Middle District of Florida

The Justice Department has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Professional Compounding Centers of America Inc. (PCCA), a Houston-based company that sells active pharmaceutical ingredients and other products and services to compounding pharmacies. The complaint alleges that PCCA reported fraudulent and inflated Average Wholesale Prices (AWPs) for its ingredients that bore no relationship to the actual prices at which it sold those ingredients to its pharmacy customers, thereby causing those pharmacies to submit inflated compound prescription claims to TRICARE, the federal health care program providing insurance for active duty military personnel, military retirees and military dependents.

Compounding pharmacies purchase ingredients for use in compound drugs from ingredient suppliers such as PCCA, which establish and report AWPs for their ingredients to pricing compendia used by federal health care programs and commercial health insurance companies. TRICARE determines the level of reimbursement for compound prescription claims based in part on the reported AWP for each of the ingredients in a compound drug. The complaint alleges that PCCA knowingly established and reported AWPs for its ingredients that were greatly inflated above their actual selling prices. For example, in 2014, PCCA typically sold the chemical Fluticasone Propionate to its top customers for between approximately $135 and $197 per gram, but it reported an AWP for that ingredient of $3,630.90 per gram – approximately 18 to 27 times the actual selling price. That same year, PCCA typically sold the ingredient Resveratrol to its top customers for under $2 per gram but reported an AWP of $818.68 per gram, more than 400 times the actual selling price of the ingredient. 

“The fraudulent reporting and marketing of drug prices to solicit business will not be tolerated,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Granston of the Justice Department’s Commercial Litigation Branch in the Civil Division. “We will continue to hold accountable those who take improper advantage of federal health care programs.”  

“We diligently investigate fraud on the federal healthcare system, especially where it impacts our veterans and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley Hoff for the Western District of Texas. “We will continue to guard the system so patients receive the care they deserve and federal taxpayer dollars are not wasted.”

“The practices we confront in this case created a major threat to the viability of the TRICARE program, a critically important public healthcare program that serves the needs of our military,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann for the Middle District of Florida. “This effort demonstrates our district’s resolve in the struggle against fraud schemes that prey on the nation’s military personnel and their families.”

“As the investigative arm of the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) will aggressively pursue all allegations of fraud perpetrated against the Department of Defense,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Mentavlos of the DCIS Southwest Field Office. “DCIS will continue to partner with the Defense Health Agency and the Department of Justice to hold companies like PCCA accountable for their actions, protect the TRICARE program and recover valuable taxpayer resources.”

The complaint alleges that PCCA marketed its inflated AWPs, the resulting profit potential and compound formulas containing high AWP ingredients as inducements to pharmacies to purchase PCCA ingredients. PCCA’s actions caused its pharmacy customers to submit tens of thousands of false and fraudulently inflated compound prescription claims containing PCCA ingredients to TRICARE, costing the program hundreds of millions of dollars in excess reimbursement.

The complaint also alleges that PCCA offered additional inducements to pharmacy customers, such as annual all-inclusive travel packages, in exchange for ingredient purchases and purchase commitments. 

The United States filed its complaint in a lawsuit originally brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Peter Hueseman. Hueseman was formerly a part owner and pharmacist at a pharmacy that purchased compound ingredients from PCCA. Under the act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The act permits the United States to intervene in such lawsuits, as it has done in this case. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Hueseman v. Professional Compounding Centers of America, Inc., No. 5:14-cv-212 (W.D. Tex.). In November 2019, the United States reached settlements with Freedom Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Pharmacy Services Inc., which were also defendants in this matter. See https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/compound-ingredient-supplier-fagron-holding-usa-llc-pay-2205-million-resolve-allegations.

The investigation of this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section) and the U.S. Attorneys' Offices for the Western District of Texas and Middle District of Florida, with assistance from DCIS, FBI, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The United States’ intervention in 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).

This matter is being handled by Fraud Section Attorneys Sanjay Bhambhani, Danielle Sgro and Nathan Green and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary Kruger, John Deck, and Collette Cunningham. 

The claims in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Michael Nolan (48, Tampa) and Richard Epstein (29, Aurora, CO) for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud federal health benefit programs, Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (“CHAMPVA”). 

Nolan was sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Epstein was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. As part of their sentences, the court also entered a money judgment against each defendant in the amount of $2.1 million and $3 million, respectively, which were proceeds of the conspiracy. Noland and Epstein were also ordered to pay restitution, jointly and severally with each other and other conspirators, in the amount of $29,020,304. 

Nolan and Epstein each had pleaded guilty on July 31, 2020.

According to court documents, from around October 2016 through around April 2019, Epstein and Nolan ran a telemarketing company in Tampa called REMN Management LLC that targeted the elderly to generate thousands of medically unnecessary physicians’ orders for durable medical equipment (“DME”) and cancer genetic testing (“CGx”). Epstein and Nolan also created and operated Comprehensive Telcare, LLC, a “telemedicine” company through which they illegally bribed physicians to sign the orders regardless of medical necessity. Epstein and Nolan then illegally sold the signed physicians’ orders to client-conspirators for use as support for false and fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and CHAMPVA. The conspiracy resulted in the submission of at least $134 million in fraudulent claims to the federal health benefit programs, resulting in approximately $29 million in payments.

The investigation and prosecution of the case were a joint effort between the Middle District of Florida and the Department of Justice - Criminal Division, Fraud Section, Health Care Fraud Unit, as part of nationwide actions known as Operation Brace Yourself and Operation Double Helix. The operations targeted ongoing schemes, such as the conspiracy described above, in which DME companies, laboratories, and marketers were paying illegal bribes through “telemedicine” operators to secure signed physicians’ orders for DME and CGx, which were then used as support for fraudulent, illegal claims submitted to Medicare and other federal health benefit programs.

“These significant sentences and restitution of over $29,000,000 to our nation’s critical healthcare system – Medicare – are a result of law enforcement’s unified efforts to hold the perpetrators of one of the largest healthcare fraud schemes in history accountable for their crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

“We are all victims of these corrupt individuals because they cheated the taxpayer funded Medicare system,” said FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson. “Health care fraud investigations are given high priority within the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.  Because this abuse impacts us all, protection of these federal health benefit programs is a shared responsibility which can be accomplished with the support of an engaged community willing to bring health care fraud to the attention of law enforcement.”

“Today’s sentence properly holds these defendants accountable for their fraudulent actions and reflects the magnitude of the crime committed against CHAMPVA and Medicare,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Southeast Field Office.  “The VA OIG’s continued oversight of VA’s multiple healthcare programs, including CHAMPVA, is one of the agency’s highest priorities. We thank our outstanding law enforcement partners for their efforts in this joint investigation.”

"The significant prison terms and financial penalties will hopefully bring some closure to those victimized by Nolan and Epstein,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne. “They preyed on the elderly and military veterans to subject them to unnecessary medical testing and to use unnecessary medical equipment for their own financial gain. We will continue to investigate these con artists and hold them accountable.”

This case was investigated by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service –Criminal Investigation, Tampa Field Office. The criminal case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tiffany E. Fields, Jay G. Trezevant, James A. Muench, and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Gary A. Winters.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Daniel Summers (69, St. Augustine) to 21 months in federal prison for mail fraud.  As part of his sentence, the court also ordered Summers to pay $486,874.11 in restitution and, separately, entered a forfeiture money judgment against him in the amount of $739,910, the proceeds of the fraud scheme.

Summers had pleaded guilty on April 29, 2021.

According to court documents, Summers owned a Jacksonville-based company called Realty E Vest, a/k/a IHT Realty Group, which operated an internet crowdfunding investment platform for real estate development projects. Summers also owned E Vest Technology, which sought to develop and license the Realty E Vest crowdfunding platform to others seeking to manage their own crowdfunding efforts. Individuals invested in projects by wiring funds to Realty E Vest, where the funds were supposed to be held in escrow until the project met its crowdfunding goal.  If a project failed to meet its goal, Summers promised to return the investors’ funds. 

When several Realty E Vest crowdfunding projects failed to fully fund, Summers intentionally kept the investors’ money and misappropriated it to fund the ongoing operations of his companies, including paying employee salaries. Summers gave these victims the illusion that they had successfully invested in these projects by paying investors purported investment returns for the failed projects via mailed checks or wire transfers. Summers also repaid the investments of some victims who had complained after learning the crowdfunding projects had failed to fund.  However, the money funding these payments was not derived from the real estate developers or any legitimate investment activity; instead, it was derived from victims’ principal investments in other crowdfunding ventures and equity investments Summers solicited in E Vest Technology.         

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David B. Mesrobian.

Tampa, Florida – Taphonie Prince (25, Brandon) has pleaded guilty to two counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 14 years, and up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Prince’s criminal history includes prior state court convictions for burglary and robbery.

According to the plea agreement, in the early morning hours of November 23, 2018, Prince entered the Circle K convenience store located at 2820 U.S. Highway 301 South in Riverview and pointed a handgun at a store employee. He demanded that she give him all the money in the store’s cash register. Prince took the money, a total of $50, and forced the employee to the back of the store before he fled the scene.

Late in the evening on December 12, 2018, Prince committed the second armed robbery. He entered the BP gas station convenience store located at 6459 U.S. Highway 301 South in Riverview and pointed a gun at a store employee and demanded all the money in the register. Fearing for his life, the store employee complied, handing Prince approximately $200. Despite his compliance, Prince struck the store employee with his gun. He then ordered the victim to move to the back of the store and fled the scene.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.

Jacksonville, FL – James Sweat (60, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to stealing an item from the mail while employed by the United States Postal Service (USPS). Sweat faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the

court documents , Sweat worked as a Rural Carrier Associate in the Baldwin Station in Jacksonville. The Station Manager suspected that Sweat might be stealing cash and gift cards from the mail and notified the USPS - Office of Inspector General to investigate. On June 4, 2021, agents caught Sweat stealing $60 from a greeting card. Sweat admitted that he had been stealing cash from the mail for about a month and estimated that he had opened approximately 100 items of mail and stolen approximately $1,000.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service - Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced Jethro Jerome Arthur (47, Bahamas) to two years in federal prison for illegal reentry into the United States after deportation. 

Arthur had pleaded guilty on August 25, 2021.

According to court documents, on April 14, 2021, Arthur was arrested in Brevard County on state felony criminal charges (possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; trafficking in heroin, cocaine, and MDMA; and possession with intent to sell various controlled substances) and found to be present in the United States without legal authorization. In 1998, Arthur was convicted of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it. Arthur had previously been convicted on two occasions for illegal reentry to the United States after deportation, in 2005 and 2015, and had been deported from the United States to the Bahamas on three occasions.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer M. Harrington.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Donald Max Ingram (70, Illinois) to five years in federal prison for possessing and viewing images of children being sexually abused as he traveled onboard a commercial flight to Florida. The court also ordered Ingram to forfeit the electronic devices used in the commission of the offense, serve a lifetime term of supervised release, and register as a sex offender. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered Ingram to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victims of the offense.

Ingram had pleaded guilty on May 18, 2021.

According to court documents, on September 14, 2020, Ingram was on board a domestic flight to Florida when another passenger observed Ingram viewing child sex abuse material on his cellphone. The passenger alerted law enforcement when the plane landed at St. Pete – Clearwater International Airport. Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies assigned to the airport detained Ingram and requested assistance from the FBI. During an interview, Ingram admitted that he had used his cellphone to access and view child sex abuse images and consented to a search of his phone. A subsequent forensic analysis of Ingram’s cellphone revealed that he possessed 59 images depicting children being sexually abused. Some of the images depicted children younger than 12 years old. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

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, FL - A federal court in Florida ordered a Tampa-area pharmacy shut down and prohibited two of its employees from ever owning, managing or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed.

Pursuant to an agreed consent judgment and permanent injunction filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the court enjoined WeCare Pharmacy, its pharmacist owner Qingping Zhang, pharmacy technician Li Yang and a related corporate entity, L&Y Holdings LLC, from ever owning, managing or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed. The order also requires the permanent closure and dissolution of WeCare Pharmacy.

The

consent decree resolves a civil complaint the government filed earlier this year alleging that the defendants repeatedly dispensed opioids in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The complaint alleged that over a period of several years, the defendants dispensed highly addictive and highly abused prescription opioids while ignoring “red flags” — that is, obvious indications of drug diversion and drug-seeking behavior. U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven, who entered the order, previously granted the government’s request for a temporary restraining order shortly after the case was filed.

“Pharmacists and those who own and operate pharmacies have a duty to ensure that controlled substances are distributed lawfully,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with its partners to ensure that business owners and medical professionals handling controlled substances do not violate the Controlled Substances Act.”

“Failure to comply with professional standards and protocols while dispensing controlled substances places the public at risk of harm and is a violation of the law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to enforce the law against those engaged in harmful practices, to keep our citizens safe.”

“Pharmacies have an obligation to ensure controlled substances are dispensed in accordance with the law," said Acting Special Agent in Charge La Verne Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division. “When they ignore that obligation, it contributes to the widespread misuse and abuse of prescription opioids that devastate our communities. The DEA Miami Field Division remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure the health and the safety of our communities.”

The investigation was conducted by the DEA.

The case was handled by Trial Attorneys Scott Dahlquist and Thomas Rosso of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean P. Keefe for the Middle District of Florida.

A federal court in Florida ordered a Tampa-area pharmacy shut down and prohibited two of its employees from ever owning, managing or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed.

Pursuant to an agreed consent judgment and permanent injunction filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the court enjoined WeCare Pharmacy, its pharmacist owner Qingping Zhang, pharmacy technician Li Yang and a related corporate entity, L&Y Holdings LLC, from ever owning, managing or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed. The order also requires the permanent closure and dissolution of WeCare Pharmacy.

The consent decree resolves a civil complaint the government filed earlier this year alleging that the defendants repeatedly dispensed opioids in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The complaint alleged that over a period of several years, the defendants dispensed highly addictive and highly abused prescription opioids while ignoring “red flags” — that is, obvious indications of drug diversion and drug-seeking behavior. U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven, who entered the order, previously granted the government’s request for a temporary restraining order shortly after the case was filed.

“Pharmacists and those who own and operate pharmacies have a duty to ensure that controlled substances are distributed lawfully,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with its partners to ensure that business owners and medical professionals handling controlled substances do not violate the Controlled Substances Act.”

“Failure to comply with professional standards and protocols while dispensing controlled substances places the public at risk of harm and is a violation of the law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to enforce the law against those engaged in harmful practices, to keep our citizens safe.”

“Pharmacies have an obligation to ensure controlled substances are dispensed in accordance with the law," said Acting Special Agent in Charge La Verne Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division. “When they ignore that obligation, it contributes to the widespread misuse and abuse of prescription opioids that devastate our communities. The DEA Miami Field Division remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure the health and the safety of our communities.”

The investigation was conducted by the DEA.

The case was handled by Trial Attorneys Scott Dahlquist and Thomas Rosso of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean P. Keefe for the Middle District of Florida.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton has sentenced Justina Maria Holland – now known as Justina Maria Rummel – (36, Winter Springs) to eight years in federal prison and ordered her to pay $1,161,185.64 in restitution.  Holland had previously pleaded guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, false use of a Social Security number, and theft of government property. 

According to court documents, Holland was employed at a local business where she had access to the bank and credit accounts of the business and its owner. From March 2015 through June 2018, Holland used her position to embezzle more than $1 million from her employer and the employer’s owner. Holland’s scheme consisted of three parts:

First, Holland embezzled more than $300,000 by taking funds from various company checking and IRA accounts and by manipulating the company payroll system to receive additional salary payments.

Second, Holland engaged in more than $700,000 of credit card fraud by making unauthorized purchases using the victim’s credit cards, which she paid by making unauthorized transfers from her employer’s various bank accounts. Holland also opened a credit card account in the victim’s name by using his Social Security number and then used that card to make more than $196,000 in purchases for herself, including visits to a local theme park. Holland used her employer’s bank accounts to pay the bills for that credit card.

Lastly, Holland used her minor son’s Social Security number to obtain financing to purchase a BMW and a Porsche. Holland used funds from her employer to make some of the car payments for her vehicles.

Holland covered up her embezzlements by providing her employer with false spreadsheets    that concealed her spending, among other things.

During the time that Holland was working at the employer and embezzling funds, she received benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a program that supplements the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency. (Until 2008, SNAP was known as the Food Stamp Program.). SNAP is a federally funded, national program established by United States Department of Agriculture and administered in Florida by the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). In her applications for public SNAP assistance, Holland falsely represented that she and her husband did not earn any income. From May 2012 to August 2016, Holland received over $23,000 in SNAP benefits. She would not have received any of those benefits had she not made those misrepresentations about her financial situation.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Seminole Financial Crimes Task Force, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Public Assistance Fraud. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Roger B. Handberg and Terry B. Livanos.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced Daniel Brooke (49, Winter Haven) to six months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for theft of government funds. As part of Brooke’s sentence, the court also ordered Brooke to pay $84,139 in restitution and entered a separate forfeiture money judgement against him in the amount of $84,139, the proceeds of the offense.

Brooke had pleaded guilty on August 11, 2021.

According to court documents, Brooke’s mother, R.B., was receiving Social Security benefits. Brooke served as R.B.’s representative payee and received benefit checks issued on her behalf by the Social Security Administration (SSA). R.B. passed away on May 11, 2016. Despite his responsibility to do so as representative payee, Brooke never reported R.B.’s death to SSA, causing SSA to continue issuing benefit checks on behalf of R.B. after her death. From June 2016 through March 2020, Brooke used the funds paid on behalf of R.B. for his own personal expenses. In total, Brooke knowingly and willfully stole approximately $84,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled.

This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Huyler.

Tampa, Florida – A federal jury has found Jordan Jysae Pulido (27, Trinity) guilty of enticement and coercion of minor, traveling out of the country to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and transporting a minor into the United States to engage in sexual activity. The jury also found Pulido and his father, Roberto Santana Jimenez (62, Trinity), guilty of conspiracy to transport a minor into the country to engage in sexual activity. Pulido and Jimenez face a minimum mandatory of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. The sentencing hearings are scheduled for January 13, 2022.

Pulido and Jimenez were indicted on September 24, 2020.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, in September 2017, then 23-year-old Pulido met a 14-year-old child on an online social networking website. At the time, Pulido lived in Florida and the child resided in Croatia. Pulido began a teacher-student relationship with the child and promised to teach the child to play the guitar. After a few months of guitar lessons, Pulido began to pursue a romantic and sexual relationship with the child. For nearly a year, Pulido used the internet to entice and coerce the child to engage in sexual activity with him. During this time, Pulido and Jimenez planned Pulido’s trip to Croatia, and Pulido sought Jimenez’s advice on how to persuade the child to have sex with him when he (Pulido) traveled to Croatia. Jimenez coached Pulido on what to do and say to the child and communicated directly with the child about her relationship with Pulido in an effort to further persuade and coerce her.

On June 14, 2018, Pulido traveled from Florida to Croatia, proposed marriage to the child on her 15th birthday, and engaged in sexual activity with the child. In the month that followed, Pulido and his father conspired to transport and traffic the child from Croatia to Florida so that Pulido could engage in sexual activity with the child. On or about July 23, 2018, Pulido transported the child victim from Croatia to Florida for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with the child. Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement rescued the child victim from the Pulido/Jimenez family home in Trinity on August 12, 2018.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, the Koprivnica-Križevac County Police Administration of the Republic of Croatia Ministry of the Interior Criminal Police, and the International Criminal Police Organization. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

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 – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Ahmad Rashad Weston, a/k/a “Blood,” (42, St. Petersburg) to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute 100 grams or more of a drug mixture containing heroin and fentanyl, as well as 500 grams or more of cocaine.

Weston had pleaded guilty on May 19, 2020.

According to court documents and evidence presented at his sentencing hearing, Weston served as the hub of a drug trafficking conspiracy that operated in the greater Tampa Bay area between at least August 2018 and November 2019. Law enforcement began the investigation by conducting 17 undercover hand-to-hand heroin purchases from co-defendant Quincy Turner. Further investigation determined that Weston, who had served more than five years in prison for a prior federal felony drug conviction, was Turner’s supplier. Between July and October 2019, law enforcement intercepted calls and text messages from Weston’s cellphone and established that Weston was responsible for distributing more than 18 kilograms of cocaine, over 161 grams of heroin, and over 89 grams of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues during just that three-month period. Ultimately, the investigation of Weston led to 11 other defendants being charged with federal drug trafficking crimes.

These cases were investigated by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). 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. Agencies involved in this OCDETF operation include the Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Petersburg Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.  

Ocala, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann announces the return of an indictment charging Elizabeth Carol Wininger (68, Leesburg) with three counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of unauthorized use of access devices. If convicted on all counts, Wininger faces a maximum penalty of 16 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, between July 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, Wininger engaged in a scheme to collect unemployment benefits using the identities of others without their knowledge or consent. As part of the scheme, Wininger attempted to steal more than $11 million in unemployment benefits in the victims’ names. She ultimately received more than $500,000 in payments.

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

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, and the Leesburg Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William S. Hamilton.

Ocala, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann announces the filing of a criminal complaint charging Perry Cleothas Gentry (60, Sorrento) with using a minor child to produce a video that depicted sexually explicit conduct. Gentry faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 25 years, and up to 50 years, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release. Gentry is a registered sex offender, having been convicted of a prior child sex offense in 1991.

According to court documents, Gentry was arrested on May 5, 2021, by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for violating the requirements of his sex offender registration. A subsequent search of his cellphone revealed that he had created a video recording using an internal camera security system in his home. This video depicts Gentry exposing the genitalia of a 13-year-old boy in view of a camera located in Gentry’s bedroom that is aimed at his bed. After creating the video, Gentry uploaded a copy to his cellphone. Agents with the Department of Homeland Security were subsequently able to identify the child.

A complaint is merely a 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. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.        

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.

Any person who was, or knows of someone who may have been, a possible child victim is urged to contact HSI at 1-866-DHS-2423 or the online tip form.

Jacksonville, Florida – Jerome W. Clampitt II (42, Saint Johns) has pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product, specifically, injectable fentanyl. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the

plea agreement , on January 30, 2020, Clampitt, a registered nurse, was working a night shift in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Jacksonville. A patient under Clampitt’s care was prescribed and receiving an intravenous dose of fentanyl, along with other medications for anesthesia. Two fellow employees saw Clampitt using a syringe to inject a substance into the device that dispensed fentanyl into the patient, when there was no medically valid reason for Clampitt to do so. Laboratory testing eventually determined that the patient’s dose of fentanyl had been diluted with saline. 

When interviewed by law enforcement officers, Clampitt eventually admitted that he had diverted drugs from patients at the hospital for personal use. During that interview, however, he denied diluting patient drugs with saline. 

An audit of hospital records showed multiple discrepancies in Clampitt’s handling of controlled substances during the time he worked for the hospital.  Investigators later learned that in 2019, a separate hospital had employed Clampitt and discovered discrepancies in its records that suggested he might have been diverting drugs for his own use. That hospital fired Clampitt after he refused to submit to a drug test.

As part of his guilty plea, Clampitt admitted that he knew that his activities resulted in one or more critically ill patients receiving diluted fentanyl, which lacked prescribed quantities of active medication necessary to control pain. Having been deprived of medically-necessary medication, such patients would endure pain and suffering and were exposed to increased risks of illness and death, stemming from, among other things, possible infection and 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. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.

Tampa, Florida – Giovanni Gort (32, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each armed robbery count and a minimum mandatory penalty of 7 years’ imprisonment for the firearm offense, to be served consecutive to the armed robbery counts. A sentencing date has not yet been set. 

According to the plea agreement, in the early morning of February 10, 2021, Gort entered a 7-Eleven convenience store on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa. Gort pulled out a gun, pointed it at the store clerk, and said “give me everything you got. I be back to see you. If you say something, I’m going to come back and shoot you.” The clerk took $435 from her cash register and gave it to Gort, who then fled the scene. The clerk immediately reported the incident to law enforcement and stated she had never been so scared in her life.

Approximately 10 minutes later, Gort entered a 7-Eleven convenience store located on Memorial Highway in Tampa and said, “give me all your money, bro,” before ordering the two store clerks behind the counter at gunpoint. The clerks gave Gort approximately $100 in a plastic bag.  While they were collecting the money, the clerks saw Gort rack the slide of the gun. Keeping the employees at gunpoint while he backed out of the store, Gort then fled the scene.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shauna Hale and Craig Gestring.

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 – Kenyari Devaughnte Brewton (26, Ocala), a former deputy with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, has pleaded guilty to two federal felonies: (1) making a materially false statement during the purchase of a firearm and (2) causing a federal firearms licensee to maintain false information in its official records. Brewton faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. He will also be required to forfeit and/or abandon firearms and ammunition related to the offenses.

According to the plea agreement, between March 2, 2020, and April 26, 2021, Brewton purchased multiple firearms from a Marion County gun dealer, including two handguns and an AK-47 style pistol. While purchasing the firearms, Brewton certified on each ATF Form 4473 (Firearm Transaction Record) that he was the “actual transferee/buyer” of these guns. In actuality, he purchased the firearms on behalf of another person and never intended to keep them. Brewton also used his status as a law enforcement officer to obtain discount prices on some of the firearms.

Specifically, on April 26, 2021, Brewton purchased two Glock pistols (.40 and  9mm calibers). Six days later, on May 2, 2021, the .40 caliber Glock pistol was used by another person during a homicide in Marion County. That firearm was later recovered by the Ocala Police Department during a traffic stop involving four armed men with masks, gloves, and loaded firearms. A few weeks after the homicide, on May 30, 2021, during a DUI traffic stop in Lake County, the Fruitland Park Police Department recovered the 9mm Glock handgun in a glovebox next to $10,000 in cash.

A subsequent search warrant of Brewton’s cellphone revealed numerous text conversations between Brewton and the person for whom he had agreed to purchase the firearms. Brewton also admitted to federal investigators that he had “gotten caught up” in people asking him to buy firearms and in making a profit on the sales.

This case was investigated by the Ocala Police Department, the Marion 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 – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Sergio Antonio Hood (37, Tampa) to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon, obstruction of justice, and attempted witness tampering. Hood is an Armed Career Criminal, which carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in federal prison. The court also imposed a consecutive sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment for Hood’s violation of federal supervised release based on the same underlying conduct.

A jury had found Hood guilty on June 8, 2021.

According to court documents, on October 27, 2019, one week after meeting and beginning a relationship with a woman, Hood showed up at her home near Ybor City. Finding the woman sitting in a parked car with a friend, Hood pushed his assault-style rifle through the open window, pointed it at the woman’s head, and fired. The bullet missed the woman and went through the other side of the car. At the scene, police officers found one spent 9mm bullet casing on the street. Hood was arrested on state charges the following day.

At the time of the shooting, Hood was on federal supervised release. As a result, he was transferred to federal custody to address his violations of the conditions of his supervised release. While in jail, Hood created a false alibi and asked a witness to testify falsely at a federal court hearing regarding those violations. He was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with being a felon in possession of ammunition, obstruction of justice, and attempted witness tampering.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Risha Asokan.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Leon Grant, Jr. (40, St. Petersburg) to 14 years and 2 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. The court also ordered Grant to forfeit the firearms and ammunition he had possessed.

Grant had pleaded guilty on July 27, 2021.

According to court documents, federal agents, along with state and local law enforcement agencies, investigated a series of credit union robberies committed in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties in 2019. As part of the investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a search warrant for Grant’s home in St. Petersburg. On January 22, 2020, state and federal investigators searched Grant’s home and seized more than 36 grams of fentanyl, 26 grams of methamphetamine, and 35 grams of crack cocaine. Investigators also located three firearms and ammunition in Grant’s bedroom, including an AR-15 rifle and two pistols. Grant admitted he was a drug dealer and said he kept the firearms in his home for protection. Grant, having previously been convicted of multiple felonies, was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Pinellas Park Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Clearwater Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Wayne Dale Epps, Jr. (36, Jacksonville) to 12 years in federal prison for using the internet to attempt to entice a 12-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Epps was also ordered to serve a life term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.

Epps had pleaded guilty on June 10, 2021. 

According to court documents, on February 14, 2020, an undercover FBI agent who was posing online as the family member of a 12-year-old child was contacted by Epps using the screen name “ksaber2040.” Over the next several days, Epps and the undercover agent engaged in online conversation in which Epps expressed his desire to meet the “child.” Epps confirmed that he wanted to meet the “child” for sexual activity, stating “[t]his is a first for me I’m nervous but I’ve been wanting to try younger.” Epps provided the undercover agent with graphic details about how he intended to sexually abuse the “child.” He offered to use a “flavored condom” and requested pictures of the “child.”

On February 18, 2020, Epps drove to a prearranged location at a shopping center in Jacksonville to meet the “child” for sex and was arrested by FBI agents. During an interview, Epps stated that it was “possible that [he] would have followed through” and engaged in sex with the 12-year-old child, and further that he “should have never made that decision.”            

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

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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 – Today, the Justice Department announced the launch of the department’s new Combatting Redlining Initiative. Redlining is an illegal practice in which lenders avoid providing services to individuals living in communities of color because of the race or national origin of the people who live in those communities. The new Initiative represents the department’s most aggressive and coordinated enforcement effort to address redlining, which is prohibited by the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. 

“Lending discrimination runs counter to fundamental promises of our economic system,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “When people are denied credit simply because of their race or national origin, their ability to share in our nation’s prosperity is all but eliminated. “Today, we are committing ourselves to addressing modern-day redlining by making far more robust use of our fair lending authorities. We will spare no resource to ensure that federal fair lending laws are vigorously enforced and that financial institutions provide equal opportunity for every American to obtain credit.” 

“Enforcement of our fair lending laws is critical to ensure that banks and lenders are providing communities of color equal access to lending opportunities. Equal and fair access to mortgage lending opportunities is the cornerstone on which families and communities can build wealth in our country,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We know well that redlining is not a problem from a bygone era but a practice that remains pervasive in the lending industry today. Our new Initiative should send a strong message to banks and lenders that we will hold them accountable as we work to combat discriminatory race and national origin-based lending practices.” 

“Discriminatory practices such as Redlining rend the fabric of our society by destroying one of our nation’s foundational principles – equal opportunity for all,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann for the Middle District of Florida. The deliberate denial of economic and housing opportunities to individuals based upon race, ethnicity, or nationality is strictly prohibited under the law. The U.S. Attorney’s Office works and will continue to work diligently, with its partners, to enforce our nation’s Fair Housing laws and to prosecute those who engage in criminal discriminatory practices.”

Redlining, a practice institutionalized by the federal government during the New Deal era and implemented then and now by private lenders, has had a lasting negative impact. For American families, homeownership remains the principal means of building wealth, and the deprivation of investment in and access to mortgage lending services for communities of color have contributed to families of color persistently lagging behind in homeownership rates and net worth compared to white families. The gap in homeownership rates between white and Black families is larger today than it was in 1960, before the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968.  

This Initiative, which will be led by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in partnership with U.S. Attorney’s Offices, will build on the longstanding work by the Division that seeks to make mortgage credit and homeownership accessible to all Americans on the same terms, regardless of race or national origin and regardless of the neighborhood where they live. The Initiative will: 

• Utilize U.S. Attorneys’ Offices as force multipliers to ensure that fair lending enforcement is informed by local expertise on housing markets and the credit needs of local communities of color. 

• Expand the department’s analyses of potential redlining to both depository and non-depository institutions. Non-depository lenders are not traditional banks and do not provide typical banking services, but engage in mortgage lending and now make the majority of mortgages in this country. 

• Strengthen our partnership with financial regulatory agencies to ensure the identification and referrals of fair lending violations to the Department of Justice. 

• Increase coordination with State Attorneys General on potential fair lending violations. 

Individuals may report lending discrimination by calling the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-833-591-0291, or submitting a report online. 

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Deontres Javan Taylor (27, Jacksonville) to 24 months in federal prison for disaster assistance fraud involving Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) benefits. As part of the sentence, the Court also ordered Taylor to pay restitution to the United States in the amount of $8,083.19.  

According to court documents, on September 4, 2017, Taylor, while in Duval County, Florida, made an application for disaster assistance benefits to FEMA. In the application, he claimed that his primary residence in Jacksonville, Florida had suffered storm damage from Hurricane Irma. Taylor stated that storm surge flooded his residence and lightning caused a power surge which resulted in the residence losing power. As a result of these issues, Taylor claimed that he moved to a hotel and needed housing assistance. Based on the false statements made by Taylor in his application for disaster assistance benefits, FEMA paid $8,038.19 in benefits for Taylor. 

Further investigation determined that Taylor did not live at the residence listed in his benefits application since at least 2015, nor was he at that residence in any capacity when Hurricane Irma impacted the Jacksonville area. An inspection of the residence by FEMA also determined that it did not suffer storm surge damage or power loss as a result of Hurricane Irma.

“When criminals commit disaster relief fraud, they are victimizing all taxpayers, but more specifically, those directly impacted by the disaster,” said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “HSI is proud of our partnership with the DHS, Office of Inspector General, in identifying and prosecuting those who attempt to thwart the integrity of the FEMA disaster assistance program.”

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.  This case is part of the United States Attorney’s Disaster Fraud Task Force, which was announced in September 2017.

Members of the public who suspect fraud, waste, abuse, or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations, or believe they have been the victim of fraud from a person or organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of disaster victims should contact the National Disaster Fraud Hotline toll free at (866) 720-5721. A live operator is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Information may also be faxed to the Center at (225) 334-4707 or emailed to disaster@leo.gov.  

Tampa, Florida – A federal jury has found Keon Moore (29, Tampa) guilty of possessing a firearm or ammunition as a convicted felon and possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute them. Moore faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to, 40 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 6, 2022.

Moore had been indicted on June 4, 2020.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Moore is a convicted felon who stored guns and drugs for use by himself and others, sold guns and drugs, and threatened violence to collect drug debts. In one of Moore’s private Facebook communications, a person to whom Moore provided drugs on consignment, but who failed to pay on time, begged Moore not to kill him via drive-by shooting over the $90 he owed.

The charges and trial revolved around a Public Storage unit rented by Moore, but used by at least one other adult male. After a drug-detecting dog alerted to Moore’s unit, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant of the unit. Inside the otherwise empty 50 square-foot unit, officers found seven guns, including two assault rifles; ammunition; approximately 45 grams of pure methamphetamine; 34 grams of cocaine, 53 grams of Eutylone, and 1.6 kilograms of marijuana, among other drugs; and a clothing item containing Moore’s DNA.

Moore is a previously convicted felon, including multiple state burglary and drug possession convictions. As such, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.

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.

Orlando, FL – A federal jury today found Davel Theodore Spady (35, Palm Bay) guilty of three counts of distribution of fentanyl and one count of possession with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. For each of the distribution counts, Spady faces up to 20 years in federal prison. He faces a minimum mandatory of 5 years, and up to 40 years’ imprisonment, for the possession with the intent to distribute offense.

Spady had been indicted on May 5, 2021. 

According to evidence presented at trial, between February 18 and March 19, 2021, Spady sold fentanyl to a confidential source (CS) on three occasions from inside his vehicle in a parking lot. During one of the controlled purchases, Spady provided the fentanyl to the CS concealed inside a box of rice.

On April 14, 2021, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) conducted a traffic stop of Spady’s vehicle as he was on his way to deliver 2 ounces of fentanyl to the CS. Later, during a search of Spady’s vehicle, FHP located a box of rice in the trunk with fentanyl concealed inside, similar to that provided during the previous controlled purchase.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the West Melbourne Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Beatriz Gonzalez and Ranganath Manthripragada.

Jacksonville, Florida – Billy Micah Sermons (44, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), a federal agency. Sermons faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and payment of restitution to the federal government. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, in May 2015, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) began investigating the business practices of Excel Components, LLC, a business involving Sermons and others. Excel conducted business with the federal government by contracting with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). These contracts involved supplying various items to be used by members of the United States military throughout the Department of Defense. As a result of their investigation, in September 2015, DLA debarred Sermons from contracting with the federal government due to his involvement with Excel and another business contracting with DLA, East Coast Machine and Tool LLC. DLA debarred Sermons until August 19, 2018.

Also, in May 2015, Sermons, using the identity of another individual, (Person #1), submitted or caused to be submitted a registration for Franklin Southern Manufacturing LLC (FSM) in SAM.GOV, a U.S. government-wide, online portal operated by the GSA. Entities register in SAM.GOV in order to do business with the federal government, to include contracting. Sermons successfully registered FSM in SAM.GOV to do business with the federal government. Thereafter, during the timeframe of his debarment and knowing that he was ineligible for the award of contracts by any federal agency, Sermons used the identity of Person #1 and FSM to circumvent the terms of his debarment. He did this in order to continue bidding on and obtaining federal government contracts involving the DLA. As part of the contracting process, on multiple occasions during his debarment, Sermons falsely certified or caused to be falsely certified within SAM.GOV that none of the principals at FSM were debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, or declared ineligible for the award of contracts by any federal agency.  

This case was investigated by the U.S. General Services Administration - Office of Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from the Defense Logistics Agency. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Lavern Lee Renninger (62, Zephyrhills) to 10 years in federal prison for attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Renninger was also ordered to serve a 20-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. 

Renninger had pleaded guilty on July 19, 2021.

According to court documents, from March 3 through March 18, 2020, Renninger engaged in chats through an online classified advertising site and through text messaging with an individual he believed to be the mother of two children, ages 11 and 13. Unbeknownst to Renninger, the “mother” was an undercover law enforcement officer. During online conversation, Renninger provided the “mother” with graphic details of the sexual activity that he wanted to engage in with these children. Renninger said he had “90,000 visions of this” during a phone call with the “mother” of the children. During text conversations that he believed he was having directly with the children, Renninger detailed what he wanted to do to them sexually and stressed the importance of keeping their interactions secret. Renninger was arrested on March 18, 2021, when he traveled to meet the “mother” to engage in sexual activity with the children. 

“Child predators prey on our most vulnerable, our children,” said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “HSI and our partners at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office are now making sure he is held accountable for those crimes.”

This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

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 – Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann announces the unsealing of a criminal complaint charging Dominique Jade Dragan (28, Valrico) with cyberstalking. If convicted, Dragan faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. He made his initial appearance in federal court on October 19, 2021, and ordered detained pending trial.

According to the

criminal complaint , from approximately January 2020 through July 2021, Dragan engaged in a course of conduct with the intent to harass and intimidate three victims. Using Instagram, Dragan cyberstalked, harassed, and threatened the victims with a series of continuous messages. He made specific threats to kill the victims, including by stating, “I can’t wait to hear the bones in your neck break,” “I’m gonna put a bullet in your forehead,” and “I can’t wait to murder you.” Dragan also included racially charged language and threatened the victims with violence if they reported him to law enforcement. Dragan’s conduct placed the victims in reasonable fear of serious injury and death.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa M. Spergel.

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

Tampa, Florida – A federal jury has found Clifford Edward Albritton, III (44, Lakeland) guilty of conspiracy to possess 400 grams or more of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it and possession of 40 grams or more of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it. Albritton faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 14, 2022.

Albritton had been indicted on August 4, 2020.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, in July 2020, Albritton arrived at a purported deal with his supplier, Donovan Holmes. Albritton had more than 300 grams of fentanyl and a scale hidden in his pants. Both men were subsequently arrested. Holmes, who testified at trial after previously pleading guilty, described how Albritton was a part of a larger fentanyl conspiracy encompassing multiple dealers. The sentencing hearing for Holmes is scheduled for October 28, 2021.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Tampa Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Callan Albritton (no relation).

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 Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Antoinette Thomas (32, Tampa) to three years in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of her sentence, the court also ordered Thomas to pay $27,885.58 in restitution.

Thomas had pleaded guilty on June 21, 2021.

According to court documents, between February 1, 2016, and May 8, 2019, Thomas produced and used counterfeit access devices, such as component parts of multiple victims’ retail store credit accounts, with the specific intent to defraud the stores, credit card companies, and individuals. In doing so, Thomas knowingly used, transferred, and possessed the means of identifications of other real people without lawful authority. During this period, Thomas was captured several times on store surveillance video making fraudulent retail purchases using someone else’s store credit account.

Later, in July and October 2018, Thomas used the identity of another person to lease two apartments in Tampa. At the time, Thomas knew the person was a real person and that she did not have permission or authorization to use that person’s personally identifying information to lease the apartments.

In October 2019, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Thomas’s residence and recovered: a) multiple notebooks of handwritten personal identification information, including more than 100 sets of names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers; b) information on multiple credit accounts held in the names of others, including several credit card numbers; and c) multiple fraudulent or fictitious documents including altered copies of Social Security cards, Florida identification cards, and pay stubs. Thomas’s fingerprints were on several of the pages of the notebooks containing victims’ information.

This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department and the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig Gestring.

Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Mikel Wayne Nunnally (44, Longwood) to 60 years in federal prison for using a minor child to produce sexual abuse images and videos. The court also sentenced Nunnally to a lifetime of supervised release and ordered him to register as a sex offender.

Nunnally had pleaded guilty on April 29, 2021.

According to court documents, between 2018 and 2020, Nunnally produced several videos that depicted a minor child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In some of these videos, Nunnally can be seen as he sexually abused the child victim. Nunnally then distributed images and videos depicting this sexual abuse to others over the internet, including to an undercover law enforcement officer. Images from one of these videos showed Nunnally touching and digitally penetrating the child. Nunnally told the undercover officer that he had previously filmed the child victim in the bathroom and that he touched the child in a sexual manner whenever he could. Nunnally also stated that he sometimes gave the child victim pain pills mixed with sleeping pills to help facilitate his molestation of the child.

In December 2020, Nunnally was identified by law enforcement and interviewed by FBI agents. Nunnally admitted that he had used the child victim to produce the child sex abuse images and videos and had distributed these materials online. He also estimated that he had been filming his sexual abuse of the child victim for four or five years. 

FBI agents conducted a forensic review of two of Nunnally’s electronic devices and located 79 videos and 12 images depicting the sexual abuse of children on these devices. These videos and images depicted children who ranged from infants to teenagers. Some of this material depicted the sadistic abuse, bondage, and torture of the child victims.

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.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt.

Tampa, Florida – Corey Small (43, St. Petersburg) has pleaded guilty to interfering with commerce by robbery and to using and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, as well as to conspiring to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony offense, and possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, causing death by murder. He faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.  

Regarding the robbery and the use and brandishing offenses listed above, according to court documents, in 2014 Small robbed a dry-cleaning business in St. Petersburg. During the robbery, he pointed a gun at the clerk and stole $51.41.

Regarding the three other offenses listed above, which are unrelated to the 2014 crimes, court documents show that in 2018 Small conspired with an employee of a night club to sell cocaine for him. Later that year, the victim, who was a friend of the nightclub employee, attempted to persuade the employee to leave the club and stop selling drugs for Small. In response to this attempted interference with his drug business, Small argued with the victim and then shot him four times, killing him. Small, a previously convicted felon, was later arrested and found to be in possession of a firearm.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pinellas Park Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Natalie Hirt Adams.

Tampa, Florida – Hao Kuo Chi (40, La Puente, CA) today pleaded guilty to conspiracy and computer fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, for years Chi and others conspired to—and in fact did—gain unauthorized access to the Apple iCloud accounts of hundreds of individuals across the country. Using the online moniker “icloudripper4you,” Chi marketed himself as capable of hacking into iCloud accounts and stealing the content stored therein. Chi created email accounts for the purpose of impersonating Apple customer support representatives, and Chi’s conspirators sent Apple IDs and passwords of unsuspecting victims to these email accounts.

During the conspiracy, Chi hacked into more than 300 iCloud accounts belonging to victims from across the United States. Chi and his conspirators specifically sought out nude photographs and videos of young women, which the conspirators referred to as “wins.” Chi kept hundreds of thousands of stolen images for his personal collection and maintained a terabyte of cloud storage for this purpose. Chi also shared and traded these images with his conspirators, using a foreign-based, end-to-end encrypted email service. Some of those conspirators subsequently released the images into the public sphere.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.

Ocala, Florida – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Wendell Doyle Goney (51, Mount Dora) with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and destruction of aircraft. If convicted of both counts, Goney faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Goney that the United States intends to forfeit a rifle and ammunition allegedly used in the commission of the offenses. 

According to court documents, on July 11, 2021, deputies from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary at a 10-acre business property in Mount Dora. Deputies deployed a law enforcement drone to assist with the outdoor search, only to have the drone destroyed by gunfire from a neighboring property. When deputies responded to that location, they confronted Goney, who acknowledged that he had just shot down the drone with a .22 caliber rifle. He claimed that drones had been “harassing” him. Goney also admitted to the deputies that he could not lawfully possess a firearm—he has 29 prior felony convictions in Florida. As a convicted felon, Goney is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law.

An indictment is merely an allegation and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Transportation-Office of Inspector General, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced David Levon Massey (32, Cape Coral) to 20 years in federal prison for possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute. Massey had pleaded guilty on July 7, 2021. 

According to court documents, in February 2020, Massey was released from federal prison after serving more than nine years for organizing a prescription pill distribution ring. Shortly after his release, law enforcement received several tips that Massey was again distributing drugs. In October 2020, during the execution of a search warrant at Massey’s residence, law enforcement officers recovered nearly 100 grams of fentanyl, two firearms, and thousands of dollars in cash.

This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Cape Coral Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael V. Leeman.

Tampa, FL – Patsy Truglia (53, Parkland) has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of making a false statement in a matter involving a health care benefit program. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, beginning in January 2018 and continuing into April 2019, Truglia and other conspirators, including co-defendant Ruth Bianca Fernandez (who worked under Truglia’s supervision), generated medically unnecessary physicians’ orders via their telemarketing operation for certain orthotic devices—i.e., knee braces, back braces, wrist braces, and other braces—referred to as durable medical equipment (“DME”). Through the telemarketing operation, federal health care program beneficiaries’ (i.e., Medicare beneficiaries’) personal and medical information was harvested to create the unnecessary DME brace orders.  

The brace orders were then forwarded to purported “telemedicine” vendors that, in exchange for a fee, paid illegal bribes to physicians to sign the orders, often without ever contacting the beneficiaries to conduct the required telehealth consultations. The fraudulent, illegal brace orders were then returned to Truglia’s telemarketing operation, which used the orders as support for millions of dollars in false and fraudulent claims that were submitted to the Medicare program. To avoid Medicare scrutiny, Truglia and Fernandez spread the fraudulent claims across five DME storefronts operated under Truglia’s ownership and control, and Fernandez’s day-to-day management. In all, through their five storefronts, Truglia, Fernandez, and other conspirators caused approximately $25 million in fraudulent DME claims to be submitted to Medicare, resulting in approximately $12 million in payments.

On April 9, 2019, multiple federal law enforcement agencies participated in a nationwide action referred to as “Operation Brace Yourself.” The Operation targeted ongoing schemes, such as Truglia’s, in which companies were paying illegal bribes to secure signed physicians’ DME brace orders for use as support for fraudulent claims that were submitted to the federal programs. In the Middle District of Florida, the Operation included, among other efforts, the execution of search warrants at several of Truglia’s DME storefronts and a civil action which, among other ramifications, enjoined Truglia and (by extension) his five storefronts from engaging in any further health care fraud conduct. Undeterred by this action, beginning in or around April 2019, and continuing into July 2020, Truglia and other conspirators—some who had worked with Truglia in the earlier conspiracy, as well as some new conspirators—carried out a similar conspiracy using three new DME storefronts and different “telemedicine” vendors. Through this conspiracy, Truglia and his conspirators caused an additional approximately $12 million in fraudulent DME claims to be submitted to Medicare, resulting in approximately $6.3 million in payments.

This case was investigated by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Tampa Field Office. The criminal case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay G. Trezevant, Tiffany E. Fields, and James A. Muench. The civil action is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Carolyn B. Tapie and Sean P. Keefe.

Jacksonville, Florida – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Scott Matthew Yotka (47, Jacksonville) with producing and distributing materials depicting young children being sexually abused. Yotka faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years, and up to 80 years, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release. Yotka was arrested at his residence by FBI agents on September 17, 2021, and is currently detained awaiting trial.

According to court documents, on September 15, 2021, Yotka, using the name “Scottnjax44,” utilized a particular social media application (app) to engage in online private conversations with an undercover FBI task force officer in Washington, D.C., who was posing as the parent of a child. Yotka and the undercover officer discussed, in detail, the sexual exploitation of children. Yotka stated that he was sexually active with two young children, both of whom were unable to talk. Yotka sent the undercover officer several photos and a video that depicted two children being sexually abused. Yotka also stated that he was employed as an “emergency dispatcher” and worked “12 hour shifts.”

The FBI’s investigation traced the online messaging activity to Yotka’s residence in Jacksonville and determined that the same “Scottnjax44” user account was also accessed from the City of Jacksonville facility at the Ed Ball Building located in downtown Jacksonville. FBI agents coordinated with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) and confirmed that Yotka was employed by JSO as a Police Emergency Communications Officer and that he routinely worked a 12-hour night shift.

On the morning of September 17, 2021, the FBI, assisted by JSO, executed a federal search warrant at Yotka’s residence and arrested Yotka. Following his arrest, Yotka resigned his position with JSO.

An indictment is merely an allegation and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

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

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation should contact the FBI Jacksonville office at 904-248-7000.

Tampa, Florida – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Hugo Espinosa Chavez (58, Tampa) with the production and possession of child sex abuse materials as well as foreign travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor child. If convicted on all counts, Espinosa faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. On October 5, 2021, Espinosa made his initial appearance in Tampa and was ordered detained pending trial.

According to the indictment, from May until December 2020, Espinosa employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor victim to produce depictions of the minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Moreover, on December 12, 2020, Espinosa traveled from the United States to the Republic of Colombia for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with this minor.

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 in Tampa, with substantial assistance from HSI Bogota, the Colombian National Police, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Claire Favorit.

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 – Kevin Allen Rose (35, Macclenny) has pleaded guilty to escaping from a residential reentry center (halfway house) where he was completing a prior federal prison sentence. He faces a maximum penalty of five additional years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, in 2016, a federal judge found Rose guilty of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and two counts of distributing marijuana.  Rose was committed to the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to serve 84 months in federal prison. In September 2020, the BOP transferred Rose into the custody of Keeton Corrections, Inc. Jacksonville Residential Reentry Center, a halfway house, to complete the remainder of his sentence.

On April 21, 2021, Rose escaped from Keeton and never returned. On September 16, 2021, Deputy U.S. Marshals arrested Rose in Atlantic Beach, Florida.

This case was investigated by U.S. Marshals Service.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican. 

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Julio Gonzales (45, Lakeland) to 2 years and 10 months in federal prison for theft of public money and aggravated identity theft. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered Gonzalez to pay $110,102.90 in restitution and, separately, entered a forfeiture money judgment against him in the amount of $28,527, the proceeds of the offense of conviction.

Gonzalez had pleaded guilty on June 22, 2021.

According to court documents, from February 2014 through February 2018, Gonzales stole Social Security benefit payments made by the Social Security Administration on behalf of four individuals. In total, Gonzalez knowingly and willfully stole approximately $110,102 in benefits to which he was not entitled. In addition, Gonzales used the identity of an unsuspecting U.S. citizen to commit Social Security fraud.

This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Huyler.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Bradleigh Wayne Carter (32, Fort Myers) to 22 years and 6 months in federal prison for attempted possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams of methamphetamine and for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The court also ordered Carter to forfeit firearms and ammunition that were related to the offense. 

Carter had pleaded guilty on October 6, 2020.

According to court documents, Carter agreed to have a United States Postal Service (USPS) Priority Mail parcel shipped to his residence in Fort Myers, knowing that the package contained approximately one pound of methamphetamine. During the execution of a search warrant at Carter’s residence, law enforcement located additional quantities of controlled substances, including methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine. Agents also seized several firearms and ammunition that Carter, a convicted felon, knowingly possessed in furtherance of his drug trafficking activity.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesus M. Casas.

Tampa, Florida – Douglas Edward Bennett (77, Clearwater) has pleaded guilty to passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He faces a maximum penalty of 22 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, in 1975 a Connecticut jury convicted Bennett of several violent felony and sex offenses, including robbery, kidnapping, sexual contact, rape, and two counts of deviate sexual intercourse, pursuant to which he was sentenced to 9 to 18 years in state prison. After his conviction, Bennett was permitted to remain out of custody pending appeal.  But after his conviction was affirmed, Bennett never surrendered to begin serving his sentence, and instead assumed the identity of Gordon Ewen, under which he lived for more than 40 years. According to Massachusetts death records, the real Gordon Ewen died in 1945.

Around July 2016, Bennett submitted a passport application that used Gordon Ewen’s name, date of birth, and Social Security number and failed to disclose Bennett’s true identity.

On November 4, 2020, Bennett was arrested on the federal charges and on a warrant from the State of Connecticut. A fingerprint comparison confirmed that he was the same person convicted in Connecticut in 1975. That same day, federal agents executed a search warrant at Bennett’s house and discovered handwritten notes detailing the first time Bennett used Ewen’s identity and details on how he originally obtained Ewen’s identification documents. Additionally, inside Bennett’s home, investigators discovered and seized five firearms and nearly five thousand rounds of ammunition. As a convicted felon, Bennett is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

While in jail, family members visited Bennett. During a video visitation, Bennett stated to a family member, “I would have explained to him [the Federal Judge] the entirety of things, said ‘yes I started out as Douglas Bennett, but Douglas Bennett ceased to exist in 1977…and from that time forward, I’ve spent forty-three years being Gordon Ewen.’”

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General, with substantial support from the Department of State’s National Passport Center, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Connecticut U.S. Marshals Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Claire Favorit.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington has sentenced Johnny Ordaz (32, Bradenton) to 12 years in federal prison for possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Ordaz to forfeit two firearms, 121 rounds of ammunition, and $588 in cash, which are traceable to proceeds of the offenses. 

A federal jury had found Ordaz guilty on July 8, 2021.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in September 2019, law enforcement officers stopped Ordaz’s car because he failed to stop at a stop sign and because the car’s window tint was illegally dark. During the traffic stop, officers discovered a firearm with an extended magazine, loaded with 31 rounds of ammunition, wedged between the driver’s seat and the center console. They also seized a bag containing fentanyl from the driver’s side door handle, as well as a digital scale and small clear plastic baggies. The officers also found a bag in the passenger seat that contained another firearm with an extended magazine loaded with 27 rounds of ammunition, 63 rounds of additional ammunition, another digital scale, sandwich bags, and more small clear plastic baggies. They also recovered $588 from Ordaz’s front pocket.

Ordaz was previously convicted of multiple felony offenses, including possession of an unregistered short barrel shotgun, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. As such he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlie D. Connally.

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.

Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell has sentenced Michael T. Watters (51, Ocoee) to six years and five months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. Watters had pleaded guilty on July 12, 2021.

According to court documents, Watters created approximately 35 counterfeit driver licenses using the stolen identities of current or former local, state, and federal legislators. Between December 9, 2018, and May 1, 2019, Watters used those counterfeit driver licenses to successfully present approximately 265 counterfeit checks as payment at various stores in the Orlando area. When Watters presented a victim’s driver license number, he caused interstate wire communications to be transmitted from the store to a third-party payment provider to ascertain whether the driver license number previously had been associated with fraudulent payments. Watters caused total losses to the affected businesses in the amount of $53,156.43. 

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Winter Garden Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt.

Tampa, Florida – The United States has filed a civil lawsuit against Dr. Edward Lubin, a pain management doctor practicing in Tampa, alleging that he issued patients medically unnecessary prescriptions for Subsys, a fentanyl-based spray manufactured by Insys Therapeutics, Inc., and used to treat breakthrough cancer pain.  Dr. Lubin allegedly participated in Insys’ sham speaker program, through which it paid doctors in exchange for them writing such unnecessary prescriptions for Subsys. 

In its complaint, the government alleges Dr. Lubin violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by repeatedly accepting payments of up to $3,700 from Insys for attending sham speaking events and, in exchange for these payments, prescribed Subsys to patients for whom the drug was either not medically necessary or otherwise inappropriate.  These prescriptions were submitted to and paid through the Medicare and TRICARE federal healthcare programs.  As further alleged in the complaint, between 2014 and 2016, Dr. Lubin prescribed Subsys to 61 patients, only nine of whom actually had cancer.  In total, the United States alleges Dr. Lubin received more than $159,000 in payments from Insys and, in return, wrote Subsys prescriptions for which Medicare paid more than $2.8 million in claims.

The United States previously prosecuted Insys under a criminal information filed in the District of Massachusetts, and Insys agreed to a global resolution of the government’s separate civil and criminal investigations.  As part of the civil resolution, Insys agreed to pay $195 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act and, as part of the criminal resolution, it entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the government, its operating subsidiary pleaded guilty to five counts of mail fraud, and the company was subject to a $2 million fine and $28 million in forfeiture.

Additionally, the United States criminally prosecuted the founder and four former executives of Insys.  A federal jury in Boston previously found those defendants guilty of, among other things, using Insys’ speaker program to bribe medical practitioners to prescribe Subsys. 

The claims asserted against Dr. Lubin are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

This case was investigated by the Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, and Department of Defense Office of Inspector General – Defense Criminal Investigative Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy Bloor.

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) and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General at 1-800-424-9098.

Tampa, Florida– DeAnna Marie Stinson (50, Tampa) has been arrested and charged by federal criminal complaint with soliciting a crime of violence and murder-for-hire. If convicted on all counts, Stinson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. 

According to the criminal complaint, 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. On June 25, 2021, 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 effect 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.

A criminal complaint is only an allegation and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

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

Tampa, Florida – Daniel Donofrio a/k/a “Q-Ball” (46, Chipley) has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit an aggravated assault in aid of racketeering. He faces up to three years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, Donofrio was a member of The Unforgiven, a racketeering enterprise that engaged in acts of murder, kidnapping, robbery, obstruction of justice, and other offenses, including the use of “Florida Department of Corrections Officials to smuggle. . . controlled substances.”

According to Donofrio’s plea agreement, victim B.L. violated the code of conduct of The Unforgiven and was considered a “rat.” The leadership of The Unforgiven authorized Donofrio “to order B.L. killed, or merely assaulted.” Donofrio ordered an “S.O.S.,” meaning “stab on sight,” for B.L., who was later stabbed.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Natalie Hirt Adams.

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.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Jasen Michael Anderson (30, Crescent City) to 10 years in federal prison for possessing images depicting the sexual abuse of children on his cell phone and ordered him to serve a lifetime term of supervised release.  He was also sentenced to a 2-year prison term, to be served concurrently, for violating the terms of his supervised release from a prior conviction and incarceration.  

According to court documents, in 2011, while living in Port Orange, Anderson possessed and distributed images and videos of children being sexually abused; in May 2012, he was convicted on federal charges for those offenses.  After serving a 7-year prison sentence, Anderson was released and placed under the supervision of the United States Probation Office.

On March 16, 2020, Anderson admitted to his probation officer that he had used his cellphone to access the internet and search a particular Russian website for sexually explicit images of children. The probation officer then confiscated Anderson’s cellphone.

Later, Anderson met with his probation officer and admitted that he had accessed child sex abuse images over the internet using a second cellphone. The probation officer also seized the second phone. Subsequently the United States Marshals Service arrested Anderson for violating the terms of his supervised release. Forensic examination of his cellphones revealed that one of these devices contained 110 images depicting children, including some as young as six years old, being sexually abused.   

“Unfortunately, this previously convicted child predator did not learn his lesson the first time,” said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “HSI special agents, working with our partners at the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service, have made sure he will have another opportunity to re-evaluate his actions from behind bars.”

This case was investigated by the United States Probation Office in Ocala and Tampa, the United States Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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 – U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber today sentenced Andre Moore (37, Miami) to eight years in federal prison for credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered Moore to pay $650,145.03 in restitution and to forfeit $3,110.55, related to the counts on which he was convicted.

Moore had pleaded guilty on June 8, 2021.

According to court documents, Moore stole the identities of more than 100 individuals. Between September 2019 and May 2020, Moore used those stolen identities to make more than $650,000 in purchases at retail stores in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas. Moore used fraudulent driver licenses and ID cards to open store credit card accounts under the stolen identities and to re-open dormant store credit card accounts. Moore took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic, making thousands of dollars in purchases while people were in lockdown, including using the stolen accounts to purchase items that were scarce early on in the pandemic. Further, Moore committed the fraud while living under a fake identity and, upon his federal arrest, lied about his name and identity to both federal agents and the Court.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, and the Winter Park Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer L. Peresie and Suzanne C. Nebesky.

Jacksonville, Florida –Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Robert Arthur Ginder (35, Callahan) to seven years and six months in federal prison for receipt of child sex abuse images. The Court also ordered Ginder to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.

Ginder had pleaded guilty on April 22, 2021.

According to court documents, an investigation was initiated by law enforcement agents after they had gained access to an online cloud platform and a group chat in which users actively distributed images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. The agents observed that, when any user joined the group chat, various members of the group would share numerous image and video files depicting child exploitation . 

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified Ginder’s residence as the source of the internet protocol (IP) addresses used by this particular account on the cloud platform and, further, determined that Ginder worked for Nassau County Fire Rescue as a logistics officer.

On October 20, 2020, HSI agents executed a federal search warrant at Ginder’s residence and authorities arrested Ginder later that day. Ginder admitted to receiving a link to the cloud platform and joining the group chat of the online cloud platform that contained child exploitation material. He also admitted to viewing and sharing child exploitation materials using the cloud platform. Ginder acknowledged that he had received an image depicting the sexual abuse of a child from this cloud platform over the internet.

A subsequent search and forensic review of Ginder’s electronic devices revealed that Ginder’s cellphone contained thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children. 

“The sexual exploitation of children has no place in our communities,” said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “HSI special agents and our partners at the Clay County Sheriff’s Office will continue to pursue anyone involved in the production, distribution or possession of child pornography, or who target children in our communities in any way.”

This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

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.