhenaten faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison for each count. The United States also will seek restitution for the tax loss arising out of the fraud. Akhenaten had been indicted on March 27, 2019. His sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Akhenaten owned and operated a tax preparation business in Jacksonville called Florida Financial Solutions. On the 2014, 2015, and 2016 tax returns Akhenaten prepared for the business, he underreported his business income and overstated the rent he had paid for his business property. On the tax returns he filed on his own behalf for 2014 and 2015, he underreported the income he had earned from the business.

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Prisciliano Garces Angulo (Colombia, 58) guilty of possessing and conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Four charged co-conspirators had previously pleaded guilty to the same drug trafficking conspiracy offense.  Garces Angulo faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 28, 2022.  He had been indicted on January 13, 2021.

According to testimony presented at trial, in December 2020, a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) airplane detected a 25-foot open-hull motorboat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean about 200 miles from the nearest point of land. The motorboat was suspected of drug smuggling because it had numerous fuel containers on deck, displayed no indicia of nationality or registration, and was operating in a location where maritime drug smuggling by similar vessels is common. The USCG Cutter Harriet Lane launched a helicopter and small boat to investigate. After the motorboat failed to stop in response to numerous orders and warnings by the USCG, the helicopter was forced to employ disabling fire on the boat’s engine. A USCG boarding team found Garces Angulo and his four charged co-conspirators on board and determined the vessel to be without nationality, and therefore subject to United States jurisdiction. On board the vessel, the boarding team found and seized more than 970 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated worth of over $29 million.

This case was investigated by the United States Coast Guard and the Panama Express Strike Force, a standing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force comprised of agents and analysts from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force South.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Tereza Ohley and Matthew Del Mastro.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Christian Agosto (22, Brandon) to four years and three months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Agosto had pleaded guilty on December 15, 2021.

According to court documents, Agosto, a convicted felon, held and displayed an assault rifle during an Instagram live video on July 22, 2021. Agosto was on community control at the time of the video and was being supervised by the Florida Department of Corrections. On July 28, 2021, Agosto’s probation officer and other law enforcement officers searched Agosto’s residence and recovered a Ruger AR-556 rifle, loaded with ammunition, from inside a closet. The firearm matched the rifle Agosto had displayed during the Instagram live video.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tampa Police Department, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Corrections. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a grand jury has returned an indictment charging Jorge Mojocoa (69, Fort McCoy) with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sex. Mojocoa faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervised release. Mojocoa is being held in federal custody pending trial.

According to court documents, on March 30 and March 31, 2022, Mojocoa utilized emails, phone calls, and text messages to engage in conversations with an undercover agent who was posing online as the guardian of a 12-year-old child. On March 30, 2022, Mojocoa advised the agent that he wished to have sex with the “child” and negotiated to pay $60 for oral sex. On March 31, 2022, Mojocoa arrived at an agreed upon location with cash, candy for the “child,” and lubricant. He was arrested by law enforcement at that time.

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 Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Secret Service, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tyrie K. Boyer.

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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge Gregory A. Presnell has sentenced Darrell Pierre Hopkins (54, Dunnellon) to 24 months in federal prison for making a materially false statement in connection with the purchase of firearms and knowingly causing a licensed gun dealer to maintain false information in its official records. Hopkins entered a guilty plea to the charges on February 2, 2022. He had been indicted on December 15, 2021.

According to the evidence introduced in court, on or about November 23, 2021, Hopkins entered a federally licensed firearm dealer in Crystal River, Florida, and attempted to purchase two handguns. While completing the mandatory firearm transaction paperwork, Hopkins certified that he had not previously been convicted of a felony. A criminal background check, however, revealed that Hopkins had been previously convicted of robbery, conspiracy to deal cocaine, and intimidation. His purchase was denied. When subsequently confronted by law enforcement, Hopkins admitted that he was the person who had attempted to unlawfully purchase the firearms. As a convicted felon, Hopkins is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.     

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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

Tampa, FL – A Florida woman was sentenced today to 151 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for her work for and support of subscription-based sexually exploitative “child modeling” websites. The court also ordered the defendant to forfeit more than $2.2 million, as well as real property located in Weston, Florida.

According to court documents, Tatiana Power, aka Tanya Power, 41, of Weston, helped run the financial affairs of the Newstar Enterprise – an internet-based business aimed at for-profit sexual exploitation of vulnerable children under the guise of “child modeling,” through a collection of websites called the Newstar Websites. Power served as Vice President and part owner of Power Trading Inc., a Florida corporation used to control, operate, and conceal the true nature of the Newstar Enterprise. From as early as 2009 through November 2019, Power served as Power Trading’s (and thus the Newstar Enterprise’s) bookkeeper. She oversaw Power Trading’s QuickBooks, filed its annual corporate registration documents, managed its bank accounts, paid salaries, helped wire money to foreign co-conspirators, and advised co-conspirators on how to evade law enforcement and conceal the true nature of monetary transactions. She routinely assisted in transferring money and making payments for the Newstar Enterprise. From January 2009 until November 2019, Power and her now deceased husband, Kenneth Power, made more than $2.2 million from the Newstar Websites.

According to court documents, founded around 2005, the Newstar Enterprise built, maintained, hosted, and operated the Newstar Websites on servers in the United States and abroad. To populate the Newstar Websites with content, Newstar Enterprise members sourced, enticed, solicited, and recruited males and females under the age of 18, some of whom were prepubescent, to use as “child models” for the Newstar Websites. The Newstar Enterprise used the recruited child-victims, to produce more than 4.6 million sexualized images and videos to distribute and sell on the Newstar Websites. Some of those images and videos, though non-nude, depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. For example, images and videos sold on the Newstar Websites depicted children as young as 6 years old in sexual and provocative poses, wearing police and cheerleader costumes, thong underwear, transparent underwear, revealing swimsuits, pantyhose, and miniskirts. Most of the child-victims – recruited from Ukraine, Moldova, and other nations in Eastern Europe – were particularly vulnerable due to their age and socio-economic status. Law enforcement officers have disabled the servers hosting the Newstar Websites.

The Newstar Enterprise maintained a membership list for subscribers and customers of the Newstar Websites, who originated from 101 nations across the world. Images in the websites’ galleries were freely available to the public to preview, but greater access and more content required purchasing a subscription. The sale of purported “child modeling” content on the Newstar Websites generated more than $9.4 million during the conspiracy. To process, receive and distribute this money, Newstar Enterprise leaders fraudulently opened merchant and bank accounts in the United States and laundered proceeds using a bogus jewelry company. 

To date, six members of the Newstar Enterprise have been charged in connection with the Newstar Websites. The chart below shows the status of each case. 

 

Name

Case Number

Charge(s)

Status

Tatiana Power

8:21-cr-244-MSS-AAS

Conspiracy to commit money laundering

Pleaded guilty, sentenced to 12.5 years in prison

Kenneth Power

8:21-cr-00032-SDM-AAS

Conspiracy to advertise child pornography; conspiracy to distribute child pornography

Defendant deceased: case dismissed

Plamen Velinov

8:21-cr-342-VMC-SPF

Conspiracy to advertise child pornography; conspiracy to distribute child pornography

Indicted

Patrice Wilowski-Mevorah

 

8:21-cr-00206-MSS-TGW

Conspiracy to commit money laundering

63 months in prison

Anthony Lee Kendall

8:21-cr-358-SCB-TGW

Conspiracy to commit money laundering; promotion money laundering; concealment money laundering

Defendant deceased

Mary Lou

Bjorkman

8:21-cr-00227-SDM-AAS

Conspiracy to commit money laundering

Pleaded guilty, sentenced to 18 months in prison

 

The defendants have also been notified that the United States intends to forfeit a total of $9.4 million, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offenses, in addition to real property located in Florida.

These cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Tampa and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), with substantial assistance provided by the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, HSI offices in Fort Lauderdale, Athens, and the Hague, U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as IRS Criminal Investigation in Tampa.

“Powers was complicit in laundering money gained by the sexualization and exploitation of children,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge John Condon. “HSI is committed to partnering with international law enforcement agencies to find those who exploit innocent children and bring them to justice.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Murray of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Kyle Reynolds of the CEOS are prosecuting these cases.

This investigation benefited from foreign law enforcement cooperation and substantial assistance by the Republic of Bulgaria, Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office and National Investigation Service; International Legal Assistance Center (IRC), North-Holland Unit; and the Czech Republic, Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, Czech Police. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance securing foreign evidence and its Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) provided capacity building assistance and mentoring.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

A Florida woman was sentenced today to 151 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for her work for and support of subscription-based sexually exploitative “child modeling” websites. The court also ordered the defendant to forfeit more than $2.2 million, as well as real property located in Weston, Florida.

According to court documents, Tatiana Power, aka Tanya Power, 41, of Weston, helped run the financial affairs of the Newstar Enterprise – an internet-based business aimed at for-profit sexual exploitation of vulnerable children under the guise of “child modeling,” through a collection of websites called the Newstar Websites. Power served as Vice President and part owner of Power Trading Inc., a Florida corporation used to control, operate and conceal the true nature of the Newstar Enterprise. From as early as 2009 through November 2019, Power served as Power Trading’s (and thus the Newstar Enterprise’s) bookkeeper. She oversaw Power Trading’s QuickBooks, filed its annual corporate registration documents, managed its bank accounts, paid salaries, helped wire money to foreign co-conspirators, and advised co-conspirators on how to evade law enforcement and conceal the true nature of monetary transactions. She routinely assisted in transferring money and making payments for the Newstar Enterprise. From January 2009 until November 2019, Power and her now deceased husband, Kenneth Power, made more than $2.2 million from the Newstar Websites.

According to court documents, founded around 2005, the Newstar Enterprise built, maintained, hosted and operated the Newstar Websites on servers in the United States and abroad. To populate the Newstar Websites with content, Newstar Enterprise members sourced, enticed, solicited, and recruited males and females under the age of 18, some of whom were prepubescent, to use as “child models” for the Newstar Websites. The Newstar Enterprise used the recruited child-victims, to produce more than 4.6 million sexualized images and videos to distribute and sell on the Newstar Websites. Some of those images and videos, though non-nude, depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. For example, images and videos sold on the Newstar Websites depicted children as young as six years old in sexual and provocative poses, wearing police and cheerleader costumes, thong underwear, transparent underwear, revealing swimsuits, pantyhose, and miniskirts. Most of the child-victims – recruited from Ukraine, Moldova, and other nations in Eastern Europe – were particularly vulnerable due to their age and socio-economic status. Law enforcement officers have disabled the servers hosting the Newstar Websites.

The Newstar Enterprise maintained a membership list for subscribers and customers of the Newstar Websites, who originated from 101 nations across the world. Images in the websites’ galleries were freely available to the public to preview, but greater access and more content required purchasing a subscription. The sale of purported “child modeling” content on the Newstar Websites generated more than $9.4 million during the conspiracy. To process, receive and distribute this money, Newstar Enterprise leaders fraudulently opened merchant and bank accounts in the United States and laundered proceeds using a bogus jewelry company. 

To date, six members of the Newstar Enterprise have been charged in connection with the Newstar Websites. The chart below shows the status of each case. 

Name

Case Number

Charge(s)

Status

Tatiana Power

8:21-cr-244-MSS-AAS

Conspiracy to commit money laundering

Pleaded guilty, sentenced to 12.5 years in prison

 

Kenneth Power

8:21-cr-00032-SDM-AAS

Conspiracy to advertise child pornography; conspiracy to distribute child pornography

 

Defendant deceased: case dismissed

Plamen Velinov

8:21-cr-342-VMC-SPF

Conspiracy to advertise child pornography; conspiracy to distribute child pornography

 

Indicted

Patrice Wilowski-Mevorah

 

8:21-cr-00206-MSS-TGW

Conspiracy to commit money laundering

63 months in prison

Anthony Lee Kendall

8:21-cr-358-SCB-TGW

Conspiracy to commit money laundering; promotion money laundering; concealment money laundering

 

Defendant deceased

Mary Lou

Bjorkman

8:21-cr-00227-SDM-AAS

Conspiracy to commit money laundering

Pleaded guilty, sentenced to 18 months in prison

 

The defendants have also been notified that the United States intends to forfeit a total of $9.4 million, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offenses, in addition to real property located in Florida.

These cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Tampa and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), with substantial assistance provided by the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, HSI offices in Fort Lauderdale, Athens, and the Hague, U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as IRS Criminal Investigation in Tampa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Murray for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Kyle Reynolds of the CEOS are prosecuting these cases.

This investigation benefited from foreign law enforcement cooperation and substantial assistance by the Republic of Bulgaria, Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office and National Investigation Service; International Legal Assistance Center (IRC), North-Holland Unit; and the Czech Republic, Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, Czech Police. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance securing foreign evidence and its Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) provided capacity building assistance and mentoring.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Jacksonville, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Monique Elizabeth Carter (35, Middleburg) today pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product, specifically, injectable fentanyl.  Carter faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Carter, a registered nurse who previously was employed by a hospital in Jacksonville, worked in a neural intensive care unit (ICU) providing intensive and specialized care to critically ill patients with life-threatening neurological problems. Certain ICU patients were prescribed intravenous doses of fentanyl, which is synthetic opioid used as a pain medication and as anesthesia. 

After Carter’s shift on September 28, 2021, a hospital pharmacist examined the ICU wing’s inventory of fentanyl and found a fentanyl syringe missing a tamper-proof cap, but with some form of foreign adhesive remaining at the tip. A second fentanyl syringe had a cap that appeared to have been glued back onto the syringe.  After reviewing hospital records, a pharmacist supervisor noted a pattern of Carter checking out doses of fentanyl for patients, but then cancelling the transactions and checking syringes back into the hospital’s inventory. Records showed that Carter did so 24 times between August 29 and September 28, 2021. Carter was the only nurse on her ICU wing who persistently engaged in such conduct.

The next day, when Carter arrived for work, hospital representatives interviewed her. Confronted with the pharmacists’ findings, Carter eventually admitted that – to obtain drugs for personal use at home – she had been removing injectable fentanyl from syringes, replacing the drug with saline, and then gluing the plastic tampering caps back onto the syringes with an adhesive that she obtained from the hospital. Carter admitted that she had been tampering with fentanyl syringes since the summer of 2021. Carter denied injecting fentanyl while on duty at the hospital, however, law enforcement later located needles, saline syringes, and adhesive in her bag.

Carter, as a trained healthcare professional, knew that her activities likely resulted in critically ill patients receiving diluted fentanyl that was not safe and effective. Having been deprived of sterile, medically necessary medication, such patients were exposed to possible infection and endured unnecessary pain and suffering. In addition, Carter knew that the failure to anesthetize or control pain in ICU patients can result in increased risks of illness or death, stemming from, among other things, respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal complications. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office – Pharmaceutical Diversion and Designer Drug Unit attached to the North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican. 

Fort Myers – U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber today sentenced Jarvis Bernard Bowens (35, Lehigh Acres) to 25 years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Bowens had pleaded guilty on January 6, 2022.

According to court documents, in July 2021, DEA agents executed search warrants at Bowens’s residence in Lehigh Acres and at his business in Fort Myers.  Between the locations, agents seized more than one kilogram of fentanyl, more than two-and-a-half kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, quantities of powder cocaine and crack cocaine, and two loaded firearms, all belonging to Bowens. 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Florida Highway Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Oscar Marsiglia Barrios (54, Colombia) to 17 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine knowing and intending that it be imported into the United States. Marsiglia Barrios had pleaded guilty on January 12, 2022. Marsiglia Barrios had been arrested in Colombia in August 2019 and extradited to the United States in March 2021.

According to court documents, beginning around February 2015 and continuing until October 26, 2017, Marsiglia Barrios was part of a transnational criminal conspiracy that transported cocaine from Colombia to the United States. Marsiglia Barrios operated out of the Puerto Nuevo region of Colombia and was responsible for recruiting, hiring, and paying individuals to transport cocaine out of Colombia into the United States in cargo ships. Between 2015 and 2018, fifteen of Marsiglia Barrios’s co-conspirators were arrested, indicted, and sentenced to federal prison in the Middle District of Florida.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance with the defendant’s extradition. The U.S. Marshals Service also provided critical assistance by extraditing Marsiglia Barrios from Colombia to the Middle District of Florida. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Bridgitte Keim (52, Temple Terrace) to 24 months in federal prison for bank fraud. The Court also ordered Keim to forfeit $7,500, which was traceable to proceeds of the offense. Keim had pleaded guilty on January 5, 2022.

According to court documents, between April and May 2021, Keim defrauded a federally insured financial institution and the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) by submitting false and fraudulent loan applications and supporting documentation for federally guaranteed Payment Protection Program (“PPP”) loans that were designed to assist businesses suffering adverse economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. Keim recruited family members to provide their personal information in exchange for free “COVID money.” Keim prepared and submitted false and fraudulent PPP loan applications to the financial institution on behalf of her relatives in the names of fictitious businesses, knowing that her relatives did not have existing businesses, did not have employees, had no business income, and had no payroll expenses as required by the SBA to qualify for PPP loans. In furtherance of the scheme, Keim also impersonated the family members in communications with the financial institution.

This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.

Physician Partners of America LLC (PPOA), headquartered in Tampa, Florida, its founder, Rodolfo Gari, and its former chief medical officer, Dr. Abraham Rivera, have agreed to pay $24.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing federal healthcare programs for unnecessary medical testing and services, paying unlawful remuneration to its physician employees and making a false statement in connection with a loan obtained through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Certain PPOA affiliated entities are jointly and severally liable for the settlement amount, including the Florida Pain Relief Group, the Texas Pain Relief Group, Physician Partners of America CRNA Holdings LLC, Medical Tox Labs LLC and Medical DNA Labs LLC.

The United States alleged that PPOA caused the submission of claims for medically unnecessary urine drug testing (UDT), by requiring its physician employees to order multiple tests at the same time without determining whether any testing was reasonable and necessary, or even reviewing the results of initial testing (presumptive UDT) to determine whether additional testing (definitive UDT) was warranted. PPOA’s affiliated toxicology lab then billed federal healthcare programs for the highest-level UDT. In addition, PPOA incentivized its physician employees to order presumptive UDT by paying them 40% of the profits from such testing in violation of the Stark Law, which prohibits physicians from referring patients to receive “designated health services” payable to Medicare or Medicaid from entities with which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship, unless an exception applies.

The United States further alleged that PPOA required patients to submit to genetic and psychological testing before the patients were seen by physicians, without making any determination as to whether the testing was reasonable and necessary, and then billed federal healthcare programs for the tests.

The United States further alleged that when Florida suspended all non-emergency medical procedures to reduce transmission of COVID-19 in March 2020, PPOA sought to compensate for lost revenue by requiring its physician employees to schedule unnecessary evaluation and management (E/M) appointments with patients every 14 days, instead of every month as had been PPOA’s prior practice. PPOA then instructed its physicians to bill these E/M visits using inappropriate high-level procedure codes. Moreover, the United States alleged that at the same time PPOA was engaged in this unlawful overbilling, PPOA falsely represented to the SBA that it was not engaged in unlawful activity in order to obtain a $5.9 million loan through the PPP. The settlement announced today resolves liability under the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) arising from the false claims submitted to federal healthcare programs for the E/M visits as well for PPOA’s false statement in connection with its PPP loan.

“Billing federal healthcare programs for services that providers know are unnecessary or unreasonable undermines the quality of care that patients receive and increases the costs of these taxpayer-funded programs,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to ensuring that healthcare providers base their treatment decisions on their patients’ needs rather than their own financial interests.”

“Holding healthcare providers accountable for inflated claims and false statements helps ensure the integrity of the healthcare system as a whole,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Settlements like this one are an important step in that direction.”

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the SBA has been focused on providing relief swiftly, equitably and efficiently to millions of struggling small business owners – ensuring that relief has been distributed with the utmost integrity has been central to that mission under Administrator Guzman,” said General Counsel Peggy Delinois Hamilton for the SBA. “The SBA takes fraud seriously and will continue to make it our priority to work alongside the Office of the Inspector General to identify and address any potential fraud to ensure sound administration of relief programs.”

In connection with the settlement, PPOA also entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Under the CIA, PPOA agreed to undertake significant compliance efforts, including: maintain a compliance department, medical director and oversight board; retain a compliance expert; provide management certifications; maintain written standards, training and education; obtain multiple annual claims reviews by an Independent Review Organization; establish a risk assessment and internal review process; and implement monitoring of testing referrals. 

“When health care providers bill taxpayer-funded health care programs for medically unnecessary services, they divert government funds designed to assist business owners during this pandemic,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of HHS-OIG. “Our agency will work with our law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate health care fraud schemes.”

“This settlement allows OWCP to recover medical bill payments under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act and return those funds to the Employees’ Compensation Fund,” said Director Christopher Godfrey of the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). “The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, as well as various other agencies’ offices of inspector general (OIG), devote significant investigative resources to detecting cases of possible abuse within the FECA program, and this settlement demonstrates the commitment of the DOL and its OIG in helping to ensure that funds issued through the program are paid appropriately.”

“When actors within our health care system are focused on profit rather than patient care, it undermines the integrity of the medical decision-making process,” said Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. “DCIS will continue to work with our investigative partners to protect the funding entrusted to the Defense Health Agency that serves our military members and their families.”

“Veterans Affairs' Community Care programs provide veterans and their families the ability to obtain critical healthcare services from providers within their own communities,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s (VA OIG) Southeast Field Office. “This civil settlement reinforces the VA OIG’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of VA’s healthcare programs and operations and preserving taxpayer funds.”

“When providers submit false claims for medically unnecessary tests, they are not only violating their patients’ trust but also compromising the integrity of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP),” said Special Agent in Charge Amy K. Parker of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Inspector General (OPM OIG). “This settlement demonstrates the OPM OIG’s commitment to protecting patients from tests that are not medically reasonable or necessary and safeguarding the FEHBP from fraudulent claims.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Donald Haight, Dawn Baker, Dr. Harold Cho, Dr. Venus Dookwah-Roberts and Dr. Michael Lupi, who are current or former employees of PPOA or its affiliated entities. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam cases are captioned United States ex rel. Haight v. Physician Partners of Am.; United States ex rel. Baker v. Physician Partners of Am LLC; United States ex rel. Lupi v. Physician Partners of Am. LLC; and United States ex rel. Dookwah-Roberts v. Physician Partners of Am. LLC.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; HHS-OIG; VA OIG; DCIS; DOL OIG; and OPM OIG.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel David W. Tyler of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Saxe Griffin for the Middle District of Florida.

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

Physician Partners of America LLC (PPOA), headquartered in Tampa, Florida, its founder, Rodolfo Gari, and its former chief medical officer, Dr. Abraham Rivera, have agreed to pay $24.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing federal healthcare programs for unnecessary medical testing and services, paying unlawful remuneration to its physician employees and making a false statement in connection with a loan obtained through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Certain PPOA affiliated entities are jointly and severally liable for the settlement amount, including the Florida Pain Relief Group, the Texas Pain Relief Group, Physician Partners of America CRNA Holdings LLC, Medical Tox Labs LLC and Medical DNA Labs LLC.

The United States alleged that PPOA caused the submission of claims for medically unnecessary urine drug testing (UDT), by requiring its physician employees to order multiple tests at the same time without determining whether any testing was reasonable and necessary, or even reviewing the results of initial testing (presumptive UDT) to determine whether additional testing (definitive UDT) was warranted. PPOA’s affiliated toxicology lab then billed federal healthcare programs for the highest-level UDT. In addition, PPOA incentivized its physician employees to order presumptive UDT by paying them 40% of the profits from such testing in violation of the Stark Law, which prohibits physicians from referring patients to receive “designated health services” payable to Medicare or Medicaid from entities with which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship, unless an exception applies.

The United States further alleged that PPOA required patients to submit to genetic and psychological testing before the patients were seen by physicians, without making any determination as to whether the testing was reasonable and necessary, and then billed federal healthcare programs for the tests.

The United States further alleged that when Florida suspended all non-emergency medical procedures to reduce transmission of COVID-19 in March 2020, PPOA sought to compensate for lost revenue by requiring its physician employees to schedule unnecessary evaluation and management (E/M) appointments with patients every 14 days, instead of every month as had been PPOA’s prior practice. PPOA then instructed its physicians to bill these E/M visits using inappropriate high-level procedure codes. Moreover, the United States alleged that at the same time PPOA was engaged in this unlawful overbilling, PPOA falsely represented to the SBA that it was not engaged in unlawful activity in order to obtain a $5.9 million loan through the PPP. The settlement announced today resolves liability under the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) arising from the false claims submitted to federal healthcare programs for the E/M visits as well for PPOA’s false statement in connection with its PPP loan.

“Billing federal healthcare programs for services that providers know are unnecessary or unreasonable undermines the quality of care that patients receive and increases the costs of these taxpayer-funded programs,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to ensuring that healthcare providers base their treatment decisions on their patients’ needs rather than their own financial interests.”

“Holding healthcare providers accountable for inflated claims and false statements helps ensure the integrity of the healthcare system as a whole,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Settlements like this one are an important step in that direction.”

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the SBA has been focused on providing relief swiftly, equitably and efficiently to millions of struggling small business owners – ensuring that relief has been distributed with the utmost integrity has been central to that mission under Administrator Guzman,” said General Counsel Peggy Delinois Hamilton for the SBA. “The SBA takes fraud seriously and will continue to make it our priority to work alongside the Office of the Inspector General to identify and address any potential fraud to ensure sound administration of relief programs.”

In connection with the settlement, PPOA also entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Under the CIA, PPOA agreed to undertake significant compliance efforts, including: maintain a compliance department, medical director and oversight board; retain a compliance expert; provide management certifications; maintain written standards, training and education; obtain multiple annual claims reviews by an Independent Review Organization; establish a risk assessment and internal review process; and implement monitoring of testing referrals. 

“When health care providers bill taxpayer-funded health care programs for medically unnecessary services, they divert government funds designed to assist business owners during this pandemic,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of HHS-OIG. “Our agency will work with our law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate health care fraud schemes.”

“This settlement allows OWCP to recover medical bill payments under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act and return those funds to the Employees’ Compensation Fund,” said Director Christopher Godfrey of the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). “The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, as well as various other agencies’ offices of inspector general (OIG), devote significant investigative resources to detecting cases of possible abuse within the FECA program, and this settlement demonstrates the commitment of the DOL and its OIG in helping to ensure that funds issued through the program are paid appropriately.”

“When actors within our health care system are focused on profit rather than patient care, it undermines the integrity of the medical decision-making process,” said Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. “DCIS will continue to work with our investigative partners to protect the funding entrusted to the Defense Health Agency that serves our military members and their families.”

“Veterans Affairs' Community Care programs provide veterans and their families the ability to obtain critical healthcare services from providers within their own communities,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s (VA OIG) Southeast Field Office. “This civil settlement reinforces the VA OIG’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of VA’s healthcare programs and operations and preserving taxpayer funds.”

“When providers submit false claims for medically unnecessary tests, they are not only violating their patients’ trust but also compromising the integrity of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP),” said Special Agent in Charge Amy K. Parker of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Inspector General (OPM OIG). “This settlement demonstrates the OPM OIG’s commitment to protecting patients from tests that are not medically reasonable or necessary and safeguarding the FEHBP from fraudulent claims.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Donald Haight, Dawn Baker, Dr. Harold Cho, Dr. Venus Dookwah-Roberts and Dr. Michael Lupi, who are current or former employees of PPOA or its affiliated entities. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam cases are captioned United States ex rel. Haight v. Physician Partners of Am.; United States ex rel. Baker v. Physician Partners of Am LLC; United States ex rel. Lupi v. Physician Partners of Am. LLC; and United States ex rel. Dookwah-Roberts v. Physician Partners of Am. LLC.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; HHS-OIG; VA OIG; DCIS; DOL OIG; and OPM OIG.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel David W. Tyler of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Saxe Griffin for the Middle District of Florida.

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

A Florida man was sentenced to 51 months in prison today for his role in a nationwide tax fraud scheme that involved more than 200 participants in at least 19 states.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Aaron Aqueron, of Clermont, recruited clients to the fraud scheme by convincing them that their mortgages and other debts entitled them to tax refunds. Aqueron collected tax and financial information from the clients to send to co-conspirators, who prepared tax returns and other tax documents to submit to the IRS. These tax returns falsely claimed that banks and other financial institutions had withheld large amounts of income tax from the participants, thereby entitling the clients to a refund. In reality, the financial institutions had not paid any income to, or withheld any taxes from, these individuals. In total, the tax returns filed by Aqueron’s clients sought more than $14.6 million in tax refunds and caused the IRS to actually pay out more than $7.6 million.

As part of his plea, Aqueron admitted he and his co-conspirators received fees from his clients ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 each. Aqueron further admitted he did not report on his 2015 individual tax return the income he received from the scheme. Aqueron also personally filed false tax returns for other years on which he fraudulently claimed that he was entitled to tax refunds. In response to one of these false tax returns, the IRS issued Aqueron a refund of $193,347.97.

Aqueron further admitted that, pursuant to the fraud scheme, he attempted to obstruct the IRS’s efforts to collect the tax refunds it issued to his clients. Aqueron and his co-conspirators coached clients on ways to obstruct IRS collection efforts. For example, after learning one client had begun to receive letters from the IRS about collections, Aqueron instructed the client: “Make sure you move money out of your name and out of the banking institutions and be smart.” Aqueron also attempted to obstruct IRS efforts to collect his own fraudulently-obtained refund, including by transferring money into a trust.

Last month, the main promoter of the fraud scheme, Iran Backstrom, was sentenced to more than eight years in prison. Backstrom’s second-in-command, Mehef Bey, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, the district judge also ordered Aqueron to serve three years of supervised release and pay approximately $5.9 million in restitution to the IRS.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

“The sentencing handed down today demonstrates the key role Aqueron played in this sophisticated scheme to swindle the government,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne. “Financial fraud of this magnitude and with this degree of trickery, deceit, and dishonesty, deserves to be punished. The IRS and Department of Justice remain determined and vigilant in investigating and prosecuting such schemes to the fullest extent of the law.”

Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind, Kavitha Bondada and Isaiah Boyd III of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case. 

Ocala, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Lonnie Lorenzo Hollingsworth, Jr. (37, Ocala) to three years in federal prison for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. Hollingsworth had been found guilty following a bench trial on October 15, 2021.

According to court documents, Hollingsworth had previously threatened the Marion County Sheriff, and his deputies, in connection with an event on March 10, 2013, wherein Hollingsworth was shot by an individual Hollingsworth was attempting to rob. The incident resulted in Hollingsworth being arrested and convicted for attempted strong arm robbery. Despite his guilty plea in that case, Hollingsworth blamed the Sheriff’s Office for his prosecution, claiming that he was a victim.

On December 18, 2020, Hollingsworth walked into the Marion County Jail visitation center and handed over a package containing a “manifesto” detailing his desire to retaliate against the Sheriff. Four days later, he taped an identical copy of the manifesto to the doors of the Marion County Courthouse.

Three months later, on April 5, 2021, Hollingsworth called 911 from an Ocala gas station and threatened the Sheriff with violence.  Ocala Police officers responded to the scene and were successful in deescalating the situation with Hollingsworth. A round of ammunition was found in Hollingsworth’s possession, which he is prohibited from possessing under federal law due to his five prior felony convictions.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Ocala Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Ocala, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Keson Viason Evans, Jr. (30, Eustis) to 11 years and 10 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. On December 17, 2021, Judge Antoon sentenced co-defendant George Randolph Morris, Jr. (31, Umatilla) to 10 years of imprisonment and co-defendant Demitric Jovante Blue (25, Ocala) to 7 years and 3 months of imprisonment. All three were convicted following their guilty pleas for the same offense.

According to court documents, Evans, Morris, and Blue conspired with one another between May 11 and 20, 2021, to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. An informant, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration placed an order to purchase 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3 kilograms of fentanyl from Morris. Evans was the source of supply for the fentanyl and Blue was the source of supply for the methamphetamine. When all three men showed up on May 20, 2021, to deliver the drugs to the informant in Leesburg, DEA agents arrested them and seized the drugs.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington has sentenced Anthony Wayne Smith (58, Bradenton) to 18 months in federal prison for manufacturing counterfeit currency. The Court also ordered Smith to forfeit a firearm and ammunition found during a search of his house. Smith had pleaded guilty on January 14, 2022.

According to the plea agreement, Smith manufactured U.S. Federal Reserve notes at his home in Bradenton. During the execution of a search warrant at Smith’s residence, law enforcement officers recovered, among other things, a large quantity of counterfeit notes hidden throughout the residence, texturized printing paper, and printers. Additionally, Smith’s laptop computer contained digital images of U.S. Federal Reserve notes that had been used in the production and manufacture of counterfeit currency.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David W.A. Chee.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington has sentenced Loyd Tomlinson, I (St. Petersburg, 79) to four years and four months in federal prison for defrauding a federally insured financial institution out of more than $20 million. As part of his sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $400,000, the proceeds of the fraud. Tomlinson had pleaded guilty on August 5, 2021.

According to court documents, Tomlinson, I and his son, Loyd Tomlinson II, owned and operated LTA International Global Services LLC (“LTA”), a distribution company. In or around 2015, LTA began to have severe financial problems. In 2016, Tomlinson, I and Tomlinson, II devised a plan to fabricate documents and records to raise money from investors and financial institutions in hopes of salvaging LTA’s business. 

Tomlinson, I instructed others to create fake bank statements, inflated sales, accounts receivable, and inventory documents; borrowed money from private investors (who were often also provided fake documents) as off-the-book loans; used other entities as possible alter egos to raise money or divert sales off the books; and concealed from others the true facts about the financial state of LTA. Based on these false statements and representations, in or around July 2019, a financial institution loaned LTA approximately $21 million, which was not recovered.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel K. Jones. Asset forfeiture and restitution matters were handed by Assistant United States Attorneys Julie A. Simonsen and Suzanne Nebesky.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Eugene Fanfan has pleaded guilty to one count of aiding in the preparation of filing a false tax return. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Fanfan helped to prepare numerous false and fraudulent income tax returns on behalf of clients in 2016. Those tax returns contained false information about clients’ business income and loss, as well as false claims relating to the American Opportunity Credit. As a result of those false entries, Fanfan’s clients were able to claim and receive substantial refunds from the IRS which his clients were not lawfully entitled to receive. Those refunds exceeded $100,000.   

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany E. Fields.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Samuel Maldonado (48, New York City) to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison for failing to register as a convicted sex offender after absconding from parole in New York and moving to Jacksonville. Maldonado was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release. Maldonado has been in custody since his arrest on December 15, 2016, in New York City. He had pleaded guilty on February 24, 2022.         

According to court documents and information provided in open court, in 2009, Maldonado was convicted in New York of sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old child. In 2011, Maldonado was convicted in New York of first-degree sexual abuse of a 14-year-old child. After being released from prison in New York in 2014, Maldonado was placed on parole. At that time, he was advised of his ongoing duty to register as a sex offender and signed documentation acknowledging that he understood his obligation to do so, including if he relocated to another state.

On March 4, 2016, authorities in New York issued a warrant for Maldonado's arrest for violating his parole by failing to check in with his parole officer. In January 2016, Maldonado had absconded from supervision, left New York, and moved to Jacksonville. After establishing residence in Florida, he knowingly failed to register as a sex offender as required by both federal and Florida law.

On August 8, 2016, Maldonado was arrested in Jacksonville on a warrant based on his New York parole violation and was extradited back to New York. On December 15, 2016, Maldonado was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in New York City on a warrant issued by a Florida state court. During an interview, Maldonado admitted that he had several criminal convictions, including his two prior child sexual offense convictions. He also acknowledged that he did not inform his parole officer that he was moving to Florida, and further that he did not register as a sex offender in the state of Florida.  

On April 5, 2018, Maldonado was convicted in Florida state court of the lewd or lascivious molestation of a minor child based on conduct that had occurred in July and August 2016 in Jacksonville.  

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service in New York City and Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in investigating, locating, apprehending, and prosecuting non-compliant sex offenders who fail to register as required by SORNA.

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 the 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 – BayCare Health System Inc. and entities that operate four affiliated Florida hospitals (collectively BayCare) have agreed to pay the United States $20 million to resolve allegations that BayCare violated the False Claims Act by making donations to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) to improperly fund the state’s share of Medicaid payments to BayCare. The four hospitals are Morton Plant Hospital, Mease Countryside Hospital, Mease Dunedin Hospital and St. Anthony’s Hospital.

The Florida Medicaid program provides medical assistance to low-income individuals and individuals with disabilities, and is jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Under federal law, Florida’s share of Medicaid payments must consist of state or local government funds, and not “non-bona fide donations” from private health care providers, such as hospitals. A non-bona fide donation is a payment — in cash or in kind — from a private provider to a governmental entity that is then returned to the private provider as the state share of Medicaid. The private provider’s donation triggers a corresponding federal expenditure for the federal share of Medicaid, which is also paid to the private provider. This unlawful conduct causes federal expenditures to increase without any corresponding increase in state expenditures, since the state share of the Medicaid payments to the provider comes from and is returned to the provider. The prohibition of this practice ensures that states are in fact paying a share of Medicaid payments and thus have an incentive to curb Medicaid costs and prevent unnecessary services.  

The United States alleged that between October 2013 and September 2015, BayCare knowingly caused false claims for federal Medicaid matching funds to be submitted to the United States. Specifically, the United States alleged that during this time, BayCare made improper, non-bona fide cash donations to JWB knowing that JWB would and then did transfer a portion of the cash donations to the State of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration for Florida’s Medicaid Program. The funds transferred by JWB to the state were “matched” by the federal government before being returned to the BayCare hospitals as Medicaid payments, and BayCare was thus able to recoup its original donations to JWB and also receive federal matching funds, in violation of the federal prohibition on non-bona fide donations. BayCare’s donations to JWB increased Medicaid payments received by BayCare, without any actual expenditure of state or local funds.

“Medicaid is a partnership between the federal government and state governments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When the federal government provides Medicaid matching funds, there must be a corresponding expenditure by the state, or a local unit of government. When private parties make unlawful, non-bona fide donations to state or local governments, they undermine a key safeguard for ensuring the integrity of the Medicaid program.”

“Millions of Floridians depend on the Medicaid Program for medical care and related services,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Our office is committed to protecting the integrity of the Medicaid Program, and we will use all available civil remedies to recover the ill-gotten gains obtained by those who defraud it and other government health care programs.” 

“When health care providers participate in fraud schemes to boost federal payments, they do so at the expense of federal health care programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Our agents will continue to coordinate with our law enforcement partners to root out health care fraud and hold bad actors accountable for their actions.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Larry Bomar, a former hospital reimbursement manager in Florida. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Bomar v. Bayfront HMA Medical Center LLC, et al., Civil Action No. 8:16-cv-03310-MSS-JSS (M.D Fla.). Mr. Bomar will receive $5 million as his share of the settlement.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from HHS-OIG.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The matter was handled by Civil Division Fraud Section Attorneys Alison B. Rousseau and Jonathan T. Thrope and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn B. Tapie for the Middle District of Florida.

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

BayCare Health System Inc. and entities that operate four affiliated Florida hospitals (collectively BayCare) have agreed to pay the United States $20 million to resolve allegations that BayCare violated the False Claims Act by making donations to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) to improperly fund the state’s share of Medicaid payments to BayCare. The four hospitals are Morton Plant Hospital, Mease Countryside Hospital, Mease Dunedin Hospital and St. Anthony’s Hospital.

The Florida Medicaid program provides medical assistance to low-income individuals and individuals with disabilities, and is jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Under federal law, Florida’s share of Medicaid payments must consist of state or local government funds, and not “non-bona fide donations” from private health care providers, such as hospitals. A non-bona fide donation is a payment — in cash or in kind — from a private provider to a governmental entity that is then returned to the private provider as the state share of Medicaid. The private provider’s donation triggers a corresponding federal expenditure for the federal share of Medicaid, which is also paid to the private provider. This unlawful conduct causes federal expenditures to increase without any corresponding increase in state expenditures, since the state share of the Medicaid payments to the provider comes from and is returned to the provider. The prohibition of this practice ensures that states are in fact paying a share of Medicaid payments and thus have an incentive to curb Medicaid costs and prevent unnecessary services.  

The United States alleged that between October 2013 and September 2015, BayCare knowingly caused false claims for federal Medicaid matching funds to be submitted to the United States. Specifically, the United States alleged that during this time, BayCare made improper, non-bona fide cash donations to JWB knowing that JWB would and then did transfer a portion of the cash donations to the State of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration for Florida’s Medicaid Program. The funds transferred by JWB to the state were “matched” by the federal government before being returned to the BayCare hospitals as Medicaid payments, and BayCare was thus able to recoup its original donations to JWB and also receive federal matching funds, in violation of the federal prohibition on non-bona fide donations. BayCare’s donations to JWB increased Medicaid payments received by BayCare, without any actual expenditure of state or local funds.

“Medicaid is a partnership between the federal government and state governments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When the federal government provides Medicaid matching funds, there must be a corresponding expenditure by the state or a local unit of government. When private parties make unlawful, non-bona fide donations to state or local governments, they undermine a key safeguard for ensuring the integrity of the Medicaid program.”

“Millions of Floridians depend on the Medicaid Program for medical care and related services,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Our office is committed to protecting the integrity of the Medicaid Program, and we will use all available civil remedies to recover the ill-gotten gains obtained by those who defraud it and other government health care programs.” 

“When health care providers participate in fraud schemes to boost federal payments, they do so at the expense of federal health care programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Our agents will continue to coordinate with our law enforcement partners to root out health care fraud and hold bad actors accountable for their actions.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Larry Bomar, a former hospital reimbursement manager in Florida. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Bomar v. Bayfront HMA Medical Center LLC, et al., Civil Action No. 8:16-cv-03310-MSS-JSS (M.D Fla.). Mr. Bomar will receive $5 million as his share of the settlement.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from HHS-OIG.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The matter was handled by Civil Division Fraud Section Attorneys Alison B. Rousseau and Jonathan T. Thrope and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn B. Tapie for the Middle District of Florida.

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