Northern District of Illinois

CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun on a Chicago street.

DONTA BAKER illegally possessed the gun on the evening of July 24, 2020, in the 2100 block of West 68th Street in Chicago’s West Englewood neighborhood.  Chicago Police officers observed Baker standing on a sidewalk tugging at an object in his waistband and approached him to conduct an investigatory stop.  Baker ran from the officers and tossed the gun over a fence into a residential backyard.  The officers apprehended him a short time later.

Baker, 38, of Chicago, pleaded guilty in June to a federal charge of illegal possession of a firearm.  Baker had previously been convicted of multiple firearm-related felonies in state court and was prohibited by federal law from possessing the gun.  After pleading guilty and awaiting sentencing in the federal case, Baker violated the terms of his bond conditions when he removed his ankle monitor.  He was quickly re-arrested and the bond was revoked.

U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger imposed the federal prison sentence Nov. 2, 2021, after a hearing in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

“Defendant’s crime is not one of simple possession,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Saurish Appleby-Bhattacharjee argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “Particularly within this federal district – encompassing a city besieged by routine shootings and homicides – there is no simple possession of a loaded pistol by a convicted felon.”

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.

CHICAGO — Three individuals have been arrested on federal charges as part of an investigation that disrupted a suspected Mexico-to-Chicago drug pipeline and resulted in government seizures of a private plane and 100 kilograms of cocaine.

Federal agents on Wednesday discovered 80 kilograms of cocaine in a vehicle in Chicago’s River North neighborhood and another 20 kilograms of the drug in a hotel room in the city’s Gold Coast neighborhood, according to criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The cocaine had allegedly been transported to the Chicago area earlier Wednesday via private plane from Toluca, Mexico, via Houston, Texas.  The plane arrived at Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Ind., and the drugs were driven in suitcases to downtown Chicago, the charges allege.

Two of the defendants – SEBASTIAN VAZQUEZ-GAMEZ, 30, of Toluca de Lerdo, Mexico, and RODRIGO ALEXIS JIMENEZ-PEREZ, 25, of Columbus, Ind. – were arrested Wednesday in downtown Chicago, while the third defendant – SERGIO IVAN BLAS, 39, of Indianapolis, Ind. – was arrested Thursday in the Indianapolis area.  Federal agents today obtained a warrant to seize the private plane, a Bombardier Challenger 600.

A detention hearing for Jimenez-Perez is scheduled for Nov. 9, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel A. Fuentes in Chicago.  Vazquez-Gamez is set to appear for a detention hearing before Judge Fuentes on Nov. 10, 2021, at 3:00 p.m.  Blas is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Nov. 9, 2021, in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana.

The charges and arrests were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Bell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Angie Salazar, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of Homeland Security Investigations; and Justin Campbell, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.  Substantial assistance was provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana, and the Chicago Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Chung and Andrew Erskine represent the government.

According to the charges, Vazquez-Gamez arrived on the plane from Houston and loaded suitcases full of cocaine into a Lincoln Navigator sport-utility vehicle.  Vazquez-Gamez and others from the plane entered the Lincoln and were driven to the hotel in Chicago, the complaints state.  Outside the hotel, Vazquez-Gamez loaded some of the suitcases into a Toyota Highlander sport-utility vehicle driven by Jimenez-Perez, the charges allege.  Agents pulled over the Toyota a few blocks away, seized the suitcases containing 80 kilograms of cocaine, and arrested Jimenez-Perez.  Agents later arrested Vazquez-Gamez in his hotel room, where they seized the other 20 kilograms of cocaine, the charges allege.

The complaint against Blas accuses him of directing Jimenez-Perez on where to meet Vazquez-Gamez to pick up the cocaine.

The public is reminded that complaints contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — Two businessmen have been charged in federal court with running a fencing operation out of their suburban Chicago stores.

ZIAD I. ZAYED, also known as “Zee,” 46, and MOSAS I. ZAYED, 33, both of Frankfort, Ill., are charged with conspiracy to receive and dispose of stolen property across state lines.  The Zayeds, who are brothers, were arrested Tuesday.  They are scheduled to appear for detention hearings today at 2:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel A. Fuentes.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the Zayeds used their store – Crestwood Electronics Inc. in Crestwood, Ill. – and other businesses to knowingly purchase stolen electronic devices and other merchandise, re-package the items, and then ship them to re-sellers out of state and overseas.  Some of the items fenced by the Zayeds included laptop computers, fitness tracking devices, and digital cameras that were stolen last year from railcars near Chicago, the charges allege.

The complaint and arrests were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann Marie E. Ursini, Melody Wells, and Barry Jonas.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — The leader of a drug trafficking organization has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for supplying heroin to an illegal open-air market on the West Side of Chicago.

LEVAUGHN COLLINS obtained bulk quantities of heroin and provided it to numerous associates, who, at Collins’s direction, processed and packaged the drugs for street-level sales.  Many of the sales occurred at an illegal open-air market in the 3700 block of West Grenshaw Street in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood.

Collins obtained significant profits from the sale of multiple kilograms of heroin.  During the investigation, law enforcement conducted a court-authorized search of his residence and discovered a Maserati automobile, $50,000 in cash, and more than $400,000 worth of jewelry.  A search of another location which Collins utilized to stash the heroin revealed ten firearms, many of which were loaded and equipped with extended magazines. 

Collins, 41, of Chicago, pleaded guilty in 2019 to federal drug and firearm charges.  U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman imposed the prison sentence Tuesday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Bell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  The multi-agency investigation was supported by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA) Initiative.  Substantial assistance was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.

“The defendant financed his lifestyle by taking advantage of those addicted to heroin,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott M. Edenfield and Jared C. Jodrey argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “Drug trafficking, at any level, is a serious offense that has well-documented deleterious effects not only on traffickers and users, but on the community at large.”

CHICAGO — A federal jury today convicted a Chicago man on sex trafficking charges for recruiting several children to engage in sex acts for money.

The jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago convicted LENNIE PERRY, 47, on all seven counts of sex trafficking.  The conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, and a maximum of life.  U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber did not immediately set a sentencing date.  A status hearing was scheduled for Jan. 12, 2022, at 9:30 a.m.

The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The case was investigated by the FBI Chicago Child Exploitation Task Force.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Mulaney and Kelly Guzman.

According to evidence presented at the week-long trial, Perry trafficked seven minors under the age of 18.  One of his victims was under 14 years old when Perry caused her to engage in a commercial sex act.  Perry used websites such as Backpage and Facebook to advertise commercial sex acts and recruit the young victims to work for him.  Perry also required that each of his victims have sex with him before he would traffic them to others. 

Perry arranged for the victims to meet individuals for the commercial sex acts in hotels and the individuals’ homes in Illinois, Minnesota, and Mississippi.  Six of Perry’s victims testified at trial about their ordeals.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1-800-843-5678 or logging on to www.cybertipline.com.

An Illinois woman was arrested today when she arrived at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, for allegedly murdering her mother on Aug. 12, 2014, while on vacation in Bali, Indonesia.

Heather Mack, 26, is alleged to have conspired with her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 28, to kill her mother, Sheila Von Weise, while Mack and Von Weise were on vacation in Bali. According to court documents, Mack and Schaefer discussed how and when to kill Von Weise, arranged for Schaefer to travel to Bali, committed the murder, and then placed Von Weise’s body inside a suitcase which they loaded into the trunk of a taxi.

Before the murder, Schaefer received advice from his cousin, Ryan Bibbs, about how to kill Von Weise. Bibbs pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Illinois in December 2016 to one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national. Court documents reveal that Mack also asked Bibbs if he knew anyone who would kill her mother in exchange for money.

Mack and Schaefer were prosecuted and convicted in Indonesia in 2015 for Von Weise’s murder. Mack was sentenced to 10 years’ and Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment. Mack was released on Oct. 29, and deported to the United States. Schaefer remains incarcerated by Indonesian authorities.

Mack and Schaefer were indicted in the Northern District of Illinois with one count of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national, and one count of obstruction. Mack will make her initial court appearance today. If convicted, she faces a maximum statutory penalty of life imprisonment for counts one and two, and 20 years’ imprisonment for count three as well as a fine up to $250,000.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois, and Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office made the announcement. The FBI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Frank Rangoussis of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Kinney for the Northern District of Illinois are prosecuting the case.

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

CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for straw purchasing handguns in the Chicago suburbs.

On four occasions in 2019 and 2020, ISMAEL SENE purchased a total of seven handguns from licensed firearms dealers in the Chicago suburbs of Oak Lawn and Merrionette Park.  In one of the transactions, Sene falsely certified on federal forms that he was the actual buyer.  In reality, Sene purchased at least one of those guns on behalf of an individual whom Sene had reason to believe was a convicted felon who was prohibited by federal law from purchasing or possessing a firearm.  In addition, Sene in each transaction falsely told the firearms dealer that he was not an unlawful drug user, when, in fact, Sene regularly used marijuana, which was a violation of federal law.

Sene, 25, of Chicago, pleaded guilty in June to making false statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm.  U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman on Oct. 29, 2021, sentenced Sene to a year and a day in federal prison.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The Chicago Police Department provided valuable assistance.

“Straw purchasers, like the defendant, perpetuate the cycle of violence that is terrorizing this city,” Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Durkin argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “The tools that drive that mayhem are firearms in the hands of dangerous people who are often legally prohibited from purchasing and possessing them.”

CHICAGO — A Chicago woman was arrested today on federal charges for allegedly conspiring with her boyfriend to murder her mother at an Indonesian resort in 2014.

An indictment returned in 2017 and unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges HEATHER L. MACK, 26, and TOMMY E. SCHAEFER, 28, of Chicago, with conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice.  The indictment accuses Mack and Schaefer of conspiring in Chicago and Indonesia to carry out the murder of Mack’s mother, Sheila A. Von Wiese, a U.S. citizen from Illinois.  The charges allege that Mack and Schaefer killed Von Wiese in a hotel room at the St. Regis Bali resort on Aug. 12, 2014, and then placed the body in a suitcase and loaded it into the trunk of a taxicab.

An Indonesian court in 2015 convicted and imprisoned Mack and Schaefer on local charges related to Von Wiese’s murder.  Mack was released last week from an Indonesian prison.  She was arrested today by U.S. authorities upon her return to the United States.  Her arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.  Schaefer remains imprisoned in Indonesia.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kenneth A. Polite, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  Indonesian law enforcement and immigration authorities provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry M. Kinney of the Northern District of Illinois, and Frank Rangoussis, Trial Attorney of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.

The U.S. investigation previously resulted in charges against Schaefer’s cousin, ROBERT RYAN JUSTIN BIBBS, also known as “Ryan Bibbs,” of Chicago.  Bibbs pleaded guilty in 2016 to a murder conspiracy charge, stating in a plea agreement that he was aware of the couple’s plot to carry out Von Wiese’s murder and that he counseled Schaefer on how to get away with it.  Bibbs was sentenced in 2017 to nine years in federal prison.

CHICAGO — A federal indictment unsealed today charges 13 alleged leaders, members, and associates of the Wicked Town faction of the Traveling Vice Lords street gang with participating in a criminal organization that murdered rivals and violently protected a drug-dealing operation on the West Side of Chicago.

The indictment alleges that the Wicked Town faction engaged in numerous acts of violence, including at least 19 murders, 19 attempted murders, several armed robberies, and assaults.  The gang used threats and intimidation to prevent victims and witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement, the charges allege.  Wicked Town members regularly promoted their violent enterprise on social media, posting comments, photos, and videos to proclaim membership in the gang, taunt rival gang members, and boast about murders and other acts of violence, the indictment states.  The gang operated primarily in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, where members allegedly maintained “trap houses” to store firearms and illegal narcotics, including cocaine and heroin.

During the course of the multi-year probe, law enforcement seized 46 firearms, approximately 1,000 rounds of ammunition, approximately 17 kilograms of cocaine, approximately seven kilograms of heroin, and approximately 100 grams of crack cocaine.

All 13 defendants are in law enforcement custody.  Arraignments will be scheduled in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Substantial assistance in the investigation was provided by the Chicago office of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Chicago Field Office of the FBI, the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program (HIDTA), and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John D. Mitchell and Jimmy L. Arce.

“In bringing this racketeering indictment, we are seeking to hold accountable those who played a central role in significant gang violence on the West Side of Chicago,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “These RICO charges are the result of many federal, state, and local law enforcement partners working together to fulfill a common mission – reducing gun violence and keeping the people of Chicago safe.”

“ATF remains committed to investigating those responsible for gun violence in Chicago,” said ATF SAC de Tineo.  “The resulting indictment underscores the importance of collaboration among law enforcement in keeping the community safe from gun violence.”

Charged with racketeering conspiracy are Chicago residents DONALD LEE, 39; DESHAWN MORGAN, 39; MARQUEL RUSSELL, 44; DARIUS MURPHY, 22; TORANCE BENSON, 29; DAVION RUSSELL, 21; DESHON GEORGE, 28; NASHON JOHNSON, 42; DANTE DOCKETT, 43; DEMOND BROWN, 28; VICTOR TURNER, 30; WILLIE GARDLEY, 27; and DAVID ARRINGTON, 26.

The 21-count superseding indictment alleges that members and associates of the Wicked Town faction carried out the murders as part of the gang’s criminal enterprise, and that certain individual members committed some of the killings to maintain and increase their position in the gang.  The murders charged in the indictment are as follows:

• Arrington allegedly murdered Ronald Boyd on Aug. 22, 2020, in Chicago.
• Turner allegedly murdered Sammy Hodges on March 10, 2019, in Chicago.
• Morgan, Murphy, and Brown allegedly murdered Donald Holmes, Jr. and Diane Taylor, on Jan. 31, 2018, in Chicago.
• Murphy, Brown, Gardley, and Arrington allegedly murdered Uriah Hughes on Jan. 11, 2018, in Chicago.
• Murphy, Brown, Lee, and Gardley allegedly murdered Kishaun Mobley on Dec. 23, 2017, in Chicago.
• Murphy allegedly murdered Alfred Stovall on April 28, 2017, in Chicago.
• Dockett and Davion Russell allegedly murdered Derrick Jones and Stephen Tucker on Dec. 23, 2016, in Chicago.
• Benson allegedly murdered Martel Howard on Jan. 21, 2016, in Chicago.
• Murphy and Brown allegedly murdered Dan Rance on Sept. 2, 2015, in Chicago.
• Murphy, Brown, and Lee allegedly murdered James Douthard on Aug. 23, 2015, in Chicago.
• Turner and Lee allegedly murdered Malcolm Willie on July 15, 2015, in Chicago.
• Gardley and Lee allegedly murdered Charlie Weathers on May 23, 2015, in Chicago.
• Brown allegedly murdered Abraham Cooper on Dec. 23, 2014, in Chicago.
• Brown and Benson allegedly murdered Ron Hernandez on Dec. 21, 2014, in Chicago.
• Lee allegedly murdered John Johnson on June 15, 2003, in Chicago.  
• Lee and Johnson allegedly murdered Ernest Moore on Dec. 23, 2002, in Chicago.
• Lee allegedly murdered Lamont Ware on July 22, 2000, in Chicago.

The indictment also charges several of the defendants with federal firearm and drug trafficking violations.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Racketeering conspiracy generally carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, but a life sentence is possible for certain underlying charged activities.  Several of the defendants also face a maximum of the death penalty if convicted of certain murders charged in the indictment.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — The former Chief Executive Officer of an Illinois computer services company has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for orchestrating fraud schemes that bilked a global telecommunications provider and two financial companies out of a combined $9 million.

DAVID GODWIN, 59, of Germantown Hills, Ill., pleaded guilty in 2018 to a wire fraud charge.  U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang imposed the prison sentence Thursday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven J. Dollear and John D. Mitchell.

Godwin served as CEO of ContinuityX Solutions Inc., a computer-services company based in Metamora, Ill.  From 2011 to 2013, Godwin orchestrated fraud schemes that bilked the global telecommunications provider out of more than $3 million and two financial companies out of $6 million.

In the first phase of the scheme, Godwin and ContinuityX’s Chief Financial Officer, ANTHONY ROTH, created false documentation to fraudulently inflate the financial condition of companies they had approached to purchase services from the global telecommunications provider, causing the global firm to approve the sales and pay ContinuityX millions in commissions for having procured new customers.  To further the scheme, Godwin and a ContinuityX sales representative, JOHN COLETTI, arranged conference calls in which Coletti fraudulently posed as an employee of the global provider.

In the second phase of the scheme, Godwin worked with Coletti to fraudulently obtain $6 million from a factoring agreement with the two victim financing companies.  Godwin secured the agreement after submitting false documentation claiming that a China-based company owed ContinuityX $8 million per month in receivables.  Godwin and Coletti arranged conference calls in which Coletti fraudulently posed as an employee of the China-based company to falsely assure the two victim companies that the accounts receivables were legitimate and that payment of the receivables was forthcoming.

Roth, of Upton, Mass., pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 7, 2021, at 1:00 p.m.

Coletti, of Canyon Country, Calif., pleaded guilty to a false statement charge and was sentenced in 2019 to two and a half years in federal prison.

ROCKFORD — A man has been convicted of federal robbery and firearm charges in connection with a series of violent retail store robberies in Rockford.

After a seven-day trial in U.S. District Court in Rockford, the jury on Tuesday convicted RICKEY CLAYBRON, 35, of Rockford, on one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, three counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.  Claybron faces a maximum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced next year.

The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The investigation was conducted by the FBI-led Rockford Area Violent Crime Task Force, which includes law enforcement officers and agents from the FBI, Rockford Police Department, Loves Park Police Department and Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica S. Maveus and Kaitlin Klamann.

According to evidence presented at trial, Claybron and his co-conspirators conducted four violent robberies in the fall of 2015:

• Oct. 28, 2015: H&A Tobacco, 1623 Broadway in Rockford.  Claybron entered the store, pointed his gun at a clerk, and ordered the clerk and a customer to get on the ground.  Cash and multiple cartons of cigarettes were stolen from the store, along with the clerk’s personal belongings.
• Nov. 2, 2015: Advance Auto, 3019 Auburn St. in Rockford.  During the robbery, a store employee was ordered at gunpoint to lay on the ground while another employee was ordered to open the cash registers.  One employee was struck in the side of the face with a gun and later shot at when he ran from the store.  The robbers stole cash from the store and from one of the employees.
• Nov. 5, 2015: Zake Convenience, 824 7th St. in Rockford.  In this attempted robbery, Claybron entered the store first, pointing a gun directly at store clerks and then reaching behind a partition waving his gun.  When Claybron was unable to gain access to the cash register, he and the other robbers fled the store.
• Nov. 13, 2015: Shell Express, 3003 11th St. in Rockford.  Claybron pointed a sawed-off shotgun at customers while a co-conspirator, DEANDRE R. HAYWOOD of Rockford, pointed a gun at store employees and grabbed cigarettes and cash from the registers.  Haywood then shot one of the employees in the back while Claybron struck an employee in the head with his shotgun.

Haywood and a third co-conspirator, DARNELL LEAVY of Rockford, pleaded guilty prior to trial.  Haywood was sentenced to 26 and a half years in federal prison, while Leavy was sentenced to eleven and a half years. 

CHICAGO —A Chicago technology executive pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge and admitted illegally exporting computer equipment from the United States to a nuclear research agency of the Pakistani government.

OBAIDULLAH SYED, 66, of Northbrook, Ill., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to export goods from the U.S. without a license from the Department of Commerce and to submit false export information.  The conviction is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.  U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland set sentencing for Feb. 23, 2021, at 12:30 p.m.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Angie Salazar, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of Homeland Security Investigations; Aaron Tambrini, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security-Office of Export Enforcement, Chicago Field Office; and Cynthia A. Bruce, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Flanagan.

Syed owned Pakistan-based BUSINESS SYSTEM INTERNATIONAL PVT. LTD., and Chicago-based BSI USA.  The companies provided high-performance computing platforms, servers, and software application solutions.  Syed admitted in a plea agreement that from 2006 to 2015 he conspired with his company’s employees in Pakistan to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by exporting computer equipment from the U.S. to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission without obtaining the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce.  The PAEC is a Pakistani government agency responsible for, among other things, designing and testing explosives and nuclear weapons parts.  It was designated by the U.S. government as an entity which may pose an unusual or extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.

Syed further admitted that he and the other conspirators falsely represented to U.S.-based computer manufacturers that the illegal shipments were intended for Pakistan-based universities or Syed’s businesses, when, in fact, the conspirators knew that the true end user of each shipment was either the PAEC or a research institute that trained the agency’s engineers and scientists.  In so doing, Syed and his company caused the U.S.-based computer manufacturers to submit to the U.S. government shipping documents that listed false end-users for the U.S.-origin goods, thereby undermining the U.S. government’s ability to stop the illegal shipments.

Business System International Pvt. Ltd. was charged in the conspiracy as a corporate defendant.  The company has yet to respond to the charges.

ROCKFORD — Two Thomson Penitentiary inmates have been sentenced to additional prison time for assaulting another inmate.

U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. on Thursday sentenced JASON MACKENZIE, 40, to eight years in prison, and CHRISTOPHER D. BARROW, 39, to eight years and nine months.  These sentences must be served after their current sentences are completed.

The sentences were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincenza L. Tomlinson.

Barrow and Mackenzie admitted in plea agreements that on May 8, 2019, they punched, kicked, and stomped the head and body of another inmate multiple times, causing serious injuries.

A third defendant, BRADLEY SHELTON, also pleaded guity and admitted participating in the assault.  Shelton is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Tharp on March 15, 2022.

CHICAGO — A newly filed federal indictment adds additional carjacking and firearm charges against a Chicago man accused of murdering a rideshare driver during a carjacking earlier this year. 

EDMOND HARRIS, 18, was initially charged with carjacking a Lexus GS sedan and fatally shooting the driver, rideshare worker Javier Ramos, on March 23, 2021, in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago.  The superseding indictment renews that charge and adds additional carjacking and attempting carjacking charges against Harris. 

JOSHUA WALKER, 21, of Chicago, is also charged in the new indictment with carjacking and firearm offenses.

According to the new charges, Harris and Walker conspired to carjack a Mitsubishi Outlander sport-utility vehicle in the Loop neighborhood of Chicago, and together committed that carjacking on Jan. 20, 2021.  The new indictment alleges that Harris on the same day attempted to carjack another vehicle – a Nissan Altima sedan – in west suburban Oak Park.

In addition to the carjacking offenses, the new indictment charges Harris and Walker with federal firearm violations that, if convicted, carry mandatory minimum sentences in federal prison.

Harris and Walker are both in federal custody.  Walker was arraigned last week in federal court in Chicago and pleaded not guilty to the charges.  He is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing Thursday at 11:00 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert. 

Harris will be arraigned on the superseding indictment Friday at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland.

The superseding indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department; and LaDon Reynolds, Chief of the Oak Park Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Kramer and Paige Nutini.

The charges against Harris carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 27 years in federal prison and a maximum of death.  The charges against Walker carry a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison and a maximum of life.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago woman admitted in federal court today that she used insider information obtained from her husband to purchase shares of a company ahead of its acquisition by the husband’s employer.

DENISE GREVAS, 60, of Evanston, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud.  The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber set sentencing for Feb. 23, 2022.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil enforcement action against Grevas, provided valuable assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Hasten and Jason Yonan represent the government in the criminal case.

Grevas admitted in a plea agreement that in 2019 she made $286,960 in illegal profits from the purchase and sale of securities in a Washington state-based pharmaceutical company, which was a target for acquisition and later acquired by an overseas-based pharmaceutical company that had an office in Deerfield, Ill., and employed Grevas’s husband.  Grevas used material, non-public information about the expected acquisition to purchase shares in the Washington company ahead of a public announcement of the acquisition on Sept. 16, 2019.  After the announcement, the Washington company’s stock price increased and Grevas sold her shares for the profit, the plea agreement states.

CHICAGO — Four men have been charged with federal firearm offenses for allegedly trafficking guns from St. Louis to Chicago.

Criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago accuse ROBERT NARUP of buying firearms at gun shows throughout the United States and illegally selling them to JEROME BOYKIN in St. Louis, Mo.  Boykin then brought the guns to Chicago and sold them to ROGELIO MANCERA in exchange for marijuana, the charges allege.  Mancera re-sold the guns to RODOLFO ORTEGA, who in turn would sell them to various buyers on the streets of Chicago, the charges allege.

Narup, 71, of Washington, Mo., is charged with willfully dealing firearms without a license.  He was arrested on Oct. 15, 2021, in the St. Louis area after allegedly selling 18 firearms and two silencers to an undercover law enforcement agent in a retail store parking lot.  Narup appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri.  He will appear in federal court in Chicago on a date to be set.

Boykin, 30, of St. Louis, Mo., is charged with possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.  He was arrested in the Chicago area on Oct. 8, 2021, after allegedly selling more than 20 firearms to Mancera in exchange for marijuana.  Boykin made an initial appearance Wednesday in federal court in Chicago.

Mancera, 27, of Schaumburg, Ill., is charged with willfully dealing firearms without a license.  He was arrested Tuesday after federal agents searched his storage locker in Schaumburg and discovered more than 25 firearms, including machine guns, the complaint states.  Mancera made an initial appearance this morning in federal court in Chicago.

Ortega, 26, of Chicago, is charged with illegally possessing two firearms that he allegedly sold to an individual in Chicago on Oct. 5, 2021.  As a previously convicted felon, Ortega was not lawfully allowed to possess a firearm.  He was arrested Monday and is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing this afternoon in federal court in Chicago.

The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan DeMarco represents the government. 

ATF and CPD’s recently created Gun Investigations Team investigated the case.  Valuable assistance was provided by the ATF St. Louis Field Office of the ATF Kansas City, Mo., Field Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri.

Disrupting illegal firearms trafficking is a centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s cross-jurisdictional strike force aimed at reducing gun violence.  As part of the Chicago firearms trafficking strike force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office collaborates with ATF, CPD, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the Northern District of Illinois and across the country to help stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms and identify patterns, leads, and potential suspects in violent gun crimes.

The public is reminded that complaints contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The firearm charge against Boykin carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of life.  The charge against Ortega is punishable by up to ten years, while the charges against Narup and Mancera carry a maximum of five years.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A Chicago investment manager who swindled more than $10 million from clients and lenders has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.

SHAWN BALDWIN owned and controlled various investment firms in Chicago.  From 2006 to 2017, Baldwin exaggerated his financial success and professional connections to fraudulently obtain more than $11 million from at least 24 investors and lenders.  Baldwin falsely claimed that their funds would be invested in stocks and other investment products, when in reality he spent much of the money for his personal benefit, including jewelry, tuition, and international travel.

Baldwin also deceived investors and lenders by misrepresenting and minimizing the serious disciplinary actions taken against him by regulators.  The regulatory actions included the revocation of his certifications with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in 2009, and a permanent prohibition from offering securities sales or investment advice, which the State of Illinois imposed in 2013.

A jury in 2019 convicted Baldwin, 55, of Olympia Fields, Ill., on seven counts of wire fraud.  U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey imposed the prison sentence Monday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.

“Defendant inflated to his victims his credentials, his investment portfolio, and his connections,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Getter, Heidi Manschreck, and Michelle Petersen argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “He convinced friends, acquaintances, and even childhood friends to trust him with their money based on his representations that he would invest it on their behalves in certain equities or businesses of his own.  Defendant lied to his victims to get their money, making bold and untrue assertions about his plans for their money, about what he had done with their money, about the value of their investments, about the value of his businesses, about his efforts to refund their money, and about the reasons he could not give them back their money.  Defendant moved from one victim to another, using their money to continue traveling in style around the world to sustain a false image of a successful financier in order to help find new victims and enjoy an extravagant lifestyle.”

CHICAGO — A federal jury today convicted a Chicago man of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

The jury convicted THOMAS OSADZINSKI, 22, after a two-week trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The charge of attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman did not immediately set a sentencing date.

The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Mark Lesko, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. 

The case was investigated by the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barry Jonas and Melody Wells of the Northern District of Illinois, and Alexandra Hughes, Trial Attorney of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Evidence presented at trial revealed that ISIS and its supporters disseminated the terror group’s propaganda materials on social media to recruit fighters and inspire violence against the United States and other countries.  Many social media platforms remove ISIS media content due to the violent nature of the materials.  Osadzinski, a U.S. citizen, designed a process using a computer script to make ISIS propaganda more conveniently disseminated online.  The process would automatically copy and preserve ISIS media postings in an organized format, allowing social media users to continue to conveniently access and share the content.

Osadzinski in 2019 shared his script – and instructions for how to use it – with individuals whom he believed to be ISIS supporters and members of pro-ISIS media organizations.  Unbeknownst to Osadzinski, the individuals were actually covert FBI employees and a person confidentially working with law enforcement.

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for fraudulently misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars from a non-profit organization for physically and psychologically challenged children.

From 2011 to 2016, STUART NITZKIN worked as Executive Director of an Illinois-based non-profit organization whose mission was the rehabilitation of physically and psychologically challenged children.  During that time, Nitzkin knowingly submitted to the organization invoices and receipts for payment and reimbursement of expenses that Nitzkin claimed were incurred on behalf of the organization.  In reality, Nitzkin knew the expenses were actually incurred by Nitzkin for his and others’ personal benefit.

The expenses included luxury vacations for Nitzkin and his family to Nevada, Florida, Ireland, and Puerto Rico, personal golfing expenses, tickets to professional sporting events, personal medical expenses, real estate taxes for his family residence, health club dues, and household goods.  Nitzkin also pocketed cash from the organization’s fundraising events and took money from the charity’s bank accounts through ATM and other withdrawals, all for his personal benefit.

Nitzkin, 45, of Deerfield, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to a wire fraud charge.  In addition to the 42-month prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis on Thursday fined Nitzkin $150,000 and ordered him to pay the remaining restitution of $516,400.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri H. Mecklenburg.

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago businessman who schemed with an attorney and two others to sell millions of dollars in phony mortgages has been sentenced to eleven years in federal prison.

ALBERT ROSSINI, the owner of Devon Street Investments in Lincolnwood, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  A jury in 2018 convicted Rossini, 73, of Skokie, on multiple counts of mail fraud and wire fraud.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; William Hedrick, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago; Michael Powell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General in Chicago; and Thomas J. Dart, Cook County Sheriff.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Mitchell.

Evidence at trial revealed that Rossini plotted with father-and-son co-defendants BABAJAN KHOSHABE, of Chicago, and ANTHONY KHOSHABE, of Skokie, to fraudulently induce more than a dozen victims into purchasing purported mortgage notes on apartment buildings in or near foreclosure.  The defendants fraudulently promised that investors would receive title to the properties at the conclusion of the foreclosure process.  In reality, the defendants did not own the mortgage notes, and instead the victims’ funds were misappropriated and used to make Ponzi-type payments to some of the investors. 

The victims provided a total of more than $7 million in investment money to the defendants, and Rossini fraudulently pocketed more than $2.5 million of it.

A separate federal jury in 2019 convicted the Khoshabes for their roles in the scheme.  They are awaiting sentencing.

A fourth defendant, Chicago attorney THOMAS MURPHY, claimed to validate the sale of the mortgage notes through a phony “Guaranty Agreement” that he prepared and gave to Rossini to present to the victims.  Murphy pleaded guilty and admitted his role in the scheme.  He is awaiting sentencing.

CHICAGO — A member of a violent Chicago street gang has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for engaging in racketeering activity that included murder.

WILLIAM HAYSLETTE, 27, of Chicago, conspired with leadership of the Latin Kings street gang to engage in racketeering activity that included using violence and intimidation to protect the gang’s territory on the Southeast Side of Chicago and punishing fellow gang members suspected of cooperating with law enforcement.  Hayslette admitted in a plea agreement that he served as a “soldier” in the Latin Kings for several years and that he committed assault in aid of the gang’s racketeering activities.

In imposing the 30-year prison sentence Oct. 6, 2021, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall found that Hayslette participated in the murder of Sergio Hernandez on May 15, 2012, in the South Chicago neighborhood of Chicago.  After the murder of Hernandez, Hayslette obtained a “teardrop” tattoo on his face, signifying that he had killed someone on behalf of the Latin Kings.  Judge Kendall also found that Hayslette attempted to prevent a fellow Latin King from cooperating with law enforcement by setting fire to a vehicle.

Hayslette was indicted in federal court in 2018 along with more than 30 other alleged members of the Latin Kings.  The indictment charged numerous acts of violence allegedly committed by the gang’s members, including the killing of Hernandez and several other slayings.  Nearly all of the charged defendants have pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial, including GERONIA FORD, of Chicago, who last month was sentenced to 29 years in federal prison for participating in Hernandez’s murder and committing acts of witness intimidation.

The investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hammond, Ind., Police Department. 

“Acting according to a manifesto and constitution, Latin Kings have devastated neighborhoods with gun violence, drug dealing, and witness intimidation,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys John D. Cooke, Ashley A. Chung, and Brian J. Kerwin argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “Hayslette’s acts typify the terroristic nature of the Latin Kings and the conspiracy in which he enthusiastically participated.”

CHICAGO — A federal indictment unsealed today charges five alleged members of the O-Block street gang with participating in a criminal organization that murdered a Chicago rapper and violently protected the gang and its territories on the South Side of Chicago.

The indictment alleges that the O-Block gang publicly claimed responsibility for acts of violence in Chicago and used social media and music to increase their criminal enterprise.  The O-Block gang allegedly engaged in numerous acts of violence, including the murder of Carlton Weekly, a Chicago rapper also known as “FBG Duck,” on Aug. 4, 2020.

Charged with committing murder in aid of racketeering are Chicago residents CHARLES LIGGINS, also known as “C Murda,” 30; KENNETH ROBERSON, also known as “Kenny” and “Kenny Mac,” 28; TACARLOS OFFERD, also known as “Los,” 30; CHRISTOPHER THOMAS, also known as “C Thang,” 22; and MARCUS SMART, also known as “Muwop,” 22.  The indictment also charges the defendants with federal firearm violations and assaults in aid of racketeering. 

Liggins, Offerd, Thomas, and Smart were arrested this morning.  They are scheduled to make initial court appearances today at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman. Roberson is currently in the custody of the Cook County Department of Corrections.  His initial federal court appearance will be scheduled at a later date.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Substantial assistance in the investigation was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason A. Julien, Albert Berry III, and Ann Marie Ursini.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The murder count in the indictment carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in federal prison and a maximum potential sentence of the death penalty.  One of the firearm counts is also punishable by a maximum potential sentence of the death penalty, while the other firearm count is punishable by a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life.  The assault counts are each punishable by a maximum of twenty years.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — The former owner of a debt collection company pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for corruptly agreeing to underwrite certain expenses for a special event hosted by the former Cook County Circuit Court Clerk.

DONALD DONAGHER, JR., 69, of Harrisburg, Pa., pleaded guilty to one count of corruptly giving something of value to reward a public official.  U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee set sentencing for Jan. 21, 2022.

Donagher was a former owner and Chief Executive Officer of Harrisburg, Pa.-based PENN CREDIT CORPORATION, which in 2014 had a non-exclusive contract with Cook County to perform debt collection work.  Donagher admitted in a plea agreement that in March 2014 he agreed to underwrite certain expenses for a Women’s History Month Celebration hosted by the Circuit Court of Cook County.  The expenses included the payment of plaques that were presented to judges honored at the event.  Donagher admitted that he underwrote the expenses in an effort to corruptly reward the Clerk of the Circuit Court for her perceived favorable treatment with respect to the awarding of debt collection work to Penn Credit.

Relatedly, the criminal investigation of Penn Credit was resolved today with a deferred prosecution agreement under which Penn Credit admitted to engaging in the Cook County corruption scheme at the direction of Donagher.  Under the agreement, the government will defer prosecution of Penn Credit for two years and then seek to dismiss a conspiracy charge against it if the company abides by certain conditions, to include taking remedial measures to enhance its ethics and compliance programs and continuing to cooperate with the government with respect to any matter relating to this conduct.  The deferred prosecution agreement, which was approved today by the U.S. District Court, also requires Penn Credit to pay a monetary penalty of $225,000. 

Donagher’s plea agreement and Penn Credit’s deferred prosecution agreement were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Justin Campbell, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Patrick M. Blanchard, Cook County Inspector General.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher V. Parente.

ROCKFORD — A Winnebago County man has been indicted on federal firearm and drug trafficking charges.

XZAVIOR SMITH, 22, of Roscoe, Ill., is charged with possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Smith was arrested Thursday.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The Stephenson County Sheriff’s Office, Freeport Police Department, Roscoe Police Department, and Beloit Police Department’s Crime Interdiction Team provided valuable assistance in the investigation.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ladd.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The drug possession charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while the illegal firearm possession charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years.  The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.  If Smith is convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A federal jury has convicted a ticket broker on fraud charges for scheming to sell thousands of discounted Chicago White Sox tickets without the team’s authorization.

BRUCE LEE, who owned Chicago-based Great Tickets, provided more than $100,000 to two White Sox ticket sellers in exchange for receiving complimentary and discounted game tickets that Lee would then sell on the online marketplace StubHub.  The ticket sellers – JAMES COSTELLO and WILLIAM O’NEIL – fraudulently generated the tickets without the team’s authorization.

During the 2016 to 2019 baseball seasons, Lee earned approximately $868,369 by selling more than 34,000 tickets that he fraudulently obtained from Costello and O’Neil.  As a result of the scheme, the White Sox suffered a loss of approximately $1 million.

Evidence presented at the four-day trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago revealed that when questioned by the FBI, Lee stated that he considered the payments the “American way, take care of a guy, and you get taken care of.”

The jury on Wednesday convicted Lee, 35, of Chicago, on all eleven counts of wire fraud.  Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly set sentencing for Jan. 10, 2022.

The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Schneider and David Green.

Costello and O’Neil, both of New Lenox, Ill., previously pleaded guilty and admitted their roles in the scheme.  They are awaiting sentencing.

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to eight and a half years in federal prison for trafficking dozens of guns from Kentucky to Chicago.

From 2016 to 2018, JOHN PHILLIPS schemed with others to purchase rifles and semi-automatic handguns from private sellers in Kentucky and re-sell them in the Chicago area.  Many of the guns were sold to convicted felons whom Phillips knew could not legally purchase or possess firearms.  Several of the guns trafficked by Phillips were later discovered by law enforcement at crime scenes in Chicago.

Phillips, 26, of Lyons, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of unlawfully dealing firearms in interstate commerce.  U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang imposed the 102-month prison sentence Tuesday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Kristen De Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Louisville (Ky.) ATF Field Division, Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police, and Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force.

“The breadth and extent of defendant’s firearms trafficking operation is staggering,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth R. Pozolo and Kalia Coleman argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “As a result of defendant and his co-conspirators illegally selling guns, violence ensued involving real victims and disrupting community safety.”

Two other defendants were charged and have pleaded guilty to federal firearm charges as part of this investigation.  CHRISTOPHER HENDERSON, 26, of Louisville, Ky., was sentenced in 2019 to five and a half years in federal prison.  JAIQAIL WRIGHT, 27, of Chicago, is set to be sentenced today by Judge Chang.

Disrupting illegal firearms trafficking is a centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s cross-jurisdictional strike force aimed at reducing gun violence.  As part of the Chicago strike force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office collaborates with ATF, CPD, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the Northern District of Illinois and across the country to help stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms and identify patterns, leads, and potential suspects in violent gun crimes.  While this investigation began prior to the launch of the strike force, the initiative is designed to enhance efforts to investigate and prosecute similar cases.

ROCKFORD — A Loves Park investment advisor pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston to wire fraud. 

NASEEM SALAMAH, 40, was an investment advisor who fraudulently obtained more than $950,000 from the accounts of three of his customers between August 2017 and May 2021.  According to a written plea agreement, Salamah told the customers that he needed to move the money to diversify their assets, when, in fact, Salamah used the money for his own benefit and without the customers’ knowledge or consent.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil enforcement action against Salamah, provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott R. Paccagnini.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 28, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.  Salamah faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.  He will also be required to pay restitution to the customers in the amount of $968,582.12.

ROCKFORD — A Rockford man has been arrested on a charge of possessing child pornography. 

GREGORIO JOSEPH BACINO, 24, was arrested Friday.  A federal indictment charged him with possessing child pornography in June 2021.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Angie Salazar, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ladd.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Possession of child pornography carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, and a $250,000 maximum fine.  If Bacino is convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.  

CHICAGO — A Chicago trader was charged today with securities fraud for allegedly engaging in unauthorized speculative bond trading that cost his employer and others more than $30 million.

KEITH WAKEFIELD, 48, of Chicago, was charged in a criminal information with one count of securities fraud.  The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.  Arraignment in U.S. District Court in Chicago has not yet been set.

The charge was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Mitchell.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil enforcement lawsuit against Wakefield, provided valuable assistance. 

According to the charge, Wakefield worked as the head of fixed income trading in the Chicago office of a broker-dealer.  From 2017 to 2019, Wakefield knowingly and fraudulently engaged in unauthorized speculative trading in U.S. Treasury bonds using his employer’s trading accounts, causing more than $30 million in losses to the employer and its counterparties, the information states.  Wakefield attempted to conceal the unauthorized trades and losses by entering fake off-setting trades into a clearing broker’s order system, creating the false impression that he had profitably traded through a different clearing broker, the charge alleges.

In addition to the trading scheme, Wakefield allegedly embezzled approximately $820,000 from the employer by falsifying the company’s books and records to create fake commissions that Wakefield knew were not actually owed to him.

The public is reminded that an information is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

ROCKFORD — A superseding indictment returned Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Rockford charged two individuals with wire fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft involving unemployment compensation claims and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). 

As alleged in the indictment, from June 2020 through March 2021, ROBERT CARTER, SIRREGINALD MCGUIRE, and others schemed to submit fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims to the California Employment Development Department, the Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance, and the Virginia Employment Commission, resulting in more than $1 million in unemployment benefits for claimants whom Carter and McGuire knew were not entitled to them. Carter, McGuire, and others also electronically filed unemployment insurance claims in their own names, the charges allege.  The pair opted to have the unemployment benefits paid via debit cards mailed to residences connected to Carter, McGuire, and others involved in the scheme, and then withdrew the money from financial institutions in Illinois.

Carter, 27, of Hampton, Ga., is charged with wire fraud and mail fraud involving unemployment compensation claims and the CARES Act, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. McGuire, 26, of DeKalb, Ill., is charged with wire fraud and mail fraud involving unemployment compensation claims and the CARES Act, and aggravated identity theft.  

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Region of the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General; and William Hedrick, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott R. Paccagnini.

Each count of wire fraud and mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, while money laundering carries a maximum sentence of ten years.  Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory sentence of two years’ imprisonment.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.   Arraignments in U.S. District Court in Rockford have not yet been set.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CHICAGO — Seven former U.S. Postal Service employees in the Chicago area have been charged with participating in schemes to steal credit cards and other financial instruments from the mail.  The indictments are the latest charges in “Operation Cash on Delivery,” a federal investigation that previously resulted in conspiracy charges against several other former USPS employees.

Indictments unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago allege that credit cards and other financial instruments were stolen from the mail and provided to others in exchange for cash or other items.  Some of the defendants unlawfully obtained USPS customers’ personal identifying information, including dates of birth and Social Security numbers, which was then used to fraudulently activate the stolen cards, the charges allege.  The newly charged USPS employees delivered mail in Chicago or processed and sorted the mail at a USPS facility in suburban Palatine. 

Many of the new defendants were arrested Tuesday and have begun making initial appearances in federal court in Chicago.

The indictments and arrests were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; William Hedrick, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago; Andre Martin, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Great Lakes Area Field Office of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; and Angie Salazar, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of Homeland Security Investigations.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shy Jackson and Paige Nutini, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Madriñan.

Charged with conspiring to steal mail are former USPS employees CHARLESE BENNETT, 31, of Chicago; SHUNTONESE RICHARDSON, 24, of Willowbrook, Ill.; LATIYAH DAVIDSON, 28, of Chicago; C’ORY VONPIER MCNEAL, 32, of Atlanta, Ga.; BRANDY WALKER, 33, of Chicago; and ZAKEYA BLAKE, 24, of Hammond, Ind.  Also charged in the conspiracy are DARAY ROSS HINES, 25, of Chicago; TRAMONT MILLER, 23, of Wheaton, Ill.; MAHLIK WASHINGTON, 30, of Chicago; and WILLIAM CRAWFORD, 33, of Chicago.  Former USPS employee KENNETHIA HOWLEIT, 27, of Chicago, is charged with knowingly receiving and possessing stolen mail.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

ROCKFORD — A Rockford man was sentenced Tuesday to ten years in federal prison on child pornography charges. 

PIERRE D. HAYES, 32, admitted in a plea agreement that on May 4, 2015, he used a computer to send a video file over the internet.  The image in the file depicted a female child under the age of 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber ordered Hayes to pay $25,000 in restitution.

The sentencing was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Angie Salazar, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago; and Carla Redd, Chief of the Rockford Police Department.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica V. Mallory.

ROCKFORD — A Rockford man was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury for allegedly illegally possessing multiple firearms earlier this year.

The first count of the indictment alleges that on April 30, 2021, JAMES PETERSON, 40, illegally possessed a loaded .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a .45-caliber handgun.  The second count alleges that on Aug. 18, 2021, Peterson illegally possessed a .45-caliber handgun.  As a previously convicted felon, Peterson was not lawfully allowed to possess a firearm.

Arraignment in U.S. District Court in Rockford has not yet been set.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Angie Salazar, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  The Illinois State Police’s State Line Area Narcotics Team (SLANT), the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration assisted in the investigation.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ladd.

The public is reminded that an indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Each count in the indictment carries a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.  

ROCKFORD — A Loves Park man has been charged with fraudulently obtaining more than $950,000 from three of his customers. 

A criminal information filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Rockford charges NASEEM SALAMAH, 40, with one count of wire fraud.

Salamah, who worked as an investment advisor in Loves Park, fraudulently obtained more than $950,000 from the accounts of three customers from August 2017 to May 2021, the information states.  Salamah told the customers that he needed to move the money to diversify their assets, when, in fact, Salamah deposited the money into a bank account that he controlled, the charge alleges.  Salamah allegedly used the money for his own benefit and without the customers’ knowledge or consent. 

The charge was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil enforcement action against Salamah, provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott R. Paccagnini.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.  Arraignment in U.S. District Court in Rockford has not yet been set.

CHICAGO — An alleged cyber attacker from Turkey has been indicted in federal court in Chicago for allegedly orchestrating a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on a Chicago-based multinational hospitality company.

In August 2017, IZZET MERT OZEK used the WireX botnet, which consisted of compromised Google Android devices, to direct large amounts of network traffic to the hospitality company’s website, preventing legitimate users from completing hotel bookings, according to an indictment returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The hospitality company, which managed luxury hotels and resorts, was headquartered in Chicago and the servers for its website were located in northern Illinois.

The indictment charges Ozek, 32, with one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer.  Ozek is believed to be residing in Turkey, and a warrant for his arrest will be issued.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Didwania.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The charge in the indictment is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. 

CHICAGO —A Chicago woman has been indicted on federal criminal charges for allegedly fraudulently obtaining the personal identifying information of deceased individuals and using it to file for tax refunds and stimulus payments from the U.S. Treasury.

An indictment returned Monday in federal court in Chicago charges KATRINA PIERCE, 50, with ten counts of wire fraud, six counts of aggravated identity theft, three counts of making false statements to the U.S. Small Business Administration, and one count of possessing identification documents to defraud the United States.  Arraignment is set for Oct. 5, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Justin Campbell, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Havey.

According to the indictment, Pierce fraudulently requested and obtained death certificates for individuals from Illinois and several other states.  Pierce then used personal identifying information of deceased individuals to file false income tax returns with the IRS so that she could fraudulently obtain tax refunds and stimulus payments under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the indictment states.  Pierce allegedly claimed a deceased boy as a dependent on her own tax return and attached to other false returns bogus birth certificates that falsely claimed deceased children as dependents. 

The indictment also accuses Pierce of fraudulently submitting applications to the SBA seeking loans under the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, a financial assistance program for small businesses suffering from a temporary loss of revenue due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Pierce submitted false applications under her own name and under the names of other persons, including farmers and small business owners in Illinois and other states, whose personal identity information was unlawfully taken and used without their knowledge, the charges allege.  The indictment describes applications submitted by Pierce in which she fraudulently claimed to be the owner of a manufacturing business with 106 employees and a retail electronics business with 14 employees, with both businesses purportedly located at the same address – an apartment where Pierce was then residing.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

ROCKFORD — A Lakewood, Ill., man pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal criminal charge of wire fraud.

From approximately January 2007 through April 2015, VALENTINO VALERIU AGIGNOAE, 55, participated in a scheme to defraud and obtain money from the United States, specifically Social Security Administration disability insurance benefits. In total, Agignoae fraudulently obtained and caused the U.S. government to suffer losses of approximately $157,503.

Agignoae faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years.  As part of the guilty plea, Agignoae agreed to the entry of a personal money judgment in the amount of $157,303.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 13, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Andrew Boockmeier, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael C. Beckman, Robert S. Ladd, and Michael D. Love, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Niranjan Emani.

Agignoae began receiving SSA disability insurance benefits in 1996.  In 2015, Agignoae’s benefits were terminated following a multi-year SSA-OIG investigation. The probe revealed that Agignoae failed to notify the SSA that he was able to work and was in fact working at a Chicago restaurant, which he also owned.  He also made false statements and representations regarding prior work and employment.

CHICAGO — A Chicago man who carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint in the city’s Edgewater neighborhood has been found guilty of federal carjacking and weapons offenses.

The jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Friday convicted JAMAR JARVIS, 21, of carjacking and brandishing a firearm in connection with a carjacking.  The firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison and a maximum of life, while carjacking is punishable by up to 15 years.  U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly scheduled sentencing for Dec. 13, 2021, at 1:30 p.m.

The verdict was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Kramer and Albert Berry III.

On Oct. 18, 2018, Jarvis and two others – RAYNELL LANFORD, 21, and JAMAAL ASHSAHEED, 22, both of Chicago – forcibly took a Lexus sport-utility vehicle from a victim at gunpoint.  JAVION BUSH, 21, of Chicago, provided assistance to the others after the carjacking.  After taking the Lexus, Jarvis, Lanford, Ashsaheed, and Bush drove it to a gas station in the South Loop neighborhood of Chicago, where they purchased gas and a gas can.  CPD officers later arrested them.

Lanford and Ashsaheed have pleaded guilty to carjacking and weapons offenses, and Bush pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.

CHICAGO — A Chicago man who carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint and discharged the firearm in the city’s Uptown neighborhood was sentenced yesterday to 150 months in federal prison.

On the afternoon of July 28, 2020, MICHAEL C. PEARSON, 19, forcibly took a 2006 Buick Lucerne from two victims in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago.  During the carjacking, Pearson fired a pistol in the direction of a passenger of the vehicle.

Pearson pleaded guilty earlier this year to carjacking and weapons offenses. U.S. District Judge John F. Kness on Monday imposed the prison sentence in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“Carjackers have terrorized the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs for the past few years,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Albert Berry III argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The community as a whole – victims, witnesses, society, and perpetrators – need to know that the federal system takes the crime of carjacking seriously and will justly punish those that commit the heinous offense.”

According to evidence in the case, Pearson and his associate pointed a firearm at the owner of the Buick and took her keys. Pearson’s associate got into the driver’s seat and drove away, with Pearson in the front seat and a victim in the back seat. Pearson fired the pistol in the direction of the victim. The bullet missed the victim and struck the roof of the Buick. Pearson’s associate crashed the vehicle and Pearson ran from the vehicle.

CHICAGO — A federal judge has sentenced a man to more than six years in prison for unlawfully dealing shotguns and other firearms in Chicago.

PARIS STEELE illegally sold five firearms in Chicago in 2016 and 2017 to an individual who, unbeknownst to Steele, was cooperating with law enforcement.  The firearms included two shotguns, two handguns, and a rifle.  The serial number on one of the handguns had been obliterated to prevent tracing by law enforcement.  In addition to the unlawful gun deals, Steele also sold to the cooperating individual more than 30 grams of crack cocaine.

In 2017, while Steele was on bond and awaiting trial in this case, he appeared in videos on social media holding a firearm and threatening violence against others.

Steele, 23, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to federal firearm and drug charges.  U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman on Tuesday sentenced Steele to six years and eight months in federal prison.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher V. Parente represented the government.

CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for illegally possessing a stolen semi-automatic handgun in Douglas Park on Chicago’s West Side.

TERRY LEE illegally possessed the loaded gun in the 1200 block of South Farrar Drive on the evening of Aug. 12, 2020.  Chicago Police officers responding to a call of a person with a gun observed Lee sitting in the driver’s seat of a van.  As the officers approached him, Lee exited the van and ran toward a grassy area before being apprehended.  Officers discovered the firearm in the center console of the van.

Lee, 30, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal charge of illegal possession of a firearm.  He had previously been convicted of felonies in state court and was prohibited by federal law from possessing the gun.

U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., imposed the prison sentence Aug. 26, 2021, after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. 

“City residents often fear for their safety and for the safety of their loved ones while simply trying to go about their daily lives due to the possession and use of guns by people who are not permitted to have them,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Getter argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “The law that defendant broke is one that is designed to prevent people who previously have broken serious laws from possessing these dangerous weapons.”

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been charged in federal court with making materially false statements in the acquisition of more than 20 firearms.

In 2019 and 2020 STOVALL BUCHANAN acquired 23 handguns and a rifle from suburban Chicago firearms dealers, falsely certifying on federal forms that he resided at a certain address in Chicago and, in connection with some of the purchases, that he was the actual buyer of the guns, according to a criminal complaint unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  In reality, Buchanan resided at a different Chicago address at the time of the purchases, and within months of the sales all but one of the 23 guns were no longer in his possession, the complaint states.  Four of the firearms were later discovered in the possession of other individuals, including one felon who was prohibited by federal law from possessing a gun, the complaint states.

Buchanan, 23, of Chicago, is charged with making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm.  The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison.  Buchanan made an initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez in Chicago.

The complaint was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The Chicago Police Department provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shy Jackson.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun in the city’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.

EDDIE JONES, 28, illegally possessed the gun in the 800 block of North Homan Avenue on June 5, 2020.  Chicago Police officers responding to the sound of gunfire observed Jones running along the street and tossing the gun into a vacant lot.  The firearm was equipped with a laser scope and loaded with multiple rounds of ammunition.  Further investigation revealed that three victims were wounded by gunfire moments before the officers encountered Jones.

Jones pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal charge of illegal possession of a firearm.  He had previously been convicted of felonies in state court, including firearm-related offenses, and was prohibited by federal law from possessing the gun.

In imposing the prison sentence Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah found that Jones used the handgun in the attempted murders of the three wounded victims.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cornelius A. Vandenberg.  

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.

CHICAGO — A man has been indicted on federal firearm charges for allegedly straw purchasing handguns in a suburban Chicago store on behalf of another individual.

JUSTIN GARCIA purchased a handgun in 2019 and another in 2020 from a licensed firearms dealer in Crete, Ill., and falsely certified on federal forms that he was the actual buyer, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  In reality, Garcia purchased the guns on behalf of another individual, the charges allege.

Garcia, 24, of Chicago, is charged with two counts of making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm.  He pleaded not guilty Tuesday during his arraignment in federal court in Chicago.  A status hearing is set for Sept. 30, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Franklin U. Valderrama.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The Chicago Police Department provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan DeMarco.

Each charge in the indictment is punishable by a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

CHICAGO — The owner of a suburban Chicago prescription drug wholesale distribution company purchased more than $57 million worth of diverted, unregulated prescription drugs and re-sold them to unsuspecting pharmacies and other wholesalers, according to a federal indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

GURUCHARAN DUA used his Plainfield, Ill.-based distribution company to knowingly obtain wholesale amounts of the diverted prescription drugs at discounted prices from unlicensed suppliers, the indictment states.  Upon receipt of the diverted drugs, Dua directed his employees to clean the bottles to fraudulently make the drugs appear to be from a regulated prescription drug distribution chain, the indictment states.  Dua then knowingly sold the diverted prescription drugs to unsuspecting pharmacies and other wholesalers, falsely representing to them that his company had acquired the prescription drugs from a licensed source in a regulated supply chain, the indictment states.

The charges allege that from 2011 to 2017, Dua purchased approximately $57.2 million worth of diverted prescription drugs that he later re-sold to the pharmacies and wholesalers.  Some of the pharmacies were located in Chicago, Joliet, Ill., and Springfield, Mass., the indictment states.

The indictment charges Dua, 50, of Naperville, Ill., with six counts of mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and three counts of money laundering.  Arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 31, 2021, at 11:00 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Lynda M. Burdelik, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.  The Office of the Chief Counsel at the FDA provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher V. Parente.

“Patients deserve to have confidence that they are receiving the legitimately prescribed medication and not an unregulated, diverted drug,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “Individuals who take advantage of their positions and seek to profit from diverted prescription drugs will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Prescription drugs that are not in the legitimate supply chain can present a serious health risk to those who buy and use these diverted drugs,” said FDA SAC Burdelik.  “FDA will continue to protect consumers by investigating and bringing to justice those who attempt to traffic in diverted prescription drugs.”

The public is reminded that charges are not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  Each count of mail fraud and wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while each money laundering count is punishable by up to ten years.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — An Evanston woman used insider information obtained from her husband to purchase shares of a company ahead of its acquisition by her husband’s employer, according to a federal criminal charge filed today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.

In August and September 2019, DENISE GREVAS made $286,960 in illegal profits from the purchase and sale of securities in a Washington state-based pharmaceutical company that was a target for acquisition and later acquired by an overseas-based pharmaceutical company that had an office in Deerfield, Ill., and employed Grevas’s husband, according to a criminal information filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Grevas used material, non-public information about the expected acquisition to purchase shares in the Washington company ahead of a public announcement of the acquisition on Sept. 16, 2019, the charge alleges.  After the announcement, the Washington company’s stock price increased and Grevas sold her shares for the profit, the charge alleges.

The information charges Grevas, 60, with one count of securities fraud.  The charge, which was filed by the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.  Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.

The charge was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil enforcement action against Grevas, provided valuable assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Hasten and Jason Yonan represent the government in the criminal case.

The public is reminded that an information is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun on the city’s Near North Side.

NICHOLAS WILLIAMS, 33, illegally possessed the loaded gun while walking on the sidewalk in the 900 block of North Cambridge Avenue on Dec. 8, 2018.  Williams fled on foot when he saw Chicago Police officers approach in a vehicle.  Williams scaled two fences before the officers safely brought him into custody.  The firearm was equipped with an extended magazine and loaded with 22 rounds of ammunition.  Williams also had in his possession 22 individually wrapped bags containing crack cocaine.

Williams had previously been convicted of felonies in state court, including aggravated discharge of a firearm and manufacturing and delivering cocaine, and was not legally allowed to possess the gun.  He was on parole for the state firearm offense at the time of the federal charge.

Williams pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of illegal possession of a firearm.  U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang imposed the 66-month prison sentence Monday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office provided valuable assistance.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher V. Parente.  

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.

CHICAGO — The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago today announced that a suburban Chicago nursing facility has agreed to pay $360,000 to resolve civil allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by providing unnecessary and “upcoded” physical, occupational, and speech therapy services to increase Medicare payments.

A consent judgment and settlement agreement resolve allegations that, from 2008 to 2016, skilled nursing facility NORRIDGE GARDENS, of Norridge, Ill., provided medically unnecessary services to Medicare beneficiaries, first through a third-party skilled therapy vendor, Quality Therapy & Consultation Inc., formerly of Orland Park, Ill., and then through its own skilled therapy affiliate, REX THERAPEUTICS LLC, of Skokie, Ill.  The allegations contend that Norridge Gardens pressured others to meet quotas for the proportion of Medicare Part A beneficiaries utilizing the highest-possible reimbursement level, known as the Resource Utilization Group (“RUG”) score, in an effort to increase Medicare payments.  Norridge Gardens also allegedly claimed payment for therapy services without a physician order and other times reported that skilled therapy had been provided, when, in fact, the patients were not participating in therapy or were unable to undergo or benefit from it.

The consent judgment and settlement agreement resolve claims in two civil lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago by a former employee of Quality Therapy and Rex Therapeutics under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act.  The Act permits private citizens to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States for false claims, and to share in any recovery.  The United States intervened in both lawsuits prior to entry of the consent judgment and settlement agreement.

The settlement and consent judgment with Norridge Gardens and Rex Therapeutics were entered Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The United States in 2019 reached a settlement with Quality Therapy and its owner, requiring them to pay $1.09 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations.

The civil resolutions were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. North.

The public is reminded that civil allegations are accusations only, and there was no determination of liability as part of the settlement and consent judgment.

ROCKFORD — An Illinois attorney whose practice included bankruptcy law has been found guilty of bankruptcy fraud charges following a two-week jury trial in federal court in Rockford. 

KEVIN O. JOHNSON, also known as “K.O. Johnson,” 55, of Sycamore, Ill., was convicted Friday on four counts of bankruptcy fraud, one count of making a false entry in a document in a bankruptcy proceeding, one count of withholding records from the Bankruptcy Trustee, and one count of concealment of property consisting of account receivables belonging to the bankruptcy estate.  The charges related to Johnson’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding initiated on Dec. 31, 2011.

Sentencing is set for Nov. 22, 2021, at 11:00 a.m.  Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater.  The actual sentence will be determined by the U.S. District Court, guided by the U.S. sentencing guidelines.

The guilty verdict was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Schneider, Michael Love, and Michael Beckman.

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for causing the IRS to issue more than $815,000 in fraudulent tax returns.

SHAWN P. STEWART filed eight fraudulent returns seeking more than $3.1 million in refunds, causing the IRS to issue him more than $815,000.  Stewart created construction and other companies that barely did any business, and he used those businesses to create false W-2 forms that falsely listed him as earning hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in wages.  The large wages allowed him to list correspondingly large federal income tax withholdings, and he used purported Schedule E losses from the businesses to greatly reduce the purported wage income and then claim entitlement to the large tax refunds.

After fraudulently receiving the money from the IRS, Stewart used it to fund a luxurious lifestyle.  He purchased several BMW vehicles, a trailer for a truck, expensive dinners, and items at luxury retail stores.

Stewart, 50, of Matteson, Ill., pleaded guilty to a charge of presenting a false claim upon the United States.  U.S. District Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer imposed the 36-month sentence Wednesday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Justin Campbell, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.

“Stewart’s tax fraud was brazen,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Didwania argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “He was stealing from funds that go to schools, soldiers, veterans, senior citizens, and others for vital services provided by our government.”