Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, involving 590+ charged defendants across 56 federal districts, including 150+ doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $2 billion in false billings. Of those charged, over 150 defendants, including doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics. Twenty-nine state Medicaid Fraud Control Units also participated in today’s arrests. In addition, HHS has initiated suspension actions against 587 providers, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists. 

The charges announced today aggressively target schemes billing Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE (a health insurance program for members and veterans of the armed forces and their families) for medically unnecessary prescription drugs and compounded medications that often were never even purchased and/or distributed to beneficiaries. The charges also involve individuals contributing to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on medical professionals involved in the unlawful distribution of opioids and other prescription narcotics, a particular focus for the Department. According to the CDC, approximately 115 Americans die every day of an opioid related overdose.

 “Health care fraud steals valuable resources from individuals who are most in need of the funds that support medical services and programs,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. Pak.  “We will continue to focus our efforts on aggressively investigating and prosecuting medical professionals and others who defraud our healthcare system”

“Health care fraud is a betrayal of vulnerable patients, and often it is theft from the taxpayer,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “In many cases, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists take advantage of people suffering from drug addiction in order to line their pockets. These are despicable crimes.”

“Health care fraud costs taxpayers billions of dollars and places our most vulnerable citizens at risk for harm and neglect,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - Office of Inspector General.  “Working with our law enforcement partners, we are dedicated to protecting patients and the federal health care programs intended to serve them.”

“The FBI is dedicated to protecting federally funded health care programs from those driven by greed, those who divert funds to their own pockets, taking them away from those who desperately need them,” said J. C. Hacker, Acting Special Agent in Charge (A/SAC) of FBI Atlanta. “The scope of this case is an indication of how widespread the problem is, but also an indication of how determined we are to stop it.”

“Our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is committed to protecting the integrity of the Georgia Medicaid program, its members and the taxpayer dollars used to provide this service,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. “We will remain vigilant in our efforts to identify and detect fraud, abuse or waste and aggressively recover all funds spent inappropriately. We are grateful to work with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement to protect Georgians.”

According to court documents, the defendants allegedly participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and private insurance companies for treatments that were medically unnecessary and often never provided. In many cases, patient recruiters, beneficiaries and other co-conspirators were allegedly paid cash kickbacks in return for supplying beneficiary information to providers, so that the providers could then submit fraudulent bills to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary or never performed. Collectively, the doctors, nurses, licensed medical professionals, health care company owners and others charged are accused of submitting a total of over $2 billion in fraudulent billings.  The number of medical professionals charged is particularly significant, because virtually every health care fraud scheme requires a corrupt medical professional to be involved in order for Medicare or Medicaid to pay the fraudulent claims.  Aggressively pursuing corrupt medical professionals not only has a deterrent effect on other medical professionals, but also ensures that their licenses can no longer be used to bilk the system.

Specifically, the Northern District of Georgia case announced as part of the nationwide Medicare Strike Force takedown:

United States v Rosa Fitzhugh

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: Rosa Fitzhugh owned and operated Casa Luisa, Inc. with locations in Decatur, Georgia. Fitzhugh was a licensed professional counselor (“LPC”) that purportedly provided mental health counseling. In 2014, Fitzhugh and Casa Luisa, Inc. were terminated from several Medicaid funded care management organizations (“CMOs”). After termination, Fitzhugh continued to fraudulently bill these CMOs by contracting with enrolled LPCs. Fitzhugh solicited LPCs to work as independent contractors with companies she controlled and then fraudulently billed CMOs using the LPCs provider numbers for services that were not provided. 

Beginning in January 2015, and continuing until October 2017, Fitzhugh billed or directed others to fraudulently bill over $2.4 million to Medicaid CMOs by billing for individual and family psychotherapy services that were not provided, not provided as billed, and not entitled to reimbursement.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. 

Jeffrey Brown, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section and Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Grofic are prosecuting the case. 

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.

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, in partnership with the Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program, have released an opioid public service announcement to remind Georgians that the opioid epidemic demands the urgent attention of everyone in our community.   

“Fighting this epidemic remains our highest priority and we will continue to prosecute criminals who threaten our communities with these dangerous drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “This public service announcement is a renewed call to remain vigilant in our efforts, as we continue to confront the challenges of this public health emergency.  We must continue to work together – parents, children, teachers, neighbors, stakeholders, businesses and community leaders – to fight this epidemic and save lives.

“Georgians unfortunately have gotten a dose of reality about the dangers of opioids,” said Daniel R. Salter, the Executive Director of the Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).  “In 2017, too many Georgians (nearly 1,050) died as a result of opioid overdoses. Atlanta-Carolinas HIDTA is committed to forming strategic partnerships with law enforcement and community partners in an effort to combat this crisis.”

The public service announcement highlights Joseph Abraham, a 19-year-old from Gwinnett County, Georgia, who struggled with addiction and its consequences for several years.  He first experimented with drugs in the 8th grade.  Throughout the years, his parents, David and Kathi Abraham, intervened by providing Joe with drug treatment, sober living, therapy services, and participation in Alcoholics Anonymous / Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA).  On May 26, 2017, Joe lost his battle with drug addiction minutes after taking a fatal mixture of heroin and fentanyl.  Joe is not alone.  In 2017, an estimated 1,043 Georgians also lost their lives to opioid overdoses. 

“My son has a name and he is more than a statistic.  Joe made a mistake.  A fatal mistake.  One that could not be fixed.  Our lives are forever changed because of the opioid problem that is devastating so many families like ours,” said Kathi Abraham.  “Addiction does not discriminate.  The opioid crisis and the rise of heroin use is not purely for people living in the inner city.  Silence is not the solution.  We must increase awareness, decrease the stigma of addiction, and educate both our parents and our children. It’s up to us to act in order to save others.”

The public service announcement is currently being shown in 17 theaters within the Northern District of Georgia as a reminder of the reality of this epidemic.  To view the public service announcement, please visit our website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/video/dose-reality-georgia.  For additional information and resources, please visit www.doseofrealityga.org/get-support.   

This education campaign is 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. 

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 - Arsalan Khalid Khan and Patrick Davis Gegenheimer have been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for attempting to commit an armed carjacking in a busy Sam’s Club parking lot in Chamblee, Georgia.

“Khan and Gegenheimer showed no regard for life when they brazenly attempted to carjack an innocent shopper,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “These criminals will no longer threaten the safety of our citizens, but will now serve lengthy prison sentences that reflect the serious and violent nature of their crimes.”

“This case is the product of a concerted collaborative effort on the part of ATF, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Chamblee Police Department to identify, investigate, and prosecute the perpetrators of this violent crime.” said Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta. “Khan and Gegenheimer chose to commit this act and use a gun.  These sentences ensure that they will not have an opportunity to terrorize anyone for a long time.”

“We want to thank our partner law enforcement agencies for their efforts that resulted in the removal of two dangerous individuals from society,” said Chamblee Police Chief Donny Williams.  “The reckless disregard for the safety of innocent bystanders demonstrated the necessity of a severe penalty in this instance. I am proud of the quick response of our officers on the street. They didn’t give up searching for these dangerous individuals when it appeared they had gotten away, and that made the difference.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: On September 1, 2017, Khan and Gegenheimer approached a shopper as he was loading goods into his minivan in the parking lot of a Sam’s Club in Chamblee, Georgia. Khan aimed a pistol at the shopper and demanded his car keys. After the shopper complied, Khan ordered the victim to get into the minivan. At that point, the shopper grabbed the pistol and wrestled it away from Khan. The pistol discharged during the struggle, injuring Khan’s hand. Khan and Gegenheimer then fled the parking lot, however, Chamblee police officers found and arrested the defendants a few minutes later.

Arsalan Khalid Khan, 27, of Cumming, Georgia, and Patrick Davis Gegenheimer, 24, of Atlanta, Georgia were each sentenced to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. The defendants were convicted of these charges on March 19, 2018, after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting each other in using a firearm to commit a violent crime.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Traynor 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 - Billy Wayne McClintock has been sentenced to prison for his role in a Ponzi scheme that garnered approximately $20 million and cost over 160 investors in excess of $11 million.

“McClintock and his co-conspirator promised investors a profitable and successful return on their investments, when in fact they were compensating investors with funds raised from other investors,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Investors should be cautious when offers that sound too good to be true are wrapped with promises of high rates of returns.”

“The victims who invested in this scheme may never be made whole again, but hopefully they can take some solace in the FBI’s commitment to hold McClintock, and anyone else who is motivated by greed, accountable for their actions,” said J. C. Hacker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Unfortunately this case is a sad reminder to investors to be very careful where they entrust their hard earned money.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: McClintock and a co-conspirator, Diane Alexander, operated a Ponzi scheme until being shut down by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the fall of 2012. McClintock and Alexander began the scheme as early as 2003, when McClintock signed up the first investors. McClintock was portrayed as the U.S. National Director of the “Trust,” a European based entity that purportedly engaged in various banking activities. Alexander first participated as an investor, and then became McClintock’s salesperson, portrayed as a “Regional Director” (although there is no evidence of any other directors).

McClintock and Alexander ultimately raised over $20 million from approximately 220 people nationwide for loans to the Trust. They offered 38 percent annual returns and told potential investors that their funds were sent to Europe for use in a variety of banking activities that purportedly generated profits sufficient to pay the promised returns. McClintock and Alexander also offered referral fees to investors as an incentive to recruit new investors.

In reality, McClintock pooled money from investors in U.S. bank accounts and used it to pay the promised returns and referral fees. In addition, McClintock and Alexander used investor funds for their personal benefit. McClintock took approximately $1.5 million in investor funds, withdrawing $285,000 in cash and also using funds to purchase a car, gold coins, solar panels for his home, costumes for a musical show, and other personal uses, including payment of property taxes.

There was no evidence that any money went to or came back from Europe, or of any real returns or profits from any actual investment, much less in amounts necessary to meet promises made to investors. When their scheme was terminated, over 160 investors incurred losses in excess of $11 million. 

Billy Wayne McClintock, 76, of Bradenton, Florida has been sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,100,111.76.  McClintock was found guilty by a jury on January 25, 2018.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Douglas W. Gilfillan, Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S Attorney Alex R. Sistla prosecuted the case.

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

ATLANTA - Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, a former software development manager for Equifax, was arraigned today on federal charges of insider trading for allegedly using information entrusted to him to purchase put options and turn a profit when the news of the data breach was made public.  A grand jury previously indicted Jun Ying, a former chief information officer of Equifax U.S. Information Solutions, on charges of insider trading relating to the data breach.  Ying pleaded not guilty on March 15, 2018.

“Bonthu allegedly took advantage of his position to profit while members of the public were unaware of the data breach at Equifax,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “The integrity of the stock markets are jeopardized when greedy individuals who are entrusted with nonpublic information use the knowledge for their benefit.”

“Company insiders must follow the same rules that govern investors, otherwise their actions undermine the public’s confidence in the nation’s stock markets,” said J. C. Hacker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “To maintain a fair and equitable stock market for everyone, the FBI will do everything in its power to hold those accountable who would choose to take advantage of their inside knowledge.”

“As alleged in our complaint, Bonthu used confidential information to determine that his company had suffered a massive data breach and then illegally profited from it,” said Richard R. Best, Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Atlanta Regional Office.  “Corporate employees cannot take advantage of their access to sensitive information and unlawfully benefit from it.” 

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 development manager for Equifax’s Global Consumer Services team in August 2017.  In that role, he was entrusted with information that allegedly resulted in him concluding that Equifax was the victim of a data breach.  On August 25, 2017, Bonthu and other Equifax employees were asked to assist in responding to the breach, although he was not directly informed that Equifax had been breached.  On August 25, 2017, Bonthu was informed that the target date for announcing the breach publicly was September 6, 2017.  Around August 30, 2017, Bonthu learned that approximately 100 million individuals’ information was exposed as part of the breach and that the data included names and Social Security numbers.  The next day, Bonthu received an email related to his work on the breach with a file attached named “EFXDatabreach.postman_collection.”  “EFX” is the stock ticker symbol for Equifax.

On September 1, 2017, Bonthu bought 86 put options in Equifax stock that expired on September 15, 2017.  Those put options allowed him to profit if the value of Equifax stock dropped within that two-week period. Equifax publicly disclosed the data breach on September 7, 2017, and its stock fell the next day.  Bonthu then exercised his put options, realizing a profit of more than $75,000.

Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, 44, of Atlanta, Georgia was arraigned on a criminal information before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman, after waiving his right to be indicted by a federal grand jury.

Members of the public are reminded that an information and an indictment only contain charges.  A 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, with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynsey M. 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 - Joseph Racine and Arnouse Merlien have pleaded guilty to 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 is the owner of JSR Westend Tax Services, located in Atlanta, Georgia and JSR Tax Services, located in Greenacres, Florida. 

“These defendants defrauded taxpayers of over $3,500,000 by falsely claiming tax credits and expenses on tax returns,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Tax preparers and others who steal from the public fisc by deliberately devising schemes to cheat the system will be vigorously prosecuted.”

“The IRS uses all of its investigative resources to uncover abusive tax return preparers who knowingly file fraudulent tax returns for the benefit of themselves and others,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “The IRS is actively pursuing these bad return preparers and are holding them accountable for their criminal actions.”  

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 $3,500,000.

Sentencings for Joseph Racine, 37, and Arnouse Merlien, 40, both of Boynton Beach, Florida, have been scheduled for September 6, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Leigh M. May.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Herskowitz 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 - Raphael Menard and Leshanda Hunte have been sentenced to federal prison for running a tax refund scheme using the stolen identities of disabled and elderly taxpayers and causing more than a $250,000 loss to the government. 

“Menard and Hunte preyed on elderly and disabled citizens who were the most vulnerable and the least likely to report the defendants’ crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “As those who perpetrate these types of crimes become more creative, citizens must closely monitor their own personal information to avoid becoming another victim of their schemes.”

“The defendants purposefully targeted our more vulnerable citizens and used that to their advantage in perpetrating the fraud scheme,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “The defendants’ lack of compassion and disregard for this segment of the citizenry continues to drive our commitment to investigating these matters as we partner with the United States Attorney’s Office in the reduction of identity theft crimes in the area.”    

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Starting in 2011, Menard and Hunte ran a fraud scheme that involved filing fraudulent federal income tax returns in the names of other people.  This scheme netted over $250,000 for the defendants.  Menard and Hunte targeted disabled and elderly victims who did not file income tax returns and would not report the theft of their identities to the IRS.  Some of the tax returns were filed using the identities of people who had recently died.

Menard and Hunte shared responsibility for perpetrating their illegal scheme and used the ill-gotten proceeds to finance a lavish personal lifestyle, including travel and large retail purchases.  The scheme unraveled after employees at Chase Bank noticed the suspicious deposits and froze the couple’s joint accounts.  This led Hunte to go to the bank and demand the release of the stolen money, telling bank employees that she was a tax preparer and the refunds belonged to her clients. In reality, none of the victims knew Hunte or Menard, and the defendants were not registered tax preparers. 

On October 31, 2012, Hunte brought a relative to the bank who presented fake identification in the name of one of Hunte’s victims, causing the bank to release over $8,500 in cash to Hunte.  Two days later, Menard attempted to pull off the same scheme, but was arrested after bank employees spotted the fake identification.  Menard’s arrest led to the seizure of the money that remained in the defendants’ bank accounts and launched an IRS investigation that uncovered the extent of their scheme. 

Raphael Menard, 33, of Marietta, Georgia has been sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Menard pleaded guilty to conspiracy and theft of government money on January 10, 2018.

Leshanda Hunte, 34, of Marietta, Georgia has been sentenced to two years, six months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.  Hunte was found guilty of conspiracy and theft of government money by a jury on February 16, 2018.

Menard and Hunte were ordered to pay restitution to the government in the amount of $206,564.04. 

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trevor Wilmot and Samir Kaushal 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 - Carrie N. Harris, a former Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for an employee-owned construction company based in Lithonia, Georgia has been arraigned on federal charges for embezzling more than $1 million from her employer to pay for her personal expenses.  Harris was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 12, 2018.

“Harris allegedly abused her position as the Chief Financial Officer for an employee-owned company, stealing more than $1 million to enrich herself,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “As thieves get more and more creative, employers must build in checks and balances to avoid turning over the ‘keys’ to the kingdom.” 

“Theft of assets from an employee-owned company jeopardizes the benefits of workers,” said Isabel Colon, Regional Director of Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Atlanta Regional Office. “This case reaffirms the U.S. Department of Labor’s commitment to protect workers’ benefits by identifying criminal activity wherever and whenever it occurs.”

“Harris is accused of abusing the trust of the company which hired her, causing significant losses to her fellow employees,” said J.C. Hacker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will hold anyone accountable who chooses to line their pockets at the expense of the companies they work for.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court:  Between 2008 and 2013, Harris allegedly used her position as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of an employee-owned construction company to steal more than $1 million by issuing over 100 checks to pay for her personal expenses, including nearly $250,000 in flights, cruises, and other vacation expenses, more than $100,000 in cash withdrawals, and more than $100,000 in retail purchases.  She caused the checks to be issued to pay for these expenses by using the President’s signature without authorization.  The checks she allegedly issued to pay her personal expenses ranged from $4,500 to $17,000.  Harris allegedly concealed her fraud from the company by falsifying entries on the company’s check register and general ledger. 

Carrie N. Harris, 53, of Jackson, Georgia was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker on federal charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.  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 Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan J. Huschka 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 - A former employee of a U.S. government contractor in Afghanistan was sentenced today for accepting illegal kickbacks from an Afghan subcontractor in return for his assistance in obtaining subcontracts on U.S. government contracts.

U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak of the Northern District of Georgia; Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge John Khin of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Southeast Field Office, Atlanta Resident Agency; Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig of DCIS’ Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko; Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU); Acting Special Agent in Charge J.C. Hacker of the FBI Atlanta Resident Agency and Special Agent in Charge Wendell W. Palmer of Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), made the announcement.

Christopher McCray, 55, of Jonesboro, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee, was sentenced in Atlanta by U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen of the Northern District of Georgia to five months in federal prison, with five months home detention, three years of supervised release, and 200 hours of community service.  McCray pleaded guilty to one count of accepting illegal kickbacks on March 5, 2018.  He was charged in an indictment filed on April 25, 2017 in the Northern District of Georgia with one count of conspiracy to accept kickbacks and 14 counts of accepting illegal kickbacks.

As part of his plea, McCray admitted that he was employed as the country manager for a subcontractor of an American company that was moving cargo for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service from Bagram Airfield to military bases through Afghanistan.  When the prime contractor needed McCray’s employer to take a much bigger role in the distribution, McCray had the chance to influence the choice of the necessary Afghan trucking company as a subcontractor to his employer.  McCray’s employer entered into a subcontract with an Afghan company but before the choice of the subcontractor was made, the Afghan trucking company secretly agreed to kick back to McCray 15 percent of the revenues it would receive on the contract, he admitted.  McCray thereafter remained as the only representative of his employer in Afghanistan for the duration of the subcontract and was responsible for checking the accuracy of the invoices submitted to McCray’s employer and the quality of the Afghan company’s work, all while secretly receiving the kickbacks, he admitted.

McCray received the secret payments from December 2012 to May 2014.  He and the Afghan trucking company also maintained a separate set of invoices, which showed the amounts charged to McCray’s employer and the amounts kept by the Afghan company and the amounts sent to McCray.  McCray was first paid in cash, then by wires sent to his bank in Atlanta and then by Western Union payments sent to his mother, who would deposit the funds, mostly in cash, into McCray’s bank accounts, he admitted.

DCIS, SIGAR, Army CID-MPFU, the FBI and Air Force OSI investigated this matter.  Trial Attorney James Gelber of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pearce of the Northern District of 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 – Jong Sung (“John”) Kim has been sentenced to federal prison after being convicted by a jury on two counts of interfering with commerce by extortion.  Kim served as a lieutenant for Eugene Chung, the former leader of a gang that specialized in the violent collection of debts from business owners in the Korean community in Gwinnett County.  As a result of Kim’s conviction, immigration proceedings will commence against him to determine whether he will be removed from the country.  Eugene Chung, Athith (“Andy”) Vorasith, Thomas Jungwon (“Tommy”) Lee, and Ye El (“David”) Choi were previously sentenced for their crimes.

“These gang members were professionals at extortion, maiming, injuring, and threatening to kill anyone who did not bend to their demands,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Legitimate business owners were paralyzed with fear at the thought of this gang visiting them.  The community is much safer now that Kim and his fellow gang members are off the street.”

“The Korean community in Gwinnett County is safer now that these gang members are off the streets,” said J.C. Hacker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It would not have been the case had brave community members not been willing to take a stand and work with federal agents and prosecutors in order to put a stop to the violence and terror they had sown in the community.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court:  Members of Kim’s gang conspired with each other and others to extort money and property from legitimate business people, using threats, force, violence, and firearms in furtherance of their criminal enterprise.  In about July 2009, Chung and his crew visited the Gah Bin Korean bar and restaurant in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and demanded a monthly share of the restaurant’s profits from the bar’s owner (referred to as “Victim # 1” in the indictments) in exchange for “protection.”  Chung promised that, unless Victim #1 made the demanded payments, Chung and his crew would assault Victim #1, harass his customers and employees, and otherwise damage the restaurant.  To reinforce their threats, Chung told Victim #1 that his crew routinely carried firearms and terrorized other Korean businesses in the community.

Over the next four months, Chung and his criminal associates strong-armed Victim #1 into making monthly protection payments, ranging from $400 to $800.  On December 16, 2009, after Victim #1 missed making a monthly payment, Chung, Vorasith, and Kim showed up at Gah Bin, assaulted Victim #1 in one of the restaurant’s karaoke rooms, and demanded payment.  Chung threatened to kill Victim #1 if he did not pay.  Chung pulled out a semi-automatic pistol, pointed it at Victim #1, and threatened to pull the trigger.  Vorasith punched Victim #1 in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious.

Shortly after the December 16th assault, the FBI opened an investigation, and Victim #1 resumed making protection payments under FBI surveillance, including two payments that were made to Kim for Chung.  These payments were the basis of Kim’s counts of conviction.

On September 17, 2013, a federal grand jury in Atlanta returned a 13-count indictment charging Chung, Vorasith, Kim, Choi, and Lee with extortion, drug trafficking, and firearms offenses.  After extensive pretrial litigation, each of the five defendants was convicted and sentenced as follows:

●Jong Sung (“John”) Kim, 53, of Suwanee, Georgia, was sentenced on June 12, 2018, to one year, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and 160 hours of community service.  He was convicted by a jury on March 2, 2017, on two counts of interfering with commerce by extortion.  Kim was acquitted on two other extortion counts, including a conspiracy count. 

●Eugene Thomas Chung, 44, of Duluth, Georgia, was sentenced on May 19, 2017, to 10 years, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Chung was also ordered to pay restitution of $8,500 to Victim # 1.  Chung pleaded guilty on February 4, 2016, via plea agreement, to two counts of interfering with commerce by extortion. 

●Athith (“Andy”) Vorasith, 37, of Auburn, Georgia, was sentenced on July 11, 2016 to seven years, three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Vorasith was also ordered to pay restitution of $8,500 to Victim # 1.  He pleaded guilty on February 4, 2016, via plea agreement, to two counts of interfering with commerce by extortion.

●Thomas Jungwon (“Tommy”) Lee, 37, of Duluth, Georgia, was sentenced on May 16, 2017, to one year, 10 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  He pleaded guilty on February 16, 2017, via plea agreement, to one count of interfering with commerce by extortion. 

●Ye El (“David”) Choi, 34, of Norcross, Georgia, was sentenced on June 16, 2017, to one year, three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  He pleaded guilty on February 13, 2015, via plea agreement, to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion.   

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Ghose, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Scott Ferber, and former Emory Law School Extern Joshua E. Orlan 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 - Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a/k/a La Barbie, who was born in the U.S. and rose to be a high-level leader of Mexico’s Beltran-Leyva Cartel, has been sentenced to 49 years and one month in federal prison on charges of cocaine trafficking and money laundering.

“Valdez-Villareal imported tons of cocaine into the U.S. while ruthlessly working his way up the ranks of one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels, leaving in his wake countless lives destroyed by drugs and violence,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “He will now go to federal prison for nearly the rest of his life.  The highest levels of Mexican drug cartel should know that, like La Barbie, they will be held accountable for their crimes.”

“Edgar Valdez-Villareal a/k/a “La Barbie” was once a powerful and high-ranking member of the Mexico-based Sinaloa and Arturo Beltran-Leyva Drug Cartels,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.  “Valdez-Villareal engaged in two decades of drug trafficking crimes and reigned with immeasurable acts of violence and intimidation. His ruthless and violent drug trafficking activities posed a significant threat to the quality of life in our country and elsewhere. The lengthy sentence he received makes the U.S. a safer place. DEA wants to thank its local, state, federal, regional, national and foreign (especially the government of Mexico) law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia for making this extraordinary case a success.” 

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: As early as the year 2000, Valdez-Villareal began his drug trafficking career as a marijuana distributor in Laredo, Texas.  He soon developed cocaine customers in New Orleans and Memphis, and his activities escalated into regular shipments of 150-180 kilograms of cocaine to distributors in multiple cities.  Valdez-Villareal eventually entered into a relationship with Arturo Beltran-Leyva, who was then associated with the Sinaloa Cartel and Joaquin Guzman-Loera, a/k/a “El Chapo,” in Mexico.  With their support, Valdez-Villareal began coordinating shipments of cocaine into Mexico from Colombia and other South American countries using speedboats and airplanes, while also paying bribes to local law enforcement officials.  The cocaine was then transported across the border into the U.S. to Valdez-Villareal’s distributors.  At the same time, Valdez-Villareal became a top-level enforcer for the cartel and coordinated a war against his rivals, the Gulf Cartel and Zetas in Mexico.

In 2004, Valdez-Villareal and his partners sought out a more formalized distribution organization for their cocaine customers in Memphis and Atlanta.  Valdez-Villareal obtained cocaine from Colombia, exported the cocaine from Mexico to customers located in the U.S. in tractor trailer loads of up to 300 kilograms twice per week, then arranged for currency to be smuggled back across the border to the organization’s supervisors in Mexico.  In Atlanta alone, the organization distributed a total of 1,500 kilograms of cocaine in just six months in 2005.  DEA agents were able to build the case against Valdez-Villareal using wiretaps, seizures of over 100 kilograms of cocaine and $4 million of drug proceeds, and witness testimony.

Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a/k/a La Barbie, 44, of Laredo, Texas has been sentenced to 49 years and one month in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit the sum of $192,000,000, by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr.  Valdez-Villareal was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and conspiracy to launder money on January 6, 2016, after he entered a guilty plea.

This case was investigated by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Former U.S. Attorney John Horn, Assistant U.S Attorney Elizabeth M. Hathaway, Chief of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett L. Bradford prosecuted the case.  The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance with this case.

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.  Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

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.com.

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 – Signature HealthCARE, LLC (“Signature”), a Louisville, Kentucky based company that owns and operates approximately 125 skilled nursing facilities, including facilities in Georgia, has agreed to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims to Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services that were not reasonable, necessary, and skilled. Under the settlement agreement, Signature has agreed to pay more than $30 million.

The government’s investigation concerning Signature’s policies and practices, including whether unrealistic financial goals and scheduling therapy to achieve the highest reimbursement level regardless of the clinical needs of its patients, resulted in Signature providing and billing for unreasonable, unnecessary, and unskilled services for Medicare patients. 

 “Our most vulnerable citizens are put at risk when healthcare providers put their financial interests above their patients’ needs and valuable federal funds are diverted from where they are surely needed,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “This settlement demonstrates our commitment to pursuing healthcare providers who provide unnecessary care to advance their bottom line.” 

“Today’s settlement demonstrates our continuing efforts to protect patients and taxpayer by ensuring that the care provided to beneficiaries of government-funded healthcare programs is dictated by clinical needs, not a provider’s fiscal interests,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Nursing home facilities provide important services to our elderly, and those facilities must uphold the trust placed in them by billing the government only for reasonable and necessary services.”

“Corporate goals should never get in the way of providing necessary quality healthcare,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  “The OIG will continue to protect taxpayer dollars and vulnerable recipients of government healthcare programs.”

The message is clear, if you take advantage of programs like Medicare you will be held accountable,” said Murang Pak, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Companies who engage in filing false claims to generate more corporate revenue are not only stealing from the federal taxpayer, but also from people who rely on federally funded programs for their health care needs.”

The settlement resolves an investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and allegations filed in a lawsuit by Kristi Emerson and LeeAnn Tuesca, former Signature therapy employees, in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee. The case is captioned United States ex rel. Emerson and Tuesca v. Signature HealthCARE, LLC, et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-00027 (M.D. Tenn.). The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in this case. Ms. Emerson and Ms. Tuesca will receive a portion of the recovered funds.

The settlement also resolves allegations that Signature submitted forged certifications of patient need for skilled nursing care to the State of Tennessee’s Medicaid program.

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

This case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lena Amanti (Northern District of Georgia), Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Ehrlinspiel (Middle District of Tennessee), and Christelle Klovers (Commercial Litigation Branch).

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.

Attachments:

Signature Healtcare Settlement Agreement

Signature HealthCARE, LLC (Signature), a Louisville, Kentucky based company that owns and operates approximately 115 skilled nursing facilities, including 7 in middle Tennessee, has agreed to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims to Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services that were not reasonable, necessary and skilled, the Department of Justice announced today.  The settlement also resolves allegations that Signature submitted forged pre-admission certifications of patient need for skilled nursing to the state of Tennessee’s Medicaid program.  Under the settlement agreements, Signature has agreed to pay more than $30 million.  As part of the resolution, the State of Tennessee will receive a portion of the overall settlement.  

“Today’s settlement demonstrates our continuing efforts to protect patients and taxpayer by ensuring that the care provided to beneficiaries of government-funded healthcare programs is dictated by clinical needs, not a provider’s fiscal interests,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Nursing home facilities provide important services to our elderly, and those facilities must uphold the trust placed in them by billing the government only for reasonable and necessary services.”

The government alleged that Signature engaged in various practices that resulted in the submission of claims for unreasonable, unnecessary, and unskilled services to Medicare patients, including: (1) presumptively placing patients in the highest therapy reimbursement level, rather than relying on individualized evaluations to determine the level of care most suitable for each patient’s clinical needs; (2) providing the minimum number of minutes required to bill at a given reimbursement level while discouraging the provision of additional therapy beyond that minimum threshold; and, (3) pressuring therapists and patients to complete the planned minutes of therapy even when patients were sick or declined to participate in therapy.   

“Health care providers who engage in deceptive practices place patients at unnecessary risk and contribute to the financial distress of our federal healthcare programs,” said U.S. Attorney Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee.  “Our dedicated teams of civil enforcement attorneys will work tirelessly with the relators who report fraud such as this and with our law enforcement partners who investigate healthcare fraud.  When we determine that companies are cheating the taxpayers, we will hold them accountable as we have in this case.” 

“Our most vulnerable citizens are put at risk when healthcare providers put their financial interests above their patients’ needs and valuable federal funds are diverted from where they are surely needed,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak for the Northern District of Georgia. “This settlement demonstrates our commitment to pursuing healthcare providers who provide unnecessary care to advance their bottom line.”  

“Signature was charged with illegally boosting profits by providing excessive amounts of therapy to patients whether they needed it or not,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “The decision to provide therapy should never be based on corporate financial considerations rather than a patient’s medical needs.”

The settlement resolves allegations filed in a lawsuit by Kristi Emerson and LeeAnn Tuesca, former Signature therapy employees, in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee.  The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.  The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in this case.  Ms. Emerson and Ms. Tuesca will receive a portion of the recovered funds.

The settlements were the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Tennessee and the Northern District of Georgia, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.  Trial Attorneys Christelle Klovers and Denise Barnes of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, Assistant United States Attorney Sarah K. Bogni of the Middle District of Tennessee, and Assistant United States Attorney Lena Amanti of the Northern District of Georgia represent the United States.  Assistant Attorney General Philip Bangle represents the State of Tennessee.     

  The case is captioned United States ex rel. Emerson and Tuesca v. Signature HealthCARE, LLC, et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-00027 (M.D. Tenn.).  The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

ATLANTA - Benjamin Jenkins, a/k/a “Rei,” a/k/a “Reithe8th,” a/k/a “Dani Domo,” has been arraigned on federal charges for producing and distributing child pornography after he allegedly lured more than 100 young girls into sending him explicit photographs and videos.  In retaliation against the girls who opposed his demands, Jenkins made violent threats against the victims, posted pornographic pictures of them on social media, and sent sexually-explicit photos to their friends and family.

“Jenkins allegedly used various social media sites to lure young girls into sending him child pornography,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “He is accused of acting as a predator who terrorized his young victims by threatening to post their photographs online, unless they sent him more sexually-explicit videos and pictures.  Parents and children should continually be aware of the masked dangers predators pose on social media.”

“Homeland Security Investigations will continue to fight child sexual exploitation as one of its highest priorities and will track any individual who chooses to prey on the most vulnerable in our society with every tool at our disposal,” said Atlanta Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan. “This case should also serve as a reminder to all that online predators are always searching for new victims.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Beginning in 2015, Jenkins allegedly used different identities to contact girls between the ages of 12 and 16 years. To lure the girls, he would send them a pornographic photo and persuade them to send a sexually-explicit photo of themselves in return. After a girl sent him a photo, Jenkins would threaten her into sending him more photos and videos.  Jenkins instructed the girls on what body parts to show, what poses to make, and what objects to insert into their bodies.  Jenkins further humiliated his victims by coercing them to send him videos of them drinking their own urine or licking toilets. He also forced his victims to watch him masturbate.  

When a girl blocked Jenkins online, he sent her explicit photos to her parents and friends.  On one occasion, he posted a compromising photo of a girl to her high school Twitter page.  Jenkins also posted his victim’s nude photos and contact information online with messages for men to contact the girls directly for more photos.  In total, Jenkins sextorted more than 100 girls.

Benjamin Jenkins, a/k/a “Rei,” a/k/a “Reithe8th,” a/k/a “Dani Domo,” 23, of Mableton, Georgia was charged with 13 counts of producing child pornography and five counts of distributing child pornography.  Jenkins was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 23, 2018.  The court ordered that Jenkins be kept in custody until trial.

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. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Division.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul R. Jones and L. Skye Davis are prosecuting the case.

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

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

ATLANTA - Victor Aguirre-Rodriguez was sentenced today to federal prison for his role in a Mexican methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking organization that distributed approximately 100 kilograms of methamphetamine per week (valued at $1.75 million per week) in the Atlanta area.  Aguirre-Rodriguez was convicted by a federal jury on February 16, 2018. 

“Aguirre-Rodriguez was a member of an illegal organization that flooded the Atlanta area with $1.75 million of methamphetamine per week while hiding on the other end of a cell phone in Mexico,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “These high-level traffickers are not protected by technology or their distance from Atlanta when they send poison into our community.”

“These arrests and convictions are an excellent example of how DEA is committed to working with our state and local partners to eliminate drug trafficking in our local communities, no matter where these criminals try to hide,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “The DEA and its law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to continue to bring justice to those responsible for putting this poison on our streets.”

“The impact of taking down these traffickers is immense,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “We’re glad our joint efforts led to shutting down this high-level operation that was dumping millions of dollars of methamphetamine and cocaine onto our streets. Our relationship with our federal and state partners proves once again to be vital in stopping drug traffickers and detouring others from coming to our city.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court:  Victor Aguirre-Rodriguez was a member of a Mexico-based drug-trafficking organization (“DTO”) with a foothold in the Atlanta area that was seeking to establish a large-volume cocaine distribution chain to the U.S.  Aguirre-Rodriguez began negotiating on behalf of the DTO via telephone from Mexico with Colombian cocaine suppliers. 

Unbeknownst to Aguirre-Rodriguez, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) had infiltrated the Colombian suppliers.  As the cocaine negotiations continued, Aguirre-Rodriguez invited the Colombians to expand their business model to include the distribution of methamphetamine.  The DTO had been distributing approximately 100 kilograms of methamphetamine per week in the Atlanta area at $17,500 per kilogram, and planned to reinvest those profits into its cocaine distribution line.

DEA agents within the Colombian group agreed to purchase the methamphetamine.  Aguirre-Rodriguez and DEA agents set up an initial deal for ten kilograms of methamphetamine in exchange for $175,000.  Agents planned to drop off a car at Best Friend Park in Gwinnett County, Georgia, where a DTO member would then pick up the car, load it with the ten kilograms of methamphetamine, and return the drug-laden car in exchange for the cash. 

The Georgia State Patrol, working in conjunction with the DEA, intercepted the car and seized all ten kilograms of methamphetamine.  DEA agents then arrested the driver, Joaquin Tirado.  Agents also executed a federal search warrant for the DTO’s suspected drug stash house in Norcross, Georgia, where an additional seven kilograms of methamphetamine were seized and Nolver Noel Molina-Gonzalez, who was guarding the house, was arrested.  DEA agents arrested a third DTO member, Jose Luis Guillen-Torres, a/k/a Primo, who was on his way to collect the $175,000 payment. 

At the time of these arrests, Aguirre-Rodriguez could not be located and the DEA issued a worldwide notice for law enforcement to be on the lookout for him.  Three years passed before Aguirre-Rodriguez was arrested on cocaine charges in Chicago, Illinois. 

Members of the organization who have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. are:

●Victor Aguirre-Rodriguez, 41, of Nayarit, Mexico was sentenced to 20 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.  Aguirre-Rodriguez was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

●Jose Luis Guillen-Torres, a/k/a/ Primo, 30, of Guerrero, Mexico was previously sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised released.  Guillen-Torres pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on June 4, 2013.

●Joaquin Tirado, 29, of Los Angeles, California was previously sentenced to 15 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised released.  Tirado pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking on June 3, 2013.

●Nolver Noel Molina-Gonzalez, 34, of Guerrero, Mexico was previously sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised released.  Molina-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on June 13, 2013.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Atlanta Police Department, with valuable assistance from the Georgia State Patrol.

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy.  OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan M. Christian and Garrett L. Bradford 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 – Janet West, a former vice president at Cox Communications, was sentenced to two years, one month in federal prison for her part in an embezzlement scheme that cost the company millions of dollars. 

“This greedy defendant misused her high-ranking position to deceive and steal millions of dollars from her employer,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “She then used the money to fund her own lifestyle, including paying for two houses she owned.  Whether the defendant is in the public or the private sector, unauthorized use of funds belonging to others for personal gain is a crime.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: West was in charge of a nationwide field marketing plan to bring gigabit speed connections to markets throughout the U.S.  Beginning in 2011, West directed her assistant to make payments, on the assistant’s corporate credit card, to a third-party company for supposed marketing services.  In reality, a significant portion of the marketing services never occurred and the majority of the payments for the services were covertly transferred back to the defendant.  The defendant caused Cox Communications to make payments to the third party, totaling $2.4 million.

West repeatedly falsified conflict of interest certifications with Cox Communications, failing to disclose the payments she made to herself.  The defendant used the embezzled funds for her own personal benefit, including making payments on two houses she owned in Arizona. 

Janet West, 49, of Paradise Valley, Arizona, was sentenced two years, one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  West was also ordered to forfeit her interest in the two properties and to pay full restitution to the victim. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Thomas J. Krepp, Chief of the Data Analytics Unit – Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S Attorney Kelly K. Connors prosecuted the case.

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

ATLANTA - Errol Alfred, a/k/a “Major,” and Kerry Fernandez, a/k/a “Trini,” have been sentenced for their respective roles in illegally purchasing and trafficking at least 36 firearms from Georgia to Trinidad and Tobago during a one-year period. Jordan Dunham, a co-defendant in the case, has also been sentenced for illegally purchasing some of the shipped firearms for the two men.

“Our office is committed to identifying and stopping the flow of firearms into the illegal black market,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “These individuals had no regard for the safety of the citizens here or abroad when they smuggled their illegally purchased firearms for personal gain.”

“The unlawful acquisition and trafficking of firearms is a serious crime that feeds and intensifies the violence that plagues so many communities here and abroad,” said Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta. “This investigation illustrates the collective resolve of ATF and its law enforcement partners to stem the flow of illegal firearms within the U. S. or anywhere these criminals choose to operate.” 

“In this case, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, Atlanta Resident Office worked closely with the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and ATF to disrupt a smuggling scheme to illegally export firearms,” said Robert Luzzi, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Export Enforcement.  “We will continue to aggressively pursue arrests and convictions that, as in this case, ultimately shut down such illegal export schemes.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Between August 2013 and September 2014, Alfred and Fernandez purchased at least 36 firearms from a local firearms licensee for the purpose of shipping the firearms to Trinidad and Tobago for resale.  To avoid detection by law enforcement, Alfred and Fernandez used “straw purchasers” to buy many of the firearms on their behalf.  Alfred subsequently hid the illegally purchased guns in shipping barrels (unbeknownst to the shipping company), and Alfred and Fernandez then smuggled the weapons to Trinidad, where an unknown associate sold the firearms for profit.

The defendants were sentenced for the following offenses:

●Errol Alfred, a/k/a “Major,” 40, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced to five years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on May 30, 2018.  Alfred pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle firearms out of the U.S., submitting false or misleading export information, delivery of firearms to a common carrier for international shipment without written notice, fifteen counts of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, and two counts of access device fraud on February 6, 2018.

●Kerry Fernandez, a/k/a “Trini,” 34, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on April 19, 2018.  Fernandez pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle firearms out of the U.S, and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm on June 22, 2017.

●Jordan Dunham, 26 of Norcross, Georgia was sentenced to six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on April 19, 2018. Dunham pleaded guilty to two counts of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm on August 17, 2017.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Skye Davis 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 - Cathine Lavina Sellers was sentenced to three years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and two synthetic opioids, furanyl-fentanyl and U-47700. 

 “This drug dealer deliberately disguised pills to make them look like oxycodone tablets, laced them with deadly fentanyl and two synthetic opioids, and then sold the fake pills out of her residence in Roswell,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “These counterfeit pills posed a particular danger to our communities, as they are comparably 50 times more potent than prescription oxycodone and present a substantially higher risk of overdose.” 

“The dangerous substance fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin,” said “Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.  “Furanyl-fentanyl was designed by foreign chemists, as an effort to subvert the controlled substances laws, but nonetheless is extraordinarily powerful. These dangerous substances, when added to street pills, have caused scores of deaths across this nation. DEA’s job is to protect its citizens from these substances. The true spirit of federal, state and local law enforcement cooperation led to the successful prosecution of this case.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: On June 13, 2017, Sellers sold approximately 100 pills for $1,400 in cash from her Roswell townhouse to a confidential source working with the DEA.  Later that night, DEA agents searched Sellers’s townhouse and retrieved the money from the earlier transaction, and they found approximately 100 more counterfeit pills concealed in a dietary supplement bottle.  Agents also found a loaded Glock handgun and two magazines.  DEA agents arrested Sellers that night. A DEA lab test revealed the counterfeit pills contained furany-fentanyl, U-47700 and fentanyl; none of these substances are present in legitimate oxycodone tablets.  The counterfeit pills are similar in appearance to a legitimate 30mg Roxicodone tablet, except they are a slightly lighter color of blue than the regular pills.   

Cathine Lavina Sellers, 39, of Roswell, Georgia has been sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.   Sellers was convicted on these charges on January 30, 2018, after she pleaded guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. DeGenova 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 – Kai Brockington pleaded guilty in federal court to mail fraud and tax fraud for running a bogus charity that duped multiple large corporations into sending him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Brockington defrauded a number of companies that were seeking to better their communities through charitable donation matching programs,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Rather than using the money to provide healthcare for low- income individuals, he selfishly spent the money on himself and his family.

“Legitimate charities rely on the generosity of donors to carry out their humanitarian missions. Because of his audacity to seek personal benefit, Brockington’s undermined the benevolent intentions of every charity,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI hopes his upcoming sentencing will send a message to anyone with similar intentions.”

“It is our mission to deter the illegal use of the mail for any criminal activity,” said Craig Goldberg, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Denver District. “We are committed to working together with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who would attempt to mask their criminal activity through the use of the mail.”

“Conspiring to defraud the government with an elaborate scheme to falsify charitable deductions is unlawful,” stated Gabriel L. Grchan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation St. Paul Field Office.  “Mr. Brockington’s plea serves as an important reminder that the U.S. Attorney's Office and IRS Criminal Investigation are committed to bringing to justice those who commit and undertake such fraudulent schemes. Corporate officials hold positions of trust not only in their companies, but also in the eyes of the public. IRS CI will do everything we can to hold individuals accountable to the same tax laws that they are subject to, ensuring that our tax system is fair to everyone."

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Brockington was the primary operator of “Our Genesis Project,” a non-profit entity that supposedly provided healthcare to underprivileged recipients.  In reality, Our Genesis Project never conducted actual charitable work.  Beginning in 2013, Brockington caused employees of several large companies to falsely tell their employers that they had donated money to Our Genesis Project.  These large companies had programs that permitted their employees to donate money to a charity and request that the company match those donations. 

From 2013 through 2017, these large companies donated approximately $668,000 to Our Genesis Project through charitable matching programs.  Instead of using the donations for charitable endeavors, Brockington spent the funds on himself and his family members to purchase jewelry, expensive clothing, trips to Italy and Disney World, as well as making renovations to his family home and paying for other living expenses. 

During this time period, Brockington repeatedly filed false tax returns with the IRS.  This included false federal income tax returns that failed to account for the money he was earning from this scheme, as well as charity returns that falsely claimed Our Genesis Project was donating these funds for community grants, community activities, and community expenses.  Additionally, Brockington filed for personal bankruptcy in 2015 and failed to disclose the substantial sums of money he earned from this fraud scheme. 

Kai Brockington, 36, of Dallas, Georgia, pleaded guilty on May 23, 2018 to mail fraud and willfully filing a false federal income tax return. His sentencing is scheduled for August 22, 2018.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Krepp is prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Rank, of the District of Minnesota, provided invaluable assistance during the course of the investigation. 

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

ATLANTA - Wendell Lamar Senior, a/k/a “Dareal Chico,” has been indicted by a federal grand jury for assaulting a federal officer, possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possessing firearms while under indictment.

“The accusations in this case are especially egregious, as the defendant allegedly shot at a house occupied by a woman and her children, struck a federal law enforcement officer while eluding authorities, and abducted two children prior to his eventual arrest,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “This case is an excellent example of federal and local law enforcement officers working together to apprehend a violent and dangerous criminal.”

“This case is not only an example of the threat alleged violent offenders pose to the public while on the run, but also the threat they pose to the FBI agents and task force officers who try to apprehend them,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Despite that threat, the FBI’s Atlanta Metro Major Offender (AMMO) Task Force is determined to protect our citizens by removing the most violent criminal offenders from our streets.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: On February 16, 2018, a state grand jury in Fulton County indicted Senior for aggravated assault in connection with a shooting of an apartment occupied by a woman and her three children. March 26, 2018, FBI agents accompanied Atlanta Police Department officers to arrest Senior, at which time, he allegedly jumped from a two-story window, struck an FBI Task Force Officer, and fled.

On April 11, 2018, local law enforcement officers saw Senior driving two children to a gas station after he abducted them. The police arrested Senior inside the gas station, while rescuing the children from the car.  The officers recovered marijuana, a scale, $2,050 in cash, and two firearms inside the vehicle. At the time of arrest, Senior was under indictment for the assault charge in Fulton County and possession with intent to distribute marijuana in Cherokee County.

Wendell Lamar Senior, a/k/a “Dareal Chico,” 27, of Atlanta, Georgia was indicted on May 22, 2018, by a federal grand jury for assaulting a federal officer, possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possessing firearms while under indictment.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph A. Plummer 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.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta also recommends that 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.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Eduardo Estrada Medina, a/k/a Miguel Angel Donis-Gonzalez was sentenced to 20 years in prison for trafficking firearms and methamphetamine.  Medina, a citizen of Guatemala, illegally re-entered the U.S. after being deported, purchased several weapons and trafficked in methamphetamine.

“Medina was previously deported in 2013 as a result of his drug offenses, but returned to the U.S. to continue trafficking drugs and guns,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. Pak.  “The illegal drug business and guns are frequent companions in crime, but we will continue to relentlessly pursue criminals like Medina who blatantly disregard our laws and threaten our communities with these kind of criminal activities.”

“This sentence is a direct message to criminals that ATF will not allow egregious violations of our laws to go unpunished,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt of the ATF Atlanta Field Division. “If you traffic guns and drugs, you will be targeted, and we will ensure that you are prosecuted and removed from our streets.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: On June 6, 2017, Medina was arrested at his residence when ATF agents observed him take possession of a firearm that was transferred to him by an individual the agents knew to be prohibited from possessing firearms.  The agents obtained and executed a federal search warrant at Medina’s residence, finding 8.8 kilograms of methamphetamine, $160,000 cash, a heat sealer, a money counter, three ledgers, baggies, scales, phones, and eight guns in his bedroom.  Medina was deported in January 2013 after he was convicted of drug trafficking.  He then illegally re-entered the U.S.

Eduardo Estrada Medina, a/k/a Miguel Angel Donis-Gonzalez, 29, of Winder, Georgia was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release on May 21, 2018. Medina pleaded guilty on February 28, 2018 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Keen and Stephanie Gabay-Smith prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends that 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 – Dr. Joseph L. Burton, a former county medical examiner and forensic pathologist, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to illegally distribute opioid painkillers in exchange for sexual favors.  Dr. Burton was indicted federally along with seven other individuals in February 2018; five of those individuals have also pleaded guilty to similar charges.  This case was presented as a part of Operation SCOPE, (Strategically Combatting Opioids through Prosecution and Enforcement), an initiative that targets individuals who illegally prescribe opioids and drug traffickers who also distribute these dangerous and addictive drugs.

“This defendant traded prescriptions for sex and is responsible for distributing thousands of doses of dangerous opioids within our community,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “We are grateful for the dedicated work of our local and federal law enforcement partners who are equally committed to the arrest and prosecution of those who seek to profit from unlawfully distributing these drugs.” 

“This guilty plea is a shining example of the great working relationship that DEA has with its law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the DEA.  “In the wake of this country’s prescription opioid epidemic, DEA’s top priority is to investigate individuals like Dr. Burton who egregiously violate the law by illegally prescribing prescription opioids (66,000 oxycodone pills) in exchange for sexual favors. He prescribed these pills even though he was not regularly seeing patients or operating a medical facility. The community is now safer because of his prosecution.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: Dr. Burton, a licensed physician, operated as a consulting pathologist to determine the medical causes of diseases and death.  Federal agents began investigating Dr. Burton after agents with the Georgia Drug & Narcotics Agency and the Georgia Composite Medical Board visited him in early 2017 and discovered that he was prescribing painkillers to a large number of patients without operating a medical clinic or regularly seeing patients.  Beginning in July 2015, for an approximate two-year period, Dr. Burton issued over 1,100 opioid prescriptions, which amounted to over 108,000 individual doses, including over 66,000 30mg oxycodone pills.  Dr. Burton prescribed opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone, irrespective of any legitimate medical purpose and outside the normal course of professional practice, in exchange for sexual favors and romantic affection. 

Dr. Burton prescribed opioids to individuals without conducting a thorough examination, and on occasion, without meeting them at all.  Co-defendants Jennifer Hunter, Rhonda Haugland, and Tiffany Willis each engaged in a sexual relationship with Dr. Burton in exchange for prescriptions in their names, as well as the names of others.  Hunter, Haugland, and Willis would fill their prescriptions and sell the pills, and then obtain more prescriptions from Burton for other people, who paid them for getting the prescriptions.  Dr. Burton also supplied the co-defendants with blank prescriptions and instructed them on how to fill them out.         

Joseph Lawson Burton, 73, of Milton, Georgia, pleaded guilty to the offense of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances outside of the normal course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose on May 22, 2018.  Burton’s sentencing is scheduled for August 29, 2018.

These following co-defendants have also pleaded guilty:

●Jennifer Hunter, 29, of Acworth, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances on May 2, 2018.  Hunter’s sentencing is scheduled for August 7, 2018.

●Tiffany Willis, 26, of Cartersville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances on May 2, 2018.  Willis’s sentencing is scheduled for August 7, 2018.

●Michelle Danner, 45, of Acworth, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances on May 15, 2018.  Danner’s sentencing is scheduled for August 9, 2018.

●Jerry Stephens, Jr., 30, of Cartersville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and one count of distribution and dispensation of a controlled substance on May 8, 2018.  Stephens’s sentencing is scheduled for August 9, 2018.

●Rodney Kennedy, 63, of Cartersville, Georgia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances on May 10, 2018.  Kennedy’s sentencing is scheduled for August 9, 2018.

This case is being investigated by the DEA.  The case is a coordinated effort with the Acworth Police Department, Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, Bartow County District Attorney’s Office, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, Cartersville Police Department, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office, Clayton County Police Department, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, Cobb County Police Department, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Floyd County District Attorney’s Office, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, Georgia Composite Medical Board, Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency, Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Jonesboro Police Department, Oakwood Police Department, Paulding County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rome Police Department.   

 Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. DeGenova and C. Brock Brockington, Deputy Chief of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section 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 - Derrick Douglas, a/k/a “Dre”, has been sentenced for conspiring to sell heroin to minors and young adults who traveled from North Georgia to the English Avenue community to purchase drugs. Douglas also sold fentanyl, a particularly deadly narcotic, to an undercover officer.

“Douglas sold heroin to high school students and young adults who traveled from North Georgia to English Avenue specifically to purchase drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “We are committed to working with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to aggressively target and dismantle drug trafficking operations and to combating the devastation drug activity brings to our communities.”

“Today’s sentence demonstrates ATF’s continued dedication to identify and arrest the individuals who commit crimes that threaten the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta.  “ATF and our law enforcement partners will continue to reduce violent crime by arresting criminals, such as Douglas, who have no regard for the future of our children or for the safety of the communities in which they live.” 

“This conviction demonstrates the great work of law enforcement at all levels in the fight against Georgia’s opioid epidemic,” said Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan.  “The GBI is committed to working with our local and federal partners in drug enforcement no matter where the crimes occur.”

“The Union County Sheriff’s Office was fortunate to be able to have played a small part of this successful operation.” said Sheriff Mason.  “It saddens me to see the negative affects this drug has on the young people today.   I appreciate the working relations shared between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and numerous other agencies in order to achieve a successful outcome.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: As part of an ongoing heroin trafficking investigation in North Georgia, the Union County Sheriff’s Office learned that high school students and young adults from Union County, Georgia, were traveling from four to six hours a week to the English Avenue neighborhood of Atlanta to purchase heroin from an individual known as “Dre” – later identified as Derrick Douglas.  Investigators confirmed that Douglas was selling between one half to a gram of heroin to each of his young customers at a cost of $100-$150 dollars. Investigators determined that most of Douglas’s identified customers were younger than 21 years old, and at least one of them was a minor.

Douglas knew that many of these young people returned to Union County to distribute the heroin. Douglas was arrested on June 23, 2017.  In or around September 2016 through June 23, 2017, he distributed more than 80 grams of heroin to these young people. On January 25, 2017, he also sold fentanyl to an undercover officer employed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Derrick Douglas, a/k/a “Dre”, age 31, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by six years of supervised release.  Douglas pleaded guilty on November 29, 2017, to conspiracy to sell heroin to individuals under 21 years old.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Atlanta Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Union County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel R. Boatright 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 Chenault has been sentenced  for failing to register as a sex offender after he moved to Georgia from Oregon.  Chenault was convicted in Oregon of attempt to commit rape and sexual abuse.

“Citizens have a right to know if they live or work near a registered sex offender,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “This is a matter of public safety. Chenault's sentencing shows that those sex offenders who come to Georgia, but choose not to register will be held accountable for their failure to comply with the law.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act requires people who commit certain sex crimes to register as sex offenders regardless of what state they live in or what state they move to. In June 1992, Chenault lured a 14-year-old girl to a field in Oregon where he raped her and threatened to harm her if she told anyone. He was convicted in November 1992 of attempt to commit rape and sexual abuse. His conviction required him to register as a sex offender. He did in fact register in Oregon when he was released from prison, and he continued to register through December 2013.

However, by February 13, 2015, Chenault moved to Georgia and he never informed law enforcement in Oregon that he was leaving that state, nor did he register as a sex offender while living in Georgia.

Timothy Chenault, 48, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced on May 21, 2018 to two years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.  Chenault was convicted failing to register as a sex offender on February 21, 2018, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.

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

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the 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 – Jeffrey E. Roberts was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for attempted enticement of a minor and possession of child pornography.

“Through their constant vigilance, our federal and state law enforcement partners have stopped yet another individual who attempted to prey on a minor through the internet,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Those who target children should know they will be exposed and prosecuted.”

“It is fortunate that Roberts’s predatory efforts connected him to an undercover agent and not an innocent child,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The lengthy prison sentence he received reflects the seriousness of his crimes and the threat he posed to the community.”

“This conviction illustrates the great work of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute crimes against children,” said Director Vernon Keenan of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  “The GBI is committed to working with our local, state, and federal partners in pursuing those who use the internet to prey upon and exploit child victims.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court:  On May 4, 2017, Roberts was arrested after he corresponded with an undercover agent regarding a planned sexual encounter with an adolescent female.  The investigation began on April 20, 2017 when Roberts responded to an ad posted on Craigslist. 

In subsequent communications, Roberts claimed he had experience with sexual encounters with children and made plans to meet the fictitious adolescent.  On May 4, 2017, Roberts travelled to meet the minor child for the planned sexual encounter.  A laptop computer, which Roberts brought with him to the encounter, was seized at the time of his arrest and later found to contain child pornography. 

Jeffrey E. Roberts, 48, of Woodstock, Georgia was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release on May 16, 2018, by U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen.  Roberts was convicted on these charges on February 14, 2018, after he entered a guilty plea.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Morris prosecuted the case.

To report information regarding child sexual exploitation, including child pornography or online enticement of children for sex acts, please contact the CybertipLine at www.cybertipline.com or by calling 1-800-843-5678.

This case was 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 – Titus Bates has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for assaulting a federal officer, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and being a felon in possession of a firearm after he shot a member of the U.S. Marshals Services’ Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (“SERFTF”) who was attempting to execute search and arrest warrants at his residence.

“Titus Bates has no regard for the law or life. He is a seven-time convicted felon who nearly killed officers attempting to arrest him and search his residence,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “We are thankful that the Marshals Service Task Force Officer survived the shooting and we are reminded of the dangers our law enforcement partners encounter every day.”     

“We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the ATF in obtaining this conviction for Bates, who is a career offender with gang affiliations.  This event reemphasizes the danger all law enforcement personnel face every day in an effort to keep communities safe from violent criminals. Violence against those who swear an oath to protect the public will not be tolerated” said Chief Inspector Keith Booker with the U.S. Marshals.

“Titus Bates is a very violent individual who displays a total lack of concern for the lives of others.  This sentence represents the seriousness of his crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta. “This sentence also ensures that Bates will not be able to hurt or terrorize anyone else for a very long time.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and evidence presented at trial: On November 21, 2013, members of the U.S. Marshals Services’ SERFTF attempted to execute arrest and search warrants issued by Fulton County for Bates’s residence in Atlanta.  An entry team knocked and announced their presence, but Bates did not answer.  As Marshals attempted to make entry into the residence, Bates shot twice through the closed door.  One of the shots hit a neighbor’s house, and the other shot struck a U.S. Marshal Task Force Officer in the leg.  The law enforcement team at the residence did not return fire. Instead they focused on removing the task force officer from the scene and rushing him to the hospital.  They also continued with their mission to apprehend Bates.

Inside the house, Bates tossed a .45 caliber pistol with an extended clip, which he used to shoot the task force officer, down a vent in the living room. ATF agents searched Bates’s home, and found over seven pounds of marijuana, scales, cash, and other drug-related items. 

Titus Bates, 43, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced to 30 years in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release on May 17, 2018.  A jury convicted Bates of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence on December 14, 2017.  Prior to trial, Bates pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute marijuana on November 9, 2017. 

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phyllis Clerk and Ryan K. Buchanan 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 - Dawn Anderson, a/k/a “Prestige,” a federally licensed firearms dealer in Atlanta, doing business as Distincvision, LLC, a/k/a “Liquidation Outlet Center,” was sentenced today for making false entries in the records required to be kept by federal firearms dealers.  Shawn Lewis, an employee at LOC and co-defendant, was previously sentenced for his role in the offense.

“This firearms dealer and her company made it possible for criminals to obtain dangerous weapons by allowing felons to buy firearms through straw purchasers,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Federal firearms dealers who violate the law and endanger our communities by enabling straw purchasers to unlawfully obtain guns for criminals will be prosecuted, lose their federal firearms licenses, and businesses.”

“Many gun dealers are law abiding business owners and members of our community.  They work hard to build success, promote commerce and support our rights.  However, when a gun dealer chooses to ignore our laws and regulations and decides to provide guns to prohibited individuals it places our entire community in harm’s way,” said Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta.  “This sentence should serve as notice to those individuals who choose to circumvent federal and local laws for personal gain.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Dawn Anderson, a/k/a “Prestige,” obtained a federal firearms dealer license on August 14, 2013, under the name Distincvision, LLC, d/b/a Liquidation Outlet Center (“LOC”).  LOC was located in the Greenbriar Discount Mall in Atlanta.  As the holder of a federal firearms license, Anderson was required to maintain a record, in the form of a completed ATF Form 4473, that included the actual buyer’s name, home address and date of birth.  The instructions on the Form 4473 warn that “any person who transfers a firearm to any person he/she knows or has reasonable cause to believe is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm violates the law, even if the transferor/seller has complied with the federal background check requirements.”  The instructions also warned that the “seller of a firearm must determine the lawfulness of the transaction and maintain proper records of the transactions.”   

ATF agents began investigating LOC after receiving information that felons were able to obtain firearms from LOC after informing Anderson or store employees, including co-defendant Shawn Lewis, that they were convicted felons. LOC employees circumvented the federal requirements for gun sales by illegally allowing straw purchasers to buy the firearms.

During the course of the investigation, ATF agents learned that on June 30, 2016, a convicted felon purchased a .40 caliber firearm from LOC after the felon told store clerks about his criminal history. The LOC clerks allowed the felon’s female companion to purchase the firearm as a straw purchaser. On August 4, 2016, a convicted felon failed a background check, but a LOC store clerk allowed him to purchase a 9mm pistol using his female companion as the straw purchaser.  On December 2, 2016, Dawn Anderson sold a 9mm pistol to a convicted felon. After the felon failed a background check, Anderson allowed the felon’s female companion to purchase the firearm for him.  

On May 15, 2017, ATF agents executed a search warrant at LOC.  The agents seized 280 firearms and more than 69,000 rounds of ammunition during the search. Anderson forfeited all of the seized firearms and ammunition and LOC was forced to close.

From November 25, 2014 through February 11, 2018, investigators recovered more than 180 firearms purchased from LOC from crime scenes in multiple states, including Georgia, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, DC, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, California, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and South Carolina. 

Dawn Anderson, a/k/a “Prestige,” 51, of Atlanta, Georgia has been sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service.  Anderson pleaded guilty knowingly making false entries in the records required to be kept by a federal firearms dealer on February 14, 2018.

Shawn Lewis, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia was previously sentenced to six months of probation and 40 hours of community service on April 19, 2018. Lewis pleaded guilty to knowingly making false entries in the records required to be kept by a federal firearms dealer on January 29, 2018.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine M. Hoffer and Jolee Porter 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 – Kent Igleheart, a former Roswell, Georgia city councilman, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for multiple counts of producing, receiving, and possessing child pornography.

“Igleheart violated the public’s trust with his heinous conduct and possibly caused long-lasting harm to his victims” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “U.S. Judge District Judge Amy Totenberg described the defendant’s conduct as ‘taking a knife’ and ‘producing a deep wound in the lives of the four minors.’ Igleheart’s lengthy prison sentence reflects the seriousness of his exploitation of young girls for his sexual interest.”

“The pain and harm caused to the children, victimized by this so-called community leader, are irreparable. There is no sentence that can lessen their anguish,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Rest assured, the FBI led Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force (MATCH) will continue to devote significant resources to pursuing anyone who chooses to prey on our community’s children.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and evidence presented at court: In October 2016, E.B. then 17 years old, contacted the DeKalb County Internet Crimes Against Children Unit to report that she had been communicating online since she was 13 years old with someone who had portrayed himself to be 17 years old.  E.B. reported that she had exchanged sexually graphic photographs and had sexually explicit conversations with the individual. E.B. later discovered that the person with whom she was communicating was Igleheart – not the teenage boy depicted in Igleheart’s profile photograph.

Igleheart acknowledged that he and E.B. had exchanged sexually graphic photographs beginning when she was 13 years old.  He also booked a hotel and made plans to meet with E.B. on October 20, 2016, to engage in sexual activity with her. Investigators arrested him when he arrived at Northlake Mall, the pre-arranged location. DeKalb County investigators and the FBI conducted searches of Igleheart’s phones and computers and found some of the images that E.B. had produced and sent to the defendant at his request.

Searches of Igleheart’s phones and computers also revealed that he posed online as “Kent Allen,” presented himself as a teenage boy between the ages of 14 and 17 years, and engaged in sexually graphic communications with numerous teenage girls, some of whom were as young as 13 years old. During these conversations, Igleheart persuaded and enticed the girls to take photographs of their genitalia and videos of themselves engaging in sexual conduct and transmit the images to him via the Internet.

Kent Igleheart, 55, of Roswell, Georgia has been sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release by U.S. Judge District Judge Amy Totenberg. He must also register as a sex offender as a condition of his supervised release. Igleheart was convicted of four counts of producing child pornography, one count of receiving child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography on January 5, 2018, after he entered a guilty plea.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the DeKalb County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Yonette Buchanan and Richard S. Moultrie, Jr., prosecuted the case.

This case was 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 home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.

ROME, Ga. - Bryson-Taylor Wayne Banks, a former Cartersville, Georgia police officer, was sentenced to federal prison for notifying drug traffickers that the FBI was conducting a court-authorized wiretap of their phones.

“The defendant chose to protect a network of drug dealers and attempted to cover up his illegal conduct by sabotaging an FBI investigation,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “When those who are sworn to protect the public violate their oath, they will be prosecuted for their misconduct.”

“Not only did Banks violate the trust of the community he served as a law enforcement officer, he undermined an FBI investigation and put law enforcement officers in imminent danger,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “By choosing to align himself with drug dealers he has earned a sentence that will allow him to spend more time with them in prison.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2015, Banks, then an officer with the Cartersville Police Department and member of the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force, was investigating a number of drug traffickers operating in the Cartersville area, including Tomas Pineda Mendoza, using a female confidential source (“CS”) to obtain information about the network.  In cultivating his relationship with the CS, Banks improperly gave her information from law enforcement databases and illegally sent her a picture of another cooperating source.

Separately, the FBI was investigating an inmate in a Georgia state prison, Francisco Palacios Baras, a/k/a “Shorty,” who was using contraband cell phones to coordinate methamphetamine transactions outside of the prison.  Using a court-authorized wiretap on two of Shorty’s cell phones, the FBI learned that Mendoza was one of Shorty’s associates, and that Mendoza was scheduled to pick up two kilograms of methamphetamine.  The FBI also learned that the CS had been storing drugs for Mendoza.  The FBI planned to arrest Mendoza after he picked up the drugs, and to search the CS’s house.

The morning of the planned arrest, in the interest of sharing information and coordinating operations with fellow law enforcement agencies, an FBI agent informed Banks of the wiretap investigation and the plan to arrest Mendoza and search the CS’s house.  At that time, the FBI did not know that Banks had been illegally providing the CS with confidential information that allowed the drug traffickers to identify federal agents and other cooperating sources.  Banks, knowing that Mendoza was about to be arrested and that the CS’s house may contain drugs and evidence of the information Banks had illegally been providing to her, contacted his CS and instructed her to tell Mendoza to not pick up drugs that day because the FBI planned to arrest him.  Banks also told the CS that the FBI knew about Mendoza because they were wiretapping Shorty’s phones. 

Mendoza did not pick up the methamphetamine as planned, but was intercepted over the wiretap calling Shorty and telling him that “one of the girls” had warned Mendoza not to pick up the drugs.  Mendoza said that he had identified the agents watching his apartment, as “the girl” had warned, and that law enforcement was listening to Shorty’s phones.  Following this, Shorty stopped using the phones being wiretapped by the FBI.

With the arrest plan compromised, the surveillance team identified, and the wiretap exposed, the FBI agents had to take precautions for agents’ personal safety and try to rebuild the investigation.  Fortunately, the renewed investigation was ultimately successful, resulting in Shorty and Mendoza being arrested and sentenced to nine years and seven months and 10 years and 10 months of imprisonment, respectively, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. 

Bryson-Taylor Wayne Banks, 31, of Calhoun, Georgia was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Harold L. Murphy to one year, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Banks pleaded guilty to unlawful notification of electronic surveillance on March 1, 2018.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Herskowitz and Garrett Bradford 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 – Robert Gennaro, a medical assistant, has agreed to be excluded from federal healthcare programs for a period of 10 years to resolve allegations that he impersonated a physician when providing remote surgical monitoring services, causing the submission of false claims to the federal government. The effect of the exclusion is federal healthcare programs will not make any payments to Gennaro, or anyone who employs him, for any services provided by Gennaro.

“Gennaro put patients at risk by impersonating a physician when remotely monitoring the neurological health of patients during surgery,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Gennaro will now be excluded from participating in all federal healthcare programs for 10 years.”

“The health and safety of the public is a high priority for law enforcement,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta.  “Anyone who puts monetary gains above health and safety will be held accountable.”

“Not only did Gennaro put patients at risk, but his actions threatened the integrity of our healthcare system at the expense of honest citizens,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is determined to protect our citizens, and root out waste and abuse.”

The government alleges that Gennaro caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, TRICARE, and Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans for the online, real- time intraoperative monitoring of surgeries he observed (even though he is not a physician) and he falsely represented the surgeries had been monitored by Dr. Robert Windsor during the period from March 1, 2009 through July 31, 2013. Dr. Windsor was sentenced to three years, two months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release in connection with his role in the scheme.  Windsor also entered into a consent judgment with the U.S. for $20 million, settling the intraoperative monitoring conduct and allegations that he and his pain management clinics performed medically unnecessary diagnostic tests.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia by Kris Frankenberg under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. United States ex rel. Frankenberg v. Windsor et al., No. 1:12-cv-3114 (N.D. Ga.). Under the Act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery.

This settlement highlights a powerful tool to protect federal healthcare programs and beneficiaries and to hold accountable those who commit healthcare fraud—the exclusion authority of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Section 1128 of the Social Security Act gives HHS-OIG the authority to exclude individuals and entities from participation in federal healthcare programs for fraud or other misconduct.

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

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

The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lena Amanti.

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

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Elmer Swain Stewart was sentenced to federal prison on charges that he defrauded 18 individuals of more than $1 million after he persuaded them to invest their retirement savings in tracts of timber land.   

“Stewart’s victims trusted him with much of their retirement savings and gave him thousands of dollars to invest,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “In return, this greedy defendant stole from his investors and used their money to fund his lavish lifestyle.”

“Instead of living comfortably off their well-earned retirement investments, Stewart’s greed has caused these victims to worry about their future well-being,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The sentencing of Stewart will not make these victims whole again, but hopefully it sends a message that the FBI will continue to make it a priority to root out and punish anyone who preys on investors for their own selfish desires.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Stewart represented to potential investors that he was aware of tracts of land in Georgia and other states that had large timber stands that were available to harvest at auction to the highest bidder. Stewart told investors that he would give them the opportunity to invest with him in bidding on these timber tracts. Stewart told the investors they would need to give him earnest money or a down payment for the bid. If they won the bid, Stewart would then re-sell the timber rights for a profit or arrange to harvest the timber on the land for a profit. Stewart claimed that if he did not win the bid, the investors’ money would be returned. None of the investors received written confirmation or documentation that the bids were submitted or that the bids were accepted.   

Stewart’s representations that he would use his investors’ money as earnest money or down payments on timber bids were fraudulent.  Instead, Stewart used the investors’ money to pay for a lavish lifestyle for himself that he could not otherwise afford. Stewart lived on a horse farm valued at $1.5 million that he falsely claimed he owned. The investors’ money was used to pay rent on the property and for basic living expenses.  He also used the money for trips to Alaska, Hawaii, and other places.

When investors demanded Stewart return their money, the defendant falsely told the investors that he had rolled the money over into another timber bid or that their money had not been returned to him. Based on Stewart’s false representations, investors gave Stewart anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 per timber bid, totaling more than $1 million.

Elmer Swain Stewart, 67, of Cleveland, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard W. Story to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $218,000. Stewart pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on December 8, 2017.

“Swain Stewart swindled over $1 million from my husband and me and at least seventeen other victims,” said one of the victims. “Stewart used our money and the other investors’ money to take Hawaiian vacations, fishing trips to Alaska, and hunting trips out West. In doing so, he devastated our retirement and the retirements of many other people. Stewart’s actions demonstrate nothing but greed. I don’t know how he sleeps at night. What a legacy to leave for your family!” 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys William L. McKinnon, Jr. and John Ghose 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 - Paul James Marshall has been sentenced to federal prison after stealing nearly $3 million from more than a dozen, mostly elderly, investment clients.

“This defendant stole the life savings of retirees and seniors to fund his lavish lifestyle instead of investing his client’s money as promised,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Marshall’s fraud is unfortunately all too common and another reminder that citizens should use caution when investing their money.”

“Marshall’s sentencing will be little solace to the dozen victims who lost their life savings due to his greed and callous concern for their well-being,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “That’s why the FBI will continue to aggressively root out and prosecute anyone who undermines investor confidence by lining their own pockets at the expense of innocent victims.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In February 2011, Marshall formed an investment advisory firm, Bridge Securities LLC, in Atlanta. Marshall falsely promised clients that their funds would be invested in specific securities in JP Morgan accounts. Instead of placing his clients’ funds in their desired investments, Marshall deposited all funds into JP Morgan Chase checking accounts under his control. Marshall then plundered his clients’ savings to support his own lifestyle, including expenses for luxury trips, private school tuition, country club fees, and payments to his ex-wife. When clients sought information about their savings, Marshall either mailed fake account statements showing investment accounts, lied to them, or ignored their inquiries. In total, Marshall stole approximately $2.9 million from more than a dozen victims.

Paul James Marshall, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S District Judge Leigh Martin May to six years, nine months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,892,982.52.  Marshall was convicted of wire fraud on November 16, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan P. Kitchens 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 - Sandra J. Stevens, f/k/a “Sandra J. Putnam,” has been charged with abusing her position as a high-ranking member of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation by ringing up more than 325 personal charges, totaling over $60,000, on her government credit card.

“Based on her position and years of service, the GBI and the law enforcement community placed great trust in Stevens,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Unfortunately, Stevens broke that trust for her own personal gain.”

“The GBI supports the strong stand the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has taken in this case,” said Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan. “This indictment sends a clear message that public corruption will not be tolerated no matter who commits the act.  Sworn officers must obey the law while they enforce the law.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak and the indictment: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (“GBI”) is a statewide agency that provides assistance to the criminal justice system in the areas of criminal investigations, forensic laboratory services, and computerized criminal justice information.

In October 1994, Stevens joined the GBI as an Intelligence Technician.  On June 3, 1999, after becoming a Special Agent, Stevens took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitutions of the U.S. and the State of Georgia; to maintain public trust and abide by the GBI’s Code of Ethics; and to obey the laws of the land and the regulations of the GBI.

As a Special Agent with the GBI, Stevens held several high-ranking leadership positions, including being the Special Agent in Charge of the Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, where she supervised approximately 25 GBI employees; and an Inspector of the Investigative Division, where she supervised approximately 55 GBI employees. As the Inspector of the Investigative Division, Stevens earned more than $100,000 per year.

As a state agency, the GBI participates in Georgia’s Visa Purchasing Card (“P-Card”) Program.  P-Cards are credit cards provided to Georgia employees for official business purchases, such as supplies, materials, equipment, and services for official use. State policy expressly prohibits using P-Card for personal purchases.  P-Card users are required to reconcile all purchases by electronically uploading receipts for each P-Card transaction.

In 1998, the GBI issued Stevens a P-Card for business-related purchases and expenses. As P-Card holder, Stevens signed an agreement stating that “under no circumstances will [she] use the Purchasing Card to make personal purchases, either for [her]self or for others.”

From approximately May 9, 2013 to August 17, 2016, Stevens allegedly used her P-Card and the P-Cards of least six other GBI employees to make more than 325 unauthorized purchases of goods and services for her personal benefit or the personal benefit of others, including a seven-piece dining set, a corn hole game set, two chaise lounge chairs, and a 65-inch ultra HD smart television.

Stevens also allegedly submitted altered receipts to the GBI in which she changed the description of the items purchased, the addresses to which the items were shipped, or both the item description and the shipping address. For example, on May 27, 2016, Stevens used another GBI employee’s P-Card to order a sofa from Amazon.com that was delivered to her home in Covington, Georgia. Subsequently, Stevens submitted a false receipt to the GBI in which she misrepresented the item description as 12 anti-spyware software discs, rather than a sofa, and misrepresented the shipping address as the GBI’s Headquarters in Decatur, Georgia, rather than her home address.

In total, the GBI paid over $60,000 for more than 325 unauthorized purchases made by Stevens on GBI P-Cards. As a result of Stevens’s scheme to defraud, federal money from the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants was impacted.

A grand jury has charged Sandra J. Stevens, f/k/a “Sandra J. Putnam, 46, of Covington, Georgia, with four counts of mail fraud and three counts of federal program theft.  

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 Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S Attorneys Jeffrey W.  Davis and 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 –Trevor King, a former sergeant with the Atlanta Police Department, was sentenced to five years in prison for using excessive force when he arrested a Walmart shopper who King wrongfully suspected of shoplifting a tomato and for writing a false police report about the incident in an effort to cover up his crime. 

“King was punished today for willfully violating the Constitution by misusing his power to violently assault and injure an innocent man,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “To make matters worse, he wrote a false incident report in an attempt to make the victim sound like the aggressor.  King’s egregious misconduct is an affront to law enforcement officers who serve honorably and uphold their oath of office with integrity.”

“The defendant abused his authority as a police sergeant when he used a baton to brutally assault an innocent man and wrote a false report to cover up his crime,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore for the Civil Rights Division. “This sentence reflects the Department’s commitment to prosecuting official misconduct cases and sends a strong message that any abuse of power will not be tolerated.”

“It is our duty in the FBI to uphold our Constitution and laws, which prohibit law enforcement officers from willfully using excessive force against non-resistant subjects,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Had Sgt. King respected his authority, like the vast majority of his fellow law enforcement officers who serve and protect, he would have quickly realized an arrest was not merited.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other evidence presented during King’s trial: On the evening of October 13, 2014, the victim, Tyrone Carnegay, was grocery shopping at a downtown Atlanta Walmart.  After purchasing groceries, Carnegay returned to the produce aisle to weigh a tomato for which he believed he had been overcharged.  Sergeant King saw Carnegay on the store’s security monitor weighing the tomato, and then walking out of the store after placing the tomato back into a bag.  Suspecting that Carnegay was stealing the tomato, King drew his asp baton and stopped Carnegay at the store’s exit door.  Within seconds of the stop, King began to strike Carnegay on his legs with the metal baton.  After several blows, Carnegay fell to the floor.  As he lay on the floor, King delivered a final baton strike, causing a compound fracture to Carnegay’s leg.  After the assault, King found a receipt in Carnegay’s pocket for the groceries he had purchased, including the tomato.

King charged Carnegay with misdemeanor offenses for allegedly assaulting and obstructing a police officer, and authored a false police report justifying the beating.  In that report, King claimed that Carnegay had attempted to push past King and had reached for King’s gun belt before King delivered any baton strikes.

Following surgery for his broken leg, Carnegay was transported from the hospital to Fulton County Jail, where he was held for several days before being released.  The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office later dismissed the charges against him,

Trevor King, 50, of Acworth, Georgia was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones to five years in prison, followed by three years supervised release. King was convicted on December 8, 2017, following a jury trial.

This case was investigated by the Atlanta Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division.

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 – Two international computer hackers, Teodor Laurentiu Costea and Robert Codrut Dumitrescu, were extradited from Romania and arraigned on federal charges of wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, computer fraud and abuse, and aggravated identity theft.  A federal grand jury returned the 31-count superseding indictment on August 16, 2017.  Cosmin Draghici, another co-defendant, is in custody in Romania awaiting extradition to the U.S.

“While in Romania, the defendants allegedly targeted victims throughout the U.S., including in the Northern District of Georgia, stealing personal information and possibly causing millions of dollars in losses,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “These extraditions send a strong warning to cybercriminals and fraudsters worldwide, that we, along with our law enforcement partners, will work tirelessly to bring you to justice.”

 “Our message to the victims of cyber fraud is that the FBI won’t let geographic boundaries stop us from pursuing and prosecuting the persons who cause them tremendous financial pain,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Our message to the perpetrators of these crimes is that cybercriminals cannot hide in the shadows of the internet. We will identify them and bring them to justice.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: From approximately October 2011 until February 2014, Costea and Dumitrescu resided in Ploiesti, Romania.  An investigation revealed that Costea and Dumitrescu allegedly identified vulnerable computers in the U.S., and installed interactive voice response software that would automatically interact with call recipients.  In addition, the defendants allegedly utilized computers in the Atlanta area to install software to initiate thousands of automated telephone calls and text messages to victims in Atlanta and around the country. The messages purported to be from a financial institution and directed victims to call a telephone number due to a problem with their respective financial account. 

When victims called the telephone number, they were prompted by the interactive voice response software to enter their bank account numbers, PINs, and full or partial Social Security numbers. The stolen account numbers were stored on the compromised computers and accessed by Costea and Dumitrescu, who then allegedly sold or used the fraudulently obtained information with the assistance of Draghici.  

At the time of his arrest in Romania, Costea possessed 36,051 fraudulently obtained financial account numbers. The financial losses from the defendants’ scheme are estimated to be over $18 million.

Teodor Laurentiu Costea, 41, Robert Codrut Dumitrescu, 40, and Cosmin Draghici, 28 are all from Ploiesti, Romania. The charges result from the defendants’ alleged “vishing” and “smishing” attacks from Romania. “Vishing” is a type of phishing scheme that communicates a phishing message, that is, a message that purports to be from a legitimate source, in this case the victims’ banks, through a voice recording. “Smishing” is similar to “vishing,” but communicates a phishing message through text messages.

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 FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Herskowitz is prosecuting the case.

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

ATLANTA – Nathan VanBuren, a former Cumming police officer, was sentenced to federal prison for accepting bribes and unlawfully accessing a confidential law enforcement database. 

“VanBuren violated his oath of office and broke the laws he swore to uphold and enforce,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “His crimes undermine the hard work of his fellow officers, as well as the community’s trust and respect for police officers.”

“The actions of VanBuren are extremely disheartening to the many men and women in law enforcement, who work hard every day with integrity and commitment. The FBI will continue to dedicate significant resources toward investigating anyone who tarnishes their reputation by straying from his or her oath,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.

“It is paramount that public officials, especially sworn law enforcement officers, committing crimes be held accountable for their actions,” said Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan.  “The GBI will continue to work with our local and federal partners to ensure that corruption cases are aggressively investigated and prosecuted in order to maintain the faith and trust of the public.”  

“VanBuren betrayed the public trust and the trust of the hard working men and women of this agency, said Chief Casey Tatum, Cumming Police Department.  “Anytime a law enforcement officer uses their position to victimize someone, justice demands they be held accountable.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: In July 2015, VanBuren, in his official capacity as a police officer, responded to a 911 call at a home in Cumming, Georgia, at which time a citizen was arrested. In July and August 2015, VanBuren and the citizen had additional communications. During those communications, VanBuren asked the citizen for a loan claiming that his wages were being garnished and he had incurred financial debt due to his son’s medical and surgical expenses. In reality, VanBuren’s salary was not being garnished and his son was not ill. The citizen reported VanBuren’s actions and agreed to cooperate with law enforcement.

While cooperating with law enforcement, the citizen met with and provided VanBuren with $5,000 in response to VanBuren’s repeated requests for money. During that meeting, the citizen asked VanBuren to search a sensitive police database to determine whether an individual was an undercover police officer. In exchange for $1,000, VanBuren unlawfully accessed the law enforcement database and provided the results of that search to the citizen. VanBuren resigned before he was terminated by the Cumming Police Department.

Nathan VanBuren, 35, of Cumming, Georgia was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Orinda D. Evans to one year, six months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release. VanBuren was convicted of honest services wire fraud and computer fraud on October 26, 2017, after a jury trial.

This case was jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The Cumming Police Department and Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Brown 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 - Jorge Armando Ramirez-Lira, a/k/a Negro, a/k/a Jorge Beltran-Carillo, a/k/a Edgar Nava-Baltazar, was sentenced to an additional eight years and one month in prison for importing heroin into the U.S. from Colombia and laundering the drug proceeds.

“Ramirez-Lira, who is already in prison for drug trafficking crimes, used contraband cell phones to broker deals to smuggle heroin into the U.S. from Colombia disguised as jewelry and artwork,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Thanks to the cooperation between law enforcement officials from both the U.S. and Colombia this operation has been dismantled, leaving Ramirez-Lira with an even longer prison sentence.”

“DEA is fully committed to tirelessly pursuing criminals who sell large quantities of drugs, whether they’re selling them on the streets or inside a prison,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.  “This criminal was already serving time for drug trafficking and had the audacity to continue trafficking while incarcerated. His criminal acts has landed him even more deserving time in prison. The spirited level of law enforcement cooperation made this investigation a success.”

“Heroin is having a devastating effect on some of our communities in the City of Atlanta and throughout metro Atlanta,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “We’re grateful to our federal partners for the teamwork and assistance they provide our Department in helping heal our neighborhoods by putting the peddlers of this poison behind bars.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Ramirez-Lira was a member of a Medellin, Colombia-based international drug trafficking and money laundering organization that conspired to import large quantities of heroin from Colombia into the U.S., including the Atlanta area, and to export cocaine from Colombia into Europe.  The drug trafficking organization utilized drug sources throughout South America including in Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela, and then exported narcotics using commercial parcel carriers and Mexican logistics providers before distributing the narcotics in the U.S. and Europe.  The organization laundered drug trafficking proceeds from the U.S. back to Colombia.

Ramirez-Lira, an inmate in the federal correctional institution in Yazoo City, Mississippi, was an operative within the organization whose role was to serve as a broker, ensuring that the organization had wholesale buyers and trafficking networks throughout the U.S.  As a broker, from inside federal prison, Ramirez-Lira gained access to multiple contraband cellular telephones, which he used to facilitate the drug importation and distribution.  To disguise the heroin shipments, the organization employed an architectural designer, co-defendant Luis Felipe Garcia-Jiminez, who fashioned the heroin into artwork and jewelry.  DEA agents in the U.S. and in Colombia, working collaboratively with the Colombian National Police, seized multiple heroin shipments and ultimately identified members of the organization through wiretaps, surveillance, and analysis of financial and other documents. 

Members of the organization who have been sentenced to date include:

•Jorge Armando Ramirez-Lira, a/k/a Negro, a/k/a Jorge Beltran-Carillo, a/k/a Edgar Nava-Baltazar was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., to eight years and one month in prison, to be followed by ten years of supervised release.  Ramirez pleaded guilty to conspiring to import and distribute heroin and money laundering.

•Luis Fernando Ospina, a/k/a Caneco, was previously sentenced to 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised released.  Ospina pleaded guilty to conspiring to import and distribute heroin and money laundering after being arrested in Colombia in October 2013, and extradited to the U.S. in November 2014.

•Carlos Mario Duque-Gallego a/k/a Bunuelo, was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised released.  Duque-Gallego pleaded guilty to conspiring to import and distribute heroin after being arrested in the Southern District of Florida in October 2013.

•Jorge Yimis Marin-Giraldo a/k/a Carnal, was previously sentenced to seven years and three months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised released.  Marin-Giraldo pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin after being arrested in the Southern District of Florida in February 2014.

•Luis Felipe Garcia-Jiminez, a/k/a Pipe, was previously sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised released.  Garcia-Jiminez pleaded guilty to conspiring to import and distribute heroin after being arrested in Colombia in October 2013, and extradited to the U.S. in September 2014.

•Joel Lopez was previously sentenced to four years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised released.  Lopez pleaded guilty to conspiring to import heroin and money laundering after being arrested in the Northern District of Georgia in August 2013.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration in partnership with the Colombian National Police and the Atlanta Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan M. Christian and Garrett L. Bradford prosecuted the case.

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

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

ROME, Ga. - Shawn Ryan Budovic pleaded guilty in federal court to the production of child pornography after he lured and manipulated a minor into exchanging sexually explicit images online.

“Budovic operated as an online predator who targeted very young children for sexual exploitation,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “His conduct is especially egregious because he preyed upon a group of siblings, potentially causing irreparable harm to the victims individually and to the family collectively.”

“Individuals responsible for producing child pornography steal the innocence of children and further their re-victimization each time the evidence of that exploitation is shared online,” said Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan. “This case shows HSI investigators are actively working to identity and disrupt the trade of these illegal images, and also to identify and seek prosecution of the criminals who produce and possess them.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Budovic used the messenger application Kik to meet his former girlfriend when she was a minor. Budovic began an online relationship with the minor, and over time Budovic groomed her to believe that his sexual interest in children was normal.  He discussed his sexual interest in young children with his girlfriend and sent her images of child pornography.  Eventually, Budovic asked his minor girlfriend for sexually explicit photographs of her younger siblings, who were as young as three, five, and nine years old at the time.  At Budovic’s urging, the minor girlfriend ultimately sent him multiple sexually explicit photos of her three-year-old and nine-year-old sisters.  Homeland Security Investigations agents found pornographic photos of the children on Budovic’s phone when they executed a search warrant at his home.

Shawn Ryan Budovic, 28, of Cartersville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to the offense of production of child pornography on May 1, 2018.  He is facing a sentence of 25 years in prison, which is a binding sentencing recommendation pending approval by the Court.  Budovic’s sentencing is scheduled for July 13, 2018.

This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolee Porter is prosecuting 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.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Winston Wade Turner has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with mail and wire fraud for making false representations to investors in a biofuel scheme.

“Turner allegedly pitched a biofuel scheme to former clients he met through reputable brokerage firms,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Alternative energy sources like biofuel are sometimes a cover used by the unscrupulous to prey on investors seeking to put money in a potentially growing field. Turner is accused of luring investors with promises of immediate and profitable returns in a biofuel producer, which turned out to be a shell company of his own invention.” 

“This defendant is alleged to have preyed on seniors and retirees who were simply looking for safe and secure returns on their hard earned investments,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will continue to vigorously pursue those individuals who use false promises to capitalize financially at the expense of unsuspecting investors.”   

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: Beginning in July 2015, Turner represented to investors that he was a broker for “North American Bio Fuel,” a purported biofuel producer based in Bradenton, Florida.  Turner encouraged his victims, former clients from his previous employment at Metlife Securities, Inc. and Prudential, to invest funds in North American Bio Fuel.  In conversations with investors and later through a website, Turner represented that the company was an “up and coming company” already producing biofuel, at a time when it was in fact only a shell company.  The indictment alleges that Turner caused, and attempted to cause, wire transfers in the hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims for investment into this company and that Turner used investor funds for personal and other corporate purposes.

Turner, 48, of Jefferson, Georgia, was arraigned in federal court on April 26, 2018, and entered a not guilty plea.  Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains an allegation of criminal conduct. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charge 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, with assistance from the Hall County Fire Services.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pearce 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 - Michael Simpson was sentenced for assault and armed robbery of a confidential government informant who was assisting ATF agents as part of the Drug Market Initiative (“DMI”) in the English Avenue community.  Elgin Byrd was previously sentenced for his respective role in the illegal activity on February 27, 2018.

“These defendants will no longer perpetuate the cycle of drug and gun trafficking in the English Avenue community,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We are committed to working with our partners to eradicate drug trafficking in this community.”

 “Any individual who is brazen enough to commit an armed robbery poses a clear and present danger to our community.  This sentence sends an unequivocal message that this violence will not be tolerated.  ATF and its’ law enforcement partners will continue to identify, investigate and arrest criminals who choose to use guns to commit their crimes,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta.

“The City of Atlanta is making great strides in working to improve the English Avenue community and these arrests and convictions send a strong signal that such lawlessness and disregard for the community will not be tolerated,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “The Department’s strong partnership with our federal partners is vital to our long-term public safety goals here and elsewhere throughout the City.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court:  Between July 27, 2016 and August 3, 2016, a confidential informant repeatedly purchased heroin from Byrd at an apartment complex in the English Avenue community as part of an undercover government operation.  Byrd also brokered a gun sale for the confidential informant at the same apartment complex.  On August 9, 2016, Byrd agreed to sell the confidential informant three guns at his apartment complex. Byrd lured the confidential informant to his apartment under the guise of a gun sale so that Simpson could rob the informant of the payment.  While the confidential informant was waiting in Byrd’s apartment, Simpson retrieved a gun from another unit in the complex and waited behind the building for the confidential informant to walk outside. When the confidential informant left Byrd’s apartment, Simpson robbed the confidential informant at gunpoint and fled. Simpson made off with $600 in government funds and multiple forms of electronic surveillance equipment that had been provided to the confidential informant to record the controlled buy.

ATF agents conducting surveillance saw the robbery and immediately responded to rescue the confidential informant. Within hours, agents arrested Byrd in his apartment and found Simpson hiding in his mother’s attic in a nearby home.

●Michael Simpson, 25, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. to 14 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Simpson pleaded guilty to assaulting the confidential informant and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to that crime on November 28, 2017. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy, robbery of federal property, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on January 29, 2018.

●Elgin Byrd, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, was previously sentenced to 15 years and nine months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release on February 27, 2018. Byrd pleaded guilty to distributing heroin, as well as aiding and abetting the assault and robbery of the confidential informant and Simpson’s brandishing of a firearm during and in relation to that crime on September 19, 2017.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Hartigan 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 – Sean Demetrius West and Curry Anthony Love, Jr. were sentenced for their roles in a scheme to claim fraudulent tax refunds using bogus Form 1099s.  Darrel Asquith Palmes and Emory Leon Harris, Jr. were previously sentenced for their roles in the scheme.

“This case is a reminder that the government will identify and prosecute individuals who file fraudulent tax returns,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.   “When caught, you are facing a felony conviction, prison, and a judgment for the amount stolen from the Treasury.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation works vigorously to stop the issuance of these fraudulent tax refunds based on bogus Forms 1099. The criminals are inventing new ways to circumvent the system and the sentencings handed down in this investigation show the stiff penalties for doing so,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: West and Love, along with Harris, the organizer of the scheme, recruited taxpayers to file tax returns using bogus Form 1099s claiming a total of $2,688,591 in fraudulent refunds.  Harris and West introduced Palmes, a tax preparer, to the recruited taxpayers.  Harris and West provided Palmes with fake 1099s and other documents and Palmes in turn prepared the fraudulent returns.  These forms listed fictitious employers for the taxpayers and claimed hundreds of thousands in withholdings already paid to such employers.  The fictitious withholdings resulted in claimed refunds ranging from $134,990 to $1,000,000 for each taxpayer involved.  Love, who filed his own fraudulent tax return, was the only taxpayer whose return was processed for a refund.  The IRS identified and rejected six other fraudulent returns.

●Sean Demetrius West, 44, of Conyers, Georgia was sentenced to 18 months of home confinement and ordered to pay $435,990 in restitution. West pleaded guilty to interference with the administration of IRS laws on July 27, 2016.

●Curry Anthony Love, Jr., 51, of Lithonia, Georgia was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $435,990 in restitution.  Love pleaded guilty to making a false statement in a federal income tax return on November 2, 2017. 

●Darrell Asquith Palmes, 71, of Lake Worth, Florida, was sentenced to one year in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $435,990 in restitution on March 1, 2018. Palmes pleaded guilty to interference with the administration of IRS laws on July 24, 2017.

●Emory Leon Harris, Jr., 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to two years in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $435,990 in restitution on October 24, 2016. Harris pleaded guilty to interference with the administration of IRS laws on July, 26, 2016. 

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Michael 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 - Terrance Rainey, Talante Fisher-Bland, Brittni Dixon, Martavius Askew, and Donnisha Miles have been sentenced for their respective roles in illegally purchasing and trafficking 33 firearms from Georgia to New York. 

“Gun trafficking fuels violent crime and is a grave threat to our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The lengthy prison sentences received by these defendants should serve as a serious warning to others tempted to supply criminals with firearms by lying to licensed gun dealers.”

“One of ATF’s top priorities is to deny criminals access to firearms and protect the rights of law abiding citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta.  “These offenders illegally obtained and then trafficked firearms that could have been used to injure law abiding citizens and destroy the sanctity of our communities; ATF takes these threats very seriously.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In August 2016, the defendants engaged in a scheme to unlawfully purchase 33 firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer that they then trafficked to Rochester, New York. Fisher-Bland recruited Dixon and Askew to purchase guns for Parson and Rainey, a convicted felon. Rainey recruited Miles to purchase guns for him and Parson. The crew purchased the guns from Liquidation Outlet, a gun dealer in Atlanta. The defendants who made the gun purchases lied by swearing on ATF forms that they were purchasing the guns for themselves, when in fact, the guns were intended for other co-defendants who transported the firearms to New York. Law enforcement officers recovered several of the guns from convicted felons and others who used the firearms in committing various crimes in New York.

The defendants pleaded guilty to the following offenses:

●Terrance Rainey, 33, of Rochester, New York, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Rainey pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer, aiding and abetting the transfer of firearms to an out-of-state resident, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon on January 5, 2018.

●Talante Fisher-Bland, 25, of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Fisher-Bland pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer on January 5, 2018.

●Brittni Dixon, 25, of Jonesboro, Georgia, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer and was previously sentenced to four months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release on September 14, 2017.

●Martavius Askew, 25, of Meansville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer and was previously sentenced to one year and six months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release on October 16, 2017.

●Donnisha Miles, 23, of Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer and aiding and abetting the transfer of firearms to an out-of-state residence.  Miles was previously sentenced to one year and five months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on February 26, 2018.

●A sixth co-defendant, Latrell Parson, 22, of Rochester, New York pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer, and aiding and abetting the transfer of firearms to an out-of-state resident on January 10, 2018.  Parson will be sentenced on May 1, 2018.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Atlanta, Georgia, and Rochester, New York Field Divisions and the Rochester Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keen 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 - Sherman Jackson was sentenced today for unlawfully shipping firearms to more than 10 countries using an online vendor page “CherryFlavor” on the “darknet” website Black Market Reloaded (“BMR”).  William Jackson, Gerren Johnson, and Brendan Person were previously sentenced for their respective roles in the trafficking scheme.

“The defendants in this case sought to subvert the guns laws of the U.S. by illegally providing an underground source of firearms to individuals residing in foreign countries,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “This case demonstrates our commitment to pursue gun traffickers within and outside our borders and to prevent criminals from unlawfully supplying guns to others.”     

“This operation dismantled a major international gun trafficking organization,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta. “ATF and its law enforcement partners acted quickly and judiciously on information developed during the course of this investigation.  People who choose to commit this type of crime must understand that there are serious repercussions for the illegal trafficking of firearms.  Whether here at home in the U.S. or across international borders, ATF will remain on the frontline in identifying, investigating, and arresting anyone involved in firearms trafficking.”

“The defendants developed an illegal firearms trafficking scheme by concealing themselves through the anonymity of the dark web,” said Inspector in Charge David M. McGinnis of the Charlotte Division.  “The U.S. Postal Inspection is committed to combat cybercrime and we will continue to be vigilant in disrupting criminal organizations who illegally utilize the U.S. Postal Service.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Sherman Jackson initially created the online vendor page “CherryFlavor” on the “darknet” website “Black Market Reloaded” (BMR). This site operated on “The Onion Router,” also known as “TOR,” which provided virtual anonymity to its users to purchase illicit items, such as firearms. In early 2013, Sherman Jackson, William Jackson, Johnson, and Person began advertising various firearms for sale as CherryFlavor. The group acquired their inventory through domestic websites offering gun owners an online venue to sell firearms. The defendants then sold firearms to international buyers at extremely marked-up prices. For example, the defendants sold a Glock pistol for as much as $3,400 – a firearm normally sold for approximately $500.

In addition to using TOR, the defendants also concealed their illegal gun trafficking activities from law enforcement by requiring international customers to pay for firearms using the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, which prevented law enforcement from tracing financial transactions related to CherryFlavor’s gun sales. The defendants hid firearms inside electronic equipment shipped internationally to bypass U.S. and foreign customs.  CherryFlavor sold more than 70 firearms across the world.  Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives coordinated with its international law enforcement partners to recover firearms in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Zambia.

●Sherman Jackson, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg to one year, nine months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.  Jackson pleaded guilty to smuggling firearms from the U.S. on August 20, 2015.

●Gerren Johnson, 29, of Austell, Georgia was previously sentenced to two years and nine months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release.  He pleaded guilty to smuggling firearms from the U.S. on January 9, 2018. 

●Brendan Person, 29, Atlanta, Georgia was previously sentenced to two years and three months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release.  He pleaded guilty to smuggling firearms from the U.S. on January 31, 2017.

●William Jackson, 29, of East Point, Georgia was previously sentenced to two years on probation.  He pleaded guilty to smuggling goods from the U.S. on October 17, 2017. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The following agencies provided invaluable assistance that aided the investigation: the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs; the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom; the Ontario Provincial Police, the Toronto Police, the Durham Regional Police Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canada Border Services Agency in Canada; the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and Australian Federal Police; the Federal Judicial Police in Belgium; the Dutch National Undercover Team in the Netherlands; the Munich Police Service and the Wetterau Police Department in Germany; Vienna State Police in Austria; and the Swedish Customs and the Public Prosecution Authority in Sweden.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracia M.  King and Stephanie Gabay-Smith 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 - Daveon Brantley, a/k/a Swalay, and Amber Brinson were sentenced today to 22 years, one month and nine years, seven months, respectively, for sex trafficking a 13-year-old girl after she ran away from home.

“This couple trafficked a 13-year-old girl for commercial sex who they knew was a vulnerable runaway,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “We will continue to prosecute those who prey on and exploit children for commercial sex and we are leveraging partnerships with federal, state and local law enforcement, and non-governmental organizations to achieve justice and provide support services for the survivors of these crimes, as well as for their families.”  

“Thanks to our partnership with local law enforcement agencies and the willingness of a witness to come forward with information, the 13-year-old child was recovered safely and removed from a horrible situation,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Stopping human trafficking remains a top priority of federal, state and local agencies who are part of the FBI’s Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force (MATCH).”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Brantley encountered the 13-year-old victim after she ran away from home.  Brantley invited the child to his hotel room on Fulton Industrial Boulevard in Atlanta and directed his then-girlfriend, Brinson, to take nude photos of the child. Brantley and Brinson posted nine advertisements for sex with the minor on the website Backpage.com over several days in early June 2016.  The advertisements included nude photos of the girl. Brantley and Brinson proceeded to use the child for commercial sex acts for six days.  Brantley took the money that the minor victim earned. The Acworth Police Department recovered the minor from a hotel on June 7, 2016, after an acquaintance of Brantley’s and Brinson’s called the police and reported the location of the victim.  

Daveon Brantley, a/k/a Swalay, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 22 years, one month in federal prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,440. Brantley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit, and commission of, sex trafficking of a minor, production of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography on January 9, 2018.

Amber Brinson, 21, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to nine years, seven months in federal prison, to be followed by seven years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,440. Brinson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor on November 3, 2017.

Both defendants must register as sex offenders as a condition of their supervised release.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force (MATCH).

Assistant United States Attorney Jolee Porter 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 – Darrick Lawrence, a previously convicted felon, has been sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison, with one month credit for time served, for trafficking cocaine. Lawrence also faces charges in Virginia for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.  A search of Lawrence’s Decatur, Georgia home resulted in the recovery of cocaine, two high-powered rifles, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

“Lawrence created a sophisticated drug operation and funneled drug proceeds through 18 different bank accounts using a shell company,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “This lengthy prison sentence removes a violent felon from our streets and places him in federal prison while he awaits prosecution for a murder in Virginia.”

“The criminal history of Lawrence shows a complete and utter disregard for the lives of others as well as for their personal pursuits,” said ATF Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert Davis. “As an agency and a unified law enforcement community, we will not tolerate armed violent felons continually terrorizing and reducing the quality of life in our neighborhoods.”

“Drug traffickers often protect the poisonous fruits of their labor by engaging in acts of violence,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.  “The cache of weapons seized from this convicted felon validated his propensity towards violence. Because of the pinnacle of cooperation between DEA, its federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, this defendant is deserving of the sentence handed down today.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court:  On February 7, 2017, DeKalb County, Georgia, police officers and SWAT members executed a warrant to search Lawrence’s residence for evidence regarding a murder committed in Virginia. During the search, investigators recovered a stolen Anderson Manufacturing, model AM-15, .300 Blackout caliber rifle, an American Tactical, model Omni, 5.56mm caliber pistol, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and cocaine. At the time of the search, Lawrence was an eleven-time convicted felon, with prior convictions for robbery, assault, battery, and multiple violations of possessing with intent to distribute controlled substances. Investigators determined that Lawrence trafficked kilos of cocaine between Atlanta and Virginia.  He also created a shell company through which he funneled nearly a million dollars in drug proceeds using 18 banks accounts. Lawrence attempted to continue his drug trafficking operation while in federal and state prisons by directing members of his drug operation to communicate with him with prepaid “flip phones.”  

Darrick Lawrence, 39, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced 16 years and six months in prison, with one month credit for time served, to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones. He pleaded guilty to the offense of possession with intent to distribute cocaine on December 1, 2017. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the DeKalb Police Department, and the Henrico County Virginia Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dash A. Cooper and Kim S. Dammers 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.

ATLANTA – Melvin Thomas, a former prison guard at the Atlanta United States Penitentiary (“USP”) has pleaded guilty to accepting bribe payments in exchange for smuggling contraband into the prison.

“Corruption in prisons undermines the public’s faith in the criminal justice system and puts the safety of prison staff and inmates at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Thomas took bribes instead of honoring his oath.  He compromised his commitment to his fellow officers and the citizens who expect prison guards to have the utmost integrity.”

“The OIG remains committed to rooting out corruption within our federal prisons.  Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that those who betray the trust of their fellow correctional officers and citizens will face consequences for doing so,” stated Robert A. Bourbon, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s Miami Field Division.

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court:  From approximately July 2009 to April 2017, Thomas was a correctional officer at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. USP Atlanta is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. USP Atlanta prohibits inmates from using or possessing tobacco products. Nevertheless, as a prison guard, Thomas accepted several bribe payments from an inmate in exchange for smuggling tobacco into the prison. In total, the inmate paid Thomas approximately $3,500 for the contraband that he smuggled into the prison. 

On February 14, 2018, Melvin Thomas, 40, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, was charged via criminal information with the bribery of a public official. Sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. 

This case is being investigated by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Huschka 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 - Shandarrick Barnes was sentenced to three years and one month in prison, with five-months credit for time served, for obstructing justice in the federal corruption investigation involving City of Atlanta government.  Barnes threw a concrete block through the window of E.R. Mitchell’s home, and placed dead rodents on his porch and elsewhere hoping to stop his cooperation with federal law enforcement.

“Barnes thought he could thwart the City of Atlanta corruption investigation by throwing a concrete block through a federal witness’ window,’” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Instead, investigators became even more resolute in their efforts to root out a pay-to-play system that undermines the public’s trust in government.”

“Barnes used the tactic of fear to try to stop Mitchell from cooperating with FBI agents,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It is imperative that we send a strong message to anyone who would attempt to subvert law enforcement agents and officers in their search for the truth.”

“Witness intimidation is a serious crime and today’s sentence shows the consequences of obstructing a federal investigation,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “This investigation is ongoing and we encourage anyone with any information to come forward without fear of reprisal or intimidation.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court:  In late July 2015, special agents with IRS and the FBI approached E.R. Mitchell, Jr. for an interview relating to an ongoing investigation into corruption at the City of Atlanta.  During the meeting, agents discussed corruption allegations as well as potential tax improprieties.  Shortly after the IRS and FBI agents approached and interviewed him, Mitchell informed others that federal law enforcement had spoken with him and was asking questions. 

Mitchell was interviewed on September 2, 2015, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal agents and confessed to regularly paying “up-front money” for City of Atlanta contracts.  On September 8, 2015, Mitchell returned to the office and completed a second debriefing with prosecutors and agents. 

On September 11, 2015, at approximately 5:45 a.m., Barnes threw a concrete block with the words “ER, keep your mouth shut!” written on the side, through a plate glass window in Mitchell’s home.  When Mitchell emerged from the house to see who had thrown the block, he saw that dead rats had been placed on his porch, car and in his mailbox.  The police and FBI were summoned to the scene and law enforcement obtained security footage from the subdivision.  The video revealed a car that appeared to match Barnes’ vehicle left the area minutes after the block was thrown through the front window.  Further investigation by agents suggested that Barnes was involved. 

On July 13 and August 17, 2016, Barnes was interviewed by the FBI and IRS.  During the interviews, he admitted that he threw the concrete block through Mitchell’s window.  Barnes specifically acknowledged that he was aware of the investigation into Mitchell and others, and that agents had asked about Mitchell’s taxes as well as payments Mitchell made to businesses associated with Barnes’ employer.  He was well aware that Mitchell was actively cooperating with agents.  He said he was livid and his decision to throw the brick through Mitchell’s window was motived by his desire to hinder Mitchell’s communication with agents.  He said he felt that Mitchell’s communications to federal law enforcement would negatively affect his employer’s businesses.  Barnes was concerned that the communication with agents was detrimental to obtaining other business that he and others were actively seeking at that time.

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

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine and Jeffrey W. Davis, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section prosecuted the case.

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

NEWNAN, Ga. - C. Alana Vines was sentenced today for stealing over $400,000 from the church where she worked as a bookkeeper in Peachtree City, Georgia.

“Stealing from a church is a despicable crime,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “The defendant abused the trust that the church had placed in her, diverting over $400,000 of the congregation’s contributions for her own personal gain.  We hope that today’s federal prison sentence will bring some solace to the church and its members, and deter others who might consider stealing from vulnerable victims like churches and charitable organizations.”

“The U.S. Secret Service and our law enforcement partners will continue to take an aggressive approach to arrest criminals like Vines,” said Malcolm D. Wiley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office.  “In this case we were particularly resolved to bring to justice a person who chose to take advantage of unsuspecting members of the public in environments of reverence and trust.  Today’s sentence should be a warning to other like-minded criminals that manipulating and stealing from the American people will not go unpunished.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court:  The victim church, located in Peachtree City, Georgia, hired Vines as a bookkeeper, first as a temporary employee in March 2013 and then as a full-time employee beginning in August 2013.  In her position, Vines wrote checks, paid bills, made electronic bank transfers, made entries in the church’s accounting software, and prepared financial statements.

In 2017, the church hired an outside auditor to perform an examination of its books.  The auditor first noticed that the cash deposits in the bank were about $1,000 less than the amount that had been counted at the time of the collections.  The auditor interviewed Vines about this discrepancy.  She admitted to stealing about $1,000 from the church’s collections but stated that she had not stolen more. 

The ensuing investigation revealed, however, that Vines had written nearly $400,000 in checks to herself and to business entities with which she was affiliated, without the church’s knowledge or authorization.  In issuing the checks, Vines sometimes forged the signature of the church’s Treasurer on them.  She signed many of the fraudulent checks herself.  Vines falsely recorded many of these checks in the church’s accounting software to make it appear as if they had been issued to payees other than herself and her affiliated businesses.  She falsely recorded that the checks had paid vendors for maintenance, repairs, building security, janitorial supplies, mission support, small group ministry, stewardship, and insurance expenses, when in fact Vines had issued the checks to herself and her affiliated businesses.  Vines failed to record many of the fraudulent checks in the church’s accounting software at all.  That failure caused the church’s accounting records to overstate the amount of money the church actually had.

In addition to stealing collections and issuing fraudulent checks, Vines also made numerous online purchases from Amazon and paid for them with the church’s checking account.  Vines fraudulently purchased over $20,000 in items for her personal benefit, including computers, video equipment, pool supplies, golf equipment, clothing, shoes, and jewelry. 

In total, Vines embezzled approximately $420,000.

C. Alana Vines, 38, of Sharpsburg, Georgia, was sentenced to two years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $420,620.07, by United States District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr.  Vines was convicted of wire fraud on December 7, 2017, after she pleaded guilty.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen H. McClain 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 – Ten members of an alleged methamphetamine trafficking operation that sought to distribute more than $1 million worth of drugs have been indicted in a 13-count superseding indictment on charges of violations of federal drug, firearm, and immigration laws. Seven defendants were arraigned today in federal court.

“Methamphetamine remains a major threat to our community and it continues to be the main illegally-trafficked drug in this district,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “When people enter our country illegally and traffic meth while in possession of guns, they not only spread their poison, they drive violence in our communities.” 

“Methamphetamine continues to ravage many communities in our nation,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.  “Because of the positive results yielded in this case, other methamphetamine traffickers (particularly conversion lab operators) in the Atlanta metropolitan and surrounding areas are being put on notice that DEA, its law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate their continued efforts to manufacture and distribute this insidious drug.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: Beginning in July 2017, agents with the DEA and the Atlanta-Carolina High Intensity Drug Trafficking Program (“HIDTA”) began investigating defendant Hugo Solano-Garcia a/k/a Gordo, and his associates in the Atlanta area, for trafficking methamphetamine allegedly smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico.

Over the course of the investigation, federal and local law enforcement agents uncovered a series of stash houses and methamphetamine conversion laboratories in two metro-Atlanta counties, DeKalb and Gwinnett, where the defendants would allegedly convert liquid methamphetamine into crystal methamphetamine for distribution, sometimes hiding the illicit drugs in hollowed-out fire extinguishers and car batteries. The defendants barricaded some of these conversion laboratories and guarded them with guns.

Agents raided one conversion laboratory in an apartment in Brookhaven, Georgia on January 30, 2018. In that apartment, they found approximately 65 kilograms of methamphetamine in crystal and liquid form and three firearms.

In total, law enforcement has seized more than 130 kilograms of methamphetamine over the course of this investigation. The drug trafficking conspiracy charge in the indictment names the following 10 defendants:

• Hugo Solano-Garcia, a/k/a Gordo, also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;
• Victor Pacheco-Solano, a/k/a Pelon, a/k/a Moro;
• Gerardo Calderon-Pacheco, a/k/a Plebe;
• Valentin Solano-Salas, also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;
• Juan Confesor Camilo, a/k/a Jean Carlos Camilo, a/k/a Tigre;
• Aldrin Barajas-Ramirez, also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, illegal alien in possession of a firearm, and illegal re-entry after being deported;
• Miguel Pacheco-Penaloza, also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and illegal alien in possession of a firearm;
• Octavio Pacheco-Torres, a/k/a Burro, also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;
• Sair Calderon-Pacheco; and
• Joaquin Reyes-Guillen, a/k/a Aviel Cabrera-Hernandez.

 
The indictment was returned on March 28, 2018.  Solano-Garcia, Gerardo Calderon-Pacheco, Solano-Salas, Camilo, Barajas-Ramirez, Pacheco-Penaloza, and Pacheco-Torres were arraigned on April 6, 2018.  Pacheco-Solano, Calderon-Pacheco, and Reyes-Guillen have yet to be arraigned.
 
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 Drug Enforcement Administration, the Atlanta-Carolina High Intensity Drug Trafficking Program, and the following agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of State, DeKalb County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Unit, Georgia State Patrol, Gwinnett County Police Department, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.
 
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas N. Joy 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.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - John Michael Gowder, Dr. David Gowder, and Dr. James Heaton, have been indicted as part of Operation SCOPE on federal charges for illegally prescribing and obtaining thousands of doses of prescription pain medications outside the usual course of professional medical practice and for no legitimate medical purpose. They are expected to appear in federal court in Gainesville, Georgia to be arraigned on the charges on April 9, 2018.

“These defendants allegedly abused their positions as medical professionals to obtain illegitimately thousands of doses of prescription pain medications and now face serious federal charges,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The Department of Justice is committed to fighting the opioid epidemic through the aggressive investigation and prosecution of licensed medical practitioners who abuse their positions of trust to engage in illegal conduct.”

“Americans rely on healthcare providers, many of whom are medical doctors, to use their training to help patients and to ‘do no harm.’ The physicians and the hospital CEO in this case violated the law and betrayed their responsibilities by unlawfully obtaining and dispensing prescription opioids,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “The moment these individuals decided to engage in this criminal behavior, they became nothing more than traditional drug traffickers. DEA, its law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to stemming the tide against the current opioid epidemic.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: From 2011 to 2015 John Michael “Mike” Gowder was the Chief Executive Officer of Union General Hospital in Blairsville, Dr. David Gowder was the Emergency Room Director at Union General, and Dr. James Heaton operated a family practice clinic in Blairsville, Georgia.

Mike Gowder and Dr. David Gowder allegedly conspired together to illegally obtain oxycodone, hydrocodone, and alprazolam. Dr. David Gowder unlawfully obtained these controlled substances from patients that he treated at the hospital. He also illegally issued prescriptions for oxycodone, hydrocodone, and alprazolam in the names of his and Mike Gowder’s family members, existing hospital patients, and fictitious patients. The prescriptions were issued outside the usual course of professional practice and Mike Gowder and Dr. David Gowder knew the drugs obtained with the prescriptions were not intended for the persons for whom the prescriptions were allegedly written. The drugs obtained with the illegal prescriptions were not for any legitimate medical purpose.

Dr. David Gowder would direct Union General Hospital employees to fill the prescriptions at local pharmacies. He would provide cash to the employees to pay for the drugs and would direct the employees to return the drugs they obtained to him. Mike Gowder used his position as the chief administrator at Union General Hospital to fire hospital employees who tried to expose Dr. David Gowder’s illegal prescribing and obtaining of oxycodone, hydrocodone, and alprazolam. He also used his position to intimidate other employees into concealing Dr. David Gowder’s unlawful acquisition of controlled substances.

Between April 2013, and April 2015, Dr. David Gowder issued at least 19 illegal prescriptions for oxycodone pills, 21 illegal prescriptions for hydrocodone pills, and five illegal prescriptions for alprazolam pills, including by forging the names of other physicians.

Dr. Heaton illegally prescribed oxycodone and other controlled substances to Mike Gowder, Mike Gowder’s family members, and others, knowing that the prescriptions were issued outside the usual course of professional practice and that the pills obtained with the prescriptions had no legitimate medical purpose. Dr. Heaton violated standards of medical practice by prescribing thousands of doses of oxycodone and other controlled substances to Mike Gowder, Mike Gowder’s family members, and others without adequately documenting the medical need for the prescriptions in patient files and without monitoring patient abuse of the pills they obtained.

Mike Gowder obtained oxycodone by fraud, subterfuge, and deception by filling the illegal prescriptions that Dr. Heaton issued for oxycodone at different pharmacies in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina in an effort to conceal the large numbers of oxycodone pills that Dr. Heaton was prescribing to him.

Between May 1, 2013, and June 16, 2015, Dr. Heaton wrote at least 74 illegal prescriptions for oxycodone to Mike Gowder. In addition to filling the prescriptions at pharmacies in Georgia, Mike Gowder often travelled to North Carolina and Tennessee to fill multiple prescriptions a month at pharmacies in those states. On multiple occasions, Dr. Heaton wrote two prescriptions for oxycodone for Mike Gowder on the same day. On other occasions, Mike Gowder would travel to North Carolina to fill one prescription and Tennessee to fill the second prescription to conceal the fact that multiple prescriptions were written to him on the same day.

Oxycodone and hydrocodone are powerful pain medications that are listed as controlled substances under federal law because each has a high potential for psychological and physical abuse and dependence. Oxycodone, which may be combined with acetaminophen, is sold generically under brand names including Percocet, Endocet, Oxycontin, and Roxicodone. Hydrocodone is sold generically or under brand names including Lortab, Vicodin, and Norco. Alprazolam is commonly prescribed to treat anxiety. It is sold generically and under the brand name Xanax.      

John Michael Gowder, 60, Dr. David Gowder, 61, and Dr. James Heaton, 61, all of Blairsville, Georgia, are expected to be arraigned April 9, 2018, at the federal courthouse in Gainesville, Georgia.  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 each defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and members of the Union County (Georgia) Sheriff's Office, Cherokee County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency and Zell Miller Mountain Parkway Drug Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys William L. McKinnon, Jr., and Laurel R. Boatright are prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is Strategically Combatting Opioids through Prosecution and Enforcement (SCOPE).  We also recommend parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at 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.