Southern District of Illinois

Fairview Heights, Ill. - United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe announced the recipients of the 
2022 Law Enforcement Public Service Awards on Thursday, November 17, 2022.  Personnel from several  federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who contributed to the success of federal cases  were recognized for their commitment to pursuing justice and public safety.

These awards recognize law enforcement officers and support personnel for exceptional leadership,  outstanding collaboration, investigative achievement and excellence, victim assistance, and  community engagement.

“Today we honor exceptional law enforcement officers and the vital public service they provide. 
These women and men engage in an unrelenting and often unacknowledged fight to keep our communities  safe every day.  It is an honor today to recognize each of you for your service and successful  investigations,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “Each law enforcement partner was  nominated by an Assistant United State Attorney.  It is the partnership between law enforcement and  these prosecutors, as well as the support staff of the United States Attorney’s Office, that  ultimately leads to justice for victims, protecting the rule of law and successful prosecutions”.

Nick Manns, Illinois State Police, was presented an award for his vision, implementation, and  leadership of the Illinois Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG). Nick successfully developed  partnerships with existing community organizations to implement trauma-informed interventions and  provide needed social services for victims and witnesses identified by the PSEG Unit in the course  of their investigations.

Investigator Amanda Wimmersberg, Illinois Attorney General, Investigations Division/High Tech 
Crimes, received recognition for her tireless work to identify and remove some of the worst child  predators in our communities and for the incredibly thorough investigation that led to the  successful prosecution of Lance Wehrle.  At trial, Amanda provided compelling testimony regarding  her extensive forensic review and the deta ls of the abuse victim.  Werhle was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in the Bureau of Prisons.

Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Ayla Horlick received an award for her tireless work  removing dangerous drugs from our community. Special Agent Horlick was also recognized as an  exceptional team player that stays closely involved throughout the investigative process and  prosecution of each matter she submits.

A group award was given to members of the Centralia Police Department and the Centralia Safe 
Streets Working Group for their investigation which led the successful prosecution of Chris 
Jamison, a prolific shooter and member of a well-known street gang in Centralia.  Jamison was  eventually sentenced to 78 months in the Bureau of Prisons, almost double the advisory sentencing  guideline range.  Receiving the award were Centralia Police Officers Lieutenant Jamie James,  Sergeant Mike Peebles, and Officer Travis Ripperda and FBI Special Agent Ryan James.

Personnel from the United States Postal Inspection Service were recognized for their outstanding  work they have done over the past decade in bringing to justice fraudulent telemarketers who  victimize citizens of Southern Illinois. Receiving the award were Inspector Adam Latham, Inspector 
Kathy Broderick, Inspector Molly Emmerich, Analyst Tim Brunholz (Retired), and Analyst Marvin 
Koechig.

The United States Attorney’s Office “Exceptional Service Award” was presented to Federal Bureau of 
Prisons (BOP) Supervisory Attorney Tracy Knutson. She will be retiring in December after serving 24  years with BOP. Knutson made significant contributions in civil and criminal matters handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Yesterday afternoon, in federal court in East St. Louis, IL, Emmitt T. 
Tiner, 55, of O’Fallon, Illinois, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison.  On July 7, 2022,  Tiner pled guilty to wire fraud, extortion, sending interstate communications with the intent to  extort, healthcare fraud, money laundering, and conducting financial transactions with criminally  derived proceeds.

When he pled guilty, Tiner admitted that he extorted more than $2,000,000 from two local  businessmen, one from Belleville, IL, and the other from Florissant, MO.  Tiner initially borrowed  money from the Florissant businessman.  When the Florissant man asked for his money back, Tiner  told him that he would conduct a large illegal drug transaction to get the funds to repay the  loans.  Tiner then asked the Florissant man for more money in order to finance this illegal drug  deal.  When the Florissant man refused to provide any more money to him, Tiner made several vicious  threats.  The specific threat that Tiner pled guilty to was a text he sent on October 2, 2017,  which read:  “If you do not give me my money back I (sic) gave you in my account and we lose all  that money . . . . anybody related to you . . . work with you . . . friends with you . . . . lives  with you . . . knows you . . . etc will pay the consequences of you f****** me . . . . . . then and only then when they think you have experienced enough loss and pain will they look for you!!!!!”

With regard to the Belleville businessman, Tiner admitted that he began extorting this individual  by threatening to expose certain alleged personal matters to the man’s wife and the press.  Tiner  also threatened to tell law enforcement that the Belleville man was responsible for three murders  if the man did not pay him more money.  No one was actually murdered, although Tiner staged various  fake photos and fabricated other records in an effort to convince the Belleville man that the  murders were real.

Tiner’s healthcare fraud conviction arose from his scheme to defraud the Illinois Department of 
Health Services (“IDHS”), which operates a program known as the Personal Assistant program. This  program pays individuals to work as personal assistants for disabled individuals.  The program has  certain asset restrictions, and will only pay for work performed while the disabled individuals are  present in their homes.  When he pleaded guilty, Tiner admitted that he faked being disabled in  order get IDHS to pay for him to have a personal assistant.  Tiner repeatedly told IDHS Rehabilitation Counsellors that he needed a wheelchair to move around and that he was unable to walk. Evidence presented to the court, however, demonstrated that Tiner’s statements were false, and that he routinely engaged in various physical activities, including driving, dancing, and weightlifting. From 2012 through 2019, IDHS paid Tiner’s personal assistants more than $150,000.  One of the individuals who was paid to be Tiner’s personal assistant was his wife, Matissia Holt.  Tiner and Holt also submitted false timesheets to IDHS which fraudulently claimed that Holt had provided personal assistant services to Tiner on days that the couple was out of town on gambling trips at various casinos.

Tiner also admitted that he laundered the proceeds of his fraud and extortion scheme by running  those funds through Holt’s bank accounts.  The financial transaction conviction stemmed from 
Tiner’s use of those fraudulently obtained funds to make several large purchases, including a  residence located on Knollhaven Trail in O’Fallon, a residential lot on Pausch Road in O’Fallon,  and a 2019 Cadillac Escalade.  As part of his plea agreement, Tiner agreed to forfeit this property  to the United States so that it can be sold and used to pay restitution.

Tiner’s wife, Matissia Holt, also was charged and pled guilty to healthcare fraud and money  laundering charges.  On October 31, 2022, Holt was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to  pay restitution.

In addition to the 10 year prison sentence, the court ordered Tiner to serve a 3 year period of  supervised release following his prison sentence.  The court also ordered Tiner to pay a total of
$2,241,500 in restitution for his extortion offenses, and $158,212.16 in restitution for his  healthcare fraud conviction.

“Tiner’s extortion and fraud scheme had a severe impact on his victims, both financially and  psychologically,” a U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson remarked.  “On top of that, he stole money  from a taxpayer funded program designed to help disabled persons.  His serious crimes warrant the  lengthy prison sentence that the court imposed.”

“Tiner prioritized his own greed over decency and respect for the laws of our country,” said FBI 
Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. “The FBI and our law enforcement  partners remain dedicated to investigating and holding accountable those, like Tiner, who  flagrantly disregard our laws by seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of their victims.”

“IRS-CI and its law enforcement partners remain committed to investigating and stopping schemers  who seek to enrich themselves through extortion,” said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas 
Murdock, St. Louis Field Office. “The sentence sends a strong message that this behavior will be  aggressively investigated, and those responsible brought to justice.”

The investigation was conducted by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Springfield 
Field Office, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations – St. Louis Field Office, the 
United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, the Social 
Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, and the Illinois State Police Medicaid 
Fraud Control Bureau.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott A. Verseman and Luke J. Weissler prosecuted the case.

East St. Louis, Illinois – Kendrick A. Frazier, 35, and Kenwyn L. Frazier, 38, were convicted by a  federal jury for the Kidnapping of Kein Eastman that occurred on August 13, 2020. The verdict was  announced on Thursday, November 10, 2022, after a six-day jury trial.
Evidence presented at trial established that just before 7 p.m. on August 13, 2020, Kenwyn Frazier  forced Kein Eastman out of his grandmother’s house at gunpoint because he believed Eastman had  stolen from him a jeweled mouthpiece, known as a “grillz.” He drove Eastman in a Dodge Durango to  an apartment located on Kansas Avenue in East St. Louis and forced him to look for the grillz for  over an hour and a half. When Eastman couldn’t find it, Kenwyn Frazier called his brother, Kendrick 
Frazier, to the apartment.

Shortly after Kendrick got there, the Frazier brothers forcibly pulled Eastman out of the apartment  at gunpoint threatening to shoot him if he did not take them to the grillz. They forced Eastman to  the ground, repeatedly kicking and threatening him. Eastman insisted he hadn’t taken it, pleading  with them not to shoot. Despite his pleas, Kendrick Frazier fired one shot at Eastman while he laid  on the ground. After the shooting, witnesses saw Eastman bleeding from his face as he ran from the  apartment complex. Kendrick and Kenwyn Frazier followed immediately after him in the Dodge Durango. 
Two hours later, that Dodge Durango was found on fire by the East St. Louis Fire Department,  completely burned to the frame. According to other documents filed in the case, Eastman has not  been seen or heard from by family members or law enforcement since the night of the kidnapping.

“This guilty verdict represents long-awaited justice for the family of Kein Eastman,” said United 
States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “I am proud of our office and law enforcement partners from the 
East St. Louis Police Department and the ISP PSEG unit for their commitment in seeing this case  through to completion. I also commend the Eastman Family and members of the East St. Louis  community who cooperated throughout the investigation to take a stand against this sort of  senseless violence. These are the results we expect to see when dedicated public servants and  community members work together to pursue even the most difficult of cases.”

“The ongoing commitment by ISP to reducing and preventing violence is built upon the outstanding  professional investigative work of our special agents and sustained by our deep relationships with  our law enforcement partners and the community,” said ISP Director Brendan Kelly. “The US 
Attorney’s Office has been and continues to be critical to the sustained effectiveness of this  noble effort as seen in this case.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Summers and Zoe Gross.

Benton, Illinois – Luis Alberto Dejesus-Merced, 46, of Junction City, Kansas, was sentenced to 384 months imprisonment on Thursday, November 10, 2022.

According to court documents and statements presented at the hearing, Dejesus-Merced was a family  friend and the godfather of the 10-year-old victim. Dejesus-Merced sexually assaulted the victim in 
Georgia and attempted to transport the child to Dejesus-Merced’s residence in Junction City, Kansas  with the intent to engage in further sex acts. However, while in route, an Illinois State Police  trooper conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle driven by Dejesus-Merced. The trooper noted that 
Dejesus- Merced appeared “extremely nervous” and a record check revealed he was a registered sex  offender. Due to the trooper’s concerns related to Dejesus-Merced’s history and behavior, the  trooper conducted a further investigation. A search of Dejesus-Merced’s vehicle revealed cellphones  containing child pornography. The child also disclosed the abuse at the hands of Dejesus-Merced.

In imposing the 32-year sentence, the sentencing judge observed that “this fact situation is  probably as bad as I’ve ever seen” and told Dejesus-Merced that “you are definitely a danger to  society.”

“This is truly despicable conduct,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.  “The 32-year  sentence will provide just punishment for this defendant but cannot restore this child’s lost  innocence. We are profoundly grateful for the vigilance and professionalism exhibited by our law  enforcement partners in this case, and in particular by the Illinois State Police trooper who  conducted the traffic stop and saved this child from further abuse at the hands of this defendant.”

“Due to the keen eye of our law enforcement partners and the dedication of our special agents, a  predator has now been removed from the streets where he victimized children.” said Special Agent in 
Charge R. Sean Fitzgerald of the Chicago Division of Homeland Security Investigations.  “This is  yet another testament to the importance of maintaining strong partnerships with local and state law  enforcement agencies.”

“The ISP trooper's vigilance and further investigation into this incident likely prevented further  victimization and countless other crimes all as a result of a simple traffic stop," said Illinois 
State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly. “While human trafficking and its peripheral crimes are  often difficult to spot, ISP is motivated by arrests such as this and committed to further training  its troopers in the detection of these heinous crimes."
The Illinois State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Department conducted the investigation in this case which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Karelia S. Rajagopal.

BENTON, IL – A resident of Freeburg, Illinois, pled guilty today to committing bank fraud in connection with her former employer.

According to court documents, Michelle Miller, 45, worked as a business manager for two Belleville  area schools, St. Teresa’s and St. Luke’s.  When she pled guilty, Miller admitted using her  position to commit fraud: she wrote checks from the schools’ accounts to herself, she made excess  salary payments to herself, and she wrote checks to petty cash and pocketed the money. To conceal  this fraud, Miller at times forged the signature of the priest of St. Teresa’s and St. Luke’s.  She  also manipulated the parish’s QuickBook accounts to make it look like St. Luke’s was paying money  to St. Teresa’s when the money was actually going to her.  And she made false and misleading  adjustments to her own compensation in the payroll system.  In all, Miller took a total of 
$153,940.38 from St. Teresa’s and St. Luke’s that she was not entitled to receive.

“Nonprofit organizations like St. Teresa’s and St. Luke’s provide vital services to our  communities’ children and families,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.  “Criminal behavior  targeting such organizations is unconscionable and even more so when it comes from within.  Those  who perpetrate it will be held to account.”

Miller’s offense carries a maximum sentence of thirty years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to
$250,000. Miller’s sentencing is set for February 16, 2023, at 10:00am at the federal courthouse in 
Benton, Illinois.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and the Belleville Police Department. 
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter T. Reed.

East St. Louis, Ill. – A former resident of Edwardsville, Illinois, pled guilty on Friday, October 28, 2022, to making a series of false statements during his 2018 bankruptcy case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Illinois. According to court documents, Kevin Kahrig, 49, a former building contractor in the area, concealed gassets from his creditors by transferring those assets to his girlfriend-turned-spouse, Catharine Kahrig, prior to filing bankruptcy.  As part of his plea, Kahrig admitted that he transferred $277,850 in cash and checks to Catharine Kahrig in 2016, then closed all his bank accounts the next year.  Kahrig hid those cash transfers and many of the closed accounts in his later filings with the bankruptcy court.  Next, Kahrig took his name off a lakefront home he co- owned with Catharine Kahrig and hid this transfer from the bankruptcy court.  Kahrig also sold his boat before bankruptcy.  He gave the $395,000 he got from the boat to Catharine.  Although Kahrig did disclose the sale of this boat to the bankruptcy court, he lied about the amount he received from the sale and did not disclose that he had provided those funds to Catharine.  All told, Kahrig concealed hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets from his creditors.

“Individuals who hide assets and make false statement on bankruptcy pleadings not only defraud their creditors, but they use the federal courts as a part of their fraud,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.  “That is an intolerable abuse of the bankruptcy system which demands transparency and forthrightness by those seeking to have their debts discharged or restructured. Those who engage in such behavior will be held accountable by this office.”

“Kevin Kahrig chose lies and deception at every step to conceal assets and escape financial obligations” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz.  “The FBI takes our responsibility to pursue allegations of bankruptcy fraud very seriously and will always work to hold accountable those who try to bypass the system”.

“Concealing assets in a bankruptcy proceeding is a crime that threatens the integrity of the bankruptcy process and public confidence in that process,” stated Nancy J. Gargula, United States Trustee for Indiana and Central and Southern Illinois (Region 10). “We are grateful to all of our law enforcement partners in this case and, in particular, to United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe for her commitment to pursuing those who lie about assets in bankruptcy.”

Kahrig’s offense carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. Kahrig’s sentencing is set for February 2, 2023, at 10:00am.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, in collaboration with the Southern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group coordinated by the U.S. Trustee for Region 10, after referral by the U.S. Trustee.  The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. Region 10 is headquartered in Indianapolis, with additional offices in Peoria, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter T. Reed.

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe announced today that her office collected 
$6,558,705.15 in civil and criminal actions in Fiscal Year 2022. Of that amount, $4,020,660.31 was collected in civil cases, and $2,538,044.84 was collected in criminal cases. The 
FY 2022 criminal debt collection total exceeded the average of the previous five fiscal years by  more than $1,000,000.  The federal fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 30th.

“The fact that we were able to collect more than $6 million dollars this year demonstrates the  dedication and skill of the members of our financial litigation unit, as well as the excellent case  work done by our civil and criminal divisions,” said U.S. Attorney Crowe. “The work of collecting  restitution from criminal defendants and returning funds to victims of crime is a critical part of  the job for all prosecutors,” she continued.

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

U.S. Attorney Crowe also said, “These collections represent civil settlements, restitution to  victims, as well as fines and monetary penalties. This money is back where it belongs – in the  hands of victims and the taxpayers.”

Working with partner agencies and divisions, the Southern District of Illinois also collected
$539,030.27 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2022. The Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program  encompasses the seizure and forfeiture of assets that represent the proceeds of, or were used to  facilitate, federal crimes.  Forfeited assets deposited into the Department’s Assets Forfeiture 
Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

The Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury Asset Forfeiture Programs are, first  and foremost, law enforcement programs. They remove the tools of crime from criminal organizations,  deprive wrongdoers of the proceeds of their crimes, recover property that may be used to compensate  victims, and deter crime. The Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury emphasize  these law enforcement purposes to their own law enforcement agencies and all federal, state, local, and tribal partner agencies.

Fairview Heights, Ill. – U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe announced today that the Department of 
Justice has awarded $91,731 to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program in the Southern 
District of Illinois. Funding will support community efforts to address the epidemic of gun crime  and serious violence in the district. The grant, to Hoyleton Youth and Family Services, is one of a  number of awards being made to state and local agencies across the country. Funds are administered  by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the Department’s Office of Justice Programs.

Launched two decades ago as an evidence-based and community-oriented response to serious gun crime,  Project Safe Neighborhoods, known as PSN, is a key component of the Department’s Comprehensive 
Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime, outlined by Deputy Attorney General Monaco in May 2021. The 
PSN approach is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities;  supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first  place; setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities; and measuring the results of our  efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of  arrests or prosecutions.

“Partnering with organizations like Hoyleton Youth and Family Services is vital to our efforts to  combat the scourge of gun violence that plagues so many of our local communities and we are proud  to have a role in financially supporting the great work it does,” said U.S. Attorney Crowe. “Strong  collaboration between our law enforcement agencies and community groups and organizations is the  best means of fostering the safe communities which all of this district’s residents deserve.”

“Reducing violence and sustaining those reductions will require strong partnerships between  criminal justice agencies and community stakeholders and a shared commitment to the safety and  well-being of every community member,” said OJP Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen 
Henneberg. “The investments we are making through Project Safe Neighborhoods will enable every stakeholder to play a part in building safer and healthier communities.”

PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies  and community organizations. The programs’ emphasis on community engagement, prevention and   intervention  measures,  focused  and  strategic  enforcement,  and  measurement  and  accountability has helped achieve overall reductions in violent crime, including gun homicides, in  neighborhoods where PSN strategies have been implemented.

“Over its two-decade history, Project Safe Neighborhoods has evolved to meet the complex challenges  of community violence by enlisting the insights and expertise of local partners and by relying on  the latest evidence,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “We are proud to support our U.S. 
Attorneys and their allies in their critical work to curb violent crime and build the mutual trust  necessary to ensure lasting success.”

The awards announced above are being made as part of the regular end-of-fiscal year cycle. More  information about awards under PSN and other OJP grants can be found on the OJP Grant Awards Page.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance  and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial  equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law.  More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – In connection with the Department of Justice’s announcement of its Elder 
Justice Sweep earlier today, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Rachelle 
Aud Crowe, made the following announcement: “Combating fraud against the elderly is the number one priority of our Fraud & Corruption section,”
U.S. Attorney Crowe stated.  “Anytime a senior is victimized, we work very hard to find the  responsible criminals and bring them to justice.”

Six federal prosecutors are assigned to the district’s Fraud & Corruption section.  They are 
Assistant United States Attorneys:  Scott Verseman, Chief; Kevin Burke, Zoe Gross, Peter Reed,  Steve Weinhoeft and Luke Weissler.

As an example of the office’s efforts to hold accountable those who harm the elderly, U.S. Attorney 
Crowe cited to the recent guilty plea of Ashley McKinney, 39, of Cahokia, Illinois.  McKinney’s co-  defendant, Erica Rose, 33, of East St. Louis, Illinois, worked as a home healthcare provider for  elderly persons in the Metro East.  While working in the victims’ homes, Rose stole their bank  account information and provided it to McKinney.  McKinney then used that information to make  illegal purchases, including purchasing an automobile.  McKinney and Rose were indicted in January 
2020, but McKinney remained a fugitive until she was eventually hunted down and arrested by the 
United States Marshals.  McKinney will be sentenced on November 22, 2022.  Rose previously pled  guilty and was sentenced to prison.

U.S. Attorney Crowe also noted that Jaykumar Patel, 33, of Florida, pled guilty on June 28, 2022,  to assisting in a fraud scheme that victimized an elderly woman in Alton, Illinois.  That fraud  scheme, which was based in the country of India, tried to convince seniors that their identities  had been stolen and that they needed to pay thousands of dollars to fix the situation.  Patel was a 
“Money Mule” for the organization.  “Money Mules” are individuals who receive funds from victims  and send the money on to the criminals who conduct the schemes.  Patel will be sentenced on January 
5, 2023.

“In addition to the Identity Theft schemes, there are a variety of other schemes out there that  seniors need to be on the look out for,” added U.S. Attorney Crowe.  “Those schemes include:  (1) 
Grandparents Scams – where fraudsters impersonate seniors’ grandchildren, or some other loved one,  and try to convince the seniors that they need funds immediately, usually for some type of medical  or legal emergency; (2) Romance Scams – where scammers meet seniors online, usually through dating sites, pretend to fall in love with them, and then persuade the seniors to send them money; (3) Tax Scams – where fraudsters falsely tell seniors that they owe back taxes and must make immediate  payments; and (4) Lottery Scams – where fraudsters try to convince seniors that they have won the  lottery or some other type of prize, but need to send money first for taxes or fees.”
“Another situation we’re seeing,” added U.S. Attorney Crowe, “is scammers recruiting seniors to  participate in, and help them with, their fraud scams.  When seniors knowingly help these scammers,  they themselves can be facing federal prison sentences.”

As an example of this situation, U.S. Attorney Crowe noted last week’s guilty plea by Danny Vaughn,  64, of Centralia, Illinois.  A few years ago, Vaughn met a person on a dating site whom he thought  was a young woman that was interested in having a relationship with him.  This person turned out to  be a scammer.  The scammer convinced Vaughn to engage in illegal activity, including purchasing  items using stolen credit cards and then shipping the stolen items overseas, and depositing  counterfeit checks into his bank accounts and sending that money overseas.  Vaughn will be  sentenced on January 18, 2023.

When asked what seniors can do to avoid being victimized, U.S. Attorney Crowe gave the following  tips:

1.   Be wary of individuals you meet online or over the phone;

2.   If someone you’ve never met in person claims to be in love with you, there’s a good chance  that person is a scammer;

3.   If someone you’ve never met before asks you for, or demands, money, there’s a good chance it’s  a scam;

4.   If someone is asking you for, or demanding, money, ask your son, daughter, loved one, or good  friend what they think.  This is true even if the person asking for money claims there is no time  for you to talk with your family or friends; and

5.   If someone contacts you claiming to be from a company or institution, such as the IRS or your  bank, hang up and call them back on a telephone number you look up yourself. This will enable you  to talk to representatives of the real company or institutions.

“In summary, we want to do everything we can to protect our seniors from becoming victims.  A big  part of that is making seniors aware of the fraud scams out there.  If you have an elderly relative  or friend, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to discuss this topic with them.  If you are a senior  yourself, my advice and avoid falling prey to these vicious scammers.”

East St. Louis, Ill. – Delon Echols, 31, of Belleville, Illinois, was convicted by a federal jury  on Thursday, September 29, 2022, for sending MDMA through the mail with the intent to later  distribute it.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Echols utilized the Dark Web to order 
MDMA from the Netherlands. Echols shipped the drugs through the U.S. Postal service to an unwitting  individual in Mascoutah, Illinois. In August of 2019, the individual learned about the package  containing narcotics and immediately went to the Mascoutah Police Department. Police discovered  that 911.5 grams of MDMA was concealed in vacuum sealed bags inside whey protein jugs to avoid  detection. At trial, the individual discussed how Echol's actions put both her and her family at  risk.

“This case serves as a great example of how a concerned member of the public working with law  enforcement can help make our communities safer,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. 
“I join with our law enforcement partners in thanking her for her courage in coming forward.  This  case also demonstrates yet another way in which drug trafficking is not a victimless crime.”

Sentencing has been scheduled for January 10, 2023, in front of United States District Judge 
Stephen P. McGlynn. Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute is punishable up to 20 years in prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Mascoutah Police Department, and United States Postal 
Inspection Service conducted the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karelia S. Rajagopal and Kimberly S. Arshi.

East St. Louis, Ill. – Antonio M. Brown, 38, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to 151 months in  prison for distribution of methamphetamine on Monday, September 19, 2022. Following his release  from federal prison, Brown must complete five years of supervised release.
The offense occurred in early February 2021, while Brown was on supervised release for federal  firearms offenses. A federal grand jury indicted Brown on September 21, 2021, for one count of  distribution of a controlled substance. Brown was indicted for distributing crystal methamphetamine  in Sauget, Ill., but evidence showed that Brown was also selling the drug in bulk from his  residence in south St. Louis, Missouri. Children were present in the home while drug transactions  occurred. Based upon evidence of drug dealing activity at his residence, federal agents applied for  and executed a search warrant of Brown’s home. Brown pled guilty on April 14, 2022.

“Crystal methamphetamine is dangerous in any amount, no matter where it comes from,” said United 
States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “With the assistance of our state and local partners, federal  law enforcement officials will track drug dealers across state lines and hold them accountable for  their crimes. Repeat offenders, like this defendant, who endanger the public are deserving of the  significant sentences they receive.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted the investigation. Assistant United States 
Attorney John Trippi prosecuted the case.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF  identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the 
United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Ad itional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

East St. Louis, Ill  – Kenesha Burlison, 40, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to 45 months in  prison in connection with her theft from her former employer, an East St. Louis charity, and  aggravated identity theft.
Burlison served as the Director of Human Relations for Call for Help, Inc. from 2016 until her  termination in 2020. Call for Help is a longstanding charitable organization in East St. Louis,  Illinois, that helps people overcome a variety of personal crises, ranging from sexual assault and  poverty to homelessness and mental health issues. The organization receives federal funds annually  to assist in carrying out its mission.

At the time of her guilty plea, Burlison admitted that she fraudulently obtained a cashier’s check  from Call for Help in the amount of $69,788.62, which she used to pay the down payment for a home  she was purchasing. Burlison told Call for Help that she needed a cashier’s check to provide to the  title company and claimed that she couldn’t get one from her bank because it was closed. In  exchange for the cashier’s check, Burlison provided Call for Help with a personal check in the  amount of $70,000. That check, as well as two others provided by Burlison in the coming months,  bounced for insufficient funds.

Following her termination from the organization, Call for Help discovered that Burlison had also  fraudulently submitted requests for reimbursements that she was not entitled to. Burlison abused  her access to the company’s payroll system to fraudulently submit and approve mileage  reimbursements and costs for diversity and inclusion trainings that she did not attend. In all,  Burlison was paid more than $115,000 from these fraudulent reimbursements.

“Kenesha Burlison’s theft from Call for Help is particularly egregious in light of the essential,  life- saving services that the organization provides to communities in Southern Illinois,” said 
United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “We are proud to have organizations like Call for Help  in our District and will continue to hold those who steal from them accountable for their actions.”

“Nonprofits elect a board of directors to provide oversight regarding fiduciary, legal and ethical  responsibilities for the organization,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge 
David Nanz. “In this case, Call for Help’s board of directors did exactly what they were put in  place to do.
Their oversight enabled the FBI to pursue an investigation into the criminal actions of Kenesha Burlison and prevent further harm to the organization’s reputation and financial resources. The FBI is committed to investigating public corruption in any form and at all levels.”
Burlison was also sentenced for aggravated identity theft. In 2020, Burlison submitted an inflated  income verification as part of an application for a home mortgage. Because the verification  required a signature on behalf of Call for Help, Burlison forged the signature of the  organization’s Director of Quality Assurance. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory  sentence of two years in prison, which must run consecutive to any other sentence imposed.

In total, Burlison was sentenced to 45 months in prison. She was also ordered to pay over $185,000  in restitution to Call for Help, a $200 special assessment, and will spend three years on  supervised release following her term of imprisonment.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office.
Assistant United States Attorney Zoe J. Gross prosecuted the case.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -  Fulton Lee Gully, 61, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced to 48  months imprisonment on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, after previously pleading guilty to one count  of Felon in Possession of a Firearm.  As part of his guilty plea, Gully acknowledged that between 
July 28, 2020, and October 27, 2020, while knowing he was a convicted felon, unlawfully possessed a  shotgun at a residence in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Gully had likewise been convicted in 2003 in this district of being a felon in possession of a  firearm and, in that case, received a sentence of 1 year and 1 day to be followed by 3 years of  supervised release.  In 2005, Gully’s supervised release was revoked after he was found to have  possessed cocaine and marijuana.  He was sent back to prison for 6 months to be followed by 6  months of home confinement.  In 2006, Gully’s supervised release was again revoked and he was  returned to prison for 13 months after he violated the terms of his home confinement.

“Felons possessing firearms, regardless of the circumstances, are serious offenses,” said United 
States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.  “This defendant has repeatedly shown his inability to follow  the law or comply with restrictions placed on him by the courts.  Our communities are less safe  when individuals like this possess guns.”

Upon release from his 48-month term of imprisonment, Gully will serve 3 years of supervised  release.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - Jeremy Inderyas, 37, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced in federal court  on Thursday, August 18, 2022, to 100 months in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession  with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. Inderyas was also ordered to serve three years of  supervised release upon his release from prison. Inderyas had previously pled guilty in federal  court to the methamphetamine conspiracy charges. As part of his guilty plea, Inderyas acknowledged  he arranged a transaction involving over thirteen kilograms of methamphetamine in Phoenix, Arizona,  for his co-conspirators which was seized by law enforcement officials in Madison County, Illinois,  on May 13, 2018.
“Methamphetamine continues to be a scourge on our society, causing misery for countless Americans  across our nation,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “With its major interstate  highway systems, our district plays a key role in detecting and disrupting the flow of  methamphetamine across the country. This prosecution and sentence demonstrate how seriously we take  that responsibility.”

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

This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.

East St. Louis, Ill. – Mary M. Thornhill, 36, of Knoxville, TN, was sentenced on Wednesday, August 
17th, to 34 months in prison for her involvement in a bank fraud scheme that targeted female  victims in Southern Illinois.
In July 2021, Thornhill conspired with others to cash stolen checks and fraudulently obtain funds  from financial institutions using stolen IDs—including driver’s licenses—belonging to real  individuals living in Southern Illinois. The group targeted banks located in the Metro East,  including those in Glen Carbon and Wood River.

At the time of her guilty plea, Thornhill admitted that members of the conspiracy broke into  vehicles parked in public places throughout Southern Illinois to steal valuables left in those  vehicles, including purses and wallets containing IDs and checkbooks. After the thefts, members of  the organization wrote checks from the stolen checkbooks made payable to other persons from whom  the group had stolen identities.

Thornhill and her co-defendant, Delvin Mills, attempted to cash checks at local banks using the  furthest lane of each bank’s drive-up window to avoid detection by the tellers. The “Felony Lane 
Gang” is a term used by law enforcement to describe individuals who use this particular tactic to  defraud banks. Thornhill posed as the female victims and wore wigs or otherwise disguised herself  to look more like the photos on the stolen IDs.

Thornhill admitted that on July 19, 2021, she and Mills went to Regions Bank in Glen Carbon,  Illinois, and successfully cashed a check made payable to a person whose identity had been stolen. 
Thornhill and Mills were arrested by officers with the Glen Carbon Police Department within minutes  of leaving Regions.

“This prosecution and well-deserved sentence is another example of this office’s commitment to  holding people who steal identities and commit related crimes accountable,” said United States 
Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “We understand that identity theft has serious consequences for  victims and they deserve the full support of the criminal justice system. I thank all of the  federal and local law enforcement agencies involved for their time and effort investigating this  case.”

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Thornhill to pay restitution to her victims,  a $200 fine, and spend three years on supervised release.

Thornhill’s co-conspirator, Delvin Mills, was sentenced on July 20, 2022, to 42 months in prison  for his role in the conspiracy. Prior to arriving in Southern Illinois, Mills pleaded guilty to  similar charges in the District of Oregon. On July 14, 2022, Mills was sentenced in that district  to 55 months in prison. According to the Judgment entered in the Southern District of Illinois,  Mills’ two federal sentences will run consecutively—for a total of 97 months in prison.
The investigation was conducted by local law enforcement agencies, including the Glen Carbon,  Clinton County, Germantown, Belleville, New Baden, Salem, O’Fallon (IL), Kirkwood, and St. Louis 
County Police Departments, along with the United States Secret Service, Fairview Heights Domicile 
Office of the Springfield Resident Office.
Assistant United States Attorney Zoe J. Gross prosecuted the case.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Mario A. Foster, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced on Tuesday,  August 16, 2022, in federal court to 13 years in prison for Possessing with Intent to Distribute 
Fentanyl and Cocaine. Following Foster’s release, he will spend three years on supervised release. 
Foster was also ordered to pay $200 in special assessments along with a $500 fine.
According to court documents, Foster was stopped and arrested following a call to law enforcement  regarding a parental abduction.  Law enforcement observed a three-month old infant sitting in a  removable child safety seat. When the infant was removed from the seat, officers discovered the  baby had been sitting on a baggy containing fentanyl and a baggie containing cocaine base.

“Fentanyl’s deadliness is no secret,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.  “It is  unfathomable that this defendant selfishly chose to place an infant in jeopardy in an apparent  effort to conceal his crimes. His 13-year prison sentence is well-deserved.”

This case was investigated by the United States Marshal Service and the Belleville Police 
Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Hudson.

BENTON, Ill. –– An Oblong man and Robinson woman pleaded guilty on Thursday, August 4, 2022, to  breaking into cars, stealing checks and IDs from vehicles, and committing identity theft in order  to obtain thousands of dollars from local banks by fraud.
According to court documents, Zachary Patrick, 30, of Oblong, Illinois, and Briana Blair, 31, of 
Robinson, Illinois, stole checks and personal identifying information from a series of victims,  often by breaking into the victims’ vehicles.  Patrick and Blair then used the victims’ information  however they could, writing and depositing fraudulent checks, forging victims’ signatures, and  withdrawing and spending thousands of dollars as they traveled around eastern Illinois and western 
Indiana.  The pair even opened a bank account using one victim’s stolen information.

The pair was eventually caught in a hotel parking lot in Brazil, Indiana, breaking into yet another  vehicle.  Patrick and Blair initially identified themselves to law enforcement using two of the  identities they had stolen, but eventually admitted to their true identities.  Law enforcement  recovered a pile of stolen IDs, credit cards, and financial information after their arrest.

Both Patrick and Blair pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit financial institution  fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.  They are scheduled to be sentenced on November 
17, 2022, and face a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a statutory maximum of as many as 
32 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering  the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“All who have been victimized by identity theft and its related crimes understand just how serious  and far-reaching its consequences can be,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.  “Along  with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, this office will continue to make  investigating and prosecuting these offenses a top priority.  I thank the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation-Springfield Field Office, the Oblong Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s 
Office, and the other local law enforcement agencies involved for their work in investigating this  case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter T. Reed is prosecuting the case.

Benton, Ill. – Yesterday afternoon, in federal court in Benton, IL, Billy E. Harris, 49, the former  treasurer of the Perry County Agricultural Society (“PCAS”), was sentenced to 21 months in prison  for defrauding the PCAS out of more than $148,000.
The PCAS operates all of the festivals at the Perry County Fairgrounds in Pinckneyville, including  the Perry County Fair.  Harris, currently of St. Louis, MO, served as the treasurer of the PCAS  from 2011 through October 2018.  At his plea hearing earlier this year, Harris admitted that from 
June 5, 2012 through October 3, 2018, he defrauded the PCAS out of more than $100,000. 
Specifically, Harris acknowledged that he paid his personal expenses, and purchased items for his  personal use, with electronic debits from the PCAS bank account.  Many of those items were  purchased through Amazon.  Some of the items that Harris admitted purchasing with PCAS funds  include a WiFi router, Apple AirPods, a Himalyan Salt Lamp Air Purifier, Star Wars Darth Vader and 
Yoda personalized pet tags, a pair of Star Wars men’s sleep pants, a floating pool fountain, a CPAP  tube cleaning brush, and men’s grooming products, including beard lube.  Harris also admitted  writing checks on the PCAS account payable to himself and his spouse, and forging a Board member’s  signature on those checks.

At the sentencing hearing yesterday, the sentencing judge noted that Harris’ fraud against the PCAS  was a product of greed.  In explaining her decision to sentence Harris to prison, the judge stated  that individuals who prey on small community organizations cannot steal large sums of money and  then simply say “I’m sorry” and walk away with no real consequences.

“When individuals like Harris steal from civic groups like the Perry County Agricultural Society,  they are really stealing from the communities that the groups serve,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle 
Aud Crowe.  “In this case, Harris stole from the people of Perry County who enjoy attending  community events at the Perry County Fairgrounds.  We will always seek to hold these individuals  accountable for their actions.”

In addition to the 21 month prison sentence, the court also ordered Harris to pay $148,908.07 in  restitution to the PCAS.  After he is released from prison, Harris will then serve a two year  period of supervised release.

The St. Louis Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Pinckneyville Police Department  investigated the case. The Perry County State’s Attorney’s Office also assisted with the  investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Verseman and Zoe Gross prosecuted the case.

East St. Louis, Ill. – Delvin O.E. Mills, 29, of North Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced to 42  months in prison on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in connection with his involvement in a bank fraud  scheme which targeted female victims in Southern Illinois. Mills was also ordered to pay  restitution, a $2,000 fine, and serve five years on supervised release upon his release from  prison.
In July 2021, Mills conspired with others to cash stolen checks and fraudulently obtain funds from  financial institutions using stolen driver licenses belonging to individuals living in Southern 
Illinois. The group targeted banks located in Glen Carbon and Wood River.

Mills admitted members of the conspiracy broke into vehicles parked in public places throughout 
Southern Illinois to steal valuables left in those vehicles. Items included purses and wallets  containing ID’s and checkbooks. Members of the organization wrote checks from the stolen checkbooks  made payable to other persons from whom the group had stolen identities.

Mills and his co-defendant, Mary Thornhill, attempted to cash checks at local banks using the  furthest lane of each bank’s drive-up window to avoid detection by the tellers. The “Felony Lane 
Gang” is a term used by law enforcement to describe individuals who use this tactic to defraud  banks. Mills admitted that on July 19, 2021, he and Thornhill went to Regions Bank in Glen Carbon,  Illinois, and successfully cashed a check made payable to a person whose identity had been stolen. 
Mills and Thornhill were arrested by officers with the Glen Carbon Police Department within minutes  of leaving Regions Bank.

“This case involves a criminal scheme that has unfortunately become far too common in our 
District,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “This office is committed to assisting  our local law enforcement partners in their investigations of these serious crimes and to holding  those individuals who target our communities, defraud our financial institutions, and steal the  identities of innocent victims accountable. The significant prison sentence imposed by the court in  this case is not only just punishment for this defendant, but should also serve as a warning to  others contemplating such crimes.”

Prior to arriving in Southern Illinois, Mills pleaded guilty to similar charges in the District of 
Oregon. Mills was on pre-trial release pending sentencing in Oregon when he fled the state. On June 
5, 2021, Mills was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, for breaking into cars. After his release in 
Nevada, Mills traveled to the Southern District of Illinois to continue his spree. On July 14,  2022, Mills was sentenced in the District of Oregon to 55 months in prison. According to the Judgment entered in the Southern

District of Illinois, Mills’ two federal sentences will run consecutively—for a total of 97 months  in prison.
Mills’ co-conspirator, Mary Thornhill, has pled guilty and will be sentenced next month. 
Thornhill’s sentencing is scheduled for August 17, 2022.

The investigation was conducted by the following Illinois Law Enforcement Agencies: Glen Carbon,  Clinton County, Germantown, Belleville, New Baden, Salem, and O’Fallon. Other agencies assisting  with the case were the Kirkwood, Missouri, and St. Louis County Police Departments, along with the 
United States Secret Service and the Fairview Heights Domicile Office of the Springfield Resident 
Office.
Assistant United States Attorney Zoe J. Gross prosecuted the case.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Shane Hans, 45, of Vandalia, Illinois, pled guilty in federal court on 
Thursday, July 21, 2022, to one count of distribution of methamphetamine, one count of possession  with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. As  part of his guilty plea, Hans acknowledged that on May 14, 2021, he possessed, with intent to  distribute, approximately 15 grams of methamphetamine that was recovered by law enforcement  officials from his residence in Vandalia, Illinois.  Hans also acknowledged he possessed a firearm  recovered from his residence on that date, while knowing he was a convicted felon.  Hans further  acknowledged on July 24, 2021, he knowingly distributed approximately 14 grams of methamphetamine  from his residence in Vandalia.  Hans is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17, 2022.  Hans  faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe thanks the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Springfield Field 
Office and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office for their work in investigating the case and notes  that, “this kind of cooperative effort between federal and local law enforcement agencies is  essential to making our communities safer.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.

BENTON, Ill. – Kimberly J. Atkins, 45, of Effingham, Illinois, Tyler R. Schumacher, 36, of 
Altamont, Illinois, and Jennifer M. Hazlett, 34, of Altamont, Illinois, were each charged in a  separate federal Indictment with methamphetamine related offenses on Wednesday, July 13, 2022.

Atkins was charged in a five-count indictment.  Counts 1-4 charge that Atkins distributed  methamphetamine on January 24, 2022, January 26, 2022 (two times), and March 9, 2022.  Count 5  charges that on April 11, 2022, Atkins possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.  
All the crimes are alleged to have occurred in Effingham County, Illinois.

With respect to Atkins, Counts 1 and 5 each carry penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment, up to a 
$1,000,000 fine, and supervised release of not less than 3 years.  Counts 2-4 each carry penalties  of a minimum of 5 years up to 40 years imprisonment, up to a $4,000,000 fine, and supervised  release not less than 4 years.

Schumacher was charged in a two-count indictment.  Count 1 charges that from about 2019, until on  or about June 3, 2022, in Effingham County, within the Southern District of Illinois, Kentucky, and  elsewhere, Schumacher conspired with others to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.  
Count 2 charges that on February 22, 2022, in Effingham County, Schumacher possessed with intent to  distribute more than 5 grams of methamphetamine.

With respect to Schumacher, count 1 carries penalties of a minimum of 10 years up to life  imprisonment, up to a $10,000,000 fine, and supervised release of not less than 5 years.  Count 2  carries penalties of a minimum of 5 years up to 40 years imprisonment, up to a $4,000,000 fine, and  supervised release not less than 4 years.

Hazlett was charged in a two-count indictment.  Count 1 charges that on March 23, 2022, in 
Effingham County, Hazlett distributed more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.  Count 2 charges that  on March 30, 3022, in Effingham County, Hazlett distributed more than 5 grams of methamphetamine.

With respect to Hazlett, count 1 carries penalties of a minimum of 10 years up to life  imprisonment, up to a $10,000,000 fine, and supervised release of not less than 5 years.  Count 2  carries penalties of a minimum of 5 years up to 40 years imprisonment, up to a $4,000,000 fine, and  supervised release not less than 4 years.

An indictment is merely a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, the defendant is  presumed to be innocent of the charges until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the  satisfaction of a jury.

The investigation was conducted by the Effingham County Sheriff's Department, the Effingham City 
Police Department, and the Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force.  Assistance was also provided by the Effingham County State’s Attorney’s Office.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Ian N. Merideth, 38, of Centralia, Illinois, was sentenced today in federal  court to 20 years in prison for Possession of a Stolen Firearm and being a Felon in Possession of a 
Firearm.   Merideth received a $500 fine and was ordered to pay $200 in special assessment fees. 
Following his release, he will spend three years on supervised release.
According to court documents, Merideth was sentenced following a series of criminal acts that  occurred  on  July  9,  2021.   Merideth  admitted  that  on  July  9,  2021,  he  burglarized  a   home  in Hoffman, Illinois, taking seven firearms including a Weihrauch .357 revolver.   Later that  same day,  Wamac  Officer  Muechenheim  stopped  Merideth  and  attempted  to  arrest  him  for  an  outstanding  arrest  warrant.   Merideth,  a  convicted  felon,  retrieved  the  stolen  Weihrauch  
.357 revolver and fired four rounds at Officer Muechenheim.

Attempted Murder charges against Merideth remain pending in Clinton County Circuit Court.

This case was investigated by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, Wamac Police Department, the 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,  Springfield Field Office.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Hudson.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – The ringleader of a Houston-based cocaine trafficking operation has been  sentenced in the Southern District of Illinois to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute  cocaine, bringing to a successful close an investigation and prosecution that spanned several  states and more than five years. On Tuesday, June 21, 2022, Samuel Ruben Caraway, 46, was sentenced  to 360  months  in  prison  and  five  years  of  supervised  release  for  his  role  in  a  drug   trafficking conspiracy that resulted in the seizure of $1.2 million dollars in cash, $72,000 in  jewelry, and several kilos of cocaine.

Caraway was captured in Texas in July 2021, after being a fugitive for more than three and a half  years.

An indictment filed on January 4, 2018, charged that Caraway was the leader of a Houston-based  group  responsible  for  distributing  more  than  $4  million  dollars’  worth  of  cocaine   throughout Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Georgia. Caraway and eight co-defendants were  named in the indictment. The United States also seized $1,212,934 in U.S. currency, along with  jewelry appraised at $72,000.

All the other defendants previously pleaded guilty, and Caraway was the last member of the group to  be sentenced.  Each of his co-defendants  also  received significant prison sentences –  Victor 
Johnson (188 months), Sammy Monroe (168 months), Rodney Smith (147 months), Dana Bell (87 months), Nahum Shibeshi (48 months), Astin Allison (151 months), Terrance Miles (121 months) and Jamie Green (262 months) – after it was determined that they were responsible for trafficking approximately 120 kilos of cocaine into Southern Illinois.

This investigation was conducted as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force 
(OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative brings federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and  resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug  trafficking organizations.   The   investigation   was   conducted   by   agents   from   the   
Drug   Enforcement Administration.  The  case  was  prosecuted  by  Assistant  United  States  
Attorneys  Steven  D. Weinhoeft and David D. Dean.

East St. Louis, Ill. – Heather Harper, 38, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced to thirty months  in prison on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in connection with her involvement in a conspiracy to commit  bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In December 2020, Harper conspired with others to cash stolen checks and fraudulently obtain funds  from financial institutions using stolen IDs—including driver’s licenses—belonging to real  individuals living in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The scheme targeted banks located in 
Southern Illinois and Missouri.

When she pled guilty, Harper admitted that her conspirators broke into vehicles in the St. Louis  area to  steal  checkbooks  and  IDs  belonging  to  various  individuals.  Harper  also  admitted   that  her conspirators wrote checks from the stolen checkbooks made payable to other persons from  whom the group had stolen identities. Harper went to banks around St. Louis and the Metro East and  attempted to cash checks made payable to the persons whose identities had been stolen. Harper often  disguised herself to look like the individuals on the stolen IDs, using accessories such as wigs. 
Harper admitted that on December 11, 2020, she successfully cashed a check made payable to a person  whose identity had been stolen at First Bank in O’Fallon, Illinois.

The  investigation  was  conducted  by  local  law  enforcement  agencies,  including  the  
O’Fallon  (IL), Webster  Groves,  Shrewsbury,  Maryland  Heights,  Des  Peres,  and   St.  Charles  
County  Police Departments, along with the United States Secret Service, Fairview Heights Domicile 
Office of the Springfield Resident Office. Charges against Harper for defrauding banks in St. Louis 
County are still pending.
Assistant United States Attorney Zoe J. Gross prosecuted the case.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – After a week-long trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict convicting  a California man of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Deliver Controlled Substances.
Arturo Ledesma, Jr., 33, of Watsonville, CA, was charged in a superseding indictment on December 
10, 2019, with Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances  between January 2017 and May of 2018. The jury heard evidence that Ledesma supplied marijuana and  methamphetamine to co-conspirators in California and Pennsylvania starting in 2017. In May of 2018,  co-conspirators were arrested in Madison County, Illinois, while they trafficked more than 30  pounds of methamphetamine across the country.

Sentencing  will  be  held  on  September  19,  2022,  before  the  Honorable  Chief  Judge  Nancy 
Rosenstengel.

Co-Defendants Enrique Vazquez and Dastisha Velez of Reading, Pennsylvania; Mitchell Abreu of 
Pawtucket, Rhode Island; Jeremy Inderyas of Brooklyn, New York; and Lauren Korn of Basking Ridge,  New Jersey, have all previously pled guilty to their roles in this drug conspiracy.

The Illinois State Police (ISP); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Bureau of Alcohol,  Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); and the United States 
Marshal Service (USMS) participated in this investigation.

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

Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel Kapsak, John Trippi, and Amanda Fischer prosecuted the case.

BENTON,  Ill.  -  A  Fairview  Heights  man  is  heading  to  federal  prison  for  possession  of   child pornography. Michael M. Rapa, 68, of Fairview Heights, Illinois, was sentenced on Thursday,  June 2, 2022, to 6 years in prison for two counts of possession of prepubescent child pornography  and one count of possession of child pornography. Rapa pleaded guilty to the charges in February. 
Following his prison sentence, Rapa will be on federal supervised release for 5 years and will be  required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

According to court documents, Rapa first came to the attention of law enforcement in Vancouver,  Canada, in 2015. As the result of a subsequent investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security and the Fairview Heights Police Department, in 2017 Rapa was determined to be in  possession of hundreds of image and video files containing prepubescent child pornography on  various items of electronic media which lead to charges in the Southern District of Illinois.

“There  is  something  profoundly  wrong  with  an  individual  who  derives  sexual  gratification   from seeing  children  being  raped,”  said  U.S.  Attorney  Steven  D.  Weinhoeft.  “Law   enforcement  must confront this evil because, to paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, a true measure of  society can be found in how it protects its most vulnerable members.”

“One of the most horrific things an individual can do is seek to harm a child,” said acting Special 
Agent in Charge of the Kansas City area of operations R. Sean Fitzgerald. “I couldn’t be prouder of  the HSI special agents and analysts, in coordination with our law enforcement partners, who have  dedicated their lives to removing these predators from our community.”

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

East  St.  Louis,  Ill.  –    A  Cahokia,  Illinois,  man  was  found  guilty  as  charged  last   week  for Enticement of a Minor, Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct, and 
Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct in a Foreign Place. Sentencing is set for August 24, 2022, in  front of the Honorable Judge Stephen P. McGlynn.

According to evidence presented during trial, Joseph Albert Fuchs, III, an American citizen, met a 
14-year-old girl while visiting the Philippines. Fuchs then engaged in sexual conversations with  the minor using Facebook. During those conversations, Fuchs discussed ways to evade detection of  her age when he would return to the Philippines to engage in sexual acts with her at a hotel. Fuchs  then returned to the Philippines in March of 2019 and engaged in sexual acts with the 14- year-old  minor. During this time, Fuchs was a special agent for the United States Postal Service Office  of  
Inspector  General  (USPSOIG).  USPSOIG  provided  their  full  cooperation  into  the  investigation. Investigation further revealed that Fuchs sent nearly $1,000.00 to the minor over a  year long period.

“Today’s guilty verdict should serve as a warning to those in positions of power or trust that if  you engage in this behavior and seek to harm the innocent, you will be held accountable and brought  to justice,” said HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted the investigation, with assistance from the HSI 
Attaché Manila, the Philippine National Police, and the Cahokia Police Department. The case was  prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Laura Reppert.

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

East St. Louis, Ill. – On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, a federal grand jury in East St. Louis returned a  nine- count indictment charging a former Aldi executive and a local general contractor with federal  fraud offenses relating to the construction of Aldi grocery stores throughout Southern Illinois and 
Missouri. Former Aldi Regional Director of Real Estate, Louis Ross, 62, of Florissant, Missouri,  and the owner of C. Juengel Company, Donald Schniers, 71, of Breese, Illinois, were both charged  with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud, and four  counts of wire fraud.
Aldi Inc. operates a corporate chain of grocery stores with locations nationwide, including dozens  of stores within the Southern District of Illinois and the St. Louis metropolitan area. Ross served  as the Director  of  Real  Estate  for  Aldi’s  O’Fallon,  Missouri,  Division,  which  encompasses   the  area. According to court documents, Schniers, through C. Juengel, provided general  contracting services to Aldi  in  connection  with  the  construction  and  renovation  of  Aldi   stores  in  the  O’Fallon,  Missouri, Division.

Ross  and  Schniers  are  accused  of  conspiring  to  create  the  appearance  of  a  competitive   bidding environment when one did not exist. The indictment alleges that Ross and Schniers submitted  fictitious bids in the names of other regional construction companies that were higher than C. 
Juengel’s bids. Using these fictitious high bids from competing construction firms, Ross and 
Schniers ensured that C. Juengel was the lowest bidder on the projects and was ultimately awarded  the contracts. The indictment further alleges that on at least one occasion, the Defendants altered  a legitimate bid submitted by one local construction company to increase the amount of the bid to  be higher than C. Juengel’s bid. On other occasions, the Defendants allegedly created and submitted  bids for other regional construction companies who had never bid on Aldi projects before.

According to the indictment, C. Juengel was awarded twelve contracts for general contractor  services between March 2016 and May 2017, as a result of the fraud - valued at over $21 million  dollars. Because of the lack of competition in the bidding process, Aldi allegedly overpaid for the  construction and renovation of stores in the O’Fallon, Missouri, Division.

“Individuals and companies who collude to thwart free market competition have a direct and negative  impact on communities and the American consumer,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Acting Special 
Agent in Charge Joe Rodriguez.   “Today’s indictment demonstrates the commitment of the FBI and our  partners to investigate anti-competitive behavior and hold accountable those who try to cheat the system for their own benefit and profit.”

The indictment also charges that Schniers paid Ross monthly kickbacks in exchange for the receipt  of the Aldi contracts. Over a four-year period, Ross allegedly received $554,000 in kickbacks in  the form of  checks  drawn  on  C.  Juengel’s  bank  account.  In  addition,  the  indictment   alleges  that  Ross  also received thousands of dollars in kickbacks from another individual for  the exclusive right to serve as the civil engineer on  all Aldi new construction  and renovation  projects  in the O’Fallon, Missouri, Division.
Ross and Schniers are scheduled to appear in federal court in East St. Louis for their arraignments  on June 10, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., respectively. Each of the counts in the indictment  carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
United  States  Attorney,  Steven  D.  Weinhoeft  of  the  Southern  District  of  Illinois  made   the announcement.

The investigation was conducted by the Springfield and St. Louis Field Offices of Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, and the St. Louis Field Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zoe J. Gross.

An indictment is merely a formal charge against a defendant. Under law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – After a final arrest last weekend, federal authorities are releasing the  results of a month long, large scale, multi-agency, law enforcement operation led by the U.S. 
Marshals Service, Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, operating primarily throughout March 
2022. The operation resulted in more than 150 arrests, including three individuals being charged  with homicide in St. Clair County in connection with one of the firearms seized.

Multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies worked countless hours concentrating  their  efforts  on  known  gang  members,  wanted  subjects,  and  other  known  violent   offenders. Operation Washout (OWO) is a United States Marshals initiative deployed to local areas  to bring immediate  relief  from  violent,  gang  related  crime.  The  goal  is  to  foster  safer   communities  by investigating  and  arresting  fugitives  and  members  of  criminal   organizations  responsible  for committing violent crimes.

The detail yielded 153 arrests with 55 of those subjects being identified as gang members. Also  seized were 62 firearms, $42,974 in U.S. Currency, two vehicles, and 26.9 kilograms of narcotics. 
Enforcement  operations  were  focused  on  Madison  and  St.  Clair  counties,  in  addition  to   the Centralia region.

“Federal law enforcement is at its best when coordinating our resources to focus on those who  present the biggest threat to public safety,” said United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “I  credit the U.S. Marshals Service for their excellent work. They perform an incredibly valuable  service to the community by searching for and apprehending the most violent offenders in the most  dangerous areas.”

“This operation is a great example of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners  working together to have a significant impact on reducing violent crime in our communities,” said 
Jeremy Wyatt, Acting United States Marshal.   “Thank you to all of the law  enforcement officers  that participated in this operation and put it on the line every day to ensure a safer community  for everyone.”
Participating agencies included U.S. Marshals Service, Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, The   Bureau   of   Alcohol,   Tobacco,   Firearms,   and   Explosives   (ATF),   Federal   Bureau    of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, Safe Streets Task Force, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security Investigations (HSI), Illinois State Police, Illinois Department of Corrections – Parole 
(IDOC), St. Clair County Drug Tactical Unit (DTU), St. Clair County Probation, Granite City Police  
Department,  Alton  Police  Department,  Belleville  Police  Department,  Centralia  Police 
Department,  St.  Clair,  Madison,  Jefferson,  Effingham,  Marion,  and  Clinton  County  
Sheriff’s Departments.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill.– Jalon J. Moore, 25, of Saint Louis, Missouri, was sentenced on Thursday, May 
12, 2022, to a total of 26 years in prison for a string of robberies he committed in the Metro East  area. Moore will serve a three-year term of supervised release following his release from federal  prison. Moore was also ordered to pay $132,961.74 in restitution to his victims.
In  January  of  2022,  Moore  pled  guilty  to  conspiracy  to  commit  robberies  with  a   firearm,  armed robberies of Sprint in Fairview Heights, Illinois, and Marco’s Pizza in 
Collinsville, Illinois, and armed bank robbery of GCS Credit Union in Collinsville, Illinois, all  of which occurred in March of 2019. Moore also pled guilty and was sentenced in the Eastern 
District of Missouri for five additional armed robberies of businesses in Saint Louis. According to  court documents, Moore, Larry J. Rhines, and Garry  Johnson,  committed  numerous  “take  over   style”  business  robberies  in  the  Metro  East  area between January and March of 2019. During  these robberies, the three were armed with firearms and threatened employees while demanding money.

Moore’s co-defendants, Larry J. Rhines and Garry Johnson, are set to be sentenced in June of 2022.

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

This case was investigated by the St. Louis and Springfield Field Offices of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, the Saint Louis Metropolitan, Saint Louis County, Collinsville, and Fairview Heights 
Police Departments.
The case prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Burns.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Bradley L. Matthews, 40, of Vandalia, Illinois, was sentenced on May 4, 2022, to 60 months imprisonment for distributing child pornography.

According to the stipulation of facts agreed to by the parties, Matthews came to the attention of  law  enforcement  in  February  2019  during  an  FBI  undercover  internet  investigation  of   child pornography.  During  the  investigation,  an  undercover  officer  engaged  in  a   conversation  with Matthews during which he sent the undercover officer three videos depicting  child pornography.

In an interview with law enforcement on September 5, 2019, Matthews admitted distributing child  pornography. When shown the printout of the conversation with the undercover officer that took  place on February 5, 2019, Matthews identified himself as the person in the profile picture and  admitted that he was the person who had engaged in the conversation with the undercover officer and  distributed the child pornography videos.

In  addition  to  the  60-month  term  of  imprisonment,  Matthews  will  serve  a  ten-year  term   of supervised release, fined $200, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.

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

Benton, Ill. – Dr. Mingqing Xiao, 60, of Makanda, Illinois, was convicted by a federal jury on 
Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in connection with lying to federal authorities about a foreign bank  account in China in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Dr. Xiao, a mathematics professor and researcher at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, was  convicted  of  three  counts  of  Making  a  False  or  Fraudulent  Statement  to  the  Internal  
Revenue Service (IRS) on his tax returns and one count of Failure to File a report of a Foreign 
Bank Account (FBAR).   Evidence presented at the trial established that Xiao opened a foreign bank  account at Ping An Bank in China in 2016 and received monthly deposits into the account from 
Shenzhenalo University in Shenzhen, China, from 2016 to 2020. Some of the funds were linked to  additional sources in China. By 2020, Xiao had accumulated more than $100,000 in the Chinese  account.
U.S. taxpayers are required to report the existence of any foreign bank account on their federal  income  tax  returns.  In  addition,  individuals  with  funds  in  foreign  accounts  totaling   more  than $10,000  at  any  time  during  a  given  year  are  required  to  file  an  FBAR  with  the  
Treasury Department.

“There  are  foreign  entities  that  exploit  American  universities  and  grant  agencies,”  said 
 U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “To guard against this abuse, the National Science Foundation 
(NSF) requires grant applicants to disclose any conflicting activities, including foreign  activities, as a condition of receiving federal funding. Further, all U.S. citizens are obligated  to disclose any foreign bank accounts they may have. The evidence established that Dr. Xiao  concealed foreign work and hid more than $100,000 of foreign assets in an account in China, and he  was properly prosecuted and held accountable.”

“Failing to  disclose  a foreign bank  account  and  filing false tax returns demonstrates  a lack  of truthfulness and an  abdication of the duties of citizenship,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge 
David Nanz.   “Xiao received money from a Chinese employer and knowingly failed to report those  funds, thereby evading his income tax responsibilities. The FBI is committed to investigate and  bring to justice anyone who avoids their obligation to live by our nation’s laws.”

“As this verdict shows, when you fail to disclose a foreign bank account and submit false income tax statements to the IRS, you are committing tax fraud,” said Darrell J. Waldon, Special Agent in Charge  of  the  IRS-CI  Washington  DC  Field  Office.   “Xiao’s  acts  of  fraud  and  dishonesty  undermine the integrity of our system of taxation.   Our agency will continue to uphold its mission  to investigate tax and financial crimes in order to uphold confidence in our tax system, holding  individuals accountable for their crimes.”

The court dismissed two additional counts against Xiao that charged wire fraud.   In addition, Xiao  was found not guilty of a false statement charge.   Those three charges were all related to alleged  fraud in connection with a grant Xiao obtained from the National Science Foundation.

The charge of making and subscribing false income tax returns provides for a sentence of up to  three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine.   The charge of failing  to file an FBAR provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised  release, and a fine of $250,000.   Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based  upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.   Sentencing is set before the 
Honorable Staci M. Yandle on August 11, 2022.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Springfield Field Office and the 
Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigations.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Reed and Scott Verseman of the U.S. 
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Derek Shugert of the
National Security Division of the Department of Justice.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Dinish L. Watson, 26, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced to 30 years  in federal prison on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, for Production of Child Pornography and Felon in 
Possession of a Firearm. Following his release from prison, Watson will serve a five-year term of  supervised release. Watson was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents, on January 11, 2021, the United States Marshal’s Service (USMS)  executed an arrest warrant at Watson’s residence for one of Watson’s friends. Discovered during the  arrest was a Del-Ton 5.56 caliber rifle with a loaded extended magazine, a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol,  a   bullet  proof  vest,  and  additional  ammunition.  Watson  admitted  to  law  enforcement  officials that he had previously held the rifle and posed for pictures with it. Watson later  messaged two different friends on a social media application indicating that law enforcement had  taken his guns. Evidence adduced at the sentencing hearing showed that Watson had acquired at least  one firearm after his contact with USMS and that Watson claimed affiliation with a local gang in 
East St. Louis.

Separately, in late January of 2021, the East St. Louis Police Department and the Public Safety 
Enforcement   Group   (PSEG)   received   information   that   Watson   had   engaged   in   a    sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female. The investigation revealed that he repeatedly  engaged in sexual  conduct  with  the  16-year-old  and  filmed  her  performing  a  sex  act  on   him.  While  law enforcement investigated the case, Watson threatened the 16-year-old and posted  the video of the sex act to a social media website.

Watson has prior felony convictions for Aggravated Battery and Stealing from a Person. He was on  probation at the time of the offenses.

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

This case was investigated by Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG), the East St. Louis Police 
Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). PSEG is an Illinois 
State Police unit embedded in and working in direct partnership with the East St.
Louis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Reppert prosecuted the case.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Bernard L. Mosley, Jr., 23, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced to 84  months in federal prison on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. 
As part of his sentence, Mosley will serve a two-year term of supervised release following his  release from federal prison.

On August 4, 2020, the United States Marshals Service located Mosley at a house in East St. Louis  and arrested him on an active warrant. At the time of his arrest, Mosley was in possession of a  loaded  handgun.  Federal  law  prohibits  convicted  felons  from  possessing  firearms  or   firearm ammunition.   A federal grand jury indicted Mosley in October of 2020, and Mosley pled  guilty on February 22, 2022.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF),  United States Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the Illinois State 
Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and David Dean prosecuted the case.

BENTON, Ill. – Antonio Ferto-Castorena, 31, of Maywood, Illinois, was sentenced on Thursday, April 
21, 2022, to a total of 168 months in prison after pleading guilty for arranging to have sex with a  minor online and traveling to pick her up in the Southern District of Illinois. Antonio 
Ferto-Castorena, a citizen of Mexico, was also ordered to pay restitution and serve 5 years of  supervised release.

According to court documents and evidence presented in court, Ferto-Castorena used an online chat  application to meet a teenage girl. Ferto-Castorena engaged in sexual conversations with the minor. 
On February 5, 2020, Ferto-Castorena drove from Maywood, Illinois, to Teutopolis, Illinois, to pick  up the minor from school. School employees notified the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office who  apprehended Ferto-Castorena prior meeting the minor.

As part of his plea agreement, Ferto-Castorena admitted to producing child pornography of a minor  who was located in California, using an online chat application. The images were located on 
Ferto-Castorena’s cell phone.

The investigation was conducted by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, Effingham Police 
Department, and the FBI Springfield and Chicago Field Offices.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Burns.

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

ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge John A. Ross sentenced Jalon Moore, age 25, to 25 years in federal prison for several counts of armed robbery and possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence.  Moore previously pleaded guilty in January. 

According to the plea agreement, Moore and two co-defendants committed a string of armed robberies in 2019 within the Eastern District of Missouri.  Each of the robberies involved a yellow Camaro (which was used as the getaway car), the brandishing of firearms, and the taking or attempted taking of money from local businesses, by the use of force, threatened force, or violence. 

Moore and the others were responsible for robbing (or attempting to rob) the following businesses on the following dates:

• Mack Bar and Grill located at 4615 Macklind, St. Louis, Missouri on January 9, 2019;
• Jimmy John’s located at 6459 Chippewa Street, St. Louis, Missouri on February 9, 2019;
• Subway located at 1151 South Kingshighway Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri on February 17, 2019;
• Panda Express located at 4400 Hampton Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri on March 18, 2019; and
• Sprint located at 5441 Hampton Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri on March 21, 2019.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-St. Louis and the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department, in coordination with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois; the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Springfield; and the Collinsville and Fairview Heights Police Departments.

BENTON, Ill. – Martin Cooper, 31, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced to 210 months in  prison on Thursday, April 7, 2022, for his role in a Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine and 
Money Laundering. The offenses occurred in St. Clair County and throughout the Southern District of 
 Illinois. Cooper pleaded guilty to both charges in October 2021. The United States Postal  
Inspection  Service  initiated  an  investigation  in  January  2019,  after  noticing  numerous  suspicious packages being sent to and from addresses in East St. Louis, Illinois, and Phoenix,  Arizona. During the investigation, agents learned that Jose Angulo shipped packages containing  methamphetamine to the East St. Louis area to Martin Cooper.

According  to  court  documents,  Cooper  admitted  to  receiving  narcotics  from  Jose  and  
Steven Angulo in 2019 and acknowledged a package containing over two kilograms of methamphetamine  destined for an address in East St. Louis was for him. Cooper also admitted to transferring money  to the Angulos via Walmart, and by mailing currency and money orders to them.

Jose Angulo was sentenced on March 24, 2022, to 30 years in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute 
Methamphetamine, Money Laundering and Distribution of Methamphetamine.

The  investigation  was  conducted  by  the  United  States  Postal  Inspection  Service,  the  
Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Reppert.

East St. Louis, Ill. – The United States filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern 
District of Illinois against General Medicine, P.C. (“General Medicine”), Thomas M. Prose, M.D. –  the owner of General Medicine, and seventeen related corporate entities owned by Prose. In a 
96-page complaint, the government alleges Defendants violated the False Claims Act in a widespread  healthcare fraud scheme involving the submission of thousands of false claims to the Medicare  program. Since 2016, Medicare has paid defendants over $40 million dollars.

General Medicine and the other defendant companies owned by Prose are based in Novi, Michigan and  employed physicians and nurse practitioners to treat patients in nursing homes and assisted living  facilities  in  numerous  states,  including  Illinois  and  Missouri.  The  government’s   complaint  alleges Defendants  knowingly  billed  Medicare  for  visits  with  facility  residents   that  were  not  medically necessary, did not meet the requirements of the billing codes, or were  not performed at all. As alleged in  the  complaint, these  visits  resulted  from  General  
Medicine  directing  their  physicians  and  nurse practitioners to meet visit quotas and perform  numerous patient visits and assessments each month without any consideration as to whether the  patients needed the services. Defendants also allegedly submitted inflated claims to Medicare using  billing codes for complex, comprehensive visits when the providers  spent  only  minimal  time   with  patients.  On  multiple  occasions,  Defendants  allegedly completed progress notes  containing inaccurate information or embellished portions of the notes to bill the visits using  codes with higher reimbursement rates.

“Vulnerable patients living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities should receive their  medical care based on their medical needs, not needless visits manufactured to meet artificial  corporate quotas,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “Billing Medicare for unnecessary and  worthless services at inflated rates drains valuable taxpayer funding from the program and  ultimately harms the patients who need  it most. We  will continue to work closely with our  law   enforcement partners to  ensure federally funded healthcare programs are not abused.”

The investigation was a collaborative effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern 
District of Illinois, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector 
General (HHS OIG), the Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, the U.S. Department  of  Labor  –  Office  of  Inspector  General,  the  U.S.  
Department  of  Labor  –  Employee Benefits Security Administration, the United States Postal 
Inspection Service, and the Department of Defense  Office  of  Inspector  General.  The   investigation  has  already  resulted  in  former  General Medicine    nurse    practitioner    
Jami    Mayhew    pleading    guilty    to    healthcare    fraud    (see https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdil/pr/madison-county-nurse-pactitioner-pleads-guilty-healthcare-fraud) and the indictment of Phillip Greene, a former General Medicine physician, in September 2021.

The United States is represented in the civil litigation by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan Wyatt and Laura Barke.
The case is captioned United States v. General Medicine, P.C., et al., No. 22-cv-00651-SMY (S.D. 
Ill.). The claims asserted in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no  determination of liability.

Members of the public who believe they may have information related to this or any similar schemes  involving healthcare fraud in nursing homes are encouraged to contact law enforcement by calling  the HHS OIG fraud hotline at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477) or by going online at https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/.

BENTON, Ill. – Eugene Falls, 42, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced on March 31, 2022, to 
405 months’   imprisonment   for   Conspiracy   to   Distribute   and   Possess   with   Intent    to   Distribute Methamphetamine,  Heroin,  and  Cocaine;  Attempted  Possession  with  the  Intent   to  Distribute Methamphetamine;  Distribution  of  Heroin;  and  Money  Laundering.    Falls  was   convicted  of  all charges by a jury on December 2, 2021.   The jury also found that Falls had a  prior drug conviction that subjected him to an enhanced sentence.
Evidence  established  during  the  trial  and  sentencing  hearing  demonstrated  that  from   between December  2018  through  March  2019,  Falls  was  responsible  for  receiving  or   distributing  over  19 pounds of methamphetamine and 4 kilograms of heroin in the Southern District  of Illinois, and he laundered drug proceeds to conceal his drug distribution operation. He was  arrested in March 2019 during a deal in which he was attempting to receive another ten pounds of  methamphetamine.

Falls was previously convicted in the Southern District of Illinois for Conspiracy to Distribute 
Cocaine Base and Distribution of Cocaine Base, and he was still on supervised release for that case  at the time he committed these new offenses. At the sentencing hearing, Falls faced a mandatory  minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment as a result of that prior offense. He will be required to serve a  new 10-year term of supervised release once he completes this term of imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – William E. Jackson, 47, of Pevely, Missouri, was sentenced to 360 months in  prison on Thursday, March 24, 2022, for traveling from Missouri to Illinois to engage in sex with a  minor.
According to court documents, in April 2020, an FBI agent, acting in an undercover capacity,  located and responded to an online ad posted by William E. Jackson indicating Jackson’s interest in  incest. When the undercover FBI agent offered to have Jackson meet a fictitious ten-year-old female  minor for purposes of sexual contact, Jackson agreed to do so.   On May 6, 2021, Jackson traveled  from Missouri  to  the  Southern  District  of  Illinois  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the   fictitious  ten-year-old female minor for sex.   Upon arriving at the meet location, Mr. Jackson  was arrested by FBI agents. Following his arrest, Jackson’s cell phone was seized, which was found  to contain child pornography.

“Significant sentences, like the one announced today, are appropriate because those who try to  sexually abuse children deserve justice in proportion to the deviance of their behavior,” said  
United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “Our office will continue to aggressively prosecute  these cases and do all that we can to protect children.”

“This investigation and resulting noteworthy sentence illustrate the FBI’s efforts to protect  children from sexual predators,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. “Victims of these  types of crimes can suffer from long-lasting trauma, so it is vital we continue our efforts to  investigate and arrest those who prey on vulnerable children.”

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

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Springfield Field Office. 
This case was prosecuted by Former Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Hoell and Assistant
United States Attorney Daniel Kapsak.

BENTON, Ill. – Jose Angulo, 51, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced on Thursday, March 24, 2022,  to 
 30  years  imprisonment  for  Conspiracy  to  Distribute  Methamphetamine,  Money Laundering, and 
Distribution of Methamphetamine. Evidence established during the sentencing hearing  demonstrated   that  from  between  2018  through  November  of  2019,  Angulo  had  been responsible for shipping  over 50 pounds of methamphetamine to the Southern District of Illinois and laundered drug proceeds  to conceal his drug distribution operation. During the investigation, the United States Postal 
Inspection Service intercepted three packages of methamphetamine that Angulo had mailed to  addresses in East St. Louis and Swansea, Illinois, totaling nine pounds of methamphetamine.

Angulo had previously been convicted in the State of Arizona for participating in a drug  trafficking organization and engaging in money laundering.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Reppert.

BENTON, Ill. – Jason Dominik Tyler Rodriquez, 38, of East Prairie, Missouri, was sentenced to a  total of 420 months in prison on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, after a federal jury found him guilty  in November of 2021 of trying to have sex with an 8-year-old girl and transporting child  pornography.

According to court  documents and evidence presented at  trial, Rodriguez, formerly known as Jason 
Tyler Smith, chatted online for four days on an online dating application and had a telephone  conversation with what he thought was a father willing to allow strangers to have sex with his 
8-year-old daughter for $150. The purported  father  was  actually  an  FBI  agent.  During  the   conversations,  Rodriguez  indicated  his  interest  in traveling to Marion, Illinois, from St. 
Louis, Missouri, to meet the father and the purported victim and engage in sexual acts with her. On 
March 26, 2020, Rodriguez left St. Louis, Missouri, where he was employed as a nurse, and arrived  at a business in Marion, Illinois. Law enforcement agents promptly arrested Rodriguez. After his  arrest, agents found $150 in cash on Rodriguez and an unopened bag of candy in his automobile. 
Rodriguez had previously been told the 8-year-old would expect candy before having sex with him.   
After his arrest, the agents also discovered Rodriguez had a cellphone in his possession with over 
20,000 videos and pictures of child pornography.

“Federal law enforcement conducts these sting operations so that would-be child molesters are  aggressively prosecuted after they take affirmative steps to abuse a child, but before they can do  immeasurable damage,” said United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.

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

The Investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Springfield Division, and the United States Marshals Service.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Chris Jamison, 19, of Centralia, Illinois, was sentenced today in federal  court to 78 months in prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. Upon his release,  Jamison will be supervised by United States Probation for a period of three years.   Additionally,  Jamison must pay a $1000 fine and a $100 special assessment.
According  to  court  documents,  Jamison  possessed  a  Smith  and  Wesson,  9mm  pistol  while   on probation for Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm at an Occupied Vehicle through Marion County 
Circuit Court.

The case was investigated by the FBI - Springfield Division Safe Streets Task Force and assisted by the Centralia Police Department.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Randy Goodwin, 56, of Belleville, Illinois, pled guilty today to a two-  count  information  charging  him  with  making  false  statements  to  obtain  federal  disability  compensation under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act.

According to court documents, Goodwin began receiving federal disability payments after he was  injured working for the United States Postal Service in 2013.   After his injury, Goodwin began  working  at  his  family’s  restaurant,  Good  Heavens  BBQ,  in  East  St.  Louis,  Illinois.  
Annual disability  forms  require  recipients  to  disclose  additional  earned  income  and   employment. However, to avoid a reduction of his benefits, Goodwin falsely reported that he had not  worked for any employers or had any involvement in any businesses for several years. This caused  the United States Postal Service to pay him more in disability than he truly deserved.

As a result of his plea, Goodwin will lose all disability benefits going forward. He also paid over
$20,000 in restitution on the day of his plea hearing.

Special Agent-in-Charge Andre Martin, Central Area Field Office, U.S. Postal Service Office of 
Inspector General said, “The U.S. Postal Service paid $1.3 billion in workers’ compensation costs  in fiscal year 2021. The majority of postal employees who collect compensation benefits have  legitimate  claims  due  to  on-the-job  injuries  and  are  truly  unable  to  perform  any   postal  jobs. However,  a  small  percent  abuse  the  system  and  cost  the  Postal  Service   millions  of  dollars  in fraudulent claims and enforcement costs. This guilty plea sends a clear  message that workers’ compensation fraud is a federal crime, which carries serious consequences. 
The USPS OIG and the  U.S.  Attorney’s  Office  remain  committed  to  safeguarding  the  integrity   of  the  workers’ compensation  program  and  ensuring  the  accountability  and  integrity  of  
U.S.  Postal  Service employees.”

Sentencing will be held at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis, Illinois, on June 13, 2022. In  addition to losing his disability benefits and paying restitution, Goodwin could also receive up to  a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

The  investigation  of  this  case  was  conducted  by  the  United  States  Postal  Service  –  
Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke J. Weissler.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Benny Davis, 37, of Granite City, Illinois, was sentenced in federal court  on Monday, March 7, 2022, to 10 years in prison for possessing firearms while being a convicted  felon. Davis was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon his release from  prison.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Davis was a passenger in a vehicle that  was stopped by the Hartford Police Department for traffic infractions. Police officers discovered a  rifle, three shotguns and a stolen handgun during a search of the vehicle. The recovered firearms  were all loaded at the time of the traffic stop. The officers also obtained videos of Davis firing  the guns the day  prior  to  his  arrest.  Davis  admitted  to  being  a  convicted  felon  at  the   time  of  his  arrest  which prevented him from legally possessing firearms or ammunition.

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

The  investigation  was  conducted  by  the  Hartford  Police  Department  and  the  Bureau  of  
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Hoell.

BENTON, Ill. – Bryan Flanagan, 35, of Centralia, Illinois, was sentenced to 14 years in federal  prison on Thursday, March 3, 2022, on two counts of distribution of child pornography and five  counts of interstate communication with intent to extort. Flanagan pleaded guilty to charges in  federal court on September 16, 2021.
Flanagan extorted multiple minor girls online to send him sexual videos and images. Beginning in 
February 2020, Flanagan used fake profiles pretending to be a teenage boy on Facebook to contact  multiple underage girls across the United States. Flanagan pressured and threatened his victims  into sending him sexually explicit videos and images. When some victims refused to do so, Flanagan  lied and told them that he was babysitting a young child and would rape or molest the child unless  his online victims sent him the requested images. Flanagan distributed images of child pornography  to at least two of his victims.

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

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield-Division.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Hoell and George Norwood.

EAST  ST.  LOUIS,  Ill.  –  Jasmine  Davison,  29,  of  Cahokia,  Illinois,  was  sentenced  to   eighteen months in prison on Friday, March 4, 2022, for her involvement in an ID-theft scam from 
2015 to 2018.
Davison and her fellow conspirators used the stolen names and social security numbers of real  people to set up new cellular service accounts at Sprint stores across southern Illinois. In  addition, they used the accounts to acquire cellular telephones without paying for them and resold  the phones to other cellular retail stores for cash.

Davison  is  the  third  defendant  to  be  sentenced  in  the  case.    On  February  18,  2021,   Michael Henderson was sentenced to serve 24 months and 1 day in prison. Kyetia Hines was sentenced  on May 5, 2021, to serve 28 months, 4 of which ran concurrent with a prior sentence. Antoinette 
Davis, the last defendant in the case, is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Cahokia
Police Department.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Deandre Young, 43, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced today to 96 months  imprisonment by Judge David Dugan in federal court in East St. Louis, Illinois. Young plead guilty  on October 7, 2021, to one count of aiding and abetting a co-defendant’s possession with intent to  distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug  trafficking offense.

As part of the guilty plea, Young acknowledged that on March 11, 2021, he aided and abetted his  co-defendant’s  intended  distribution  of  methamphetamine  to  a  customer  at  a  gas  station   in Fairview Heights, Illinois, before being arrested by DEA agents. Young was in possession of a  firearm at the time of his arrest.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
This matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.

BENTON, Ill. –   A Jefferson County, Missouri, man was sentenced to a total of 600 months in prison  on Friday, February 25, 2022, after a federal jury found him guilty in October of 2021 for  arranging to have sex with a minor, traveling to pick her up in Belleville, Illinois, and producing  sexually explicit images of her.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Earl G. Rice, Jr., 63, chatted online  via  a  dating  application  with  a  teenage  girl.  Rice  quickly  indicated  his  interest  in   traveling  to Belleville, Illinois, from Dittmer, Missouri, to meet the victim and engage in sexual  acts with her. On Valentine’s Day of 2018, Rice arrived with alcohol, condoms, and a candle to take  the victim to a nearby motel. Rice engaged in sexual acts with the victim and produced sexually  explicit images of the teen girl on his cell phone. Belleville Police Department apprehended Rice  at the scene of the crime.

“Serious crimes deserve serious punishment, and we are very satisfied with the 50-year sentence  imposed  on  Earl  Rice.  Nothing  could  be  more  important  than  keeping  children  safe  from   sex offenders,” said United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.   “This case is another reminder  for parents to be vigilant about their kids’ online activity and to monitor the apps on their  phones.”

“While this sentence ensures that Rice will never again subject another child to sexual abuse and  exploitation, it will not erase the devastating and long-term impact for the victim,” said Special 
Agent in Charge David Nanz of the FBI Springfield Field Office. “The FBI remains steadfast in our  dedication to identify, investigate and arrest those who seek to harm children. If you suspect a  child  is  or  could  become  a  victim  of  a  sexual  predator,  don’t  hesitate  to  contact   local  law enforcement or the FBI.”

Belleville  Police  Department  conducted  the  investigation,  along  with support  from  the  
Illinois State Police, and FBI-Springfield and Saint Louis Divisions.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Karelia Rajagopal.

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

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Lagardo Wright, 21, of Fairview Heights, Illinois, was sentenced to 27  months in federal prison today for orchestrating a large-scale bank fraud scheme.

From at least February 2019 until February 2020, Wright led a team of coconspirators that printed  counterfeit checks, deposited them into other people’s bank accounts, and withdrew the available  proceeds before the banks could determine the checks were counterfeit. Their scheme targeted at  least ten different financial institutions and caused losses over $95,000.

During  the  conspiracy,  Wright’s  main  objective  was  finding  valid  bank  accounts  to   exploit. Because the banks closed each account for fraud after his counterfeit checks inevitably  bounced, Wright needed a constant supply of new account holders with valid bank accounts to  perpetuate his scheme. He solved this problem by developing and directing a network of 
“recruiters.” These middlemen  convinced  naive  account  holders  to  turn  over  their  online   banking  information, including usernames, passwords, and pin numbers, in exchange for the promise  of money.

Whenever a recruiter found an account holder willing to participate, Wright accessed the account  holder’s bank account online, adjusted deposit and withdrawal limits, printed counterfeit checks,  and arranged for as many fraudulent transactions as possible before the banks caught on and closed  the account. Then he waited for his recruiters to bring him a new account or tried to solicit some  on his own.

Wright and his recruiters found new account holders mostly through social media and cellphone apps,  where they flaunted their “success” to attract followers. Wright posted pictures and videos of  cash, expensive clothing, guns, drugs, and screenshots of bank accounts showing large account  balances. He and his recruiters implored their online followers to contact them if they had a valid  bank account and wanted to make thousands of dollars. Of course, Wright never mentioned that he got  the money by committing bank fraud in the account holders’ names, or that the account holders would  lose their ability to bank and have red flags on credit reports for years to come. In fact,  if   young  account  holders  seemed  hesitant,  Wright  and  his  recruiters  assured  them  that  everything was legitimate and they couldn’t get in any trouble.

During sentencing, United States District Court Judge David Dugan noted that Wright committed  serious crimes by leading a long-term enterprise that was sophisticated for his age. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Dugan ordered Wright to spend 4 years on supervised release and pay over $30,000 in restitution.
Two of Wright’s coconspirators, Aijeigh McShan and Cedric Sheard, have pled guilty and will be  sentenced  next  month.  McShan’s  sentencing  hearing  is  scheduled  for  March  9,  2022.  
Cedric Sheard will be sentenced on March 16, 2022.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Luke J. Weissler.