District of Idaho

BOISE - Former Idaho Department of Correction (“IDOC”) correctional officer Erik Thompson was sentenced yesterday for firearms offenses he committed as part of an FBI sting operation that uncovered corruption by IDOC correctional officers, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Erik Thompson, 39, to 97 months in prison.  Thompson will be placed on supervised release for three years after release from prison.

The FBI initiated the sting operation in this case at IDOC’s request to weed out corruption among IDOC correctional officers.  The FBI was able to locate corrupt prison guards by using undercover agents who invited the guards to commit crimes outside of IDOC’s facilities.  The defendants believed that the undercover agents they were assisting were large‑scale drug traffickers.  The guards provided security and completed other tasks for the undercover agents during staged deliveries of drug loads and drug money.  Thompson and co‑defendant Richard McCollough carried firearms with them during the staged drug operations.  No drugs were in the sole possession of the defendants, and no drugs or other contraband were brought into any IDOC facility as part of these operations.

Thompson pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Co-defendant McCollough also pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  McCollough also was sentenced to 97 months in prison by Judge Winmill.

Co-defendants Timothy Landon and Robert Wallin each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to aid and abet drug trafficking.  Landon was sentenced to 41 months in prison.  Wallin was sentenced to 37 months in prison.  All defendants will be placed on supervised release for three years after release from prison.

In addition to the FBI, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department, IDOC’s Special Investigations Unit, and the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office participated in this investigation.

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BOISE – U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis joined the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) this week in announcing more than $8.4 million in grant awards to support crime victims in Native American communities in 10 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Washington.  The group of 17 awards is the fifth in a series of grants being made by OVC to American Indian and Alaska Native communities.  OVC has now awarded more than $34 million of nearly $100 million to support tribal victim service programs.

The awards—63 in total so far—will fund critical crime victim services, such as counseling, transitional housing, emergency services and transportation.  The grants are supported by the Crime Victims Fund, a repository of federal criminal fines, fees and special assessments.  The fund includes zero tax dollars.

Two tribes in the District of Idaho, the Coeur d’Alene and the Shoshone-Bannock, were awarded grants totaling $1,127,748.  The Coeur d’Alene Tribe received $478,504 to expand victim-centered services through a tribal healing and recovery program.  Funding will support staff training, program and office supplies, transportation for victims, outreach and emergency assistance.  The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes received $649,244 to address four critical needs in existing programming, including shelter renovations to ensure safety and accessibility, trauma-informed case management, satellite victim service offices and expansion of services to vulnerable adults.  Funding will support a case manager, domestic violence shelter and office space, program and office supplies, and emergency assistance.

“American Indian and Alaska Native communities face extensive public safety challenges, but through creative approaches that combine traditional methods with innovative solutions, they are demonstrating their determination to meet the needs of victims in their communities,” said OJP’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matt M. Dummermuth. “These grants, part of historic levels of funding awarded by the Department of Justice to American Indian and Alaska Native communities, will provide significant resources to bring critical services to those who suffer the effects of crime and violence.”

According to OJP’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, American Indians and Alaska Natives experience violent crime at rates far greater than the general population.

“The Department of Justice and my office are committed to reducing violent crime and improving public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Bart Davis.  “This increase in resources, together with aggressive federal and tribal investigations, shows how seriously the entire Department of Justice take these issues.”

“American Indian and Alaska Native crime victims continue to face challenges in accessing vital services and resources needed to help survivors address their trauma and navigate a complex system,” said OVC Director Darlene Hutchinson.  “The Justice Department has made it a priority to partner with tribes to help victims and their families rebuild their lives in the aftermath of violence.”

The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matt M. Dummermuth, provides federal leadership, grants and resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal justice system. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

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BOISE – Roberto Joe Miguel Serpa, 39, of Caldwell, was sentenced this week for his role in two federal drug crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis.  Serpa was sentenced on April 16, 2019 to 126 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.  Serpa was sentenced by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

On May 8, 2018, Serpa, and five others were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.  Serpa was later charged with an additional count for possessing with the intent to distribute over fifty grams of pure methamphetamine, which carried a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence.  On January 11, 2019, Serpa entered guilty pleas to both charges.  The other five codefendants also pleaded guilty and were sentenced.  Jose Luis Gonzales, 40, of Twin Falls, pleaded guilty to distributing over fifty grams of pure methamphetamine.  He was sentenced on February 26, 2019 to ten years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.  David Lee Martell, 47, of Nampa, pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.  Martell was sentenced on February 27, 2019 to 54 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Russell Anthony Antonucci, 50, of Boise, was sentenced on January 31, 2019 to 42 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.  Daniel Allen Gonzales, 45, of Boise, was sentenced on April 16, 2019 to over 11 months and given credit for time served for using a telephone to facilitate a drug distribution offense.  Edouard Gribkoff, 37, of Ontario, Oregon, was sentenced on April 10, 2019 to over 8 months in prison and given credit for time served for possessing heroin.

According to court records, the investigation began when investigators received authorization to intercept the communications of Serpa and others regarding drug distribution.  Those intercepted communications showed that Serpa and others were conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.  Serpa was arrested in April 2018, after Gonzales sold Serpa approximately three ounces of methamphetamine, which Serpa intended to distribute to others.  When Serpa was arrested, investigators found approximately 100 grams of methamphetamine, 47 grams of heroin, 12 grams of fentanyl, a digital scale, drug packaging materials, $1,951 in drug proceeds, and a Taurus 9mm pistol.  During the investigation, law enforcement agents seized and forfeited over $5,000 in drug proceeds.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Nampa Police Department.

The indictment is the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.  Program participants include the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Marshals Service.

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BOISE - Jennifer L. Fanopoulos, 41, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 3 years of probation for obtaining controlled substances by fraud, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Fanopoulos was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge.  Fanopoulos pleaded guilty on October 25, 2018.

According to court records, Fanopoulos was employed as a registered nurse at a hospital in Boise.  As part of her employment, Fanopoulos had access to the Pyxis system at the hospital.  The Pyxis system automated and monitored the distribution, management, and control of prescription medications, including Schedule II controlled substances.  Fanopoulos’ ability to access the Pyxis system required the use of a unique username and her fingerprint.  On at least twenty-eight occasions, Fanopoulos knowingly and intentionally accessed a Pyxis machine and removed fentanyl 100mcg/2mL vials by falsifying and manipulating information in the system.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of law enforcement from the DEA, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

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BOISE – In observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 7-13, 2019, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho is participating in a community awareness project, Evening of Awareness, hosted by the Advocates Against Family Violence.  The public event will be held at Indian Creek Plaza in Caldwell on Saturday, April 13, 2019 from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm.  The Evening of Awareness is a free family event that will offer victim services related booths, nonprofit information booths, food trucks, speakers and entertainment.  The event will close with a candlelight vigil.

“Victims of crime deserve justice.  This Department works every day to help them recover and to find, prosecute, and convict those who have done them harm,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “During this National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, we pause to remember the millions of Americans who have been victims of crime and we thank public servants who have served them in especially heroic ways.  This week the men and women of the Department recommit ourselves once again to ensuring that crime victims continue to have a voice in our legal system, to securing justice for them, and to preventing other Americans from suffering what they have endured.”

“I encourage the public to take a moment to remember and support the victims of crime,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho Bart M. Davis.  “And with first-hand knowledge, I want to thank all those who work with victims.  Thank you for all your heroic efforts to help the victims of crime become survivors.”

Each year in April, the Department of Justice and United States Attorneys’ offices observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week nationwide by taking time to honor victims of crime and those who advocate on their behalf.  In addition, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorneys’ offices organize events to honor the victims and advocates, as well as bring awareness to services available to victims of crime.  This year’s observance takes place April 7-13, with the theme: Honoring Our Past. Creating Hope for the Future.

The U.S. Department of Justice will host the Office for Victims of Crime’s annual National Crime Victims’ Service Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. on April 12, 2019, to honor outstanding individuals and programs that serve victims of crime.

The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, within the Office of Justice Programs, leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week each year.  President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in 1981 to bring greater sensitivity to the needs and rights of victims of crime.

The Office of Justice Programs provides innovative leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems, by disseminating state-of-the art knowledge and practices across America, and providing grants for the implementation of these crime-fighting strategies.  Because most of the responsibility for crime control and prevention falls to law enforcement officers in states, cities, and neighborhoods, the federal government can be effective in these areas only to the extent that it can enter into partnerships with these officers.  More information about the Office of Justice Programs and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.  More information about Crime Victim’s Rights Week can be found at https://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/.  You may also contact the U.S. Attorney’s Victim Witness Unit in Idaho at (208) 334-1211.

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COEUR D’ALENE – Jesse Lauren Van Orsow, 29, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced yesterday in federal court to 37 months in prison for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Van Orsow was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Nye at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.  Van Orsow pleaded guilty on August 21, 2018.

According court records, in August 2017, Van Orsow exchanged email and text messages with an undercover police officer posing online as a thirteen-year-old female.  In these messages, Van Orsow wrote that he wanted to have sex with the minor.  On August 25, 2017, Van Orsow traveled from Spokane to Idaho to have sex with the person he believed to be a thirteen year-old female.  Officers arrested Van Orsow when he arrived in Idaho.

Following his 37-month prison sentence, Judge Nye ordered Van Orsow to serve seven years on supervised release.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, and Washington Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

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.”

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COEUR D’ALENE – Marcella Moore, 44, of Lewiston, Idaho was sentenced to federal prison earlier today for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, announced U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis.  Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Moore to 54 months in prison followed by three years supervised release.  Judge Nye also ordered Moore to pay over $30,000 in restitution to Owl Pharmacy.

According to court records, Moore was employed as a pharmacy technician at Owl Pharmacy in Lewiston.  In August 2017, Moore began stealing prescription controlled substances while working at the pharmacy.  Moore stole almost 60,000 pills over the next eleven months until she was arrested.  These pills included over 45,000 pills of hydrocodone, 1,880 pills of oxycodone and 1,600 pills of Lorazepam.  Moore then distributed many of the pills to others who then sold them in the area.

“Medical professionals hold a position of trust over the prescription drugs that they handle and dispense,” said Davis.  “When those professionals violate that trust by illegally diverting prescription drugs into our communities, federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement stand ready to bring them to justice.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Weis said, “Opioid abuse is devastating our communities and we must respond aggressively against those that are profiting from fueling the crisis.”

The pharmacy worked closely with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Drug Division, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lewiston Police Department and others to catch Moore and stop her criminal conduct.

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POCATELLO – John Alan Mahler, 37, of College Station, Texas, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 22 years in prison followed by 15 years supervised release, for sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Mahler was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill.  Mahler pleaded guilty on January 8, 2019.

According to court records, between June and October 2017, Mahler communicated with a 15-year old minor child from Idaho.  He used a variety of internet-based communication platforms, including Google Hangouts and Kik Messenger.  During the online communications, Mahler sent numerous messages attempting to persuade, induce, and entice the minor child to engage in sexual activity.  During the course of the communications, Mahler engaged in video calls with the minor child and instructed the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct.  Additionally, during the video calls, Mahler exposed his genitalia to the minor child.

At sentencing, Judge Winmill ordered Mahler to forfeit the laptop computer and cell phones used in the commission of the offense.  As a result of his conviction, Mahler will be required to register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls and the Pocatello Police Department.

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.  As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal 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.”

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BOISE – Pedro Colis, 24, of Hailey, Idaho, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 40 months in prison, followed by 3 years’ supervised release, for unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Colis was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge.

According to court records, on April 14, 2018, Colis was driving his vehicle in Lincoln County.  Colis had two handguns placed on the passenger seat.  While driving, Colis attempted to move the two handguns from the front seat to the rear seat floorboard with one hand.  As Colis attempted to move the firearms, one went off.  A bullet struck Colis in his upper leg.  He was treated at a local hospital, where he was interviewed by law enforcement.  Colis admitted to possessing the two handguns.  A records check confirmed that Colis was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver in 2013.  Due to this conviction, Colis was a prohibited possessor of firearms at the time he shot himself.

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

This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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POCATELLO - Joseph Lavern Harris, 31, of Rigby, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday to sexual exploitation of a minor child, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Harris was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on March 27, 2018.

According to court records, on February 26, 2018, state investigators responded to allegations of child abuse at a residence in Jefferson County, Idaho, where Harris resided.  A subsequent investigation discovered that Harris had produced child pornography using a minor child.  Investigators obtained a search warrant for Harris’s electronic devices and discovered images of the sexual abuse taken on Harris’s phone.  In court, Harris admitted that he used, persuaded, and coerced the minor child to take part in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct.

The charge of sexual exploitation of a minor is punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of 5 years to life.

Sentencing is set for June 18, 2019, before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

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.”

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BOISE – Jeremy Hill, 41, of Twin Falls, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 130 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Hill was sentenced by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.  Hill was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on March 13, 2018, and pleaded guilty on December 4, 2018.

According to court records, on February 7, 2018, Idaho State Police troopers saw Hill driving a Chevrolet Blazer without mud flaps.  Troopers attempted to stop Hill.  In response, Hill fled at a high rate of speed.  As he was fleeing, he threw methamphetamine from the Blazer.  Hill eventually crashed his Blazer.  Idaho State Police troopers then arrested Hill.  The Blazer was searched.  Within the Blazer, troopers found more than fifty grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and $2,523 cash.

This case was investigated by the Idaho State Police.

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BOISE – Roy Ulysses Benitez, 26, of Nampa, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to 36 months in prison for possessing an unregistered firearm, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also placed Benitez on supervised release for three years after he is released from prison.  Benitez was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on December 12, 2017.  He was found guilty of the crime after a three-day jury trial in December 2018.

According to court records, on July 26, 2017, Benitez sold firearms to a confidential informant working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  One of the firearms was a sawed off shotgun with a barrel length of less than 16 inches.  Under federal law, it is illegal to possess certain firearms, like sawed off shotguns, unless the firearm is registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.  Benitez had not registered the sawed off shotgun in that record.

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

This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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BOISE - Three defendants have been sentenced for their roles in a bribery scheme uncovered by an FBI investigation at Idaho Department of Correction’s (“IDOC”) request to address concerns of corruption among IDOC correction officers, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  On March 7, 2019, Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced former IDOC correctional officer Joshua Barney, 44, to 15 months in prison for smuggling in contraband to former IDOC inmate Collin McIntyre.  Also on March 7, 2019, Judge Lodge sentenced McIntyre, 27, to 12 months in prison.  Judge Lodge ordered that Barney and McIntyre be placed on supervised release for three years following their prison sentences.

The third defendant was sentenced on March 6, 2019.  Judge Lodge sentenced Tiffany Culbertson, 23, who, at the time, was McIntyre’s girlfriend and who gave Barney the bribe money from McIntyre, to a three‑year term of probation with six weekends to be spent in jail.

All three defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion under official color of right.  According to court records, Culbertson agreed with McIntyre to pay Barney, a correctional officer at IDOC, to bring in contraband in exchange for money.  The defendants then followed through with the plan.  On one occasion, Culbertson purchased smokeless tobacco and delivered it to Barney, along with a bribe payment.  Barney then brought the tobacco into the prison and delivered it to McIntyre, which was prohibited under IDOC policies.  At a later date, Culbertson provided a cell phone to Barney, who brought it into the prison and gave it to McIntyre.

This case was investigated by the FBI and IDOC’s Special Investigations Unit.

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POCATELLO - Benjamin J. Hurley, 38, of Rigby, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 3 years of probation for obtaining controlled substances, namely Tylenol 3 and 4, by fraud, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Hurley was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye.  Hurley pleaded guilty on November 30, 2018.

According to court records, Hurley was employed as a pharmacist in Rigby. As part of his employment, Hurley had access to the controlled substances in the pharmacy and access to the pharmacy’s inventory management system.  Hurley knowingly and intentionally altered the pharmacy’s inventory management system to fraudulently conceal his theft of acetaminophen/codeine 300/30mg (Tylenol 3) and acetaminophen/codeine 300/60mg (Tylenol 4) from the pharmacy.  Tylenol 3 and Tylenol 4 are Schedule III controlled substances.  Hurley stole over 1,600 pills of Tylenol 3 and 580 pills of Tylenol 4.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of law enforcement from the DEA, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

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POCATELLO - Michael Keith Pilgrim, 44, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Pilgrim was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Nye.  Pilgrim pleaded guilty on November 30, 2018.

According to court records, Pilgrim was convicted in October 1999, of sexual abuse of a child in Utah.  As a result of the conviction, he was required to register and update his registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  SORNA requires that sex offenders register and keep current their registration in each jurisdiction where they reside.  In early March 2018, Pilgrim moved from Utah to Preston, Idaho.  He lived in Preston for approximately two months.  In July 2018, he returned to Preston and was apprehended on July 27, 2018.  During the time he lived in Idaho, he failed to register with the Idaho Sex Offender Registry.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of local and state law enforcement agencies in eastern Idaho, including the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Preston Police Department.

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POCATELLO – Emmanuel Garza, 25, of Rupert, Idaho, and Adolfo Mata-Lopez, 28, of Paul, Idaho were sentenced in U.S. District Court to federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

Garza received a 100-month prison sentence on February 27, 2019, for his part in the conspiracy.  Mata-Lopez, sentenced in January 2019, received a 108-month sentence for his part in the conspiracy. 

According to court records, Garza was the subject of a drug trafficking investigation by the Mini-Cassia drug task force between January and November 2017.  Mata-Lopez and Garza were arrested on November 4, 2017, when detectives from the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at Mata-Lopez’s residence in Paul.  The detectives caught Garza and Mata-Lopez in the middle of a drug deal inside.  Garza, Mata-Lopez, and another occupant of the home fled and were caught.  Mata-Lopez had two ounces of methamphetamine, packaged into two one-ounce baggies, in his shirt pocket.  In the house, police found 475 grams of actual methamphetamine, part of which Mata-Lopez had agreed to distribute to Garza.  Garza admitted that he intended to re-sell the methamphetamine.  Detectives also recovered firearms, scales, and drug distribution paraphernalia in the home.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s specially deputized Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) funded by the Eastern Idaho Partnership and the State of Idaho.  The Eastern Idaho Partnership is a coalition of local city and county officials in eastern Idaho.  The Partnership provides approximately 30 percent of the SAUSA’s salary and benefits; the State of Idaho through the Idaho Department of Correction contributes the remaining 70 percent.

The Partnership’s goal is to federally prosecute serious drug trafficking, firearm, and violent crime in eastern Idaho, focusing on persistent offenders.  Individuals ordered to serve federal prison sentences serve their sentences in federal prisons, rather than in Idaho-funded prisons and jails.  Federal sentences are served out of state, which helps to disrupt criminal networks.  Additionally, prosecuting offenders in federal court allows law enforcement and prosecutors to pursue longer sentences through the federal sentencing structure.

Minidoka County Sheriff Eric Snarr said, “We thank the diligent detectives in the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force, our local prosecutors, the Eastern Idaho Partnership SAUSA, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their cooperation.  The investigation was well done, and we are thankful to have the backing of our federal partners to hold serious drug dealers in our community accountable.”

Minidoka County Prosecuting Attorney Lance Stevenson said, “This case demonstrates the valuable benefit of the collaboration between Minidoka County Prosecutors Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Eastern Idaho Partnership SAUSA, and the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force in helping to successfully prosecute criminals and protect the citizens of our community.”

U.S. Attorney Davis said, “We are continually proud to have such a productive working relationship with our Eastern Idaho Partners and the State of Idaho’s Department of Correction.  This case demonstrates what we can achieve by combining smart tactics with dedicated support from the community, law enforcement, and political leaders.”

This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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BOISE – Jose Luis Gonzales, 40, of Twin Falls, and David Lee Martell, 47, of Nampa, were sentenced to federal prison this week for participating in a drug trafficking organization, announced U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis.  Gonzales was sentenced Wednesday to ten years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.  Martell was sentenced yesterday to 54 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Both were sentenced by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

According to court records, investigators began an investigation into a drug trafficking organization distributing methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl in Idaho.  Their investigation determined that Gonzales and Martell were members of that organization.  Investigators arrested Gonzales on April 27, 2018, after he distributed approximately three ounces of methamphetamine to a co-conspirator.  Gonzales was on parole at the time due to prior convictions for possessing methamphetamine and unlawfully possessing a firearm by a felon.  Martell was arrested after the search of his residence on April 26, 2018, when investigators found approximately two ounces of methamphetamine, four grams of heroin, a digital scale, packaging materials, and a loaded .40 caliber pistol.  Martell also had prior felony convictions for possessing methamphetamine and for unlawfully possessing firearms by a felon.

Gonzales, Martell, and four others were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2018 for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.  Martell pleaded guilty in October 2018 to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.  Gonzales pleaded guilty in November 2018 to distributing over fifty grams of pure methamphetamine.

A third defendant, Russell Anthony Antonucci, 50, of Boise, was sentenced on January 31, 2019, to 42 months in federal prison for his role in the offense.  The remaining three defendants are scheduled for sentencing in April 2019 at the federal courthouse in Boise.  Edouard Gribkoff, 37, of Ontario, Oregon, is scheduled for sentencing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale on April 10, 2019.  Daniel Allen Gonzales, 44, of Boise and Roberto Jo Miguel Serpa, 40, of Caldwell, are scheduled for sentencing in front of Judge Winmill on April 15 and 16, 2019, respectively.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Nampa Police Department.

The indictment is the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which includes the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

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BOISE - This week, two more former IDOC correctional officers were sentenced for committing drug trafficking crimes as part of a public corruption sting operation, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Richard McCollough, 37, to 97 months in prison and Timothy Landon, 36, to 41 months in prison.  Both will be placed on supervised release for three years after their release from prison.

The case stems from a sting operation initiated by the FBI at IDOC’s request to weed out corruption among IDOC correctional officers.  The FBI was able to locate corrupt prison guards by using undercover agents who invited the guards to commit crimes outside of IDOC’s facilities.  The defendants believed that the undercover agents they were assisting were large‑scale drug traffickers.  The guards provided security and completed other tasks for the undercover agents during staged deliveries of drug loads and drug money.  No drugs were in the sole possession of the defendants, and no drugs or other contraband were brought into any IDOC facility as part of these operations.

McCollough pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  He joined Landon and co-defendant Erik Thompson, 37, in several operations for the purported drug trafficking organization.  This included participating in moving large quantities of drugs and counting large amounts of cash that were delivered to the purported drug trafficking organization.

Landon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to aid and abet drug trafficking.  He participated in one major operation with McCollough and Thompson before splitting off to conduct other operations with co-defendant Robert Wallin, 36, who was sentenced to 37 months in prison on February 21, 2019.

Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7, 2019 before Judge Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

In addition to the FBI, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department, IDOC’s Special Investigations Unit, and the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office participated in the investigation.

# # #

COEUR D’ALENE – Sue Ann Larson, 63, of Coeur d’Alene, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to wire fraud and filing a false tax return, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Sentencing for Larson is set for May 28, 2019, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

According to court records, Larson was the long-time bookkeeper for a Coeur d’Alene custom cabinet business.  Between May 2013 and February 2018, Larson initiated wire transfers from a business account to her personal accounts.  In order to hide her scheme, Larson created false entries in the business ledgers to make it look like the money she was embezzling had been used for legitimate business expenses.  Larson admitted that she embezzled at least $697,252.11.

Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years.

Filing a false tax return is punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and a term of supervised release of one year.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations and the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

# # #

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today that a federal jury sitting in Boise convicted David William Fischer, 33, of possession of over five grams of methamphetamine with  intent to distribute, unlawful possession of firearms, and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.  The trial began on February 19, 2019, and concluded on Friday evening when the jury returned their verdicts.  The case was tried before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

According to court records, on September 26, 2017, the U.S. Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force (GIFT) and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office Anti-Crime Team in Our Neighborhoods (ACTION) team were executing an arrest warrant for Fischer when officers discovered him in the Red Lion Hotel, in downtown Boise.  After a forty-five minute standoff, Fischer was arrested without incident and found in possession of two handguns and approximately forty-two grams of methamphetamine.

Sentencing is set for May 21, 2019, before Judge Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.  Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute is punishable by at least five years, up to 40 years, in prison, a $5,000,000 fine, and four years of supervised release.  Unlawful possession of a firearm is punishable by up to ten years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release.  Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime is punishable by a minimum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force, the Garden City Police Department, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.

This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

# # #

BOISE - Yesterday, former IDOC correctional officer Robert Wallin, 36, was sentenced to 37 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Wallin to serve three years’ supervised release after he is released from prison.

The case stemmed from a sting operation initiated by the FBI at IDOC’s request to weed out corruption among IDOC correctional officers.  The FBI was able to locate corrupt prison guards by using undercover agents who invited the guards to commit crimes outside of IDOC’s facilities.  The defendants believed that the undercover agents they were assisting were large‑scale drug traffickers.  The guards provided security and completed other tasks for the undercover agents during staged deliveries of drug loads and drug money.  No drugs were in the sole possession of the defendants, and no drugs or other contraband were brought into any IDOC facility as part of these operations.

Wallin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and abet drug trafficking.  According to court records, Wallin joined co-defendant Timothy Landon, 36, in assisting the drug trafficking organization.  This included participating in operations in which large quantities of drugs and cash were delivered to the purported drug trafficking organization.

Co‑defendants and former IDOC correctional officers Richard McCollough, 37, Erik Thompson, 38, and Landon also pleaded guilty to related crimes and are awaiting sentencing.

McCollough will be sentenced on February 25, 2019, Landon will be sentenced on February 26, 2019, and Thompson will be sentenced on April 7, 2019.  Judge Winmill is the sentencing judge for all defendants.

In addition to the FBI, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department, IDOC’s Special Investigations Unit, and the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office participated in the investigation.

# # #

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today that a federal jury convicted Andrew Munoz, 34, of Boise, of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, distribution of heroin, and distribution of methamphetamine.  The jury acquitted Munoz of a separate count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  Munoz was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 20, 2018.  The trial began on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, and concluded on Thursday evening when the jury returned their verdicts.  The case was tried before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge.

Munoz’s case stemmed from an investigation into a large drug trafficking organization that was moving methamphetamine and heroin from Mexico, through California and Nevada, up to the Boise area.  Law enforcement discovered the conspiracy and began investigating.  Munoz was a distributor for the organization, here in the Treasure Valley, and ultimately delivered methamphetamine and heroin on two occasions to an undercover officer.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 9, 2019, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.  The crime of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and distribution of methamphetamine and heroin is punishable by at least ten years, up to life, in prison and five years of supervised release.  The crime of distribution of heroin is punishable by up to twenty years of prison and at least three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, the Boise Police Department, and the Meridian Police Department.

This indictment was the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which includes the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Board.  The Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Board is a collaboration of local law enforcement drug task forces and prosecuting agencies dedicated to addressing regional drug trafficking organizations that operate in Ada and Canyon County.

# # #

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today that a federal jury convicted Jesus Javier Malagon, 31, of Twin Falls, of unlawfully possessing firearms as a felon, possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute, and using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to the drug trafficking crime.  Malagon was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 14, 2018.  The trial began on Monday, February 11, 2019, and concluded on Friday evening when the jury returned their verdicts.

Malagon’s case stemmed from a traffic stop on January 30, 2018, in Shoshone, Idaho.  Malagon fled from the traffic stop and a high-speed pursuit with police ensued.  Malagon eventually crashed his vehicle.  When a police officer approached Malagon after the crash, Malagon shot a 9 millimeter handgun at the police officer.  The officer immediately returned fire, striking Malagon multiple times.  Malagon suffered non-life threatening injuries from the shooting.  A subsequent search of Malagon’s vehicle yielded the 9 millimeter handgun, an additional .38 caliber revolver, multiple pounds of marijuana, and other items showing that Malagon was distributing marijuana.  Malagon was a felon and therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.  His prior felony conviction was for manufacturing marijuana.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 9, 2019, before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.  The crime of unlawful possession of firearms by a felon is punishable by up to ten years in prison and three years of supervised release.  The crime of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, as enhanced by Malagon’s prior marijuana manufacturing conviction, is punishable by up to ten years in prison and at least four years of supervised release.  The crime of using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to the drug trafficking crime is punishable by a mandatory minimum of ten years, and up to life in prison, which must be served consecutively to all other sentences, and up to five years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Shoshone City Police Department, Gooding County Sheriff’s Office, and the Critical Incident Task Force, which included Idaho State Police, Twin Falls Sheriff’s Office, and the Twin Falls Police Department.

This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

# # #

COEUR D’ALENE – Manuel Villalobos, 42, of Lenore, Idaho, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury sitting in Boise on one count of felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Villalobos made his initial appearance yesterday morning and pleaded not guilty.  Trial is set for April 8, 2019, before Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The indictment alleges that on or about February 7, 2019, Villalobos possessed a Zastava, Model O-PAP M70, 7.62x39mm caliber rifle after previously being convicted of a felony. 

The charge of felon in possession of a firearm is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

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

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity.  It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

# # #

BOISE - Darrel Rich, 68, of Emmett, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday to a two-count indictment charging him with damage by fire to vehicles owned by an institution receiving federal funding, and damage by fire to vehicles used in interstate commerce, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

According to court records, on July 25, 2017, after police had visited the Rich’s residence in Emmett, Rich had telephone communications with his sister wherein he stated that that the police needed to “back off now or somebody is going to get hurt” and that if she “call[ed] the cops on me again. . . we’re done.”

According to court records, on July 26, 2017, at approximately 12:04 a.m., Rich drove his Chevrolet Impala to the Emmett Police Department and parked it on First Street across from the Emmett Police Department unsecured back parking lot.  Rich exited the car, opened the trunk and retrieved a gasoline canister, walked to the rear of four police cruisers parked in the back parking lot, and poured gasoline from the canister behind each of them.  Rich then lit something on fire, threw it toward the police cruisers, and they ignited.  In lighting the police cruisers on fire, Rich acted maliciously and without justification or excuse.

According to court records, the four police cruisers were used in local and interstate police activity, including patrolling interstate streets and transporting out-of-state violators of the law.  Also, from 2014 through 2017, the Emmett Police Department received federal financial assistance in the form of subsidies for bulletproof vests.

Sentencing is set for May 7, 2019, before U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Idaho State Police, the Gem County Sheriff’s Office, and the Emmett Police Department.

# # #

BOISE – Elena Lupuleasa, 34, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced today to 39 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Judge Lodge also ordered Lupuleasa to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date and imposed three years of supervised release following her release from prison.

On November 9, 2018, Lupuleasa pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  According to court records, from April through November of 2016, Lupuleasa devised and executed a scheme to defraud banks using checks, driver’s licenses, and other personal information stolen from Boise and Nampa residents.  Lupuleasa then forged a stolen check of one victim and made it payable to another victim.  Lupuleasa would then impersonate the payee and cash the check at a local bank by presenting the payee’s stolen driver’s license or other form of identification.

The case was investigated by the Nampa Police Department, the Boise Police Department the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

# # #

BOISE - Juan Diego Garnica, 32, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced last Thursday in U.S. District Court to 78 months in prison, followed by five years’ supervised release, for distributing methamphetamine and possessing an unregistered firearm, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Garnica was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

According to court records, on January 24, 2018, Garnica sold methamphetamine and firearms to a confidential informant working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  One of the firearms was a sawed off shotgun with a barrel length of ten inches.  Under federal law, it is illegal to possess certain firearms, like sawed off shotguns, unless the firearm is registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.  Garnica had not registered the sawed off shotgun in that record.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

# # #

COEUR D’ALENE – Laurecene (Lori) Barnes Isenberg, 65, of Coeur d’Alene, pleaded guilty yesterday to three counts of wire fraud and one count of theft from a federal program, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Isenberg’s sentencing is set for April 30, 2019, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

According to court records, Isenberg admitted to stealing $579,495.75 from the North Idaho Housing Coalition, an organization that was funded, in part, with grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development administered through the Idaho Housing and Finance Association.  Isenberg was the Coalition’s executive director when she engaged in a scheme with her four daughters to submit false invoices and expenses to the Coalition for payment.  These invoices were often submitted in the names of companies she set up in her daughters’ names.  Isenberg provided her daughters with some of the money she took.

Two of Isenberg’s daughters, Amber Hosking, 40, of Spirit Lake, Idaho, and Jessica Barnes, 32, of Spokane Valley, Washington, were sentenced yesterday by Judge Lodge for conspiracy to commit federal program fraud.  The criminal charge stemmed from their participation in the wire fraud and federal program theft scheme with Isenberg.  Hosking admitted receiving $16,500 from the scheme.  Jessica Barnes admitted receiving $15,500 from the scheme.  Both women admitted they received money for work they did not do.  Judge Lodge sentenced Hosking and Barnes each to three years’ probation and 100 hours of community service.  Judge Lodge also ordered Hosking and Barnes to pay $16,500 and $15,500 in restitution, respectively.  Their sentencings occurred at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

Isenberg’s other two daughters, Tracy Tesch, 34, of Rathdrum, Idaho, and April Barnes, 42, of Coeur d’Alene, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit program theft earlier today.  That criminal charge stemmed from their participation in the wire fraud and federal program theft scheme with Isenberg.  Tesch admitted to receiving approximately $15,300 from the scheme.  April Barnes admitted to receiving about $11,500 from the scheme.  Sentencing for both Barnes and Tesch is set for May 1, 2019, before Judge Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Coeur d’Alene City Police Department.

# # #

BOISE - Former IDOC correctional officer Erik Thompson, 37, pleaded guilty on January 7, 2019, in United States District Court to two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Sentencing for Thompson is set for April 7, 2019 before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

Thompson was one of four IDOC correctional officers charged with drug trafficking and related crimes stemming from an investigation initiated by the FBI at IDOC’s request to address concerns of corruption among IDOC correctional officers.

Thompson was charged with conspiracy to aid and abet drug trafficking crimes, distribution of cocaine, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of those drug trafficking offenses.  Previously, co-defendants Richard McCollough, 37, pleaded guilty to the same firearms offenses as Thompson, while Robert Wallin, 36, and Timothy Landon, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and abet drug trafficking crimes.  Wallin is set to be sentenced on February 12, 2019, McCollough is set to be sentenced on February 25, 2019, and Landon is set to be sentenced on February 26, 2019.  Judge Winmill is the sentencing judge for all defendants.

According to court records, Thompson joined in a conspiracy to assist what he believed to be a large-scale drug organization.  The drug dealers he was working for, however, were undercover FBI agents.  Thompson admitted to carrying a handgun while conducting surveillance of what appeared to be a drug transaction on behalf of the undercover FBI agents.  Thompson also admitted to carrying a handgun while he provided security and assisted in weighing 6 kilograms of cocaine.

No drugs were in the sole possession of the defendants, and no drugs or other contraband were brought into any IDOC facility as part of these operations.

Each count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, is punishable by at least five years imprisonment up to life, a maximum fine of $250,000, and at least five years of supervised release.

In addition to the FBI, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department, IDOC’s Special Investigations Unit, and the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office participated in the investigation.

# # #

BOISE – David Brannum, 55, now of Washougal, Washington, pleaded guilty on January 10, 2019, in United States District Court to preparing false federal income tax returns for clients of his business, “Dave’s Tax Service,” U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Sentencing is set for April 17, 2019, before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the Federal Courthouse in Boise.

Brannum pleaded guilty to one count of assisting, advising, and counseling clients to submit materially false federal income tax returns to the IRS.  According to court records, from 2003 through 2015, Brannum operated his tax preparation business in Idaho and Nevada and submitted hundreds of federal income tax returns.  Brannum often claimed false and fraudulent itemized deductions for his clients, which had the effect of decreasing their tax liability and generating improper refunds.  Specifically, Brannum (1) inflated the amounts of his clients’ charitable contributions and (2) entered amounts for unreimbursed employee expenses that were not substantiated, that he inflated, or that he knew were not allowable.  In total, Brannum’s criminal conduct resulted in over $101,000 in tax loss. 

Assisting, advising, and counseling clients to submit materially false federal income tax returns to the IRS is punishable by up to three years imprisonment, a term of supervised release of up to one year, and a fine of up to $250,000.

This case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigations division.

# # #

COEUR D'ALENE – Jason Bryon Redheart, 60, of Lapwai, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 27 months in federal prison for a January 2018 assault with a dangerous weapon which happened in Lapwai, Idaho, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Redheart to serve three years supervised release after he is finished serving his prison term.  Redheart was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 21, 2018.

According to court records, Redheart repeatedly hit the 64-year-old victim with a metal baseball bat after Redheart became convinced she had taken his apple cider vinegar.  Redheart apologized in court and his attorney requested no jail time due to Redheart’s lack of criminal history.  Judge Nye agreed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office that the violent attack deserved prison time.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Nez Perce Tribal Police.

COEUR D’ALENE – Raymond Lee Baheza, 56, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced yesterday in federal court to 27 months in prison for strangulation, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Baheza to pay $2,500 in restitution to the victim and to serve three years of supervised release following prison.

According to the plea agreement, on October 19, 2017, Baheza, a Coeur d’Alene Tribal Member, strangled and suffocated his wife while she was lying in bed.  He also struck her multiple times causing bruising to her face, eyes, neck, arm and hip.  The assault occurred on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation.

The federal crime of strangulation, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(8), became effective in March 2013.  As in this case, the crime is most often used by federal prosecutors to charge defendants who commit non-fatal strangulation offenses against a spouse, intimate partner or dating partner.  The statute defines "strangling" as "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of a person by applying pressure to the throat or neck, regardless of whether that conduct results in any visible injury or whether there is any intent to kill or protractedly injure the victim."  The statute also covers suffocation and attempted strangulation or suffocation.

This case was investigated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

BOISE - Tiffany Culbertson, 23, of Meridian, Idaho, pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion under official color of right, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Culbertson pleaded guilty in front of Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge pursuant to a written plea agreement filed with the Court.  Culbertson’s sentencing is set for February 21, 2019.

According to her plea agreement, Culbertson agreed with an Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) inmate, Colin McIntyre, 27, of Stanfield, Oregon, to pay a correctional officer at an IDOC prison to bring in contraband cell phones.  Culbertson then followed through with the plan, purchasing a cell phone and delivering it to the correctional officer, Joshua Barney, 43, of Boise, along with a bribe payment.  Barney then brought the phone into the prison and delivered it to McIntyre, which was prohibited under IDOC policies.

Culbertson was one of three defendants charged by federal indictment with multiple crimes involving the bribery scheme.  In prior court proceedings, co-defendants Barney and McIntyre pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion under official color of right.  McIntyre is set to be sentenced on February 14, 2019.  Barney is set to be sentenced on February 19, 2019.

Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion under official color of right is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IDOC’s Special Investigations Unit.

# # #

BOISE - Former Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) correctional officer Richard McCollough, 37, of Boise, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  McCollough pleaded guilty in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale pursuant to a written plea agreement filed with the Court.

McCollough was one of four IDOC correctional officers charged with drug trafficking and related crimes stemming from an investigation initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at IDOC’s request to address concerns of corruption among IDOC correctional officers.  For his two guilty pleas, McCollough faces at least 30 years in prison up to life.  His sentencing is set for February 25, 2019.

McCollough is the third defendant to plead guilty.  Previously, co-defendants Robert Wallin, 36, and Timothy Landon, 36, both of Boise, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and abet drug trafficking crimes.  Wallin will be sentenced on February 12, 2019.  Landon will be sentenced on February 26, 2019.

The fourth defendant, Erik Thompson, 38, of Star, Idaho, is scheduled for trial on February 11, 2019.  Thompson is charged with conspiracy to aid and abet drug trafficking crimes, distribution of cocaine, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of those drug trafficking offenses.

According to court records, McCollough joined in a conspiracy to assist what he believed to be a large-scale drug organization.  The drug dealers he was working for, however, were undercover FBI agents.  McCollough admitted to carrying a handgun while he provided security and assisted in weighing 6 kilograms of cocaine during the sting operation.  McCollough also admitted to carrying a handgun on a separate occasion while delivering 8.6 kilograms of cocaine to an undercover officer as part of the sting operation.

No drugs were in the sole possession of the defendants, and no drugs or other contraband were brought into any IDOC facility as part of these operations.

In addition to the FBI, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department, IDOC’s Special Investigations Unit, and the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office participated in the investigation.

# # #

POCATELLO - James Michael Hogan, Jr., 50, of Casper, Wyoming, and Levi Joseph Lupe, 49, of Lapwai, Idaho, were sentenced to federal prison terms last week of 21 months and 18 months, respectively, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Hogan, sentenced in Pocatello by U.S. District Judge David C. Nye, and Lupe, sentenced in Coeur d’Alene by Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge, were also ordered to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of their prison sentences. Hogan and Lupe pleaded guilty in July.

According to court records, in 1996, Hogan was convicted of rape in Georgia, and, in 1994, Lupe was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in Idaho.  Although both men are required under federal law to register as sexual offenders where they reside, neither did.  The cases were prosecuted in federal court because Hogan traveled across state lines, moving to Idaho without registering, and Lupe’s prior sex conviction was a federal case.

Another sex offender, Michael Keith Pilgrim, 44, of Preston, Idaho, pleaded guilty on Friday, November 30th, in Pocatello to failing to register in Idaho after crossing state lines and living in Idaho for several months.  In court, Pilgrim acknowledged that he was convicted of sex abuse of a child in 1999, and, like Hogan and Lupe, he was required to register as a sex offender.

The crime of failure to register as a sex offender is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to a life term of supervised release.  Pilgrim is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in Pocatello on March 4, 2019, before U.S. District Judge David C. Nye.

The cases were investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of local and state law enforcement agencies in both eastern and northern Idaho.

# # #

POCATELLO – Stormy Ray Adakai, 23, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was indicted today by a federal grand jury sitting in Pocatello on one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

The indictment alleges that on or about September 2, 2018, Adakai assaulted a victim by intentionally hitting him in the face and head with rocks, resulting in serious bodily injury.

The charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.  This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Hall Police Department.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity.  It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

# # #

BOISE – Elena C. Lupuleasa, 33, of Nampa, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Lupuleasa pleaded guilty pursuant to a written plea agreement filed with the Court.

According to the plea agreement, from April 2016 through November 2016, Lupuleasa devised and executed a scheme to defraud banks.  The scheme involved obtaining stolen checks, driver’s licenses, and other personal information from residents in Boise and Nampa.  Lupuleasa would then forge a check of one victim and make it payable to another theft victim.  Lupuleasa would then impersonate the payee and attempt to cash the check at a bank by presenting the stolen driver’s license or other form of identification of the payee.

Sentencing for Lupuleasa is set for February 6, 2019, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

Bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years.

Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory sentence of two years to run consecutive to any other term of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of one year.

This case was investigated by the Nampa Police Department, Boise Police Department, and Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

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BOISE – Jerry Lynn Moore, 43, of Weiser, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 180 months in prison followed by 10 years supervised release, for attempted sexual exploitation of children, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Moore was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge David C. Nye.  Moore pleaded guilty on August 14, 2018.

According to the plea agreement, in December 2017, Moore posted a Craigslist advertisement seeking an individual to have sexual contact with “Daddy.”  A detective with the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force responded to the ad in an undercover capacity, posing as a 15- year-old girl.  Between December 4, 2017 and March 15, 2018, Moore communicated with the undercover officer using the Google voice text application and voicemails.  During the online communications, Moore sent numerous messages attempting to persuade, induce, and entice the person he believed to be a 15-year-old child to meet him for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.  Moore also requested the 15-year-old produce and send him videos and images of the child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  On three occasions, Moore sent explicit images of his genitalia to the undercover detective.

On March 18, 2018, the undercover agreed to meet Moore for sexual activity and gave him the address of a residence where she was located.  Moore arrived at the location and was arrested by law enforcement.  Moore admitted he had arrived at the location to meet up with the 15-year-old for sexual contact, but claimed he could not recall her age.

At sentencing, Judge Nye also ordered Moore to forfeit the desktop computer, cell phone, and tablet used in the commission of the offense.  As a result of his conviction, Moore will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and 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.  As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal 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.”

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BOISE - Sara Beth Cummings, 36, of Boise, Idaho, and Candelaria Sanchez, 43, of Las Vegas, Nevada, were sentenced today in U.S. District Court for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Cummings to 21 months, and Sanchez to 84 months, in prison.  Judge Lodge also ordered that both serve a period of supervised release after their prison sentences.

According to court records, between February and March 2018, Sanchez worked with others to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in the Boise area.  Investigators learned that Sanchez was driving large loads of methamphetamine from Las Vegas to Boise, where she delivered it to a dealer who was living with Cummings.  On March 15, 2018, investigators stopped Sanchez outside of Cummings’ home, seizing 13 pounds of methamphetamine from her vehicle.  In Cummings’ home, officers found more methamphetamine and over $40,000 in cash.  Investigators determined that Cummings allowed her home to be used to conceal the drug trafficking conspiracy.

In July of this year, Sanchez pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  In September of this year, Cummings pled guilty to misprision of a felony.

The case was the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which includes the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Marshals Service.  Along with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Nampa Police Department, Boise Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and Meridian Police Department investigated the case.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

This case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Board.  The Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Board is a collaboration of local law enforcement drug task forces and prosecuting agencies dedicated to addressing regional drug trafficking organizations that operate in Ada and Canyon County.

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BOISE - David Hansen, 47, formerly of Idaho Falls, was indicted yesterday, by a federal grand jury sitting in Boise on 17 counts of wire fraud and six counts of tax fraud, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

Hansen was the 90 percent owner and chief executive officer of Yellowstone Partners, LLC, an investment management firm headquartered in Idaho Falls.  The indictment alleges the following: Yellowstone Partners managed its clients’ investment funds pursuant to management agreements that provided for Yellowstone Partners to collect fees for its services.  The actual client funds were kept in accounts at national brokerage firms.  Yellowstone Partners would receive its fees by submitting billing requests to the brokerage firms.  Those requests were supposed to comply with the fees set forth in the management agreements between Yellowstone Partners and its clients.

The indictment furthermore alleges that: From 2008 to 2016, Hansen systematically and intentionally overbilled many of his clients’ accounts.  He personally submitted fraudulent billing requests to a brokerage firm, and he also directed certain of his employees to do the same.  The fraudulent billings resulted in the transfer to Hansen and Yellowstone Partners of client funds in amounts far in excess of what was allowed for under the management agreements.  It is estimated that Hansen defrauded his clients of at least $9,448,941 through his overbilling scheme.

The indictment furthermore alleges that: In 2012 and 2013 Hansen aided and assisted in the preparation of false and fraudulent income tax returns for Yellowstone Partners and himself.  Specifically, as part of the overall fraud at Yellowstone Partners, Hansen caused Yellowstone Partners’ revenue and his own income to be significantly underreported.

The indictment finally alleges that: if convicted of wire fraud, Hansen shall forfeit $9,448,941.

The charge of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to five years of supervised release.

The charge of aiding and assisting in the presentation of a false and fraudulent tax return is punishable by up to 3 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to one year of supervised release.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the IRS-Criminal Investigations Division.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity.  It is not evidence.  The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

BOISE – Fred Zapata Paiz, 29, of Twin Falls, was sentenced last Thursday in U.S. District Court to 162 months in federal prison for the possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and a concurrent sentence of 120 months in prison for unlawfully possessing firearms, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Paiz was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge. A federal grand jury indicted Paiz on November 15, 2017.

According to court records, in July 2017, police were dispatched to a vehicle accident involving injuries in Twin Falls.  When police arrived, they found Paiz in one of the vehicles.  Police found over eight ounces of methamphetamine nearby.  Inside the vehicle, police found a loaded .40 caliber pistol, $670, and a digital scale.  Paiz was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a prior felony conviction for possession of controlled substances.

Later, in October 2017, police officers in Gooding, Idaho, found Paiz in a vehicle.  Paiz was arrested on an outstanding warrant for his arrest.  During a search of the vehicle, police officers found over six ounces of methamphetamine, a loaded 9mm pistol, and $2,200.

This case was investigated by the Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office, Twin Falls Police Department, Gooding Police Department, Gooding County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted in coordination with the Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Grant Loebs, Prosecutor.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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COEUR D'ALENE – Donovan Gomez, 23, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced last Tuesday to 46 months in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Gomez was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge David C. Nye.  Judge Nye also sentenced Gomez to three years supervised release after he is finished serving his prison term.  Gomez was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 17, 2018.

According to court records, on April 3, 2018, Gomez illegally possessed a firearm at the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Casino Hotel.  Gomez was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to his 2017 felony conviction for vehicle theft and 2018 felony conviction for second degree robbery, both out of Spokane.  Law enforcement learned about Gomez’s illegal firearm possession when Gomez photographed himself in one of the hotel rooms holding a gun and posted it on social media.  Someone alerted casino security, who called the tribal police, who called Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The FBI, Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office are credited with the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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BOISE – Neal G. Tilton, 40, of Boise, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 180 months in prison followed by 10 years supervised release, for distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  The sentence was imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge.  Tilton pleaded guilty on April 12, 2018.

According to court records, in August 2017, an investigator in Texas was monitoring a chat room where images of child pornography were being traded.  An individual from Idaho, later identified as Tilton, posted a link to an online storage account containing images of child pornography.  The investigation was referred to the Boise Police Department (BPD).  U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale signed a search warrant for the online storage account and an associated e-mail account, and the BPD detective identified the accounts as belonging to Tilton and containing child pornography.  The e-mail account also contained evidence that Tilton was acting as the administrator of the chat room, had created rules for access and involvement in the child pornography trading chat room, and was trading images of child pornography via e-mail.

The BPD detective also discovered that Tilton had recently been arrested for leaving the scene of an accident and driving under the influence.  Tilton had left his wallet and his cell phone in the vehicle after fleeing the scene of the accident.  Judge Dale signed a search warrant for the cell phone, and the BPD detective discovered the phone contained additional evidence of the distribution of child pornography, including numerous images of child pornography.

The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department, and 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.”

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BOISE – Yazmani Gomez-Sandoval, 36, of Gooding, Idaho, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boise to 240 months in prison to be followed by a life term of supervised release, for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  The sentence was imposed by Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill.  Gomez-Sandoval pleaded guilty on June 13, 2018.

According to court records, in June 2017, agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified Gomez-Sandoval as one of many individuals accessing an online chat room and trading images and videos of child pornography.  On at least five occasions, Gomez-Sandoval posted digital video files depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including images of toddlers and infants and sadistic and masochistic abuse, in the chat room.

In December 2017, HSI agents obtained a search warrant for Gomez-Sandoval’s residence in Gooding.  They seized and searched Gomez-Sandoval’s cellphone, where they discovered approximately 71 images and 15 videos depicting child pornography.  Gomez-Sandoval admitted to agents that he accessed the online chat room and traded images of child pornography with other individuals.  He also admitted to agents that he had recently sexually abused a six or seven year old child in Gooding, and had sexually abused three other children between the ages of 4 and 6 while in Mexico between 2003 and 2006.

“This case demonstrates the importance of investigating those persons involved in possessing, receiving, distributing and producing child pornography,” U.S. Attorney Davis said.  “Often, persons involved in child pornography also have committed hands-on sex offenses.  By focusing on these investigations, we may be preventing the future sexual abuse of a child.  I commend Homeland Security Investigations for their efforts in this case.  Thanks to their diligence, Mr. Gomez-Sandoval was held responsible for his actions, and no longer represents a threat to children in Idaho.”

“We are dedicated to removing these dangerous predators from the community,” said Brad Bench, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Seattle.  “Combatting individuals who prey on our most vulnerable, our children, is of the utmost importance to HSI and our law enforcement partners.  We must protect our children from those who seek to harm them.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, and 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.”

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BOISE – Jose Luis “Joey” Sanchez, 39, of Boise, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boise to 30 months in prison followed by ten years supervised release, for access with intent to view child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

According to court records, between November 2015 and January 2016, agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) observed Sanchez logging into an online video conferencing application chatroom multiple times, where users were posting and viewing images of child pornography.  Detectives with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force served a search warrant at Sanchez’s residence and seized his laptop computer.  ICAC detectives also interviewed Sanchez, where he admitted to logging into the chatroom, observing child pornography, and later returning to the chatroom.  Detectives found evidence on Sanchez’s computer showing that he accessed the chatroom and communicated with other users about his sexual interest in children and locations where child pornography could be viewed.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Sanchez to forfeit the laptop computer used in the commission of the charged offense.  As a result of his conviction, Sanchez will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.  The 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.  As part of Project Safe Childhood, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal 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.”

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BOISE – United States Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) Jack Haycock, Ray Patricco and Traci Whelan will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 6, 2018, general election.  AUSAs Haycock, Patricco and Whelan have been appointed to serve as District Election Officers for the District of Idaho, and in that capacity are responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have their vote properly counted,” said U.S. Attorney Davis.  “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur.  The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on Election Day.

Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them.  For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law.  Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy).

“The franchise is the cornerstone of our American system of governance,” said Davis.  “We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.”

In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 6, 2018, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, United States Attorney Davis stated that AUSAs Haycock, Patricco and Whelan will be on duty in this District while the polls are open.  They can be reached by the public at the following telephone numbers:

• (208) 251-0589 in Pocatello for AUSA Haycock;
• (208) 334-9118 in Boise for AUSA Patricco; and
• (208) 676-7344 in Coeur d’Alene for AUSA Whelan.

Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will have Special Agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day.  For matters in eastern and southern Idaho, FBI agents in Boise can be reached by the public at (208) 344-7843 and for matters in northern Idaho, FBI agents in Coeur d’Alene can be reached by the public at (208) 664-5128.

After Election Day, complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the District of Idaho Civil Chief, AUSA Nicholas Woychick at (208) 334-9120 or the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, D.C. by phone at 1 (800) 253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to voting.section@usdoj.gov or by complaint form at justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake.

“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate,” said Davis.  “It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”

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BOISE – United States Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today that his office’s Financial Litigation Unit collected more than $11.17 million in criminal restitution, fines, and assessments and in civil debts for the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2018.  In some cases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office worked in conjunction with litigating components of the U.S. Department of Justice.  Of the total collected, approximately $1,923,373 were criminal restitution, fines, and/or assessments, and approximately $9,251,990 were civil debts.  In addition, the Asset Forfeiture Unit collected approximately $2,502,374 in proceeds and instruments of crime in criminal and civil forfeiture actions.

“The more than $13.6 million our staff collected for criminal restitution, fines, assessments, civil debts, and asset forfeiture exceeds the U.S. Attorney's Office’s annual operational budget,” said Davis.  “Our collection and asset forfeiture staff of attorneys, paralegals, analysts, and fiscal agents ensure that those who have caused loss to victims pay those victims back and ensure that those who have profited from committing crimes in the District of Idaho are deprived of the proceeds and tools of their crimes.  These same folks also ensure that those who owe the federal government money, as a result of litigation in this District or as a result of longtime debt, make appropriate payments.  This year, all of these dedicated individuals have done outstanding work and served this office, the taxpayers, and this community well,” Davis concluded.

Victims of crime receive funds collected in criminal restitution cases.  In fiscal year 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, through the Financial Litigation Unit, collected over $1.77 million in criminal restitution that was distributed to victims of crime.  Other criminal collections such as fines go into the Crime Victims Fund.  From there, funds are distributed to the Idaho Crime Victims Compensation Program, the Idaho Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance, and similar programs across the country.  Money recovered from the illegal proceeds of criminal activity through forfeiture is returned to victims, used to offset the costs of operating federal prisons, and shared with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to help fight crime.  Other recoveries go back to agency creditors.

During the fiscal year, some notable criminal restitution collections include approximately $508,000 paid by the defendant in a failure to pay taxes case and over $267,000 collected from assets of a defendant in a wire fraud case.  In addition, various homes were sold by defendants to partially or completely satisfy their restitution obligations.  The Treasury Offset Program helped collect over $200,000 toward restitution debt.

Notable recoveries of the proceeds of crime through asset forfeiture include forfeitures of currency, vehicles, and real property seized as proceeds and facilitating property of drug trafficking and fraud.  These included real properties in Caldwell, Nampa, Buhl and Washington State.  Significant forfeitures included the sale of agricultural land in Buhl, Idaho, in United States v Saul, an organic seed fraud case; the sale of a residence in Nampa, Idaho in United States v. Wilfong, a methamphetamine distribution case; and the forfeiture of cash and other property in United States v. Toelle, a North Idaho oxycodone distribution case.  Additionally, the Asset Forfeiture Unit used civil forfeiture to assist two Idaho companies to recover several hundred thousand dollars stolen in email fraud schemes.  In some cases, the United States shared, or will share, seized money and property with local investigating agencies.

As for civil debts and penalties, the Financial Litigation Unit collects civil penalties for violations of regulations involving, among other things, controlled substances, environmental protection, damage to federal property, and procurement fraud.  It also collects civil debts for defaulted loans.

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COEUR D’ALENE –Amber Annette Hosking, 39, and Jessica Fay Barnes, 32, sisters, from Spokane Valley, Washington, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit federal program theft, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

According to court records, from 2015 to February 2018, both women conspired with an unnamed agent of the North Idaho Housing Coalition to commit federal program theft.  The conspiracy involved the sisters receiving money from the Coalition after an agent for the Coalition submitted false bills for work never performed.  The Coalition’s agent, knowing the bills were false, still paid the sisters from the Coalition’s bank accounts.  The sisters knew the bills submitted to the Coalition were false.  Hosking agreed to forfeit at least $16,500 obtained from the crime, while Barnes agreed to forfeit at least $15,000 obtained from her part in the crime.

Hosking and Barnes’ sentencings are set for January 29, 2019 before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.  Each faces a maximum punishment of up to five years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Davis commended the collaborative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the City of Coeur d’Alene Police Department, the Kootenai County Prosecutors Office and his office staff.  “We are always at our strongest when we work together for the good of the public we serve,” said Davis.

This case was worked collaboratively by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

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COEUR D’ALENE – Adam Arrow Weinberger, 57, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and William Morris Antelope, 47, of Cheney, Washington, are the latest sentenced in a multistate drug investigation, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.  Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Weinberger to 92 months in prison, followed by eight years of supervised release, and on Monday sentenced Antelope to 39 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

Weinberger and Antelope are two of nine related individuals under federal indictment in Idaho for multistate drug trafficking.  The investigation initially centered on methamphetamine and heroin dealers in Lewiston, Clarkston, and the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.  The investigation expanded to distributors bringing methamphetamine and heroin into Idaho from Oregon and Washington.  Five defendants linked to the drug ring have already been sentenced:

• Salvador Saucedo, 27, of Milton-Freewater, Oregon, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison;
• Robin Jo Rose, 31, of Lewiston, Idaho, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison;
• Andrew Byers, 28, of Craigmont, Idaho, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison;
• Kyle Seidel, 32, of Lewiston, Idaho, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison; and,
• Brice Heimgartner, 25, of Clarkston, Washington, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers seized kilograms of pure methamphetamine, heroin, guns and cash during numerous searches and arrests in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.

Several federal, state and local agencies participated in the investigation and prosecution of these cases, including: the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lewiston Police Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office, Latah County Prosecutor’s Office, Moscow Police Department, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Latah County Sherriff’s Office, Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Department, Idaho State Police – District 2, Nez Perce Tribal Police Department, Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team, and the Quad Cities Drug Task Force.

These indictments are the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which includes the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

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BOISE – This Saturday, October 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its16th opportunity in eight years to prevent overdose deaths and drug addictions before they start by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs, announced U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho Bart M. Davis.  Davis is encouraging the public to bring their pills for disposal to one of 35 collection sites across Idaho.  The disposal service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.  (The DEA cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps, only pills or patches.)

“Prescription drugs are highly addictive and can be just as dangerous and deadly as any street drug,” said U.S. Attorney Davis.  “Taking steps to end the nation’s opioid crisis is a top priority for my office.  This summer, I took my own advice, and I found and then disposed unused opioid pain pills from a root canal procedure by dropping them off at a nearby take-back kiosk.  This biannual Prescription Take Back Day is an important reminder to remove unused prescription drugs from homes before a chance of abuse can occur.”

Last spring, Americans turned in nearly 475 tons (949,046 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,700 of its state and local law enforcement partners.  Here, in the District of Idaho, 4,282 pounds of pills were collected from 37 different collection sites.  Overall, in its 15 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in almost 10 million pounds—nearly 5,000 tons—of pills.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.  Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet.  In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 27 Take Back Day Event, go to DEATakeBack.com where you can search by zip code, city or state.

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DEA Prescription Drug Take Back Day - October 27, 2018.