Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has been recognized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for their work with the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program at the 2018 PSN National Conference’s Award Ceremony in Kansas City, Missouri.  Law Enforcement Coordinator Didi Nelson was cited for her outstanding contribution to the PSN Program, and the Offender Alumni Association (OAA), which organizes support groups for high-risk adult felons being released from custody to provide peer-to-peer support, help them solve dilemmas, and connect them with resources, received the DOJ Innovative Prevention/Reentry Strategy award.

Project Safe Neighborhoods 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.        

“We are extremely proud to be recognized for the hard work being done in this district,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “As part of our PSN Strategy, we have extended partnerships and collaborations beyond the metro Atlanta area, teaming with individual law enforcement agencies and prosecutor’s offices to eliminate havens for crime and removing those who drive that crime from the community.  In addition, we continue our commitment to assisting those returning from incarceration, seeking successful reentry into the community, through partnerships with outstanding organizations like the OAA.  Congratulations again to both Didi and the OAA.”      

During her more than three-decade career with DOJ, Didi Nelson has been a mainstay of the PSN program who has implemented the program faithfully and consistently in the District since its inception.  As a former police officer Nelson’s commitment, credibility, and extensive knowledge of the program served as the bridge between the Department and local and state law enforcement whose partnership is so crucial for PSN's success. Didi continually works to implement anti-violence initiatives in every corner (and county) of the Northern District of Georgia as she also impacts the national PSN program more broadly as an ongoing consulting expert to other Districts in the country that are seeking to develop effective PSN strategies of their own.

OAA organizes support groups for high-risk adult felons being released from custody to provide peer-to-peer support, help them solve dilemmas, and connect them with resources.  The organization consists of former offenders who are uniquely motivated and committed to helping those about to pending release from prison. OAA’s model recognizes that continuous and consistent support is crucial to help prevent recidivism.  Accordingly, they meet with offenders while they are incarcerated and maintains relationships with them and their families, connecting them with networks of support in their communities upon release. The organization has supported more than 650 offenders returning to the community.  In 2018, OAA expanded in support of the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN strategy and partners with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, state and federal agencies, and other providers to support high-risk adult offenders being released from custody into PSN target enforcement areas.

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 - Silvia Sanchez Valverde, Rodolfo Orozco Aguilar, Daniel Sibaja, Priscilla Sibaja, and Elpelice Figueroa Rosales have been sentenced for their roles in a sweepstakes scam that targeted elderly individuals located throughout the United States.

“These defendants targeted and bilked dozens of vulnerable elderly victims out of $3.5 million,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Lottery and sweepstakes scams are one of the most common consumer frauds, with the majority of financial losses being suffered by the elderly. Citizens always should be wary of those requesting upfront money for supposed lottery or sweepstakes winnings.”

“This case makes clear that transnational scammers who believe they can avoid accountability for their crimes by transferring ill-gotten proceeds outside the country are mistaken,” said Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Nick S. Annan. “An international border is no defense for those who defraud senior citizens, and HSI is committed to using its cross-border authority to investigate and hold such persons accountable. We’re appreciative of our partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to successfully prosecute this case and will continue to work with our federal, state and local partners to identify and stop financial crimes targeting vulnerable populations.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From February 2016 through September 2017, dozens of victims - most of whom were elderly - were contacted by telephone and told that they had won a sweepstakes or lottery. However, the victims were told that they could receive their sweepstakes winnings only after paying various expenses, such as taxes and fees. The victims were then directed to pay the expenses to various companies controlled by the defendants, such as J.G. Services, RF Financial Services, and Master Builders. The victims then mailed payments via personal and cashier’s checks to addresses that were linked to mailboxes rented by the defendants. The defendants deposited the checks, totaling over $3.5 million, into their bank accounts and then transferred the majority of the funds to Costa Rican bank accounts.

U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May sentenced the defendants as follows:

•           Silvia Sanchez Valverde, 47, of Buford, Georgia was sentenced to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Sanchez Valverde was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud on August 27, 2018, after she pleaded guilty.
•           Rodolfo Orozco Aguilar, 44, of Costa Rica was sentenced to four years in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release.  Orozco Aguilar was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud on August 23, 2018, after he pleaded guilty.  He faces potential removal from the United States, as a result of his conviction.
•           Daniel Sibaja, 28, of Buford, Georgia was sentenced to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Daniel Sibaja was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud on August 27, 2018, after he pleaded guilty. 
•           Priscilla Sibaja, 21, of Buford, Georgia was sentenced to three years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Priscilla Sibaja was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering on August 30, 2018, after she pleaded guilty.  She faces potential removal from the United States, as a result of her conviction.
•           Elpelice Figueroa Rosales, 62, of Buford, Georgia was sentenced to two years in prison, to be followed by three year of supervised release.  Figueroa Rosales was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud on August 24, 2018, after she pleaded guilty.  She faces potential removal from the United States, as a result of her conviction.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly K. Connors and Cassandra J. Schansman prosecuted the case.

The Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative promotes investigations and prosecutions of financial scams targeting the elderly. For more information regarding the Elder Justice Initiative, please visit www.justice.gov/elderjustice. 

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 federal grand jury in Atlanta has returned an indictment charging Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammed Mehdi Shah Mansouri with committing a sophisticated ransomware attack on the City of Atlanta in March 2018 in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

“In March 2018, a devastating ransomware attack interrupted City of Atlanta government functions and disrupted our community,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “In the days following the attack, local law enforcement officials worked tirelessly to respond to the incident and collect investigative information that was passed on to our counterparts leading the groundbreaking investigation into the SamSam ransomware attacks.  This indictment, which is in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, vindicates the City of Atlanta’s interest in ensuring that those responsible for the attacks face justice here as well.”

“This investigation and subsequent indictment demonstrates the Secret Service’s commitment to safeguarding our financial institutions, our communities, our homeland,” said Kimberly A. Cheatle, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office.  “The virus causing the disruption of service to the City of Atlanta was triaged by cyber investigative experts at the Secret Service in conjunction with other federal law enforcement partners.  This case serves as a reminder to all, particularly during the holiday season, to ensure protocols related to cyber hygiene are observed.  The Secret Service appreciates the level of cooperation and information sharing throughout this investigation by all law enforcement partners which led to this indictment.”

“The FBI is always eager to help expose criminals who hide behind their computer and launch attacks that threaten our public safety,” said J.C. “Chris” Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We are proud to have assisted our federal partners, the U.S. Secret Service, and our private sector partners in sending a strong message that we will work together to investigate and hold all criminals accountable.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: On or about March 10, 2018 through approximately March 22, 2018, the defendants, Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammed Mehdi Shah Mansouri, both of whom are Iranian nationals, caused the execution of a “ransomware” attack against the City of Atlanta, which encrypted vital city computer systems, and demanded a ransom payment to restore access.

The attack was executed by the use of a type of malware (or “ransomware”) referred to as “SamSam Ransomware,” which infected approximately 3,789 computers belonging to the City of Atlanta, including servers and workstations. Once deployed, the ransomware encrypted the files associated with each infected computer and displayed a ransom note.  That is, the ransomware effectively locked the infected computers and made it impossible to access the information stored on them without a decryption key.  

The ransom note demanded .8 Bitcoin to decrypt each affected computer or six Bitcoin to decrypt all affected computers.  That is, the attackers gave the City of Atlanta the option of paying to decrypt certain computers (at a rate of .8 Bitcoin per computer) or to decrypt all the infected computers (for six Bitcoin).  The ransom note directed the City of Atlanta to a particular Bitcoin address to pay the ransom and supplied a web domain that was only accessible using a TOR browser; the note suggested that the City of Atlanta could download the decryption key from that website.  In the days following the attack, the webpage that purportedly contained the decryption key became inaccessible, and the City of Atlanta did not pay the ransom.  

The attack significantly disrupted City of Atlanta operations, impaired certain governmental functions, and caused it to incur substantial expenses in the coming weeks and months.  To date, the attack has inflicted millions of dollars in losses. 

The indictment charges Faramarz Shahi Savandi, 27, of Shiraz, Iran, and Mohammed Mehdi Shah Mansouri, 34, of Qom, Iran, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (“the Atlanta case”) with intentional damage to protected computers located in Atlanta that caused losses exceeding $5,000, affected more than 10 protected computers, and that threatened the public health and safety. 

The defendants are also charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers, two substantive counts of intentional damage to a protected computer located in New Jersey, and two substantive counts of transmitting a demand in relation to damaging a protected computer located in New Jersey.  That case is being investigated by the FBI’s Newark Field Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, and the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS).

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan P. Kitchens and Kamal Ghali, Deputy Chiefs of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crime Section, are prosecuting the Atlanta case.  The Atlanta Field Offices of the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted with the response to the City of Atlanta ransomware attack.           

In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

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 defendants guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

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.

Anil J. Desai, M.D., East Metro Internal Medicine, L.L.C. and Rockdale-Newton Hematology-Oncology (the “Desai Parties”), based in Conyers and Covington, Georgia, have agreed to pay $213,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare and Medicaid for drugs that were never provided to their patients, and for drugs that had not received final marketing approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). 

“When healthcare providers bill for goods and services that they did not provide, it is the equivalent of taking money from the taxpayer’s pocket,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Additionally, billing for medications that were never approved by the FDA puts patients at risk.  We will continue to pursue healthcare providers who put their own bottom line ahead of patient care.”

“The Office of Inspector General will diligently investigate providers who seek to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid trust funds through nefarious billing practices,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta.  “This investigation illustrates how we collaborate with our law enforcement partners to protect beneficiaries while holding suspicious providers accountable.” 

“FDA’s drug approval requirements are designed to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of drugs distributed or administered to American patients,” said H. Peter Kuehl, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami Field Office. “Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder of our continued focus on those that risk patients’ health for profit.”

“Our Medicaid Fraud Control Division is always at work for Georgians, ensuring that Medicaid providers who bill the Medicaid program do not abuse it for their own financial gain,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. “We greatly appreciate the partnerships we have with federal agencies who share this same mission, and we will continue supporting them to prevent fraudulent activity.” 

Dr. Desai owns both East Metro Internal Medicine, L.L.C. (“East Metro”) and Rockdale-Newton Hematology-Oncology (“Rockdale-Newton”), through which he has provided treatment to cancer patients.  The Desai Parties billed Medicare and Medicaid for the drugs Eloxitan and Procrit in connection with Dr. Desai’s treatment of cancer patients.  Eloxitan is a chemotherapy drug used to treat certain types of cancer and Procit is a medication that is used to treat anemia caused by chemotherapy as well as other conditions. 

The government alleges that between November 1, 2008 and August 13, 2012, the Desai Parties submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid for Procrit even though there was no record that they purchased enough Procrit to cover the amount that they billed.  Moreover, the Government alleges that during that same time period, the Desai Parties submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid for Eloxitan that had been purchased from a Canadian company, Quality Specialty Products, and had not received final marketing approval by the FDA.  The civil settlement resolves the government’s investigation into these allegations.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General, and the Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigations.

The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeli Ben-David, Deputy Chief of the Civil Division, and Sara Vann, Assistant Attorney General with the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. 

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 – LivaNova USA, Inc. (“LivaNova”), formerly known as Cyberonics, Inc., has agreed to pay the United States and the State of Georgia $1.87 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and the Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act by knowingly paying kickbacks to Georgia physicians with the intent to cause referrals for implantation of LivaNova’s medical devices.

“Healthcare providers must make recommendations about their patients’ health without respect to their own financial interests and medical device manufacturers cannot be permitted to influence that process with thinly-disguised kickback payments,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “This settlement demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that the healthcare provided to our citizens, and the medical guidance given by Georgia physicians, is free from improper monetary influence.”

“The success of Georgia’s Medicaid program depends on the integrity of medical professionals in making decisions regarding patient care,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “When companies provide incentives to physicians that emphasize interests beyond the patient, the entire system is corrupted. I am proud of our Medicaid Fraud Division’s work on this case, and we will continue to work alongside our federal partners to root out this activity.”

The government’s investigation concerned LivaNova’s policy and practice of paying speaking fees to Georgia physicians for supposed speaking and marketing events  at which the attendees were primarily the physicians and their own staff.  The physicians who received these fees were amongst the highest referral sources for surgical implantation of LivaNova’s device for treatment of refractory epilepsy. The government alleges that these payments violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b), which prohibits the knowing and willful payment of “remuneration” to induce or reward  the generation of business involving any item or service payable by Medicare and Medicaid.  Such violations are actionable under the False Claims Act and the Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act.

The settlement resolves allegations filed by Ashley Case, a former employee of LivaNova, under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act.  Under the Act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery.  The False Claims Act also permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it did in this case.  The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Georgia and is captioned United States of America and State of Georgia ex rel. Ashley Case v. LivaNova, P.L.C., Civil Action No: 1:16-cv-0807-MHC (N.D. Ga.).  Ms. Case will receive a share of the settlement.

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

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel Mendel handled this matter for the U.S. 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 home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Jhonnita L. Williams, a former department administrator at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), pleaded guilty to participating in a false-invoice scheme that resulted in MARTA paying more than $520,000 for maintenance projects where no worked was actually performed.

“MARTA trusted Williams to use and protect taxpayer dollars effectively and responsibly,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Her participation in a half of million dollar theft of MARTA funds demonstrates that she sold the public’s trust for self-enrichment.”

“Williams circumvented proper government procedures and dipped into taxpayers’ money to subsidize her own personal greed,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Public corruption is one of the FBI’s top priorities, and we are committed to holding accountable those who choose to abuse their positions of trust.”

 “MARTA has zero-tolerance for any employee who betrays the trust placed in us by our customers,” said MARTA Police Chief Wanda Y. Dunham.  “The guilty plea by Ms. Williams concludes a coordinated investigation with our federal law enforcement partners, and we are satisfied with the results.  We hope this guilty verdict serves as a deterrent for others who would attempt to defraud the taxpayers.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: MARTA is the principal public transportation operator in the Atlanta area, providing fixed rail and bus service to more than 500,000 passengers per weekday. Formed by Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act of 1965, MARTA is a multi-county local governmental agency with a 2016 annual budget of more than $880 million.

Williams worked for MARTA from 1999 to 2017. From 2010 to 2017, Williams worked as an assistant and department administrator for Joseph J. Erves.  During most of the conspiracy, Erves served as MARTA’s senior director of operations and oversaw the maintenance of all of its buses and rail cars.

From approximately June 2010 to December 2016, Williams and Erves had more than 40 fake invoices prepared on behalf of three vendors for MARTA maintenance projects for which no work was performed.  Williams and Erves used the false invoices as bases to authorize payments to the three vendors – including fake invoices submitted by a business owned by Ferrell Williams (who was romantically involved with Jhonnita Williams).  After being paid, the all three of the vendors funneled most of the money received from MARTA back to Erves and Williams. In total, MARTA paid the three vendors more than $520,000 for maintenance projects where no worked was actually performed.

Williams used the money to pay for various personal expenses, including the financing and purchase of an approximately 3,000 square foot single-family home with four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms.

On July 24, 2018, a grand jury returned a seven-count indictment against Williams, 47, of Atlanta, Georgia. Today, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of conspiratorial federal program theft. 

On September 20, 2017, Joseph J. Erves, 54, of Lithonia, Georgia pleaded guilty to federal program theft. On January 16, 2018, Erves was sentenced to two years and nine months in federal prison, and was ordered to pay $522,825.45 in restitution.

On March 29, 2018, Ferrell Williams, 63, of Cincinnati, Ohio, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit federal program theft.  On August 1, 2018, Ferrell Williams was sentenced to eight months in federal prison, and was ordered to pay $41,539.1 in restitution.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the MARTA Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, and Alison Prout 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 – The last defendant of a group of 16 U.S. Postal Service letter carriers and clerks from across the Atlanta area was sentenced to federal prison for accepting bribes to deliver packages of cocaine – two kilograms or more at a time – in a wide-reaching undercover operation.  The defendants were willing to make the deliveries for bribes as low as $250, and received sentences of between three and nine years in prison.

“U.S. Postal Service workers are typically valuable members of the community, entrusted to deliver the mail every day to our homes,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “This important operation identified and prosecuted 16 corrupt individuals who chose to abuse that trust and instead used their positions to bring what they thought were large amounts of dangerous drugs into those same communities for a quick payoff.”

“The FBI places a high priority on public corruption based investigations and we hope this sentencing will serve as a deterrent for others,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. “The blatant abuse of the public trust in this case not only stains the reputation of all U.S. Postal Service employees, but it puts the residents on their routes in significant danger by bringing drugs into their community.”

“Postal employees are paid to deliver mail, not drugs,” said Imari R. Niles, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Capital Metro Area Field Office.  “The vast majority of the Postal Service’s 600,000 employees are hard-working, trustworthy individuals. When postal employees decide to risk their job, benefits, retirement, and freedom to get involved with drug trafficking, Special Agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General will work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office to put them all in federal prison.”

“Drug trafficking, in itself, is an inherently dangerous crime,” said Sherry Boston, DeKalb County District Attorney. “When perpetrated by those in positions of public trust, citizen safety is severely compromised.  The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ferret out cases of public corruption and ensure that those who abuse their authority and violate the public’s trust, are held accountable for their actions.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2015, federal agents involved in the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization in Atlanta learned that drug traffickers had been bribing postal workers to intercept and specially deliver packages of drugs while they were on their regular routes, including through residential neighborhoods.  The drug traffickers believed the postal workers were less likely to be caught by law enforcement because of their official jobs, and found that the corrupt postal workers were willing to hand deliver the drugs in exchange for bribes.  That criminal partnership exploited the U.S. Postal Service to deliver dangerous drugs into the community, and also increased the risk that innocent postal workers and bystanders on their routes would be exposed to the dangerous substances or to rival drug traffickers who sometimes try to rob postal workers to steal packages of drugs.

To catch the corrupt postal workers, federal agents used a confidential source who posed as a drug trafficker looking for postal workers to deliver packages of kilogram quantities of cocaine or marijuana.  The defendants agreed to deliver the packages and negotiated the amount of the bribes they would charge, while law enforcement agents watched from a distance and recorded the interactions.  All the defendants chose to deliver cocaine instead of marijuana, believing they could charge a higher bribe for packages of cocaine.  They also agreed to deliver packages on multiple occasions over a period of time.  When the confidential source asked if they knew any other postal workers who did the same thing, some of the defendants introduced the confidential source to coworkers who also wanted to deliver packages (with the defendant claiming an additional bribe for every package their recruit delivered). 

The defendants convicted as a result of this operation include:

• Cydra Rochelle Alexander, 33, of Riverdale, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Ralph McGill Carrier Annex and Central City Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $4,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on February 22, 2018.  Alexander pleaded guilty to these charges on November 27, 2017.
   
• Aurthamis O. Burch, a/k/a Tank, 47, of Snellville, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Doraville Post Office was sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $1,500 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on April 10, 2018.  Burch pleaded guilty to these charges on December 11, 2017.
   
• Kawana Rashun Champion, 36, of Jonesboro, Georgia, a clerk assigned to the North Springs Branch of the Sandy Springs Post Office and Central City Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $10,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on May 11, 2018.  Champion pleaded guilty to these charges on February 20, 2018.
   
• Eleanor Lolita Golden, a/k/a Eleanor Johnson, 55, of East Point, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to six years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on May 17, 2018.  Golden pleaded guilty to these charges on December 20, 2017.
   
• Tonie Harris, 55, of Decatur, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Sandy Springs Post Office was sentenced to three years, one month in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,450 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on August 14, 2018.  Harris pleaded guilty to these charges on March 20, 2018.
   
• Leea Janel Holt, 39, of Atlanta, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Old National Branch of the Riverdale Post Office was sentenced to 6 years, 6 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on November 27, 2018.  Holt pleaded guilty to these charges on June 6 and August 28, 2018.
   
• Clifton Curtis Lee, a/k/a Cliff, 43, of Lithonia, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Sandy Springs Post Office was sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,800 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on June 18, 2018.  Lee pleaded guilty to these charges on February 28, 2018.
   
• Shakeed Anilah Magee, 41, of College Park, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on February 13, 2018.  Magee pleaded guilty to these charges on November 14, 2017.
   
• Horace Manson, 41, of Roswell, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on April 17, 2018.  Manson pleaded guilty to these charges on January 29, 2018.
   
• Olivia Marita Moore, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Old National Branch of the Riverdale Post Office was sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on July 16, 2018.  Moore pleaded guilty to these charges on January 5, 2018.
   
• Eddie Nash, 64, of Decatur, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on July 17, 2018.  Nash pleaded guilty to these charges on December 14, 2017.
   
• Jeffrey A. Pearson, 61, of Austell, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Decatur Post Office was sentenced to four years, nine months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,000 by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross on May 22, 2018.  Pearson pleaded guilty to these charges on February 1, 2018.
   
• Rodney Antwain Salter, 34, of Jonesboro, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Martech Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on May 17, 2018.  Salter pleaded guilty to these charges on December 20, 2017.
   
• Frank Webb, 41, of Lithonia, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Central City Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to three years, four months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on May 16, 2018.  Webb pleaded guilty to these charges on January 30, 2018.
   
• Katrina Nicole Wilson, a/k/a Trina, 39, of Fairburn, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to eight years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on August 27, 2018.  Wilson pleaded guilty to these charges on April 12, 2018.
   
• Harvel Donta Young, a/k/a Dante, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia a letter carrier assigned to the Westside Annex Branch of the Marietta Post Office was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,800 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on August 14, 2018.  Young pleaded guilty to these charges on May 1, 2018.    

Additionally, Dexter Bernard Frazier, a/k/a Dec, 57, of Fairburn, Georgia, who was not a postal employee but participated in some of the package deliveries by connecting the confidential source with postal workers, was sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,700 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on June 13, 2018.  Frazier pleaded guilty to these charges on March 6, 2018.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S Attorneys Garrett L. Bradford and Jill E. Steinberg, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, 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.

ATLANTA –Timothy Cobb, 53, of Atlanta, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate John K. Larkins III on wire and tax fraud charges for duping investors in a fantasy football lottery league. 

“This defendant allegedly defrauded investors who believed he would run a fantasy football lottery league through the Georgia Lottery,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. Pak.  “Cobb gambled on getting away with his scheme, but he lost.” 

“Cobb is no longer engaging in fantasy but reality,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS- Criminal Investigation.   “Today’s indictment represents the government’s effort to throw a penalty flag against Cobb’s illegal activity to defraud investors in his startup of a fantasy league football lottery. Working these types of cases should show the taxpayer’s that everyone has a responsibility to report ‘all’ income on their tax returns.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Cobb is a former attorney who started a company named Skyboxx Sports, LLC.  Through Skyboxx, Cobb allegedly collected $500,000 from investors to start a fantasy football lottery league with the Georgia Lottery Corporation.  Instead of using the proceeds from investors for business development, Cobb allegedly spent the money on himself for trips to Barbados and Mexico City, dining in restaurants in Atlanta, Miami Beach and New York, and other personal items.  Cobb allegedly then filed false federal income tax returns that deliberately omitted the information he stole from his investors. 

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 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.

ATLANTA - Gogut Serban was sentenced to federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft for stealing bank debit card numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs) of individuals in Georgia by using automated teller machines (ATMs) skimming devices.

“Identity theft is a continuing problem that damages the credit of too many unsuspecting Georgians,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Citizens are encouraged to visually and physically inspect ATMs for any obvious signs of tampering prior to using their debit or credit cards.”

“This investigation and subsequent conviction demonstrates the commitment the Secret Service and our law enforcement partners have in aggressively pursuing those who commit access device fraud and identity theft,” said Kimberly A. Cheatle, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office.  “This sentencing is another great example of the law enforcement community working together to combat crime.”  

“The Lawrenceville Police Department is extremely grateful for the assistance provided by our partners in the U.S. Secret Service during this seven-month investigation,” said Lawrenceville Police Chief Tim Wallis. “The continued cooperation of local and federal law enforcement agencies led to a successful conclusion of a complex case spread over several jurisdictions.”   

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Serban and his co-conspirators used illegal skimming devices to steal over $80,000 from credit union customers by installing the devices at Associated Credit Union automated teller machines in Atlanta, Lawrenceville, Norcross and other locations in Georgia.  When a customer used an ATM with a skimming device installed, the device electronically recorded the customer’s debit card number and a small camera in the device video recorded the ATM keyboard as the customer entered their PIN. Serban and others then encoded new cards with the stolen account information and used the altered cards at ATMs, draining money from over 70 victims’ bank accounts.  The other co-conspirators in the scheme were charged in South Carolina.

Gogut Serban, 35, of Romania, was sentenced to two years, two months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $84,760.50.  Serban was convicted of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft on August 28, 2018, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Lawrenceville Police Department.

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

On Wednesday, November 14, 2018, Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas Inc. (Hyundai), then a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia, to pay a $1.95 million dollar criminal fine for conspiring to defraud the United States government and to violate the Clean Air Act, the Justice Department announced today. The charges relate to construction equipment Hyundai imported for sale into the United States from the Republic of Korea that contained engines that did not comply with air emissions standards under the Clean Air Act.  

Hyundai imports construction and other equipment into the United States, which it sells to its dealer network. During a phase-in period for new air emissions standards, Hyundai opted to participate in a transition program that allowed it to import limited numbers of engines not in compliance with the new standards. As part of the program, Hyundai had to report the number of imported noncompliant engines to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Hyundai’s imports of noncompliant engines substantially exceeded its allowance. A consultant retained by Hyundai to provide advice about complying with the requirements warned the company that it was out of compliance and that it risked a substantial penalty. The consultant advised Hyundai to stop importing and notify the EPA. Nonetheless, Hyundai continued to import the noncompliant engines, and its employees conspired to lie to the EPA and to impede EPA’s ability to enforce emissions standards. Ultimately, Hyundai submitted a report that intentionally understated the number of noncompliant engines it had imported from Korea.

“This case underscores the necessity for foreign companies that opt to do business in the United States to comply with our Nation’s laws developed to protect human health and the environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “A self-reporting regime, such as the one here, depends upon the honesty and integrity of the regulated parties. We hope that this case will chart a new course for Hyundai, and serve as a lesson for all companies that interact with our regulatory agencies.”

“Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas tried to increase its profits by illegally importing diesel engines that did not comply with U.S. Clean Air Act regulations,” said EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine. “This case shows that EPA and our law enforcement partners will not allow importers to gain a competitive advantage or risk the health and safety of our communities by evading U.S. environmental laws.”

Assistant Attorney General Clark thanked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division for its work in this investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Counsel Krishna Dighe of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Fraud Section, of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

ATLANTA - Francisco Castaneda Rivera has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly transporting 4.5 kilograms of heroin - hidden inside a car battery - from Texas to the Atlanta area.

“Drug trafficking organizations go to great lengths to creatively conceal and transport their poisonous merchandise across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Thanks to our vigilant and perceptive law enforcement agents, this large quantity of heroin was discovered and seized before it could make its way into our community.”

“Drug distribution is about delivering misery to the consumer,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “DEA’s mission is about removing the supply before it gets to the consumer. This case was successful because of the dedicated efforts of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney’s Office.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court:  On October 20, 2018, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle from Texas traveling east along Interstate 20 in Douglas County, Georgia.  Rivera, who was previously known to law enforcement, was the owner and an occupant of the vehicle.  Law enforcement searched the vehicle and observed that the battery in the truck was significantly cleaner than the rest of the engine compartment.  Upon closer inspection, agents realized that the battery had been altered.  They opened it and found five packages wrapped in electrical tape along with a motorcycle battery wired to provide electrical current sufficient to operate the vehicle.  The substance inside the packages tested positive for heroin.  Rivera was arrested and denied bond. 

Francisco Castaneda Rivera, 64, of Houston, Texas was charged with possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least one kilogram of heroin.  He was arraigned on November 16, 2018, 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 Drug Enforcement Administration, with valuable assistance provided by the Georgia State Patrol.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett L. Bradford and David A. O’Neal 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 – Errol Buggs, a principal finance analyst for Honeywell International, Inc., was sentenced to federal prison for embezzling more than $1.1 million from his employer in a fraud scheme.

“Financial professionals who are unscrupulous are an insider threat to their employers because they have access to payment systems and can learn how to circumvent internal controls to enrich themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Employers must remain vigilant against fraudulent vouchers, fictitious vendors, and sharing or theft of log-in credentials by employees.

“Wire fraud is an offense the FBI takes very seriously,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. “Buggs took advantage of his position as a financial analyst for his own personal greed, violating the trust put in him by his employer.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From January 2012 through June 2016, Buggs worked in the Roswell, Georgia office of Honeywell International, Inc., an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in New Jersey. An employee at a Honeywell subsidiary in Canada discovered three suspicious wire transfers to a supposed vendor in Georgia for which there were no supporting invoices. 

An investigation determined that the payee, Tredd LLC, was a shell company incorporated by Buggs, who was listed in the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office as its Chief Operating Officer.  Further investigation showed that Buggs setup Tredd as a vendor in Honeywell’s invoice payment system using a legitimate vendor’s address.  

As a senior finance analyst, Buggs was authorized to approve vouchers initiated by colleagues.   The defendant used the log-in credentials of a colleague and the credentials of two former employees.  By masquerading as other employees, Buggs was able to approve fictitious vouchers and bypass safeguard restrictions against self-dealing of this kind.  He used this scheme to cause 28 wire transfers and a check to be sent to his bogus Georgia company.  The money trail led to a bank account controlled by Buggs in metropolitan Atlanta.  The total amount embezzled was determined to be $1,134,493.35.

Errol Buggs, 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to two years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on November 15, 2018, by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr.  He was also ordered to pay $1,134,493.35 in restitution to Honeywell.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pearce 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 – Jason Philpot, a 10-time convicted felon, was sentenced to federal prison for the armed robbery of a Waffle House and assault on police officers, whom he led on a high-speed chase and shot at after the robbery.

“Philpot amassed nine felony convictions during the past 20 years prior to committing the offenses in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. The citizens of our district are fortunate that his tenth felony, an armed robbery that involved a high-speed chase and shots fired at police officers, did not end in tragedy. Our community is now safer with Philpot behind bars.”

“The complete disregard shown by this defendant for the safety of the Waffle House employees and customers, the motoring public, and law enforcement officers who were shot at, is reprehensible,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta field office. “The FBI would like to thank the employee who called 911 and DeKalb County Police for helping us make sure Philpot serves a lengthy sentence in federal prison.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: On September 30, 2014, Philpot and his accomplice entered the Waffle House on LaVista Road in Tucker, Georgia, shortly after 10:30 PM.  Philpot wore a black mask and carried an assault-style rifle while his accomplice wore a green mask and carried a handgun.  The robbers approached two waitresses at gunpoint and demanded that the women provide money from their cash registers and relinquish any personal cash. Philpot and his accomplice then emptied the cash register, took the waitresses’ tip money, demanded access to the safe, and forced the waitresses to accompany the robbers to the rear of the restaurant before placing the women on the floor at gunpoint.

A Waffle House employee standing outside the restaurant saw the robbers flee and called 911, thereby alerting a nearby DeKalb County police officer about the robbery. The officer encountered the robbers and unsuccessfully attempted to stop them before they escaped in a car driven by the defendant. Philpot and his accomplice then led multiple police officers on a high-speed car chase through a busy commercial area. Philpot eventually crashed his car. He and his accomplice fled on foot and fired at the pursuing officers.  The defendants fired 11 rounds at police officers before Philpot was arrested at a nearby hotel and his accomplice was apprehended in a brush area close to the hotel. Philpot pleaded guilty to the armed robbery of the restaurant, but proceeded to trial on the offenses of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence – the armed robbery – and being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm. A jury convicted him of the offenses on August 4, 2017.

The jury acquitted Philpot’s accomplice of all charges related to the Waffle House robbery and his accomplice subsequently pleaded guilty to committing the armed robbery of a McDonald’s restaurant that occurred days before the Waffle House robbery. Philpot’s accomplice received a sentence of 10 years in prison.

Jason Philpot, 38, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced to 25 years, eight months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and DeKalb County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan K. Buchanan, Deputy Chief of the Violent Crime and National Security Section, and Jessica C. Morris 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.

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 – Carlos Smiley was sentenced to federal prison for making false statements in his annual conflict of interest certification.  Smiley was a long-time federal employee and Senior Contracting Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the former President of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Contract Management Association.

“Federal contracting officers must disclose payments from outside parties fully and honestly,”  said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Failure to do so limits the ability of federal agencies to detect, deter and punish undisclosed conflicts of interest.”

“We hold our employees to the highest standard and expect them to demonstrate the utmost integrity as civil servants to the nation,” said Elton Malone, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Special Investigations. “Smiley’s sentencing demonstrates, making false statements for the purpose of financial gain will not be tolerated.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: On February 16, 2012 and January 7, 2013, Smiley completed Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports required by his position as a CDC Contracting Officer.  Both times, Smiley answered “no” to the question asking whether he had received outside income. 

Between September 2011 and January 2012, Smiley received several payments from A-TEK, a Virginia-based holding company that was seeking to do business with the CDC during that time.  CDC previously granted Smiley’s request to operate a company called Charisma III, Inc. as an outside business activity. After that, Smiley ostensibly received payments through Charisma III for real estate investment advice. 

In 2012, A-TEK was awarded a single-source contract for the staffing of CDC field stations overseas.  Smiley signed the contract as the approving contracting officer for CDC.  A-TEK turned down the contract after learning of the relationship between Smiley and a representative of its holding company, who was also an A-TEK employee until fired for his conduct.  Smiley failed to disclose six payments for a total of $30,600. 

In 2015, CDC investigators confronted Smiley about the payments.  He admitted to receiving them and to having invented the Charisma III officer whose fictitious name appeared on the purported agreement between Charisma III and the holding company for real estate investment advice.

Carlos Smiley, 57, of Roswell, Georgia was sentenced to three months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. on November 15, 2018. Smiley was also sentenced to one year of supervised release and 200 hours community service following his release from prison. He was also fined $5,000.  Smiley was convicted of the charge on July 19, 2018, after pleading guilty to making false statements.

The case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pearce 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 – Magdaleno Garcia Alonso, the owner and operator of Acworth Georgia Concrete, Incorporated, was arraigned on November 13, 2018, on bribery charges for offering to pay an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee $30,000 to falsify results of audits of his individual and business tax returns for 2015 and 2016.

“Alonso’s alleged attempt to bribe a federal employee by offering cash in return for fabricated audit reports of his tax returns failed,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “The integrity of IRS is not for sale and those who devise schemes to circumvent paying their tax obligations will be investigated and prosecuted.”

“It is the mission of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) to protect the integrity of the IRS and promote the fair administration of our federal tax system,” said Special Agent in Charge Gary Smith of TIGTA’s Southern Field Division.  “TIGTA and our law enforcement partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office will do everything within our power to ensure those individuals who attempt to bribe IRS agents and corrupt our nation’s tax system will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”  

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Between September 14 and 19, 2018, Alonso allegedly bribed an IRS employee to falsify the results of audits of his personal and business tax returns for tax years 2015 and 2016.  TIGTA agents arrested Garcia on November 9, 2018.   

Magdaleno Garcia Alonso, 50, of Acworth, Georgia, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge John K. Larkins III on an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on November 5, 2018. 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 U.S. Department of the Treasury, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny R. Turner 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 – As the upcoming holiday travel season approaches travelers are reminded to take extra care to ensure they have not packed firearms in their carry-on bags before leaving home. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has led the nation in the number of guns detected at checkpoints for five of the last six years.

“As of November 12, 2018, 293 weapons have been recovered at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, of which 248 were found in the TSA passenger security lines, while 45 firearms were discovered in checked baggage,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Most passengers simply forget they have a gun in their possession until they reach the airport checkpoint. Unfortunately, the oversight is still a violation of the law.”

“The reason we are making this announcement today is because the message is clearly not hitting the mark,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Despite the fact that our enforcement policies have become more strict, incidents of guns detected at checkpoints have increased substantially. Don’t let your holiday travel plans be significantly disrupted for a simple mistake.”

“Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has led the nation in firearms detected by Transportation Security Officers at security checkpoints five of the last six years, and has already surpassed last year’s national record of 245,” said Mary Leftridge Byrd, TSA Federal Security Director for Atlanta. “We are urging passengers to thoroughly check their personal belongings for prohibited items like firearms, especially in carry-on bags, before leaving to the airport.”

Travelers who do not comply with firearm laws can expect a delay in their travel plans. Violators with a valid weapons permit will have their firearm confiscated and issued a federal citation.  They will also be required to appear in court and will be subject to a $130 fine. Violators without a valid weapons permit will be arrested, charged and may face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. In addition, offenders are also subject to civil penalties levied by the TSA that can range between $2,000 to $13,000 per violation.

Travelers are advised to become familiar with TSA’s policy for transporting their guns prior to traveling to the airport, as firearms are permitted in checked baggage. (See TSA’s policy here). Don’t put a damper on your holiday travel – properly secure your firearms before your plans unravel.

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 for the Northern District of Georgia remains resolute in fighting the opioid epidemic that has plagued communities throughout the United States. According to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, more than 140 Americans die daily from an opioid overdose, and in 2017, nearly 1,050 Georgians died from an opioid overdose. It is imperative that all levels of law enforcement, community organizations, policy makers, and citizens remain firmly committed to battling this epidemic.

“Earlier this year, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency and set a goal to reduce opioid prescriptions by one-third over the next three years,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “In our District, the results are promising. There were approximately 20 percent fewer opioid prescriptions written and filled in Fiscal Year 2018 than in Fiscal Year 2016, and the total Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME) decreased over 18 percent for that same period. But our work is far from done.  We are committed to further reducing the excess supply of prescription opioids which has unintentionally fueled the epidemic.”

“The DEA is committed to continuing the progress that has been made against the opioid epidemic by collaborating with local, state and federal law enforcement counterparts and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in an effort to decrease the growing prescription drug abuse problem in our state,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.  “Through this collaborative effort, we will continue to target those criminals in Georgia and elsewhere who illegally distribute prescription drugs in our communities.”

In 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia launched Operation SCOPE (Strategically Combatting Opioids through Prosecution and Enforcement).  Operation SCOPE is designed to identify and prosecute those who illegally distribute opioids in our community through a collaborative partnership with state and local law enforcement. The initiative takes a three-fold approach to fighting the opioid crisis and focuses on:

●Identifying medical practitioners who overprescribe opioids, and those who defraud our health care system.  For example, our office recently identified and sent approximately 30 medical professionals notification letters who were prescribing opioids in higher quantities or does than their peers.  The letters provided prescribers with information pertaining to their opioid practices relative to their peers and referred them to educational materials to assist them in adopting safe opioid practices.  Read more here.

●Investigating and prosecuting drug traffickers who illegally distribute opioids within the District, particularly those suppliers who are responsible for overdose deaths and non-fatal overdoses resulting in serious bodily harm caused by their product.  For example, in

United States v. Edward Culton and Hubert Nathans:  These defendants were charged with distributing fake Roxicodone pills that actually contained fentanyl.  The distribution of the fake pill resulted in one overdose death and one non-fatal overdose in October 2017 and January 2018, respectively. Nathans pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl on August 13, 2018, and has a sentencing hearing scheduled for November 13, 2018. Read more on this case here;

United States v. Donquell Weddington:  Donquell Weddington was charged with distributing heroin April 2017, which resulted in the death of a 33-year old student who suffered and was treated for a drug overdose.  The student later collapsed and died at Hartfield-Jackson International Airport the morning after being treated for the heroin overdose. Weddington’s case is currently in the pretrial phase. Read more on this case here; and

United States v. Michelle Dawn Dorsey, et al: Michelle Dawn Dorsey, Nigel Alan Waddell, Derrik Omar Frazier, and Tyler Josiah Matthews were charged with trafficking heroin. Dorsey is charged with distributing heroin, resulting in serious bodily injury in February 2016 and February 2017.  Frazier is charged with aiding and abetting Dorsey’s distribution of heroin in February 2017, resulting in serious bodily injury. Waddell was sentenced to three years in federal prison on February 7, 2018. Matthews pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and is awaiting sentencing. Read more on this case here.

●Targeting online suppliers, mainly from China and Mexico, who traffic opioids that can be purchased anonymously through the Dark Net.

The following are other opioid-related cases relating to traffickers, medical professionals, and others who committed serious drug crimes in the District:

United States v. Dr. Joseph L. Burton:  Dr. Burton, a pathologist and former county medical examiner, and his conspirators were charged in a scheme to prescribe controlled substances outside of the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.  In return for sexual favors, Dr. Burton supplied opioids to women who sold the pills. Dr. Burton was sentenced to eight years in federal prison on August 30, 2018.  Read more on this case here.

United States v. Dr. John Michael Gowder, et al: John Michael Gowder, Dr. David Gowder, and Dr. James Heaton, were charged with illegally distributing oxycodone and other controlled substances outside the usual course of professional medical practice and for no legitimate medical purpose. They also allegedly directed employees of the Union General Hospital to assist them in distributing the drugs. Read more on this case here.

United States v. Elgin Demarco Jordan:  Elgin Jordan was convicted of trafficking heroin and cocaine in the English Avenue area, along with money laundering.  He used the proceeds from his drug activity to purchase several properties in the English Avenue area.  Jordan was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to forfeit 14 properties, some of which were transferred to the Atlanta Police Department and the Atlanta Police Foundation to be used for police recruit housing. Read more on this case here.

United States v. Bernard Stokley, et al: Bernard Stokley, a/k/a Big Pat, Tobias Ellison, Alvin Hughley, a/k/a Alvin Beasley, and Vance Hoard, a/k/a Bernard Hoard, a/k/a Vance Holland were charged with conspiracy to import and to possess with intent to distribute heroin and money laundering. The defendants advertised their heroin on Facebook, and accepted orders over the telephone and through social media, including Facebook and Snapchat. Read more on this case here.

While the war to defeat the opioid crisis is far from over, the battle is being fought on several fronts. Specifically,

In August 2018, the Department of Justice and the DEA announced a proposal to decrease the in manufacturing quota for the six most frequently misused opioids by 10% in 2019. To learn more about the proposed plan click here.

On October 1, 2018, the Department of Justice awarded approximately $320 million to combat the opioid crisis in the United States, of which $5,791,356 was awarded to support programs here in Georgia. In the Northern District of Georgia, $2,240,783 was specifically awarded to support drug programs, youth-mentoring programs, and local agencies in Cobb and Douglas Counties.  A breakdown of the awards can be found here.

On June 15, 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia partnered with the Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Office to create a public service announcement (PSA) to raise awareness of the devastating effects of opioids.  On June 15, 2018, the PSA started airing for five weeks in 17 movie theaters across the District, featuring Joseph Abraham, a 19-year old from Gwinnett County, GA, who lost his battle with drug addiction minutes after taking a fatal mixture of heroin and fentanyl.  The PSA ran a total of 76,887 times and was seen by over one million viewers. To view the PSA click here.

For the referenced cases, 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.

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 United States Government filed a civil complaint against UBS AG and several of its United States affiliates (together, UBS), alleging that UBS defrauded investors throughout the United States and the world in connection with its sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in 2006 and 2007.

“The complaint alleges that instead of ensuring that their representations to investors were accurate and transparent, UBS affirmatively misled investors and withheld crucial information from them about the loans in its deals,” said U.S. Attorney Pak.  “UBS allegedly placed a higher priority on selling bonds and making profits than accurately representing the quality of the underlying loans to investors.  These practices resulted in massive losses to investors, harmed homeowners, and ultimately jeopardized the banking system.”

 “The fraudulent actions by UBS as alleged in the complaint contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, which resulted in lasting economic harm to the nation and unnecessary suffering for Americans,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio. “This suit aims to hold UBS accountable and sends a strong message that the Department of Justice will not tolerate fraud committed by corporations.”

“Investors who bought RMBS from UBS suffered catastrophic losses, which not only caused direct harm to those investors, but also contributed to the financial crisis of 2008,” stated U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue.  “The filing of this complaint makes it clear that we will continue to hold financial institutions fully accountable for their conduct and will aggressively pursue financial fraud.” 

The complaint alleges that UBS’ actions violated the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), based on mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and other misconduct.  FIRREA authorizes the Attorney General to seek civil penalties up to the amount of the gain derived from the violation or the losses suffered by persons other than the violator resulting from the violation.

As detailed in the complaint, from 2006 through 2007, UBS allegedly misled investors about the quality of billions of dollars in subprime and Alt-A mortgage loans backing 40 RMBS deals.  Specifically, in publicly-filed offering documents, UBS is alleged to have knowingly misrepresented key characteristics of the loans, thereby concealing the fact that the loans were much riskier and much more likely to default than UBS represented.  In the end, the 40 RMBS sustained catastrophic losses.

The government’s case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Georgia and the Eastern District of New York.  The Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Administration also provided assistance in the government’s investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Austin M. Hall and Armen Adzhemyan with the Northern District of Georgia; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bonni J. Perlin, Michael J. Castiglione, Richard K. Hayes with the Eastern District of New York 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.

BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, the United States filed a civil complaint against UBS AG and several of its United States affiliates (together, UBS), alleging that UBS defrauded investors throughout the United States and the world in connection with its sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in 2006-2007.   

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Byung J. Pak, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and Jesse Panuccio, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General of the Justice Department, announced the filing. 

“Investors who bought RMBS from UBS suffered catastrophic losses, which not only caused direct harm to those investors, but also contributed to the financial crisis of 2008,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “The filing of this complaint makes clear that we will continue to hold financial institutions fully accountable for their conduct and will aggressively pursue financial fraud.”  Mr. Donoghue expressed his grateful appreciation to the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General, for its assistance in the government’s investigation.  

“The complaint alleges that instead of ensuring that their representations to investors were accurate and transparent, UBS affirmatively misled investors and withheld crucial information from them about the loans in its deals,” stated United States Attorney Pak.  “UBS allegedly placed a higher priority on selling bonds and making profits than accurately representing the quality of the underlying loans to investors.  These practices resulted in massive losses to investors, harmed homeowners, and ultimately jeopardized the banking system.”

“The fraudulent actions by UBS as alleged in the complaint contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, which resulted in lasting economic harm to the nation and unnecessary suffering for Americans,” stated Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Panuccio. “This suit aims to hold UBS accountable and sends a strong message that the Department of Justice will not tolerate fraud committed by corporations.”      

The complaint alleges that UBS’s actions violated the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), based on mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and other misconduct.  FIRREA authorizes the Attorney General to seek civil penalties up to the amount of the gain derived from the violation, or the losses suffered by persons other than the violator resulting from the violation. 

As detailed in the complaint, from 2006 through 2007, UBS misled investors about the quality of billions of dollars in subprime and Alt-A mortgage loans backing 40 RMBS deals.  Specifically, in publicly filed offering documents, UBS knowingly misrepresented key characteristics of the loans, thereby concealing the fact that the loans were much riskier and much more likely to default than UBS represented.  In the end, the 40 RMBS sustained substantial losses.     

The government’s case is being handled by the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia.  Assistant United States Attorneys Bonni J. Perlin, Michael J. Castiglione, Richard K. Hayes, Armen Adzhemyan and Austin M. Hall are in charge of the prosecution.  

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CV-6369 (MKB)

Earlier today, in federal court for the Eastern District of New York, the United States filed a civil complaint against UBS AG and several of its United States affiliates (together, “UBS”), alleging that UBS defrauded investors throughout the United States and the world in connection with its sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) from 2006 through 2007.  

Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio, United States Attorney Richard P. Donoghue for the Eastern District of New York, United States Attorney Byung J. Pak for the Northern District of Georgia, and Associate Inspector General Jennifer Byrne, Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of. Inspector General (FHFA-OIG) announced the filing. 

“The fraudulent actions by UBS as alleged in the complaint contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, which resulted in lasting economic harm to the nation and unnecessary suffering for Americans,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio. “This suit aims to hold UBS accountable and sends a strong message that the Department of Justice will not tolerate fraud committed by corporations.”

“Investors who bought RMBS from UBS suffered catastrophic losses, which not only caused direct harm to those investors, but also contributed to the financial crisis of 2008,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “The filing of this complaint makes clear that we will continue to hold financial institutions fully accountable for their conduct and will aggressively pursue financial fraud.”  Mr. Donoghue expressed his grateful appreciation to the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General, for its assistance in the government’s investigation.  

“The complaint alleges that instead of ensuring that their representations to investors were accurate and transparent, UBS affirmatively misled investors and withheld crucial information from them about the loans in its deals,” stated United States Attorney Pak.  “UBS allegedly placed a higher priority on selling bonds and making profits than accurately representing the quality of the underlying loans to investors.  These practices resulted in massive losses to investors, harmed homeowners, and ultimately jeopardized the banking system.”

The complaint alleges that UBS’ actions violated the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), based on mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and other misconduct.  FIRREA authorizes the Attorney General to seek civil penalties up to the amount of the gain derived from the violation, or the losses suffered by persons other than the violator resulting from the violation. 

As detailed in the complaint, from 2006 through 2007, UBS misled investors about the quality of billions of dollars in subprime and Alt-A mortgage loans backing 40 RMBS deals. Specifically, in publicly-filed offering documents, UBS knowingly misrepresented key characteristics of the loans, thereby concealing the fact that the loans were much riskier and much more likely to default than UBS represented. Ultimately, the 40 RMBS sustained catastrophic losses.    

This case is being handled by the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia.  Assistant United States Attorneys Bonni J. Perlin, Michael J. Castiglione, Richard K. Hayes, Armen Adzhemyan, and Austin M. Hall are in charge of the prosecution.  The United States Attorneys’ Offices thank the Office of the FHFA-OIG for its assistance in the investigation.   

ATLANTA - Joseph Racine and Arnouse Merlien were sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy to violate the federal income tax laws by purposely misrepresenting to the IRS that their clients were qualified to receive certain tax credits and deductions on their federal tax returns. Racine was the owner of JSR Westend Tax Services, located in Atlanta, Georgia and JSR Tax Services, located in Greenacres, Florida.  Merlien was the office manager of JSR Tax Services in Florida.

“These defendants defrauded the U.S. government out of more than $3.8 million by falsely claiming tax credits and expenses on tax returns prepared for clients,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Tax preparers who devise schemes to cheat the IRS can look forward to spending tax seasons behind bars.”

“Racine and Merlien lined their pockets by manipulating taxpayers’ returns for the sole purpose of generating large refunds and fees,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation.  “This is an important reminder that if you file false tax returns for others, we will find out and you will face the consequences.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court:  In December 2016, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) identified JSR Westend Tax Services as potentially filing fraudulent returns for tax years 2013 through 2015.  The investigation revealed that Racine was filing fraudulent returns involving multiple credits and deductions, including the fuel tax credit, refundable education credit, and unreimbursed employee business expenses.  Racine requested refunds on 99 percent of the returns, a rate significantly higher than the average over the same years.  In March 2017, IRS-CI determined that JSR Tax Services in Florida, where Merlien primarily worked, was filing federal tax returns displaying the same patterns of fraud as those prepared at JSR Westend Tax Services in Atlanta. 

The investigation revealed that Racine and Merlien engaged in this scheme to increase the amount of money they could charge their clients for preparing their returns.  The investigation further revealed that the fraud perpetrated by Racine and Merlien resulted in losses to the U.S. Government in excess of $3.8 million.

Joseph Racine, 38, of Boynton Beach, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May to three years, four months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. 

Arnouse Merlien, 40, also of Boynton Beach, Florida, was sentenced to three years, in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.   Both defendants were ordered to pay $3,854,915 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Herskowitz, Deputy Chief of the 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.

ATLANTA – Mehboob Mansurali Charania was arraigned on charges relating to his involvement in a transnational criminal organization that victimized over 340 people in the United States through a fraudulent India-based call-center scheme, resulting in over $200,000 in losses. Charania was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 6, 2018.  

“Telephone scammers seek to profit by exploiting United States citizens, including the elderly and other vulnerable members of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Citizens should be wary of anyone demanding money over the phone.”

“Since 2013, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has investigated numerous instances in which individuals who fraudulently represent themselves as IRS officials in order to extort money from taxpayers,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.   “We will not back down from our pursuit of these criminals, and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring them to justice.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: The indictment alleges that the defendant took part in a sophisticated scheme organized in India, including a network of call centers.  Call center operators allegedly telephoned U.S. residents and misled the potential victims into sending money utilizing a number of different confidence scams. 

The scams included IRS impersonation scams where the callers pretended to be IRS employees demanding payment of taxes and fees.  Other scams included grant scams where callers directed victims to pay upfront fees for fictitious grants, student loan scams where callers threatened victims if they did not pay fictitious taxes and fees associated with student loans, and hacking scams where callers would gain remote access to the victim’s computer, lock the victim out of the computer, and deny access to the computer until the victim provided payment. 

If the victims agreed to pay, the call centers allegedly would have the victims send the funds to the attention of fictitious names used by Charania through wire transfers, including through MoneyGram and Western Union.  The indictment charges Charania with wire fraud and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Charania, a citizen of India residing in Atlanta, was arraigned on November 7, 2018 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. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Assistant U.S Attorney Jolee Porter 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 - Mitzi Bickers has been charged in a superseding indictment with an additional bribery charge relating to an alleged Jackson, Mississippi pay-to-play scheme.  In April 2018, Bickers was charged with 11 other federal offenses, including conspiring to commit bribery, wire fraud, money-laundering, federal obstruction and tax fraud.  The federal grand jury investigating this matter returned the superseding indictment on October 22, 2018.

“Bickers allegedly provided flights, limousines, hotel rooms, expensive food and entertainment to Jackson’s mayor and other city officials in an attempt to secure lucrative government contracts,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Her plans eventually unraveled though when she publically bragged that the mayor promised her the contracts and she just needed to ensure the paperwork looked good enough.”

“It is vitally important that government contracts go to the most qualified bidders through a fair and transparent process,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Public corruption is one of the FBI’s top priorities, and along with our partners in law enforcement, we will not tolerate those who try to circumvent proper government procedures.”

“This latest indictment represents a pattern and practice when it comes to Bickers’ political activities of pay-to-play,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge,  IRS- Criminal Investigation. “We are going to continue our efforts and we will not leave a stone unturned until all those who have engaged in corrupt political practices for personal gain are brought to justice.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court:  In February 2014, the former mayor of the City of Jackson died in office.  As a result of the incumbent mayor’s death, the City of Jackson held a Special Mayoral Election in the spring of 2014.  In March and April 2014, Bickers assisted a candidate with his campaign for mayor of the City of Jackson.  On April 22, 2014, the candidate (“Mayor”) was elected Mayor of the City of Jackson.

Beginning in March 2014, Bickers allegedly hosted parties and paid for food, airline flights, hotels, chauffeured car services, entertainment, fundraisers and campaign services for the Mayor and other City of Jackson officials in an effort to influence and reward these public officials, all in an effort to secure government contracts.  Elvin R. Mitchell, Jr. helped to fund many of these activities.  Mitchell was convicted in this case of conspiring to bribe City of Atlanta officials and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

Bickers then allegedly met with the Mayor and other City of Jackson officials to discuss city contracts.  In May 2015, as she was preparing to submit a contract proposal, Bickers met with a city official.  During this meeting, she allegedly bragged that the Mayor had promised her the city contract and that she simply needed to ensure that her paperwork looked good enough to pass muster.  In June 2015, Bickers teamed with another company and ultimately submitted a proposal for work relating to Jackson’s Wastewater Consent Decree Program Management Services Contract.

Mitzi Bickers, 51, of Atlanta, Georgia, was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin 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 FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine; Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section Jeffrey W. Davis; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Sanders 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 –The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Byung J. “BJay” Pak, announces that Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) William Toliver will lead the efforts of this office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming general election on November 6, 2018.  AUSA William Toliver has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO), and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “On election day, federal observers will be located at certain polling locations throughout the Northern District of Georgia, including Fulton and Gwinnett Counties, to monitor voting procedures. Free and fair elections depend on the cooperation of the American electorate.  It is imperative that those who have specific information about potential discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur.  The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and promotes public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on Election Day.

Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them.  For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law.  Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy).

The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy.  We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.  In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 6, 2018, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA William Toliver will be on duty in this District while the polls are open.  He can be reached by the public at the following telephone number (404) 581-6001.

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.  The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (404) 216-3000.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, DC by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to voting.section@usdoj.gov or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.

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.

A woman was arrested on Friday, October 26, 2018, following an indictment for conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns and making false statements to a federal agent, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and United States Attorney Byung J. Pak for the Northern District of Georgia. 

According to the indictment, between approximately 2011 and 2014, Tiffany Lewis and her co-conspirators fraudulently obtained the payment of income tax refunds by filing false tax returns.  After directing the tax refunds into bank accounts they opened and controlled, Lewis and her co-conspirators used checks and debit cards to withdraw cash or to pay for personal items.  Later, when interviewed by an Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation special agent, Lewis lied about her purported purchase of a tax return preparation business.      

If convicted, Lewis faces a maximum of 5 years in prison for the conspiracy charge, and 5 years in prison for the false statements charge.  She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. One of Lewis’s co-conspirators, Renault Shinall, was sentenced in July 2018 to 37 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to his part in the conspiracy.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Pak thanked special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys David Zisserson and Sean Beaty, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey A. Brown, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.

ATLANTA - Julio Ramos, a/k/a “Sleepy,” was sentenced to federal prison for his involvement in an October 2002 drive-by shooting, resulting in the death of Aldo Vallejo, a rival gang member.

“The Brownside Locos were a street gang whose members engaged in drug trafficking and numerous acts of violence, including at least five murders of rival gang members between 1998 and 2002,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “After many years as a fugitive, Ramos will now serve a lengthy federal prison sentence for his involvement in Vallejo’s death.”   

“This case is an example of the lengths the FBI will go to, to bring violent offenders like Ramos to justice,” said J.C. “Chris” Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Division. “The violence and indiscriminate exchange of gunfire that took place on our public streets 16-years ago cannot go unpunished and hopefully his sentence will send a message that we will go to any lengths to make sure it doesn’t.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: The Brownside Locos formed in the mid-1990s and members were required to represent the gang by confronting rival gang members. Brownside Locos members obtained status and influence within the gang by committing acts of violence against other gang members. From 1998 to 2003, Brownside Locos members committed numerous acts of violence, including at least five murders, of rival gang members. Members also engaged in drug trafficking to support the activities of the gang.

Ramos became a member of Brownside Locos in 2001. On October 27, 2002, Ramos, Alex Romero, Israel Stalabera, and three other gang members were in a van driven by Romero when they spotted a car being driven by Aldo Vallejo in the parking lot at Plaza Fiesta on Buford Highway in Atlanta. Vallejo and the passengers in his car were members of the rival 18th Street gang. Romero followed Vallejo’s car out of the parking lot at Plaza Fiesta.  When Vallejo realized that his car was being followed, he engaged in evasive driving maneuvers in an attempt to get away from the van.

The two vehicles ended up on an access road leading off Interstate 85 North at Sugarloaf Parkway in Gwinnett County, Georgia, when an exchange of gunfire erupted between the rival gangs.  Romero pulled the van alongside Vallejo’s car and the defendants fired multiple shots directly into the passenger compartment of the car. Vallejo, mortally wounded from the shooting, wrecked his car on the access road. Two days later, Vallejo died of the injuries he sustained from the shooting. He was 20 years old.

Julio Ramos, a/k/a “Sleepy,” 41, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg to six years, six months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on October 23, 2018. Ramos, a citizen of Mexico, will be deported upon completion of his prison sentence.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Gwinnett County Police Department’s Gang Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kim S. Dammers, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gangs Section; and William L. McKinnon, Jr., Division Court Coordinator for Gainesville, Georgia 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 – Kenneth Copeland was sentenced to federal prison on October 22, 2018, for being a felon in possession of a firearm after bringing an assault rifle into the Dunbar Recreational Center Gymnasium.

“Our community centers are designed to be a place where the public—especially our children—can safely play and gather together,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “By bringing a loaded assault rifle into the gymnasium, Copeland put all those present in danger and took from the community its sense of safety.” 

“The illegal possession of a firearm is a crime in itself” said Arthur Peralta, ATF Special Agent in Charge. “However, taking a firearm into a place where children are present and leaving it in plain view, recklessly endangering everyone, is shocking.  In this case, a concerned citizen saved the day and the defendant is no longer in a position to endanger anyone else.”

“There’s no place on our streets for guns to be in the hands of convicted felons, and certainly no place for guns of any kind to be in a place that’s supposed to be a safe haven for so many of our children,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “This is great teamwork by our officers and the U.S. Attorney's Office to once again assist us in getting dangerous and irresponsible individuals out of our communities.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: On April 28, 2015, Copeland came to the Dunbar Center Gymnasium with a loaded assault rifle in a shopping bag.  Despite the presence of approximately 20 members of the public, including children, Copeland left the assault rifle on the bleachers and went to play basketball. A concerned citizen called 911 to alert law enforcement that the assault rifle was inside the gymnasium.  Atlanta Police Department officers arrived, detained Copeland, and successfully secured the loaded assault rifle.  Copeland was convicted of multiple felonies prior to April 28, 2015, and as a result, he is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.

Kenneth Copeland, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg to five years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Copeland pleaded guilty to one count of a felon in possession of a firearm on July 25, 2018.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine I. Terry and Kim Dammers, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gangs Section, prosecuted the case. The Fulton County District Attorney’s office and the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office also provided assistance with 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 – Olayinka Olaniyi, a citizen of Nigeria, was sentenced on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. Olaniyi was convicted by a federal jury on August 9, 2018, after a three-day trial. Co-defendant, Damilola Solomon Ibiwoye, pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced on January 31, 2018. 

“These defendants’ attempted theft of millions of dollars by tricking unsuspecting victims into providing personal information, subsequently leading to the infiltration of other computer systems,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “While cybercrime has no borders, those who operate under the cloak of anonymity that the Internet provides will not be shielded from extradition and prosecution.”

“This sentence is the direct result of the hard work of FBI investigators and federal prosecutors working with their international partners, proving once again that cybercriminals cannot hide behind geographic borders anymore,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We are determined to protect our citizens and our institutions no matter how far the investigation reaches.”

“The scheme that these perpetrators attempted against college and university employees in our state is unfortunately all too common and underscores the ever-increasing need to remain vigilant in cybersecurity efforts,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “We will continue working with our local, state and federal partners to investigate and prosecute those who seek to steal from Georgians and educate our citizens on how to avoid falling victim to deceptive practices.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Olaniyi and Ibiwoye were behind several “phishing scams” that targeted colleges and universities in the United States, including the Georgia Institute of Technology (“Georgia Tech”) and the University of Virginia.  While both are Nigerian citizens, they committed their crimes while living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and were extradited to the United States to face these charges.

A “phishing scam” is the act of sending fraudulent emails that appear to come from legitimate enterprises for the purpose of tricking the recipients into providing personal information, including usernames and passwords.  Olaniyi and Ibiwoye directed phishing emails to college and university employees.  Once they had possession of employee logins and passwords, they were able to steal payroll deposits by changing the bank account into which the payroll was deposited.  Also, while logged into the university system through the stolen logins and passwords, these defendants were able to gain access to employee W2 forms, which they used to file fraudulent tax returns.  The attempted theft was over $6 million. 

The stolen funds were routed into U.S. bank accounts, and the evidence showed that access to these bank accounts was acquired through the use of romance scams, where fraudsters pose on dating sites and apps as potential partners to gain the trust of their victim.  At some point, the fraudsters made requests to deposit money into their victims’ accounts and claimed to need all of the account information, including their account numbers, routing numbers, passwords, and answers to security questions.  In this case, all of that information was then used to funnel the proceeds of theft through those accounts and out of the country. 

Olayinka Olaniyi, 34, of Nigeria was sentenced to five years, 11 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on October 22, 2018. Olaniyi was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $56,175.44.

Damilola Solomon Ibiwoye, 29, of Nigeria was sentenced to three years, three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on January 31, 2018. He was also ordered to pay $56,175.44 in restitution.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Brown, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura D. Pfister prosecuted the case.

NEWNAN, Ga. - Christopher Bradley Braden, who on two separate occasions arranged to meet minor girls for sex, was sentenced to federal prison for enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

“This defendant was brazen and persistent in seeking out young girls on the Internet,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “On two separate occasions, Braden drove for hours hoping to have sex with young girls. Thanks to the vigilance of our law enforcement partners, Braden is being held accountable for his depraved conduct.”

“On two separate occasions Braden drove for hours hoping to have sex with young girls and most likely would have continued if he wasn’t arrested,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI Atlanta Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force (MATCH) is committed to remain vigilant, holding predators who pose a threat to our children, accountable.”

“Online sexual predators of children are a problem within our communities, said Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn.  “We appreciate the assistance of our federal partners and we are grateful to have intercepted the suspect before another child was harmed.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In November 2016, Braden started communicating with a young girl on the cell phone app “Meet24.” She told him that she was 13 years old. He immediately initiated sexual conversations with the minor, asking about her body development and her sexual experience. Braden even sent her a video of himself masturbating. He made arrangements to meet her for the purpose of having sex with her on December 1, 2016. When he showed up at the pre-arranged location in Marietta, he was met by two Marietta Police Department officers and arrested. The 13-year-old girl was actually an undercover police officer. He was later released on bond.

In May 2017 - only six months later - Braden met a 14-year-old girl on the same cell phone app. Again, he asked questions about her body development and her sexual experience. He even sent the girl a photo of his erect penis. Braden then made arrangements to meet her at a gas station in Bremen, Georgia. While traveling to Bremen, he sent the girl a message confirming that she was 14 years old. When Braden showed up near the gas station, he was pulled over and arrested by Bremen Police Department officers. Like before, the 14-year-old girl was actually an undercover police officer.

Braden, 40, of Jasper, Alabama, has been sentenced to 10 years, six months in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release.  Braden will also be required to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.  Braden was convicted on these charges on July 11, 2018, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Marietta Police Department, and Bremen Police Department.

Assistant U.S. States 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 United States 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 – Khoi Nguyen was sentenced to federal prison for aggravated identity theft on October 19, 2018.  As a part of his scheme, Nguyen stole the identity of an unwitting victim, then subsequently opened a fraudulent online bank account at Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T) bank. 

“Nguyen brazenly stole thousands of dollars from a financial institution to line his pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The defendant impersonated a federal agent to try to cover his tracks, but fortunately an alert bank employee and the quick response from law enforcement brought his identity theft scheme to a halt.” 

“There is no telling how far this fraud scheme would have gone without the alert response from bank employees and the Atlanta Police Department,” according to Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Identity fraud affects so many people, not only the individual victim, but also in this case the bank and its customers. The FBI is committed to doing our best to protect the public from identity theft.”

“Identity theft is a serious crime that has an awful impact on people’s lives, costing them not only money, but precious time and resources to fix,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “I’m proud of our team’s work in partnership with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney to ensure criminals like Nguyen suffer the consequences of preying on hard-working people’s finances.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Around December 2017, Nguyen opened a fraudulent account online at BB&T Bank in the name of a victim. Nguyen visited a BB&T Bank branch in Atlanta on more than one occasion impersonating the victim. When Nguyen was encountered by law enforcement, he falsely claimed that he was a federal agent and was arrested. At the time of his arrest, Nguyen possessed more than $11,000 in cash, 20 iPhones bearing stickers denoting portions of phone numbers or complete phone numbers and/or initials, fraudulent Department of Defense identification documents with different names, various state driver’s licenses containing Nguyen’s photograph with different names, bank and debit cards in various names, gift cards with various institutions, and documents in the name of the victim whose identity Nguyen used to open an account at BB&T Bank.

Khoi Nguyen, 43, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg to two years in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $3,208.43 in restitution to BB&T Bank. Nguyen pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft on July 23, 2018.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Atlanta Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan J. Huschka 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 government intervened and filed a complaint in a False Claims Act lawsuit against Aarti D. Pandya, M.D. a/k/a Arati D. Pandya, M.D., an ophthalmologist from Conyers, Georgia, and her practice Aarti D. Pandya, M.D., P.C. (“the Pandya Defendants”).  The lawsuit alleges that the Pandya Defendants submitted false claims to Medicare for surgical procedures, diagnostic tests, and office visits that were medically unnecessary, of worthless value, upcoded, and in some cases, not provided at all.

“Patients and taxpayers who finance health care programs like Medicare are entitled to know that doctors are making decisions solely based upon medical need, and not based upon a desire to increase billings,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Our office is committed to preserving the integrity of the public health programs by pursuing doctors who engage in illegal healthcare practices at the public’s expense.”

“Greed at the expense of the American taxpayer is unacceptable,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) in Atlanta. “HHS-OIG in tandem with our law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue those who seek to harm our most vulnerable citizens through questionable medical procedures and billing practices.”

“We must ensure patients and taxpayers that care provided by federally funded healthcare programs is dictated by clinical needs, not fiscal greed,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “To do that, the FBI and its partners are committed to combine resources to investigate and hold providers accountable to bill the government only for necessary services.”

The government’s complaint alleges that, between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2016, Dr. Pandya engaged in multiple schemes to submit false claims to Medicare, including claims for medically unnecessary cataract extraction surgery.  Cataract surgery is only justified when a patient has a cataract that advances to the point where the patient cannot see well enough to carry out their normal daily activities.  In many cases, Dr. Pandya performed surgery despite the fact that her patients had little to no vision complaints and normal visual acuity. She also failed to determine whether the patient would benefit from less invasive measures, such as glasses, as is required before submitting Medicare claims for cataract surgery.

The complaint also alleges that Dr. Pandya rendered false glaucoma diagnoses, which she used to submit a battery medically unnecessary diagnostic tests to Medicare.  These diagnostic tests were often incomplete, of extremely poor quality, and not used by Dr. Pandya in treating the patients.  For a period of time, one of the machines that Dr. Pandya used for diagnostic testing was not functioning, but she continued to bill Medicare for these tests, which were never performed. 

The complaint also alleges that the Pandya Defendants submitted large numbers of false claims for office visits, commonly referred to as evaluation and management services.  The Pandya Defendants billed Medicare for high level office visits nearly every time patients visited the clinic.  Dr. Pandya, however, spent very little time with her patients and failed to provide the services required of these high level office visits. The Pandya Defendants also filed false claims for office visits when patients came to the clinic for care associated with procedures for which Medicare was already paying.

The lawsuit was initially filed by Laura Dildine, a former office manager for the Pandya Defendants, under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act.  Under the act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery.  The act permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it has done in this case.  Defendants found liable under the act are subject to treble damages and penalties.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

The claims asserted against the defendant are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.  The lawsuit is captioned United States v. Aarti D. Pandya, M.D., et al., Civil Action No. 1:13-CV-3336-LMM.  (N.D. Ga.)

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David O’Neal and Austin M. Hall are representing the United States in this matter.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov(link sends e-mail) 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 Bentley Davis was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing a sawed-off shotgun. The Troup County Sheriff’s deputies discovered the weapon in Davis’s residence after responding to a domestic violence call.

“Davis has a history of committing acts of violence, so his possession of an illegal sawed-off shotgun greatly increased the potential for a fatal incident to occur in the home,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Thankfully, through the coordinated work of our federal and local law enforcement partners, this dangerous and violent offender will now serve time in federal prison.”

“Anyone who uses a firearm to intimidate, threaten or terrorize another person poses a significant danger to everyone in our community,” said Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta. “ATF is committed to combating violent crime in all its forms.  Domestic violence destroys lives, separates families and often times results in significant physical and mental injury to its victims.  As a community, we must send a strong message that we will not tolerate this kind of behavior from anyone.  Mr. Davis displayed a clear disregard for our laws and his conviction and sentencing is a clear message that this conduct will not be tolerated.”

“The District Attorney’s office expresses our continued appreciation of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative and values working with the United States Attorney and other participants to keep our communities safe from violent crime,” said Herb Cranford, District Attorney for the Coweta Judicial Circuit. “We sincerely believe this initiative provides our local communities a crucial layer of protection against gun violence.  As a result, Robert Bentley Davis, who brutally assaulted his wife while in possession of a sawed-off shotgun, has been brought to justice.”

The Troup County Sheriff’s Office is grateful for the hard work of our investigators and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their prosecution in this case, said Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff.  “Crimes of this nature are very serious and we are dedicated to working with our local, state and federal partners to bring justice.

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: On September 12, 2017, Troup County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence in LaGrange, Georgia concerning a domestic dispute between Davis and his wife. Upon arrival, the deputies encountered Davis’s wife crying hysterically, and observed heavy bleeding from several areas of her head and severe bruises around her eyes. Davis continued to verbally assault of his wife after the deputies arrived on the scene.

Davis’s wife informed the deputies that her husband was concealing a firearm inside the residence. Officers subsequently recovered a half-cocked, Stevens Model 94C, .410 gauge sawed-off shotgun under a pillow in a couch in the living room. Officers then arrested Davis for the assault of his wife and for his unlawful possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.

Robert Bentley Davis, 60, of LaGrange, Georgia was sentenced to one year in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Davis entered a guilty plea on June 29, 2018, to the offenses of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act, and unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun.

This case was investigated as a part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative and exemplifies the collaborative work done by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, and the Coweta County Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office to assist the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the successful prosecution of this case. In keeping with the U.S. 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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Phyllis Clerk 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 - Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, a former manager at Equifax, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to insider trading. Bonthu bought and sold Equifax stock options before Equifax’s data breach was publicly announced, while working as a member of the team assembled to respond to the company’s massive data breach in 2017.

“Bonthu intentionally took advantage of information entrusted to him in order to make a quick profit,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The integrity of the stock markets and the confidence of investors are impaired by those who use nonpublic information for personal gain.”

“If we don’t hold company insiders to the same rules that govern regular investors, the public’s confidence in the stock market erodes,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will do everything in its power to hold accountable those who choose to take advantage of their inside knowledge.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency headquartered in Atlanta.  During the summer of 2017, Equifax was the victim of a data breach, where hackers acquired names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and addresses of over 145 million consumers.  Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu was a software product development manager for Equifax’s Global Consumer Services team in August 2017.  He was asked to assist in developing data breach remediation applications for an unnamed company and was further told that the project was a high priority with a short deadline because the company intended to announce the breach publicly on September 6, 2017. Among other tasks, his primary role was to help develop an online user interface that would allow consumers to determine whether they were impacted by the breach. Although he was never directly told it was actually Equifax that had been breached, he was entrusted with information that led him to that conclusion. For example, he knew that around 100 million individuals’ information was exposed as part of the breach and that the available information included names and Social Security numbers.

On September 1, 2017, Bonthu bought 86 “put” options in Equifax stock that expired on September 15, 2017. Those options allowed him to profit if the value of Equifax stock dropped within that two-week period. These trades also violated company policy, which did not allow employees to purchase option contracts in Equifax common stock.  Equifax publicly disclosed the data breach on September 7, 2017, and its stock fell the next day. Bonthu then exercised his put options, making a profit of more than $75,000.

Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to eight months of home confinement by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Totenberg.  He was fined $50,000 and he was also ordered to forfeit $75,979. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, and Lynsey M. Barron 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 – Dr. Michael Jon Kell, was sentenced to federal prison after a two-decade scheme to funnel millions of dollars in assets through a church he created to evade filing federal taxes.

“Despite earning millions of dollars and living a lavish lifestyle, Dr. Kell failed to file tax returns for several years when he falsely asserted that he was a minister under a vow of poverty,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The defendant will now be held accountable for evading his tax obligations.”

“Kell thought he could outsmart the IRS and avoid paying his fair share of taxes to the government by hiding his personal wealth behind the doors of a church he created and controlled in an effort to thwart the IRS while living a lavish lifestyle,“ said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. “Taxpayer’s who go to these lengths to evade paying their taxes will be investigated to the fullest extent and referred for prosecution to the Department of Justice in hopes of bringing individuals into compliance with the IRS.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Dr. Kell developed numerous patented technologies and worked as a consultant, which generated millions of dollars in income over the years. To hide this income, he founded and was the “pastor” of the First Meliorite Church, which he claimed to be a branch of the Universal Life Church. Dr. Kell directed his substantial income and assets into bank accounts belonging to the church—all of which were under Dr. Kell’s exclusive control. He used these accounts to cover all of his personal expenses—including overseas vacations, dining out, high-end clothing purchases, online dating services, and private school tuition for his children. Dr. Kell also transferred ownership of his multi-million dollar residence in Vinings several times over the years to various entities he created and controlled, in an effort to protect the property from creditors, including the Internal Revenue Service.

Dr. Michael Jon Kell, 68, of Powder Springs, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor L. Ross to one year, six months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $321,878.40 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and Special Enforcement Program.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynsey M. Barron 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 home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Fernando Vidal-Gonzalez and Jhon Jimenez-Guzman, a former professional soccer player who played with Colombian Team America, have been sentenced for their roles in an international money laundering organization responsible for collecting over $1 million from drug trafficking in the United States.  The defendants laundered the funds by filtering them through a network of bank accounts destined for Colombia. Vidal-Gonzalez and Jimenez-Guzman operated out of Cali, Colombia, and were extradited to face charges in the United States following the dismantling of their organization.   

“International money launderers function as the financiers of criminal organizations, enabling the victimization of our communities while hiding behind a shield of anonymity built through a maze of bank accounts and business transactions,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We will continue bring those who operate sophisticated money laundering networks to justice, even if they are operating in other countries.”

“Transnational criminal organizations who commit crimes against the United States face accountability for their actions regardless of where they may be physically located,” said Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan. “This case shows HSI is committed to using its unique cross-border authority to hold accountable persons who commit serious crimes, and it reflects the excellent partnership between HSI, the Colombian government, and our federal partners.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In Cali, Colombia, Vidal-Gonzalez worked with Jimenez-Guzman, as part of a money laundering organization that functioned as a type of “Black Market Peso Exchange” (BMPE). A BMPE is a complex money laundering scheme in which drug proceeds or other illegal profits are layered into the financial system through numerous structured cash deposits with subsequent transfers into bank accounts held by various individuals and businesses (which may be legitimate or shell entities). The funds are also sometimes used to pay for exported goods. The end result is that the illegal funds are transferred to another country – in this case Colombia – in a manner that disguises the true source and owners of the funds, while evading currency exchange and income reporting requirements, taxes, and fees.      

While the defendants were in Cali, Colombia, they directed an individual in the United States to open multiple bank accounts. Vidal-Gonzalez and Jimenez-Guzman then arranged for couriers to hand off large bags of cash from drug sales (as much as $108,040 at a time) to the individual at locations such as a park, a gas station, or a nightclub. The individual was told to deposit the money into bank accounts in small increments, and then transfer the funds out by numerous wires to other accounts and businesses located throughout the United States, Mexico, Colombia, and China.  The ultimate goal was to transfer the funds back to Colombia. Law enforcement identified over $889,000 that Vidal-Gonzalez and Jimenez-Guzman laundered in this manner between May 2011 and August 2012. 

Fernando Vidal-Gonzalez, 56, of Cali, Colombia, was sentenced on October 15, 2018, to eight years, one month in prison, with credit for 10 months served prior to extradition from Colombia, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Vidal-Gonzalez was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering after entering a guilty plea on July 6, 2018.

Jhon Jimenez-Guzman, 46, of Cali, Colombia, was sentenced on September 27, 2018, to six years, six months in prison, with credit for 10 months served prior to extradition from Colombia, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Jimenez-Guzman was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering after entering a guilty plea on June 19, 2018.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in partnership with the Colombian National Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth M. Hathaway, Chief of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section; Lisa W. Tarvin, Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section; and Garrett L. Bradford prosecuted the case.  The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs assisted in securing the extradition of the defendants to the United States.

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 - A federal district court jury convicted Nathan E. Hardwick IV of twenty-one counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of making false statements to a federally insured financial institution on October 12, 2018.

“Hardwick was motivated by unadulterated deceit and greed when he blatantly violated the trust placed in him by embezzling millions of dollars from his clients and partners,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The extravagant lifestyle that Hardwick enjoyed at the expense of others will now be traded for time in prison.”

“This case is especially troubling given the illegal actions were orchestrated by a lawyer who swore an oath to uphold the law and represent his clients with integrity,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The magnitude of theft Hardwick is convicted of merits a lengthy sentence, one that will hopefully send a message that the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate this type of white-collar crime.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Hardwick and Asha Maurya engaged in a scheme to defraud MHSLAW, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Morris Hardwick Schneider, LLC and LandCastle Title, LLC, (collectively referred to as “MHS”). MHS owned and operated a law firm that specialized in residential real estate closings and foreclosures, and it ran a title business. MHS employed approximately 800 people in 16 states. Hardwick was the managing partner of the law firm and the CEO of the title business. He also ran the law firm’s closing division, which was based in Atlanta. Maurya managed MHS’s accounting operations under Hardwick's supervision and control.

In early 2007, Hardwick and his law partners sold off part of their business, and Hardwick pocketed approximately $11.8 million. Hardwick quickly squandered that money, and by the end of 2010 he was broke and deeply in debt.

From January 2011 through August 2014, Hardwick siphoned off more than $26 million from MHS’s accounts to pay his personal debts and expenses and to finance his extravagant lifestyle. More than $19 million of that was client money that was stolen from MHS’s attorney trust accounts. Hardwick spent approximately $18.5 million of the fraud proceeds on gambling, private jets, and more than 50 different social companions.

MHS’s audited financial statements showed that the firm’s combined net income from 2011 through 2013 was approximately $10 million. During that same three-year period, Hardwick took more than $20 million out of the firm’s accounts.

Hardwick and Maurya conspired to cover-up the fraud and made numerous false statements to Hardwick’s law partners concerning the amount of money that Hardwick was taking out of the firm.

Hardwick and Maurya were originally indicted by a federal grand jury on February 9, 2016. The original indictment charged Hardwick and Maurya with conspiracy, wire fraud, and bank fraud. It also charged Hardwick with making false statements to a federally insured financial institution and charged Maurya with mail fraud. Maurya pled guilty to conspiracy on May 11, 2017. The grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Hardwick on December 5, 2017, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to a federally insured financial institution.

Hardwick’s trial began on September 17, 2018 and was presided over by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross. On October 12, 2018, after deliberating approximately nine hours, the jury convicted Hardwick on all counts.

Nathan E. Hardwick IV, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Asha R. Maurya 43, of Atlanta, Georgia will be sentenced at a later date.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Russell Phillips; Doug Gilfillan, Chief of the Cyber & Intellectual Property Crime Section; and Lynsey Barron 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 - Shailesh Kothari, a/k/a Shue Kothari, the chief executive officer for Primera Medical Group, was arraigned on federal charges alleging healthcare fraud for submitting more than 4,500 fraudulent claims for allergy treatments. Co-defendant, Timothy McMenamin, the chief operating officer for Primera Medical Group, was also charged for his role in the scheme.

“These defendants allegedly sought more than $8.5 million in insurance payments after submitting thousands of fraudulent claims,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Healthcare fraud unfortunately diverts critical resources away from the patients that truly need care.”

“Healthcare fraud not only betrays the trust a patient places in their providers, but costs everyone when their insurance premiums rise because of it,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is committed to ensuring that funds given to healthcare providers are not abused and are used only for medically necessary services for patients.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Primera Medical Group, Inc., was a health clinic in Atlanta that focused its practice on preventative wellness, specifically corporate wellness, concierge care, and allergy testing. Kothari is a doctor of chiropractic medicine who was licensed to practice in Georgia since January 2009.

Primera Medical Group hired market research companies across the U.S. to recruit patients to participate in allergy testing.  Patients were told that there would be no out-of- pocket expenses and that their insurance would cover the costs, in addition to being paid $65 to $100 for participating in the test. 

A patient’s blood was purportedly drawn so that it could be sent to a laboratory for allergy and other testing, regardless of whether the patient had any allergy symptoms and without any determination of medical necessity for the testing. Primera Medical Group allegedly then billed the patient’s private insurer for multiple procedures, including blood tests, allergy immunology injections, or other laboratory tests.  When billing private insurers, Primera Medical Group used the National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers of multiple doctors, without their knowledge and without those doctors having performed the services.

As of July 2016, Primera Medical Group billed insurers for hundreds of blood tests that were not completed. When an insurance company requested the medical records to support some of the billed services, Kothari allegedly asked McMenamin to create false laboratory reports to submit to the insurance company.  McMenamin allegedly created the false laboratory reports, and those false reports were provided to the insurance company to support the fraudulent billing.

Additionally, when a patient requested the results of a laboratory test that was not completed, McMenamin allegedly created false laboratory results for those patients.  On multiple occasions, Kothari and McMenamin allegedly sent false laboratory reports directly to patients. 

Shailesh Kothari, a/k/a Shue Kothari, 45, of Atlanta, Georgia was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman on federal charges of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft.  Kothari was charged in an information filed on October 12, 2018.

Timothy McMenamin, 31, of Atlanta, Georgia was also charged with the same offenses in the same information. Members of the public are reminded that the information only contains charges.  These 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.  Assistance was also provided by the Special Investigations Unit for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Fraud 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 – The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia announces the one-year anniversary of the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that Attorney General Jeff Sessions designated as the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and to develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  Throughout the past year, we have partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs.”  

“Our collaborative partnerships with federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as community stakeholders, have proven to be successful in reducing violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We are strategically and aggressively working to make our communities safer by keeping guns out of the hands of convicted felons, drug dealers, and gang members by identifying and prosecuting these violent repeat offenders.”

“The Project Safe Neighborhoods program has produced consistent results,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta.  ”Our communities deserve to be safe from violent criminals and PSN allows ATF, and our federal, state and local partners, to focus on the criminals who choose to use guns to commit their crimes and terrorize our communities.  ATF will continue to participate in and support this very important initiative.  Anyone who shoots a gun in the commission of a crime is a danger to us all and it is imperative that we focus our efforts on identifying, investigating and arresting these criminals.”  

As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, our office is able to highlight many of our PSN actions over the past year:

Enforcement Actions

PSN is working in partnership with local and state law enforcement to ensure that federal efforts are focused on the most violent offenders, by specifically:

• Maintaining ongoing efforts to reduce violent crime in the English Avenue neighborhood of Atlanta and by also identifying additional communities in Clayton, Henry, and Troup Counties as PSN target enforcement areas.  These enhanced enforcement efforts include targeted crime prevention in neighborhood schools and focused deterrence concerning gang-affiliated offenders currently incarcerated, but pending release back into local communities; and
   
• Building on the success of the District’s Violent Repeat Offender (VRO) program implemented in 2012 in metro Atlanta to address persistent violent crime. The VRO initiative was expanded to include the Rome, Gainesville, and Newnan Divisions.  Read more about the VRO program here.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the following cases as a part of PSN’s increased focus on targeting drivers of violence within our local communities:

• United States v. Jeffrey Alan Bourassa, et al.: Twenty-three members and associates of the Ghostface Gangsters prison gang were charged in a 21-count indictment on February 8, 2018, in relation to conduct ranging from wire fraud to murder.  The Ghostface Gangsters originated in the Cobb County, Georgia, jail in 2000 and has since spread through Georgia jails, prisons, and beyond.  Read more on this case here.
   
• United States v. Terrance Rainey, et al.: Terrance Rainey, Latrell Parson, Talante Fisher-Bland, Brittni Dixon, Martavius Askew, and Donnisha Miles were sentenced for trafficking 33 firearms from Georgia to New York.  Law enforcement officers recovered several of the guns from convicted felons who had used the firearms in committing various crimes in New York. Read more on this case here.
   
• United States v. Sherman Jackson, et al.: Sherman Jackson, William Jackson, Gerren Johnson, and Brendan Person were sentenced for their respective roles in a criminal scheme to unlawfully ship firearms to more than 10 countries.  The defendants sold more than 70 firearms to international buyers at extremely marked-up prices. ATF coordinated with its international law enforcement partners to recover firearms sold by the defendants in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Zambia. Read more on this case here.

Additionally, the correlation between domestic violence and firearms pose a significant risk to families and public safety, and our office now supports local prosecutors and law enforcement whose efforts may be hampered by a combination of weak state firearms laws and overburdened court systems. For example, it is not a crime under Georgia state law for an individual convicted of family violence battery to possess a firearm. Our office is utilizing the revitalized PSN program to fill this prosecutorial gap.
 
Community Partnerships

Our office also implemented a comprehensive crime prevention and reentry strategy to complement PSN’s enforcement efforts by partnering with agencies such as the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, EGRESS Consultants and Services, LLC, the Offender Alumni Association, and Freedom is a Choice, Inc.  Read more about these partnerships here.

Improvements to Community Safety

• The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.
   
• The preliminary information for 2018 provides optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
   
• In our District, violent crime arrests slightly declined from 2016 to 2017.  For example, in 2017 charges for gang members decreased thirty-two percent compared to 2016. Gang member arrests involving guns also dropped by one-third and their violent-felony crime arrests were down by forty percent.
   
• In addition, ATF’s ongoing response to the spike in gun trafficking led to a dramatic decrease in the number of thefts from gun stores.  For example,

• In 2013, the ATF received reports of 25 burglaries of licensed gun dealers in Georgia resulting in thefts of 338 guns.
   
• In 2014, the ATF received reports of 34 burglaries of licensed gun dealers in Georgia with a loss of 307 guns.
   
• In 2015, the ATF received reports of 33 burglaries of licensed gun dealers in Georgia resulting in thefts of 429 guns.
   
• In 2016, ATF received reports of burglaries of 50 federally licensed firearms dealers in Georgia, with a staggering increase in thefts of more than 1,000 firearms.
   
• In 2017, the ATF received reports of 23 burglaries of licensed gun dealers in Georgia, with a substantial decrease in thefts of 241guns.
   
• So far in 2018, 15 burglaries of federally licensed firearms dealers have been reported, resulting in thefts of 259 guns. 

These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.

For the referenced cases, 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.

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. – Tiffany Cook, a former Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) officer, pleaded guilty to being paid by a prison inmate to smuggle methamphetamine and marijuana into Hays State Prison located in Trion, Georgia.

“Georgia correctional officers serve every day, faithfully executing their duties with integrity,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Cook, however, violated the oath of office she swore to uphold and the law when she smuggled drugs into prison.  She must now account for her betrayal of trust.”

“It is very troubling that a sworn officer is willing to sell her badge for personal payoff, putting her fellow officers and inmates safety in jeopardy,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Cook not only betrayed the institution she was sworn to protect, she also betrayed every hard working corrections officers who uphold their oaths every day.”

“We are pleased to see that justice has been served on this individual, who chose to violate her oath and put other staff at risk by introducing contraband into our facility,” said Gregory C. Dozier, GDC Commissioner.  “Our special agents are to be commended for their work in identifying the individual leading to her prosecution, and we are also proud of our officers for their diligence. The commitment to public safety by all of our law enforcement partners is paramount in maintaining safe and secure prisons, and we appreciate their support.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: On May 17, 2010, Cook began working with the GDC as a correctional officer. Beginning in April 2017, Cook served as a correctional officer at Hays State Prison. Hays State Prison is located in Trion, Georgia in Chattooga County. The facility opened in 1990 and currently holds approximately 1,680 male prisoners.

In early July 2018, the GDC received information from an inmate that Cook was being paid to smuggle illegal drugs into the prison.  On July 9, 2018, Cook arrived at Hays State Prison to report for her regularly-scheduled shift. As Cook approached the time clock, correctional officers asked Cook to walk into a conference room. Following the request, Cook stated that she felt ill and wanted to leave the prison. Correctional officers detained and ultimately searched Cook.

Pursuant to their search, correctional officers recovered more than 118 grams of actual methamphetamine (with a purity of 90%), and more than 150 grams marijuana from Cook’s vaginal cavity and bra. After seizing the methamphetamine and marijuana, correctional officers placed Cook under arrest.

Sentencing for Tiffany Cook, 34, of Summerville, Georgia, is scheduled for December 21, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Harold L. Murphy.  Cook was charged in a criminal information with one count of possession, with intent to distribute, a controlled substance on October 11, 2018.   

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W.  Davis, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, is 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 – The co-owners and chief operating officer of one of the largest Iraqi dinar exchangers in the United States were convicted by a federal jury following a five-week trial.  Tyson Rhame, James Shaw, and Frank Bell were each convicted of mail and wire fraud conspiracy, as well as multiple counts of mail and wire fraud.  Rhame and Bell were also convicted of making false statements to federal law enforcement agents. 

“These executives engaged in a lengthy campaign to defraud investors by spreading lies about the investment potential of the Iraqi dinar,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “These convictions resulted from years of investigation, which included dozens of electronic and physical search warrants, hundreds of witness interviews, and extensive financial analysis.”

“The conviction of these three defendants is the result of an extensive effort by the government to protect investors from those who make unsubstantiated claims about the potential revaluation of a foreign currency,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Their greed led them to steal the hopes of unsuspecting investors and ultimately led them to their demise. The FBI and its partners make it a priority to root out and punish anyone who preys on investors for their own selfish desires.”

“This was a trial about fraudulent inducements, conspiracy, investment fraud and outright greed,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation.  “Rhame, Shaw, and Bell saw an opportunity to build their personal net worth and business position in the currency market by seizing on investors’ desire for high returns on their investments. At the end of the trial, the jury agreed with the government and found the Sterling Currency Group co-owners and chief operating officer guilty of the conspiracy and the underlying frauds.   Despite the challenges these complex cases present, IRS-CI is committed to working with our partners at the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to show white-collar fraud is still an investigative priority.”

According to Acting U.S Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: Rhame and Shaw owned and operated the Sterling Currency Group, which was once one of the country’s largest sellers of the Iraqi dinar.  Bell was Sterling’s chief operating officer.  Between 2010 and June 2015, Sterling grossed over $600 million in revenue from the sale of the Iraqi dinar and other currencies, while Rhame and Shaw received over $180 million in distributions. 

The evidence at trial established that the defendants took steps to make investors believe they would get rich by investing in the Iraqi dinar.  At one point, Rhame posted information on Sterling’s website falsely suggesting that the dinar was about to revalue.  At other times, Rhame and Bell falsely claimed that Sterling would cash out investors at airports around the country following a dinar “revaluation.”  The defendants also paid substantial sums of money to third parties who in turn spread false information about the dinar on conference calls and Internet chat rooms. 

Tyson Rhame, 53, and James Shaw, 55, both of Atlanta, Georgia, and Frank Bell, 55, of Decatur, Georgia, were convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and multiple mail and wire fraud counts. Rhame and Bell were also convicted of making false statements to federal agents regarding Sterling’s operations.  The jury acquitted the defendants of money laundering charges.  A fourth defendant, Terrence Keller, was acquitted of all charges at trial. 

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas J. Krepp, Alison B. Prout, and Kamal Ghali, Deputy Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crime Section are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly K. Connors and Dahil D. Goss are handling the parallel civil forfeiture actions related to 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 – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has identified approximately 30 medical professionals who are prescribing opioids in significantly higher quantities or doses than their peers or to patients who may pose a high risk of abuse or diversion.  The U.S. Attorney will provide these prescribers with specific information about their prescription patterns and will refer them to educational materials, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, related to safe opioid prescription practices. 

“Medical professionals have an obligation to the safety and well-being of their patients,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Many opioid prescribers may not realize that they are overprescribing opioids.  We aim to make these medical prescribers - who are outliers - aware of their atypical practices, so that they can make informed decisions about whether their opioid prescriptions are for a legitimate medical purpose.   We will also continue to monitor prescribing habits.”

According to the CDC, more than 140 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day.  This epidemic was created, in part, by the widespread over-prescription of opioids by medical professionals during previous years. It is our plan to strategically reduce the impact of this crisis within our community by notifying outlier prescribers that their opioid prescribing habits are not in conformity with accepted standards or the prescribing habits of their peers. Through this initiative and others, it is the goal of the Department of Justice to reduce opioid prescriptions by one-third over the next three years.

The Department of Justice has made no determination, at this time, that prescribers who receive these letters have violated the law.  We have a duty, however, to protect the lives and safety of our citizens, and making information available to prescribers within the District has the potential to save lives. 

This prescriber notification message is part of Operation SCOPE (Strategically Combatting Opioids through Prosecution and Enforcement), an initiative launched by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to partner with federal and local law enforcement to fight the devastating effects that illegally-prescribed painkillers, heroin, and synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, have on our neighborhoods. 

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. - Mark Edward Jeffery, a former Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) officer, who allegedly brought alcohol, drugs, and contraband cellphones into Hays State Prison, was arraigned on federal charges of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. 

“Jeffery failed to uphold his duty as a correctional officer when he allegedly smuggled illegal contraband into prison,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Correctional officers who smuggle contraband into prisons not only betray the institutions they protect, but also jeopardize the safety of fellow correctional officers and inmates.”

“It is imperative that our correctional facilities are safe for both inmates and staff,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “When contraband is brought into prisons it jeopardizes that safety. And when it is a corrections officer who brings in that contraband, violating his or her sworn duty, it is our job to vigorously investigate and hold them accountable.”

“We are committed to ridding our prisons of individuals who bring discredit to the badge, and we are proud of those officers who work with integrity and vigilance in stopping the introduction of contraband into our facilities,” said GDC Commissioner Gregory C. Dozier.  “Our appreciation for the continued support of our federal law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office is steadfast, as they help ensure that justice is served on those who choose a path of dishonor.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: On February 7, 2018, Jeffery worked as a correctional officer at Hays State Prison in Trion, Georgia.  One of Jeffery’s fellow correctional officers observed a large rectangular object, wrapped in black electrical tape, hidden in Jeffery’s beverage container.  The fellow officer notified a supervisor about possible contraband.

Later that day, the prison’s chief of security searched Jeffery’s person and belongings, where he found one glass pipe, four cellular phone chargers, four smartphones, two bags containing 190 suspected ecstasy pills, a plastic bag with methamphetamine, and a water bottle with alcohol.  

Mark Edward Jeffery, 33, of Fairmount, Georgia, was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 2, 2018.  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 and the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Brock Brockington is 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 - Carlos Conde, 37, of Smyrna, Georgia was arraigned on federal charges on October 2, 2018, for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act and for making false statements to a federal agent.  Conde was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 25, 2018.

“Conde allegedly instructed workers to intentionally wash toxic and hazardous chemicals into the Chattahoochee River watershed,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The Chattahoochee is one of Georgia’s jewels that must be protected from those who recklessly damage the wildlife and environment.”

“It is important that we continue to remain vigilant to protect our precious waters throughout the southeast,” said Trey Glenn, Regional Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Southeast Region (Region 4). “EPA takes seriously any allegations of improper disposal of toxic and hazardous chemicals, which pose serious threats to public health and the environment.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: On August 12, 2016, a batching tank at the Apollo Industries chemical mixing facility in Smyrna, Georgia, began leaking a carburetor cleaner containing naphthalene, a toxic and hazardous chemical.  The following morning, two workers discovered the spill and called Conde, the plant manager.  Conde arrived at the plant and allegedly instructed the employees to wash the chemical away with water from multiple hoses.  The chemical was washed into a tributary of Nickajack Creek and the Chattahoochee River.  Conde allegedly twice denied his role in the spill cleanup during interviews with a federal agent with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Fraud 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 – Jaye L. Thomas, an inmate at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta (USP Atlanta), has been sentenced to additional prison time for escaping on three separate occasions.  Thomas is the last defendant to be sentenced in an operation aimed at combating the rash of inmate escapes from the prison camp in 2016 and 2017.   

“Prisoners who escape from custody pose a threat to the community and subvert the authority of the criminal justice system,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “These prosecutions make it clear that serious consequences exist for inmates who escape from custody, especially for those who are caught smuggling illegal contraband.”

“This sentencing hopefully marks the end of an investigation that exposed a serious breach of security and safety, both inside and outside of a federal prison,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The safety of our communities was breached when these inmates escaped, and the security of the prison was breached when they returned with contraband that allowed them to continue criminal conduct inside the prisons walls. This type of carefree behavior will not go unpunished.”

“This operation highlights the team effort that exists among our agencies,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “Together, we made sure these prisoners continue to pay their debt to society for previous crimes and face the serious consequences for escaping custody and putting the community at risk.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court:  USP Atlanta is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.  USP Atlanta also operates a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates. 

Since 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Atlanta Police Department have jointly investigated instances of USP Atlanta inmates temporarily escaping from the prison camp to obtain contraband to smuggle back into the prison or to visit nearby restaurants, hotels, and residences.   

In January 2015, Thomas was sentenced to 11 years, three months in prison after being convicted of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.  In 2016, Thomas was assigned to the USP Atlanta’s prison camp.

Law enforcement officers began investigating Thomas when surveillance images showed him escaping from USP Atlanta on March 22, 2016 and April 4, 2016.  Eyewitness testimony, cellular telephone records, and other evidence confirmed that Thomas had escaped from USP Atlanta’s prison camp on three occasions to have sex with two different girlfriends. 

Jaye L. Thomas, 37, of Dalton, Georgia, was sentenced to an additional one year, nine months in prison, to be served following his current 11 year, three month prison term.

In addition to Thomas, the following individuals were convicted and sentenced for their involvement in inmate escapes from the USP Atlanta prison camp:

●On June 6, 2017, federal inmate Justin B. Stinson, 37, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced to an additional one year, three months in prison (to be served after his current four year, three month prison term).  Stinson pleaded guilty to escaping from federal custody after he was caught outside of USP Atlanta with a duffel bag containing a cellular telephone, scissors, tequila, and cigarettes.

●On September 20, 2017, federal inmate Fernando A. Settles, 37, of Augusta, Georgia, was sentenced to an additional one year, three months in prison (to be served after his current 20-year prison term).  Settles pleaded guilty to escaping from prison so that he could celebrate his birthday. 

●On February 22, 2018, federal inmate Deldrick D. Jackson, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to an additional one year, six months in prison (to be served after his current 10 year, eight month prison term).  Jackson’s fiancée, Kelly M. Bass, 39, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced on September 13, 2017, to six months in prison to be followed by eight months of home confinement. Jackson and Bass were sentenced for running an inmate taxi service.  In total, they provided escaped inmates with transportation from USP Atlanta and/or smuggled contraband into the prison on approximately 15 occasions. On the day of their arrests, Jackson and Bass were caught with two cell phones, 83 packs of cigarettes, and eight bottles of whiskey.

●On June 1, 2018, federal inmate Latigree D. James, 36, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to an additional six months in prison (to be served after his current five-year prison term).  James escaped from the prison camp to meet with Claudia Moline, who drove him from USP Atlanta and provided him with cellular phones and approximately $200’s worth of cigarettes.  For her role, Moline, 36, of Hiram, Georgia, was sentenced on April 20, 2018, to three years of probation. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Atlanta Police Department investigated these cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy H. Lee 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 - Tommie L. Walker, a/k/a Columbia BT, and Juan Carlos Garcia-Martinez, a/k/a Carlos Garcia were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker on September 21, 2018 on federal charges of drug trafficking and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.  Walker, Garcia-Martinez, and Samuel Anchondo-Galaviz were indicted by a federal grand jury on September 12, 2018.

“These defendants were allegedly part of a multi-state drug distribution scheme that transported and distributed cocaine worth approximately $4 million,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Thanks to the work of law enforcement in Georgia, South Carolina and Colorado, this drug enterprise is now history.”

“This investigation is an excellent example of the working relationships that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) have with their law enforcement partners,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta DEA Field Division. “The defendants were transporting large quantities of drugs throughout our neighborhoods, and the dismantlement of this criminal organization will have a positive local impact and sends a clear message that we will not tolerate illegal drug trafficking in our communities.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Agents of the Atlanta-Carolina High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program began their investigation in August 2017 in conjunction with Drug Enforcement Administration agents in South Carolina and Colorado. Walker, who raps under the name “Columbia BT,” allegedly participated in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy that extended to Colorado, South Carolina, and Mexico.

Walker allegedly operated a warehouse in the Atlanta area where he received shipments of cocaine hidden in tractor-trailers. The shipments were sent by a co-conspirator in Colorado. Walker allegedly would then distribute the drugs to individuals from South Georgia and South Carolina. Garcia-Martinez is an alleged co-conspirator who facilitated some of Walker’s drug transactions.

Law enforcement officers seized more than 135 kilograms of cocaine from the organization, a quantity worth more than $4 million at current wholesale prices in Atlanta. Law enforcement also seized more than $220,000 in drug proceeds.

October 9, 2017, a tractor-trailer containing approximately 40 kilograms of cocaine, which was driven by Anchondo-Galaviz, was stopped on the way to Walker’s warehouse. Other seizures charged in the indictment took place on December 3, 2017 and February 21, 2018.  Walker allegedly used his illegal drug proceeds to finance a lavish lifestyle that he displayed in his rap videos. Some of the property seized from the alleged drug proceeds included a 2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn and a 2013 Bentley Mulsanne.

Tommie L. Walker, a/k/a Columbia BT, 42, of Kennesaw, Georgia is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Juan Carlos Garcia-Martinez, a/k/a Carlos Garcia, 37, of Forest Park, Georgia, and Samuel Anchondo-Galaviz, 40, of New Mexico are each charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. 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 Drug Enforcement Administration, the Atlanta-Carolina High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Georgia State Patrol, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, the Marietta Police Department, and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas N. Joy and Erin Harris and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Brown 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.

ROME, Ga. – Jermaine Courtney Brown, a suspected member of the Gangster Disciples gang, has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm while a convicted felon.

“Brown’s continued criminal behavior jeopardizes the safety of our citizens and shows an utter disregard for the law,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Through the committed and collaborative work of our law enforcement partners, we will continue to vigorously prosecute those who illegally possess firearms within our community.”

“The FBI is committed to pursuing anyone who violates federal law and is a threat to our community,” said J.C. “Chris” Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.  “Brown’s persistent criminal behavior in support of a major gang will not be tolerated and the FBI will use all its resources to remove the threat and protect our citizens.”  

“The Cedartown Police Department is committed to working together as a team with local, state, and federal agencies to make our neighborhoods safer by holding those accountable who commit violent crimes in our communities,” said Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome.

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Around January 30, 2018, Cedartown Police Department officers observed Brown walking along an intersection in Cedartown, Georgia. The officers were familiar with Brown based on his prior contacts with law enforcement and his suspected membership in the Gangster Disciples gang.  The officers were also aware of an outstanding arrest warrant for Brown, stemming from an arrest in February 2017 for possessing a firearm as a felon.

Brown ran when he saw the officers and the officers pursued him on foot and by a patrol car. After a short chase, Brown was apprehended and arrested. Following his arrest, Brown stated that he was carrying a gun in his pants.  He also asked one of the officers, “can’t you just throw [the firearm] in the bushes? I already have too many charges on me.” 

In addition to recovering a loaded Taurus Millennium PT145PRO .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun, the officers also recovered approximately 26.9 grams of marijuana and a digital scale. Brown was convicted in 2008 of possession of cocaine in the Superior Court of Floyd County, Georgia.

Jermaine Courtney Brown, 28, of Cedartown, Georgia is scheduled to be sentenced at 2:00 p.m. on November 30, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Harold L. Murphy.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedartown Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzette A. Smikle is prosecuting 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.

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 - Edward Culton has been arraigned on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, aiding and abetting the distribution of fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, which resulted in the death of an individual.  Culton was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 22, 2018.

“Culton’s alleged fentanyl distribution led to two drug overdoses, resulting in the death of one of the individuals,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “The defendant allegedly disguised the dangerous pills to look like legitimate Roxicodone tablets, but they were actually laced with fentanyl - a more potent and potentially lethal substance.”

“This counterfeit ‘pill peddler’ was a menace to society,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.  “Pills in the underground drug market are often diluted with dangerous and deadly substances, as was the case in this investigation. Purchasing pills on the street is synonymous to playing Russian roulette, as there’s no quality control or efficacy in the process. The success of this investigation was made possible because of the collaborative efforts between all law enforcement agencies involved and the U.S Attorney’s Office.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Between September 2017 and February 2018, Culton allegedly supplied Hubert Nathans, a drug dealer in the Roswell, Georgia area, with hundreds of fake Roxicodone pills from his Buckhead apartment in Atlanta. The counterfeit pills were blue in color and imprinted with M30, which resembled legitimate 30mg Roxicodone tablets, but they actually contained fentanyl.

In October 2017, Nathans allegedly sold a number of these pills to a man who died from a drug overdose on October 3, 2017. On January 8, 2018, Nathans also allegedly sold one pill to a woman who overdosed after ingesting part of the pill.

In January and February 2018, the Roswell Police Department purchased pills from Nathans on multiple occasions. On February 15, 2018, DEA agents executed a search warrant at Culton’s apartment and allegedly seized more than 900 of the same blue fentanyl-laced pills.

Edward Culton, 25, of Atlanta, Georgia was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Janet F. King on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, seven counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of fentanyl, and one of count of possession with intent to distribute.  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.

Hubert Nathans, 29, of Roswell, Georgia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, the use of which resulted in the death of one individual and serious injury to another, on August 13, 2018.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Roswell Police Department.

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

This case is presented as a part of Operation SCOPE (Strategically Combatting Opioids through Prosecution and Enforcement), which is an initiative launched by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to partner with federal and local law enforcement to fight the devastating effects that illegally-prescribed painkillers, heroin, and synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl have on our neighborhoods. 

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 – An indictment was unsealed yesterday charging 20 individuals and entities for their alleged involvement in a transnational criminal organization that victimized over 2,000 people in the United States through a fraudulent India-based call-center scheme, resulting in over $5.5 million in losses.  In connection with the scheme, seven individuals were arrested yesterday in the United States. Seven defendants and five call centers in India were also charged for their alleged involvement. 

“IRS and payday loan phone schemes seek to profit by exploiting United States citizens, including the most vulnerable members of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “This indictment and yesterday’s arrests demonstrate our commitment to identifying and prosecuting those who hide behind these types of phone scams.”

“This indictment makes clear that the IRS impersonation scam has risen to a new level, with indictments against five call centers and seven co-conspirators in India who allegedly directed their employees to participate in the scam,” said J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.  “I wish to congratulate my investigative team, who labored many long hours to untangle the intricate web of financial transactions that the defendants allegedly completed as part of a transnational conspiracy to extort money from taxpayers and conceal and disguise the proceeds of their unlawful activities.  Since 2013, the IRS impersonation scam has been on a relentless path, claiming more than 14,000 victims who have lost upwards of $71 million to the scammers,” the Inspector General noted. “TIGTA will continue to be just as relentless in our pursuit of individuals who fraudulently represent themselves as IRS officials in order to extort money from taxpayers.  We will not back down from our pursuit of these criminals, and will continue to work with all law enforcement partners to bring them to justice.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: The indictment alleges that the defendants were involved in a sophisticated scheme organized by co-conspirators in India, including a network of call centers in Ahmedabad, India.  Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, call center operators allegedly called potential victims while impersonating officials from the Internal Revenue Service or individuals offering fictitious payday loans. 

The call center operators would then threaten potential victims with arrest, imprisonment, or fines if they did not pay taxes or penalties to the government.  If the victims agreed to pay, the call centers allegedly would immediately turn to a network of U.S.-based co-conspirators to liquidate and launder the extorted funds by purchasing prepaid debit cards or through wire transfers, including through MoneyGram and Western Union, to the attention of fictitious names and U.S.-based defendants and their co-conspirators.   

The indictment charges the following defendants and entities with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering:

• Excellent Solutions BPO,
• ADN Infotech Pvt. Ltd.,
• Infoace BPO Solutions Pvt. Ltd.,
• Adore Infosource, Inc.,
• Zurik BPO Services Pvt. Ltd.,
• Shylesh Kumar Sharma,  
• Dilipkumar Kodwini,
• Radhishraj Natarajan,
• Shubham Sharma,
• Nirav Janakbhai Panchal,
• Athar Parvez Mansuri,
• Mohmmad Samir Memon,
• Mohamed Kazim Momin,
• Palak Kumar Patel,
• Mohmed Sozab Momin,
• Rodrigo Leon-Castillo,
• Devin Bradford Pope,
• Nicholas Alezander Deane,
• Drue Kyle Riggins, and
• Jantz Parrish Miller

Mohamed Kazim Momin, Patel, Mohmed Sozab Momin, Pope, Deane, Riggins and Miller were arraigned yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Janet F. King.

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 U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Assistant U.S Attorney Jeffrey A. Brown, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolee Porter 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 - Onosemeraja Idodo-Umeh, a native of Nigeria who was residing in Atlanta, was arraigned on federal charges in an 18-count indictment that was unsealed yesterday.  Idodo-Umhel is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of unlawful procurement of naturalization.  Idodo-Umeh was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 7, 2018.

“Idodo-Umeh allegedly moved a substantial amount of stolen money out of the United States to Nigeria, doing so with the help of gang members already indicted by this office,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “By prosecuting not only the gang members, but also those who allegedly reaped the financial benefit of their crimes, we will work to dismantle the entire criminal network.”

“Onosemeraja Idodo-Umeh allegedly perpetrated multiple fraudulent schemes over many years, including by conspiring with violent gang members, and then laundered the illicit proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “He also allegedly obtained U.S. citizenship only after lying to immigration authorities.  These extremely troubling charges once again demonstrate the Department of Justice’s resolve to protect the American people and our financial system from transnational fraud.”

“This arrest was the result of an investigation led by the FBI’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force,” said J. C. “Chris” Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It is another example of the expanding criminal enterprises conducted by gangs, and why we continue to dedicate significant resources to dismantling them.”

“This case illustrates the complexity of investigating financial crimes being exploited by transnational criminal networks,” said Special Agent in Charge Nick Annan of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Atlanta Division.  “With this indictment, HSI special agents and our law enforcement partners, have increased the security of our nation, while also making our own communities safer.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: The indictment alleges a conspiracy spanning approximately seven years, in which Idodo-Umeh and his co-conspirators perpetrated fraud schemes using stolen identities, compromised credit card numbers, and stolen and counterfeit checks.  The alleged conspiracy involved, among other tactics, the creation of fake businesses to which Idodo-Umeh and his co-conspirators, including members of the Gangster Disciples gang, would make credit card payments using stolen credit card numbers. 

The indictment also alleges the use of forged checks written for tens of thousands of dollars each.  Idodo-Umeh would allegedly funnel the fraud proceeds through bank accounts belonging to a network of subordinates who he recruited and paid on commission, to transfer dirty money back and forth between the United States and Nigeria.

The indictment also alleges that Idodo-Umeh unlawfully obtained his naturalized U.S. citizenship by falsely telling immigration authorities he had not committed any crimes when in fact he was engaged in the charged fraud.

Onosemeraja Idodo-Umeh, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge King on federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. 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, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Division, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Cobb County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim S. Dammers, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gang Section, and Conor Mulroe, Trial Attorney for the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang 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.

A Georgia man is charged with fraud and money laundering conspiracies and related offenses, according to an 18-count indictment unsealed today.  The charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak of the Northern District of Georgia, Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker of the FBI’s Atlanta Division and Special Agent in Charge Nick Annan of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta Field Office.

Onosemeraja Idodo-Umeh, 41, a native of Nigeria who was residing in Atlanta, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of unlawful procurement of naturalization.  He was arraigned on the charges earlier today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Janet King.  Idodo-Umeh was indicted by a federal grand jury on Aug. 7.

“Onosemeraja Idodo-Umeh allegedly perpetrated multiple fraudulent schemes over many years, including by conspiring with violent gang members, and then laundered the illicit proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “He also allegedly obtained U.S. citizenship only after lying to immigration authorities.  These extremely troubling charges once again demonstrate the Department of Justice’s resolve to protect the American people and our financial system from transnational fraud.”

“This Defendant has allegedly moved a substantial amount of money out of the United States to Nigeria, and he did so with the help of gang members already indicted by my Office,” said U.S. Attorney Pak. “By prosecuting not only the gang members but those who reaped the financial benefit of their crimes, we will dismantle the entire criminal network.”

The indictment alleges a conspiracy spanning roughly seven years, in which Idodo-Umeh and his co-conspirators perpetrated fraud schemes using stolen identities, compromised credit card numbers, and stolen and counterfeit checks.  The alleged conspiracy involved, among other tactics, the creation of fake businesses to which Idodo-Umeh and his co-conspirators, including members of the gang the Gangster Disciples, would make credit card payments using stolen credit card numbers.  The indictment also alleges the use of forged checks written for tens of thousands of dollars each.  Idodo-Umeh would allegedly funnel the fraud proceeds through bank accounts belonging to a network of subordinates who he recruited and paid on commission, transfer dirty money back and forth between the United States and Nigeria, and take other steps to launder his criminal income.

The indictment also alleges that Idodo-Umeh unlawfully obtained his naturalized U.S. citizenship by falsely telling immigration authorities he had not committed any crimes when in fact he was engaged in the charged fraud.

“This gang not only threatened our communities with violence, but as a criminal enterprise, victimized innocent civilians by stealing their identities and money,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Hacker.  “FBI investigators are determined to uncover every facet of their illegal activity, and this defendant’s arrest exemplifies that determination.” 

“This case illustrates the complexity of financial crimes transnational criminal networks seek to exploit,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Annan. “With this indictment, HSI special agents in collaboration with our DOJ partners have taken an important action to increase the security of our nation by dismantling a significant transnational criminal organization.”

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by FBI Atlanta’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force with assistance from the Cobb County Police Department, and by HSI and IRS Criminal Investigation.  Trial Attorney Conor Mulroe of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim S. Dammers, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Northern District of Georgia, are prosecuting the case.