Southern District of Georgia

AUGUSTA, GA:  David H. Estes now serves as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia after his appointment by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

U.S. Attorney Estes took the oath of office Friday, Dec. 3, in the Augusta Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia before U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall.

“It is truly an honor to continue to serve the citizens of the Southern District of Georgia as we work with our outstanding staff and the exceptional law enforcement partners in the district to keep our communities safe,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “We are dedicated to upholding the law and defending access to justice for those who live, work, worship and play throughout this district.”

As First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Estes was named Acting U.S. Attorney under the Vacancies Reform Act after the resignation February 9, 2021, of then-U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. Estes now becomes U.S. Attorney by Attorney General appointment in the absence of a presidentially nominated and U.S. Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney for a term of 120 days or until a U.S. Attorney is confirmed. If a U.S. Attorney is not nominated and confirmed within that period, a U.S. Attorney would be appointed by the Southern District U.S. Court.

The Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office encompasses 43 counties along the east side of the state, from Wilkes County in the north, along the Georgia coast, to the Florida border in the south, and as far west as Laurens County. The U.S. Attorney serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Southern District of Georgia.

U.S. Attorney Estes, a native of Scottsboro, Ala., received an Associates in Business and his Regular Army commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Marion Military Institute (1987) and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Auburn University (1989), and in 1993 received his Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla. From 1987 to 1994 he served as a Field Artillery Officer in the Alabama and Oklahoma Army National Guard, and after law school served on active duty with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps for three years at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Office of the Staff Judge Advocate.

In 1997, Estes joined the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, Violent Crimes Division, as a violent crime prosecutor. During this time, Estes rejoined the Alabama Army National Guard as a Judge Advocate. In 2002, Estes joined the United States Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Alabama (Huntsville Branch Office) as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Estes assumed the duties of First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia in January 2018.

In his military career, Estes deployed to Iraq from 2004-2005 with the 122nd Corps Support Group and served as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate and Chief, Military Justice. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. In October 2013 he was promoted to Colonel and assumed the Staff Judge Advocate position for the 167th Theatre Sustainment Command. Col. Estes previously served as the very first Regional Defense Counsel for the Army National Guard. Estes recently retired from the Army after more than 34 years of military service. He was twice awarded the Legion of Merit Medal for his accomplishments.

Estes was accompanied at his swearing-in ceremony by his wife, Connie Estes. They have four children: Garrett, Madison, Everett, and Gracie, and two stepchildren, Abby and Hamilton, and are members of Christ Church Anglican in Savannah.

U.S. Attorney's Office U.S. Attorney David H. Estes takes the oath of office from U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall. Estes will serve 120 days, or more, until a presidentially appointed and Senate ratified nominee takes office. 

 

AUGUSTA, GA:  A Burke County man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for possessing hundreds of images of child pornography.

William Voss, 38, of Waynesboro, Ga., was sentenced to 121 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Voss to register as a sex offender, and to serve 25 years of supervised release after completion of his prison sentence.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“In coordination with our law enforcement partners, our office will continue to relentlessly protect our most vulnerable citizens,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Predators like Voss will be identified and held accountable for their crimes.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agents were alerted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in May 2020 to contraband images identified as originating from Voss’ Burke County residence. A subsequent search of devices seized from the home found hundreds of images of child pornography.

Voss previously received a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Navy after being court-martialed for possessing child pornography.

“The GBI will continue to work tirelessly to protect innocent child victims of online exploitation,” said GBI Director Vic Reynolds. “We are grateful for the relationships we maintain with our local and federal partners to bring these offenders to justice.” 

The case was investigated by the GBI and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.

STATESBORO, GA:  An Emanuel County man has been sentenced to prison after admitting to operating a cockfighting venue.

Wendell Allan Strickland, 67, of Swainsboro, Ga., was sentenced to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of Sponsoring and Exhibiting an Animal in an Animal Fighting Venture; two counts of Conducting an Illegal Gambling Business; and one count of Possession and Transport of an Animal in an Animal Fighting Venture, all felonies; and one misdemeanor charge of Attending an Animal Fighting Venture, said Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Strickland to pay a fine of $10,000 and a special assessment of $525, and to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Voyeuristic cruelty to animals is not a sport – it is a barbaric anachronism,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to identify, infiltrate and eliminate these pockets of cultural depravity from the Southern District.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Strickland operated a cockfighting venue called The Red Barn on his Swainsboro property. Multiple law enforcement agencies raided the site in September 2020, seizing cockfighting gear and arresting Strickland and other participants.

“The unconscionable abuse exhibited by this individual resulted in his own loss of freedom,” said Jason Williams, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General.  “Our agency and law enforcement partners will be unwavering in our pursuit of individuals who find entertainment value in this repulsive activity.”

Two other owners of cockfighting venues pled guilty to similar charges. Lanier Augusta Hightower Jr., 65, of Lincolnton, Ga., previously was sentenced to 14 months in prison and fined $500, while sentencing has not yet been set for William Shannon Scott, 48, of Midville, Ga.

The investigation into animal fighting operations in the Southern District, led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General (USDA-OIG) and in cooperation with multiple federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, determined that cockfights were held at Strickland’s venue, called The Red Barn, on alternating weekend schedules with those at Little Sunset, a larger venue Scott owned and operated in nearby Midville, Ga.

Scott was charged after a multi-agency raid of a cockfighting tournament at his property in June 2020. Scott later pled guilty to Sponsoring and Exhibiting an Animal in an Animal Fighting Venture.

Hightower, who also pled guilty to Sponsoring and Exhibiting an Animal in an Animal Fighting Venture, was charged with other defendants after a December 2019 raid during a cockfighting tournament on his farm.

The U.S. Government is initiating forfeiture proceedings for Strickland’s property where the cockfights were held. Both Scott and Hightower also face forfeiture of their farms as part of their sentences.

The cases are being investigated by the USDA-OIG and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier A. Cunningham and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rock.

BRUNSWICK, GA:  A Telfair County man faces up to life in federal prison after a jury convicted him on 36 counts related to a conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.

A U.S. District Court jury found James Lamount Graham, 48, of Jacksonville, Ga., guilty of all 36 charges after a three-day trial, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Graham faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and three of the charges in the case carry a statutory penalty of up to life in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

“James Graham was a significant drug trafficker in Telfair County and its environs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “The jurors are holding Graham accountable for these crimes which cause serious social disruption in communities large and small throughout the Southern District of Georgia.”

After the trial before U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, the jury found Graham guilty of Conspiracy to Possess and Distribute Controlled Substances; two counts of Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; and 33 counts of Use of Communication Facility, a charge that refers to the use of telephones to facilitate the conspiracy. Graham will be sentenced after a background investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

“The cocktail of deadly chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine destroys families and communities,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Atlanta Field Division. “DEA and its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting and serving those communities. This investigation was a success because of the collective effort between DEA and its local, state and federal law enforcement counterparts.”

“Illegal drugs have no place in Georgia. They are dangerous and threaten the safety of our communities,” said Vic Reynolds, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). “We will continue to work diligently along with our local and federal partners to investigate and dismantle drug trafficking organizations.”

As spelled out in evidence and testimony presented during the trial, the DEA obtained telephone wiretap orders starting in April 2018 as part of Operation Rat Trap, and identified a network of persons involved in the unlawful distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine. Six of Graham’s alleged co-conspirators pleaded guilty to related offenses prior to trial. 

The case was investigated under the 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.

The GBI and DEA Savannah Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Harper and Karl Knoche prosecuted the case for the United States with in-court assistance from Paralegal Specialist Vilmarie Alcaraz.

SAVANNAH, GA:  A Chatham County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition.

Matthew Kearse, 30, of Savannah, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison after his conviction for Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. A U.S. District Court jury took just 15 minutes to find Kearse guilty on the charge after a trial in August, and Judge William T. Moore Jr. also ordered Kearse to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Matthew Kearse knew, as a previously convicted felon, that he was prohibited from carrying a gun, but he did so anyway,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “He had been out of prison for barely four months when he was caught with a pistol, and squandered his brief time of freedom.”

Kearse was on parole after a previous prison sentence when his aunt confronted him in November 2018 about a pistol she found in her back yard. Her surveillance system captured Kearse in the area where the gun was found.

Investigators from the Savannah Police Department, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), took custody of the pistol. DNA testing demonstrated definitively that Kearse had possessed the weapon.

“Mr. Kearse’s story is one that is all too common” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka.  “Convicted felons have no business possessing firearms and Mr. Kearse’s acquisition of a firearm within four months of his release from prison has resulted in his return to prison for a long time.”

In the past three years, more than 700 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction on a previous felony.

Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense. 

For more information on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.

The case was investigated by the ATF and the Savannah Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua S. Bearden and Marcela C. Mateo.

SAVANNAH, GA:  A contractor at Hunter Army Airfield has admitted he lied to Army investigators when he claimed to have been assaulted on post.

Eric T. Nakamura, 49, of Beaufort, S.C., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to one count of False Statement Made to a Department or Agency of the United States, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The plea subjects Nakamura to a possible statutory penalty of up to five years in federal prison, along with substantial financial penalties and up to five years of supervised release following any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“At a time when there is heightened awareness in the United States regarding attacks on Asian-Americans, it is repulsive that Eric Nakamura would fake his own assault,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Army investigators did outstanding work in exposing his false claims and exonerating potential suspects.”

In pleading guilty, Nakamura admitted that he lied to a special agent from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) when he claimed that on July 20, 2020, he was stabbed with a knife and robbed by an unknown person in an Army uniform with the name tape “Brown” while in the lab in which he worked at Hunter Army Airfield. After he was confronted with video evidence from a building across the street from the lab, Nakamura admitted that he had stabbed himself with a kitchen knife.

“Deliberately lying to our agents about being attacked on this installation showed poor judgement,” said Supervisory Special Agent Michael David, of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Hunter Army Airfield CID Office. “Mr. Nakamura’s guilty plea demonstrates the level of commitment our CID agents have toward finding the truth.”

U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command is investigating the case, which is being prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Darron J. Hubbard.

AUGUSTA, GA:  A Columbia County man faces up to life in federal prison after a jury convicted him on nine felony counts related to child sex trafficking.

In a verdict returned just after 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, a U.S. District Court jury found Michael Peyton Gunn, 36, of Evans, Ga., guilty of all nine charges following a four-day trial, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Gunn faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, and three of the charges in the case carry a statutory penalty of up to life in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

“The child exploitation offenses Gunn committed are absolutely horrific, going far beyond the initial, reprehensible child pornography offenses that alerted the FBI to his activities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “The jurors are holding Michael Gunn accountable for his monstrous crimes, and providing a path to healing for his victim.”

After the trial before U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall, the jury found Gunn guilty of Conspiracy to Engage in Sex Trafficking of a Minor; Sex Trafficking of a Child; Coercion and Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity; four counts of Production of Child Pornography; Possession of Child Pornography; and Obstruction of a Sex-Trafficking Investigation. Gunn will be sentenced after a background investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

“Michael Gunn committed unspeakable crimes against a vulnerable child and no sentence for him will wipe away the trauma he has caused the victim,” said Chris Macrae, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.  “However, thanks to the dedicated work from our agents who aggressively pursue these heinous criminals, Gunn will be removed from our streets where he will no longer be able to harm innocent children.”

The minor victim in the case testified in court that Gunn, through rewards, fear, threats of harm, and intimidation, manipulated the victim to participate in illegal sexual abuse as young as age 7, through sexual exploitation at age 13, as it steadily progressed from production of child pornography to participation in commercial sex trafficking.

As spelled out in evidence and testimony presented during the trial, the investigation led to Gunn in February 2020 when FBI agents were called to assist in a child pornography case in Hopkins County, Texas. Agents discovered more than 700 images – many of them explicit child pornography – depicting a specific minor victim, with digital location information identifying the area of Gunn’s residence in Evans. Agents from the Augusta FBI office later questioned Gunn and searched his home, leading to his indictment in March 2020 on multiple charges of production and possession of child pornography.

The continuing investigation led to a superseding indictment in March 2021 naming Gunn’s then wife, Amanda Gunn, a/k/a “Amanda Howard,” 34, of Augusta, on charges of Sex Trafficking Conspiracy and Obstruction of a Child Sex Trafficking Investigation, and adding multiple child sex trafficking-related charges to Michael Gunn. Amanda Gunn later pled guilty to Sex Trafficking Conspiracy and awaits sentencing. The minor victim testified during Michael Gunn’s trial that he coordinated several years of abuse of the victim in the case, deriving profit from images of the victim and from making the victim available for sexual exploitation by other men.

Also testifying in court was Jonathan Eugene Grantham, 45, of Graniteville, S.C., who awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in August to Coercion and Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity. Grantham admitted responding to an online advertisement trafficking the minor victim, then traveling from South Carolina to Evans to transport the victim to a motel for a sexual act in return for payment. Grantham is a former high school teacher.

The investigation into related crimes in the case continues.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons prosecuted the case for the United States with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Tracy Long and Contract Legal Assistant Ana Pridemore.

SAVANNAH, GA:  The former owner of a Bryan County pharmacy has agreed to settle claims that he and his pharmacy unlawfully dispensed controlled substances despite the presence of red flags indicating that the prescriptions, written by a convicted pill-mill doctor, were not issued for legitimate medical reasons.

Willie C. “Billy” Conley, Jr., 68, of Pembroke, Ga., the former owner of a Bryan County pharmacy and its former pharmacist-in-charge, will pay $275,000 to resolve allegations by the United States and the State of Georgia, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The civil settlement is the largest paid by an individual pharmacist for the alleged unlawful dispensation of controlled substances that has been obtained to date by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.

“Pharmacists that ignore their obligation to scrutinize suspicious controlled substances prescriptions despite the presence of red flags can expect to be held to account,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Pill-mill doctors cannot thrive without pharmacists willing to fill their unlawful prescriptions. We will use every tool at our disposal to battle the opioid epidemic at each level of the supply chain.”

The allegations against Conley relate to prescriptions written by Dr. Frank Bynes Jr., who in February 2020 was convicted and sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment on numerous counts of health care fraud and unlawfully dispensing controlled substances. The settlement resolves allegations that Conley and his pharmacy violated their corresponding responsibility to fill only legitimate prescriptions and that they submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for a highly dangerous combination of controlled substances, called the “holy trinity,” consisting of  overlapping opioid, benzodiazepine, and carisoprodol frequently prescribed by Dr. Bynes.

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

“Filling medically unnecessary controlled substance prescriptions harms Georgia citizens and the Georgia Medicaid program and is wrong,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. “We will continue to work diligently to hold accountable those that harm our state and will use all available resources, including the Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act, to remedy this harm and safeguard our communities.”

The case was investigated by the Savannah Resident Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The State of Georgia was represented by Assistant Attorney General Sara Vann. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradford C. Patrick and Patrick J. Schwedler.

BRUNSWICK, GA:  Three inmates are under prosecution in separate cases in the Southern District for assaults on federal correctional officers, while a correctional officer has been sentenced for bringing contraband into a facility.

Juan Alvardo-Baltazar, 27, an inmate at McRae Correctional Facility in McRae, Ga.; Luis Cedillo-Narvaez, 53, also an inmate at McRae; and Melvin Johnson, 36, an inmate at Federal Correctional Institution in Jesup, Ga., all have been charged with Assault on a Certain Officer or Employee, and Johnson also is charged with Possession of Contraband In Prison, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The assault charge carries a possible statutory penalty of up to eight years in prison, while the contraband charge carries a statutory penalty of up to one year in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Correctional officers have a challenging job under the best circumstances, much of which involves protecting the safety of inmates under their supervision,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “We will consistently work to hold accountable inmates who would violate the law by attacking prison guards.”

Details of the charges against the defendants include:

• Alvardo-Baltazar, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States, was sentenced to 12 additional months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting an assistant shift supervisor July 5, 2021, at McRae, a privately operated prison in Telfair County. Prior to his additional sentence, Alvardo-Baltazar was serving a 48-month sentence at McRae for Possession with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine.
• Cedillo-Narvaez, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States, is charged with assaulting the chief of Unit Management at McRae on Dec. 7, 2020 and is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. Cedillo-Narvaez is serving a 180-month sentence for Conspiracy to Commit Hostage Taking.
• Johnson was indicted during the November term of the U.S. District Court Grand Jury in the Southern District, and is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. He is accused of striking a unit officer during a search of his cell, during which officers found a contraband cell phone. Johnson is serving a 180-month sentence for Conspiracy to Distribute One Kilogram or More of Heroin.

In addition, former McRae correctional officer Brianna Williams, 23, of Eastman, Ga., was sentenced to six months in prison followed by one year of supervised release and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to Providing Contraband in Prison. She was charged in November 2020 after attempting to smuggle cell phone batteries into the facility.

“The FBI has zero tolerance for anyone who uses violence against law enforcement officers,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We will always go the extra mile to hold criminals accountable for their actions and will not hesitate to prosecute and tack on additional time to those criminals who continue to break the law.”

The cases are investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Services and the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Bearden. 

SAVANNAH, GA:  A Georgia company and its owner have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in an international scheme to evade United States national security laws.

Dali Bagrou, 60, of Alpharetta, Ga., was sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to Conspiracy, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Bagrou’s company, World Mining and Oil Supply (WMO) of Dacula, Ga., was sentenced to five years’ probation after pleading guilty to Violation of the Export Control Reform Act. In addition, as part of Bagrou’s plea, he agreed to forfeit his home purchased with illicit proceeds; the Atlanta-area residence is valued at approximately $800,000.

“Dali Bagrou’s sentence wraps up an investigation and prosecution that prevented bad actors from circumventing our nation’s trade security,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “These conspirators are now being held accountable.”

As described in court documents and testimony in USA v. World Mining and Oil Supply et. al., the conspiracy began when an unnamed Russian government-controlled business began working in 2016 with Oleg Vladislavovich Nikitin, 54, of St. Petersburg, Russia, the general director of KS Engineering (KSE), a St. Petersburg-based energy company, to purchase a power turbine from a U.S.-based manufacturer for approximately $17.3 million. The Russian company intended to use the turbine on a Russian Arctic deep-water drilling platform, expressly prohibited by the U.S. Department of Commerce unless a license is first obtained.

Nikitin and another KSE employee, Anton Cheremukhin, conspired with Gabrielle Villone, 64, of Torino, Italy; Villone’s company, GVA; and Villone’s business partner Bruno Caparini, to obtain the turbine on their behalf. Villone, Caprini and GVA then engaged Bagrou and WMO to procure the turbine from a U.S.-based manufacturer and to have the turbine shipped overseas. The parties conspired to conceal the true end user of the turbine from both the U.S. manufacturer and the U.S. government by submitting false documentation that stated the turbine would be used by a U.S. company in and around Atlanta.

Nikitin, Villone, and Bagrou all were arrested in Savannah, Ga., in 2019 while attempting to complete the illegal transaction. Nikitin was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, while Villone was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy. Cheremukhin and Caparini are still being sought.

“Dali Bagrou knowingly conspired to illegally provide the Russian government with U.S. origin industrial equipment in violation of Russia Sectoral Sanctions,” said Ariel Joshua Leinwand, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Office of Export Enforcement, which oversees BIS investigations in the Southeast. “BIS and our partner agencies are committed to stopping those that seek to circumvent U.S. export control laws. This significant sentence not only holds Bagrou accountable for his illicit efforts but acts as a deterrent to those who would violate U.S. exports laws and act contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.”

“Bagrou and his partners were involved in a shameless scheme to undermine United States sanctions and now he will pay the price for his actions,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will always work tirelessly to prevent criminals from circumventing our laws and putting our goods in the hands of actors that are a direct threat to our national security.”

“This sentencing is the result of the tireless efforts of DCIS and our partner agencies in combating the evasion of trade restrictions by prohibited nations,” said Special Agent in Charge, Cynthia A. Bruce, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office. “If left unchecked, the illegal transfer of technology from the U.S. could be a significant threat to our country and our warfighters.”

The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, as well as the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer G. Solari and Steven H. Lee prosecuted the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier A. Cunningham, Section Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit.

SAVANNAH, GA:  Five defendants face federal charges including illegal possession of firearms after separate indictments by a grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia, while recent actions in U.S. District Court include guilty pleas and criminal sentences. 

The indicted cases are being investigated as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, in an ongoing effort to reduce violent crime by targeting those who illegally possess firearms.

The latest announcement of firearms prosecutions by the U.S. Attorney’s Office comes as the newly created Columbia County District Attorney’s Office becomes the 12th state prosecutor’s office in the Southern District, and joins the Southern District’s Prosecutor to Prosecutor Program (P3) in an agreement to collaborate with federal prosecutors to determine the most appropriate venue for adjudication of crimes occurring in the judicial circuit.

“Removing guns from the hands of convicted felons is an essential part of fighting violent crime in our community,” said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “We welcome the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office and its District Attorney, former U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine, in joining us to keep our communities safer.” 

In the past three years, more than 700 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction for a previous felony.

Defendants named in federal indictments from the November 2021 term of the U.S. District Court grand jury include:

• James Kenneth Merritt, 35, of Waynesboro, Ga., charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, related to a prior conviction for domestic violence; and Possession of Methamphetamine;
• Rodney Eric Strickland, 42, of Waynesboro, charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;
• Vesenta Cornelius Watson, 46, of Augusta, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number;   
• Barry McCormick, 26, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of Marijuana; and,
• Joseph Deon Cuyler, 29, of Wrightsville, Ga., charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

 

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Additional defendants recently have been adjudicated on federal charges that include illegal firearms possession:

• Michael Venetez McRae, 37, of Hephzibah, sentenced to 235 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and fined $1,500 after being convicted at trial for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of Cocaine. Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies arrested McRae Jan. 5, 2019, while investigating a report of domestic violence. Adjudicated as an armed career criminal, McRae has multiple prior felony convictions including those for drug trafficking.
• Letrail Jerome West, 43, of Augusta, was sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $2,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. During an investigation into drug sales from an Augusta motel room, Richmond County Sheriff’s investigators found West in possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, cash, and an assault-style rifle with a high-capacity magazine. 
• Michael Alvin Jackson, 44, of Savannah, was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Jackson was charged Aug. 11, 2019, when a pistol fell from his waistband as he ran away from Savannah Police officers.
• Zachary Brent Sadler, 27, of Augusta, was sentenced five years’ probation after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Sadler admitted pawning a handgun in October 2019, and he later was charged by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when he attempted to repurchase the gun and was denied during a background check.
• Tona Nikia Wright, 47, of Augusta, was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by an Illegal Drug User, and Violation of Security Regulations and Orders regarding Department of Defense properties. Wright admitted that she was an unlawful user of cocaine and marijuana, and that on April 30, 2020, she entered a controlled access point at Fort Gordon Military Reservation without properly reporting the Taurus .380 caliber pistol in her possession. 
• Kijordan Markel Ceaser, 22, of Thomson, Ga., was sentenced to 32 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Illegal Receipt of a Firearm by a Person Under Indictment. Ceaser, who was on parole after a conviction on felony state charges, admitted illegally possessing a pistol when agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Department of Community Supervision searched his residence Sept. 17, 2020.
• Jerry Allen Edenfield, 30, of Swainsboro, Ga., was sentenced to 32 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
• Clifford Lee Stone Jr., 29, of Wrens, Ga., was sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Stone admitted illegally possessing an assault-style rifle on April 28, 2018, when he fled from a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy, first in a car and then on foot.
• Timetrius Dontrel Neal, 23, of Thomson, Ga., was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, referring to a prior conviction on a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Neal, who was on felony probation on a state charge, was arrested Oct. 22, 2020, when a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer and an officer from the Georgia Department of Community Supervision searched Neal’s residence and found a pistol with an extended magazine.
• Joe Lewis Hills, a/k/a “Polo,” a/k/a “David Owens,” 33, of Augusta, was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Marijuana, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Hills was arrested with a co-defendant July 29, 2019, after Richmond County Sheriff’s investigators searched a hotel room rented to Hills and found drugs and an AR-15-style rifle with two loaded, high-capacity magazines. Hills served a previous federal prison sentence for armed robbery of a bank and was on supervised release at the time of his arrest.
• Newman Everette Tryon, 39, of Savannah, was sentenced to 43 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Tryon admitted illegally possessing a revolver when he was arrested Oct. 30, 2019, by Savannah Police. 
• Robert Kenneth Williams, 32, of Augusta, was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies found Williams in possession of a pistol in April 2020 in a motel parking lot.
• Quieaton Freeman, 22, of Augusta, was sentenced to 46 months in prison, ordered to serve three years of supervised release and fined $2,000 after pleading guilty to Possession of Firearms by an Illegal Drug User. Freeman was one of eight defendants indicted in 2019 in Operation Snowfall, involving an investigation of a cocaine trafficking conspiracy in the Augusta area. All of the defendants pled guilty and are serving prison sentences.
• Khallid Marquese Wright, 24, of Augusta, was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Wright was found in possession of a firearm in February 2020 when he was stopped by Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies for questioning in an unrelated case.
• Jamerson Brandon Turner, 28, of Augusta, was sentenced to eight months of home confinement, three years of supervised release and fined $1,200 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Turner admitted illegally possessing a pistol when questioned May 15, 2020, by Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies.
• James Stallings III, 29, of Augusta, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to serve three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Stallings in June 2020 while investigating reports of a man firing shots outside an Augusta hotel when they found a pistol and identified Stallings from surveillance footage. Stallings has a prior state conviction for illegal firearms possession.
• Charles Kevin Matthews, 50, of Washington, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Matthews was on parole for a prior state conviction when investigators found a pistol in his possession during a search of his residence.
• Christopher Lewis Tucker, 21, of Thomson, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to False Statement During Purchase of a Firearm. Tucker related to his illegal purchase of a pistol at a Thomson pawn shop in April 2021.
• Darryl Kinloch, 29, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Kinloch was charged in February 2020 when Savannah Police officers found two pistols in his car during a traffic stop.
• Sundiadaa Miller, 33, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Miller, who was on parole after a felony conviction for armed robbery, was arrested in January 2020 by Savannah Police officers after he was found in possession of a pistol.

Agencies investigating these cases include the ATF, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Savannah Police Department, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the Savannah Police Department, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, the Wrightsville Police Department, and the McDuffie County Sheriff’s Office.

The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office Assistant U.S. Attorneys, including Henry W. Syms Jr., Patricia G. Rhodes, Tara M. Lyons, Jennifer A. Stanley, Marcela C. Mateo, Steven H. Lee, Joshua S. Bearden, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Darron J. Hubbard.

Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense. 

For more information on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.

SAVANNAH, GA:  The last of four defendants has been sentenced to federal prison in a drug trafficking conspiracy that shipped cocaine and cash from coast to coast.

Kevin Chelsea, 39, of Las Vegas, was sentenced to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Judge William T. Moore also ordered Chelsea to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Kevin Chelsea and his co-conspirators were foolishly brazen in their efforts to use the U.S. Postal Service to ship drugs east to Savannah, and then mail cash westward to Los Angeles,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our vigilant law enforcement partners unpacked the plot and brought these drug-mailers to justice.”

As described in court documents and testimony, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in November 2018 began investigating a series of shipments sent from Los Angeles to Savannah. The conspirators, who operated from about Augusta 2016 through December 2019, used multiple aliases to ship kilos of cocaine to various Savannah addresses controlled by others in the conspiracy, who in turn mailed large amounts of cash back to the conspirators in California.

The conspirators attempted to hide drugs and cash in boxes that also contained items including coloring books, pens, markers, and wrapping paper.

Chelsea’s aunt and west coast co-conspirator, Aderiauna Crystal Shorter, 52, of Long Beach, Calif., is serving a 114-month sentence after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, and Money Laundering Conspiracy. Their east coast connection, Carlton Anderson, 42, of Savannah, and Lisa Williams, 42, of Savannah, both pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine. Anderson is serving 135 months in federal prison, while Williams is serving a 96-month sentence.

“The United States Postal Inspection Service works diligently with its local, state and federal partners, to investigate cases like these where the United States mail is used for the trafficking of illegal narcotics and its related proceeds,” said Joseph Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the Miami Division of the USPIS. “This case is a perfect example of this teamwork, which resulted in multiple seizures and arrests across the country.”

“Drug traffickers often take extreme measures in hiding the poison they peddle,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “This is a perfect illustration of the battle DEA and its law enforcement counterparts face when trying to prevent dangerous drugs from hitting the streets in our communities. As a result of DEA’s multi-level law enforcement collaboration and the subsequent prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Chelsea and his co-conspirators will spend well-deserved time in prison.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Savannah Resident Office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team, and the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank M. Pennington II. 

BRUNSWICK, GA:  An Effingham County man who admitted to producing child pornography has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.

Carl Scott Ruger, 42, of Guyton, Ga., was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to Production of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood also ordered Ruger to pay restitution of $1.5 million, and after completion of his prison term to register as a sex offender and serve a life term of supervised release.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Carl Ruger is a loathsome, dangerous predator, and our streets are safer now that he is behind bars,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “In collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we will relentlessly work to protect the most vulnerable members of our communities.”

Two related defendants are serving federal prison terms after also pleading guilty to Production of Child Pornography. Richard Hunt Moore, 50, of Hephzibah, Ga., is serving 264 months in prison, and Charles Casey Gardner, 41, of Brooklet, Ga., is serving 180 months. A fourth target in the investigation killed himself in Illinois before questioning.

The men came to the attention of law enforcement agencies in January 2019 when Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a hotel in Martinez, Ga., by a hotel employee who had been alerted by a 14-year-old boy accompanying Moore. After questioning Moore, sheriff’s office investigators and the FBI found images of child pornography of Moore’s phone. Those images led to the discovery of the other defendants.

As referenced during his sentencing hearing, prior to his 2019 arrest, Ruger worked in custodial positions in multiple Georgia counties including as a substitute teacher, bus driver, deputy jailer, and as a corrections officer in state and federal prisons.

“This case is a great example of the relationship between the community and law enforcement working together to keep our communities safe,” said Maj. Sharif Chochol, with the Field Operations Bureau of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. “’If you see something, say something’ is more than just a catch phrase; it works. A child predator has been taken down thanks to an observant citizen and a team of dedicated law enforcement professionals.”

“Predators like Ruger are despicable and have no place in civilized society,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is thankful for our law enforcement partnerships that make it possible to put sexual predators, like Ruger, behind bars for significant periods of time where they cannot victimize any more children.”

“Thankfully, Ruger will now face the consequences of his despicable actions and will no longer be able to hurt innocent children,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “This investigation was started because someone saw something wrong and reported it. We ask that if you see something out of place, you report it, you could be saving someone’s life”

The cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, along with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons, with support from Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Sue Robichaux in the Asset Recovery Unit.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.

AUGUSTA, GA:  A U.S. Army soldier in training at Fort Gordon has been indicted for distributing child pornography.

Joshua Gamble, 29, of Fort Gordon, was indicted by a U.S. District Court Grand Jury on one count of Distribution of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charge carries a statutory minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.

“Anyone who would think to engage in activities that exploit children should be forewarned that our vigilant law enforcement partners are always watching,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “We will be unrelenting in pursuing those who would victimize the most vulnerable among us.”

FBI agents investigating illegal distribution of child pornography via an Internet chat application arrested Gamble in in October on a complaint based on activity that took place on Aug. 10 and 11, 2021.

Indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.

AUGUSTA, GA:  An Augusta woman has admitted participating in a child sex trafficking conspiracy in which her former husband awaits trial.

Amanda Gunn, 34, a/k/a “Amanda Howard,” of Augusta, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of Sex Trafficking Conspiracy, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The plea subjects Gunn to a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, up to life in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system. The plea agreement comes just after a pre-trial conference.

“As this disturbing case continues to move forward, we continue to be determined to find justice for the victim and hold accountable those guilty of this horrific exploitation,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “This plea is an unmistakable message that our law enforcement partners established a significant and undeniable body of evidence establishing Amanda Gunn/Howard’s culpability.”

“By pleading guilty, Amanda Gunn/Howard admits that she was involved in one of the most heinous crimes that we investigate as a law enforcement agency, and for that she will be punished,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI has zero tolerance for the sex trafficking of children and will continue to work tirelessly to protect children and to prosecute those involved in exploiting them.”

Still awaiting trial is Gunn’s former husband, Michael Gunn, 36, of Evans, who originally was indicted in March 2020 by a U.S. District Court Grand Jury charging him with four counts of Production of Child Pornography and one count of Possession of Child Pornography. A superseding indictment earlier this year added charges of Sex Trafficking Conspiracy; Sex Trafficking of a Child; Coercion and Enticement of a Child to Engage in Sexual Activity; and Obstruction of a Child Sex Trafficking Investigation. Michael Gunn is scheduled for a jury trial Nov. 15 before U.S. District Chief Judge J. Randal Hall, and is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.  

As described in court documents and testimony, an FBI investigation in Texas led agents to Michael Gunn at his Evans home as a source of child pornography, resulting in the discovery of multiple images and videos of child exploitation on electronic devices in his possession.

In a related case, Jonathan Eugene Grantham, 45, of Graniteville, S.C., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to Coercion and Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity. FBI agents initiated the investigation of Grantham, a former Aiken County high school teacher, with information derived from the Gunn investigation. Agents determined that Grantham, in July 2019, traveled from South Carolina to Columbia County to engage in sexual activity with a victim who was under age 18. In his plea agreement, Grantham acknowledged contacting the victim through the Internet to coerce the victim “to engage in sexual activity for which the defendant could be charged with a criminal offense, that is, child molestation.”

The continuing investigation is being conducted by the FBI and is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.

DUBLIN, GA:  Prison terms for two of the remaining defendants in a Laurens County-area drug trafficking conspiracy wrap up a major middle Georgia prosecution.

Zandera Finney, 35, of Warner Robins, Ga., was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances, while Desergio Kates, a/k/a “Serg,” 24, of Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 14 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen also ordered each defendant to pay a fine of $1,500.

“An outstanding collaborative effort from multiple law enforcement partners in Operation ‘The Hole’ identified and shut down a brazen drug-trafficking conspiracy in the greater Laurens County community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “As a result, these poison merchants are now being held accountable.”

Operation “The Hole” was an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation coordinated by agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, along with the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office and the Ocmulgee Drug Task Force. The investigation targeted a drug-trafficking ring moving large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana into the Laurens County area starting as early as 2013. Along with other Dublin-area drug-sales locations, the investigation identified a rented backyard shack called “The Hole” as the “trap house,” or central distribution site, complete with a retail-like service counter for drug transactions.

During the execution of multiple federal search warrants, agents seized pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana, along with two dozen firearms, nearly $37,000 in cash, gold and silver with an estimated value of $90,000, devices for pressing bricks of cocaine, pill presses, a stolen vehicle, and two stolen generators with lights. Additional drugs, firearms and cash also were discovered during individual arrests of the eight defendants.

The lead defendant in the case, Quaveris Leshaun Mims, a/k/a “Strong,” 49, of Dublin, Ga., is awaiting trial on charges including Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances, and is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The remaining defendants in the case all are serving federal prison sentences after pleading guilty in the case:

• Rodney Jarrod Denson, a/k/a “RD,” 45, of Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 262 months in prison, fined $2,000 and ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Denson pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Conspiracy to Possess Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug-Trafficking Crime. Denson supplied drugs to Finney, who resold them from a Dublin motel. He is the stepfather of Kates.
• Anthony Michael Denson, 49, of Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 92 months in prison, fined $1,500 and ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances. He is the brother of “RD” Denson.
• Nicholas Turner, 26, of East Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 112 months in prison, fined $1,500 and ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances.
• Brandon Payne, a/k/a “Tre,” 26, of Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 121 months in prison, fined $2,000 and ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Methamphetamine. Payne also is a stepson of “RD” Denson.
• Constance Victoria Moore, 34, of McRae-Helena, Ga., was sentenced to 24 months in prison, fined $750 and ordered to serve three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances.

“These poly-drug trafficking activities posed a significant threat to the quality of life in Middle Georgia,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division Robert J. Murphy. “These defendants will spend well-deserved time in prison and their apprehension makes our communities a safer place today.”

Operation The Hole was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), the premier U.S. Department of Justice program to dismantle multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking organizations. Agencies involved in the investigation include the DEA; the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF); the FBI; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office; Ocmulgee Drug Task Force; the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office; the Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office; the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office; the Washington County Sheriff’s Office; the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office; and the Warner Robins Police Department, and is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia Rhodes and Henry W. Syms Jr.

AUGUSTA, GA:  Eight men and one woman have been named in a newly unsealed federal indictment for taking part in a major drug trafficking conspiracy that funneled cocaine and other drugs from Atlanta to the Waynesboro, Ga., area.

The indictment in USA v. Rhaney et al, dubbed Operation Washout, represents a significant, coordinated attack on narcotics distribution in Burke, Richmond, Screven and McDuffie counties and other parts of the Southern District, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The primary charge in the indictment, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana, carries a statutory penalty upon conviction of up to 20 years in federal prison, along with substantial financial penalties, followed by a period of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Close collaboration between local, state and federal law enforcement partners has yielded tremendous success in identifying and shutting down these operations that funnel poison into our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue and hold accountable those who would endanger our citizens through drug trafficking and its related pathologies.”

Operation Washout was coordinated through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces as the Augusta Office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration developed information about cocaine trafficking from Mexico, through California to Atlanta, and then primarily to distributors in Burke County. Investigators from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office then worked with the DEA to develop the investigation that identified the defendants and led to searches and subsequent seizures of cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, drug trafficking paraphernalia, cash, and more than two dozen firearms.

“The mission of DEA is unwavering – we relentlessly pursue drug traffickers whose poison destroys lives and causes immeasurable damage to our communities,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division Robert J. Murphy. “This violent poly-drug trafficking organization can no longer peddle poison in Burke County and elsewhere. The success of this investigation is a shining example of how DEA and its law enforcement partners work collaboratively to protect our communities.”

“The success of this 18-month investigation is an outstanding example of the partnership of our local, state and federal law enforcement agencies working together to protect our community from illegal drugs, illegally possessed firearms, and the violent crime that accompanies them,” said Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams. “The citizens of Burke County greatly appreciate the resources and assistance from our federal partners, including the DEA, in keeping our neighborhoods safe.”

The federally charged defendants all are in custody and are receiving initial appearances in U.S. District Court. They include:

• Chadric Antonio Rhaney, a/k/a “Chad,” 41, of Atlanta, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana; and five counts of Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility, a charge related to the use of cell phones to facilitate the conspiracy;
• Joseph Lee Ellison Jr., a/k/a “Peanut,” 38, of Waynesboro, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana; and eight counts of Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility;
• Ossawa Jones, a/k/a “Wash,” 44, of Augusta, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana; five counts of Distribution of Cocaine; and 15 counts of Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility;
• Nathaniel Golden, a/k/a “Geese,” 67, of Waynesboro, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana; Possession with Intent to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and two counts of Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility;
• Ricardo DeAngelo Norman, 33, of Augusta, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana; Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Crack Cocaine; Possession of a Firearm by an Unlawful Drug User; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;
• Richard Sears Adams, a/k/a “Moot,” 36, of Waynesboro, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana; Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine; Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Crack Cocaine; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and two counts of Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility;
• Christopher Thomas Mobley, a/k/a “PJ,” 37, of Waynesboro, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana; and two counts of Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility;
• Trevor Watson, 30, of Sylvania, Ga., charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana; Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Crack Cocaine; Possession of a Firearm by an Illegal Drug User; and two counts of Unlawful Use of Communication Facility; and,
• Claudine Noella Sinclair, a/k/a “Annie,” 47, of Covington, Ga., charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana; and two counts of Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Additional defendants also face state charges in the investigation.

The case was investigated under the 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.

Agencies investigating Operation Washout include the DEA and the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Probation Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Georgia National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, the Screven County Sheriff’s Office, the McDuffie County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry W. Syms Jr.

DUBLIN, GA:  The operator of a dog-fighting facility and two codefendants have been sentenced in federal court, wrapping up the prosecution of a dog-fighting operation in Dodge County.

James Lampkin, a/k/a “Pookie,” 44, of Eastman, Ga., was sentenced to 46 months in prison and fined $5,000 after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to Conspiracy to Violate the Animal Welfare Act, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. also ordered Lampkin to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Judge Bowen sentenced two of Lampkin’s co-defendants. Joe Ford, 33, of Elgin, S.C., was sentenced to 18 months in prison, fined $1,500, and ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence after he pled guilty to a related felony. Xavier Simmons, 34, of Sandersville, Ga., was sentenced to five years’ probation and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to Misprision of a Felony.

“Every defendant charged in this barbaric dog-fighting operation has now been held accountable after admitting to the charges,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our vigilant law enforcement partners did outstanding work in identifying and shutting down this reprehensible activity.”

“These callous individuals were attracted to an activity which is both disturbingly cruel and illegal,” said Jason Williams, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General. “Our agency and law enforcement partners will be relentless in our pursuit of individuals who maliciously find pleasure in harming these creatures.”

In March 2018, Georgia State Patrol troopers and Georgia Department of Natural Resources game wardens conducted traffic stops in Eastman after the Oconee (Georgia) Drug Task Force received reports of dog fights at Lampkin’s property. During those traffic stops, officers discovered a dog in one of the vehicles that appeared to have been injured while fighting. Later, while serving a search warrant at Lampkin’s residence, investigators seized 63 dogs chained in the back yard and discovered a disassembled pit and bloodied carpet where fights were held, along with equipment used to train dogs for fighting.

While the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated a civil forfeiture action, an animal rescue operation took custody of the dogs.

Three other co-defendants, Benjamin Shinhoster III, a/k/a “Benji,” 41, of Louisville, Ga.; Deveon Hood, 34, of Tennille, Ga.; and Andre Archer, 24, of Sandersville, Ga., previously were sentenced to prison terms after pleading guilty to related felony charges, while Dwight McDuffie, 44, of Eastman, Ga., was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted for the United States by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rock with assistance from U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Attorney Ethan Eddy and Northern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.

DUBLIN, GA:  A Laurens County, Georgia man has admitted lying to obtain a COVID-19 disaster relief loan and using a large portion of the money to buy a collectible trading card.

Vinath Oudomsine, 31, of Dublin, Ga., pled guilty in U.S. District Court to an Information charging him with one count of Wire Fraud, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Oudomsine’s plea subjects him to a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison and substantial fines, followed by up to three years of supervised release after completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“The unlawful taking of taxpayer dollars is always disgusting, but in this context, the taking from emergency relief funds intended to help our neighbors and their businesses is outrageous,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “I want the hard working citizens of this District to know that this Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who would fraudulently obtain and misuse these relief funds.”

As described in the Information and court proceedings, starting on or around July 2020, Oudomsine applied to the SBA for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) ostensibly for an “entertainment services” business in Dublin with 10 employees and gross revenues of $235,000 in the 12 months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of fraudulent representations on Oudomsine’s application, the SBA deposited $85,000 into Oudomsine’s bank account on Aug. 4, 2020. Oudomsine later used $57,789 of the funds to purchase a Pokémon trading card.

“COVID-19 disaster relief loans are issued by the government to help legitimate businesses who are struggling to survive during the pandemic,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to holding accountable anyone who would abuse taxpayer dollars and divert them from citizens who desperately need them.”

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.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Oudomsine is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan A. Porter and Patrick J. Schwedler.

BRUNSWICK, GA:  A U.S. Postal Service supervisor who admitted stealing marijuana from a confiscated package has been sentenced to federal prison.

Howard Kerns, 53, of Dearing, Ga., was sentenced to two months in prison followed by two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Theft of Mail Matter by a Postal Employee, a felony crime, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Kerns also was terminated from the U.S. Postal Service.

“Integrity of our U.S. Mail is dependent on the honesty of postal employees,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Howard Kerns is the rare exception of workers who fail that test, and is being held accountable for that failure.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Kerns, who had previously worked in the post office in Evans, Ga., was working in the Brunswick, Ga., post office when a delivery arrived in August 2020 with a package suspected of containing marijuana. Postal workers put the package on a shelf in the postmaster’s office to await examination by a postal inspector from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Postal management later discovered the package had been opened and resealed, with the contents removed and reported to the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General for further investigation. After questioning, Kerns admitted stealing the package’s contents.

“The vast majority of Postal Service employees are honest, hardworking individuals who would never violate the public trust,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich, Southern Area Field Office. “An employee who decides otherwise will be aggressively investigated by USPS OIG special agents. This case serves as an excellent example of the successful partnership between the USPS-OIG and U.S. Attorney’s Office to pursue and prosecute employees involved in criminal activity.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted for the United States by U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Bearden.

AUGUSTA, GA:  The man who supplied cocaine for a major Richmond County drug trafficking operation, and another man who admitted to a firearms offense related to the operation, have been sentenced to federal prison.

Mario Hubbard, 45, of Smryna, Ga., was sentenced to 151 months in prison, fined $35,000 and ordered to serve four years of supervised release after completion of his prison term after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and To Distribute Cocaine and Marijuana, and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Hubbard also forfeited his Smyrna home, with an estimated value of more than $600,000, that was alleged to have been purchased with drug trafficking proceeds.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also sentenced one of Hubbard’s co-defendants, Timothy Dale Reid, 53, of Augusta, to 78 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Stolen Firearm. Reid also was fined $1,500 and ordered to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“This operation is an outstanding example of the results of the collaborative law enforcement effort from local, state, and federal agencies,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “We particularly commend the work of investigators from Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations for their assistance in seizing the ill-gotten gains of this significant drug trafficking enterprise.”

The sentences are the culmination of the 2019 indictment in USA v. Freeman, et. al., a two-year Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation initiated by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration into cocaine distribution throughout the greater Augusta area. The investigation identified Hubbard as supplying cocaine through Atlanta-area connections to Terrance Quain Freeman, 50, of Augusta, who served as a leader of the conspiracy that funneled kilos of cocaine and crack cocaine into the community for distribution by local dealers.

During the investigation of Operation Snowfall – so named because of the large quantities of powder cocaine involved – DEA agents and sheriff’s office investigators seized more than $500,000 in cash, more than two kilos of cocaine, 32 grams of crack cocaine, and more than 9 pounds of marijuana, along with eight firearms.

Freeman is serving 100 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and To Distribute Cocaine and Marijuana. Four other defendants are serving sentences of up to 151 months in federal prison, while Quieaton Freeman, 23, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of Firearms by an Illegal Drug User. He is a son of Terrance Freeman and the last remaining federal defendant in the operation. More than a dozen other defendants also have been prosecuted on state charges in the investigation.

“Collaboration with our agency partners and utilizing all of our specialized talents were the keys to success in this investigation,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Assistant Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman. “This Operation is a win in the war against drugs and its financing. We are committed to continue using our financial expertise to bring justice to those who harm our communities.”

“Drug trafficking breeds violence, and the traffickers who engage in this dangerous lifestyle often protect their ill-gotten gains with dangerous weapons – as was the case in this investigation,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division Robert J. Murphy. “DEA and the entire law enforcement community are committed to making the citizens of these affected communities in Georgia and elsewhere safer by removing dangerous criminals from their neighborhoods.”

Sheriff Richard Roundtree directed the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division to neutralize and dismantle local drug organizations, but to also target the organization’s source of supply. “In this case, RCSO and its federal partners reduced the supply lines from Atlanta to Augusta-Richmond County,” said Sheriff Roundtree. “Some of the defendants indicted in this case are career drug traffickers. Their removal from our community will enhance Augusta’s safety and security.”

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, the Dekalb County HIDTA Task Force, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia G. Rhodes and Hank Syms.

BRUNSWICK, GA:  A South Georgia man holding himself out as a pastor, mortician, restaurateur, and tax preparer has been indicted on COVID-19 recovery assistance fraud by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia.

Mack Devon Knight, 45, of Kingsland, Ga., is charged in a five-count indictment that accuses Knight of lying to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in connection with applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs), according to David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charges carry a statutory penalty upon conviction of up to 30 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties, followed by a period of supervised release.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Security (CARES) Act was provided to help small businesses survive pandemic-related losses,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “In coordination with our law enforcement partners, we will hold accountable those unscrupulous actors who attempt to swindle these funds for their own enrichment.” 

As described in the indictment, in February and March 2021, Knight applied for EIDLs on behalf of two Camden County, Ga., businesses: Knight’s Tax Services, and Daddy Earl’s Kitchen. Those EIDL applications falsely affirmed that the businesses each had hundreds of thousands of dollars of gross revenue prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The indictment alleges that Knight then made and transmitted to the SBA a falsified bank document to deceive the SBA into approving one of Knight’s EIDL applications.

The indictment further alleges that, after receiving $149,900 from the SBA as a result of false and fraudulent representations in Knight’s loan application on behalf of Knight’s Tax Services, Knight used part of the funds to buy a Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

To report a COVID-19-related fraud scheme or suspicious activity, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling the NCDF Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Knight is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan A. Porter and Patrick J. Schwedler.

SAVANNAH, GA:  A Chatham County man with a history of violent behavior has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm.

King Coney, 29, of Savannah, was sentenced to the statutory maximum 120 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Coney to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

“King Coney has no business carrying a gun,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “His history of violent behavior, particularly toward women and police officers, makes it clear the community will be safer with him disarmed and behind bars.”

Savannah Police officers in August 2020 investigated a report that Coney had pointed a pistol at the head of a pregnant woman and dragged her down the street. When officers located Coney two weeks later and attempted to question him, Coney ran away and was arrested after a brief chase. Officers then found a loaded pistol in his backpack, and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives verified that as a previously convicted felon, Coney is prohibited from possessing firearms. Coney still faces state charges related to the case, including kidnapping, aggravated assault, and cruelty to children.

“The criminal possession and use of firearms by felons is a crime that impacts the safety of our community everyday” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “By imposing the maximum sentence for this crime, the Court has sent a strong message to Coney and others like him that such conduct will not be tolerated.”

In separate cases in U.S. District Court, Judge Baker also sentenced three other defendants to federal prison terms after each pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon:

• Javonta Sheppard, 26, of Savannah, sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release;
• Tyshaun Richey, 25, of Savannah, sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release; and,
• Leaa Jones, 23, of Savannah, sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release; and,

The cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Savannah Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcela C. Mateo, John P. Harper III, and Tania G. Groover.

SAVANNAH, GA:  A transient man living in Savannah has been sentenced to federal prison for setting a February fire at a Savannah hotel.

Gary Taylor Smith, 35, of Savannah, was sentenced to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of Arson, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. also ordered Smith to pay $1,464.53 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Deliberately setting a fire at an occupied hotel is a cowardly and potentially deadly act,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Thanks to quick work from the Savannah Fire Department and the ATF, Gary Smith is being held accountable for his crime.”

Smith was captured on video surveillance just after 3 a.m. on Feb. 28, 2021, when he set fire to a pile of rags behind the Marshall Hotel on East Broughton Street. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which caused only minor smoke damage inside the hotel. All 68 occupants of the hotel were safely evacuated. Savannah Police officers arrested Smith three weeks later after identifying him from a surveillance photo.

“The identification and prosecution of arson crimes continues to be a core mission for ATF,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “Arson is a crime of violence that can result in death, injuries and property damage and we are proud to have worked with the Savannah Fire Department to quickly identify and apprehend Mr. Smith.”

“This case is another example of the importance of a strong working relationship between local and federal law enforcement,” said Savannah Fire Department Chief Fire Investigator Fred Anderson. “Together we were able to combine our investigative resources and bring this arsonist to justice.”

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Savannah Fire Department Arson Unit, and the Savannah Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tania G. Groover.

SAVANNAH, GA:  A Chatham County man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison after admitting to distributing hundreds of images of child pornography.

James Groover, 57, of Savannah, was sentenced to 88 months in prison after pleading guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Groover to pay $15,000 in restitution to victims, register as a sex offender, and serve 15 years of supervised release after completion of his prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Every single act of sharing an image of child exploitation further harms the vulnerable victim,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “James Groover shared hundreds of such images until our vigilant law enforcement partners brought his reprehensible crimes to a halt.”

As described in court documents and testimony, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted Georgia’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force after identifying graphic child pornography shared from Groover’s address between September 2019 and February 2020. A subsequent search of his residence discovered hundreds of images and videos of child pornography on multiple devices belonging to Groover.

“Individuals who engage in this reprehensible crime perpetuate the trauma endured by victims and cause irreparable harm to our nation’s most vulnerable population,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI special agents will continue to work with law enforcement partners to find and remove these offenders from our communities.”  

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Savannah Police Department, and Prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.

SAVANNAH, GA:  Seven defendants face federal charges including drug trafficking and illegal possession firearms after separate indictments by a grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia, while recent actions in U.S. District Court include guilty pleas and criminal sentences. 

The indicted cases are being investigated as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, in an ongoing effort to reduce violent crime by targeting those who illegally possess firearms.

“Convicted felons are prohibited from possessing firearms,” said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue those whose illegal possession of guns threatens the safety of our community.” 

In the past three years, nearly 700 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction for a previous felony. That charge carries a statutory penalty upon conviction of up to 10 years in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.

Defendants named in federal indictments from the October 2021 term of the U.S. District Court grand jury include:

• Dwight Eady, 39, of Milan, Ga., charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and Possession of Ammunition by a Convicted Felon;
• Darren Nathaniel Mathis, 35, of Savannah, charged with Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
• Tommy Greene, 34, of Savannah, Possession with Intent to Distribute Eutylone (Bath Salts) and Methamphetamine, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;
• Derek Hayes, 50, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of Cocaine;
• Rasheen Dyshawn Stephens, 30, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; 
• Jonathan R. White, 24, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and,
• Kenya Leon Parker, 33, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon 

 

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Additional defendants recently have been adjudicated on federal charges that include illegal firearms possession:

• Bradley Harrison, 25, of Brunswick, Ga., was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Methamphetamine and Heroin, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Harrison was one of eight defendants indicted in Operation Krack Down II, which targeted a drug trafficking conspiracy in the Brunswick area.
• Khari Courtney Osborne, 27, of Hephzibah, was sentenced to 38 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. A member of the Gangster Disciples criminal street gang, Osborne was on state probation after serving time in prison for armed robbery when Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies found him in possession of a loaded pistol during a February 2020 traffic stop.
• Julian Theophilus Moffett, 39, of Augusta, was sentenced to 63 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Moffett is a member of the Gangsta Killa Bloods criminal street gang and has a criminal history that includes convictions for drug trafficking and gun violence. He was arrested in March 2020 when Richmond County sheriff’s deputies found a pistol in his vehicle during a traffic stop. 
• Terrence Latroy Brown, 31, of North Charleston, S.C., was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by an Illegal Drug User. Brown admitted that on April 29, 2020, he was an illegal user of methamphetamine and Eutylone (bath salts) when Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies during a traffic stop found an assault-style rifle and multiple high-capacity magazines in his vehicle.
• Curtavious Bonner, 30, of Thomson, Ga., was sentenced to 48 months in prison and ordered to serve three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Bonner was arrested in July 2019 when Thomson Police officers checking on suspicious activity outside a residence found two pistols in Bonner’s vehicle.
• Malcolm Robinson Brown, 39, of Augusta, was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon. Brown was arrested when Richmond County sheriff’s deputies in May 2020 found him in possession of a pistol and ammunition while arresting him at his home on an outstanding warrant on state charges.   
• Dequan Beniman, 27, of Savannah, was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Beniman was arrested in January 2020 when Savannah Police officers found Beniman with two loaded pistols in his pockets, along with a bag containing additional ammunition.
• Willie Lee Batten, 59, of Jacksonville, Ga., was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Batten was charged in November 2020 as part of Operation Rat Trap II, targeting a drug trafficking conspiracy in south Georgia. With the exception of one defendant who is awaiting trial, all remaining defendants identified in Operation Rat Trap II have been sentenced or await sentencing after pleading guilty. 
• Chance Derrell Christian, 42, of Kingstree, S.C., was sentenced to 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and fined $5,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Christian was arrested in May 2020 during a traffic stop by the Georgia State Patrol when troopers found a pistol in his vehicle.    
• Marcus Rashad Allen, 33, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah Police officers found him in possession of a pistol in August 2020 after he ran from officers attempting to arrest him on an outstanding warrant.
• Jeffrey Brian Voorhees, 37, of Douglas, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Voorhees was charged along with 47 co-defendants in Operation Sandy Bottom, targeting a gang-related drug trafficking conspiracy in the Coffee County area. 
• David Bryson Murphy, 20, of Thomson, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. McDuffie County sheriff’s deputies charged Murphy in April after finding him carrying a pistol during a traffic stop.
• Damario Antron Williams, 36, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Williams was wanted on outstanding state warrants for aggravated assault and firearms offenses when Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies investigating a report of a disturbance at an Augusta residence in January found Williams in the back yard with a loaded pistol in his waistband.  
• Charles Edward Bennett, 31, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to an Information charging him with Possession of a Firearm by an Illegal Drug User. Bennett was charged in January 2019 after Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies found him in possession of a pistol.

These cases also are being investigated under the Prosecutor to Prosecutor Program (P3), in which federal and state prosecutors collaborate to determine the most appropriate venue for adjudication of alleged crimes.

Agencies investigating these cases include the ATF, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Georgia State Patrol, the Savannah Police Department, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the McDuffie County Sheriff’s Office, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, the Thomson Police Department, the Brunswick Police Department, and the Glynn County Police Department.

The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office Assistant U.S. Attorneys, including Henry W. Syms Jr., Patricia G. Rhodes, Tania D. Groover, Joshua S. Bearden, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Darron J. Hubbard.

Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense. 

For more information on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.

SAVANNAH, GA:  A gang member and leader in a major methamphetamine trafficking operation and a codefendant each have been sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison for spreading drugs into coastal and south Georgia.

David Hamilton Sharpe, a/k/a “David Dukkedoff,” 28, of Pembroke, Ga., was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison, and Jose Zepeda, 36, of Gray, Ga., was sentenced to 235 months in prison, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Both men pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute More than 50 Grams of Methamphetamine, and U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also recommended that Sharpe serve his sentence outside the Southern District, and ordered each defendant to serve five years of supervised release after completion of their prison terms.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Violent, armed drug traffickers and criminal gang members are a clear and present danger to our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “We continue to work with our law enforcement partners to make our streets safer by identifying these criminals and holding them accountable.”

Sharpe and Zepeda were among 35 defendants indicted as part of Operation Stranded Bandit, as described in the indictment unsealed in December 2020 in USA v. Baker et al. Sharpe, a member of the Ghost Face Gangsters criminal street gang, was incarcerated in state prison during the three years of the investigation and used contraband cell phones to direct shipments of methamphetamine from the Atlanta area and into the Southern District. During a search of his residence in October 2019, just one month after his release from state prison, Sharpe was arrested after agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found him in possession of a large quantity of methamphetamine and multiple firearms. The arrest took place in Bryan County, from which Sharpe previously had been judicially banished.

Zepeda was arrested in Jones County, Ga., along with other members of the conspiracy in June 2019 as he was delivering four pounds of methamphetamine.

Operation Stranded Bandit grew from other major gang-related drug trafficking prosecutions in Operation Vanilla Gorilla and Operation Who’s Laughing Now. The investigations and prosecutions, coordinated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), targeted widespread, gang-related drug trafficking organizations in the Southern District and beyond.

Of the 35 defendants charged in Operation Stranded Bandit, at least 26 have entered guilty pleas with 17 of them sentenced to prison terms of up to 292 months, while nine are awaiting trail and are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“These sentences are the direct result of our partnership with state, local and other federal law enforcement agencies across Georgia” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “Violent criminal organizations such as the Ghostface Gangsters impact both large and small communities across our state, and we will continue to target this and similar the organizations and disrupt their criminal enterprises.”

“The coastal and South Georgia communities celebrate these defendants’ sentences,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “These notorious, gang-related drug dealers who distributed poison throughout the region caused fear through means of violence and intimidation. Investigative skill and cooperative partnerships left this once-thriving drug distribution network disrupted and dismantled. This effort would not have been successful without the spirited level of cooperation between our federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts.”

“Illegal drugs and criminal street gangs have no place in Georgia. These defendants were part of a criminal enterprise that has been threatening the safety of communities for years,” said Vic Reynolds, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “We will continue to work diligently along with our local and federal partners to investigate and dismantle drug trafficking organizations and criminal street gangs.”

The case is being investigated by agencies including the ATF, the DEA, the GBI, and the Savannah-Chatham Counter Narcotics Team, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office, the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, and the Richmond Hill Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys E. Greg Gilluly Jr. and Jennifer J. Kirkland.

Two Florida business executives pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of Georgia to charges related to their roles in a scheme to recruit and hire foreign nationals who were not authorized to work in the United States to fill temporary housekeeping and food service positions and commit various other criminal immigration offenses for profit.

According to court documents, Educational World Inc. (Ed World), a visa processing company based in North Point; and Larisa Khariton, 73, and Jon Clark, 71, also of North Point, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Georgia on April 8. The 36-count indictment also contained allegations against Regal Hospitality Solutions LLC (RHS), a Louisiana-based staffing company, and seven current and former RHS employees. Each defendant was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud and commit offenses against the United States, including encouraging and inducing an alien to reside in the United States, as well as alien harboring, alien transporting, and visa fraud. In addition, the RHS defendants were charged with wire-fraud related offenses.

Khariton and Clark pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud and commit offenses against the United States.

According to the indictment and other court documents, the individual defendants enriched themselves by participating in a scheme to recruit and hire noncitizen laborers without authorization to work for RHS. RHS provided hospitality-related businesses with laborers to work in housekeeping, retail, and food service positions, using noncitizens who were unauthorized to work in the United States to fill the positions. In some cases, the RHS defendants arranged for and provided housing and transportation to the workers.

The defendants and other co-conspirators also encouraged and induced noncitizen laborers on expiring and expired J-1 exchange visitor visas to obtain B-2 tourist visas and to work in the United States for RHS, knowing that employing such laborers on B-2 visas was illegal. According to admissions made in connection with their guilty pleas, Khariton and Clark prepared and submitted applications for B-2 visas on behalf of the workers after charging noncitizen laborers approximately $650 per application. The application contained false and misleading statements indicating the noncitizens intended to obtain the B-2 visa for the purpose of engaging in tourism. In fact, Khariton and Clark knew that those noncitizens were already present in and intended to stay in the United States for employment, not tourism.

The indictment also alleges that Khariton and Clark submitted petitions for H-2B temporary work visas on behalf of defendant RHS that contained false and misleading information about the location where noncitizen laborers allegedly were to be employed. In connection with their guilty pleas, Khariton and Clark admitted that they engaged in deceitful and dishonest conduct to impede and obstruct the functioning of, among other things, the H-2 non-immigrant visa program. Khariton and Clark also admitted that they were paid a commission by RHS for noncitizens Ed World recruited to work for RHS, including those who were not authorized to work for RHS in the United States.

Khariton and Clark will be sentenced at a later date. Khariton and Clark face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison; A federal district court judge will determine the sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Charges remain pending against defendant RHS and the individual RHS defendants who are considered innocent unless and until found guilty

The U.S. Department of State Office of Inspector General is investigating the case with assistance provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Trial Attorneys Frank Rangoussis and John-Alex Romano of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Lee of the Southern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.

SAVANNAH, GA:  Two McIntosh County men indicted as part of a major drug trafficking operation have been sentenced to federal prison for charges including armed robbery.

John Hope Jr., 28, of Townsend, Ga., was sentenced to 111 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $677 in restitution after pleading guilty to Interference with Commerce by Robbery and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

Hope’s co-defendant in the robbery, Tyler Marshall, 27, also of Townsend, was sentenced to 93 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $677 in restitution after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Cocaine, and Interference with Commerce by Robbery. There is no parole in the federal system.

“These two men chose to not only participate in a drug trafficking organization that spread poison throughout south Georgia, but also terrorized innocent people at gunpoint,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “They well deserve their time in prison.”

Hope and Marshall were among 17 defendants indicted in July 2020 in Operation Krack Down, an Organized Crime Drug Trafficking Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation that targeted a drug trafficking organization in Liberty, Bryan, McIntosh, and Wayne counties with ties to the Ghost Face Gangsters criminal street gang. At the time of the indictment, Hope and Marshall were in custody for the Jan. 3, 2020, armed robbery of a Liberty County gas station.

Three other defendants in Operation Krack Down have been sentenced to federal prison terms of up to 181 months after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges, while six defendants await sentencing after pleading guilty. Five others are awaiting trail and are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty, and one defendant, Cruz Lawson, 33, of Jesup, Ga., is a fugitive.

“The mission of DEA is unwavering – we relentlessly pursue drug traffickers,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Atlanta Field Division. “These defendants and their organization distributed dangerous drugs that caused immeasurable damage to the McIntosh County community. These sentences are a perfect example of how the law enforcement community and the U.S. Attorney’s Office work together to remove violent criminals from our streets.”

“Drugs and violence have no place in Georgia. Citizens deserve to feel safe, however, these two men threatened this coastal community and are being now held accountable,” said Vic Reynolds, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “The GBI values its partnership with federal and local agencies, including prosecutors, to ensure justice is served.”

Operation Krack Down was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

Agencies investigating the case include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Marshals Service, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office, the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, and the Richmond Hill Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by OCDETF Coordinator and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcela C. Mateo.

SAVANNAH, GA:  The owner of a Russian energy company has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a scheme to evade United States national security laws.

Oleg Vladislavovich Nikitin, 54, of St. Petersburg, Russia, was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Nikitin, general director of KS Engineering (KSE), a St. Petersburg-based energy company, to pay a fine of $5,000, and to be subject to deportation upon completion of his prison term.

Judge Baker also ordered KSE and an Italian company, GVA International Oil and Gas Services (GVA), to serve five years’ probation. 

“The United States sent a clear message that it will enforce its sanctions against any nation state that acts against U.S. national security interests,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David Estes.  “Our law enforcement partners performed outstanding work in preventing these conspirators from circumventing those sanctions.”

As described in court documents and testimony in United States v. World Mining and Oil Supply et. al., the conspiracy began in 2016 when an unnamed, Russian government-controlled business accepted a proposal submitted by Nikitin, in which KSE would provide a power turbine from a U.S.-based manufacturer for use on a Russian arctic deepwater drilling platform for approximately $17.3 million.  As part of the Russian Industry Sector Sanctions, such use was expressly prohibited by the U.S. Department of Commerce unless a license was first obtained.

In pleading guilty to the conspiracy charge in March 2021, Nikitin admitted that he was involved in a conspiracy with Gabrielle Villone and Villone’s company GVA to obtain the turbine on behalf of KSE. Villone and GVA then employed the services of Dali Bagrou and his Dacula, Ga.-based company, World Mining and Oil Supply (WMO), to procure the turbine from a U.S.-based manufacturer and to have the turbine shipped overseas. The parties conspired to conceal the true end user of the turbine from both the U.S. manufacturer and the U.S. government by submitting false documentation that stated the turbine would be used by a U.S. company in and around Atlanta.

Nikitin, Villone, and Bagrou all were arrested in Savannah, Ga., in 2019 while attempting to complete the illegal transaction. Villone currently is serving a 28-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to the same charge, and Bagrou awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in March. 

“Oleg Nikitin knowingly attempted to illegally procure U.S. origin industrial equipment on behalf of the Russian government in violation of Russia Sectoral Sanctions,” said Ariel Joshua Leinwand, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Office of Export Enforcement, Miami Field Office, which oversees BIS investigations in the Southeast. “This sentence holds Nikitin accountable for his illicit efforts and is a deterrent to those who would violate U.S. exports laws and act contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.”

“This defendant was part of a bold scheme to avert United States sanctions in order to put our goods in the hands of actors who are a direct threat to our national security,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “These sanctions are in place to protect our technology from being used against us. The FBI and our federal partners make it a top priority to stop anyone from bypassing them, and punishing anyone who tries to do so.”

“The illegal export of technology from the United States poses a significant national security threat to our citizens and warfighters,” said Cynthia A. Bruce, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office. “This sentencing is the result of the tireless efforts of DCIS and our partner agencies in combating the circumvention of trade restrictions by prohibited nations.” 

The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, as well as the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer G. Solari and Steven H. Lee are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier A. Cunningham, Section Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit.

SAVANNAH, GA:  A South Carolina man who joined in a conspiracy to steal trade secrets from aircraft companies faces sentencing in federal court after admitting guilt during his trial.

Gilbert Basaldua, 62, of Hilton Head, S.C., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets and Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property during the second day of his jury trial in U.S. District Court in Statesboro, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Basaldua faces a statutory sentence of up to 10 years in prison on each charge, plus substantial financial penalties. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Gilbert Basaldua stole an aircraft company’s intellectual property in order to avoid having to spend millions of dollars and years of research to develop an icing wind tunnel testing plan that could win FAA certification,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “On the second day of his jury trial however, Basaldua could not overcome the overwhelming evidence presented against him and learned that his theft of another company’s intellectual property would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

As alleged in the superseding indictment in the case filed in August 2020, Basaldua worked as a numerical control engineer contractor for an aircraft manufacturer in the Southern District from October 2016 through November 2018. During that time, Basaldua conspired with his co-conspirators to steal valuable proprietary aircraft wing designs and anti-icing testing information from various aircraft manufacturers, including the company where Basaldua worked. The conspirators intended to use the stolen information to quicken the process of obtaining Federal Aviation Administration certification for another company’s product. 

“Basaldua chose to steal the secrets of a U.S. company rather than commit to putting in the money and hard work that is necessary to succeed, and for that he will pay,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI takes the theft of intellectual property very seriously, and we will not allow anyone to circumvent the system by using deceptive practices to steal protected information.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer G. Solari and Steven H. Lee. 

AUGUSTA, GA:  A Texas man who distributed child pornography through an Internet messaging service has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison.

James Lee Kinnison, 23, of Cypress, Texas, was sentenced to 121 months in prison after pleading guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Kinnison to pay restitution of $15,000, to serve 15 years of supervised release, and to register as a sex offender after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“James Kinnison appeared to be a stellar student with a bright future – but his exploitation of countless child victims is horrific,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to hold accountable anyone who harms our most vulnerable citizens.”

As described in court documents and testimony, agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) in October 2018 were conducting an investigation of a suspected child pornography distributer when they discovered Kinnison was sharing videos and images of child pornography to a private online messaging forum. At the time, Kinnison was a student and tutor at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. He later was interviewed and arrested by agents with Homeland Security Investigations after he admitted sharing images of child pornography to the online forum.

For purposes of sentencing, more than 52,000 images of child pornography were attributed to Kinnison.

“The GBI will continue to work tirelessly to protect innocent child victims of online exploitation,” said GBI Director Vic Reynolds. “We are grateful for the relationships we maintain with our federal partner agencies to bring these offenders to justice.” 

“These perpetrators think they can share their filth and hide from justice by using the anonymity of the Internet, but they are wrong,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Sentences like this send a loud message to Kinnison and others like him that this behavior will not be tolerated, and they will be held accountable.”

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.

The case was investigated by the GBI and Homeland Security Investigations, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.

SAVANNAH, GA:  A North Carolina man who ordered and illegally sold highly addictive opioids through the Dark Web has been sentenced to federal prison.

Wesley McKeehan, 34, of Salisbury, N.C., was sentenced to 26 months in prison after pleading guilty to Distribution of Oxycodone, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered McKeehan to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Use of the Dark Web for buying and selling illegal drugs is a growing menace that worsens the deadly opioid crisis in our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our law enforcement partners perform outstanding work in identifying and intercepting this illegal commerce, and holding digital drug dealers like McKeehan accountable.”

As described in court documents and testimony, agents with the Savannah Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration were alerted about a suspected contraband package being delivered to the business address of Eric Schmidt, 50, of Savannah. Agents searched the business after the package was delivered, and McKeehan later was charged after Schmidt admitted purchasing the opioid Oxycodone from McKeehan and allowing McKeehan to use his mailing address for importing the drugs from an overseas distributor via the Dark Web.

Schmidt was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to an Information charging him with Acquiring, Possession of Controlled Substances by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, or Subterfuge.

“Mr. McKeehan thought he could hide his illegal operations through the use of the Dark Web,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “But criminals who operate on the Dark Web should know that the DEA and its law enforcement partners will not rest until all of the distributors of this poison are caught and prosecuted.”

“The opioid crisis has devastated countless communities across the country, so when we are able to stop the flow of illegal opioids, it greatly benefits our communities and undoubtedly saves lives,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI will continue to use its resources and partnerships to identify and arrest those involved in this destructive crime, to protect our communities.”

“Illegal trading of opioids poses a significant health threat,” said Henry DeBlock, Area Port Director Savannah. “Through hard work, dedication and tireless efforts of Customs and Border Protection officers, we’ll continue to target shipping of illegal narcotics at our ports of entry before they can harm our communities.”

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Savannah Resident Office, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Savannah-Chatham Counter Narcotics Team, and the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew A. Josephson.

SAVANNAH, GA:  Multiple defendants are in custody on drug trafficking charges after the unsealing of a federal indictment targeting an open-air drug market in Savannah.

The 56-count indictment in USA v. Fields et al. details charges against 14 defendants, primarily Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charge carries a statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison and substantial financial penalties, followed by at least four years of supervised release.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Our law enforcement partners, particularly the Savannah Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration, have done an outstanding job in identifying and disrupting drug distribution networks in our neighborhoods,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “This continuing effort will make our communities safer by removing illegal drugs and guns from our streets.”

The investigation targeted an open-air illegal drug market in a community known as “The Dips” on the west side of Savannah, alleging drug sales taking place at least as early as Oct. 1, 2020, with the 14 defendants indicted as part of a conspiracy to possess and distribute crack cocaine. Those charged in the indictment are:

• Charles Aimee Fields Jr., a/k/a “Slim,” 33, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; seven counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine; and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
• Anthony Pointer, 33, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and three counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Maurice Johnson, a/k/a “Bowlegs,” 36, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and five counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Trevyaughn Howard, 24, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and 12 counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Keaonte Winford, 22, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and five counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Marcus Royal, a/k/a “Stretch,” 24, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and four counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Patrick Frazier, 26, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and six counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Terry Lynch Jr., a/k/a “Stank,” 25, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and three counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Deandra Brown, a/k/a “D,” 32, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and three counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Shaqille Jones, 28, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and two counts of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Dominique Bostic, 27, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and one count of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Michael Passmore, 30, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and one count of Distribution of Crack Cocaine;
• Tyree Lee, 33, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and one of Distribution of Crack Cocaine; and,
• Walter Wingster, 36, of Savannah, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Crack Cocaine; and one count of Distribution of Crack Cocaine.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“We have put in a substantial amount of time and investigative work on this investigation due to known drug activity and citizen safety concerns,” said Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter. “We believe the arrests of these individuals will have a direct and immediate impact on crime and safety in the Cuyler-Brownsville neighborhood.”

“All participating agencies played a crucial role in the eradication of this crack cocaine trafficking organization,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division Robert J. Murphy. “These types of targeted enforcement actions are effective in fulfilling our mission of protecting and serving the citizens of Savannah.”

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Savannah Resident Office; the Savannah Police Department Strategic Investigation Unit; and the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team, and is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Noah J. Abrams and Frank M. Pennington II. 

SAVANNAH, GA:  A Chatham County man with a violent history has been sentenced to federal prison after admitting he distributed cocaine and marijuana.

Okemi Mon Lawton, 45, of Savannah, was sentenced to 90 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Marijuana, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Lawton forfeited $19,640.31 seized during the investigation, and U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood also ordered Lawton to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Okemi Lawton is a prime example of a violent, unrepentant criminal whose removal from our streets automatically makes our communities safer,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure such gun-toting drug dealers have no place in our neighborhoods.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Lawton was on supervised release following a prison sentence for a federal firearms charge in August 2018 when the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team began investigating suspected drug distribution from Lawton’s Savannah residence. With assistance from the FBI, agents documented Lawton’s sale of cocaine, and a subsequent search of the residence discovered drugs, drug manufacturing and packaging materials, nearly $20,000 in cash, and a semi-automatic pistol.  

In addition to his prior felony conviction for illegal gun possession, Lawton previously served time in state prison for a manslaughter conviction and for cocaine distribution.

“Some criminals never learn from their arrests no matter how many times they are punished for them, and Lawton is certainly one of them,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Together with our state and local law enforcement partners, the FBI is determined to make our streets safer by removing violent felons like him and making them pay the price with long prison terms.”

The case was investigated by CNT and the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank M. Pennington II and Noah J. Abrams.

AUGUSTA, GA:  A former U.S. Probation Officer for the Southern District of Georgia admitted he lied about performing his supervisory duties.

Enoch Eller Jr., 47, of Augusta, pled guilty to one count of False Statements as charged by an Information, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and a period of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.  

“The effectiveness of court-ordered services depends on rock-solid integrity from all employees,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “While the dishonesty of one officer is troubling, it should not negatively reflect on the exceptional service of the Southern District’s probation officers.”

As charged in the information, from about March 2020 to June 2021, Eller falsely claimed that he performed drug testing and conducted home visits for certain individuals under his supervision when he had not done so.

The case was investigated by the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.

SAVANNAH, GA:  The Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office is in consultation with the FBI regarding the circumstances of the Aug. 7, 2020, death of Julian Lewis of Screven County, Ga.

In accordance with U.S. Department of Justice policy, no further information regarding the matter will be publicly disclosed unless or until a determination is made to pursue federal prosecution. 

WASHINGTON: A strategically coordinated, six-week nationwide federal law enforcement action has resulted in criminal charges against 138 defendants, including 42 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, in 31 federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various healthcare fraud schemes for more than $1.4 billion in alleged losses.

The enforcement action includes criminal charges against six defendants here in the Southern District of Georgia. The charges announced involve some defendants accused of committing a kickback conspiracy involving cancer genomic testing claims, and other defendants accused of illegal distribution of opioids. The Southern District of Georgia’s announced charges account for more than $50 million in collective billings to federal health benefit programs.

Nationwide, the charges target approximately $1.1 billion in fraud committed using telemedicine, more than $29 million in COVID-19 health care fraud, more than $133 million connected to substance abuse treatment facilities, or “sober homes,” and more than $160 million connected to other health care fraud and illegal opioid distribution schemes across the country.

“The vigilance of our law enforcement partners plays a vital role in identifying illegal healthcare activities throughout the nation and the Southern District of Georgia,” said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “We will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to gain illicit profit by criminally exploiting our nation’s healthcare safety net.”

“This nationwide enforcement action demonstrates that the Criminal Division is at the forefront of the fight against health care fraud and opioid abuse by prosecuting those who have exploited health care benefit programs and their patients for personal gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The charges announced today send a clear deterrent message and should leave no doubt about the department’s ongoing commitment to ensuring the safety of patients and the integrity of health care benefit programs, even amid a continued pandemic.”

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, in conjunction with its Health Care Fraud and Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force program, and its core partners, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as part of the department’s ongoing efforts to combat the devastating effects of health care fraud and the opioid epidemic. The Southern District of Georgia worked with the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and agents from HHS-OIG, FBI, and DEA in the investigation and prosecution of these cases.

Telemedicine Fraud Cases

The largest amount of alleged fraud loss charged in connection with the cases announced today – more than $1.1 billion in allegedly false and fraudulent claims submitted by 43 criminal defendants in 11 judicial districts nationwide – relates to schemes involving telemedicine: the use of telecommunications technology to provide health care services remotely. In the Southern District of Georgia, two marketers were charged by way of Information relating to their role in a conspiracy that bought and sold cancer genomic (“CGx”) testing for Medicare beneficiaries. Court documents allege that the CGx tests bought in that conspiracy were ultimately billed to Medicare by a series of laboratories for more than $45 million.

The continued focus on prosecuting health care fraud schemes involving telemedicine reflects the success of the nationwide coordinating role of the Fraud Section’s National Rapid Response Strike Force.

“Healthcare crimes hurt every taxpayer and put profits over the care of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It puts a tremendous strain on our federally-subsidized health care programs. The FBI and our federal partners will hold accountable anyone who usurps healthcare assistance for their personal greed.”

The focus on telemedicine fraud also builds on the telemedicine component of last year’s national takedown and the impact of the 2019 “Operation Brace Yourself” Telemedicine and Durable Medical Equipment Takedown, which resulted in an estimated cost avoidance of more than $1.9 billion in the amount paid by Medicare for orthotic braces in the 20 months following that takedown. The Southern District of Georgia has played a major role in these nationwide schemes, having charged more than 30 defendants responsible for a collective $1.6 billion in billings across Operation Brace Yourself, Operation Double Helix, and Operation Rubber Stamp. The Southern District of Georgia kickback charges announced today are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Porter.

Cases Involving the Illegal Prescription and/or Distribution of Opioids and Cases Involving Traditional Health Care Fraud Schemes

The cases announced today involving the illegal prescription and/or distribution of opioids include 19 defendants, including several charges against medical professionals and others who prescribed more than 12 million doses of opioids and other prescription narcotics while submitting more than $14 million in false billings. The cases that fall into more traditional categories of healthcare fraud include charges against more than 60 defendants who allegedly participated in schemes to submit more than $145 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and private insurance companies for treatments that were medically unnecessary and often never provided.

In the Southern District of Georgia, three South Georgia medical professionals were indicted for illegal distribution of opioids and conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The indictment alleges that the charged physician, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant operated a nominal pain clinic that distributed opioids with no legitimate medical purpose. These charges are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew A. Josephson and Bradford C. Patrick.

“The public relies on medical professionals to be part of the solution to our nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic – not to worsen the problem by distributing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose," said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of HHS-OIG. “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate unscrupulous providers who prey on vulnerable members of the public.”

“Medical practitioners who unlawfully dispense dangerous, addictive and potentially deadly substances do so under the guise of a stethoscope and white coat to hide behind a veil of legitimacy. They commit fraudulent acts and prey on patients who are addicted to prescription opioids and are unfit to administer care to anyone,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “DEA and its law enforcement partners stand united and are committed to bringing those to justice who engage in these unlawful acts.”

Prior to the charges announced as part of today’s nationwide enforcement action and since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,600 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for approximately $23 billion. In addition to the criminal actions announced today, CMS, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, announced 28 administrative actions to decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

The National Rapid Response Strike Force also announced prosecutions across the country today regarding $128 million in COVID-19 fraud, cases and nearly $1 billion in fraud cases involving sober homes.

A complaint, information or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

To view Assistant Attorney General Polite’s remarks, go to: https://www.justice.gov/opa/video/assistant-attorney-general-kenneth-polite-jr-delivers-remarks-health-care-enforcement.

DUBLIN, GA:  A key figure in a Laurens County-area drug trafficking conspiracy has been sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison.

Rodney Jarrod Denson, a/k/a “RD,” 45, of Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 262 months in prison after pleading guilty Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, and Marijuana, and Conspiracy to Possess Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug-Trafficking Crime, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen also ordered Denson to pay a fine of $2,000 and to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“This defendant, along with his co-conspirators, was a major distributor of illegal narcotics in the Laurens County area until our law enforcement partners infiltrated and dismantled their illicit operation,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “This sentence sends a clear message that we will be relentless in pursuing and removing those who spread poison in our communities.”

“By slamming the prison door on these illegal drug traffickers, we hope it sends a message to the citizens of Laurens County that we mean business in our pursuit of those who threaten the safety of our community,” said Larry Dean, Sheriff of Laurens County. “We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in our fight to remove violent, drug-dealing criminals from our neighborhoods.”

Dubbed Operation “The Hole,” the investigation targeted a drug trafficking ring moving large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana into the Laurens County area as early as 2013. Coordinated by agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, along with the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office and the Ocmulgee Drug Task Force, the investigation in 2018 identified a shack in Montrose, Ga., called “The Hole” as the “trap house,” or central distribution site, complete with a retail-like service counter for drug transactions, along with other Dublin-area locations for drug distribution.

During the execution of multiple federal search warrants, agents seized significant quantities of narcotics, including pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana; 24 firearms, including assault-style guns with high-capacity magazines; nearly $37,000 in cash, gold, and silver with an estimated value of $90,000; devices for pressing bricks of cocaine; pill presses; a stolen vehicle; and two stolen generators with lights. Additional drugs, firearms, and cash also were discovered during arrests of the defendants.

Denson, a member of a street gang with a long record of felony convictions, was indicted on the federal charges in January 2020 along with seven codefendants – six of whom, like Denson, have since pled guilty to felony charges. Four of them have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 121 months, while two others await sentencing.

The final co-defendant, Quaveris Leshaun Mims, a/k/a “Strong,” 49, of Dublin, Ga., is awaiting trial and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“Methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana, are dangerous drugs that pose a clear and present danger to the community,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division Robert J. Murphy. “Because of the collective law enforcement effort, this poly-drug trafficker received a well-deserved prison sentence. This case is a shining example of what can be achieved when DEA and its law enforcement partners present a united front to protect our communities from the scourge of drug abuse.”

“Laurens County residents can take comfort in this sentence because it will keep this predatory gang member off their streets,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Denson and his co-conspirators were a plague in the community with their drugs, guns and violence that threatened the safety of the citizens who live there. Our commitment to dismantling these predatory gangs will never end.”

Operation “The Hole” was investigated under the 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.

Agencies involved in the investigation include the DEA; the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF); the FBI; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office; Ocmulgee Drug Task Force; the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office; the Wilkinson County Sheriff’s Office; the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office; the Washington County Sheriff’s Office; the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office; and the Warner Robins Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia G. Rhodes and Henry W. Syms Jr.

WAYCROSS, GA:  Three healthcare professionals have been charged in a 52-count federal indictment unsealed Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

The indictment describes an alleged conspiracy to distribute “massive quantities” of controlled substances, including highly addictive opioids, in violation of federal law, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charges include one count of Distribution and Dispensation of Controlled Substances Resulting in Death by Dr. Wallace Steven Anderson, 67, of Douglas, Ga., a charge that carries a minimum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison, up to life. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Our efforts to eradicate the illegal distribution of dangerous and addictive drugs in our neighborhoods target both the shadowy street dealers and white-coated prescribers alike,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to bring to justice those who would spread poison in our communities.”

Named in the indictment are:

• Dr. Anderson, charged with Conspiracy; Distribution and Dispensation of Controlled Substances Resulting in Death; 48 counts of Unlawful Distribution and Dispensation of Controlled Substances; Conspiracy to Commit Healthcare Fraud; and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments;
• Bridgett Stephanie Taylor, 55, of Broxton, Ga., a Nurse Practitioner working under Anderson, charged with Conspiracy; eight counts of Unlawful Distribution and Dispensation of Controlled Substances; Conspiracy to Commit Healthcare Fraud; and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments; and,
• Wandle Keith Butler, 57, of Douglas, a Physician Assistant working under Anderson, charged with Conspiracy; three counts of Unlawful Distribution and Dispensation of Controlled Substances; Conspiracy to Commit Healthcare Fraud; and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments.

 

As described in the Indictment, Anderson is the owner of Steve Anderson, PC, and Steve Anderson Behavioral Health, both located in Douglas, Ga. Taylor and Butler worked for Anderson. The indictment alleges that from February 1, 2016, to September 30, 2020, the three operated or assisted in operating “nominal pain management and addiction facilities which dispensed controlled substances without any legitimate medical purpose.”

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated under the 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.

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Savannah Resident Office; the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations; and Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew A. Josephson and Bradford C. Patrick.

SAVANNAH, GA:  At least seven defendants face federal charges including those for illegally possessing firearms after separate indictments by a U.S. District Court grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia, while recent court action against others includes guilty pleas and criminal sentences. 

The cases are being investigated in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, and continue the initiative in the Southern District of Georgia to reduce violent crime by targeting those who illegally possess firearms.

“As we continue to combat violent crime with our law enforcement partners, it is imperative that we take guns out of the hands of those who cannot legally possess them,” said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “The typical excuse for felons carrying firearms is that they need them ‘for protection,’ but the fact is that they are the ones endangering our community.” 

In the past three years, nearly 700 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction on a previous felony. That charge carries a statutory penalty upon conviction of up to 10 years in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.

Defendants named in federal indictments from the September 2021 term of the U.S. District Court grand jury include:

• Anthony Franzel Hamilton, 60, of Savannah, charged with one count of Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery; five counts of Interference with Commerce by Robbery, and one count of Attempted Interference with Commerce by Robbery; six counts of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence; Conspiracy to Possess a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence; and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
• Alfonzo Lee Merriweather, 34, of Augusta, charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Crack Cocaine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; 
• Terry Kennard Isaacs, 36, of Beaufort, S.C., charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of Marijuana and MDMA;
• James Deon Green, 50, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
• Gregory Mitchell, 56, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;   
• Tyrone Dion Lyons Sr., 37, of Hephzibah, Ga., charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and,
• B’Quan Ferguson, 31, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

August indictments against two other defendants related to the drug trafficking investigation in Operation Wynner Storm in Wilkes County, Ga., also were recently unsealed, and both have had initial appearances in U.S. Magistrate Court:

•  Demont Latrell Gresham, 33, an inmate at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, is charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and,
• Tavaris Kexon Ramsey, 43, an inmate at the Colquitt County Correctional Institute in Moultrie, Ga., is charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Additional defendants recently have been adjudicated on federal charges that include illegal firearms possession:

• Delvon Brown, 35, of Savannah, sentenced to 77 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.  Brown, who has multiple prior felony convictions, had a pistol in his waistband when arrested during a traffic stop Sept. 5, 2019, by Savannah Police officers.
• Burney Cobb, 41, of Port Wentworth, Ga., sentenced to 77 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Port Wentworth Police officers arrested Cobb after finding guns during a search of his residence as part of an investigation into the sale of a stolen firearm. Cobb has a lengthy history of felony convictions including those for firearms and assault. A codefendant, Deonte Brown, 27, also of Port Wentworth, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
• Alisha Nicole Howard, 35, of Augusta, was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Transfer of an Illegal Firearm, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Distribution of Methamphetamine, Fentanyl and Heroin. A co-defendant, Brian Thomas Myers, 35, of Beech Island, S.C., was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to Transfer of an Illegal Firearm – a sawed-off shotgun – to an ATF agent. The two were charged after an August 2018 ATF investigation.  
• Matthew Moore, 31, of Savannah, was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Moore was charged after Savannah Police officers found Moore in possession of three pistols while investigating a disturbance at a Savannah motel in June 2019. Moore has prior convictions including family violence, and was on probation at the time of his arrest. 
• John Calvin Young Jr., 35, of Rincon, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to an Information charging him with Possession of a Stolen Firearm. During a traffic stop on Oct. 24, 2020, Port Wentworth Police officers found Young in possession of a pistol that later was determined to have been stolen.
• Dequan Beniman, 26, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Beniman was arrested in January 2020 when Savannah Police officers responding to a report of a man on a bicycle carrying firearms found Beniman with two loaded pistols in his pockets, along with a bag containing additional ammunition.
• Tyshaun Richey, 25, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah Police officers arrested Richey in October 2019 after a traffic stop and brief foot chase and found him in possession of a pistol. 
• Tron Smith, 34, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah Police officers responded in June 2019 to a report of a man brandishing a firearm at a motel and found a pistol inside the room Smith occupied. Smith’s criminal history includes multiple convictions for family violence and obstruction of law enforcement officers.    
• Jerry Allen Edenfield, 31, of Swainsboro, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Edenfield was arrested Feb. 10, 2020, when Swainsboro Police officers investigating a domestic violence report found two pistols and a rifle during a search of Edenfield’s residence. 
• Ashley Nichole Pitts, 30, of Hinesville, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Pitts was arrested in January 2019 when Liberty County Sheriff’s deputies responded to her home to investigate a complaint about a man brandishing a firearm. Accompanied by an officer from the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, deputies found two pistols in Pitts’ home.
• Timothy Lee Cheeks, 33, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of Ammunition by a Convicted Felon. Cheeks was arrested on an outstanding warrant for a state methamphetamine possession charge in January 2021 when Richmond County deputies who were investigating a disturbance at a motel found a loaded pistol in Cheeks’ possession.
• Matthew James Gordon, 27, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Stolen Firearm. He was charged in January 2020 after Savannah Police officers found a pistol in Gordon’s jacket pocket.
• Dennis O’Keefe Harris, 41, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Harris was arrested Jan. 1, 2019, by Savannah Police officers who found a pistol in his waistband after he ran during a traffic stop.
• Charles Walker, 54, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah Police officers found Walker carrying a pistol in October 2020 while investigating reports of a shooting.
• Jamol Marquise Cuyler, 33, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Cuyler was changed in January 2020 by Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies investigating a report of a road-rage incident. Cuyler’s criminal history includes multiple convictions for armed felonies.

These cases also are being investigated under the Prosecutor to Prosecutor Program (P3), in which federal and state prosecutors collaborate to determine the most appropriate venue for adjudication of alleged crimes.

Agencies investigating these cases include the ATF, the FBI, the Savannah Police Department, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, the Port Wentworth Police Department, the Swainsboro Police Department, and the Rincon Police Department.

The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office Assistant U.S. Attorneys, including Henry W. Syms Jr., Patricia G. Rhodes, John P. Harper III, Tania D. Groover, Noah J. Abrams, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Darron J. Hubbard.

Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense. 

For more information on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.

AUGUSTA, GA:  A Columbia County man who admitted possessing thousands of images of child pornography has been sentenced to federal prison.

Jordan Logan, 36, of Grovetown, Ga., was sentenced to 78 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Logan to pay a total of $57,000 in restitution to multiple victims, to serve 15 years of supervised release after completion of his prison sentence, and to register as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Every image of child pornography represents the continuing victimization and exploitation of innocent children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “With our vigilant law enforcement partners, we will relentlessly strive to hold accountable those who commit these heinous crimes.”

As described in court documents and testimony, agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were alerted when investigators from the Hall County Sheriff’s Office discovered electronic activity involving files of child pornography. With investigators from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, GBI agents identified Logan and contacted him at his residence, where a subsequent search found more than 30,000 images of child pornography on electronic devices in Logan’s possession.

“The GBI will continue to work tirelessly to protect innocent child victims of online exploitation,” said Vic Reynolds, Director of the GBI. “We are grateful for the relationships we maintain with our federal partner agencies to bring these offenders to justice.”

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.

The case was investigated by the GBI and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.

AUGUSTA, GA: Two Georgia companies and their owners have agreed to pay $900,000 to resolve allegations that they provided unapproved substitute parts to the U.S. Army and that they violated the Buy American Act.

The settlement, by Southeastern Equipment Co., Inc., SECO Parts and Equipment Co., and their owners, B. Roy Smith and Byron M. Morris (collectively, “SECO”), resolves allegations under the False Claims Act that SECO knowingly provided unapproved substitute parts through the U.S. Army’s Simplified Nonstandard Acquisition Program (SNAP) and violated the Buy American Act by providing parts manufactured in a non-qualifying country, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

“Defense contractors have an obligation to provide the government what they say they will,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes. “We will continue to vigorously pursue contractors that do not honor their word and follow the law when doing business with our armed services.”

“Providing unapproved substitute parts to military programs is unacceptable,” said Frank Robey, director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “This settlement is yet another example of how our agents and law enforcement partners will pursue fraud at every level to protect our military’s interests.”

“This settlement makes it clear to those who provide the government with substitute parts that they will be held accountable for violating their commitments,” stated Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce, of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. “DCIS and our investigative partners work to ensure integrity in the acquisition process and readiness for our military.”      

The settlement resolves allegations that were originally part of United States ex rel. Royal v. Southeastern Equipment Company, Inc. et al., a federal lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens with knowledge of false claims to file suit on behalf of the government and to share in the recovery.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick J. Schwedler and Jonathan A. Porter.

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

AUGUSTA, GA:  A Lincoln County man has been sentenced to prison after admitting that he operated a cockfighting venue.

Lanier Augustus Hightower Jr., 65, of Lincolnton, Ga., was sentenced to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to Sponsoring and Exhibiting an Animal in an Animal Fighting Venture, said Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Hightower to pay a fine of $500, prohibited him from owning or keeping any birds or fowl or attending any events related to birds or cockfighting, and to serve two years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“This sentence sends a strong message that animal fighting will not be tolerated in the Southern District of Georgia,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “In coordination with our law enforcement partners, we will target and eliminate these barbaric operations and hold the organizers and participants accountable.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Hightower worked with others in sponsoring a Dec. 14, 2019 cockfight on his farm in Lincoln County. The federal indictment in that case named Hightower and 38 codefendants and remained sealed until June 2020 when multiple law enforcement agencies, led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General, raided the cockfighting venue called Little Sunset in Midville, Ga., operated by William Shannon Scott, 48. Scott operated his venture on alternating weekend schedules with another venue called The Red Barn, owned by Wendell Allan Strickland, 67, of Swainsboro, Ga.,

Scott and Strickland both have pled guilty to charges related to the cockfighting ventures and await sentencing in U.S. District Court.

As part of his plea agreement, Hightower will forfeit to the U.S. Government the 100.04 acres of land in Lincoln County where the cockfights were held. Both Scott and Strickland also face forfeiture of their farms as part of their sentences.

“The brutal practice of watching animals mutilate each other to death holds no entertainment value and will not be tolerated,” said Jason Williams, Special Agent in Charge, USDA-OIG.  “This prosecution should serve as notice that our agency, in conjunction with our state and federal partners, will hold these individuals accountable for their interest in this heinous blood sport.”

Chief Judge Hall ordered Hightower to report to prison Nov. 8.

The cases are being investigated by the USDA-OIG and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier A. Cunningham and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rock.

SAVANNAH, GA:  A member of a violent Chicago street gang, two Ghost Face Gangsters and a conduit for Mexican drug cartels have been sentenced to decades in federal prison for their roles in a major drug trafficking conspiracy that funneled large amounts of methamphetamine and other drugs into coastal and south Georgia.

Leroy Bozarth, a/k/a “Jack Turtlehead,” 38, of Springfield, Ill., was sentenced to 235 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute a Quantity of Methamphetamine, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Bozarth to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Making our communities safer means removing the violent criminals who endanger our neighborhoods, especially those affiliated with street gangs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “As an enforcer for such a gang, Leroy Bozarth used violence, fear and intimidation as tools of his drug trade. Our streets will be safer with him and his co-conspirators behind bars.”

Bozarth was one of 35 defendants indicted as part of Operation Stranded Bandit, as described in the indictment unsealed in December 2020 in USA v. Baker et al. Other key figures sentenced in U.S. District Court include:

• Dustin Lax, a/k/a “Wing Nut,” a/k/a “Tyrone White,” 45, of Garden City, Ga., sentenced to 188 months in federal prison and ordered to serve three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and To Distribute a Quantity of Methamphetamine. Lax, a captain in the violent, white supremacist Ghost Face Gangsters criminal street gang, has 34 prior felony convictions and currently faces state charges related to a murder during a home invasion, and an aggravated assault case in which he is accused of dragging a woman from a car so his partner could shoot her in the back.
• Victor Lopez-Blanco, a/k/a “Victoriano,” 51, of Jonesboro, Ga., sentenced to 292 months in prison and ordered to serve five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine. Lopez-Blanco, a resident of Mexico and illegal alien who first entered the United States in 2003, served as a conduit for methamphetamine shipped from violent Mexican cartels through the Atlanta area and into Savannah.
• Heather Sloan, a/k/a “Penny,” a/k/a “Honey,” 35, of East Dublin, Ga., sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to serve five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 5 Grams or More of Methamphetamine. Sloan, an affiliate of the Ghost Face Gangsters, facilitated meth distribution throughout middle and coastal Georgia.

The investigation and indictments grew from other major gang-related drug trafficking prosecutions in Operation Vanilla Gorilla and Operation Who’s Laughing Now. The investigations and prosecutions, under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, targeted widespread, gang-related drug trafficking organizations in the Southern District and beyond.

An occasional resident of Port Wentworth, Ga., Bozarth is a previously convicted felon with decades-long criminal history that started when he sold crack cocaine as a pre-teen. As a member and “muscle” for the Almighty Simon City Royals – a violent Chicago street gang – Bozarth was part of a conspiracy that transported illegal drugs into the Southern District from Mexico and Atlanta, aided by multiple criminal street gangs including the Ghost Face Gangsters, La Raza/SUR 13, Bloods, Vice Lords, Gangster Disciples, and Aryan Brotherhood.

The conspirators operated inside and outside Georgia’s prison system, using drones and other means to smuggle cell phones into prisons so that incarcerated conspirators could continue to coordinate the trafficking operations from Mexico to Georgia. 

Of the 35 defendants charged in Operation Stranded Bandit, at least 24 have entered guilty pleas with many of them sentenced, while seven are awaiting trail and are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“ATF will continue to dedicate federal resources in conjunction with those crucial law enforcement contributions of other federal, state and local agencies to the pursuit of eradicating and forestalling criminal gang activity,” said Beau Kolodka, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“This notorious drug trafficking organization distributed poison (methamphetamine) to the coastal and south Georgia community while causing fear through means of violence and intimidation,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Atlanta Field Division. “Through law enforcement partnerships, these defendants will spend well-deserved time in prison.”

“Illegal drugs and criminal street gangs have no place in Georgia. These defendants have been threatening the safety of communities for years,” said Vic Reynolds, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). “We will continue to work diligently along with our local and federal partners to investigate and dismantle drug trafficking organizations.”

The case 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.

The case is being investigated by agencies including the ATF, DEA, GBI, and the Savannah-Chatham Counter Narcotics Team, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys E. Greg Gilluly Jr. and Jennifer J. Kirkland.

A dual Canadian and U.S. national was sentenced today to 140 months in federal prison for conspiring to launder tens of millions of dollars stolen in various wire and bank fraud schemes – including a massive online banking theft by North Korean cyber criminals.

Ghaleb Alaumary, 36, of Mississauga, Ontario, was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering. As part of his sentence, Alaumary is also required to pay more than $30 million in restitution to victims and serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison sentence.

“International money launderers provide critical services to cybercriminals, helping hackers and fraudsters to avoid detection and hide their illicit profits,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Small and large companies, a university, banks and others lost tens of millions of dollars in this scheme. Alaumary’s sentence today reflects how seriously the Department of Justice considers the critical role that money launderers play in global cybercrime.”

“This defendant served as an integral conduit in a network of cybercriminals who siphoned tens of millions of dollars from multiple entities and institutions across the globe,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes for the Southern District of Georgia. “He laundered money for a rogue nation and some of the world’s worst cybercriminals, and he managed a team of co-conspirators who helped to line the pockets and digital wallets of thieves. But U.S. law enforcement, working in conjunction with its partners throughout the world, will bring to justice fraudsters who think they can hide behind a computer screen.”

“The sentencing of the defendant in this case speaks to the value of investigative collaboration across borders,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven R. Baisel of the U.S. Secret Service’s Atlanta Field Office. “In spite of the complicated, international nature of this criminal enterprise, the defendant and his co-conspirators were still brought to justice.” 

“The defendant in today's case laundered millions of dollars in losses from companies, universities and banks,” said Assistant Director Calvin A. Shivers of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division. “Today's sentence demonstrates that cybercriminals who launder illegitimate profits can't evade detection from the FBI and our law enforcement partners.”

“This case is an example of our relentless determination to hold criminals accountable no matter how sophisticated their crimes may seem,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Phil Wislar of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. “The arrest and sentencing of cyber criminals like Alaumary, who feel safe hiding behind a computer screen, are only possible through persistent investigative efforts of the FBI and our close collaboration with our U.S. and international partners.”

According to court documents, Alaumary and his coconspirators used business email compromise schemes, ATM cash-outs and bank cyber-heists to steal money from victims and then launder the money through bank accounts and digital currency. He previously pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Georgia in two money laundering cases. 

In the first case, which was filed and investigated in the Southern District of Georgia, Alaumary conspired with others who sent fraudulent “spoofed” emails to a university in Canada in 2017 to make it appear the emails were from a construction company requesting payment for a major building project. The university, believing it was paying the construction company, wired $11.8 million CAD (approximately $9.4 million USD) to a bank account controlled by Alaumary and his co-conspirators. Alaumary then arranged with individuals in the United States and elsewhere to launder the stolen funds through various financial institutions.

Weeks later, Alaumary arranged for a co-conspirator in the United States to make several trips to Texas to impersonate wealthy bank customers in a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims’ accounts using the victims’ stolen personally identifiable information.

In the second case, which was transferred to the Southern District of Georgia from the Central District of California for his guilty plea and sentencing, Alaumary recruited and organized individuals to withdraw stolen cash from ATMs; he provided bank accounts that received funds from bank cyber-heists and fraud schemes; and, once the ill-gotten funds were in accounts he controlled, Alaumary further laundered the funds through wire transfers, cash withdrawals, and by exchanging the funds for cryptocurrency. The funds included those from a 2019 North Korean-perpetrated cyber-heist of a Maltese bank. Other victims of Alaumary’s crimes included banks headquartered in India, Pakistan and Malta, as well as companies in the United States and U.K., individuals in the United States and a professional soccer club in the U.K.  

Alaumary is the fourth defendant in this investigation to plead guilty in federal court to fraud felonies and be sentenced in the Southern District of Georgia. In 2019, co-defendant Uchechi Ohanaka was sentenced to 125 months’ imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release; Jennal Aziz was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release; and Kelvin Desangles was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.

The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by its Global Investigative Operations Center, the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section; the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Khaldoun Shobaki of the Central District of California prosecuted the case.

BRUNSWICK, GA:  A convicted felon and gang member has been sentenced to more than a decade of additional time in federal prison after admitting he threatened a witness and a judge.

Wilbert Stephens, 29, of Brunswick, Ga., was sentenced to 174 months in prison after pleading guilty to Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, and Mailing Threatening Communications, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Stephens to pay $7,500 in restitution to one of the victims, and to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term, which runs consecutively to the 120-month term Stephens already was serving for a prior conviction. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Serial criminal Wilbert Stephens already faced 10 years in prison for illegally possessing ammunition,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Rather than take his well-deserved medicine, he chose to compound the crime by threatening those who held him accountable.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Stephens was indicted in U.S. District Court in 2018 along with 23 other defendants as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy. He later pled guilty to an Information charging him with Possession of Ammunition by a Convicted Felon and was sentenced in June 2020 to 10 years in prison. While being held in the Glynn County Detention Center awaiting transfer to prison, Stephens asked a relative to kill a witness, and wrote and mailed a threatening letter to a judge.  

“Stephens tried to use fear and intimidation to avoid being brought to justice. For this he will face steeper consequences,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This sentence sends the message that the FBI will not permit cooperating witnesses and judges to be targeted like this, in an attempt to undermine the rule of law.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcela C. Mateo.

SAVANNAH, GA: A Savannah woman has been sentenced after admitting she “structured” cash withdrawals, which were part of a scheme to steal millions of dollars from other people’s retirement accounts.

Karen Dickerson, 52, of Savannah, was sentenced in U.S. District court to 51 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to Structuring to Evade Currency Transaction Reports, said David H. Estes, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Dickerson also forfeited ownership of five bank accounts with deposits totaling $195,815.73, was ordered to pay $644,915.15 in restitution, and must serve three years of supervised release after completion of her prison sentence.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Karen Dickerson’s decades-long criminal record makes it abundantly clear that she is an unrepentant thief with zero regard for her victims,” said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “She sank to a new low with these crimes, and hopefully this sentence will give her ample time to reflect on her behavior while protecting the community from her greed.”

As described in court documents and testimony, other individuals gained access to victims’ retirement funds and transferred nearly $3 million into various bank accounts, including one Dickerson controlled. From at least June 2018 to November 2018, Dickerson knew she was helping launder ill-gotten proceeds when she made 22 withdrawals totaling $213,745 from her bank accounts. Most of the withdrawals were in amounts less than $10,000 to evade currency transaction reports. After Dickerson handed over a predetermined amount of cash, she kept the remaining amount of transferred funds as payment.

“People work hard and save for retirement to enjoy later on in life,” said Special Agent in charge Steven Baisel, U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office. “Criminals like Karen Dickerson, who help those who prey on these victims, will be caught and brought to justice.”

The case remains under investigation.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service in coordination with Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier Cunningham, Section Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Lee and John P. Harper III. 

SAVANNAH, GA:  An Effingham County resident has been sentenced to federal prison after admitting he aimed a powerful laser at commercial aircraft.

Roger Floyd Hendricks, 48, of Rincon, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to Aiming a Laser Pointer at an Aircraft, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. also ordered Hendricks to serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“With the public’s assistance, the FBI did an outstanding job of identifying Roger Hendricks as the man responsible for aiming a powerful laser at inbound Savannah aircraft,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Laser strikes are potentially deadly not only for pilots blinded by the lasers, but also for air travelers and residents in the path of aircraft. Hendricks is being held accountable for his criminal actions.”

The investigation began in February 2020 when the Federal Aviation Administration asked the FBI in February for assistance in locating the source of three separate green laser strikes on aircraft inbound to the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport. A victim pilot, who is a retired Marine Corps officer, helped pinpoint the origin of the strikes, and after Hendricks was identified and questioned by FBI agents, he later admitted responsibility and pled guilty May 3 in U.S. District Court.

“Hendricks needlessly threatened the safety of the passengers and crew of a commercial aircraft. It is important for the public to understand that pointing any laser, even a small one, at an aircraft can obscure the pilot’s view and jeopardize the safe operations of the aircraft,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Hopefully this sentencing will send a message that the FBI will not tolerate those engaging in this dangerous behavior and that they will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”   

The case was investigated by the FBI, and is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer G. Solari and Joshua S. Bearden.

BRUNSWICK, Ga: Two Brunswick men face substantial federal prison terms after admitting to the armed robberies of six Brunswick area businesses in August 2020.

Zaeveon Deveon Cooper, 21, and Marquese Bolden, 20, both of Brunswick, await sentencing in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery, and Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Their guilty pleas subject the two to a minimum of seven years and maximum of life in federal prison for the firearms charge, in addition to up to 20 years for the robbery charge, along with restitution and a period of supervised release after completion of their prison terms.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“These two men terrorized store employees and customers during their three-week robbery spree, halted thanks to excellent work from the FBI and police officers from Glynn County and Brunswick,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Along with our law enforcement partners, we will relentlessly pursue violent criminals who threaten the safety of our communities.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Cooper and Bolden admitted carrying firearms during robberies of two fast-food restaurants and four convenience stores in Brunswick from Aug. 10 to Aug. 30, 2020. In each robbery, the men brandished guns and took money from the store employees and cash registers at gun point. After the two were identified and arrested, investigators recovered one 9mm pistol used in the robberies.

Bolden is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 4; sentencing for Cooper has not yet been set.

“These two men terrorized innocent businesses and were a threat to the community every day they were on our streets,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Once again, these arrests would not have been possible without a joint effort with our law enforcement partners. Those partnerships are invaluable when violent criminals spread fear throughout our communities.”

The FBI, Brunswick Police Department, and Glynn County Police Department investigated the case, which is being prosecuted for the United States by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.