Northern District of Iowa

A Dubuque man who was found by Dubuque police officers in possession of heroin and cocaine on November 17, 2017, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Gregory Fugi Anderson, Jr., age 31, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine near Orange Park in Dubuque, Iowa.

At the plea hearing, Anderson admitted he was stopped by the police in Dubuque while walking down the street.  Anderson agreed to let the police search him.  During the search, police found multiple packages of heroin and cocaine in his possession.  In a later interview with officers, Anderson admitted that he was going to sell the heroin and cocaine in Dubuque. 

United States Attorney, Peter E. Deegan, Jr., said “Heroin and other opioids are killing Iowans are at an alarming rate.  Public safety demands that we aggressively pursue those who choose to violate the law by selling these dangerous drugs.”

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Anderson remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Anderson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 1 year imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 60 years’ imprisonment, a $4,000,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and at least 6 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department, Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-CR-01001-LRR.

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A Guatemalan man who had been deported two times and illegally returned to the United States and then used false identification documents to obtain a job was sentenced today to eight months in federal prison.

Felix Figueroa-Sanchez, age 30, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Wright County, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 26, 2017, guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of identification documents and one count of illegal reentry into the United States after a felony conviction.

At the guilty plea, Figueroa-Sanchez admitted that on December 15, 2016, he used a social security card bearing a fake name when completing employment forms to obtain a job in Eagle Grove, Iowa.  The name and social security account number on the card used by Figueroa-Sanchez belonged to a United States citizen.  Figueroa-Sanchez also admitted that he illegally returned to the United States after being deported in October 2008 and again in February 2010.  Figueroa-Sanchez was also convicted of a felony offense in May 2008 for using a false name and false identification documents to obtain a job in Postville, Iowa.  Immigration agents became aware of Figueroa-Sanchez’s illegal return to the United States in August 2017 following Figueroa-Sanchez’s arrest and conviction for assault in Wright County, Iowa, while he falsely was using the name of the United States citizen.

Figueroa-Sanchez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Figueroa-Sanchez was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Figueroa-Sanchez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-3044.

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A Cedar Rapids man who assaulted a federal employee was sentenced on February 15, 2018, to 21-months in federal prison.

Nicholas Stephen Corporon, age 40, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 28, 2017, guilty plea to assaulting a federal employee.  In a plea agreement, Corporon admitted he knowingly and forcibly assaulted a United States Marshal Service Task Force officer when the officer attempted to arrest him.  Specifically, Corporon resisted when the officer attempted to place him in handcuffs, and then ran from the officer.  Once the officer caught Corporon following a foot chase, Corporon again struggled and resisted being placed in handcuffs.  As a result of the struggle, the officer was physically injured. 

Corporon was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Corporon was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he was ordered to make $97,936.42 in restitution to the victim.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Corporon is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by United States Marshal Service. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-cr-0049.

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A man who possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and who possessed several firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime, including an AR-15 rifle, was sentenced February 12, 2018, to 15 years in federal prison.

Travis Daniel Counsell, 48, from Rockford, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 6, 2017, guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Information provided by the United States at the sentencing and change of plea hearings showed that on February 7, 2017, law enforcement was called to Mercy Medical Center North Iowa to investigate a subject that presented himself in the emergency room with a gunshot to the foot.  Counsell reported he had shot himself in the foot with an AR-15 rifle.  Counsell was a convicted felon, and not able to legally possess firearms.  A search warrant was obtained for Counsell’s residence.  Located during the search warrant was the loaded AR-15, a loaded .45 caliber handgun, and approximately two pounds of high purity methamphetamine.  Counsell knowingly possessed the guns in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime.

Counsell was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Counsell was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment on the drug count and to 60 months’ imprisonment on the gun count, to be served consecutively.  A special assessment of $200 was imposed.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Counsell is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and investigated by the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office, and the Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE),

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-3015.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

A man who conspired to manufacture methamphetamine was sentenced February 12, 2018, to 15 years in federal prison.

Todd Edward Daniels, 49, from Kanawha, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 9, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.  Daniels was previously convicted of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in 2005.

At the guilty plea, Daniels admitted his involvement in a conspiracy that manufactured more than 50 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine between the fall of 2016 and May, 2017.  The investigation monitored Daniels’ activities, and purchases of pills containing pseudoephedrine by users/associates of Daniels.  Daniels knew the pseudoephedrine pills he and his friends/associates purchased would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.  A search warrant at Daniels residence revealed multiple items used in clandestine methamphetamine laboratories.

Daniels was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Daniels was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Daniels is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and investigated by the Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE), the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force and the Britt Police Department.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 16-3021.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

Two men have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.

Matthew Vance Query, age 34, of Mason City, Iowa, received his prison term after an August 10, 2017, guilty plea; and Ronald William Frank, age 31, of Mason City, Iowa, received his prison term after an August 28, 2017, guilty plea.  Query and Frank each pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. 

Query and Frank admitted their involvement in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in northern Iowa and Colorado between 2012 and April 7, 2017.  On April 3, 2017, search warrants were executed as part of the investigation into Frank and Query, including a traffic stop, search of Query’s residence, a storage unit and a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu driven by Frank.  Located in the vehicle was marijuana, and a container containing 378.9 grams of ice methamphetamine.     During the search of Query’s residence, marijuana, scales, packaging materials and cash was located.  Stolen property was located at Query’s residence and storage unit.  Query was responsible for the distribution of more than 500 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine.  Frank was responsible for the distribution of more than 150 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine.

Query and Frank were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Query was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  Frank was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Both Query and Frank are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and investigated by the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force and the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-3026.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

 

A Mexican woman who aided and abetted her husband in absconding from justice in Nebraska and assumed a new identity in Iowa was sentenced on February 14, 2018, to three months in federal prison.

Rosa Nevarez-Fallad, age 60, a citizen of Mexico and lawful permanent resident of the United States residing in Fremont, Nebraska, received the prison term after a September 28, 2017, guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of an identification document.

At the guilty plea, Nevarez-Fallad admitted she used a Social Security card knowing that the card was forged or unlawfully obtained.  In 2016, Nevarez-Fallad’s husband, Fernando Nevarez-Carreon, faked a heart attack and fled Nebraska to avoid sentencing in federal court for conspiracy to distribute counterfeit documents and aggravated identity theft.  In July 2016, Nevarez-Fallad and Nevarez-Carreon both completed employment paperwork in Farley, Iowa, to obtain jobs under false names and used identification cards bearing the names and Social Security Numbers of United States citizens.  Nevarez-Carreon avoided apprehension by law enforcement until March 2017, when he was arrested at his place of employment in Farley.  Nevarez-Carreon was sentenced to more than six years in prison in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska in June 2017 and is awaiting sentencing in the Northern District of Iowa for one count of unlawful use of an identification document.

Nevarez-Fallad was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Nevarez-Fallad was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.  She must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Nevarez-Fallad is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-1026-LRR.

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A Chicago man who stole more than $36,000 worth of merchandise from various home improvement stores across four states was sentenced on February 14, 2018, to eight months in federal prison.

Paris Lawrence, age 29, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a September 28, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce.

In a plea agreement, Lawrence admitted that between February 2016 and May 2016, he participated in over 25 thefts from various home improvement stores in Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana.  Lawrence and his co-conspirators would enter a store, steal various items, and later return the items for store credit.  During the course of the conspiracy, Lawrence stole more than $36,000 worth of merchandise.   

Lawrence was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Lawrence was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he was ordered to make $36,438.33 in restitution to Lowe’s Home Improvement.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Lawrence is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ravi T. Narayan and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department.    Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 16-CR-1020.

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Two men from Linn County, Iowa, who stole guns from two federally licensed firearms dealers in June 2017 were each sentenced on February 13, 2018, to more than ten years in federal prison.

John Gillespie, age 19, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 31, 2017, guilty plea to two counts of theft from a federal firearms licensee.  Jeremy Reynolds, age 18, from Hiawatha, Iowa, received the prison term after September 1, 2017, guilty plea to two counts of theft from a federal firearms licensee.

At their plea hearings, both Gillespie and Reynolds admitted to breaking into America’s Second Amendment Firearms in Cedar Rapids on June 3, 2017, and Midwest Shooting in Hiawatha on June 16, 2017.  In total, the two stole 60 guns from the two stores.  Law enforcement officers arrested Reynolds near Midwest Shooting shortly after the break in.  Officers arrested Gillespie several hours later after locating him in a car containing a duffle bag with multiple guns stolen from Midwest Shooting.  After his arrest, Gillespie attempted to discard one of the guns stolen from America’s Second Amendment Firearms in the back of a police car. 

Gillespie was sentenced to 131 months’ imprisonment.  Reynolds was sentenced to 121 months’ imprisonment.  Both Gillespie and Reynolds were ordered to pay a special assessment of $200 and were ordered to make $12,996.96 in restitution to the two businesses.  Both most also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Gillespie and Reynolds were each sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.   In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

Gillespie and Reynolds are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Hiawatha Police Department, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, and the Loves Park Police Department.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. Gillespie’s case file number is 17-CR-00050 and Reynolds’ case file number is 17-CR-00051.

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Cameron James Lensmeyer, age 20, and Evan Paul Sage, age 20, from Cedar Falls, Iowa, have each been charged with one count of possessing with intent to distribute carfentanil, as well as other drugs.  Sage has also been charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.­  The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed on February 9, 2018, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids. 

The Indictment alleges that, on or about June 30, 2017, Lensmeyer possessed with intent to distribute carfentanil and marijuana.  It further alleges that, on the same date, Sage possessed with intent to distribute carfentanil, marijuana, and cocaine, and that he possessed a firearm in furtherance of those drug crimes. 

Evidence at a detention hearing held on February 13, 2018, showed that, in June 2017, the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force conducted a search of Lensmeyer’s and Sage’s shared Cedar Falls residence.  During the search, investigators seized over 800 blue pills that appeared to be prescription oxycodone pills (depicted below), over $20,000 in cash, over 30 grams of cocaine, over 600 grams of marijuana, and a loaded .32 caliber handgun.  Later testing determined that the blue pills contained carfentanil.  Carfentanil is a powerful narcotic that is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.  It is not approved for use by humans, but is used as an elephant tranquilizer.

 

 

If convicted, Lensmeyer faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.  If convicted on all charges, Sage faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $5,250,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.­ 

Both men appeared on February 9, 2018, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.  Trial for both men is set for March 26, 2018. 

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The case is being investigated by the Tri‑County Drug Enforcement Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-CR-2004-LRR.

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A man who distributed heroin to a customer who overdosed was sentenced today to three years in federal prison.

Derrick Devale White, age 25, from Markham, Illinois, received the prison term after an August 9, 2017 guilty plea to possessing with intent to distribute heroin within 1,000 feet of a playground and two schools.

Evidence at sentencing showed that White distributed approximately 1 gram of heroin to a man on July 17, 2017.  The man used the heroin and then lost consciousness.  The man’s father called 911 and reported that his son was suffering from a heroin overdose, and that he was not breathing well.  Emergency responders arrived at the scene and found the man unconscious, with labored breathing.  When police officers attempted to move the man, he became responsive and sat up.  White admitted in a plea agreement that, the day after the overdose, an undercover officer sent him a text message and ordered another gram of heroin.  Shortly thereafter, White arrived at the proposed meeting location, which was within 1,000 feet of a playground, an elementary school, and a middle school.  He was arrested in possession of approximately .6 gram of heroin. 

White was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  White was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 6-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

White is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-10310LRR.

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A man who escaped from custody at the Gerald Hinzman Center in June 2017 was sentenced on February 12, 2018, to more than a year in federal prison.

Gabriel Mangum, age 41, from Iowa City, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 24, 2017, guilty plea to one count of escape from custody.

At the plea hearing, Mangum admitted that, on June 20, 2017, he was in the custody of the federal government and imprisoned at the Gerald Hinzman Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  He further admitted that on that day he left the Gerald Hinzman Center to go to work, but did not return to the Center on that day.  Mangum was later arrested by the United States’ Marshal Service on July 12, 2017.       

Mangum was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Mangumwas sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Mangum is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lyndie Freeman and investigated by the United States’ Marshal Service. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-56.

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A man who has been wanted by the Army since the early 1980s was sentenced today to more than 3 years in federal prison.

Daryl Grigsby, age 57, most recently from Dyersville, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 6, 2017, guilty plea to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of misuse of a Social Security Number.

Information from the sentencing hearing showed that Grigsby was convicted at court-martial of aggravated assault while serving in the Army in the 1980s.  Following his conviction and while pending additional criminal charges, Grigsby ran from the Army.  He was later convicted of bank robbery in federal court Oregon in the 1990s while using the name “Aaron Davis.”  In 2001, Grigsby absconded from federal supervised release.  At some point after his bank robbery conviction, Grigsby began using the identity and Social Security Number of another person.  He continued to use that identity until his arrest in Iowa last year.  Grigsby is still wanted by the Army.  He was on the Army’s most wanted list until his arrest in Iowa.   

Grigsby was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Grigsby was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $200 was imposed and he was ordered to make $19,401 in restitution to the Social Security Administration and $46,118.48 in restitution to the State of Iowa.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Grigsby is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-1020.

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A Mexican man who had previously been deported following state convictions for domestic abuse and false imprisonment was sentenced today to 112 days in federal prison.

Efren Palacios-Ramirez, age 29, a citizen of Mexico who had been living in Polk County, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 16, 2017, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien after a felony conviction.

At the guilty plea, Palacios-Ramirez admitted he illegally reentered the United States without permission after having been deported from the United States in December 2012.  Prior to his deportation, Palacios-Ramirez was convicted in Polk County, Iowa, of theft 5th degree in April 2012, and of domestic abuse and false imprisonment in October 2012.  At the time of his arrest in October 2017, Palacios-Ramirez provided law enforcement a false name and his true identity could not be verified until his fingerprints were analyzed by immigration officials.

Palacios-Ramirez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Palacios-Ramirez was sentenced to 112 days’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Palacios-Ramirez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-82.

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A Honduran man who had previously been deported following a federal conviction for illegal reentry was sentenced today to one year in federal prison.

Geovany Rodriguez-Carrasco, age 38, a citizen of Honduras who had been living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 1, 2017, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien after a felony conviction.

At the guilty plea, Rodriguez-Carrasco admitted he illegally reentered the United States without permission after having been last deported from the United States in August 2013.  Prior to his deportation, Rodriguez-Carrasco was convicted in July 2013 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien, a felony offense.  Rodriguez-Carrasco was also deported in 2004 following a misdemeanor conviction in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas for illegal entry into the United States. 

Rodriguez-Carrasco was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Rodriguez-Carrasco was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Rodriguez-Carrasco is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-87.

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A felon who illegally possessed two firearms in October 2016 was convicted by a judge today, following a bench trial in federal court last month in Cedar Rapids.

Christopher Matthew Davies, age 47, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  The verdict was returned today after about a 40-minute bench trial held on January 11, 2018.

The evidence at the trial showed that on September 8, 2016, the Iowa District Court for Linn County found Davies guilty of forgery and burglary, both felony offenses.  On October 25, 2016, after Davies pled guilty to those charges, but before his sentencing hearing, he knowingly possessed two firearms.  Specifically, Davies travelled to his mother’s home in Cedar Rapids, retrieved two firearms, and then pawned those firearms for $400.  Davies later attempted to retrieve the firearms from the pawnshop, but the pawnshop refused to return the firearms after the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System instructed the pawnshop to delay, and ultimately deny, any firearms transfer to Davies.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Davies remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Davies faces up to ten years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and up to three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.   In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-26-LRR.

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A man who farmed land in north central Iowa and made false statements to a bank and to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation and committed bankruptcy fraud was sentenced on February 7, 2018, to more than a year in federal prison.

Clint Devries, age 36, from Lake City, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 26, 2017, guilty plea to two counts of making false statements to influence financial institutions and one count of bankruptcy fraud.

In a plea agreement, Devries admitted that, in 2013, 2014, and 2015, he lied to a bank about the amount of crops he had in storage and the value of other property he was using for collateral in order to obtain farm operating loans from the bank.  Devries ended up defaulting on more than $400,000 in farm loans he received from the bank.  Devries also admitted he lied to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation from 2012 to 2015.  Devries falsely understated the amount of crops he produced each year in order to obtain crop insurance proceeds to which he was not entitled.  During those years, defendant received more than $450,000 in crop insurance proceeds than he would have received but for his lies.  Finally, Devries admitted that, after filing for bankruptcy in October 2015, he lied to the bankruptcy case trustee regarding having sold some of his crops.   

Devries was sentenced in Sioux City by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Devries was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. 

A special assessment of $300 was imposed, and he was ordered to make $1,190,696.12 in restitution to the victims of his false statements.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Devries was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marsha; on a date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt. The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture – Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Office of the United States Trustee in the Northern District of Iowa. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 17-cr-3041.

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A man who received child pornography pled guilty on February 6, 2018 in federal court in Cedar Rapids. 

David Myers, age 54, from Greene, Iowa, was convicted of one count of receipt of child pornography.  At the plea hearing, Myers admitted that, between 2005 and 2014, he used the Internet to receive child pornography.  In a plea agreement, Myers admitted that, in 1998, he was convicted of three charges of sexual abuse in the third degree. 

Sentencing before Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Myers was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  Myers faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.” 

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR 17-2077.

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A man who conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced January 29, 2018, to more than seven years in federal prison.

 

Daniel Hodges, 35, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 15, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

At the guilty plea, Hodges admitted he was involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than a pound of methamphetamine in the Sioux City area from January 2017 through about April 29, 2017.  During a traffic stop on April 29, 2017, officers seized over 90 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine from Hodge’s person.

 

Hodges was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Leonard T. Strand.  Hodges was sentenced to 90 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 4-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

Hodges is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Mikala M. Steenholdt and investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force consisting of officers from the Sioux City Police Department, South Sioux City Police Department, Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration, Iowa Criminalistics, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-4044.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced on January 29, 2018, to 15 years in federal prison.

 

Justin Stephen Ries, 49, from Milford, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 15, 2017, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

At sentencing and during prior court proceedings, the government presented evidence that on June 12, 2017, law enforcement executed three search warrants and seized a total of 380.5 grams of methamphetamine, 169.76 grams of marijuana, 0.51 grams of fentanyl/heroin, two fentanyl transdermal patches, 29 unused syringes, fifteen shotgun shells, and $24,874.00 in U.S. currency from Ries.  Evidence also showed that Ries accumulated 31 criminal convictions during his lifetime, including convictions for felony drug offenses, violent assaults, and driving while intoxicated.

 

Ries was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Ries was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 6-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

Ries is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Ajay J. Alexander and investigated by the Iowa Great Lakes Drug Task Force, specifically the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Spencer Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-4043-LTS.

 

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A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced January 18, 2018, to over 8 years in federal prison.

 

Richard Helfrich, 34, from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 19, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

At the guilty plea, Helfrich admitted his involvement in a conspiracy that distributed at least 5 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine between January 2016 and July 2016.  In May, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at defendant’s residence in Coulter, Iowa, locating methamphetamine and marijuana.  Helfrich admitted to selling methamphetamine and owning a lockbox that previously contained methamphetamine.

 

Helfrich was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.  Helfrich was sentenced to 100 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Helfrich is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and investigated by the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and Butler County Sheriff’s Office. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 16-3046.

 

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A man in possession of stolen handguns, who also conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced January 24, 2018, to 12 years in federal prison.

 

Stephen Scott Smith, 30, from Austin, Texas, received the prison term after a September 7, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Smith was involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than 500 grams of methamphetamine from May 2016 through November 23, 2016.  On November 23, 2016, after receiving information from a confidential source, Smith was arrested and discovered to possess two stolen Glock handguns.  In addition, during a vehicle search, agents discovered Smith possessed a third handgun and approximately 1/4 pound of crystal methamphetamine.  Smith was bringing methamphetamine in large quantities from Texas for resale in Sioux City. 

 

Smith was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett.  Smith was sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Smith is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and investigated by the Tri State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-4018.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

 

A man who conspired to distribute cocaine and possessed firearms pled guilty January 25, 2018, in federal court in Sioux City.

 

Jovon Naylor, 27, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and illegal possession of a firearm.

 

At the plea hearing, Naylor admitted to conspiring to distribute cocaine in the Fort Dodge area from January through September 2016.  Naylor was involved in a number of controlled purchases of cocaine with law enforcement.  Naylor also admitted that when he distributed cocaine, he possessed firearms during the drug deals.  Drug dealers typically carry firearms for protection of their drugs and drug proceeds.  Naylor further admitted to previously being convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon in the Iowa District Court for Webster County on April 13, 2012.  Federal law prohibits persons previously convicted of a felony from possessing firearms. 

 

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Naylor remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Naylor faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, $300 in special assessments, and at least three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

 

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Mikala M. Steenholdt and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Fort Dodge Police Department, DCI Criminalistics Laboratory, and the Webster County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 16-3049.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

A man who tossed a loaded semi-automatic pistol and a bag of marijuana into a wooded area near the I-380 and Glass Road interchange in Cedar Rapids after a car accident in July 2017 was convicted by a jury today after a three-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

 

David Tachay Heard, age 39, from Cedar Rapids, was convicted on all counts, which included possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  The verdict was returned this afternoon following about two hours of jury deliberations.

 

The evidence at trial showed that, on July 30, 2017, Heard ran a red light and crashed into another car at the Glass Road and I-380 Interchange.  Heard drove the car to a more secluded spot on Redbud Road and tossed the bag of marijuana and the firearm into the nearby brush.  By chance, passerby in a vehicle saw him do so.  That passerby called 911.  After Heard was arrested, the passerby received calls from a girlfriend of an associate of Heard, telling the passerby that Heard had his name and address.

 

An investigation revealed that Heard’s cousin purchased the firearm in 2013 from a now-defunct federal firearms licensee in the Cedar Rapids area.  Heard’s cousin testified at trial that he did not give Heard permission to use the firearm, because he knew Heard was a felon.

 

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes.  The case was referred to the United States Attorney’s Office by the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

 

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Heard remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Heard faces up to ten years’ imprisonment on three counts and a mandatory consecutive minimum sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.    In sum, Heard is subject to a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $1,250,000 fine, $400 in special assessments, and nine years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.  Heard’s potential punishment was increased because he is a recidivist offender; he was convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa in 2000 on two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, respectively.

 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and Lyndie M. Freeman and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-83-LRR.

 

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U.S. Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr. announced today that the Northern District of Iowa collected $5,488,359.87 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2017.  Of this amount, $1,906,625.31 was collected in criminal actions and $3,581,734.56 was collected in civil actions. 

 

Additionally, the Northern District of Iowa worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $3,910,786.48 in civil cases pursued jointly with these offices.           

           

Overall, the Justice Department collected just over $15 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2017. 

 

“We take seriously our duty to collect money owed to taxpayers and crime victims,” Deegan said.  “Our total collections over the past fiscal year, once again, exceeded the total amount of our direct budget.  Our entire office is committed to holding wrongdoers financially responsible for their actions and sending the message that crime doesn’t pay.”

 

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims.  The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.  While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

 

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.

 

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $1,643,754 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2017.  Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

 

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A man who broke into a semi-truck and stole the driver’s firearm was sentenced yesterday to nine years in federal prison.

 

Willie Johnson, age 46, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 29, 2017, guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

 

In a plea agreement, Johnson admitted he knowingly possessed the firearm, despite being a felon with previous convictions including assault by display of a weapon, carrying weapons, and possession of crack cocaine with intent to deliver.  Evidence at sentencing showed that Johnson obtained the firearm after breaking the windows of a semi-truck during a domestic dispute, and stealing the driver’s firearm when she fled to get help.  Johnson was apprehended later that day with the firearm in his possession.  Evidence also showed that Johnson, a former Mixed Martial Arts fighter, threatened the driver and her family members on multiple occasions in an attempt to dissuade her from testifying about his theft of the firearm.   

 

Johnson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Johnson was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.   In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

 

“Fighting violent crime is one of the highest priorities of this office and the Department of Justice,” said United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr.  “Through Project Safe Neighborhoods, we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to send armed offenders to prison and make our communities safer.”

         

Johnson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ravi T. Narayan and Lyndie M. Freeman and was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-2019.

 

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Two Dubuque men who robbed the Fidelity Bank and Trust in Maquoketa, one of whom also sold heroin that led to an overdose and possessed firearms as a felon, were sentenced yesterday and today to federal prison terms.

 

Gregory Stapleton, age 32, from Dubuque, Iowa, received a 24-year prison sentence after an August 14, 2017, guilty plea to aiding and abetting bank robbery, distribution of heroin, furanyl fentanyl, and acryl fentanyl, resulting in serious bodily injury, and possession of a firearm as a felon.

 

Dante Rhodes, age 41, also from Dubuque, received a 9-year prison sentence after an August 7, 2017, guilty plea to bank robbery.

 

 At their respective guilty plea hearings, Rhodes and Stapleton both admitted their involvement in robbing the Fidelity Bank and Trust in Maquoketa on March 8, 2017.  According to a criminal complaint and sentencing memoranda, as well as information discussed at his sentencing hearing, Rhodes entered the bank, approached a teller, and handed a note that read “Give me your money, I have a gun.”  The teller placed over $6,500 into Rhodes’s bag.  While Rhodes was in the bank, Stapleton sat in a car across the street, listening to a police scanner.  Stapleton had visited the bank the day prior to the robbery to “case” the bank, and provided the cars used by Stapleton and Rhodes in the robbery.

 

After Rhodes left the bank, he got into his car and drove towards Dubuque.  When police attempted to pull him over, Rhodes fled at a high rate of speed.  As he was being chased by police, Rhodes drove over 100 miles per hour in busy traffic.  Rhodes crashed into multiple vehicles prior to his arrest.  One motorist was injured and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

 

In addition to his involvement in the March 2017 bank robbery, Stapleton was also sentenced for possessing firearms as a felon in July 2016, and selling heroin in January 2017.  Rhodes was not involved in these other crimes.

 

According to the government’s sentencing memorandum and information discussed at Stapleton’s sentencing, Stapleton, who had multiple prior felony convictions, asked a heroin user to purchase firearms for Stapleton.  The heroin user purchased a total of five guns for Stapleton.  Stapleton provided heroin in exchange for the firearms.  Stapleton, in turn, provided the five guns to his heroin source.

 

Stapleton sold heroin in the Dubuque area from at least as early as 2016 and up through his arrest in 2017.  In January 2017, Stapleton sold a mixture of heroin, furanyl fentanyl, and acryl fentanyl within 1000 feet of a playground.  The purchaser of that heroin and fentanyl mixture took the drugs to a third party who used the mixture and sustained a serious bodily injury as a result.         

 

Stapleton and Rhodes were both sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Stapleton was sentenced to 288 months’ imprisonment.  Rhodes was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment.  They were each ordered to make $7,743 in restitution to victims of the bank robbery offense, including the bank and the motorist who was injured in the pursuit.  Both Stapleton and Rhodes must serve a 3-year term of supervised release after their respective prison terms.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

“I want to thank the FBI and our local law enforcement partners for their excellent work on this very important case,” said United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr.  “My office is dedicated to helping keep our communities safe by holding opioid dealers and violent criminals accountable for their actions in federal court.” 

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

 

Both Stapleton and Rhodes are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lightfoot and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Maquoketa Police Department, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Dubuque Drug Task Force, the Dubuque Police Department, and the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-1022.

 

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A man who distributed heroin to a woman who died of an overdose in April 2017 was convicted by a jury today after a 3-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

 

Richard Leroy Parker, age 47, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of distribution of heroin within 1,000 feet of an elementary school and a playground, resulting in death, and also convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin within 1,000 feet of an elementary school and a playground.  The indictment also alleged that Parker had distributed cocaine that resulted in death, but the jury found Parker not guilty of distributing cocaine.  The verdict was returned this afternoon following about 2 hours of jury deliberations.

 

The evidence at trial showed that Parker obtained several grams of heroin in Chicago in April 2017.  On Easter Sunday, Parker brought the heroin to a residence in Dubuque.  Parker and others at the residence drank alcohol and smoked crack cocaine throughout the day.  Prior to midnight, Parker and a woman went into a back bedroom.  While inside the room, Parker gave the woman heroin, which she used.  Shortly after using the heroin, E.M. stopped breathing.  At approximately 12:20 a.m. on April 17, Parker called 911, and emergency responders arrived at the house.  Parker testified that, as emergency responders were attempting to save the woman’s life, he went into another room and hid the remaining heroin in a chair.  Investigators later found this heroin.  The attempts to resuscitate the woman were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead shortly after 1:15 a.m.

 

“Opioid abuse is at an all-time high in our country, and we all must do our part to combat it,” said United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr.  “This case serves as a sobering example of the human toll of this national crisis.  My office will spare no effort to prosecute those who traffic in heroin and contribute to this devastation.”  

 

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Parker remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Due to the fact that he has previously been convicted of four prior felony drug offenses, Parker faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment, a $4,000,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and at least 6 years of supervised release if he is released from imprisonment.

 

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-1034-LRR.

 

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A woman who made false statements in connection with a highway project was sentenced January 12, 2018, to a $34,432.02 fine.

 

Jenna Danielle Wilson, 31, from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, received the sentence after an August 7, 2017, guilty plea to making false statements in connection with a highway project.

 

At her guilty plea, Wilson admitted that between January 28, 2016, and July 28, 2016, she knowingly made false representations, false reports, and false claims with respect to the cost of work performed or to be performed or materials furnished or to be furnished in connection with the construction of a highway or related project approved by the Secretary of Transportation.  Wilson, while Vice-President of K&L Inc., also doing business as Circle A Construction Inc., submitted falsified Expanded Polystyrene Fill (EPS) invoices to general contractor, Godbersen-Smith Co., and ultimately, the Iowa Department of Transportation for stockpiled materials on the I-29 Sioux Interchange Project.  In all, Wilson fraudulently increased the amounts on the Benchmark invoices by $807,637.10.  Because the invoices were paid when they were submitted, the fraudulently inflated invoices, in effect, amounted to Wilson wrongfully writing K&L a no-interest loan, in an attempt to remedy K&L’s cash-flow problems.  Wilson saved K&L, through her fraudulent actions, approximately $34,000.

 

Wilson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Wilson was fined $34,432.02.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  She must also serve a two-year term of supervised release.

 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-4045.

 

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A man who distributed heroin laced with fentanyl that caused a near-fatal overdose was sentenced on December 27, 2017, to 30 years in federal prison.

 

Cordero Robert Seals, age 29, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 19, 2017, jury verdict finding him guilty of one count of distribution of heroin and fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury and one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.

 

Evidence at trial showed Seals sold heroin laced with fentanyl to a man in November 2016.  Seals and the man then drove to a convenience store on First Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids, where the man entered the store’s bathroom and injected the heroin/fentanyl mix.  Surveillance video from the store showed that about two minutes after the man left the bathroom, he lost consciousness and collapsed at the gas pump.  The video showed Seals re-entering the convenience store after the man overdosed, and then looking out to the pumps where the man had collapsed.  Seals then left the area without returning to the man’s vehicle.  Trial evidence also showed that in April 2017, Seals was arrested for an outstanding warrant by Cedar Rapids Police.  During a search, officers found six baggies of heroin laced with fentanyl, as well as nearly $3,800 in cash, in his pockets.

 

Seals was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Seals was sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $200 was imposed.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

Seals is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is CR17-00028-LRR.

 

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A man who created false documents to convince Farm Credit Services of America (FCSA) to give him and his son loans totaling more than $3.8 million was sentenced yesterday to 33 months in federal prison. 

 

Michael Royster, 53, from Clear Lake received the prison term after a guilty plea to providing false documents to FCSA. 

 

In a plea agreement, Royster admitted that, in an effort to get $3.8 million in credit for 2015 farming expenses, he created fake contracts to mislead FCSA into thinking that local cooperatives or other purchasers were storing more of his and his son’s corn and soybeans than what they actually had in storage.  Royster created the fake documents by cutting and pasting additional digits on the actual contracts and then making photocopies of the altered documents.  He admitted, for example, to falsifying a contract showing a cooperative had approximately 20,000 bushels of his corn by adding a 1 to make it appear as though the cooperative instead held 120,000 bushels.  As part of the plea agreement, Royster admitted to creating and using similar fake documents to get loans in 2011, 2012, and 2013. 

 

Royster was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Royster was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment, and a special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He was also ordered to make $1,133,821.31 in restitution to FCSA.  He must also serve a term of supervised release after the prison term. 

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacob A. Schunk and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-3018.

 

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A woman who used her position as the city clerk for the City of Delhi to steal more than $100,000 in public funds was sentenced yesterday to more than a year in federal prison. 

 

Angela Billings from Anamosa, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea to theft from a program receiving public funds.

 

In a plea agreement, Billings admitted that she held a position of public trust as the city clerk and that her position of trust contributed significantly to the commission and concealment of her crime.  She agreed that she stole more than $100,000 from the city by, among other means, using the city’s credit card for personal expenses and adjusting her own utility bills.  Billings also agreed she owes more than $130,000 in restitution, which includes costs the city incurred to conduct the audit that discovered the breadth of her crime.    

 

Billings was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Billings was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and she was ordered to pay $133,915.31 in restitution to the city.  She must also serve a term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

Public employees hold a special place in our society and are given a great deal of trust,” stated United States Attorney Peter Deegan.  “We are committed to holding those employees responsible when they betray that trust by stealing from the communities they are supposed to be serving.”

 

Billings was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacob A. Schunk and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-2032.

                   

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An eight-time felon who possessed a loaded firearm, and then assaulted and injured a Mount Vernon police officer during a traffic stop on Highway 30 in February 2017, was sentenced today to more than 20 years in federal prison.

 

Erwin Keith “Duffy” Bell, age 36, from Clinton, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 14, 2017, guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  At the guilty plea, Bell admitted he possessed a .22 magnum caliber revolver after eight prior felony convictions in Iowa and Illinois for, among other things, possession of controlled substances with the intent to deliver, firearms trafficking, extortion, and burglary.

 

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that Bell was a passenger in a car travelling westbound on Highway 30 on February 4, 2017.  When a Mount Vernon police officer attempted to arrest Bell, Bell struck the officer and fled.  After a brief chase, Bell “squared off” with the officer and resisted arrest.  Bell grabbed the officer’s duty baton and hit the officer with it.  Bell also attempted to reach for the officer’s waistband during the struggle.  After law enforcement officers subdued Bell, they found a loaded firearm on the ground.  Bell later threatened to “beat” the arresting law enforcement officer, spat on another law enforcement officer, and was combative at a Cedar Rapids hospital.

 

Bell was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Bell was sentenced to 248 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he was ordered to make $400 in restitution the City of Mount Vernon, Iowa.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

Bell is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mount Vernon Police Department, the Lisbon Police Department, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Mechanicsville Police Department, the Iowa State Patrol, the Clinton Police Department, the Davenport Police Department, the Eldridge Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file numbers are 17-mj-65 and 17-cr-27.

 

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Last week, four people from the Dubuque, Iowa area were sentenced to federal prison for participating in a fraud scheme that targeted more than 250 elderly victims across the United States.  The sentences were imposed in Cedar Rapids by United States District Judge Linda R. Reade.

 

Evidence at the sentencing hearings and prior court hearings showed that Carlos Rodriguez, Michael Marcov, Stephanie Marcov, and Shawn Vaassen were all involved in a scheme to defraud victims, who were generally elderly, around the country.  All four previously admitted that while they never made calls to victims, other individuals involved in the scheme called victims on the phone and told these victims that a relative was in jail.  The caller would then ask the victims to wire money via Western Union or Money Gram to get the relative released.  They further admitted that the money was being wired to various participants in the fraud who would pick up the wire transfers.  They further admitted that there were participants in and around Dubuque who received wire transfers from the victims and sent the proceeds of the fraud via wire transfer to other participants of the scheme often located in the Dominican Republic  

 

On December 13, 2017, Carlos Rodriguez, age 38, from Galena, Illinois, was sentenced to 79 months in federal prison after a May 9, 2017, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud.  At his sentencing hearing, the judge found that Rodriguez was a manager of the fraud scheme and had personally recruited numerous individuals in the Dubuque area to participate in the fraud and then directed their actions.  The judge found that Rodriguez was responsible for more than $750,000 in losses to 285 victims.  Rodriguez was ordered to pay $774,584.97 in restitution to the victims.

 

On December 13, 2017, Michael Marcov, age 26, from Hazel Green, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison after a May 19, 2017, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud.  At his sentencing hearing, the judge found that, after Marcov was recruited by Rodriguez to participate in the scheme, Marcov became a manager of the fraud scheme, recruited others to participate, and directed the actions of those he had recruited.  The judge found that Marcov was responsible for nearly $300,000 in losses to 111 victims.  In sentencing Marcov, the judge noted his extensive criminal history, including prior convictions for theft and domestic abuse.  The judge ordered him to pay $298,314.42 in restitution to the victims.

 

On December 14, 2017, Stephanie Marcov, age 28, from Hazel Green, Wisconsin, who is married to Michael Marcov, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison after a May 19, 2017, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud.  At her sentencing hearing, the judge found that Stephanie Marcov was responsible for more than $30,000 in losses to 14 victims.  The judge ordered her to pay $33,879.30 in restitution to the victims.

 

On December 14, 2017, Shawn Vaassen, age 22, from Asbury, Iowa, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison after a March 2, 2017, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud and one count of unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun.  At his sentencing hearing, the judge found that Vaassen was recruited by Rodriguez to participate in the scheme and later became a manager of the fraud scheme who recruited others to participate and directed the actions of those he had recruited.  The judge found that Vaassen was responsible for more than $250,000 in losses to 68 victims.  In sentencing him, the judge also noted that Vaassen had unlawfully possessed a sawed-off shotgun in an effort to intimidate some of the individuals he had recruited to participate in the scheme.  On September 23, 2016, Vaassen fired the sawed-off shotgun into the ceiling of a room at the Glenview Motel in Dubuque.  While no one was shot, Vaassen’s discharge of the gun caused one person to lose hearing in an ear and also damaged the motel room.  The judge also ordered Vaassen to pay $177,637.66 in restitution to the victims of the fraud scheme and $303.92 in restitution to the Glenview Motel for the damaged he caused to the hotel room.

 

All four individuals must also serve a term of supervised release after being released from prison.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

The prosecutions were part of the Elder Justice Initiative of the Department of Justice.  In June 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa was selected as one of 10 districts in the nation to form an Elder Justice Task Force (http://go.usa.gov/cSngj). The task force was assembled to foster a collaborative working relationship among all levels of government officials, advocacy groups for the elderly and the disabled, and others charged with the care and protection for these vulnerable groups. The goals include ensuring the integrity of all government expenditures by eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in health programs, and protecting some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens from harm, whether it occurs in nursing homes or other institutions or involves financial fraud schemes. To learn more about the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative, visit: https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/.

 

“Every day, elderly Iowans are plagued by fraudulent calls trying to trick them out of money,” said United States Attorney Peter Deegan.  “We will continue to work with our law enforcement and other partners to hold accountable those who prey on others’ generosity and concern for their relatives.  This office will also continue to prosecute the most dangerous criminals in our communities, including those like Shawn Vaassen who use firearms and threats of violence to commit their crimes.  I thank the Department of Homeland Security and the Dubuque Police Department for their hard work on this case.” 

 

Michael Marcov, Rodriguez, and Vaassen are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until each can be transported to a federal prison.  Stephanie Marcov was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

 

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Vavricek and Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security - Investigations and the Dubuque Police Department.

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file numbers are 17-CR-1001 and 17-CR-1004.

 

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A Fayette County felon, who possessed a shotgun and ammunition in a car in June 2016, was sentenced last week to more than fifteen years in federal prison.

 

Kyle Dwayne Boleyn, age 42, received the prison term after a June 29, 2017, guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  In a plea agreement, Boleyn admitted that, on June 16, 2016, he was a passenger in a Ford Mustang that was driving the streets of Oelwein, Iowa.  When law enforcement officers stopped the Mustang, they found defendant with a shotgun and ammunition.  They also found a number of materials that Boleyn intended to use to manufacture methamphetamine, including pseudoephedrine and Coleman fuel.  Boleyn already had a warrant for his arrest when he was found with the gun.  He also had at least seven prior felony convictions.  The convictions include convictions for delivery of methamphetamine, manufacture of methamphetamine, sexual abuse, and violation of a sex offense registry law. 

 

Boleyn was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett.  Boleyn was sentenced to 188 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  Boleyn must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Boleyn is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

 The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and investigated by the Oelwein Police Department. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 17-CR-31.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

A Dubuque man who committed perjury before a federal grand jury was sentenced last week to more than two years in federal prison.

 

John Michael Gronen, age 20, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 25, 2017, guilty plea to making a false declaration before a grand jury.  At the plea hearing and in a plea agreement, Gronen admitted that he testified falsely, under oath before a grand jury in the Northern District of Iowa on January 10, 2017.  Gronen testified that he had never seen a particular sawed-off shotgun, when he had seen another individual carrying the sawed-off shotgun in September 2016.  Further, Gronen falsely testified that no one was using drugs at his house on September 22, 2016, when he actually saw two people using cocaine and marijuana in his basement on that date.

 

Gronen was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Gronen was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system. Gronen was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-cr-31-LRR. 

 

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Over the last year, more than twenty people have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a methamphetamine and money laundering conspiracy centered in Marshalltown, Iowa.

 

Michael Vincent Woodbury Bent, age 38, from Dubuque, Iowa, received a 300-month prison term after a November 15, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

 

Dennis Sharkey II, age 51, from Dubuque, Iowa, received a 140-month prison term after a November 23, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. 

 

Adam Fullbright, age 38, from Dubuque, Iowa, received a 58-month prison term after a November 23, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

 

Chris Nauman, age 31, from Dubuque, Iowa, received an 85-month prison term after an October 27, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

John Husemann, age 52, from Dubuque, Iowa, received a 24-month prison term after a December 21, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Heather Harris, age 38, from Waterloo, Iowa, received a 42-month prison term after a November 17, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Zach Miller, age 28, from Waterloo, Iowa, received a 90-month prison term after a November 3, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Jacob Burton, age 36, from Waterloo, Iowa, received a 154-month prison term after a December 21, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Edward Behrens, age 52, from La Crosse, Wisconsin, received a 53-month prison term after a December 28, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Chad Ellis Weyland, age 38, from Waterloo, Iowa, received a 144-month prison term after a February 21, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

 

Deis Ray, age 41, from Waterloo, Iowa, received an 80-month prison term after an October 17, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Jay Seehase, age 38, from Waterloo, Iowa, received a 240-month prison term after a February 9, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Kevin Hemmer, age 42, from Waterloo, Iowa, received a 78-month prison term after a February 9, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

   

Aldo Omar Lopez Martinez, age 23, of Marshalltown, Iowa, received a 360-month prison term, after a March 23, 2017, jury verdict finding him guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  

 

Adan Sanchez-Chavez, age 26, of Marshalltown, Iowa, received a 240-month prison term after a December 29, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

 

Roque Rodriguez Arellano, age 33, of Marshalltown, Iowa, received a 48-month prison term after a January 3, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Susana Martinez Arreola, age 30, of Marshalltown, Iowa, received a 24-month prison term after a December 20, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

 

Michael Corwin, age 31, of Marshalltown, Iowa, received a 151-month prison term after a December 1, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Alejandro Hernandez, age 39, of Marshalltown, Iowa, received a 42-month prison term after a December 28, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Alfredo Morales, age 26, of Des Moines, Iowa, received a 120-month prison term after a December 28, 2016, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

Isaias Lopez Martinez, age 40, of Marshalltown, Iowa, received a 144-month prison term after a May 4, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. 

 

Ashley Marie Dean, age 30, of Waterloo, Iowa, received a 65-month prison term after a May 8, 2017, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. 

         

Evidence at trial, and other court hearings throughout the case, showed that as early as the summer of 2013, a group of individuals agreed with each other to distribute methamphetamine.  The group was centered in Marshalltown, Iowa, and was responsible for distributing hundreds of pounds of ice methamphetamine throughout Northern Iowa.  Members of the conspiracy returned cash from the sale of methamphetamine to Mexico, either by wire transfer or by using cars to smuggle cash across the border.  The investigation cumulated on May 9, 2016, when investigators executed 29 search warrants in Iowa and Wisconsin, and seized over $250,000, six pounds of methamphetamine, and 14 firearms.  The methamphetamine had a street value of approximately $272,880. 

 

All defendants were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand and were ordered to pay a special assessment and to serve a term of supervised release after their prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of Federal Bureau of Investigation, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force (Waterloo Police Department; Cedar Falls Police Department; Waverly Police Department; Bremer County Sheriff’s Office; Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office; LaPorte City Police Department; Evansdale Police Department; Hudson Police Department), Mid Iowa Drug Task Force (Marshalltown Police Department; Marshall County Sheriff’s Office; Tama County), and Dubuque Drug Task Force (Dubuque Police Department; Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office). 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file numbers are 16-cr-1021, 16-cr-2027, 16-cr-2028, 16-cr-2046, and 17-cr-2025.

 

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A Mexican man who had previously been deported two times was sentenced on December 12, 2017, to 18 months in federal prison.

 

Ramiro Abarca-Martinez, age 29, a native and citizen of Mexico illegally residing in Tama County, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 14, 2017, guilty plea to illegal reentry of a removed alien after a felony conviction.

 

Abarca-Martinez admitted he illegally reentered the United States without permission in 2014 after having been deported from the United States in November 2009 and in November 2012.  Abarca-Martinez was first deported in 2009 after being convicted in Idaho of felony possession of cocaine.  On August 3, 2017, Abarca-Martinez was convicted in Iowa District Court for Tama County of the felony offense of burglary in the third degree.

 

Abarca-Martinez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Abarca-Martinez was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Abarca-Martinez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-58.

 

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A man who fired shots at a campus church was sentenced today to the statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison.

 

Darius Devon Nickelous, age 23, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 1, 2017, jury verdict finding him guilty of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

 

Evidence at trial showed that Nickelous fired a revolver multiple times at the Wesley Foundation Church on January 17, 2017, during a party hosted by a fraternity.  The Wesley Foundation Church is located on the University of Northern Iowa’s campus in Cedar Falls.  Nickelous fled the scene, but was quickly located by the Cedar Falls Police Department.  Nickelous attempted to hide the revolver by a vehicle parked on the street.  Officers recovered the gun, which had five spent casings inside, and detained Nickelous.  Nickelous, who was extremely intoxicated, had an injury to his arm that was consistent with being grazed by a gunshot.  Nickelous was unable to tell officers how he received the injury.  No one else was injured.  Nickelous was prohibited from possessing the gun because he was an unlawful drug user, had prior felony convictions and had prior misdemeanor domestic abuse convictions.

 

Nickelous was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Nickelous was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes.

 

Nickelous is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Emily K. Nydle and Ravi T. Narayan and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cedar Falls Police Department, the Waterloo Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-02016

 

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A man was sentenced today, December 11, 2017, to more than 10 years in federal prison.

 

Jesse Lee Wrinkle, 35, from Spirit Lake, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 3, 2017 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

 

In a plea agreement, Wrinkle admitted that he traveled to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to purchase methamphetamine.  From November 2015 through April 2016, defendant made approximately twelve trips to Council Bluffs and picked up anywhere between one to three ounces of methamphetamine each time.  On February 20, 2017, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Wrinkle and seized almost half a pound of methamphetamine, 61.1 grams of marijuana, and $1500. In addition, Wrinkle had a previous Dickinson County conviction for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine from 2016.

 

Wrinkle was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Wrinkle was sentenced to 121 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Wrinkle is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Ajay J. Alexander and investigated by the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-4035-LTS.

 

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A man who led a long-running heroin distribution organization in Cedar Rapids known by customers as “We the Best” was convicted by a jury today, after a five-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

 

Antonio Alonzo Outlaw, age 40, from Chicago, Illinois, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of conspiring to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and aiding and abetting the distribution of heroin.  The verdict was returned this morning following about three hours of jury deliberation.

 

The evidence at trial showed that Outlaw ran a heroin distribution operation in Cedar Rapids since at least 2013, and continuing until January 2017.  Witnesses testified that Outlaw’s operation was commonly known to customers as “We the Best” because of a signature line commonly included on text messages sent out by members of the group.  After making a phone call to the “We the Best” phone, customers would meet with Outlaw or one of his “runners” to purchase the heroin.  In September 2017, Outlaw pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing heroin in 2013.

 

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Outlaw remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Outlaw faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, $23,000,000 in fines, $400 in special assessments, and a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.

 

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Chatham and Emily Nydle. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 16-CR-91-LRR.

 

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Cedar Rapids, Iowa. – A formal investiture ceremony was held today for United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr. at the federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Chief United States District Judge Leonard T. Strand presided over the ceremony which was attended by several members of the legal and law enforcement communities.  United States District Judge Linda R. Reade administered the ceremonial oath of office.   

 

Mr. Deegan was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 19, 2017, and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 2017. He has been serving as United States Attorney since September 21, 2017.

 

“A United States Attorney takes the oath of office in public to mark an important transition in leadership,” said Deegan.  “But every member of our office takes the same oath their very first day on the job.  I am very proud to serve as United States Attorney for this District and to work, every day, with the dedicated men and women of our office to do justice and uphold the rule of law.”

 

As United States Attorney, Mr. Deegan is the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Northern District of Iowa. He oversees a staff of 46 employees, including 25 attorneys and 21 non-attorney support personnel. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the district, including crimes related to terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, firearms, and narcotics. The office also defends the United States in civil cases and collects debts owed to the United States.

 

Mr. Deegan’s career as a federal prosecutor began in 1998 when he joined the Northern District of Iowa’s Sioux City branch office as a Special Assistant United States Attorney employed through the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. Mr. Deegan prosecuted methamphetamine manufacturers and traffickers as part of the Midwest

 

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area’s methamphetamine initiative. In 1999, as an Assistant United States Attorney, he began prosecuting a full variety of federal criminal cases from narcotics and violent crime to complex fraud, child sexual exploitation, and business crimes. Mr. Deegan moved from Sioux City to the Cedar Rapids office in 2001.

 

From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Deegan served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Detroit where he prosecuted general criminal matters including alien smuggling, medical device smuggling, and financial fraud. He also successfully tried a Detroit police detective and his brother for bank robbery conspiracy.

 

After returning to Cedar Rapids in 2006, Mr. Deegan prosecuted the two largest financial fraud cases in the history of the district. These included a $215,000,000 fraud committed by the owner of Peregrine Financial Group, Inc. He also co-led the investigation and prosecution of a large-scale criminal immigration enforcement action and the subsequent prosecution of several employer personnel for alien harboring and related offenses. In recent years, Mr. Deegan led the investigation and prosecution of federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and public corruption crimes related to the largest food-borne salmonella outbreak in the nation’s history. 

 

From 2015 until becoming United States Attorney, Mr. Deegan served as the Chief of the Criminal Division in the Northern District of Iowa. 

 

Mr. Deegan has received several Department of Justice honors and awards for his work as a federal prosecutor, including the Executive Office for United States Attorney’s Director’s Award and a Special Commendation award from the Civil Division.  

 

Mr. Deegan has taught Federal White Collar Crime as an adjunct professor at the University of Iowa Law School. He has also served as a regular trial advocacy instructor at the Department of Justice’s National Trial Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, and as a visiting trial advocacy instructor at the University of Notre Dame Law School. Mr. Deegan has served on multiple boards and service committees. 

 

Mr. Deegan earned a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Middle East Studies from the University of Notre Dame in 1992 and received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 1995. Prior to joining the office, he clerked for United States District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff in the Eastern District of Michigan. He also practiced law in Chicago where he represented small businesses in labor and employment related litigation. He is a member of the State Bars of Iowa and Michigan and an inactive member of the State Bar of Illinois. He lives in Cedar Rapids with his wife and seven children.

         

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Armando Adame, age 21, from Waterloo, Iowa, has been charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.­  The charge is contained in a complaint unsealed today in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids. 

­

The complaint alleges that on November 17, 2017, Adame possessed a firearm, specifically a sawed-off Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works 12 gauge shotgun.  Investigators located the firearm after searching a residence in Waterloo where they found Adame sleeping.  Investigators seized the firearm from a backpack containing other items belonging to Adame.  During an examination of the firearm, investigators located a latent print consistent with Adame’s palm print on it.  The complaint further alleges that Adame is prohibited from possessing firearms because of two prior felony convictions, namely conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and felon in possession of a firearm. 

 

If convicted, Adame faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.­

 

Adame appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond.  Adame’s next appearance for an arraignment will be set for a future date.

 

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Grundy County Sherriff’s Office, and the Waterloo Police Department.

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-mj-396.

 

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Armando Adame, age 21, from Waterloo, Iowa, has been charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.­  The charge is contained in a complaint unsealed today in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids. 

­

The complaint alleges that on November 17, 2017, Adame possessed a firearm, specifically a sawed-off Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works 12 gauge shotgun.  Investigators located the firearm after searching a residence in Waterloo where they found Adame sleeping.  Investigators seized the firearm from a backpack containing other items belonging to Adame.  During an examination of the firearm, investigators located a latent print consistent with Adame’s palm print on it.  The complaint further alleges that Adame is prohibited from possessing firearms because of two prior felony convictions, namely conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and felon in possession of a firearm. 

 

If convicted, Adame faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.­

 

Adame appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond.  Adame’s next appearance for an arraignment will be set for a future date.

 

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Grundy County Sherriff’s Office, and the Waterloo Police Department.

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-mj-396.

 

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A man who stole a gun from a licensed Waterloo firearms dealer was sentenced on November 30, 2017, to more than three years in federal prison.

 

Sahjit Mcyle Philips, age 19, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 1, 2017, guilty plea to theft of a firearm from a licensed firearms dealer.

 

In a plea agreement, Phillips admitted going to Levi Brothers Jewelers in Waterloo while the store was open.  When an employee who was assisting him stepped away, Phillips stole a .45 caliber firearm.  Phillips ran from the store with the gun.  He then went to and entered an apartment without knowing who lived there.  Phillips took a cell phone from the resident and hid the gun in a closet.  Law enforcement arrested Phillips a short time later near the apartment and recovered the gun.

 

Phillips was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Phillips was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

Phillips currently has charges pending in Black Hawk County for intimidation with a dangerous weapon, willful injury-causing bodily injury, and carrying weapons relating to an incident on March 7, 2017.  In those charges, Phillips is alleged to have pulled a firearm from his waistband and fired multiple shots at another individual, hitting him in the buttocks.  As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

 

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Waterloo Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, and ATF. 

         

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-02001-01.

 

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There will be an Investiture Ceremony for United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr. on Friday, December 8, 2017, at 3:00 p.m.  The ceremony will be held in Courtroom 1 of the federal courthouse located at 111 Seventh Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

 

Credentialed members of the press are invited to use camera equipment during the ceremony.  Use of camera equipment is otherwise prohibited in the federal courthouse.   

 

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On November 30, 2017, five members of the team that investigated the May, 2011 killing of Tony Canfield were recognized for their efforts with the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) national group achievement award. The award ceremony took place at the Sioux City Police Department.

 

The FLEOA was founded in 1977, and is a non-profit organization that represents federal law enforcement agents across the nation, and currently represents more than 25,000 federal law enforcement agents from over 65 different agencies.

 

The recipients of the FLEOA award were FBI Special Agent Jonathan Moeller, Northern District of Iowa Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild, Sioux City Police Department Detectives Heather Albrecht and Mike Simons and Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office Captain Mike Walsh.

 

The national award stems from the recipients’ group efforts in the investigation of Sioux City resident Tony Canfield’s murder. The case began on May 1, 2011, when Mr. Canfield and his wife were robbed at gunpoint by three men. One of the robbers held and brutalized the wife, while the other two physically robbed Mr. Canfield of marijuana and cash. Mr. Canfield resisted his attackers and attempted to escape the robbery by fleeing his home. While fleeing, Mr. Canfield was shot and killed on his front porch. The crime went unsolved for five years, owing to the fact there was no forensic evidence identifying the perpetrators, and neither the murder weapon, nor any shell casings were recovered at the scene. In addition, the wife could not identify the robbers as they were wearing masks. Nonetheless, through dogged investigative work, which included numerous interviews conducted in a number of different states, the perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted. In 2016, all three defendants were convicted, and sentenced. The sentences ranged from 20 to 35 years’ imprisonment.

 

United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa Peter Deegan stated: “Our office is proud to count Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild among those who helped bring Canfield’s ruthless killers to justice.  The investigative team represents the very best in cooperative law enforcement and is most deserving of this prestigious award.”

 

Sioux City Police Chief Rex Muller added: “We are extremely proud of the working relationship we have with the local FBI Office and United States Attorney’s Office. This was a particularly challenging case that required the resources of multiple agencies to lead to a successful prosecution. These criminals presented a significant danger to the general public if not identified and arrested. The efforts of the investigators and prosecutors in this case over a five year period are a testament to their dedication to bring justice to this case, as well as bring some closure to the family of Tony Canfield. It is a fine example of the strong cooperation and capability that exists within Northwestern Iowa law enforcement community.”

 

In praising the investigative team, Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead said: “I’m proud that Captain Mike Walsh was able to provide valuable assistance to this joint investigation and help bring those responsible to justice. The team’s dedication, thoroughness and persistence paid off in ways far beyond the award they received today.”

 

Finally, FBI Special Agent Jon Moeller, a member of the award winning team, said: “Although this investigation took five years, it never really went ‘cold’.  Diligently and persistently a team of investigators and analysts - spread over five states - and from multiple agencies, never stopped working this case.  Together we brought three killers to justice, brought closure to the friends and family of Mr. Canfield, and a renewed sense of security to the whole community.  It is an honor and privilege to work with these folks on a daily basis.”

 

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A man who possessed with the intent to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced on November 28, 2017, to more than 14 years in federal prison.

 

Gary Darnell Black, 44, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 8, 2017, guilty plea to one count of possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

 

In a plea agreement, defendant admitted that, during a traffic stop, he possessed approximately 64 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine, 1.687 kilograms of marijuana, a digital scale, and drug paraphernalia.

 

At sentencing, the government presented evidence that Black had accumulated 48 criminal convictions since 1993.  Evidence also showed that Black had been convicted and/or incarcerated in 23 of the past 24 years.  His prior convictions included drug offenses, theft offenses, assaults, and interference with official acts, one of which resulted in an officer sustaining serious head and neck injuries.

 

Black was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett.  Black was sentenced to 178 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 

Black is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Ajay Alexander and investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Sac County Sheriff’s Office, and Storm Lake Police Department. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-4032.

 

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On November 30, 2017, five members of the team that investigated the May, 2011 killing of Tony Canfield will be recognized for their efforts with the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) national group achievement award. The award ceremony will take place at the Sioux City Police Department at 4:30 p.m., and will be followed by a press conference.

 

The FLEOA was founded in 1977, and is a non-profit organization that represents federal law enforcement agents across the nation, and currently represents more than 25,000 federal law enforcement agents from over 65 different agencies.

 

The recipients of the FLEOA award are FBI Special Agent Jonathan Moeller, Northern District of Iowa Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild, Sioux City Police Department Detectives Heather Albrecht and Mike Simons and Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office Captain Mike Walsh. The national award stems from the recipients’ group efforts in the investigation of Sioux City resident Tony Canfield’s murder. The case began on May 1, 2011, when Mr. Canfield and his wife were robbed at gunpoint by three men. One of the robbers held and brutalized the wife, while the other two physically robbed Mr. Canfield of marijuana and cash. Mr. Canfield resisted his attackers and attempted to escape the robbery by fleeing his home. While fleeing, Mr. Canfield was shot and killed on his front porch. The crime went unsolved for five years, owing to the fact there was no forensic evidence identifying the perpetrators, and neither the murder weapon, nor any shell casings were recovered at the scene. In addition, the wife could not identify the robbers as they were wearing masks. Nonetheless, through dogged investigative work, which included numerous interviews conducted in a number of different states, the perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted. In 2016, all three defendants were convicted, and sentenced. The sentences ranged from 20 to 35 years’ imprisonment. 

 

Press releases and interview opportunities will be available. 

 

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A man who sent threatening “tweets” on the Internet to United States Senator Joni K. Ernst was convicted by a jury today, after a one-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

 

Joseph Hilton Dierks, 34, from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of all three counts of sending threatening communications in interstate commerce.  The verdict was returned around 1 p.m. today, following about five hours of jury deliberations.

 

The evidence at trial showed that, in August 2017, Dierks began sending Senator Ernst tweets from his Twitter account to her Twitter accounts.  On August 13, 2017, Dierks sent Senator Ernst a tweet that stated, “I just want u to know I’d put a bullet in your head if u were my wife . . . not that I’ll ever have one,” with a link to a scene from the 2010 English-language French action film “From Paris with Love,” in which a man shoots a woman in the head and kills her.  The United States Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. then contacted the Waterloo Police Department, which sent a law enforcement officer to Dierks’ home. Dierks promised the officer he would “tone it down” but, within 24 hours, Dierks began sending threatening tweets to the Senator.  The jury found Dierks sent the following three threats to Senator Ernst on August 16, 2017:

 

“I’ll beat ur ass in front of ur widow I promise that”;

 

“I’ll f u up seriously in my sleep”; and 

 

“@joniernst u r sn army bitch and I’ll @USMC u tf up :)(:”.

 

Witnesses testified at trial that defendant sent the threatening tweets to Senator Ernst because he wanted her to help him obtain an age-waiver to get into the military.  The jury rejected the defendant’s argument that he was just an “Internet troll” who did not intend to threaten Senator Ernst and did not know that his tweets would be viewed as threatening.  Trial evidence showed Dierks sent Senator Ernst other tweets, including “i want u to die sorry not sorry”; “I’ll flatline ur ass like @tendoublezero lol”; “@joniernst deserves death”; “i didn’t kill u cuz I have a message for u”; and “U were almost a widow . . . .”

 

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Dierks remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Dierks faces a possible maximum sentence of fifteen years’ imprisonment, a $750,000 fine, $300 in special assessments, and nine years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and Richard L. Murphy and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the United States Capitol Police. 

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-2065-LRR.

 

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