Northern District of Florida

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Perry, Florida, physician Eulogio Muncal Vizcarra, 71, was arrested yesterday on charges contained in a federal indictment.  U.S. Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced that the grand jury charged Vizcarra with 49 counts of unlawfully dispensing, or causing the dispensing of controlled substances.

According to the indictment, Vizcarra operated a medical business known as the Perry Family Medical Clinic on S. Jefferson Street in Perry, Florida, where Vizcarra is charged to have prescribed controlled substances to patients without sufficient medical necessity.  He allegedly prescribed these substances in quantities and dosages that caused patients to abuse, misuse, and become addicted to the drugs.  The indictment further alleges that Vizcarra prescribed controlled substances to patients knowing that the patients were addicted to and misusing these drugs, and that he continued to prescribe addictive controlled substances to patients even after learning that the patients had suffered overdoses on the drugs, were selling the drugs, or were ‘doctor shopping.’

He made his initial court appearance on the charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles A. Stampelos at the U.S. District Courthouse in Tallahassee today.  The trial is scheduled for April 14 before U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker at the U.S. District Courthouse in Tallahassee.

If convicted of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances, Vizcarra faces a term of up to 5, 10, or 20 years imprisonment depending upon the controlled substances involved, and a fine of up to $1,000,000.

This indictment is the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Florida Department of Health, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K. Mountin.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the Government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh and Special Agent in Charge James D. Robnett of the Tampa Field Office of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation joined today to announce their increased efforts to enforce federal income tax laws as the nation begins the tax-filing season. 

From Pensacola to Gainesville, legal actions for violations of tax and monetary laws have surged.  Recent trials found two guilty in Panama City of more than $500,000 in stolen identity refund fraud; six defendants throughout the district pleaded guilty in separate cases involving more than $3 million in tax fraud; and judgments of eight defendants in Pensacola, Panama City, and Tallahassee netted sentences ranging from 24 to 78 months, more than $6 million in forfeiture, and an estimated $900,000 in restitution.  These recent activities, along with the indictment of five more individuals, make up part of the increased enforcement efforts over the recent weeks.

Ms. Marsh cautioned would-be fraudsters, “As the number of crooks willing to steal identities and tax dollars has grown, so has our ability to track, investigate, arrest, and prosecute these cases.  We will pursue criminal prosecutions of all who engage in these illegal activities, with intensity.   Further, to those who contemplate filing fraudulent tax returns, the recent sentences handed down by our courts should serve as a warning that offenders face serious punishment.  Honest, hardworking taxpayers are entitled to this protection by law enforcement.  We are ready for tax season.”

SAC Robnett warned tax cheats, “Beware! As filing season approaches, many of you may believe you can get away with committing tax fraud.  But be warned:  the tenacious investigators of the IRS will not stop in their pursuit of those responsible for stealing from the federal government and the American people.”  In addressing the taxpaying public, SAC Robnett stated, “Our office, in partnership with prosecutors and law enforcement officers throughout the state, will dedicate the necessary resources to make an impact in the fight against fraud.  You, the taxpaying members of the public, should have confidence that those who do not pay their fair share of taxes, and who steal your hard earned money, will be held accountable.”

Over the last year, here are some examples of notable tax cases in our District:

Pensacola:

January 31, 2014: Douglas Edward Henderson, 51, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with five counts of submitting a false tax return, two counts of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return, one count of mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.  As the president of Henderson Electric Heat and Air Conditioning and Henderson Electric, Inc., Henderson caused personal expenses to be paid from business accounts for the years 2008 through 2010, and caused their false classification as business expenses associated with contracts between his companies and MacDill Air Force base.  These items were then falsely deducted on corporate tax returns and the personal income was never reported on his individual income tax return, for which he later provided false invoices to the IRS in an attempt to conceal the crime.  Henderson also engaged in a fraudulent short-sale of a condominium causing the mortgage company to lose nearly $500,000. Henderson is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers on April 17, 2014, at 9 a.m. 

Panama City:

February 6, 2014: Angel Done, 54, of New York, New York, was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard Smoak to 78 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in conjunction with other defendants in the amount of $245,747.32.  Done was the last of five defendants sentenced to federal prison for various federal tax violations.  Previously, Judge Smoak sentenced Wilson Calle, 55, of New York, New York, and Blaine Johnston, 62, of Marianna, Florida, each to 78 months in prison; Wilfredo Rodriguez, 53, of Miami, Florida, to 27 months in prison; and Diana Gonzalez, 63, of Miami, Florida, to 63 months in prison.  Between 2008 and 2009, the defendants prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns seeking more than $19 million in refunds. 

February 6, 2014: Versiah M. Taylor, 33, and Tracy L. Collier, 48, both of Panama City, Florida, were found guilty by a federal jury on multiple counts of tax fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft.  Between September 9, 2011, and August 15, 2012, the defendants prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns seeking more than $500,000 in refunds using the personal identifying information (PII) of inmates of the Florida Department of Corrections, Bay County residents, and others.  Collier, who was incarcerated during the conspiracy, provided the personal information of inmates by disguising the social security numbers and dates of birth as legal case citations and then mailing them to Taylor.  Taylor orchestrated the filing of multiple tax returns using false employment information and the PII of other individuals.  Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for May 7, 2014, before United States District Judge Richard Smoak.

Tallahassee:

January 23, 2014:  Jerry Samuel Joseph, 33, originally of Tallahassee, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to file false tax claims for refund, theft of government property, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft.  Joseph filed at least 71 false tax returns totaling more than $315,000. Joseph is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Hinkle on April 29, 2014.  Rose Vernet, a co-conspirator who helped cash some of the refund checks produced by this fraudulent scheme, received a term of probation and was ordered to pay $20,714.45 in restitution on November 14, 2013.

February 4, 2014:  Ashley Assgill Glover, 28, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property, one count of possession of unauthorized devices, and one count of aggravated identity theft.  Following a traffic stop by the Tallahassee Police Department, Glover was found with the PII of more than 800 victims and debit cards loaded with tax refunds linked to fraudulent tax returns.  Glover was stopped two more times in the following eight months by various state and local law enforcement agencies, each time in the possession of the PII of hundreds of victims.  To date, the IRS has identified fraudulent tax returns using that PII, which claim approximately $369,848 in fraudulent tax refunds.  Glover is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Mark E. Walker on April 18, 2014.

February 11, 2014:  Ricardo Jean-Louis, 24, of North Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty to theft of government funds, unlawful use of an access device, and aggravated identity theft.  Between January and February 2012, Jean-Louis obtained six pre-paid debit cards that had been loaded with fraudulently obtained tax refunds totaling more than $50,000.  The tax returns had been filed in the names of unwitting victims.  Jean-Louis used several of the cards at Tallahassee banks and retailers to obtain more than $10,000 in cash and merchandise.  He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District court Judge Robert L. Hinkle on May 2, 2014 at 9 a.m.

February 14, 2014:  U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Hinkle sentenced William “Geri” Eaton, 60, to 27 months in prison for tax evasion and making false statements in a matter involving a health care benefit program.  Between August 2010 and December 2011, Eaton willfully evaded payment of more than $650,000 in federal income taxes by concealing the nature, location, and extent of his assets, by making false and misleading statements and material omissions concerning the existence of IRS liens on his property, and by opening a bank account using a false social security number.  Eaton also admitted making false statements and submitting false documents in a matter involving Sacred Heart Health System.  

Gainesville:

February 13, 2014:  Ricardo Jacinto Rodriguez, 37, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to file false tax claims for refund, possession of unauthorized access devices, and aggravated identity theft.  Rodriguez admitted to providing PII of more than 100 patients from the Veteran’s Administration, where he worked as a volunteer, to his co-defendant, Andropolis Mitchell, who already pleaded guilty to his participation in the fraudulent tax scheme.  The investigation determined that an estimated 65 false claims for tax refunds were filed in an attempt to obtain more than $550,000, of which the defendants received approximately $212,000.  Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19, 2014, before U.S. District Court Judge Mark E. Walker.

These cases were the result of investigations by the Special Agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, its federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys of the Northern District of Florida.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – William “Geri” Eaton, 60, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for tax evasion and for making false statements in a matter involving a health care benefit program. 

Between 2004 and 2008, Eaton, a realtor, earned more than $1.18 million in taxable income.  He failed to file his federal income tax returns as they became due and instead, in the fall of 2009, Eaton filed late returns for all four prior tax years.  His total tax due, not counting interest and penalties, was more than $472,000.  In early 2010, Eaton entered an agreement to pay his back-taxes in monthly installments of $1,000.  He made six payments, and then stopped paying altogether.  On April 29, 2011, Eaton opened an account under a false social security number at a Tallahassee credit union.  One week later, he sold his beach house in St. Teresa, Florida, for more than $1.3 million.  To conceal the money from the IRS, Eaton deposited the $727,437 in proceeds he received from the sale into his fraudulently-opened credit union account.  He later transferred a portion of this money to a Pensacola credit union account, which he had also opened under a false social security number.  Over the course of the next seven months, Eaton spent more than $125,000 of the sales proceeds.  He made no payments on his taxes during this period. 

In September 2011, Eaton was treated for a heart attack at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.  He applied to the hospital for financial assistance in paying his bill.  In his application for assistance, Eaton falsely claimed that he had a single checking account with a balance of only $1,588, when, in fact, the balances in his accounts totaled well over $600,000.  In listing his assets on the application, Eaton also fraudulently omitted the fact that he had purchased two vehicles for $31,000 only a month before.  In reliance on Eaton’s false statements, Sacred Heart Hospital wrote off $79,622 in charges for Eaton’s care.

In November 2011, the IRS levied Eaton’s fraudulently-opened credit union accounts and obtained approximately $610,000 as payments toward his tax liabilities. 

In November 2013, Eaton pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion and making false statements in a matter involving a health care benefit program.  In addition to his prison sentence, Eaton was ordered to pay $99,126 in restitution to the IRS and to Sacred Heart Health System. 

In announcing the sentence handed down by the court, United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh expressed her deep gratitude for the work of the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case, as well as the agents of IRS Criminal Investigations who investigated the case.  Ms. Marsh said, “Every year, millions of hard-working Americans comply with the law and pay their federal taxes.  Those who evade and cheat the system hurt all of us.  Criminal tax prosecutions are often difficult and complicated to investigate and prosecute, but they are necessary to deter potential violators and promote respect for the tax laws.  The sentence in this case should serve as a stark warning to those who choose to cheat their fellow Americans by failing to pay their fair share.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen Rhew-Miller.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced thatAlbert Hendrik “Henk” Van Der Merwe, 46, of Crawfordville, Florida, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert Hinkle to serve 12 months in prison for importing merchandise under false invoice and for receiving unregistered silencers.  Van Der Merwe will serve a three-year term of supervised release after his incarceration, during which he will be subject to search by his probation officer.  As a consequence of this conviction, he cannot own or possess firearms.  The court also entered an order forfeiting Van Der Merwe’s interest in three silencers and in an Uzi 9 millimeter carbine.  

Van Der Merwe was arrested on April 10, 2013, after agents intercepted three silencers that he had ordered from South Africa under an invoice declaring them to be motorcycle parts.  Messages retrieved from Van Der Merwe’s e-mail accounts reflected that he had ordered another silencer from the same supplier in the past, that he wanted these shipped “discretely,” and that he was interested in obtaining additional silencers for friends.  He requested that the silencer for the Uzi be “full-auto rated.”  Examination of the weapon determined that the Uzi had been converted to a machine gun.

U.S. Attorney Marsh credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the U.S. Customs Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael T. Simpson. 

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Following a six-day trial, a jury found Versiah M. Taylor, 33, and Tracy L. Collier, 48, guilty yesterday evening on multiple counts of tax fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft.  Taylor and Collier are both from Panama City.

Evidence presented at trial proved that between September 9, 2011, and August 15, 2012, the defendants prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns seeking more than $500,000 in refunds.  The defendants used the personally identifiable information (PII) of inmates of the Florida Department of Corrections, Bay County residents, and others to file fraudulent income tax returns.  Collier, who was incarcerated during the conspiracy, provided the personal information of inmates by disguising the social security numbers and dates of birth as legal case citations and mailed them to Taylor.  Taylor, operating out of a small office that he rented in the Steele Boys Bail Bond’s Plaza in Panama City, orchestrated the filing of multiple tax returns creating false employment information and using the PII of other individuals.  These returns each claimed fraudulent refunds between $3,000 and $9,530 and were to be deposited onto prepaid debit cards, which were then mailed to various locations throughout Bay County, Florida.

Taylor and Collier each face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release, restitution, criminal forfeiture, and a $100 special monetary assessment.  Additionally, for each count of aggravated identity theft, Taylor and Collier face a minimum mandatory sentence of two years in prison that is to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed.

Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for May 7, 2014, before United States District Judge Richard Smoak.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katy Risinger.

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA — United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced today that Angel Done, 54, of New York, New York, was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard Smoak to 78 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in conjunction with other defendants in the amount of $245,747.32. 

Done is the fifth and final defendant sentenced to federal prison as a result of charges brought against him and four other co-defendants by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, alleging various federal tax violations.  On December 19, 2013, Judge Smoak imposed the following sentences on the other defendants:

• Wilson Calle, 55, of New York, New York, was sentenced to 78 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in conjunction with other defendants in the amount of $245,747.32;
• Blaine Johnston, 62, of Marianna, Florida, was sentenced to 78 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in conjunction with other defendants in the amount of $245,747.32;
• Wilfredo Rodriguez, 53, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $160,490.93; and
• Diana Gonzalez, 63, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to 63 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in conjunction with other defendants in the amount of $245,747.32.

U.S. Attorney Marsh praised the investigators and prosecutors for bringing this case to a successful conclusion and said, “As the number of greedy offenders willing to steal identities and tax dollars has grown, so has our ability to track, investigate, arrest, and prosecute these cases, effectively and cooperatively.  We are pursuing those engaged in these schemes, with intensity, and we are ready for tax season.” 

During the federal trial in September, prosecutors presented evidence that between 2008 and 2009, the defendants prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns seeking more than $19 million in refunds.  The defendants falsely reported that creditors of the defendants and their clients had withheld large amounts of federal income taxes and asserted that the creditors had paid those amounts over to the IRS.  As a result of the fraudulently overstated income tax withholding, the tax returns filed on behalf of the defendants or their clients claimed large refunds, to which they were not entitled.

Following the trial, Done, Calle, and Johnston were found guilty by a federal jury of conspiring to defraud the United States by filing, or assisting others in filing, false federal income tax returns and of multiple counts of filing false federal income tax returns.  Rodriguez was found guilty by the jury of filing a false federal income tax return seeking a false and fraudulent refund.  Gonzalez had previously entered a guilty plea to the charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing, or assisting others in filing, false federal income tax returns seeking false and fraudulent refunds. 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Ryan Love and Randall J. Hensel.     

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Pensacola resident Clay C. Keys, 53, was sentenced today on his guilty plea to a federal indictment charging him with the receipt and distribution of child pornography and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.  Keys was previously convicted in state court for a lewd and lascivious act upon a child, and was a registered sexual offender.

Keys was found guilty of using peer-to-peer software between April 2009 and August 2013 to share thousands of images of child pornography online.  A federal search warrant was obtained for Keys’ residence in August 2013, and law enforcement officers discovered more than 10,000 images and videos of child pornography.  Chief United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers sentenced Keys to 15 years in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

 Keys was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, which will run concurrent with his sentence for child pornography. 

In announcing the sentence imposed by the court, United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, the Pensacola Police Department, and other members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, whose joint investigation led to the complaint in the case. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced that Ashley Assgill Glover, 28, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty today to one count of theft of government property, one count of possession of unauthorized devices, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Glover is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker on April 18, 2014.  On the first two counts, she faces maximum penalties of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  On the third count, she faces a mandatory two-year term of imprisonment that must run consecutive to the sentence imposed on the other counts, one year of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

On March 12, 2012, the Tallahassee Police Department stopped Glover and found her in possession of personal identifying information (PII) for more than 800 victims.  Debit cards loaded with tax refunds linked to fraudulent tax returns were also found.  To date, the IRS has identified fraudulent tax returns using that PII, which claim approximately $369,848 in fraudulent tax refunds.

Three months after the Tallahassee Police Department incident, Glover was stopped by Coral Springs Police Department and found in possession of PII for more than 160 victims.  Then five months later, Glover was stopped by the Florida Department of Agriculture, and was found in possession of yet another list containing PII for more than 600 victims.

The case was investigated by the Tallahassee Police Department, the United States Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Florida Department of Agriculture.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Winifred L. Acosta Nesmith.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA - - United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced that Ricky L. Blankenship, age 43, of Pensacola, was sentenced today on federal charges related to a multi-year conspiracy to distribute cocaine throughout Pensacola, Florida.

           The investigation into Blankenship culminated in November 2013, when Blankenship and his co-defendant were apprehended leaving a residence in which over $260,000.00 in cash was located.  The co-defendant was found to be in possession of eight (8) kilograms of cocaine when stopped by law enforcement.  Telephone records corroborated Blankenship’s illicit relationship with the co-defendant and the deliverer of the seized cocaine.  Over the multi-year criminal conspiracy, Blankenship was responsible for over five hundred (500) kilograms of cocaine entering into the Northern District of Florida.  This, coupled with his prior criminal history, was considered by the Court at sentencing. 

            Blankenship was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Lacey A. Collier to life imprisonment to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.  Blankenship was also ordered to forfeit multiple vehicles, gold vehicle rims, a Rolex watch, diamond earrings, six flat screen televisions, and over $260,000.00 in cash.

            The prosecution was a result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pensacola Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg.

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced today that a Gainesville grand jury returned a seven-count indictment against Samuel J. Cusumano, 64, of Orlando, Florida, charging him with wire fraud violations of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.

The indictment alleges that Cusumano, as the founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swedish company Storehouse Credit Union Ek., promoted and disseminated materials claiming to offer its members the opportunity to obtain high-yield investments.  The materials purported to provide a variety of financial benefits and services, as well as falsely represented that the accounts yielded monthly returns in excess of 5 percent.  Through these misrepresentations, Cusumano induced investors into making more than $17 million in payments and deposits to Storehouse Credit Union Ek., through which he diverted more than $600,000 to his personal benefit.

If convicted, Cusumano faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count in the indictment.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the FBI. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory McMahon.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced that Douglas Edward Henderson, 51, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty today to an Information charging him with five counts of submitting a false tax return, two counts of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return, one count of mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Henderson admitted that as the president of Henderson Electric Heat and Air Conditioning and Henderson Electric, Inc., both located in Okaloosa County, Florida, he caused personal expenses to be paid from the business accounts for the years 2008 through 2010, and caused their false classification as business expenses associated with contracts between his companies and MacDill Air Force base.  These items were then falsely deducted on corporate tax returns and the personal income was never reported on Henderson’s individual income tax return.  Following notification of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service, Henderson caused misclassified invoices to be presented to the IRS in an attempt to make these personal expenses paid by his businesses appear legitimate.

Henderson also admitted that he engaged in a fraudulent short sale of his condominium in Miramar Beach, Florida, using a family trust and the cooperation of a third party.  Henderson and the third party arranged to make an offer of $664,000 to purchase the unit on which Henderson had a mortgage of more than $1.1 million.  The mortgage company, Vericrest, agreed to this sale; however, it would not have allowed the sale had it known that the transaction was being conducted on behalf of Henderson and that he had actually provided the funding to make the purchase.

Henderson is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers on April 17, 2014 at 9 a.m.  He faces maximum penalties of 5 years in prison for each of the tax violations and 20 years each for the mail fraud and mail and wire fraud conspiracy.  Henderson faces up to a total of $1,200,000 in fines and forfeiture. 

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Eggers.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced today that two former residents of Destin, Florida, Gary Wayne Thomas, 64, of Daphne, Alabama, and Brian Keith Thomas, 40, of Birmingham, Alabama, were sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers to serve time in a federal prison.  Gary Wayne Thomas was sentenced to 72 months in prison and Brian Keith Thomas was sentenced to 24 months in prison. 

Both men were charged with conspiracy to structure cash withdrawals and structuring cash withdrawals to avoid the Currency Transaction Reporting (CTR) requirement, conspiring to commit bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Gary Thomas was also charged with money laundering, failure to appear, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person under indictment, and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a fugitive from justice.

Brian Thomas, the son, went to trial during the week of July 22, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers and was convicted of all counts.  The father, Gary Thomas, pled guilty to all charges on October 30, 2013. 

The evidence showed that between January 1, 2008, and November 1, 2008, Gary Thomas and Brian Thomas caused approximately $4,550,000 to be deposited into their domestic bank accounts and then wired to offshore bank accounts in the Cayman Islands and Belize.  Shortly thereafter, Gary Thomas stopped making payments on the loans he and his various entities had obtained from New South Federal Savings Bank, now known as Beal Bank.  The total amount of the loans was approximately $56 million.  In the summer of 2009, the bank filed civil suits against Gary Thomas on these loans. 

In a three-year period between 2010 and 2013, Gary Thomas wired approximately $2,150,000 from the offshore banks into several domestic accounts including five accounts that Brian Thomas opened in Destin banks.  Thereafter, the father and son conspired to structure withdrawals of cash under $10,000 to avoid the CTR requirement and to hide Gary Thomas’s interest in the funds from his creditor bank.  The structured withdrawals were done on roughly 194 occasions and totaled more than $1.6 million.

Gary Thomas used some of these funds to purchase five airplanes, numerous vehicles, and homes in Destin, Florida, and Fairhope, Alabama.  Thus far, the government has successfully forfeited the five airplanes; approximately $387,413 in cash, which represents the proceeds of the sale of the home in Fairhope, Alabama; and a $60,000 Hyundai Equus.  The government has also obtained monetary judgments of forfeiture against Gary and Brian Thomas in the amounts of $4,970,000 and $1,197,148 respectively. 

Ms. Marsh credited the successful prosecution of this case to the joint efforts of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Eggers.

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced that Daniel Freiwald, 29, was sentenced today by the Honorable Judge Smoak to 97 months in prison for 3 counts of child exploitation offenses. 

Between December 7, 2012, and January 23, 2013, Friewald, who was then an active duty Air Force member stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, knowingly and intentionally possessed and received images and videos of child pornography, the majority of which depicted prepubescent children, including infants and toddlers.

Freiwald was also sentenced to a five-year term of supervised release, which he will be required to serve upon completion of his prison sentence.

Ms. Marsh credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the agencies participating in the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, particularly agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Pensacola Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Risinger.

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced that Daniel Freiwald, 29, was sentenced today by the Honorable Judge Smoak to 97 months in prison for 3 counts of child exploitation offenses. 

Between December 7, 2012, and January 23, 2013, Friewald, who was then an active duty Air Force member stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, knowingly and intentionally possessed and received images and videos of child pornography, the majority of which depicted prepubescent children, including infants and toddlers.

Freiwald was also sentenced to a five-year term of supervised release, which he will be required to serve upon completion of his prison sentence.

Ms. Marsh credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the agencies participating in the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, particularly agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Pensacola Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Risinger.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Freeport physician Robert L. Ignasiak, Jr., 58, was sentenced to 30 years in prison yesterday for health care fraud, illegally distributing controlled substances, and failing to appear for trial.  The sentence imposed by the court was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Between 2001 and 2005, while operating the Freeport Medical Clinic, Ignasiak developed a reputation as a physician who freely prescribed highly addictive controlled substances.  During that time, Ignasiak prescribed drugs such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, diazepam, and alprazolam in dosages and combinations that caused his patients to abuse and become addicted to the drugs.  Ignasiak continued to prescribe these substances even after becoming aware that his patients were abusing them.  He did this in spite of indications that his patients were not taking the medicines as prescribed, were stealing drugs, were “doctor shopping,” were taking the medicines with alcohol, were suffering overdoses, or were exhibiting other out-of-control behaviors.  Ignasiak’s illegal prescribing practices resulted in the deaths of several of his patients.

Ignasiak was initially indicted on these charges in 2008.  Following a jury trial in the fall of that year, Ignasiak was convicted of 12 counts of health care fraud and 31 counts of illegally distributing controlled substances.  In 2012, Ignasiak’s convictions were reversed on appeal and he was released from custody pending a retrial.  On October 31, 2012, Ignasiak faked his own suicide and fled.  A warrant was issued for his arrest.  He was arrested in Coral Springs, Florida in September 2013, and his retrial had been scheduled for December 2, 2013.

In October 2013, Ignasiak pled guilty to 12 counts of health care fraud, 29 counts of illegally distributing controlled substances, and one count of failing to appear for trial.  

The charges were the result of a four-year joint investigation by the North Florida Health Care Fraud Task Force, comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Jacksonville Division, the Florida Department of Financial Services, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Attorney General’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration - Miami Division, the National Drug Intelligence Center Document Exploitation Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, and the State Surgeon General, Florida Department of Health. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Rhew-Miller and Alicia Kim prosecuted this case.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced today that Lawrence Allen Wright, 46, of Niceville, Florida, was sentenced by Senior Federal District Court Judge Lacey A. Collier to 75 months in prison and ordered to pay over $3.7 million dollars in restitution. 

Wright’s sentence is a result of his guilty plea last October to a seven-count Information charging: one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, two counts of bank fraud, one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of making a false statement to federally insured financial institution.

In pleading guilty, Wright admitted to conspiring with other individuals to commit bank fraud and money laundering.  As a part of that scheme, Wright solicited individuals to act as straw buyers to purchase unimproved lots located in Walton County, using loans from Countrywide, so Wright could build homes on the lots.  While soliciting the straw buyers, Wright promised to make payments on the fraudulent loans and pay the earnest money deposit and closing costs for the straw buyers.  Wright told the straw buyers that he would be able to sell the properties for a profit after he built homes on them and that he would then share a portion of the proceeds with the straw buyers. 

In addition to the conspiracy charges, Wright pled guilty to defrauding Regions Bank, Beach Community Bank, and GulfSouth Private Bank.  Three of the counts concerned Wright causing another individual to sign his ex-wife’s name on legal documents without his ex-wife’s knowledge or permission.  The legal documents included mortgage loan documents, promissory notes, and tax returns.  

This case was investigated by IRS-CI, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General, U.S. Treasury, Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office as part of the Northwest Florida Financial Crimes Task Force.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced today that Charles C. Martin, 40, and Joseph B. Doyon, 43, of Pace, Florida, and Marquis R. Seals, 34, Bernard Cook, 39, and Tremayne C. Jamison, 42, of Pensacola, Florida, have been sentenced in federal court after having pleaded guilty to mail fraud and filing false claims related to the 2010 BP oil spill.

Martin, Seals, Doyon, and Cook admitted to submitting fraudulent claims to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF).  They falsely inflated their income as employees of Hooters of Pensacola Beach and stated they lost money due to the oil spill in their GCCF claims.  Martin, then general manager of Hooters, and Seals, then assistant manager, aided and abetted their co-workers by providing fraudulent employment documentation for their claims.  Jamison filed a false claim with the National Pollution Funds Center of the U.S. Coast Guard, which included a letter from Martin stating a contract between Jamison’s company and Hooters of Pensacola Beach was cancelled due to the oil spill, when actually no such contract existed.

Today, Martin was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in the scheme, and Doyon was sentenced to 12 months.  Last month, Cook was sentenced to 12 months in prison, Seals was sentenced to 9 months, and Jamison was sentenced to 6 months.  More than $85,000 will be paid back to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust due to the restitution ordered in this case.

These cases result from an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Kim. 

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – U.S. Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida collected $6,255,150 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2013.  Of this amount, $5,272,499 was collected in criminal actions and $982,650 was collected in civil actions

In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida worked closely with the Justice Department’s Civil Division to jointly collect an additional $3,405,336. 

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder also announced on Thursday that the Justice Department collected approximately $8.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013.  The more than $8 billion in collections in FY 2013 represents over three times the appropriated $2.76 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices and the main litigating divisions of the Justice Department during that same period.

“The Department’s enforcement actions help to not only ensure justice is served, but also deliver a valuable return to the taxpayer,” said Attorney General Holder. “It is critical that Congress provide the resources necessary to match the Department’s mounting caseload. As these figures show, supporting our federal prosecutors is a sound investment.”

U.S. Attorney Marsh added:  “These impressive numbers are the result of dedicated work by federal employees.  Federal workers have taken a beating this year – from the budget battles resulting in hiring freezes and smaller workforces to sixteen days of furlough during the government shutdown.  Our employees not only keep our communities safer by prosecuting criminals, they are returning millions of dollars to our nation’s bottom line.  When looking around for government services to cut, it seems wise to avoid cutting those that are bringing back a profit.”

As one example of the collections work done in the Northern District of Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department recovered $3.4 million in 2013, as part of a civil settlement against radiation oncology providers in Pensacola, Florida.  More specifically, the government alleged that between 2007 and 2011, the healthcare providers regularly billed for radiation oncology services that were not supervised by a physician, as required by Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE, and that, in fact, these services were often performed while the defendant doctors were on vacation or were working at another radiation oncology clinic.  The government also alleged that the defendants billed for other treatment services even when patients’ medical records provided no evidence that the services were rendered.  The defendants also allegedly billed twice for the same services and misrepresented the level of a service provided to increase their reimbursement from the federal health care programs.  The settlement of the case was the result of collaborative efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, and TRICARE Management Activity.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the nation, along with the Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims.  The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.  While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the Department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Nationwide, the largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration, and Department of Education.

In addition to the sums discussed above, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Florida, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected$3,051,935.00 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2013. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced thatThomas Zachary Breeding, 29, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Smoak to 15 months in prison for obstruction of justice and making false statements to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”).

In October, Breeding pleaded guilty to the charges, which related to his illegal commercial fishing in The Edges Closed Area of the Gulf of Mexico (the “Edges”).  The Edges is an area of the Gulf southwest of Panama City that is closed to commercial fishing annually from January 1 to April 30.  The Edges is closed to commercial fishing to protect the spawning season for gag grouper and ensure the continued viability of the grouper fishery in the Gulf. 

Breeding was the captain of The Wolf commercial fishing vessel, based out of Panama City.  On January 9, 2012, NOAA’s Vessel Monitoring System (“VMS”) in St. Petersburg, Florida detected The Wolf inside The Edges.  NOAA immediately notified Breeding that he had unlawfully entered The Edges, warned him not to again breach the area, and reminded him of The Edges coordinates.

Just one week later, on January 17, 2012, a VMS technician again detected The Wolf inside The Edges.  A Coast Guard plane immediately flew over The Wolf and confirmed that it was inside The Edges and was commercial fishing. 

The Coast Guard pilot made radio contact with Breeding and advised him that he was inside The Edges.  Breeding told the Coast Guard pilot that, according to his GPS system, he was outside of the restricted area.  The Coast Guard pilot instructed Breeding and his crew to cease fishing and return to home port in Panama City.

The Wolf returned to Panama City the next morning, at which time Breeding falsely told authorities that he was fishing in The Edges by accident because the GPS device and plotter on The Wolf were inaccurate. 

At his plea hearing, Breeding admitted that he had intentionally breached The Edges to fish commercially and that, to conceal his actions, he manually altered the GPS device to render it inaccurate by approximately three nautical miles to allow him to claim the breach was accidental.

At the sentencing hearing, NOAA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gregg Houghaboom testified that, in addition to fishing in The Edges Closed Area on January 9, 2012, and January 17, 2012, Breeding was cited by the Coast Guard in 2005 for fishing inside the Madison-Swanson Closed Area, which is an area of the Gulf south of Panama City that is closed year-round to commercial fishing to protect the spawning of reef fish, including grouper.  Breeding and the boat’s owner were fined $25,000 for this incident, but Breeding never paid his portion of the fine. 

Agent Houghaboom also testified that Breeding was cited by NOAA in 2007 for commercial fishing in a longline and buoy-gear restricted area of the Gulf.  He was fined $17,500 for this violation, a fine that he also never paid.

This case was investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced thatAdnan Ali Sabla, 50, of Tampa, Florida, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert Hinkle to serve 27 months in prison for fraud charges.  Sabla will serve a three-year term of supervised release after his incarceration and is required to pay $112,861.12 in restitution.  

Sabla was arrested on March 18, 2013, when he arrived in Tallahassee with 24 stolen and fraudulently-obtained Treasury checks.  He admitted that he had delivered wrongfully-obtained checks on other occasions.  Sabla was sentenced based on a total of 59 checks, in a total amount of $254,832.54.

The majority of these checks were obtained by the filing of income tax returns, which falsely claimed that refunds were due.  Sabla also delivered some stolen Social Security and Veteran’s Benefits checks.  In the pleas entered in court Sabla was described as a middleman who transported the checks between the persons who obtained them and persons who could cash them.

U.S. Attorney Marsh credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael T. Simpson. 

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced thatMichael Clifford Watson, 32, of Key West, Florida, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert Hinkle to serve 360 months in prison for drug conspiracy charges.  Watson will serve an eight-year term of supervised release after his incarceration.

Watson was arrested at a Tallahassee apartment on November 19, 2012, based upon outstanding drug charges from Key West.  Six ounces of cocaine, digital scales, and $2,760 were seized at the time of his arrest.  At Watson’s sentencing, the Court determined that he was distributing oxycodone in addition to cocaine in Tallahassee.  Watson pled guilty in October 2013, on the date set for jury selection. 

Watson was sentenced as a career offender.  He was convicted in 2001 of possession of cocaine with intent to sell, and in 2010 of sale of cocaine, both times in Key West.  According to court proceedings, Watson has served three terms in the Florida Department of Corrections.

U.S. Attorney Marsh credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the Tallahassee Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, and the Key West Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael T. Simpson. 

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA– Adrienne Eve Williams, 32, of Wexford, Illinois, pleaded guilty today in federal court to falsely personifying an officer or employee of the United States.

During the plea hearing, Williams admitted that between October 2012 and April 2013, she impersonated Northern District of Florida United Stated District Judge Richard Smoak, United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh, and a certified legal assistant when she drafted fraudulent legal documents that pertained to a pending civil case and were allegedly signed by Smoak, Marsh, and the legal assistant.

Williams is currently scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on March 5, 2014, in Panama City.  She faces a term of imprisonment of up to three years, followed by a term of one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katy Risinger.  

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA — United States Attorney Pamela C. March announced the sentencing of four defendants by United States District Judge Richard Smoak today. 

Wilson Calle, 55, of New York, New York, Blaine Johnston, 62, of Marianna, Florida, Wilfredo Rodriguez, 53, and Diana Gonzalez, 63, both of Miami, Florida, were all sentenced today, based on charges brought against them by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, alleging various federal tax violations.  During a federal trial in September, Calle and Johnston were found guilty by a federal jury of conspiring to defraud the United States by filing, or assisting others in filing, false federal income tax returns, and multiple counts of filing false federal income tax returns.  Rodriguez was found guilty by the jury of filing a false federal income tax return seeking a false and fraudulent refund.  Gonzalez had previously entered a guilty plea to the charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing, or assisting others in filing, false federal income tax returns seeking false and fraudulent refunds. 

The sentences imposed today by Judge Smoak for each defendant are as follows:

• Wilson Calle was sentenced to 78 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in conjunction with other defendants in the amount of $245,747.32;
• Blaine Johnston was sentenced to 78 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in conjunction with other defendants in the amount of $245,747.32;
• Wilfredo Rodriguez was sentenced to 27 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $160,490.93; and
• Diana Gonzalez was sentenced to 63 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in conjunction with other defendants in the amount of $245,747.32.

In announcing the sentence imposed by the court, United States Attorney Marsh said, “In these difficult economic times, tax refund fraud is especially harmful to our communities and our nation.  It harms the government, as well as every honest taxpayer who dutifully pays taxes.  We will continue to aggressively pursue those who defraud and illegally manipulate the tax system, especially those individuals who concoct schemes to submit false tax returns and assist others in doing so.”

During the jury trial, the prosecutors presented evidence that, between 2008 and 2009, the defendants prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns seeking more than $19 million in refunds.  By using an obscure IRS Form 1099-OID, the defendants falsely reported that creditors of the defendants and their clients had withheld large amounts of federal income taxes and asserted that the creditors had paid those amounts over to the IRS.  In doing so, the defendants fraudulently reported debts they owed as income tax withholdings.  As a result of the fraudulently overstated income tax withholding, the tax returns filed on behalf of the defendants or their clients claimed large refunds, to which they were not entitled.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Ryan Love and Randall J. Hensel.  

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced today that Andrea Lorraine Avery, 47, of Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty this afternoon on federal charges concerning a mortgage fraud and money laundering scheme.  Avery is scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2014, before Senior United States District Judge Roger Vinson. 

According to the Indictment and the facts admitted by Avery during her guilty plea, beginning in 2005 and continuing through 2008, Avery and others entered into contracts to purchase residences located in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, and California.  Thereafter, loan applications were submitted to financial institutions to fund the purchases.  In the loan applications, Avery and other borrowers made false statements to the lenders, which included: providing false names and social security numbers; overstating the borrower’s income and assets; and falsely stating the earnest money deposit was not borrowed.  In support of the loans, Avery and other borrowers submitted fraudulent supporting documents to the lenders, which included: false pay-stubs, false W-2s, false verifications of employment, and false documentation concerning the borrower’s credit.  Thereafter, Avery and others transferred money, required from the borrower to close on the purchase of the property, to the title agent handling the closing.  As a result of Avery’s fraud, lenders loaned over $5,646,250 for just the five homes located in Santa Rosa and Walton counties.  As a part of the scheme, Avery and others received kickbacks from the fraudulent loans’ proceeds.  

Avery’s Indictment was the seventh indictment obtained as a part of the investigation into this multi-state mortgage fraud and money laundering scheme.  Some of the others indicted and sentenced before Avery included: Lonnet Rochell Williams, who received 120 months in prison; Bryan Pool, who received 57 months in prison; Steven Imes, who received 78 months in prison; Annita Hawes, who received 23 months in prison; Raysean Richardson, who received 18 months in prison; and Dorothy Rodriguez who received 18 months in prison. 

For Counts One through Six of the Indictment, which charged conspiracy to commit fraud and mail fraud affecting a financial institution, Avery faces up to 30 years in prison on each count, and for Count Seven of the Indictment, which charges conspiracy to commit money laundering, Avery faces an additional 20 years in prison. 

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Eggers. 

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA — Pamela C. Marsh, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced that Bret A. Nichols, age 29, of Paradise, California, was indicted today on federal charges for engaging in a conspiracy to produce and receive images and videos of child pornography from a couple in Mary Ester, Florida.

The two-count indictment alleges that between October 2010 and December 2012, Nichols conspired with Corine D. Motley, a/k/a Corine Gillreath, a/k/a “Dusty,” a/k/a “Kandi Kane,” and Brandon C. Gillreath, to produce pornographic images and videos of child victims here in the Northern District of Florida.  Motley and Gillreath were convicted on related charges in federal court in Pensacola in June 2013 and were sentenced to 29½ years and 35 years imprisonment, respectively, for their personal production of child pornography here in Florida.  The images and videos they produced were transmitted over the Internet.  

Nichols was arrested in northern California on federal charges stemming from his alleged involvement.  He remains in custody at the Sacramento County Jail.

The indictment was a result of a joint investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Pensacola Police Department, and other members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg.

An indictment is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law.  All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless the government proves their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury at trial. 

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – David Daniel Hicks, Jr., 42, of Andalusia, Alabama, was sentenced today to serve 200 months in prison for the use of a facility of interstate commerce to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, interstate travel for illicit sexual conduct, and production of child pornography.  Hicks was sentenced to a lifetime term of supervised release after his incarceration.  He is required to register as a sex offender, to complete sex offender treatment, to submit to monitoring of any computer or electronic accounts, to avoid unsupervised contact with children, and to inform future employers of his convictions.

Hicks was arrested on April 12, 2013, after traveling from Andalusia to Tallahassee to have sex with what he thought was a fourteen-year-old boy.  His arrest was part of a larger undercover investigation conducted by a coalition of law enforcement agencies.  Following the arrest, investigators served a search warrant at Hicks’ Alabama residence and found tens of thousands of images of child pornography, including five computer videos of Hicks performing sexual acts on an adolescent male.  These videos were created in that residence, with a camera that was seized there.

The solicitation and travel charges were indicted in the Northern District of Florida.  The production charge was indicted in the Middle District of Alabama, but transferred to the Northern District of Florida for disposition and sentencing.  Hicks entered guilty pleas to all charges against him.  Hicks also agreed to forfeit the electronic devices and electronic media that were seized under the search warrant.

In announcing the sentence imposed by the court, United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the agencies participating in the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, particularly the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the Tallahassee Police Department, the Leon County Sherriff’s Office, and the Covington County, Alabama Sherriff’s Office.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael T. Simpson (NDFL) and Jared Morris (MDAL).

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

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA - -  United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced that Jeffrey B. Richards, age 63, of Milton, was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with the distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography.

The criminal complaint, sworn to by a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, alleges that between December 2012 and December 2013, Richards utilized peer-to-peer software to share hundreds of images of child pornography online. 

            Richards made his initial appearance on the criminal complaint today before United States Magistrate Judge Charles J. Kahn, Jr.

            The complaint was a result of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Pensacola Police Department and other members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg.

A criminal complaint is merely a preliminary allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless the government proves their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury at trial.              

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced today thatthreemen have been convicted of conspiring todefraud the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as other charges.  SNAP is also known as the food stamp program.  Rodrigue Bissainthe, 26, pled guilty to conspiracy and to two mail fraud charges on November 27, 2013.  Darius Jemmott, 21, was convicted of conspiracy, three charges of fraud involving interstate wire communications, and aggravated identity theft at a trial that concluded December 3, 2013.  Dwayne Phanor, 24, pled guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and seven aggravated identity theft charges on December 4, 2013, after a jury had been sworn to try his case.

SNAP provides economic assistance to qualified low-income people, to help them obtain adequate food.  This assistance is provided on Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, which function as pre-loaded debit cards.  The United States Department of Agriculture funds the SNAP program.  In Florida, SNAP is administered by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCF).  When these crimes occurred, between January and April 2013, DCF had contracted with JP Morgan Chase (JPMC) to service aspects of the program.  The Department of Financial Services (DFS) investigates public assistance fraud arising from DCF programs.

According to matters presented in Court, DCF realized in March 2013 that numerous SNAP applications had been received for a single Tallahassee address, on Magnolia Court.  Controlled deliveries of EBT cards to that address led to the arrest of Bissainthe by the Tallahassee Police Department on April 16, 2013.  Bissainthe admitted that he was receiving these cards for Phanor and that Phanor had given him an EBT card for his own use.

DFS was able to track the use of another EBT card at local merchants, leading to the identification and arrest of Jemmott on April 18, 2013.  Jemmott had that card on his person when arrested and eventually admitted buying it from Phanor.

Phanor was arrested in an adjacent Tallahassee apartment, also on April 18, 2013.  Phanor’s backpack held voluminous notations relating to fraudulent EBT applications and change of address requests.  Phanor advised that his telephone number was the same as the number that had been used to make calls to a JPMC EBT call center.  Phanor admitted filing numerous SNAP applications using other people’s names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth.  Phanor indicated that he gained access to an Ocala Road delivery address through Jemmott.  Another address on West Georgia Street was also used. 

Some of Phanor’s fraudulent applications were denied, because those people were already receiving SNAP benefits.  Phanor admitted calling the JPMC call center, pretending to be the genuine beneficiaries (both men and women), and asking that the benefits be re-directed to the addresses he controlled.  His aggravated identity theft convictions were based upon seven of these calls.

A DCF representative presented documents showing that at least 72 fraudulent applications were filed, involving a potential loss of $101,258.82 and an actual loss of $7,291.88.  The defendants will be sentenced by United States District Judge Mark Walker.  Bissainthe will be sentenced on February 7, 2014, and Jemmott and Phanor on March 14, 2014.  The conspiracy, wire fraud, and mail fraud convictions each carry a maximum possible term of twenty years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a three-year term of supervised release.  The penalty for aggravated identity theft is a mandatory two years in prison, a maximum $250,000 fine, and a one-year term of supervised release.  Sentence on aggravated identity theft charges must be consecutive to sentences for any other conviction, but may be concurrent with other aggravated identity theft sentences.

U.S. Attorney Marsh praised the joint efforts of the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Financial Services, the Tallahassee Police Department, the United States Postal Inspectors, and the United States Secret Service for their hard work, dedication, and expertise in the investigation that led to the prosecution of this case. 

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA– Selena Noblit, 43, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle to a one-year term of probation, 192 hours of community service, and a $100 special monetary assesment for the theft of over $11,000 in government funds belonging to the Apalachicola Housing Authority.

The defendant pleaded guilty June 4, 2013, to a charge of theft of government funds.  Noblit was charged after an investigation and audits conducted by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Apalachicola Housing Authority (AHA), which revealed that from June 2011 through May 2012, she had improperly used a government credit card for personal purchases of more than $11,000.  The purchases included charges for clothing, auto repairs, personal travel, and food, none of which were authorized or for business expense.  The credit card bill, including the defendant’s personal purchases, was then paid from HUD federal funds allocated to the AHA.   

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Mountin. 

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA -- Eboni Parker, age 33, of Milton, was arrested and charged today with two counts of maliciously conveying false information of a bomb threat,  announced United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh, Northern District of Florida.

A two count indictment issued on November 20, 2013, alleges that on January 30, 2013, and February 20, 2013, Parker made, aided, or abetted the making of false bomb threats through the use of a cellular telephone.  On those dates, Gulf Power Company received telephonic bomb threats to their Milton office. 

Parker appeared today for her initial appearance and arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Timothy at the U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Florida.  Parker pleaded not guilty to the charges and her trial is scheduled for January 6, 2014, before Senior United States District Judge Lacey Collier.

The defendant is facing a maximum sentence of ten years and a $250,000 fine on each count. 

U.S. Attorney Marsh praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, whose joint investigation led to the indictment in the case. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall J. Hensel. 

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial in a court of law. 

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Anthony Q. Atkinson, 31, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced today to serve 37 months in federal prison for filing fraudulent tax returns using the personal identifying information of other individuals.  The sentence imposed by the court was announced by United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, Pamela C. Marsh.

Atkinson and others were involved in a tax scheme whereby they conspired to file false federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service claiming refunds to which the defendants knew they were not entitled.  As part of the scheme, conspirators would provide the personal identifying information of other individuals to Atkinson, who would then file false tax returns for each of those individuals.  The returns transmitted in this scheme have notable similarities, including fabricated taxable interest income and names of financial institutions, false amounts of Social Security income, and fabricated amounts of tax withholdings.  As a result of the scheme, Atkinson and others caused the United States Treasury to pay approximately $23,496 in fraudulent income tax refunds, which Atkinson was ordered to pay back to the Internal Revenue Service as restitution.

Atkinson was also sentenced to serve a 3-year term of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $900 special monetary assessment.

This conviction results from an investigation by agents of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Risinger. 

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Danny L. Hubbard, 49, of Panama City, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in federal prison for committing wire fraud by stealing approximately $91,600 from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1380.

AFGE Local 1380 is a labor union that represents federal employees who work at the Naval Support Activity in Panama City, Florida.  Hubbard became the acting president of AFGE Local 1380 in or around November 2006 and served as the president through 2008.  While president, Hubbard wrote checks to himself or to cash, a local convenience store, and Boomtown Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.  Additionally, he conducted other numerous financial transactions and withdrew $6,650 from the union’s savings account.  The funds disbursed as a result of Hubbard’s actions were not used for AFGE Local 1380’s official business or for the union.  He did not obtain approval from AFGE Local 1380’s executive board or membership before disbursing the funds to himself, cash, or other third-party entities.  He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $91,600 as a result of his scheme to defraud.

Hubbard was also sentenced to serve a 3-year term of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $2,400 special monetary assessments.

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Jeffrey Monroe Roy, 48, of Mobile, Alabama, was sentenced today to serve 188 months in federal prison for using the Internet in an attempt to persuade, induce, and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a minor.

Evidence presented during trial proved that on June 13, 2012, law enforcement officers, acting in an undercover capacity, posted an advertisement on Craigslist posing as a 13-year-old female.  Roy responded to the posting, and over the next three days, he engaged in email chats and telephone calls that were sexual in nature with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old female named Jaz.  During his communications with Jaz, Roy discussed numerous sexual situations and attempted to entice the 13-year-old female to engage in sexual activity with him.  After making arrangements to meet Jaz, Roy drove from Mobile, Alabama, on June 16, 2012, to meet with her at a predetermined location, where he was arrested and found to be in possession of Viagra, condoms, a camera, a knife, handcuffs, a first aid kit, and a deck of 52 sex-position cards.

Roy was also sentenced to a lifetime term of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special monetary assessment.

In announcing the sentence imposed by the court, Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the agencies participating in the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, particularly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gainesville Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Risinger.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Following a trial in federal court in Tallahassee, a jury found Jose Galdamez, 42, of Tallahassee, Florida, guilty of using the Internet in an attempt to persuade, induce, and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Evidence presented during trial proved that, on April 14, 2013, Galdamez responded to an advertisement entitled “Bored and Home Alone Looking For Some Fun - w4w – (ASK),” which had been posted under the “Casual Encounters” link on Craigslist.  Over the next 24 hours, Galdamez engaged in email chats, phone calls, and text messages of a sexual nature with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl named Crystal.  Subsequently, Galdamez drove to the location where he had arranged to meet Crystal.  Once Galdamez arrived at the location, officers arrested him for attempted online enticement of a child. 

As a result of the guilty verdict, Galdamez faces a sentence of ten years to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, not less than five years and up to a life term of supervised release, and a $100 special monetary assessment.

In announcing the verdict, Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the agencies participating in the North Florida ICAC, particularly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tallahassee Police Department. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorney’s 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 exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Herbert Lindsey.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh announced today that Gary Wayne Thomas, 64, of Daphne, Alabama, and Brian Keith Thomas, 40, of Birmingham, Alabama, both former residents of Destin, Florida, have been convicted for their involvement in a bank fraud and money laundering scheme.  Both men were charged with conspiracy to structure cash withdrawals and structuring cash withdrawals to avoid the Currency Transaction Reporting (CTR) requirement, conspiring to commit bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Gary Thomas was also charged with money laundering.

Brian Thomas, the son, went to trial during the week of July 22, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers and was convicted of all counts.  Brian Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced on November 15, 2013, at 1:00 p.m. by Judge Rodgers.  The father, Gary Thomas, pled guilty to all charges today and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 22, 2014, at 9 a.m. by Judge Rodgers.

The evidence showed that between January 1, 2008, and November 1, 2008, Gary Thomas and Brian Thomas caused approximately $4,550,000 to be deposited into their domestic bank accounts and then wired to offshore bank accounts in the Cayman Islands and Belize.  Shortly thereafter, Gary Thomas stopped making payments on the loans he and his various entities had obtained from New South Federal Savings Bank, now known as Beal Bank.  The total amount of the loans was approximately $56 million.  In the summer of 2009, the bank filed civil suits against Gary Thomas on these loans. 

In a three-year period between 2010 and 2013, Gary Thomas wired approximately $2,150,000 from the offshore banks into five accounts in Destin banks that Brian Thomas opened as well as accounts opened by others.  Thereafter, the father and son conspired to structure withdrawals of cash under $10,000 to avoid the CTR requirement and to hide Gary Thomas’s interest in the funds from his creditor bank.  The structured withdrawals were done on roughly 194 occasions and totaled more than $1.6 million.

Gary Thomas used some of these funds to purchase five airplanes, numerous vehicles, and homes in Destin, Florida, and Fairhope, Alabama.  Thus far, the government has successfully forfeited the five airplanes, approximately $387,413 in cash, which represents the proceeds of the sale of the home in Fairhope, Alabama, and a $60,000 Hyundai Equus.  A superseding indictment, returned in May of this year, also identified $1,624,648 in cash as being subject to criminal forfeiture.     

Gary Thomas became a fugitive from justice after the superseding indictment was returned.  As a result, an additional indictment was returned against Gary Thomas charging him with failure to appear.  While Brian Thomas was in court on July 22nd, the United States Marshals Service captured Gary Thomas on Palafox Street in Pensacola, in the now forfeited Hyundai Equus.  When Gary Thomas was apprehended, he was in possession of a loaded Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver that he obtained in Tallassee, Alabama, while he was a fugitive.  A third indictment was returned against Gary Thomas charging him with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a fugitive from justice and transportation of a firearm and ammunition by a person under indictment.

On the original case, each defendant faces maximum penalties of five years in prison for the structuring conspiracy, 10 years for each count of structuring, 30 years for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and 20 years for the conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Gary Thomas also faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the money laundering count in the original case.  For his failure to appear, Gary Thomas faces up to 10 years in prison consecutive to any sentence he receives in the original case.  For the third case, the firearm charges, Gary Thomas faces up to 10 years on each count. 

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Eggers.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Freeport physician Robert L. Ignasiak, Jr., 58, pled guilty today to 12 counts of health care fraud, 29 counts of illegally distributing controlled substances, and one count of failing to appear for trial.  The plea was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Between 2001 and 2005, while operating the Freeport Medical Clinic, Ignasiak developed a reputation as a physician who freely prescribed highly addictive controlled substances.  During that time, he prescribed drugs such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, diazepam, and alprazolam in quantities, dosages, and combinations that caused his patients to abuse, misuse, and become addicted to the drugs.  He continued to prescribe these substances even after becoming aware that his patients were abusing them.  He did so despite indications that his patients were not taking the medicines as prescribed, were stealing drugs, were “doctor shopping,” were taking the medicines with alcohol, and were suffering overdoses.

Ignasiak was initially indicted on these charges in 2008.  Following a jury trial, he was convicted of 12 counts of health care fraud and 31 counts of illegally distributing controlled substances.  Ignasiak’s convictions were reversed on appeal in 2012.  He was released from custody, and a retrial was scheduled.  On October 31, 2012, Ignasiak faked his own suicide and became a fugitive from justice.  Almost a year later, in September 2013, he was arrested in Coral Springs, Florida, while handing out leaflets for a pressure washing company, under a false name. 

Ignasiak will be sentenced on January 14, 2014, by Senior United States District Judge Lacey Collier.  He faces maximum prison sentences of 10 years for health care fraud, 20 years for drug distribution, and 10 years for failure to appear.

The case resulted from a four-year investigation by the North Florida Health Care Fraud Task Force, comprised of the Florida Attorney General’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Drug Intelligence Center Document Exploitation Division, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Financial Services, and State Surgeon General, Florida Department of Health.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Rhew-Miller and Alicia Kim prosecuted this case. 

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA –John Suehr, 44, of Palatine, Illinois, was sentenced to fifteen months in federal prison today for aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  

Between 2007 and 2010, John Suehr and his co-conspirator, John “Jack” Wachowiak, 54, of Holland, Ohio, were employed as account executives for Mainline Information Systems, a Tallahassee-based reseller of computer equipment and information technology.  During that time, the two men conspired to embezzle more than $700,000 from Mainline.  They arranged for Mainline to purchase computer equipment ostensibly for use by Mainline clients.  Wachowiak falsified emails and company records to make it appear that Mainline clients had ordered this equipment, when, in fact, they had not.  When the equipment was delivered, Wachowiak and Suehr took possession of the items and either resold them or kept them for their own use. 

Wachowiak pled guilty to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in May of this year.  In August, Suehr pled guilty to the same charges based upon his own role in the embezzlement.  In September, Wachowiak was sentenced to two years in prison for these offenses.  Both defendants were ordered to pay $767,746.48 in restitution to Mainline.

In announcing the sentence imposed by the court, United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh said:   “These conspirators were motivated by pure greed, and ignored the human consequences of their actions. They ripped off their own company and forged client records and communications – potentially ruining the financial reputations of both the corporation and its customers.  This sentence should serve as a clear warning to those who may be tempted to line their own pockets by abusing positions of trust and influence.”  Ms. Marsh commended the work of the FBI for their exceptional investigative work that contributed to these convictions.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA– Christopher J. Wright, 23, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced today to two years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft and access device fraud arising from a scheme to steal financial aid monies from students at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

While students at FAMU in 2010, Wright and his co-defendants, Carliss Pereira, 22, of  Tallahassee, and Carl Coutard, 22, of Miami Shores, Florida, discovered a means of accessing the financial aid accounts of other students in FAMU’s iRattler computer system.  The defendants obtained the usernames, passwords, and other personal identifying information of their fellow students by taking paperwork discarded in the trash bins near the FAMU computer help desk, by gathering information from public sources on the internet, and by tricking FAMU employees and the students themselves into providing this information.  The defendants used the information to log on to the financial aid accounts of students who were scheduled to receive financial aid refunds.  The defendants then changed the bank account and routing numbers in the victims’ financial aid accounts to divert the victims’ financial aid refunds to pre-paid debit cards held by the defendants.  In all but a few cases, FAMU was able to reverse the fraudulent transfers. 

Pereira and Coutard pled guilty to access device fraud and aggravated identity theft charges earlier this year.  Coutard was sentenced to six months of home detention and six months of community confinement, and was ordered to perform 80 hours of community service, as conditions of a three-year term of supervised release.  Pereira was sentenced to a three-year term of supervised release with conditions that he serve four months of home detention and two months of community confinement.  Pereira was also ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and to pay $3,983 in restitution to FAMU.

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA–Douglas Ray Castleberry, 35, of St. Mary’s, Georgia, was sentenced yesterday in federal court to serve 235 months in prison for using the Internet to attempt to entice a child to engage in sexual activity.
Castleberry was arrested on November 14, 2012, as part of a law enforcement on-line operation conducted in Gainesville, Florida.  By means of an Internet website, Castleberry attempted to persuade an 11-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. He then traveled from St. Mary’s to Gainesville with multiple images of child pornography, which he could use to teach the child to commit similar acts.  After his arrest in Gainesville, officers examined his cell phone and identified numerous other potential child victims.  
Castleberry faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment with a maximum of life imprisonment.  He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker to serve 235 months in prison, followed by a term of life on supervised release.  In addition, upon his release, Castleberry will be required to register as a sex offender in accordance with state and federal law.
In announcing the sentence imposed by the court, United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh said, “The growing threat of sexual exploitation crimes committed against children through the Internet is a deplorable trend.  My office is committed to the safety and well-being of every child and has placed a high priority on combating sexual exploitation of minors.”  U.S. Attorney Marsh also praised the Alachua County Sheriff’s office for their dedicated work, resulting in Castleberry’s arrest and prosecution.  She said, “Without their excellent work, this predator might still be lurking on the Internet, threatening to victimize additional children.”

This case was investigated by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Williams.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – A two-count indictment was filed today in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, charging William “Geri” Eaton, 59, with tax evasion and making false statements in a matter involving a health care benefit program.

The indictment alleges that between August 2010 and December 2011, Eaton willfully evaded payment of more than $650,000 in federal income taxes by concealing from the Internal Revenue Service the nature, location, and extent of his assets, by making false and misleading statements and material omissions concerning the existence of IRS liens on his property, and by opening a bank account using a false social security number.  The indictment also alleges that in October 2011, Eaton made false statements and submitted false documents in a matter involving Sacred Heart Health System.   

If convicted, Eaton faces a maximum of five years in prison on each count of the indictment.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen Rhew-Miller

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Four defendants were convicted by a federal jury in Panama City yesterday, and a fifth defendant entered a guilty plea during the trial on a tax fraud scheme.  Wilson Calle, 55, and Angel Done, 54, both of New York, New York, as well as Blaine Johnston, 62, of Marianna, Florida, were convicted by a federal jury of conspiring to defraud the United States by filing, or assisting others in filing, false federal income tax returns.  The tax returns submitted by these defendants sought large refunds, to which the filers were not entitled.  In addition to the conspiracy count, the jury found Calle, Done, and Johnston guilty on multiple counts of filing false federal income tax returns.  Wilfredo Rodriguez, 53, of Miami, Florida, was also convicted by the jury of filing a false federal income tax return seeking a false and fraudulent refund.  During the trial, a fifth defendant, Diana Gonzalez, 63, of Miami, Florida, pled guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by filing, or assisting others in filing, false federal income tax returns seeking false and fraudulent refunds.  The verdicts and guilty plea were announced by Pamela C. Marsh, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

            At trial, the government presented evidence that between 2008 and 2009, the defendants prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns seeking more than $19 million in refunds.  By using an obscure IRS Form 1099-OID, the defendants falsely reported that defendants’ or their clients’ creditors had withheld large amounts of federal income taxes and paid this money over to the IRS.  In doing so, the defendants used debts owed by them and their clients to mortgage companies and various other entities and reported those debts to the IRS as income tax withholdings in an attempt to have the IRS pay off their debts.  As a result of the fraudulently overstated income tax withholding, the tax returns that were filed on behalf of the defendants or their clients claimed large refunds to which they were not entitled.   

            Calle, Done, and Johnston each face maximum sentences of ten years in prison with regard to the conspiracy charge and five years on each count of filing, or aiding others in filing, false tax returns.  Gonzalez faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison on the charge of conspiring to file, or aiding others in filing, false tax returns.  Rodriguez faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for filing a false tax return.

            In announcing the verdict and the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Marsh explained:  “Each year, millions of honest hard-working Americans pay their taxes and file accurate returns with the IRS.  By stark contrast, these defendants concocted a fictitious tax scheme in an effort to steal millions of dollars from the government.  My office will continue to work diligently with the Internal Revenue Service to identify these thieves and bring them to justice.”

            IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents in Charge James D. Robnett (Tampa, Florida) and Shantelle P. Kitchen (Newark, New Jersey) joined in stating: “In today’s economic environment it is more important than ever that the American people feel confident that everyone is playing by the rules and paying the taxes they owe.  This case should make the public aware that promoting and participating in frivolous tax schemes is a crime, corrosive to the foundation of the federal income tax system, which the IRS will continue to aggressively pursue with its law enforcement partners.”

            Each defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, 2013, before United States District Judge Richard Smoak.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA– Monique Yvette Kimble, 39, of Midway, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to 24 months in prison for preparing and filing fraudulent tax returns and for identity theft.  The sentences were announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Kimble was sentenced for conduct that occurred from February through April 2009, when she acted as a certified tax preparer for a Tallahassee-area tax preparation business.  On at least nine occasions, Kimble prepared tax returns seeking fraudulent credits, which resulted in improper tax refunds.  In addition, on at least two occasions, Kimble filed tax returns using stolen identity information from persons who did not authorize, nor realize, that Kimble had filed returns seeking tax refunds on their behalf. 

“These tax preparers committing fraud and stealing identities have hit Florida like a tsunami,” said U.S. Attorney Marsh.  “We are investigating, indicting, and prosecuting these cases at a steadily increasing pace.  Our law enforcement partners at every level are on top of the schemes and the technology, and we could not do these cases without their efforts.”  In particular, Ms. Marsh praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service, whose investigation led to the convictions in the case.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ran the sentences for each of the thirteen counts of conviction concurrent to one another for a total of 24 months imprisonment, and a total of five years of supervised release.

“This sentence should send a message to tax professionals about their duty to prepare accurate and truthful tax returns and the consequences of not doing so” stated James D. Robnett, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation.  Robnett added “IRS will continue to aggressively investigate unscrupulous tax professionals and hold them accountable in order to insure the integrity of the income tax system.”

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric K. Mountin.     

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Clay C. Keys, 52, of Pensacola, was arrested late yesterday afternoon on federal charges regarding the distribution of child pornography, the possession of child pornography and the possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.  The arrest was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, and results from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Pensacola Police Department. 

Mr. Keys, who is a registered sexual offender in the state of Florida, made his initial appearance in federal court this morning.  He will be detained pending his next court appearance, now scheduled for September 3, 2013.

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

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg of the Northern District of Florida.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced today that Charles C. Martin, 40, and Joseph B. Doyon, 43, of Pace, Florida, and Marquis R. Seals, 34, and Bernard Cook, 39, of Pensacola, Florida, have appeared in federal court on an indictment for mail fraud and false claims related to the BP oil spill.

Martin, Doyon, Seals, Cook, and Johnny R. Smith, 29, of Pensacola, were indicted by the federal grand jury sitting in Pensacola and charged with mail fraud for submitting fraudulent claims to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (“GCCF”) for lost income due to the 2010 BP oil spill.  According to the indictment, all five falsely inflated their reported income as employees of Hooters of Pensacola Beach in their GCCF claims, submitting fraudulent documentation authored and provided by either Martin or Seals.  Additionally, the indictment charges Martin and Tremayne C. Jamison, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, with filing a false claim with the National Pollution Funds Center of the United States Coast Guard alleging that Jamison lost money when a contract between his company and Hooters of Pensacola Beach was cancelled due to the oil spill, when actually no such contract existed.  Trial is set for October 7, 2013, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lacey Collier.

U.S. Attorney Marsh also announced that Sean D. Croft, 31, of Pensacola, appeared in federal court yesterday on a separate indictment charging him with mail fraud for submitting a false claim to GCCF.  According to that indictment, Croft falsely alleged he was let go from his job at Hooters of Pensacola Beach due to the oil spill because he actually worked at the Hooters restaurant located at Bayou Boulevard and Ninth Avenue in Pensacola, not the restaurant located on the beach, and did not lose his job because of the oil spill.  Croft’s trial is set for October 21, 2013, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson.

These charges result from an investigation by the United States Secret Service.  The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Kim.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial in a court of law.

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA– Donyel James Fitts, 28, of Sneads, Florida, was sentenced today in federal court to serve 45 years in prison for producing child pornography.

Fitts was sentenced for conduct in June and October 2012.  On June 21, 2012, Fitts persuaded and coerced a 4-year-old child to engage in sexually explicit conduct, so that he could photograph the minor.  On two occasions in October 2012, he videotaped the 4-year-old child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

Fitts faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison on each of three counts, and U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak ran the sentences consecutively to one another for a total of 45 years imprisonment, and a life term of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Pamela Marsh said, “Our prosecutors and law enforcement professionals will continue to actively investigate and charge offenders who target our children by photographing and videotaping such despicable acts.”

“This case exemplifies the important role local and federal law enforcement partnerships play in putting child predators behind bars,” said Shane Folden, deputy special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Tampa. “Let this sentence serve as a warning to other predators.  We will find you, arrest you and ensure that you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Thomas Monroe Lee, 40, of Gadsden, Alabama, was sentenced today to serve 121 months in federal prison for using the Internet in an attempt to persuade, induce, and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Evidence presented during a three day trial in April 2013 proved that, on June 14, 2012, law enforcement officers posed as a 14-year-old boy named Skylar and responded to an advertisement entitled “Last call!!!! – m4m – 1840 (PCB/Laguna beach),” which had been posted under the “Casual Encounters” link on Craigslist.  Over the next 48 hours, Lee engaged in email chats and text messages with Skylar that were sexual in nature.  Subsequently, Lee drove to a location where he had arranged to meet Skylar and transport him back to his residence to engage in sexual activity.  Once Lee arrived at the location, officers from various law enforcement agencies arrested him for attempted online enticement of a child.

Lee was also sentenced to a fine in the amount of $1,000, a $100 special monetary assessment, and a 7-year term of supervised release, which he will be required to serve upon completion of his sentence.

In announcing the sentence, Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the agencies participating in the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, particularly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Walton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gainesville Police Department. 

Ms. Marsh said, “The internet is a dangerous place, and we are determined to protect and provide justice to victims of internet crime.”  She added, “Adult predators who seek to harm our children will be pursued and prosecuted by our office in cooperation with our law enforcement partners.”

“This man drove across state lines for the sole purpose of engaging in sexual relations with a child he believed to be 14 years old,” said Shane Folden, deputy special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Tampa. “Our joint law enforcement efforts have successfully put this man behind bars for the next 10 years where he can no longer prey on innocent children.” 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney’s 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 exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

TALLAHASSEE B Phillip Wayne Mathenia, 63, of Tallahassee, was sentenced yesterday to serve 120 months in federal prison, after pleading guilty on May 10, 2013, to one count of possession of child pornography.  The result of the sentencing hearing was announced today by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

In 2004, Mathenia was convicted of receiving and possessing child pornography and was sentenced to serve 96 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.  After his release from federal prison, Mathenia was again found in possession of child pornography in October 2012, during a search of his residence conducted by the United States Probation Office.  Mathenia possessed hundreds of images of child pornography contained in several computers as well as in books, magazines, and 8 millimeter films that appeared to be decades old.  Investigators also found written stories describing adults performing sex acts on children.  Mathenia also possessed thousands of computer generated images and cartoon drawings depicting children and infants engaged in sexual activity, including child rape, bondage, torture, and bestiality.           

Because of his prior conviction, Mathenia was sentenced to serve a mandatory minimum term of 10 years.  He was also sentenced to eight months of incarceration on a violation of supervised release.  After his release from federal prison, Mathenia will be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life.  

United States Attorney Marsh praised the United States Probation Office, agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security and Investigations, and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children, Computer Forensics/Digital Evidence Recovery Unit for their hard work, dedication and expertise in the investigation and prosecution of this case.

Marsh said, "Protecting our children from the permanent scars left behind when this kind of exploitation occurs is critically important work of the Department of Justice and this Office.  This prison sentence should send a strong message of deterrence, and also provides security and justice for the victims of these crimes.”      

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 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 provides federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey J. Smith.

TPANAMA CITY, FLORIDA– Thomas Zachary Breeding, 29, of Panama City, Florida, has been charged by a federal grand jury with the alteration or falsification of an object to obstruct a federal investigation and two counts of making false statements to agents of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, announced United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh, Northern District of Florida.

The indictment alleges that, on or about January 18, 2012, Breeding knowingly altered the GPS device on his fishing vessel to impede, obstruct, and influence an investigation conducted by the NOAA into his activities in The Edges Closed Area.  The Edges is an area of the Gulf of Mexico closed annually to commercial and recreational fishing from January 1 to April 30 to protect the spawning season for gag grouper.  Gag grouper, like other shallow and deep water groupers, red snapper and tilefish are extremely valuable and economically important species to both commercial and recreational fishermen and are managed under the Gulf of Mexico Individual Fishing Quota program.

The indictment further alleges Breeding made two false statements to NOAA.  On or about January 18, 2012, Breeding is alleged to have falsely told NOAA that he was fishing in The Edges Closed Area by accident because the GPS device and plotter on his fishing vessel were inaccurate, when he knew that he intended to fish in The Edges Closed Area.  Then, on or about April 4, 2012, Breeding is alleged to have falsely told NOAA that he did not alter the GPS device on his fishing vessel to cover up his intentional entry into The Edges Closed Area, when defendant’s purpose in altering the GPS and plotter on his fishing vessel was to conceal his intentional entry into The Edges Closed Area to fish.

Count One of the indictment charges Breeding with the alteration or falsification of an object to obstruct a federal investigation.  If convicted on this count, Breeding faces a term of imprisonment of not more than twenty (20) years, a period of supervised release of up to five (5) years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special monetary assessment. Counts Two and Three of the indictment charge Breeding with making false statements.  If convicted on these counts, Breeding faces a term of imprisonment of not more than five (5) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, a period of supervised release of up to three (3) years, and a $100 special monetary assessment on each count.

Breeding appeared today for his initial appearance and arraignment at the United States District Court in Panama City, Florida.  Breeding pled not guilty to the charges and his trial was scheduled for October 21, 2013 before United States District Judge Richard Smoak.

The indictment results from an investigation by agents of NOAA, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gayle Littleton.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial in a court of law.

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Following a two-day trial, Jeffrey Monroe Roy (48), of Mobile, Alabama, was found guilty of using the Internet in an attempt to persuade, induce, and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and of traveling from Mobile, Alabama, to Panama City, Florida, with the intent to engage in sexual conduct with a 13 year old female.

Evidence presented during trial proved that on June 13, 2012, law enforcement officers, acting in an undercover capacity posted an advertisement on Craigslist posing as a 13 year old female.  Roy responded to the posting, and over the next three days, Roy engaged in email chats and telephone calls that were sexual in nature with a person who the defendant believed to be a 13 year old female named Jaz. During his communications with Jaz, Roy discussed numerous sexual situations and attempted to entice the 13 year old female to engage in sexual activity with him. After making arrangements to meet the 13 year old female, Roy drove from Mobile, Alabama on June 16, 2012 to meet with 13 year old Jaz at a predetermined location, where he was arrested and found to be in possession of Viagra, condoms, a camera, a knife, handcuffs, a first aid kit, and a deck of 52 sex position cards.

As a result of the guilty verdict, Roy faces a sentence of ten years to life in prison on Count One of the Indictment, attempted online enticement of a minor, and a sentence of up to thirty years in prison on Count Two of the Indictment, traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Roy also faces a fine of up to $250,000, not less than five years and up to a life term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment on both counts. Sentencing is set for November 20, 2013 at 10 a.m.

In announcing the verdict, Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, credited the success of this prosecution to the joint efforts of the agencies participating in the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, particularly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gainesville Police Department.  Ms. Marsh said, “The safety and well-being of our children is a top priority for the Department of Justice.  Our office will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases to protect the community and children, who are our most innocent victims.  Great praise is deserved by all of our law enforcement partners who contributed to the success of this investigation.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney’s 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 exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Risinger.

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – A Federal Grand Jury has returned an indictment charging Jacobo Feliciano-Francisco, a/k/a “Uriel Castillo-Ochoa”, a/k/a “Kiko”, age 30, with federal criminal violations related to kidnapping, retaliating against a witness, and transporting an individual in interstate commerce for prostitution. The Indictment was announced today by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

The indictment alleges that between 2006 and 2011, numerous organized individuals created a network of brothels and prostitution delivery services in Tennessee and Kentucky, using undocumented aliens from Spanish-speaking countries. F.T., a female individual, cooperated with the FBI in its investigation into these individuals after she was forced and coerced into working as a prostitute for approximately three years. Due to her cooperation, a total of 13 individuals were convicted in Tennessee and Kentucky of various federal sex-trafficking and prostitution criminal charges. In the fall of 2012, following her cooperation with law enforcement, F.T. was approached at her Tennessee residence by another individual and confronted about her cooperation. Out of concern for the safety of F.T. and her family, she and her family were relocated to Panama City Beach, Florida.

Following F.T.’s relocation, Feliciano-Francisco and others conspired to kidnap and did kidnap F.T. with the intent to transport her from Florida to Louisiana where she would be forced to work as a prostitute in retaliation for her prior cooperation with law enforcement. During her kidnapping, F.T. was sexually assaulted by Feliciano-Francisco, and he and others repeatedly threatened the physical safety of both her and her family. Feliciano-Francisco transported F.T. to a residence in Mississippi where she was confined until another conspirator arrived to pick her up and transport her to Louisiana.

Counts One and Two of the indictment charge Feliciano-Francisco with Conspiracy to Kidnap and Kidnapping. If convicted on those counts, Feliciano-Francisco faces a term of imprisonment of up to life, supervised release of up to five (5) years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special monetary assessment. Counts Three, Four, and Five of the indictment charge Feliciano-Francisco with Retaliation against a Witness, Transportation of an Individual in Interstate Commerce for Prostitution, and Coercion into Prostitution, respectively. If convicted on Counts Three and Five of his indictment, Feliciano-Francisco faces a term of imprisonment of not more than twenty (20) years. If convicted on Count Four of his indictment, Feliciano-Francisco faces a term of imprisonment of not more than ten (10) years. Additionally, as to each of counts Three, Four, and Five, Feliciano-Francisco faces the imposition of a fine of up to $250,000, supervised release of up to 3 years, and a $100 special monetary assessment. 

Feliciano-Francisco appeared today for his initial appearance and arraignment in United States District Court in Panama City, Florida. Feliciano-Francisco pled not guilty to the charges and his trial was scheduled for December 9, 2013 before United States District Judge Richard Smoak.

The indictment results from an investigation by agents of the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Risinger.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.