Western District of Louisiana

LAFAYETTE – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Breaux Bridge woman was sentenced Thursday to 10 months in prison for stealing more than $64,000 from a New Iberia company.

Joan C. Edgar, 66, of Breaux Bridge, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of wire fraud. She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, $64,860 restitution and a $,5000 fine. According to the September 20, 2016 guilty plea, Edgar worked as an office manager for a New Iberia company. The company’s sole stockholder began negotiating with Edgar for her to buy the company in 2011, and while still working for the company, she stole $64,860. She concealed her actions by altering company records.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly P. Uebinger prosecuted the case.

Wood Group PSN Inc., a Nevada corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas, was ordered to pay $9.5 million today in two separate cases involving their conduct in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, Wood Group PSN was ordered to pay $7 million for falsely reporting over several years that personnel had performed safety inspections on offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico in the Western District of Louisiana, and $1.8 million for negligently discharging oil into the Gulf of Mexico in violation of the Clean Water Act after an explosion on an offshore facility in the Eastern District of Louisiana, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeff Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Stephanie A. Finley, and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana Kenneth A. Polite. Wood Group PSN was also ordered to pay $700,000 in community service to projects in the areas where the criminal conduct took place.

“The events of November 2012 at West Delta 32 were tragic, and since then federal prosecutors have worked diligently to investigate and understand the full scope of criminal conduct,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wood. “Today’s plea agreement demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to the integrity of federal safety programs and accountability for those who falsify federal safety inspection reports. In addition, the plea agreement ensures that Wood Group is held responsible for its wrongful pollution of the Gulf of Mexico, and it will bring community service projects to benefit the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Coast communities.”

“Ensuring that public resources are developed in a professional and responsible manner is among the highest priorities for this department, and the OIG is committed to work with its federal partners to hold violators accountable when they choose to ignore their professional and legal responsibilities and place the public and environment at risk,” said Ronald Gonzales, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of the Interior OIG’s Energy Investigations Unit.

“Developing domestic sources of energy is of vital importance to our nation. This development must be done responsibly and safely to protect public health and the environment,” said Christopher R. Brooks, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Louisiana. “This case is an example of federal law enforcement partners holding individuals accountable for their illegal conduct, and ensuring that the hard work invested in restoring the Gulf of Mexico is not jeopardized.”

According to the factual basis of the company’s plea agreement in the false reporting case, from April of 2011 to July of 2014, employees at Wood Group PSN’s Cameron, La., office failed to inspect and maintain facilities they had contracts with on the Outer Continental Shelf’s Creole Loop, and also falsely indicated that the facilities had been properly inspected and maintained according to federal safety and environmental regulations. The company operators at the Cameron office had trouble keeping up with inspections and maintenance on facilities they serviced. The office did not have sufficient labor and transportation, and the work was not always completed on time. The employees, from operators to clerks, then falsified reports to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. The company admitted to 87 violations on offshore platforms.

Wood Group PSN’s Clean Water Act conviction stems from an explosion on Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations, L.L.C.’s (BEE) offshore oil production facility located at area West Delta 32 in the Gulf of Mexico. According to court documents, BEE had contracted with Wood Group PSN for individuals to man and conduct production operations at the West Delta 32 facility. Beginning on November 3, 2012 and continuing through November 16, 2012, construction was being conducted at the West Delta 32 facility. Wood Group PSN supported the construction by issuing hot work permits for welding.

However, starting on or about Nov. 10, 2012, the Wood Group PSN Person-in-Charge, Christopher Srubar, stopped issuing hot work permits and conducting all-hands safety meetings, and instead delegated the hot work permitting to a less experienced operator. On Nov. 16, 2012, Grand Isle Shipyards, Inc. (GIS) construction superintendent, Curtis Dantin, assigned workers to perform welding in three different areas of the “E” platform, including sump line piping that had previously contained hydrocarbons but had not been made safe for hot work, or identified in a permit as an area safe for hot work. The sump line piping led to an oil storage tank that contained hydrocarbons contaminated with water, also known as the wet oil tank.

After the construction workers had cut and grinded the sump line piping the morning of Nov. 16, they attempted to weld on the cut piping with an arc welder. At that time, hydrocarbon vapors that had escaped from the wet oil tank ignited. The ignition caused an explosion setting off a series of additional explosions in the three oil tanks on the “E” platform. One of the dry oil tanks and the wet oil tank were blown into the Gulf of Mexico. The other dry oil tank was blown off its base and destroyed the platform crane. Oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico causing a sheen on the water. Oil rained down to the lower deck of the platform where workers had been performing other construction activity. The fire and explosions that occurred resulted in the deaths of construction workers, Avelino Tajonera, Elroy Corporal, and Jerome Malagapo. Other workers were seriously burned and physically injured.

Wood Group PSN admitted that its employees were negligent in the way they authorized hot work on West Delta 32, and that a lack of communication between personnel on the platform, including Wood Group PSN’s Person-in-Charge, Christopher Srubar, contributed to the events that caused oil to be discharged into the Gulf of Mexico in a harmful quantity.

Co-defendants, BEE and GIS face manslaughter charges, and Curtis Dantin, Christopher Srubar, and Don Moss face criminal violations of the Clean Water Act in the Eastern District of Louisiana before the Honorable Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, in case no. 15-cr-197 “H.” BEE also faces eight felony counts of regulatory violations under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

Charges against Don Moss, Christopher Srubar, Curtis Dantin, and GIS under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that were dismissed by the district court are pending an interlocutory appeal by the government to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, case no. 16-30561.

The U.S. Department of the Interior-Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-CID conducted the investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Myers P. Namie and David D. Joseph prosecuted the case for the Western District of Louisiana, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Greenfield and Nicholas Moses, and Department of Justice Senior Trial Attorney Ken Nelson prosecuted the case for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Bossier City man pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing child pornography.

Travis Eugene Henson, 42, of Bossier City, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of possession of child pornography. According to the guilty plea, law enforcement agents identified Henson as someone who was actively downloading child pornography. His home was searched on April 25, 2016, and child pornography was found on various electronic media within his home. Law enforcement later conducted a forensic analysis of the media that showed the electronic media contained more than a million files with a majority being child pornography.

Henson faces five to 20 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release, mandatory registration as a sex offender, forfeiture of property seized during the investigation and a $250,000 fine. The court set the sentencing date for June 16, 2017.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, and the Northwest Louisiana Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Texas man was sentenced Tuesday to more than eight and a half years in prison for distribution of methamphetamine.

David Wayne Carlisle, 41, of Marshall, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the December 21, 2016 guilty plea, law enforcement agents arrested Carlisle at a hotel in Bossier City on February 5, 2016. A source indicated that Carlisle would be in town that day to sell illegal narcotics. Carlisle and his hotel room were searched, and agents found more than 5 grams of methamphetamine and $43,305 in cash.

The DEA and the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Lafayette man was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition after having previously been convicted of two felonies.

Shawn D’Anthony Brown, 21, of Lafayette, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter on one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Brown was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the November 8, 2016 guilty plea, Lafayette police stopped a black four-door vehicle not using headlights on September 27, 2015 on Celeste Street. Brown was searched, and a loaded .32 caliber revolver spray-painted gold was found in his front right pocket. After further investigation, law enforcement discovered that he had previously been convicted of two felonies.

This investigation and prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a Department of Justice initiative to promote firearm safety and to reduce firearm crimes by preventing the possession and use of firearms by dangerous and persistent felons and others not authorized to possess a firearm.

The ATF and the Lafayette Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Jonesboro man was sentenced Monday to 24 months in prison for obtaining FEMA grants for a fire department so that he could then sell his company’s products to it.

Curtis Roller, 60, of Jonesboro, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of wire fraud after illegally obtaining Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants and making false statements on worker compensation forms. He also was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $403,355 restitution. According the guilty plea, Roller submitted false information on a grant application on May 9, 2009 to FEMA so that the Jackson Parish Ward 3 Fire Protection District was eligible to receive federal funds, which could be used to purchase equipment from his company, Louisiana Firefighting Services. It is against FEMA rules and policies for a grant writer to financially benefit from money awarded.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Postal Service-Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice filed a proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana that permanently enjoins Pick and Pay, Inc./ Cili Minerals LLC (Cili Minerals), and its owner and CEO, Anton S. Botha, to stop the distribution of misbranded and unapproved new drugs and misbranded and adulterated dietary supplements, the Justice Department announced today.

The complaint alleged that the defendants violated the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) by manufacturing, promoting, and distributing numerous dietary supplements that the defendants had been marketing as drugs that were intended to treat, cure, or prevent a variety of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, and other serious conditions. These marketing and sale efforts all involved unapproved drugs, in violation of the FDCA because the products had never been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval, and had never been found to be safe and effective for the medicinal uses claimed by defendants. Some of the products at issue were named ADD-Ease, Bone Structure, CilZinCo, Calcium, Boron, Potassium, Cilver, Sulfur, and Germanium. The Department filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on February 16 at the request of the FDA.

The complaint further alleges the defendants violated the FDCA by failing to manufacture products in accordance with FDA’s current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations for dietary supplements, which require manufacturers to have systems in place to ensure that their products meet specifications for identity, purity, strength and composition. According to the complaint, several FDA inspections between 2012 and 2016 allegedly revealed that the defendants failed to ensure the identity, purity, strength and composition of their finished products.

“Dietary supplement manufacturers endanger public health when they make unsupported claims about unapproved drugs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice and FDA will continue to work together to protect the public from unapproved, adulterated and misbranded products, and to ensure that dietary supplement manufacturers furnish accurate information to consumers about the purity and contents of their products.”

In conjunction with the filing of the complaint, the defendants agreed to settle the litigation and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. Once entered by the court, the consent decree requires that the defendants cease all production and distribution of misbranded and unapproved new drugs and adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements, and recall and destroy their drugs and dietary supplements. The proposed consent decree further requires that if the defendants wish to resume manufacturing drugs or dietary supplements in the future, they must implement the remedial measures set forth in the consent decree, notify FDA of the measures taken, and obtain written approval from the FDA that they appear to be in compliance with the remedial measures set forth in the consent decree and the FDCA. The proposed consent decree is currently awaiting judicial approval.

“Consumers deserve to know that the dietary supplements they ingest are safe and comply with the law,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley for the Western District of Louisiana. “When manufacturers and distributors market and distribute misbranded and adulterated products, the Justice Department will take affirmative steps to protect consumers. I want to thank the attorneys and investigators who worked so hard to keep our citizens safe.”

This matter was handled by Trial Attorney Christopher O’Connell of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen King of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana and Ariel Seeley of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana, visit its website at www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.

The Department of Justice filed a proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana that permanently enjoins Pick and Pay, Inc./ Cili Minerals LLC (Cili Minerals), and its owner and CEO, Anton S. Botha, to stop the distribution of misbranded and unapproved new drugs and misbranded and adulterated dietary supplements, the Justice Department announced today.

The complaint alleged that the defendants violated the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) by manufacturing, promoting, and distributing numerous dietary supplements that the defendants had been marketing as drugs that were intended to treat, cure, or prevent a variety of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, and other serious conditions. These marketing and sale efforts all involved unapproved drugs, in violation of the FDCA because the products had never been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval, and had never been found to be safe and effective for the medicinal uses claimed by defendants. Some of the products at issue were named ADD-Ease, Bone Structure, CilZinCo, Calcium, Boron, Potassium, Cilver, Sulfur, and Germanium. The Department filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on Feb. 16, at the request of the FDA.

The complaint further alleges the defendants violated the FDCA by failing to manufacture products in accordance with FDA’s current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations for dietary supplements, which require manufacturers to have systems in place to ensure that their products meet specifications for identity, purity, strength and composition. According to the complaint, several FDA inspections between 2012 and 2016 allegedly revealed that the defendants failed to ensure the identity, purity, strength and composition of their finished products.

“Dietary supplement manufacturers endanger public health when they make unsupported claims about unapproved drugs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice and FDA will continue to work together to protect the public from unapproved, adulterated and misbranded products, and to ensure that dietary supplement manufacturers furnish accurate information to consumers about the purity and contents of their products.”

In conjunction with the filing of the complaint, the defendants agreed to settle the litigation and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. Once entered by the court, the consent decree requires that the defendants cease all production and distribution of misbranded and unapproved new drugs and adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements, and recall and destroy their drugs and dietary supplements. The proposed consent decree further requires that if the defendants wish to resume manufacturing drugs or dietary supplements in the future, they must implement the remedial measures set forth in the consent decree, notify FDA of the measures taken, and obtain written approval from the FDA that they appear to be in compliance with the remedial measures set forth in the consent decree and the FDCA. The proposed consent decree is currently awaiting judicial approval.

“Consumers deserve to know that the dietary supplements they ingest are safe and comply with the law,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley for the Western District of Louisiana. “When manufacturers and distributors market and distribute misbranded and adulterated products, the Justice Department will take affirmative steps to protect consumers. I want to thank the attorneys and investigators who worked so hard to keep our citizens safe.”

This matter was handled by Trial Attorney Christopher O’Connell of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen King of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana and Ariel Seeley of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.

LAFAYETTE – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a St. Landry woman was sentenced Monday to 57 months in prison for stealing more than $250,000 from an Opelousas-based medical imaging business.

Misty Johnson, 40, of St. Landry, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter on one count each of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and theft of mail. She was also ordered to pay $258,128.78 restitution. According to the July 12, 2016 guilty plea, Johnson worked as an office manager for an Opelousas medical imaging services business from January 2009 to July 2014. She was responsible for day-to-day financial operations including billing, payroll and managing accounts payable and receivable. Her responsibilities included access to the company’s financial information and mail. She also had signatory authority on business accounts and was provided a company credit card for making purchases. In order to further the scheme, she would write checks to herself or to cash, issue herself additional paychecks and make unauthorized purchases on the company credit card. She would then alter the company’s account records to look as though she was properly paying the company’s bills. Johnson also stole company mail including past-due bills and brought them to her home. Johnson’s theft totaled $258,128.78.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic Rossetti and John Luke Walker prosecuted the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced last week that three prisoners at the U.S. Penitentiary in Pollock pleaded guilty to the assault of an inmate that resulted in injuries requiring hospitalization.

Jason Dwight Mackenzie, 35; Robert Shipp Jr., 32; and Calvin Skelton, 42, inmates at the U.S. Penitentiary in Pollock, La., pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the guilty plea, the defendants beat a fourth inmate on October 21, 2015. The defendants jumped and punched the victim while he was reading a newspaper in the cell block causing the victim to fall to the ground. The assailants punched and kicked him in the head, upper body and legs until they appeared winded and tired. Once a guard approached, the defendants went back to their cells. The victim was taken to the prison infirmary then to a hospital where he underwent multiple surgeries to repair severe injuries from the assault.

The defendants face a maximum of 10 years in prison, one to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set the sentencing date for May 26, 2017.

The FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael O’Mara is prosecuting the case.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Monroe woman pleaded guilty Monday to mail fraud for a scheme where she lied on U.S. Bankruptcy Court filings and insurance documents.

Lasandra Laverne Edwards, 54, of Monroe, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Hayes to one count of mail fraud. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks. According to the guilty plea, Edwards filed for bankruptcy in October 2013 and valued her furniture and clothing at $1,000. In November of 2013, Edwards purchased a renters’ policy that valued her assets at $100,000. Edwards’ house caught fire and burned on December 1, 2013. The defendant attended a creditors’ hearing associated with her bankruptcy case on December 10, 2013. She reaffirmed the information in the previous filings that her furniture and clothing were valued at $1,000. However, the next day on December 11, 2013, Edwards filed a claim under her insurance policy with State Farm falsely stating that her personal property was valued at $116,063.

Edwards faces up to 20 years in prison, one to three years of supervised release, restitution and a $250,000 fine. The court set a sentencing date of June 1, 2017.

The U.S. Trustee’s Office – Region V, Louisiana State Police and Monroe Fire Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tennille M. Gilreath and Cytheria D. Jernigan are prosecuting the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Mexican citizen was sentenced Monday to 24 months in prison for reentering the United States illegally on four separate occasions.

Miguel Rosales-Sanchez, 46, of Guanajuato, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter on one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien. According to the guilty plea, Rosales-Sanchez was arrested in St. Mary Parish on February 7, 2016. He was previously removed from the United States in 1999, 2004, 2006 and 2010.

United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti prosecuted the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Honduran citizen was sentenced Monday to 87 months in prison for reentering the United States and illegally possessing firearms.

Hector Alexander Cruz, 37, of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter on one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the July 25, 2016 guilty plea, Lafayette police responded to a complaint of marijuana odor coming from a residence on University Avenue. Upon contacting the inhabitants, they found Cruz and two others inside the apartment as well as a strong odor of marijuana. After questioning them and obtaining a search warrant, police found a 9 mm pistol, a .22 caliber pistol, a .380 caliber pistol and ammunition. After further investigation, law enforcement agents determined that Cruz had been removed from the country in December of 2011 after being convicted of an aggravated felony.

United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and Lafayette Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Abendroth prosecuted the case.

LAFAYETTE – A former detective with the Ville Platte Police Department was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for filing a false report to cover up a civil rights violation, announced U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley of the Western District of Louisiana and Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Nathaniel Savoy, 39, pleaded guilty to the crime in November 2016. At the plea hearing, Savoy admitted that he conspired with a civilian to burglarize a local hardware store, and used his official authority as a law enforcement officer to cover up his criminal activity. Around midnight on March 8, 2015, Savoy and his accomplice drove to Doug Ashy Building Materials in Ville Platte, La., in Savoy’s police department-issued truck. An on-duty police officer who was patrolling the area noticed their suspicious behavior and drove over to investigate. Savoy falsely told the officer that he was checking on local businesses to prevent burglaries. Satisfied with Savoy’s explanation, the police officer drove away. Savoy then dropped off his accomplice and instructed him to break in and steal 20 packs of shingles for a construction project Savoy was working on in his spare time. Savoy then responded to a traffic stop across town to create an alibi, and as the senior officer on the scene, ordered the other officers to check houses and local businesses on that side of town, which was miles from the hardware store. Savoy then returned to the hardware store with his accomplice and loaded the shingles onto the bed of his pickup truck and drove off. The next day, having realized that he might have been caught on surveillance video, Savoy wrote and filed a police report in which he falsely stated that he happened to find several packs of shingles by the side of the road, and he loaded them onto his truck for safekeeping. Savoy filed the false police report with the intent to obstruct an investigation into his conspiracy to deprive the hardware store of property.

“The vast majority of American law enforcement officers conduct themselves with honor,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wheeler. “But when an officer violates his or her oath and breaks the law, as did Mr. Savoy, the Department of Justice stands ready to enforce the law and protect the civil rights of all Americans.”

“The people of this District deserve to have law enforcement officers working in their communities who follow the laws they are sworn to uphold,” said U.S. Attorney Finley. “Savoy’s actions are not representative of the majority of officers who risk their lives every day to protect and serve. We will continue to work with our local and federal partners to investigate and prosecute those who violate their oath to protect and serve their communities.”

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Lafayette Division and was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christopher J. Perras of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla Bynog of the Western District of Louisiana.

A former detective with the Ville Platte Police Department in Ville Platte, Louisiana, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for filing a false report to cover up a civil rights violation, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley of the Western District of Louisiana. 

Nathaniel Savoy, 39, pleaded guilty to the crime in November 2016.  At the plea hearing, Savoy admitted that he conspired with a civilian to burglarize a local hardware store, and used his official authority as a law enforcement officer to cover his tracks.  Around midnight on March 8, 2015, Savoy and his accomplice drove to Doug Ashy Building Materials in Ville Platte, Louisiana, in Savoy’s department-issued truck.  An on-duty police officer who was patrolling the area noticed their suspicious behavior and drove over to investigate.  Savoy falsely told the officer that he was checking on local businesses to prevent burglaries.   Satisfied with Savoy’s explanation, the police officer drove away.  Savoy then dropped off his accomplice and instructed him to break in and steal 20 packs of shingles for a construction project Savoy was working on in his spare time.  Savoy then responded to a traffic stop across town to create an alibi.   Savoy, the senior officer on the scene, ordered the other officers to check houses and local businesses on that side of town, which was miles from the hardware store.  Savoy then returned to the hardware store, his accomplice loaded the shingles into the bed of Savoy’s pickup truck, and they drove off.  The next day, having realized that he might have been caught on surveillance video, Savoy wrote and filed a police report in which he falsely stated that he just happened to find several packs of shingles by the side of the road and he loaded them onto his truck for safekeeping.  Savoy filed the false police report with the intent to obstruct an investigation into his conspiracy to deprive the hardware store of property under color of law.

“The vast majority of American law enforcement officers conduct themselves with honor,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wheeler. “But when an officer violates his or her oath and breaks the law, as did Mr. Savoy, the Department of Justice stands ready to enforce the law and protect the civil rights of all Americans.”

“The people of this District deserve to have law enforcement officers working in their communities who follow the laws they are sworn to uphold,” said U.S. Attorney Finley.  “Savoy’s actions are not representative of the majority of officers who risk their lives every day to protect and serve. We will continue to work with our local and federal partners to investigate and prosecute those who violate their oath to protect and serve their communities.”

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Lafayette Division, and was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christopher J. Perras of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla Bynog of the Western District of Louisiana.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Mississippi woman was sentenced Monday to 26 months in prison for using stolen identities to file 100 false income tax returns in order to illegally receive refunds.

Andrea W. White, 46, of Jackson, Miss., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James on one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $195,296 in restitution. According to the August 13, 2014 guilty plea, from January 6, 2012 to September 25, 2012, White conducted a scheme to electronically file 100 fraudulent income tax returns using stolen identities. Most of the refunds were then mailed to four U.S. Post Office boxes in Tallulah, La. On April 27, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service mailed one such refund check to one of the U.S. Post Office boxes in the name of an unsuspecting innocent taxpayer for $5,454.  White received the benefit of that federal tax refund.

The IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a federal jury found a former Shreveport mental health facility administrator guilty Thursday of taking part in a kickback scheme.

Tom McCardell, 64, of Lafayette, La., was found guilty of 14 counts of paying illegal kickbacks. After the conclusion of the four-day trial, the jury deliberated approximately four hours before delivering the guilty verdict.  United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote presided over the trial. According to the evidence presented, from July of 2011 to November 2012, McCardell operated a kickback scheme while he was administrator of Physicians Behavior Hospital (PBH) in Shreveport. He paid kickbacks to an Alabama resident, who had no medical training or background, to recruit and refer patients to PBH for psychiatric and substance abuse treatment. The hospital would then purchase bus tickets for the patients to travel to PBH in Shreveport. Many of the patients traveled unattended without escort. To avoid detection and suspicion, the defendant arranged for the kickbacks to be issued in the name of the patient recruiter’s son. The defendant also ordered PBH personnel to create an “employee file” in the name of the recruiter’s son in order to provide cover for the illegal kickback arrangement between the defendant and the recruiter. During the scheme, McCardell caused the hospital to pay the recruiter’s son checks totaling $41,000 to which he was not entitled. As a result of the illegal kickback scheme, the hospital billed more than $6.7 million dollars to Medicare and was paid more than $1.2 million dollars.

McCardell faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and $250,000 fine for each count.

The Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General and the FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Earl M. Campbell and Tennille M. Gilreath are prosecuting the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that two New Iberia men pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy after admitting their roles in a scheme to create false invoices for shipments that never occurred. 

Randy LeBlanc, 33, of New Iberia, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carol Whitehurst to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The plea will become final after it is accepted by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter. According to the guilty plea, LeBlanc worked as driver and later a dispatcher for Acme Trucking Lines (ATL) in New Iberia from February 2009 to May 2014. While employed as a driver beginning in 2011, an unnamed conspirator instructed LeBlanc to furnish waybills for shipments that had not occurred. LeBlanc did not inform the companies involved or authorities about the false invoices. In 2013, LeBlanc became a dispatcher for the terminal and continued driving for ATL. The unnamed conspirator provided instructions on creating waybills and “ghost” invoices, and LeBlanc created them until he was terminated in late 2014. After his termination, the unnamed conspirator told LeBlanc to take the blame for the false waybills. As a result of the scheme to defraud, LeBlanc personally received more than $220,000 to which he was not entitled.

Another New Iberia resident, Jahorae Johnson, 38, pleaded guilty January 30, 2017 to one count of conspiracy. Johnson worked as an ATL hot-shot driver from October 2011 to November 2014. Johnson did not have a commercial driver’s license but would make deliveries using a large pickup truck to different parts of the country. During his employment he created and submitted fraudulent invoices for trips that did not take place. Johnson stipulated that he received more than $96,000 of which he was not entitled.

LeBlanc and Johnson face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution, forfeiture and a $250,000 fine. The court set May 5, 2017 as the sentencing date for both defendants.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Coushatta man pleaded guilty last week to illegally possessing methamphetamine and firearms.

Aaron Joseph Clark, 65, of Coushatta, La., pleaded guilty February 2, 2017 before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. According to the guilty plea, law enforcement agents identified Clark as a suspect in a drug case and conducted a search of his temporary residence in Ringgold, La., on January 26, 2016. They found a gram of methamphetamine, two grams of marijuana and nine Xanax pills. They also found digital scales, baggies, syringes and pipes. Additionally, agents located ammunition and a number of loaded weapons including: three revolvers, two derringers, four pistols, four rifles, three shotguns and a weapon made from a shotgun with no serial number. Two of the shotguns were sawed off, and at least six silencers were also found among his possessions. Two days later, agents found 20 grams of methamphetamine hidden in an ammo bag.

Clark faces up to 20 years in prison for the drug distribution count and mandatory five years for the firearm count, which is to run consecutive to the distribution count. He also faces at least three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine. The court set a sentencing date of May 31, 2017.

This investigation and prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a Department of Justice initiative to promote firearm safety and to reduce firearm crimes by preventing the possession and use of firearms by dangerous and persistent felons and others not authorized to possess a firearm.

The ATF, Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office, Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office and Tri-Parish Drug Task Force conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick is prosecuting the case.

Deadline for grant proposals is February 27, 2017

SHREVEPORT / MONROE / ALEXANRIA / LAKE CHARLES / LAFAYETTE, LA: United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Stephanie A. Finley and the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force announced today that the Department of Justice, the Office of Justice Programs and the Bureau of Justice Assistance is seeking applications for funding of a grant under the Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction Program, also known as Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

PSN furthers the Department of Justice=s mission to reduce violent crime by providing support to state, local and tribal efforts to create safer neighborhoods through a sustained reduction in gang violence and violent crimes committed with firearms.  Contingent on the availability of funds, grant awards totaling $350,000 are possible in the Western District of Louisiana to fund new and current comprehensive gun crime reduction and gang violence reduction strategies.  The application for this fiscal year 2017 (FY2017) PSN grant must be submitted to and received by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lafayette by noon on February 27, 2017. 

Various types of single or multi‑grantee grant applications are welcome including those that address the following: 

• Gang violence and gun violence reduction, deterrence, prevention, community outreach and education; 
• Enforcement, adjudication and supervision programs; 
• Prisoner reentry programs; or
• Other innovative related projects.

The FY2017 PSN Competitive Grant Announcement, OMB No. 1121-0329, can be found at https://www.bja.gov/Funding/PSN17.pdf.  For the announcement or more information on the PSN program visit the U.S. Attorney’s Office website at http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla and www.justice.gov/usao/law/psn.html or at www.psn.gov or www.bja.gov/programs/psn.

More information about the FY2017 PSN grant announcement and the PSN program can also be found by contacting Lisa Alwert at (337) 262-6618.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Homer resident was sentenced Wednesday to 24 months in prison for failing to update his sex offender registration.

James Fernando Rhodes, 50, of Homer, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of failure to update sex offender registration. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the September 28, 2016 guilty plea, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Indiana conducted a sex offender compliance check on Rhodes in March of 2013. He was not found at his reported address and a warrant was issued for his arrest. A tip to the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office led to Rhodes’ arrest in May of 2016. He later admitted to living in Louisiana for two years without registering as required by law. The defendant was convicted of indecency with a child-sexual contact on December 8, 1995 in Dallas County, Texas, and was required to register as a sex offender for life.

The U.S. Marshals Service, Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office and Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Indiana conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick prosecuted the case.

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Crowley man pleaded guilty Tuesday to using his cell phone to record sex acts with a minor.

Blake Damian Rodgers, 35, of Crowley, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carol Whitehurst to one count of production of child pornography. The plea will become final after it is accepted by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi. According to the guilty plea, Rodgers was arrested and booked into the Acadia Parish jail February 24, 2016 on theft charges. While incarcerated, he had sexually explicit conversations on the phone with a 14-year-old minor. They discussed having had sexual intercourse and of videos he had taken of the acts on his cell phone. After retrieving the cell phone, law enforcement agents found several sexually explicit videos of the minor.

Rodgers faces 15 to 30 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court did not set a sentencing date.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423.  Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Bossier City woman and a Minden man were sentenced last week for attempting to smuggle more than a pound of methamphetamine into Louisiana from Texas.

Rustin J. Stein, 30, of Bossier City, La., and James Lee Adkins, 30, of Minden, La., were sentenced Friday to 51 months and 87 months in prison respectively by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. They were also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the guilty pleas, the defendants were traveling on February 8, 2016 near mile marker 2 on Interstate 20 when a state trooper conducted a traffic stop. State police searched the vehicle, and one pound of methamphetamine was found in the right rear door. Adkins also had a small baggie of methamphetamine in his front pants pocket, and Stein had a small amount of methamphetamine in her purse. Stein admitted to traveling to Dallas with Adkins to buy methamphetamine from a source for $5,000 and planned to split the cost of the drugs and the trip.

The DEA and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a citizen of Mexico pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously removed.

Bertoldo Labra-Martinez, 33, of Mexico, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien. According to the guilty plea, the defendant was found in the United States on November 3, 2016, while incarcerated at the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center. Records show that Labra-Martinez was previously removed from the United States in January of 2008 and March of 2015.

Labra-Martinez was previously convicted on October 23, 2014, in the U.S. District Court, Lake Charles Division, for the offense of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. As a result of that conviction, Labra-Martinez faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison, three year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for the offense of reentry of a removed alien. A sentencing date of March 12, 2017 was set.

United States Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy is prosecuting the case.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Texas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to selling methamphetamine in Louisiana and Texas.

Adam Micah Baltutis, 31, of Beaumont, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter. According to the guilty plea, a law enforcement officer conducted a traffic stop January 5, 2016 on a vehicle traveling continually in the passing lane on Interstate 10. The officer conducted a search of the vehicle, and while looking for registration and insurance papers, found a lockbox containing methamphetamine along with two cell phones. One of the cell phones belonged to the defendant. The defendant told law enforcement agents the next day that he had been dealing methamphetamine since December of 2015 and selling it in Orange, Texas, and the Lake Charles area. The Southwest Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory determined the methamphetamine seized from the car to have an approximate weight of 418 grams.

Baltutis faces five to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a $5 million fine. The court set a sentencing date of April 21, 2017.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Calcasieu Parish Combined Anti-Drug Team conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph T. Mickel is prosecuting the case.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that an Oakdale woman pleaded guilty last week to receiving bribes for smuggling cell phones and tobacco into the Federal Correctional Institution at Oakdale.

Billie A. Holmes, 55, of Oakdale, La., pleaded guilty January 17, 2017 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay to one count of bribery of a public official. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi. According to the guilty plea, Holmes worked as an education contractor for FCI Oakdale. From September 2014 to May 2015, an inmate paid Holmes thousands of dollars to smuggle cell phones and tobacco into the prison. In January of 2015, another inmate informed law enforcement that he had been approached by an inmate who offered to sell him a cell phone for $1,600. Upon further investigation, it was learned that Holmes worked with an inmate to smuggle contraband into the prison. During the investigation, Holmes was recorded making plans to smuggle in a cell phone. Financial records also showed $4,200 in wire transfers to Holmes between November 2014 and December 2014.

Holmes faces not more than 15 years in prison, not more than three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of April 21, 2017 was set.

The U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moore is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a dietary supplement company must pay $1.2 million for illegally discharging pollutants into the Vermilion River.

Omega Protein Inc. was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter for two counts of unlawful discharge of a pollutant into a water of the United States. Company representative John D. Held was present on the company’s behalf at the hearing. The company pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday, January 18, 2017. Omega will pay a $1 million fine to the United States and $200,000 community service fee will be paid to the Louisiana State Police Emergency Service Unit. The company was also placed on probation for three years. Omega is a corporation located in Louisiana and incorporated under the laws of Virginia. According to evidence presented at the hearing, on December 8, 2014 and February 1, 2016, a manager at the Abbeville Omega plant directed employees to place a hose in a treatment pond and drain polluted water into a canal that emptied into the Vermilion River.

The criminal investigation divisions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Abendroth prosecuted the case.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a federal jury found a Texas man guilty last week of transporting methamphetamine for later sale.

Brian Manuel Garcia, 27, of Welaco, Texas, was found guilty Thursday, January 19, 2017 of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. After the conclusion of the three-day trial, the jury deliberated for two hours before delivering the guilty verdict. United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. presided over the trial.

According to the evidence presented, a Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s deputy stopped a speeding vehicle on Interstate 20 carrying Garcia and Alberto Trevino, 34, also from Welaco, Texas, on July 5, 2016. The deputy searched the vehicle and found marijuana and a beer box in the trunk. Inside the box were four plastic bags containing 4,027 grams of methamphetamine. Trevino later admitted they were traveling to Mississippi to deliver drugs to a buyer.

Garcia faces at least 10 years to life in prison for both counts. Garcia’s sentencing is set for April 20, 2017. Trevino pleaded guilty on December 20, 2016 to conspiracy. Trevino’s sentencing was set for March 16, 2017. They also face five years of supervised release and a $10 million fine.

The DEA and the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan S. Drucker and Allison D. Bushnell are prosecuting the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that two brothers from Alabama were sentenced last week to 10 months in prison for flying an unregistered plane loaded with marijuana.

George Bancroft Marshall, 39, and John Samuel Marshall IV, 42, both of Gulf Shores, Ala., were sentenced Wednesday, January 18, 2017 by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell. George Marshall was sentenced to 10 months in prison on one count of operation of an unregistered aircraft, and John Marshall was sentenced to 10 months in prison on one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. They must also forfeit the plane seized during the investigation and serve more than two years of supervised release. According to the guilty pleas, law enforcement agents searched a 1966 Mooney M20E aircraft on February 11, 2015 at the Alexandria Airport. George Marshall had been piloting the plane and was transporting his brother John Marshall from California to Alabama. They had stopped in Alexandria overnight to fuel. Law enforcement found 19 vacuum sealed packages of marijuana weighing approximately 34.9 pounds. They also located 10 vacuum sealed packages of hash oil weighing approximately 20.9 ounces. George Marshall later admitted that he worked as a commercial pilot, had purchased the airplane in January of 2015 in Arkansas for $30,000 and did not complete the registration for the plane.

Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection-New Orleans Air and Marine Branch, and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moore prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Shreveport man was sentenced Thursday to 135 months in prison for methamphetamine distribution and handgun possession.

Paul Matthew Garza, 35, of Shreveport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the September 20, 2016, guilty plea, Garza’s vehicle was pulled over during a traffic stop on May 25, 2016, near the Louisiana-Texas border in Caddo Parish. Upon searching his vehicle, law enforcement found 408 grams of methamphetamine and 142.73 grams of Xanax bars. Upon searching his home, additional methamphetamine and Xanax were found. A Ruger LCP .380 semi-automatic handgun, digital scales and $17,400 were also found in his home.

The DEA and the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tennille M. Gilreath prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Shreveport man was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for possessing child pornography.

Ronald Wilson, 54, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession of child pornography. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. According to the April 14, 2016 guilty plea, law enforcement officers searched the Wilson’s Shreveport residence in March of 2015. Officers found 19 videos of child pornography stored on several electronic devices in his bedroom.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.

Homeland Security Investigations, Louisiana State Attorney General’s Office and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Pollock prisoner pleaded guilty Wednesday to assaulting another inmate.

John Garza, 33, a prisoner at the U.S. Penitentiary in Pollock, La., who is from Gonzales, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell, to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the guilty plea, Garza assaulted a fellow inmate on July 31, 2016, by stabbing him in the neck and back area. Video cameras showed Garza attacking a fellow inmate pushing him to the ground. He then stabbed and tramped on the inmate. The inmate was later brought to a local hospital where he was treated for severe injuries.

Garza faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of April 12, 2017 was set.

The FBI and U.S. Bureau of Prisons investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tennille M. Gilreath is prosecuting the case.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Florida man was sentenced Thursday to 121 months in prison for sexually assaulting a female officer stationed at the Fort Polk Military Base.

Maurice Antuan Speights, 32, of Tallahassee, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald Walter on one count of sexual abuse. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release, ordered to pay $3,570 in restitution and is required to register as a sex offender. According to testimony and evidence admitted at the two-day trial, which ended September 20, 2016, the defendant, a civilian, was an acquaintance of the victim who was temporarily residing at a relative’s home in Leesville. Speights, the victim and a female friend went out for a night of drinking on October 20, 2013. At trial, the female friend testified about the events of the evening. She stated that the victim was so intoxicated that by the time the three returned to the female friend’s home, the victim passed out. The female friend and Speights had to carry the victim to an upstairs bedroom. An FBI agent testified that during an interview, Speights acknowledged engaging in sexual intercourse with the victim but claimed it was consensual. The victim took the stand during the two-day trial and testified that she had no memory of anything that occurred until she woke up in the middle of the night with the defendant sexually assaulting her.

“Our military keeps us safe here and around the globe,” Finley stated. “Its members should not have to face violence on any military installation. We take these cases seriously and will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the crime occurred on the Fort Polk Military Base where the United States has exclusive jurisdiction.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Luke Walker and David C. Joseph prosecuted the case.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that two Crowley men were each sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for robberies in three parishes.

Algernon James Wilson, 30, and Larry Malcolm Fisher, 32, both from Crowley, La., were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald Walter on one count of Hobbs Act robbery. They were also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the guilty pleas, Wilson and Fisher have been engaging in robberies in and around Rayne, Eunice and Ville Platte, La. Wilson orchestrated the robberies. Wilson was the driver in each of the robberies and Fisher committed the robberies. During at least one of the robberies, Wilson was on a cell phone with Fisher telling him what to say. They were apprehended on March 7, 2016, after Fisher robbed a Ville Platte Pharmacy. Fisher exited the pharmacy after displaying a firearm and ordering the employees to fill a backpack with controlled substances. He then got into a vehicle with Wilson, and they engaged in a high-speed chase with the police. Wilson wrecked in a curve, which disabled the vehicle, and was arrested. Fisher fled the scene, but was later apprehended.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Shreveport man pleaded guilty to calling a Washington, D.C., pizzeria and threating to shoot those there.

Yusif Lee Jones, 52, of Shreveport, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. to one count of interstate threatening communications. According to testimony at the guilty plea, on December 7, 2016, three days after the shooting at the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in Washington, D.C., which was reported on by the national news media and generally referred to as “Pizzagate,” Jones called the Besta Pizza shop in Washington, D.C., and said he was trying to “save the kids” and threatened to “shoot everyone in the place.” Further investigation by the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI traced the call to Jones in Shreveport. Jones admitted to making the threatening call and was arrested.

Jones faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of April 12, 2017 was set.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Flanagan is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Haughton man was sentenced last week to 151 months in prison for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

David Brian Bullock, 55, of Haughton, La., was sentenced January 6 by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the September 14, 2016 guilty plea, during an ongoing investigation Bullock was identified as a transporter of methamphetamine from Texas to Louisiana. His vehicle was stopped in Haughton for a traffic violation on March 18, 2016. Bullock’s vehicle was searched, and 72.8 grams of methamphetamine were found in one set of containers and 645.1 grams of methamphetamine were found in another container. His home was searched later an even more methamphetamine was found.

The DEA and the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a federal jury found a South Carolina man guilty last week of producing child pornography and traveling to Louisiana to have sex with a juvenile.

Frankie Maldonado, 50, of Reeseville, S.C., was found guilty on January 4 of two counts of production of child pornography and one count of traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. After the conclusion of the two-day trial, the jury deliberated for an hour and a half before delivering the guilty verdict. United States District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial.

According to the evidence presented, Maldonado began communicating with a 15-year-old girl. The girl’s father was a friend of Maldonado. Maldonado sent sexually explicit pictures of himself to the juvenile using text messaging in June of 2014. Thereafter he requested that she send sexually explicit pictures of herself. He also traveled to Louisiana on June 22, 2014 where he picked up the juvenile, brought her to a motel, took sexually explicit pictures and engaged in sexual activity with her.

Maldonado faces up to 15 to 30 years in prison for the child pornography production counts and 30 years in prison for the traveling to engage in sexual conduct count. He also faces and five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He is also required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing was set for March 24, 2017.

Homeland Security Investigations, Louisiana State Police and Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Luke Walker and Jamilla A. Bynog are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI and the IRS presented $800,126 to state and local law enforcement agencies upon completing a forfeiture action involving money laundered through a local car dealership.

At the conclusion of a money laundering prosecution of the owners and operators of Mike’s Auto Sales and A-1 Auto Finance Company, the United States forfeited assets totaling $2,194,270. Of this amount $1,253,783 was allocated for disbursement to law enforcement agencies who participated in the investigation. The Louisiana State Police, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, Desoto Parish Sheriff’s Office, Shreveport Police Department and the Bossier City Police Department each received approximately $174,170. The Internal Revenue Service received $208,765. The forfeited funds came from the sale of assets of Mike’s Auto Sales and A-1 Auto Finance Company. The companies obtained these assets by facilitating the acquisition of cars and laundering money for drug dealers.

Michael Paul Boyter, 54, and Anthony Reuben Riley, 53, both of Shreveport, were two of the owners and operators of Mike’s Auto Sales and A-1 Auto Finance Company. They were sentenced on February 18, 2014 by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote, on charges arising out of a money laundering conspiracy operated from the businesses. Boyter was sentenced to 60 months in prison for wire fraud and tax evasion charges. He was also ordered to pay $290,381 restitution and a $200,000 fine. Riley was sentenced to 15 months in prison for the failure to file Form 8300 charges and was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. As part of their plea agreements with the United States, both men also agreed to forfeit property of Mike’s Auto Sales and A-1 Auto Finance, and to pay a money judgment of $1.3 million.

Since the sentencings, the properties where the businesses were housed were sold and funds in bank and brokerage accounts were seized. According to evidence presented at the guilty pleas, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to commit money laundering beginning in 1996 and continuing through November 2010. The defendants’ scheme concerned the sale and financing of used and new vehicles to individuals who derived, or represented that they derived, significant income from the distribution of illegal drugs. The defendants knowingly accepted cash from drug dealers, allowed vehicle purchases in the names of nominees, and falsified records of payments received. The defendants also provided false information to multiple local and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Shreveport Police Department and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, to facilitate the release of vehicles seized from drug dealers.

In 2009 and 2010, the FBI conducted multiple “sting” operations using cooperating individuals to purchase vehicles from Mikes Auto Sales. During the undercover operations, Boyter, Riley, and others accepted large cash payments toward the purchase of vehicles, registered the vehicles in the name of nominees, and failed to report cash received in excess of $10,000 as required by federal law. These operations proved that the defendants routinely accepted large amounts of money thought to be drug proceeds and skimmed cash from down payments by manipulating records to show lower sales prices and reduced amounts of down payments.

“This case serves as an example of what can happen when law enforcement agencies work together,” Finley said. “The defendants in this case shamelessly facilitated drug trafficking by allowing drug dealers to launder their money and obtain vehicles that they otherwise would have been unable to purchase without detection by law enforcement. The dismantling of this criminal enterprise led to the sale of its assets and the funds being distributed today. This money will allow these law enforcement agencies to further provide needed services to our community.”

The case is part of an investigation called Operation NOMAS conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint multi-agency group consisting of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies with a cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking.

Operation NOMAS was investigated by the FBI’s Northwest Louisiana Violent Crimes Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Marshals Service, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Shreveport Police Department, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bossier City Police Department, Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana National Guard Counter-Drug Task Force and the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Tri-Parish Drug Task Force. The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office in Marshall, Texas, also assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison D. Bushnell, Cytheria D. Jernigan and Richard A. Willis prosecuted this case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced a man and woman from Shreveport were sentenced Monday to 32 years and 20 years in prison for having a minor female from Texas engage in prostitution.

Tyrone Larry Smith, 37, and Lacoya Washington, 34, both of Shreveport, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. to 384 months and 240 months in prison respectively on one count of sex trafficking of a minor. Smith was also sentenced for one count of coercing or enticing a minor to travel to engage in prostitution. The defendants must also serve five years of supervised release and must register as sex offenders. According to evidence presented at the three-day trial, which ended July 27, 2016, Smith began conversing with a 14-year-old female from Texas over an internet dating service in June of 2015. He convinced her to travel to Shreveport saying he had feelings for her. Upon arriving in Shreveport, the female met Smith and Washington and stayed at their home. That same month, they brought her to local hotels where she engaged in prostitution. If she resisted, Smith struck her and abused her in order for her to continue the illegal activity. Smith also took the money from the prostitution. The minor was contacted by authorities who later arrested Smith and Washington.

“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to keep the children of our community safe by prosecuting those who engage in this despicable trade,” Finley stated. “Human trafficking exploits the most vulnerable among us.”

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Cowles Jr. and Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Human trafficking takes many forms, but generally targets the most vulnerable in our society – our children, those who suffered past abuse, people with physical or mental disabilities, the poor and those without legal immigration status.

For more information on human trafficking and the department’s efforts to combat it, visit www.justice.gov/humantrafficking. For those wishing to find out more about victim services, please visit the website of the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime website – ovc.ncjrs.gov/humantrafficking. To report suspected human trafficking, connect with anti-trafficking services in your area or find anti-trafficking resources, contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 1-888-373-7888, nhtrc@polarisproject.org or www.traffickingresourcecenter.org. The toll-free hotline is available to answer calls from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day/seven days a week, in more than 200 languages.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Those concerned may also leave tips with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously. The Shreveport FBI office number is (318) 861-1890.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a man from Many was sentenced to 30 months in prison for illegally possessing a shotgun.

John Michael Murphy, 30, Many, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the September 14, 2016 guilty plea, Many police initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle Murphy was riding in on January 9, 2016. Once the police activated their patrol car’s overhead lights, a shotgun was thrown from the vehicle. When the vehicle came to a stop, Murphy exited and fled into a wooded area. Police retrieved the firearm, which was determined to be a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with ammunition. The defendant was later arrested at his residence in Many.

This investigation and prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a Department of Justice initiative to promote firearm safety and to reduce firearm crimes by preventing the possession and use of firearms by dangerous and persistent felons and others not authorized to possess a firearm.

The ATF, Many Police Department and Zwolle Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Zwolle man pleaded guilty Monday to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing multiple firearms.

Heath Meshell, 33, of Zwolle, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark L. Hornsby to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote. According to the guilty plea, law enforcement agents searched Meshell’s home on April 12, 2016. The agents found more than 1,700 grams of methamphetamine, a small number of prescription pills, digital scales and $1,585. They also found a 9 mm rifle, 9 mm pistol, a 410 shotgun and assorted rounds of ammunition.

Meshell faces 10 years to life in prison and a $10 million fine for the drug count and not less than five years and a $250,000 fine for the firearms count. He also faces at least five years of supervised release and forfeiture of the firearms and cash seized in the case. A sentencing date of February 20, 2017 was set.

The ATF and the DEA conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Texas man pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

David Wayne Carlisle, 41, of Marshall, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  According to the guilty plea, law enforcement agents arrested Carlisle at a hotel in Bossier City on February 5, 2016. A source indicated that Carlisle would be in town that day to sell illegal narcotics. Carlisle and his hotel room were searched, and agents found more than 5 grams of methamphetamine and $43,305.

Carlisle faces five to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a $5 million fine.  A sentencing date of February 21, 2017 was set.

The DEA and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown is prosecuting the case.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a man from Monroe was sentenced Tuesday to 60 months in prison for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.

Robert L. Smith, 43, of Monroe, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. He was also sentenced to four years of supervised release. According to the July 6, 2016 guilty plea, police attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle Smith was driving on September 3, 2015. Instead of stopping the vehicle, a chase ensued with Smith’s vehicle reaching speeds of up to 90 mph before becoming snarled in traffic. During the pursuit, he tossed two bags into the Ouachita River. Upon arrest, police found $4,574, two boxes of shogun shells and a box of plastic bags. The bags thrown into the river were located, and 111 grams of crack cocaine and 96.6 grams of powder cocaine were inside them.

The DEA and the West Monroe Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney James G. Cowles Jr. prosecuted the case.

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Delhi doctor was sentenced Tuesday to six months in prison for issuing prescriptions for opiates to those without following proper procedures.

Dan J. LeFleur, 64, of Delhi, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of possession with intent to distribute Suboxone. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. According to the August 16, 2016 guilty plea, LeFleur issued illegal prescriptions from October 2012 until February 2013. Several sources sent complaints to law enforcement agents that LeFleur, who is a medical doctor, was prescribing medications without following proper protocols. One of the main medications prescribed was Suboxone, which is used for opiate addiction. LeFleur issued the prescriptions from his personal residence in Delhi; from the Louisiana Health Center in Rayville, and from his Suboxone Clinic in Rayville, La.

The DEA and the Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney James G. Cowles Jr. prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a prisoner in Jackson, La., was sentenced last week to 51 months in prison for sending threatening messages to U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Hayes.

Charles Lidberg, 28, of Baton Rouge, La., was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of making threatening communications. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the August 16, 2016 guilty plea, Lidberg, who was serving time at a state correctional institution for an unrelated crime, mailed a letter on February 19, 2014 to Judge Hayes’ office stating that he would hunt down and kill her after he was released from prison. Lidberg said his friend promised him half a million dollars to kill the judge if she sentenced Lidberg’s friend to more than 10 years in prison. Lidberg also said he did not state his friend’s name because that would “take the fun out of this.” He also gave a second letter threatening the judge to a fellow inmate who turned it over to law enforcement agents.

The U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker prosecuted the case.

SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES/MONROE, La.:  United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana collected $13,511,583.51 through civil, criminal and asset forfeiture actions in fiscal year 2016.

The District collected $8,839,501.29 in criminal actions and $3,757,876.02 in civil actions. Working with various other offices and components of the Department of Justice, the Western District of Louisiana collected an additional $1,973.20. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also worked with its partner agencies and divisions to collect $912,233 in asset forfeiture actions in FY2016. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced that the Justice Department collected nearly $15.4 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2016.  The $15,380,130,434 in collections in FY2016 represents more than five times the appropriated $2.93 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions of the Justice Department combined in that same period.

Included in the FY2016 criminal collections for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana, is $4,030,739.79 collected from Pelican Refining Co., LLC. Pelican previously pleaded guilty to violations of the Clean Air Act and obstruction of justice.

Of the total amount collected by the District in FY2016, $733,140.33 was through garnishment proceedings commenced by the district’s Financial Litigation Unit (FLU). The significant increase collected through garnishment proceedings is due in part to the garnishment of various financial interests of debtors including retirement accounts, life insurance policies, wages and other financial accounts as well as the aggressive collection activity handled by the FLU. The largest recovery resulting from a garnishment proceeding in FY2016 occurred in United States v. Herbert Fouke, which was $69,259.98.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the 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 the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the Department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

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

“Every day, the men and women of the Department of Justice work tirelessly to enforce our laws, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used properly and that the American people are protected from exploitation and abuse,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “Today’s announcement is a testament to that work, and it makes clear that our actions deliver a significant return on public investment.  I want to thank the prosecutors and trial attorneys who made this year's collections possible, and I want to emphasize that the department remains committed to the well-being of our people and our nation.”

“It takes long hours and dedication from our attorneys and support staff to collect these funds,” stated U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley. “The numbers do not always reflect the work that goes into these collections, but it is a team effort. I am thankful for those in my office who for another year brought in a substantial amount in collections on behalf of the taxpayers, which made this milestone possible.”

ALEXANDRIA – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that an Alexandria woman was sentenced last week to 12 months and one day in prison for charging fees to college students and pocketing the money.

Makquel D. Gailes, 43, of Alexandria, La., was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of mail fraud. She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $22,707 restitution.  According to the August 5, 2016 guilty plea, Gailes worked as a financial aid officer at Unitech Training Academy in Alexandria from January 2009 to December 2011.  Gailes conducted a scheme to steal thousands from the students of Unitech. When a student’s federal financial aid exceeded school cost and expenses, Gailes requested refund checks from Unitech for the students. Gailes received the refund checks in the mail, and Gailes notified the students to get their checks.  After giving the students their checks, Gailes told the students they owed additional money in fees, which included graduation fees, promissory note fees or out-of-pocket expenses. Gailes told the students to pay these fees in cash to her, which many did. Gailes did not apply the student cash payments to outstanding balances, if they had one, but pocketed and used the money for her own personal expenses leaving the students with more debt and less money.

The U.S. Department of Education-Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike O’Mara prosecuted the case.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Texas man pleaded guilty Thursday to trying to use a fake TWIC card to enter a Westlake plant.

Jacob Charles Travis, 32, of Pearland, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay to one count of fraudulent possession or use of an official pass. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi. According to the guilty plea, Travis attempted to enter a petrochemical plant in Westlake, La., using a fake Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC card) on May 23 and 24 of 2016 to perform work as a sub-contractor. Security guards questioned the use of the card both times, and Travis left the premises before his TWIC card could be verified. Law enforcement agents questioned Travis on May 26, 2016, and he admitted to buying a fake TWIC card to gain entrance into the facility. The plant is a Transportation Security Act regulated facility and workers are required to present a TWIC card to enter.

Travis faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of March 9, 2017 was set.

The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Abendroth is prosecuting the case.

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a federal jury found a Ball man guilty of stealing more than $100,000 in Veterans Affairs benefits from a deceased woman’s bank account.

Tracy Marler, 51, of Ball, La., was found guilty of one count of theft of government property. United States District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial, which took place Monday and ended today with the jury deliberating for 20 minutes.  Evidence admitted at trial revealed that from February 25, 2008 until April 30, 2014, Marler withdrew $100,610.57 from a deceased woman’s account. The woman was receiving the benefits on behalf of her deceased husband who had served in the U.S. armed forces. Marler had a joint bank account with the woman. After she died in February of 2008, he continued to receive her Veterans Affairs benefit payments to which he was not entitled. Marler was a friend of the deceased woman. He provided care, which included running errands, managing finances and maintaining her home.

Marley faces 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing has been set for March 17, 2017.

The Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown is prosecuting the case.

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Mexican citizen was sentenced Tuesday to 10 months in prison for manufacturing fake identification, immigration and Social Security documents.

Marco Antonio Damian-Presno, 32, of Puebla, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and must forfeit items seized during the investigation.

According to the July 12, 2016 guilty plea, Shreveport police arrested two undocumented aliens attempting to use fake driver’s licenses, resident alien cards and Social Security cards in April 2015.  The aliens told police their source was Damian-Presno. During their investigation, agents bought a number of fake documents from Damian-Presno including identification cards, driver’s licenses, resident alien cards and Social Security cards, which he made in his Bossier City, La., home.  On September 9, 2015, agents arrested Damian-Presno.  He told agents that he sold three or four cards a week.  Agents searched his home and seized cash, a computer, electronic storage devices, paper cutting devices and laminating devices. 

Homeland Security Investigations, Shreveport Police Department and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike O’Mara prosecuted the case.