Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA – Roman Seleznev has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud for his role in the 2008 hack of RBS Worldpay. Seleznev was responsible for cashing out $2,178,349 associated with five hacked debit card numbers.

 

“The defendant and a sophisticated team of hackers stole over $2,000,000 from ATMs across the globe,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “This plea shows that we are committed to identifying and bringing to justice cybercriminals from across the globe, wherever they are and however long it takes.”

 

“This extensive investigation, and resulting guilty plea, truly illustrates that the FBI and its many domestic and international law enforcement partners have the commitment and the ability to reach out and touch the cyber criminals residing abroad that are doing so much harm from places that they feel we can’t go. Having Mr. Seleznev out of play and having dismantled his cyber based operations is a true success story for U.S. law enforcement,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

“This case demonstrates the Secret Service is committed to protecting our nation's critical financial infrastructure and payment systems,” said Special Agent in Charge, Kenneth Cronin, U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “These types of cyber criminals use sophisticated hacking techniques to compromise computer systems and then utilize a global network of co-conspirators to withdraw millions of dollars from ATM machines from around the world. Our success in this case and other network intrusion investigations is a result of our close work with our domestic and international law enforcement partners.”

 

According to U.S Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: During November 2008, a team of hackers, including Estonian national Sergei Tšurikov and others, obtained unauthorized access into the computer network of RBS WorldPay, what was then the U.S. payment processing division of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The group used sophisticated hacking techniques to compromise the data encryption that was used then by RBS WorldPay to protect customer data on payroll debit cards. Payroll debit cards are used by various companies to pay their employees. By using a payroll debit card, employees are able to withdraw their regular salaries from an ATM.

 

Once the encryption on the card processing system was compromised, the hacking ring raised the account limits on compromised accounts to amounts exceeding $1,000,000. The hackers then provided a network of cashers, equipped with 44 counterfeit payroll debit cards, withdrew more than $9 million from over 2,100 ATMs in at least 280 cities worldwide, including cities in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan and Canada. The $9 million loss occurred within a span of less than 12 hours. In addition, the hacking crew obtained access to files containing 45.5 million pre-paid payroll and gift card numbers.

 

The hackers then sought to destroy data stored on the card processing network in order to conceal their hacking activity. The cashers were allowed to keep 30 to 50 percent of the stolen funds, but transmitted the bulk of those funds back to Tšurikov and his co-defendants. Upon discovering the unauthorized activity, RBS WorldPay immediately reported the breach, and has substantially assisted in the investigation.

 

Throughout the duration of the cashout, Tšurikov and another hacker monitored the fraudulent ATM withdrawals in real-time from within the computer systems of RBS WorldPay.

 

Roman Seleznev, of Vladivostok, Russia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

 

To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has charged 14 individuals involved in the hack and cashout, including Russian nationals Viktor Pleschuk, Evgeniy Anikin, and Roman Seleznev; Estonian nationals Sergei Tsurikov, Igor Grudijev, Ronald Tsoi, Eveilyn Tsoi, and Mikhail Jevgenov; Moldovan national Oleg Covelin; Ukranian nationals Vladimir Valeyrich Tailar and Evgeny Levitskyy; Nigerian national Ezenwa Chukukere; American national Sonya Martin; and Vladislav Horohorin, who is citizen of Russia, Israel, and Ukraine.

 

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Secret Service.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali is prosecuting the case. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

 

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 – Federal inmate Jaye L. Thomas has been indicted for escaping from the prison camp at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, on three separate occasions in 2016.

 

“Thomas allegedly escaped from Atlanta’s federal prison multiple times in 2016,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “When inmates escape from custody, they threaten the safety of our communities nearby the prison and undermine our system of criminal justice.”

 

“The federal indictment of federal inmate Thomas once again clearly reflects that those inmates walking away or otherwise leaving the grounds of United States Penitentiary Atlanta property will be dealt with as escapees. The potential harm to the public as well as the breakdown of order that these individuals can cause these corrections facilities when they re-enter with contraband items that have included alcohol and cell/smart phones is significant and should not and will not be tolerated,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta (“USP Atlanta”) is a medium-security prison for male inmates operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. USP Atlanta also operates a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates. In January 2015, Thomas was convicted of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it. From approximately January to December 2016, he was assigned to the USP Atlanta prison camp, with a scheduled release date of December 28, 2022.

 

The indictment alleges that Thomas escaped from USP Atlanta on three separate occasions in 2016 (March 22, April 4, and September 25, 2016). The investigation against Thomas originated when law enforcement officers reviewed photographs from a surveillance camera that allegedly showed Thomas in a wooded area outside of prison property. Subsequently, law enforcement officers obtained documentary evidence and eyewitness testimony to support the escape charges against Thomas.

 

Jaye L. Thomas, 36, of Dalton, Georgia, was indicted on August 1, 2017, on three counts of escaping from federal custody.

 

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

 

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

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Timothy H. Lee 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 - Brandon Otoupal and Franklin Lee Clark Gilmore have been sentenced to federal prison, in separate court proceedings, for child pornography offenses. Otoupal both produced child pornography and posted a video on a website. Gilmore collected a library of child pornography files and shared them on the Internet in order to access more child pornography.

 

“These two men took perverse pleasure in the sexual abuse of children,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Otoupal went a step further and bullied a teenage girl into producing child pornography for his own enjoyment. These two cases show that the Internet remains a thriving marketplace for the worst victimization of our children, as well as our commitment to doing everything we can to stop it.”

 

“Child pornography production is, bluntly, recording the sexual exploitation of innocent children, and those who encourage its production are directly responsible for promoting and encouraging child sex abuse,” said HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan. “As this case shows, no matter where or how these criminals may seek out their illegal acts, ICE Homeland Security Investigations is committed to investigating and seeking prosecution of child exploitation cases as one the agency’s highest priorities.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In July 2015, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations received information that a person had posted on a foreign website a file of a young child being sexually abused by an adult. Based on further investigation, the agents determined that the video was uploaded to the website from a house in Carrollton. When special agents executed a federal search warrant on August 17, 2015, they found that Branden Otoupal not only possessed numerous images of child pornography, but he had also produced child pornography. Specifically, he used a cell phone app to coerce a teenage girl to produce child pornography of herself and  send it to him for his own sexual enjoyment.

 

The charges and other information presented in court show that Franklin Lee Clark Gilmore had been downloading child pornography from the Internet beginning around June 2014. He collected files of very young girls being sexually abused on cell phones, tablets and computers. Eventually, to manage his collection, he transferred it to the cloud. He chatted with numerous men online where he gave them links to his collection, and they in turn gave him additional child pornography.

 

Brandon Otoupal, 27, of Carrollton, Georgia, was sentenced to 16 years in prison to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. Otoupal was convicted of these charges on April 11, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.

 

Franklin Lee Clark Gilmore, 26, of Cartersville, Georgia, was sentenced to 12 years, four months in prison to be followed by 15 years of supervised release. Gilmore was convicted of these charges on June 9, 2017, after he pleaded guilty. There is no parole in the federal system. Both Otoupal and Gilmore will be required to register as sex offenders upon their release from prison.

 

These two cases were investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

 

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

 

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 - Devonnaire Coffey has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison. Coffey, often assisted by others he recruited, broke into 14 gun stores in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and stole 340 guns. Coffey then sold the stolen firearms out of motel rooms to willing buyers.

 

“Coffey endangered the public by stealing firearms and selling them to whoever had the money to buy them,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “His return to gun stores he had already broken into shows a complete lack of fear and, importantly, that his desire for personal gain outweighed any concerns he may have had for the safety of citizens both in this community and elsewhere.”

 

“ATF’s central objective is ensuring the safety of our communities. In order to accomplish this mission, ATF will aggressively and acutely target individuals who seek to diminish the general welfare of our citizens through violence, narcotics sales and firearms trafficking. Criminals must understand there are serious repercussions for illegally obtaining, possessing and trafficking firearms,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt, Atlanta Field Division.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Coffey broke into 14 stores that sold firearms in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and stole 340 guns. He also attempted to break into six other stores. Coffey and others then sold those stolen guns in various communities. The defendant planned these burglaries, recruited others to help him, and then sold the stolen guns from a motel room after the thefts. He used various methods of entry to include throwing rocks through windows and welding torches to burn through locks on doors.

 

Coffey burglarized some dealerships multiple times including one location in Elberton twice, one in Canton twice, and one in McDonough twice and attempted a third burglary at the same two dealerships in Canton and McDonough, but ultimately was unsuccessful.

 

Firearms stolen by Coffey have been discovered by law enforcement as far away as Chicago and Washington, D.C. Not all of them have been recovered. Firearms stolen by the defendant ended up in the hands of convicted felons, have been used in shootings, and carried by drug dealers.

 

Devonnaire Coffey, 26, of Augusta, Georgia, was convicted of conspiracy to steal firearms from licensed gun dealers, theft of firearms from licensed gun dealers, and possession and sale of stolen firearms after he pleaded guilty on May 18, 2017. He was sentenced to ten years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $51,128.89.

 

This case was being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Henry County, Georgia Police Department, Rocky Mount, North Carolina Police Department, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina Police Department, Holly Springs, Georgia Police Department, Rock Hill, South Carolina Police Department, and the ATF Regional Anti-Gang Enforcement (RAGE) Unit. RAGE is a joint gang/violent crime task force with members from ATF, North Augusta Department of Public Safety, Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, Aiken Department of Public Safety, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Keen and Stephanie E. 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 – In three separate federal indictments unsealed on Tuesday August 29, 2017, 16 U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employees working in locations across the metro-Atlanta area have been charged with accepting bribes to deliver packages of kilogram-quantities of cocaine in a wide-reaching sting operation.

 

“Postal employees are entrusted to perform a vital service as they travel through our communities, often visiting our homes and interacting personally with our citizens,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “The defendants in this case allegedly sold that trust out to someone they knew to be a drug dealer, and simply for cash in their pockets they were willing to endanger themselves and the residents on their routes and bring harmful drugs into the community.”

 

“The allegations contained in these federal indictments are disturbing to say the least. The blatant abdication of the public trust through the criminal conduct of these sixteen U.S. Postal Service employees, absolutely stains the established trust of their peers and those that went before them at the U.S. Postal Service. While it is hoped that this extensive joint investigation and resulting federal prosecution will serve as a deterrent for others, the FBI makes it clear that public corruption remains our number one criminal program priority and, as such, we have dedicated significant resources toward the identification, investigation, and presentation for prosecution of any individuals involved in similar such conduct,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

“The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office is equally committed to aggressively combating public corruption. This case highlights the importance of interagency cooperation to effectively identify, investigate, and prosecute those who abuse their positions of public trust regardless of geographical borders,” said DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston.

 

“While the vast majority of U.S. Postal Service personnel are hard-working and trustworthy individuals who are dedicated to delivering mail and would never consider engaging in criminal behavior, these charges reflect the select few who decided to betray the trust. This type of behavior within the Postal Service is not tolerated and when employees engage in criminal behavior, the special agents of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) vigorously investigate these matters, along with other federal and local law enforcement agencies, to hold accountable those employees who violate that public trust,” said Paul L. Bowman, USPS OIG Special Agent in Charge, Capital Metro Area Field Office.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the indictments, and other information presented in court: USPS employees allegedly accepted bribes from a person they believed was a drug trafficker using the U.S. mail to ship cocaine – multiple kilograms at a time – into the Atlanta area. The USPS employees are as follows:

 

• Cydra Rochelle Alexander, 31, of Riverdale, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Ralph McGill Carrier Annex and Central City Branch of the Atlanta Post Office.

• Aurthamis O. Burch, a/k/a Tank, 46, of Snellville, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Doraville Post Office.

• Kawana Rashun Champion, 35, of Jonesboro, Georgia, a clerk assigned to the North Springs Branch of the Sandy Springs Post Office and Central City Branch of the Atlanta Post Office.

• Eleanor Lolita Golden, a/k/a Eleanor Johnson, 54, of East Point, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office.

• Tonie Harris, 54, of Decatur, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Sandy Springs Post Office.

• Leea Janel Holt, 38, of Atlanta, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Old National Branch of the Riverdale Post Office.

• Clifton Curtis Lee, a/k/a Cliff, 41, of Lithonia, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Sandy Springs Post Office.

• Shakeed Anilah Magee, 40, of College Park, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office.

• Horace Manson, 40, of Roswell, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office.

• Olivia Marita Moore, 25, of Atlanta, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Old National Branch of the Riverdale Post Office.

• Eddie Nash, 63, of Decatur, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office.

• Jeffrey A. Pearson, 59, of Austell, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Decatur Post Office.

• Rodney Antwain Salter, 33, of Jonesboro, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Martech Branch of the Atlanta Post Office.

• Frank Webb, 40, of Lithonia, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Central City Branch of the Atlanta Post Office.

• Katrina Nicole Wilson, a/k/a Trina, 38, of Fairburn, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office.

• Harvel Donta Young, a/k/a Dante, 39, of Atlanta, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Westside Annex Branch of the Marietta Post Office.

 

In exchange for the bribe payments, these individuals allegedly provided special addresses that the drug trafficker could use to ship packages of cocaine. The defendants then intercepted the packages and delivered them to the drug trafficker. Unbeknownst to them, the drug trafficker was actually working with law enforcement and the packages they delivered contained fake drugs.

 

Some of the postal employees went on to recruit additional USPS employees to join the criminal scheme, and accepted additional money for drug packages delivered by their recruits.

 

Dexter Bernard Frazier, a/k/a Dec, 56, of Fairburn, Georgia, was also charged based on his role in introducing several of the defendants to the drug trafficker and coordinating logistics of the scheme in exchange for payments.

 

Alexander, Burch, Champion, Frazier, Golden, Harris, Holt, Lee, Magee, Manson, Moore, Nash, Salter, Webb, Wilson, and Young have been arrested and will be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker.

 

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

 

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

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett L. Bradford and Jill E. Steinberg 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 - Kim A. Earlycutt, Shannon A. King, and Marcia Farmer, have been sentenced for conspiring to submit false tax returns totaling more than $5 million over the course of four years.

 

“The defendants went to great lengths to steal tax money from the IRS, with the twist in this case that they used stolen identities of foreign nationals to seek phony refunds,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “It all comes back to basic theft to enrich themselves at the expense of the taxpayers.”

 

“Identity theft continues to victimize unknowing individuals as well as the Internal Revenue Service. If you steal someone’s identity and file false tax returns, you will be prosecuted,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge, James E. Dorsey, IRS Criminal Investigation. “These sentencings should serve as a clear message to the public, theft will cost you significant jail time.”

 

“This is a great example of a joint investigation in which the financial footprints of these defendants were uncovered to gather evidence to bring them to justice. The prison sentences sent a strong message that we will continue to aggressively investigate criminals that engage in fraudulent schemes,” said David M. McGinnis, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division. “Together we will continue to be vigilant in disrupting criminal organizations who illegally utilize the U.S. Postal Service.”

 

“The United States Secret Service will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners and prosecutors to ensure that nefarious individuals who violate their positions of trust to illegally enrich themselves are put behind bars,” said Kenneth Cronin, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “This sentencing should be a warning to other like-minded criminals and their conspirators that stealing from the American people will not go unpunished.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: The three defendants obtained identity documents of foreign nationals and forged foreign identity documents in connection with their work at T&K Tax Services and More, which Earlycutt partially owned. Using these identity documents, the defendants submitted IRS W-7 forms to get individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs). The defendants then created false and fraudulent tax claim forms, specifically Forms 1040, or individual income tax returns, using these ITINs. Included with these Forms 1040 were falsified W-2 forms, which had fraudulent employer information, income, withholding amounts, and deduction amounts.

 

The defendants filed the fraudulent tax returns with the IRS, by mailing them and by using T&K’s electronic filing number. The tax returns all contained requests for refunds which were not actually due. The defendants enriched themselves by retaining a portion of the tax refunds that had been fraudulently obtained, including in some instances the entire refund. In all, they sought refunds in excess of $7 million and actually received over $5 million in fraudulent refunds. They used these fraudulent funds to pay personal expenses, including paying their personal automobile insurance. One defendant, Kim Earlycutt, used the fraudulent funds for gambling.
 

Kim A. Earlycutt, 54, of Covington, Georgia, was sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,222,634. Earlycutt was convicted on these charges on June 15, 2017, after she pleaded guilty.

 

Shannon A. King, 37, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced to four years, six months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,596,169. King was convicted on these charges on June 15, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.

 

Marcia Farmer, 51, of Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced to one year, six months in prison to be followed by nine months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release. She was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,370,811. Farmer was convicted on these charges on October 28, 2016, after she pleaded guilty.

 

All three were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May.

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Secret Service.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber 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 - Kelvonne D. Charleston, a/k/a Kelvonne Don Charleston, a/k/a Kelvonne Dontwelle Charleston, has been sentenced after previously pleading guilty to committing at least five robberies at metro-Atlanta drug stores, and for assaulting FBI agents.

 

“The defendant was a violent criminal who terrorized ordinary citizens,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Once he was caught, Charleston thought he could intimidate the FBI and police by driving his car toward them. He hit several cars, injured several law enforcement officers and caused significant damage.”

 

“The threat of bodily harm, even death, that this defendant posed to every day citizens and law enforcement officials was very real,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. “Every victim he confronted felt the potential threat of a real gun. It is also clear that he had a complete disregard for human life in his attempt to escape arrest. Thanks to the brave response of FBI agents and police, he poses no further threat to anyone.”

 

“Getting violent criminals off our streets is our priority for our department,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “We’re grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for helping make sure our work on the street is followed up by serious prison time for these serious crimes.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: From late 2013 through May 4, 2015, multiple CVS Pharmacies and other commercial businesses in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, area were robbed by a man using the same method of operation. The man wore a mask or bandana and used what appeared to be a firearm to rob the stores. FBI and police identified a suspect, and found that the same individual was repeatedly showing up in the area of the robberies -- Kelvonne Charleston.

 

On May 4, 2015, the FBI and police moved in to arrest Charleston as he attempted to enter and rob a CVS pharmacy in Cumming, Georgia. When the agents identified themselves, Charleston turned toward the agents with what they believed was a real firearm. He then ran from them, got in his vehicle, and drove toward two FBI agents with the pistol in his hand. To stop him, the agents fired in self-defense at Charleston and wounded him. However, Charleston still managed to drive past these agents and only came to a stop after he struck two separate FBI vehicles and wrecked his own car.

 

Despite being wounded, Charleston fought with the agents as they removed him from his car and then discovered the replica of a real firearm. The agents administered lifesaving first aid and paramedics took Charleston to the hospital where he later confessed to robbing several CVS stores.

 

Kelvonne D. Charleston, a/k/a Kelvonne Don Charleston, a/k/a Kelvonne Dontwelle Charleston, 38, of Lithia Springs, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash to 15 years, eight months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $36,413.15. He was convicted of these charges on June 1, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta Police Department, Powder Springs Police Department, and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela Marie Munson and Joseph A. Plummer 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.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Michelle Dawn Dorsey, Nigel Alan Waddell, and Tyler Josiah Matthews have been arraigned on federal charges of trafficking in heroin. A fourth defendant, Derrik Omar Frazier, was arraigned on July 20, 2017.

 

“The indictment brought against these defendants is the result of a two-year, joint federal-state investigation by law enforcement to take down a significant heroin distribution network operating between communities in North Georgia and the Atlanta area,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Heroin and fentanyl are poisoning our communities, and the overdoses and deaths are climbing in truly alarming numbers. Our office, along with state and local law enforcement agencies, are taking a strong stance against those who deal heroin and opiates.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: Dorsey, Waddell, Matthews and Frazier allegedly conspired to distribute heroin in North Georgia. Dorsey and Waddell sold quantities of heroin in White and Habersham Counties. They obtained the heroin primarily from Frazier. Matthews worked for Dorsey and was responsible for transporting heroin from Frazier’s residence in Stone Mountain, Georgia, to Dorsey’s residence in Demorest, also in Georgia.

 

Two heroin users allegedly overdosed on heroin they obtained from Dorsey, but they were revived after being administered Naloxone by emergency medical personnel in White County in one instance and Habersham County in the other. Naloxone is used to treat narcotic overdoses as it can reverse the effects of an overdose in most cases. Both overdose victims likely would have died, but for the life saving measures taken by medical professionals.

 

The overdose victims in this case were transported to medical facilities by friends who were also in possession of heroin. However, those individuals have not been charged with any offense. Georgia’s 911 Medical Amnesty Law protects individuals from arrest, prosecution, and conviction of certain drug offenses if the evidence of their drug crime results from the individuals seeking medical assistance for someone thought to be suffering from a drug overdose. The defendants named in this indictment were not present at the time of the overdoses nor did they seek medical assistance for the victims. In keeping with the spirit of Georgia’s 911 Medical Amnesty Law, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO) want the public to trust that those seeking to provide aid to overdose victims will not be targeted for investigation and/or prosecution.

 

On July 20, 2017, in conjunction with Frazier’s arrest at his residence in Stone Mountain, agents with the ARDEO and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office executed a search warrant. The agents seized one ounce of heroin, one ounce of methamphetamine, one ounce of cocaine, and a cache of firearms.

 

Michelle Dawn Dorsey, 45, of Demorest, Georgia, Nigel Alan Waddell, 28, of Cornelia, Georgia, and Tyler Josiah Matthews, 26, of Cleveland, Georgia, were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Clay Fuller. Dorsey, Waddell, Matthews and Derrik Omar Frazier, 42, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, were indicted by a federal grand jury on July 12, 2017.

 

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. Each defendant is 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 Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office. The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office is a multi-agency unit that consists of the following Sheriff’s Offices: White County, Lumpkin County, Towns County, Banks County, Habersham County, Stephens County, Rabun County and Franklin County, along with the Cleveland Police Department, Lavonia Police Department, the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, the Department of Public Safety,, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys William L. McKinnon, Jr. and Nicholas Hartigan 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 – Kevin Edwards, a former political candidate and nightclub owner, has been sentenced to two years, three months in federal prison for stealing federal funds administered by the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency (AWDA).

 

“Edwards stole over $600,000 in grant funds intended to train unemployed Atlanta citizens,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “He chose to steal money rather than training employees for long term employment. The federal government lost valuable grant funds, and those seeking job training were cheated out of an opportunity to obtain job skills.”

 

“The U.S. Department of Labor entrusted Edwards to provide training services to those in Atlanta affected by unemployment. Rather than provide valuable on-the-job training, Edwards victimized workers by assigning them odd jobs such as cleaning, and paid them far less than he reported. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate those who steal training grant money from Department of Labor programs,” said Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the indictment, and other information presented in court: AWDA’s On-the-Job Training Program was funded with grants from the U.S. Department of Labor. The purpose of the OJT program is to increase employment by encouraging companies to hire employees that need additional job skills that the employer is willing to provide in exchange for wage reimbursement. The ultimate goal of the OJT program is for the employer to hire the participant at the end of the OJT contract period.

 

Edwards, a former budget analyst with the City of Atlanta, political candidate and nightclub owner, owned or controlled three companies in Atlanta between 2010 and 2012. During this three-year period, the three companies owned or controlled by Edwards received approximately $649,000 in OJT funds from the AWDA.

 

He also falsely represented to AWDA that his companies, Cronus Development, LLC (Cronus), CGE Construction and Consulting, Inc. (CGE), and The Elite Academy and Learning Center (Elite), would hire and train employees with the goal of full-time employment. Instead, Edwards failed to provide training programs, submitted forged and fraudulent wage reimbursement requests for employees that never worked for his companies, and paid workers only a fraction of the salary reported to AWDA. More specifically, instead of receiving training, OJT employees for CGE and Cronus reported that they did odd jobs, including cleaning up properties, yard work and working at one of Edwards’ nightclubs. Despite these shortcomings, Edwards received full payments from AWDA through the OJT program.

 

Kevin Edwards, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Steven C. Jones to two years, three months in federal prison and three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $489,710.43. On December 13, 2016, Edwards pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Brown prosecuted the criminal 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 J. Erves, MARTA’s former Senior Director of Operations, has been charged with conducting a false invoice scheme that resulted in MARTA paying more than $500,000 for maintenance work that was never performed and for funneling most of the money back into his personal bank accounts.

 

“Erves was entrusted to safeguard the taxpayer funds used to run our public transportation authority, and instead he is charged with stealing a half million dollars to buy a Porsche and other high-end purchases. This is a classic case where a public official’s short-term gain in stealing from taxpayers comes crashing down and ends with criminal charges,” said U.S. Attorney John A. Horn.

 

“The federal investigation and resulting federal charges against Mr. Erves will hopefully send a message to others that such ill-conceived schemes to redirect corporate or public funds to their own accounts is a criminal act with tough consequences. The FBI would like to thank the MARTA Police and their investigators for their invaluable assistance in getting this matter advanced for prosecution,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

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

 

From 1993 to 2017, Erves worked for MARTA, ultimately serving as its Senior Director of Operations. In that position, Erves oversaw the maintenance of all of MARTA’s buses and rail cars and had the authority to approve payments up to $10,000 to vendors for work performed on behalf of MARTA.

 

Beginning in or about 2010, Erves retained three different vendors purportedly to perform maintenance projects for MARTA, including repairing brake testing equipment and fixing various MARTA tools and equipment. From approximately June 2010 to December 2016, Erves had fake invoices prepared on behalf of the three vendors for more than 40 maintenance projects for which no work was performed.

 

Erves then used the false invoices as bases to authorize payments to the three vendors. In many cases, Erves personally approved payments to the vendors knowing that the vendors had not performed any work for MARTA.

 

After being paid, the three vendors funneled most of the money received from MARTA into Erves’s personal bank accounts. Subsequently, Erves used the money deposited into his accounts to pay personal expenses, such as multiple purchases at high-end department stores and the purchase of a Porsche 911. Based on Erves’s authority and representations, MARTA paid the three vendors more than $500,000 for maintenance projects where no worked was actually performed.

 

Erves, 52, of Lithonia, Georgia, has been charged in a criminal information with one count of Federal Program Theft. Erves is expected to plead guilty to the charge shortly after arraignment.

 

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

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Alison Prout are prosecuting the case.

 

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

ATLANTA – Angelo Alleca, the former CEO of Atlanta, Georgia, based Summit Wealth Management, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for a multistate investment fraud scheme. The scheme victimized over 300 people who lost more than $24 million dollars.

 

“Alleca defrauded victims from across the country and, like many investment fraudsters, he preyed on seniors, retirees, and others simply looking for safe and secure returns,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn said. “Citizens should take careful steps to research and scrutinize any investment manager to whom they entrust their hard-earned money, and remember that if something does not seem right, they should ask questions.”

 

“There is a very real victimization felt by people who have entrusted their financial futures to the hands of someone who would uncaringly violate that trust,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. “In some cases people lose their entire life savings. Though they may never fully recover financially, hopefully the sentences handed down in this case and the restitution imposed will give the victims some solace for their losses.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the indictment, and other information presented in court: From on or about 2004 until 2012, Alleca acted as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Wealth Management, an investment adviser headquartered in Atlanta. During that time, Alleca started several funds and falsely misrepresented that money would be invested in hedge funds and debt securities and managed by professional investment managers.

 

Instead of investing the money as advertised, Alleca lost a substantial portion of the funds through securities trading. Additionally, he improperly used the funds to operate Summit Wealth Management, make interest payments and redemptions to earlier investors, and to pay personal expenses. During the course of the scheme, fraudulent account statements were mailed to investors showing gains, when there was no money in the funds.

 

In 2007, Mark Morrow, a co-defendant in the case and Alleca’s former business partner, established Detroit Memorial Partners LLC, which sold promissory notes to acquire and manage cemeteries in Michigan.

 

Between 2007 and 2012, Morrow and Alleca marketed promissory notes in Detroit Memorial Partners to Summit Wealth clients in Atlanta and throughout the country. Detroit Memorial Partners’ offering documents contained material misrepresentations, including that the notes would be secured by real property when in fact no security interest was ever recorded with respect to the notes. Moreover, shortly after receiving the note proceeds, Alleca and Morrow diverted funds for improper purposes including, making interest payments and redemptions to investors in Summit Wealth Management funds and personal expenses. Because of their fraud schemes, over 300 investors lost over $24 million dollars invested in the Summit Funds and Detroit Memorial Partners LLC.

 

Angelo Alleca, 47, of Buffalo, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May to eight years in federal prison and three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $24,382,487.66, in restitution. On May 26, 2016, Alleca pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

 

On April 27, 2017, Mark Morrow, 56, of Cincinnati, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for October 18, 2017 at 9:30 am, before U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of 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 - Yves Joseph Legault has been arraigned on federal charges of using the internet to entice a child for sexual activity and enticing the 13-year-old to engage in sexually explicit conduct over the internet. Legault traveled to Atlanta from his home in Canada with the alleged expectation of having sex with a minor.

 

“Legault is accused of communicating with a young girl on the internet for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity with her,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “The FBI successfully intercepted Legault after he flew into the United States and before he could carry out his plan. Cases like this one demonstrate the continued importance for parents to engage with their kids about their activities on the Internet including the app’s they are using to chat, and the people with whom they are chatting.”

 

“The FBI stands ready to aggressively pursue those who would prey on our nation’s children. The FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC) program, which consists of a network of specially trained FBI agents working with various local, state, federal, and even international partners, collectively carries out the important mission of protecting our children from those who would harm them. The investigation, arrest, and resulting federal charges involving Mr. Legault, a Canadian national, is an example of the great partnership and responsiveness of Canadian law enforcement authorities in helping the FBI carry out this mission,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: Beginning in approximately July of this year, Legault met a 13-year-old girl on Omegle, a free online and anonymous text and video chat tool. After moving their communications to another site, the defendant allegedly asked the teen to perform sexual acts on live video-streaming for him. Legault eventually arranged to travel from Canada to Atlanta, Georgia, in order to have sex with the girl.

 

On August 4, 2017, after crossing from Canada into the United States at the Buffalo-Niagra Falls Port of Entry, Legault’s flight from Buffalo, New York, was cancelled, forcing him to reschedule his trip to Atlanta. On August 11, 2017, Legault was arrested after flying from Toronto, Canada into Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport allegedly for the purpose of engaging in sex with the teen. The 13-year-old girl’s mother had alerted agents with the FBI to the relationship after she intercepted a package Legault had sent her daughter from Canada.

 

Yves Joseph Legault, 53, of Ontario, Canada, was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 15, 2017, and was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Janet F. King.

 

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

 

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI is extremely grateful for the help of our international partners in bringing this indictment to fruition: the Ontario Provincial Police, York Regional Police, and Canada Border Services Agency.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Skye Davis 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 https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Cory Jones, a/k/a Corey Jones has been sentenced to four years, three months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The defendant attempted to rob a citizen and afterward exchanged gunfire with security guards and another citizen at that location.

 

“As a convicted felon, Jones should never have been in possession of the gun he used to rob and fire at the victim,” said U.S. Attorney John A. Horn. “This defendant jeopardized the lives of so many others and is a perfect example of why the aggressive enforcement of federal firearms laws remains a critical priority for this office and our law enforcement partners.”

 

“Getting guns out of the hands of violent criminals has been one of my top priorities,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “I’m grateful to U.S. Attorney Horn for his support of our efforts and for prosecuting someone who has very clearly posed a threat to public safety.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: On March 15, 2016, Jones approached a car in the parking lot of the Blue Ivory Restaurant and Lounge in Atlanta, Georgia. After speaking with the driver through an open passenger window, Jones pulled out a firearm and demanded the driver’s watch. Although the victim handed over his watch, Jones fired his weapon at the victim, but fortunately did not strike the victim. The victim then quickly accelerated out of the parking lot. Jones continued firing at the victim’s car as it pulled away, and the victim stopped, returning fire with his own weapon. A security guard that witnessed the unfolding scene fired at Jones as well.

 

Jones fled the parking lot on foot with two security guards in pursuit. The security guards caught him as he attempted to hide in bushes on a nearby exit ramp for I-20, with his firearm lying at his feet. Shortly thereafter, Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers took into custody without further incident. The officers checked ’s criminal history, and learned that he was a convicted felon, and thus prohibited from possessing firearms.

 

Cory Jones, a/k/a Corey Jones, 29, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to four years, three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Jones was convicted on these charges on May 15, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.

 

This case was investigated by the Atlanta Police Department.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bret R. Hobson and Mary Webb 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 – Sherie Britton, a former church administrator, has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $315,000 from a church in Clayton County, Georgia.

 

“Britton took advantage of her access to the congregation’s donations to fund her extravagant personal expenses,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “For years she siphoned money away from the church’s charitable work and spent it on everything from clothing to vacations for herself. Stealing from your employer is always a crime, but it is more reprehensible when the money consists of donations for charitable purposes.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Britton was the church administrator for a church located in Rex, Georgia. As church administrator, Britton managed a Paypal account that received donations from members of the congregation. These funds were intended to be used for the needs of the church, for civic events, and to help poor members of the community.

 

Beginning in 2012 and continuing through February 2017, Britton stole over $257,000 in donations from the church’s Paypal account and over $58,000 from the church’s payroll account. Britton then spent the stolen church funds on a variety of personal expenses, including on vacations, clothing, restaurants, and home furnishings. On February 3, 2017, FBI agents interviewed Britton about the transfer of church funds to her personal Paypal account. During that interview, Britton falsely told the agents that she had the permission of the church to transfer these funds and that they were being spent on church-related events.

 

Sentencing for Sherie Britton, 44, of McDonough, Georgia, is scheduled for November 7, 2017, at 2:30 p.m., before U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross.

 

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

 

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

 

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

ATLANTA – Jonathan and Stephanie Dupiton have been sentenced for using stolen identities to steal over $395,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The defendants illegally obtained SNAP benefits for themselves, and then cashed them at stores they owned in several Georgia communities.

 

“These defendants subverted the SNAP program to line their own pockets and also used hundreds of stolen identities to commit their crimes,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “They used the SNAP system as an ATM for their personal gain, diverting critical benefits that help those who need assistance in our communities.”

 

“The United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General- Investigations, actively investigates allegations of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud. These defendants stole unsuspecting people’s identities, used those identities to fraudulently acquire EBT cards, and misused thousands of dollars worth of SNAP benefits to enrich themselves at the expense of American taxpayers. Collectively, this type of fraudulent activity undermines this vital program by misdirecting millions of dollars of taxpayer funds from the purposes they were intended,” said Karen Citizen-Wilcox, Special Agent-in-Charge, USDA-OIG. “We would like to thank U.S. Attorney’s Office for aggressively prosecuting perpetrators of fraud and sending a strong message that illegally profiting by defrauding USDA programs will not be tolerated.”

 

“This investigation was a great example of partnership and cooperation between our Department and federal authorities,” said Georgia Department of Human Services Commissioner Robyn A. Crittenden. “DHS has zero tolerance for fraud, waste and abuse in the programs it administers. After internal efforts to detect fraud, DHS was able to work with the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in bringing these individuals to justice. Georgia’s most vulnerable citizens need these valuable resources, and we are committed to ensuring the integrity of SNAP in Georgia.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: From July 2014 through October 2015, Jonathan and Stephanie Dupiton owned and operated two convenience stores in Cobb County, Georgia; J. Good Groceries in Mableton, and Stephanie’s Groceries in Austell. The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service manages and funds SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, with the purpose of alleviating hunger and malnutrition among low-income families. The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) administers the SNAP program.

 

The defendants used stolen identities to apply for SNAP benefits instead of accepting SNAP benefits from qualified recipients to purchase food. These SNAP benefits were loaded on EBT cards, which are similar to debit cards. The defendants directed DHS to mail hundreds of EBT cards to addresses they controlled. The Dupitons then collected and swiped the fraudulent SNAP cards at their convenience stores. Over $800,000 in SNAP payments were deposited in the defendants’ bank accounts. DHS and USDA were able to link $395,000 of those funds to 321 fraudulent SNAP accounts.

 

Jonathan Dupiton, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to three years, nine months in prison, and Stephanie Dupiton, 24, also of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to six months in prison. Both defendants were also sentenced to three years of supervised release, a special assessment of $100, and ordered to pay $395,388.01 in restitution. Both defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud in April 2017, after pleading guilty to these charges. Jonathan Dupiton was also convicted of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General and the Georgia Department of Human Services investigated this case.

 

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

ATLANTA – Atlanta Medical Clinic (“AMC”), which is an Atlanta-based pain management clinic, and Dr. Timothy Dembowski (AMC’s owner), have agreed to pay the United States $250,000 to resolve allegations that they violated Medicare rules and the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by billing the Government for: (1) services performed by a physician suspended from the Medicare program, and (2) the administration of foreign, non-FDA approved drugs, which are not eligible for reimbursement under the Medicare program.

 

“To maximize their profits, AMC and Dr. Dembowski violated Medicare program rules, and then exacerbated their misconduct by submitting false claims to the Government,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Pursuing this investigation and securing this settlement highlights our continued diligence in combating waste, fraud and abuse with respect to federal health care programs.”

 

“This monetary resolution to allegations that violate the False Claims Act hopefully sends a message to health care providers that we are determined to root out any attempt to take advantage of our federal health care programs,” said David LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. “Healthcare providers like Dr. Dembowski and AMC need to think twice before they so willfully, and illegally try to maximize their profits.”

 

“When physicians and health care companies provide patients with drugs not approved by the FDA and bill for services provided by those suspended from the Medicare program, they violate the basic trust that is extended to healthcare professionals,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the HHS-OIG’s Atlanta Region. “Our agents continue to work with the Department of Justice to root out such fraud schemes, which undermine the public’s confidence in, and the financial well-being of, federal health care programs.”

 

A joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed evidence suggesting that AMC and Dr. Dembowski violated the FCA through two separate schemes involving the submission of fraudulent Medicare claims to the Government.

 

First, AMC and Dr. Dembowski claimed and received payment for medical services rendered by a physician that worked at AMC (“Physician 1”). However, these claims were fraudulent as Physician 1 previously was suspended from the Medicare program in June 2013 for making false statements and omissions regarding his criminal history. Due to his suspension, no services rendered by Physician 1 were eligible for Medicare reimbursement. Both AMC and Dr. Dembowski were aware of Physician 1’s suspension, and that he was thus ineligible to provide services to Medicare patients.

 

Nevertheless, AMC and Dr. Dembowski circumvented Physician 1’s Medicare suspension and received Medicare reimbursements for Physician 1’s services, by falsely and fraudulently describing – in claims submitted to the Government – services that had been performed by Physician 1 as services performed by a different AMC physician (“Physician 2”) that was authorized to participate in the Medicare program.

 

Second, AMC and Dr. Dembowski violated the FCA by: (1) obtaining a foreign, non-FDA approved knee treatment drug – i.e, Orthovisc– from a firm in Canada; (2) utilizing such drug on Medicare patients; and then (3) seeking and receiving reimbursement from Medicare.

 

However, Medicare does not cover the costs of foreign, non-FDA approved drugs, and AMC and Dr. Dembowski never informed Medicare that the invoices involved the administration of foreign, non-FDA approved drugs.

 

The claims asserted against AMC and Dr. Dembowski are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

 

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paris A. Wynn.

 

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

ATLANTA – Allen J. Pendergrass and Terrell McQueen have been arraigned on charges of orchestrating a nationwide unclaimed property fraud scheme. They provided asset recovery services for clients, claiming they would recover unclaimed money and assets held by local and state governments for a fee. During that process, they allegedly forged documents, claiming thousands of dollars due to citizens, which they placed into accounts they controlled, never distributing the money owed.

 

“These defendants are charged with forging power of attorney forms to steal over $100,000 owed to local businesses and residents,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Citizens should remain vigilant in guarding their personal information as thieves continue to find new and creative ways to use it to perpetuate fraud schemes.”

 

“The defendants stole individual's identities and received money that was not rightfully theirs,” said James Dorsey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “The IRS will continue to investigate and disrupt these complex financial schemes holding those accountable for their wrongdoing.”

 

“This investigation involved the meticulous gathering of hard evidence which uncovered a significant financial fraud and identity theft scheme,” said David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge, Charlotte Division. “Postal Inspectors will vigorously pursue and bring to justice anyone who commits a crime by utilizing the US Mail system.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the indictment, and other information presented in court: From on or about 2004 until 2014, Pendergrass owned and operated Guishard, Wilburn & Shorts, LLC a company based on College Park, Georgia, that purportedly provided asset recovery services, including recovering unclaimed money and assets held by local and state governments for a fee. During that time, Pendergrass also owned or controlled other companies in Georgia that purported to provide the same services, including Asset Financial Recovery, Inc., Recovery Capital, Attorney Recovery System, National Asset Recovery Agency, Inc., Beacon Asset Recovery Agency, LLC, National Unclaimed Funds, Inc. and Service Pros, Inc.

 

In 2012, Pendergrass started Asset Financial Recovery, Inc., and was listed as the company’s chief executive officer. McQueen was listed as the chief financial officer. In 2013, Pendergrass and McQueen mailed forged power of attorney forms to the City of Atlanta and fraudulently claimed over $100,000 owed to local businesses and residents. These forms included forged signatures. Pendergrass and McQueen deposited stolen funds into bank accounts they controlled and did not provide the funds to rightful owners. Pendergrass, McQueen, and companies they controlled, perpetuated this fraud scheme across the country.

 

Allen J. Pendergrass, 60, of Fayetteville, Georgia, and Terrell McQueen, 37, of Fort Worth, Texas, were indicted on June 27, 2017.

 

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 Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Brown is prosecuting the case.

 

In that this remains an ongoing investigation, anyone with information regarding this matter should contact the United States Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455.

 

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 –Olu Kanni Sanyaolu, a/k/a Kunle Sanya Olukanni, has been convicted by a jury for naturalization fraud. The jury found that Sanyaolu, a naturalized citizen, fraudulently concealed when he applied for U.S. citizenship that an immigration judge had previously ordered him deported from the United States, which is a fact that made him ineligible to apply for citizenship. Because of this conviction, Sanyaolu will automatically lose his citizenship status.

 

“When someone engages in fraud and presents false information to become a naturalized citizen, it compromises the integrity and security of the naturalization process,” said U.S. Attorney John A. Horn. “The jury found the defendant completely subverted the process that allows immigrants to become citizens.”

 

“Identity fraud by those seeking to enter the United States poses a serious potential threat to national security and is one of the most important investigative focuses of Homeland Security Investigations,” said Nick S. Annan, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta. “HSI is firmly committed to stopping criminals who seek to exploit our nation’s welcoming policy toward legal immigrants by engaging in fraud or deceit, and this case highlights the serious consequences awaiting anyone considering an attempt to cheat the system.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In April 2009, Olu Kanni Sanyaolu filed an application for naturalization with U.S. immigration officials. To finalize the application, an immigration officer interviewed Sanyaolu on July 20, 2009. In the interview, Sanyaolu stated under oath that he had never used another identity, and that he had never previously been ordered deported.

Several years later, immigration officials discovered through a fingerprint match that Sanyaolu was actually Kunle Sanya Olukanni. The evidence presented at trial revealed that before the defendant applied to become a naturalized citizen, he had unsuccessfully applied for asylum and permanent resident status using the name Kunle Olukanni, and had been ordered deported from the U.S. in 1998.

 

The defendant then fraudulently assumed a new identity, using the name Olu Kanni Sanyaolu, and successfully applied for political asylum, claiming to be a member of the Nigerian Air Force who was persecuted and tortured after a coup. Four years later, in 2009, the defendant applied to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. He then fraudulently concealed he had previously used a different name and had been ordered deported, a fact that made him ineligible to apply for citizenship.
 

Olu Kanni Sanyaolu, a/k/a Kunle Sanya Olukanni, 54, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was convicted on Thursday July 20, 2017. Sentencing is scheduled for October 5, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr.

 

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

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly K. Connors 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- Evgeny Tarasovich Levitskyy, a/k/a Vinchenco, a/k/a Vinch, a/k/a M.U.R.D.E.R.E.R, has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud for his role as a “casher” (one who withdraws cash using stolen bank account information) in the 2008 hack of RBS WorldPay.

“The 2008 hack of RBS WorldPay was one of the world’s most sophisticated hacking and cashing schemes,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “The team of hackers not only stole financial data from an American payment processor’s private servers, they were able to work in concert with a team of cashers stationed around the world. The cybercriminals stole over $9 million dollars in 12 hours from 2100 ATMs worldwide.”

David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “Cyber crime and computer intrusions are no longer executed by lone individuals. Instead, they rely upon a complex online and real world ecosystem of criminal goods and services for hire, such as the cashing service operated by Mr. Levitskyy. His cashing service was a key component in an organized network of criminal services, which was leveraged to withdraw over $9 million dollars from RBS WorldPay. Outstanding levels of global cooperation among US and international law enforcement culminated in the arrest and sentencing of Mr. Levitskyy, which removed a key criminal service from the cyber criminal underground, thereby reducing the ability for cyber criminals to monetize cyber attacks.”

“This case demonstrates the Secret Service is committed to protecting our nation’s critical financial infrastructure and payment systems,” said Special Agent in Charge, Kenneth Cronin, United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “These types of cyber criminals use sophisticated hacking techniques to compromise computer systems and then utilize a global network of co-conspirators to withdraw millions of dollars from ATM machines from around the world. Our success in this case and other network intrusion investigations is a result of our close work with our domestic and international law enforcement partners.”

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: During November 2008, a team of hackers, including Estonian national Sergei Tšurikov and others, obtained unauthorized access into the computer network of RBS WorldPay, what was then the U.S. payment processing division of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The group used sophisticated hacking techniques to compromise the data encryption that was used by RBS WorldPay to protect customer data on payroll debit cards. Payroll debit cards are used by various companies to pay their employees. By using a payroll debit card, employees are able to withdraw their regular salaries from an ATM.

Once the encryption on the card processing system was compromised, the hacking ring raised the account limits on compromised accounts to amounts exceeding $1,000,000. The hackers then provided a network of cashers with 44 counterfeit payroll debit cards, which were used to withdraw more than $9 million from over 2,100 ATMs in at least 280 cities worldwide, including cities in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada. The $9 million loss occurred within a span of less than 12 hours. In addition, the hacking crew stole files containing 45.5 million pre-paid payroll and gift card numbers.

The hackers then sought to destroy data stored on the card processing network in order to conceal their hacking activity. The cashers were allowed to keep 30 to 50 percent of the stolen funds, but transmitted the bulk of those funds back to Tšurikov and his co-defendants. Upon discovering the unauthorized activity, RBS WorldPay immediately reported the breach, and has substantially assisted in the investigation.

Throughout the duration of the cash out, Tšurikov and another hacker monitored the fraudulent ATM withdrawals in real-time from within the computer systems of RBS WorldPay.

Evgeny Tarasovich Levitskyy, a/k/a Vinchenco, a/k/a Vinch, a/k/a M.U.R.D.E.R.E.R., 31, of Nikolaev, Ukraine, is alleged to have been responsible for cashing out nearly $500,000 associated with a single hacked debit card number. He was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Steven C. Jones to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $499,518.51.

To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has charged 14 individuals involved in the hack and cash out, including Russian nationals Viktor Pleshchuk, Evgeniy Anikin, and Roman Seleznev; Estonian nationals Sergei Tsurikov, Igor Grudijev, Ronald Tsoi, Eveilyn Tsoi, and Mikhail Jevgenov; Moldovan national Oleg Covelin; Ukrainian nationals Vladimir Valeyrich Tailar and Evgeny Levitskyy; Nigerian national Ezenwa Chukukere; American national Sonya Martin; and Vladislav Horohorin, who is citizen of Russia, Israel, and Ukraine.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Secret Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali prosecuted the case. Assistance was provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Republic of Slovenia’s Ministry of Interior Criminal Police Directorate (“MNZ”), the Czech Republic’s Policie Ceske Republiky (“PCR”), and the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

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

The Justice Department today announced in Washington the seizure of the largest criminal marketplace on the Internet, AlphaBay, which operated for over two years on the dark web and was used to sell deadly illegal drugs, stolen and fraudulent identification documents and access devices, counterfeit goods, malware and other computer hacking tools, firearms, and toxic chemicals throughout the world. The international operation to seize AlphaBay’s infrastructure was led by the United States and involved cooperation and efforts by law enforcement authorities in Thailand, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France, as well as the European law enforcement agency Europol.

Two matters investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta and the FBI-Atlanta Field Division have connections to the international investigation into AlphaBay announced today. First, an investigation conducted in Atlanta has identified an AlphaBay staffer living in the United States. That investigation is ongoing. Additionally, in 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta and FBI-Atlanta prosecuted Aaron Glende, a.k.a IcyEagle, who operated as a vendor on AlphaBay. Glende pled guilty to access device fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to four years and two months’ imprisonment on November 30, 2016.

On July 5, 2017, Alexandre Cazes, aka Alpha02 and Admin, 25, a Canadian citizen residing in Thailand, was arrested by Thai authorities on behalf of the United States for his role as the creator and administrator of AlphaBay. On July 12, Cazes apparently took his own life while in custody in Thailand. Cazes was charged in an indictment (1:17-CR-00144-LJO), filed in the Eastern District of California on June 1, with one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, six counts of distribution of narcotics, one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft, four counts of unlawful transfer of false identification documents, one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, one count of trafficking in device making equipment, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Law enforcement authorities in the United States worked with numerous foreign partners to freeze and preserve millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrencies that were the subject of forfeiture counts in the indictment, and that represent the proceeds of the AlphaBay organization’s illegal activities.

On July 19, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California filed a civil forfeiture complaint against Alexandre Cazes and his wife's assets located throughout the world, including in Thailand, Cyprus, Lichtenstein, and Antigua & Barbuda. Cazes and his wife amassed numerous high value assets, including luxury vehicles, residences and a hotel in Thailand. Cazes also possessed millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, which has been seized by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

According to publicly available information on AlphaBay prior to its takedown, one AlphaBay staff member claimed that it serviced over 200,000 users and 40,000 vendors. Around the time of takedown, there were over 250,000 listings for illegal drugs and toxic chemicals on AlphaBay, and over 100,000 listings for stolen and fraudulent identification documents and access devices, counterfeit goods, malware and other computer hacking tools, firearms and fraudulent services. Comparatively, the Silk Road dark web marketplace, which was seized by law enforcement in November 2013, had reportedly approximately 14,000 listings for illicit goods and services at the time of seizure and was the largest dark web marketplace at the time.

“This is likely one of the most important criminal investigations of the year – taking down the largest dark net marketplace in history,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Make no mistake, the forces of law and justice face a new challenge from the criminals and transnational criminal organizations who think they can commit their crimes with impunity using the dark net. The dark net is not a place to hide. The Department will continue to find, arrest, prosecute, convict, and incarcerate criminals, drug traffickers and their enablers wherever they are. We will use every tool we have to stop criminals from exploiting vulnerable people and sending so many Americans to an early grave. I believe that because of this operation, the American people are safer – safer from the threat of identity fraud and malware, and safer from deadly drugs.”

“Transnational organized crime poses a serious threat to our national and economic security,” said Acting Director Andrew McCabe of the FBI. “Whether they operate in broad daylight or on the dark net, we will never stop working to find and stop these criminal syndicates. We want to thank our international partners and those at the Department of Justice, the DEA and the IRS-CI for their hard work in demonstrating what we can do when we stand together.”

“The so-called anonymity of the dark web is illusory,” said Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg of the DEA. “We will find and prosecute drug traffickers who set up shop there, and this case is a great example of our commitment to doing exactly that. More to come.”

“AlphaBay was the world’s largest underground marketplace of the dark net, providing an avenue for criminals to conduct business anonymously and without repercussions,” said Chief Don Fort of IRS-CI. “Working with our law enforcement partners – both domestically and abroad – IRS-CI used its unique financial and cyber expertise to help shine a bright light on the accounts and customers of this shadowy black marketplace, and we intend to continue pursuing these kinds of criminals no matter where they hide.”

“This ranks as one of the most successful coordinated takedowns against cybercrime in recent years,” said Executive Director Rob Wainwright of Europol. “Concerted action by law enforcement authorities in the United States and Europe, with the support of Europol, has delivered a massive blow to the underground criminal economy and sends a clear message that the dark web is not a safe area for criminals. I pay tribute to the excellent work of the United States and European authorities for the imaginative and resourceful way they combined their efforts in this case.”

AlphaBay operated as a hidden service on the “Tor” network, and utilized cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Monero and Ethereum in order to hide the locations of its underlying servers and the identities of its administrators, moderators, and users. Based on law enforcement’s investigation of AlphaBay, authorities believe the site was also used to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from illegal transactions on the website.

investigation into AlphaBay revealed that numerous vendors sold fentanyl and heroin, and there have been multiple overdose deaths across the country attributed to purchases on the site.

According to a complaint affidavit filed in the District of South Carolina against Theodore Vitality Khleborod and Ana Milena Barrero, an investigation into an overdose death on February 16, in Portland, Oregon, involving U-47700, a synthetic opioid, revealed that the drugs were purchased on AlphaBay from Khelborod and Barrero. According to another complaint affidavit filed in the Middle District of Florida against Jeremy Achey, an investigation into a fentanyl overdose death in Orange County, Florida, on February 27, revealed that the lethal substance was purchased on AlphaBay from Achey.

Charges contained in an indictment and/or complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This operation to seize the AlphaBay site coincides with efforts by Dutch law enforcement to investigate and take down the Hansa Market, another prominent dark web market. Like AlphaBay, Hansa Market was used to facilitate the sale of illegal drugs, toxic chemicals, malware, counterfeit identification documents, and illegal services. The administrators of Hansa Market, along with its thousands of vendors and users, also attempted to mask their identities to avoid prosecution through the use of Tor and digital currency. Further information on the operation against the Hansa Market can be obtained from Dutch authorities.

The operation to seize AlphaBay’s servers was announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein; Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California; Acting Director Andrew G. McCabe of the FBI, Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg of the DEA and Europol Executive Director Robert Mark Wainwright.

The case is being investigated by the FBI including FBI Sacramento Field Office and DEA, with substantial assistance from the IRS-CI. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations also assisted in the investigation. The case against Cazes was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Hemesath and Grant B. Rabenn of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, and Trial Attorneys Louisa K. Marion and C. Alden Pelker of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Substantial assistance was provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Special Operations Division. Additionally, the following foreign law enforcement agencies provided substantial assistance in the operation to seize AlphaBay’s infrastructure: Royal Thai Police, Dutch National Police, Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau (LCPB), Royal Canadian Mounted Police, United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, Europol, and French National Police.

ATLANTA - Mark Vartanyan, also known as “Kolypto,” was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Mark H. Cohen to serve five years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in connection with his role in developing, improving and maintaining the “Citadel” malware toolkit between 2012 and 2014.

“Citadel caused vast amounts of harm to financial institutions and individuals around the world,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Mark Vartanyan utilized his technical expertise to enable Citadel into becoming one of the most pernicious malware toolkits of its time, and for that, he will serve significant time in federal prison.”

David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: "Malicious software and botnets are rarely created by a single individual. Cybercrime is an organized team effort involving sophisticated, talented, and tech savvy individuals. Today's sentencing of Mr. Vartanyan, who was engaged in the development, improvement, maintenance and distribution of malware, both removes a key resource from the cyber underworld and serves as a strong deterrent to others who may be contributing to the development of botnets and malware. The threat posed by cyber criminals in the U.S. and abroad is ever increasing. However, the FBI will not cease in its efforts to identify, pursue and defeat cyber criminals regardless of how deep in the cyber underground they reside or where they are located in the real world."

According to United States Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: “Citadel” is a malware toolkit designed to infect computer systems and steal financial account credentials and personally identifiable information from victim computer networks. Beginning in or about 2011, Citadel was offered for sale on invite-only, Russian-language internet forums frequented by cybercriminals. Users of Citadel targeted and exploited the computer networks of major financial and government institutions around the world, including several financial institutions in the United States. According to industry estimates, Citadel infected approximately 11 million computers worldwide and is responsible for over $500 million in losses.

Between on or about August 21, 2012 and January 9, 2013, while residing in Ukraine, and again between on or about April 9, 2014 and June 2, 2014, while residing in Norway, Vartanyan engaged in the development, improvement, maintenance and distribution of Citadel. During these periods, Vartanyan uploaded numerous electronic files that consisted of Citadel malware, components, updates and patches, as well as customer information, all with the intent of improving Citadel’s illicit functionality.

Vartanyan, a Russian national, was extradited from Norway to face charges in the United States in December 2016. He pled guilty to computer fraud on March 20, 2017.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Grimberg prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance with this case.

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

ATLANTA - Roderick L. Wyatt, 61, of Stone Mountain, Ga., has been charged with accepting bribe payments in exchange for approving the enrollment of almost 20 students to a local college, through a federal workforce program in DeKalb County. The federal indictment alleges that Wyatt agreed to accept payments from the college president for each student sent to the college through Worksource DeKalb, a federally funded program.

“Wyatt allegedly sold his supervisory position with WorkSource DeKalb for cash. In doing so, he allegedly accepted a “bounty” for each student sent to a specific college,” said U. S. Attorney John A. Horn.

“An important mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud relating to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act grants issued by the U.S. Department of Labor. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” said Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

Public corruption is the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority because it takes a significant toll on the public’s pocketbooks by siphoning off tax dollars,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. LeValley. “This case is another example of our commitment to combat corruption by investigating public officials who choose to abuse federally funded programs.”

According to United States Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is a federal public law designed to improve and modernize America’s workforce development system by providing dislocated and low-income individuals with the skills and education needed to obtain employment and by providing employers with trained and qualified workers to fill employment vacancies.

WorkSource DeKalb (formerly DeKalb Workforce Development) was a DeKalb County department funded exclusively by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. WorkSource DeKalb (“WSD”) served the unemployed and underemployed citizens of DeKalb County by providing work readiness programs, services, and activities necessary to obtain sustainable wages. Using federal funds, WSD paid the cost for unemployed and underemployed individuals to attend pre-screened schools or programs where the individuals gained the technical or vocational skills needed to obtain employment in fields such as nursing, truck driving, or welding. After reviewing the unemployed individuals’ career aspirations and educational interests, WSD staff members recommended the individuals to particular pre-screened schools or programs.

From 2013 to April 2017, Wyatt served as a WSD Employment and Training Supervisor. As a supervisor, Wyatt reviewed and approved the school/program recommendations made by WSD staff members.

In 2014, the president and founder of a pre-screened school that offered its students nursing assistant and medical technician certifications approached Wyatt and offered to pay him for each individual that WSD referred to the College. In 2014 and 2015, Wyatt approved the enrollment of approximately 19 students to the College. The College’s president paid Wyatt $100 for each student approved to attend his school. In total, the College received approximately $82,000 in federal funds under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The name of the college has not been identified in the Information or any of the court pleadings.

This case is being investigated by the Department of Labor - Office of the Inspector General and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis and Special Assistant United States Attorney Tyler Mann 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 - Cathine Lavina Sellers of Roswell, Georgia, has been arraigned on federal charges of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, and two synthetic opioids, furanyl-fentanyl and U-47700. A search warrant affidavit in the case alleges that Sellers was selling counterfeit 30mg Roxicodone (oxycodone) pills out of her residence in Roswell.

In conjunction with this arrest, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Atlanta DEA are issuing a public warning regarding these counterfeit pills through their public affairs offices as well as through the North Georgia Heroin Working Group, https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/heroinopioid-working-group. A similar warning was issued just last month when fake Percocet pills caused numerous overdoses in the Macon, Georgia area. Five overdose deaths have been linked to the fake Percocet pills.

“This defendant allegedly sold counterfeit pills that were deliberately designed to look like normal Roxicodone tablets when they were actually laced with fentanyl and two synthetic opioids,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “These pills are especially dangerous because they may be more than 50 times more potent than normal oxycodone. Anyone who consumes these pills faces a substantially higher risk of overdose.”

Daniel R. Salter, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division stated, “Combating the explosion of synthetic drugs continue to be one of DEA’s top priorities. Substances like U-47700, also known as “Pink,” which is a synthetic opioid 7.5 times stronger than morphine, continues to wreak havoc on our society. DEA will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring dangerous ‘pill pushers’ to justice.”

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the indictment, and other information presented in court: On June 13, 2017, Sellers allegedly sold approximately 100 pills for $1,400 in cash from her Roswell townhouse to a confidential source working with the DEA. A field test of the pills was positive for the presence of furanyl-fentanyl, which is an analog of fentanyl, similar to morphine but more potent.

Later that night, DEA agents searched Sellers's home and retrieved the money from the earlier transaction. There, DEA agents found more pills, similar to those purchased, which also contained furanyl-fentanyl, concealed in a dietary supplement bottle. Agents also found a loaded Glock handgun and two magazines. DEA agents arrested Sellers that night.

An affidavit submitted by a Sandy Springs Police officer, who is sworn as a DEA task force officer, recounts a conversation between Sellers and the confidential source during which Sellers acknowledged that the counterfeit pills contained fentanyl. Sellers said that several customers had returned the counterfeit pills because they were too strong, but later came back to get the pills.

investigation revealed that Sellers and her boyfriend have been selling the counterfeit pills for some time before DEA arrested her. The counterfeit pills are described as similar in appearance to a legitimate 30mg Roxicodone tablet, except that they are a slightly lighter color of blue than the regular pills.

Cathine Lavina Sellers, 38, of Roswell, Georgia, is charged with possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, involving fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, and furanyl-fentanyl and U-47700, both of which were designated by DEA as a Schedule I controlled substance on an emergency basis in 2016. Sellers was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 11, 2017.

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

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration together with the Sandy Springs Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John DeGenova is prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta has convened a regional working group to address the threats from opioid abuse and addiction, and more information about the working group can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/heroinopioid-working-group and https://www.facebook.com/NDGAHWG . The U.S. Attorney’s Office further 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.

The United States filed a civil injunction suit seeking to bar Marjorie St. Jean and her company MarjorieStjeanLLC, from owning, operating, or franchising a tax return preparation business and preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, also requests that the court order St. Jean and MarjorieStjeanLLC to disgorge the fees that they obtained through the preparation of allegedly false returns. According to the complaint, St. Jean of McDonough, Georgia, currently owns and operates a tax preparation store called Precise Tax Services. This tax preparation store is located at 7206 Tara Blvd. in Jonesboro, Georgia, according to the complaint.

The government alleges that St. Jean prepares and files tax returns that unlawfully increase her customers’ refunds, and she profits through excessive, often undisclosed preparation fees—at the expense of her customers and the U.S. Treasury. The complaint alleges that St. Jean and her company, MarjorieStjeanLLC, engage in fraudulent activity, including:

• Falsely claiming Fuel Tax Credits;

• Falsely claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit;

• Fabricating businesses and related business income and expenses;

• Fabricating deductions, particularly for unreimbursed employee business expenses; and

• Charging deceptive and unconscionable fees.

According to the complaint, St. Jean was previously an employee of LBS Tax Services, where she worked at a tax preparation store owned and operated by Douglas Mesadieu. A federal court previously barred Mesadieu from preparing federal tax returns for others and owning and operating a tax preparation business, finding that “Mesadieu and his companies have been unjustly enriched by fraudulently inflating the EITC on the tax returns they prepared for customers in order to increase a taxpayer’s tax refund.” Since September 2014, the United States has filed 15 similar lawsuits in Florida and North Carolina against the former LBS Tax Services franchisor, Walner Gachette, and former LBS franchisees and managers, many of whom allegedly rebranded as new businesses and continued to operate tax preparation businesses. Through these lawsuits, the United States has obtained numerous permanent injunctions and money judgments requiring defendants to disgorge millions in ill-gotten tax preparation fees.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS's Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2017. The IRS has some tips on their website for choosing a tax preparer. In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Miguel Angel Rosas-Ramirez and Eduardo Estrada Medina have been arraigned on federal firearm and drug charges. A federal indictment charges that Rosas-Ramirez, a citizen of Mexico, used an unlawfully obtained concealed carry permit to purchase multiple firearms, which his alien status prohibits under federal law, and that he then sold the guns to others, including Estrada. The indictment further charges that Estrada, a citizen of Guatemala, illegally reentered the United States after being deported, purchased several weapons from Rosas-Ramirez, and trafficked in methamphetamine.

 

“Guns are an all-too-frequent part of the illegal drug business, and the majority of these guns arrive in drug dealers’ hands from illegal firearm trafficking as alleged in this case,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “This case is even more troubling because one of the alleged gun purchasers already had been deported once as a result of illegal drug trafficking, and yet found his way back to the United States and to the dangerous combination of methamphetamine and guns.”

 

“ATF’s involvement in securing this indictment is a prime example of the successful use of federal laws to confront, engage and eliminate criminal activity. Criminals must understand that there are serious repercussions for illegal trafficking of narcotics and illegal possession of firearms and that ATF will contribute all necessary time and effort to ensure that the individuals responsible are brought to justice,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court, Rosas-Ramirez falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen in order to obtain a Georgia Weapons Carry Permit. He then allegedly used the permit to illegally purchase over 100 firearms in the past year, several of which have been recovered in the hands of illegal aliens who were themselves trafficking drugs. The indictment charges that Eduardo Estrada Medina, who was also known as Miguel Angel Donis-Gonzalez, not only possessed firearms that Rosas-Ramirez purchased, but also had 8.8 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine, over $140,000 cash, and other drug paraphernalia in his home. Medina was deported in January 2013 after he was convicted of drug trafficking. He then illegally re-entered the United States.

 

Medina faces charges of unlawful possession of firearms by an alien, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking activity, possession of an unregistered silencer, and unlawful possession of firearms by a felon. Rosas-Ramirez has been charged with unlawful possession of firearms by an alien, unlawful dealing in firearms, unlawful claim to U.S. citizenship, and 18 counts of fraudulent statements to licensed gun dealers in connection with firearms purchases.

 

Miguel Angel Rosas-Ramirez, 24, a Mexican citizen living in Statham, Georgia, and Eduardo Estrada Medina, a/k/a Miguel Angel Donis-Gonzalez, 28, a Guatemalan citizen in the United States living in Winder, Georgia, were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Clay Fuller. A federal grand jury indicted the pair on June 27, 2017.

 

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

 

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

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keen 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 - Frederick Laron Summerset has been sentenced to two years in prison for failing to register as a convicted sex offender when he moved from Minnesota to Cobb County, Georgia in 2016.

 

“This defendant was convicted of violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “The purpose of this Act is to prevent convicted sex offenders, like Summerset, from living or working around children. It also allows citizens to remain informed about sex offenders who might live near them.”

 

"Many parents want to know when a sex offender moves into their area. When a convicted sex offender does not register their address, it denies the community their right to know. Also it hinders law enforcement’s ability to ensure that the sex offender is not in violation of other provisions of the Sex Offender Act,” said Beverly Harvard, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia.

 

According to U.S. Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Summerset was convicted in Minnesota in November 2011 of committing a sex offense against a child. As a result of this conviction, he was required to register for life as a convicted sex offender. When he was released from prison in Minnesota in August 2014, he initially registered as required. However, by March 2016, he had left Minnesota. He was eventually located in Cobb County, Georgia. He admitted that he had moved at the beginning of 2016 and did not register as a sex offender with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office because he suspected that Minnesota had a warrant for his arrest.

 

Frederick Laron Summerset, 34, of Hastings, Minnesota, was sentenced to two years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Summerset was convicted of these charges on April 19, 2017, 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 – Compassionate Care Hospice Group, Inc., (“CCH Group”) has agreed to pay $2.4 million to resolve allegations that CCH Group and its subsidiary Compassionate Care Hospice of Atlanta, LLC, (“CCH Atlanta”) submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid by engaging in improper financial relationships with contracted physicians. CCH Group is a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in Parsippany, New Jersey, and subsidiaries and affiliates in numerous states.

 

“Kickbacks should never play a role in medical decision-making,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “When healthcare providers are paid for referrals, the costs of health services inevitably rise and ultimately are borne by taxpayers.”

 

“The False Claims Act settlement in this case should be a deterrent to those who would so selfishly circumvent our federal healthcare programs to their benefit,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. LeValley. “Rest assured the FBI is committed to diligently investigating those who would defraud our federally funded healthcare programs, depriving those who truly depend on them.”

 

“It is paramount to our health care system that those seeking health care advice know that providers and treatments recommended to them are not influenced by illegal remuneration or arrangements,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “The OIG is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat this sort of activity.”

 

“Our office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit will continue to work with our federal partners to go after any action that compromises the integrity of our health care systems,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. “This type of scheme obscures the proper relationship among those providing health care services to Medicaid members, and it diminishes the quality of health care options available to our citizens. We won’t stand for it.”

 

The government alleges that, between April 3, 2007 and April 29, 2011, CCH Group and CCH Atlanta paid illegal remuneration to five physicians in order to induce the providers to refer patients to CCH Atlanta for hospice services and certify individuals as eligible for hospice services. The government also alleges that CCH Atlanta and CCH Group submitted or caused the submission of claims to Medicare and Medicaid for services provided to the individuals who had been referred by the physicians because of the kickbacks. The illegal remuneration took the form of (1) payments to a medical director in exchange for referrals and (2) sham contracts with associate medical directors in exchange for referrals.

 

The settlement resolves allegations filed by Cathy Morris and Josie King, former CCH Atlanta employees, under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which authorizes private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and share in the recovery. The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Georgia and is captioned United States & State of Georgia ex rel. Morris & King v. Compassionate Care Hospice Group of Atlanta, LLC, et al., No. 1:10-cv-3450 (N.D. Ga.). Ms. Morris and Ms. King will receive a share of the settlement.

 

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

 

This 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 Georgia State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

 

The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lena Amanti and Neeli Ben-David and Georgia State Assistant Attorney General Sara Vann.

 

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 – John A. Horn, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and Brian J. Stretch, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, announced that the United States has settled civil mortgage fraud claims against Prospect Mortgage Company, LLC (“Prospect”) stemming from Prospect’s participation in the Direct Endorsement Lender Program, which is administered by the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”).

 

“To participate in the FHA program, Prospect had to comply with HUD underwriting and quality control requirements and certify that these requirements had been satisfied with respect to each FHA loan it originated,” said John A. Horn, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. “Prospect failed to adhere to these requirements at two Southeastern branches and when many of these loans later defaulted, the United States suffered substantial losses.”

 

“Prospect’s knowing failure to comply with material HUD loan origination requirements not only resulted in major losses to the public fisc, but also served to undermine the FHA program,” said Brian Stretch, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California. “Today’s settlement demonstrates the Department of Justice’s resolve and commitment to hold lenders, large and small, accountable for this type of fraudulent conduct.”

 

“Ensuring the fiscal integrity of FHA programs is at the core of our mission,” said Acting HUD Inspector General Helen M. Albert. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and root out those that seek to compromise such programs that are directly intended to assist the American public,” he concluded.

 

In this settlement, Prospect has agreed to pay the United States $4.157 million to resolve an investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern Districts of Georgia and California into whether Prospect violated the False Claims Act by falsely certifying compliance with critical underwriting and quality control (“QC”) requirements when originating loans insured by the FHA and HUD. As revealed by an Atlanta HUD-Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) audit, two Prospect branches – one in Florida and another in North Carolina – originated many of these loans without adhering to the requisite HUD requirements. As a result, the United States suffered substantial losses when the loans defaulted and ripened into claims by Prospect for insurance payments from the United States.

 

Prospect participated in the FHA insurance program as a Direct Endorsement Lender (“DE Lender”). As a DE Lender, Prospect had the authority to originate, underwrite, and endorse mortgages for FHA insurance. If a DE Lender approves a mortgage loan for FHA insurance, and the loan later defaults, the holder of the loan may submit an insurance claim to the Government to recover its losses on the loan. Under the DE Program, the Government does not review a loan before endorsement for FHA insurance. Instead, FHA and HUD rely upon DE Lenders like Prospect to follow program rules, which require, among other things, that a lender: (1) adhere to HUD underwriting guidelines; (2) maintain a QC program that can identify and correct deficiencies in their underwriting practices; and (3) self-report to HUD materially deficient loans identified by their QC program.

 

Between December 2007 and December 2009, Prospect had a 12.29 percent default rate – well in excess of the national average – within HUD’s Atlanta Home Ownership Center (“HOC”). HUD determined that approximately 76% of these defaults were attributable to two particular Prospect branches located in Florida and North Carolina. The Government’s investigation revealed that the majority of the audited loans from these branches were not compliant with HUD underwriting requirements relating to Prospect’s assessment of borrower: (1) assets; (2) income; and (3) credit, which are essential considerations in determining whether a loan will be repaid, as opposed to going into default or serious delinquency.

 

As part of the settlement, Prospect has acknowledged among other things, the following conduct that occurred in the two Prospect branches at issue:

 

• Prospect endorsed for FHA insurance loans that had not been originated in accordance with HUD requirements concerning a DE Lender’s assessment of assets, income, and credit.

   

• Prospect falsely certified that the non-compliant loans that it originated had been underwritten in accordance with HUD underwriting requirements.

   

• As evidenced by its 12.29% default rate within the Atlanta HOC, and the fact that 76% percent of such defaults were attributable to one branch office in Florida and another in North Carolina, Prospect failed to adhere to HUD quality control guidelines.

 

The investigation of this case was a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern Districts of Georgia and California, HUD, and HUD-OIG.

 

This resolution with Prospect is the latest in a string of civil fraud cases pursued by the United States in recent years alleging fraudulent lending practices by residential mortgage lenders.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paris A. Wynn handled this matter for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

 

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, 31, of Cartersville, Georgia, has been arraigned on multiple federal charges, including unlawfully accessing a law enforcement database and disclosure of confidential information. Banks was a Cartersville Police Officer who was assigned to a DEA task force and allegedly used his access to law enforcement databases to alert an informant and drug traffickers to an active federal investigation.

 

“The defendant allegedly used his position to tip off drug traffickers to an active FBI investigation,” said U.S. Attorney John A. Horn. “His conduct is shocking, especially from someone sworn to uphold the law. Leaks of sensitive investigative information undermined the hard work of law enforcement officers and put them in real danger.”

 

“The federal investigation and its subsequent federal charges in this matter was unfortunate but necessary. A separate extensive and intensive federal investigation was clearly being negatively impacted by someone who was believed to be a law enforcement officer with inside information. The resulting investigation alleged that this officer was Cartersville P.D. Officer Banks who will now have to answer to these very serious allegations in a U.S. District Court,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

Daniel R. Salter, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division said of the case, "This Cartersville police officer, assigned to the DEA Task Force, was sworn to uphold the law and protect the public from harm. Instead, he violated his oath by unlawfully accessing a law enforcement database and disclosing confidential information. Thanks to the dedicated law enforcement officers and the U.S. Attorney’s Office who worked tirelessly to make this investigation a success.”

 

“The Cartersville Police became aware of these allegations, and immediately initiated an internal investigation. Within two weeks, of the start of the investigation, Officer Bryson Taylor Banks was terminated for issues related to conduct, over two years ago. The Cartersville Police Department has been in full cooperation with all agencies involved pertaining to this investigations conclusion,” said Lieutenant Michael Bettikofer, Public Information Officer, Cartersville Police Department.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: From October 2008 until August 2015, Banks served as a Cartersville Police Officer. As a law enforcement officer, Banks used a confidential informant who provided Banks with inside information about several drug traffickers.

 

In 2014, however, Banks allegedly began giving the informant information from a confidential law enforcement database, which allowed the informant to warn drug traffickers about the presence of law enforcement. Furthermore, in 2014 and 2015, the FBI was investigating a drug trafficking organization, which included an inmate in a Georgia state prison who was using contraband cellular telephones to coordinate drug deals. In July 2015, the FBI obtained court authorization to wiretap two of the inmate’s cellular telephones. On multiple occasions, the inmate was intercepted discussing drug trafficking activities with fellow drug trafficker Tomas Pineda Mendoza.

 

On the morning of August 11, 2015, the FBI informed Banks of its wiretap investigation of the inmate, including the fact that the inmate was arranging for the distribution of two kilograms of methamphetamine to Mendoza to occur at 2:00 p.m. that same day. Following this conversation, Banks allegedly warned his informant to advise Mendoza not to pick up drugs that day, and if he did, he would go to jail. Banks then disclosed the FBI wiretap of the inmate’s phones to his informant. Later that day, the FBI intercepted communications which revealed that the inmate had learned of the wiretap. The inmate then discontinued the use of his telephones, and the FBI investigation was compromised.

 

Banks has been charged as follows:

 

• Unlawful Notification of Electronic Surveillance;

• Unlawful Disclosure of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communications;

• Use of a Communication Facility in Causing or Facilitating the Commission of Felonies Under the Controlled Substances Act;

• Misprision of a Felony;

• Unlawfully Accessing a Law Enforcement Database; and

• Disclosure of Confidential Information.

 

The indictment also alleges that in July 2015, Banks sent his informant a photograph of another law enforcement confidential informant. Banks advised his informant to stay away from that individual because they worked with law enforcement.

 

Bryson-Taylor Wayne Banks, 31, of Cartersville, Georgia, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson. Banks was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 27, 2017.

 

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

 

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

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney 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 - Blas Aleman has been sentenced to 17 years, 11 months in federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. Aleman participated in the drug conspiracy in 2008, and after that time was believed to be on the run in Mexico. In March 2016, following his apprehension in Mexico, Aleman was extradited to the United States to face the federal drug trafficking charge.

 

“We will pursue international drug traffickers who distribute their illegal narcotics in this country and take refuge outside of the United States,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Thanks to the diligence of our federal and state law enforcement partners, this drug trafficker has been brought to justice after spending almost eight years as a fugitive.”

 

Daniel R. Salter, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division stated, “This cocaine trafficker eluded justice and ran to what he considered a place of refuge (Mexico). With patience, investigative skill and relentless pursuit, this fugitive was captured. This is a shining example of how DEA and its law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to pursue the far stretching tentacles of drug traffickers who seek to run from justice.”

 

“This is yet another case where federal law enforcement was and will continue to be relentless in finding those who cause drugs to be brought into our neighborhoods,” said Beverly Harvard, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In or around early 2008, in Marietta, Georgia, Aleman met with, and recruited, an individual to become a courier for his drug trafficking organization. Aleman then purchased a car in Smyrna, Georgia, and had it registered and insured in the courier’s name. In early May 2008, Aleman traveled with the courier to Guerrero, Mexico, and oversaw the delivery of the car to his fellow drug traffickers.

 

While in Mexico, Aleman was responsible for hiding 11.8 kilograms of cocaine and 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine inside of an after-market compartment installed in the vehicle. Aleman then returned the car to the courier at a hotel on the Mexican side of the U.S. border. Aleman ordered the courier to drive across the U.S. border and to deliver the drugs to Aleman’s conspirators in Atlanta, where the drugs would be further distributed. Although the courier crossed the U.S. border without being detected, he was stopped by a police officer in Mississippi for a traffic violation while traveling eastbound on Interstate 20. During a search of the car, law enforcement discovered the hidden compartment containing the drugs.

 

In June 2008, a grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment charging Aleman, the courier, and three other conspirators with drug conspiracy in relation to the narcotics seized from the car. The U.S. Marshals Service soon determined that Aleman was in rural Mexico and believed to be in hiding. After a multi-year effort by the U.S. Department of Justice, Aleman was extradited to the United States to face the federal drug charge in March 2016.

 

U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. sentenced Blas Aleman, 38, of Guerrero, Mexico, to 17 years, 11 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. The Court also ordered that Aleman be deported from the United States once he completes his prison term. Aleman was found guilty by a jury on April 13, 2017, following a four-day trial.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor C. Wilmot 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 – Travis Ball has been sentenced to two years in prison for mailing hoax anthrax threats. Ball sent letters to the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“LDS”) threatening harm to members of each organization.

 

“Ball’s threatening letters, which contained a substance he claimed was anthrax, were meant to instill fear in the recipients and diverted critical resources from actual emergencies,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “This hoax and the defendant’s subsequent prosecution serve as a reminder that we take threats seriously, and will use every resource available to protect the citizens of this district.”

 

“The sentencing in federal court of Mr. Ball to two years in a federal prison is commensurate with the wasted resources and concern generated by his hate filled hoax anthrax letter campaign while already incarcerated on a prior arson conviction. While Mr. Ball’s criminal conduct clearly illustrates his lack of concern and compassion for others, it also illustrates an unwillingness to be rehabilitated,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

“Any type of criminal activity perpetrated from behind the walls of our facilities will not be tolerated, and we are grateful to our Federal partners for their assistance in bringing this case to a close,” said GDC Commissioner Gregory C. Dozier.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: On April 7, 2016, while incarcerated in Coffee Correctional Facility in Nicholls, Georgia, Ball mailed letters that were later received by the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“LDS”) in Salt Lake City, Utah. The letters stated, “have some anthrax” and contained a granular substance. The letter to the State Bar of Georgia threatened to kill all lawyers while the letter to the LDS Church threatened to kill Mormons and burn their churches. At the time he mailed the letters, Ball was in state custody for a prior arson conviction.

 

Travis Ball, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. on June 23, 2017 to two years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,704. Ball was convicted of these charges on March 1, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Georgia Department of Corrections, Criminal Investigation Division.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolee Porter is prosecuting the case.

 

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

ATLANTA - Rigoberto Fernandez-Gonzalez, a/k/a Juan Garcia, has been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 59 pounds of methamphetamine, or “ice,” and for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

 

“This defendant sought to unleash an enormous quantity of narcotics into the community without regard for the damage it would have caused,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Thanks to the swift actions of law enforcement, he was stopped in his tracks.”

 

“This investigation is evidence of ATF’s commitment to combating firearms crimes and drug trafficking. ATF’s Frontline strategy utilizes every available resource to make our communities safer places to live,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Wayne Dixie.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In early 2016, law enforcement learned that Rigoberto Fernandez-Gonzalez was involved in manufacturing methamphetamine. On March 8, 2016, officers with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at a residence in Fairburn, Georgia. Law enforcement suspected that Fernandez-Gonzalez used this location as a clandestine laboratory for the conversion of liquid methamphetamine to crystalline form. Inside the home, officers discovered a makeshift laboratory, consisting of a single propane burner and large pot, along with various chemicals, car batteries, digital scales, plastic containers, and three to four gallons of liquid methamphetamine – all materials commonly used in the conversion of methamphetamine.

 

When officers arrived, they found Fernandez-Gonzalez actively converting liquid methamphetamine. He had already converted a massive quantity to crystalline form as well. Officers seized 59 pounds of “ice,” later determined to be 99% pure. In addition, officers recovered two loaded firearms, at least one of which was stolen.

 

Rigoberto Fernandez-Gonzalez, a/k/a Juan Garcia, 47, a Mexican national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark H. Cohen, to 22 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In addition, the Court ordered Fernandez-Gonzalez to be turned over to Immigration officials for removal proceedings, after serving his custodial sentence, and ordered forfeiture of the recovered firearms and ammunition. He was sentenced on June 20, 2017. Fernandez-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense on March 27, 2017.

 

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

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly K. Connors 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 - A pain clinic owner, an office manager who was also the wife of the owner, and two doctors have been sentenced for illegally prescribing painkillers to known addicts and drug dealers at three pain clinics in metropolitan Atlanta. Godfrey and Bona Ilonzo, as well as Dr. Nevorn Askari and Dr. William Richardson, were sentenced to terms in prison between four and 12 years for federal drug and money laundering charges for their respective roles in operating the AMARC “pill mills.”

 

“The roots of our current heroin and fentanyl crisis are found in the opiate abuse epidemic,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Like many other states, Georgia continues to experience the devastating toll of this epidemic on its citizens. Yet, these defendants willingly exploited desperate drug addicts by feeding their addictions in order to turn a profit.”

 

“These drug traffickers, dressed in white lab coats, can no longer cause damage to those addicted to pain medicine. These rogue “medical field” employees will now have plenty of time to reflect on the damages they have caused while serving their sentences in federal prison. DEA and our state and local partners remain committed to keeping our communities safe,” said Dan Salter, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Atlanta Field Division.

 

“The diversion of dangerous prescription drugs is a public health epidemic that is crippling communities throughout the country,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey. “It makes matters much worse when the individuals responsible for medical care are also illegally supplying lethal drugs. IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to work with our partners to dismantle these deadly drug trafficking organizations and seek justice for the harm caused to the community”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In May 2009, agents of the Tactical Diversion Squad of the DEA learned that doctors at the AMARC clinic in Atlanta, Georgia, were prescribing pain pills outside the bounds of legitimate medical practice to drug addicts and drug dealers. Subsequently, DEA, working with IRS and officers from other state and local agencies, learned that Godfrey Ilonzo financed and operated at least eight clinics in the Atlanta area under the “AMARC” name, including the pain clinic in Atlanta and two other pain clinics under different names; one in Tyrone, Georgia, and one other in Atlanta.

 

Bona Ilonzo (Godfrey Ilonzo’s wife) served as the office manager at the main AMARC pain clinic. At various times, Askari and Richardson served as the primary doctors for the AMARC pain clinics. Law enforcement also learned that Rosemary Ofume and Donatus Iriele operated Medicine Center Pharmacy in Atlanta, and illegitimately dispensed pain pills to AMARC customers.

 

The Ilonzos asked Dr. Askari and Dr. Richardson to prescribe Oxycodone pills and other opiates to addicts and distributors. Many of those customers traveled to the AMARC clinics from counties throughout Georgia and from other states (including Alabama and Ohio). Customers waited for hours at one AMARC pain clinic and paid cash to receive prescriptions for Oxycodone/Hydrocodone, Xanax, and Soma (the “holy trinity”) for resale on the street. Askari and Richardson issued prescriptions for medically inappropriate and potentially lethal combinations of Oxycodone, Alprazolam, Hydrocodone, and other controlled substances without conducting adequate medical examinations. After seeing a patient once, Askari would repeatedly “pre-sign” prescriptions for the same amounts and types of controlled substances without ever seeing the patient again in-person, while falsely indicating in the patient’s file that she had conducted an in-person examination of the patient.

 

After customers received illegitimate prescriptions from AMARC, clinic staff told customers to fill their prescriptions across the street at a pharmacy operated by Ofume and Iriele. Employees at the AMARC clinics and pharmacy received discounts and special treatment, including free office visits and reduced prices for pills dispensed at the pharmacy.

 

During the course of the conspiracy, the AMARC clinics generated more than $3 million dollars from unlawful prescriptions. Godfrey and Bona Ilonzo used that money to recruit additional physicians and patients to the AMARC pain clinics, open additional clinics under the “AMARC” name, purchase property, and send their children to expensive private schools.

 

Godfrey and Bona Ilonzo, Drs. Askari and Richardson, Rosemary Ofume, and Donatus Iriele have all pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial. U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones imposed sentences on the four AMARC defendants as follows:

 

• Godfrey Ilonzo, 66, of Alpharetta, Georgia, was sentenced on June 14, 2017,

  to 12 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Godfrey Ilonzo had pleaded guilty to charges related to a drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy on February 16, 2017.

   

• Bona Ilonzo, 54, of Alpharetta, Georgia, was sentenced on June 14, 2017, to eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Bona Ilonzo had pleaded guilty to charges related to a drug trafficking conspiracy on February 16, 2017;

 

• Dr. Nevorn Askari, 61, of Monroe, Georgia, was sentenced on June 13, 2017, to five years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Dr. Askari pleaded guilty on February 16, 2017, to her involvement in this drug trafficking conspiracy; and,

   

• Dr. William Richardson, 63, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced on June 13, 2017, to four years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Dr. Richardson pleaded guilty on February 1, 2017, for his involvement in this drug trafficking conspiracy.

 

Both Dr. Askari and Dr. Richardson voluntarily surrendered their medical licenses to the Georgia Composite Board of Medicine.

 

As part of their sentences, Judge Jones also ordered Godfrey and Bona Ilonzo to forfeit approximately $20,000 in seized funds, and he entered personal money judgements of $1.5 million against each of them.

 

On March 24, 2017, after a three-week jury trial, Rosemary Ofume and Donatus Iriele were convicted on federal drug and money laundering charges for illegally dispensing controlled narcotics to AMARC customers. Sentencing for Ofume and Iriele is scheduled for July 20, 2017, before Judge Jones.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laurel Boatright, Cassandra Schansman, and Michael Brown 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 - Kevin Ray Williamson has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for a string of six armed bank robberies that began on February 4, 2016, and continued until September 8, 2016.

 

“Williamson’s violent crime spree put citizens in our community on edge for months, especially bank employees just doing their jobs,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Thankfully, an observant citizen brought his criminal conduct to an abrupt end.”

 

“The lengthy sentence handed down in federal court removes a violent serial offender from our streets. The details of the robberies committed by Mr. Williamson illustrate a total lack of regard for his victims, many of whom will, for many years, be dealing with the emotional trauma of having a gun pointed at them by an armed bank robber,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: On February 4, 2016, Williamson entered a Fifth Third Bank located in Marietta, Georgia. Williamson pointed a handgun at a bank teller and demanded money from her cash drawer. Bank surveillance video captured the robbery and showed Williamson carrying a messenger/computer type bag in which he demanded the money be placed. During this robbery, Williamson threatened to “empty the clip” of his gun if his demands were not met.

 

The defendant also committed the following robberies in the Metro-Atlanta area:

 

• On April 1, 2016, Williamson entered a Regions Bank in Marietta while armed with a handgun. Williamson approached the bank’s counter and pointed his handgun at the teller, opened his messenger bag and demanded cash. The teller complied with Williamson’s demands and handed cash to him. Williamson threatened to shoot the teller if he did not receive the money he demanded. The surveillance photographs from the bank security system show that the person who robbed the Regions Bank was the same person who robbed the Fifth Third Bank in February 2016.
•  
• On May 25, 2016, Williamson entered a BB&T Bank in Marietta. Williamson approached a bank teller, displayed a black handgun, and demanded cash. The teller complied with the robber’s demands and gave cash to Williamson. This robbery was captured on surveillance video.
•  
• On July 13, 2016, Williamson entered a PNC Bank in Marietta. Bank surveillance images show that as in the other robberies, Williamson was carrying a messenger/computer type bag and approached a bank teller, opened the bag and pointed a black handgun. The teller complied with Williamson’s demands and gave him cash.

•  
• On August 22, 2016, Williamson entered Fidelity Bank located in Atlanta. Inside the bank, the robber pointed a gun at a teller, stated that he was robbing the bank and demanded money. The teller complied and gave Williamson cash.

•  
• On September 8, 2016, Williamson entered Renasant Bank located in Johns Creek, Georgia. He displayed a handgun and demanded money from several drawers. Williamson told the teller that she would die if he did not receive more than $5,000.
   

Williamson wore mostly the same clothes and similar disguises at each bank - a beard, a khaki baseball cap, a dark colored suit, a dark green polo shirt, and sunglasses. His robbery spree ended when a witness at the September 2016 robbery saw him drive away in an Infiniti coupe that was traced back to him.

 

On February 10, 2017, Kevin Ray Williamson, 52, of Marietta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to six counts of armed bank robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Williamson has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, and ordered to pay $30,867 in restitution.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzette A. Smikle 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 - Eleven defendants have been charged with laundering drug money to Mexico through metro-Atlanta area money remitters during a three-year long federal investigation focused on money laundering by money remittance businesses.

 

“Using money remitters to launder illegal drug proceeds is just one more way drug cartels fuel their criminal enterprises,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “The business model of many Mexican cartels requires a means to get their cash profits across the border and into the hands of the supervisors and sellers. This investigation shows that they may have found an effective means through unscrupulous money remitters. We hope these cases will help to close this pipeline.”

 

“The criminal network uncovered by this investigation laundered millions of dollars in illegal drug proceeds back to Mexico and provided direct support to the drug trafficking organizations plaguing the region with dangerous illicit narcotics and the violence associated with drug trafficking activities,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick Annan. “HSI will continue to focus investigative efforts on dismantling and bringing to justice members of drug trafficking organizations and all those complicit in their activities.”

“Narcotics traffickers will attempt to create elaborate financial networks in an effort to launder illegal drug proceeds,” stated Acting Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey. “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to peel back every intricate layer used to launder those proceeds and expose everyone involved.‎”
 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the indictments, and other information presented in court: In 2014, federal law enforcement agents began investigating individuals in the metro-Atlanta area that were suspected of laundering drug proceeds to Mexico. Federal agents utilized cooperating sources to infiltrate these individuals’ networks and determined that the money launderers frequently used small businesses to send funds out of the country via money remittance services. These small businesses allow customers to wire funds to individuals in other countries without using traditional bank accounts.

 

Investigators determined that managers and employees of a number of metro-Atlanta money remitters were knowingly helping the money launderers send drug proceeds to Mexico. During the course of the investigation, cooperating sources and an undercover law enforcement officer brought money that was represented as coming from drug sales to different remitters. The cooperating sources or undercover law enforcement officer made clear that the money came from the sale of illegal narcotics. In exchange for a kickback, managers and employees of nine different businesses allegedly agreed to launder purported drug funds to Mexico by breaking the transactions into smaller amounts and by listing fake sender names, addresses, and telephone numbers.

 

The investigation revealed that these nine money remitters allegedly transmitted more than $40 million over a roughly four-year timeframe. Federal agents determined that these remitters transmitted thousands of wires to individuals in Mexico that listed fake addresses and telephone numbers, which is how the bulk of the undercover proceeds were laundered.

 

The indictments allege that the defendants tried to conceal the source of the funds by circumventing the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires financial institutions - including money remitters - to monitor their clients for suspicious conduct and to obtain valid identification for high dollar remittances. The defendants allegedly kept their transfers under certain dollar amounts to avoid raising suspicion. Several of the defendants allegedly served as the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”) Compliance Officers for their respective stores and were responsible for detecting and reporting these types of illicit financial transactions.

 

Federal agents conducted search warrants at several metro-Atlanta area money remitters and arrested nine defendants. The following individuals were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard:

 

• Oscar Gustavo Perez-Bernal, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia. Oscar Perez-Bernal was the manager and BSA/AML Compliance Officer at La Tienda and Cocina Linda Vista, which were both located in Chamblee, Georgia. From 2013 to 2017, these two stores allegedly transmitted over $16.9 million.

   

• Itzayana Guadalupe Perez-Bernal, a/k/a Lupe, 24, of Norcross, Georgia. Itzayana Perez-Bernal was an employee at La Tienda.

   

• Norma Dominguez, 57, of Atlanta, Georgia. Dominguez was the manager and BSA/AML Compliance Officer at La Veracruzana, which was located in Chamblee, Georgia. From 2013 through mid-2017, this store allegedly transmitted over $5.7 million.

   

• Norma Carrera, 39, of Atlanta, Georgia. Carrera was the manager and BSA/AML Compliance Officer at Hilos y Estambres Teresita, which was located in Chamblee, Georgia. From 2014 through mid-2017, this store allegedly transmitted over $6.1 million.

   

• Victor Perez, 30, of Lawrenceville, Georgia. Perez was the manager and BSA/AML Compliance Officer at Intercargo, which had offices in Lawrenceville, Georgia and Marietta, Georgia. From 2013 through 2015, this store allegedly transmitted over $7 million.

   

• Merli Sandy Tejeda-Bermudez, a/k/a Jorhley Adadlay-Bermudez, 30, of Duluth, Georgia. Tejeda-Bermudez was the manager and BSA/Compliance Officer at Mundo Cargo and RR Latinas, which were both located in Lawrenceville, Georgia. From 2015 through mid-2017, this store allegedly transmitted over $1.5 million.

   

• Daniel Castaneda-Garcia, 31, of Atlanta, Georgia. Castaneda-Garcia was the manager and BSA/AML Compliance Officer at Taqueria el Dany, which was located in Lawrenceville, Georgia. In 2015, this store allegedly transmitted over $300,000.

   

• Susan Fiorella Ayala-Chavez, a/k/a Pitus, 30, of Lawrenceville, Georgia. Ayala-Chavez was an employee at the Rainforest Chevron gas station in Lawrenceville, Georgia. From 2014 through mid-2017, this store allegedly transmitted over $3 million.

   

• Lidia Pineda-Altamarino, a/k/a Lily, 32, of Lawrenceville, Georgia.

 

The following individuals have been charged with money laundering, but have not yet been apprehended:

 

• Norma Eriza-Gomez, 41, of Mexico

   

• Marina Eriza-Gomez of Mexico.

   

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

 

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department, Georgia State Patrol, and Powder Springs Police Department provided valuable assistance throughout the course of the investigation.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas J. Krepp and Alison B. Prout are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section provided significant assistance.

 

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 – Jaleel Akeem Wulu, also known as “Trill Castro,” and Javaree Malique Williams have been sentenced for lying to a federal firearms licensee during the purchase of a firearm, and conspiracy to commit that offense. The conspiracy involved multiple illegal firearms purchases from several firearms dealers.

 

“Firearms trafficking continues to pose an ever-increasing risk to the safety and security of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney John A. Horn. “These two defendants made it possible for multiple firearms to be transferred out of Georgia into other states and ultimately into the hands of criminals, jeopardizing the safety of any number of citizens.”

 

“One of ATF’s top priorities is to deny criminals access to firearms and protect the rights of law abiding citizens. These two offenders illegally trafficked firearms that subsequently could have been used against our citizens and our communities; ATF takes this very seriously,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Wayne Dixie.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: On March 22, 2017, Wulu and Williams pleaded guilty to the offense of conspiring to make false statements to purchase multiple firearms from several federally licensed firearms dealers, and a second charge of lying to a federally licensed firearms dealer to purchase a firearm. Specifically, Williams admitted to ATF agents that beginning in or about December 2014, through November 28, 2015, he purchased 26 firearms, all but one of which he sold to Wulu. Wulu gave Williams the money for his firearms purchases, and he sometimes traveled to Atlanta to accompany Williams to the firearms dealer locations to choose the guns. Wulu was then an aspiring rapper known as “Trill Castro,” who made music video recordings in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.

 

During the investigation, law enforcement officers recovered multiple firearms in Maryland and Ohio, which were purchased by Williams for Wulu. Wulu had lived in both these states during the conspiracy. Several of the guns were also recovered at crime scenes fairly close to the date that Williams and Wulu purchased them, including the following recoveries:

 

• On November 15, 2015, Maryland State Patrol (MSP) officers recovered a Glock, .40 caliber pistol in Millersville, Maryland, that Williams purchased in Georgia from Adventure Outdoors on August 12, 2015. MSP officers stopped a driver for speeding and arrested him after discovery of the firearm and illegal drugs in the vehicle;
• On January 27, 2016, the Prince George’s, Maryland, County Police Department (MCPD) recovered a Taurus, .40 caliber pistol in Forestville, Maryland, that Williams purchased in Georgia from Team 88 Enterprises 86 days earlier on November 2, 2015. The MCPD had stopped a vehicle and illegal drugs were recovered during a search of the car. A firearm was found hidden in the passenger’s sweatshirt and both of the occupants of the car were arrested;
• On February 5, 2016, the Prince George’s Community College Campus Police recovered a Taurus, 9mm caliber pistol in Largo, Maryland, that Williams purchased from Team 88 Enterprises in Georgia on November 2, 2015. College campus police had responded to a fight in the school campus parking lot and arrested the subject who possessed the firearm purchased by Williams;
• Also on February 5, 2016, the Cleveland, Ohio, Police Department recovered an Extar, .223 caliber pistol from Wulu in Warrensville, Ohio, that Williams purchased from Team 88 Enterprises in Georgia on November 28, 2015. Local police had responded to Wulu’s residence after family members reported that he was a danger to himself. Wulu was in possession of the firearm and his family requested that police take custody of it;
• On July 11, 2016, the MCPD recovered a Taurus, 9mm pistol that Williams purchased from Adventure Outdoors on August 12, 2015. The firearm was recovered from a suspect arrested during the MCPD’s investigation of a burglary of an apartment; and
• On July 13, 2016, MCPD recovered another Taurus, 9mm pistol that Williams purchased from Arrowhead Pawn on July 31, 2015, in Jonesboro, Georgia. The MCPD were conducting a burglary interdiction operation when they encountered a 17-year-old suspect gambling in public and in possession of the concealed firearm and arrested him.

Jaleel Akeem Wulu, also known as “Trill Castro,” age 23, of Bowie, Maryland, and Javaree Malique Williams, age 24, of Fairburn, Georgia, each received sentences of two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

 

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

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr., prosecuted the case.

 

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

ATLANTA - Dr. Anthony Lefteris has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of falsifying documents and to entering false information into the records of the U.S. Department of Transportation (“USDOT”) for selling false medical certifications used to obtain commercial driver’s licenses.

 

“Dr. Lefteris was entrusted to examine commercial vehicle drivers to make certain that they were physically fit to drive safely,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Instead, he failed to perform the required examinations and falsified the results of his tests, ultimately making our roads less safe for the rest of us.”

 

“As evidenced by the guilty plea entered into today by Dr. Anthony Lefteris for falsifying U. S. Department of Transportation medical applications for commercial driver's licenses, we remain unwavering in our commitment to ensuring the safety of the traveling public on our Nation's roadways,” said Marlies Gonzalez, Regional Special Agent-in-Charge for the USDOT OIG. “Working with our departmental, law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, we will continue to identify, pursue, and bring to justice individuals who jeopardize the integrity of DOT's safety programs.”

 

“I am extremely proud of the men and women of the Motor Carrier Compliance Division for their role in this complicated and intricate case. We are honored to have such a strong working relationship with our federal partners and look forward to a continued partnership to ensure a safer environment for the motoring citizens of our state,” said Colonel Mark W. McDonough, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Public Safety.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: One mission of the USDOT is to promote the safety of America's roadways through the promulgation and implementation of medical regulations, guidelines, and policies for the physical qualification of commercial motor vehicle drivers. When individuals seek to obtain or renew a state issued commercial driver’s license, they must submit to a medical examination performed by a medical examiner listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. They must also be medically certified as physically qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle. These medical examinations ensure that these drivers do not suffer from ailments that would otherwise affect their ability to drive a commercial vehicle safely.

 

Lefteris was a USDOT medical examiner who admitted he failed to perform certain procedures during medical examinations. Some of the procedures he failed to perform were required vision and hearing examinations, and urinalyses. He then completed USDOT medical examination forms for drivers he examined on which he falsely included figures and information representing the results for procedures he did not perform.

 

Lefteris also issued USDOT Medical Examiner’s Certificates to drivers certifying them as physically fit to drive even though he did not conduct a complete examination. Lefteris subsequently transmitted his results to the USDOT, fraudulently certifying that the medical examinations were conducted in accordance with federal regulations. In return, the drivers paid him cash, sometimes $65 per certification.

 

Sentencing for Anthony Lefteris, 72, of Atlanta, Georgia, is scheduled for August 28, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May.

 

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Georgia Department of Public Safety Motor Carrier Compliance Division.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracia King 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 - Quentin Pickett and Cornelius Henderson have been arraigned on federal charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft. Pickett, Henderson, and three other individuals were indicted for, among other things, stealing credit cards from the baggage loading areas of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and using them to obtain cash advances throughout metro-Atlanta.

 

“Identity theft is a serious crime and the stakes only become higher when thieves organize themselves to execute larger-scale, systemic frauds,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “These defendants allegedly sought to exploit the airport’s baggage loading processes and prey on unsuspecting citizens who depend on the mail to receive their new cards.”

 

“Pickett and others devised a scheme to steal U.S. mail by taking advantage of the access given to them by their employer,” said David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge, Charlotte Division. “Postal Inspectors are committed to protecting the sanctity of the US Postal Service and will hold those accountable that steal from innocent victims and profit from these illicit schemes.”

 

“Pickett and his conspirators were creative in their scheme to steal victims’ credit cards and defraud them,” said Kenneth Cronin, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “The United States Secret Service will continue to arrest criminals who use their trustworthy positions to violate unsuspecting victims such as those in this case. We will work closely with prosecutors to ensure these criminals are put behind bars.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: From December of 2015 until April of 2017, Pickett, Henderson and their co-defendants allegedly stole credit cards from the baggage loading areas of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and a private mail sorting facility. Henderson had access to the airport’s baggage loading areas, where he allegedly stole mail that contained credit cards. The stolen credit cards were being shipped via the U.S. Postal Service to the rightful accountholders, who were located throughout the United States. The indictment alleges that after stealing the credit cards, Pickett, Henderson, and their co-defendants used them to, among other things, obtain cash advances at ATMs and purchase high dollar electronics at a store.

 

Pickett, Henderson, and three other defendants were indicted on May 23, 2017. The other defendants are as follows:

 

• Brandon Foster, 24, of Stockbridge, Georgia, who was employed as a bank teller and allegedly used his employment to execute or attempt to execute cash advances using the stolen credit cards.

 

• LaSuhn Turner, 25, of Stockbridge, Georgia, who allegedly obtained cash advances at ATMs using the stolen credit cards.
• Treyevon Herring, 22, of Forest Park, Georgia, who was employed at a private mail sorting facility where he allegedly stole mail that contained credit cards.Pickett, 24, of Jonesboro, Georgia, and
• Cornelius Henderson, 23, of Riverdale, Georgia, were arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand.

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

 

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

 

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

 

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at (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 – Federal inmate Deldrick D. Jackson and his fiancée Kelly M. Bass pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist inmates to escape from the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. Jackson and Bass conspired to provide escaped inmates with transportation to and from USP Atlanta in exchange for a fee.

 

“Although hard to believe, federal inmate Deldrick Jackson and his fiancée Kelly Bass ran a for-profit taxi service that transported escaped federal prisoners to local hotels and restaurants,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Their guilty pleas represent the end of the road for their scheme.”

 

“These guilty pleas in federal court sends a very clear message that those assisting in the escape of federal inmates and the movement of contraband items into these prisons will be facing federal charges along with the inmates involved. Much of the criminal activities seen in this investigation relied largely on the federal inmates’ access to illegally obtained smart phones, a fact that the FBI has seen before in other similar cases. The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in ensuring that inmates stay in prison and cell phones and other contraband items stay out,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: 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 also has a detention center for pre-trial inmates and a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates.

 

In May 2010, Jackson was convicted in federal court of conspiring to distribute cocaine and conspiring to launder money. From July 2016 to April 2017, Jackson was assigned to USP Atlanta. Prison visitation records showed that Bass is Jackson’s fiancée.

 

From approximately November 2016 to April 2017, Jackson and Bass conspired to provide escaped inmates with transportation from USP Atlanta to nearby restaurants, hotels, or residences in exchange for a fee. For example, on January 28, 2017, Bass picked up Jackson and other escaped inmates from outside USP Atlanta, drove them to a nearby hotel, and hours later, returned Jackson and the other inmates to USP Atlanta. The escaped inmates paid Jackson and Bass for the rides via a cell phone payment app. Financial records show that Bass received approximately $4,000 from accounts associated with USP Atlanta inmates or the inmates’ families.

 

On April 13, 2017, Jackson again escaped from USP Atlanta, after which Bass picked him up and drove him to a local fast food restaurant. Soon afterward, law enforcement officers stopped Bass’s SUV and arrested Bass and Jackson. After searching the SUV, officers recovered two cell phones, 83 packs of cigarettes, and eight bottles of Canadian whiskey.

 

On April 25, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Deldrick D. Jackson, 41, of DeKalb County, Georgia, and Kelly M. Bass, 38, also of DeKalb County, on conspiratorial and substantive escape charges. Bass pleaded guilty to both counts of the Indictment.

 

On May 16, 2017, Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to escape from federal custody.

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Atlanta Police Department are investigating this case.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Timothy H. Lee 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 – Federal inmate Justin B. Stinson has been sentenced to an additional one year and three months in prison for escaping from the United States Penitentiary’s minimum-security camp in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

“Stinson’s escapes were specifically designed to smuggle contraband back inside the prison camp,” said U. S. Attorney John A. Horn. “Prison contraband presents significant security risks to both inmates and guards while adding to the illicit economy.”

 

“Prison can be viewed by inmates as being either retributive or rehabilitative. For federal inmate Stinson, whose initial prison sentence began only in 2015, prison clearly shows no sign of being rehabilitative. While smuggled contraband within our prisons remains a concern for all of law enforcement due to its destabilizing influence on the inmate population, the FBI will continue to take a particularly keen interest in those inmates and others responsible for smuggling smart phones into a prison environment because of the vast harm and continued criminal conduct that they afford the inmates,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia (“USP Atlanta”) is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. USP Atlanta also has a detention center for pre-trial inmates and a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the Atlanta Police Department (“APD”) have been engaged in an investigation to combat instances when USP Atlanta inmates temporarily escape from the prison camp to obtain contraband to smuggle back into the prison or to visit nearby restaurants, hotels, and residences.

 

In March 2015, Stinson was sentenced to four years, three months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. From August 2016 to February 2017, Stinson was assigned to serve his time at USP Atlanta’s minimum-security camp.

 

On February 3, 2017, law enforcement officers conducted surveillance along the USP Atlanta’s prison fence line near New Town Circle. Just after 9:00 p.m., Stinson escaped from USP Atlanta by climbing through a hole in one prison fence and then climbing over USP Atlanta’s outer prison fence. Thereafter, Stinson retrieved a large black duffel bag from the occupant of a stopped car on New Town Circle and began walking back toward USP Atlanta. The FBI then arrested Stinson from a location outside of USP Atlanta’s confines. The FBI also recovered from Stinson a cellular telephone, a pair of scissors, two 1.75 liters of Jose Cuervo tequila, two cartons of Newport cigarettes, four boxes of Black and Mild cigars, and various food items.

 

On April 20, 2017, Stinson, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of escaping from federal custody. Stinson was sentenced to a one year and three month term of imprisonment (to be served after his current four year, three month prison term).

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Atlanta Police Department investigated this case.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Timothy Lee 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 - Eric Donys Simeu, a/k/a Martell Collins, a citizen of Cameroon extradited from France, has been sentenced to four years, ten months in federal prison for a series of “phishing campaigns” which targeted clients of Global Distribution Systems.

 

“This case shows the global reach of our cyber investigation and prosecution capabilities,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “The great work of our domestic and international law enforcement partners brought a cybercriminal operating from the streets of West Africa to justice for seeking to harm one of our district’s corporate citizens, among others.”

 

“The sentencing of international cyber hacker Eric Donys Simeu to federal prison, as well as his arrest abroad and the resulting and protracted international extradition that brought him back to the U.S., is a direct result of the hard work and persistence of numerous FBI investigators and federal prosecutors working with their international partners. The cooperation between law enforcement, both domestic and international, and the victim companies targeted, as seen in this case, is an example of what it takes to investigate, apprehend, and present for prosecution those international criminals who feel that they are beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

“This sentencing sends a strong message that DSS is committed to making sure those who commit cybercrimes, identity theft and fraud, face consequences for their criminal actions,” said Richard Ingram, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Washington, D.C. Field Office. “Diplomatic Security’s strong relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and presence around the world are essential to our success in partnering with international law enforcement, investigating, apprehending and returning offenders to the United States to face justice.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: Eric Simeu was responsible for a series of “phishing campaigns” which targeted customers of Global Distribution System (“GDS”) companies from approximately July 2011 to September 2014. The GDS companies impacted by Simeu’s criminal conduct included Travelport, which maintains a major presence in Atlanta, and Sabre, which is headquartered in Southlake, Texas.

 

A “phishing campaign” is the act of sending targeted emails to individuals for the purpose of acquiring usernames and passwords. The emails masquerade as an official communication from a legitimate company to gain the trust of the recipient and deceive them into providing protected information.

 

GDS companies provide travel booking services to travel agencies and travel-related websites. Airline tickets that are issued from sources other than air carriers themselves are generally processed through a GDS company. Customers of GDS companies, such as representatives from a travel agency or travel-related website, are issued unique login credentials that are used to authenticate their identity and facilitate the issuance of airline tickets on GDS servers.

 

Simeu’s phishing campaigns targeted customers of Travelport and Sabre, causing phishing emails to be delivered to their customers for the purpose of obtaining and stealing their unique log-in credentials. Simeu and others used the stolen log-in credentials to access the servers of Travelport and Sabre and cause the issuance of fraudulent airline tickets. Simeu and others then sold these airline tickets to customers, mostly in West Africa, for fractions of the actual cost, or used them for personal travel. The value of the fraudulently issued airline tickets exceeded $2 million.

 

On September 3, 2014, Eric Donys Simeu, 32, was arrested by French law enforcement pursuant to a federal criminal complaint issued out of the Northern District of Georgia. At the time of his arrest, Simeu was traveling from Casablanca, Morocco, to Paris, France, on a fraudulently issued airline ticket in the name of his alias, Martell Collins, utilizing a fraudulent United Kingdom passport under the same name. A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Simeu on September 23, 2014, and Simeu was extradited from France on May 19, 2016. Simeu had been in French custody since his arrest in September 2014, pending completion of extradition proceedings.

 

Simeu pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on December 13, 2016. On May 25, 2017, U.S. District Court Judge William S. Duffey, Jr., sentenced Simeu to four years, ten months in prison, and ordered him to pay $162,146 in restitution to Travelport.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. Grimberg and Trial Attorney Peter Roman with the U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

 

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 - Leonard Nathaniel Peragine, Jr., has been sentenced to over 28 years in federal prison for using the Internet to entice a child for sexual activity, and for distributing and possessing child pornography as part of that enticement.

 

“Peragine intentionally searched online for sexual opportunities with children, and fortunately his efforts connected him to an undercover FBI agent instead,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Such conduct is as dehumanizing as it is dangerous. Sexual predators may feel the anonymity of the internet keeps them safe from detection, but this case shows that these predators will be found and prosecuted.”

 

“The federal investigation into Mr. Peragine Jr. clearly identified his predatory intentions and the resulting lengthy prison sentence handed down reflects the threat he posed to the community. The FBI will continue to work hard toward protecting our nation’s children from such individuals that are so clearly focused on doing them harm,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: Peragine responded to a classified advertisement that purported to offer sexual access to a child. While arranging to have sex with the child, Peragine sent child pornography videos to the undercover agent that depicted adult men committing sex acts on prepubescent children.

 

Peragine later spoke with who he thought was the child and asked the child whether she had seen the videos, and whether she wanted to try those activities with him. After the child said she might be interested, Peragine arranged to meet on September 29, 2015, at a location in Suwanee, Georgia. When Peragine showed up for the meeting, he was arrested and searched by the FBI. Condoms were found in his car, and additional child pornography was located on his cell phone.

 

Later investigation revealed other instances where Peragine sexually abused girls aged one, six, and eight, and a 14-year-old boy.

Leonard Nathaniel Peragine, Jr., 34, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was indicted on October 27, 2015. He pleaded guilty, without a plea agreement, on October 25, 2016. He was sentenced to 28 years, four months in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release on May 31, 2017, by U.S. District Court Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. Peragine still faces outstanding state charges, in Lumpkin County, Georgia, of aggravated child molestation and other related offenses.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Ghose.

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. 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 – Gerren Johnson and William Jackson have been arraigned on federal charges of dealing in firearms without a license, smuggling goods from the United States to other countries, and illegal delivery of firearms to a common carrier. The defendants allegedly exported guns illegally to buyers all over the world.

 

“Johnson and Jackson are charged with using underground Internet websites to illegally sell firearms to individuals in over a dozen foreign countries,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Relying on the anonymity of the Internet, these defendants hoped to circumvent federal firearms laws.”

 

“Organized criminal groups often rely on the availability of weapons to carry out their activities; thus, the market for illegal firearms around the world. ATF will aggressively and acutely target any individuals who seek to diminish the general welfare of our communities with illegal firearms trafficking,” said Wayne Dixie, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Atlanta Field Division.

 

According to U.S. Attorney John Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: In June 2013, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and other agencies began investigating an international firearms trafficking scheme in which individuals utilized a Dark Net website called Blackmarket Reloaded (BMR). The individuals used the usernames CherryFlavor and WorldWide Arms. The investigation revealed that firearms posted for sale on this website were sold to persons outside the United States, and were shipped to buyers from the United States hidden inside electronic items. Some of the countries to which packages were shipped include Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

 

Federal search warrants, coupled with trace interviews, allegedly connected all firearms recovered from original purchasers in the Atlanta area, to the defendants. The defendants had been acquiring firearms legally from the OutDoorTraders website, and later reselling the firearms on underground websites including BMR, Utopia, and Agora Market.

 

Also, shipping information for over 50 suspected parcels was disseminated to investigators in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Intelligence analysis, as well as a massive audit of internationally-shipped parcels originating from several suspect U.S. Post Offices, resulted in the identification of the individuals in the CherryFlavor group. Three defendants; Sherman Jackson, Brendan Person, and Gerren Johnson, were located in Atlanta, Georgia. A fourth defendant, William Jackson, lived in East Point, Georgia.

 

Gerren Johnson, 28, of Austell, Georgia, was arraigned on May 24, 2017, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker. William Jackson, 29, East Point, Georgia, was arraigned on May 30, 2017, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin Anand. Both were indicted by a federal grand jury on May 3, 2017. Sherman, Jackson and Brendan Person previously were arrested, and both have entered pleas of guilty.

 

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

 

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

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracia King and Stephanie Smith 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.

Two Georgia residents were sentenced in Atlanta, Georgia today for their roles in a conspiracy to alter odometers of used motor vehicles, the Justice Department announced.

 

Rojen Burnett, 35, of Conyers, Georgia, and Amber McLaughlin, 33, of Duluth, Georgia, each were sentenced to 12 months in prison and three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr.

 

Burnett owned and operated Lifestyle Auto Broker LLC, a Georgia corporation that bought and sold used motor vehicles; McLaughlin was a former customer service specialist at the Motor Vehicle Department of the Georgia Department of Revenue. In 2012 and 2013, Burnett bought high-mileage used motor vehicles, altered the mileage on the titles, rolled-back the odometers, obtained new titles with false low mileages, and sold the vehicles to unsuspecting dealers. The dealers, in turn, sold them to consumers. McLaughlin helped Burnett commit odometer fraud by fraudulently issuing new Georgia titles with false low mileages in exchange for cash.

 

“Buying a car or truck is one of the biggest financial decisions that consumers make,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Odometer fraudsters victimize consumers by making them pay substantially more for a used car that is less safe and less reliable than the consumer wanted or needed. The Justice Department will hold these fraudsters accountable for their crimes.”

 

The defendants’ scheme included at least 310 vehicles whose odometers were rolled back and sold. Burnett and McLaughlin were also ordered to pay $399,363 and $176,725, respectively, in restitution to the victims of their fraud, who are the current owners of the cars with rolled-back odometers.

 

This case was investigated by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (NHTSA) and the Georgia Department of Revenue. NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually and has established a special hotline to handle odometer fraud complaints. Individuals having information relating to odometer tampering should call (800) 424-9393 or (202) 366-4761.

 

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Allan Gordus and Trial Attorney Kerala Thie Cowart of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Pearce and Nathan Kitchens of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

 

More information on odometer fraud is available at: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Odometer-Fraud. Tips on detecting and avoiding odometer fraud are available at: www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nvs/pdf/811284.pdf.

 

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

 

For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

 

 

Seven members of an Atlanta-based robbery crew have been sentenced for their roles in the February 2015 armed robbery of the Wells Fargo bank at the intersection of Virginia and North Highland Avenues in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

“This robbery crew targeted a bank at one of the busiest pedestrian thoroughfares in the city, at the height of the morning rush hour,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “The robbers stormed the bank, pointed loaded firearms directly at bank employees and customers, threatened to kill them, and stole over $20,000 from the bank’s safe and cash drawers. The robbers compounded their violence by leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase throughout metro Atlanta at speeds topping 170 miles per hour. The convictions and lengthy sentences for the members of this crew puts an end to their ability to inflict further violence and mayhem in our district.”

 

“I can’t imagine the terror those innocent victims inside the bank felt,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. “We are extremely fortunate that no one was physically hurt or killed in this rage of violence. Rarely do we see so much havoc created in such a short period of time in a very busy area. These seven suspects disregard for employees and customers of the bank, and motorists on our public streets is reprehensible. The lengthy sentences they received will not only stop them, but also send a message to anyone else who might think about committing this type of violence.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: On February 27, 2015, Bruce Brown, Kayode Philip Adeleye, and Ryan Vincent Hill arrived at a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Atlanta, Georgia, wearing hoods, masks, and gloves. Brown, Adeleye, and Hill entered the bank while Brown and Adeleye each brandished a loaded handgun. Brown stationed himself at the front door while Adeleye jumped over the teller counter and Hill walked behind that counter.

 

Adeleye pointed his gun into the back of one of the tellers and threatened to kill him if he did not open the bank’s safe. Adeleye forced another teller to the ground while pointing his gun at him and instructing him to lie face down. After one of the tellers opened the bank safe and cash drawers, Adeleye and Hill stole $22,343.40 in U.S. currency, and fled with Brown. The robbers escaped in a rental sport-utility vehicle bearing stolen tags. They later switched vehicles, twice, with help from Xavier Cornelius Shields, Connie Cristobul Montoya, and Joe Francisco Montoya.

 

The robbery crew consisted of seven individuals, all from metro Atlanta, which was led by Hill and Adeleye. Hill and Adeleye, along with Brown committed the armed robbery at gunpoint. Shields, C. Montoya, and J. Montoya assisted with the robbery by driving switch cars and acting as lookouts. Paris Lashay Paggett assisted with the concealment of evidence after the fact.

 

Using various investigative means, law enforcement located the fleeing robbers while they were still in transit. Officers and agents from the Atlanta and DeKalb County police departments, the Georgia State Patrol, and the FBI pursued the robbers as they traveled in a Mercedes AMG sports car leased and driven by Hill. The robbers led law enforcement on a high-speed chase through various highways and streets at speeds reaching up to 170 miles per hour. Law enforcement was unable to apprehend the robbers during the chase, but they did recover most of the stolen money, and several other items of evidence, at a residence in Ellenwood, Georgia, shortly after the robbery.

 

In the weeks that followed, the FBI, APD, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation worked together to locate and develop evidence that identified the robbers. On June 17, 2015, a grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an eight-count superseding indictment charging Hill, Adeleye, Brown, Shields, C. Montoya, J. Montoya, Paggett, and Tekevious Nicole Brandon with various offenses in connection with their roles in the robbery conspiracy. Hill, Adeleye, Brown, Shields, C. Montoya, and J. Montoya were charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and armed bank robbery. Hill, Adeleye, and Brown were also charged with brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Adeleye, C. Montoya, and J. Montoya were also charged with illegal possession of a firearm. Paggett and Brandon were charged as accessories after the fact.

 

Seven of the eight defendants pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial, and U.S District Judge Amy Totenberg imposed sentences on the three principal members of the crew as follows:

 

• Ryan Vincent Hill, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced on May 9, 2017, to 17 years and one month in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Hill had pled guilty to counts one (conspiracy) and two (armed bank robbery) on August 3, 2016. Hill proceeded to trial on count three (brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence). The jury convicted him on January 26, 2017.

   

• Kayode Philip Adeleye, 34, of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced on March 28, 2017, to 16 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Adeleye had pled guilty to counts two (armed bank robbery) and three (brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence) on July 27, 2016.

 

• Bruce Brown, 27, of East Point, Georgia, was sentenced on May 10, 2017, to 11 years and two months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Brown had pled guilty to counts one (conspiracy), two (armed bank robbery), and three (brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence) on January 4, 2017.

 

• Xavier Cornelius Shields, 24, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced on March 24, 2017, to six years and eleven months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. Shields had pled guilty to count one (conspiracy) on July 26, 2016.

 

• Connie Cristobul Montoya, 39, of Mableton, Georgia, was sentenced on March 30, 2016, to 6 years and 6 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. C. Montoya had pled guilty to count one (conspiracy) on November 30, 2015.

 

• Joe Francisco Montoya, 36, of Mableton, Georgia, was sentenced on November 12, 2015, to approximately seven months in prison, followed by ten months of supervised release. J. Montoya had pled guilty via criminal information to misprision of a felony on August 26, 2015.

 

• Paris Lashay Paggett, 26, of College Park, Georgia, was sentenced on May 10, 2017, to three years of probation. Paggett had pled guilty via criminal information to misprision of a felony on December 2, 2016.

 

• Tekevious Nicole Brandon, 36, of Atlanta, Georgia, had her charges dismissed on December 9, 2016, after successfully completing pretrial diversion under the conditions set forth in the parties’ pretrial diversion agreement.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Atlanta Police Department, the DeKalb County Police Department, and the Georgia State Patrol.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John S. Ghose and Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. 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 - Deanna Roberts has been sentenced to eleven years and three months in federal prison for illegally injecting persons with liquid silicone and for introducing liquid silicone that was obtained by fraud into interstate commerce. One woman died approximately 36 hours after Roberts performed the injection, after the silicone migrated to her lungs, heart, brain, and other organs. Other victims who received silicone injections by Roberts were hospitalized with respiratory problems when the silicone moved to their lungs. Even after Roberts became aware that the victim died and others had been hospitalized, Roberts continued to obtain silicone illegally so that she could administer silicone to others.

 

“The defendant was aware that silicone injections she was administering were causing serious harm, even requiring hospitalization, yet she continued to inject paying customers with it knowing the risks that were involved,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Even after Roberts knew that the victim in this case died from the injections she gave her, she did not stop. This case is a shocking reminder that citizens should seek care only from experienced and licensed health care professionals.”

 

“The FDA has not approved any liquid silicone products to be injected into the body for tissue augmentation, and serious harm, including death, can occur following such injections,” said Justin D. Green, Special Agent in Charge, FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami Field Office. “We will continue to aggressively pursue and bring to justice those who endanger the U.S. public health by offering this hazardous procedure.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Liquid silicone is strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and may be legally injected directly into the human body only as a treatment for certain eye conditions. In April 2004, Roberts began ordering liquid silicone from a business in Arizona. In order to purchase liquid silicone from the business, Roberts submitted an affidavit to the company in which she falsely swore that she did not intend to inject the silicone into humans. Rather, she claimed that she intended to supply the silicone to a customer for use in lubricating medical equipment. Between April 2004 and December 2015, Roberts purchased at least 178 gallons of liquid silicone.

Roberts injected the silicone she illegally obtained into the hips, buttocks, and other body parts of her victims. Roberts falsely claimed to them that she was a licensed medical practitioner and that the silicone she used was medical grade. Roberts charged between $300 and $1000 for each silicone treatment that she administered.

During the evening of November 16, 2015, Roberts injected liquid silicone into the buttocks of L.H. The next day L.H. complained of tightness in her chest and shortness of breath, symptoms that are consistent with the presence of liquid silicone in the lungs. During the early morning hours of November 18, 2015, L.H. died. Dr. Geoffrey Smith, Associate Medical Examiner for DeKalb County, performed an autopsy on L.H. Based upon the autopsy Dr. Smith determined that L.H. died from complications due to silicone polymer embolization. Dr. Smith found that L.H.’s lungs were heavily congested with liquid silicone.

 

In addition, Dr. Smith found liquid silicone in L.H.’s liver, kidney, heart, brain, and spleen. Dr. Smith noted that each of L.H.’s buttocks had 10 injection sites. From a microscopic examination of tissue surrounding one of the injection sites, Dr. Smith determined that a blood vessel had been punctured. The evidence, therefore, established that the defendant punctured the blood vessel with one of the silicone injections and that the silicone was carried by the blood stream to L.H.’s lungs and other organs causing her death.

 

Also on November 16, 2015, the defendant illegally injected liquid silicone into the buttocks of victim J.T. In November 2014, the defendant injected liquid silicone into the buttocks of victim V.M. and in October 2014, the defendant injected liquid silicone into the face of victim S.P. However, J.T., V.M., and S.P. did not die nor were they hospitalized from their injections.

 

In 2006, Roberts administered silicone injections to victim J.H.’s lips on three occasions. Also in 2006, Roberts hired J.H. to drive her to Florida where she would administer silicone injections. J.H. worked for Roberts as a driver for about four months. J.H. testified that Roberts was aware that at least one person was hospitalized after Roberts injected her with silicone. J.H. also testified that Roberts claimed that the victim was hospitalized, not because she suffered complications from the silicone injections, but because she was HIV positive. However, J.H. was aware that the victim was not HIV positive.

 

In 2006, Roberts injected victim S.W. with liquid silicone. Shortly thereafter, S.W. began to feel tightness in her chest and discomfort in her lungs. The next day she passed out at work. S.W. was taken to the hospital and spent the next 31 days there recovering from problems with her lungs. When she was released, S.W. had to use oxygen to assist her in breathing.
 

In October 2009, Roberts administered silicone injections into victim A.S.’s buttocks at A.S.’s house in Florida. A.S. immediately felt her heart rate accelerate, so she asked Roberts to stop. Roberts then took A.S. to the emergency room. A.S. was admitted to the hospital with respiratory problems and the next day she was placed on a ventilator. A.S. stayed in the hospital 2-3 weeks. While A.S. was in the hospital, Roberts called her to check on her condition. At the same time, Roberts inquired about when she could come by to pick up the payment that A.S. owed her for the silicone injections. While A.S. was still hospitalized, Roberts came to the hospital to pick up a check to pay for the injections. During the visit, A.S. overheard a nurse tell Roberts that A.S. was being treated for silicone poisoning. Since 2013, A.S. has had problems because the silicone that Roberts injected into her buttocks has been coming out of her body. Because of this, A.S. spent another eight weeks in the hospital and has had surgery in an attempt to remove the silicone. As a result, her buttocks are now deformed.

 

Roberts administered silicone injections to victim D.R., on multiple occasions between 2005 and 2010. In June 2010, Roberts administered silicone injections to D.R.’s breasts and face at the defendant’s house in Florida. Later that day D.R. began to feel nauseous. The following day she went to the emergency room and was admitted to the hospital for treatment for acute respiratory failure. She had to be resuscitated and was placed on a respirator. After spending a month in the hospital, D.R. was released to a rehabilitation facility where she spent several weeks before she could return to her home.

 

D.R.’s friend, K.M. was present the day the defendant administered the silicone injections that hospitalized her. After D.R. was hospitalized, K.M. informed the defendant that D.R. was in the hospital.

 

Deanna Roberts, 47, of Sanford, Florida, was sentenced to eleven years and three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Roberts was convicted on these charges on March 31, 2017, after she pleaded guilty.

 

This case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, the Doraville Police Department, and the Atlanta Police Department.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys William L. McKinnon, Jr. and Erin E. Sanders 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.

Agility Public Warehousing Co. KSC (Agility), a Kuwaiti company, has agreed to globally resolve criminal, civil, and administrative cases arising from allegations that Agility overcharged the United States when performing contracts with the Department of Defense (DOD) to supply food for U.S. troops from 2003 through 2010. As part of the global resolution, Agility has agreed to pay $95 million to resolve civil fraud claims, to forgo administrative claims against the United States seeking $249 million in additional payments under its military food contracts, and to plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor offense for theft of government funds. DOD’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) will also release a claim of $27.9 million against Agility and lift its suspension of Agility, as the company has been suspended from federal government contracting for the last seven years after being indicted. An administrative agreement entered between DLA and Agility requires oversight of an Agility entity by an independent corporate monitor and the maintenance of an ethics and compliance program with a number of detailed requirements.

 

“The Department of Justice will hold accountable contractors that seek to profit unfairly at the expense of U.S. troops and taxpayers,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Those who expect to do business with the government must do so fairly and honestly, abiding by the contract terms to which they agreed.”

 

“Today’s global resolution represents a fair and just outcome of criminal, civil, and administrative cases that have been pending since 2009,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn for the Northern District of Georgia. “Agility has admitted to criminal conduct, has given up claims it valued at up to $249 million, and must pay $95 million to the government. The agreements require Agility to take responsibility for its criminal wrongdoing and take affirmative steps to prevent it from engaging in this conduct again, and the government recovers significant funds that were alleged to have been wrongly paid.”

 

“This settlement marks the conclusion of a lengthy investigation that demonstrates the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) commitment to ensuring that tax dollars spent to support Department of Defense programs and missions are protected from fraud and abuse throughout the procurement process, but especially during overseas combat operations which are the most vulnerable,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin of , DCIS-Southeast Field Office. “This extremely complex investigation required DCIS agents and our partners to tenaciously sort through and piece together an unprecedented volume of information and documents, and persevere through many years of exhaustive work, to bring this case to a resolution.”

 

“We are very pleased with this resolution, and are gratified that the public can now see what we’ve been aggressively investigating,” said Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU). “Companies that do business with the government must comply with all of their obligations, and if they overcharge for supplying our men and women in uniform who are bravely serving this nation, they must be held accountable for their actions.”

 

“In simple terms, defense contractor based fraud is theft directly from the American people,” said Special Agent in Charge David J. LeValley of FBI Atlanta Field Office. “The FBI is pleased with the persistence and determination of its investigators, law enforcement partners, and federal prosecutors who saw this investigation through to its successful conclusion.”

 

The civil claims and criminal charges resolved today arise out of allegations originally raised in a civil whistleblower suit against Agility and another Kuwaiti company, The Sultan Center Food Products Company, K.S.C. (TSC). Kamal Mustafa Al-Sultan, a former vendor of Agility, filed the lawsuit under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA), 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. Mr. Al-Sultan will receive $38.85 million as a result of the civil action he filed, which is captioned U.S. ex rel. Kamal Mustafa Al-Sultan v. Agility Public Warehousing Co., K.S.C. et al., No 1:05-cv-2968-GET (N.D. Ga.).

 

In its civil complaint, the United States alleged that Agility and TSC knowingly overcharged the Department of Defense for locally available fresh fruits and vegetables that Agility purchased through TSC, and falsely charged the full amount of TSC’s invoices despite agreeing that Agility would pay 10 percent less than the amount billed. The United States also alleged that Agility failed to disclose and pass through rebates and discounts it obtained from U.S.-based suppliers, as required by its contracts.

 

The criminal Information to which Agility has agreed to plead guilty alleges conduct that was part of the pending indictment. Specifically, it alleges that in connection with one of its contracts, Agility concealed consolidation fees that should have been paid by Agility, plus an additional markup to the company, in the product price billed to the United States. As a result of Agility’s price manipulation, the United States paid an inflated price for food. The criminal Information to which Agility is pleading guilty charges Agility for one inflated invoice in an amount of less than $1,000, although the United States asserts that Agility engaged in this price manipulation whenever it used this consolidator.

 

Following Agility’s criminal Indictment by a grand jury, on Nov. 16, 2009, DLA suspended Agility from government contracting due to the criminal Indictment. This suspension was subsequently extended to Agility’s more than 300 affiliated entities. As a result, Agility and its affiliates have forgone the opportunity to obtain billions of dollars in revenue associated with DOD contracts since 2009. Although Agility’s suspension will be lifted, it will be required to use an independent monitor. Moreover, the agreement requires Agility to maintain an ethics and compliance program with a number of detailed requirements.

 

Since 2006, Agility has filed a number of contract claims seeking additional payments of $249 million alleging that DLA owed Agility payments for its performance under a series of military contracts, which DLA contested in protracted litigation. Today’s agreement requires Agility to release all claims against DLA related to the contracts.

 

The resolution of the criminal and civil matters in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia were the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch. The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only, except to the extent the conduct was admitted as part of the defendant’s guilty plea, and there has been no determination of liability.

 

The criminal and civil cases were investigated by the DCIS, U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Command’s MPFU, Defense Contract Audit Agency, and the FBI.

ATLANTA – Agility Public Warehousing Co. KSC (Agility), a Kuwaiti company, has agreed to globally resolve criminal, civil, and administrative cases arising from allegations that Agility overcharged the United States when performing contracts with the Department of Defense (DOD) to supply food for U.S. troops from 2003 through 2010. As part of the global resolution, Agility has agreed to pay $95 million to resolve civil fraud claims, to forego administrative claims against the United States seeking $249 million in additional payments under its military food contracts, and to plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor offense for theft of government funds. DOD’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) will also release a claim of $27.9 million against Agility and lift its suspension of Agility, as the company has been suspended from federal government contracting for the last seven years after being indicted. An administrative agreement entered between DLA and Agility requires oversight of an Agility entity by an independent corporate monitor and the maintenance of an ethics and compliance program with a number of detailed requirements.

 

“Today’s global resolution represents a fair and just outcome of criminal, civil, and administrative cases that have been pending since 2009,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Agility has admitted to criminal conduct, has given up claims it valued at up to $249 million, and must pay $95 million to the government. The agreements require Agility to take responsibility for its criminal wrongdoing and take affirmative steps to prevent it from engaging in this conduct again, and the government recovers significant funds that were alleged to have been wrongly paid.”

 

“The Department of Justice will hold accountable contractors that seek to profit unfairly at the expense of U.S. troops and taxpayers,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Those who expect to do business with the government must do so fairly and honestly, abiding by the contract terms to which they agreed.”

 

“In simple terms, defense contractor based fraud is theft directly from the American people. The FBI is pleased with the persistence and determination of its investigators, law enforcement partners, and federal prosecutors who saw this investigation through to its successful conclusion,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

“This settlement marks the conclusion of a lengthy investigation that demonstrates the Defense Criminal Investigative Service's (DCIS) commitment to ensuring that tax dollars spent to support Department of Defense programs and missions are protected from fraud and abuse throughout the procurement process, but especially during overseas combat operations which are the most vulnerable,” said John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, DCIS-Southeast Field Office. “This extremely complex investigation required DCIS agents and our partners to tenaciously sort through and piece together an unprecedented volume of information and documents, and persevere through many years of exhaustive work, to bring this case to a resolution.”

 

“We are very pleased with this resolution, and are gratified that the public can now see what we've been aggressively investigating,” said Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU). “Companies that do business with the government must comply with all of their obligations, and if they overcharge for supplying our men and women in uniform who are bravely serving this nation, they must be held accountable for their actions.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: the civil claims and criminal charges resolved today arise out of allegations originally raised in a civil whistleblower suit against Agility and another Kuwaiti company, The Sultan Center Food Products Company, K.S.C. (TSC). Kamal Mustafa Al-Sultan, a former vendor of Agility, filed the lawsuit under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA), 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.

 

In its civil complaint, the United States alleged that Agility and TSC knowingly overcharged the Department of Defense for locally available fresh fruits and vegetables that Agility purchased through TSC, and falsely charged the full amount of TSC’s invoices despite agreeing that Agility would pay 10 percent less than the amount billed. The United States also alleged that Agility failed to disclose and pass through rebates and discounts it obtained from U.S.-based suppliers, as required by its contracts.

 

The criminal information to which Agility has agreed to plead guilty alleges conduct that was part of the pending indictment. Specifically, it alleges that in connection with one of its contracts, Agility concealed consolidation fees that should have been paid by Agility, plus an additional markup to the company, in the product price billed to the United States. As a result of Agility’s price manipulation, the United States paid an inflated price for food. The criminal information to which Agility is pleading guilty charges Agility for one inflated invoice in an amount of less than $1,000, although the United States asserts that Agility engaged in this price manipulation whenever it used this consolidator.

 

Following Agility’s criminal indictment by a grand jury, on November 16, 2009, DLA suspended Agility from government contracting due to the criminal indictment. This suspension was subsequently extended to Agility’s more than 300 affiliated entities. As a result, Agility and its affiliates have foregone the opportunity to obtain billions of dollars in revenue associated with U.S. Department of Defense contracts since 2009. Although Agility’s suspension will be lifted, it will be required to use an independent monitor. Moreover, the agreement requires Agility to maintain an ethics and compliance program with a number of detailed requirements.

 

Since 2006, Agility has filed a number of contract claims seeking additional payments of $249 million alleging that DLA owed Agility payments for its performance under a series of military contracts, which DLA contested in protracted litigation. Today’s agreement requires Agility to release all claims against DLA related to the contracts.

 

The resolution of the criminal and civil matters in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia were the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only, except to the extent the conduct was admitted as part of the defendant’s guilty plea, and there has been no determination of liability.

 

The criminal and civil cases were investigated by the DCIS, U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Command’s MPFU, Defense Contract Audit Agency, and the FBI.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven D. Grimberg, Glenn D. Baker, Nathan P. Kitchens, and Kamal Ghali prosecuted the criminal case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Berne prosecuted the civil 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 – Eugene Chung has been sentenced to ten years, six months in prison on federal extortion charges. Chung was the leader of a Gwinnett County, Georgia, gang that specialized in the violent collection of debts from business owners in the Korean-American community. Chung and his gang also shook down business owners for “protection payments” and engaged in other criminal conduct including drug trafficking, firearms offenses, and gambling. Chung earlier pled guilty to two counts of interfering with commerce by extortion. Four other members of Chung’s gang were also convicted of federal extortion offenses.

 

“Chung carefully cultivated his reputation for violence, and profited from that reputation by victimizing our Korean-American community,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “He bragged that he and his associates were ‘professionals’ at extortion and that harming their victims was one more way to get people to pay. The community is safer now that he and his fellow gang members are off the streets.”

 

“Mr. Chung counted on the silence of his many victims within the Korean community as he beat and extorted them. This case, and sentencing of Mr. Chung to federal prison, came about from brave and informed community members who understood their rights and were willing to stand up for those rights by working with our federal agents and federal prosecutors in order to put a stop to Mr. Chung and his gang. The FBI thanks those individuals for their efforts as they now enjoy a safer community due primarily to their own actions and willingness to get involved,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: In about July 2009, Chung and his crew visited a Korean 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 the restaurant, 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 semiautomatic 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 16 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.

 

On March 10, 2010, Victim #1 introduced an FBI undercover agent to Chung, Vorasith, and Lee. The undercover agent (referred to as “the patron” in the indictments) posed as a wealthy businessman who was said to be Victim #1’s uncle and who purported to be interested in buying large quantities of marijuana. During the recorded meeting, Chung explained to the patron that he ran a marijuana distribution business and offered a menu of other illegal services as well, including gambling, extortion, and debt collection services.

 

Chung offered to help the patron if he ever needed money collected and stated, “If you need us to beat up anybody, we’re professionals at that.” Chung added that he and his associates were “best at making people crippled,” and said they could also make people “permanently limp, blind, or deaf.” Upon hearing that the patron supposedly was owed $200,000 by a businessman in Houston, Texas, who was behind in payments (and who was actually an undercover FBI Special Agent as well), Chung offered to collect the debt.

 

In July 2010, Chung and Lee had a series of recorded in-person meetings and telephone calls with the patron in which they planned to forcibly collect the debt from the Texas businessman. Chung offered to get 20 to 30 guys ready for the job, and he said that the businessman was “sure to pay” because his crew was “really good at collecting money” and the businessman would be “scared.” Chung accepted a $2,000 advance payment.

 

When the patron asked Chung not to break the businessman’s legs, Chung quipped that that sometimes “happens,” but usually was not necessary because his guys were good at making victims think they were going to be killed. Chung further observed that “people in Atlanta know if you don’t pay you get killed,” and that if the businessman did not pay, they would show up at his office in Texas.

 

On July 21, 2010, Chung, Vorasith, Choi, and Lee rode together with the patron to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport where they believed the Texas businessman was catching a connecting flight. Chung, Vorasith, Choi, and Lee approached the businessman, who was sitting at a restaurant table in the airport’s atrium. While being recorded, Chung and his crew surrounded the table. Chung ordered the businessman to repay the patron and threatened to visit the businessman and his wife at their home in Texas if he did not pay. Chung told the businessman if “you don’t pay,” Chung’s crew “can’t eat.” The businessman handed $5,000 to the patron as well as his Rolex watch. Chung later obtained the businessman’s telephone number from the patron.

 

In September 2010, Chung left several recorded voice messages in which he threatened the businessman and his family. Chung eventually spoke with the businessman by telephone and reiterated those threats. A few days after that, Chung and Vorasith accepted a $1,000 payment for their efforts in attempting to collect the debt.

 

Chung, Choi, and Lee also sold drugs and guns to undercover agents throughout 2010 and 2011.

 

On September 17, 2013, a federal grand jury in Atlanta returned a 13-count indictment charging the defendants with extortion, drug trafficking, and firearms offenses. Each of the five defendants was convicted and sentenced (or is awaiting sentencing) as follows:

 

• Ye El (“David”) Choi, 33, of Norcross, Georgia, pleaded guilty on February 13, 2015, via plea agreement, to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion. On June 16, 2017, Choi will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr.

   

• Athith (“Andy”) Vorasith, 36, of Auburn, Georgia, pleaded guilty on February 4, 2016, via plea agreement, to two counts of interfering with commerce by extortion. On July 11, 2016, Vorasith was sentenced 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.

 

• Eugene Thomas Chung, 43, of Duluth, Georgia, pleaded guilty on February 4, 2016, via plea agreement, to two counts of interfering with commerce by extortion. On May 19, 2017, Chung was sentenced to ten 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.

 

• Thomas Jungwon (“Tommy”) Lee, 36, of Duluth, Georgia, pleaded guilty on February 16, 2017, via plea agreement, to one count of interfering with commerce by extortion. On May 16, 2017, Lee was sentenced to a time-served sentence, which amounted to one year, ten months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, to include 160 hours of community service.

   

• Jong Sung (“John”) Kim, 52, of Suwanee, Georgia, went to trial and 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. Kim will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Batten on June 5, 2017.

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Ghose, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Scott Ferber, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine, and Emory Law School Extern Joshua E. Orlan.

 

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 – Roman Seleznev, of Vladivostok, Russia, has been arraigned on federal cyber fraud charges associated with the 2008 hack and theft of banking credentials from RBS Worldpay, a payment processing company located in Atlanta, Georgia. Seleznev was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 22, 2014.

 

“In 2008, an American credit card processor was hacked in what was then the most sophisticated and organized computer fraud attack ever conducted,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Using banking credentials stolen during the hack, a team of hackers and cashers in 280 cities around the world stole over $9 million dollars in only 12 hours from 2,100 ATMs worldwide. The defendant is alleged to have stolen over $2,000,000 as part of that scheme.”

 

“We must continue to impose real costs on criminals who believe they are protected by geographic boundaries and can prey on the American people and institutions with impunity. This arraignment highlights the benefits of global cooperation among the United States and international law enforcement. It further demonstrates the FBI’s long-term commitment to identifying and pursuing cyber criminals world-wide, and serves as a strong deterrent to others targeting America’s financial institutions,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

 

“The Secret Service worked closely with the Department of Justice and the FBI to share information and resources that ultimately brought these cyber criminals to justice,” said Kenneth Cronin, Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service's Atlanta Field Office. “Our longstanding role in transnational cyber investigations and network intrusions was crucial in combatting this complex hacking ring and today’s arraignment proves that there is no such thing as anonymity for those engaging in data theft and fraudulent schemes.”

 

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: During November 2008, a team of hackers, including Estonian national Sergei Tšurikov and others, obtained unauthorized access into the computer network of RBS WorldPay, what was then the U.S. payment processing division of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, located in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

The group used sophisticated hacking techniques to compromise the data encryption that was then used by RBS WorldPay to protect customer data on payroll debit cards. Payroll debit cards are used by various companies to pay their employees. By using a payroll debit card, employees are able to withdraw their regular salaries from an ATM.

 

Once the encryption on the card processing system was compromised, the hacking ring raised the account limits on compromised accounts to amounts exceeding $1,000,000. The hackers then provided a network of cashers with 44 counterfeit payroll debit cards, which were used to withdraw more than $9 million from over 2,100 ATMs in at least 280 cities worldwide, including cities in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan and Canada. The $9 million loss occurred within a span of less than 12 hours.

 

The hackers then sought to destroy data stored on the card processing network in order to conceal their hacking activity. The cashers were allowed to keep 30 to 50 percent of the stolen funds, but transmitted the bulk of those funds back to Tšurikov and his co-defendants. Upon discovering the unauthorized activity, RBS WorldPay immediately reported the breach, and has substantially assisted in the investigation.

 

Throughout the duration of the cashout, Tšurikov and another hacker monitored the fraudulent ATM withdrawals in real-time from within the computer systems of RBS WorldPay.

 

Roman Seleznev, 32, a Russian national from Vladivosotk, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Walker. He is alleged to have been responsible for cashing out $2,178,349 associated with five hacked debit card numbers.

 

To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has charged 14 individuals involved in the hack and cashout, including Russian nationals Viktor Pleschuk, Evgeniy Anikin, and Roman Seleznev; Estonian nationals Sergei Tsurikov, Igor Grudijev, Ronald Tsoi, Eveilyn Tsoi, and Mikhail Jevgenov; Moldovan national Oleg Covelin; Ukranian nationals Vladimir Valeyrich Tailar and Evgeny Levitskyy; Nigerian national Ezenwa Chukukere; American national Sonya Martin; and Vladislav Horohorin, who is citizen of Russia, Israel, and Ukraine.

 

On April 21, 2017, Seleznev was sentenced by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to 27 years in prison for other computer hacking crimes that caused more than $169 million in damage to small businesses and financial institutions. Seleznev is also charged in a separate indictment in the District of Nevada with participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization (RICO) and conspiracy to engage in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization, as well as two counts of possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices.

 

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 United States Secret Service.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali is prosecuting the case. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

 

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