Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA - David Shemtov has been arraigned after being charged with eight counts of wire fraud for his role in a scheme to fraudulently inflate the reimbursement value of more than 1,400 electronic devices that he submitted for trade-in.

“The ability to trade in electronic devices for cash value or gift cards allows users to recover some value for devices they no longer need,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “Shemtov allegedly found a way to exploit this process to recover many times the value of the actual devices he traded in.”

“This alleged fraud scheme not only hurt the victim company, but potentially hurt consumers,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The courts will now decide Shemtov’s fate for allegedly choosing his own self-interest and greed over legitimate business transactions.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the indictment, and other information presented in court: From approximately October 2019 through January 2020, Shemtov allegedly participated in a scheme to submit more than 1,400 fraudulent electronic device trade-in requests online. On Internet trade-in request forms, the trade-in requests purported to have newer, higher-valued devices, typically an iPhone XS Max, to trade in.  The trade-in requests provided multiple different post office box locations as the addresses where the shipping boxes should be sent and used more than a dozen fictitious names. In reality, Shemtov never intended to trade in the higher-valued devices identified in the trade-in requests.  Instead, substantially less valuable devices–typically iPhone 6s and 7s–were sent in.

The device trade-in process was handled by a third-party provider (the victim company) that oversaw the mailing and receipt of the devices, and the reimbursement payments, typically in the form of Apple gift cards. The victim company paid substantially more than the true value for the devices sent in as part of the scheme.  For instance, more than 900 of the trade-in requests claimed to have iPhone XS Max with 64 gigabyte capacity, for a value of $545, but the devices mailed in were various versions of iPhone 6’s, with a trade-in value of $30.

After the victim company detected the scheme, from about March 2020 through December 2020, Shemtov submitted more than 1,000 additional trade-in requests using more than 100 fictious names.  The victim company flagged these requests and did not complete the trades.

David Shemtov, 28, of Los Angeles, California, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher C. Bly.  Shemtov was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 6, 2021. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison B. Prout is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – In honor of National Police Week, Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine recognizes the service and sacrifice of federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement. This year, the week is observed Sunday, May 9 through Saturday, May 15, 2021.

“This week is a time to honor our law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation,” said Attorney General Garland. “I am constantly inspired by the extraordinary courage and dedication with which members of law enforcement act each day, putting their lives on the line to make our communities safer. To members of law enforcement and your families: we know that not a single day, nor a single week, is enough to recognize your service and sacrifice. On behalf of the entire Department of Justice, you have our unwavering support and eternal gratitude.”

“Each day, law enforcement officers work hard to keep our citizens safe, and we want to take this opportunity to honor their service during National Police Week,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “We also want to recognize the brave men and women in law enforcement who have been injured or lost their lives to protect our communities.  My office is extremely grateful for the continued commitment and sacrifices they make for our communities.”

In 1962, President Kennedy issued the first proclamation for Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week to remember and honor law enforcement officers for their service and sacrifices.  Peace Officers Memorial Day, which every year falls on May 15, specifically honors law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty.  

Each year, during National Police Week, our nation celebrates the contributions of law enforcement from around the country, recognizing their hard work, dedication, loyalty, and commitment to keeping our communities safe. This year the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted law enforcement officers’ courage and unwavering devotion to the communities that they have sworn to serve.

During the Roll Call of Heroes, a ceremony coordinated by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), more than 300 officers will be honored.  Based on data submitted to and analyzed by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), of the law enforcement officers who died nationwide in the line of duty in 2020, nearly 60 percent succumbed to COVID-19. Here in the Northern District of Georgia, seven officers died in the line of duty.  

Additionally, according to statistics reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the Law Enforcement Officer Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program, 46 law enforcement officers died as a result of felonious acts and 47 died in accidents in 2020.  LEOKA statistics can be found on FBI’s Crime Data Explorer website. 

The names of the 394 fallen officers who have been added in 2020 to the wall at the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial will be read on Thursday, May 13, 2021, during a Virtual Candlelight Vigil, which will be livestreamed to the public at 8:00 pm EDT. The Police Week in-person public events, originally scheduled for May, have been rescheduled due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns to October 13-17, 2021. An in-person Candlelight Vigil event is scheduled for October 14, 2021.

Those who wish to view the Virtual Candlelight Vigil on May 13, 2021, can watch on the NLEOMF YouTube channel found at https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNLEOMF. The FOP’s Roll Call of Heroes can be viewed at www.fop.net. To view the schedule of virtual Police Week events in May, please view NLEOMF’s Police Week Flyer.   

To learn more about National Police Week in-person events scheduled for October, please visit www.policeweek.org.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Mamadou Sow, Demarcus Myree, Boubacar Tivalo, and Jacob James, have been sentenced for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft related to purchases of massive quantities of cigarettes from Sam's Club retail locations in metro Atlanta. 

“Identity theft wreaks havoc on the lives of individuals and compromises the financial security of victims,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “The sentences reflect the egregiousness of their conduct and the harm caused to dozens of victims, including individuals, financial institutions, and the retail establishments.”

“Identity thieves are a serious threat to our community because these scammers can steal so much of your hard-earned money and vanish before you’re ever alerted,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI and its partners are constantly working to identify, arrest and prosecute criminals, like these, that are exploiting the security of our financial networks.” 

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: Mamadou Sow, Demarcus Myree, and Boubacar Tivalo obtained Sam's Club memberships and membership cards in their names and aliases. From September 2018 through November 30, 2018, the defendants used dozens of stolen credit cards, issued by various financial institutions, to make unauthorized purchases of cigarettes at Sam's Club retail locations throughout metro Atlanta. In combination with some cash transactions, these three defendants purchased over $1.7 million worth of cigarettes during the scheme. Myree was also charged with possession of a stolen firearm.

From September 2018 to December 2018, Jacob James, who was charged in a separate indictment, purchased over $635,000 worth of cigarettes from Sam’s Club stores using stolen credit cards.

The defendants have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross as follows:

• Mamadou Sow, a/k/a Moussa Sow, 30, of Guinea, was sentenced to two years, six months in prison for access device fraud, to be followed by two consecutive years imprisonment for aggravated identity theft. He was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $749,772.31.  Sow was convicted on these charges on July 23, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
• Demarcus Myree, a/k/a Yuri Markosov, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to two years, six months in prison for access device fraud and possession of a stolen firearm, to be followed by two consecutive years imprisonment for aggravated identity theft. He was also sentenced to serve two years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $339,545.42.  Myree was convicted on these charges on June 26, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
• Boubacar Tivalo, a/k/a Tivado Boubacar, 46, of Guinea, was sentenced to two years, six months in prison for access device fraud, to be followed by two consecutive years imprisonment for aggravated identity theft. He was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $664,305.52.  Tivalo was convicted on these charges on September 10, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
• Jacob James, a/k/a Mark Johnson and Joe Johnson, 31, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to two years in prison for access device fraud, to be followed by two consecutive years imprisonment for aggravated identity theft. He was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $635,242.75.  James was convicted on these charged on November 24, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly K. Connors prosecuted the case.
 
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – AlixaRx, LLC, a national provider of pharmacy services to long-term care facilities, has agreed to pay the United States $2.75 million to resolve allegations that it violated federal law by, among other things, allowing opioids and other controlled substances to be dispensed without valid prescriptions between January 1, 2014 and December 13, 2017.

“The requirements of the Controlled Substances Act exist to ensure that dangerous drugs are not abused or diverted outside the DEA’s closed system of distribution,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “As this settlement makes clear, these requirements are not optional, and our office will vigorously pursue claims against registrants that place their own bottom line over the safety of our citizens.”

“AlixaRx, LLC spun a web of deception when it engaged in unlawful dispensing practices by abusing the emergency prescription provisions of the Controlled Substance Act,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division Robert J. Murphy. “Such behavior allows for substances to be diverted and sold on the black market with no true measure of accountability. This civil penalty is a proactive step that DEA Diversion and its law enforcement partners can take to discourage other healthcare providers from engaging in such behavior.”  

“The opioid epidemic has devastated communities, families, and individuals across our country. Health care providers who fail to secure these powerful drugs as required do a tremendous disservice to our society and will be held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of HHS-OIG.  “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, our oversight agency will continue to investigate such allegations to protect federal health care programs and the public.”

“This resolution sends a message that there are rules to be followed when dispensing controlled substances,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners make it a priority to protect patients from being supplied drugs without valid prescriptions.” 

AlixaRx is a pharmacy company that dispenses prescription drugs, including controlled substances, to long-term care facilities, primarily through on-site automatic dispensing units (“ADUs”).  AlixaRx supplied these ADUs with drugs through seven regional hubs located throughout the country.  Each hub, as well as each ADU, was separately registered with the DEA as a pharmacy able to dispense controlled substances.

The Government alleged that AlixaRx violated the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) in its dispensing pursuant to purported “emergency prescriptions.”  In nearly all circumstances, Schedule II controlled substances require a written prescription by a physician, and refills are not permitted by law.  The CSA allows pharmacists to dispense Schedule II controlled substances, such as opioid pain medications, without a written prescription only in true emergency situations and, even then, only for the quantity of drugs necessary to treat the patient during the emergency period.  Emergency prescriptions must promptly be reduced to writing and signed by an authorizing physician within seven days of issuance.  Failure to meet these requirements results in an illegal dispensing of controlled substances without a valid prescription.

The Government’s investigation revealed that AlixaRx routinely abused the emergency prescription provisions of the CSA by requesting and obtaining verbal “emergency” refills from prescribers, in the absence of any true emergency.  Instead, the company used these purported emergency prescriptions to effectuate simple refills of the patients’ medications.  Moreover, AlixaRx routinely failed to obtain written prescriptions within seven days after the verbal authorization.  Rather than disclose these violations to the DEA as required by law, AlixaRx engaged in a nationwide scheme to cover up its violations by obtaining backdated prescriptions from the prescribing physicians, in many cases over a year after the controlled substances were dispensed.

Finally, the Government resolved allegations that AlixaRx submitted false claims to Medicare for invalid emergency prescriptions, as discussed above.  The Government also resolved claims that AlixaRx billed Medicare Part D for claims that had already been reimbursed through claims paid to long-term care facilities under Medicare Part A.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia by a former pharmacist at AlixaRx’s Atlanta hub under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States and obtain a portion of the government’s recovery. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Control Division, Atlanta Field Office, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

The case was handled by David A. O’Neal, Assistant U.S. Attorney and Opioid Coordinator for the Northern District of Georgia.

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Gharavi v. AlixaRx LLC et al., 1:17-CV-00455-JPB.  The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Husband and wife Mehulkumar Manubhai Patel and Chaitali Dave have been sentenced for laundering over $500,000 on behalf of India-based phone scammers. 

“International call centers continue to victimize the elderly and most vulnerable members of our community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “The defendants worked with call centers to prey on and steal from these vulnerable victims.  This case exists as an example of our commitment to investigating and prosecuting those who facilitate foreign-based scams.  Citizens are reminded never to provide money or personal information to callers they don’t know and trust.”

“These convictions should stand as a warning that my office will aggressively investigate and work to hold those accountable who collect and transmit money from Social Security imposter scam victims,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “I want to thank the U.S Attorney’s Office for its leadership in bringing scam perpetrators and facilitators to justice, and our law enforcement partners who provided valuable assistance throughout this investigation.”

“We applaud all of the people who investigated and prosecuted this scam case,” said Andrew Saul, Commissioner of Social Security.  “Never provide money or personal information to unknown callers when you receive a suspicious call.  Just hang up and then go online to https://oig.ssa.gov/ to report these scams to Social Security.”

“We are duty bound to combat fraud schemes that victimize the public,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Steven Baisel. “Efforts to purposely target the elderly are particularly heinous. We take great pride in working collaboratively to catch these kinds of offenders.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: Criminal India-based call centers defraud U.S. residents, including the elderly, by misleading victims over the telephone utilizing scams such as Social Security and tech support scams.

As part of their Social Security scam, India-based callers posed as federal agents in order to mislead victims into believing their Social Security numbers were involved in crimes.  Callers threatened arrest and the loss of the victims’ assets if the victims did not send money.  The callers directed victims to mail cash to aliases used by other members of the fraud network, including Patel and Dave.

As part of the tech support scam, callers induced victims to send money in exchange for supposed technical support for their computers.  The callers then provided nothing in return.  At times, callers misled the victims into providing remote access to their computers and the callers would access the victims’ bank accounts.  The callers routinely misled the victims by making it appear as though the caller added money to the victims’ bank accounts.  The callers then instructed the victims to mail cash to aliases used by other members of the fraud network, including Patel and Dave.

Based on misrepresentations made during the calls, the victims, including Georgia residents, mailed money to a network of individuals that laundered funds on behalf of the overseas fraud network.  From on or about May 2019, to on or about January 2020, Patel and Dave laundered over $500,000 sent by dozens of scam victims.

• Chaitali Dave, 36, of Lamar, South Carolina, was sentenced on April 28, 2021, to one year, eight months to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $320,550 in restitution.
   
• Mehulkumar Manubhai Patel, 36, of Lamar, South Carolina, was sentenced on December 1, 2020, to two years, six months, to be followed by two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $259,217 in restitution.  

The Social Security Administration - Office of the Inspector General investigated the case with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service, El Dorado Task Force (New York), Aiken Department of Public Safety (South Carolina), Naperville Police Department (Illinois), Lexington County Sheriff’s Department (South Carolina), Rocky River Police Department (Ohio), Polk County Sheriff’s Office (Florida) and Henrico County Police Division (Virginia). 

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Schulman prosecuted the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolee Porter, the former Elder Justice Coordinator previously prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is part of the Department of Justice Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force. The Strike Force focuses on investigating and prosecuting defendants associated with foreign-based fraud schemes that disproportionately affect American seniors.  These include romance scams, phone scams, mass-mailing fraud schemes, and tech-support fraud schemes.  For further information on these scams, see https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/senior-scam-alert.

The public should exercise caution with any caller who claims to be a government employee. Government agencies will never threaten you with immediate arrest or other legal action if you do not send cash, retail gift cards, wire transfers, or internet currency. They will also never demand secrecy from you in resolving a debt or any other problem. If you need to send a payment to Social Security, SSA will send a letter with payment options and appeal rights. If you suspect you have received a Social Security scam call, report it at https://oig.ssa.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill has been indicted on federal civil rights charges for ordering his employees to use excessive force against four pretrial detainees at the Clayton County Jail in 2020.  The indictment alleges that Hill, without any legal justification, ordered his employees to strap the detainees into a restraint chair and keep them there for hours in violation of their constitutional rights.  The indictment further alleges that Hill deprived the detainees of their due process rights because such use of force was unreasonable, amounted to punishment, and caused the detainees physical pain and bodily injury. 

“While the vast majority of our law enforcement officers perform their duties bravely, professionally, and with honor, those few who abuse their power must be held accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “Our constitution prohibits law enforcement officers from using unreasonable force.  Without justification, Sheriff Hill allegedly ordered four detainees to be strapped into restraint chairs for hours.  In so doing, he caused pain and injury to the detainees in his care.  Sheriff Hill’s actions, as alleged by the Grand Jury, deprived the citizens he was sworn to protect of their civil rights.  Such abuses of power not only harm the victims, they also erode the community’s trust in law enforcement.”

“Badges and guns don't come with the authority to ignore the Constitution. They come with the responsibility to protect it from anyone who would violate it, especially another public servant,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Christopher Macrae, FBI Atlanta. “Sheriff Hill is alleged to have abused his privileges and abandoned his responsibilities and the FBI is committed to restoring trust in law enforcement by holding him accountable.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the indictment, and other information presented in court:  The Clayton County Sheriff’s Office’s (CCSO’s) “Inmate Restraint Chair Policy,” which was approved by Hill, states that “a restraint chair may be used by security staff to provide safe containment of an inmate exhibiting violent or uncontrollable behavior and to prevent self-injury, injury to others or property damage when control techniques are not effective.”  Consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, the policy emphasizes that use of a restraint chair “will never be authorized as a form of punishment.”

Victim J.A.

On February 25, 2020, a victim identified as J.A. was accused of assaulting two women during a dispute at a Clayton County grocery store several weeks earlier. He was arrested by Forest Park (Georgia) Police Department officers and CCSO deputies without incident.  At the time, J.A. was unarmed, was not under the influence of drugs, and offered no resistance.  A short time later, J. A. was booked into the Clayton County jail as a pretrial detainee.  During the booking process, J.A. was escorted by a group of deputies and correction officers to the fingerprinting area where Hill allegedly confronted J.A. 

Hill asked J.A. what he had been doing in Clayton County on the day of the alleged assault.  J.A. replied, “It’s a democracy, sir.  It’s the United States.”  Hill responded, “No, it’s not.  Not in my county.”  When J.A. asked whether he was entitled to a fair and speedy trial, Hill allegedly replied, “Roll that chair around here.  You stay out of Clayton County, you understand me?  You sound like a dummy.”  When J.A. asked again whether he was entitled to a fair and speedy trial, Hill allegedly stated, “You entitled to sit in this chair, and you’re entitled to get the hell out of my county and don’t come back.  That’s what you’re entitled to.  You sound like a damn jackass.  Don’t you ever put your hand on a woman like that again.  You’re fortunate that wasn’t my mother or grandmama or you wouldn’t be standing there.  Now, sit there and see if you can get some damn sense in your head.”

According to the indictment, during J.A.’s interaction with Hill, J.A. was surrounded by law enforcement personnel, was handcuffed most of the time, and never posed a threat to anyone.  Despite those facts, J.A. was strapped into a restraint chair and left there for hours per Hill’s orders.

Victim C.H.

On April 26, 2020, C.H., who had just turned 17 years old, allegedly vandalized his family home during an argument with his mother.  Shortly thereafter, a CCSO deputy apprehended C.H. near his home without incident and turned C.H. over to the custody of the Clayton County Police Department (CCPD).  Clayton County records indicate C.H. was unarmed, was not under the influence of drugs, and offered no resistance.

According to the indictment, the deputy, a CCSO supervisor, then spoke with Hill on the phone, texted Hill a photograph of C.H. handcuffed and seated in a CCPD vehicle, and had the following text exchange with Hill:

Hill:             How old is he?

Deputy:        17

Hill:             Chair

A few hours later, early on April 27, 2020, C.H. was booked into the Clayton County jail as a pretrial detainee pending trial on charges stemming from the incident at his home.  Although C.H. had been compliant with law enforcement during and after his arrest and never posed a threat to anyone, he was allegedly strapped into a restraint chair and left there for hours per Hill’s orders.

Victim J.H.

Also on the morning of April 27, 2020, J.H. was arrested by the Jonesboro Police Department following a domestic disturbance.  At the police station after his arrest, J.H. fell out of a chair after allegedly pretending to pass out.  J.H. was transported to a hospital for evaluation.  While being treated at the hospital, J.H. refused treatment and left the building.  When Jonesboro police officers re-apprehended J.H. outside his grandmother’s house that afternoon, J.H. did not cooperate or comply with officer’s commands and had to be carried down some steps and placed into a patrol vehicle.  Clayton County records indicate that J.H. was unarmed, was not under the influence of drugs, and offered no resistance.  In the patrol vehicle, J.H. again appeared to feign unconsciousness but offered no resistance.

Shortly thereafter, still during the afternoon of April 27, 2020, J.H. was booked into the Clayton County jail as a pretrial detainee pending trial on charges stemming from the domestic disturbance.  Upon J.H.’s arrival at the jail, although J.H. was not combative and never posed a threat to anyone, J.H. was allegedly strapped into a restraint chair and left there for several hours per Hill’s order.  During his time in the restraint chair, J.H. was not allowed to go to the restroom and urinated on the restraint chair due the length of his confinement.

According to the indictment, while C.H. and J.H. were both strapped in restraint chairs near each other, Hill allegedly confronted them.  Referring to C.H., Hill allegedly said, “You know what he did yesterday?  He went and destroyed his mother’s house yesterday.  That’s what this asshole right here did.”  Addressing both C.H. and J.H., Hill then allegedly stated, “Now, I’m going to tell you something.  If I hear about you (C.H.) messing up your mama’s house again, if I hear about you (J.H.) fighting cops and faking and going to the Southern Regional and then walking out and pulling out the I.V., I’m a sit your ass in that chair for sixteen hours straight.  Do you understand me?  I need to hear from both of y’all that y’all not gonna show y’all’s ass in my county no more.”

Victim G.H.

In April 2020, G.H. and a CCSO deputy had a payment dispute over some landscaping work G.H. did for the deputy in Butts County, Georgia.  The work and dispute were unrelated to the deputy’s employment with CCSO.  After learning about the dispute, Hill allegedly called G.H. on April 23, 2020.  During the call, Hill allegedly identified himself as the Clayton County Sheriff and asked G.H. why he was harassing his deputy.  G.H. replied that Hill should tell his deputy to pay his bill and added, “you can go f--- yourself.”  Unsure whether the caller had actually been the Clayton County Sheriff, G.H. used FaceTime to call back several times until Hill answered and removed a face mask he was wearing.  After the FaceTime calls, Hill allegedly texted G.H., warning him not to call or text anymore.  G.H. responded via text, “So this is Victor Hill correct[?” According to the indictment, Hill responded with a second text warning for G.H. not to call or text him anymore.  Although G.H. did not call or text again, Hill allegedly instructed a CCSO deputy to swear out an arrest warrant against G.H. for harassing communications.

The next day, April 24, 2020, Hill allegedly texted G.H., “[T]his is Sheriff Victor Hill.  We have a warrant for your arrest.  Would you like to turn yourself in, or have my Deputies find you?”  G.H. did not respond.  The next morning, April 25, 2020, Hill again allegedly texted G.H., “My Deputies are actively looking for you.  We have not and will not agree for you to turn yourself in when you want to.  Turn yourself in today.”  Meanwhile, Hill allegedly sent an armed fugitive squad to Butts County in an attempt to arrest G.H. on the misdemeanor arrest warrant.

After retaining a lawyer, G.H. turned himself in at the CCSO during the evening of April 27, 2020.  Clayton County records indicate that G.H. was unarmed, was not under the influence of drugs, and offered no resistance.  Shortly thereafter, G.H. was booked into the Clayton County jail as a pretrial detainee pending trial on the harassing communications charges.  Surveillance footage from the jail shows G.H. interacting with jail personnel for more than half an hour, during which time he appeared cooperative and compliant before Hill arrived and confronted him.  According to the indictment, immediately upon Hill’s arrival, although G.H. was surrounded by law enforcement personnel, remained compliant, and never posed a threat to anyone, G.H. was immediately strapped into a restraint chair and left there for several hours per Hill’s orders.

Victor Hill, 56, of Hampton, Georgia, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brent Alan Gray and Bret R.  Hobson are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Robert Whitley, a/k/a Mr. Bob, and Noni Whitley, father and daughter, have each pleaded guilty to a separate criminal information charging them for their roles in operating Closeout Express and Essential Daily Discounts, which for years sold millions of dollars of stolen retail product online.

“Robert and Noni Whitley operated a well-organized criminal enterprise disguised as an apparently legitimate small business,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “This is retail theft on a massive scale.  We will continue to work with retailers and manufacturers to combat organized retail crime that is made easier and more lucrative by the ease by which stolen product can be sold online.”

"For more than eight years, the Whitley’s profited off of the backs of legitimate retailers by encouraging theft of their products for resale online,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Stopping this massive theft of products not only protects the retailers, but also consumers who are affected by those retailers’ losses.”

“The investigation of this criminal enterprise required coordinated enforcement actions through the sharing of intelligence and working together operationally with the FBI. This extensive scheme went beyond petty shoplifting at retail stores and entailed the deliberate sale of stolen goods through third party marketplaces for profit,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division. “Postal Inspectors are committed to protecting the U.S. Mail system and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate these types of crimes.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: Between approximately January 2011 and November 2019, Robert Whitley and Noni Whitley operated an organized retail crime operation (“ORC”) in Atlanta through several entities, including Closeout Express and Essentials Daily Discounts. An ORC operation refers to a professional shoplifting, cargo theft, or retail crime ring, or other organized crime occurring in a retail environment. Robert Whitley was the owner and operator of Closeout Express. Noni Whitley worked with her father and helped operate and manage their ORC operation.

Closeout Express and Essential Daily Discounts operated from a warehouse and several residences in Atlanta. Robert Whitley and Noni Whitley relied on “boosters”—who are essentially professional shoplifters—to steal specific retail products or categories of items, including over-the-counter medications (e.g., Prilosec, Nexium, Rogaine, and Claritin), shaving razors, oral care products, as well as health and beauty aids. The boosters stole these products from various big box retailers, national drugstore chains, and national supermarket chains throughout metro Atlanta including CVS, Kroger, Publix, Target, and Walgreens.  The boosters would typically bring the stolen product in large trash bags to Closeout Express's warehouse in southwest Atlanta. Robert and Noni Whitley paid the boosters in cash for the stolen product.

Closeout Express mainly sold the stolen retail products online at its own websites, and through various online e-commerce platforms, including the Amazon Marketplace, Walmart Marketplace, and Sears Marketplace. In exchange for a monthly fee or some percentage of the sales, Amazon, Walmart, and Sears permit third-party sellers to establish “online storefronts” to sell new or used products on a fixed-price online marketplace alongside these companies’ regular offerings. Closeout Express established “online storefronts” on each of these marketplaces to sell the stolen retail product. Across these various e-commerce platforms, Closeout Express sold millions of dollars of stolen retail product at below retail and even wholesale cost. Robert and Noni Whitley also sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen product through Essential Daily Discounts’ own website.

In November 2019, federal agents executed multiple search warrants at Closeout Express’s southwest Atlanta warehouse and multiple residences connected to Robert and Noni Whitley. These locations had been used to sort, store, and process the stolen retail product (e.g., “clean” the items of identifying information or anti-theft devices.) Among other evidence of the ORC operation, agents recovered more than $1 million in stolen retail products.

While in operation, Robert Whitley and Noni Whitley sold more than $5 million in stolen retail product through Closeout Express and Essential Daily Discounts.

Robert Whitley, 70, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.  His sentencing is scheduled for July 28, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.  Noni Whitley, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property.  Her sentencing is scheduled for July 28, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. Both sentencings will be held before U.S. District Judge J. P. Boulee.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Denis Onderi Makori has been indicted on charges relating to a business email compromise (BEC) scheme targeting a Pennsylvania university and allegedly defrauding it out of more than $2 million. 

“Business email compromise schemes pose a severe risk of financial loss to public and private institutions alike,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “In this case, Makori allegedly helped orchestrate a scheme that caused a university to transfer unknowingly over $2 million to bank accounts he controlled.”

“BEC schemes like this alleged one are a big reason why the Georgia Cyber Fraud Task Force, comprised of federal, state and local agencies, was launched in February,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It takes a combination of education and our priority to investigate and prosecute these cases to make it a deterrent to those who contemplate committing these crimes.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the indictment, and other information presented in court: Various individuals allegedly engaged in a fraudulent BEC scheme to cause a university located in Pennsylvania to send payments totaling more than $2 million via Automated Clearing House (ACH) to a bank account controlled by Makori, rather than to the intended beneficiary of such payments, a medical supply company based in Alpharetta, Georgia. 

In furtherance of the scheme, a fraudulent email was allegedly sent to the university that purported to be from the medical supply company.  The fraudulent email allegedly contained ACH payment instructions that directed the university to transfer payments to an account that purportedly belonged to the medical supply company.  The university then transferred more than $2 million dollars to the bank account allegedly controlled by Makori.  Then, Makori allegedly moved and laundered the funds between and among bank accounts associated with his logistics company, and then to bank accounts in Kenya, to himself, and to other persons associated with him.

Denis Onderi Makori, 34, of Powder Springs, Georgia, was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 20, 2021.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chicago Field Office provided valuable assistance in this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan M. Christian is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Jean Samuel Gai has been arraigned on federal charges of aiding the filing of a false tax return.  At the time, Gai was on probation in Georgia for similar tax-related offenses.

“At a time when he was already on probation for a prior tax-related charge, Gai’s allegedly returned to filing false tax returns,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “It is important to check a tax professional’s background before engaging him or her to assist with filing any tax returns.”

“Often in these types of schemes, the taxpayers fall victim to leaning on the trust of their return preparers,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey.  “The charges in this case show our seriousness in holding return preparers accountable for abusing their trusted positions to fraudulently gain more client funds.  Taxpayers are strongly encouraged to review their return and ask questions in order to avoid falling victim to dishonest return preparers.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: Gai owned and operated N.C.E. Financial Services Incorporated, a tax return business that had two locations: one in Atlanta, Georgia and the other in Riverdale, Georgia. For the 2014 through 2018 tax years, Gai prepared and filed false income tax returns for his clients that allegedly claimed false Schedule C items, false W-2 wages, and false earned income tax credits to obtain refunds that his clients were not entitled to. Gai then allegedly kept most of the fraudulent refunds for his own use. The total loss associated with Gai’s fraud is estimated at more than $600,000.

In November 2013, Gai was convicted of first-degree forgery related to stealing and cashing tax refund checks issued by the State of Georgia. Gai was sentenced to 10 years’ probation for that offense and thus was on probation at the time he allegedly committed the current federal offenses.

Jean Samuel Gai, 45, of Atlanta, Georgia, was arraigned on April 6, 2021, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Phillips is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Richard J. Randolph, III, has been arraigned on federal charges of securities fraud.  Randolph was charged in an information filed on April 1, 2021.

“Investors expect the companies that they invest in will operate with integrity,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “The defendant allegedly went to great lengths to mislead potential clients, convincing some to invest over $1.5 million in the alleged scheme.”

“Creative fraud is still fraud,” said Special Agent in Charge Steve Baisel, U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office. “Fortunately, the combined efforts of law enforcement partners are an effective way to stop bad actors.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: Richard Randolph was the CEO, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and majority shareholder of Randolph Acquisitions, Inc., a company headquartered in Atlanta that publicly filed its financials with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  He also controlled Gallagher Management Group and other related entities.  In 2017 and 2018, Randolph sold over $1 million in Randolph Acquisition stock to various investors.

In 2017, Randolph began preparing to merge Gallagher Management Group into Randolph Acquisitions and sold Randolph Acquisitions shares to multiple investors.  Gallagher Management also engaged an accounting firm to audit its 2016 financial statements.  In connection with this audit, Randolph allegedly provided false information regarding Gallagher Management Group’s assets which were then reflected on the balance sheet of the 2016 financial statements:

• Randolph falsely claimed that Gallagher Management Group owned two buildings valued at a claimed $10 million combined.  In reality, neither Gallagher Management Group, nor Randolph ever owned these properties.
• Randolph falsely valued a different property at $10.5 million with no associated liability.  In reality, Gallagher Management Group purchased the property in or about September 2016 for $1.1 million with a $1.1 million mortgage loan secured by the property.  It was sold in August 2017 for $1.2 million.
• Randolph falsely valued yet another property at $4.5 million that was acquired in January 2016 for $425,000 by an entity controlled by Randolph and was transferred to Gallagher Management Group in March 2017.  In April 2018, the property was sold at auction for $687,500 after Gallagher Management Group defaulted on a $500,000 loan.
• Randolph provided a false bank statement showing a balance of over $2.5 million.  The actual balance in this account was $58,198.78.  

The audited financials included other misrepresentations such as falsely stating that Gallagher Management Group “has consistently maintained over $50 million dollars in assets, under management, annually.”

Gallagher Management Group also engaged a consultant to prepare a business valuation for the merger which relied upon Gallagher Management Group’s 2016 audited financial statements, alleged additional false property valuation information provided by Randolph, and false projections provided by Randolph.  The report valued Gallagher Management Group at $31.3 million on an enterprise value basis and $33.8 million on an equity value basis.
 
In connection with the proposed merger between Randolph Acquisitions and Gallagher Management Group, Randolph Acquisitions made multiple filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that attached the alleged false 2016 audited financial statements of Gallagher Management Group.  Randolph directed investors to these filings.  In addition to these documents, Randolph allegedly falsely claimed that Randolph Acquisitions owned EF Block when it did not. He allegedly falsely claimed that Randolph Acquisitions was close to securing a variety of large public and private contracts in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including hurricane remediation contracts and an agreement to manage the U.S. Virgin Islands public retirement fund, when in fact they never obtained any of those contracts. 
 
These alleged misrepresentations materially increased Randolph Acquisitions’ apparent value and future prospects, when in reality, it was little more than a shell company with limited assets.  Randolph allegedly induced 14 victims who relied upon the misrepresentations to invest over $1.5 million in Randolph Acquisitions.
 
Richard J. Randolph, III, 40, of Atlanta, Georgia, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Regina D. Cannon.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
 
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  In a related civil matter, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint charging Randolph and he consented to entry of a judgment against him.
 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, is prosecuting the case.
 
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ROME, Ga. - Jeffery Deroy Lewis, an inmate at Valdosta State Prison, along with Octavius Henry, Alexis Jay Stokley, and Khalid Eugene Mouton, inmates at Hays State Prison, and an accomplice, Jessica Corley Stokley, have been indicted and arraigned on federal drug trafficking and bribery charges stemming from a scheme to smuggle narcotics into Hay State Prison by bribing corrections officer Voltaire Peter Pierre.

“These inmates allegedly smuggled drugs and other contraband into the prison, putting guards and fellow inmates in danger,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “By using hidden cell phones to coordinate with conspirators, they sent and received payments via payment apps and prepaid cards, and allegedly bribed at least one prison official to allow illegal drugs to enter the prison community.”

“Prisons should be a place of rehabilitation, not a place to continue committing crimes,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Illegal cell phones have emboldened inmates and their associates to engage in criminal conduct, sometimes with the help of law enforcement officials. It threatens both inmates and staff and the FBI will pursue these investigations no matter who is involved.”

“These defendants being charged demonstrate the collaborative efforts of state and federal partners to dismantle this conspiracy. The officer violated his oath and the public’s trust by contributing to this criminal activity within the prison system,” said Vic Reynolds, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: From approximately June 2018 through October 2018, the defendants allegedly conspired to smuggle drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine), and marijuana, along with other contraband into Hays State Prison. 

The inmates allegedly communicated via contraband cell phones and through coded email messages sent via the prison email system with conspirators outside the prison to arrange for drugs and other contraband to be dropped at the home of Pierre, a Hays State Prison corrections officer who later smuggled the packages into prison for distribution to inmates.  The inmates then transmitted drug payments and bribe payments to Pierre through a combination of prepaid debit cards and a payment app.

Voltaire Peter Pierre pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine, crack cocaine, and marijuana on October 17, 2019.

Jeffery Deroy Lewis, a/k/a “2500,” 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, Octavius Henry, a/k/a “Forever,” a/k/a Robert Barrow, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, Alexis Jay Stokley, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Jessica Corley Stokley, 38, of Atlanta, Georgia, were arraigned on March 9, 2021, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to commit bribery after being indicted by a federal grand jury on February 16, 2021.  Khalid Eugene Mouton, a/k/a Michael Howard, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, is pending arraignment.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan M. Christian and Calvin A. Leipold, III are prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine and Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta are condemning bigotry, racism, and hatred against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and issuing a call for people to report potential discriminatory incidents immediately. 

“We are deeply troubled by the acts of violence and harassment against our Asian American neighbors, family, and friends in this district,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “We will not tolerate discrimination or criminal acts against people based on their real or perceived race or ethnicity and will continue to examine all evidence related to the shooter’s motivation in order to determine whether these horrific murders violated federal hate crime laws.  Federal law enforcement in this district is committed to the safety of the members of our AAPI community and we urge the public to report potential racial discrimination and hate crimes to law enforcement so we can address these illegal acts.”

“FBI Atlanta and The U.S. Attorney's Office have reached out to Atlanta's AAPI community, among other groups who have been targeted historically because of their race, to assure them they have an ally with law enforcement agencies and that individuals affected know their rights,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Investigating civil rights/hate crimes is among the FBI's highest priorities. FBI Atlanta is dedicated to addressing every single allegation, and we strongly encourage anyone who believes their civil rights were violated to report it, so that we can determine whether a crime occurred.”

With respect to the tragic and horrific shooting of eight victims in Atlanta, the FBI, the USAO for the Northern District of Georgia, and the Civil Rights Division are fully supporting the state investigation into the tragic events of March 16th, while independently assessing whether the shootings involved a federal hate crime.  Experienced civil rights prosecutors and agents are assessing all of the evidence and will continue to examine all evidence related to the shooter’s motivation.

We have increased our outreach to the AAPI community in the wake of last week’s tragic events.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI, along with other members of federal, state and local law enforcement, met with leaders of the AAPI community within 24 hours after the tragic shootings in the Atlanta area, and have this week, participated in a listening session in Doraville, Georgia with AAPI representatives.  “Our outreach efforts will continue while reinforcing the message that we all stand together with the AAPI community to aggressively address incidents of anti-Asian bias in our district,” said Erskine.

There is a significant disparity between hate crimes that actually occur and those reported to law enforcement. It is critical to report hate crimes not only to show support for those directly impacted, but also to reinforce the message that our community will not tolerate these kinds of crimes. Reporting also enables law enforcement to fully understand the scope of the problem in a community and assign resources toward preventing and addressing crimes of bias and hate.

President Biden on January 26 issued the “Presidential Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.” The memorandum mandates that the Attorney General explore opportunities to support, consistent with applicable law, the efforts of state and local agencies, as well as AAPI communities and community-based organizations, to prevent discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hate crimes against AAPI individuals, and expand collection of data and public reporting regarding hate incidents against such individuals.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division enforces federal anti-discrimination laws, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has dedicated units that prosecute civil rights violations in its Criminal Division and enforce civil rights laws in its Civil Division. The Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office also investigates non-criminal instances of discrimination.

If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, please call 911. If you believe you have been the target or victim of a hate crime or other violation of your civil rights, please contact the FBI Atlanta Field Office by calling (770) 216-3000 or submitting a tip online at https://www.fbi.gov/tips

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Gee-Kung Chang has been arraigned on federal charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud.  Chang and Jianjun Yu were indicted on March 18, 2021.

“The defendants allegedly abused the visa program and deceived Georgia Tech to bring researchers into the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “The charges presented are the first step toward holding them accountable.”

“The United States welcomes academics and researchers from across the globe,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “But we cannot allow anyone to exploit our benevolence. That's what these defendants are accused of doing and now they will be judged.”

“Schemes like this not only steal invaluable opportunities from legitimate, hard-working students it also allows scammers to come to the United States and profit from their misdeeds,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Identifying, arresting and prosecuting violators is vital to protect the integrity of our nation’s visa program.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: Chang, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology (“Georgia Tech”) in Atlanta, Georgia, and Yu, who was then a research director at ZTE USA—a subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, a partially state-owned Chinese telecommunications and information technology company—in Morristown, New Jersey, allegedly conspired together to bring Chinese nationals to the United States to conduct research at the company.

To facilitate the entry of the Chinese nationals into the United States, Chang allegedly abused his position as a professor at Georgia Tech, an institution that was a designated exchange sponsor for the Department of State’s J-1 Visa program, to arrange for Chinese nationals to fraudulently obtain and maintain J-1 Visas. 

The J-1 Visa program is for individuals approved to participate in specific work-and-study-based exchange visitor programs with exchange sponsor institutions, like Georgia Tech.  The program is not intended for general employment of foreign workers in the United States.

In the J-1 Visa paperwork submitted to the Department of State, the Chinese nationals allegedly indicated that they would be working with Chang at Georgia Tech.  In reality, the indictment alleges, after arriving in the United States, the Chinese nationals traveled to and resided in New Jersey to work with Yu at ZTE USA.  And, in some instances, Chinese nationals were paid salaries from Georgia Tech while they were actually working at ZTE USA.

Gee-Kung Chang, 73, of Smyrna, Georgia, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher C. Bly.  Chang and Jianjun Yu, 53, of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, were indicted by a federal grand jury on March 18, 2021.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

NEWNAN, Ga. - Ten defendants, who operated as part of a larger group, have been indicted for participating in a wide ranging, multi-state scheme to submit fraudulent loan applications on behalf of non-existent businesses as part of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

“The impact of COVID-19 on small businesses around the country has been devastating,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “The defendants allegedly abused both programs by submitting fraudulent applications and obtaining thousands of dollars that should have gone to support struggling businesses.  We will work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the EIDL and PPP and to help small businesses stay afloat.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused financial hardships for many hardworking business owners across the nation.  The CARES Act was signed to provide economic assistance to keep companies afloat while navigating through these uncertain times,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division.  “Postal Inspectors are committed to aggressively pursuing investigations in which the U.S. Mails are used to facilitate criminal schemes.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the indictment, and other information presented in court:  On August 11, 2020, agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant at the home of Alicia Quarterman in connection with an ongoing narcotics trafficking investigation.  A package containing methamphetamine hidden in dog food containers had been mailed to Quarterman’s home.  As part of the court-authorized search, law enforcement seized Quarterman’s cell phones and discovered a handwritten ledger with the personal and banking information of several individuals. 

After obtaining a second search warrant for the cell phones, USPIS inspectors uncovered hundreds of text messages and photos related to an additional crime, fraudulent EIDL and PPP business loans.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is a federal law passed in March 2020 that provided $2.2 trillion dollars in emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by COVID-19.  The provisions of the CARES Act, in conjunction with an officially declared disaster by the United States Government, allowed the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to offer EIDL funding to business owners negatively affected by COVID-19.  The EIDL application information, submitted by the applicant, was used by SBA systems to calculate the amount of money the business was eligible to receive in the form of a loan.  However, in conjunction with the submission of an EIDL application, by having clicked on and checked a box within the on-line application, an applicant could request and then receive up to $10,000.00, an EIDL Advance which did not have to be repaid.

Another source of relief from the March 2020 CARES Act is the PPP which allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive PPP loans to pay payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time and uses a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds for payroll expenses.

Once Quarterman and her co-conspirator, Katrina Lawson, who is a former deputy sheriff for Fulton County, Georgia and is still a certified peace officer, became familiar with the requirements and applications for the EIDL program and the PPP, they allegedly devised a scheme to submit fraudulent business loan applications on behalf of their friends and family who did not actually own businesses.  Quarterman would recruit co-conspirators who would send her their personal and banking information mostly via text message, and then Quarterman would send that information to Lawson who would submit the applications to the SBA.  After the fraudulent loans were paid out by the SBA or partner banks, the co-conspirators completed their scheme by allegedly paying Quarterman a “fee” from the proceeds of the fraudulent loans which she would split with Lawson.

Some of Quarterman and Lawson’s co-conspirators also allegedly recruited additional participants to the scheme and then sent their information to Quarterman for fraudulent loan applications.  As part of their crimes, the defendants not only submitted false information for the business loans, but for the PPP, they also allegedly created fake Internal Revenue Service documentation to support the applications. 

Besides Alicia Quarterman, 38, of Fayetteville, Georgia, and Katrina Lawson, 41, of Houston, Texas, the following individuals also participated in the scheme and are charged in the indictment:

• India Middleton, 34, of Accokeek, Maryland,
• James McFarland, 56, of Atlanta, Georgia,
• Tranesha Quarterman, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia,
• Darryl Washington, 66, of Atlanta, Georgia,
• Adarin Jones, a/k/a Adrian Jones, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia,
• Katie Quarterman, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia,
• Nikia Wakefield, 42, of Rockville, Maryland, and
• Victor Montgomery, 43, of Washington, D.C.,

Overall, between July 1, 2020 and August 11, 2020, Quarterman sent Lawson the information for about 48 different individuals, and she allegedly completed approximately 58 fraudulent EIDL applications, seeking $490,000.  In that same time frame, Lawson allegedly submitted 11 fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of many of the same individuals in an attempt to obtain at least $224,000.  The defendants are charged with various counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. 

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Miguel R. Acosta is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Eleven defendants have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in a mortgage fraud scheme spanning more than four years and resulting in the approval of more than 100 mortgages based on fabricated documents and false information.  Many of the loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) resulting in claims being paid for mortgages that have defaulted.

“These defendants brazenly manipulated the real estate lending process by using their knowledge of the system,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine.  “Mortgage fraudsters threaten the soundness of the real estate market in our community and divert critical resources away from those borrowers who properly qualify for loans.  Rooting out bad actors who attempt to abuse the system for their own personal gain makes the mortgage lending system safer and fairer for everyone.”

“These defendants who dragged down our economy by using deception, will now be sentenced and forced to reimburse the victims of their conspiracy,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is committed to combating such criminal activity to protect our citizens and the real estate market from predators who are most interested in pocketing money that they have no right to.”

“These offenders engaged in blatant criminal acts with the sole purpose of enriching themselves at the cost of a federal housing program designed to assist millions of American homebuyers.  Their fraudulent undertaking strikes at the fiscal integrity of the FHA and we will work diligently in conjunction with our law enforcement partners to hold them accountable” said Wyatt Achord, Special Agent in Charge, HUD Office of Inspector General.

“The Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG) is committed to holding accountable those who waste, steal, or abuse the resources of the Government-Sponsored Enterprises regulated by FHFA.  We are proud to have partnered with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia in this case,” said Edwin S. Bonano, Special Agent-in-Charge, FHFA-OIG, Southeast Region.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: The defendants participated in a conspiracy in which homebuyers and real estate agents submitted fraudulent loan applications to induce mortgage lenders to fund mortgages. 

Listing agents Eric Hill and Robert Kelske represented a major nationwide homebuilder and helped more than 100 homebuyers who were looking to buy a home, but who were unqualified to obtain a mortgage, commit fraud.  The agents instructed the homebuyers as to what type of assets they needed to claim to have in the bank, and what type of employment and income they needed to submit in their mortgage applications.

Hill and Kelske then coordinated with multiple document fabricators, including defendants Fawziyyah Connor and Stephanie Hogan, who altered the homebuyers’ bank statements to inflate their assets and to create bank entries reflecting false direct deposits from an employer selected by the real estate agent.  The document fabricators also generated fake earnings statements that matched the direct deposit entries to make it appear that the homebuyer was employed, and earning income, from a fake employer.  Other participants in the scheme then acted as employment verifiers and responded to phone calls or emails from lenders to falsely verify the homebuyers’ employment.  Defendants Jerod Little, Renee Little, Maurice Lawson, Todd Taylor, Paige McDaniel and Donald Fontenot acted as employment verifiers.  Hill and Kelske coordinated the creation and submission of the false information so that the lies to the lenders were consistent. 

In another aspect of the scheme, real estate agent Anthony Richard falsely claimed to represent homebuyers as their selling agent in order to receive commissions from the home sales.  In reality, Richard had never even met the homebuyers he claimed to represent.  To avoid detection, he often notified closing attorneys that he would be unable to attend the closing and sent wire instructions for the receipt of his commissions.  When Richard received his unearned commissions, he kicked back the majority of the commissions to Hill or Kelske for enabling him to be added to the deal, keeping a small share for his role in the scheme.

The following defendants have pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States:

•         Eric Hill, 50, of Tyrone, Georgia

•         Robert Kelske, 52, of Smyrna, Georgia

•         Fawziyyah Connor, 41, of Tyrone, Georgia

•         Stephanie Hogan, 57, of Norcross, Georgia

•         Jerod Little, 42, of McDonough, Georgia

•         Renee Little, 33, of McDonough, Georgia

•         Maurice Lawson, 36, of Powder Springs, Georgia

•         Todd Taylor, 54, of Fairburn, Georgia

•         Paige McDaniel, 49, of Stockbridge, Georgia

•         Donald Fontenot, 52, of Locust Grove, Georgia

•         Anthony Richard, 44, of Locust Grove, Georgia

These defendants have agreed to pay restitution to the victims of their conspiracy, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which insures many of the residential mortgages in the United States. Sentencing hearings have been set for these defendants before U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen. 

A twelfth defendant, Cephus Chapman, 49, of Warner Robins, Georgia is awaiting trial.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contain charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alison Prout and Ryan Huschka are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Christopher A. Hayes made an initial appearance on federal charges of making a false claim to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).  Hayes was charged via an information filed on March 18, 2021.

“During the global pandemic, the government has provided a wide range of financial relief,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “Unfortunately, when criminals steal these funds, they take them out of the hands of those suffering hardship, such as farmers, who are the focus of the USDA relief efforts.”

“This investigation and prosecution should send a strong zero-tolerance message to those individuals who explicitly apply for aid to exploit taxpayer funded pandemic relief programs such as CFAP,” said Jason Williams, Special Agent in Charge, USDA-Office of Inspector General.  “We appreciate the partnership with our federal partners in pursuing this type of fraud and holding these bad actors to account in this great time of need.”

“It’s truly disheartening, that during this pandemic individuals are devising schemes to take advantage of funds set aside for those financially impacted,” said James E. Dorsey, Special Agent in Charge IRS-Criminal Investigation. “IRS-Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners will remain vigilant in uncovering  fraud and recommending prosecution.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: Hayes was charged with submitting a false claim to the USDA’s CFAP for the claimed loss of livestock at his commercial farming operation.  CFAP provided direct relief to producers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19.  Hayes allegedly did not own or operate a commercial farming operation and did not have losses associated with any livestock when he made a claim under CFAP. 

In addition, Hayes allegedly submitted a fraudulent IRS Form 7200, which, when used legitimately, allows an employer to request an advance payment of employer credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  The FFCRA provides small and midsize employers refundable tax credits that reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave wages to their employees for leave related to COVID-19.  In total, Hayes attempted to obtain over $1.5 million in COVID-19 relief funding.

Christopher A. Hayes, 35, of Lithonia, Georgia, made an initial appearance on March 18, 2021, before U.S. Magistrate Judge John K. Larkins III.  Members of the public are reminded that the information only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Klapman and Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – A Cypriot national who hacked into major websites as a teenager and threatened that he would release stolen user information unless the websites paid a ransom has been sentenced to federal prison. The defendant, Joshua Polloso Epifaniou, is the first Cypriot national ever extradited from Cyprus to the United States.

“Epifaniou harvested the personal information of website users to extort website operators into paying large ransoms,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “Cyber extortion is a growing threat to American businesses.  Cyber criminals typically identify sensitive information either by directly exploiting website security vulnerabilities or identifying weakness in the victim’s computer network.”

“This historic extradition and sentencing would not have been possible without the determination of our FBI investigators and the help of our federal and foreign partners,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It is further proof that no matter where criminals who prey on U.S. companies and citizens are hiding, either geographically or virtually, we will pursue them and bring them to justice.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: Between at least October 2014 and November 2016, Epifaniou was a teenage hacker living with his mother in Cyprus who searched website traffic rankings to identify potential targets of his extortion scheme. After selecting targets, Epifaniou worked with co-conspirators to steal personally identifiable information from user and customer databases at victim websites. Epifaniou stole the sensitive information either by directly exploiting a security vulnerability at the websites or by obtaining a portion of the victim website’s user data from a co-conspirator who had hacked into the victim network. After obtaining the personally identifiable information, Epifaniou used proxy servers located in foreign countries to log into online email accounts and send messages to the victim websites threatening to leak the sensitive data unless a ransom was paid in cryptocurrency. 

During his scheme, Epifaniou’s victims included an online sports news website owned by Turner Broadcasting System Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia; a free online game publisher based in Irvine, California; a hardware company based in New York, New York; an online employment website headquartered in Innsbrook, Virginia; and a consumer report website headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

After extorting the consumer report website operator, Epifaniou continued to hack into the website to remove online complaints posted on the website at the request of paying clients. Epifaniou and his co-conspirator, Pierre Zarokian, charged clients between $1,000 and $5,000 for removal of each complaint and falsely told clients that the removals were court-ordered.

Before entering a guilty plea, Epifaniou paid nearly $600,000 in restitution to the victims.

Joshua Polloso Epifaniou, 22, of Nicosia, Cyprus was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen to an additional one year and one day in prison, on top of credit for three years and ten months served in custody for the offense prior to his sentencing hearing.  Epifaniou also paid forfeiture of $389,113 and 70,000 euros to the government as a result of his conviction. Epifaniou was convicted on January 25, 2021 after pleading guilty to computer fraud conspiracy and a substantive count of computer fraud transferred from the District of Arizona for purposes of his plea.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Foreign law enforcement partners also made significant contributions to the investigation, including the exceptional support and cooperation provided by the Office for Combating Cybercrime of the Cyprus Police. Valuable assistance also was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan P. Kitchens, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Olivia Ware, a former candidate for Mayor of the City of Conyers, has been arraigned on federal charges of bank fraud and money laundering stemming from a scheme to use a company she started to steal over $323,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

“Authorities continue to examine Paycheck Protection Program loans for acts of fraud, as the charges against Ware demonstrate,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “Those who would consider stealing from the Paycheck Protection Program should think twice.”

“It has been said that bad times bring out the best in people, this case is not an example of that. Ware tried to defraud the government out of money meant to help small businesses affected by the pandemic continue operations and take care of their employees. Instead of helping others through a difficult time as the money was intended, she used the money for personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Every time a fraudster steals money from the PPP fund another legitimate business is unable to get those funds to help real employees with real families. HSI’s OPERATION STOLEN PROMISE protects the country from the threat of COVID-19-related fraud and criminal activity.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: The PPP is an emergency funding program created to assist small business owners and their employees during the coronavirus pandemic.  PPP loans are fully guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). 

In 2020, Olivia Ware was the CEO of a Georgia company called Let’s Talk About the Family, Inc., but according to state records, it did not pay wages to any employees.  Yet, Ware allegedly submitted a false application to a bank for a PPP loan for the company that included fictitious tax records purporting to show the company had 54 employees that were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary. 

As a result of this materially false information, the bank loaned over $323,000 in PPP funds to Ware’s company.  Ware then allegedly spent the PPP loan for her own benefit, including to buy an in-ground swimming pool, furniture, and other home improvement items, and to pay down the principal on her mortgage.

Ware, 61, of Oxford, Georgia, faces charges of bank fraud and money laundering.  She was arraigned on a criminal information on March 16, 2021.

Members of the public are reminded that the criminal information only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bernita B. Malloy and Trevor C. Wilmot are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Louis Beria has been sentenced to prison for defrauding a company and its elderly owner.  The defendant was previously an advisor and property manager of an apartment complex owned by the victim.

“The victim trusted Beria to manage his property but was betrayed when the defendant diverted over $1.6 million for his own benefit,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “With elder fraud unfortunately on the rise, it remains a priority for our office.”

“Beria stole the hard-earned money of an investor who trusted him to manage his properties,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “No matter how clever the investment scam is, the FBI will find and hold accountable anyone who preys on unsuspecting investors.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: The victim was an elderly, German investor, who began purchasing properties in Northern Georgia several years ago.  Louis Beria met the victim and became an advisor and property manager for the victim. 

Among other tasks, the victim hired Beria to manage an apartment complex he owned in Atlanta.  While managing that apartment complex, Beria himself owned a separate apartment complex in Atlanta.  Beria hired a company to do construction work on the complex he owned but used money from the victim’s apartment complex to pay for it.  Ultimately, Beria stole $1,621,979 and lied to the victim about how he used this money.

Louis Beria, 64, of Milton, Georgia, was sentenced to four years, three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,621,979.  Beria was convicted on these charges on November 4, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is part of the Department of Justice Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force. The Strike Force focuses on investigating and prosecuting defendants associated with foreign-based fraud schemes that disproportionately affect American seniors.  These include romance scams, phone scams, mass-mailing fraud schemes, and tech-support fraud schemes.  For further information on these scams, see https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/senior-scam-alert.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Zury Brito-Arroyo, Bonifacio Brito-Maldonado, and Roberto Arroyo-Garcia have been sentenced to federal prison for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine in a home where a minor child resided and within 1,000 feet of a school. The three men, all of whom had illegally entered the United States from Mexico, utilized a family home in Norcross less than 200 feet from an elementary school to operate a methamphetamine laboratory.

“These men ran a lab churning out volatile and toxic chemicals to produce concentrated methamphetamine,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “In doing so, they were exposing not only members of their own family, including children, an expectant mother, and a grandmother, to serious harm, but also innocent neighbors and school children who were completely unaware of the danger.”

“Methamphetamine production can have devasting consequences that go beyond those associated with taking the drug. One such consequence is the toxic vapor and deadly chemicals produced when it is being made. These chemicals pose extreme danger to anyone in the vicinity. The innocent children in the school next door and even the other family members in the household were placed in danger due to the defendants’ recklessness,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “This is a growing threat and HSI and its law enforcement partners are working to identify, arrest, and prosecute those involved in producing and selling this poison.”

“Those who manufacture methamphetamine, because of its toxicity and volatility, pose a grave danger to everyone,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division Robert J. Murphy. “Given that this operational ‘meth’ lab was near a school, the outcome could have been devastating to the school children, staff and to the community at-large. Because of spirited law enforcement cooperation between DEA and its counterparts, these defendants will receive well-deserved time in prison.” 

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: In August 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents investigating a local methamphetamine distributor tracked him to a house in a residential neighborhood they believed was used as part of the drug manufacturing and distribution operation.

As agents were watching the house, Georgia State Patrol, working in conjunction with HSI, stopped defendant Zury Brito-Arroyo as he was driving away from the house. Inside his car, they found $10,000 cash wrapped in green cellophane and a 9mm pistol. Brito-Arroyo’s five-year-old child and wife were also in the car. Agents then searched the stash house and found defendants Roberto Arroyo-Garcia and Bonifacio Brito-Maldonado actively operating a methamphetamine laboratory in a shed in the backyard. Chemical fumes coming from the operation were so strong that one of the men began vomiting. Agents detained the two, but Arroyo-Garcia resisted arrest and fled. He was ultimately found hiding nearby and was arrested. Agents later searched Brito-Arroyo’s cell phone pursuant to a federal search warrant and discovered an app that monitored security cameras mounted at the house.

Agents seized over 10.7 kilograms of finished crystal methamphetamine from the shed and inside the house, some of which was over 90% pure, plus additional methamphetamine in liquid form that had not been fully processed into solid form for distribution. They also seized an additional 9mm pistol, $8,500 cash, and other methamphetamine trafficking paraphernalia including respirators, rubber gloves, and digital scales.

The DEA Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Team responded to the scene to remove the dangerous chemicals. Agents also found children’s clothes inside the house, and later confirmed that a ten-year-old child, who was related to the defendants, lived there.

With assistance from the Sandy Springs Police Department, agents also searched another residence used by Brito-Arroyo, where they discovered a plastic bin with methamphetamine residue, another 9mm pistol, an electronic money counter, and four bundles of cash totaling $41,000 wrapped in green cellophane.

• Roberto Arroyo-Garcia, 39, of Guerrero, Mexico, who was previously deported on two separate occasions following prior drug convictions, was sentenced today to 22 years in prison to be followed by ten years of supervised release. Arroyo-Garcia was convicted on these charges on October 23, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
   
• Zury Brito-Arroyo, 28, of Guerrero, Mexico, was sentenced on February 25, 2020, to 21 years in prison to be followed by ten years of supervised release. Brito-Arroyo was convicted on these charges on October 17, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
   
• Bonifacio Brito-Maldonado, 24, of Michoacan, Mexico, was sentenced on October 19, 2020, to 19 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Brito-Maldonado was convicted on these charges on October 17, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.

 
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Georgia State Patrol, and the Sandy Springs Police Department are investigating this case.
 
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett L. Bradford, Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, and Ryan M. Christian prosecuted the case.
 
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The specific mission of the Atlanta Strike Force is to disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute the highest-level members of international drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations that have operations in metro Atlanta and throughout the United States.
 
OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
 
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Warren Vernell Robertson, III, a prolific gun trafficker, along with two of his accomplices, has been sentenced for a variety of federal offenses involving the illicit resale of Georgia-sourced firearms on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland.

“Criminals who unlawfully traffic in firearms often only export crime and violence to other communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “The impact of gun trafficking on our communities is especially acute now, given the uptick in violent crime occurring in many cities.”

“These defendants put guns in the hands of criminals,” said Arthur Peralta, ATF Atlanta Special Agent in Charge.  “ATF will continue to focus its attention on anyone who chooses to arm criminals and willfully contribute to the violence harming our communities.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: From 2018, through the date of his arrest in mid-2020, Robertson trafficked more than 100 firearms from Georgia to Maryland.  During that time, Robertson paid at least four other people, including co-defendant Asante Moore, to unlawfully purchase firearms on his behalf. Robertson also purchased firearms online using nearly a dozen fictitious names and email addresses.  Robertson then sold the firearms in Baltimore.

Several of the guns trafficked by Robertson were recovered by law enforcement officers and from individuals involved in criminal activities. For example, ATF agents in Maryland seized nearly a dozen pistols and a rifle from inside a rental car Robertson had driven from Atlanta. Additionally, only weeks after Moore purchased a semiautomatic pistol for Robertson, Baltimore police officers recovered the firearm from a drug dealer. The pistol was fully loaded at that time.

In addition, during the first three months of 2020, Moore purchased more than 20 guns for Robertson. On March 16, 2020, Moore, Robertson, and Robertson’s cousin, Erik Alfonso Cohen, Jr., traveled together to a pawn shop in Jonesboro, Georgia, to purchase three of those guns.  At the time, Cohen was prohibited from possessing firearms because he had been convicted of a weapons-related offense in Maryland.  Robertson’s criminal history also included convictions for drug possession and other offenses.

All three defendants pleaded guilty to the following offenses and were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May:

• Warren Vernell Robertson, III, 25, of East Point, Georgia and Aberdeen, Maryland, was sentenced on March 10, 2021, to three years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  He pleaded guilty on November 20, 2020, to the offense of making a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer.
• Erik Alfonso Cohen, Jr., 23, of Edgewood, Maryland, was sentenced on March 3, 2021, to one year, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Cohen pleaded guilty on December 3, 2020, to the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm.
• Asante Moore, 24, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced on December 2, 2020, to three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Moore pleaded guilty on September 9, 2020, to the offense of unlawfully dealing in firearms.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland provided valuable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities, and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.

This case was also brought as part of Project Guardian, a national Department of Justice initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws, including those related to firearms trafficking. More information about Project Guardian can be found at https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

NEWNAN, Ga. - Robert Purbeck, of Meridian, Idaho, made his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Boise, Idaho.   Purbeck was indicted in the Northern District of Georgia on March 2, 2021 for computer fraud and abuse, access device fraud, and wire fraud. 

“This alleged cyber-criminal and extortionist targeted the City of Newnan as well as medical clinics in our District, stealing over 60,000 records containing personal information of our citizens,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “He then allegedly attempted to extort a Florida orthodontist, threatening to sell the social security number of his minor child unless the orthodontist submitted to a payment demand.  Now, this defendant must answer for his alleged crimes in the Northern District of Georgia.”

“The charges against Purbeck highlight the need to remain vigilant in our cybersecurity efforts,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The theft of intellectual property to be used to extort citizens is a very serious crime and one the FBI will diligently pursue, no matter if you are hiding behind a computer screen.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court:  Between June 23, 2017 and April 28, 2018, Purbeck allegedly purchased, on a criminal marketplace, the username and passwords to computer servers belonging to multiple Georgia victims.  He then allegedly used these credentials to access the victims’ computers and stole sensitive personally identifiable information, including:

• Medical records and other documents that contained names, addresses, birth dates, and social security numbers of over 43,000 people from a Griffin, Georgia, medical clinic;
• Police reports and other documents containing personal information of over 14,000 people from the City of Newnan; and

Personal information of over 7,000 people from a Locust Grove, Georgia, medical practice.  
 
On June 25, 2018, Purbeck allegedly hacked into the computers of an orthodontist in Florida and stole medical records of over 1,800 people.  Purbeck then allegedly threatened, harassed, and attempted to extort the orthodontist, demanding a ransom payment in Bitcoin.  Purbeck also allegedly threatened to disclose and sell the stolen patient and personal information unless the orthodontist paid the ransom demand.  Purbeck allegedly identified the name and social security number of the orthodontist’s minor child and threatened to disclose and sell their personal information as well.  During the course of this attempted extortion, Purbeck allegedly sent numerous harassing e-mails and text messages to the orthodontist and his patients.
 
Robert Purbeck, a/k/a Lifelock, a/k/a Studmaster, 41, of Meridian, Idaho, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia on March 2, 2021.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
 
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta Field Office, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI Boise Resident Agency.
 
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Herskowitz, Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section and Nathan Kitchens, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, and the U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) are prosecuting the case.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho has also provided valuable assistance in this case.
 
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Lakisha Swope and Treisha Pearson have been arraigned on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering after allegedly participating in a scheme to steal over $3.5 million from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

“Swope and Pearson allegedly stole millions of dollars destined to help small business owners,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “PPP dollars often provide a bridge for businesses suffering from the effects of the pandemic.  However, PPP funds are not unlimited, and those who seek to enrich themselves fraudulently through this program will be prosecuted.”

“These two defendants are accused of misdirecting federal emergency assistance from businesses who need it to stay afloat, to their own pockets, during a pandemic,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Their alleged greed affects every tax paying citizen and the FBI will make every effort to make sure funds provided by programs like PPP are used as intended.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: Lakisha Swope and Treisha Pearson, together with others, allegedly submitted false PPP applications for a number of entities claiming over $5 million in loans.  These PPP applications allegedly contained materially false information such as false representations regarding the applicant entities’ total number of employees and average monthly payroll. 

As a result of these false statements, lenders issued over $3.5 million in PPP loans to these various entities.  Swope and Pearson, along with other members of the conspiracy, then allegedly used the fraudulently obtained funds for unauthorized expenditures including luxury clothing, restaurants, personal rent, hotels, and vacation rentals.

Lakisha Swope, 43, of Alpharetta, Georgia and Treisha Pearson, 49, of Brookhaven, Georgia, face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.  Both defendants were indicted on February 24, 2021.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Krepp is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ROME, Ga. - Irfanali Momin and Shiba I. Momin a/k/a Saguftabanu Momin, husband and wife, have been sentenced to prison for naturalization fraud and conspiring to illegally import and distribute misbranded drug products from China and traffic counterfeit goods. The Momins have also been criminally denaturalized as result of their convictions for naturalization fraud.

“The defendants built their business and earned their citizenship through fraud,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “And, by illegally importing and distributing products containing drugs that can only be obtained in the United States with a prescription written by a licensed medical professional, the Momins put profit over public safety.”

“This announcement demonstrates that those who subvert the regulatory functions of the FDA by distributing misbranded drugs containing undeclared prescription drug ingredients and counterfeit tobacco products will be held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office. “We will continue to bring to justice those who place American consumers at risk by selling these illegal and potentially dangerous products.”

“The Momins lived a life of lies in this country from their fraudulent citizenship to their business of selling illegal products to customers whose health was threatened by the use of those products,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Now they will pay for their deception in prison time and loss of their citizenship. The FBI is committed to working with our federal partners to protect our citizens against anyone who would choose to do them harm.”  

“The Momins will now face the consequences of their lies and schemes to illegally gain citizenship and import and sell misbranded pharmaceuticals. Their actions not only placed unsuspecting purchasers at risk, they also threatened the integrity of the US immigration system,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Homeland Security Investigations and its law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue those that seek to profit from these fraudulent and dangerous activities.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: Between August 2014 and November 2018, the Momins ordered and sold male enhancement products from China marketed under various names.  These products contained sildenafil, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Viagra, and/or tadalafil, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Cialis. Both Viagra and Cialis can be obtained in the U.S. only with a prescription from a doctor.

The Momins had in fact received more than a dozen notices from the FDA advising them to not sell these products. The FDA has also warned consumers for more than half-a-decade to not purchase or use such “all natural” sexual products because they could have serious side effects, especially in men who are taking nitrates and suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease.

In order to evade import restrictions, the Momins’ China-based suppliers mislabeled the boxes containing the illegal pills to make it appear that the boxes contained items that can be legally imported into the U.S., such as beauty products, health products, and health supplies. The Momins admitted to selling between $550,000 and $1.5 million in illegal drug products over the course of the conspiracy. They also sold various counterfeit goods from their warehouse in Dalton, Georgia, including counterfeit designer watches, headphones, e-cigarette devices, and tobacco rolling papers.

Earlier, in October 2013, the Momins both applied to become naturalized U.S. citizens. On his application form, Irfanali Momin falsely stated that he had never been married before and did not disclose that he had in fact been married to two women at the same time. During an interview with USCIS in June 2014, Irfanali Momin made the same false declarations. Based upon his false statements, Irfanali Momin became a naturalized U.S. citizen on August 16, 2014. On her application form, Shiba I. Momin a/k/a Saguftabanu Momin, falsely stated that she did not go by any other names when in fact she knew that her actual name was Shiba I. Momin, but she was only passing as Saguftabanu Momin. The investigation had revealed that Shiba I. Momin had originally obtained a Georgia’s driver’s license in her real name only to later obtain a fraudulent license in the name Saguftabanu Momin—the name she used to apply for and fraudulently receive U.S. citizenship on August 1, 2014. If USCIS had been aware of these facts, it would have denied her citizenship

On February 12, 2021, Irfanali Momin, 48, and Shiba I. Momin a/k/a Saguftabanu Momin, 42, both of Dahlonega, Georgia, were each sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones to one year, six months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a special assessment of $200. They were both convicted on September 23, 2020 after pleading guilty to a criminal information. On February 23, 2021, Judge Jones issued orders revoking their U.S. citizenship.         

This case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has joined forces with Metro-Atlanta District Attorneys, the Office of the Attorney General, the FBI Atlanta Field Office, U.S. Secret Service, state, and local law enforcement to combat the criminal movement of cyber fraud proceeds through banks in the Atlanta area by employing Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud schemes. 

“We are grateful for the participation and commitment of our metro District Attorneys to come together in a coordinated effort to address this criminal enterprise,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine.  “The money mules that facilitate the transfer of fraud proceeds make these cyber fraud crimes lucrative.  Interrupting that flow of money is an important part of disrupting the criminal enterprise.  Working together creates a strong network of prosecutors and law enforcement, across counties, who are addressing the problem through criminal prosecution and community outreach.  It is this kind of intelligence and resource sharing that make our law enforcement efforts more effective and our businesses and citizens safer.”

“Those perpetrating BEC scams can target anyone who relies on email for both personal and professional communications,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. “In fact, in recent years, the FBI reported BEC crimes account for 40 percent of all cybercrime losses. Our Prosecution Division is joining federal, state and local partners to educate Georgia citizens and businesses about the telltale signs and stop the criminals facilitating this crime.”

“As District Attorney I’m committed to protecting the citizens of Clayton County from any and all crimes.  The advancements in technology have created new ways to victimize the citizens of the State of Georgia. I look forward to working with the Georgia Cyber Fraud Task Force and the other agency partners,” said Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley.

“Our Office is pleased to join the Georgia Cyber Fraud Task Force in the fight against cyber fraud.  Our small businesses and senior citizens have been victimized by cyber fraud crimes at home and abroad. By focusing on individuals who move those stolen funds here in Georgia together we can make a real difference in this fight. Prevention is most important. Anyone who uses email and/or cellular communication is susceptible to cyber fraud. Be suspicious. Verify all such requests with a phone call. Understand that once the money is sent, it's gone,” said Cobb County District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr.

“Cyber fraud knows no bounds. By working with our local, state, and federal partners, we can curtail the fraud that harms businesses and individuals- often elder persons-who are unwittingly caught up in these fraudulent schemes. The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office welcomes the opportunity to join forces with law enforcement agencies across the state and across the country,” said DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston.

"I promised the citizens of Fulton County that I would modernize the efforts of our office to protect our community from criminal enterprises.  This opportunity to join with the Acting U.S. Attorney and fellow metro Atlanta District Attorneys to fight BEC fraud schemes is an important part of that process,” said Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis.

“Financial cyber fraud is a crime that our office takes seriously. It is not a victim-less crime and must be prosecuted at every turn! Our District is thankful for the Cyber Fraud Task Force and the opportunity to continue working to curb this type of crime,” said Patsy Austin-Gatson, District Attorney, Gwinnett Judicial Circuit.

“The FBI makes it a top priority to investigate these cyber-crimes that have affected thousands of victims, many of them elderly citizens, small businesses, and people whose entire livelihoods have been wiped out by scammers,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “But it takes more than one law enforcement agency. Together with our federal, state, and local partners we are taking on this problem by educating our community and investigating and prosecuting criminals to make it less lucrative to commit these crimes.” 

“We are proud to join with our law enforcement partners to collaboratively bring to justice those who prey on our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven Baisel, U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office.  “The damage these schemes cause to people is often devastating. Any effort we can make to turn the tide of these crimes is worthwhile.”

“With advancements in technology, now more than ever, Georgians and Georgia businesses are highly susceptible to online fraud. By partnering with the members of this task force, the GBI plans to use the expertise we have in cyber investigations to help combat these fraudulent schemes,” said Vic Reynolds, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

“I’m confident that the work of the Georgia Cyber Fraud Task Force will change the behavior of criminals and unmask those who hide behind computers and technology to commit such heinous crimes.  The collaborative efforts among law enforcement partners will put the pressure on scam artists and make them think twice before committing any type of fraud schemes in the metro Atlanta area,” said Chief Rodney Bryant, Atlanta Police Department.

“Cyber fraud is a daily threat that continues to grow at an alarming rate with Business Email Compromise (BEC) schemes costing individuals and corporations millions of dollars each year. We are excited to be a part of this Cyber Fraud Task Force with dedicated investigators and prosecutors from the local, State, and Federal levels. Gathering the best fraud investigators and prosecutors in one Task Force is the innovative formula needed to combat these sophisticated criminal networks that operate without jurisdictional boundaries,” said Chief Kenneth DeSimone, Sandy Springs Police Department.

“Cyber criminals are not constrained by geographical boundaries when they conduct their fraudulent schemes against our communities. The Smyrna Police Department continually and actively fosters relationships with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to actively seek out and apprehend these criminals no matter where they are,” said Chief Robert Harvey, Smyrna Police Department.

Business Email Compromises exploit the fact that so many of us rely on email to conduct business—both personal and professional.  In a BEC scam, criminals send an email message that appears to come from a known source making a legitimate request, as in the examples below:

• A vendor a company regularly uses sends an invoice with an updated bank account number.
   
• A company CEO asks their assistant to purchase dozens of gift cards to send out as employee rewards, and then asks for the serial numbers so they can email them out right away.
   

A homebuyer receives a message from their title company with instructions on how to wire the down payment.
 
In scams like these, the unsuspecting victim sends thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of dollars to the criminal.
 
Over the last five years, BEC crimes have evolved into the predominant cyber threat businesses face.
 
In 2020, the FBI IC3 – the primary law enforcement arm to combat BEC crimes – reported 1,303 incidents with $462,967,963.72 in losses and $380,211,432.04 reported frozen by financial partners (yielding a 79 percent success rate of funds frozen).
 
From global reporting, comprised of multiple law enforcement and financial partners, between 2016 and 2019, businesses have lost at least $26 billion as a result of BEC scams. Based on the most recent FBI IC3 report, losses from BEC attacks grew another 6 percent in 2020—accounting for 45 percent of all cybercrime losses over the course of the year.
 
Surprisingly, a quarter of all BEC attackers had a home base in the United States. Nearly half of U.S.-based BEC actors were located in five states with clusters of actors around a handful of metro areas, including the metro-Atlanta area.
 
By making a coordinated and concerted effort to focus on suspects moving fraud proceeds in the metro-Atlanta area, the Cyber Fraud Task Force hopes to disrupt the financial structure that makes BEC fraud schemes so lucrative for criminals.  Additionally, the task force aims to partner with community leaders and organizers to educate the public about avoiding these scams. 
 
The Cyber Fraud Task Force is comprised of members from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the Office of the Georgia Attorney General, FBI Atlanta, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office, the Atlanta Police Department, the Sandy Springs Police Department, the Smyrna Police Department, the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office, and the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
 
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Nathaniel Barber has been sentenced to prison for trying to leave the country with a cell phone and a tablet containing more than 100 files of child pornography. Barber belonged to an online group that shared videos and photographs of child pornography.

“Every video and image of child pornography is a crime scene depicting the sexual abuse of a child,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “This case reaffirms our office’s determination to leverage our federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships to prosecute individuals who revictimize exploited children by downloading and viewing these horrific images.”

“Stopping predators from spreading this filth, that victimizes innocent children every time it is shared, is one of the most important actions we do,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Luckily, he was not able to complete his trip and others engaged in this depravity should be on the lookout because we won’t stop searching for them.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: in January 2020, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations received a tip that Nathaniel Barber might be traveling outside the country to commit sex crimes against minors. The agents learned that he had purchased a plane ticket to the Philippines and was departing from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on January 28, 2020. Agents approached Barber at the boarding gate and questioned him about his trip.

Barber denied that he was traveling to the Philippines to engage in sex with anyone under the age of 18 years. But he admitted that he possessed child pornography on a tablet and cell phone. A forensic search of the items revealed that Barber had joined an online group where members posted and shared child pornography. Barber had downloaded seven videos and 133 images of child pornography, with many of the materials depicting girls under 10 years old being sexually abused.

Nathaniel Barber, 40, of Canton, Georgia, was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by ten years of supervised release and ordered to pay a special assessment in the amount of $5,100.  Barber was convicted of attempted international transport of child pornography on November 17, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul R. Jones prosecuted the case.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Dravion Sanchez Ware, who shot a woman in the back at point-blank range as she trembled on the floor during one of his robberies, has been sentenced to life in federal prison for the robberies of nine Asian owned-and-operated businesses in Atlanta, Doraville, Duluth, Roswell, Stone Mountain, and Norcross between October and November 2017. 

“Ware terrorized the victims of these robberies and nearly killed one woman,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “The complete disregard for the lives of his victims was shocking, and he received an appropriate sentence.  We hope this provides some peace to the victims by ensuring that Ware will never again terrorize the communities of our district.”

This sentence is a statement that anyone who carries out such evil and inflicts such trauma on innocent citizens has no right to be in our communities,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The sentence will not erase the traumatic scars his crimes left behind, but hopefully his victims can rest easier knowing Ware will not traumatize them or anyone else for the rest of his life.”

“The GBI Crime Lab was instrumental in this case. Expert analysis and testimony helped lead to a successful prosecution. The GBI is committed to provide the highest quality forensic services in all cases. For over a month, these gang members targeted and terrorized the Asian business community. This sentence is evidence that this behavior will not be tolerated in the state of Georgia,” said Vic Reynolds, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

“Ware and Smith are indicative of the criminals who terrorize our communities and make them unsafe. Each day we put on our uniforms and put our lives on the line to fight crime, investigate cases like these, and do what it takes to keep our communities safe. When the courts convict these perpetrators, we are all vindicated. This news empowers us to keep doing the work we were called to do.” Atlanta Interim Police Chief Rodney Bryant.

“Continued cooperation between multiple local, state and federal agencies produces results. Results that keep our communities and streets safe. People rarely see the many man hours that went into this investigation. Fortunately, they get to see the results,” said Chief Chuck Atkinson, Doraville Police Department.

“The successful outcome and sentencing of these cases is a testament of the importance of agencies working together. Unlike police departments, criminals are not bound by jurisdictional boundaries and these cases are proof that great things happen when agencies proactively share information, work together, and compare cases. The State of Georgia is now a safer place thanks to the cooperation between local, state, and federal partners that enabled the removal of these dangerous criminals from our communities. Although the victims of these crimes will forever be traumatized, we hope these sentences are the beginning of their journey to healing and recovery,” Chief Kenneth DeSimone, Sandy Springs Police Department.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: Between October 7th and November 10, 2017, Ware and his fellow gunman, Tabyron Rashad Smith, targeted Asian-run businesses in Metro-Atlanta for armed robberies.  Of the at least nine businesses they robbed, three were located in Atlanta, two in Doraville, and one each in Norcross, Duluth, Stone Mountain, and Roswell, Georgia.

During the robberies, Ware frequently pistol-whipped defenseless victims that did not resist him, sending at least one man to the hospital.  Ware also shot three women, one of whom was kneeling on the floor face down at the time.  Fortunately, all three women survived. 

Smith and Ware were captured on November 21st and 22nd, 2017, respectively, after a multi-jurisdictional investigation.

• Dravion Sanchez Ware, 25, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. to serve five concurrent life terms in prison, plus six concurrent 20-year terms, as well as to pay restitution in the amount of $135,951.81.  Ware was convicted by a jury on August 2, 2019, for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies, five counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and five counts of discharging or brandishing a firearm during the robberies. 
   
• Tabyron Rashad Smith, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty on July 23, 2019, to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies and four counts of discharging or brandishing a firearm during several of the robberies.  Judge Batten sentenced Smith to serve 27 years in prison, followed by three years on supervised release and to pay restitution in the amount of $135,951.81.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Doraville Police Department, the Fulton County Police Department, the Gwinnett County Police Department, the Atlanta Police Department, the Roswell Police Department, and the Sandy Springs Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret R. Hobson and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy H. Lee prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as a part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities, and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Kevin Perry, who ran an investment fraud scam that began when he was a teenager and resulted in more than $430,000 in losses to investors, has been sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison.

“Perry’s fraud caused unsuspecting investors to lose their hard-earned money,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “During this pandemic, many have lost jobs and businesses while criminals continued to prey on unsuspecting citizens.  Perry’s brazen actions, which included his continued scamming after a complaint was filed ordering him to cease, landed him in prison.” 

“Perry carelessly continued his fraudulent investments even after a civil complaint was filed against him, thinking he was untouchable”, said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Hopefully, this sentence sends a message that the FBI will find criminals who greedily prey on investors, no matter how clever they believe their scheme to be.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: Kevin Perry led investors to believe that his investment company, Lucrative Pips, was successfully earning substantial profits by investing in the foreign currency (or “FOREX”) market.  Perry induced investors to send money by signing agreements that claimed the investors’ initial investments were secure from loss. 

In actuality, Lucrative Pips was never registered as a commodity pool operator with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC.)  Also, Perry had never generated the historical returns represented to investors.  Instead, he was using investor money to enrich himself or to pay off other investors, with the goal of enticing others to invest with him. 

Even after the CFTC filed a civil complaint against Perry, he continued to make fraudulent investment pitches to potential investors, which included falsely promising an undercover FBI agent that an investment of $10,000 would return a profit of $19,000 to $25,000 per month.

Kevin Perry, 23, of Cartersville, Georgia was sentenced to three years and five months in prison and three years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay $438,799 in restitution and a special assessment of $100.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas J. Krepp and Nathan P. Kitchens, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, prosecuted the case. The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission provided invaluable assistance throughout the course of the investigation. 

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Karla Suzanne Spiker has been sentenced for her role laundering money for an international telephone scam.  Spiker began laundering money after having been a victim of a mortgage scam, which is believed to have originated in India.

“These scams are a nationwide problem, and they typically target the most vulnerable members of our society,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine.  “Most of these scams originate outside the United States, and their success depends on individuals, like Spiker, who agree to launder the money.  Spiker made a choice to engage in this conduct and could have walked away at any time, but she chose not to.”

“Telephone scams that seek to prey on us are a seemingly unrelenting nuisance,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Steven Baisel. “Catching people who help to perpetrate these criminal schemes helps us all.” 

“We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat Social Security-related telephone scams by targeting their facilitators in the United States,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “We will continue to aggressively pursue those who make these calls to profit by deceiving and harming American consumers. I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their unwavering support of our efforts.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: Spiker worked as a money launderer for scammers, who are believed to be located in India.  Typically, the scammers send out robocalls claiming to have an urgent message for the victim and, when the victim, mostly elderly or otherwise vulnerable, returns the call, the scammers threaten or cajole the victims into sending money.  

The scammers that Spiker worked for operated two different scams.  In the first, they told victims that their Social Security number (SSN) was used in a crime and they would be arrested, or their SSN canceled, unless they paid money.  In the second, the scammers offered the victims a reduced mortgage payment if they first paid a fee. Once the victim agreed to make the payment, the scammers directed them to wire money or send money orders to individuals, like Spiker, in the United States who worked for the scammers.

Since at least June 2019 until July 2020, Spiker received money from victims all over the United States. She used various fake IDs to pick up money wired to an Orlando-area store.  Victims also mailed money orders to her directly.  Spiker was introduced to the scam when she was a victim of the mortgage scam. 

After paying money to reduce her mortgage payment, and realizing that she had been scammed, she was recruited to receive money from other victims. 

In July 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Spiker's residence.  Inside, they found 52 fake IDs each bearing her image with a different name.  Spiker admitted that she had been working with the scammers since June 2019, that she picked up approximately five or six money transactions each week, and that she received a percentage from each cash pick up.  Spiker communicated with the scammers by text message or email and had never met anyone in person.  Spiker admitted that she picked up over $300,000 in scam funds.

Karla Suzanne Spiker, 47, of Orlando, Florida,  was sentenced to one year, three months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $114,265.80  Spiker has been convicted on these charges on October 30, 2020, after she pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and Social Security Administration - Office of the Inspector General.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane C. Schulman prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is part of the Department of Justice Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force. The Strike Force focuses on investigating and prosecuting defendants associated with foreign-based fraud schemes that disproportionately affect American seniors.  These include romance scams, phone scams, mass-mailing fraud schemes, and tech-support fraud schemes.  For further information on these scams, see https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/senior-scam-alert.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Kurt R. Erskine has been named Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia effective February 1, 2021, by virtue of the Vacancies Reform Act.  Bobby L. Christine resigned as Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, but remains the Presidentially-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

ATLANTA - Six individuals, who operated as part of a larger group, have been indicted for fraudulently obtaining approximately $1.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans on behalf of five businesses based in Georgia and South Carolina.  Five others involved in this scheme have already pleaded guilty.  

“The CARES Act, and the PPP, designated funds to aid struggling businesses during a pandemic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “American businesses use these funds to help keep their companies and employees afloat during this unprecedented time.  Scammers on the other hand seek an easy payday.  We will continue investigating and prosecuting those who attempt to line their own pockets with these critical funds.”

"The FBI and our federal partners will make every effort to stop anyone from defrauding a federal program that provides financial assistance to companies trying to keep their heads above water during a pandemic,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “These defendants alleged personal greed affects every tax paying citizen in this country.”

“Conspiring to use SBA program funds for personal gain and greed is unconscionable,” said SBA OIG Eastern Region Special Agent-in-Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite.  “OIG and its law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue fraudsters and bring them to justice. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Christine, the charges and other information presented in court: Rodericque Thompson allegedly recruited Micah Baisden, Travis Crosby, Keith Maloney, Tabronx Smith, and Thomas Wilson to apply for PPP loans on behalf of their respective businesses:

• PowerHouse Sports Academy, LLC,
• Faithful Transport Services, LLC,
• KMJ Transport, LLC,
• Market Yourself, LLC,      
• Rare Breed Nation, LLC. 

In exchange for a percentage of the loan proceeds, Thompson allegedly helped Baisden, Crosby, Maloney, Smith, and Wilson to obtain a $300,000 PPP loan by submitting loan applications that contained numerous false and misleading statements about their businesses. For example, each of the loan applications claimed to have 16 employees and monthly wages of $120,000.  Additionally, identical fraudulent quarterly tax returns were submitted in connection with each loan application.  The indictment alleges that the defendants used the PPP loan funds for impermissible purposes.

The group fraudulently obtained approximately $3 million in PPP loans. To date, authorities have recovered approximately $1,195,784.98, of the stolen money.  Six were charged in an indictment filed in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, false statements to a financial institution, and money laundering.  They are:

• Rodericque Thompson, 43, of Atlanta, Georgia,
• Micah K. Baisden, 30, of Doraville, Georgia,
• Travis C. Crosby, 31, of Wellford, South Carolina,
• Keith A. Maloney, Jr., 33, of Port Wentworth, Georgia,
• Tabronx W. Smith, 43, of Buford, Georgia,
• Thomas D. Wilson, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia.

The following five individuals have pleaded guilty in connection with this alleged scheme: 

• Antonio D. Hosey, 38, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering (20-CR-396-LMM);
• Timothy Williams, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements (20-CR-339-LMM);
• Stanley Dorceus, 34, of Marietta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements (20-CR-320-LMM);
• Kenneth L. Wright, Jr., 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements (20-CR-285-LMM); and
• Mark A. Stewart, 54, of Greenville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements (20-CR-319-LMM).

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

This case is part of Georgia’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Fraud Task Force, aimed at better protecting the citizens of Georgia from criminal fraud arising from the pandemic. Formed by Georgia’s leading state and federal prosecutors, the task force serves to open channels of communication between partner agencies and more rapidly share information about COVID-19 fraud, while ensuring each fraud complaint is reported to the appropriate prosecuting agency. The task force member agencies include the Office of the Governor of Georgia, the Office of the Attorney General of Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia. Georgia’s three U.S. Attorneys, the Attorney General of Georgia, and the Executive Counsel for the Governor’s Office serve on the task force. If you think you are a victim of a scam or attempted fraud involving COVID-19, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via email at www.justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted March 29, 2020.  It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.  One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP.  In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.

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

This case is being investigated by the FBI, the Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA.)

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane C. Schulman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, and Trial Attorney Michael P. McCarthy of the DOJ Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Claude Goines has been sentenced to prison for running a fake credit card and ID lab.  Goines operated a carding lab where he manufactured fraudulent credit cards and driver's licenses while he was on a work release program related to an earlier fraud conviction.

“Identity theft and credit card fraud has become an all too common problem,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine.  “The actions of thieves like Goines can severely damage citizens’ lives and credit.  In some cases, it can take years to repair.  We encourage all citizens to monitor their credit for any suspicious activity, and if they find any, to contact law enforcement immediately.” 

“It is clear that Goines was determined to continue to hurt citizens by stealing their identities to line his own pockets,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Particularly disturbing is the fact that he is a former law enforcement officer sworn to protect citizens.”

“This sentencing should send the message, to other identity thieves and fraudsters, that crime doesn’t pay. This type of crime has quickly become a serious threat to our communities because of how much damage they can do so quickly,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Goines, a repeat offender and former member of law enforcement, thought he could get away with his crimes and prosper, but thanks to the hard work and vigilance of HSI and its law enforcement partners he was wrong.”

“Unfortunately, some people have a difficult time breaking their cycle of criminal behavior,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Steve Baisel.  “Goines, and others like him, seem to find the lure of victimizing others greater than the potential consequences of their actions. We will not stop our efforts to bring to justice those who prey on others.”

According to U.S. Attorney Christine, the charges and other information presented in court: Claude Goines is a former detention officer at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office in Decatur, Georgia, where he rose to the rank of sergeant.  While he was on a work release program related to an earlier fraud conviction, Goines operated a carding lab where he manufactured fraudulent credit cards and driver's licenses. 

When federal agents executed a search of the lab, Goines was present while counterfeit cards were being produced.  The lab contained multiple laptops, USB storage devices, cell phones, printers, blank card stock, security holograms for driver’s licenses of several U.S. states, two handguns, and other related items.  Goines imported fraudulent holograms to be used with the fake Georgia driver's licenses he produced. 

Claude Goines, 35, of Lilburn, Georgia, has been sentenced to two years, six months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Goines was convicted on these charges on October 28, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to charges of access device fraud and possession of device-making equipment.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Eight defendants have been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and money laundering as part of Operation Night Train, a long-term Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation in Gainesville, Georgia. 

“Methamphetamine continues to plague our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine.  “This prosecution demonstrates that our federal, state, and local partners remain committed to taking these dangerous drug dealers off of our streets. We are grateful to the many law enforcement agencies who partnered with us on these cases.”

“Because of the results of this case our communities are safer and other drug traffickers in Georgia have been put on notice that we will not tolerate their efforts to spread these dangerous drugs,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “They will face the combined force of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners.”

“Georgians deserve to live in a safe and drug-free environment. We will continue to work diligently with all of our partners to investigate and dismantle drug trafficking organizations that threaten the safety of our communities,” said Vic Reynolds, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Christine, the charges and other information presented in court: Teofilo Carlos Santana Medrano ran a multi-kilogram methamphetamine distribution organization in the Gainesville, Georgia, area.  He was supplied by Maria Maldonado and Salome Urieta Jaimes.  Santana distributed methamphetamine to other members of his organization.

Eight defendants in the case have been sentenced after pleading guilty:

• Timothy Barnes, 53, of Jasper, Georgia, was sentenced on January 28, 2021, to 11 years, eight months in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.  Barnes was convicted on September 8, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• Teofilo Carlos Santana Medrano, 29, of Gainesville, Georgia, was sentenced on October 14, 2020, to 18 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.  Santana was convicted on February 19, 2020 after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
• Michael Johnny Davis, 57, of Canton, Georgia, was sentenced on October 26, 2020, to four years, nine months in prison to be followed by six years of supervised release.  Davis was convicted on July 23, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
• Maria Isabel Gonzalez Maldonado, a/k/a Lili, 38, of Atlanta Georgia, was sentenced on November 20, 2020, to eight years, one month in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.  Maldonado was convicted on March 19, 2020, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine.
• John Johnson, 50, of Mershon, Georgia, was sentenced on November 20, 2020, to three years, eight months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release.  Johnson was convicted on August 13, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• Mitchell Lingerfelt, 45, of Ball Ground, Georgia, was sentenced on October 29, 2020, to five years, three months in prison to be followed by seven years of supervised release.  Davis was convicted on July 23, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• Carlos Neftali Lemus Salmeron, 29, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was sentenced on August 14, 2020, to six years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.  Salmeron was convicted on September 3, 2019, after he pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• Salome Urieta Jaimes, a/k/a “Gucci”, 39, of Guerrero, Mexico was sentenced on August 14, 2020, to nine years, two months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $200.00.  Jaimes was convicted on January 31, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering.

The remaining defendant, Lesli Arroyo Alvarado, 24, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on July 2, 2020.  She fled prior to her sentencing.  Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to contact to the FBI.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI North Georgia Major Offenders Task Force, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, the Rhea County, Tennessee, Sherriff’s Office,  the GBI Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, and the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin A. Leipold, III and former Assistant U.S. Attorney William McKinnon prosecuted the case.

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

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Joshua Polloso Epifaniou, a Cypriot national, has pleaded guilty to accessing multiple major websites based in the United States without authorization, stealing user data, and demanding that the website operators pay a ransom to prevent his release of the data. Epifaniou is the first Cypriot national to be extradited from Cyprus to the United States.

“Epifaniou hacked into U.S.-based websites and threatened the disclosure of stolen personal information belonging to users, unless the websites paid him large ransoms,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “His arrest, extradition, and conviction demonstrate our resolve to bring to justice any hackers, no matter where they reside.”

“This conviction represents the determination of FBI investigators to hold cyber criminals accountable for extorting U.S. companies and citizens no matter where they may be hiding,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “However, the successful prosecution of this case would not have been possible without the help of our federal and foreign partners, including the government of Cyprus.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Christine, the charges and other information presented in court: Between at least October 2014 and November 2016, Epifaniou was a teenage hacker in Cyprus who searched website traffic rankings to identify potential targets of his extortion scheme. After selecting targets, Epifaniou worked with co-conspirators to steal personally identifiable information from user and customer databases at victim websites. Epifaniou stole the sensitive information either by directly exploiting a security vulnerability at the websites or by obtaining a portion of the victim website’s user data from a co-conspirator who had hacked into the victim network. Once the personally identifiable information was obtained, Epifaniou used proxy servers located in foreign countries to log into online email accounts and send messages to the victim websites threatening to leak the sensitive data unless a ransom was paid in cryptocurrency. 

During his scheme, Epifaniou’s victims included:

• An online sports news website owned by Turner Broadcasting System Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia;
• A free online game publisher based in Irvine, California;
• A hardware company based in New York, New York;
• An online employment website headquartered in Innsbrook, Virginia;
• A consumer report website headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Prior to the plea, Epifaniou paid nearly $600,000 in restitution to the victims, and Epifaniou agreed to forfeit an additional $389,113 and nearly 70,000 euros to the government in his plea agreement.

On September 19, 2017, Joshua Polloso Epifaniou, 21, of Nicosia, Cyprus, was indicted on one count of wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud, one count of computer fraud conspiracy, and one count of extortion related to a protected computer. In addition, Epifaniou pleaded guilty to one count of computer fraud in a 24-count indictment transferred from the District of Arizona for purposes of his plea.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 3, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Foreign law enforcement partners also made significant contributions to the investigation, including the exceptional support and cooperation provided by the Office for Combating Cybercrime of the Cyprus Police. Valuable assistance also was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan P. Kitchens, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Shauntay Craig, a/k/a Shake, and Donald Glass, a/k/a Smurf, both leaders of the national gang, the Gangster Disciples, have been sentenced for racketeering conspiracy involving murder. Glass was also sentenced for firearms crimes.

“Members of the Gangster Disciples left a trail of death and destruction across Georgia and much of the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “The sentence for these two gang leaders sends a resounding message to those who seek to inflict irreparable harm on their communities in furtherance of a violent gang.  It should reassure citizens that we will use every asset we have to abolish gang activity.”

“As leaders of the Gangster Disciples, these defendants terrorized communities across the country by engaging in, and ordering others to engage in, multiple acts of violence, including murder,” said Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “The significant sentences imposed upon defendant Craig for his national leadership role in the gang, and defendant Glass for his creation of an army of teenagers who shot and killed indiscriminately, demonstrate that even the most sophisticated and ruthless gangs are no match for the coordinated efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement.”

“The Gangster Disciples are a ruthless gang that preyed upon our communities for far too long, and Craig and Glass were the driving force behind the devastation the gang caused,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It is our goal to dismantle these organized, violent criminal enterprises and we could not do it without the efforts of the FBI led Safe Streets Gang Task Force and its state and local partners.”

“We are glad justice is being served and hope this sentencing sends a message that no one is above the law,” said DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha V. Ramos.

“Each time we take a dangerous criminal off or our streets and out of our communities, we all win. The arrest of these violent gang members sends a resounding message that criminal activity will not be tolerated in Atlanta and puts their fellow gang members and other violent suspects on notice, that we will find you and hold you accountable.” Atlanta Police Department Interim Chief Rodney Bryant.       

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Christine, the charges and other information presented in court: The Gangster Disciples are a national gang with roots in Chicago, Illinois, dating back to the 1970’s.  The gang is highly structured, with a hierarchy of leadership posts known as “Positions of Authority” or “POAs.”  The gang strictly enforces rules for its members, the most important of which is “Silence and Secrecy” – a prohibition on cooperating with law enforcement.  Violations of the rule are punishable by death. Evidence at trial showed that the Gangster Disciples were responsible for twenty-four shootings from 2011 through 2015, including twelve murders.

Shauntay Craig was a Board Member, the highest-ranking position in the Gangster Disciples. He was responsible for violence, drug trafficking, and murders, including orchestrating the murder of a government informant in Colorado to protect his drug empire.

Donald Glass led the H.A.T.E. Committee, a specialized enforcement team within the Gangster Disciples that reigned terror through its numerous murders, shootings, and robberies. As leader of the H.A.T.E. Committee, Glass ordered his band of teenage shooters, including a juvenile who Glass groomed to be an assassin, to shoot and kill more than ten people.

• Shauntay Craig, 42, of Birmingham, Alabama, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Craig was convicted on August 30, 2019, after he pleaded guilty to the offense of racketeering conspiracy involving murder and drug trafficking.
• Donald Glass, 30, of Decatur, Georgia, has been sentenced to life plus ten years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Glass was convicted on May 16, 2019, following a jury trial, of the offenses of racketeering conspiracy involving murder, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and causing death through the use of a firearm for the murder of Robert Dixon.

 
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, Atlanta Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, Aurora Police Department (Colorado), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Marshal’s Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Georgia Department of Corrections, with significant assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
 
Kim S. Dammers, Principal Deputy Chief of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan K. Buchanan, Deputy Chief of the Violent Crime and National Security Section, and Erin N. Spritzer of the Northern District of Georgia, and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Conor Mulroe of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case.
 
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Two leaders of the national gang the Gangster Disciples were sentenced today for a racketeering conspiracy involving murder.

Shauntay Craig, aka Shake, 42, of Birmingham, Alabama, was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Craig pleaded guilty in August 2019 to racketeering conspiracy involving murder and drug trafficking.

Donald Glass, aka Smurf, 30, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to life plus 120 months in prison. Glass was convicted by a federal jury in May 2019 of racketeering conspiracy involving murder, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, causing death through the use of a firearm for the murder of Robert Dixon, and other firearms crimes.

“As leaders of the Gangster Disciples, these defendants terrorized communities across the country by engaging in, and ordering others to engage in, multiple acts of violence, including murder,” said Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The significant sentences imposed upon defendant Craig for his national leadership role in the gang, and defendant Glass for his creation of an army of teenagers who shot and killed indiscriminately, demonstrate that even the most sophisticated and ruthless gangs are no match for the coordinated efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement.”

“Members of the Gangster Disciples left a trail of death and destruction across Georgia and much of the United States,” said Bobby L. Christine, Acting U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Georgia. “The sentence for these two gang leaders sends a resounding message to those who seek to inflict irreparable harm on their communities in furtherance of a violent gang.  It should reassure citizens that we will use every asset we have to abolish gang activity.”

“The Gangster Disciples are a ruthless gang that preyed upon our communities for far too long, and Craig and Glass were the driving force behind the devastation the gang caused,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. “It is our goal to dismantle these organized, violent criminal enterprises and we could not do it without the efforts of the FBI led Safe Streets Gang Task Force and its state and local partners.”

Craig was a Board Member, the highest-ranking position in the Gangster Disciples. He was responsible for violence, drug trafficking, and murders, including orchestrating the murder of a government informant in Colorado to protect his drug empire.

Glass led the H.A.T.E. Committee, a specialized enforcement team within the Gangster Disciples that reigned terror through its numerous murders, shootings, and robberies. As leader of the H.A.T.E. Committee, Glass ordered his band of teenage shooters, including a juvenile who Glass groomed to be an assassin, to shoot and kill more than 10 people.

According to the charges and other information presented in court, the Gangster Disciples are a national gang with roots in Chicago dating back to the 1970s. The gang is highly structured, with a hierarchy of leadership posts known as “Positions of Authority” or “POAs.” The gang strictly enforces rules for its members, the most important of which is “Silence and Secrecy” – a prohibition on cooperating with law enforcement. Violations of the rule are punishable by death. Evidence at trial showed that the Gangster Disciples were responsible for 24 shootings from 2011 through 2015, including 12 murders.

This case was investigated by the FBI Atlanta’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, Atlanta Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, Aurora Police Department (Colorado), IRS – Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Services, and the Georgia Department of Corrections, with significant assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Kim S. Dammers, Principal Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS), Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan K. Buchanan, Deputy Chief of the Violent Crime and National Security Section and Erin N. Spritzer of the Northern District of Georgia, and OCGS Trial Attorney Conor Mulroe prosecuted the case.

ATLANTA - Camelia Revels, a former case manager at HOPE Atlanta, and Katrise Jones, a property agent, have pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging them with conspiring to steal approximately $124,000 in federal funds intended to help homeless veterans.

“The defendants betrayed the trust of veterans who came to them for help,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “The victims are men and women who sacrificed for their country and deserve more than being taken advantage of for personal greed.”

David Spilker, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA OIG)  stated, “VA OIG’s continued oversight of VA’s grant programs, which are used to provide housing for at-risk homeless veterans, is one of the agency’s highest priorities because it safeguards the integrity of VA’s programs designed to end veteran homelessness.  As detailed in the charging document, the defendants’ fraud scheme adversely impacted the well-being of homeless veterans, their families, and the programs designed to assist them during a time of need.”

“This is a case of financial predators that actively sought to pilfer federal housing funds fittingly dedicated to assist our nation’s homeless veterans,” said Wyatt Achord, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General.  “It is our mission to tirelessly root out such individuals with the intent to willfully undermine federal housing programs dedicated toward improving the quality of life of those who devotedly served in our country’s armed services.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Christine, the charges and other information presented in court: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provide funds through a variety of programs, including the Supportive Services for Veterans program (SSVF), in order to assist homeless veterans. SSVF monies are in turn provided as grants to various organizations, including HOPE Atlanta (a/k/a Traveler’s Aid of Metropolitan Atlanta).

HOPE Atlanta is a non-profit organization dedicated to combatting homelessness that has served metro-Atlanta for more than 100 years. Between approximately October 2013 and November 2015, Revels was employed at HOPE Atlanta as a case manager for the SSVF program. As part of her duties, Revels was responsible for confirming a veteran’s eligibility to participate in the SSVF program, assisting veterans in finding suitable housing, and preparing the SSVF vouchers to secure issuance of funds. Although Revels did not have final approval over SSVF vouchers, she provided all the relevant information to her supervisor, including the name of the vendor to whom the check would be issued on behalf of a veteran.

Among the vendors Revels provided to her supervisor as the payee were companies that were owned and operated by Jones, including Stratford Corporate Realty, Strategic Consultants, and Reserve at Bay Bridge. Jones was supposed to act as a “property agent,” who would assist the veterans find suitable housing. In other words, rather than listing the rental property as the payee, Revels provided one of Jones’s companies.

In December 2014, HOPE Atlanta learned that Jones was not making rental payments on behalf of veterans who received SSVF funds and directed Revels to no longer work with her. Revels ignored this directive but continued her scheme with Jones. In particular, Revels did not disclose to HOPE Atlanta that the “vendors” receiving SSVF funds were various entities controlled and operated by Jones. As part of the conspiracy, Revels and Jones in fact opened a joint bank account in the name of Strategic Consultants—one of Jones’s companies—in which stolen SSVF funds were deposited. The scheme lasted until November 2015 when HOPE Atlanta learned that Revels had continued to work with Jones and that Jones’s companies had continued to receive SSVF funds that were not being used to help homeless veterans.

Separately, Jones also stole HUD-VA Supportive Housing funds (VASH) funds from the Marietta Housing Authority (MHA) in August and September 2015. HUD-VASH is a collaborative program between HUD and VA that combines HUD rental assistance (Housing Choice Vouchers) with VA supportive services to help veterans and their families who are homeless. To receive the VASH funds, an individual must represent that they are the owner of the property to be rented or a registered agent of the property owner. MHA also required the applicant to show that the mortgage payments for the property were up to date (or otherwise the owner held free and clear title to the property). MHA imposed these latter requirements to avoid placing veterans in properties that were subsequently foreclosed upon.

Jones falsely misrepresented to MHA that she was a registered agent of a large, legitimate property management company in order to participate in the VASH program. As a result of Jones’s misrepresentations to MHA, she received approximately $3,000 on behalf of several veterans for rental payments but never made the payments.

Sentencing for Camelia Revels, 50, of Hiram, Georgia, is scheduled for April 6, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.  Sentencing for Katrise Jones, 47, of Lexington, South Carolina, is scheduled for April 15, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. Both sentencings will be held before U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen.

This case is being investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Inspector General-Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Cobb County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – William Brown, Ronald Williams, and McLane Ricardo Haddocks III have been sentenced for trafficking and conspiring to trafficking fentanyl and heroin.   The three were long-time Florida drug dealers, and both Brown and Williams had been released from prison only a few months before resuming their criminal conduct in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl killed tens of thousands of Americans, destroyed countless families, and devastated communities throughout our nation in 2020,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine.  “The outstanding efforts of the federal law enforcement officers and prosecutors in this district ensures that lifelong criminals like these defendants are brought to justice instead of flitting in and out of state prisons.”

“ATF is committed to working with our federal partners to target those responsible for drug trafficking and gun violence in our communities,” said John Schmidt, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Atlanta Field Division.  “This coordinated effort between ATF and our partners demonstrates our continued dedication to identify, target, and investigate criminals who lessen the quality of life in our neighborhoods.  The sentences will help ensure these individuals are not able to continue with their illegal activities.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Christine, the charges and other information presented in court: In July 2019, ATF agents observed William Brown and Ronald Williams—two multi-convicted felons with lengthy criminal histories in Florida—sell approximately three ounces of fentanyl-laced heroin in the parking lot of an apartment complex in southwest Atlanta, Georgia. 

A few weeks later, Brown and Williams met with McLane Ricardo Haddocks, III—a career criminal who had relocated from Florida to Georgia after serving numerous prison terms for trafficking in cocaine, fleeing from police, and violating probation.  Brown, Williams, and Haddocks drove to a public storage facility in Stockbridge, Georgia where Williams retrieved a plastic baggie of fentanyl-laced heroin and handed it to Haddocks.  Shortly thereafter, while under surveillance by ATF, Haddocks sold approximately five ounces of fentanyl-laced heroin to a government informant in a hotel parking lot.

Williams and Brown took their drug trafficking operation from Florida to Georgia.  The drug deal that agents witnessed in July 2019 was committed only three months after Williams’s release from a Florida prison for a gun crime.  Williams had previously spent more than a half-decade in prison for trafficking cocaine, violating probation, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Similarly, Brown had been released from prison in Florida just nine months before the July 2019 drug transaction.  He too had spent more than a half-decade in Florida prisons for possession of cocaine, selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park, sale of marijuana, armed robbery, aggravated battery, and trafficking hydromorphone.

All three defendants pleaded guilty.  They were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown as follows:

• William Brown, 31, of Jupiter, Florida, was sentenced on January 12, 2021, to 15 years in prison followed by eight years of supervised release.
• Ronald Williams, a/k/a Mandela, 43, of Riviera Beach, Florida, was sentenced on March 9, 2020, to 12 years, seven months in prison followed by six years of supervised release.  Additionally, Williams agreed to forfeit his interest in more than $100,000 worth of seized jewelry.
• McLane Ricardo Haddocks III, a/k/a Rick, 43, of Stockbridge, Georgia, was sentenced on December 3, 2020, to five years, 10 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ROME, Ga. - Mohammed Ajmal was arraigned today, charged with three counts of making and subscribing a false tax return, two counts of health care fraud, and two counts of false statements related to health care matters.  Co-defendant Faisal Shahzad, who was arraigned in December 2020, was charged with making a false statement to a federal agent. 

“Ajmal was a successful businessman who attempted to game the system by allegedly filing false tax returns to conceal kickbacks,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine.  “He also allegedly submitted false income statements to obtain free healthcare for his children, while his brother, Shahzad, is alleged to have lied to a federal agent to help conceal the crimes.”

“It doesn’t matter if your earnings are legal or illegal; income is income,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey.  “Everyone has equal responsibility for reporting their earnings to the Internal Revenue Service and we are dedicated to enforcing the law.”

“This was a GBI investigation that began as an illegal commercial gambling case and led authorities to discover a plethora of other crimes. The partnerships the GBI has with local, federal, and other state agencies are important to ensure all possible crimes are uncovered, investigated, and prosecuted successfully,” said Vic Reynolds, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Christine, the charges, and other information presented in court:  Through various corporations Mohammed Ajmal owned several gas stations and convenience stores in the Cartersville, Georgia, area. Many of the stores contained coin operated amusement machines, known as “COAMs”.  COAMs are regulated by the Georgia Lottery Corporation. 

Between 2013 and 2015, the Georgia Lottery Corporation issued administrative regulations under Georgia law which resulted Ajmal receiving less revenue from the COAMs.  Ajmal then contacted the company holding the master license for the COAMs in his properties, and allegedly conveyed that if it wanted to continue operating COAMs on Ajmal’s properties, it would have to pay additional money, or kickbacks, to Ajmal.  To disguise the kickback payments, Ajmal allegedly told the company to write checks to Ajmal’s relatives, including his brother, Shahzad.  Ajmal then allegedly used the monies for his own benefit, including to build a new home.  From 2015 through 2018, the amount of the kickbacks totaled $2,292,847.  Ajmal allegedly did not report any of this income on his tax returns for 2015 through 2017; as a result, Ajmal allegedly paid less federal tax than he actually owed for all three years.

As part of this investigation, on June 14, 2019, an IRS-CI agent interviewed Faisal Shahzad at his workplace.  During this interview, Shahzad allegedly falsely told the agent that checks made out by the company to him were for work he performed for the company. 

In addition, Ajmal allegedly defrauded and made false statements to PeachCare for Kids, which is a publicly subsidized health insurance program for children in low- and moderate-income Georgia families. To enroll a child in PeachCare for Kids, parents must show that the family’s income is below certain limits.  Because Ajmal’s income was well over the eligibility limit, Ajmal’s children were not eligible for PeachCare for Kids.

In order to enroll his children anyway, Ajmal allegedly understated his income by faxing false income verification forms and supporting documentation to the program. The income verification forms allegedly did not report any self-employment income for Ajmal or his wife, but instead listed fictitious employment and attached copies of purported paychecks which were never cashed.  While the children were enrolled in the PeachCare for Kids program, Ajmal and his wife obtained medical and dental care and prescription drugs for them at public expense.

Mohammed Ajmal, 47, of Cartersville, Georgia, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson.  Ajmal, and Faisal Shahzad, 30, also of Cartersville, Georgia, were indicted by a federal grand jury on December 8, 2020.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. 

This case is being investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with valuable assistance provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Cartersville Police Department, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, and Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alana Black and Michael Herskowitz are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Bobby L. Christine has been named Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.  U.S. Attorney Christine is currently the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, and will remain in that position while assuming the additional role in the Northern District.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Bobby L. Christine has been named Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.  U.S. Attorney Christine is currently the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, and will remain in that position while assuming the additional role in the Northern District.

ATLANTA - U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak has announced his resignation effective January 4, 2021. Pak is departing the office after serving for more than three years as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Northern District of Georgia, which consists of 46 counties in Northwestern Georgia and which has offices in Atlanta, Rome, Gainesville, and Newnan.  He was nominated as U.S. Attorney by President Donald Trump in July 017, confirmed by the United States Senate on September 28, 2017, and sworn in as the District’s 25th Presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney on October 10, 2017. 

“It has been the greatest honor of my professional career to have been able to serve my fellow citizens as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.  I have done my best to be thoughtful and consistent, and to provide justice for my fellow citizens in a fair, effective and efficient manner.  I am grateful to President Trump and the United States Senate for the opportunity to serve, and to former Attorneys General Sessions and Barr for their leadership of the Department,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.          

Pak was born in Seoul, South Korea, and immigrated to the United States when he was nine years old.  He resides with his family in Gwinnett County, Georgia.  Pak worked in private practice until he began his government service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia in 2002.  He felt called to public service in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, and he served for six years, prosecuting a wide variety of cases, including drug trafficking, money laundering, intellectual property, and white-collar crimes. 

Additionally, Pak served as a State Representative in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017.

“As I look back at my almost a decade serving the Department of Justice (and this office in particular), the most memorable and fulfilling moments involve working very closely with our law enforcement partners in keeping our communities safe.   I take with me fond memories and the utmost respect I have for every one of the men and women who wear the badge. They are truly everyday heroes.  My hope is that my tenure in the office will be remembered for our efforts to serve and to support those brave agents and officers.  I have witnessed first-hand the fortitude and grace of victims of crime and have taken to heart the awesome responsibility of speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves,” said Pak.

During his time as U.S. Attorney, Pak served on several national committees. He served as Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights; Vice Chair of the Committee on Management, People, and Performance; and as a member of the Domestic Violence and White-Collar Fraud Working Groups.  Pak also served on the Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice Technology Working Group, and on the Committee that developed the standards for a National Decertification Index - a database to track excessive use of force incidents by police officers. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia consists of three Divisions: Criminal, Civil, and Administrative.  The accomplishments of each Division during Pak’s tenure are many and varied.

Criminal

Foremost among the office’s accomplishments during Pak’s tenure has been the commitment to working together and improving relationships with federal, state and local law enforcement partners in an effort to reduce violent crime in targeted areas throughout the District.  As part of the Department of Justice priority programs Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian, the office has worked hand in hand with District Attorneys, federal, state and local law enforcement, and community partners to address gun violence.  Working with an outstanding research partner, our efforts have been data-driven and evaluated for effectiveness.  Our endeavors have been successful as reflected by recent statistics showing significant reductions in gun violence throughout the District.  Our Innovative Prevention and Reentry Initiative involves the Credible Messenger Program, where the Department partners with rehabilitated ex-offenders who serves as trained mentors to those violent offenders reentering society from incarceration. Early data shows the program is highly effective in reducing recidivism.

In addition, the office pursued and successfully prosecuted numerous priority cases in the areas of public corruption, drug trafficking, drug delivery resulting in death, drug distribution and illegal prescribing by medical professionals, cybercrime, fraud, insider trading, sex trafficking and exploitation of minors, environmental crimes and illegal immigration.  During Pak’s service as U.S. Attorney, the office increased the number of criminal cases prosecuted by over 30% versus FY17, with an emphasis on taking cases that should be handled on the federal level to best serve the victims of crime, regardless of the amount of financial loss or quantity of drugs. 

Civil

The office’s Civil Division has wide areas of responsibility, from defending federal agencies and employees in civil matters to immigration, discrimination matters, prisoner litigation, and civil rights.  The Affirmative Civil Enforcement has been highly successful, bringing cases and negotiating the return of millions of taxpayer dollars that individuals and businesses had obtained by fraudulent means.  The Defensive Section handled a significant number of cases, including a large number of lawsuits related to immigration matters.  The Civil Division continues to focus upon important polling place access discrimination cases throughout the District with the goal of ensuring that every eligible citizen will be able to cast a vote regardless of any disability.  The office continued its long practice of protecting the civil rights of all citizens regardless of their nationality, gender, or disability.

Administrative

With the dual factors of the current pandemic and the longest government shutdown in United States history, the office’s Administrative Division has been exceedingly productive during the past three years.  The Division handled a vast array of COVID-related issues, including sanitation of workspaces, acquisition of safety equipment, telework policies and procedures, and employee assistance. 

In addition to these Divisions, the office has implemented a robust outreach effort, with emphasis on the law enforcement and intelligence communities, prison reentry initiatives, and the media. Pak also made efforts to reach out to the citizens of the Northern District of Georgia directly, with many television, radio, and public appearances, to keep the public informed of what the Office of the U.S. Attorney does.

"For the past three years, I have had the great fortune to work with the highly skilled attorneys and staff in the Northern District of Georgia,” Pak said.  “This office is blessed with experienced leaders, and fearless colleagues who truly understand the importance of working together for the benefit of their fellow citizens and for justice.  Likewise, the staff that supports the attorneys in the office – administrative personnel, legal assistants, paralegals and investigators, those responsible for outreach to law enforcement, victims, community partners, the media, and to those assigned to security and intelligence – are some of the most dedicated people I have seen.  Their roles in fulfilling the mission of the office of pursuing justice cannot be underestimated. I have strived to serve these employees of the U.S. Attorney’s Office as their leader during these past three years, the last of which was one of the most trying the office has ever endured.  I have greatly enjoyed working with each and every one of them. Throughout the past three years, I have endeavored to serve them and to tell the story of the great accomplishments of the office. While the public words are mine, the accomplishments belong to them.”

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Bart Ross pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud arising from a years-long scheme to manipulate the prices of short-term call options in large, publicly traded companies. 

“Ross and others were able to cheat the market by perfectly timing their trades on false rumors of their own design,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We will fight all forms of securities fraud, whether it involves defrauding investors, insider trading, pump-and-dump schemes, or the type of sophisticated market manipulation at issue here.”

“Manipulating the market to fraudulently profit is not a victimless crime,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Ross will now be sentenced for fraudulently profiting from the elaborate scheme and hopefully the public’s trust in a fair market will be restored.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Between approximately February 2017 and January 2020, Ross and at least four other individuals conspired to execute a scheme in which they traded securities—primarily short-term call options—in large, publicly traded companies (often Fortune 500 companies) based on materially false rumors about those companies that they themselves generated and disseminated. These materially false rumors were intended to drive up the price of the securities (both the underlying stock and options).

Call options are essentially a contract that gives the options’ holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy shares of the underlying stock at a set price per share—the option’s strike price—on or before a set future date (the option’s expiration date). Generally, the holder of a call option benefits when the price of the underlying stock increases. Short-term call options are ones that generally expire within a week.

Ross, who was formerly registered as a broker with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), and the co-conspirators generated the rumors. They would frequently exchange drafts of a proposed rumor among themselves using the Trillian instant messaging application. After a rumor was formulated and finalized, one of the co-conspirators, identified as Individual-1 in the criminal information, was responsible for disseminating the rumor via Trillian to multiple accounts, which would in turn, result in the false rumor being disseminated over one or more market subscription services, including Trade The News, TradeXchange, and Benzinga, as well as various Twitter accounts.

Before Individual-1 disseminated the rumor, Ross and the other co-conspirators would acquire a position in the publicly traded company that was the subject of the materially false rumor. The co-conspirators typically purchased short-term call options before (sometimes just minutes or seconds before) Individual-1 disseminated the rumor. The conspirators often (but not always) purchased short-term call options because the price of such options is more sensitive than the price of the underlying stock. It was therefore possible for Ross and the others to earn a greater percentage return by trading short-term call options rather than the underlying stock. Ross and the conspirators profited from their scheme by selling the options (or other securities) after they increased in price. They would typically sell off their positions shortly after the rumor was disseminated (and after the price of the option or underlying stock had increased).

Ross executed approximately 49 trades based on the generation and dissemination of false rumors, including in March and April 2018, when Ross traded short-term call options in Disney and Ben Franklin Resources, respectively. Overall, Ross earned approximately $35,000 in profits from the scheme.

Bart Ross, 56, of Sandy Springs, Georgia, is scheduled to be sentenced March 26, 2021 at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which provided assistance in this case, also filed a civil enforcement action and consent judgment against Ross today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex R. Sistla and Thomas J. Krepp are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Former Postal employee Markeyta McAllister pleaded guilty to Obstruction of United States Mail for stealing cash and gift cards from more than 15 letters.

“While most U.S. Postal Service employees serve Americans with integrity and honesty – McAllister did not,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “By opening peoples’ mail to steal money and gift cards, McAllister betrayed both the citizens she supposedly served and the reputation of her fellow employees.”

“The majority of postal employees are hard-working public servants dedicated to moving mail to its proper destination,” U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Imari R. Niles said. “Unfortunately, McAllister decided to betray the public’s trust and steal from postal customers. This plea demonstrates that USPS OIG special agents take these cases seriously, and that postal employees who steal mail are throwing away their careers and could end up in jail.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From July 7, 2014 to December 3, 2019, McAllister served as a mail-processing clerk assigned to sort mail deliverable to Duluth, Georgia at a postal facility in the Atlanta-metropolitan area. As a United States Postal Service employee, McAllister pledged to “preserve and protect the security of all mail in [her] custody from unauthorized opening, inspection, tampering, delay, reading of the contents or covers, or other unauthorized acts.” Furthermore, McAllister attested that she “fully underst[ood] that it is a crime, punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, to knowingly or willfully obstruct or delay the mail, or to steal or attempt to steal mail of any kind.”

Despite swearing to preserve and protect the integrity of the United States postal system, McAllister effected a scheme to open mailed letters and to steal prepaid/gift cards and cash from within those letters. For example, from September to October 2019:

• McAllister stole a $200 prepaid Visa card from a letter addressed to a resident of Duluth, Georgia and on October 3, 2019, McAllister used the gift card; 
   
• McAllister stole a $150 prepaid Visa card from a letter addressed to a resident of Duluth Georgia and McAllister used the gift card; and
   
• McAllister stole a $25 prepaid Visa card from a letter addressed to a resident of Duluth, Georgia and video surveillance footage depicts McAllister using the card at a Kroger Store in Jefferson, Georgia.

In total, as a U.S. Postal Service employee, McAllister stole cash and prepaid/gift cards from at least 15 letters in 2019.

On December 3, 2019, McAllister gave federal law enforcement officers a recorded statement where she admitted to stealing prepaid/gift cards from the mail.

From McAllister's vehicle, federal agents recovered: (a) two gift card sleeves, (b) three prepaid cards, (c) several store receipts for purchases made with prepaid/gift cards, and (d) two opened envelopes not addressed to McAllister.

On November 23, 2020, McAllister, 30, of Jefferson, Georgia, was charged via criminal information with Obstruction of U.S. Mail.  McAllister pleaded guilty to that charge on December 17, 2020.

U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Nathan Horton has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly illegally trapping and exporting thousands of freshwater turtles in Georgia in violation of the Lacey Act, which regulates the trafficking and labeling of wildlife, fish, and plants.

“Illegal wildlife trafficking both decimates species and undermines the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to prosecute those who violate our nation’s wildlife protection statutes for the sake of illegal profit.” 

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, considers the illegal trapping and commercialization of Georgia’s protected turtle species a high priority, and we will continue to work closely with our State partners to protect the irreplaceable natural resources,”  said Assistant Director Ed Grace.

“Wildlife crime has no place in Georgia! It is no longer lawful to trap freshwater turtles on a commercial basis in Georgia or export them out of the state, period. Georgia is filled with pristine natural resources and diverse ecosystems that are protected daily by Georgia DNR. I want to say thank you to our Georgia Game Wardens and federal partners for their hard work on this case and for strictly upholding our state’s conservation laws,” said Commissioner Mark Williams, Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: the Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 3371-3378, regulates the trafficking and labeling of wildlife, fish, and plants and makes it unlawful for individuals to, among other things, knowingly export and sell wildlife that has been illegally taken in violation of state law.

In Georgia, the Department of Natural Resources (“GA-DNR”) regulates the collecting, trapping, exporting, trading, and selling of freshwater turtles from land belonging to the State of Georgia. Like it does with other wildlife, such as deer and bears, GA-DNR regulates both the number of freshwater turtles that may be collected and the manner in which they may be trapped. In this respect, Georgia defines by statute that a lawful turtle trap “must be constructed of netting and shaped as hoop nets . . . [and] must also have one open muzzle or throat at least 32 inches wide with a ring ten inches in diameter made into the rear of the trap to permit fish to escape.”

The indictment and other information before the court alleges that beginning by at least July 2015 and continuing until at least July 2017, Horton shipped thousands of freshwater turtles from Georgia to California that had been trapped using turtle nets that were illegal under Georgia law. Although Horton held a Commercial Turtle Permit during this time and GA-DNR sends all commercial permit holders the applicable Georgia statutes and GA-DNR regulations on turtle traps, Horton repeatedly used illegal traps to capture freshwater turtles. Indeed, in October 2016 and August 2017, while holding a commercial permit, GA-DNR cited Horton for using illegal traps to capture freshwater turtles. Among the species of turtles Horton allegedly trapped illegally were: Stripe-necked musk turtle (Sternotherus minor peltifer), Loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor), Common musk turtle or stinkpot or eastern musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus), and Eastern mud turtles (Kinosternon subrubrum).

Nathan Horton, 36, formerly of Bainbridge, Georgia, was indicted for violating the Lacey Act. He was arraigned on December 10, 2020 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex R. Sistla and Samir Kaushal are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Lesbia Lily Gonzalez Moreno and Ailin Michelle Maldonado have been charged with paying bribes to Gerald D. Harris, a former Supervisor in DeKalb County’s Tax Commissioner’s Office, in exchange for Harris unlawfully registering vehicles.

“Moreno and Maldonado allegedly paid multiple bribes to register illegally vehicles without the necessary documentation,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Whether you offer a bribe or take a bribe, corruption betrays the trust of our citizens in government and will subject you to federal prosecution.”

“When public officials take or pay bribes, they are tarnishing the reputations of every government official,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our federal, state and local partners will do everything in our power to arrest and punish those who violate the public’s trust in hopes of restoring it.”

“Bribing government officials in exchange for official acts undermines the government’s integrity and its ability to effectively serve its citizens.  Today is the first step in holding Moreno and Maldonado accountable for their actions.  The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, along with its law enforcement partners, remains committed to prosecuting anyone who engages in such activity,” said District Attorney Sherry Boston, Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit.

“The Georgia Department of Revenue was proud to assist our federal partners in the course of this investigation. The Department’s Motor Vehicle Division is responsible for motor vehicle tag and title processing and registration statewide. Our duties include ensuring that there is integrity throughout this process and so we will continue to work diligently with both our federal and local partners to enforce the law and maintain the public trust.” David Curry, Georgia State Revenue Commissioner.

“We continue to support the efforts of law enforcement officials to root out illegal and unethical behaviors by persons in positions of public trust,” said DeKalb Tax Commissioner Irvin Johnson. “I applaud the work of our office staff and our partners in law enforcement who quickly isolated this illegal activity and brought those involved to justice.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office is an agency of DeKalb County, Georgia, responsible for the billing and collection of property taxes, processing of Homestead Exemptions, and collecting delinquent taxes. In addition, the Motor Vehicle Division of the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office handled all aspects of motor vehicle registrations, including: (a) managing the collection of motor vehicle taxes, (b) issuing vehicle tags and titles, and (c) processing vehicle registration renewals for citizens and businesses located in DeKalb County, Georgia.

From July 2017 to November 2019, Harris served as the Supervisor of Tax Tag Clerks for the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. In that position, Harris oversaw the Tax Commissioner North Office’s clerks who processed motor vehicle registrations and renewals for customers. As a supervisor, Harris generally interacted with customers only if a dispute existed between clerks and customers. Similarly, based on his supervisory role, the Motor Vehicle Division did not issue Harris a cash drawer or a credit card terminal, nor was Harris responsible for processing transactions or payments with customers.

From at least May 2019 to November 8, 2019, Moreno and Maldonado repeatedly paid Harris bribe payments to register unlawfully vehicles for owners without presenting a valid Georgia driver’s license or identification card. Under state law, a vehicle owner could not register a vehicle or receive a license plate unless they presented a valid Georgia driver’s license or identification card at the time of application. Nevertheless, in exchange for bribe payments, typically $200 per vehicle, Harris unlawfully registered and obtained license places for owners identified by Moreno and Maldonado. During this period, Moreno and Maldonado each gave Harris thousands of dollars in bribe payments.

On July 14, 2020 Harris pleaded guilty to federal program bribery and blackmail and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Lesbia Lily Gonzalez Moreno, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand. Ailin Michelle Maldonado, 24, of Norcross, Georgia, made an initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Denver, Colorado. Moreno was indicted by a federal grand jury on nine counts of honest services wire fraud on December 1, 2020. That same day, Maldonado was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of honest services wire fraud in a separate indictment.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The FBI, DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, Georgia Department of Revenue, and DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office are investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Hartigan is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Santwon Antonio Davis has pleaded guilty to wire fraud related to a scheme to defraud his employer in May 2020 by submitting a fraudulent COVID-19 medical excuse letter.  He also pleaded guilty to bank fraud related to a scheme to defraud a mortgage company while he was on bond for the earlier COVID-19 wire fraud charge.

“The defendant caused unnecessary economic loss to his employer and distress to his coworkers and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “We will take quick action through the Georgia COVID-19 Task Force to put a stop to Coronavirus-related fraud schemes.”

“Davis’ streak of lies ended when he took advantage of a pandemic to cause undue harm to the company he worked for and their employees,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our federal and state partners remain vigilant in detecting, investigating and prosecuting any fraud related to this crisis we are all facing.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Davis, who was employed by a company with a facility located in the Atlanta, falsely claimed to have contracted COVID-19 and submitted a falsified medical record to his employer.  In concern for its employees and customers, the corporation closed its facility for cleaning and paid its employees during the shutdown. This caused a loss in excess of $100,000 to the corporation and the unnecessary quarantine of several of the defendant’s coworkers. 

During the COVID-19 fraud investigation, agents uncovered a previous incident in which the defendant submitted fraudulent documentation to obtain benefits from his employer.  Specifically, in the fall of 2019, the defendant created and submitted false documentation to support a paid bereavement leave claim for the death of his child.  This child never existed and was fabricated so that the defendant could obtain benefits to which he was not entitled. 

Finally, while on pretrial release in the original COVID-19 case, the defendant submitted a mortgage application with numerous fraudulent statements, including a falsified earnings and employment history.  The mortgage company discovered the fraud, in part, after seeing the news stories related to his original COVID-19 charge.

Santwon Antonio Davis, 35, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William M. Ray, II, to a wire fraud charge related to a scheme to defraud his employer and to a bank fraud charge relating to the mortgage fraud.  Davis was previously charged via an information with wire fraud in May 2020.  He pleaded guilty admitting that he falsely represented he had COVID-19 and to other fraud offenses that were uncovered during the COVID-19 fraud investigation.  Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.  

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General offered valuable assistance in this investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Klapman and Russell Phillips are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Georgia’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Fraud Task Force, aimed at better protecting the citizens of Georgia from criminal fraud arising from the pandemic. Formed by Georgia’s leading state and federal prosecutors, the task force serves to open channels of communication between partner agencies and more rapidly share information about COVID-19 fraud, while ensuring each fraud complaint is reported to the appropriate prosecuting agency. The task force member agencies include the Office of the Governor of Georgia, the Office of the Attorney General of Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia. Georgia’s three U.S. Attorneys, the Attorney General of Georgia, and the Executive Counsel for the Governor’s Office serve on the task force. If you think you are a victim of a scam or attempted fraud involving COVID-19, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via email at www.justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Travis Peterson has been indicted by a federal grand jury on mail and wire fraud charges for operating a fraudulent charity scheme. For years he allegedly used millions of robocalls to urge people to donate vehicles and other valuable items by falsely claiming their donations would go to veterans’ charities and were tax-deductible.

“Thousands were allegedly defrauded by Peterson's false claims that he wanted to help veterans,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Many veterans face significant financial challenges, and Peterson allegedly exploited the generosity and good intentions of those who donated to support those who served our nation.”

“While fraud is always wrong, Peterson’s exploitation of the public’s trust and charitable giving, providing false assurances that the donations were going to help veterans’ charities, is especially egregious,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division.  “The US Postal Inspection Service remains vigilant in keeping fraudsters from using the U.S. Mail to commit their offenses.”

“Peterson used millions of illegal robocalls to convince people to donate to his fake veterans’ charities and, in turn, hurt legitimate charities that do great work on behalf of our service-members,” said Anna Burns, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Southeast Region. “This announcement shows that putting a stop to illegal robocalls and protecting well-meaning Americans from fraudulent charities remains a top priority for cooperation between law enforcement agencies around the nation.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court:  Between approximately April 2012 and July 2018, Peterson established and registered multiple corporate entities, including Vehicles for Veterans LLC, Medal of Honor, Act of Valor, Donate Real Estate LLC, Donate That Car LLC MI, Donate That Car LLC NV, Telefunding LLC, Tiny Towns R.E. LLC, Victims Relief LLC, Veterans of America, and Saving Our Soldiers in Nevada, Michigan and Utah. Each of these companies was purportedly a tax-exempt charitable organization that Peterson established to help veterans and their families. None of these companies, however, was an actual charity with tax exempt status. Peterson in fact never owned or operated a single charity that benefitted veterans.

Using millions of robocalls, as well as multiple websites and newspaper advertisements, Peterson allegedly defrauded thousands of people around the country into believing they were donating vehicles and other property to benefit veterans. Peterson and those working at his direction falsely informed would-be donors that their donations would be used to benefit veterans and were tax deductible. Peterson himself did not pick up and sell the donated vehicles. Rather, he contracted with third-party auto auction companies to handle the logistics of acquiring and selling the donated vehicles. After the vehicles were sold, the auction companies would remit any proceeds to bank accounts controlled by Peterson. None of these funds went to the benefit of veterans. Peterson instead allegedly used them for own personal expenses, including to pay for online dating services and to purchase an all-terrain vehicle. As a result, Peterson defrauded donors of more than $500,000.

The FTC had previously filed a complaint against Peterson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah arising from this same fraudulent scheme. On April 1, 2019, the court entered a stipulated order and judgment which permanently banned Peterson from soliciting charitable contributions and from using robocalls, as well as prohibiting him from making misrepresentations that a charitable contribution is tax-deductible. The order also imposed a $541,032.10 monetary judgment against Peterson and required that he forfeit 88 vehicles.  The FTC’s investigation of Peterson is part of a broader initiative by the agency to combat illegal robocalls. More information about several of the FTC’s recent enforcement actions, including Peterson’s, is available online: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/03/ftc-crackdown-stops-operations-responsible-billions-illegal.

Travis Peterson, 53, of St. George, Utah, was indicted on December 9, 2020. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The Cleveland and Atlanta Regional Offices of the Federal Trade Commission provided invaluable contributions in this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla is prosecuting the case, which was begun by former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Valerie Verduce.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Multiple defense contractors have been charged and/or sentenced for participating in a multi-million-dollar defense contracting fraud scheme based out of Turkey.

“Our nation relies on the defense contracting process to carry out important duties,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. (“BJay”) Pak.  “When contractors circumvent the rules they agreed to follow, they jeopardize the lives of those servicemen they signed up to serve.” 

“This conspiracy to steal military technology was not only fraudulent, it endangered lives,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is dedicated to working with our federal partners to seek justice for anyone who would subvert the defense contracting process, but more importantly, threaten the safety of the men and women in the U.S. military.”

“The Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement will aggressively pursue violators of U.S. export controls,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Alan Berkowitz. “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, our joint investigation disrupted an ongoing conspiracy to divert U.S. military technology and protect our warfighters.”        

“Compromising the Department of Defense contracting process threatens the safety of our warfighters and the strength of our national defense,” said Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce, DCIS Southeast Field Office.  “We will aggressively pursue those who abuse the contracting system and hold them accountable for their criminal schemes.” 

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Murat Gonenir, along with at least two other defendants, participated in an extensive Turkey-based scheme to defraud the U.S. military.  The defendants applied for and obtained access to a sensitive Department of Defense (“DOD”) contracting database housing some of the military’s most sensitive schematics, which is only lawfully accessible by U.S. and Canadian citizens or permanent residents. 

Once the defendants obtained access to the database, they downloaded thousands of sensitive schematics for parts such as a handle casting for an 105 millimeter tray assembly for an AC-130H Gunship, and catapult/arresting gear for Nimitz and Forrestal Class aircraft carriers. Gonenir obtained access to this sensitive database by falsely claiming he was a U.S. or Canadian citizen or permanent resident.    

The defendants offered bids on numerous defense contracts for these sensitive schematics that required them to produce these parts in the United States. Instead, they produced these parts in Gonenir’s manufacturing plants in Turkey and then falsely claimed to the DOD that the parts had been lawfully produced in the United States.  The DOD paid millions of dollars to the various defense contractors who took part in this scheme as a result of these false statements.

DOD testing revealed that various parts produced at Gonenir’s plants were of such inferior design that they could have resulted in serious injury or death to U.S. military personnel if the parts had been put into production. Several members of the conspiracy were told that DOD testing had determined that at least one of the parts had failed inspection.  However, the defendants kept producing parts in Turkey and falsely claiming the parts were produced in the United States. 

The defendants and their sentences are as follows:

• Murat Gonenir, 59, of Cankaya, Turkey was sentenced to three years, five months in prison and three years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay $1,487,950.77 in restitution and a special assessment of $100.
• Batur Ustol, 61, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the conspiracy, and he was ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution and a special assessment of $100. In a related matter.
• Suleyman Sevket Bayraktar, 43, of Fountain Valley, California, was sentenced to six months in prison, six months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay $161,925 in restitution and a special assessment of $100.  

This case was investigated by the Department of Commerce – Bureau of Industry & Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Krepp and Nathan P. Kitchens, Deputy Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Section prosecuted the cases.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA –Arthur Cofield and two others have been indicted for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering.  Cofield is currently serving a prison sentence in a Georgia Correctional facility in Butts County, Georgia.

“Some prisoners aren’t interested in rehabilitation or paying their debt to society,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “The allure of millions of dollars in gold, coupled with contraband prison cellphones, allegedly was enough for Cofield to commit a brazen million-dollar fraud scheme from the confines of his prison cell.”

“This elaborate fraud scheme is truly shocking in its scope and nature,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to ensuring the U.S. Mail is not utilized as a tool in this type of fraud and to holding the responsible parties fully accountable for their actions.” 

“The Secret Service worked closely with our partners and shared information and resources to ultimately bring this criminal to justice,” said Steven R. Baisel, Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service's Atlanta Field Office.  “Today’s indictment proves that there is no such thing as anonymity for those engaging in fraudulent schemes.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Cofield is an inmate at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Butts County, Georgia, serving a 14-year sentence for armed robbery.  He is also currently under indictment in Fulton County, Georgia, charged with attempted murder.

In June 2020, using a contraband cell phone, Cofield obtained multiple means of identification for victim S.K., and gained access to an online account owned by S.K., and managed by Charles Schwab. On June 5, 2020, Cofield impersonated S.K., and called a Charles Schwab customer service representative to inquire about opening a checking account. The customer service representative informed Cofield that a form of identification and utility bill would be required to complete the verification process. At Cofield’s request, a co-conspirator texted Cofield with a picture of S.K.’s driver’s license and a Los Angeles, California, Department of Water and Power utility bill.

On June 8, 2020, Cofield submitted via email a purchase inquiry to Money Metals Exchange, LLC, a precious metals dealer based in Idaho, for the purchase of gold coins. Purporting to be S.K., while communicating with representatives of Money Metals Exchange, LLC, Cofield agreed to purchase 6,106 American Gold Eagle one-ounce coins for the price of $10,998,859.92. That same day, a female co-conspirator claiming to be calling on behalf of her husband contacted a Charles Schwab customer service representative and inquired about the verification procedures to initiate a wire transfer.

Later, Cofield impersonated S.K., and called a Charles Schwab customer service representative to inquire about sending a wire transfer in the amount of $11,000,000. During the call, Cofield falsely claimed to be S.K., and referenced the earlier call made by the female co-conspirator. Based on these false representations, Charles Schwab wired $11,000,000 from the account belonging to S.K., to an account controlled by Money Metals Exchange, LLC.

On June 13, 2020, Cofield hired a private security company to transport the purchased gold coins from Boise, Idaho, to Atlanta, Georgia, by chartered private plane. On June 16, 2020, the private security team landed at the Atlanta Signature Airport and met with co-defendant Eldridge Maurice Bennett. Bennett presented a false identification document to the private security team and took possession of the gold coins.

In July 2020, Cofield contacted the landowner of a six-bedroom residence located near West Paces Ferry, in Atlanta, Georgia, and offered to buy the property for $4.4 million. The landowner eventually received approximately $720,000 in cash as down payment from Eldridge Bennett and a woman Cofield described as his wife, Eliayah Bennett. At the closing on September 1, 2020, Eldridge Bennet conveyed the remaining $3.7 million in cash to the landowner.

Arthur Cofield, 29, Eldridge Bennett, 63, and Eliayah Bennett, 25, all of Atlanta, Georgia, were indicted for multiple counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. Both Eldridge Bennett and Eliayah Bennett were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand. Cofield is expected to be arraigned at a later date upon production from the Georgia Department of Corrections.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott McAfee is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.