Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA - Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former diversity program manager at Facebook and Nike, has been sentenced for stealing more than $5 million based on an elaborate scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fictitious paperwork, and cash kickbacks.

“Furlow-Smiles shamelessly violated her position of trust as a DEI executive at Facebook to steal millions from the company utilizing a scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fake invoices, and cash kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “After being terminated from Facebook, she brazenly continued the fraud as a DEI leader at Nike, where she stole another six-figure sum from their diversity program. Her prison sentence reflects the consequences of her decision to orchestrate an intricate scheme to defraud two of her employers for personal profit.”

“As Lead Strategist at Facebook, Furlow-Smiles’ employer put an extreme amount of trust in her, only to have that trust completely violated,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “After she was fired, she carelessly continued her fraudulent schemes at Nike, thinking she was untouchable. As a result, she not only threw away a lucrative career, but will serve time behind bars for her excessive greed.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Barbara Furlow-Smiles served as Lead Strategist, Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Engagement at Facebook, Inc., now known as Meta Platforms, Inc., doing business as Meta. From January 2017 to September 2021, she led Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs at Facebook and was responsible for developing and executing DEI initiatives, operations, and engagement programs. In her position, Furlow-Smiles had access to company credit cards. She also had the authority to submit purchase requisitions and approve invoices for authorized vendors of Facebook.

Furlow-Smiles used her position at Facebook to cheat and defraud the company. She caused Facebook to pay numerous individuals for goods and services that were never provided and then directed those individuals to kick back the fraudulent proceeds to her, often in cash. Her scheme operated in two ways.

First, Furlow-Smiles linked PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards and used those accounts to pay friends, relatives, and other associates for goods and services that in truth were never provided to Facebook. To conceal the bogus charges, Furlow-Smiles submitted fraudulent expense reports, falsely claiming that her associates or their businesses had performed work on programs and events for Facebook, such as providing swag or marketing services, when in fact they had not done so.

After these individuals received the payments from Facebook, they returned the vast majority of the money to Furlow-Smiles. They paid these kickbacks in cash and through account transfers to others, including her husband. They paid the cash kickbacks in person and by Federal Express or mail, sometimes wrapping the cash in other items, such as T-shirts. Furlow-Smiles also directed associates to pay one another, or others to whom she owed money, to conceal her involvement in the scheme.

Second, Furlow-Smiles caused Facebook to onboard several vendors that were owned and operated by friends and associates who paid her kickbacks. Furlow-Smiles approved fraudulent invoices for these vendors. After Facebook paid the invoices, Furlow-Smiles directed the vendors to return a portion of the money they received to her.

Furlow-Smiles recruited numerous individuals to participate in the scheme. These individuals included friends, relatives, former interns from a prior job, nannies and babysitters, a hair stylist, and her university tutor. She also caused Facebook to make payments for her benefit to others who did not pay kickbacks. For example, Furlow-Smiles caused Facebook to pay nearly $10,000 to an artist for specialty portraits and more than $18,000 to a preschool for tuition.

After Furlow-Smiles was terminated from Facebook, she worked for Nike from November 2021 to February 2023, serving as Senior Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In that position, she was responsible for supporting DEI initiatives, developing strategies, and hosting DEI events. She was primarily responsible for a Juneteenth event in New York during her time at Nike.

As she had done at Facebook, Furlow-Smiles circumvented the vendor process at Nike to commit fraud. She linked her Nike corporate card to her PayPal and Venmo accounts. She then paid her associates with PayPal and Venmo, causing fraudulent charges to her Nike card. The associates kicked back portions of the payments to Furlow-Smiles, who submitted fraudulent expense reports to Nike to cover her tracks. The expense reports falsely claimed that the payments were related to the Juneteenth event.

In total, Furlow-Smiles stole more than $4.9 million from Facebook and over $120,000 from Nike based on fictitious charges and fraudulent invoices. She used the money to fund a luxury lifestyle in California, Georgia, and Oregon.

Barbara Furlow-Smiles, 38, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg to five years, three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,981,783.58 to Facebook and $121,054.50 to Nike, for a total of $5,102,838.08. Furlow-Smiles was convicted of wire fraud on December 11, 2023, after she pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen H. McClain and Bernita B. Malloy prosecuted the case.

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

ATLANTA - Jorge Rodriguez Martinez was found guilty by a federal jury for his role in a scheme to distribute multiple kilograms of methamphetamine in the metro-Atlanta area. Martinez was charged with one count of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Rodriguez Martinez was convicted on both counts following a three-day trial.

“Methamphetamine trafficking funnels poison into our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This defendant’s conviction sends a strong warning to others that those who peddle dangerous drugs will be held accountable for their conduct.”

“The investigation and subsequent conviction of this criminal drug dealer demonstrates the DEA’s commitment to fight the drug cartels who have no regard for the citizens of our community,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: On October 7, 2020, a confidential source (“CS”) working with agents from the DEA, placed multiple recorded phone calls to Rodriguez Martinez to purchase several kilograms of methamphetamine. After the phone calls, Rodriguez Martinez, who was being surveilled by federal law enforcement agents, travelled to a location in the metro-Atlanta area to meet with a drug supplier at a Dunwoody apartment complex.  Rodriguez Martinez traveled to the CS’s residence where he dropped off his truck containing multiple kilograms of methamphetamine, switched vehicles, then drove away.

The CS placed additional recorded phone calls to Rodriguez Martinez, during which Rodriguez Martinez confirmed that the drugs were in the truck and agreed to return to the CS’s residence to pick up the drugs. Rodriguez Martinez next travelled to the CS’s residence, picked up the methamphetamine, and quickly departed. Shortly thereafter, the Georgia State Patrol stopped Rodriguez Martinez’s vehicle and located approximately three kilograms of methamphetamine on the front passenger floorboard.

Jorge Rodriguez Martinez, 56, of Duluth, Georgia, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones. Rodriguez Martinez was found guilty by a federal jury on April 25, 2024.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney McClellon D. Cox, III, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra E. Strippoli are prosecuting the case. This case was previously prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel S. Lyons.

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 settlement has been reached with Cobb County, Georgia, through a consent decree, resolving the United States’ claims that Cobb County’s use of certain screening devices in its hiring process for entry-level firefighters resulted in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African Americans in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin, and religion.  Title VII prohibits not only intentional discrimination but also employment practices that result in a disparate impact upon a protected group unless the defendant can prove that such practices are job-related and consistent with business necessity. 

“Every person, regardless of race, deserves an equal opportunity to compete for jobs.  Employers should identify and eliminate policies and procedures that create a discriminatory impact on applicants based on race,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “Our office will continue to devote resources to eliminate prejudicial policies that illegally deprive qualified candidates of a fair chance to compete for employment opportunities.”

“This settlement should send a strong message to employers that reliance on a job applicant’s credit history may be discriminatory and unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Consumer credit checks create a Catch-22 for people seeking access to job opportunities. Cobb County’s hiring practices created artificial barriers that prevented qualified Black job candidates from being considered for firefighter positions. Discriminatory barriers, like credit checks, not only cost candidates a fair chance at a job, they also prevent the public from being served by firefighters drawn from the most robust hiring pool possible.”

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that the County engaged in discrimination with two parts of its entry-level firefighter hiring process.  The United States’ lawsuit challenges the County’s use of a credit check to screen out firefighter candidates based on the County’s review of their credit histories.  The lawsuit also challenges the County’s past use of a written examination designed to determine placement level in college classes as a method for ranking candidates to move forward in the firefighter hiring process.  The County’s use of these employment practices disproportionately removed qualified African Americans from consideration for a firefighter position.  The complaint further alleges that the credit check and the use of the written exam to rank applicants do not lawfully identify the best qualified candidates for the firefighter position.

Under the terms of the consent decree, which is subject to court approval, Cobb County will no longer use a credit check as part of its firefighter selection process, nor will it resume using the written exam as a rank-order selection device.  The County will pay $750,000 in back pay to eligible African Americans who were denied employment because of the challenged employment practices, and will make up to 16 priority hires, with retroactive seniority, from the group of applicants disqualified by the challenged practices. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia brought this case in collaboration with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section.  The case was brought by Aileen Bell Hughes, Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity and Civil Rights Section, and DOJ Employment Litigation Section attorneys Brian McEntire and Juliet Gray.

Ensuring that local, county, and state governments comply with Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia.  Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the jurisdiction of the Employment Litigation Section is available on its websites at www.justice.gov/crt/ and https://www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-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 – The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia is pleased to announce the results of a coordinated multi-agency, two-week parcel interdiction operation that resulted in the seizure of illegal drugs and firearms being shipped through the district.

“We are relentless in our efforts to identify, disrupt, and prosecute those who use the U.S. Mail to traffic illegal drugs and firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our continued collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners is a priority crucial to curtailing the illegal flow of drugs and weapons into our communities. Those contemplating illegal shipments of such contraband should be aware of the serious consequences of committing this crime.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service seeks to identify, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations that attempt to illegally utilize the mail system,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division. “I commend the hard work and countless hours put forth by all of our law enforcement partners to coordinate resources to combat illicit drug activity.”

During a two-week period in March 2024, a team of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies conducted an operation targeting suspicious parcels in the mail stream. This coordinated effort, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and multiple District Attorneys’ Offices, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, resulted in the seizures of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, psilocybin (mushrooms), oxycodone, Xanax, steroids, marijuana, numerous firearms, and large amounts of currency suspected of being related to narcotics trafficking. To date, the operation has resulted in the arrests of four individuals for drug trafficking offenses.

The parcel interdiction team included the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, Calhoun Police Department, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Haralson County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Rome/Floyd Metro Drug Task Force, Sandy Springs Police Department, and the Atlanta-Carolinas HIDTA. The Cherokee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, and the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office also provided invaluable support to the operation and subsequent investigations.

The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia recommends that parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following websites: www.justthinktwice.gov; www.operationprevention.com/; and www.dea.gov/onepill.

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 has secured an agreement with Cobb County, Georgia, resolving the United States’ claim that the County violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) by using credit checks and a written exam that discriminated against African American firefighter candidates based on race. Cobb County has stopped using the challenged hiring practices and will pay $750,000 in back pay to applicants disqualified by those practices. The County will also hire up to 16 of those applicants with retroactive seniority.

“This settlement should send a strong message to employers that reliance on a job applicant’s credit history may be discriminatory and unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Consumer credit checks create a Catch-22 for people seeking access to job opportunities. Cobb County’s hiring practices created artificial barriers that prevented qualified Black job candidates from being considered for firefighter positions. Discriminatory barriers, like credit checks, not only cost candidates a fair chance at a job, they also prevent the public from being served by firefighters drawn from the most robust hiring pool possible.”

“Every person, regardless of race, deserves an equal opportunity to compete for jobs. Employers should identify and eliminate policies and procedures that create a discriminatory impact on applicants based on race,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “Our office will continue to devote resources to eliminate prejudicial policies that illegally deprive qualified candidates of a fair chance to compete for employment opportunities.”

The department’s lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that Cobb County discriminated in its firefighter hiring process in two ways. First, by screening out candidates based on their credit histories. Many employers use credit checks when screening applicants based on a mistaken assumption that credit history is a measure of character or job fitness. As the department alleges, Cobb County could not establish a connection between credit history and job performance or character and thus did not have a lawful reason for using credit history as part of its hiring process. Second, Cobb County ranked candidates based on their performance on a written examination designed to determine placement level in college classes. The department alleges that these practices disproportionately removed African Americans from consideration for firefighter positions without providing any evidence that candidates who advanced based on these practices were more qualified to serve as firefighters. 

Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin, and religion. Title VII prohibits not only intentional discrimination but also prohibits employment practices that result in a disparate impact upon a protected group, unless such practices are job related and consistent with business necessity. 

The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. More information about the Civil Rights Division can be found at www.justice.gov/crt and more information about the division’s Employment Litigation Section can be found at www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section.

Attorneys Brian McEntire and Juliet Gray of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section and Deputy Chief Aileen Bell Hughes for the Northern District of Georgia’s Public Integrity & Civil Rights Section are handling the matter.

ROME, Ga. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, and the Georgia Department of Public Health Northwest Health District, will host a community gathering designed to increase awareness of and connect residents to local resources available to help prevent opioid use, overdoses, and deaths. This free, family-friendly event, “Spring Into Wellness: An Opioid Prevention and Recovery Community Resource Fair,” takes place on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Champions Center at LakePoint Sports, 261 Stars Way, Emmerson, Georgia. Anyone wishing to attend may register at https://shorturl.at/gmJS4, but registration is not required.

“The opioid epidemic continues to bring immeasurable destruction to communities and devastation to families who have endured the tragic loss of a loved one,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our office is resolute in our commitment to engage with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who threaten our communities with poisons, as well as with our community partners to promote public health and safety and spread awareness of resources for those struggling with substance abuse.”

“Opioid overdose deaths are preventable,” says Dr. Gary Voccio, Health Director for the ten-county Northwest Health District. “The best way to prevent them is to continue to improve opioid prescribing to reduce exposure to opioids, prevent abuse, and stop addiction. Resources at this community event can help accomplish this.”

Concerns about Bartow County’s 32 opioid deaths in 2022 (the most recent annual data available) and the county’s 29.9 age-adjusted opioid death rate – compared to just 18.6 for the state of Georgia – led the organizers of this community event to prioritize this public gathering of stakeholders and concerned citizens. Local public health officials have also noted recent, alarming nationwide increases in illicit fentanyl exposures in children younger than six years old as cause for critical concern.       

The event organizers have outlined several goals: (1) to increase community awareness of and access to prevention and recovery resources; (2) to share inspirational stories from local community members who have overcome opioid-misuse disorder; and (3) to learn about fentanyl overdose-prevention strategies for youth and families. Organizers expect several dozen opioid-overdose prevention resources to participate and provide information to the public.

U.S. Attorney Buchanan, Dr. Voccio, and several Bartow County officials will also welcome attendees and speak briefly at the event.

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 – Marc Shultz has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Atlanta on charges of transmitting interstate threats to injure Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis because of her prosecution of Former President Donald Trump. Shultz made his initial appearance in federal court in San Diego, California on May 2, 2024, and will be formally arraigned in Atlanta in June.

“Sending death threats to a public official is a criminal offense that will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “Our office will continue to diligently coordinate with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to help protect public officials while performing their duties and who deserve to do so free from threats of harm and intimidation.”

“Threats against any individual, credible or not, is a very serious crime that the FBI will not tolerate,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Threats of violence against government officials, specifically, threaten the very fabric of our democracy.  We want everyone to know that if you engage in such behavior, you will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the indictment, and other information presented in court: On October 4, 2023, and again on October 5, 2023, Shultz allegedly posted multiple comments to two separate YouTube live stream videos.  His comments threatened District Attorney Willis with violence and murder including a statement that she “will be killed like a dog.”

Marc Shultz, 66, of Chula Vista, California was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 24, 2024. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bret R. Hobson and Brent Alan Gray 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.

ROME, Ga. – Ian Alicea Prewett has pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child.  In connection with his guilty plea, Prewett admitted he engaged in sex acts with minors under the age of 18 and enticed a child under the age of eight to produce sexually explicit images.

"Prewett preyed upon innocent children by enticing them to send him sexually explicit images and then victimized two minors, including during an out-of-state trip, by sexually assaulting those children,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This office remains steadfast in our commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to uncover and prosecute child sexual predators attempting to lurk behind the anonymity of the internet.”

“Due to the dedication of our special agents and law enforcement partners, Prewett is no longer able to victimize children within our communities,” said Anthony J. Patrone, Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Atlanta that covers Georgia and Alabama. “HSI will continue to seek justice for victims and hold child predators accountable.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: On various dates between 2020 and 2022, Ian Alicea Prewett uploaded sexually explicit digital images of minors to Instagram. While he tried to conceal his online identity, in May 2023, federal agents identified him as the individual who uploaded the images and obtained a warrant to search his home. During the search, agents discovered a cell phone associated with the Instagram accounts that Prewett used to distribute child pornography.

Additionally, at the time agents executed the search warrant, Prewett was awaiting trial in Cobb County, Georgia, for statutory rape, child molestation, and child enticement.  Those charges resulted from Prewett chatting with a 14-year-old girl on Instagram, asking her to send him sexually explicit photographs of herself, meeting her at her school bus stop, engaging in sexual intercourse with her, and then dropping her off at her school. 

Prior to his arrest in May 2023, Prewett used social media to entice numerous minors to create sexually explicit material and engage in sexual acts.  One of his victims was a minor under eight years old living in the United Kingdom. Prewett directed her to send him pictures and videos of herself performing sexual acts. Prewett also instructed a minor from Mobile, Alabama to do the same.  Prewett later traveled to Alabama to meet, photograph, and engage in sex acts with the minor. 

Sentencing for Ian Alicea Prewett, 30, of Cartersville, Georgia, is scheduled for September 3, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge William M. Ray, II in Rome, Georgia.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Cobb County Police Department, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Wiltshire Police (United Kingdom).

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Theodore S. Hertzberg and Calvin A. Leipold, III are prosecuting the case.

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

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

ATLANTA – A firearms trafficking ring has been dismantled and four people have been sentenced to years in prison for conspiring to buy guns in the metro Atlanta area that were later smuggled to the Dominican Republic.

“Firearms traffickers present an immediate danger to communities within and outside our district,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We are committed to working with our federal, state, local, and international partners to disrupt the illegal flow of firearms by identifying and prosecuting those who illegally purchase and traffic these weapons.”

“Among ATF’s top priorities is ensuring that firearms traffickers are aggressively investigated and swiftly brought to justice,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alicia Jones, Atlanta Field Division. “This is an excellent example of such an investigation that was worked cooperatively by multiple partner agencies with outstanding results.”

“These defendants took steps to disguise dozens of illegally acquired firearms using everyday household items further hidden in shipping containers. Proactive and collaborative law enforcement played a vital role in thwarting the illicit trafficking of deadly weapons both in the United States and overseas,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo. “I commend HSI New York’s Border Enforcement Security Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia for their unwavering commitment to the public’s safety.”

“These sentences were made possible through close coordination between our federal, local, and international law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent Edwin Lopez, Homeland Security Investigations Attaché, U.S. Embassy, Santo Domingo. “Our thanks especially goes out to the Dominican Republic’s Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit (TCIU) which contributed significantly to the final outcome of this investigation.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: In 2021, Jonathan Hiraldo Abreu contacted Cornel Rashard Miley to inquire about a firearm Miley advertised for sale. Hiraldo Abreu met Miley in Georgia to purchase the gun. Miley then agreed that he and his wife, Charqweshia Sierra Miley, would acquire additional firearms for Hiraldo Abreu in exchange for a premium paid for each gun. To obtain the additional guns, the Mileys repeatedly deceived licensed firearms dealers by falsely certifying at the point of sale that they were purchasing the firearms. In fact, Hiraldo Abreu was the actual purchaser who provided the money to the Mileys and told them which guns to buy. Within less than seven months, the Mileys purchased at least 73 firearms for Hiraldo Abreu, all of which were Glock 9 mm semiautomatic pistols.

Hiraldo Abreu traveled from Pennsylvania to Georgia in November 2021, December 2021, February 2022, and April 2022 to pick up guns from the Mileys. In June 2022, Hiraldo Abreu recruited his cousin, Jose Munoz, who was living in Rhode Island, to manage the gun purchases in his place. Munoz met Hiraldo Abreu in Pennsylvania, traveled to Georgia, directed the Mileys’ purchase of 22 firearms, and then returned to Hiraldo Abreu’s home. Within approximately three weeks, nine of the firearms that the Mileys purchased under Munoz’s supervision were recovered during an x-ray inspection of a shipping container in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The guns had been stashed inside the container with various household goods without having been declared or approved for export.

Although the Mileys were Georgia residents when they bought guns for Hiraldo Abreu between November 2021 and April 2022, they relocated to Arizona in June 2022. Hiraldo Abreu paid the Mileys to fly back to Georgia so they could falsely claim Georgia residency and buy more guns for him in July 2022. After returning to Arizona, the Mileys were arrested when officers observed them operating a vehicle with a fictitious license plate. The Mileys were armed, and a search of their vehicle uncovered more than 3,200 rounds of ammunition, nearly three dozen handgun magazines, and body armor.

After the defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty sentenced them as follows:

• Jonathan Hiraldo Abreu, 31, of Reading, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to four years, two months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.

• Charqweshia Sierra Miley, 33, of Lithonia, Georgia and Golden Valley, Arizona, was sentenced to two years, three months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.

• Cornel Rashard Miley, 31, of Lithonia, Georgia and Golden Valley, Arizona, was sentenced to two years, three months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.

• Jose Munoz, 21, of Cranston, Rhode Island, was sentenced to one year and one month in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the New York City Police Department, the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Dominican Republic’s customs authority, Dirección General de Aduanas.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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 – Craig Allen, executive officer of C.M. Allen Capital Management, Inc., has been indicted on charges arising from a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme that defrauded investors across the United States.

“Allen abused his clients’ trust by allegedly stealing millions of dollars to support his lavish lifestyle,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “The defendant deceived and falsified documents to conceal his thefts to provide his investors with a false sense of financial security. We will continue to prosecute individuals who cheat investors out of their hard-earned money.”

“While it is easy to dismiss financial fraud cases as being almost benign because of their lack of violence, there is, however, a very real victimization felt and lives are changed forever,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.  “The FBI is hopeful that Allen’s indictment will send a strong message to anyone who would try to take advantage of unsuspecting investors for their own personal greed.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the indictment, and other information presented in court: Allen, the sole shareholder and executive officer of C.M. Allen Capital Management, Inc., allegedly defrauded dozens of investors across the country through his management of the Cheetah Fund. Around February 2019, prospective investors received documents that reported Cheetah achieved annual investment returns as high as seventy-three percent.

Once invested in Cheetah, clients received fraudulent monthly account statements showing false investment gains, and tax documents reporting the false gains. Allen allegedly misled investors to believe the tax forms were prepared by Cheetah’s purported auditor at an accounting firm. But the Fund did not employ an auditor and Allen reported gains when the Fund continuously lost money. In addition to these misrepresentations, Allen used money from new investors to repay prior investors, and to fund his lifestyle. Cheetah investors lost more than $7 million because of Allen’s investment fraud scheme.

Craig Murfee Allen, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 23, 2024. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also provided valuable assistance. The SEC has filed a separate civil case, SEC v. Craig Allen, Case Number 1:24-cv-01771-SDG.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Cooper and Christopher J. Huber 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 - Justin Daniels has been sentenced for filing false tax returns in connection with his dog-brokering business. Daniels falsely underreported over $1 million in income between 2015 and 2018.

“Rather than pay his fair share of taxes, Daniels spent years submitting fraudulent returns in the name of personal greed,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue and prosecute those who exploit our tax system at the expense of law-abiding taxpayers.”

“Justin Daniels’ sentence is an example of what people who willfully fail to report all their income can expect as the outcome of their crime,” said Lisa Fontanette, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue investigating and holding accountable individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Since 2006, Daniels had earned a living as a dog broker selling Yorkie, Morkie, and Shi-Tzu puppies. Although Daniels’s customers believed he was selling the puppies directly, the puppies were being raised by breeders in Kentucky and Tennessee. This dog brokering business was lucrative and the cost of the puppies ranged from $800 to $1,200. Between 2015 and 2018, Daniels received and deposited more than $2.3 million into personal checking accounts. Daniels significantly underreported his income on his taxes. Based on information that Daniels provided to his tax preparer, Daniels underreported $1,186,830 in gross receipts during the years 2015 to 2018, resulting in additional tax due of $258,265. At the same time, Daniels was submitting false information on his tax returns and representing to private lenders that he made substantially more money to obtain loans.

Justin Daniels, 48, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced to one year, two months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release on April 22, 2024. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $258,265. Daniels was convicted on these charges on December 5, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. O’Neal and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Krepp prosecuted the case.

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

ATLANTA - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia recently partnered with the Department of Justice to host the inaugural Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Regional Forum at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. The Regional Forum introduced HBCU students, faculty, and staff to the Department’s diverse range of programs and initiatives.   

“Historically Black Colleges and Universities provide students with an environment for achieving academic excellence as well as the skills to serve as future leaders in their communities, in our office, and in the Department of Justice,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We were honored to join with other federal agencies, and local officials and partners, to promote professional opportunities and development available to HBCU students through career paths with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice.”

The forum was held on April 18 and 19, 2024 and featured plenary and breakout sessions that showcased the wide array of resources, partnerships, and funding opportunities available from the Department. These sessions included:

• A discussion between U.S. Attorney Buchanan and Dr. George French Jr., President of Clark Atlanta University, about the role of HBCUs in advancing justice and equity.
• A conversation between U.S. Attorney Buchanan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Gray, and Officer Brandon White of the Chamblee Police Department. Officer White was the victim of a hate crime in 2012 and spoke about how he had been beaten and verbally abused outside an Atlanta convenience store. His case resulted in criminal prosecution of his attackers by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and was one of the first successful prosecutions under the federal hate crimes statute based on sexual orientation. Officer White also discussed how this experience led him to pursue a career in law enforcement.
• A presentation by Acting Director of the Department of Justice Community Relations Service, Justin Lock, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marissa Fallica and Rahul Garabadu about the Department’s United Against Hate community outreach program, which connects federal, state, and local law enforcement with local communities to combat unlawful acts of hate.

During the two-day event, members of the HBCU community also heard from other components of the Department of Justice including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Environmental and Natural Resources Division, the Civil Rights Division, the Criminal Division, the Justice Management Division, the Office of Justice Programs, the Office on Violence Against Women, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Office of Attorney Recruitment & Management, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Representatives from the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, the Federal Air Marshal Service, and the White House Initiative on HBCUs also made presentations. The presenters provided students with information about their work, and strategies on how students could pursue careers in federal law enforcement.

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 - Erving Lee Bolling, 48, of Easley, South Carolina, had his initial appearance on April 3, 2024, on the federal charge of depredation of federal property after he attempted on April 1, 2024, to breach security at the FBI Atlanta’s Headquarters in Chamblee, Georgia by ramming his vehicle into a security barrier.

“The safety of our law enforcement partners is one of the highest priorities of this office,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Bolling’s alleged damage to federal property during his attempt to unlawfully enter a federal facility created a risk of safety to federal agents and staff that cannot be tolerated.”

“The safety of our employees is of paramount concern for us at the FBI, and any attempts to breach our facility will be met with stiff penalties,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Thanks to agents’ diligence and quick-thinking, the incident was prevented from escalating into a more dangerous situation, and for that we are grateful. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure the continued safety of our employees.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charge, and other information presented in court: On April 1, 2024, Bolling, driving an orange Buick Encore, allegedly rammed into a barrier at FBI Atlanta’s headquarters while attempting to breach the perimeter.  After crashing into a barrier, Bolling exited the vehicle and allegedly attempted to follow an FBI employee into the secure parking lot area by walking past the gate. Bolling was immediately taken into custody by FBI agents.  Dekalb County Police Department officers and EMS then responded to the scene. Bolling was ultimately transported to the hospital for medical care and evaluation.

Members of the public are reminded that the complaint only contains an allegation.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charge and it will be the government’s burden to seek an indictment before a federal grand jury and to ultimately 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 Katherine I. Terry 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 – Sonya Hesenius, a former office manager and executive assistant for a company in Alpharetta, Georgia, has been sentenced to federal prison for embezzling more than $8.5 million between 2015 and 2020.

“Hesenius will now be held accountable for her flagrant theft of millions of dollars from her employer to support a lavish lifestyle,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Hesenius was entrusted with handling the financial responsibilities for the company where she worked.  But she chose to steal from the company, blatantly using company funds to pay for expensive, overseas vacations for herself and family members, plastic surgery, shopping binges at exclusive retail stores, and other exorbitant purchases.”

“Hesenius worked in a position of trust for a company that expected her to honor that trust,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Instead, she chose to abuse it and her personal greed not only hurt the company, but everyone who worked for them. This sentence should send the message that the FBI takes wire fraud extremely seriously and will work to hold offenders accountable.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Between 2015 and 2020, Sonya Hesenius was employed as an office manager and executive assistant at a company in Alpharetta, Georgia that provides third-party yard management services. During her employment, Hesenius made fraudulent charges on corporate credit cards and caused the company to reimburse her personal credit card for personal expenses. To conceal her scheme, she coded and approved all the charges herself, withheld supporting documentation from the company, and disguised the unauthorized expenditures in the company’s accounting system as legitimate expenses such as newspaper advertisements. Hesenius further spread the expenditures among different job sites to further conceal the fraud.

Hesenius used the fraudulently obtained funds to live a lavish lifestyle, resulting in staggering losses to her employer. Her fraudulent activities included company expenditures for: (1) more than $172,000 on her daughter’s wedding; (2) more than $600,000 at Saks Fifth Avenue on items such as designer handbags; (3) over $460,000 for herself, family members, and friends to travel all over the world; (4) flying herself and her family on private jets to vacations in France, Greece, Hawaii, and Turks and Caicos, totaling more than $145,000; (5) tickets to attend University of Tennessee sporting events, the Kentucky Derby, the Masters, the Stanley Cup Finals, and various concerts, totaling more than $238,000; (6) a recreational vehicle costing more than $100,000, using $40,000 of company money as a down payment; (7) hundreds of thousands of dollars on high-end furniture; (8) plastic surgery and dental expenses; and (9) conversions of company funds into cash through over $1 million in PayPal, Venmo, and Square transfers to herself and family members. In total, Hesenius embezzled $8,614,729.37 over the course of the fraud scheme.

Sonya Hesenius, 60, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was sentenced by U.S District Judge Victoria M. Calvert to six years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Hesenius was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $8,614,729.37. Hesenius was convicted on these charges on November 29, 2023, after she pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. O’Neal 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.

The City of Atlanta’s former chief financial officer (CFO) pleaded guilty today to federal program theft and to obstructing an IRS audit.

According to court documents, from 2011 to 2018, Jimmie Anthony “Jim” Beard, 60, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, oversaw the City of Atlanta’s Department of Finance, in which his primary responsibility was to manage the city’s financial condition. At least as early as 2015, Beard devised and executed a scheme to use his authority as CFO to obtain money and property from Atlanta for his own use, including to pay for thousands of dollars in personal travel expenses for himself, his family, and his travel companions, and to buy and possess restricted machine guns.

Further, while CFO, Beard submitted a 2013 personal income tax return to the IRS in which he claimed that he operated a personal business that incurred more than $33,500 in alleged losses in 2013. In 2015, while being audited in relation to these purported losses, Beard provided to the IRS receipts for airfare and hotels that Beard falsely claimed were personal business expenses. The expenses were actually paid to Beard while working for the City and using his City of Atlanta credit card.

Beard is scheduled to be sentenced on July 12 and faces a maximum penalty of 13 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia; Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley of the FBI Atlanta Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI and IRS-CI are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Trevor Wilmot of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett Bradford and Tiffany Johnson for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Davis for the Northern District of Georgia provided valuable assistance.

ATLANTA - The City of Atlanta’s former Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), Jimmie “Jim” A. Beard, pleaded guilty today to theft of government funds, which included the purchase and possession of two machine guns, and obstructing federal tax laws.

“Jim Beard abused his power as the CFO for the City of Atlanta to steal tens of thousands of dollars from taxpayers to fund personal trips, luxuries, and even custom-built machine guns, then lied to the IRS and submitted altered records when called to account for suspicious write-offs,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “The people of the City of Atlanta deserved better stewards of taxpayer money, and Beard’s guilty plea today is a demonstration that public officials who abuse their power will be held accountable.”

“Beard’s continuous abuse of his position as one of the most powerful executives in the City of Atlanta is not only a violation of his oath, but a violation to all other public official’s credibility, which erodes public trust in government,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Public corruption is one of the FBI’s top priorities. It is our hope that by holding Beard accountable for his greed it will help regain some of the public’s trust.”

“As a public official, Beard was delegated to conduct city business on behalf of Atlanta residents,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “Instead, he chose to steal from public coffers for his own benefit and willfully broke federal tax laws. Let Beard’s plea today serve as notice to others entrusted with carrying out government business on behalf of the people that IRS special agents and our law enforcement partners will investigate, and our justice system will hold accountable those who break the public’s trust.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: From approximately November 2011 to May 2018, Beard served as the CFO of the City of Atlanta. As CFO, Beard directed and managed the Department of Finance, with primary responsibility for oversight and management of the City’s financial condition.

During his tenure, Beard devised and executed a scheme to obtain money and property from the City of Atlanta for private use, including using City of Atlanta funds to: (1) pay for personal travel expenses for himself, his family, and his travel companions; (2) buy items for personal use, including two machine guns; (3) pay for travel to conferences or meetings for which the conference or meeting host reimbursed Beard, but Beard kept the money and did not give the reimbursement funds to the City of Atlanta; and (4) pay for travel that Beard falsely claimed to the IRS was related to his personal consulting business.

In total, Beard stole at least tens of thousands of dollars from the City of Atlanta.  By way of example only:

• In August 2015, Beard used his City credit card to pay $1,278.72 for a hotel room at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Chicago, Illinois for a three-night weekend stay. Beard told the City that the hotel room was for a “Swap Advisory Engagement.” In reality Beard was not in Chicago that weekend, but booked the hotel for his stepdaughter to attend the Lollapalooza music festival.

• In December 2015, Beard ordered two custom-built machine guns using a $2,641.90 check from the City, telling the manufacturer that the machine guns were for the Atlanta Police Department (“APD”) – even though he personally possessed the guns until about March 2017, when he abandoned the firearms at APD’s Executive Protection Office at City Hall.

• In April 2016, Beard used his City credit card to pay $648.20 for airfare from Atlanta, Georgia to New Orleans, Louisiana for a weekend trip to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. However, Beard had no City business in New Orleans during that weekend and traveled with a personal companion. Additionally, he later represented to the IRS that this trip was for his personal consulting business and was not reimbursed by the City, claiming the charge as a business deduction to reduce the amount of personal taxes he owed.

• In June 2016, Beard used his City credit card to pay $951.20 for airfare to Washington, D.C. and $24.32 for a taxi for a meeting with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”). Even though Beard charged the travel to the City, Beard asked the MSRB to reimburse him personally for these costs and submitted copies of his receipts to the MSRB. As a result, the MSRB issued a check to Beard in the amount of $1,276.52, which Beard kept and deposited into his personal bank account.

During his tenure as CFO, Beard also submitted to the IRS a tax return for 2013, in which he claimed that he owned a consulting business which incurred more than $33,500 in alleged business losses in 2013, including $12,000 for travel expenses and $7,115 for deductible meals and entertainment expenses. In July 2015, the IRS advised Beard that it was auditing that tax return and requested that Beard provide documentation to support the purported expenses for his consulting business. In response, Beard falsely provided: (1) receipts for airfare and hotels that Beard paid for using his City of Atlanta credit card (which Beard had previously told the City of Atlanta were for City business and his job as CFO); (2) expense reports for personal meals with his wife and personal companions; and (3) altered receipts that hid from the IRS the fact that the charges were incurred in connection with Beard’s work for the City of Atlanta. In reality, none of those expenses were for a consulting business.

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

Sentencing for Jimmie “Jim” A. Beard, 60, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida is scheduled for July 12, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett Bradford and Tiffany Johnson, Department of Justice Trial Attorney Trevor Wilmot, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Davis 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 - Austin Martin Siampwizi was sentenced on April 1, 2024, for laundering money procured from fraudulent unemployment claims filed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Siampwizi laundered proceeds from fraudulent unemployment claims filed using the stolen identities of more than 50 victims,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “His sentence of imprisonment is an example of our office’s commitment to work closely with our federal and state law enforcement partners to hold individuals accountable for defrauding the CARES Act program.”

“Austin Martin Siampwizi engaged in a scheme to purchase and subsequently cash hundreds of money orders that were funded with fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The UI benefits were from fraudulent online claims submitted to the Washington Employment Security Department using stolen identities. Today's sentencing affirms the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General’s commitment to working with our federal and state law enforcement partners to investigate identity theft involving the UI program,” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent-in-Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

“The defendant chose to enrich himself by committing fraud, further depleting limited funds that were designated to help businesses struggling to survive during the pandemic,” said Robert C. Donovan, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office. “This case signifies our commitment to protect citizens and businesses from fraud and identity theft.  We will continue to work closely with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to prosecute those who abuse these programs.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act created a temporary federal program that provided up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits for those unemployed as a result of the pandemic and included a provision to provide temporary benefits to individuals who had exhausted their entitlement to regular benefits or were otherwise not eligible. That temporary federal program was administered by state employment agencies.

Siampwizi laundered money obtained from fraudulent unemployment claims submitted to the Employment Security Department of Washington State. These claims were filed using stolen personally identifiable information of over 50 individuals. Siampwizi also submitted fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program loan applications for his two businesses, Global Car Rental, LLC, and Global Group Development & Construction, LLC.

Siampwizi, 47, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to three years, one month in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $279,210.52.  On December 14, 2023, Siampwizi pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Klapman prosecuted the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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

ATLANTA - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, and the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (“PCSF”) hosted a summit where procurement officials and law enforcement partners from across the Atlanta metropolitan area convened to raise awareness concerning collusion, corruption, and fraud schemes that target government spending. spending.                                                           

"Our office is committed to working closely with our federal, state, and local partners to ensure that the citizens of this district receive government services free from collusion, corruption, and fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our close collaboration with the Antitrust Division, in particular, allows us to better identify, investigate, and prosecute procurement fraud and, in so doing, assure the public that safeguarding taxpayer funds ranks as a top priority.”

“Today’s summit is a valuable opportunity for the PCSF to forge vital partnerships with representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies that are dedicated to protect the integrity of the federal government’s contracts,” said Director Glad. “Our partnerships increase awareness and combine resources and tools that protect taxpayers’ money.”

During the summit, U.S. Attorney Buchanan and Director Glad reflected on the PCSF’s growth and success since its inception in 2019. They detailed additional resources the Department of Justice has dedicated to combat procurement collusion and emphasized the importance of law enforcement partnerships and a whole-of-government response to persistent threats in government spending. They also sharpened the PCSF’s focus on the challenges, risks, and opportunities posed by significant government spending in and around the Atlanta metropolitan area under the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which will provide billions in federal spending in Georgia over the next several years.

Presentations at the summit outlined the ways that federal, state, and local government agencies can partner with the PCSF to address these emerging threats. Other topics discussed at the summit included ways that government agencies can strengthen their procurement processes to better protect taxpayer funds and meet the mission to provide services to residents. Summit participants included representatives from the FBI, Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General, Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, General Services Administration Office of Inspector General, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Department of the Army Criminal Investigative Division, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Department of Transportation, and City of Atlanta Office of Inspector General.

The PCSF is the Department of Justice’s coordinated, national law enforcement effort to target antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact procurement, grant, and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state, and local. The PCSF is comprised of the Antitrust Division, multiple U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country, the FBI, and the Inspectors General for multiple federal agencies.

Since its inception in November 2019, the PCSF has opened more than 100 criminal investigations and trained more than 31,000 people. In that time, the PCSF and Antitrust Division have investigated and prosecuted over 65 companies and individuals involving more than $500 million worth of government contracts. The summit marks the Department’s continued support of the PCSF as it enters its fifth year. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report collusion affecting government contracts, please visit www.justice.gov/atr/procurement-collusion-strike-force. 

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 - David Shemtov has been sentenced after a jury convicted him of wire fraud based on a scheme involving the fraudulent trade-ins of thousands of cell phones.

“The ability to exchange electronic devices for cash value or gift cards provides users the important benefit of recovering some worth for devices they no longer need,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Shemtov chose to exploit this process to fraudulently obtain substantially inflated value for devices he traded and at great expense to the victim company. His sentence of imprisonment should serve as a warning to others that this fraudulent activity will be prosecuted.”

“Shemtov used lies and schemes to pad his own pockets, causing financial harm to the companies and ultimately costing consumers more money,” said FBI Atlanta Assistant Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message to others who think they will not be caught – FBI Special Agents will find you.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: David Shemtov facilitated a year-long fraud scheme in which he developed a method to deceive a cell phone trade-in company about the nature of the cell phones in which he was trading. The cell phone trade-in process was handled by a third-party provider (the Victim Company) that oversaw the mailing and receipt of the devices, and the reimbursement payments – typically in the form of Apple gift cards. After experimenting through systematic trial and error, Shemtov uncovered a feature of the Victim Company’s trade-in program that allowed for manipulation of the nature and value of the phone trade-in by the customer.

To perpetrate the scheme, Shemtov lied about the phone model, used false names, adjusted the settings of every phone that he sent for trade-in, and remotely unlocked the phones. To avoid detection, he opened post office boxes in multiple states and used dozens of fake names and different email addresses. Shemtov’s conduct caused the Victim Company to pay substantially more than the true value of these devices.  For instance, more than 500 of the trade-in requests claimed to be for an iPhone XS Max, for a trade-in value of $550.00 when, in fact, the devices were iPhone 6’s, with a trade-in value of only $60.00. Shemtov initiated over 8,000 cell phone trades and successfully tricked the company more than 1,000 times, receiving an overpayment of more than $450,000.00.

Shemtov, 31, of Los Angeles, California, has been sentenced to three years, one month in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $532,542.00, as well as a fine of $100,000.00. Shemtov was found guilty by a jury on November 20, 2023.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela Adams and Alison B. Prout prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

A former detention officer with the Fulton County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office pleaded guilty today to violating a detainee’s civil rights by using excessive force while booking her into a Fulton County detention facility.

Monique Clark, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law.

“This defendant wrapped his hands around the throat of a handcuffed woman and strangled her into unconsciousness while she was being booked into the Fulton County Jail system,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This conduct was cruel, abusive and violated Fulton County Sheriff’s office policies that clearly restrict use of chokeholds and neck restraints. The Justice Department will prosecute officials who violate the civil rights of people held in our jails and prisons by using excessive or deadly force.”

“Clark’s conduct in abusing a handcuffed inmate by strangling her is reprehensible,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “Thankfully, Clark’s actions do not reflect the diligence and seriousness with which the majority of detention officers fulfill their roles each day in helping to secure our jails and protect the welfare of detainees.”

“By violating his sworn oath as a detention officer to protect people, Clark betrayed every honest, hardworking officer, and crossed the line to criminal behavior,” said Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. “Let this plea be a reminder that the abuse of inmates by prison staff will not be tolerated by the FBI and will always be pursued for prosecution.”

According to court documents, the victim was arrested by officers of the Alpharetta, Georgia, Police Department and brought to the Fulton County North Annex Jail, where Clark was working as a detention officer. While the victim was being booked into the jail, Clark placed his hands around her neck and choked her until she lost consciousness. At the time that Clark choked the victim, the victim was handcuffed and posed no threat to officers or anyone else. As Clark was aware, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office policy prohibited officers from using chokeholds and neck restraints except in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Clark faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Atlanta Field Office and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office’s Office of Professional Standards investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret Hobson for the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

ATLANTA - John W. Oxendine, the former Georgia State Insurance Commissioner, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit health care fraud in which a co-conspirator and he referred unnecessary medical tests to a lab company in Texas in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.                                                                                                       

“John Oxendine, as the former state-wide insurance commissioner, knew the importance of honest dealings between doctors and insurance companies,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “But for personal profit he willfully conspired with a physician to order hundreds of unnecessary lab tests, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. He will now be held accountable for violating the public’s trust.”

“This scheme to bill for unnecessary services has no place in our healthcare system,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It not only increased healthcare costs for all beneficiaries, but they also violated the trust of patients. John Oxendine not only profited from this scheme but took it a step farther and directed another to lie to federal agents to try and cover up the fraud.”

“Individuals who participate in kickback schemes risk undermining the integrity of federal health care programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “We will continue to aggressively investigate anyone engaging in illicit activities to protect taxpayer-funded federal health care programs from abuse by bad actors.”

“Today’s plea should serve as a strong deterrent to those in positions of power who seek to exploit and defraud TRICARE, the military’s healthcare system relied on by our service members, retirees, and their families,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Darrin K. Jones, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office.  “This investigation is part of an ongoing effort by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service to work with our law enforcement partners and aggressively investigate allegations of healthcare fraud that affect the Department of Defense and put its personnel at risk.” 

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: John Oxendine conspired with Dr. Jeffrey Gallups and others to submit fraudulent insurance claims for medically unnecessary Pharmacogenetic, Molecular Genetic, and Toxicology testing.  Physicians associated with Dr. Gallups’s ENT practice were pressured to order these medically unnecessary tests from Next Health, a lab in Texas.  As part of Oxedine’s health care fraud scheme, Next Health agreed to pay Oxendine and Dr. Gallups a kickback of 50 percent of the net profit for eligible specimens submitted by Dr. Gallups’s practice to the lab company. 

In connection with the scheme, Oxendine gave a presentation at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead where he pressured doctors in Dr. Gallups’s practice to order the unnecessary tests. Next Health later submitted insurance claims seeking more than $2,500,000 in payments from private health insurers for the unnecessary tests. The insurance companies paid almost $700,000 to Next Health because of these fraudulent claims. Next Health then paid $260,000 in kickbacks to Oxendine and Dr. Gallups. Some patients were also charged for the tests, receiving bills of up to $18,000.

To conceal the kickback payments, Oxendine and Dr. Gallups arranged for the payments to be made from Next Health to Oxendine Insurance Services, Oxendine’s insurance consulting business. Oxendine used a portion of the kickback money to pay debts for Dr. Gallups: a $150,000 charitable contribution and $70,000 in attorney’s fees.

When a compliance officer at Dr. Gallups’s practice raised concerns about the kickbacks, Oxendine told Dr. Gallups to lie and say the payments from Oxendine to Dr. Gallups were loans. He directed Dr. Gallups to repeat the lie after he was questioned by federal agents about Next Health. And when interviewed about Next Health by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in connection with a private lawsuit, Oxendine falsely denied working with the lab company or receiving money from the business.

This case is related to United States v. Gallups, criminal no. 1:21-cr-00370-SCJ, in which Dr. Jeffrey Gallups pleaded guilty to health care fraud.

Sentencing for John W. Oxendine, 61, of Johns Creek, Georgia, is scheduled for July 12, 2024, at 10 am before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Huber and David A. O’Neal are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

NEWNAN, Ga. - Robert Purbeck, also known as “Lifelock,” and “Studmaster,” who hacked into the computer servers of the City of Newnan and a Griffin medical clinic, and then targeted at least 17 other victims across the United States – in the process stealing personal information of more than 132,000 individuals – has pleaded guilty today to federal charges of computer fraud and abuse. 

“Purbeck breached computer systems in our district and across the country, stole vast amounts of personal information, and aggravated his crimes by weaponizing sensitive data in an egregious attempt to extort his victims,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Cyber-attacks on health care facilities and local governments pose a grave risk to the security of personal information.  Our office is committed to tirelessly coordinating with our law enforcement partners to help safeguard the sensitive information of citizens by combatting cybercrime threats from within and outside this district.”

“FBI Atlanta continues to be unrelenting in bringing cybercriminals to justice and determined to defeat and disrupt campaigns targeting critical infrastructure,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley. “Helping victims of crime is the FBI’s highest priority. The FBI will continue to aggressively pursue these criminal actors wherever they attempt to hide and ensure they are held accountable under the law.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: in June 2017, Purbeck purchased access to the computer server of a Griffin, Georgia medical clinic on a darknet marketplace.  He then used the stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access into computers of the medical clinic and stole medical records and other documents, which contained sensitive personal information of over 43,000 individuals, including names, addresses, birthdates, and social security numbers.  

Subsequently, in February 2018, Purbeck purchased access to a City of Newnan, Georgia Police Department server on a darknet marketplace.  Purbeck then used these stolen credentials to hack into the city’s computer systems and steal records consisting of police reports and documents, which included personal information of more than 14,000 people. 

On August 31, 2019, as part of an FBI investigation, agents executed a federal search warrant on Purbeck’s home in Meridian, Idaho.  During the search, the FBI seized multiple computers and devices, which contained personal information of over 132,000 individuals obtained through numerous data breaches, including the City of Newnan, the Griffin medical clinic, and at least 17 other victims throughout the United States.  As part of his plea agreement, Purbeck agreed to pay more than $1 million in restitution to these victims. 

Sentencing for Purbeck, 44, of Meridian, Idaho, is scheduled for June 18, 2024, 2024, at 10:30 am before Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. in the United States Courthouse in Newnan, Georgia.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Atlanta Field Office, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI Boise, Idaho Resident Agency.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Herskowitz, Nathan Kitchens, Alex Sistla, and Nicholas Evert, and Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho has also provided valuable assistance in this case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Uttam Halder has been sentenced to federal prison for a $10 million scheme to purchase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from low-income recipients. After his arrest, Halder became a fugitive, fled to Mexico, and attempted to flee to Istanbul, where he was apprehended by foreign authorities with a counterfeit Mexican passport.   

“The federal government trusted Halder to safeguard precious SNAP funds designed to alleviate hunger but he abused that trust to fuel his greed by profiting from a multimillion-dollar scheme to fraudulently redeem SNAP benefits,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Despite Halder’s attempt to flee, the coordinated response from multiple agencies and foreign law enforcement returned him to the United States to face justice for his crimes.”

“Today’s sentence serves not only as just punishment for this defendant but also as a notice to others who seek to prey on defrauding the taxpayer through SNAP,” said Miles Davis, Special Agent-in-Charge, USDA-Office of Inspector General.  “Purchasing those benefits for cash and sharing Point-of-Sale terminals will be vigorously investigated. This collaborative effort with our state and federal partners demonstrates that wherever you are, we will find you and fully hold you accountable for the law.”

“Halder’s attempt to defraud the government and evade prosecution was thwarted due to the diligence of HSI and its law enforcement partners,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Patrone, who oversees HSI operations in Georgia and Alabama. “For those contemplating similar crimes, HSI will tirelessly pursue those engaged in fraud schemes that violate the public trust.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Uttam Halder owned and operated a small meat market in Atlanta called Big Daddy’s Discount Meat (“Big Daddy’s”). Halder enrolled Big Daddy’s as a retailer for the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) in 2014. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is designed to alleviate hunger among low-income families by providing benefits on Electronic Benefit Transfer (“EBT”) cards that can be exchanged for eligible food items. USDA regulations state that SNAP benefits may not be purchased or sold in exchange for cash.

Between 2015 and 2020, Halder loaned his EBT terminals to two stores, Food World and Big Brother Mini Supermarket, contrary to SNAP rules. Co-conspirator Paltu Roy, the operator of Big Brother Mini Supermarket, and another co-conspirator who operated Food World, agreed to share profits with Halder from Big Daddy’s terminals used illegally at those stores. After receiving Big Daddy’s EBT terminals, both stores made cash payments to customers in return for redeeming their SNAP benefits at the rate of roughly 50 cents on the dollar. During this six-year period, Big Daddy’s terminals collected more than $10 million in fraudulent redemptions of SNAP benefits, and Halder shared a substantial portion of the profits.

Following his arrest in January 2021, Halder was released on bond. Contrary to his bond conditions, Halder fled and became a fugitive in late 2022. In June 2023, foreign authorities in Turkey located Halder when he attempted to enter Istanbul from Cancun, Mexico with a fake passport. Halder was returned to the United States and placed into custody.

Uttam Halder, 43, of Decatur, Georgia, has been sentenced to 68 months of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,340,986. On September 19, 2023, Halder pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of failure to appear.

His co-conspirator, Paltu Roy, 51, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on December 9, 2021. Roy was sentenced on April 20, 2022, to three years and one month in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $3,071,235 in restitution to the USDA.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan P. Kitchens prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - William Allen Liebisch, 43, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for interfering with the performance of the duties of a flight crew. Liebisch carried a box cutter on an airplane en route to Tampa, Florida, and told a fellow passenger that he wanted to stab someone aboard the flight, causing the pilot to make an emergency landing in Atlanta.                                                                                                                                      

“The flying public deserves to travel in peace without fear that a fellow passenger will create a violent disturbance,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Liebisch’s conduct created panic among the flight crew and his fellow travelers. His prosecution and sentence hopefully provide a message of deterrence to others.”

 “We would like to thank the passengers who took action to prevent the violence Liebisch threatened in the air.  No one should face harm while flying,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will do everything we can to prevent violence, intimidation, and threats of violence that endanger passenger and flight crew safety on commercial flights.”

“Safety is paramount to everyone aboard commercial aircraft, including flight crew at their workplace,” said Joseph Harris, Special Agent-in-Charge, Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General,  Southern Region. “As illustrated by today’s sentencing, we will continue working diligently with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to hold accountable unruly passengers who disrupt airline operations.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charge and other information presented in court: on November 11, 2022, William Allen Liebisch arrived at the Cincinnati airport with a ticket for Frontier Airlines Flight 1761, which was traveling from Cincinnati to Tampa. Liebisch entered the TSA security checkpoint where TSA officers confiscated a box cutter within his possession that the officials mistakenly believed they had disabled by removing the blade.

But once the flight departed, Liebisch inserted a spare blade that was stored in the handle of the box cutter. A passenger saw Liebisch use the box cutter to clean his nails. Another passenger reported to flight attendants that Liebisch said that he was going to stab someone. This information was passed on to the captain and the other flight attendants. Because there were no law enforcement officers on the flight, one attendant asked two male passengers to assist in keeping Liebisch confined in his seat. One passenger stood in the back nearby while the other took the seat of the passenger who made the report to the flight attendants. Both men and a flight attendant tried to keep Liebisch calm and under control for the remainder of the flight.

In the meantime, the captain made the decision to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport, which was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Once the plane landed, the passengers were instructed to deplane immediately and to leave their belongings on the plane. Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers had positioned themselves at the gate and, in effort to maintain calm, chose not to board the plane, but instead to wait for Liebisch to exit.

As the final remaining passengers neared the exit of the plane, Liebisch charged forward towards a flight attendant while wielding the box cutter. A passenger then tackled Liebisch from behind as the APD officers rushed on the plane to subdue and arrest him. Liebisch’s disturbance on the flight, his arrest, and TSA’s baggage re-inspection protocols forced Frontier Airlines to delay the flight to Tampa until the following morning, due to safety regulations that limit the number of hours a flight crew may be on duty in one day.

Liebisch has been sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  Liebisch was convicted of the charge on December 14, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.

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

Assistant United States Attorney Paul R. Jones prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ROME, Ga. - Jerry Joseph Southern, a convicted sex offender, was sentenced today to ten years of imprisonment for possessing thousands of digital images and videos depicting the rape and sexual abuse of children, including prepubescent minors under the age of 12.                                                                                                                                 

“This office remains committed to working with our state and local partners to identify and prosecute individuals who commit heinous crimes against minors,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Southern’s sentence of imprisonment reflects the seriousness of his recidivist conduct and the need to prevent him from facilitating the exploitation of more children.”

“Stopping those like Southern that victimize children by viewing and sharing these horrific images of children is one of our highest priorities,” said Acting Special Agent in charge Anthony J. Patrone who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Thanks to the great work done by our agents, along with our state, local and federal partners, we were able to remove a serious threat from our community and we will continue to pursue those who commit these evil acts.”  

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charge and other information presented in court: in July 2023, after receiving information that someone was using a cellular telephone associated with Southern to share videos and images of child sexual abuse, federal agents and local law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Southern’s Cartersville home. During the search, agents found a cellular phone that Southern had hidden in an air vent.  A search of the device revealed that Southern received, collected, and distributed a vast quantity of child sex abuse materials.

In 2013, Southern had been convicted of multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a child in state court after he pleaded guilty to the offenses. He was placed on probation and required to register as a sex offender after serving a prison term.  But he repeatedly violated the terms of his probation, resulting in additional terms of incarceration in 2014, 2019, and 2020.

Southern has been sentenced to ten years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $28,500.00.  Southern pleaded guilty to possession of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on December 19, 2023.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Murray County, Georgia Sheriff's Office and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Assistant United States Attorneys Calvin A. Leipold, III and Theodore S. Hertzberg 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) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Alba Ordoñez-Ordoñez has been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to transport and distribute fentanyl disguised as oxycodone pills and methamphetamine, in Metro-Atlanta. Jose Guadalupe Canizales-Rivera was also sentenced for his role in assisting Ordoñez-Ordoñez with her methamphetamine operation.                                                                                                                                        

“These sentences reflect the grave risks to public safety created by drug traffickers who disguise dangerous narcotics as legitimate medication,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We are grateful to our federal and local law enforcement partners for their collaboration in helping to keep our communities safer from deadly drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine.”

“Together, we were able to prevent very dangerous drugs from reaching the streets. I’m proud to stand alongside our partner agencies as we work to stop these criminal enterprises that pollute our neighborhoods with their poison,” said Acting Special Agent in charge Anthony J. Patrone who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI will continue to work with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle these drug trafficking organizations and prevent them from flooding our communities with illicit drugs.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: on February 17, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Erlanger, Kentucky conducted a border search of a shipment bound for Georgia. The shipment, which contained an air conditioning unit, entered the United States from Mexico. The search revealed more than two kilograms of a white powder hidden inside the compressor of the air conditioner, which tested positive for methamphetamine.

Homeland Security Investigations special agents and task force officers in Atlanta made a controlled delivery of the drugs to the shipment’s intended destination, a residence in Norcross, Georgia. Alba Ordoñez-Ordoñez, who was accompanied by Jose Guadalupe Canizales-Rivera, arrived at the location and signed for the package. Ordoñez-Ordoñez and Canizales-Rivera were disassembling the air conditioner at the same time agents executed a search warrant at the residence. Inside the residence, agents discovered over 700 grams of crystal methamphetamine, a mailed package containing more than 4,000 pills with markings like oxycodone that actually contained lethal amounts of fentanyl, and drug trafficking paraphernalia.

Further investigation revealed that Ordoñez-Ordoñez had previously traveled to Texas to obtain and transport to her residence approximately 16 kilograms of methamphetamine. She then manufactured and crystalized this methamphetamine in her kitchen. During this process, she exposed her six-year-old daughter to the drug fumes, causing the child to become ill.

Alba Ordoñez-Ordoñez, 43, of Honduras, was sentenced on March 12, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Steven C. Jones, to 138 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release.

Jose Guadalupe Canizales-Rivera, 33, of Mexico, was previously sentenced on August 9, 2022, to five years, three months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with invaluable assistance provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Calvin A. Leipold, III and Rebeca M. Ojeda prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the Atlanta Strike Force is to disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute the highest-level members of international drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations that have operations in metro Atlanta and throughout the United States.

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 - Matthew Allen Dickason, a disbarred attorney who was previously licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia, has been sentenced to federal prison for embezzling more than $3 million from his clients. Dickason used the money for personal purposes and created phony accounting records to cover up his theft.                                                     

“Dickason engaged in a long-running and shameful practice of abusing the trust placed in him by his clients and will now serve a prison sentence as a result of his crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This office will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners to protect the public from attorneys who steal money from their clients.”

“As a lawyer, Dickason swore an oath to uphold the law and represent his clients with integrity. Instead, he violated their trust and defrauded innocent victims,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Hopefully, this sentence sends the message that the FBI will doggedly work to protect American citizens and the real estate market from predators who drag down our economy by deception for their own personal gain.” 

“Closing attorneys serve a vital role for all real estate transactions in Georgia. They are entrusted with protecting their clients during the real estate transaction process. Dickason’s actions violated that trust and put many taxpayer-insured FHA mortgages at risk of default. HUD-OIG and our law enforcement partners consider this conduct egregious and hope that today’s sentence will deter anyone who contemplates engaging in this conduct,”  said Tyrone Hardy, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Southeast Region.

“As a mortgage industry insider and attorney, Dickason had a fiduciary duty to his clients and the banks funding the mortgage transactions, but instead he illegally siphoned funds for himself and his mortgage-closing company,” said Edwin Bonano, Special Agent-in-Charge of FHFA-OIG’s Southeast Region. “Today, justice was served. We are proud to have worked alongside our partner agencies on this case to arrive at today’s conclusion.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Matthew Allen Dickason was an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia and was the owner of Matthew A. Dickason, P.A., a law firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dickason specialized in real estate law and was responsible for overseeing hundreds of real estate sales transactions totaling tens of millions of dollars.

While employed as an attorney, Dickason knowingly devised and conducted a scheme to defraud and obtain money from clients under false pretenses. Specifically, Dickason misappropriated millions of dollars belonging to clients who trusted him to handle their real estate transactions. To conceal his scheme, Dickason took one client’s money and used it to pay his own or another client’s expenses. He used this deceptive practice again and again. This allowed the scheme to go undetected for years. Dickason also hid his fraud by causing false and misleading information to be entered into his law firm’s accounting system to make it appear that the firm had paid a client’s mortgage when, in fact, Dickason had used the money for fraudulent purposes.

Dickason, 48, formerly of Atlanta, Georgia, and now living in Wellington, Ohio, was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,005,159.19. Dickason was convicted on these charges on October 16, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Phillips prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

A Georgia man was sentenced today to three years in prison for unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship by lying about his role in persecuting teenagers in Ethiopia in the 1970s for their political opinions.

According to court documents, Mezemr Abebe Belayneh, also known as Mezmur Amare Belayneh, 68, of Snellville, unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship in 2008 by lying about and concealing that he persecuted and committed acts of violence against perceived political opponents during a period known as “the Red Terror” in Ethiopia. The Red Terror was a campaign of brutal violence in the late 1970s in which Ethiopia’s ruling military council and its supporters detained, interrogated, tortured, and executed civilians.

“Mezemr Belayneh violently beat political opponents in Ethiopia and lied about it to U.S. immigration authorities. Through this deception, he unlawfully entered this country and obtained U.S. citizenship,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Individuals who persecuted people in their home countries should take note: if you seek refuge unlawfully in the United States, we will investigate and prosecute you.”

During the Red Terror, Belayneh served as a civilian interrogator at a makeshift prison housed in a hotel known as Menafesha in Dilla, Ethiopia. According to witness testimony, Belayneh interrogated victims about their political beliefs, and directed and participated in severe beatings in which they were whipped or hit with sticks while imprisoned in Dilla. Belayneh concealed this conduct when he obtained a visa to enter the United States in 2001 and when he applied to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2008.

“Belayneh obtained U.S. citizenship by concealing from immigration authorities the abuse he inflicted on teenagers in Ethiopia during the Red Terror in the late 1970s,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “We hope that today’s sentencing brings a measure of peace and closure to the defendant’s courageous victims — some of whom testified at trial — and sends a clear message to others that we will continue to investigate and prosecute human rights abusers who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship.”

“When a person attempts to become a U.S. citizen under false pretenses, it jeopardizes our naturalization process and we will not stand idly by for war criminals and human rights violators to use our nation as a safe haven,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Simply put, those who knowingly and willfully misrepresent themselves to obtain U.S. citizenship status will be held accountable for their deceitful actions.”                                                                                        

A federal jury convicted Belayneh in July 2023 of one count of procuring citizenship contrary to law and one count of procuring citizenship to which he was not entitled. In addition to his prison sentence, Belayneh’s U.S. citizenship was also revoked.

HSI Atlanta investigated the case, with coordination provided by the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC). Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers.

Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tal C. Chaiken for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case, with assistance from HRSP Senior Historian Dr. Christopher Hayden. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.

Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.

ATLANTA - Mezemr Abebe Belayneh, also known as “Mezmur Amare Belayneh,” was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge William M. Ray, II, for fraudulently obtaining United States citizenship. Belayneh had unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship by concealing his involvement in the “Red Terror,” a campaign of oppression and mass killings committed in Ethiopia that began in 1976.                                                                                                                                 

“Mezemr Belayneh violently beat political opponents in Ethiopia and lied about it to U.S. immigration authorities. Through this deception, he unlawfully entered this country and obtained U.S. citizenship,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Individuals who persecuted people in their home countries should take note: if you seek refuge unlawfully in the United States, we will investigate and prosecute you.”

“Belayneh obtained U.S. citizenship by concealing from immigration authorities the abuse he inflicted on teenagers in Ethiopia during the Red Terror in the late 1970s,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We hope that today’s sentencing brings a measure of peace and closure to the defendant’s courageous victims—some of whom testified at trial—and sends a clear message to others that we will continue to investigate and prosecute human rights abusers who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship.”

“When a person attempts to become a U.S. citizen under false pretenses, it jeopardizes our naturalization process and we will not stand idly by for war criminals and human rights violators to use our nation as a safe haven,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations. “Simply put, those who knowingly and willfully misrepresent themselves to obtain U.S. citizenship status will be held accountable for their deceitful actions.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Mezemr Abebe Belayneh unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship in 2008 by concealing his persecution and acts of violence against political opponents during a period known as the Red Terror in Ethiopia. The Red Terror was a campaign of brutal violence in the late 1970s in which Ethiopia’s ruling military council and its supporters detained, interrogated, tortured, and executed thousands of perceived political opponents.

During the Red Terror, Belayneh served as a civilian interrogator at a makeshift prison known as Menafesha in the city of Dilla, Ethiopia. Belayneh detained teenage victims in a crowded prison for weeks and months, interrogated them about their political beliefs, and directed and participated in severe beatings in which they were whipped or hit with sticks. Belayneh also forced prisoners to physically fight one another for the prison guards’ amusement. Belayneh concealed that conduct when he obtained a visa to enter the United States in 2001 and when he became a U.S. citizen in 2008.

Belayneh, 67, of Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. On July 26, 2023, Belayneh was convicted of two counts of unlawfully procuring citizenship, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1425(a), following a jury trial.

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

Assistant United States Attorney Tal C. Chaiken and Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) prosecuted the case, with assistance from HRSP Senior Historian Dr. Christopher Hayden. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA, GA – Andrew “Drew” Maloney, 57, of Roswell, Georgia, has pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks. The guilty plea is part of a global settlement with the United States and several states in which Maloney and the clinical laboratory that he owned, Capstone Diagnostics, of Atlanta, Georgia, have also agreed to pay approximately $14.3 million to resolve allegations that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by paying volume-based commissions to independent contractor sales representatives to arrange for or recommend medically unnecessary urine drug tests and respiratory pathogen panels (RPPs). Maloney and Capstone have also agreed to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigations of other participants in the alleged schemes.

“The law prohibits health care providers, including laboratories, from paying kickbacks to third parties to generate business,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “As we have repeatedly witnessed, such payments can undermine the integrity of federal health care programs by inducing unnecessary services and other fraudulent practices.”

“Unfortunately, Capstone and Maloney are hardly alone, as we have witnessed some clinical laboratories and their owners across the country engage in unscrupulous kickback and billing schemes that caused incalculable harm to Medicare,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We are committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting those who defraud valuable government programs designed to benefit our most vulnerable citizens. By simultaneously obtaining criminal and civil resolutions, as well as working with our partners from the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, this case demonstrates our office’s commitment to using all available tools to hold accountable those who seek to steal from federal health care programs.”

“To maintain public trust in the health care system, we must ensure patients and taxpayers that care provided by federally funded healthcare programs is dictated by clinical needs, not fiscal greed,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “To do that, the FBI and our partners are committed to combining resources and holding providers who bill the government for unnecessary services accountable.”

“Health care providers who cause the submission of Medicare and Medicaid claims for medically unnecessary services pose a significant risk to these programs and the patients who rely on them,” stated Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG works diligently with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable individuals who, to satisfy their own greed, exploit federal health care programs.”

“The citizens of our country place immense trust in the integrity of our federal health care programs, and with it, the ability to ensure adequate care for all,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Darrin K. Jones, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. “Corruption in all forms undermines that trust, and we will work relentlessly with our investigative partners to pursue and hold accountable those who illegally profit from DoD healthcare programs.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: Between August 2017 and December 2018, Capstone entered into an arrangement with a program operating as Do It 4 the Hood (D4H), which held itself out as providing after school mentoring services to at-risk teenagers in Georgia. Once enrolled, participants were required to submit to frequent urine specimen collections for drug testing without regard to medical need or the history of the participant. Maloney was aware that the participants needed the tests to participate in the program and that many of these participants were covered by Medicaid.  Capstone, with Maloney’s knowledge and approval, paid the operators of D4H a percentage of Medicaid reimbursements for samples submitted by the program, in violation of federal law. While the scheme was ongoing, Capstone submitted over $1 million in claims, causing Georgia Medicaid to pay out at least $400,000 in claims related to the fraudulent drug testing. In addition to Maloney’s guilty plea, four other individuals have pleaded guilty in connection with this fraudulent drug testing scheme:

• Dr. Duriel Gray, 45, of Cartersville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to receive health care kickbacks in the Northern District of Georgia. Gray is licensed to practice medicine in Georgia and was recruited to be the “medical director” for D4H in Georgia. D4H used Gray to provide a “standing order” under which Capstone could submit the fraudulent drug testing claims to Medicaid. Gray did not have a physician-patient relationship with the students, never examined any of them, and did not review or discuss the drug tests with any of the participating students. For his role in the scheme, Gray received approximately $30,000. On April 13, 2023, Gray was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $417,200.40 in restitution.

• Bree’Anna Harris, 32, of Phoenix, Arizona, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering in the Western District of North Carolina to charges filed in the Northern District of Georgia and Western District of North Carolina. Among other things, Harris incorporated an entity, BPolloni Consulting, LLC, which entered into a purported marketing agreement with Capstone. The arrangement between BPolloni and Capstone was used to receive and conceal the fraudulent kickback payments and distribute them to her coconspirators. On December 5, 2023, Harris was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment for her role in the D4H scheme and related schemes in North Carolina and elsewhere.

• Glenn Pair, 36, of Stonecrest, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering in the Western District of North Carolina to charges filed in the Northern District of Georgia, Western District of North Carolina, and District of South Carolina. On July 27, 2022, Pair was sentenced to 70 months of imprisonment for his role in the D4H scheme and related schemes in North Carolina, South Carolina, and elsewhere.

• Rachel Sheats, 48, of Woodstock, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks in the Northern District of Georgia in January 2024. Sheats acted as Capstone’s chief operations officer during the relevant time and served as a key point person for D4H at Capstone. Sheats’ sentencing hearing remains pending.

Maloney and Capstone also entered into a civil settlement agreement under which they agreed to pay $14.3 million to the federal government, the State of Georgia, and several other states, to resolve claims arising from the submission of false claims to government health care programs. In addition to the allegations described above, the civil settlement resolves allegations that, between April 2020 and December 2021, Maloney and Capstone sought to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic by paying independent contractor sales representatives to recommend RPPs to senior communities interested only in COVID-19 tests. RPPs are an expensive panel that tests for many different respiratory pathogens, some of which are very rare, do not cause overlapping clinical syndromes, and are found only in specific patient populations. To generate orders, Capstone’s independent sales representatives completed test requisition forms for RPPs using forged signatures of physicians who had only ordered COVID tests and sham diagnosis codes that did not reflect the medical conditions of the senior community residents receiving the tests. Capstone subsequently billed federal health care programs for these medically unnecessary tests and paid its sales representatives a commission for each test. The federal share of the settlement is approximately $13.9 million and approximately $400,000 constitutes a recovery for state Medicaid programs.

The civil settlement resolves, in part, a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The claims resolved by the civil agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of civil liability. As part of today’s resolution, whistleblower Jesse Allen will receive approximately $2.86 million. Mr. Allen worked as Capstone’s laboratory manager from April 2017 to January 2019.

Maloney’s sentencing is scheduled for May 29, 2024, before U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla and Georgia Deputy Attorney General Jim Mooney are prosecuting the criminal case. Assistant United States Attorney Neeli Ben-David, Deputy Director Paul R. Perkins, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, DOJ-Fraud Section, and Senior Assistant Attorney General Richard Tangum, Georgia Medicaid Fraud Division are handling the civil case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mellori E. Lumpkin-Dawson also participated in the civil case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across the federal government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international actors committing civil and criminal fraud and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

One of the most powerful tools in combatting health care fraud is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Cedrick Hill, 31, of Marietta, Ga., has been sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment for the violent assault of an FBI special agent and the sale of multiple kilos of methamphetamine. While trying to evade arrest, Hill drove a vehicle at high speed while the agent was trapped in the driver’s side door of the defendant’s truck, resulting in the agent’s hospitalization for two weeks and a lengthy recovery.

“Determined to escape at all costs, this defendant gravely injured an FBI special agent in the line of duty,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “No sentence can remedy the physical and emotional harm suffered by the agent because of Hill’s conduct, but hopefully this sentence will cause others to think twice before risking harm to law enforcement officers during the performance of their duties.  This case is also an important reminder to the community of the risks faced by law enforcement officers daily and the respect and admiration they earn through exceptional acts of bravery taken to protect the public.”

“Anyone who assaults a law enforcement officer is dangerous and an extreme threat to public safety. Hill showed absolutely no regard for the life of our agent and caused him extreme harm. We are thankful that the agent has recovered, and Hill is finally being held accountable for his crimes,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.  “This case is an important reminder of the risks that our law enforcement officers face every day to keep our communities safe and the length we will go to remove violent offenders from our streets.”

According to United States Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: On October 12, 2017, Cedrick Hill was indicted by a federal grand jury in a 30-defendant indictment alleging various gang-related and drug offenses.  Hill was specifically charged with supplying gang members with approximately six kilograms of methamphetamine over the course of two drug transactions.  Hill initially avoided arrest by going into hiding, traveling to multiple states via bus and rental cars.  

Later, after determining Hill’s location in the early morning hours of January 4, 2018, an FBI special agent encountered Hill in the foyer of a hotel in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and attempted to arrest him.  Hill initially complied with the agents’ instructions to put his arms behind his back, but then suddenly began resisting as the agent began to handcuff him.  Hill then ran through the lobby of the hotel, jumped over a counter, and bolted from the hotel with the agent in pursuit.  As Hill ran to his truck and climbed into the driver’s seat, the agent followed and became lodged in the driver’s side door. 

With the agent caught in the door, Hill drove through the parking lot at a high rate of speed, dragging the agent, crushing him at various points of impact in an attempt to shake the agent loose, and breaking the agent’s arm and femur.  With his free hand, the agent managed to discharge his service weapon, striking Hill twice. But Hill continued to drive at a high rate of speed, exited the hotel parking lot, crossed Interstate 285, and turned down an access road.  Eventually Hill stopped the vehicle, opened the door, and released the seriously injured agent onto the side of the road.  The agent managed to call 911 and request medical care for Hill and himself. 

The agent’s injuries were extensive, requiring two weeks of hospitalization, multiple surgeries, and 18 months of rehabilitation.  He suffered permanent nerve damage in his arm, among other lasting injuries.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg sentenced Hill to 26 years in prison, to be followed by 60 months of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.   

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Feliks Medvedev, who transferred more than $150 million of foreign currency through U.S. bank accounts in North Georgia, has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. In addition, Alexey Chubarov, Lev Solyannikov, and KSK Group were indicted on February 13, 2024, for the offenses of conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and 39 counts of money laundering for their alleged respective roles related to Medvedev’s scheme. These prosecutions are a continuation of the Department of Justice’s prioritization of enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States, together with its global partners, imposed against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.                                                           

“The Justice Department is more committed than ever to cutting off the flow of illegal funds that are fueling Putin’s war and to holding accountable those who continue to enable it,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “That is why today we are announcing several additional enforcement actions that the Justice Department has taken to bring prosecutions against and seize assets of sanctioned enablers of the Kremlin and Russian military.”

“Since the onset of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the Justice Department has used every tool in our arsenal – including our international partnerships – to target the criminal actors and activity propping up Vladimir Putin, his henchmen, and his illegal war,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Over the last two years, our Task Force KleptoCapture has restrained, seized, and obtained judgments to forfeit nearly $700 million in assets from Russian enablers and charged more than 70 individuals for violating international sanctions and export controls levied against Russia. The charges we announce today against oligarchs, facilitators, and money launderers are the next chapter: so long as Russia's aggression continues, so too will our resolve to hold its enablers accountable. We stand firmly with the people of Ukraine.”

“America’s financial institutions provide critical stability to our economic and national security. Thus, these corporations are rightly the envy of the world. They are not, however, a tool to be exploited for the illegal transfer and laundering of illicit Russian money,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “After fraudulently transferring and partly laundering over $150 million, Feliks Medvedev has pleaded guilty and will face severe consequences for his crimes. The indictment of others involved in his offenses demonstrates our resolve to pursue individuals in the Northern District of Georgia and across the world who seek to facilitate the illegal transfer of Russian money.”

“Medvedev’s guilty plea should serve as a stark warning to those who seek to undermine the security of American financial institutions,  the FBI will uncover the truth and hold them accountable,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The indictment of his co-conspirators further demonstrates our steadfast commitment to safeguarding our national and economic security.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Medvedev is a Russian national residing in Buford, Georgia. Medvedev registered eight companies in Georgia that were used to illegally transmit over $150 million in more than 1,300 transactions. The companies were purportedly headquartered in Buford, Georgia, and Dacula, Georgia. The companies did not incur typical business expenses or maintain employees. A large majority of the money transferred into the accounts came from multiple overseas companies and was transferred generally within days to other foreign companies. The money was used, in part, to purchase over $65 million in gold bullion from the Singapore Precious Metals Exchange.

Relatedly, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment on February 13, 2024, alleging that Defendants Alexey Chubarov, Lev Solyannikov, and KSK Group conspired with Medvedev in the transfer of these funds and then laundered the illegal proceeds. KSK Group is a business consulting firm in Moscow. Chubarov and Solyannikov both worked for KSK Group, and Chubarov was identified as an expert on international structuring.

Chubarov and Solyannikov allegedly informed Medvedev about incoming wires. They then directed Medvedev concerning the outgoing transfers he should make, including the transfer of funds to the Singapore Precious Metals Exchange to purchase gold bullion.

On September 14, 2023, the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Asset Control announced that Chubarov and KSK Group were added to the Specially Designated Nationals List of sanctioned entities under Executive Order 14024.

Medvedev’s sentencing is scheduled for May 7, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., before United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr.

Medvedev pleaded guilty in United States v. Feliks Medvedev, Criminal Case No. 1:22-CR-184.  The new indictment is United States v. Alexey Chubarov, Lev Solyannikov, and KSK Group, Criminal Case No. 1:23-CR-53.

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

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Huber, Norman L. Barnett, and Sekret T. Sneed are prosecuting the case.

This case was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all the Department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

A federal jury in Atlanta convicted a Georgia man and woman yesterday for their roles in an over $11 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud scheme.

Teldrin Foster, 42, of Decatur, was convicted of bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured financial institution, and money laundering in connection with 14 loan applications. 

Carla Jackson, 55, of Tucker, was convicted of two counts of money laundering in connection with laundering the proceeds of a PPP loan.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between April and August 2020, Foster and co-conspirators submitted, or assisted in the submission of, PPP loan applications on behalf of 14 businesses seeking loans of approximately $800,000 for each company. In the loan applications, the co-conspirators certified that each applicant business was in operation on Feb. 15, 2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or that it paid independent contractors; that the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or to make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments; and that the information provided in the application and in all supporting documents was true and accurate in all material respects. The co-conspirators reported that each business had approximately 60 employees and approximately $300,000 in average monthly payroll expenses. To support these payroll figures, each business’s loan application was accompanied by an IRS Form 941, which employers use to report payroll taxes. In reality, each Form 941 was fraudulent. 

After the PPP loan proceeds were deposited into the businesses’ accounts, Jackson and others laundered certain of the funds through a series of transactions that were devised to disguise the origins of the funds and how the funds were spent.

The defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the wire fraud and money laundering charges and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the bank fraud and false statement to a federally insured bank charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Atlanta Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) Eastern Region made the announcement.

The FBI, IRS-CI, and SBA-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken and Samir Kaushal for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

ATLANTA – Teldrin Foster and Carla Jackson were found guilty by a jury for their roles in schemes to steal Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Foster was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, 14 counts of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, six counts of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution, and one count of money laundering. Jackson was charged with two counts of money laundering. After a seven-day trial, both defendants were convicted on all counts. Foster and Jackson were charged in a 16-defendant indictment containing 63 felony counts, alleging numerous conspiracies among defendants. This indictment is part of a wide-ranging investigation into PPP fund theft that has resulted in the convictions of 23 of 24 defendants charged during the investigation. A final defendant’s case remains pending.

“These defendants brazenly stole pandemic relief funds intended for struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said United States Attorney Ryan K Buchanan. “This investigation has produced charges against 24 defendants and secured guilty verdicts by a jury of the only two defendants to proceed to trial thus far. This successful prosecution is the culmination of a comprehensive collaboration between multiple federal agencies and our office that demonstrates our collective commitment to comprehensively investigating and prosecuting criminals who stole pandemic relief funds.”

“Foster and Jackson’s actions affected every tax paying citizen in this country and took away from government funds that were intended to provide relief to small businesses and employees who desperately needed it during the pandemic,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “These convictions reiterate the message that the FBI and our federal partners remain vigilant prosecuting people who misuse government funds for their own personal greed.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners will continue investigating and bring to justice those who committed fraud on the Paycheck Protection Program,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office.

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, a second superseding indictment, and other information presented in court: from April 2020 through August 2020, Teldrin Foster worked with co-defendant Darrell Thomas and others to fraudulently obtain at least 14 fraudulent loans. Each of the businesses obtained a PPP loan between $700,000 and $850,000, for a total of over $11.1 million. The loan applications certified that each applicant business was in operation on February 15, 2020 and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid independent contractors; that the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments; and that the information provided in the applications and in all supporting documents and forms were true and accurate in all material respects.

The PPP loan applications reported that each business had between 59 and 69 employees and approximately $295,000 to $342,000 in average monthly payroll expenses. To support these payroll figures, each business’s loan application was accompanied by an Internal Revenue Service Form 941, which employers use to report payroll taxes, for each quarter of 2019 and by a bank statement or a spreadsheet reflecting payroll expenses. But none of the businesses had employees or payroll expenses. The Form 941s, bank statements, and W2 payroll spreadsheets had all been fabricated. Indeed, some of the supporting documents the businesses submitted were substantively identical, including identical Form 941s, identical bank statements, and W2 payroll spreadsheets where the reported figures were identical and only the purported employee names changed. 

To conceal and launder the stolen funds, PPP funds were sometimes disguised by the defendants. Jackson acted as a money launderer, receiving more than $300,000 of the stolen PPP funds into her business’s bank account. The funds were transferred through two transactions, a check in the amount of $155,252.50 and a wire transfer in the amount of $179,985.72. The check falsely claimed that the funds were being provided to Jackson as consulting fees and daily business management, and the wire transfer paperwork falsely stated that the funds were for payroll services. In reality, Jackson was just trying to prevent the detection of funds obtained from the PPP program and seizure of those proceeds by federal law enforcement.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Small Business Administration-Office of the Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken, Samir Kaushal, and Nathan Kitchens of the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.    

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Nnamdi Iheanacho has been indicted on federal charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy, and concealment money laundering for stealing COVID-19 relief funds and federal tax refunds based on fraud and identity theft.

“Iheanacho allegedly defrauded government funds during the COVID-19 pandemic involving state unemployment insurance funds and tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “COVID-19 pandemic funds provided vital aid for citizens who qualified for them. Congress did not intend for individuals to illegally profit from the CARES Act program. The indictment alleges that Iheanacho compounded his fraudulent conduct by stealing the identities of others to perpetrate his schemes, including filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.”

“An important part of the mission of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud involving unemployment insurance programs. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate these types of allegations,” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Southeast Region.

“Iheanacho’s alleged criminal acts deprived the government of funding for its programs and possibly created financial instability for his victims of identity theft,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. "IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners are diligently working to find those who show so much disregard to others in their pursuit of greed.”

“This defendant is charged with taking advantage of our nation during an unprecedented time of a pandemic and stealing money intended to help others who were struggling,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We are proud to work with our partner agencies to investigate and stamp out these schemes.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act provided emergency assistance for individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act created a new temporary federal program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance that provided up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits and funding to states for administration of the program. An individual receiving these benefits might also receive a $600 weekly benefit in federal funds under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program if he or she was eligible for such compensation for the week claimed.

To fraudulently take advantage of the $600 weekly federal benefit, Nnamdi Iheanacho, 38, of Dacula, Georgia, allegedly applied online for unemployment insurance benefits for numerous individuals using stolen personal identifying information. Simultaneously, Iheanacho allegedly filed federal income tax returns using stolen identity information. He then allegedly laundered the proceeds of his fraud schemes.

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

This case is being investigated by the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Klapman is prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA – Simon Orobor has been sentenced for conspiring to pay healthcare kickbacks payments for unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), resulting in more than $20 million in claims to, and $13 million in payments from, Medicare.

“Telemedicine kickback schemes victimize elderly Medicare beneficiaries when they are most vulnerable,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our office will continue to work closely with our federal partners to identify these deceitful practices, and to prosecute the criminals who employ these schemes at the expense of our citizens who rely on the Medicare program.”

“The FBI is determined to protect all tax paying citizens who are affected by these kickback schemes, especially those who need government assistance for their health care needs,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This sentencing is a step in the right direction to support our overall goal of stopping deceitful medical operators who steal and put tremendous pressure on our federally subsidized health care programs.” 

“This sentence sends a strong message that HHS-OIG will thoroughly investigate those who exploit Medicare patients and pay illegal kickbacks to prescribe medically unnecessary durable medical equipment for illegitimate financial gain. Our commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the Medicare and other federal healthcare programs remains unwavering,” said Tamala Miles, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”).

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Between at least June 2016 and February 2019, Simon Orobor owned and operated Devotion Medical Supply, Inc. (“Devotion”) and Durable Medical Supply, Inc. (“Durable”), which provided durable medical equipment such as knee, back, shoulder, and wrist braces. Orobor, though another entity called Digital Interventions, LLC, obtained access to thousands of Medicare beneficiaries by paying, on a weekly basis, kickbacks to Individual 1 and Company 1 in exchange for signed doctors’ orders for these braces. As part of the conspiracy, Medicare beneficiaries were contacted by call centers located in India, the Philippines, and elsewhere, which often obtained patient consent and sales through fraudulent means.

Orobor and Individual 1 disguised the nature and source of these kickbacks by designating the payments as marketing, entering into sham contracts, and generating or causing the generation of fraudulent invoices. In total, Orobor, through Devotion and Durable, used the doctors’ orders obtained through kickbacks to submit claims to Medicare in the approximate amount of $20,555,772 and received Medicare reimbursement in the approximate amount of $13,360,721.89.

Simon Orobor, 60, of Houston, Texas was sentenced to 30 months of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Orobor was also ordered to pay $13,360,721.89 in restitution.   

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. O'Neal prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Brett Weiner and Valerie Desalvo have been sentenced on conspiracy charges for their role in buying and selling fraudulent doctors’ orders used to obtain over $1.5 million in fraudulent payments from Medicare.

“Thieves take advantage of telemedicine and use it as a platform to orchestrate their criminal schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our office is committed to prosecuting those who exploit our most vulnerable citizens and bilk the health care system in the name of personal greed.”

“Fraudulent schemes, such as what Weiner and DeSalvo participated in, corrupt medical decision making, drive up the cost of health care, and hurt every taxpayer in this country,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Hopefully this lengthy sentence will send the message that the FBI makes it a priority to end people from abusing government funded programs like Medicaid.”

“Health care providers who cause the submission of Medicare claims for medically unnecessary equipment pose a significant risk to these programs and the patients who rely on them,” stated Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG works diligently with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable individuals who, to satisfy their own greed, exploit federal health care programs.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Brett Weiner and Valerie Desalvo owned and operated Laboratory Marketing Services, LLC (“LMS”), a business in Boca Raton, Florida. LMS was in the business of, among other things, receiving kickback payments in exchange for patient “leads,” consisting of billable Medicare beneficiaries.  Weiner and Desalvo received bribes from DME companies such as Medihealth Medical Solutions, LLC, located in Amory, Mississippi, and Liberty Medical DME, LLC, in Atlanta, Georgia, in exchange for the leads, which included, among other information, each Medicare beneficiary’s name, Medicare number, diagnoses, pain level, and primary care physician.

Through LMS, Weiner and Desalvo also bought and sold signed physicians’ orders from Nagaindra Srivastav and his company B2B Apps Solutions, LLC, in Tampa, Florida, which they sold to DME companies. A substantial portion of the doctors’ orders that Weiner and Desalvo purchased from Srivastav and B2B contained signatures or purported approvals of physicians or other health care providers whose names and professional identifying information were used without their true authorization and prior knowledge.

In total, Weiner and Desalvo, through LMS, caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare in the approximate amount of over $1,500,000, which generated approximately $715,000 in payment, for medical braces, including back, knee, and ankle braces, that were procured through the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes and ineligible for Medicare reimbursement.

Brett Weiner, 61, of Boca Raton, Florida, and Valerie Desalvo, 58, of Boca Raton Florida, were each sentenced to three years, one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Weiner and Desalvo were also ordered to pay $715,435.03 in restitution.

The following defendants were previously sentenced as part of the same conspiracy:

• Nagaindra Srivastav, 59, of Tampa, Florida, was sentenced to serve nine years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $48,150,692.49 in restitution; and

• Brian Tisdale, 46, of Amory, Mississippi, was sentenced to serve three years, six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,675,093.80 in restitution.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. O’Neal prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

ATLANTA - Mani Chulpayev, the leader of a luxury car leasing scheme that operated in the Atlanta and Miami areas from 2009 to 2016, has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $4.6 million in restitution. Chulpayev was arrested in October 2020 while hiding in Ukraine, using a fake identity, and working as a movie producer. His conviction marks the end of a multi-agency collaboration known as “Operation Riding Dirty,” which targeted a web of drug traffickers utilizing multiple, hard-to-trace cars, the fraudsters who laundered drug money for the traffickers and left banks and investors on the hook for millions of dollars of losses, and the corrupt government officials who facilitated and protected the traffickers.

“Chulpayev ran a sophisticated scheme that inflicted vast losses on banks and the individuals he recruited to assist his fraudulent scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Chulpayev then used the fruits of his fraud – a fleet of exotic cars – to enable drug traffickers to operate, evade detection, and launder their illicit proceeds. The disruption of his illegal network is the culmination of an unrelenting, coordinated, and comprehensive investigation by our agency partners.”

Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division stated, “Through hard work, this illegal drug distribution and money laundering network has been removed from our streets. This criminal enterprise had no regard for the potential impact of their actions.” 

“This sentence punishes the defendant’s extensive criminal conduct and serves as a significant deterrent to others who would think about engaging in these types of illegal activities,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Atlanta Division. “Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners are proud of the prosecutive results of this aggressive and extensive investigation to dismantle this criminal organization.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Chulpayev was born in the Soviet Union but moved to the United States with his family at the age of 12. By age 20, he acted as the lead money handler and scheme organizer for a Russian crime ring operating in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, and engaged in extortion, arson, kidnapping, human trafficking, and various frauds. Following a previous federal conviction and prison term, he moved to Atlanta, where he was soon arrested for operating a chop shop selling stolen cars with altered VINs and fraudulent titles. Following a second federal conviction and prison term, in 2009, he started a car leasing business in Atlanta catering to drug traffickers who used untraceable cash deposits to pay Chulpayev for cars registered in other people’s names. In 2012, Chulpayev expanded his operation to Miami with the help of coconspirators Paul Carruth, Lyle Stephen Livesay, and Kimberly Ann Reiss. 

To create an inventory of these vehicles, Chulpayev and his associates recruited straw purchasers – people who would buy luxury cars in their names but had no intention of actually using the vehicles. The straw purchasers then gave the cars to Chulpayev to be leased to others, including to drug traffickers who used drug proceeds to pay Chulpayev for the pricey leases, and to high-profile clients connected to the music and sports industries. The straw purchasers bought the cars using bank loans and financed several luxury vehicles in a short period of time before the new loans appeared on their credit reports. Chulpayev and his associates gave the straw purchasers falsified documents, including fake paychecks, to use for the loan applications. Chulpayev initially made the loan payments for the straw purchasers. But when he stopped, his straw purchasers were left responsible for handling the payments. When the straw purchasers inevitably defaulted on the loans, Chulpayev left the banks to try to repossess the cars from the drug traffickers or to locate vehicles moved to other states, stolen, or exported to foreign countries. Chulpayev eventually orchestrated the purchase of more than 115 cars, including Bentleys, Aston Martins, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches worth more than $9 million.

One of Chulpayev’s drug trafficking clients was Kevin Johnson, also known as “Webb,” who was the leader of a drug trafficking operation in the Atlanta area that moved packages of drugs through the mail and employed as a talent scout and booking agent for rap artists. Johnson leased several flashy cars for members of his drug trafficking operation. Following a federal wiretap investigation, Johnson and four of his associates were convicted of federal drug trafficking charges. In a spinoff investigation, 17 mail carriers and other employees of the U.S. Postal Service were convicted of collecting bribes to deliver packages of drugs through the mail.

Chulpayev also used relationships with corrupt law enforcement agents to advance and protect his scheme by helping him repossess cars, arrest competitors and enemies, and avoid arrest himself. He first gained the officers’ trust by feeding them information about his drug trafficker clients, but gradually curried their favor through bribes and other means. Robert Bentivegna was a Detective with the Dunwoody Police Department and a Task Force Officer with the U.S. Secret Service who received bribes from Chulpayev in the form of airline tickets, legal fees, and luxury cars for his children. In exchange, Bentivegna agreed to alert Chulpayev about any arrest warrants issued for him. Bentivegna was convicted of federal computer access crimes and sentenced to prison.

Mani Chulpayev, also known as “Mani Chilpayen,” and “Immanuel Cohen,” 46, of Kew Gardens, New York, was sentenced to ten years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $4,663,978.73.  Chulpayev was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud on July 31, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.

The following defendants were previously convicted as part of Operation Riding Dirty:

• Lyle Stephen Livesay, 36, of Colbert, Georgia, was sentenced on July 15, 2021, to eight years, one month in prison (with credit for four years served on a prior conviction), followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $2,644,722.15, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
• Paul Alexander Carruth, 39, of Boynton Beach, Florida, was sentenced on November 28, 2018, to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $93,498.36, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering.
• Kimberly Ann Reiss, 38, of Miami Beach, Florida, was sentenced on July 15, 2021, to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $2,674,563.05, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
• Kevin Michael Johnson, 48, of Lilburn, Georgia, was sentenced on June 16, 2016, to six years, six months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.
• Walter Ray Hamilton, 42, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced on November 2, 2016, to six years, three months in prison, followed by six years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and maintaining a place for distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school.
• James Robert Jones, also known as “Sean Jones,” 50, of Dallas, Georgia, was sentenced on November 2, 2016, to five years, ten months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.
• Jeorge Collier, 38, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced on December 21, 2017, to five years, one month in prison, followed by seven years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
• Eric Swiney, 51, of Forest Park, Georgia, was sentenced on May 10, 2016, to five years, ten months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.
• Robert Pasquale Bentivegna, 73, of Woodstock, Georgia, was sentenced on June 30, 2015, to two months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $1,500, after pleading guilty to unauthorized use of a computer.

Additionally, from February 13, 2018, to March 30, 2023, 17 U.S. Postal Service employees and one non-postal employee were convicted in four separate indictments and sentenced to a range of three to nine years of prison for bribery, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, attempt to distribute controlled substances, and unlawfully using the mail to distribute controlled substances.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with valuable assistance provided by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett L. Bradford prosecuted the case.

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

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

ATLANTA – As part of an international law enforcement effort, federal authorities seized internet domains that were used to sell computer malware used by cybercriminals to secretly access and steal data from victims’ computers. Federal authorities in Atlanta and Boston also unsealed indictments charging individuals in Malta and Nigeria, respectively, for their alleged involvement in selling the malware and supporting cybercriminals seeking to use the malware for malicious purposes.

“Daniel Meli will no longer escape accountability for his actions selling malware,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This alleged cybercriminal facilitated the takeover and infection of computers worldwide. Our office was proud to partner with our federal and international counterparts to find Meli and bring him to justice. We will continue to diligently investigate and prosecute cybercrime in the Northern District of Georgia, and in all parts of the globe where our district is impacted.”

“Daniel Meli not only profited off this malicious malware but took the extra step to train others on how to use it.” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Cybercriminals may believe they are beyond the reach of the FBI, but this case proves anyone who helps or profits from criminal cyber activity will be brought to justice, no matter where they are located. Our goal is to protect victims and safeguard our country from these dangerous actors.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court:  Federal authorities in Boston seized www.warzone.ws and three related domains, which together offered for sale the Warzone RAT malware – a sophisticated remote access trojan (RAT) capable of enabling cybercriminals to surreptitiously connect to victims’ computers for malicious purposes. According to the court documents authorizing the seizures, the Warzone RAT provided cybercriminals the ability to browse victim file systems, take screenshots, record keystrokes, steal victim usernames and passwords, and watch victims through their web cameras, all without the victims’ knowledge or permission.

Investigations by the FBI in Boston and Atlanta also led to two indictments against individuals involved in selling and supporting the Warzone RAT and other malware.

Daniel Meli, 27, of Zabbar, Malta, was arrested on Feb. 7 at the request of the United States, following a coordinated operation by the Malta Police Force and the Office of the Attorney General of Malta, with the support of the FBI and Justice Department. Meli made his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in Valletta, Malta. Meli was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia on Dec. 12, 2023, with four offenses, including causing unauthorized damage to protected computers, illegally selling and advertising an electronic interception device, and participating in a conspiracy to commit several computer intrusion offenses. According to the charging documents, since at least 2012, Meli offered malware products and services for sale to cybercriminals on online computer-hacking forums. Specifically, Meli allegedly assisted cybercriminals seeking to use RATs for malicious purposes and offered teaching tools for sale, including an eBook. Meli also allegedly sold both the Warzone RAT and, before that, malware known as the Pegasus RAT, which he sold through an online criminal organization called Skynet-Corporation. He also provided online customer support to purchasers of both RATs. The Northern District of Georgia is seeking Meli’s extradition to the United States.

Separately, Prince Onyeoziri Odinakachi, 31, of Nigeria, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Massachusetts on Jan. 30 with conspiracy to commit multiple computer intrusion offenses, including to obtain authorized access to protected computers to obtain information and causing unauthorized damage to protected computers. According to the charging documents, between June 2019 and no earlier than March 2023, Odinakachi provided online customer support to individuals who purchased and used the Warzone RAT malware. Law enforcement officers of the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested Odinakachi on Feb. 7. 

The disruption of the Warzone RAT infrastructure was the product of a robust international law enforcement effort led by FBI special agents in Boston and Atlanta and coordinated with international partners in large part through Europol. According to court documents, in addition to discovering instances of the Warzone RAT being used to attack victim computers in Massachusetts, the FBI covertly purchased and analyzed the Warzone RAT malware, confirming its multiple malicious functions. Separately, law enforcement partners in Canada, Croatia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania provided valuable assistance securing the servers hosting the Warzone RAT infrastructure.

The charges of conspiracy, obtaining authorized access to protected computers to obtain information, illegally selling an interception device, and illegally advertising an interception device each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of causing unauthorized damage to protected computers provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Michael Herskowitz for the Northern District of Georgia are handling the criminal prosecution of Meli.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys James R. Drabick and Carol E. Head for the District of Massachusetts obtained the seizure warrants and Drabick is handling the criminal prosecution of Odinakachi.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance during the investigation. Federal authorities also wish to acknowledge the cooperation and assistance of the FBI Boston and Atlanta Field Offices, Malta Police Force; Office of the Attorney General of Malta; Malta Ministry for Justice; Australian Federal Police; Croatian Ministry of the Interior Criminal Police Directorate; Dutch National Police; Europol European Cybercrime Center; Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation; State Police Force of Saxony, Germany; Japan Ministry of Justice; Port Harcourt Zonal Command of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Romanian National Police; and Royal Canadian Mounted Police for their valuable assistance. 

Anyone who is a victim of a Warzone RAT computer intrusion is urged to report it to the FBI at https://wzvictims.ic3.gov.

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

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 announced today that, as part of an international law enforcement effort, federal authorities in Boston seized internet domains that were used to sell computer malware used by cybercriminals to secretly access and steal data from victims’ computers. Federal authorities in Atlanta and Boston also unsealed indictments charging individuals in Malta and Nigeria, respectively, for their alleged involvement in selling the malware and supporting cybercriminals seeking to use the malware for malicious purposes.

Federal authorities in Boston seized www.warzone.ws and three related domains, which together offered for sale the Warzone RAT malware — a sophisticated remote access trojan (RAT) capable of enabling cybercriminals to surreptitiously connect to victims’ computers for malicious purposes. According to court documents authorizing the seizures, the Warzone RAT provided cybercriminals the ability to browse victim file systems, take screenshots, record keystrokes, steal victim usernames and passwords, and watch victims through their web cameras, all without the victims’ knowledge or permission.

Investigations by the FBI Boston and Atlanta Field Offices also led to two indictments against individuals involved in selling and supporting the Warzone RAT and other malware.

Daniel Meli, 27, of Zabbar, Malta, was arrested on Feb. 7 at the request of the United States, following a coordinated operation by the Malta Police Force and the Office of the Attorney General of Malta, with the support of the FBI and Justice Department. Meli made his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in Valletta, Malta. Meli was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia on Dec. 12, 2023, for four offenses, including causing unauthorized damage to protected computers, illegally selling and advertising an electronic interception device, and participating in a conspiracy to commit several computer intrusion offenses. According to charging documents, since at least 2012, Meli offered malware products and services for sale to cybercriminals through online computer-hacking forums. Specifically, Meli allegedly assisted cybercriminals seeking to use RATs for malicious purposes and offered teaching tools for sale, including an eBook. Meli also allegedly sold both the Warzone RAT and, before that, malware known as the Pegasus RAT, which he sold through an online criminal organization called Skynet-Corporation. He also provided online customer support to purchasers of both RATs. The Northern District of Georgia is seeking Meli’s extradition to the United States.

Separately, Prince Onyeoziri Odinakachi, 31, of Nigeria, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Massachusetts on Jan. 30 for conspiracy to commit multiple computer intrusion offenses, including obtaining authorized access to protected computers to obtain information and causing unauthorized damage to protected computers. According to charging documents, between June 2019 and no earlier than March 2023, Odinakachi provided online customer support to individuals who purchased and used the Warzone RAT malware. Law enforcement officers of the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested Odinakachi on Feb. 7. 

The disruption of the Warzone RAT infrastructure was the result of an international law enforcement effort led by FBI special agents in Boston and Atlanta and coordinated with international partners in large part through Europol. According to court documents, in addition to discovering instances of the Warzone RAT being used to attack victim computers in Massachusetts, the FBI covertly purchased and analyzed the Warzone RAT malware, confirming its multiple malicious functions. Separately, law enforcement partners in Canada, Croatia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania provided valuable assistance securing the servers hosting the Warzone RAT infrastructure.

“Today’s actions targeting the Warzone RAT infrastructure and personnel are another example of our tenacious and unwavering commitment to dismantling the malware tools used by cybercriminals,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts.  “We will turn over every stone to prevent cybercriminals from attacking the integrity of our computer networks, and we will root out those who support such cybercriminals so they will be held accountable. Those who sell malware and support cybercriminals using it should know that they cannot hide behind their keyboards or international borders.”

“Daniel Meli will no longer escape accountability for his actions selling malware,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “This alleged cybercriminal facilitated the takeover and infection of computers worldwide. Our office was proud to partner with our federal and international counterparts to find Meli and bring him to justice. We will continue to diligently investigate and prosecute cybercrime in the Northern District of Georgia, and in all parts of the globe where our district is impacted.”

“This action highlights the FBI’s commitment to disrupting cybercriminal actors and taking down their infrastructure,” said Assistant Director Brian Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “The FBI is proud of the international coordination involved in this law enforcement effort, and we will continue to build global partnerships to go after cybercriminals who seek to harm the American people.”

The charges of conspiracy, obtaining authorized access to protected computers to obtain information, illegally selling an interception device, and illegally advertising an interception device each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of causing unauthorized damage to protected computers provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys James R. Drabick and Carol E. Head for the District of Massachusetts obtained the seizure warrants, and Drabick is prosecuting Odinakachi. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Michael Herskowitz for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting Meli.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance during the investigation. Federal authorities also wish to acknowledge the cooperation and assistance of the FBI Boston and Atlanta Field Offices; Malta Police Force; Office of the Attorney General of Malta; Malta Ministry for Justice; Australian Federal Police; Croatian Ministry of the Interior Criminal Police Directorate; Dutch National Police; Europol European Cybercrime Center; Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation; State Police Force of Saxony, Germany; Japan Ministry of Justice; Port Harcourt Zonal Command of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Romanian National Police; and Royal Canadian Mounted Police for their valuable assistance. 

Anyone who is a victim of a Warzone RAT computer intrusion is urged to report it to the FBI at https://wzvictims.ic3.gov.

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

Warzone RAT splash page. 

ATLANTA - John J. Woods has been sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison for operating a 13-year Ponzi scheme that victimized more than 400 investors and caused a loss of over $49 million.

“Woods, while serving as a fiduciary, promised investors profitable returns but used the monies he raised from new investors to pay Ponzi profits to earlier investors,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Woods abused the trust of his victims, including retirees, seniors, and military veterans, who lost their life savings and retirement accounts due to his greed.”

“Illegal activity involving the investment industry, especially Ponzi schemes, has unfortunately brought financial ruin to many Americans,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. Hopefully this sentence sends the message that the FBI will not tolerate individuals who offer victims false promises and take advantage for their own personal benefit.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Woods operated a Ponzi scheme until being shut down by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2021. Woods solicited investors to invest in a fund called, “Horizon Private Equity.” Woods, and other investment adviser representatives acting under his direction, promised potential Horizon investors rates of return of six to seven percent on their investments. They represented that Horizon would earn a return by investing in, for example, government bonds, stocks, or small real estate projects. Woods, and others acting at his direction, also assured investors that Horizon investments carried minimal risk and were safe because Horizon maintained a diverse portfolio.

Contrary to these representations, the money received from new investors was not invested in a diverse portfolio; rather, funds collected from new investors was used largely to pay returns to previous investors. In fact, Horizon was able to pay guaranteed returns to investors only by raising and using new investor money. As a part of the scheme, Woods caused Horizon to issue monthly statements to investors that fraudulently misled investors by failing to disclose that the Horizon investments had not generated a positive percentage of return sufficient to cover the interest. Although Woods did not use the money to live a lavish lifestyle, he diverted investor funds to pet projects not approved by the investors, such as purchasing an interest in a baseball team in his name.

As of the end of July 2021, Horizon investors were owed more than $110,000,000 in principal investment amounts. Over 400 investors, residing in at least 20 different states, held investments in Horizon. Victims lost more than $49 million because of Woods’s scheme to defraud.

Woods, 58, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty, to seven years, eleven months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Woods was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his scheme. A hearing to set the restitution amount owed to victims has been scheduled for April 15, 2024, at 2:30 p.m., before Judge Geraghty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The SEC provided valuable assistance. The SEC’s separate civil case is SEC v. Woods et al., No. 1:21-CV-03413-SDG (N.D. Ga.).

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela Adams and Stephen H. McClain prosecuted the case.

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

ATLANTA - Cody Ryan Todd has been found guilty by a federal jury of assault on a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia (USP-Atlanta).

“Detainees and inmates cannot commit crimes with impunity while they are behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Correctional officers in Bureau of Prisons facilities perform an essential role in safeguarding the welfare of penitentiary staff and inmates. Assaults committed against these law enforcement officers will not be tolerated.”

“This case shows the risk correctional officers face daily. Todd’s intent to do harm towards this officer will be met with serious consequences,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will not tolerate such attacks against members of law enforcement, and Todd will now face further consequences for his actions.”

“The Federal Bureau of Prisons appreciates the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement counterparts for their hard work and diligence in bringing this case to justice.  Our employees safety is paramount. This prosecution sends a clear message that this behavior will not be tolerated and underscores our commitment to creating a safe and secure environment for our employees and those in our care,” said Randilee Giamusso, Spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: On January 28, 2021, Cody Todd assaulted a correctional officer while Todd was in custody as a pretrial detainee at USP-Atlanta. Todd hit the officer in the face, knocked him to the floor, and then struck the officer several more times while the officer was incapacitated. This assault left the officer with significant injuries.

At the time of the assault, Todd was being detained on charges of racketeering activity in connection with his crimes committed as a member of the Ghost Face Gangsters. The racketeering activity included, among other offenses, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and robbery.

Cody Ryan Todd, 34, of Carrollton, Georgia, was separately convicted of conspiracy to commit racketeering and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Todd had also previously been convicted of battery on four separate occasions.  He is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Victoria Calvert on May 8, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Beaulieu 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 - Isaac Sved has been arraigned on federal charges of conspiracy to possess, and possession, with intent to distribute controlled substances, maintaining a premises for drug trafficking, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and money laundering. 

“Regrettably, the opioid epidemic has at times been fueled by physicians who abused their positions of trust in illegally prescribing excessive amounts of narcotics,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “Those who abuse the power of their medical profession to unlawfully profit must face the consequences of their actions.”

Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division commented on the case, “DEA investigators will continue to aggressively pursue the unlawful dispensing practices of healthcare providers, as was the case with Dr. Sved. The DEA is committed to making sure healthcare providers are abiding by the law.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: Isaac Sved was an Atlanta-area physician registered with the DEA to prescribe controlled substances, including oxycodone. Sved operated two clinics: FamCare located in Roswell, Georgia, and Valere Medical PC located in Buford, Georgia. Sved was the sole prescribing physician for both FamCare and Valere and allegedly regularly prescribed excessive amounts of controlled substances in dangerous combinations. Dikla Rosh managed FamCare, and Lucciano Lopez worked as a medical assistant.

The indictment alleges that patients received minimal or non-existent medical examinations, evaluation, or testing prior to Sved prescribing them controlled substances such as Oxycodone, Alprazolam, and Carisoprodol. 

The indictment further alleges that Sved falsified patient files to make it appear that the patient had been evaluated on certain dates when, in fact, the patient was not even present at the clinics. Sved also allegedly received large sums of cash from “sponsors,” such as Co-conspirator Bobby Lamar Mosley, Sr., who obtained prescriptions for controlled substances from Sved in the names of purported patients, some of whom were never examined.  Sved and his associates also allegedly hired security guards armed with firearms to patrol and protect the clinic as part of the illegal operation.

Isaac Sved, M.D., 65, of Gainesville, Georgia, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand.  Sved and his Co-conspirators Dikla Rosh, 45, of Dunwoody, Georgia, Lucciano Lopez, 27, of Sandy Springs, Georgia, and Bobby Lamar Mosley, Sr., 60, of Buford, Georgia, were indicted by a federal grand jury on January 9, 2024.

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

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy M. Palumbo and C. Brock Brockington 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.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - James Anthony Reynolds, who drove a 12-year-old girl from Barrow County, Georgia, to Acworth, Georgia, and sexually assaulted and then abandoned her in a Walmart parking lot in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

“Child sexual predators are increasingly exploiting social media platforms to target vulnerable minors,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “While our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners remain steadfast in identifying these criminals, and our office is committed to prosecuting these individuals to the fullest extent of the law, we strongly urge parents to stay vigilant in monitoring their children’s Internet activity, including their use of apps on electronic devices. Thankfully, the minor victim in this case is safe after being reunited with her family.”

“No prison sentence can repair the damage James Anthony Reynolds has done. We hope this sentencing is of great comfort to the victim and her family,” said FBI Atlanta Assistant Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke. “The FBI is committed to partnering with our law enforcement partners to prevent, deter, and punish crimes like these.”

“This sentencing represents the determination of our agents and law enforcement partners to catch dangerous predators,” said Chris Hosey, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  “This should serve as a warning to those who seek to prey on our most vulnerable that the GBI and our partners will never cease in our mission. As the threats to children online continue to grow, we will remain vigilant and adapt our methods to protect our children and hold predators accountable.”

“As Sheriff I am very proud of the work all agencies did to catch this predator and get him off the streets so that no one else could possibly fall victim to his crimes,” said Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith.  “Human trafficking is a real problem and I urge if you or anyone you know might be in trouble to call your local law enforcement or the GA Coalition to Combat Human Trafficking at 866-363-4842.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: In May 2020, the victim then 12 years old, met a man online on a social media app. During the early morning hours of May 7, 2020, this man, later identified as James Anthony Reynolds, picked up the child, violently and sexually assaulted her, and drove her to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Reynolds then abandoned the child in a Walmart parking lot. The young girl approached a Walmart employee who, fortunately, was able to help the child reach her parents.

James Anthony Reynolds, 25, of Acworth, Georgia, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.  On November 1, 2023, Reynolds pleaded guilty to kidnapping. He continues to face additional charges related to this case in state court.

This case was investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keen 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.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Lyedrekus Bailey, a multi-convicted felon who trafficked cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl in the Gainesville, Georgia area for approximately two decades, has been sentenced to federal prison for nearly 20 years.

“Drug dealers like Bailey act in callous disregard of the grave threat to life that results from their actions,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Fentanyl and heroin trafficking is causing untimely deaths in and devastation to our communities. Bailey’s significant sentence should serve as a warning to others that our office is determined to expand our efforts, working together with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, to prosecute purveyors of illicit drugs like Bailey.”

“This case serves as a strong reminder of our commitment to working with local, state, and federal partners to remove deadly poisons, like fentanyl, off our streets,” said Chris Hosey, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  “The GBI will continue our work to make an impact on the current drug distribution crimes in Hall County and all of Georgia to promote a safer place for productive citizens.”

“Those who distribute fentanyl and other deadly drugs create serious risks to our communities. DEA will use any resource necessary to remove these dangerous drug traffickers from our streets,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.

“Often, people view drug crimes as victimless; however, this is never the case, as illegal drugs, such as heroin and fentanyl, destroy our youth and disrupt lives,” said Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch.  “While our agency has made numerous state felony drug cases against the offender; he always seemed to receive probation, time served or a minimal sentence. It has taken a partnership with federal authorities for this criminal to finally face a true sentence where he will be removed from the community he has preyed upon and profited from for years.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Lyedrekus Bailey sold fentanyl-laced heroin to an undercover GBI agent on five occasions between October 2020 and February 2021. All of the transactions were audio and video recorded. On one occasion, when he could not deliver the drugs himself, Bailey directed the undercover agent to a house in Gainesville that he operated as a distribution hub. Later, during a March 2021 traffic stop of a car Bailey was driving, a Hall County, Georgia deputy sheriff recovered approximately four ounces of heroin Bailey had hidden in clothing worn by his passenger.

Bailey was convicted of multiple drug trafficking crimes dating back to 2005. While on probation and parole for these offenses, he continued to commit crimes, such as drug trafficking, evidence tampering, and obstruction of law enforcement.

On January 12, 2024, Lyedrekus Onetaye Bailey, also known as “Lala,” was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones to 19 years, seven months in prison to be followed by seven years of supervised release.  Bailey was convicted of conspiring to distribute controlled substances, namely fentanyl and heroin, after he pleaded guilty on October 6, 2023.

The case was investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program, and the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, with valuable assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gainesville Police Department, and Georgia Department of Corrections.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Theodore S. Hertzberg and Noah R. Schechtman prosecuted the case.

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

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 - Jalal Hajavi has been sentenced for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, smuggling goods from the U.S., unlawfully exporting and reexporting goods from the U.S. to Iran without a license, and unlawfully engaging in transactions and dealings based on his participation in a scheme to export unlawfully heavy equipment from the U.S. to Iran by routing the shipments though the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”).

“Hajavi’s conduct was particularly egregious because he was previously informed on at least two occasions that his conduct was prohibited,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “Instead of heeding the warnings, he continued to divert U.S. goods to Iran. Trade sanctions against Iran comprise a critical component of U.S. foreign policy designed to keep our country and citizens safe.  Criminal actors like Hajavi, who seek to profit by evading these prohibitions and jeopardize our national security, will be prosecuted.”

“Mr. Hajavi illegally shipped industrial equipment to the Iranian regime, smuggled restricted goods through the UAE to Iran, and caused a shipping company to submit false information to the U.S. government. He has been held to account for his crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “As this case shows, the Justice Department remains committed to enforcing U.S. sanctions and export control laws to deny Iran the commodities that fuel its malign activities abroad and threaten our nation’s security.”

“This sentencing is the result of a highly successful joint investigative effort with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia that disrupted an illicit Iranian procurement scheme,” said John Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Export Enforcement’s Miami Field Office. “OEE is fully committed to protecting national security by denying U.S. commodities to U.S. sanctioned countries.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: Jalal Hajavi and a co-conspirator located in Iran conspired to evade U.S. sanctions by exporting U.S. heavy machinery through the UAE to Iran without first obtaining the required licenses from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). Hajavi, through his company JSH Heavy Equipment, LLC, located heavy equipment for sale in the U.S., such as bobcats and wheel loaders, and sent information about his findings to the co-conspirator in Iran. Hajavi purchased the items from U.S. sellers and used freight forwarding companies to ship the heavy equipment from the U.S. to the UAE, where his Iranian co-conspirator diverted the machinery to Iran in circumvention of the U.S. export license requirement.

In addition to evading OFAC licensing requirements, Hajavi concealed his activities with the co-conspirator by causing false information to be entered into the Automated Export System (“AES”), a U.S. government database containing information about exports from the U.S. Hajavi falsely claimed that the items were destined for his supposed UAE customers, which typically were general trading companies located in free trade zones in the UAE, but in reality, the items were destined for Iran.

At one point, Hajavi met with a Special Agent from the Bureau of Industry and Security who informed Hajavi about the U.S. sanctions against Iran, including the prohibition to transship U.S. goods through third countries to Iran. Undeterred, Hajavi continued his unlawful conduct.

One of the items that Hajavi purchased and unlawfully caused to be shipped was an Ingersoll Rand Blasthole Drill, which is a type of heavy machinery used in construction to drill holes in the ground usually filled with controlled charges. Hajavi purchased the drill from a U.S. company and, as part of a sham transaction, purportedly sold the drill to a UAE company. Hajavi hired a U.S. freight forwarder to arrange the drill’s export from the U.S. to the UAE During the shipping process, the freight forwarder submitted information provided by Hajavi to AES about the shipment. Hajavi falsely told the freight forwarder that the UAE company was the ultimate consignee and provided the false ultimate destination of the UAE, when Hajavi knew that the Iranian co-conspirator was the true buyer and that Iran was the ultimate delivery destination. The Iranian co-conspirator subsequently shipped the drill from the UAE to Iran.

Jalal Hajavi, 60, of Sterling, Virginia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash to two years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was convicted by a jury on September 11, 2023.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement conducted the investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation provided assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracia M. King and Trial Attorney Emma Dinan Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

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

A Virginia man was sentenced yesterday to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for criminal conduct in connection with a scheme to unlawfully export heavy equipment from the United States to Iran by routing the shipments though the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Jalal Hajavi, 60, of Sterling, was convicted by a jury in September 2023, of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR), smuggling, and unlawfully exporting and reexporting goods from the United States to Iran without a license.

“Mr. Hajavi illegally shipped industrial equipment to the Iranian regime, smuggled restricted goods through the UAE to Iran, and caused a shipping company to submit false information to the U.S. government. He has been held to account for his crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “As this case shows, the Justice Department remains committed to enforcing U.S. sanctions and export control laws to deny Iran the commodities that fuel its malign activities abroad and threaten our nation’s security.”

“Shipping items to Iran is against the law, regardless of whether done directly or by way of a third country,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod.  “As demonstrated by this sentencing, when proliferators falsify export records to support illicit Iranian procurement schemes, they get caught and they do prison time.”

“Hajavi’s conduct was particularly egregious because he was previously informed on at least two occasions that his conduct was prohibited,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “Instead of heeding the warnings, he continued to divert U.S. goods to Iran. Trade sanctions against Iran comprise a critical component of U.S. foreign policy designed to keep our country and citizens safe. Criminal actors like Hajavi, who seek to profit by evading these prohibitions and jeopardize our national security, will be prosecuted.”

According to court documents, Jalal Hajavi and a co-conspirator located in Iran conspired to evade U.S. sanctions by exporting U.S. heavy machinery through the UAE to Iran without first obtaining the required licenses from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Hajavi, through his company JSH Heavy Equipment LLC, located heavy equipment for sale in the United States, such as bobcats and wheel loaders, and sent information about his findings to the co-conspirator in Iran. Hajavi purchased the items from U.S. sellers and used freight forwarding companies to ship the heavy equipment from the United States to the UAE, where his Iranian co-conspirator diverted the machinery to Iran in circumvention of the U.S. export license requirement.

In addition to evading OFAC licensing requirements, Hajavi concealed his activities with the co-conspirator by causing false information to be entered into the Automated Export System (AES), a U.S. government database containing information about exports from the United States. Hajavi falsely claimed that the items were destined for his supposed UAE customers, which typically were general trading companies located in free trade zones in the UAE, but in reality, the items were destined for Iran.

At one point, Hajavi met with a Special Agent from the Bureau of Industry and Security who informed Hajavi about the U.S. sanctions against Iran, including the prohibition to transship U.S. goods through third countries to Iran. Undeterred, Hajavi continued his unlawful conduct.

One of the items that Hajavi purchased and unlawfully caused to be shipped was an Ingersoll Rand Blasthole Drill, which is a type of heavy machinery used in construction to drill holes in the ground usually filled with controlled charges. Hajavi purchased the drill from a U.S. company and, as part of a sham transaction, purportedly sold the drill to a UAE company. Hajavi hired a U.S. freight forwarder to arrange the drill’s export from the United States to the UAE. During the shipping process, the freight forwarder submitted information provided by Hajavi to AES about the shipment. Hajavi falsely told the freight forwarder that the UAE company was the ultimate consignee and provided the false ultimate destination of the UAE, when Hajavi knew that the Iranian co-conspirator was the true buyer and that Iran was the ultimate delivery destination. The Iranian co-conspirator subsequently shipped the drill from the UAE to Iran.

The Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security’s Office of Export Enforcement conducted the investigation, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracia M. King for the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Emma Dinan Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

ATLANTA – James Wan has been sentenced for paying a hitman he found on the dark web to murder his girlfriend.

“This defendant believed he could mask his homicidal intentions by using electronic means,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “By using the dark web to conceal his search for someone to kill his girlfriend, Wan expected to evade detection, even going as far as using crypto currency to pay for the crime.  While criminals regularly search for new ways to harm their victims, our law enforcement partners constantly adapt their methods to identify them and bring them to justice.”

"Despite his cowardly concealment on the dark web, Wan’s cold hearted murderous plot was averted due to the exceptional work of our team. He will now face the full consequences of the criminal justice system,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "This sentencing shows that the FBI will not tolerate heinous acts of violence and will go to great lengths to protect our citizens.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: On April 18, 2022, while in the Northern District of Georgia, Wan accessed a dark web marketplace from his cellular telephone and submitted an order to have a hitman murder his girlfriend. The order included the victim’s name, address, Facebook account, license plate, and car description. In his request, Wan stated: “Can take wallet phone and car. Shoot and go. Or take car.” Wan then electronically transferred a 50 percent downpayment of approximately $8,000 worth of Bitcoin to the dark web marketplace.

Two days later, Wan messaged the marketplace’s administrator, stating that the transferred Bitcoin had not shown up in his escrow account on the site. The next day, the marketplace administrator asked Wan for the Bitcoin address to which Wan had sent the payment. In response, Wan identified the Bitcoin wallet address and provided a screenshot of the transaction. When the administrator said that the address Wan provided was not in their system, Wan replied, “I guess I lost $8k. I’m sending $8k to escrow now.” Wan then electronically transferred an additional Bitcoin payment worth approximately $8,000 to the marketplace. The administrator confirmed the new address was correct and that the Bitcoin had arrived in the escrow account. The administrator stated that they were proceeding with Wan’s order for a hit and asked whether Wan wanted it done as an “accident or normal shooting.” Wan responded, “accident is better.”

About a week later, on April 29, 2022, Wan electronically transferred another payment of approximately $8,000 worth of Bitcoin to the dark web marketplace to ensure his escrow account contained the total required to complete the order.  Shortly thereafter, Wan posted the following in a forum on the dark web marketplace: “How soon should work be done?  I have submitted an order and curious how quickly it should be carried out?  Is there a way I can find out any progress?  If there is anyone in my location?” 

On May 10, 2022, after the value of Bitcoin dropped, Wan electronically transferred another payment of approximately $1,200 worth of Bitcoin to the marketplace to ensure his escrow account still contained the total required to complete the order.

After learning about the threat to the victim’s life, FBI special agents notified the victim, provided her protection, and questioned Wan. Wan admitted that he had placed the order for the murder, made the payments, and checked the status of the order daily on the dark web marketplace. Records from Wan’s cellular telephone and his Bitcoin wallet corroborated Wan’s confession. After speaking with FBI special agents, Wan canceled the order on the dark web marketplace.

James Wan, 54, of Duluth, Georgia, has been sentenced to seven years, three months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.  Wan was convicted on these charges on October 17, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret R. Hobson 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 – U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan announced that the Northern District of Georgia was responsible for collections and forfeitures of over $31 million in Fiscal Year 2023.

“This district maintains an unwavering commitment to securing financial justice for victims of crime and United States taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “As this prior fiscal year’s results reflect, this district will vigorously pursue the recovery of money for crime victims and the public through all available legal means, whether by collecting criminal and civil monetary penalties, civilly pursuing those who seek to take unlawful advantage of federal agencies and programs or identifying and forfeiting ill-gotten gains.”

Our office collected more than $22 million through the district’s Financial Litigation Program, which is responsible for the collection of civil and criminal debts, fines, and monetary penalties due to victims of crime and the United States.   Specifically, our office obtained $8.4 million in restitution, fines and/or assessments imposed against defendants in criminal cases.  Federal law requires that defendants who commit certain crimes pay restitution to the victims of those crimes. Criminal fines and assessments paid by defendants go to the Department of Justice’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs. 

We also collected $13.7 million in affirmative civil enforcement cases.  The United States initiates affirmative civil enforcement cases to recover government money lost to fraud or other misconduct, or to collect fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health care, safety, or environmental laws and controlled substance regulations, among other laws.

In addition, the district deposited over $9.4 million dollars into the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Fund and Treasury Forfeiture Fund through civil and criminal forfeiture actions handled by the office’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.  Of the total amount forfeited, more than $3 million was forfeited in civil forfeiture cases and over $6 million was forfeited in criminal cases.  The Department of Justice uses forfeited property to compensate crime victims as well as for a variety of other law enforcement purposes, and shares these proceeds with federal, state and local law enforcement partners.  In Fiscal Year 2023, $343,870 was returned to crime victims and over $1.4 million was shared with the district’s law enforcement partners.

This office also shared in the recovery of an additional $1.4 billion resulting from the settlement of the UBS civil action for misconduct related to UBS’ underwriting and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities in 2006 and 2007 brought under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act by a Department of Justice Working Group dedicated to investigating banks and other entities for their roles in creating and issuing residential mortgage-backed securities leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.

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 - Three individuals have been sentenced for their roles in a far-ranging fraud and identity theft ring that stole and laundered over $6 million in government funds that had been obtained using stolen identification information and the opening of fraudulent bank accounts.

“In just a few months, these defendants used hundreds of stolen identities and laundered millions in fraud proceeds from government programs—several of which were designed to help those most severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “Their sentences reflect the scope of their conduct and our commitment to partner with federal, state, and local investigators to prosecute individuals who seek to exploit government programs.”

“These convictions highlight the commitment of our agency to combat fraud and protect the integrity of government funds,” said Kyle Munro, special agent in charge of the Fraud and Schemes Division of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.  “The collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies and our dedicated personnel have resulted in the successful apprehension and sentencing of those responsible for this egregious crime. We will continue to aggressively pursue individuals engaged in such criminal activities, sending a clear message that fraud and identity theft will not be tolerated. Our resolve to safeguard public funds and maintain the trust of the citizens remains steadfast.”

“These convicted criminals caused great stress to their victims upending their lives when they stole their identities and utilized the stolen identities to fraudulently gain federal tax funds intended to aid taxpayers,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “Many people may be embarrassed or feel at fault when their identity has been taken. I want to let these victims know that it is not their fault and that they are not alone. IRS-CI will continue working closely with our partners to investigate, apprehend, and prosecute perpetrators who seek to steal the information of innocent victims, especially that of America’s seniors.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Between approximately January 2020 and October 2020, the defendants and others opened financial accounts using stolen personal identifying information from hundreds of victims and used these accounts to receive and launder the proceeds of various frauds, including fraudulently obtained federal income tax refunds, economic impact payments, SBA loans, and unemployment benefits from at least 21 states. In total, the scheme caused a loss of at least $6 million in government funds.

Edwin Owie, 63, of Dallas, Georgia, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,390,357.03 in restitution to the federal and state victims.  Owie pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Deborah McNeill, 55, of Loganville, Georgia, was sentenced to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,390,357.03 in restitution to the federal and state victims.  McNeill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Osemwengie Imarhia, 43, of Acworth, Georgia, was sentenced to two years, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,390,357.03 in restitution to the federal and state victims.  Imarhia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud.

TIGTA and IRS-CI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Sistla and Trial Attorneys Lauren Archer and Katherine Rookard of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

For inquiries, 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.