Middle District of Florida

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the results of firearms prosecutions for fiscal year 2020 (FY20). In FY20, the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Middle District of Florida (MDFL) has charged more than 200 individuals with violations of federal firearms laws. Charges arose from armed robberies, possession of firearms and ammunition by convicted felons, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking and violent crimes, and false statements in relation to gun purchases.

“Fighting violent crime and keeping our citizens safe continues to be a paramount priority for the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida,” said United States Attorney Chapa Lopez. “Despite some recent changes in priorities in some of our local law enforcement agencies, we hope to continue to work together with our dedicated and courageous law enforcement partners to remain laser-focused on holding violent criminals accountable, reducing gun violence, and protecting our communities.” Several firearms cases have resulted in significant sentences in FY20, throughout all five divisions of the MDFL. Highlights from each division are summarized below.

 

United States vs. Jimmy Ray Lightsey

On September 17, 2020, in Jacksonville, Jimmy Ray Lightsey (40, Jacksonville) was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute them, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. According to testimony presented at trial, on June 24, 2018, officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested Lightsey for driving without a valid license. A 9mm pistol and a bag of marijuana were observed, in plain view, inside Lightsey’s car. A search of the vehicle revealed additional marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, and empty baggies used for packaging narcotics. The pistol was later determined to have been stolen from a home in Jacksonville approximately two weeks earlier. At the time of the incident, Lightsey had multiple prior felony convictions, including for the sale or delivery of cocaine and attempted armed robbery with a weapon. This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and ATF. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Mesrobian and Beatriz Gonzalez. For additional details, see press release.

United States vs. Anthony Kenty Soto-Lopez et al

In Orlando, on September 29, 2020, Anthony Kenty Soto-Lopes was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for charges arising from the straw purchase of firearms. Soto-Lopes’s co-defendants, Misael Adorno-Ortega, Ivan Jomar Melendez-Ortiz, and Jose Gonzalez-Rodriguez were sentenced to federal prison – 84 months, 37 months, and 8 months, respectively. According to court records, between October 2018 and July 2019, Adorno-Ortega and Soto-Lopes employed Gonzalez-Rodriguez and Melendez-Ortiz as straw purchasers to purchase 52 firearms. The straw purchasers falsely indicated on ATF forms that they were the actual transferees/buyers of the firearms, when in fact, they were purchasing the firearms for Adorno-Ortega and Soto-Lopes, who were prior convicted felons on supervised release. This case was investigated by ATF and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chauncey Bratt and Amanda Daniels. For additional details, please see press release.

United States vs. Charlie Lee Wright, Jr.

In Ocala, on August 28, 2020, Charlie Lee Wright, Jr. (52, Summerfield) was sentenced to 17 years and 7 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. According to the evidence presented at the trial, Wright has 28 prior felony convictions. On January 16, 2019, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Wright’s home looking for stolen jewelry. During the search, detectives located numerous firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. One of the recovered firearms was a mini-14 rifle, a semi-automatic firearm capable of accepting a high-capacity magazine. This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and ATF. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr. For additional details, please see press release.

United States vs. Jarquel Jenkins

In Fort Myers, on February 20, 2020, Jarquel Jenkins (28, Fort Myers) was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months in prison for drug distribution and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to court documents, on three separate occasions in January and February 2019, Jenkins sold heroin and cocaine to confidential informants. In February 2019, following a controlled purchase of narcotics from Jenkins, law enforcement officers attempted to arrest Jenkins, who fled from a parked vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, officers seized various quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, as well as a loaded firearm from the vehicle’s cup holder. The case was investigated by ATF and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Reichling. For additional details, please see press release.

United States vs. Jordan Rodriguez et al

In Tampa, on February 5, 2020, Jordan Rodriguez (Bradenton, 26) was sentenced to three life terms of imprisonment for gang racketeering and murder. His co-defendants, Alfonzo Churchwell (Bradenton, 32) and Andrew Thompson (Bradenton, 25), were also sentenced to multiple life terms. According to evidence presented during the three and half week jury trial, the defendants had engaged in a violent and deadly rivalry with others in Oneco, a community in Bradenton. The individuals worked together to traffic in controlled substances and to control and protect their drug business with violence and murder. Rodriguez, Churchwell, and Thompson were responsible for at least four murders. Their racketeering enterprise maintained a “trap house” that was used to distribute heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs. This case was investigated by ATF, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and the State Attorney’s Office (Twelfth Judicial Circuit). It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natalie Hirt Adams and Christopher F. Murray. For additional details, please see press release.

Reducing gun violence and enforcing federal firearms laws are amongst the Department’s highest priorities. In order to develop a new and robust effort to promote and ensure public safety, the Department has reviewed and adapted some of the successes of past strategies to curb gun violence. Project Guardian draws on the Department’s earlier achievements, such as the “Triggerlock” program, and serves as a complementary effort to the success of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In addition, the initiative emphasizes the importance of using all modern technologies available to law enforcement to promote gun crime intelligence.

The USAO-MDFL works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to vigorously enforce federal laws related to violent crime and the illegal possession of firearms. Recently charged cases are summarized in the table below.

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.

Name

Charges        

AUSA/Division

Kermon Williams (42, St. Petersburg),

Jahphre Higgs (36, St. Petersburg),

James Higgs (40, St. Petersburg)

See press release.

1. Conspiring to commit a murder for hire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958 (All)

2. Committing a murder for hire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1958 and 2 (All)

3. Conspiring to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (All)

4. Attempting to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (The Higgs)

5. Felons in possession of ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Both Higgs)

6. Use and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes , in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and (j), and 2 (All)

7. Use and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and (j), and 2 (All)

8 .Felon in possession of firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Jhaphre Higgs)

9. Felon in possession of firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Jhaphre Higgs)

Natalie Adams, Tampa

Wilmer Rosales (23, Plant City),

Joel Sierra (25, Plant City)

See press release.

1. Drug conspiracy, 21 U.S.C. § 846 (both defendants)

2. Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (both defendants).

3. Hobbs Act robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (both defendants)

4. Discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, causing the death of Grant Urquhart, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and (j) (Rosales).

5. Felon-in-possession of a firearm and ammunition, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (Rosales).

6. Possession of a firearm in a school zone, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2) (Rosales)

Natalie Adams, Tampa

Jullian Williams (28, Tampa),

Torie Daniels (33, Tampa)

1. Conspiring to distribute marijuana, 21 U.S.C. § 846 (both defendants)

2. Conspiring to commit money laundering, 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h) (both defendants)

3. Possessing with intent to distribute marijuana, 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(D) (both defendants)

4. Possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(iii) (both defendants)

5. Possessing with intent to distribute marijuana, 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(D) (Williams)

6. Possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i) (Williams)

Natalie Adams, Tampa

Michler Gabriel (28, Brandon)

See press release.

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Callan Albritton, Tampa

Steven Sinadinoa (32, Tampa)

1. Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

2. Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

Callan Albritton, Tampa

Tavares Speaight (24, Tampa)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Callan Albritton, Tampa

Deveon Jenkins (27, Ocala)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Robert Bodnar, Ocala

Cory Lamar Cohen, Jr. (22, Ocala)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Robert Bodnar, Ocala

Vladimir Isidor St. Louis (38, Orlando)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

E. Jackson Boggs, Orlando

Xavier Youvark Sims (35, Ocala)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Tyrie Boyer, Ocala

David Stephen Shaw (36, Ocala)

See press release.

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Tyrie Boyer, Ocala

Darrell Pete (31, Ocala)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Tyrie Boyer, Ocala

Justin Ruth (28, New Port Richey)

See press release.

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Charlie Connally, Tampa

Lorenzo Johnson (29, St. Petersburg)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Charlie Connally, Tampa

Brandon Clark (34, Sarasota)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Charlie Connally, Tampa

Max Bennett Chambers (21, Sarasota)

Possession of a machinegun, 18 U.S.C. § 922(o)

Amanda Daniels, Orlando

Omar Lupian Barajas (40, Groveland)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Michael Felicetta, Ocala

Michael Kendrick (34, Ocala)

1. Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

2. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)

Michael Felicetta, Ocala

James Johnson (31, Summerfield),

Brittany Johnson (28, Summerfield)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Michael Felicetta, Ocala

Joshua Sams (19, Orange Park)

See press release.

1. Hobbs Act Robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a)

2. Possession of a firearm in relation to crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii)

Kevin Frein, Jacksonville

Brandy Rayburn (40, Jacksonville)

 

Duane McCray (42, Jacksonville)

1-2. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

3. Distribution of Crack Cocaine & Heroin, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

Betty Gonzalez, Jacksonville

John Hurley (33, St. Augustine)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Betty Gonzalez, Jacksonville

Lamar Curtis (34, Jacksonville)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Betty Gonzalez, Jacksonville

Recardo Clark (38, Winter Haven)

Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a)

Michael Gordon, Tampa

Frank Eiland (43, Tampa)

1. Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

2. Possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

Michael Gordon, Tampa

Keon Moore (28, Tampa)

1. Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

2. Possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

3. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)

Michael Gordon, Tampa

Spencer Walker (40, Palatka)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Julie Hackenberry, Jacksonville

Corey Carnegie (33, Ocala),

Nishera Johnson (39, Ocala)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

William Hamilton, Ocala

Matthew Zachariah Humphrey (26, Daytona Beach

See press release.

1. Possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

2. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)

Dana E. Hill, Orlando

Janee Reve Najee Kelly (31, Daytona Beach)

See press release.

1. Possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

2. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Dana E. Hill, Orlando

Gregory Baker (32, Jacksonville Beach)

1. Possession with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

2. Distribution of steroids, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

3. Possession of a firearm by a convicted Felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

4. Sale of firearms to a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(d)

Kelly Karase, Jacksonville

Deangelo Howard (36)

1. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

2. Theft of Government Funds, 18 U.S.C. § 641

Kelly Karase, Jacksonville

Samuel Davis, Jr. (38, Bradenton)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Randall Leonard, Tampa

Alphonso Woodie (38, Bradenton)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Randall Leonard, Tampa

Wilmer Eduardo Mejia-Palacios (36, Orlando)

See press release.

Four counts of making false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer, 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A)

Terry Livanos, Orlando

Frederick Aaron (38, Jacksonville)

1. Distribution of a Controlled Substance, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

2. Possession of a firearm by a convicted Felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

David Mesrobian, Jacksonville

Demarcus Daniels (24)

1. Bank Robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a)

2. Carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii)

David Mesrobian, Jacksonville

Christopher Dozier (39, Jacksonville)

1,3. Hobbs Act Robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a)

2,4. Possession of a firearm in relation to crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii)

David Mesrobian, Jacksonville

Gabriel Thompkins (25, Tampa)

False Statement to a federally licensed firearms dealers, 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A).

Christopher Murray, Tampa

Kevin Speights (26, Tampa)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

James C. Preston, Jr., Tampa

Davion Rivers (25, Bradenton)

Felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Michael Sinacore, Tampa

Jarrod Austin (33, Orange Park)

False statements to an FFL, records, 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A)

Frank Talbot, Jacksonville

Kelly Villalobos (50, Ponte Vedra)

See press release.

False Statements to an FFL, records, 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A)

Frank Talbot, Jacksonville

Vonshea Hartley (37)

1,3,5. Distribution of cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

2,4,6. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

7,8. Distribution of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

Laura Taylor, Jacksonville

Bruce Jefferson (46, Jacksonville)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Laura Taylor, Jacksonville

Elizabeth Rivera (52, Jacksonville)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Laura Taylor, Jacksonville

Raekwon Cannon (24, Jacksonville)

1-3. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Ashley Washington, Jacksonville

Christopher Carter (32, Jacksonville)

Sale of Cocaine, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

2-3. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Ashley Washington,  Jacksonville

Derrick Ivory (48, Jacksonville)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

Ashley Washington,  Jacksonville

 

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Edison Denizard (40, Orlando) has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Denizard faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, between March 2016 and June 2017, Denizard raised millions of dollars from dozens of victims who believed that they were investing in specific music concerts through legitimate businesses owned by Denizard and a co-conspirator, Andres Fernandez. Fernandez and Denizard lured investors by guaranteeing them large returns and promising that all of the funds that they provided would be invested in events by top artists, including Drake, Garth Brooks, Pitbull, The Weeknd, and Maná. In fact, neither Denizard nor Fernandez was involved in most of the events.

Denizard used most of the funds that he had received from investors to pay fraudulent “investment returns” to earlier investors and for his own personal use, including to purchase a new lakefront residence and luxury hotel stays. The total amount of victims’ losses attributable to Denizard are $7,479,453.

Fernandez previously pleaded guilty to 12 counts of wire fraud and was sentenced earlier this year to 10 years in federal prison.

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

Tampa, Florida – Christopher John Streeter (63, Land O’ Lakes) today pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor under the age of 14. He faces a mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the

plea agreement , from September 2018 through June 2019, Streeter directly participated in a scheme that sexually exploited children in the Philippines in order to produce child sex abuse videos for his consumption. Over that period, Streeter communicated and transacted with Philippines-based facilitators to recruit children to engage in sex acts on camera. The child victims—some of whom were as young as 12 and 13 years old—were particularly vulnerable due to poverty and illness.

Streeter sent payments to the Philippines in exchange for depictions of the victims engaging in sex acts. The money that Streeter remitted covered various recording and production costs, such as hotel rooms, transportation, and a commission for the recruiters. In return, Streeter received videos and images of minors involved in various sex acts. Streeter negotiated and paid a premium for videos and images depicting female minors losing their virginity. He also negotiated and paid a premium for media depicting female minors being placed at risk of pregnancy, including additional payment for emergency contraception pills, and, occasionally, for abortions.

One of Streeter’s victims was a 12-year-old female from Ozamis, Philippines. In 2018 and 2019, Streeter communicated with a Philippine recruiter in Ozamis named Analyn Tababini. On multiple occasions, while in the Tampa Bay area, Streeter paid Tababini to arrange for sex abuse videos to be made of the victim. The monies covered production costs, including the male abuser, money for the victim, hotel expenses, and a commission for Tababini. In return, Tababini sent Streeter several videos of the sexual abuse of the victim. At one point, Streeter voiced displeasure with the videos not depicting insemination of the victim and ordered Tababini to purchase emergency contraception and make the victim take it for future videos.

In addition to working for Streeter, Homeland Security Investigations Transnational National Criminal Investigative Unit in Manila discovered that Tababini has facilitated internet sex shows of minors in exchange for payment from an array of international clientele. In a recent, coordinated operation conducted by the Philippine National Police in Ozamis, Philippines, six of Tababini’s child sex-trafficking victims (including Streeter’s 12-year-old victim) were rescued by the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development. Philippine authorities also arrested Tababini and executed three search warrants in support of their continuing investigation.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa and Manila), with assistance from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray. The Philippines victim-rescue operation was conducted by the Philippine National Police (Manila), with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa and Manila), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (National Targeting Center), the Philippine National Police Woman and Children Protection Center (Mindanao Field Unit), and the Ozamis City Police Office.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Juan Daniel Martinez (38, Arcadia) to 15 years and 1 month in federal prison for possessing approximately six ounces of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it and for possessing a loaded pistol and additional ammunition. Martinez, a previously convicted felon for armed kidnapping, had pleaded guilty on June 30, 2020.

According to information presented during the sentencing hearing, in July 2019, Martinez was arrested after a law enforcement officer pulled him over for a traffic infraction and discovered that Martinez was driving without a valid driver license, an offense Martinez has been convicted of seven times. A subsequent search of Martinez’s car revealed a loaded gun stashed under the driver’s seat and approximately six ounces of 98% pure methamphetamine in a bag, along with other items used for drug distribution.

During an interview with law enforcement, Martinez admitted that, prior to his arrest, he had sold approximately a pound of methamphetamine daily or every other day. Martinez acknowledged that while engaging in criminal activity, including narcotics trafficking, he carried the pistol to protect himself, his drugs, and his money. Martinez confessed that he had been working to expand his drug trafficking territory and before he was arrested, he was on his way to Nokomis to sell drugs.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.

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

Tampa, FL – This week, the Department of Justice announced it has charged more than 14,200 defendants with firearms-related crimes during Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, despite the challenges of COVID 19 and its impact on the criminal justice process. These cases have been a Department priority since November 2019 when Attorney General William P. Barr announced his commitment to investigating, prosecuting, and combatting gun crimes as a critical part of the Department’s anti-violent crime strategy. These firearms-related charges are the result of the critical law enforcement partnership between United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, led by Acting Director Regina Lombardo, who has made firearms-related investigations a priority.

“The number one priority of government is to keep its citizens safe,” said Attorney General Barr. “By preventing firearms from falling into the hands of individuals who are prohibited from having them, we can stop violent crime before it happens. Violating federal firearms laws is a serious crime and offenders face serious consequences.  The Department of Justice is committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals, who illegally buy, sell, use, or possess firearms. Reducing gun violence requires a coordinated effort, and we could not have charged more than 14,000 individuals with firearms-related crimes without the hard work of the dedicated law enforcement professionals at the ATF, our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, and especially all of our state and local law enforcement partners.”

“Protecting the public from violent crime involving firearms is at the core of ATF’s mission,” commented ATF Acting Director Regina Lombardo.  “Every day the men and women of ATF pursue and investigate those who use firearms to commit violent crimes in our communities, many of whom are prohibited from possessing firearms from previous convictions.  ATF, in collaboration with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the nation, is committed to bringing these offenders to justice for their egregious and violent criminal acts.”

“Fighting violent crime and keeping our citizens safe continues to be a paramount priority for the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida,” said United States Attorney Chapa Lopez. “Together with our dedicated and courageous federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we hope to continue to remain laser-focused on holding violent criminals accountable, reducing gun violence, and protecting our communities.”

Of the more than 14,200 cases charged, more than 200 cases have been brought by the Middle District of Florida, announced U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez.

Under federal law, it is illegal to possess a firearm if you fall into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon, illegal alien, or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime.  It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to illegally purchase - firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, is also a federal offense.  The Department is committed to prosecuting these firearms offenses as well as using all modern technologies available to law enforcement such as the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, known as NIBIN, to promote gun crime intelligence. Keeping illegal firearms out of the hands of violent criminals will continue to be a priority of the Department of Justice and we will use all appropriate, available means to keep the law abiding people of this country safe from gun crime. 

For more information on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.      

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Richard Barrett Dale Walker (38, The Villages) to five years and five months in federal prison for wire fraud and bank fraud. Walker was also ordered to pay $790,600 in restitution and an $839,305.30 forfeiture order.

Walker had pleaded guilty on June 23, 2020. 

According to court documents, Walker was the part-time office manager of a locally owned business where he worked 10 hours a week and was responsible for paying bills and managing the finances of the business. He was paid $500 per week. Walker also had two companies of his own: RBD Distributors LLC and Shotgun Shooting Supply LLC. 

Walker’s scheme consisted of two parts. First, from January 2014 to July 3, 2018, Walker used the business’s bank account, without authorization, to write $751,824.29 in checks to himself and his two companies. In total, there were more than 500 checks, ranging from $145.89 to $16,981.03, each of which included the forged signature of the owner of the business. 

The second part of the scheme occurred from March 19 to July 3, 2018.  During that time period, Walker used the business’s personal and corporate credit cards to charge $301,328.65 in fraudulent/unauthorized credit card transactions that were paid to Walker’s company, RBD Distributors. Walker sometimes paid for those credit card transactions by writing a check or initiating a transfer from the business’s bank account. 

Walker engaged in a series of actions to hide and cover up his fraudulent scheme including changing the address for the business’s credit card statements from the actual location of the business to the address of a relative of Walker (so that the owner of the business would no longer receive credit card statements); adding himself as “Treasurer” of the business by sending an annual report to the Florida Secretary of State that falsely represented that he had that position with the company; adding his email and phone number to an account for the business’s corporate card; and adding an email address to another of the business’s corporate cards.

After deducting the amounts returned by Walker during his scheme and the reversal of some of the unauthorized credit card charges, the total amount of restitution in the case is $790,600.

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

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Ernest Gonzalez (68, Tampa) to 46 months in federal prison and Rosa Colon (30, Tampa) to 24 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of professional practice. As part of their sentences, the court also entered money judgments of $47,780.96 against Gonzalez and $765,356.76 against Colon which were for the proceeds of the conspiracy to illegally distribute and dispense controlled substances.

Gonzalez and Colon had pleaded guilty on September 11, 2018.

According to court documents, Gonzalez served as the president and owner of Health and Pain Center (HPC), a pain management clinic. In June 2011, Gonzalez transferred his executive title and ownership of HPC to Colon. Gonzalez and Colon hired physicians who routinely prescribed controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose to HPC’s patients. Gonzalez and Colon participated and facilitated the physicians’ illegal prescribing practices by instructing HPC employees to overlook failed urine screens and by procuring MRI studies that the physicians used to justify their opioid prescriptions. Additionally, Gonzalez and Colon operated HPC as a cash-only business that had little to no medical equipment on site, staffers with no medical training, and a high volume patient base. Gonzalez and Colon actively participated in the management and administration of HPC through October 2016 when the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant at the clinic. 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration—Tampa District Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Greg Pizzo. The forfeiture was handled by Assistant United States Attorney James Muench.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge James Whittemore has sentenced Kwasi Francis (30, Ocala) to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The court also ordered Francis to forfeit the firearm and all ammunition associated with the offense.

Francis had pleaded guilty to the offense on January 30, 2020.    

According to court documents, officers from the City of Ocala Police Department arrested Francis on state burglary and drug possession charges on May 7, 2019. While he was being processed at the Marion County Jail, the jail staff discovered that Francis had concealed a 9mm firearm on his person, between multiple pairs of pants. The firearm was loaded, including a bullet in the chamber. Francis, who has prior felony convictions for burglary and heroin distribution, is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the City of Ocala Police Department, and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

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

 

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge James Whittemore has sentenced Shelley Devaughn Cook (42, Ocala) to 15 years in federal prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. The court also ordered Cook to forfeit the firearm and all ammunition associated with the offense. 

Cook had pleaded guilty on January 8, 2020.

According to court documents, detectives from the City of Ocala Police Department observed Cook with an open container of an alcoholic beverage in a public area—a violation of a city ordinance. Cook ignored repeated requests from the detectives to pour out his drink, then fled on foot when the detectives approached him. Once apprehended, the detectives discovered a loaded semi-automatic pistol in Cook’s waistband. He also had quantities of MDMA (ecstasy), heroin, fentanyl and marijuana on his person.

Cook has eight prior state felony convictions, including for robbery with a deadly weapon (firearm), aggravated battery, felony battery, fleeing and eluding law enforcement, and illegal drug possession. Because of these felony convictions, Cook is prohibited from possessing either firearms or ammunition under federal law. 

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

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

Orlando, Florida – A federal jury has found Valdez Williams (61, Altamonte Springs) guilty of one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Williams faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 28, 2020.

Williams had been indicted on November 20, 2019.

According to evidence presented at trial, during the execution of a search warrant at his apartment, law enforcement officers recovered a .380 caliber firearm and ammunition from a safe in Williams’s bedroom. The officers also found a plate of cocaine base and stolen property in the apartment. Williams admitted that he sold cocaine base and had purchased the stolen property, and he said that he had obtained the firearm for protection because his apartment had been burglarized about a month earlier.

Williams was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law both because he had prior felony convictions and because he was still on federal supervised released.

This case was investigated by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel P. Jancha and Karen L. Gable.

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

Tampa, FL – U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez today announced $1,095,330 in Department of Justice grants to improve services for crime victims in the Middle District of Florida. The grants, awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, are part of over $144 million distributed to enhance the district's response to victims of crime throughout the United States.

“The Department of Justice is steadfast in its commitment to protecting public safety and bringing justice to those who have been victimized,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “The investments we are making today will support service providers as they work to secure the legal rights of victims and put survivors of criminal acts on the road to recovery.”

“Prosecuting crimes is but one aspect of delivering justice,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “Whenever and wherever possible, we must assist victims in the recovery and restoration process of their lives. The grant awards made today will assist our communities in rendering justice complete.”

The awards made to organizations in the Middle District of Florida will advance the use of technology, improve community preparedness and law enforcement training and provide emergency and transitional shelter to assist victims of crime. Programs will also support victims of child abuse and fund research projects related to perpetrators and victims of elder abuse. Approximately $64.3 million was awarded under Office for Victims of Crime grant programs; over $54.1 million was awarded under Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention programs; over $19.9 million was awarded under Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking grant programs; and nearly $5.7 million was awarded under two National Institute of Justice grant programs.

“As lockdowns and lawlessness fuel crime in America’s homes and communities, more people are vulnerable to victimization and those who have been victimized face new hurdles,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “The Office of Justice Programs is committed to giving our victim service partners the tools they need to better serve their clients and protect victims’ rights.”

The following organizations received funding:

• City of St. Petersburg ($390,832)
• Hillsborough County ($704,498)

More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

Jacksonville, Florida – Sierra Marvette Townsend (33, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and payment of restitution to her victims. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, Townsend and others traveled to north Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina to commit fraud involving HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls. Over the course of multiple years, Townsend used five different identities when making fraudulent returns at these stores. These fraudulent returns resulted in the stores issuing gift cards to Townsend and others worth thousands of dollars. After obtaining the store gift cards, Townsend and others typically sold or pawned them.

On February 18, 2020, co-defendant Katrina Monique Morris (39, Jacksonville) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On July 30, 2020, co-defendant Lashundra Monyett Gibbs (38, Jacksonville) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Morris and Gibbs are both scheduled to be sentenced on December 2, 2020.     

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service - Jacksonville Field Office, with assistance from the Altamonte Springs Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Jacksonville, Florida – Robert H. Hendricks (64, Ponte Vedra) has pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each count. Hendricks has agreed to pay at least $2,682,924.34 in restitution to his victims. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the

plea agreement , Hendricks was a licensed real estate broker in the Middle District of Florida. Hendricks told two of his victims, a husband and wife, who were his longtime friends, that he had been successful with commercial property development and needed money for another commercial property deal in central Florida. In October 2014, the husband paid Hendricks $300,000 as an investment into two commercial property ventures. Hendricks never used the funds for an investment. Instead, he used the funds for his personal benefit. 

On March 21, 2016, Hendricks received a wire transfer of $200,000 from another victim, who was also a friend. He told the victim that Wawa, a chain of convenience stores and gas stations, was establishing locations in Jacksonville and offered the victim a deal for four to five stores. The victim believed that three of the five locations were completed based, in part, on a contract from Hendricks that referenced a Wawa store at the St. Johns Town Center (SJTC), and other representations made by Hendricks. However, the store at the SJTC had already been built at the time of the investment. Hendricks was not involved in that Wawa project or any other Wawa deal involving the SJTC. 

On April 18, 2016, Hendricks received a wire transfer of $490,000 from a lender for a property he had obtained from a longtime friend through misrepresentations. The victim agreed to temporarily transfer the property to Hendricks to enable him to pay for cleanup and obtain special insurance, but Hendricks did not need to pay for any cleanup and no special insurance was required. Instead, once the property was placed in Hendricks’s name, he obtained a $500,000 mortgage for his benefit, which he failed to repay and the property was awarded to the lender at auction.

On February 13, 2017, Hendricks received a wire transfer of $388,962.17 from a victim for a commercial property venture. Hendricks falsely claimed he had an interest in an LLC that owned a Home Depot and the victim could invest in it.  However, the LLC was merely an LLC incorporated by Hendricks to further his fraudulent Home Depot investment scheme, and he did not own an interest in the LLC that owned the Home Depot.   

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Jordan Jysae Pulido (26, Trinity) with enticement and coercion of a minor traveling out of the country to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and transporting a minor into the country to engage in sexual activity. Pulido and his father, Roberto Santana Jimenez (61, Trinity) have also been charged with conspiracy to transport a minor into the country to engage in sexual activity. If convicted on all counts, Pulido and Jimenez face a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Pulido and Jimenez that the United States intends to forfeit electronic devices, which are alleged to have been used in the commission of the offense.

According to the indictment, for nearly a year, Pulido used the internet to entice and coerce a minor victim, under the age of 16, to engage in sexual activity with him. In June 2018, Pulido traveled from Florida to Croatia for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with the victim. In the month that followed, Pulido and his father, Jimenez, conspired to transport the victim from Croatia to Florida, again so that Pulido could engage in sexual activity with the victim. In July 2018, Pulido transported the victim from Croatia to Florida for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.

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

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the 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 Police Organization. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided investigative assistance. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

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

 

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Arafat Aljubeh (55, Tampa) to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison for conspiring to launder the proceeds of a conspiracy to distribute AB-FUBINACA, a type of synthetic marijuana. The court also ordered Aljubeh to forfeit his interest in five parcels of real property in the Tampa Bay area, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense.  

Aljubeh had pleaded guilty on June 7, 2019.

According to the plea agreement, in April 2017, in Baker County, a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Thair Zatar. Zatar was issued a warning and gave the trooper consent to search his vehicle. When the trooper looked in the back of Zatar’s vehicle, he discovered nine large black garbage bags, weighing approximately 415 pounds, which were stuffed with 27,000 individual packets labeled as “potpourri.” The packets were branded with names including “Outer Space” and “Geeked Up.” The trooper suspected the packets contained synthetic marijuana, and the Drug Enforcement Administration later confirmed that fact. Zatar was arrested and informed the DEA that his supplier was Aljubeh. 

Zatar pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute AB-FUBINACA and was sentenced in 2018 to four years and three months in federal prison. Zatar’s sentence was later reduced to 33 months in prison based on his cooperation in the investigation of Aljubeh.

As part of his cooperation, Zatar admitted to DEA that he had served as a drug mule at the direction of Aljubeh on previous occasions and provided documents and evidence showing that Aljubeh directed Zatar to deposit the proceeds of the AB-FUBINACA sales into accounts controlled by Aljubeh and Aljubeh’s conspirators.  A separate investigation of those accounts by Homeland Security Investigations revealed that the involved accounts were receiving deposits of thousands of dollars in cash from around the United States that were the proceeds of the sale of AB-FUBINACA. Those accounts were then used to transfer the proceeds back and forth between the accounts in a complex series of transactions designed to obfuscate the nature, location, source, ownership and control of the drug money.  Ultimately, tracing of the funds showed that they were used to purchase five pieces of real property in the Tampa Bay area.

“This criminal has repeatedly shown disregard for our nation’s laws,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Cochran. “As a result of the effective teamwork with HSI, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Highway Patrol and the DEA, this repeat offender will face the consequences for his crimes.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor. The criminal forfeiture was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Bonnie Glober. 
 

Tampa, Florida – Stanley Tipton (45, Ohio) has pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with a violation of the Clean Diamond Trade Act. Tipton faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing date has not yet been set.

The Clean Diamond Trade Act prohibits the import into and export from the United States of rough diamonds not regulated by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), an international certification scheme for the regulation of trade in rough diamonds. One of the purposes of the KPCS is to protect the legitimate trade in rough diamonds and to prevent trade in so-called “blood diamonds,” which are diamonds produced and sold to fund rebel movements and terrorism worldwide and especially in several countries in Africa. The United States is a participating country adhering to the KPCS.

Member countries participating in the KPCS are required to use a document referred to as the Kimberley Process Certificate (KPC) in the import and export of rough diamonds, a certificate with a specified format that identifies individual shipments of rough diamonds and certifies them as being in compliance with the KPCS. The KPC is required to record the country of origin of the diamonds, the carat weight and mass of the diamonds, their value in U.S. dollars, the name of the diamond exporter or importer, and the governmental authority issuing.

According to the plea agreement and other facts presented at the plea hearing, in 2019, Tipton engaged in a series of discussions with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations special agent (UCA) to supply KPCs to the UCA, who was then posing as a broker interested in securing documents, to help smuggle up to 100 carats of diamonds into the United States. Tipton told the UCA that he had contacts in Tanzania and Namibia and could arrange for the purchase of KPCs to “legitimize” the smuggled diamonds. When informed that the UCA’s “people” desired a certificate from a particular country, such as Tanzania or Sierra Leone, Tipton assured the UCA that he could make that happen but would require additional money to “grease” people on the ground in Africa. Ultimately, Tipton provided the UCA with what appeared to be two KPCs that represented that the subject diamonds had been handled in accordance with the provisions of the KPCS for rough diamonds. One KPC bore the purported seal of the Guinean Ministry of Mines and Geology, the other KPC was purported to be from the Sierra Leone Ministry of Mineral Resources. However, both KPCs were false and fraudulent documents provided by Tipton to the UCA to assist in the importation scheme, in violation of the Clean Diamond Trade Act.

“This investigation and prosecution sets an international precedent regarding the Clean Diamond Trade Act,” said HSI Tampa acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Sibley. “This case is the result of significant teamwork between HSI special agents and the Department of State, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Tampa International Airport Police and the Middle District of Florida United States Attorney Office.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the U.S. Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security - Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.

 

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced Darryle Lavance Evans (47, Jacksonville) to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison for distributing cocaine. At the time Evans committed this offense, he was on federal supervised release resulting from a previous federal drug trafficking conviction. At today’s hearing, Judge Davis also revoked Evans’s federal supervised release, and sentenced him to 5 years in federal prison, to run concurrent with the other sentence.

Evans had pleaded guilty on July 16, 2019.

According to court documents, in 2010, Evans was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for distributing cocaine base, followed by a five-year term of supervised release. Evans was released from federal prison in April 2018, and, on November 8, 2018, he sold cocaine to a confidential informant working for the FBI.  The informant and the person Evans identified as his supplier for the cocaine were also both on federal supervised release for drug offenses. Because of Evans’s extensive criminal history, he was designated as a Career Offender at sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.

Ocala, FL – Jose Merced Sanchez De La Torre (43) has pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry by a previously deported alien and unlawful possession of a firearm. He faces up to 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, on August 31, 2020, the FBI received a tip that a residence in Ocala contained illegal aliens and firearms. The FBI requested the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP researched the address and determined that one of the residents, Sanchez De La Torre, was an illegal alien from Mexico who had previously been deported from the United States in 2015, following federal convictions for an aggravated felony—unlawful possession of a firearm—and seven counts of structuring financial transactions. On September 8, 2020, Border Patrol agents, with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), executed an arrest warrant at the residence. During a search of the residence, three firearms were located, including an AK-47 along with a large amount of ammunition. As both an illegal alien and a convicted felon, Sanchez De La Torre is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the FBI, CBP, ATF, and the MCSO. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tyrie Boyer.

This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence and enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes. For more information on Project Guardian visit www.justice.gov/projectguardian.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Josten Rakeem-Hassan Brown (28, Greenville, SC) to 20 months in federal prison for using an unauthorized access device (credit card). Two other defendants have also been sentenced in connection with the offense. Kenbee Omari Hughey (41, Detroit, MI) was sentenced in the Middle District of Florida to 15 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. Dejon Romans Brown (22, Puyallup, WA) was sentenced in the Western District of Washington by United States District Judge Robert S. Lasnik. 

According to court records, all three defendants agreed to purchase electronics using fraudulent credit cards issued to them under false names on behalf of the Sumter County School District in Bushnell, Florida. A Russian citizen used a malicious software program to gain access to the district’s computer network while the students and staff were gone for the winter break in 2018. After gaining access, the intruder had credit cards issued using the district’s bank account information and sent the cards to the defendants in California, Michigan, and South Carolina. The defendants then used the credit cards to purchase tens of thousands of dollars in electronic equipment, including cellphones and tablet computers. Following the fraudulent purchases, the defendants sent the electronics to another accomplice, who then resold the items in the United States and internationally.

As a result of these actions, the Sumter County School District suffered a budget shortfall of approximately $206,000 this year. Each of the defendants were ordered to pay restitution totaling $206,094.40. Josten Brown was ordered to pay $59,153.89, Hughey was ordered to pay $88,433.97, and Dejon Brown was ordered to pay $58,506.54.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven today sentenced James Alexander (26, Plant City) to 37 months in federal prison for making online threats to harm two officers from the Plant City Police Department. Alexander had pleaded guilty on June 17, 2020.

According to court documents, beginning in October 2017, Alexander posted threats directed at law enforcement on various Facebook pages online. Between May and June 2018, Alexander sent direct threats to one Plant City Police officer threatening to harm to him. Alexander also sent direct messages to a family member of this officer, threatening to harm the officer. As a result of these threats, the officer obtained a permanent injunction against Alexander and moved his family out of their home of nine years to another location that was kept confidential.

Following the entry of the permanent injunction, Alexander began targeting a second officer from the Plant City Police Department, sending him direct messages on Facebook, saying, in part: “You are going to die this year.” As a result, this officer feared for his safety and that of his family, compelling him to frequently change his routine and routes to various locations, for fear of being followed. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Plant City Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Candace Garcia Rich.

WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director Calvin Shivers of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Deputy Inspector General Gary Cantrell of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and Assistant Administrator Tim McDermott of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today announced a historic nationwide enforcement action involving 345 charged defendants across 51 federal districts, including more than 100 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals. 

These defendants have been charged with submitting more than $6 billion in false and fraudulent claims to federal health care programs and private insurers, including more than $4.5 billion connected to telemedicine, more than $845 million connected to substance abuse treatment facilities, or “sober homes,” and more than $806 million connected to other health care fraud and illegal opioid distribution schemes across the country. 

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Criminal Division, Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit, in conjunction with its Health Care Fraud and Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force program, and its core partners, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, HHS-OIG, FBI, and DEA, as part of the department’s ongoing efforts to combat the devastating effects of health care fraud and the opioid epidemic. The cases announced today are being prosecuted by Health Care Fraud and ARPO Strike Force teams from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, along with 43 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, and agents from HHS-OIG, FBI, DEA, and other various federal and state law enforcement agencies. 

Prior to the charges announced as part of today’s nationwide enforcement action and since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force program had charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for approximately $19 billion. 

The Middle District of Florida (MDFL) is playing a significant role in today’s historic announcement. Collaborative efforts among federal, state, and local partners have resulting in charges against 19 defendants in the MDFL.

“Patients place their lives in the hands of medical professionals every day,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida. In doing so, they rely upon the oath that they will put forth their best efforts to do no harm. Not only is fraud and abuse of healthcare programs illegal, but they compromise the standard of care and the public trust. We will continue to aggressively investigate these claims and hold those who violate the law accountable by all means.”

"The FBI and its law enforcement partners are determined to expose those who commit healthcare fraud." said Special Agent in Charge of FBI Tampa Division Michael F. McPherson. "We are all victims of this crime when federal healthcare programs that taxpayers fund are cheated."

“We will continue to hold medical professionals accountable for the great responsibility with which they have been entrusted, said Omar Pérez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “There are no shortcuts when it comes to patient care.”

David Spilker, Special Agent in Charge at the VA Office of Inspector General stated, “The continued oversight of medical professionals who provide community care to veterans—our nation’s heroes—safeguards the integrity of VA’s healthcare programs. The VA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold providers who fraudulently bill CHAMPVA responsible for their unlawful conduct.”

"Unfettered greed erodes public trust, stifles our economy, and hurts hard-working Americans," stated Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne of IRS Criminal Investigation's Tampa Field Office.  "Working with our law enforcement partners, we will fervently employ our unique financial investigative skills to lead the fight against white collar crime."

 

HEALTH CARE FRAUD CASES

The MDFL health care fraud cases included in today’s announcement involve charges brought against 12 defendants for health care fraud and violations of the federal Anti-Kickback statute. These defendants have been charged with submitting hundreds of millions of dollars in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and other federal health care programs and employing abusive schemes that often involved telemedicine.          

All of the MDFL cases described in this section are being investigated by various agencies, including the 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.

In September 2020, Charles Burruss (51, San Diego, CA) and Ardalaan “Armani” Adams (33, San Diego, CA) were charged with conspiracy for defrauding Medicare through the submission of medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (“DME”) claims. According to court documents, Adams and Burruss paid millions in kickbacks and bribes to acquire the DME claims, which had been generated using aggressive telemarketing strategies in concert with fraudulent telemedicine involving bribed doctors who rarely spoke to the beneficiaries. During the conspiracy, Burruss, Adams, and their conspirators submitted the illegal DME claims to Medicare and other programs through a conglomerate of fraudulently established DME companies; at least 22 of those fraudulent companies were located in the MDFL. Through the MDFL companies, the conspirators submitted more than $343 million in illegal DME claims to Medicare and to the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), resulting in over $180 million in payments. The defendants have also been charged in related cases in the Southern District of California and the District of New Jersey. Each defendant faces a collective maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment, if imposed consecutively, for the pending charges. The MDFL case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen Fiore.

On July 31, 2020, Richard Epstein (28, Aurora, CO) and Michael Nolan (47, Tampa, FL) each pleaded guilty, in separate cases, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud for defrauding Medicare through the submission of medically unnecessary claims for DME and cancer genetic testing (“CGx testing”). According to court documents, during the conspiracy, Epstein and Nolan ran a telemarketing company in Tampa known as REMN Management, LLC, that targeted the elderly to generate thousands of medically unnecessary orders for DME and CGx testing. The two men also created and operated Comprehensive Telcare, LLC (“CompTel”), a “telemedicine” company through which they illegally bribed medical practitioners to sign the orders regardless of medical necessity. They then illegally sold the signed orders to client-conspirators for submission to Medicare. The conspiracy resulted in the submission of at least $134 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and other federal health benefit programs, resulting in approximately $29 million in payments. The defendants are each facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen Fiore and Trial Attorney Gary A. Winters of the DOJ Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.                 

Paul Savastano (49, Lake Worth, FL), who conspired with Epstein and Nolan, also pleaded guilty on July 31, 2020, to health care fraud conspiracy. Savastano’s role in the conspiracy was that of a broker who oversaw CompTel’s illegal delivery of thousands of the signed orders to Medicare-enrolled DME supply companies, including at least five DME companies secretly controlled by Patsy Truglia (charged separately). For his part, Savastano received a percentage of the bribes as his fee. He is facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen Fiore.                                  

In June 2020, Dr. Jonathan Michael Rouffe (47, Boca Raton, FL) and Dr. Richard Davidson (41, Delray Beach, FL) pleaded guilty in separate cases to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Each faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. According to court documents, Rouffe, Davidson, and other conspirators secretly controlled conglomerates of fraudulently established DME supply companies. During the conspiracies, the companies submitted more than $31 million in illegal DME claims to Medicare and the CHAMPVA, resulting in over $16 million in payments. The conspirators paid millions in kickbacks and bribes to acquire illegally signed doctors’ orders for DME from so-called “marketers,” who, for their part, had generated the signed doctors’ orders using aggressive telemarketing strategies in concert with fraudulent telemedicine involving bribed doctors. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen A. Fiore. Additional details can be found in press release.

In August 2020, Sajid “Jay” Geronimo (41, Buena Park, CA) was charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, Geronimo owned a telemarketing company known as Cure Healthcare, Inc. that targeted the Medicare-aged population using offshore call centers that employed aggressive tactics to generate orders for DME supply companies. Cure then packaged this information into the format of doctors’ orders and bribed doctors for their signatures. Once signed, Cure sold the illegally signed doctors’ orders to client-conspirators as support for fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and CHAMPVA, receiving more than $12 million for these illegal sales. Geronimo is facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen A. Fiore.

On September 4, 2020, Samuel Friedman (45, Land O’ Lakes, FL) was sentenced to four years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, through his telemarketing company SKF Enterprises, LLC, Friedman targeted the Medicare-aged population using offshore call centers that employed aggressive tactics to generate orders for DME. SKF then packaged this information into the format of doctors’ orders and bribed doctors for their signatures. Once signed, SKF sold the fraudulently signed doctors’ orders to client-conspirators as support for fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and CHAMPVA, receiving more than $3.4 million for these illegal sales. Forfeiture was ordered against his interests in real property and a bank account containing nearly $475,000. Restitution was ordered in the amount of $3.42 million. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen A. Fiore. Additional details can be found in press release.

In September 2020, Christopher Ryan Helfrich (30, Tampa, FL) was charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, Helfrich and his conspirators owned a telemarketing operation known as A2B Insurance Solutions LLC. Helfrich also wholly owned another telemarketing company, CRH Holdings, LLC. Through these enterprises, Helfrich and his conspirators targeted the Medicare-aged population using offshore call centers that employed aggressive tactics to generate orders for DME. They then packaged this information into the format of doctors’ orders and bribed doctors for their signatures. Once signed, the conspirators sold the fraudulently signed doctors’ orders to client-conspirators as support for fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and CHAMPVA, receiving more than $2.2 million for these illegal sales. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen A. Fiore and DOJ Trial Attorney Catherine Wagner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Patsy Truglia (52, Parkland, FL) and Ruth Bianca Fernandez (37, Lauderhill, FL) were charged in a 13-count indictment alleging a conspiracy to defraud Medicare and to commit health care fraud, submit false statements to Medicare, and violate the federal Anti-Kickback statute, as well as other related charges. The indictment was unsealed with the defendants’ arrests on September 9, 2020. According to the indictment, Truglia and Fernandez conspired to create and submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary DME, using aggressive telemarketing that targeted Medicare beneficiaries, bogus telemedicine encounters, and signed doctors’ orders secured using illegal bribes and kickbacks. Through the conspiracy, Truglia and Fernandez caused the submission of approximately $25 million of fraudulent claims to Medicare and other federal health care programs, including CHAMPVA, resulting in payments of approximately $10 million from the programs. The case was charged by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Fiore and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay G. Trezevant.

OPIOID FRAUD AND ABUSE DETECTION UNIT CASES

Additional MDFL cases included in today’s announcement involve charges brought against 7 defendants who are being prosecuted by the MDFL Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (“OPFAD”), a Department of Justice program created to help combat the devastating opioid crisis that is ravaging families and communities across America and to prosecute individuals who have contributed to the opioid epidemic. OPFAD specifically focuses on opioid-related fraud and abuse by medical and health care professionals who have contributed to the prescription opioid epidemic.

Richard De La Cruz (55, Jacksonville, FL) pleaded guilty and was sentenced on August 25, 2020, to five years’ probation for making false statements relating to health care matters in connection with writing opioid prescriptions. De La Cruz was also ordered to pay restitution and $42,450 in forfeiture. According to court documents, De La Cruz, a Florida-licensed doctor, failed to conduct in-person evaluations with patients before prescribing opiates, as required by Florida law, and concealed such, when he worked for a Kentucky company that provided in-home primary care for patients. This case was investigated by the HHS-OIG. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelley Howard Allen and Greg Pizzo. Additional details can be found in press release.

Hong Truong (60, Dunedin, FL), a licensed pharmacist, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing and dispensing a controlled substance outside the scope of professional practice.She was sentenced on September 23, 2020, to 30 months in federal prison, fined $500,000, and ordered to forfeit $766,819 in illegal drug proceeds. According to court documents, Truong owned and operated HP Pharmacy in Pinellas Park, where she dispensed Schedule II controlled substance prescriptions outside the usual course of professional practice, that were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose, and without resolving several red flags. Truong and the pharmacy tech she employed, Jessica Evans (34, St. Petersburg, Florida), falsely noted on the back of many prescriptions that the prescription had been verified with the prescriber’s office, when such was not the case. Evans also pleaded guilty for her role in filling the illegal opiate prescriptions and was sentenced on August 27, 2020, to 25 months in federal prison. Also charged in connection with filling false prescriptions at HP Pharmacy were Lucretia Mullan (35, St. Petersburg, FL) and Patrice Jackson (37, Bradenton, FL) who were sentenced last summer to federal prison terms of 20 months and 70 months, respectively. This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelley Howard Allen and Greg Pizzo. Additional details can be found in press release.

Steven Chun (57, Sarasota, FL) and Daniel Tondre (50, Tampa, FL) were charged in a 16-count indictment unsealed on September 16, 2020. According to the indictment, Chun owned and operated a Sarasota pain management practice where he prescribed Subsys, a highly addictive and expensive fentanyl spray, to his patients in return for kickbacks paid by the manufacturer, Insys Therapeutics. Insys employed Tondre to work as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Chun’s territory. Through Tondre, Insys paid more than $275,000 in kickbacks to Chun in the form of sham speaker fees and other benefits in return for Chun prescribing higher and larger quantities of Subsys. This case is being investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, and the Defense Criminal Investigation Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen. Additional details can be found in press release.

An information or 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.

 

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced Kathryn Smith (58, Lake Mary) to 12 months and 1 day in federal prison for wire fraud. In addition, Smith was ordered to pay $472,765.95 in restitution.

Smith had pleaded guilty on July 7, 2020.

According to court documents, Smith worked at a title insurance company.  From December 2012 to May 2019, she embezzled $472,765.95 from the company. Smith stole the funds by using her access to the title insurer’s bank accounts to transfer funds into accounts for which she had control. She also wrote checks to herself without authorization. In addition, Smith used funds from the title insurer to pay her personal credit card bills, insurance for her adult child, and other miscellaneous personal expenses.         

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

Jacksonville, Florida – Jason Brian Goff (44, Starke) has pleaded guilty to attempted production of child pornography. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to 30 years, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the

plea agreement , in August 2019, two 14-year-old Clay High School students reported that they had seen what they believed was a camera lens, concealed within a locked gym locker, in the Clay High School girls’ locker room. When school administrators unlocked the locker, they discovered a cellphone taped to the side wall of the locker with the lens pointed out of a pre-fabricated hole.

A forensic analysis of the phone yielded a video, lasting 30 minutes, which had been filmed from a window looking into the locker room where female students were captured changing clothes. At the end of the video, the phone had been panned down to show the identification badge of Clay High School Custodian Jason Goff.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Goff on September 13, 2019. Goff later admitted that he had tried filming girls in the locker room at least three times from different vantage points.

Forensic analyses of other electronic devices belonging to Goff revealed additional images from the girls’ high school locker room and a collection of child pornography, to include a video and images of adults sexually abusing children of various ages, including images of infants.  

This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.

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

Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced Anthony Kenty Soto-Lopes (39, Orlando) to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for aiding and abetting the making of a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. In January 2020, Judge Mendoza also sentenced Soto-Lopes’s three co-defendants to federal prison terms: Misael Adorno-Ortega (25, Orange City) to 7 years for aiding and abetting the making of a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon; Ivan Jomar Melendez-Ortiz (24, Orlando) to 37 months for making a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer; and Jose Gonzalez-Rodriguez (34, Davenport) to 8 months for making false statements to a licensed firearms dealer. All four men had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.

According to court documents, in October 2018, Soto-Lopes and Adorno-Ortega agreed to assist each other in acquiring firearms and shipping them to purchasers in Puerto Rico. Because they were previously convicted felons, Soto-Lopes and Adorno-Ortega could not purchase the firearms themselves. Instead, they recruited straw purchasers, including Melendez-Ortiz and Gonzalez-Rodriguez, to purchase firearms for them. Between October 2018 and June 2019, Soto-Lopes and Adorno-Ortega had the straw purchasers buy approximately 49 firearms from various firearms dealers in Central Florida. Melendez-Ortiz and Gonzalez-Rodriguez lied on the forms that they submitted to the firearms dealers by indicating that they were purchasing the firearms for their own use, when in fact they were purchasing the firearms for Soto-Lopes and Adorno-Ortega. Soto-Lopes and Adorno-Ortega then shipped the firearms to purchasers in Puerto Rico. Many of the firearms were AK-style firearms with high-capacity magazines.

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

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

Tampa, FL – U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez today announced that the Middle District of Florida has received $2,879,856 from the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, through its component, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), to fund efforts that combat human trafficking and provide vital services to trafficking victims throughout the United States.

“The scourge of human trafficking is the modern-day equivalent of slavery, brutally depriving victims of basic human rights and essential physical needs as it erodes their sense of dignity and self-worth,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “The Department of Justice is relentless in its fight against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.  Working with state and local law enforcement and community victim service providers, we will continue to bring these criminals to justice and deliver critical aid to survivors.”

“These awards will assist our partners as they continue the critically important work of rescuing, recovering, and assisting victims of the heinous crime of human trafficking reclaim their lives,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “We will continue to aggressively go after the perpetrators of these horrible crimes and support our partners and the victims, in every way possible.” 

Nationally, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) awarded over $97.4 million to state, local and tribal jurisdictions, service providers and task forces all over the country, while OJP’s National Institute of Justice awarded the remaining $3.5 million to support research and evaluation on human trafficking. Awards were made to the following recipients to support efforts that combat human trafficking and/or provide services for human trafficking survivors:

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc.                              $500,000                                                                                                       Citrus Health Network, Inc.  $499,995 United Way of Pasco County, Inc.     $498,000 Goodwill Industries – Suncoast, Inc.     $349,895 Latisha’s Home Foundation Florida, LLC $350,000 Living Above the Noise, Inc.  $681,966

“Human trafficking is a massive global enterprise with roots in cities and communities here in America and across the world,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “The Office of Justice Programs is using all the resources at its disposal to help our state, local and tribal partners uncover and eradicate trafficking operations and help victims open the door to a new life.”

 

Grants awarded under fiscal year (FY) 2020 OVC programs aim to enhance the quality and quantity of services available to survivors of human trafficking. Specific programs:

 

• The Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking program awards over $22.7 million total.  OVC awards over $17.7 million to 27 programs to support the effectiveness of collaborative and multidisciplinary task forces to combat human trafficking.  The purpose of this program is to develop and strengthen programs for victims of human trafficking, including enhancing the capacity of law enforcement and other stakeholders to identify victims and provide justice for those victims through the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers.  OVC also awards nearly $5 million in grants to three organizations for training and technical assistance for the task forces. 

 

• The Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Human Trafficking program awards over $35.1 million total to 73 organizations to provide six to 24 months of transitional or short-term housing assistance for trafficking victims, including rental, utilities or related expenses, such as security deposits and relocation costs.  The grants will also provide funding to help victims locate permanent housing, secure employment and receive occupational training and counseling.

 

• The Improving Outcomes for Child and Youth Victims of Human Trafficking program awards over $4.2 million total to four recipients to integrate human trafficking policy and programming at the state or tribal level.  This program will enhance coordinated, multidisciplinary and statewide approaches to at-risk populations to improve outcomes for children and youth who are victims of human trafficking.

 

• The Preventing Trafficking of Girls program awards $1.8 million total to four organizations, including a training and technical assistance provider, to support prevention and early intervention services, including mentoring and other direct support services for girls who are at risk of or are victims of sex trafficking.

 

• The Services for Minor Victims of Sex Trafficking program gives over $6.8 million to four recipients to develop, expand and strengthen assistance programs for minor victims of sex trafficking.  Under this program, the funded states, tribes, and units of local government will provide (directly and through partnerships) an array of services that minor victims of human trafficking often require to address their need for safety, security, and healing.

 

• The Services for Minor Victims of Labor Trafficking program awards nearly $2 million total to three organizations to develop, expand, or strengthen victim service programs for minor victims of labor trafficking whose victimization occurred when they were under the age of 18.

 

• The Services for Victims of Human Trafficking program awards more than $23.6 million to 43 organizations to support services specific to victims of human trafficking.

 

• The Specialized Training and Technical Assistance on Housing for Victims of Human Trafficking program awards $643,163 total to deliver specialized training and technical assistance to victim service organizations to enhance their ability to provide appropriate housing for victims of human trafficking.

 

• OVC awards the Promoting Employment Opportunities for Survivors of Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Project continuation funding in the amount of $300,000 to increase access to quality educational and employment opportunities for survivors of human trafficking.

 

Grants awarded under FY 2020 NIJ programs aim to understand law enforcement practices with regard to preventing and responding to victims of trafficking. Specific programs:

 

• The Research and Evaluation of Trafficking in Persons program awards over $2.5 million total to four organizations to build upon research and evaluation efforts to better understand, prevent and respond to trafficking in persons in the United States.

 

• The Research on Law Enforcement Responses to Sex Trafficking of Minors program awards nearly $1 million to understand how law enforcement practices with regard to preventing and responding to the sex trafficking of minors have evolved since passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000.  NIJ was specifically interested in understanding how widely law enforcement agencies have adopted practices based on the perspective that the minor is a victim rather than a delinquent and the challenges that agencies have faced in adopting such practices.

 

For a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and jurisdictions that will receive funding, visit: https://www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh241/files/media/document/ovchumantraffickingfactsheet.pdf. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
 

The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

 

 

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Jesus Soto-Martinez (41, Michoacan, Mexico) to 21 years and 3 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, forcibly interfering with a lawful boarding, and knowingly using fire to commit a felony offense.

Soto-Martinez had pleaded guilty on November 20, 2019.

According to court documents, on February 19, 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter STEADFAST interdicted a go-fast vessel (GFV) carrying Soto-Martinez and his co-conspirators in international waters about 378 nautical miles south of Acapulco, Mexico. The defendants were carrying approximately 2,000 kilograms of cocaine on the GFV. During the pursuit of the vessel, Jose Varges-Merida, a co-defendant, refused to comply with the USCG commands to stop and steered the GFV in the direction of the USCG vessel carrying its law enforcement detachment, causing the USCG vessel to significantly alter course and momentarily become unstable. The coxswain was forced to make evasive maneuvers to avoid the GFV from running over the USCG vessel and its crewmen. The USCG was then able to stop the GFV by using several rounds of disabling fire.

During the boarding of the GFV, Soto-Martinez intentionally started a fire onboard the GFV by lighting one of the fuel barrels on fire. After jumping off the GFV, Soto-Martinez clung to the side of the GFV and lifted up the tarp covering the cocaine bales, seemingly in an effort to ensure the nearby fire spread to the load of drugs. Almost immediately, the fire spread out of control and eventually engulfed the entire vessel. It took 90 minutes to extinguish. The majority of the GFV was burned to the waterline and the vast majority of cocaine was burned to an unsalvageable extent.

“I am extremely grateful to our U.S. Attorney partners for helping us complete the cycle of justice,” said Rear Admiral Brian Penoyer, the 11th Coast Guard District commander.  “This case demonstrates the lengths smugglers are willing to go to avoid getting caught and the dangers Coast Guard men and women face as we continue to keep these drugs off the streets and out of our homes.”

This case was investigated by the Panama Express Strike Force, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) comprised of agents and analysts from the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force South. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. The case was prosecuted Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza.

Fort Myers, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Advanced Imaging of Port Charlotte, LLC, a radiology center headquartered in Port Charlotte, Florida, has agreed to pay $501,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare and Tricare, a health care program for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families.   

As part of the settlement, the United States contends that Advanced Imaging knowingly submitted claims to Medicare and Tricare by (1) administering dye-contrast scans without direct physician supervision as required by Federal regulations and (2) improperly billing for services performed by doctors who were not properly credentialed by Medicare.   

“This settlement reflects our continuing efforts to protect our military and their families, our community, and the taxpayers by ensuring that the care provided to beneficiaries of government-funded healthcare programs is consistent with federal regulations,” said United States Attorney Chapa Lopez. “We will continue to hold healthcare providers accountable when they provide services by individuals who are not credentialed, licensed, or appropriately supervised.” 

“Working alongside our investigative partners, The Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is committed to protecting the integrity of the U.S. Military Healthcare program,” said Cynthia A. Bruce, Special Agent in Charge, DCIS Southeast Field Office.  “DCIS appreciates the continual support of the U.S. Attorney's Office throughout Florida for their efforts to recoup financial losses which will be used for the care of our military beneficiaries.”

This settlement resulted from a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, DCIS, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The investigation was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Sullivan.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.  The civil settlement resolves the following captioned cases: United States, et al. v. KMH Cardiology Centres, Inc., et al., 2:16-cv-618-TPB-MRM, and United States of America, et al. v. SAVN Administrative Services, Inc., et al., 2:16-cv-622-SPC-MRM.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the filing of a criminal complaint charging Gregory Thomas Garcia (34, Orange Park) with commercial sex trafficking of a child. If convicted, Garcia faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. 

According to the complaint, beginning at least by October 2019, Garcia began communicating via text message with a minor victim, who was 16 years old at the time. A special agent with Homeland Security Investigations discovered the text messages between Garcia and the victim while investigating a separate crime. The victim confirmed to the special agent and a detective with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office that she had met with Garcia more than 20 times, and on each occasion Garcia had paid her to allow Garcia to sexually abuse her. 

The victim also disclosed to agents additional messages that she had exchanged with Garcia via Snapchat. The victim agreed to let agents take over her Snapchat account in order to conduct an undercover investigation of Garcia.

From September 21-23, 2020, an undercover agent, posing as the victim, communicated with Garcia via the Snapchat account. In those communications, Garcia arranged to meet the victim in a parking lot and agreed to provide the victim with $150, a Sprite soda, and Starburst candy in exchange for the victim allowing Garcia to sexually abuse her. On September 23, 2020, Garcia obtained money, a Sprite soda, and Starburst candy, and traveled to the location where he had expected to meet with the victim. Garcia was then arrested by law enforcement.

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

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.

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

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II today sentenced Jonathan Cruz Carino (28, Ocala) to two and a half years in federal prison for possession of a firearm affecting commerce by a convicted felon. Carino had pleaded guilty on June 22, 2020. 

According to court documents, on May 10, 2019, City of Ocala police officers responded to a call concerning a potential shooting. Upon arrival, they located Carino and a juvenile in a wooded area adjacent to a boat. A search of the boat revealed two loaded handguns concealed under a tarp. The juvenile told authorities that Carino had been trying to sell the firearms. The FBI laboratory subsequently confirmed a substantial DNA profile from Carino on one of the firearms. Carino has previous state felony convictions for drug possession and the sale of drugs near a place of worship. As a consequence, he is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law.

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

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

 

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced James Aaron Anderson, Jr. (37, Jacksonville) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. Anderson had pleaded guilty on July 2, 2019.

According to court documents, on August 3, 2018, at approximately 2:00 a.m., an officer from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO), in a marked patrol unit, began following a Chevy Tahoe due to signs of a possibly impaired driver. As the officer began to turn on his emergency lights, the Tahoe made a quick lane change in an effort to evade the marked unit. The Tahoe then fled at a high rate of speed, as multiple JSO marked units pursued it. The Tahoe eventually became stuck in a grassy area when it attempted to turn around. JSO officers arrested the driver, whom they identified as Anderson, the sole occupant in the vehicle. 

A search of Anderson’s jacket revealed a .22 caliber revolver, loaded with six rounds of ammunition, and drugs. Subsequent investigation by law enforcement determined that Anderson had been previously convicted of eight prior felonies, including six serious drug offenses, qualifying him as an Armed Career Criminal.

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin C. Frein and David B. Mesrobian.

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

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced Richard Franklin Jensen, III (34, Atlanta), a licensed attorney in Georgia, to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor. The court also ordered Jensen to forfeit the electronic devices he had used in the commission of the offenses.

Jensen had been found guilty by a jury on November 22, 2019. The court made a specific finding that Jensen obstructed justice when he lied under oath during the trial. The court also found that Jensen used his special skills as a trained attorney to fabricate a defense, claiming that he had been exercising his First Amendment rights and conducting research for a book he was writing while falsely implicating his former law professor in his crimes.

According to the evidence presented at trial, between May 23 and June 1, 2015, Jensen communicated on a social media website, via email, and over text messages with someone he believed to be a single mom looking for a man to sexually abuse her 12-year-old daughter. In reality, Jensen was talking to an undercover agent. During the conversations, Jensen told the “mom” that she had found the guy that she had been looking for, and that he was willing to travel from Atlanta to the Tampa Bay area to teach the child about sex and the “art of pleasing a man.” In addition to providing graphic details about the sexual abuse he wanted to perform on the child, Jensen asked the “mom” to prepare the child for the sexual encounter by breaking the child’s hymen in advance of his visit to Tampa.

Jensen planned to abuse the child over a period of time, stating that “it couldn’t be a one-time thing,” since girls her age form attachments to the person with whom they have their first sexual encounter. In his process of grooming the child, Jensen promised to buy “sexy big girl clothes and underwear,” complimented the child’s “sexy little body,” and wanted the mom to let the child watch pornography so the child could prepare for sex with Jensen.

Jensen also emailed and messaged the purported child, and graphically described the sexual abuse that he wished to engage in with the child. Jensen also sent multiple explicit pictures of himself to the mom to share with the child.

“Our communities are safer today with this child predator being put behind bars,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Micah McCombs.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa M. Thelwell and Francis D. Murray.

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

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II today sentenced Duvale Lamar Van Dyke (31, Ocala) to 37 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition affecting commerce by a convicted felon.  Van Dyke entered a guilty plea to the offense on June 17, 2020. 

According to the plea agreement, on January 1, 2020, City of Ocala police officers stopped Van Dyke in his automobile because of an active warrant for his arrest. A search of Van Dyke’s automobile revealed a loaded firearm, a jar of marijuana, and body armor intended to protect against armor-piercing rifle rounds. Officers also located a .223 caliber rifle round in Van Dyke’s pants pocket. Van Dyke admitted that all of these items belonged to him. As a previously convicted felon, Van Dyke is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

 This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the City of Ocala Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence and enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes. For more information on Project Guardian visit www.justice.gov/projectguardian. 

           

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the unsealing of an indictment charging nine members of a drug trafficking organization based out of Tampa (please see chart for details). The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit a firearm used in the offenses, and any monies traceable to the offenses. 

According to the indictment, from November 2019 through September 10, 2020, the defendants conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl. The indictment also charges several defendants with the distribution of fentanyl, possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it, possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute it, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

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 Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Tampa Police Department, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlie D. Connally.

This investigation is also the result of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

Defendant

(Age, Residence)

Charges

 

Maximum Penalties

Diego Perez Ortiz

(46, Tampa)

 

1) Conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 5 or more kilograms of cocaine and 400 or more grams of fentanyl

2) Distribution of fentanyl ( 4 counts)

3) Possession of 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute

4) Possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute

1) Minimum mandatory of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison              

2) Maximum term of 20 years in federal prison, per count

3) Minimum mandatory term of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison

4) Maximum term of 20 years in federal prison

Ramon Alers Ramos

(45, Tampa)

Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 or more kilograms of cocaine and 400 or more grams of fentanyl

Minimum mandatory term of 10 years, and up to life in federal prison

Carlos Acosta Martinez

(46, Tampa)

Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 or more kilograms of cocaine and 400 or more grams of fentanyl

Minimum mandatory term of 10 years, and up to life in federal prison

Andres Garcia Quinones

(48, Caguas, Puerto Rico)

Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 or more kilograms of cocaine

Minimum mandatory term of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison

Izamhomy Valverdi Caraballo

(34, Tampa)

 

 

Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 or more kilograms of cocaine

Minimum mandatory term of imprisonment of 10 years, and up to life, in federal priosn

Edwin Rivera Fonseca

(26, Tampa)

 

1) Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 or more kilograms of cocaine

2) Possession of 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute

3) Possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute

1) Minimum mandatory term of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison     

2) Minimum mandatory term of imprisonment of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison

3) Maximum term of 20 years in federal prison

Antonio Rivera

(29, Tampa)

 

 

1) Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine

2) Possession of 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute

3) Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

 

1) Minimum mandatory term of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison

2) Minimum mandatory term of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison

3) Minimum mandatory term of imprisonment of 5 years to run consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed up to life imprisonment

Kris Ralf Salvi

(27, Tampa)

Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl

Maximum term of 20 years in federal prison

Elleric Edwardo Alverio (41, Tampa)

 

1) Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl

2) Possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute

1) Maximum term of 20 years in federal prison

2) Maximum term of 20 years in federal prison

 

 

 

Tampa, Florida – United States District Judge Thomas Barber has sentenced Hong Truong (54, Dunedin) to 30 months in federal prison for the unlawful distribution of oxycodone outside the scope of professional practice. Truong was also ordered to pay a $500,000 criminal fine and a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $766,819, representing the proceeds of her illegal drug distribution.

Truong had pleaded guilty on April 24, 2020.

According to the court documents, Truong was a licensed pharmacist who owned and operated HP Pharmacy in Pinellas Park. Under federal regulations, pharmacists registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration, such as Truong, are responsible for the proper prescribing and dispensing of controlled substance prescriptions. At HP Pharmacy, Truong filled Schedule II controlled substance prescriptions for oxycodone and hydromorphone that were outside the usual course of professional practice and not issued for a legitimate medical purpose. In connection with these prescriptions, Truong ignored and failed to resolve red flags in violation of her responsibility as a pharmacist. For example, in return for filling prescriptions for 30 mg of oxycodone and 8 mg of hydromorphone, Truong charged and only accepted cash in a higher-than-market per-pill price, usually $5 - $6 per pill. Truong ordered a much higher volume of opiates for HP Pharmacy inventory than the average orders for other pharmacies in Florida and across the United States.

Truong also filled prescriptions for “opiate naïve” patients (those who have never previously been prescribed opiates) without consulting with the prescribing physician or the patient as to the need and diagnosis for the prescription. Many of Truong’s opiate patients were young and healthy-looking and traveled far distances to Truong’s small pharmacy, usually after visiting a prescribing physician located in Tampa. Truong and the pharmacy tech she employed, Jessica Evans, falsely noted on the back of many prescriptions that the prescription had been verified with the prescriber’s office when such was not the case. For her role in the conspiracy, Evans was sentenced to 25 months in federal prison on August 27, 2020.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and by the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit at the United States Attorney’s Office which focuses on opioid-related fraud and abuse by medical and health care professionals who have contributed to the prescription opioid epidemic. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelley Howard-Allen and Greg Pizzo.

 

Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Casey David Crowther (35, North Fort Myers) with one count of bank fraud, one count of making a false statement to a lending institution, and two counts of illegal monetary transactions. If convicted, Crowther faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for the bank fraud count and the false statement count and up to 10 years in federal prison for each illegal monetary transaction count. The indictment also notifies Crowther that the United States intends to forfeit a 2020 40-foot catamaran and $2,098,700, which are alleged proceeds of the offense.

 According to the indictment, beginning in or about April 2020, Crowther submitted a false and fraudulent Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan application and revised PPP loan application to an insured financial institution on behalf of his company, Target Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc. Specifically, Crowther falsely represented that the PPP funds would only be used for business-related purposes, and he falsely certified that the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage payments, lease payments, and utility payments on behalf of Target Roofing. These materially false, fraudulent, and misleading representations caused the Small Business Administration (SBA) to approve the PPP application and issue $2,098,700 in PPP funds. Crowther then unlawfully used the funds to wire $689,417 for the purchase of a 2020 40-foot catamaran boat and $100,000 in connection with a $722,474 promissory note.

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

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

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

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Trent Reichling.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday today sentenced Jhon Marin-Moreno (39, Medellin, Colombia) to 48 months in federal prison for smuggling goods from the United States. In addition, he was ordered to pay a money judgment in the amount of $20,000.

Marin-Moreno had pleaded guilty in June 2020.  

According to court documents, Marin-Moreno, a dual citizen of the United States and Colombia, arranged for individuals in Florida to acquire firearms for him, including numerous types of assault rifles. Marin-Moreno then illegally exported the firearms to Colombia concealed in packages containing household items. Marin-Moreno and his co-conspirators attempted to obliterate the serial numbers on the firearms so that they could not be traced. Some of the firearms were acquired to satisfy debts owed for drug purchases. Neither Marin-Moreno nor his co-conspirators applied for or obtained the necessary licenses for exporting defense articles as required by federal law.

On February 10, 2020, Marin-Moreno was detained while traveling through Panama and was immediately removed to the United States to face the charges in the indictment.

Marin-Moreno was previously convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, in 2012, of conspiracy to make false statements and representations to a federally licensed firearms dealer, in connection with a separate scheme to acquire firearms unlawfully.

 “This repeat criminal again thought he could thwart the laws of the United States by crossing international borders,” said HSI Tampa Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Micah McCombs. “Because of the unique international investigative authorities of HSI and our outstanding law enforcement partnerships with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Colombia’s Policía Fiscal y Aduanera (POLFA), a unit of the National Police of Colombia, he will now be held accountable for his crimes.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Colombia’s Policía Fiscal y Aduanera (POLFA), a unit of the National Police of Colombia. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Scruggs.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Adrian Kiraly, a/k/a “Bighi,”Andrei Andrei, a/k/a “Tony,” Bogdan Ardei, Nelu Onica, Vergiu Corneliu Galbenu, a/k/a “Cornel,” Ovidiu Meczak, a/k/a “Ovi,” Nedal Al-Khomos, Ovidiu Gabriel Musteata, and Doru Maris with conspiracy to commit access device fraud.  If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of seven years and six months. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States is seeking a money judgment in the amount of $112,780, the proceeds of the offense.

According to the indictment, between March 2019 and June 2020, the defendants stole debit/credit card information and funds from victims by placing skimmers on ATMs. After they removed the skimmers, the defendants downloaded the stolen account numbers and PIN numbers and re-encoded that data onto blank cards, thereby creating counterfeit or unauthorized debit or credit cards. The conspirators installed skimming devices and/or conducted these “cash out” operations in Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, and New York.   

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

This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the United States Secret Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie Hackenberry.

 

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Floyd C. Rivers (34, Tampa) to six years and five months in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Rivers to forfeit the firearm and ammunition used in the offense. 

Rivers had pleaded guilty on June 25, 2020.

According to court documents, on October 22, 2018, officers with the Tampa Police Department were looking for Rivers in West Tampa to take him into custody on outstanding warrants. When the officers located and approached Rivers, he fled, throwing a bag over a nearby fence as he ran. The officers eventually apprehended Rivers and recovered a loaded pistol from the discarded bag.

Rivers has multiple prior convictions for narcotics-related felonies and is therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. He has a previous conviction for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

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

This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence and enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes. For more information on Project Guardian visit www.justice.gov/projectguardian.

Tampa, Florida – David Naylor (58, Spring Hill) has pleaded guilty to theft of government funds. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Naylor engaged in a scheme to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In order to deceive and steal from the VA, Naylor made false representations regarding his physical limitations in connection with his application for VA Disability Compensation. Based on these false representations, the VA found that Naylor was entitled to Disability Compensation and other related benefits. In total, Naylor received $549,426.23 in VA benefits to which he was not entitled. Naylor also received $181,135.50 in Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits.

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

Jacksonville, FL - Rodney Allen, 43, of Beaufort, South Carolina, was sentenced today in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida, to 24 months in prison. Allen previously pleaded guilty to one count of intimidating and interfering with the employees of an abortion clinic by making a bomb threat and one count of making false statements to a Special Agent with the FBI.

“The Department of Justice will prosecute anyone who threatens to blow up people and places to the fullest extent of the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “These kinds of ghastly criminal threats unlawfully and unjustly injure innocent people. Violence and threats of violence have no place in this country.”

“Threats of violence to healthcare facilities or their employees are serious matters,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida. “Thanks to the quick response and diligence by our local and federal law enforcement partners, this case was investigated thoroughly and brought to a successful conclusion.”

According to court documents, on Aug.  29, 2019, Allen called the clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and said that someone was coming to blow it up. Allen made several other calls to the clinic that day in an attempt to interfere with its ability to provide services. Employees recognized Allen’s voice and were concerned that he would do something desperate, so they enlisted the help of a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officer to search the property. The FBI obtained toll records and subscriber information for the number used to make the bomb threat to the clinic and positively identified Allen as the caller. In a voluntary and surreptitiously recorded interview with the FBI, Allen falsely denied calling the clinic and stating that someone was coming to blow it up. 

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Columbia and Jacksonville Divisions. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Washington of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Sanjay Patel and Anna Gotfryd of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.

Rodney Allen, 43, of Beaufort, South Carolina, was sentenced today in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida, to 24 months in prison. Allen previously pleaded guilty to one count of intimidating and interfering with the employees of an abortion clinic by making a bomb threat and one count of making false statements to a Special Agent with the FBI.

“The Department of Justice will prosecute anyone who threatens to blow up people and places to the fullest extent of the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “These kinds of ghastly criminal threats unlawfully and unjustly injure innocent people. Violence and threats of violence have no place in this country.”

“Threats of violence to healthcare facilities or their employees are serious matters,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida. “Thanks to the quick response and diligence by our local and federal law enforcement partners, this case was investigated thoroughly and brought to a successful conclusion.”

According to court documents, on Aug.  29, 2019, Allen called the clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and said that someone was coming to blow it up. Allen made several other calls to the clinic that day in an attempt to interfere with its ability to provide services. Employees recognized Allen’s voice and were concerned that he would do something desperate, so they enlisted the help of a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officer to search the property. The FBI obtained toll records and subscriber information for the number used to make the bomb threat to the clinic and positively identified Allen as the caller. In a voluntary and surreptitiously recorded interview with the FBI, Allen falsely denied calling the clinic and stating that someone was coming to blow it up. 

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Columbia and Jacksonville Divisions. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Washington of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Sanjay Patel and Anna Gotfryd of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.

The Justice Department today announced that Target Recovery Towing Inc. (Target) has agreed to enter into a court-enforceable consent order to resolve allegations that it failed to obtain a legally required court order before auctioning off a car belonging to a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant who was deployed overseas. 

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Target on Aug. 18, 2020, alleging that the auction violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Under the proposed consent order, which is still subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Target must adopt new policies, pay the Marine $17,500, and pay a $2,500 civil penalty to the United States. 

The SCRA, which provides a wide variety of financial and housing protections to members of the military, prohibits towing companies from auctioning off servicemembers’ vehicles without a court order. The law places the burden on towing companies and other lienholders to determine whether the property in their possession belongs to a servicemember. The complaint alleges that several facts should have put Target on notice that the owner of this particular vehicle was a servicemember, including that the Marine's car had at least one military decal, military documents were in the car, her address of record was at a U.S. Marine Corps base, and she obtained her vehicle loan through Navy Federal Credit Union.

“This settlement should send a clear message that the Justice Department will not tolerate the illegal taking of servicemembers’ vehicles,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the department’s Civil Rights Division. “Servicemembers must be able to count on their country to protect their rights, and we are committed to doing just that.”

“I am pleased that we were able to reach a swift and effective resolution to this matter. The SCRA exists to protect the brave men and women of our Armed Forces serving overseas and minimize undue financial burdens associated with military deployments,” said Maria Chapa Lopez, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to aggressively hold accountable those businesses and institutions who are required to comply with the Act. Our brave servicemembers deserve nothing less.”

This lawsuit resulted from a referral to the Justice Department from the U.S. Marine Corps. Servicemembers and their dependents who believe their SCRA rights have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations may be found at http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/. The department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section and U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the country. Since 2011, the department has obtained over $474 million in monetary relief for over 120,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. Additional information on the Justice Department’s enforcement of the SCRA and other laws protecting servicemembers is available at www.servicemembers.gov.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Akbar Akram (44, Holiday) to serve a four-year term of federal probation for trafficking in protected water monitor lizards, in violation of the Lacey Act. The court also ordered Akbar to serve 90 days’ home detention and complete 288 hours of community service.

Akram had pleaded guilty on January 8, 2020.

According to the plea agreement, Akram admitted to illegally importing at least 20 live, water monitor lizards from the Philippines between January and December 2016, in violation of United States law and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Treaty. To avoid detection by United States customs authorities, the lizards were placed in socks, which were sealed closed with tape, and then concealed in the back panels of audio speakers or other electronic equipment. The equipment was then shipped via commercial carriers to Akram and his associate, who resided in Massachusetts. The customs declarations accompanying the shipments identified the content as audio speakers or similar electronics. Akram further admitted that he knew the monitor lizards he received had been imported into the United States in violation of CITES and the Endangered Species Act. Upon receiving the monitor lizards, he sold some of them to customers, including customers in Colorado, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.  

“Wildlife trafficking is harsh and cruel. Operation Sound of Silence revealed that baby lizards were illegally collected, inhumanely packaged, and internationally trafficked with many arriving into the United States injured, sick or dead,” said Edward Grace, Assistant Director for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service remains dedicated to working alongside federal and international law enforcement agencies to apprehend and bring to justice U.S. citizens who seek to profit from the exploitation of wildlife.”

Monitor lizard is the common name for lizards comprising the genus Varanus.  Monitor lizard species (there are approximately 70) are characterized by elongated necks, heavy bodies, long-forked tongues, strong claws, and long tails. Monitor lizards have a vast geographical range and are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Water monitor lizards are semi-aquatic monitor lizards endemic to South and Southeastern Asia. As their name suggests, they are water dependent and easily swim long distances. This ability has allowed them to inhabit many remote islands. Some species of water monitor lizard are common and abundant in the pet trade, while others are extremely rare and are found only on specific islands. In addition to suffering increasing habitat loss due to rainforest destruction, water monitor lizards are often illegally collected from the wild and killed for various uses. They are also targeted for their popularity in the international exotic pet trade. Exotic pet traders seek water monitor lizards due to their attractive patterns, unique colors, intelligence, and rarity. The yellow-headed water monitor (Varanus cumingi), the white-headed water monitor (Varanus nuchalis), and the marbled water monitor (Varanus marmoratus), are species of large monitor lizards endemic to the Philippines.

This case is part of Operation Sound of Silence, an ongoing effort by the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, in coordination with the Department of Justice, to bring to justice those involved in the illegal taking and trafficking in protected species, including water monitor lizards. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Colin P. McDonell and and Environmental Crimes Section Trial Attorneys Gary N. Donner and Erica H. Pencak.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Jimmy Ray Lightsey (40, Jacksonville) to 20 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute them, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. A jury found Lightsey guilty on January 23, 2020.

According to testimony presented at trial, on June 24, 2018, officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested Lightsey for driving without a valid license. A 9mm pistol and a bag of marijuana were observed, in plain view, inside Lightsey’s car. A search of the vehicle revealed additional marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, and empty baggies used for packaging narcotics. The pistol was later determined to have been stolen from a home in Jacksonville approximately two weeks earlier. At the time of the incident, Lightsey had multiple prior felony convictions, including for the sale or delivery of cocaine and attempted armed robbery with a weapon. 

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David B. Mesrobian and Beatriz Gonzalez.

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

Jacksonville, FL – U.S. District Judge Marcia M. Howard has sentenced Benjamin Hank Ratliff (37, Lake City) to 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The court also ordered Ratliff to forfeit a 2011 Lexus, which he had used to facilitate the offense. 

Ratliff had pleaded guilty on June 9, 2020.

According to court documents, between September 2017 and October 2018, Ratliff, along with his co-defendants, conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Lake City. Ratliff hid methamphetamine near stop signs or at different locations on side roads. His distributors and/or customers then retrieved the drugs and left money, in exchange, at the same location – sometimes hidden in a shoe or diaper. As part of their investigation, agents seized 429.823 grams of actual methamphetamine attributable to Ratliff. 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lake City Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Beatriz Gonzalez.
 

Orlando, Florida – A federal jury has found Tony Deshane Brown, a/k/a Antowayne Hill, a/k/a Antowayne Pollard (50, Orlando), guilty of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 16, 2020.   

Brown originally had been indicted on June 8, 2016. A superseding indictment was issued on March 11, 2020. 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Brown fled from an Orlando duplex, with baggies of cocaine packaged for sale, as agents and officers were preparing to execute an unrelated search warrant next door. Brown encountered officers at the rear of his residence where he had hoped to hide the cocaine. There, officers discovered 18 baggies of cocaine in a prescription bag that Brown had been carrying. 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orlando Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs, Jr.         

 

Orlando, Florida –A federal jury has found Wilmer Eduardo Mejia-Palacios (36, Orlando) guilty of four counts of making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer. Mejia-Palacios faces up to five years in federal prison on each count. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 16, 2020.

Mejia-Palacios had been indicted on February 12, 2020. A superseding indictment was returned on September 2, 2020.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Mejia-Palacios attempted to purchase firearms in Orlando on four separate occasions. In connection with those attempted purchases, Mejia-Palacios completed firearms transaction record: ATF 4473, claiming that he was a United States citizen. Those claims were false. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Firearm Purchase Program referred the case to agents at Homeland Security Investigations. 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Terry B. Livanos.

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

Tampa, Florida – Dr. Richard Davidson (41, Boca Raton) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. Davidson has also agreed to forfeit $2,472,087 to the United States, which represents the proceeds he obtained through the commission of the offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, in 2018, Davidson and his conspirators established a conglomerate of durable medical equipment (“DME”) supply companies. During the creation of the companies, they lied to Medicare to secure billing privileges. The scheme involved placing the companies in the names of straw owners. By concealing their true ownership, the conspirators secretly gained control of multiple companies, which Medicare prohibits. This enabled the conspirators to submit high volumes of illegal DME claims while attempting to evade law enforcement scrutiny. In one year, through the conglomerate, Davidson and his conspirators submitted more than $20 million in illegal DME claims, resulting in more than $10 million in payments from Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (“CHAMPVA”).

To attain such high volumes of claims, the conspirators used bribes and kickbacks. Specifically, Davidson and his conspirators illegally purchased thousands of signed doctors’ orders for DME braces from so-called “marketers.” The marketers, for their part, had generated the signed doctors’ orders under the guise of “telemedicine,” but no telemedicine had actually occurred. Instead, the “marketers” had bribed doctors to sign the DME brace orders that supported the illegal claims. Davidson and his conspirators paid millions to secure the illegal DME claims for submission to Medicare and CHAMPVA.

This case was investigated by the 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. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen A. Fiore.

Orlando, Florida –A federal jury has found Michael David Harrison (52, Sparks, NV) guilty of transportation of child pornography. Harrison faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 3, 2020.

Harrison had been indicted on December 4, 2019. 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Harrison transported multiple videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children from his home in Nevada to Florida. He then transported the videos on a cruise to the Bahamas. Agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection detected the videos on Harrison’s computer when he reentered the United States. Harrison was previously convicted, in 2009, of multiple sex offenses against victims under the age of 16.

This case was investigated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang. 

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

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Kurt Batucan Sheldon (29, Interlachen) with one count of production of child exploitation material and two counts of distribution of child exploitation material. If convicted, Sheldon faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, and up to 30 years, in federal prison for the production count and a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to 20 years, on each distribution count. In a previous detention hearing, held on September 14, 2020, the court ordered Sheldon detained pending further proceedings.

According to the indictment, Sheldon produced child exploitation material on May 3, 2020, and distributed child exploitation material on May 24 and May 26, 2016. 

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. 

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-2ICE or online via http://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form.

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

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